I subdue demons and monsters, and cultivate immortality in hell to become a saint.

Zhong Jiu flipped through the complete set of documents related to Fu Zhu.

This is the benefit of getting in touch with the Special Operations Department; it saves a lot of investigation work.

All it took was a phone call to Zhong Yingmei, asking her to contact the provincial capital's special operations department. Within just a few hours, a dozen pages of detailed information were sent over, including even the embarrassing story of Fu Zhu being chased and beaten for stealing fruit from his neighbor when he was a child.

Fu Zhu's original name was Huang Shunsheng. He came from a well-off family, but he was a "hard-to-kill" person who brought misfortune to his relatives. His mother died in childbirth on the day he was born.

His father was heartbroken and remained depressed for three years before passing away, leaving only his grandparents to raise him.

Gossip about him "killing his parents" swarmed around him like flies, and when his grandmother passed away when he was seven, it further solidified his reputation as an "inauspicious person."

Relatives and friends avoided him like the plague, neighbors steered clear, and even children dared to throw stones at him.

The grandfather doted on his grandson and repeatedly scolded those who gossiped while holding his cane, but he couldn't withstand the power of gossip, and life became increasingly difficult.

Seeing that he was getting old and frail, and fearing that his grandson would be left destitute after his death, the grandfather gritted his teeth and sent Huang Shunsheng to the Guiyin Temple, which the Huang family had worshipped for generations.

Thanks to the donations from the Huang family over the years, the abbot accepted him without hesitation and bestowed upon him the Dharma name "Shihuai," hoping that he could let go of the suffering of the secular world and attain liberation as soon as possible.

Who would have thought that Shi Huai was actually a Buddhist genius!

He spent five years at Guiyin Temple and by the age of twelve, he had read through all the Buddhist scriptures in the library. The old monks in the temple took turns debating with him, but they were all rendered speechless and blushing.

After its reputation spread, it was immediately noticed by Lingxiao Temple, which has a profound Buddhist lineage.

That's the sect that was so audacious before, daring to send Naran to spy on the City God's Mansion.

Upon arriving at Lingxiao Temple, Shi Huai's talent fully blossomed. In just five years, he rose to become one of the best among the younger generation, gaining fame at the age of seventeen and becoming a key figure in the sect's cultivation program.

Despite his seemingly glamorous life, he was becoming increasingly confused: he entered Buddhism to seek liberation, but reality was completely different from the world described in Buddhist scriptures!

The elders of the sect are high and mighty, treating ordinary people like ants; the fellow disciples cultivate Buddhist principles, but have no Buddhist nature at all, their minds are full of fighting for power and seizing resources, how can they be expected to save all sentient beings?

After enduring another three years and witnessing too much injustice and unfairness in the cultivation world, the anger in his heart finally reached its peak.

One day, without warning, he clashed with his seniors and bluntly exposed their hypocrisy. As a result, he was forcefully suppressed and locked in a Buddhist pagoda used to suppress evildoers.

But no one expected that three months later, he would break through the pagoda, seize a monk's knife, and fight his way down the mountain gate, utterly destroying the reputation of Lingxiao Temple.

From then on, Shi Huai became the number one traitor of Lingxiao Temple and was wanted by the entire cultivation world.

Countless cultivators, eager to curry favor with Lingxiao Temple, came to hunt him down with knives, only to become the victims of his sword.

With countless blood debts to his name, he simply changed his Buddhist name to "Fuzhu," meaning to execute all those who deserve to die!

During his years on the run, he got carried away with killing and even went to the sects that had committed numerous evil deeds and protected villains, and was thus labeled a "demon" by the major righteous sects.

Logically speaking, with so many enemies and reckless actions, he should have been defeated long ago. But instead, he grew stronger with each battle, striking fear into the hearts of those who were hunting him down, and no one dared to provoke him easily anymore.

This monk was a hot-tempered idealist who hated evil to the extreme. He couldn't stand the slightest injustice and would never stop until blood was drawn.

Just when the major sects could no longer tolerate him and were gathering their forces to join forces to destroy him, the supernatural resurgence occurred. The times changed drastically, and the sects were busy dealing with the invasion of ghosts and monsters. They were too busy to take care of themselves, so they temporarily let him go.

The official assessment of him is quite fair: it is true that he was bloodthirsty and extreme, but it is also true that he hated evil and acted on behalf of Heaven.

Zhong Jiu saw right through him: "To put it bluntly, he's just an idealist who wants to use his own knife to clean up this murky world. He's not complicated at all."

Having observed him enough, Zhong Jiu raised his eyelids and ordered in a deep voice to the outside of the hall, "Bring him here."

Fu Zhu, who was wandering aimlessly, finally received guidance. A soul messenger quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "The City God requests the presence of the Taoist priest."

Fu Zhu nodded, suppressing his nervousness, and followed the soul messenger toward the City God Hall.

Upon reaching the palace entrance, the soul messenger took his leave and tactfully withdrew, leaving him alone to face the divine might within the palace.

Taking a deep breath, Fu Zhu pushed open the palace door and strode inside.

As soon as he entered the hall, a divine aura ten times stronger than outside pressed down on his chest, making him feel suffocated. In the distance, he could see the City God sitting on the main seat, surrounded by a mysterious halo, making it impossible to see his face clearly.

Indeed, the power of the gods is not to be looked at directly!

He composed himself, performed a respectful Buddhist salute, and said in a loud voice, "This humble monk submits to the law and pays respects to the City God!"

He is usually carefree and rough around the edges, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know manners. After all, he is a top student from Lingxiao Temple. He just hasn't met anyone who can make him bow willingly. Today, the City God is one of them.

Zhong Jiu chuckled to himself: "If this monk knew that the mortal who had argued with him about the 'benevolence of the City God' at the teahouse was actually the City God himself, his face would probably turn green as a leaf. Just thinking about it is hilarious."

On the surface, he remained dignified, getting straight to the point with a scrutinizing tone: "Monk, the murderous aura emanating from you is quite strong!"

Fu Zhu's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself: Is he going to settle old scores with me?

But he didn't back down. He straightened his back and retorted confidently, "My sword only kills those who deserve it! There's no ambiguity!"

"Oh?"

Zhong Jiu raised an eyebrow, deliberately teasing him, "But I've heard that many people who didn't deserve to die have died by your blade."

"The moment this humble monk drew his sword, not one of them was innocent!"

Fu Zhu shook his head, his eyes resolute. "They are either wicked or aid and abet evil. Killing them is acting on behalf of Heaven!"

Zhong Jiu was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "Many people say you are bloodthirsty and a demon."

Fu Zhu scoffed, curling his lip indifferently: "Anyone who says that is definitely no good! They're either accomplices of villains I've killed, or they're cut from the same cloth as those hypocrites. I can't be bothered with them."

Zhong Jiu chuckled inwardly: Just as the information described, he was indeed extreme! However, this unyielding spirit is good material for a judge. Before recruiting him, he just needs to be properly polished.

What pleased him even more was that although Fu Zhu was so nervous that his palms were sweating, he remained neither humble nor arrogant in the face of his questioning, and always stuck to his principles, which was the key.

Having finished his probing, Zhong Jiu cut to the chase: "You came all this way to see me, surely not to debate whether to kill or not? What important matter do you have to say?"

Fu Zhu immediately straightened his expression, took out a jade slip from his robes, and handed it over with both hands: "This humble monk has found the lair of the Thousand-Eyed Demon, the exact location of the City of Silent Annihilation! This is the scene I recorded; please take a look, City God!"

The soul messengers waiting outside the hall quickly stepped forward, took the jade slip, and respectfully presented it to Zhong Jiu.

Zhong Jiu infused a wisp of divine thought into the jade slip, and the images from it instantly flooded his mind, causing his gaze to darken and his body temperature to drop.

The scene recorded in Fuzhu was simply a living hell: a magnificent city, entirely built of flesh and blood, with walls tinged with an eerie dark red, and a heavy aura of malevolence rising into the sky like black mist, accumulating into dark clouds tens of meters thick, making it hard for people to breathe.

Thick, dark iron chains were everywhere in the city, binding emaciated souls. These souls were driven by vengeful ghosts to work tirelessly. If they slacked off even slightly, the vengeful ghost overseers would lash them mercilessly with barbed whips, their screams echoing throughout the city, sending chills down one's spine.

Throughout the entire ghost town, at least hundreds of thousands of vengeful ghosts roamed back and forth, each one fierce and menacing, their eyes filled with bloodthirsty madness.

At the very center of the ghost city stands a gigantic millstone of flesh and blood, as large as a small mountain. Hundreds of thousands of ghosts are forced to push the millstone to turn slowly. With each rotation, dark red blood flows out, dripping down the gaps in the millstone and merging into the earth's veins, making the aura of the entire ghost city grow stronger and stronger.

Pain, despair, bloodshed, violence—all the dark emotions intertwined, turning this place into a veritable hell.

Above the city gate hung a huge plaque with the three large characters "City of Annihilation" on it. It was made of countless human face bones, each bone bearing the lingering expression of pain, which sent chills down one's spine.

Even though Zhong Jiu was mentally prepared, he was still shocked by the sight: "The sins committed by this Thousand-Eyed Demon are simply too numerous to count! If he were to complete the city, even if I became the judge, it would take me quite some time to deal with him!"

He could see through it at a glance: this ghost city had already developed a spirit and was bound together with the Thousand-Eyed Demon. Once the city was successfully built, the two would completely merge into one. At that time, if you wanted to kill the Thousand-Eyed Demon, you would have to destroy the entire Silent City.