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

River of Oblivion...

Fu Zhu swallowed hard, his eyes wide open.

He had only seen records of the River of Oblivion in ancient books and always thought it was just a legendary existence. He never expected to actually see it today, and that Zhong Jiu would use it to break through the city!

Just how many cards does this Lord Zhong still have up his sleeve?

The massive flow of the River of Oblivion poured down relentlessly, quickly submerging the entire City of Silent Annihilation at its center. The river water, like a leech, frantically corroded every inch of this ghost city.

As if possessing a sense of self, the City of Silent Annihilation began frantically drawing upon the earth vein power of the Nine Yin Land underground in an attempt to resist the corrosive influence of the River of Oblivion in order to protect itself.

The corrosion rate of the River of Oblivion is too fast. The power of the earth veins is instantly swallowed up as soon as it is drawn out, and it cannot keep up with the rate of consumption!

Click—click—

Soon, the balance of the formation in the Silent City was completely broken, and huge cracks began to appear on the city wall. Black ghost energy kept surging out of the cracks, but it was instantly assimilated and corroded by the water of the River of Oblivion.

The black iron chains that had bound the city and imprisoned millions of souls broke completely after a violent tremor!

Bang bang bang!

Three deafening explosions rang out in succession, and the plaque above the city gate of Silent City, engraved with the three blood-red characters "Silent City," shattered into countless small pieces, scattering across the ground.

This magnificent ghost city, painstakingly built by the Thousand-Eyed Demon and using the blood and essence of countless souls, was utterly destroyed by the corrosive waters of the River of Oblivion!

Zhong Jiu's eyes narrowed, and he immediately gripped the gourd again. With a thought, the originally surging River of Oblivion seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, and began to flow slowly backward, surging back into the gourd.

He knew that if he delayed any longer, once the river water rushed into the city of Silent Annihilation, the vengeful ghosts would be swept to the bottom of the river, but the nearly ten million souls of the people trapped in the city would also suffer an undeserved disaster, which was not the result he wanted.

As the waters of the River of Oblivion were slowly drawn back into the gourd, the old ghosts in the river became anxious. They roared and struggled wildly. They had finally been released and hadn't even had a chance to devour other souls before being locked back into the gourd. They were filled with resentment.

But why would Chung Kau care about what these people think?

The moment he withdrew the waters of the River of Oblivion, he flicked his finger, and twelve Blazing Flame Banners flew out like twelve red lightning bolts, instantly surrounding the struggling vengeful ghosts.

"Awesome!"

As soon as the word was uttered, all twelve Flame Banners burst into flames, the golden flames instantly merging into a giant fire cage, trapping all the evil spirits within.

The city is engulfed in flames, and the spectacle has officially begun!

"Awooo—!"

The vengeful spirits were scorched by the raging fire, letting out mournful screams as their bodies rapidly melted in the flames, turning into wisps of black smoke that dissipated into the air.

This Blazing Flame Banner is a magical artifact specifically designed to subdue ghosts. The flames contain sacred yang energy, which has a deadly killing power against fierce ghosts!

"Other departments, follow me to save lives!"

At Zhong Jiu's command, he simultaneously threw the Soul-Suppressing Banner into the air.

The underworld is not yet fully developed, and it is unknown whether the "Six Paths of Reincarnation" system is functioning properly. These souls of the dead have nowhere to go and can only be temporarily placed in the Soul-Suppressing Banner.

The crowd, who were already prepared, immediately responded and rushed to the City of Annihilation to search for and rescue the trapped souls.

Guided by the Soul-Suppressing Banner, the terrified souls of the people were quickly calmed down, turning into specks of light and flying into the banner.

In just half an hour, the souls of nearly ten million people were transferred to the Soul-Suppressing Banner, while the vengeful ghosts trapped in the fire cage were burned to a crisp, with only a few stronger ones barely clinging to life.

But Zhong Jiu clearly had no intention of giving them any chance. He snorted coldly and activated the Blazing Flame Banner once again. The flames instantly surged several times over, completely engulfing the few remaining fierce ghosts.

The fire burned all night long, until the next morning, when it finally reduced the entire Silent City to ashes, leaving not even a trace of ghostly energy behind.

"Fall back, prepare to return."

Zhong Jiu put away his magical artifact, his voice remaining calm.

At this moment, the sky was beginning to lighten, and the sun was slowly rising.

The dark clouds that lingered over the city of Silent Extinction melted away like snow under the sunlight, disappearing completely.

Rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds, falling warmly and brightly on this land that was once shrouded in ghostly energy.

That once feared lair of ghosts was reduced to ashes and never existed again!

Just then, a system notification sounded in Zhong Jiu's mind:

[Ding! Main quest [Breaking Through the City to Rescue People] has been completed. Congratulations, host! You have received the following rewards: Bridge of Helplessness (not yet unlocked), Millions of Merit Points!]

Zhong Jiu understood that, like the other buildings he had obtained before, the Bridge of Helplessness could only be unlocked and used after returning to the underworld.

But the way that million merits descended was somewhat unexpected to him.

Suddenly, countless colorful rays of light appeared in the sky, raining down like flowers from the heavens and golden lotuses blooming from the earth. Golden beams of light shot down from the clouds, eventually converging into a thick beam that landed precisely on Zhong Jiu.

Immediately afterwards, a golden cloud of merit, exuding a rich and sacred aura, slowly descended from the sky and drifted toward Zhong Jiu.

As soon as the cloud of merit approached, the magical artifacts on Zhong Jiu's body, such as the Blazing Flame Banner, the City God Seal, and the Fallen Bell, trembled violently. Even his official robes released a strong aura of desire, as if they wanted to absorb the cloud of merit.

Zhong Jiu knew that as long as he infused these merits into the magical artifacts, they would instantly undergo a transformation and become much more powerful. However, he did not do that. Instead, with a thought, he directly absorbed the entire cloud of merits into his body.

The next second, a golden halo slowly appeared behind Zhong Jiu's head, radiating a soft and holy light—it was the Wheel of Merit!

With this halo of merit protecting you, you will be able to achieve twice the results with half the effort in both cultivation and combat, and you will also be able to resist the erosion of all evil spirits!

"This...this is a blessing from heaven?!"

Fu Zhu stood aside, dumbfounded.

What a merit!

That's a legendary existence!

Only those who make great contributions to heaven and earth and all living beings can receive the merits bestowed by heaven!

It is said that the power of this merit has endless uses; it can not only improve one's cultivation level, but also bring good fortune and ward off evil, making one immune to all evil!

Fu Zhu had always thought it was just a legend in ancient books, but seeing it with his own eyes today, he realized it was true!

Lord Zhong actually gained such a massive amount of merit all by himself. This strength and achievement is simply unbelievable!

Buzz!

Just then, the roar of a helicopter rotor suddenly broke the silence of the scene.

Clearly, the authorities have noticed the significant commotion and have dispatched reconnaissance aircraft to investigate.

Zhong Jiu glanced up at the two helicopters approaching overhead and said calmly, "Sound the retreat! All troops, withdraw!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and disappeared from the spot in a flash.

The others followed suit, quickly retreating with their soul soldiers.

Those soul soldiers were incredibly fast; the moment the helicopter approached, they vanished without a trace, leaving only a blurry afterimage for the pilot, as if it were just an illusion.

The two pilots circled in the sky in their helicopter, looking down at the scene below, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief, their breathing becoming rapid.

"My God! The Forbidden Zone of Demonic Appearances... the Forbidden Zone of Demonic Appearances has been breached!"

"Who on earth did this?! To actually wipe out the Demon's Forbidden Zone! This is simply a miracle!"

The two communicated excitedly via radio, their voices filled with excitement and awe.

They quickly took pictures of the ground and then piloted the helicopter back to base as fast as possible.

pedal, pedal, pedal...

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the provincial capital's special operations department building, and an emergency meeting was quickly convened.

The atmosphere in the conference room was both solemn and excited.

Zhang Yunxiao, the head of the Special Operations Department, stood in front of the large screen, holding a document in his hand. His face was filled with disbelief, and he said in a trembling voice, "We just received news from the front lines that the Demon Forbidden Zone, located at the junction of Tear Valley and Tear Spring River, has been completely wiped out!"

"What?!"

"What did you say? The forbidden area of ​​demonic possession has been wiped out?"

"This can't be! That's a forbidden area for demons! It's an area that humans can't even approach or detect. How could it be wiped out?"

"My God! This is absolutely fantastic news! The forbidden area where demons have been troubling us for so many years has actually been solved!"

As soon as Zhang Yunxiao finished speaking, the conference room erupted in excitement. Everyone was discussing it excitedly, their faces filled with shock and elation.