Summoning the Gods: Start by creating the Eternal Night.

The next day, at noon

It has been half a day since the four of them, Jiangchen, Houqing, Hanba, and Ajie, left the City of Sin.

Sunlight filters through the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light.

The four of them were strolling leisurely along a forest path on the outskirts of Youshui City.

The older sister was still holding a string of candied hawthorns she had brought from Sin City.

They were eating with great relish, their mouths slurring their words:

"I'm saying, we've been out here for most of the day, and we haven't run into anyone who's blind to our own faults."

"Did Togako make a mistake?"

The surrendered official glanced at her: "What, are you itching for a fight?"

"No, not at all," the older sister said, licking the sugar crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

"Just wandering around aimlessly, it's boring."

As they spoke, the outline of Youshui City could be vaguely seen ahead.

"Youshui City is just ahead, let's go take a look." The surrendered minister raised his chin.

Hou Qing suddenly sniffed, his eyes narrowing:

"There's a bloody smell coming from the city."

The drought demon raised an eyebrow: "Looks like something's happened in the city. Let's go! We need to hurry over there."

The four quickened their pace and soon arrived at the gate of Youshui City.

The city gates were wide open, and several desiccated corpses lay on the ground, their skin shriveled like tree bark, a horrifying sight.

"Let's go in and take a look."

The four entered the city and saw that the streets were littered with similar dried corpses, and the deathly silence was chilling.

"These people have had all their blood drained."

Hou Qing squatted down, touched a corpse with his fingertips, and said in a deep voice.

The surrendered official glanced around and said, "Look around and see if there are any survivors."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a scream came from ahead:

"Ah~!"

"You dare to commit evil deeds in my Youzhou! The city lord will never let you get away with this!"

This was followed by a strange laugh: "Hehehe, we're not afraid of your Sin City!"

Upon hearing the sound, the four surrendered officials quickly approached.

Just then, I saw a man dressed in scarlet clothes.

He was placing his hand on the head of the monk dressed in the attire of the Sin City's secret guards.

His face was full of greed, and the body of the guard visibly withered away.

"court death!"

The surrendered official's eyes turned cold, and with a flick of his finger, a sharp gust of wind shot out.

"Bang!"

Before the man in the scarlet clothes could react, his head exploded into a bloody mist.

The surrendered official stepped forward, looking at the dying guard: "Can you still speak? Tell me what happened?"

The Sin City guards were now on their last legs, struggling to lift their heads.

After recognizing the four people, a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes:

"Four... lords..."

Before he could finish speaking, his head lolled to the side, and he breathed his last.

"Hey, finish what you've got before you die!" the older sister said, pursing her lips.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

A dozen or so monks dressed in scarlet robes heard the commotion and rushed over.

The leader was a man with triangular eyes. When he saw the four surrendered officials, a wary glint flashed in his eyes.

"Are you also from Sin City?"

He could sense a faint aura of danger emanating from the four surrendered officials.

So instead of taking immediate action, he asked in a tentative tone.

The surrendered official also sized him up and the dozen or so men behind him.

He noticed that apart from the leader, who was at the mid-stage of the Celestial Realm, the rest were all Grandmasters to Void Realm experts, and said calmly:

"So what if it is? So what if it isn't?"

Seeing the other person's perfunctory attitude, a hint of displeasure flashed in the man's eyes, but he still patiently said:

"I am Liao Buqi, Elder of the Qiongzhou Demon Alliance."

"If you are not from Sin City, please refrain from meddling in other people's business."

"The Demon Alliance?" The older sister tilted her head.

"Never heard of it. Why did you kill everyone in the city?"

Liao Buqi's face darkened.

His Demon Alliance is quite famous in the Central Region recently, yet these people have never heard of it.

He suddenly realized that the surrendered officials might not be so great after all, and his tone became unfriendly:

"You don't even know that my Demon Alliance is the overlord of Qiongzhou? It seems you're not a very powerful force."

Hou Qing scoffed, "What level is your Demon Alliance? You think you're worthy of our attention?"

"Dare to disrespect my Demon Alliance? You're asking for death!"

Liao Buqi roared angrily, and with a flick of his sleeve, several green needles coated with deadly poison shot towards Hou Qing.

Hou Qing swayed, easily dodging the attack, a cold glint flashing in his eyes:

"You dare lay a hand on me? Looks like you don't know how powerful I am until I teach you a lesson!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already approached like a ghost, striking out with a palm that sent a fierce gust of wind through the air.

Liao Buqi hadn't expected his opponent to be so fast, and hastily summoned a poison shield.

"Bang!"

When their palms and shields collided, Liao Buqi was forced to retreat repeatedly, his arm went numb, and a crack appeared on the poison shield.

He dared not be careless any longer, and a red mist rose around him, enveloping Hou Qing.

"A mere trick! You dare to show off in front of me!"

Hou Qing moved again, dodging the poisonous fog, and flicked out several streams of corpse energy from his fingertips, shooting them toward Liao Buqi.

"Hou Qing, stop playing around and capture him for questioning."

Just as Hou Qing was toying with Liao Buqi, the surrendered official suddenly spoke up.

Upon hearing this, Hou Qing's eyes flashed with a fierce light.

"Ghostly Steps"

He appeared in front of Liao Buqi in an instant and struck him in the chest with a palm.

"puff!"

Liao Buqi coughed up blood and flew backward, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Elder!"

The Demon Alliance disciples behind him tried to step forward, but were met with a cold glance from the Drought Demon.

"Um!"

They were so frightened that they dared not move. The oppressive aura emanating from the drought demon robbed them of even the courage to resist.

Hou Qing walked up to Liao Buqi, stepped on his chest, and looked down at him:

"Still dare to lay a hand on me? Now you know how powerful I am, right?"

"Tell me, why are you killing and sucking blood within the borders of Youzhou?"

Liao Buqi's eyes were filled with resentment and venom, yet he remained defiant:

"I advise you to release me now if you know what's good for you, or my Demon Alliance will not let you off the hook!"

"Still being stubborn, huh?" Hou Qing suddenly increased the pressure on his feet.

"Ahhh!"

Liao Buqi screamed in agony, spitting out blood.

"I'm giving you one last chance. Will you tell me or not?"

Liao Buqi saw Hou Qing's icy gaze and knew that the other party truly dared to kill him.

In the end, he gave in and quickly begged for mercy.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

"We were ordered to come to Youzhou to collect essence blood."

"Our Great Demon Lord is currently attempting to break through to a higher realm and needs a large amount of cultivators' essence blood, so he sent us out."

"What's your Great Demon Lord's name? What's his cultivation level?"

"Our Great Demon Lord is called Blood..."

"Ahhh!"

Before he could finish speaking, Liao Buqi's shrill, inhuman screams echoed all around.

He clutched his head tightly with both hands, his body convulsing violently.

The skin and flesh shrivel and turn black at a visible rate.

Within moments, he could no longer hold on, his eyes wide open, his death appearance grotesque and terrifying.

The surrendered official walked over and glanced at Liao Buqi's corpse:

"His soul has been sealed; it will self-destruct if any secrets are leaked."

"What a pity, we haven't found out anything about the Demon Alliance yet," Hou Qing frowned.

The drought demon pointed to the Demon Alliance disciples kneeling on the ground: "What should we do with these people?"

The surrendered official said calmly, "Kill them. They're just a bunch of small fry; they probably don't know much."

Upon hearing this, the disciples immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy:

"Please spare me, senior!"

"We were just following orders, we didn't intend to kill anyone..."

With a blank expression, the drought demon pulled out two dark, iron lumps from his pocket and casually tossed them over.

"Bang! Bang!!"

Two loud explosions followed, and more than a dozen people were instantly blown to pieces.

The drought demon looked at its "masterpiece" and stroked its chin:

"It's still a bit too weak; we'll have to make some more modifications when we get back."

The older sister clapped her hands: "There's no one left in the city. We can't even buy anything to eat."

"Let's go. I've already sent a message to Koji; he'll send someone to handle things here."

The surrendered minister nodded: "Yes, then let's go check elsewhere to see if there are any more members of the Demon Alliance."

"At the same time, report this matter back to the Ghost Emperors!"

The four turned and left, leaving behind only a desolate city and a scene of utter devastation.