From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

A fierce and brutal battle left behind only devastation.

The Goddess Huai Mu self-destructed her natal demon core, perishing together with the evil Taoist. The evil Taoist, barely clinging to life, was beheaded by Zhang Zhixuan with a single sword strike, ultimately meeting his end.

Despite his elaborate schemes and near-success, the wicked ultimately triumph over good and meet a tragic end.

Just when Zhang Zhixuan thought it was all over, the earth suddenly trembled, the sky shook, and the world seemed about to collapse.

Amidst the cracking sounds, Zhang Zhixuan was shocked to see countless cracks appearing in the world around him, like cracks appearing on porcelain.

"It's over, it's all over..." The old locust tree's mother's weak voice echoed from its empty, broken trunk, a voice that revealed the relief of being freed from pain.

Zhang Zhixuan bowed to the withered trunk of the old locust tree and bid farewell, saying, "May you have a safe journey."

"Thank you, my lord..." As the last words of the locust tree fell, the light on the locust tree trunk completely dissipated, turning into a lifeless, withered branch.

The heretic and the old locust tree were dead, the array's core was completely destroyed, and the sealing array that had been set up was also completely ineffective. The first ray of sunlight shone through the broken hole in the array and shone directly on the heretic's corpse. A harsh "sizzling" sound rang out, and in no time, not even a trace of the corpse remained.

Countless faint, ethereal figures escaped from the remains of the old locust tree and flew off to various parts of the village.

The entire formation completely dissipated, a gust of wind swept away the stench, the sky began to lighten with the first light of dawn, and the golden sun pierced through the clouds, finally shining warmly on the land of Luohuai Village.

Zhang Zhixuan stood beside the broken tree trunk and looked towards the village. Not long after, the wooden doors of every household, which had been tightly closed, creaked open.

One by one, the villagers emerged from their houses, still half-asleep. They looked at each other, their faces filled with confusion, as if they had just woken from a long nightmare.

The suffocating feeling, like being paralyzed by a ghost, vanished without a trace, and at this moment, I felt completely relaxed.

Zhang Zhixuan once again walked into the village alone. The villagers looked at him blankly. In their eyes, Zhang Zhixuan was a complete outsider. They had never seen him before and did not know why he was in their village.

The young boy suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Seeing Zhang Zhixuan in the distance, he quickly ran up to him, carefully examined him, and, confirming that he was indeed seeing a living person, hurriedly asked, "Big brother! Are you alright? Where is the Goddess Huai? Weren't you taken away by her to be her groom?"

"Me? I'm perfectly fine. As for being a groom, I'm not worthy of it. From now on, your village will no longer have the Goddess Huai."

"Big brother, you're amazing! Even with the powerful magic of the Sophora Flower Goddess, you still managed to defeat her!"

Zhang Zhixuan shook his head and denied it, saying, "That big locust tree was also a victim. The real culprit is someone else. My mother and I joined forces and eliminated the culprit. However, my mother was too badly injured, and her spiritual consciousness has completely dissipated."

Upon hearing Zhang Zhixuan's words, the boy's thin face showed disbelief. But when he saw the severely damaged old locust tree at the village entrance, he couldn't contain his emotions and shouted repeatedly, "The Locust Tree Goddess is dead! The Locust Tree Goddess is dead!"

Zhang Zhixuan was speechless and laughed. He had already emphasized that Huai's mother was also a victim, but the boy still thought that Huai's mother was the instigator.

"Ah Sheng, what's wrong with you? What do you mean, the Goddess Huai is dead?" The villagers around looked at the boy blankly, seemingly remembering nothing.

Just as the boy was about to explain, Zhang Zhixuan smiled and stopped him: "It's better if they don't remember. Let them forget."

"Are we just going to let it go like this?"

"Forget it, I have important things to do."

After speaking, Zhang Zhixuan walked up to an old man, cupped his hands in greeting, and asked, "Old man, I am passing through your esteemed place. May I ask how to get to Peony Town?"

The old man glanced at Zhang Zhixuan, his brows furrowing slightly on his aged face. "Peony Town? What are you going to that wretched place for?"

"Old man, what do you mean by that?"

"That's a ghost town; nobody lives there."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhixuan was immediately taken aback. The old man on the boat reminded him that the town had long been deserted and uninhabited. Now, the old man from Luohuai Village was saying that it was a ghost town with no living people.

"You mean the town is full of ghosts?"

The old man shook his head: "I don't know. Ever since I was a child, my family has warned me not to go to that town, saying it's a ghost town. I don't know if it's inhabited by the ghosts you're talking about."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhixuan pondered for a moment and guessed: In some local dialects, "荒了" and "鬼了" both mean "no one is here." These two probably meant that Peony Town is a deserted place, abandoned and uninhabited.

Having figured this out, Zhang Zhixuan stopped thinking about it. Regardless of whether the town was inhabited by people or ghosts, he still had to meet up with Pei Shouzhen and the others. He would have to pass through Mudan Town to get to Panlong Mountain. With a group of professional exorcists from Longhu Mountain by his side, what was there to be afraid of?

"Grandpa, do you know which direction Mudan Town is in?"

The old man pondered for a moment, then pointed him in the right direction: "It's roughly outside our village, further east, there's a mountain range, and it's at the foot of the mountain."

"Thank you," Zhang Zhixuan said, then slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the village.

Zhang Zhixuan walked out of the village and then walked another two or three miles, his steps becoming heavier.

He summoned the White Tiger puppet and the Vermilion Bird puppet, one to serve as his mount and the other as his scout. With the paper fairy always by his side, he could perfectly slack off.

Having not slept all night and having just gone through a fierce battle, Zhang Zhixuan was exhausted both physically and mentally. After taking a few bites of dry, hard steamed buns and drinking some water, he lay down on the back of the white tiger puppet and fell fast asleep.

After traveling for about an hour, the outline of the town finally appeared ahead.

Zhang Zhixuan yawned as he sat on the back of the white tiger puppet, gazing at the town in the distance. At that moment, however, his brows furrowed.

"Huh? Wasn't it said that Peony Town was deserted and abandoned long ago?"

"But the town of Mudan before us is bustling with activity, its gates wide open, people coming and going, peddlers carrying loads, cart drivers, and all sorts of vendors, their shouts rising and falling, it's very lively, there's not a trace of desolation here."

Zhang Zhixuan was suspicious, so he activated his Treasure-Seeing Eye. At a glance, the huge town looked just as ordinary as it did.

He retrieved the White Tiger and the Vermilion Bird, and then walked into the town.

The shops on both sides of the street were packed with customers. Steamed buns were being served at the steaming bun shops, and wine flags were being displayed at the wine shops. Some people were busy, while others were at leisure, just like the ordinary people in the town.

Zhang Zhixuan wandered around the street twice, when his gaze was suddenly drawn to a tall and conspicuous temple in the distance. Curious, he walked closer and saw three large characters written on the temple's plaque: "Flower Goddess Shrine".

"Does this town worship a flower goddess instead of a Buddha or a Taoist deity? Just like how Luohuai Village worships the old locust tree?"

Zhang Zhixuan stepped onto the steps and walked step by step to the entrance of the Flower Goddess Temple. Just as he was about to step inside, he suddenly noticed a strange couplet hanging on the temple gate: "Spring melts the red buds, in the daytime it brings fragrance to welcome guests; at night the cold temple is locked, at midnight do not step in."