After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

The torch was thrown over.

When the first spark flew from the dry firewood, the people roared even more fervently.

Thick black smoke billowed, flames scorched, and waves of heat swept over them, swallowing Zhou Tong and Jiang Che's last words in the crackling flames.

In the crowd, a slender young man slowly raised his head.

Lin Zhixu looked in the direction of the Imperial Preceptor, his eyes surging with murderous intent.

As if sensing something, the Imperial Advisor suddenly turned his head, his gaze piercing through the panicked crowd and landing directly on Lin Zhixu.

A cryptic smile slowly crept onto his lips.

Lin Zhixu's eyes suddenly turned cold.

The next moment, he put two fingers to his lips and whistled a clear whistle.

The whistle pierced the sky, and he himself flickered and disappeared into the spot as a streak of light.

Almost simultaneously, the sky suddenly darkened. Vast, dark clouds surged in from nowhere, blotting out the sun.

A fierce wind blew, sand and stones flew, and the banners around the altar fluttered in the wind.

The people were terrified by this sudden turn of events and scattered in all directions, pushing and shoving each other to retreat, creating chaos in the scene.

Dozens of dark figures emerged from the surrounding woods, rushing towards the altar like ghosts.

They were all incredibly agile, and wherever they went, the imperial guards and masked puppets who tried to stop them fell to the ground, screams echoing everywhere.

The Imperial Advisor remained completely calm.

He stood with his hands behind his back before the altar, letting the gale whip his robes, his smile deepening even further: "You've finally come. I thought you wouldn't dare come. If you really hadn't come, that would have been truly disappointing."

The law enforcement team had already closed in.

Several long swords slashed down simultaneously, their blades weaving together to form an impenetrable killing net.

The Imperial Advisor raised his hand and waved it.

As the wide sleeves billowed, a grayish-white shockwave suddenly rippled outwards, sending the two law enforcement officers at the forefront flying, knives and all, crashing heavily to the ground, spitting blood.

Manager Liu's expression changed slightly.

It seems that the Grand Preceptor's cultivation level is even stronger than he expected.

"All of you, step back," Steward Liu ordered coldly.

Upon receiving the order, the law enforcement officers withdrew and ceased their fighting.

Manager Liu stepped forward, his aura surging, his black outfit fluttering even without wind.

He slowly drew the dark blue longsword from his waist.

The Imperial Advisor sensed the aura emanating from Steward Liu, his expression changed slightly, and he finally became serious.

"It seems you've found a pretty good helper."

The two were locked in combat in an instant.

Sword light and black mist intertwined, and a fierce wind swept through the air, causing the stone bricks around the altar to crack inch by inch.

The two exchanged blows, and for a time they were deadlocked, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Lin Zhixu took the opportunity to sneak onto the altar.

The fire had been extinguished, but thick smoke billowed out, making it impossible to open one's eyes.

He waved his hand to extinguish the flames at Zhou Tong and Jiang Che's feet and cut the iron chains binding them.

Zhou Tong's eyes were stinging from the smoke. She looked up, her vision blurred, and saw Lin Zhixu's handsome face. She froze for a moment, then burst into tears, crying, "Senior Brother Lin! You've come to save us! I knew I wasn't meant to die!"

Lin Zhixu's temples throbbed from his shout, and she quickly covered his mouth, saying, "Shut up, say less, save your energy for running away."

Zhou Tong nodded vigorously.

Lin Zhixu then looked at Jiang Che, whose face was pale but who was still relatively lucid. Jiang Che grinned at him and said, "Junior Brother Lin, thank you."

Lin Zhixu took out two pills from his pocket and stuffed them into his mouth. He grabbed one in each hand and, taking advantage of the thick smoke and chaos around him, gritted his teeth and rushed out.

On the other side, the battle between Steward Liu and the Imperial Advisor suddenly took a turn for the worse.

Despite taking a sword blow, the Imperial Advisor seized the opportunity to strike out with a palm, hitting Steward Liu's wrist, which was gripping the sword.

The sword flew out of his hand, leaving a cold streak in the air before piercing a crevice in the stone beside the altar.

The Imperial Advisor steadied himself, took a breath, and a smug look appeared on his face: "It seems you're going to lose."

Manager Liu lowered his eyes, moved his wrist which was numb from the shock, and suddenly laughed.

"I was going to leave you a whole corpse." He slowly raised his head, the killing intent in his eyes spreading like a tangible force. "Too bad, you insisted on courting death."

Before he finished speaking, he stomped his foot hard, and the ground exploded, creating a deep crater.

He actually abandoned his sword, and like a ferocious beast that had suddenly erupted, he swung his fist at the Imperial Preceptor.

The Imperial Advisor was greatly alarmed and unleashed both palms, forming a barrier of black energy in front of him.

Manager Liu's punch, with unstoppable force, smashed through the barrier and landed squarely on the Imperial Preceptor.

The Imperial Advisor was sent flying backward. He quickly steadied himself, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Manager Liu changed his moves extremely quickly, unleashing a barrage of punches, elbows, knees, and kicks at the Grand Preceptor like a storm.

Each strike carried immense force, creating a dull thud as it hit empty air.

The Grand Preceptor was entangled in close combat and unable to break free. Caught off guard, he was punched in the chest and sent flying backward, crashing into a stone pillar on the altar and spitting out blood.

He knelt on one knee, clutching his chest, staring at Steward Liu in horror: "You're actually a body cultivator! Just who are you?!"

Steward Liu approached step by step: "Who I am is not important. What is important is that you are about to meet your ancestors."

The Imperial Advisor was covered in blood, but suddenly burst into laughter.

"Fine! Fine! I never expected you to push me to this point. How interesting! Since that's the case—"

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, and black energy surged around him, erupting like a volcano and instantly engulfing the entire altar.

The fleeing civilians were caught up by the black mist. Their bodies suddenly stiffened, their expressions froze, their eyes turned white, and then, as if they had lost their souls, they slowly turned around and rushed towards Steward Liu like walking corpses.

Manager Liu's expression changed drastically.

"You actually captured their souls! So that's what you were planning."

The Imperial Advisor scrambled to his feet, wiped the blood from his mouth, and laughed maniacally: "Why do you think I let them come to witness the ceremony? Do you really think I care about their pitiful reverence?"

Manager Liu punched one person away and kicked another away, but there were too many people, and they were all ordinary people who were being controlled.

He couldn't kill him, and he couldn't let him go either; he could only fight and retreat.

The Imperial Advisor watched the spectacle with amusement. "Speaking of which, I should thank you for this. If you hadn't pushed me to this point, I wouldn't have used up all this 'food' ahead of time."

Manager Liu's eyes were heavy: "As expected, he is an evil cultivator. How despicable."

The Imperial Advisor laughed loudly: "I'll take that as a compliment."

Manager Liu sneered and casually swatted away a civilian who lunged at him to bite him: "You don't think I care about these ignorant humans, do you?"

The Imperial Advisor smiled meaningfully: "It's alright, if you don't care, then I naturally don't care either. But there is one person you will definitely care about."

Manager Liu's expression changed drastically, and he looked sharply in the direction Lin Zhixu had left.

not good!

At this moment, Lin Zhixu, who was leading Zhou Tong and Jiang Che in their retreat, suddenly stopped.

He froze on the spot, his body trembling slightly, and wisps of black energy uncontrollably spilled out of his body, wrapping around his wrists, neck, and cheeks.