What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

"The situation at the Folklore Bureau must be even worse, right?"

I put down my chopsticks and asked a question.

"Um."

Jin Wanliang nodded, his expression becoming even more solemn.

"That night, the Folklore Bureau deployed every available person to ensure the safety of the citizens."

Li Qing took a bite of rice and continued:

"I heard from people in the bureau that seven members of the action team were killed that night."

Even the elite special task force, which specializes in dealing with evil cultivators, lost two members inside.

Those two special operations team members were torn to pieces while trying to hold off a rampaging, century-old corpse demon, buying time for the residents of a building to evacuate.

The private room fell silent, with only the faint hum of the air conditioner vents breaking the silence.

I picked up my teacup and took a small sip.

The warm tea flowed down my throat, but it couldn't dispel the faint heaviness in my chest.

This is reality; there aren't that many miracles and fairy tales.

Ordinary people are far too vulnerable in the face of those strange forces.

Those who stand in front to shield others from disaster are using their own flesh and blood to fill the cracks in this world.

"The dead are gone, but the living must continue to move forward."

I said something slowly and picked up my chopsticks again.

"Eat more, there are still many things to take care of."

The dinner was eaten quietly.

After dinner, Jin Wanliang went to handle his business, Li Qing went back to his room to play games, and I stayed in the suite to rest.

The next morning, the sky over Jiangcheng was somewhat overcast.

After washing up and changing into clean clothes, I left Tingyuxuan and took a taxi straight to the Folklore Bureau building.

The atmosphere inside the Folklore Bureau was more solemn than ever before.

The staff members in the lobby were walking briskly, and each of them had an undisguised look of fatigue and solemnity on their faces.

I scanned my face at the front desk and easily made my way to Lu Yan's office on the third floor.

When I knocked and went in, Lu Yan was buried in a thick pile of documents.

She was wearing a black shirt, her hair was simply pulled back, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Hearing the noise, she looked up. When she saw it was me, her tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

"You really can't sit still."

Lu Yan put down her pen and rubbed her temples.

"The disinfectant smell in the hospital is too strong, and I can't sleep well."

I walked to the desk, pulled out a chair, sat down, and looked at her.

"You look weaker than I am, someone who just got out of the hospital."

"There's just too much to clean up afterward."

Lu Yan gave a wry smile.

Then, she opened a drawer, took out a long, black, rectangular sandalwood box, and pushed it in front of me.

"Your things. I put them away for you after you fell unconscious that night."

I opened the box.

The black bone needles and three willow-leaf scalpels were all inside, perfectly intact.

I carefully put the bone needles away from my body and put the willow-leaf knife back into the scabbard at my waist.

That familiar sense of security returned to me.

"That night, fragments of the Nine Provinces Cauldron were found underground at the City God Temple..."

I looked at Lu Yan and suddenly thought of that high-ranking guardian of the cauldron, and said.

"Nothing was left."

Lu Yan shook her head, her brows furrowing slightly.

"The scene was too chaotic that night. After Senior Tiangong and Director Lei arrived, they focused on suppressing the out-of-control array core."

By the time everything calms down, it will be too late to chase after them.

I nodded; this was exactly what I expected.

That kind of divine object won't fall into our hands so easily.

"Alright, take your things and go back to rest."

There won't be any major disturbances in Jiangcheng during this time; you should focus on recovering.

Lu Yan glanced at the pile of documents on the table and then dismissed him.

"Okay, take care of yourself."

I didn't linger; I stood up and walked out of the office.

After leaving the Folklore Bureau, I neither returned to my rented room nor went to the funeral home.

Now that I have nothing to do, it's the perfect time to figure out what changes are happening in my body.

After driving my car out of the Folklore Bureau's underground parking garage, I navigated to the address of the abandoned factory in the suburbs.

This is the very place where I last went into seclusion to break through to the Demon Core stage.

An hour later, I stood in the underground chamber of the abandoned factory.

The place remains exactly as it was when I left, with dust and a slight musty smell in the air.

The surrounding walls are made of thick reinforced concrete, providing excellent sound insulation.

No matter how much noise you make inside, no one outside will notice.

I walked to the center of the secret room, took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and cleared my mind of all distractions.

"call--"

I slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and with a thought, the evil energy in my dantian was instantly activated.

The evil pill that was suspended in my dantian began to spin faster, and the evil energy surged into my limbs and bones like a flood bursting its banks.

This time, I clearly felt a completely different power.

This malevolent aura contained a warm, jade-like luster, and even in its deepest depths, faint golden patterns shimmered.

As the malevolent energy emanated from my body, the air around me instantly became viscous.

There was no howling wind or flying sand and stones, but the temperature in the entire sealed room was strangely dropping.

What's even more terrifying is an invisible sense of oppression.

That is the Dragon's Might.

Although it was only a gift from a remnant soul, the natural pressure emanating from its superior truly permeated my murderous aura.

I can sense that if an ordinary wandering spirit were standing here right now, this aura alone would be enough to immobilize it.

It could even cause one's soul to be completely destroyed.

"The foundation has indeed become much deeper."

I muttered something to myself.

I also did a simple test on my physical strength, but it wasn't much different from before.

That makes sense; a mere wisp of remnant soul, no matter how much you add, can't be transferred to the physical body.

What surprised me most was the enhancement of my mental strength.

At this moment, I am standing still with my eyes closed, spreading my mental energy outward like ripples on water.

Five meters, ten meters, twenty meters...

It wasn't until the tentacles of his mental energy extended to about fifty meters that he felt a slight resistance.

Within this range, every speck of dust on the ground and every tiny fluctuation in the airflow are clearly reflected in my mind.

I raised my right hand, put my index and middle fingers together, and flicked it slightly.

"Whoosh!"

The black bone needle placed close to the body instantly transformed into a black light that was almost invisible to the naked eye, and shot out silently.

I once again spared a sliver of my spiritual energy.

The two willow-leaf knives at his waist, along with one hidden in his sleeve, simultaneously emitted a crisp hum and automatically unsheathed themselves.

Under my control, the bone needles are like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, targeting blind spots.

The three willow-leaf blades transformed into three silver streaks, tumbling and flying through the air, carrying a sharp killing intent.

With my eyes closed, I simultaneously manipulated four magical artifacts to weave an impenetrable web of death within this underground space, without feeling any discomfort.

Moreover, I still have plenty of mental energy.

This means that I haven't yet reached the limit of my current ability to control my qi.