My cultivation method shines upon all heavens.

Thirty li outside the north city lies Thousand Eyes Mountain.

On the hillside, jagged rocks and withered yellow grass trembled in the wind.

Lu Ming huddled beneath a huge brown rock, his breath nearly stopped.

In the sky, a bald eagle spread its wings, which were nearly ten feet long, and slowly circled in the low sky.

Its sharp, golden eyes scanned repeatedly across the gravel slope, the withered grass, and the crevices in the rocks below.

It circled the area three times before flapping its wings and flying westward.

Lu Ming remained motionless.

He slowed his breathing, the rise and fall of his chest almost imperceptible.

Sure enough, in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the bald eagle returned.

It swooped down, its wings suddenly spreading, creating a gust of wind that swept across the ground, almost skimming the rocks.

After a long while, it raised its body again, let out a sharp cry, and then flew away.

But Lu Ming remained hidden and unmoved.

He had experienced this trick countless times in just three days; the demons' cunning far exceeded ordinary people's imagination.

This is his third day since he was assigned to the patrol team.

In just three days, it was a near-death experience, every moment felt like walking on a knife's edge.

On the first day, Wang Chengbao assigned him to patrol the Qianmu Mountain area alone, citing his "outstanding strength".

He was the only person in the area for dozens of miles.

He knew Wang Chengbao had ill intentions, but when he met the other's amused gaze, he ultimately held back.

He knew very well that the other side was waiting for him to disobey military orders.

As soon as he refuses, the news will be immediately delivered to Shi Lei's desk, and then the decision to accept or reject it will be entirely up to Shi Lei.

But once they arrived at Thousand Eyes Mountain, the real nightmare had only just begun.

Mountain demon, flying head demon, witch, wolf demon...

He encountered demons that were rarely seen on ordinary days, one after another in these three days.

Each one has its own bizarre methods and deadly moves.

The head of the Flying Head Barbarian can be several feet away from its body and silently approach from behind;

The old woman could transform into the appearance of a passerby and spew out a miasma.

Mandrills possess immense strength, with claws as sharp as iron hooks...

At first, he even tried to kill him head-on.

But he soon discovered that often before he could deal with one, a second one would arrive as soon as he heard about it.

What made him even more desperate was that the blood dripping from his body when fighting demons would quickly attract more demons, just like a shark smelling blood in the sea.

He was surrounded by seven or eight demons in the mountain valley several times, and only managed to escape the encirclement by relying on the White Snake Crossing technique to weave through the gaps.

For the next two days, he completely concealed his sharpness and became a coward.

No matter what kind of demons passed by, he remained motionless like a stone.

He traveled and hid for a long time until he entered this area of ​​strange rocks, where the number of demons chasing him gradually decreased.

The sky was ablaze with sunset colors, but Lu Ming looked up without a care in the world to appreciate it.

His face was ashen, and he muttered to himself:

"Shi Lei... Wang Chengbao."

He knew that if things continued like this, he would eventually be played to death by the other party.

"Help...help me!"

At that moment, a mournful cry came from the direction of the underworld.

Lu Ming tensed up and turned around abruptly.

On the path to the underworld, a middle-aged man dressed in gray cloth was carrying a wooden box and running towards them with a look of terror on his face.

He ran unsteadily, his left leg noticeably lame, the wooden box bouncing and swaying on his back, the bottles and jars inside making clinking and clanging sounds.

Behind him, a gray-black mandrill was hot on his heels.

It made a dull "thump" sound as it hopped on one leg, its long arms waving, and its sharp claws gleaming coldly in the twilight.

"A traveling merchant?"

Lu Ming's eyes flickered slightly.

Since the Taiping Rebellion, merchants have become increasingly rare, but in the past few days he has encountered several groups of them, all of whom are desperate criminals living on the edge of death.

What truly made his gaze sharpen was the mandrill.

Five claw marks on his chest, not yet fully healed, were clearly visible; it was the same claw he had encountered at the foot of Tiger Roar Peak.

"It's true what they say, enemies are destined to meet." A cold smile appeared on his lips.

The mandrill saw him at the same instant.

His brown eyes suddenly turned bloodshot, and his wrinkled face contorted into a ferocious and furious expression.

It recognized the person in front of it as the same human who had repeatedly attacked it at the foot of Tiger Roaring Peak.

"Awooo—!"

A deafening roar erupted from its throat, causing the surrounding rubble to tremble slightly.

It suddenly pushed off the ground, sending shards of stone flying, and transformed into a gray-black afterimage, rushing straight towards Lu Ming.

Claws slashed through the air with a sharp hiss, their cold light flashing.

A strong wind blew in my face, its sharp whistling deafening.

Lu Ming, however, stood still, completely motionless.

The man he is today is no longer the same ignorant fool he once was.

"The Green Ox carries Yin energy!"

He took a step back, his center of gravity slightly lowered, and his back arched like a blue ox carrying a heavy load.

He raised his left hand, palm outstretched, and met the attack at just the right moment.

"boom--!"

The shockwave exploded, and the strong winds scattered in all directions.

The mandrill was stunned. It felt as if its enormous strength, enough to tear apart a giant elephant, had fallen into a deep, resilient pool of water and was being dissolved layer by layer by a gentle, yin force.

Its claws were pulled to the side by this gentle force, and its body involuntarily lurched forward.

A fierce glint flashed in Lu Ming's eyes, giving it no chance to react.

He moved swiftly, and in an instant, he was less than two feet away from the mandrill.

As the waist and abdomen twist, the body's Qi and blood converge in the right palm, and a faint bluish-purple aura appears on the edge of the palm.

"The Five Sacred Mountains collapsed simultaneously!"

The palm struck like a meteorite, landing firmly on the mandrill's belly.

The five layers of shockwaves exploded in succession the moment the palm strike landed, each layer building up momentum on the aftershocks of the previous layer.

Layer upon layer, stretching endlessly.

The mandrill's ferocious expression froze instantly, replaced by undisguised shock.

Its massive body was suddenly flung away and crashed into the mountainside.

"Snap, snap!"

A series of cracking sounds came from its body as it slowly slid to the ground, leaving a dark green bloodstain.

His limbs twitched twice, then he became completely still.

[Slay a Demon of the Ghostly Rank, +1 Heavenly Point.]

A familiar notification sound rang in my mind.

Lu Ming's gaze remained calm as he was about to walk over and take a look when a figure suddenly darted in front of him.

"Hurry up!"

The middle-aged merchant grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the underworld.

He explained hurriedly as he ran:

"The mandrill's death will attract other demons! And..."

He turned his head, his nose twitched slightly, and his expression changed drastically:

"Why do you smell of ambergris? That stuff has a deadly attraction for demons!"

As Lu Ming ran forward with him, the gravel tumbling beneath his feet, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.

"I see!"

He couldn't help but recall the incense stick that Wang Chengbao would personally light before each patrol.

The smoke curled upwards, the scent faint. He had initially thought it was a ritual performed by the other party to appease their conscience and pay homage to the underworld, but now he realized... it was clearly aimed at him.

The sky darkened rapidly.

The two ran one after the other for about half an hour before finally stopping in front of a wasteland.

The middle-aged merchant loosened his grip, placed his hands on his knees, and gasped for breath, his face slightly contorted as if he were utterly exhausted.

"Are you alright?"

Seeing his appearance, Lu Ming reached out to support his shoulder.

The middle-aged merchant subtly shifted his body to avoid the man's hand, then looked up, forcing a smile.

"There's a Bodhisattva temple ahead. I used to rest there whenever I passed through this area. With the Bodhisattva's protection, I could avoid attacks from demons."

He pointed ahead, and indeed, at the end of the twilight stood a dilapidated, gray temple.

The eaves are broken, the walls are mottled, and the courtyard gate is crooked and half-open, through which the outline of a blurry statue can be vaguely seen.

With that, he walked toward the temple on his own.

Lu Ming stood still, his gaze shifting slightly.

Buddha?

In his memory, people in this world had a very peculiar attitude towards gods and Buddhas.

It was a mixture of awe, estrangement, and even a hint of subtle rejection.

Although there are many rural temples, very few people actually come to offer incense and pray.

This is completely different from the scene of incense burning everywhere in my previous life.

"Hurry! After dark, those nocturnal demons are even more terrifying!"

The middle-aged merchant turned around and urged him on, his voice tinged with anxiety.

He strode back, grabbed Lu Ming's arm, and tried to pull him into the temple.

Unfortunately, Lu Ming didn't budge.

He turned around in surprise, about to speak.

Suddenly, his neck tightened as a pair of iron-like hands gripped his throat and lifted him up.

"Ah... what are you doing?"

The middle-aged merchant's feet left the ground, his face instantly turning purple, and his hands instinctively tried to pry Lu Ming's fingers apart.

Lu Ming looked at him calmly. The touch from his palm was cold and slippery, completely unlike the body temperature of a living person.

He spoke calmly: "A courier ghost?"

The middle-aged merchant's struggling movements suddenly stopped, the fear in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, amused look.

"Why……"

He sighed, but the corners of his mouth curled up:

"I should have smeared some blood on myself, or was I just too obvious?"

He tilted his head, as if reflecting on his actions:

"There's nothing I can do. I simply can't control myself when it comes to a human like you with such a vigorous spirit."

As he spoke, he reached out and patted Lu Ming's wrist.

Lu Ming felt a bone-chilling coldness emanating from his palm, and his fingers unconsciously loosened slightly.

The middle-aged merchant easily broke free, landed on the ground, stretched his neck, and wore a smug, smug smile on his face.

"It's useless. I'm protected by Yin energy. You're just a lowly Muscle Strengthening Realm lackey; what can you do to me?"

Lu Ming felt the icy, sinister energy emanating from the fist, then looked up at the other person's cold, smiling expression, his eyes hardening.

"Very good...that's more interesting."

He slowly clenched his right fist, and wisps of pale purple energy swirled like mist on his skin, causing the surrounding temperature to suddenly rise.

The smile on the middle-aged merchant's face instantly froze:

"What...what is this?"

His pupils contracted slightly, finally revealing a hint of fear:

"Impossible! How could a human at the Muscular Realm possibly..."

"Purple Qi Embracing the Sun".

Lu Ming uttered four words in a low voice, and his blood and qi surged and churned suddenly.

He unleashed the ultimate technique recorded in "The Green Ox Transformation," his fist striking like purple qi soaring into the sky, fiercely hitting the middle-aged merchant in the abdomen.

"ah--!"

A heart-wrenching scream echoed throughout the heavens and earth.

A scorched black mark appeared on the middle-aged merchant's abdomen, sizzling as it burned.

Lu Ming's expression remained unchanged as he unleashed punches like dragons, one after another crashing down.

"Boom boom boom—"

After several punches landed, the middle-aged merchant's body became extremely unreal.

His face was filled with terror as he struggled to look towards the dilapidated temple, managing to squeeze out a few words:

"M-Master...save...save me..."

Lu Ming continued throwing punches, while also turning to look at the temple.

However, even after the other party let out a desperate howl and its figure completely disappeared into the twilight, the dilapidated temple remained deathly silent, without any response.

Am I overthinking this?

Lu Ming murmured softly as he slowly backed away.

Soon, he retreated to the edge of the underworld, and one more step back was the area shrouded in green light.

Just then, a deep and weathered voice slowly drifted from the depths of the dilapidated temple:

"The Earth Book? I never expected... that such a small place could produce a prodigy who could comprehend the Earth Book."