I defeated the saint with a parry.

"That Wang Mazi just said they went underground to look for something at the City God Temple. Let's search around too, and if we can find it..."

Before he could finish speaking...

Several different auras of demons and ghost cultivators emerged from all around the city, all of them at or above the Spirit Platform Realm.

At the same time, demon-suppressing masters followed and engaged in battle with it.

Anyone can feel the changes in Fancheng now. Those who were pretending have stopped pretending, and the solutions that Xu Ling had proposed earlier have also worked.

There are quite a few people like Zhao Yi who focus on dealing with "insiders".

Those with cultivation or high cultivation levels will be dealt with by independent cultivators and martial arts practitioners.

Even more formidable ones are dealt with by demon-suppressing masters.

It is indeed chaotic, but not to the point of being out of control.

For some reason, the garrison commander Xu Huaixu has disappeared without a trace... Xu Ling tried to contact him secretly, but received no response; he has vanished without a trace.

Their absence must mean they're tied up with something more serious, which makes Xu Ling very worried.

The mastermind behind this has been preparing for so many years; it's impossible that they didn't consider Xu Huaixu's existence.

The most likely explanation is that a powerful figure of equal strength to Xu Huaixu is holding him back.

Never mind, I won't think about it too much. I'll just finish my own tasks first.

"Gentlemen, now that things have come to this, we're all in the same boat. If we don't thwart the schemes of the mastermind behind this, we'll all die."

Xu Ling took out the Guardian Token and, amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, shouted to the demon slayers, "This is a plan to wipe out Fancheng. Whether it's the demon race or those evil cultivators, their purpose is not for our benefit."

"The yin energy is now coming from underground, which is very likely related to the formation that is trapping us. We urgently need you all to find a passage into the underground."

As for why they didn't use their great magical power to directly shatter the ground and find a passage, it was to avoid alerting the enemy.

After explaining things to his colleagues, he spoke privately with the merchants present, and then had the demon slayer lead a few merchants to spread out in the northeast corner, searching for every possible spot.

Xu Ling sought out Zhang Li.

"Senior Brother Zhang, what about the map of the underground passages that you had the people from the government office compile? Also, could you give me a map of Fancheng?"

Zhang Li's paperwork proved invaluable at this moment. He didn't ask Xu Ling what she needed it for; he simply took out what Xu Ling wanted from his storage bag.

Zhong Song and Zhao Xiong, watching his practiced movements, were full of questions: "Brother Zhang, when did you start keeping this on hand all the time?"

"You don't understand. Once you've worked on more cases with Brother Xu, you'll understand the importance of being prepared."

Zhang Li smiled and said, "The map of the underground passage was made when we discovered that the secret passages between Taoyuan Village and Lijia Village were connected during the last case in Lijia Village."

Xu Ling had already placed the two maps together: "The secret passages we can find are definitely the ones in the open. The truly useful ones are the ones that are hidden. This map can be used as a reference."

He held up the two images and then beckoned Zhang Li to illuminate them with spiritual light... The light imprinted the images together.

The map of the secret passages was intricate and complex. Although it was printed together with the map of the prosperous city, it seemed to form a sewer system, but the area around the City God Temple was completely empty.

While this indirectly confirms that there is something beneath the City God Temple, it does not help in finding the entrance.

Given the capabilities of the mastermind behind the scenes, there must be a big surprise waiting for him.

Staring at the two images, Xu Ling memorized them and then sat down cross-legged to the side, closing his eyes to think.

If he were the one behind the scenes, what would he do?

This thought lasted for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, without any movement.

Those who had left returned to the City God Temple. Seeing Xu Ling like this, they had no choice but to report the fruitless result to Zhang Li.

Since the other party had planned ahead, they naturally wouldn't let them find it so easily.

Xu Ling wasn't surprised to hear this: "They didn't even detect anything with their divine sense?"

The demon slayers who were at the Concentration Realm leading the group all shook their heads: "There is something underground that can block the detection of divine sense."

As expected... such an obvious loophole would not have been left for him by the person behind the scenes.

"You seem very anxious." Zhang Li noticed that Xu Ling's expression was very tense, completely different from his usual demeanor: "Even your hands are shaking."

Did it shake?

Xu Ling looked down and found that his right hand was trembling slightly. He tried to control it but couldn't, so he could only press it down with his left hand.

Damn, even in my past life when playing games, I've never experienced anything like this, even at the most exciting moments.

In his past life, he was just a lousy gamer. When did he ever bear the pressure of a battle for a fallen city? This is not a game at all.

Xu Ling said in a low voice, "The garrison commander hasn't contacted me."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Li immediately understood why Xu Ling was acting this way: he lacked confidence and wanted to find a powerful backer.

Zhang Li: "Brother Xu, why bother with the garrison commander! The advisors are right, if the sky falls, someone else will hold it up. They naturally have their own things to do. As for you, you came all the way from Zhangye to Fancheng, encountered so many cases, uncovered the schemes of the mastermind, and discovered Li Yang's true colors. All these things weren't done for you by the garrison commander."

"Just do your best, and we'll do our best too. So what if we die in the end? I dare say no one here will blame you."

Hearing this, Zhong Song chimed in, "So what if we die? In this rotten world, even if we don't die in Fancheng, we'll die somewhere else. We're dying in battle, not deserters. What's there to be afraid of?"

Zhao Xiong put his arm around Zhong Song: "Brother is right. When a person dies, the bird flies to the sky. What's there to be afraid of?"

"Gentlemen! Have we ever been afraid?"

The undead demon slayers who had already rejoined their ranks stepped forward: "We are not afraid!"

"Li Da died by the sword of an evil cultivator while protecting his family of ten!"

"Zhang Kunlun was haunted by a river demon. While slaying the demon, he was suddenly confronted by ghost soldiers who took his path, and he died under their blades."

"Huang Taiping was captured by evil cultivators while on a mission, and died after being tortured."

"..."

Little Red Leaf held the sweet dates her mother had given her, carefully selecting two of the best-looking ones. She slowly walked up to Xu Ling and placed the dates into his hand.

"Brother, eat some sweet dates, and you won't be afraid anymore."

Xu Ling took the jujube and put it in his mouth, then put the second one back into Xiao Hongye's mouth.

"Isn't Xiao Hongye afraid?"

Hongye shook her head: "Those monsters killed my father and turned Fancheng into a hellish place like in a folk tale. I hate them. The adults say you have the garrison command token, that you're someone the garrison commander values, so you must be very powerful. You can think of a way, right?"

"right!"

Xu Ling patted Xiao Hongye's head and comforted her, but then suddenly realized something.

"Wait! The underworld?"

Xu Ling stood up abruptly, leaped onto the roof, and swept his gaze across the entire bustling city. Everywhere he looked, there was a chilling aura. This was no longer a prosperous human world; it was more like a ghost realm.

"Hahahaha, I'm such an idiot, I actually forgot about Jin Yulou."

The group exchanged bewildered glances, wondering what he was laughing about. Zhong Song patted Zhang Li on the shoulder and whispered, "Has our brother gone mad?"

Xu Ling jumped back and, in front of everyone, pulled out a strange robe.

After Shadow killed Judge, one of the treasures that dropped from Judge's body... was given to Xu Ling as a gift during a period of time that the author didn't write about.

This robe of the Yin-Yang Dharma King is a spiritual treasure called the Yin-Yang Dharma Robe, which can connect the Yin and Yang realms. It is said to have been passed down from a powerful ghost king in the underworld. When the king was getting married in the mortal realm, he offended a ghost god in the underworld and was killed. The robe was then lost and disappeared, but unexpectedly it ended up in the hands of the people of Jin Yu Lou.

"Thanks to Xiao Hongye's reminder," Xu Ling explained with a smile. "Among those plotting against Fancheng, besides the demon race and evil cultivators, Jin Yulou hasn't shown up yet, and I almost forgot about them. But this eerie array must be related to Jin Yulou."

"All the returning dead died at the hands of evil cultivators and ghost cultivators. Jin Yulou is not immune to this. There are probably more things to do in the underworld behind this, but let's not talk about them for now."

"We haven't been able to find the entrance, and even the underground passages don't connect to the City God's side. And such a massive formation hasn't attracted the attention of the Demon Suppression Division on a regular basis, so there's only one possibility."

"Those inhuman, ghostly fellows in Jin Yu Lou must have stuffed the array's core into the underworld. Ordinary people can't stay in the underworld for long, and now the array is affecting Fancheng, drawing ghostly energy here... They're probably trying to turn Fancheng into a ghost town."

"The fox clan and Butcher Wang from Guanhai Realm were just a smokescreen, trying to draw our attention to the underground. What a clever scheme. Why didn't they kill Wang Mazi earlier, but waited until he revealed the location underground? They were probably afraid that Wang Mazi would reveal the environment and make us guess that the actual location was the underworld."

"Truly insidious."

Xu Ling drew his ink-black sword, donned his magic robe, and shouted, "Fellow disciples and fellow practitioners, are you willing to follow me to venture into the underworld?"

"What is there to be afraid of?"

The fellow disciples, who had already become ghost cultivators, lacked only weapons, so they borrowed kitchen knives and sickles from merchants.

Those who were still short of weapons got some from Zhao Yi and some shop owners. These were ordinary weapons that the shop owners had pulled out of their own storage bags.

Although its quality is average, it's at least usable. In an emergency, you can't worry about that.

Several skilled business owners wanted to go, but they were all persuaded not to, and even Zhang Li and Wang Dachui were left behind.

Xu Ling has a magic robe and can walk in the underworld, but their strength is low and they are not extraordinary, so they cannot withstand the environment of the underworld at all.

"You stay in Fancheng and wait for us. Be careful in everything you do. We'll be right back!"

Xu Ling brandished his robe, using it as a blade to slash forward, creating a slit-like opening from which ghostly (yin) energy spilled out. He led the way, stepping into the opening and disappearing, with Zhong Song and the others following behind.