The proof of Emperor Wu began with daily rewards for diligence.

As soon as Chen Jue arrived at the south bank of Cuihu Lake, he saw Chang Wei beating Lai Fu.

The burly man wielding double maces was so ferocious that he seemed inhuman. He literally beat the demonized priest of the Fire Cult to a pulp.

His unique true energy transformed into trees and vines, entwining the pig demon that was the priest of the Fire Cult.

One mace after another, smashing the pig demon's body to pieces.

The martial arts practitioners who had caught up with them were dumbfounded when they saw this scene.

No one dared to approach; they all dispersed elsewhere.

"Wait a moment, sir!"

Seeing that the pig demon was about to be killed, Chen Jue quickly appeared to stop it.

Upon hearing the sound, Meng Liang turned around and met Chen Jue's gaze.

"Brother?!"

"Inspector Meng?!"

The two recognized each other immediately.

"Shh!" Meng Liang put a finger to his lips and whispered, "Brother, I am not here in an official capacity. Please keep this a secret for me."

"Oh, I understand, I understand. I, Wu, will absolutely keep my mouth shut!"

Chen Jue leaned closer, jokingly probing, "Brother Meng, what kind of evil technique have you been practicing? In less than a month, your strength has become terrifyingly powerful!"

"I don't practice evil arts." Meng Liang scratched his head and said, "It's just the ordinary 'Green Wood Life-Gathering Technique.' My physique is special, so I can easily perfect my true energy by practicing it a little."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jue's lips twitched involuntarily.

He thought to himself, "I don't believe you for a second. I've practiced the 'Green Wood Life-Gathering Technique' myself; it's just a very basic wood-based internal skill."

Aside from attribute balance, which adds a little bit to poison resistance, strength, and health regeneration, there's not much else to it.

"Brother Wu, these pig-headed, human-bodied demons are all manifestations of a single thought of the three thousand true demons under the command of the God of Fire."

"They are extremely vicious and malevolent creatures. If they are not eliminated as soon as possible, they will surely wreak havoc on the world. Please do not stop me from taking action, Brother Wu."

After exchanging pleasantries, Meng Liang's expression turned solemn, and he cupped his hands in greeting to Chen Jue.

"Brother Meng, you misunderstand. I am not trying to stop you from killing this Fire Demon, but this demon is really cunning and has the ability to possess and seize bodies. If you kill it rashly, you may hurt yourself."

"Fortunately, I have just killed one of the demons and confirmed that my dantian furnace can burn away the true energy that this demon has seized."

"Therefore, I stopped Brother Meng from killing this fiend, intending to use my extraordinary abilities to kill this evil demon."

Chen Jue's sincere words impressed Meng Liang.

He clasped his hands in a respectful bow and exclaimed with admiration, "Brother Wu, you are truly a man of chivalry and righteousness! I thank you!"

A kind-hearted, traditional person.

Chen Jue thought to himself, but his expression remained sincere.

With a push, he forced Meng Liang's clasped fist back, then turned and drew his sword to finish off the pig demon that was hanging upside down and barely clinging to life.

As expected, a streak of blood-red light shot out from the pig demon's body and rushed straight towards Chen Jue's dantian.

Then, it transformed into a cold, divine sediment and four hundred strands of fiery true energy.

"Brother Wu, are you really alright?"

Meng Liang was genuinely startled when he saw the blood-red light enter Chen Jue's dantian.

"Don't worry about me. The temperature and pressure of my dantian furnace are slightly higher than those of ordinary martial artists, which is just right to suppress these dark and evil spirits."

Chen Jue sheathed his sword and said, "Brother Meng, I fear that the other righteous people who came to besiege the Shi Huo Sect will be harmed by the Shi Huo Sect's demonic possession abilities. I need to leave first. Until we meet again."

"Brother Wu, you are so kind. Could you please leave your contact information?"

"In the Ming Dynasty, there is a folk organization called 'Divine Exorcism' that takes it upon itself to exterminate star demons. I wonder if Brother Wu would be interested in joining?"

Seeing that Chen Jue was about to leave, Meng Liang hurriedly promoted the grassroots organization he had recently joined.

"Divine Interpretation?" Chen Jue paused in his eagerness to rush to the next battlefield.

He remembered that the talkative Liang Ben from that morning was a member of this organization.

"without……"

As soon as Meng Liang uttered the word "no," a terrifying, earth-shattering shriek suddenly erupted from the direction of the factory that had been razed to the ground.

Hurraaoo!

Rooaah!

Sssss!

Meng Liang's expression changed drastically, and his massive, mountain-like figure suddenly tackled Chen Jue to the ground.

Then, a massive black torrent, carrying the roars of countless wronged souls, surged across the lakeside plain.

Some martial arts practitioners who didn't have time to dodge were directly disoriented by this terrifying soul shockwave, turning them into completely mentally challenged people who lay slumped on the ground, drooling.

"What is that?" Chen asked desperately, staring in the direction of the factory, his heart filled with horror.

Meng Liang shook his head, which was throbbing from the shock of the soul shriek, and said, "That was the Shadow Ghost's soul shriek..."

"This proves that either Bian Que, the team leader, failed to suppress the shaman of the Shi Huo Sect, or that the shaman forcibly committed suicide, releasing the Shadow Guard sealed within his body."

"Without a master, the Shadow Guard is a shadow ghost, which is also a big problem."

With that, Meng Liang picked up his double maces and ran toward the factory.

After weighing the pros and cons, Chen Jue felt that the chances of finding the priest of the Shi Huo Sect to start another battle were slim, so he simply followed Meng Liang.

Meng Liang noticed someone following him and turned around to see Chen Jue. He felt a warmth in his heart and said, "Brother Wu, this matter has nothing to do with you. You don't need to take the risk with me."

Chen Jue thought to himself, with you, this morally upright and saintly woman, taking the lead, I can just pick up the scraps from behind. What is there to be afraid of?

But he spoke calmly, as if he didn't care about life or death, saying, "It's alright. It's a blessing for humanity to be able to fight against evil and uphold justice with like-minded people."

"Besides, I'm just taking a look. If there's any unavoidable danger, I'll leave on my own."

Meng Liang was deeply moved by what he heard. He bowed to Chen Jue and quickened his pace again.

This guy surnamed Meng had definitely never learned proper lightness skills, but after his brute strength and true energy exploded in the soles of his feet, he managed to make himself seem to take off like a catapult, so fast that Chen Jue couldn't keep up.

Within three to five minutes, the two arrived at the factory ruins that had been razed to the ground, one after the other.

At this moment, the shaman of the Fire Cult, dressed in a fiery red prayer robe, had already committed suicide by sword.

The middle-aged man who called himself "Demon Suppression Captain" had now become an old man, his body emaciated, sitting idly in the ruins, meditating on his own.

"Team leader!"

Seeing this, Meng Liang became anxious and stomped his foot on the ground. His body moved like a crossbow bolt, and he instantly closed to within a hundred paces of the withered old man.

"Meng Liang! I haven't worn that Shadow Demon down yet! Don't come near me!"

Sensing the commotion, the withered old man suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils flashing with a terrifying light as he roared.

However, it was too late.

By the time Meng Liang heard this reminder, he had already closed to within fifty paces of the old man.

"Hurraaoo!"

Suddenly, a twisted shadow shot out from the withered old man's dantian, rushing towards Meng Liang like a ghost.

"How dare you!"

The gaunt old man let out a tiger's roar, which spread outwards like ripples.

But the ghostly figure was only delayed for a moment before it pounced into Meng Liang's body, who was powerless to resist.

Then, something even stranger happened.

The grotesque figure lunged at Meng Liang, only to discover in horror that it was unable to possess him!

The other party's spirit and energy seemed to be mixed with the body, each containing the other, and no matter what methods it used, it could not separate the two.

What's even more terrifying is that there's a mark of blessing from the Star God within Meng Liang's dantian furnace.

After the shadow demon rushed into Meng Liang's body, its immense power was rapidly dissipated, all of which was transformed into the other party's true energy, nourishing the other party in return.

"Aaaaaah!"

The Shadow Demon exhausted all its strength and struggled to break free from Meng Liang's body.

Then it saw a tall figure, less than a hundred paces away, looking over as if watching a spectacle.

"You love watching the excitement! You're the one!"

Without a second thought, Ying Gui lunged at Chen Jue.