Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

On his way back, Tianjun Ningxiu saved at least several thousand people, but many dangerous things happened along the way, and in the end, only a few hundred people were left alive.

Looking at the people brought back by Heavenly Lord Ning Xiu, they were all more or less tainted with a damp, gloomy aura, but it wasn't serious and wouldn't endanger their lives.

"I rushed back from another state. Along the way, nine out of ten houses were deserted. The demons didn't escape in time, and most of them died."

After landing, Tianjun Ningxiu immediately recounted his experiences along the way.

As someone who had personally experienced the Yin Tide, he was very qualified to speak about it. Listening to his description, Ning Xiu was secretly shocked.

"I also found that True Person Zi Lei is still alive. He only suffered brain damage and has been wandering in the outer realms for many years. Now let's send him back to the capital of the Great Shang Dynasty."

Ning Xiu shook his head: "The teleportation array has been sealed off, and no one can go back now."

“How could this be…” Heavenly Lord Ningxiu was shocked.

This cataclysmic change in the world has even managed to seal off teleportation arrays, indicating that the danger behind it is so great that it makes people feel uneasy.

The Purple Thunder True Man and the people brought back by Heavenly Lord Ning Xiu were settled in the Protectorate. Ning Xiu then led Heavenly Lord Ning Xiu to a secluded and deserted spot in the Protectorate.

Then they took out the Golden Crow.

"Finally remembered me, huh? Hahaha, now you know how important I am, huh? Tell me, what happened?"

Inside the Golden Crow, the voice of the guy who called himself the True Yang Emperor rang out. Ning Xiu frowned. No matter how many times he heard it, he still felt very uncomfortable hearing this guy's smug voice.

"Huh! This aura... it's the Yin Tide! The Yin Tide has descended again!"

Before Ning Xiu could speak, the True Yang Emperor exclaimed in surprise, a reaction that made Ning Xiu somewhat excited.

This shows that the True Yang Emperor was aware of the Yin Tide situation, and if that's the case, he would very likely also know how to deal with it.

"What is dampness?" Ning Xiu asked.

"Beyond heaven and earth, there is another world. When turbid qi fills the space, it will destroy the structure of heaven and earth, causing more or less yin qi to burst out and enter this world. This happens every once in a while, so it is called yin tide. This thing is very difficult to deal with. Every time it appears, it means that life will be destroyed. Only a very few people can be lucky enough to survive."

Ning Xiu hurriedly asked, "How can we survive? What do we need to do?"

"Boy, I ask you, are there any Great Emperors existing in this world today?"

"What is an emperor?"

"Heaven and earth are for him, and he is heaven and earth. He can startle the nine heavens above and make the nine netherworlds tremble below. In a single thought, he can travel thousands of miles. In a small space, he can pluck stars and twist the moon, and turn the world upside down."

Ning Xiu was surprised and shook his head: "I have never heard of such a thing."

"Hahaha, then we're really doomed. Without the Great Emperor, the Yin Tide is completely unstoppable. The creatures of this world are probably extremely lucky to survive, maybe one in ten thousand."

Ning Xiu raised the Golden Crow and said, "Don't you call yourself the True Yang Emperor? Then you must have a way to solve this situation, right?"

"Although I was once an emperor, that was only in the past. Now I am just a wisp of a soul. As you can see, I don't even have a physical body anymore, just this little bit of consciousness. Do you think I have any way to solve this?"

Emperor Zhenyang spoke in a very relaxed and pleasant tone: "But speaking of which, I personally resisted a Yin Tide back then. If it weren't for me, I estimate that at least tens of millions of people would have died in the Yin Tide and turned into immortal beings. I am truly amazing."

Ning Xiu had no interest in listening to the other party boast and reminisce about their glorious past.

Now that the Yin Tide has arrived, even without the Great Emperor, we must find a way to survive and save our lives.

Ning Xiu immediately pressed Jin Wu for all the information he knew about the Yin Tide.

The more you know, the more ideas you can come up with to deal with a problem.

Unfortunately, Ning Xiu was disappointed by the situation. The remnant soul of the True Yang Emperor hidden inside the Golden Crow was indeed just a wisp of a soul, and he still remembered very few memories.

The best advice about dampness is to quickly hide underground. Dampness only sweeps across the ground once.

If you can survive the first wave of eerie winds and dampness, you can at least save your life.

The large number of undead creatures that will appear later, and the places where the Yin tide passes through, where food is scarce and water is poisonous, are other things to consider. Whether we can survive until then is another matter.

Although the information provided was insufficient, it was better than nothing. Ning Xiu immediately issued an order, instructing all the people in the Protectorate and the Demon-Subduing Officers to begin digging pits on the spot, making sure to dig an underground fortress where everyone could hide before the Yin Tide passed through the area.

No matter what the future holds, let's focus on surviving the present.

"I have a task for you. Get back to Da Shang as quickly as possible and inform Qin Daorong about the situation regarding the Yin Tide. Don't delay, set off immediately."

After issuing the order, Ning Xiu did not hesitate to drive away Heavenly Lord Ning Xiu.

Ning Xiu could leave on his own, but as the Protector-General, he could not abandon his subordinates and these innocent people.

The Holy Image's ability to absorb people is still immature. If it is used lightly, these people might die inside their own Holy Image instead of under the Yin Tide.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Ning Xiu decided to send Tianjun Ning Xiu back alone to deliver the message. Regardless of whether they could take preventative measures before the Yin forces reached the Shang Dynasty, they had to try, even if the chances were slim.

"Alright." Tianjun Ningxiu agreed without hesitation and immediately took off into the air without saying a word.

The path of immortals emphasizes understanding the universe and relies on the power of magic to make them the most efficient at transmitting messages.

"Your avatar is of good quality. It seems you want to use the method of avatar fusion to break through to the inner realm, right? That's a good idea, much more reliable than the 'fate-based enlightenment' method that those idiots I know think."

As Tianjun Ningxiu departed, the True Yang Emperor suddenly spoke.

These words piqued Ning Xiu's interest, for the next step after reaching the Dragon Elephant Upper Realm is the Inner Realm Saint Realm.

According to Qin Daorong, once the Great Shang Dynasty possesses an Inner Realm Saint, it can easily reclaim the thirty-six states of the Great Shang, recreate the golden age of hundreds of years ago, and restore the glory of the Great Shang.

But so far, it seems that no one has been able to enter the inner realm of sacredness, and we don't know why the ancients didn't leave behind any methods.

Later generations lacked exceptionally talented individuals who could forcibly carve out a new path on their own.

Hearing Emperor Zhenyang say this, wouldn't I have learned a verifiable method?

"An external avatar can merge with the body to break through to the inner realm? What do you mean by that?" Ning Xiu asked calmly.

"I've forgotten too. The Inner Realm is like something from my childhood. How could I possibly remember it now? But that's definitely the way to do it, if you want to break through to the Inner Realm, kid," Emperor Zhenyang said lazily.

This left Ning Xiu quite puzzled.

If the Inner Realm of Sainthood is not enough to make Emperor Zhenyang take it seriously, then just how terrifying must this guy's strength have been in the past?

Without any point of reference, Ning Xiu simply couldn't imagine what a powerful emperor was like.

However, having a casual chat with Emperor Zhenyang today was still somewhat beneficial.

Ning Xiu felt he needed to start studying the matter of external avatars properly, as he might be able to find clues about the Inner Realm of Sainthood from them.

After Tianjun Ningxiu left the Protectorate, the entire Protectorate became bustling with activity.

Everyone put all their strength into digging the pit, because the higher-ups said that if they couldn't dig a shelter before the Yin tide arrived, everyone would die.

No one would disbelieve the Protector-General's words; faced with the unknown, no one wants to die in a foreign land for no reason.

Day after day, in less than five days, a cave dwelling capable of housing thousands of people was beginning to take shape beneath the Protectorate.

According to the True Yang Emperor, the yin tide sweeping across the entire world is only the first hurdle.

Without the protection of the Great Emperor, if you are blown by the Yin Damp Wind, no matter how strong you are, you will turn into resentful mud, which will then grow into mindless immortal beings.

After the yin wind blows, all edible things in the world will dry up, and even water sources will be contaminated with yin poison. Whoever drinks it will become something like an immortal being.

In order to cope with this apocalyptic predicament, Ning Xiu has been personally going around Yaotuo Prefecture these days, frantically plundering and seizing all kinds of food and water. Even Tianjue Kingdom has fallen victim to Ning Xiu's 'poisonous hand'.

In this way, Ning Xiu amassed a considerable amount of food and water, enough to sustain a thousand people for six or seven years.

"Lord Ning, the underground cave has been dug, and we have made improvements to the areas that needed reinforcement. If you are willing, you can live under the Protectorate for a hundred or two hundred years without any problem."

Inside the Protectorate's house, a Demon-Subduing Officer from the Craftsmen's Path reported to Ning Xiu on the progress everyone had made over the past few days, his expression full of pride.

If it were just a group of common people plus the demon-subduing officers from the three paths of immortals, martial arts, and Buddhism, it would be impossible to achieve this level of accomplishment in just a few days.

The only way to accomplish this miracle is through their extremely niche artisan path, one of the three thousand great paths.

"Thank you for your hard work. I'm so glad I had you guys here this time, otherwise I can't even imagine the consequences." Ning Xiu nodded in satisfaction.

As the saying goes, everyone has their own area of ​​expertise. Just as you can do things that others cannot, others can do things that you cannot.

"Lord Ning, when should we move in? The dampness could arrive at any time. I think it would be better to move in as soon as possible."

"Hmm... Now that it's finished, let's move in today. From now on, no one can easily come out from underground without my permission."

"Yes, I will go and direct the people to move in right away."

The Protectorate of Yaotuo Prefecture was built hastily, and both its interior and exterior were quite crude. Ning Xiu wouldn't feel sorry for it if he no longer lived there.

Now, there is only one thing on his mind: the incarnation of the Demon Buddha Ning Xiu has not yet returned.

No one knows where this avatar has gone; it's so far away that even Ning Xiu can't sense its presence.

Based on this calculation, Demon Buddha Ning Xiu is most likely no longer in Yaotuo Prefecture.

"It would be such a pity if a first-grade avatar died. I hope he's alright," Ning Xiu sighed.

……

Boom!

The sky over Yaotuo Prefecture grew increasingly dark. What was originally a hazy gray had now turned pitch black, and even with a lamp, one could not see more than five steps ahead.

It's as if this darkness can even swallow up light.

As Ning Xiu led everyone in the Protectorate to move underground, the Tianjue Kingdom also began its defensive measures.

Torches were lit throughout the imperial city, and no demon race was allowed to leave Tianjue Kingdom. Without the experience of an emperor, although Tianjue Kingdom had many Dragon Elephant Realm experts, none of them knew what terrible disaster was about to befall them.

They still stubbornly believe that as long as they stay obediently in the imperial city, with several Dragon Elephant Kings guarding it, no matter what great enemy comes, they will not be able to threaten the Tianjue Kingdom.

After all, taking over the Tianjue Kingdom was something even the Great Shang Dynasty had never accomplished.

The king of Tianjue Kingdom did not believe that there was another force in the world that could threaten him.

On that very day, a thick black fog rolled in from the horizon with the black wind, the fog like a giant mouth, swallowing everything in its path.

The soldiers of Tianjue Kingdom stood on the city wall and watched this scene. Even though they were guarding the imperial city, they couldn't help but feel a great sense of fear.

Can I really survive?

The moment the Yin Tide passed through the imperial city of Tianjue Kingdom, all the demons in the city let out miserable howls. They saw their bodies constantly merging together, turning into clumps of black mud that fell to the ground, skin, flesh, and bones.

Whether powerful or weak, all demons are the same; death awaits them, and no one can escape it.

"Damn it! Something's wrong with this black mist."

Several figures soared into the sky from the capital, decisively abandoning the people of Tianjue Kingdom, and quickly left the area, disappearing into the horizon.

These were all the Dragon Elephant Kings who were stationed in the Tianjue Kingdom, and they were all very confident in their own strength.

However, when the Yin tide arrived, every great demon felt a sense of death. If they dared to confront the black mist head-on, they would also face certain death.

In this situation, one's own life is more important.