Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

As a result, the entire Tianjue Kingdom became a pawn, a victim of the Yin Tide.

In less than twenty breaths, the entire Tianjue Kingdom was instantly transformed into a desolate wasteland.

Tall, swaying trees with heads grew luxuriantly on this land, spreading to every corner of the Heavenly Kingdom.

[171] The Immortal

Buzz!

The black wind came from afar, its momentum as fierce as a sandstorm, pushing forward like a towering wall.

Even wild beasts hiding in the forest or birds perched high in the sky cannot escape the overwhelming force of the dark tide.

The entire Yaotuo Prefecture has been affected by the Yin Tide, and the Protectorate where Ning Xiu is located will not escape this calamity either.

Fortunately, thanks to the experience of the True Yang Emperor, Ning Xiu and everyone in the Protectorate had already taken refuge in the underground caves that had been built before the arrival of the Yin tide.

A chilling wind swept across the ground, instantly turning the entire Protectorate Stone City pitch black. The surfaces of houses and city walls were covered with a layer of black slime, and the plants in the city withered.

Several large trees with heads sprouted from the ground, arrogantly occupying the land of the Protectorate.

Although Ning Xiu was hiding underground, he could still observe the situation on the ground by relying on his destiny star. He saw that the land, which was originally normal, had become extremely desolate after the passage of the Yin tide, and there was even a trace of Yin poison left on the ground.

This situation shocked him. Even the great chaos caused by evil spirits hundreds of years ago, though critical, was not even one ten-thousandth as severe as the current situation.

In a world plagued by evil spirits, at least the Shang Dynasty still had the time and opportunity to devise ways to deal with them, stabilize the world, and look forward to the day when evil spirits would be eradicated.

But this dampness is far more destructive than evil spirits and chaotic rocks; it not only damages the land and food, but also pollutes water sources.

This leaves no chance for any living being to survive. No matter if you are a demon or a human, without food and water, you will die.

Fortunately, Ning Xiu learned about it in advance and prepared a lot of food and water; otherwise, the hundreds of people in his underground cave would not have ended up in a good state.

A few days later, after confirming that the dampness had completely subsided, Ning Xiu emerged from the underground cave alone.

The strange trees growing in the Protectorate General's residence struck him as odd, and he felt it necessary to examine them carefully as a precaution.

The entire Protectorate was filled with decaying houses, and the ground was covered with numerous black veins; not a single plant could be seen.

It was deathly still, devoid of any life.

These were the only words that could come to Ning Xiu's mind.

Walking up to a giant tree with heads on its branches, Ning Xiu looked at the strange heads on the branches and began to observe them carefully.

These heads hang down like fruits, and hair is the key to their connection to the giant tree.

Each head looked like both a human and a demon, with fangs protruding from its mouth and extremely irregular shapes.

"These are the immortal beings. They are still in their most gestating state. Once they are fully mature, they will fall from the trees and begin to roam this world," said the True Yang Emperor.

The thought that such things had grown all over Yaotuo Prefecture, and that such ghosts would roam the world, gave Ning Xiu a terrible headache about the future of the Shang Dynasty.

The chaos caused by evil spirits hundreds of years ago severely damaged the Shang Dynasty. Now that the Yin tide has descended, can the Shang Dynasty really survive?

With a wave of his hand, Ning Xiu unleashed a burst of crimson flames that engulfed the giant tree before him.

As if sensing the impending danger, the heads on the tree began to howl angrily. Then, they shook violently and fell off the tree one by one, hitting the ground with loud thuds.

Bones grew from their necks, crawling on the ground like worms, and charged angrily toward Ning Xiu.

At this stage, the immortal beings are not yet mature. Although they look extremely ferocious and terrifying, they do not even have the strength of the lower ninth rank. Even ordinary people can smash them with sticks.

Before the immortal creatures could pounce, Ning Xiu conjured a gust of wind from the air and easily sliced ​​the falling immortal creatures in two.

They fell to the ground, screaming pitifully, and soon lost their breath.

[Slaying undead creatures grants +10 General Proficiency]

"They cannot die. The resentment that accumulates within them will linger in this world, eventually growing into other immortal beings," said the True Yang Emperor.

"Isn't there any way to completely kill these undead creatures?" Ning Xiu frowned.

"As far as I know, the only way is to wait for Yang Yao to arrive. Only Yang Yao can truly destroy the immortals."

Having previously spoken with Emperor Zhenyang, Ning Xiu had also heard about Yang Yao from him.

Beyond heaven and earth, there exists not only yin energy that can cause dampness, but also its opposite.

That is Yangyao. Yangyao and Yinchao are naturally restrained. Whenever Yinchao appears, Yangyao will eventually descend, shining on the earth and restoring the ground polluted by Yinchao back to normal, allowing life to flourish again.

As for Yang Yao, the True Yang Emperor didn't know much either. He thought it might be a kind of spiritual energy he had never encountered before, or it might be the method of a powerful being with strength above the Emperor level.

Back then, the True Yang Emperor protected the world with his own strength and forcibly fought against the Yin Tide, which was extremely dangerous. Unfortunately, now he is only a wisp of remnant soul, and his memories of fighting against the Yin Tide are not very clear.

"It's impossible to predict when Yang Yao will arrive. To place our hopes on that would be too hopeless," Ning Xiu said seriously.

"There's nothing I can do about it. Even I couldn't do anything back then. I could only rely on Yang Yao's power. What can you, a mere kid who hasn't even reached the inner realm, possibly do? Do you think you can do better than me?" Emperor Zhenyang said dismissively.

In his view, Ning Xiu had no way to deal with Yin Chao except by relying on Yang Yao.

Wherever the Yin tide passes, it will corrupt into the Xuan Yin Realm, and no living being can reverse it except through the power of Yang Yao.

Ning Xiu remained silent. He might not be as strong as the Great Emperor, but he had a reliance that the True Yang Great Emperor did not have.

With the proficiency panel, the future is not without possibilities.

"Hopefully he can bring the information back to Da Shang, so that Da Shang can make preparations in advance."

After killing all the undead creatures in the Protectorate, Ning Xiu returned to the underground cave. From today onwards, he would need to go into seclusion.

……

[Burning Heaven Scripture: First Level (0/5) Breakthrough Points, (0/100) Years]

[Heavenly King Vajra Skill. Black Heavenly Pagoda Supreme Body: Sixteenth Level (Perfect)]

[Forging Talent: Excellent (10/100)]

General Proficiency: 600258

Breakthrough Points: 0

……

Ning Xiu has always relied on his general proficiency to save countless hours of training, allowing him to continuously improve his martial arts level.

Over time, Ning Xiu almost forgot that the proficiency panel didn't need external help to improve; it could be improved through his own hard work.

However, that efficiency is not as efficient and satisfying as directly increasing general proficiency.

Ning Xiu took out three months' worth of food and water from his bracelet and distributed them to his subordinates, the Silver Tiger Demon Subduing Captains, for management and distribution. He then found a secluded corner and began his three-month-long secluded cultivation.

Yaotuo Prefecture is too far from the territory of the Great Shang Dynasty. He can return to the Great Shang Dynasty on his own and make contact with the Demon Subduing Division.

However, he could not guarantee that he could bring so many people back to the Great Shang territory at the same time. Ning Xiu had not yet seen the true dangers of the Xuan Yin Domain.

Therefore, the safest option at present is to stay underground and remain unchanged in the face of any eventuality.

Just as Ning Xiu began his seclusion, in other parts of the underground cave...

"How long are we going to live in this dark place, relying on torches for light every day? This can't go on forever."

"Why don't we ask the officials of the Demon-Subduing Commandery? They know more than we do."

Several people sitting together expressed their dissatisfaction.

After living in the underground cave for a while, everyone initially felt a bit excited, but as the days went by and they couldn't see the sun all day, they eventually started to feel a bit irritable.

Even if it's because of some dampness that you need to hide underground, it's still good to have some time each day to go out and get some fresh air.

Living in an underground cave like this every day, what's the difference between that and being in prison?

While these people were chatting, none of them noticed that a tree root suddenly broke through the soil behind them and began to crawl forward on the ground.

In no time, he crawled to the side of a commoner and stabbed him in the thigh.

Perhaps because the tree roots were too thin, they did not attract the person's attention. Instead, they continued chatting enthusiastically, completely unaware that disaster was about to befall them.

"Uh!"

Suddenly, the man who had been rooted to the ground clutched his neck and collapsed to the ground in great pain. His face turned extremely pale, and the area around his eyes turned a deep purple-blue.

His entire face shrank and withered at a visible rate, making him look like someone who hadn't eaten for months.

"What happened? Old Chen, what's wrong with you?"

"Help! Help! Something's happened!"

Upon seeing their friend in such a state, the other villagers immediately shouted, which quickly attracted the attention of several Copper Leopard Demon-Subduing Officers who were passing by. They rushed over to check the situation.

In less than ten breaths, the man's entire body had become like a dried-up corpse, skin and bones, with no flesh visible on his body.

"How could this be?" The Demon-Subduing Officer who arrived was extremely surprised to see this scene.

"Hurry, you have to save him! Otherwise he'll really die!" Several villagers grabbed the Demon-Slaying Officer's arm and urged him anxiously.

"Please tell me the details of what happened so I can understand what problem he has and how to treat him."

"We don't know either. We were just sitting here chatting, and Old Chen suddenly became like this."

"Ugh!" The man called Old Chen raised his hands high, looking like a drowning person, his mouth agape in great pain, as if he were swallowing something.

Black, foul-smelling liquid kept dripping from his mouth, causing people to back away involuntarily, not daring to have any contact with this guy.

"Oh no, this person must be possessed by an evil spirit!" the Demon-Subduing Officer immediately shouted.

The symptoms of this commoner were exactly the same as those of people in some remote areas within the Great Shang territory when they were possessed by evil spirits.

For people like this, either control them and wait for Buddhist monks or Taoist priests to chant scriptures and perform rituals to expel the evil spirits from their bodies.

Either they have to kill them on the spot without hesitation, otherwise it's easy to accidentally hurt innocent civilians.

However, before the Demon-Subduing Officer could react, the strangely behaving commoner suddenly leaped out and reached out with both hands to grab one of his friends beside him.

He was incredibly fast, and his palms were as sharp as knives, instantly piercing the other man's chest and tearing out his still-beating, bright red heart.

"what!"

In the instant his heart was cut off, the people who should have died let out extremely pitiful screams, and before long, he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

The man who had ripped out his heart looked around with a ferocious expression, wanting to continue his attack, but how could the Demon-Subduing Guards of this place allow him to continue harming people? In an instant, they fought each other.

After several rounds, Old Chen's neck was severed with a single blow, finally ending his life.