Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

Now that it has reached the Dragon-Elephant Upper Realm, it has the full strength to take over all the mess left by the Demon Ancestor and make all those demon lords its subordinates.

This delightful situation made the fish demon even more pleased, and naturally she paid even less attention to Ning Xiu.

Before, I was only a first-rank official and couldn't beat him. Now that we're all first-rank officials, who's afraid of who?

boom!

Ning Xiu had no intention of indulging this fish demon. He would spare the life of the obedient one and risk his life for the unobedient one. There was no need for any more unnecessary words.

As he struck out with his palm, a fiery palm strike landed on the fish demon's face.

The fish demon, confident in its ability to become a dragon-elephant in the upper realm, was directly struck away by Ning Xiu with a palm strike and crashed headfirst into the rock strata.

Feeling the power of Ning Xiu's palm strike, the fish demon suddenly realized that even though they were both at the Dragon Elephant Upper Realm, Ning Xiu's strength far surpassed its own.

The two sides are simply not on the same level.

If he were to engage in a true battle with Ning Xiu, he would undoubtedly die, with no chance of survival.

"My lord, you've misunderstood, my lord, it's all a misunderstanding." The fish demon dug itself out of the soil and quickly put on a smile.

This flattery is completely different from his tough attitude just now; he can be called a master of changing his tune.

Ning Xiu looked at the other person with amusement: "Were you just planning to set up your own territory?"

"No, no, my lord, I absolutely have no such thoughts, nor would I dare to have such thoughts. I admire you very much and am just waiting for you to guide me to grow and see the bigger world." The fish demon bowed and nodded, his words flowing smoothly.

It's astonishing to hear that a monster could possess such a rich vocabulary, even surpassing some uneducated humans.

"It seems that the human teacher you followed back then taught you quite a bit," Ning Xiu said.

"Yes, yes, the master is very kind to me, just like he treats his own child. He not only teaches me to read and write, but also teaches me propriety, integrity, and respect for teachers," the fish demon hurriedly said modestly.

In reality, there was something he didn't say aloud.

That was the gentleman from back then, who eventually couldn't resist eating himself. The fish demon still can't forget the taste of that gentleman.

It's like my own childhood.

"Hehe..." Ning Xiu chuckled softly. Suddenly, a long spear carrying black light shot out rapidly. The fish demon cried out in alarm and tried to escape as soon as it realized what was happening.

However, the power of the Great Annihilation Spear Technique far exceeded its expectations. With a single piercing, an unhealable hole instantly appeared in the fish demon's body.

[Defeat the 'Dragon Elephant Upper Realm' monster to gain +310000 General Proficiency]

"Damn it." Ning Xiu couldn't help but curse. This time, he didn't get any breakthrough points from the kill, just like the two Sparrow Kings of Wind and Thunder before. It was such a loss.

Given the fish demon's personality, Ning Xiu would never trust it again; this kind of monster had absolutely no fear.

If I let it go, it might escape somewhere and I won't be able to find it.

Ning Xiu had no reason to keep such an uncontrollable fellow. The real loss this time was that he didn't get any breakthrough points, which was a real pity.

After wiping out all the demons in the area, Ning Xiu got up and left. This trip was quite fruitful, as he had killed several Dragon Elephant Realm experts.

……

As the months passed, the situation in the Xuan Yin Domain became increasingly unpredictable.

The undead creatures that grew from the Yin trees were nearing the end of their growth. One by one, they fell off the Yin trees and began to wander aimlessly around the earth.

These undead creatures have an extreme passion for killing, and when they cannot find suitable living beings, they begin to fight each other.

It's like raising a venomous insect; the last one to survive out of a hundred immortal creatures can devour the body of its own kind, thereby gaining the greatest boost in power.

Thus, he became a monster resembling an immortal king.

Ning Xiu saw all of this through his destiny star, which made him feel inexplicably worried.

Killing these undead creatures on your own will be ineffective, because the entire world is now the Xuan Yin Domain, and there are countless undead creatures. One person simply cannot kill them all.

They could only watch helplessly as those immortal beings grew stronger with each poison, and no one knew what kind of monster they would eventually become.

Against this backdrop, Ning Xiu became increasingly worried about the situation on the Shang Dynasty's side.

I wonder if the Great Shang Dynasty still exists today.

Under such worries and anxieties, Ning Xiu made a decisive decision.

Returning home! Back to Da Shang.

For Ning Xiu, leading hundreds of people back to Da Shang from Yaotuo Prefecture was not a difficult task.

Conversely, keeping these people in Yaotuo Prefecture indefinitely is not a good thing either.

As the days go by, the Outland will become even more dangerous.

"The Martial Emperor possesses an extremely rare Dao of Destiny. With his abilities, he should be able to foresee the arrival of the Yin Tide. I can only hope that the Great Shang Dynasty can still survive for a while," Ning Xiu thought to himself.

Without further ado, the group embarked on their journey back to Dashang that very day.

……

In the past, every prefecture in the outer regions that belonged to the Great Shang Dynasty had a protectorate.

The tide came very suddenly, and no one gave any warning beforehand. The protectors of the various states certainly were unable to evacuate in advance.

Ning Xiu led a large group of people, and every time they arrived in a prefecture, they would go to the local protectorate to see if anyone was still alive.

But the result chilled him to the bone; everywhere he went was deathly silent, with only the shadowy figures of those immortal beings moving about.

As a master of the Dragon-Elephant Realm, the Protector-General was certainly able to escape in time, but the other Demon-Subduing Captains were not so lucky.

Ning Xiu found human remains in many of the protectorates, clearly belonging to the Demon-Subduing Officers who had not been able to escape the Yin Tide.

“Sigh…” Standing in the desolate Protectorate, now reduced to ruins, Ning Xiu sighed helplessly.

When the great calamity of heaven and earth arrives, all people will turn to dust.

Only creatures with sufficient strength have a chance to save their lives; otherwise, they face a near-certain death.

“My lord, we found no survivors, and there are no empty holes underground. It seems they are all gone,” Master Kongxu said as he walked to Ning Xiu’s side.

The accompanying Demon-Subduing Officer inspected every corner of the Protectorate and confirmed that there were no survivors.

"Let's continue on our journey. Hopefully, the heavens will give us good news," Ning Xiu nodded and said.

People need a sense of belonging. The Great Shang is Ning Xiu's group's current belonging. If the Great Shang is gone, then they will become the last remaining humans.

In this Xuan Yin Domain, facing a vast number of immortal beings, it's unknown how long it will take before Yang Yao arrives.

This feeling is truly suffocating, like a lone boat in a storm, which could be swallowed by the waves at any moment.

"Ah!" Just as Ning Xiu was about to leave, a scream suddenly rang out from a corner of the Protectorate.

Ning Xiu's expression changed. He had been using his Destiny Star to examine the ground and confirm that there were no immortal beings present, so why did something still happen?

Soon, a panicked civilian ran out from behind a crumbling wall, shouting in terror, "Monster! There's a monster!"

Ning Xiu moved and appeared in that location, but found nothing.

Only a patch of fresh blood remained on the ground; someone had perished.

"What happened?" Chen Peifeng quickly grabbed the terrified civilian and asked loudly.

“We just went to relieve ourselves, and a monster—no, a hand—reached out from under the ground and grabbed my fellow villager.”

"Underground?" Ning Xiu frowned. Could it be that the immortal creature had undergone some kind of mutation?

Ning Xiu reached out and grabbed the spot where the bloodstain was, and his invisible energy created a huge pit, revealing a hollow that had been dug out by something.

It was obvious that the guy who captured the civilian left through this hole.

"Chang Fenghai, Aying, Long Ning, gather everyone and keep an eye on things. I'm going down to take a look," Ning Xiu said, and then jumped into the hole.

The three people Ning Xiu named were the ones he considered to be the most reliable in terms of strength. With these three around, unless a Dragon Elephant Upper Realm expert came, even a First Rank cultivator wouldn't gain any advantage.

"grown ups!"

Seeing Ning Xiu's figure disappear before their eyes, everyone couldn't help but feel anxious.

Along the way, they witnessed firsthand just how troublesome those undead creatures were.

They are simply monsters with no upper limit to growth, and their strength is extremely terrifying. If they are allowed to evolve at will, I'm afraid that one day even those immortal beings in the Dragon-Elephant Upper Realm will not be able to defeat them.

Therefore, many people are now secretly worried about Ning Xiu, fearing that something might happen to him, since Ning Xiu is currently everyone's safety guarantee.

Without Ning Xiu's protection, these people would have no way to survive in the outer realms.

"Everyone, come closer and don't move around unnecessarily, in case of any unforeseen circumstances. No one is allowed to leave without my permission, not even if you need to relieve yourself." Chang Fenghai had been following Ning Xiu for so long.

He already possessed the demeanor of a Demon-Subduing Commander, and upon hearing Ning Xiu's instructions, he immediately complied.

Soon all the common people and the Demon-Subduing Officers approached, not daring to fall behind.

Otherwise, they could very well be the next ones to get into trouble.

"I hope Lord Ning will be alright."

"With Lord Ning's strength, there's no need for us to worry. We should worry about ourselves instead."

[182] The Mysterious Woman Underground

The cavity was very deep, and the excavation marks were fresh, so it looked like it had just been made not long ago.

What shocked Ning Xiu was the sheer strength of the guy who had kidnapped the civilian, who was able to dig such a long tunnel in such a short time.

After descending several miles underground, Ning Xiu's feet finally touched the ground. The underground area had long since become a network of interconnected caves, filled with broken skin and bones of creatures whose origins were unknown.

Ning Xiu took a light sniff and could smell the stench of decay and blood in the air.

The power of the underground star cannot reveal the whole picture, so Ning Xiu will have to search for the kidnapper himself if he wants to find him.

Ning Xiu activated his supernatural ability, the Qi Luck Eye. Instantly, a white line of Qi Luck floated in mid-air in the pitch-black underground, appearing very conspicuous.

Taking a step, Ning Xiu immediately headed towards the direction where the luck line extended.

……

Crack! Crack!

In the darkness, a long-haired man crouched on the ground, his sharp, claw-like hands constantly rummaging through something before stuffing it into his mouth and devouring it with relish.

When footsteps came from the other end of the passage, the man looked up blankly.