Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

In theory, every living being's holy form should only have one ability, even at the level of a Great Emperor.

There has never been any known case of a holy image undergoing a mutation. Even the True Yang Emperor does not know what effects or changes would occur after such a mutation.

This is a great fortune that belongs solely to Ning Xiu.

Ning Xiu spread his arms and slowly rose into the sky. His holy image shone brightly in the night sky, just like the blazing sun, illuminating the earth.

The golden thread slowly split open and began to devour the land surrounding the Protectorate. Countless clods of earth, grass roots, dark trees, and even the wandering undead creatures were all sucked into the golden thread and disappeared without a trace.

Each Saintly Aspect of the Dragon Elephant Upper Realm possesses different abilities. Ning Xiu's Saintly Aspect 'Blessed Land Grotto Heaven' comes with its own space, and after being fused with 365 black patterns...

This holy image became even more unusual, revealing a hidden secret.

Floating in the air, his body shone like the blazing sun on the earth. At this moment, in the eyes of the people on the ground, Ning Xiuzhen was like a god descending to earth, indescribably sacred.

Some of the older people couldn't bear the scene and knelt down, bowing and kowtowing to Ning Xiu repeatedly.

Even many years later, as they approach their graves, Ning Xiu's image will surely remain vividly in their minds.

call out!

In the vast emptiness, a large amount of soil was continuously pieced together, eventually forming a floating island that was wider at the top and narrower at the bottom.

On this island, countless shady trees were quickly squeezed together to form an enormous tree, at least a thousand feet tall, reaching the sky.

On the surface of this giant tree, numerous undead creatures were embedded, wailing incessantly and twisting their bodies, but to no avail.

Immortals do not experience birth, aging, sickness, or death. Only when defeated by an enemy will they transform back into yin energy, awaiting their next rebirth.

Therefore, they will be trapped here for endless years, their cries becoming eternal sounds.

Above the treetop, a giant golden egg lay nestled in the dense foliage, pulsating vigorously, as if a powerful being might be born from it at any moment.

And so, in an instant, an incredibly bizarre scene was born.

On the lower half of this giant tree, tens of thousands of undead creatures, filled with resentment and resembling a floating hell, struggled and wailed.

The upper body, on the other hand, is an incomparably holy golden egg.

……

Ning Xiu put away his holy image and slowly landed. Seeing that Ning Xiu was alright, everyone was overjoyed and rushed over to ask him questions.

"Lord Ning, what exactly happened just now?"

"Lord Ning, you scared us to death! We thought something bad was going to happen to you."

"Lord Ning, Lord Ning, let me kowtow to you and ask you to bless me."

Ning Xiu waved his hand: "Go away, stop talking nonsense and be normal."

After calming everyone down, Ning Xiu sat down on a large rock, feeling a mix of reminiscence and regret.

He stretched out his hand, and a lily immediately grew in his palm.

The flower stem was connected to the flesh of Ning Xiu's palm, which looked quite mystical.

With a single thought from Ning Xiu, the lily transformed into a cactus and a laurel, eventually withering, aging, and rotting, turning into a handful of yellow earth in his palm.

"This is the power of thought, but unfortunately I am not yet a true Inner Realm Saint," Ning Xiu thought to himself, feeling regretful.

Originally, with the help of the Black Demon Ancestor's enlightenment, he should have been able to achieve the Inner Realm Saint Realm, but the price was that even if he succeeded, his consciousness would collapse along with the vast memories, and in the end, Ning Xiu, who was an Inner Realm cultivator, became a body without a soul.

Fortunately, with the help of the Holy Minister, he was able to absorb all of these memories. Although he couldn't help Ning Xiu enter the Inner Realm of Sainthood, he at least saved his life.

Furthermore, the Holy Image has also evolved. These two gains are definitely worthwhile.

"I should now be considered a half-step Inner Realm Saint, with the ability to use a portion of mental power. Given time, I can truly step into the Inner Realm Saint through comprehension," Ning Xiu said confidently.

After being sucked away by the Holy Minister, there was no longer a single immortal being left around the Protectorate; it was completely clean.

After what had just happened, everyone was exhausted and started sleeping on the spot. Ning Xiu's wake-up made everyone feel relieved and at ease.

Silent all night.

When daylight came, the demon-slaying officers were able to see clearly just how terrifying the Holy Image's suction power was, thanks to the sunlight.

Except for the area outside the Protectorate, the entire area within a hundred miles was sucked down and sank into a valley-like landscape.

"This... Lord Ning's strength is becoming more and more unfathomable. This is simply a miracle!" one of the Demon-Subduing Officers couldn't help but say.

The others nodded in agreement, indicating their approval.

If Ning Xiu had treated them as enemies, I'm afraid none of us would have survived even a moment.

Without saying much, the group continued on their way. Their goal was to return to Da Shang. If they didn't hurry, they wouldn't be able to reach Da Shang by next spring.

……

Several months later.

When a long, winding city gate appeared on the horizon, everyone in the group beamed with excitement.

The Great Shang Frontier!

In the past, the journey from Da Shang to Yao Tuo Prefecture was extremely long, so long that no one except those from the Longxiang Upper Realm could undertake such an expedition.

This led to the Shang Dynasty temporarily abandoning its infiltration of Yaotuo Prefecture. If Ning Xiu were still at the Dragon Elephant Upper Realm, it wouldn't be so easy for him to lead a group of people and the Demon Subduing Commander back to the Shang Dynasty.

However, once he reached the half-step Inner Realm Saint level, everything became much easier.

Everyone can grow a pair of wings and travel four thousand miles a day. Not to mention the Great Shang Dynasty, you can even reach the capital.

However, compared to when they left the frontier, the defenses of the Great Shang Dynasty's frontier are now in a state of disrepair, overgrown with vines and moss, indicating that no one has lived there for a long time.

Ning Xiu's heart sank. Could it be that the Great Shang Dynasty had not taken any precautions against the arrival of the Yin Tide? Could it be that... the Great Shang Dynasty is already gone?

Once you cross the border, you'll see that what used to be military camps and tents are now overgrown with dark trees, and scattered undead creatures roam the ground.

It was utterly silent.

"Is the Demon Extermination Bureau still in existence?" a Demon Extermination officer asked, his eyes red with tears.

Joining the Demon Suppression Corps and protecting the people is the lifelong aspiration of every Demon Suppression Corps member. If the Demon Suppression Corps were to disappear, it would undoubtedly be a collapse of their beliefs for these Demon Suppression Corps members.

If you lose your faith, what can you do while you're alive? You're no different from a walking corpse.

After flying several hundred miles further, a faint, clanging metallic sound suddenly caught Ning Xiu's attention.

Now his five senses are extremely sharp; he can easily sense even the movement of an earthworm several miles underground.

Following the sound, they found several teenagers on the ground, wielding iron swords and fighting against a group of undead creatures.

Most of these young men were self-taught, just wielding iron swords and swinging wildly without any swordsmanship foundation. Only one boy swung his sword skillfully and effectively.

It is precisely because of this person's existence that these teenagers have been able to survive the pursuit of the undead until now.

"Brother Xiaoli, what do we do now? More and more of these ghostly things are popping up. If this continues, we'll definitely never be able to get back."

"If we had known, we wouldn't have come out to look for the Purple Shade Grass. Now we're going to die out there without even finding our lives."

The teenagers cried and complained, while also swinging their swords to slash at the undead creatures that were approaching from all sides.

Iron swords can still damage ordinary undead creatures, but they are not difficult to deal with if the user is a skilled swordsman.

However, these teenagers had no basic martial arts skills whatsoever, not even as good as Ning Xiu was when he was an apprentice in the Champion Camp. If the stalemate continued, the teenager who knew swordsmanship alone would not be able to protect everyone.

clap clap clap!

Just as the boys were in despair, those originally ferocious undead creatures suddenly exploded on the spot, shattering into pieces.

What should have been a crisis was averted in an instant, leaving everyone bewildered.

What's going on?

"Huh!" The most quick-witted boy, who knew how to use a sword, looked up and saw Ning Xiu and the others floating in the sky.

When he saw the situation of the other group, his face immediately showed shock.

A group of people, with wings, can fly!

What kind of monster is this?

As Ning Xiu landed, the wings behind the Demon-Subduing Commander and the people vanished one after another. These were things that never existed; they were merely created by Ning Xiu using his mental power.

“Don’t be afraid, we are all citizens of the Great Shang Dynasty. I am Ning Xiu, the Golden Dragon Demon-Subduing Officer of the Great Shang Demon-Subduing Division. I would like to ask you how many people are still alive on your side.” Ning Xiu walked up to the young man who knew swordsmanship and asked.

This person looks the most clever and should know the most.

"Demon Slayer? You're the Demon Slayer!" Upon hearing Ning Xiu introduce himself, the boy's eyes instantly lit up with excitement and hope.

[188] The Mysterious Village That Remains Intact

In the Great Shang Dynasty, the Demon Subduing Division was a banner, representing safety.

When ordinary people encounter any difficult or unmanageable situations, their first thought is always to summon the Demon-Slaying Officer. As long as the Demon-Slaying Officer arrives, the situation will be safe.

“Yes, I came back from the outer realms. What do you know about the current situation within the Great Shang territory? Tell me.” Ning Xiu nodded in response.

"I don't know either. The imperial edict from Chaotiandu was issued to relocate the people to Zhongzhou, but the elders from several villages unanimously disagreed with it. In the end, they kept it from the Demon Subduing Division and told us that we had already moved..."

The boy spoke clearly and quickly gave a general account of what had happened.

It turned out that several months ago, the capital suddenly dispatched a large number of people to summon officials from all over the country and relocate people from all over the Shang territory to the Central Plains.

No one has a reason or excuse but must abandon their homeland; those who are unwilling will be forced to go to Zhongzhou even if they are tied up.

However, in some remote areas, the elderly still have too strong a attachment to their homeland and are simply unwilling to abandon their ancestral graves and leave the place where they have lived since childhood.

Five villages, including the one in question, joined together to conceal their relocation from the authorities, reporting that they had already moved, but in reality, they had moved their entire villages into hiding in the mountains with their families.

When the officers and soldiers who came to investigate saw that the villages were empty, they had no suspicions and directly confirmed that these villages had been abandoned.

After the soldiers left, the villagers secretly returned and continued to live in the village, completely unconcerned.

The reason these people dare to be so fearless is because there is a statue of the local earth god in the village. With the protection of the earth god, even evil spirits have not appeared for decades.

He believed that even without the Demon-Subduing Guard, he could live well by relying on the Earth God Temple and did not need the Demon-Subduing Guard's protection at all.

On the day the dark tide descended, something terrible happened.

The land became barren, the food mutated, and the water sources were polluted. The once lush green plants covering the mountains and plains all turned into shadowy trees. The sight of those trees with human heads on them was enough to terrify the villagers and give them nightmares at night.

For some unknown reason, the villagers in these villages did not experience any physical abnormalities after experiencing the dampness. On the contrary, some people who should have died from serious illnesses suddenly regained their vitality and came back to life.