A Night of Desperation

Chapter 356: explosion Two

This scene, observed by Deputy Mayor Xu Jianfeng, immediately caused him to breathe lightly, his face revealing a shocked expression.

He had seen confrontations of techniques before, but those were magical attacks. He had never actually seen a magician with the ability to control physical objects from a distance like Yu Hong.

Without the aid of resentful sand, the performances of magicians usually were just so-so, stronger than ordinary people, but not by much.

Of course, the top magicians were extremely lethal, but it was not as visibly evident as this.

"How is it?" He waited for a while before asking quietly.

"This crab has been dead for a while." Yu Hong shook his head and frowned, "It’s been dead for at least three days, and it’s already starting to smell foul. But just now... it still tried to attack me..."

"Yes... It suddenly jumped up so high. Only Master Yu could have dealt with it, anyone else might have gotten injured." Xu Jianfeng nodded, swallowing his unease.

Yu Hong pondered for a moment, discarded the still crab, and turned to face him.

"Mayor Xu, I need to compile real-time statistics on the current state of the flora and fauna around Taizhou."

"I mean, things like their numbers, whether they are diseased, their range of activity, and other detailed data."

"Will this affect our investigation?" Xu Jianfeng asked in return.

"It has a major impact." Yu Hong nodded.

He needed a complete understanding of the Spirit Disaster’s impact on the natural environment. He was familiar with the Black Disaster and the Cold Disaster was simple, but this Spirit Disaster raised the environmental spiritual fluctuation index silently every day.

Up to now, the environmental spiritual index had already broken through two.

Yu Hong felt a sense of alarm at the rate of increase, but everything around him seemed normal. He had no clear idea what was being affected.

He agreed when Mayor Xu found a situation and came asking for his assistance, going with the flow.

"It might take some time, I’ll go back and have the investigation team cooperate, check the entire timetable. After all, dispatching people to collect data in real-time from various places can be much slower." Xu Jianfeng frowned.

"No problem, as soon as possible is fine." Yu Hong nodded.

Leaving the beach, Yu Hong returned to Qingchen Temple, ready to go back to his room for cultivation.

However, halfway there, he overheard the idle chatter of the temple’s new disciples.

"...so many people died?"

"It seems that’s not all, mainly because that woman cheated on her husband, even transferred assets, the man couldn’t bear it in the moment, took a knife and went to their house, seven dead, three injured, sigh... blood all over the place."

"And last night on Jin Song Road, a madman wielding a steel skewer from a barbecue stall stabbed three people, reportedly after an argument with his family, he went out to take revenge on society..."

"What does arguing with your family have to do with other people? Why didn’t he just go home and kill his own family? Really f*cking insane!"

"Exactly."

"....." Yu Hong slowly walked into the Quiet Room and opened the window to let in fresh air.

Outside the window was a quiet street on the side of the Taoist Temple.

People were coming and going on the street.

Working men and women, young mothers with their children, senior citizens taking walks, small vendors calling out continuously.

There was an inexplicable weariness and dejection on everyone’s face.

Yu Hong narrowed his eyes and suddenly noticed that everyone in his sight, regardless of age or gender, had bloodshot eyes.

It seemed like no one had a good night’s rest.

A driver stuck in traffic leaned out to swear loudly, honking the horn incessantly.

A man pushing a baby stroller wobbled along, looking dazed.

A shopkeeper and a customer shoved each other over a discrepancy of a dime in change.

Everything became a bit more irritable and restless.

Yu Hong closed the window and lit a stick of incense to calm and clear the mind.

He sat down cross-legged.

Closing his eyes, he began again to immerse himself in the cultivation of the Guanwu Skill.

Ever since his breakthrough aided by elixirs, his spiritual power had indeed increased significantly, but the Fear Shadow Black Giant, which should have been summoned, remained indistinct and unclear. It seemed innately insufficient.

Although the elixirs allowed him to summon the Black Giant for combat without defeating the Fear Shadow, the strength of the summoning was much weaker than he had anticipated.

"It seems that for actual combat, I still have to rely on Spirit Light. For Daoist Skills, I must first bring the Guanwu Skill to its pinnacle, and acquire the special trait of the cultivation technique then see. A good special trait is really a huge help for me."

His current level of the Guanwu Skill had already stabilized at the Seventh Layer. To break through, it was estimated that without several years, he shouldn’t even think about it.

"Daoist Skills determine endurance and qualifications, while magical attacks determine combat power. The Daoist Skills that were enhanced by elixirs are innately insufficient, and I must compensate for this area before I can continue to make breakthroughs."

Yu Hong thought for a moment, by himself, significant breakthroughs will be difficult in a short period of time, now he’s just waiting for the enhancement medication for the Black Mark, to see if it could assist the promotion of the Guanwu Skill.

It was already February. By early March, the enhancement for the Black Mark would be finished, and then the results would be known.

Setting his mind, he quickly immersed himself into the cultivation of the Guanwu Skill, the innately insufficient Seventh Layer, was slowly being compensated for under such devoted cultivation.

But this kind of compensation required years of continuous effort to complete.

And during this time, the trait of Tao Breath Circulation provided great help to Yu Hong.

If it weren’t for Tao Breath Circulation, he might only be able to enter like the old Taoists of the Yu Generation, only to regress and fall in realm shortly after.

Time slowly passed by.

In the blink of an eye, more than two hours had passed.

Knock knock.

The door was knocked upon.

"What is it?" Yu Hong opened his eyes and asked softly.

"A letter has been sent from the Ancestor Court of the Taoist Sect; it’s regarding the end-of-year competition," the Taoist boy Fu Bai said softly outside the door. "The letter is delivered personally by a special envoy from the Primordial Heavenly Master Mansion, and you are required to personally sign for its receipt."

A special envoy from the Primordial Heavenly Master Mansion?

Yu Hong frowned; his Qingchen Temple was only a fringe force and had never been accorded such a treatment before, with a special envoy from the Ancestor Court delivering a letter in person.

Clearly, this time it was either a special treatment or... something big had happened!

"I understand, I’ll come out immediately," he said in a low voice.

He changed into a new Daoist robe, quickly left the Quiet Room, and arrived at the main hall.

Inside the hall, Cheng Shu was quietly briefing the envoy on the various situations of Qingchen Temple.

The rest were waiting around, the atmosphere solemn.

The envoy was not young with graying hair, looking no younger than sixty at a glance.

His figure was upright with a green long sword on his back, his actions and deportment exuding a sense of straight and sharp quality.

"I am Tang He from the Primordial Heavenly Master Mansion, I have come to see Master Yu," the envoy said, taking the initiative to greet with a salute upon seeing Yu Hong approaching.

"So, it is the renowned Fei Peng Taoist Tang He. I’ve long admired your reputation!" Yu Hong hurriedly returned the salute. This man was a famous expert from the renowned Heavenly Master Mansion.

"The situation is urgent, so I’ll get straight to the point. This is the official letter from the Ancestor Court, please take it!" Tang He took out a black metallic envelope from his large sleeve and handed it over with both hands.

Yu Hong also received it with both hands.

"May I ask Mr. Tang He, has something significant happened on the side of the Taoist Sect?"

"Last night, around three twenty in the morning, the Seven Evil Alliance organized over a hundred Magicians to launch a surprise attack on the Buddhist Sect’s Vajra Sect, and not a single one of the seventy-four people in the sect survived!"

"This morning at seven fifty, the Seven Evil Alliance dispatched at least three top Magicians to attack the Nine Sects’ Supreme Ningxu Palace, assassinating three Elder Taoists of the Taoist Palace, and Palace Master Huang Song of the Ningxu Palace was seriously injured; an invaluable treasure kept in the palace was destroyed..."

"Just half an hour ago, when I was boarding the plane, I received news that the Three Evils of the Seven Evil Alliance jointly tried to assassinate Master Mo of the Jinxiao Temple, who was severely injured. If it weren’t for Xu Heavenly Master arriving in time, I’m afraid..."

As he spoke, Tang He looked at the shocked listeners of Qingchen Temple around him and continued.

"The Taoist Sect and the Seven Evil Alliance have now gone into full-scale war. You must follow the instructions written in the official letter, make all necessary preparations. With this letter in hand, in a critical moment, you can release the unique Magic and activate the powerful Technique set within it to obtain about half an hour of protection time to save your life."

"The situation is that serious?" Yu Hong was startled and asked.

"Several small branches of the Taoist Sect have already been eradicated. This time... it seems the Seven Evil Alliance is determined to have a head-on confrontation with us... Long Qingzi must have gained some exceptional confidence to dare to challenge both Left Heavenly Master and Xu Heavenly Master directly," Tang He said with a sigh.

"Alright, I have other tasks at hand, Master Yu, now that the letter is delivered, I will take my leave!"

He said no more, bowed to the surrounding Taoists, and then briskly left the main hall to sit in the sedan outside.

Yu Hong, clenched the official letter and gently opened it, to find a not-so-short letter inside.

The main content was about the cancellation of the end-of-year competition, all Sects to raise their alertness, cooperate with official departments in joint defense, and prevent any terrorist attacks that endangered public safety.

"Senior Brother, what do we do now?" Zheng Ming, who was listening on the side and was scared out of his wits, was the first to ask.

At this point, he was extremely grateful that their Taoist Temple had produced such a powerful top genius like Zheng Rou.

Otherwise, under the tide of the Seven Evil Alliance, the entire Qingchen Temple would probably be completely sunk by a single wave.

"Don’t be afraid. With the support of brothers and sisters from the Mutual Aid Alliance, and with our own Spirit Light Secret Skill, even the Seven Evil Alliance would not achieve much unless they send their main force," Yu Hong said calmly.

His understanding of the Seven Evil Alliance wasn’t extensive, mainly coming from Qing Huang.

"The strongest of the Seven Evil Alliance is the Alliance Hierarch Long Qingzi and the Seven Evils; each of the Seven Evils are top Magicians and renowned experts, second only to the two Heavenly Masters in strength. But though they’re strong, our Taoist Sect is stronger."

He looked around and saw the unease on the faces of the disciples in the main hall.

"There are top Magician experts like that in every one of the Nine Sects, one to two of them. We have an absolute advantage in terms of the number of top experts, so there is nothing to fear.

In order to win, the Seven Evil Alliance would not likely disperse their forces to target small branches like ours. Instead, it’s the Nine Sects that are in greater danger because they are the main targets of the Seven Evil Alliance."

With these words, the faces of the Taoists, led by Zheng Ming, relaxed a lot,

"Well said!"

Yu Hen and Yu Mo, along with a group of old Taoists from the Yu Generation, walked into the main hall.

"The danger of the Seven Evil Alliance is still far away; now, the trouble we need to solve is closer!"

Yu Hen said with a grave expression, looking toward Yu Hong.

"Elder, what trouble?" Yu Hong felt a bad premonition seeing the expressions on the faces of several old Taoists.

"Zheng Rou, Lushan Village near Taizhou has been covered by a Spiritual Domain, and a total of three hundred and seventy-two people have disappeared completely. I’ve just received a call from the stationed military district, asking us to set off immediately to assist in the investigation!" Yu Hen said in a heavy tone.