"As enforcers of the law, you aided the wicked, exploited the people, and stole the merits of all beings."
"You abused your power for personal gain, failing to distinguish right from wrong."
"The earth cannot record merits and faults, for the earth is defiled."
"The heavens will not send down lightning tribulations, for the heavens are blind."
"Since this world has turned right and wrong upside down, and there is no retribution for good or evil, then this Venerable shall be the one to determine the justice of this world!"
Chen Zhou pointed into the air with the giant brush in his hand, and massive black characters emerged in the void.
"Today, this Venerable judges you—all are guilty."
"Stripping you of your merits and bestowing upon you—incineration by karma-fire."
As the final word fell.
What was spoken became law.
The golden light of merit that originally shrouded the Yinsi Guards instantly dimmed.
Following that, the karma-fire on their bodies lost control at the same time.
Merits and faults began to cancel each other out, and finally, the karmic sins became substantive, beginning to backlash against their masters.
"Ah—!!!"
Screams of agony rose one after another.
The Yinsi Guards discovered in horror that their protective merit had vanished, and a trace of blood-colored flame ignited in the depths of their souls.
The 【Eternal Calamity Karma-Fire】 on Chen Zhou's body trembled slightly, resonating with the Yin-Yang Decree.
The blood-colored karma-fire instantly transformed into defense-ignoring black Hatred Fire.
The commander roared in despair, but in the face of the Hatred Fire, all struggling was futile.
The Yinsi Guards turned to ash amidst their wailing. The Hatred Fire followed the soul threads on their bodies, surging toward the eyeball in the sky like dragons of flame.
Chen Zhou's death qi also erupted at the same time, transforming into a giant bone hand that blotted out the sun, wrapping the massive eyeball within its grasp.
"Buzz—"
The eyeball spun violently. It had previously been obscured by the Cloud Sea Resplendence, but now it seemed to sense something was wrong.
Blood vessels in the eyeball bulged, shooting out a red light in a desperate attempt to resist.
Wu Gou seized this opportunity. With his fingers acting like a blade, a flash of golden light cleanly severed the soul threads connected to the mortals.
Then, he casually unleashed a burst of Buddhist light, protecting the soul bodies of Song Zi'an and the others to prevent them from being impacted by the shockwaves of the battle.
Above the sky, Chen Zhou's Hatred Fire, carrying the Divine Path Authority, had already broken through the eyeball's defenses.
The golden light of merit accumulated within the eyeball was stripped away, instantly ignited by the Hatred Fire, and then assimilated by Chen Zhou's death qi.
The once flesh-filled eyeball rapidly shriveled, finally turning into a massive bone bead.
Chen Zhou made a clutching motion in the air.
The bone eyeball exploded with a bang, turning into countless bits of bone meal that fell like a flurry of pale white snow.
"Hengji!"
The little pig, who had been waiting for a long time, cheered excitedly.
It picked up the soul-locking lamp that had fallen to the ground, opened its large mouth, and swallowed both the lamp and the souls in one gulp.
Afterward, the little pig let out a satisfied burp and withdrew the dream.
The surrounding scenery receded like a tide, the gray dream disappeared, and it changed back into the ordinary street of the town.
"Hengji~"
The little pig returned to its pink, pudgy form and jumped back into Chen Zhou's arms, rubbing against his chest to indicate that it saw many dream light-points brightening again.
Chen Zhou stroked its head, thoughtful: "No wonder there were no dreams in the entire city."
"At night, everyone's souls were detained, leaving them in a state of suspended animation with their living souls separated from their bodies. How could they dream anything?"
Chen Zhou told the little pig to go enjoy the buffet itself and bring a good dream to the people while it was at it. The city's dream revival would be enough for it to eat its fill.
Afterward, he walked back into the inn lobby with Wu Gou.
By this time, Song Zi'an, the shopkeeper, and the waiter had already regained consciousness.
They were still sitting on the ground, their faces pale, panting heavily with expressions of having survived a disaster.
Although their bodies were not injured, the pain of their divine souls being forcibly dragged was something they still felt lingering fear over.
Seeing Chen Zhou walk in, the waiter looked as if he had seen a savior, yet also as if he had seen a baleful star.
He scrambled over, hurriedly closing the door tight and moving tables and chairs to block it, fearing that the monsters outside would burst in again.
The shopkeeper stood up tremblingly and bowed deeply to Chen Zhou and Wu Gou.
"Thank you, benefactors, for saving our lives!"
"If you two hadn't acted, we probably would have been thrown into a frying pan by those Yinsi Guards tonight."
Despite the gratitude, the shopkeeper's face was filled with worry, perhaps even more terror than before.
He sighed and advised: "Benefactors... you have caused a great disaster."
"While it's still dark and the higher-ups haven't reacted yet, you should leave quickly!"
"This place is too close to the commandery. Killing Yinsi Guards is equivalent to slapping the commandery's face. The imperial court will not let this rest."
"We are beyond grateful that you saved us today, but we absolutely cannot allow our lowly lives to implicate you two."
"Leave? To where?"
Wu Gou chuckled and found a stool to sit on. "We came specifically to oppose the commandery. Why run?"
"Besides, this monk hasn't eaten his fill yet."
Chen Zhou looked at the shopkeeper, then shifted his gaze to Song Zi'an.
After activating the Law-Evaluating Eye, Chen Zhou saw that although the merit on Song Zi'an's body was still there, it was very faint, as most of it had been drained by the soul thread.
However, the auspicious cloud above his head was still floating steadily, as if confirming his identity.
"Your name is Song Zi'an?" Chen Zhou asked.
Song Zi'an took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and cupped his hands. "Indeed. Thank you for the rescue, my lord."
Chen Zhou nodded and took out a crystal-clear pine nut that emitted a faint, pure fragrance.
A pine nut from the unaging pine.
"Eat it," Chen Zhou handed the pine nut over.
"This..." Song Zi'an was stunned, subconsciously wanting to refuse. "My lord, how can I accept this?"
"I have done nothing to deserve such a reward. You saved my life, and I haven't repaid you yet. How can I take your things?"
Although he was a cook, he had seen something of the world.
The spiritual rhythm flowing on that pine nut made one feel refreshed just from a single sniff; it was definitely a rare treasure of heaven and earth.
The man before him, wearing a unique black robe whose face could not be clearly seen, could casually produce such a thing; his status must be extraordinary.
"Eat it. Your living soul just left your body; this will be of some benefit to you," Chen Zhou said plainly.
Pine nuts could replenish destiny and fortune. If a person had a special destiny, it would certainly show its extraordinary nature after the fortune was replenished.
Chen Zhou wanted to confirm something.
Song Zi'an looked at the pine nut, a flicker of struggle in his eyes.
"My lord, it would be too much of a waste to consume such a supreme treasure directly."
Out of professional instinct as a chef, he couldn't help but say, "If a few auxiliary ingredients could be added and it was cooked over a gentle heat into a spiritual meal, its medicinal effects could be maximized, perhaps even increased several-fold."
"If you trust me, I can..."
"There's no need for such trouble," Chen Zhou interrupted him. "Auxiliary ingredients are hard to find here, and a single pine nut won't make much of a spiritual meal."
"Besides, to me, this isn't anything particularly precious. There are plenty more on the trees at home."
Song Zi'an: "..."
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