The taxi stopped in front of Luming Villa.

Ling Ping'an got out of the car and the driver followed him. He said very respectfully, "Young master, please take care..."

"Master, please go back as soon as possible!" Ling Ping'an turned around and waved his hand.

The other party replied respectfully, "Okay!"

However, he kept his eyes on Ling Ping'an as he walked into the gate of Luming Villa until he disappeared into the night.

He sighed, "Gods! There really are Gods!"

Then, he returned to the car and opened the communication channel.

In the communication channel, familiar voices were discussing fervently.

"Do you know?"

"Tonight, in the sky above the imperial city, there is a sword immortal chasing after a savage! I saw with my own eyes that sword immortal flying between tall buildings..."

"That sword light... Tsk tsk tsk..."

"I saw it too!"

"At midnight, at the Foreign Ministry's Building, there's a rainbow piercing through the sun..."

Listening to the heated discussions of his colleagues in the channel, the driver chuckled, "Sword immortal?"

"I saw a true immortal! The immortal had performed some spells on my car!"

Unfortunately, the God didn't ask him to spread the news.

He could only listen to his colleagues bragging on the channel.

...

The helicopter rotated above the Cross Slope.

A huge searchlight shone on the ruins of the factory.

Zhang Hui jumped down from the helicopter and landed steadily on the ground.

At this moment, the entire Cross Slope was filled with armed soldiers.

There were also hundreds of experts of the Blackguard mixed in the army, monitoring the situation at all times.

"How's Blue Fall Yellow Springs Formation?" As soon as he landed, Zhang Hui asked Ning Qinghong who had come to welcome him.

"Master Zhang..." Ning Qinghong replied, "Everything is fine..."

"But..."

"Hmm?" Zhang Hui asked, "What's wrong?"

Ning Qinghong replied, "Before that young master left, he promoted a heroic spirit to City God..."

"If Mr. Lu wakes up... what should we do?"

Zhang Hui frowned, "City God?"

"Young Master Ling promoted a heroic spirit to City God?"

"This is the power of conferring a God!"

Conferring a God was the power of Heaven and earth.

Ever since the recovery of the spirit aura, the Federal Empire had been conducting research and exploration in this area.

Unfortunately, they had yet to reach the threshold.

They had only managed to nurture the Guardian God, Emperor Guan, by accident.

But...

Emperor Guan was an isolated case. There were too many things that could not be replicated.

Now, that person had promoted a heroic spirit to a City God?

Although the City God was small, it was still a God.

And creating a God was something that the Federal Empire and the Blackguard had been working hard on ever since the recovery of the spirit aura!

Only by creating a new God could the old Gods be buried!

Those bloodthirsty, crazy old Gods who treated everything in the secular world like pigs and dogs should be buried!

The Federal Empire would never be a slave!

Zhang Hui asked, "Where is that heroic spirit?"

"Sir, please follow me..." Ning Qinghong said.

She brought Zhang Hui to the ruins, in front of a haunted residence that was surrounded and concealed by the spirit aura of the Netherworld.

This haunted residence did not look like the antique houses in movies and television shows.

Instead, it had a modern aura.

It had a structure of more than ten floors. The outer walls looked similar to the outer walls of the municipal buildings in the imperial city. They were all made of glass.

However, this kind of glass looked like aluminum foil.

It felt a little surreal.

Zhang Hui looked at the building that was hidden in the ruins and covered by the spirit aura of the Netherworld. He was also a little stunned.

"What's going on?" He asked.

How did the legendary haunted mansion become a building?

In front of the building, he saw a few soldiers in military uniforms who looked like they were real soldiers standing guard.

The soldiers were still holding rifles in their hands.

Zhang Hui walked over and the soldiers saluted one after another.

A standard military salute from the Federal Empire!

"Welcome, General!" They shouted in unison.

A man in a major uniform walked out of the building and said to Zhang Hui, "Zhang, our mayor is waiting for you..."

"Mayor?" Zhang Hui didn't quite understand.

"The ancient City God was equivalent to a county magistrate or county governor..."

"It's also the current mayor and provincial governor..."

"Although the imperial city is a special city, it's still a city... So, Xiao Zhuang is equivalent to being appointed as the mayor..."

"It can be like this?" Zhang Hui was dumbfounded.

The other party chuckled, "Of course it can be like this!"

"The underworld also has to keep up with the times!"

"Especially since the Lord of Mount Tai hasn't returned yet!"

"But, if he returns, he won't be the Lord of Mount Tai or the Earth God anymore..."

"Just like how he changed from the Earth God to the Lord of Mount Tai..."

"He has to change according to people's perceptions and changes in the world!"

Zhang Hui immediately grasped the key point, "Senior Wang, you mean..."

This major was one of the major of the Blackguard.

He was just a major from more than a hundred years ago.

He had followed the commander-in-chief back then and came here to quell the chaos at the Cross Slope.

During the crisis, he had joined hands with more than a hundred of his comrades and sunk into the Netherworld's core.

He had used his own sacrifice to obtain a chance to turn things around!

After his death, his soul did not dissipate naturally under a very small probability. Instead, it condensed into a ghost and still retained his memories from when he was alive.

Therefore, he had also become the ghost guard of the Cross Slope.

Over the past hundred years, he had been leading the heroic spirits who had died in the past to guard and protect this place.

Zhang Hui and he often met.

After all, he was a minister in the palace and was responsible for the safety of the imperial capital.

Naturally, the two of them had long become friends.

Major Wang gently adjusted his collar. The military uniform that was originally covered by Yin Qi on his soul body was now lifelike, as if it was real.

He smiled and explained, "It's just as the general thought..."

"After Xiao Zhuang was appointed as the City God, she understood many things..."

"With her authority, she mobilized the strength of the Netherworld and built this temporary office building in the crack between the present world and the Netherworld. It was used as a place to receive, control and judge the souls of the dead in the imperial capital..."

"It's also known as the City God Temple!"

"The ancient City God Temple can naturally be the mayor of the imperial capital's Yin Department now!"

Zhang Hui's heart pounded as he listened.

However, he still did not understand, so he asked, "How did that person appoint... hmm... Xiao Zhuang as the City God?"

"I don't really understand the specifics either... At that time, I was bound by the Yan Sheng Sect's Blue Fall Yellow Springs Formation..."

"Oh right!" Major Wang suddenly said, "General, there's something I hope you know..."

"There's a mole in the Blackguard!"

"He poisoned the incense provided by the Blackguard. This poison caused us to not be able to detect the abnormal movements of the Blue Fall Yellow Springs at the first moment!"

These heroic spirits had died in the Netherworld.

Their souls had long been bound to this land and could not be separated from each other.

This was especially so for that mister.

In a certain sense, he was the Cross Slope and also the great formation of the Netherworld.

Any scheme or magic art aimed at this place would not be able to escape their control.

It was precisely because of this that they were able to firmly control this place for so many years. They had also built this place into a prison for the Federal Empire to imprison and execute those evil spirits.

At the same time, it had also become a place for people who had become ghosts due to various accidents.

However...

Even ghosts needed supplies.

Incense, yang Qi, yin Qi...

These were the resources that ghosts relied on to survive.

Apart from yin Qi, the other two relied on the Blackguard's supplies.

And someone had tampered with these supplies.

As a result, all the high-ranking heroic spirits had been plotted against in tonight's Cross Slope and that powerful mister had yet to wake up.

Zhang Hui nodded and laughed scornfully, "Don't worry, we'll catch that traitor!"

The Blackguard had never been one piece of iron since ancient times.

There had never been a lack of henchmen!

Thus, the Blackguard would never show mercy to these traitors.

As the two of them spoke, they had already walked into the interior of this building.

As soon as they entered, thick yin Qi rolled over. Even Zhang Hui felt a bone-piercing chill.

The moment they walked through the door, Zhang Hui saw the interior of this building, the center of the hall that was no different from the real world.

An invisible tentacle-like thing was twining around a soul that was wailing in pain.

The top of the tentacle opened up like a flower bud.

Drops of liquid dripped down.

The soul that was twined around continuously begged for mercy, "Give me a quick death... Ah... give me a quick death!"

"I beg you! I beg you!"

However, the flower bud-like object was like a machine that only focused on torturing it.

Moreover, Zhang Hui noticed that one of the drops of liquid that dripped down was the painful liquid of punishment and torture.

The other drop was something that had the miraculous effect of instantly healing the soul.

As a result, the soul that was wailing had already lost its form a second ago and was about to dissipate. In the next second, it solidified and began to wail and beg for mercy again.

Looking at the wailing soul, Zhang Hui knew that it was the general deacon of the Yan Sheng Sect, Ding Jianping, nicknamed Blind Ding!

This person had committed countless felonies!

Including, but not limited to, crimes against humanity, genocide and waging war.

He was always in the top three on the Federal Empire's red wanted list.

At the same time, he was the target of permanent pursuit by more than ten foreign countries!

"You also have this day!" Zhang Hui was extremely happy.

Then, he heard the major next to him say, "This guy attacked that guy... and then, it became like this..."

"It's said that the body that he entrusted and the robe that he entrusted after his corpse was dissected were all smashed by that guy!"

"In the end, that guy extracted his soul and imposed this punishment..."

"It seems that he will be tortured here forever..."

"He will repent in pain and wail forever!"

Zhang Hui felt a chill down his spine when he heard that.

However, as long as he thought that this guy was a butcher whose hands were stained with the blood of countless innocent people and heroes, he was extremely happy.

However...

"This kind of torture... will he gradually get used to it?" Zhang Hui asked his own question.

"No!" A cold voice appeared from above.

A female officer wearing a black army uniform with the rank of second lieutenant on her shoulder fell from the ceiling.

"The punishment that the Lord Magistrate used..."

"How could such a loophole be left behind?"

She looked at Blind Ding who was wailing.

"General... as far as I know, the punisher summoned by the Lord is an expert in the prison of punishment!"

"Look... every drop of his liquid will be slightly adjusted..."

"Make sure that the torture of this sinner will be different from the last time!"

"Make sure that it will be in extreme pain forever and ever."

"Until its soul and consciousness are completely consumed by the pain and torture."

"Considering that the executioner is still treating it at the same time..."

"I estimate that the punishment will not stop until 10,000 years later."

"It will be completely consumed after 10,000 years of torture!"

Zhang Hui felt his hair stood on end as he listened.

Legends appeared in his mind.

According to the legends of Land of Qin, the soul of a sinner would be burned by the flames of Hell.

The Buddhists also talked about the various punishments of hell.

What tongue-pulling hell...

However, none of them were as good as the punishment in front of him.

That was because this was a punishment that had no end and no respite.

The sinner would walk towards the ultimate destruction amidst eternal pain and torture.

"Lord of Mount Tai?" Zhang Hui seemed to have caught the key, "Is that Lord of Mount Tai?"

"No!" The female officer turned around. A faint dark green light was lingering on her cold face.

"Lord of Mount Tai is him!"

"But he is not Lord of Mount Tai!"

"What do you mean?" Zhang Hui asked seriously.

"Lord of Mount Tai... the existence who appeared tonight and gave me the power of City God... is just an existence living in his shadow..."

"So... I say, Lord of Mount Tai is him... but he is not Lord of Mount Tai!"

"Because Lord of Mount Tai might just be a parasite that lives in his body... relying on him, resisting or borrowing his great power to resist a parasite that eventually falls and finds life!"

The female officer picked up a thin book.

"This is the information I saw from the power of the City God after I was granted the power..."

Zhang Hui listened and lowered his head.

He thought that he had already seen his position but now he knew that what he saw was just the tip of the iceberg, like a blind man touching an elephant.

The female officer in front of him turned around and said, "General, please follow me..."

"Sir is awake. Please go over..."

"Sir is awake?" Zhang Hui immediately followed.

Sir was called Lu Tai.

The third commander-in-chief of the Blackguard.

He was also the only commander-in-chief who died in battle!

He died in battle here. His limbs were broken and his soul was shattered.

However, by a stroke of luck, he merged with the entire underworld and became an existence similar to the earth bound spirit.

In a sense, he was still the leader of the Blackguard!

For a hundred years, he had been silently protecting this land.

He had also been providing experience to his juniors.

Most of the generals of the Blackguard had received his help.

Therefore, over the past hundred years, generations of Blackguard generals had addressed him as mister.

Mister!

He was meant to be a teacher.

A teacher who preached and answered questions!

He was also a guide who would guide the way forward and break the heart barrier.

Zhang Hui had once received a great favor from mister!

In his heart, mister was a father and a friend and he had always respected him.

Hearing this, he naturally did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly followed him.