Another year passed.
During this year, the situation changed dramatically, with dragons and snakes rising, ten thousand ghosts walking at night, the heavens and earth becoming bleak, and malevolent energy rampant.
Every corner of the universe was affected by the Nine Nether Myriad Graves, and the Lesser Immortal Realm was almost annihilated.
Only supreme powers could barely descend into the mortal realm.
Former grandmasters, supreme elders, and others had all become cripples.
Only a very small number of exceptionally intelligent prodigies could find a sliver of hope amidst the onslaught of Dao Ghosts, refining the power of Dao Fruits.
And during this year, Chen Jiuyang remained in the old city of Qingzhu City, rarely moving, spending most of his time fully deducing the whereabouts of the remaining six Great Origin Dao.
His fame was not prominent in this turbulent and changing era.
During this year, Hand Slave and Substitute Ghost found dozens of minor ghosts for Chen Jiuyang to refine into Dao Power, so that their relatives could recover their cultivation and re-enter the Dao path.
In the span of a year, the Guardians and the Jixia Academy had also classified the Dao Ghosts and anomalies into nine levels.
The situation seemed to be gradually becoming clearer.
Just as Chen Jiuyang discovered that the pure Dao Power left by Dao Ghosts could allow people to recover their cultivation, if Chen Jiuyang could discover it, then beings like him would certainly know. Therefore, during this year, many powerful figures emerged, seemingly aiming to carve out their own territories.
"Rustle!"
Bamboo shadows swayed, and more and more people resided in the old streets of Qingzhu City, which now appeared somewhat crowded. Over the past year, strange incidents had occurred all over the world, yet the old city of Qingzhu remained completely unharmed.
This was the effect of the spiritual domain.
Chen Jiuyang's children were all attending school normally.
After refining the Dao Power given by Chen Jiuyang, his family members could no longer remain idle. Instead, they joined the Guardians, began working, and received salaries and stipends. In such circumstances, no one could remain aloof.
On this day, Substitute Ghost, coughing up blood, found Chen Jiuyang by helicopter: "My lord, I have not failed in my mission. I have indeed found the Dao Ghost you spoke of."
"Hand Slave and the others have already fallen in."
Four strands of immortal energy coiled around Chen Jiuyang's body, and he slowly opened his eyes, a cold killing intent flashing within them: "You did not report my name?"
Substitute Ghost said with a wry smile, "My lord, I reported your name, but those people did not appreciate it. We are all international police, but our strengths are different. Allowing me to survive and report to you is already a courtesy shown in consideration of the title of Guardian international police."
"Why rush to die..." Chen Jiuyang's gaze grew colder: "They want to snatch my Origin Dao."
"But since Hand Slave has already fallen in, we must depart immediately."
The remaining six Great Origin Dao of 'Zhuang Wu' were filled with slaughter, extremely dangerous, and were complete Origin Dao containing nine types of Dao Power.
They were inherently the most dangerous and troublesome types of Dao Ghosts.
"Where is it?"
Substitute Ghost replied, "A small fishing village."
Chen Jiuyang then stood up and said, "Li Gen and I are in the small fishing village."
The figures of the two immediately vanished from their original positions and reappeared in the small fishing village a thousand miles away.
This place was ancient, surrounded by forests, with a small river flowing through it, yet no insect chirps or bird calls could be heard, giving it an eerie silence.
At the entrance of the village, a chilling coffin was placed, and white mourning lanterns were hung everywhere.
Chen Jiuyang's eyes narrowed slightly: "It should be 'Curse'."
"Lead the way ahead."
"Yes, my lord," Substitute Ghost replied.
Substitute Ghost and Hand Slave were unafraid of death and possessed exceptional intelligence. They had made significant contributions to him over the past year.
Substitute Ghost, still wearing his burial clothes, led Chen Jiuyang forward.
At the entrance of the village, many terrifying and chilling presences were gathered.
Among them, a young man in a suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, saw Substitute Ghost approaching and sneered, "Detective Zhang, you're back so soon. It seems you haven't learned your lesson."
"This place is not something you or the person behind you can meddle with."
"Was the lesson you received earlier not enough? I'd like to see how many times your burial clothes can let you die, and how long your lifespan can sustain you."
Although a terrifying supernatural place was very dangerous, once a way to survive was found and refined, the rewards were also immense.
Substitute Ghost's expression immediately turned extremely ugly. Although his burial clothes could allow him to cheat death, each death would deduct one year of his lifespan. He had died dozens of times this year. If not for Chen Jiuyang giving him some remnants of the King of Medicine to prolong his life, he would have truly died long ago.
Chen Jiuyang, clad in a moon-white bamboo-patterned robe, looked at the young man with gold-rimmed glasses and asked calmly, "Zhang Gen, was it him who injured you and forced Hand Slave into the village?"
"Yes, my lord," Substitute Ghost replied truthfully.
"Bang—"
An invisible pressure immediately struck. The face of the man with gold-rimmed glasses changed drastically, and before he could react,
After an explosion, the man's physical body turned into dust, bit by bit.
He died silently.
The people nearby who witnessed this scene were instantly horrified!
This man with gold-rimmed glasses was, after all, possessed by a Dao Ghost. With just one glance, the Dao Ghost and his physical body within him perished.
Who was the person behind Substitute Zhang Gen, and why was their strength so terrifying?
"How dare a mere Dao Ghost insult my subordinate, seeking death." Chen Jiuyang's indifferent voice echoed.
"I wonder who it is, so it's Brother Chen." From the crowd, a dashing young man emerged, who was none other than Qi Wushuang, whom Chen Jiuyang knew.
Several international police officers followed behind Qi Wushuang. Seeing the man with gold-rimmed glasses die in Chen Jiuyang's hands, one of the international police officers said sternly, "Captain, shall we make a move?"
"Hmm?" Qi Wushuang merely glanced back at his subordinate, then smiled at Chen Jiuyang and said, "It's been several years since we last met, Brother Chen. My subordinate has caused such a misunderstanding. How should I handle this, Brother Chen?"
Chen Jiuyang said calmly, "I have already acted. Do you have any objections?"
A flicker of apprehension flashed in Qi Wushuang's eyes, and he said, "Forget it, forget it. Since it was my subordinate causing trouble, it shouldn't damage my relationship with Brother Chen."
Seeing Qi Wushuang back down, everyone present was astonished. Qi Wushuang had established a formidable reputation over the past few years, yet he was yielding to an unknown individual.
Who exactly was this young man before them?
"It seems Brother Chen is also here for this ghost village," Qi Wushuang asked.
"Indeed." Chen Jiuyang did not state it directly, "This place has a connection with me."
"Heh heh, we are all connected to this," Qi Wushuang said.
Chen Jiuyang chuckled and said, "Then let's rely on our own abilities."
Qi Wushuang's arrogance in front of him must have had some backing.
"Let's go." Chen Jiuyang then led Substitute Ghost into the ghost village. The moment they crossed the coffin, a terrifying malevolent aura coiled around them.