Chapter Sixty-Nine: Everything Ends, A New Beginning

But just as Long Yun had said, this place was no longer tenable—they had to hurry and find Wang Hui so they could escape together.

Speaking of Wang Hui brought up another issue. In truth, by now Xiao Zi’s strength had grown to such an extent that he no longer needed Wang Hui at all. Yet suddenly, he realized something about Wang Hui’s constitution. At first, he thought Wang Hui was simply someone with an abundance of soul power. But after spending so much time in this world and encountering all sorts of people, he’d never seen anyone else whose soul power overflowed quite like Wang Hui’s.

So he had a vague sense that Wang Hui was not so simple. It would be best to keep him close, especially since this human still had his uses.

Long Yun and Xiong San had left. Xiao Zi had fled. At the scene, only the strange beings that had taken over the Ghost Tamer’s body remained, along with Si Liren, who had again fallen unconscious.

They exchanged glances, and then one of them, a Westerner, spoke. “I’ve searched this guy’s brain for all sorts of memories about sealing me away. I’ve learned a lot. For example, the location of this place’s Bureau of Supernatural Creature Investigation, and their research institute, where many supernatural entities are imprisoned.”

“What are you getting at?” another asked.

“With our current strength, we could wipe out the Bureau. Once we release all the supernatural creatures inside, the surge of terror among the humans will be immense. We’d reap a bounty of fear.”

“That’s not all,” said another, pointing at the unconscious Si Liren. “I’ve got intel on this girl too. She’s the human representative of the Six-Winged Fallen Angel. She can help us supernatural beings quickly recover our strength, maybe even allow us to regain physical bodies.”

At these words, the rest grew excited. They couldn’t help but imagine themselves sowing terror, regaining their forms, and returning to the height of their power. As for being suppressed from the outside world—that didn’t even cross their minds.

Without further discussion, they grabbed the unconscious Si Liren and set off in one direction.

At this moment, no one realized that, because of these few supernatural beings, the beginnings of a vast and powerful organization were quietly taking shape.

Before long, an eerie red rain began to fall from the sky. Beneath the downpour stood a man and a woman.

Jiao Rumeng stared in disbelief at the lifeless body of Zhang Chenyang, shaking her head, eyes wide with shock, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“No… impossible! How could this be?”

Fan Tianxing’s face was grim, and before he could utter a word, his phone rang.

“The ruler of Maoguo has been seized by the Demon Lord. They’ve unilaterally severed ties with Great Xia. Come home.”

“What did you say? Do you have any idea that my senior…”

He was cut off: “I know. But do you really think you can defeat whatever killed your senior? Besides, he’s surely long gone by now. We’ll keep tracking him. When you’re strong enough, you can have your revenge.” The call ended, leaving Fan Tianxing standing in the darkness, rain running down his increasingly ashen face.

In truth, the caller had left something unsaid—they too were wary of Long Yun and Xiong San. Though those two weren’t powerful themselves, the gods behind them were direct lieutenants of the Demon God of Fear. This only confirmed how extraordinary this matter was; they would have to proceed carefully.

He could sense it: this city was finished, its air thick with the presence of supernatural beings. Without Great Xia’s protection, this country was doomed.

But there was nothing to be done.

Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him: What if, from the very start, from the moment the vengeful spirit killed Sun Shihe, everything had been part of its plan? Had every step since been orchestrated by that spirit?

A wave of helplessness washed over him.

“The Malevolent Spirit of Extreme Evil, is it? I look forward to our next meeting.”

Meanwhile, in a mountain valley within Great Xia, a little fox was hunting when it suddenly sensed something. Its ears twitched, and it looked in a certain direction, as if drawn by some mysterious force.

It walked all the way to the edge of a cliff and looked down—there was another fox below.

But this fox was different: it had nine swaying tails, fluttering as if blown by the wind.

Just then, the nine-tailed fox below looked up at the little fox above, startling it. The little fox backed away, ready to flee—only to discover that the nine-tailed fox had already appeared behind it.

Before it could react, a beam of light shone from the nine-tailed demon fox onto its head.

A moment later, the little fox’s eyes grew sharp. The nine-tailed fox spoke calmly: “The era of the demon race is about to begin…”

This was not an isolated incident. All across the world, animals were showing signs of extraordinary intelligence. Yet humanity remained oblivious—this was only the prelude to disaster.

As for Xiao Zi, he had found Wang Hui and the Clown. The three of them were now discussing their next destination.

First, it must have nothing to do with Great Xia, and the further away, the better.

Second, the destination couldn’t be one of the Five Great Nations—their depths were unfathomable, and going there might mean never coming back.

Considering that his second task was to blanket an entire country in fear, a smaller nation would be ideal.

Besides, actually getting there required a method.

By chance, at that very moment, Xiao Zi noticed a group of obvious rich folk heading in the same direction, each laden with luggage. Something about it felt off. Normally, people of that status would drive—or at least have help carrying their things—so why were these people, families in tow, glancing around so nervously?

“What are those people up to?” Xiao Zi asked Wang Hui.

“No idea. Why don’t you go ask?”

Xiao Zi thought for a moment, then used his Shadowstep skill to ambush a middle-aged man in a suit, pulling him into the shadows.

The man was so terrified he was speechless. “You… you’re one of those supernatural beings from the stories!”

That actually surprised Xiao Zi. Wasn’t Maoguo supposed to be great at information lockdown? How could an ordinary person know about this?

Xiao Zi didn’t waste words. He conjured a clock out of his energy. “Where are you all going? What’s happened? Tell me before this clock runs down, or your head is moving elsewhere.”

At this, the man burst into tears.

“Crying? That counts toward the time.”

“Just say what you know—what’s there to be afraid of?” said the Clown, grinning wide.

As soon as the Clown finished, the conjured clock began to chime, its sound impossibly eerie.

That was enough to truly terrify the man. He spoke at once.

“Don’t—don’t! I’ll tell you everything!”

“The truth is, those of us who are still getting by have heard some things from the authorities. There’s no way to hide what’s happening in the world from us. Now that Great Xia and Maoguo are finished, without Xia’s protection, this country is doomed.

“So all of us have bought boat tickets. We’re planning to leave for more stable countries.”

“Which country?”

“Of course the Beacon Nation! It’s a paradise for the wealthy…”

He didn’t get to finish before Xiao Zi cut him off. “That’s enough. You’re no longer of any use.”