Elder Li nodded slightly, and with a flash, the two of them and the beast appeared in front of the villagers. The villagers were so frightened by the sudden appearance that they retreated in panic.
"Please do not panic," Elder Li said in a deep voice. "I am a cultivator from the Xuanmen sect. I discovered the evil spirits causing trouble when I passed through this place and have already eliminated them."
Upon hearing this, the old man's face turned deathly pale, and his snake-headed cane fell to the ground with a thud: "You...you killed the Divine Envoy's pet?"
"The Divine Envoy's pet?" Elder Li said coldly, "Are you talking about a black snake?"
The villagers glared at Elder Li with resentment: "You killed the Divine Envoy's pet. Not only will you be punished by heaven, but you will also implicate us."
Elder Li sneered, "Evil spirits dare to call themselves divine messengers! Moreover, the pet you speak of is nothing more than the soul of a python corrupted by resentment. Do you know how many innocent lives you have harmed by worshipping such evil creatures?"
The old man's legs gave way, and he knelt on the ground: "We...we were forced into this situation! Ten years ago, there was a severe drought, and the crops failed completely. It was the divine messenger who appeared and brought rain, saving the lives of everyone in the village..."
Rong Jiaojiao stepped forward and questioned, "So you use living people for sacrifice? Those white bones at the bottom of the well, are they your 'offerings'?"
Upon hearing this, the villagers all lowered their heads. A middle-aged woman suddenly cried out, "We didn't want this either! But the divine messenger said that if we don't offer sacrifices on time, disaster will befall the whole village..."
"Foolish!" Elder Li roared. "That evil creature is merely using your fear to grow stronger. Most of the people who have disappeared from the village over the years have probably become its nourishment!"
The old man slumped to the ground, tears streaming down his face: "Retribution...it's all retribution..."
Rong Jiaojiao asked, "Is the divine messenger you're talking about someone who's completely wrapped in a black robe?"
Seeing that the old man was only filled with fear, a young boy replied, "Yes, you know him?"
His eyes held a gleam of hatred and expectation that others lacked.
Rong Jiaojiao didn't say that it was a puppet of the demon spirit, but only said, "He was an evil cultivator and was killed earlier."
The boy suddenly burst into laughter and said, "Father, did you hear that? Your revenge has been taken."
With a smile that quickly turned to tears, he stood up, bowed to Elder Li and Rong Jiaojiao, and then turned to leave.
A woman grabbed him: "Zhen'er, where are you going?"
The boy looked at the woman with hatred: "Leave this filthy place."
"No, what will I do if you leave?"
The boy pointed at the old man at the head of the group: "What should we do? Go find that old man! Don't you love him? He was the first one to sacrifice my father."
The woman quickly let go of his hand: "You, how did you know?"
"You think I was only a few years old back then and don't remember? I've endured so much hardship all these years, all for revenge. Now, the evil cultivator is dead, and you and that old man won't live much longer either, hahaha..."
He laughed and left quickly. Rong Jiaojiao and Elder Li exchanged a glance, checked the woman and the old man's bodies, and seeing that the poison had already penetrated their lungs and internal organs, shook their heads and left as well.
After getting away from the village, Elder Li stopped and said, "Let's recover our spiritual energy before continuing."
Elder Li took out a bottle of pills from his robes, gently poured out two pills, and handed one to Rong Jiaojiao: "This is a Rejuvenation Pill, which can quickly restore spiritual power."
Rong Jiaojiao shook her head: "Thank you, Elder Li, I have the pills."
This elixir isn't cheap; she can't use his.
He took out a pill bottle, took out a pill, and put it in his mouth. He also gave Zi Ling a spirit beast pill that he had refined himself. It lay down beside him, closed its eyes, and absorbed the medicinal power, looking very comfortable.
The pill dissolved in Rong Jiaojiao's mouth, and a warm current flowed slowly through her meridians, quickly replenishing her consumed spiritual energy.
Before long, her spiritual power gradually recovered. When she opened her eyes after recovering, she saw that Elder Li was still recovering, so she quietly waited by her side.
Once Elder Li's spiritual power recovered, they continued on their way.
Rong Jiaojiao recalled what happened in that village today and asked, "Elder Li, there was a stone statue enshrined in the ancestral hall of that village, and those people even worshipped it as a deity."
She recounted what had happened, and Elder Li sighed, his tone tinged with helplessness: "There are too many foolish people in the world, who are bewitched by evil spirits without realizing it. That man in black robes was indeed an evil cultivator, but he was willing to become a puppet of demonic spirits, deceiving the villagers' faith, and even voluntarily sacrificing his flesh and soul."
Rong Jiaojiao then asked, "Isn't it a bit abnormal that there are six people with metaphysical talents in their village?"
Elder Li nodded: "Something is not right. I will report it when I get back. I haven't seen any children today. I suspect that the talented children have all been sacrificed by being sunk into that well."
Rong Jiaojiao felt a chill run down her spine. Elder Li said, "Let's go. There are many similar cases. What's done is done, and there's nothing we can do but try our best to find the perpetrators and eliminate them."
Rong Jiaojiao nodded, picked up Ziling, stepped onto Elder Li's flying sword, and continued towards Jiangcheng.
They would explore every town and village they encountered along the way.
Fortunately, most of them were clean, but they would occasionally encounter a demon spirit, which they eliminated.
When they arrived in Jiangcheng, it was already evening. They first went to the Jiangcheng branch of the inspection team.
The Jiangcheng Supervisory Branch is hidden in a secluded courtyard in the east of the city. Its appearance is no different from that of an ordinary house, showing no trace of the majesty of a sacred place.
Elder Li arrived at the gate, gently formed a few hand seals, and the courtyard gate opened silently and slowly.
"Elder Li!" A young cultivator hurried out to greet him, his face showing a hint of urgency. "Headquarters has already informed you of your arrival, and Team Leader Zhang is waiting for you."
After passing through several courtyards, the three arrived at a quiet room.
Team Leader Zhang was standing in front of the table, intently examining a map of Jiangcheng that had been laid out.
Hearing footsteps, he immediately turned around to greet Elder Li, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Elder Li!"
Elder Li returned the greeting, and Team Leader Zhang's gaze fell on Rong Jiaojiao and Zi Ling, lingering slightly before he nodded in acknowledgment: "This must be young friend Rong, who can sense demonic seeds? Truly, heroes emerge from among the young."
Rong Jiaojiao bowed respectfully: "Junior Rong Jiaojiao greets Team Leader Zhang."
Team Leader Zhang asked everyone to sit down, his expression grave and his tone tinged with worry: "The situation is worse than it was two days ago. According to the latest intelligence, thirty-seven people in Jiangcheng have been confirmed to be infected by the demonic seed, and there are many more who need further confirmation."
Elder Li frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Have you found the source?"
“Not yet.” Team Leader Zhang shook his head, his gaze falling on the southern part of the city on the map. “But all the cases are concentrated in the south of the city, and we suspect that there is a demonic lair there.”
Team Leader Zhang's gaze returned to the map: "Currently, our branch has five cultivators, plus the twenty-three who have come to provide support in the past few days. We've divided them into three groups, all searching in the south of the city, but we haven't found the demon spirit yet."
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