Chapter 62: The Three Great Religions

Chu Zhu’s eyes twitched slightly.

However, having learned from the experience with Li Kang... he realized that Ning Linglong probably didn't understand what he was saying either. She might have thought he was chanting a spell? Wait, why did he suddenly blurt that out? Weren't those Daoist aphorisms...

The next instant, Ning Linglong spoke rapidly, switching back to the dream language, "Earth, fire, wind, and water, heed my call! Form of the vortex!"

Terrifying billows of water materialized out of thin air, transforming into razor-sharp water blades that spun incessantly, slamming into the shadowy figure like a miniature ocean vortex.

The black shadow struggled and roared, its piercing shriek causing the glass, already riddled with cracks, to vibrate violently before instantly shattering.

"??? What is it again?"

"Ah! My ears..."

"What on earth is that?"

Outcries from neighbors echoed from the surrounding area, accompanied by vague sounds of anxious and worried discussions about whether something had exploded nearby.

"...Phew!" Ning Linglong let out a breath of relief, but then her pupils abruptly constricted.

The water blades morphed into a water vortex, entangling the dark shadow and preventing it from breaking free.

Meanwhile, the infant ghost extended its sharp claws directly. At that moment, the nails on its tiny palms grew continuously, ultimately exceeding the length of its entire arm.

Pierce! Shred!

Then...

The infant ghost spun around in mid-air and hurtled straight toward Li Kang. Its sharp claws were already aimed squarely at his abdomen!

With a steady expression, Li Kang backhandedly raised the safe beside him and abruptly slammed it down over the infant ghost!

"Clang—"

Trapped inside the safe, the infant ghost thrashed and collided repeatedly against the interior walls. Li Kang pressed the safe shut with all his might, the veins on his arms bulging.

Chu Zhu: "...?"

Wait a minute, just how much strength did you use for that?

Chu Zhu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Earlier, he had been thinking that shoving it in shouldn't be all that difficult. But clearly, it wasn't a case of the infant ghost immediately calming down and losing all its strength the moment it went inside; the thing could still kick up such a massive commotion from within?!

Chu Zhu knew very well that Li Kang was vastly stronger than him, yet even Li Kang was struggling this much... If it were him instead...

Chu Zhu shuddered; he'd probably only be qualified to act as its earthly father!

Finally, the infant ghost quieted down.

"...It's over!" Li Kang panted lightly, his expression at that moment fatigued to the extreme, the whites of his eyes tainted with faint black veins.

"The enemy... is dead?" Chu Zhu glanced at Li Kang, though he didn't dwell on it. Cutting straight to the point after a brief pause, Chu Zhu looked at Ning Linglong as well, "And as for your situation..."

"Solved? Far from it!" Ning Linglong replied. She gazed solemnly into mid-air as the black shadow gradually dissipated like melting snow. "This is no Immortal Cultivator at all!"

"Then what is it?" Chu Zhu's expression turned serious.

"It's a divine ability! To be precise, it should be a byproduct of an Immortal Cultivator's divine ability!" Li Kang said softly, his expression grave. "The enemy hasn't been dealt with! The enemy is nearby... Ning Linglong!"

"I know, I'm sensing it." Ning Linglong lowered her gaze slightly, speaking quickly as a crystalline divine radiance flickered across her brow.

A moment later, Ning Linglong withdrew the divine radiance with a wry smile. "I can't sense anything... After all, my divine ability isn't specialized in spiritual perception! If it were Bi Xuan... well, although he specializes in perception, he hasn't fully matured yet, so he might not necessarily do much better than me..."

"So, the capture failed?" Chu Zhu's expression was inscrutable.

"It failed!" Li Kang patted his cheeks. "Next, we have to deal with the neighbors around here!"

Li Kang removed his outer jacket, revealing the police uniform underneath, and prepared to go outside to comfort the awakened neighbors one by one. Hesitating for a moment, to prevent the assassin from returning for a counter-attack, Li Kang pushed the box containing the infant ghost toward Chu Zhu.

"And you, don't even think about slacking off..." Ning Linglong sighed. After taking two steps, she walked closer and gave Guan Fei a kick.

However, Guan Fei remained completely motionless.

Ning Linglong raised an eyebrow, gave him another kick, and still got no reaction. "?"

Chu Zhu's eyelid twitched. He quickly hurried to Guan Fei's side, first checking his pulse, and finally pinching his philtrum. "...Let me ask a question. If a Body Cultivator has no pulse and no breathing, are they dead, or have they fallen into some other state?"

Li Kang: "..."

Ning Linglong: "?!"

Both of them were dumbfounded, their minds instantly going blank.

"Wait... It was that attack, but, but, but, this, this..." Ning Linglong stammered incoherently, her words filled with disbelief and her eyes laced with bewilderment.

"It seems they aren't some wild transcendental!" A wave of emotion rippled through Li Kang's eyes before he quickly regained his composure. He murmured, "A wild transcendental assassin of this caliber might exist, but poison capable of instantly killing a quasi-tier-two Body Cultivator! Absolutely cannot be possessed by an ordinary wild transcendental."

Although that sword strike had wounded Guan Fei, given Guan Fei's physique, it shouldn't have been fatal—and considering that the enemy's divine ability was shadow-based rather than poison-based, it could only mean the weapon had been additionally coated with poison!

How utterly cautious!

Li Kang paced back and forth on the spot. It wasn't that he wasn't angry, but rather that he had long since grown accustomed to it... He had witnessed far, far too many of his subordinates, colleagues, and predecessors die because of various incidents.

Chu Zhu lowered his gaze. After a brief, silent pause, he suddenly asked, "How much do you know about the enemy's methods? What theories do you have regarding the enemy's origins? What kind of poison was used? If I were to ask you to go back in time by one hour and rearrange your layout, is there a way to capture the enemy in the shortest time possible? If so, what method would you use?"

"...What is the point of talking about this now? And given your strength..."

"Answer me." Chu Zhu cut Ning Linglong off.

Ning Linglong's breath hitched. She took a deep look at Chu Zhu and murmured quietly, "The enemy should currently be within a radius of one kilometer! But they've probably fled by now? Perhaps?"

"As for this method, it should be a divine ability with demonic attributes. Although there are wild demonic cultivators, wild ones shouldn't be able to get their hands on this kind of heavily restricted poison—could it be from one of the Demonic Sects?"

"...The Five Poisons Divine Society, the Joyful Divine Society, or the Omnipotent Divine Society?" Li Kang pondered for a moment before looking at Chu Zhu. "These are all major Demonic Sects! They belong to the category of being heavily wanted by the authorities... Judging by the current situation, the Omnipotent Divine Society is the prime suspect! Because the Omnipotent Divine Society heavily roots itself in Jinghai, where we are right now. However, considering that poison is involved this time... the Five Poisons Divine Society is also a strong suspect!"

Chu Zhu: "..."

Outwardly calm, Chu Zhu experienced a churning storm of thoughts internally. He looked at Li Kang again, his tone unreadable as he asked, "Are you certain... the Omnipotent Divine Society is the prime suspect?"

"...What do you mean?" Li Kang looked at him, puzzled.

Chu Zhu didn't answer... He knew all three of these divine societies! In fact, one could say he was very familiar with them.

Due to the Transcendental Isolation Policy, Chu Zhu hadn't been very clear about transcendental-related matters in the past.

However... aside from the transcendental aspect, Chu Zhu practically knew everything about the city beneath his feet—

The actual weight and significance of this incident were ridiculously high!

It was just that over the past period, ever since he came into contact with this group from the Capital Guard Bureau, he had been dealing entirely with transcendental matters, which was why he hadn't really shown his true capabilities until now...