I slay evil in the Department of the Supernatural

Chapter 180, 179: The Power of the Mother Artifact! The Prodigy Dies Suddenly! The Netherworld Guards (Long Chapter, Please Subscribe)

Eastern District, Department of Mysteries, Supply Division.

Director Hu and Jiang Tao stood on either side of the alloy workbench, their expressions solemn.

On the table lay a simple, ancient-looking straight sword with a dark red line of blood visible on its blade.

It is the mother artifact of the "Straight Face Scraper," one of the eight evil artifacts in the sequence.

The two moved steadily and carefully placed the straight sword into a pitch-black equipment box whose surface was covered with fine runes.

"Click".

The lid was closed.

The two remained vigilant, their eyes fixed on the shimmering runes flowing across the surface of the box.

Only after confirming that all the runes were steadily lit up without any signs of agitation did Jiang Tao relax slightly.

He turned his head and looked at Xu Lindong, who had been standing quietly to the side, and shook his head with a helpless smile: "I really don't understand, why do you choose to exchange for this evil item when there are so many normal divine and supernatural items?"

This thing is extremely dangerous; if you're not careful, the backlash could be quite severe.

Xu Lindong smiled and said, "Captain Jiang, this is an evil artifact of the eighth level of the Underworld Sequence. It will be very helpful for my future advancement as a Night Wanderer to a Underworld Messenger. I need it to assist in my cultivation. Don't worry, I can control it."

"You've already cultivated fast enough."

Jiang Tao chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, "I was just about to go and collect the extraordinary material for advancing to Sequence Seven. Your strength is almost catching up with mine now."

He wanted to say a few more words, but ultimately swallowed them back.

Xu Lindong is no longer the junior team member who needed his guidance.

As the squadron leader of the headquarters, according to the unwritten rules of the system, his status is already comparable to that of the battalion commander of the branch office, which can be considered as equals.

Moreover, Xu Lindong's strength is indeed vastly different from what it used to be.

At this moment, Director Hu, who was standing nearby, spoke up to remind them: "As long as you don't use this scraper near Qinglong Temple and the ancient town's sinkhole, there shouldn't be any major problems. Just be careful."

"Understood, I will be careful."

Xu Lindong nodded seriously and picked up the box on the table.

Director Hu said with a touch of emotion, "Now that you're stationed at headquarters, I rarely get to see you. Keep up the good work; with your potential, you're sure to have a bright future."

"Thank you, Director Hu. I appreciate your kind words."

Xu Lindong laughed and thanked him, then picked up his suitcase and left the supplies area with Jiang Tao.

Jiang Tao glanced at him and tentatively asked, "That thing you encountered outside the city yesterday—was it related to the Heavenly Sinkhole Evil God?"

Xu Lindong looked slightly surprised, nodded, and then his expression turned serious: "Captain Jiang, I can't reveal too much about this kind of thing, and according to the rules, we can't discuss it privately. Director Wei already gave us psychological tests yesterday."

Jiang Tao nodded and said, "I understand. However, this matter seems to have a significant impact, and I'm afraid the security situation in Jiangcheng will be impacted again."

A hint of worry appeared between his brows.

Xu Lindong could understand the situation.

Zheng Feng is about to be promoted to Sequence Six, and will likely be transferred to headquarters as a security consultant afterward.

After Jiang Tao is promoted to Sequence Seven, he will take over the position of Director left by Zheng Feng.

Normally, the position of director should have been taken over by Deputy Director Tan, but Deputy Director Tan has been in charge of logistics for many years and is not from a combat background, so it is clear that he intends to promote Jiang Tao to the position.

Once he becomes the director, Jiang Tao will obviously have a heavier burden on his shoulders.

Jiang Tao patted Xu Lindong on the shoulder and smiled, "You have more potential than me, and Director Zheng thinks highly of you. Who knows, you might become the face of Jiangcheng someday. Keep up the good work!"

Xu Lindong nodded, but Jiang Tao hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "You and Lu Qian have a good relationship. If you have the chance—find out how her sister Lu Xue is doing lately."

Xu Lindong was taken aback, then blurted out, "I heard before that you and Lu Xue got along quite well?"

Jiang Tao's expression was complicated, and he looked somewhat tired. He sighed softly, "Some things lose their meaning once they're said. We've broken up."

Xu Lindong immediately understood; judging from Jiang Tao's expression, he had probably failed in his confession.

He didn't press further, only offering a reassuring look before replying, "Alright, I understand."

"Thanks!" Jiang Tao forced a smile. He was riding high in his career, but he had stumbled in his love life.

..

After returning home, Xu Lindong took the noodle-scraping knife and brought it into the Tower of Babel.

As soon as the mother artifact entered the tower, his merit points increased by 850 points.

However, this evil object was not directly sent to the eighth-level tunnel entrance to be imprisoned and refined.

Clearly, the evil object is still inside the equipment box.

The Tower of Babel has been determined to be under Xu Lindong's control.

They are now in front of the bronze mirror.

Xu Lindong took out the mother artifact from the box and swept it.

The mirror immediately reflected the mother artifact's detailed information:

[Straight shaving knife (mother tool)]

Source: A product of the evil transformation of the divine power of the [Netherworld Suppressing Demons - Ten Thousand Souls Slaying Ghost Blade] after it was shattered. Status: Under the control of the Tower Master. Merit increase: 850 (obtained upon acquisition).

Features:

Cut: Deals undefendable cutting damage to targets of Sequence 8 and below (damage varies depending on the target's strength).

[Sub-items and descendant items can enhance this effect. When the mother item, sub-items, and descendant items exist simultaneously, the damage can be stacked and increased to true damage against Sequence 7 targets.]

Split: After successfully killing a Sequence Transcendent, a second sub-weapon can be quickly split off (the sub-weapon's power is no more than twice that of the mother weapon and is suppressed by the mother weapon) (a sub-weapon and a descendant weapon have already been split off, and it is impossible to split off further; the damage has been stacked).

Combination: Can be combined with other mythical artifact fragments such as the hazard-flashing car to gradually restore the mythical artifact once held by the Ghost General of the Underworld, the [Netherworld Suppressing Evil - Ten Thousand Souls Slaying Ghost Blade], enhancing its functions and power (Current progress: Fragment collection in progress).

Parasitic Puppet Replacement: Can replace the currently parasitized puppet object of the mother vessel (current parasitic puppet: Qi Yu).

Usage Cost: Each activation requires 250 merit points.

"I never imagined that the mother organ's cutting function could be enhanced by the daughter and offspring organs..."

Xu Lindong's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the displayed message.

He exchanged for this mother artifact not only for its inherent power, but also for its future growth potential.

If the other fragments can be collected, they can be reassembled into the high-end divine artifact [Ten Thousand Souls Demon-Slaying Blade] that was once used by the true ghost master of the underworld.

He just didn't expect that this thing could increase in power as the number of sub-devices increased, so he really hit the jackpot.

As for the backlash from evil?

He has the Tower of Babel, and that's what he fears least.

The Evil-Sealing Equipment Box was merely a cover for him to exchange for this evil artifact.

After all, these equipment cases also have a limited lifespan.

Theoretically, it can only be used for a few times before it becomes unusable and needs to be constantly exchanged.

He doesn't have that kind of financial resources.

But if it's left inside the Tower of Babel, he can use it directly.

Although the loss of merit is painful, every time this knife is used, it is always to deal with evil people, so in the end, it is all coming from the same source.

"It turns out that the original mother vessel replaced the chosen host puppet with the daughter vessel..."

No wonder the instrument I'm using is shaped like the owner of the Golden Phoenix Hair Salon.

So the parasitic puppet within this mother artifact is—"

Xu Lindong's heart stirred.

Grasp the mother artifact and swing the blade.

"Whoosh!"

In an instant.

The eerie, grayish-brown domain expanded suddenly with the slashing of blades, like mist and miasma, chilling the surroundings.

The very center of the evil realm.

A man's figure slowly emerged, dressed in the black combat uniform of the Divine Bureau, his face pale.

It was none other than Qi Yu, Xu Lindong's former teammate outside Qinglong Temple, and the only one to die in that operation.

Xu Lindong's gaze darkened slightly, and he couldn't help but sigh.

The Qi Yu before them was no longer a living person, but a puppet corrupted and refined by evil forces, with only a remnant soul imprisoned in the sword.

He said in a deep voice, "A blood debt must be paid in blood, and it just so happens that the person who created this evil object is imprisoned here. I'll release you immediately and give you your freedom!"

After he finished speaking, he picked up the razor and strode towards the underground room on the eighth floor.

This feud should be put to rest.

At this moment, Han, the underworld messenger imprisoned in the tunnel room, had a vacant look in his eyes and a numb expression.

Xu Lindong arrived at the door of the tunnel room and reached out to knock on the door.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

A dull knock echoed in the dim space.

Inside the door, the empty eyes of the underworld messenger Han suddenly trembled, and a glimmer of light suddenly burst forth from his long-dead eyes.

His chapped lips parted, emitting a silent yet chilling ghostly howl: "Kill me—kill me—stop keeping me locked up like this forever—even if I've committed countless evils and killed countless people—for the sake of me being a citizen of Xia—give me a quick death!"

Ka!

The door to the tunnel room suddenly swung open.

A blinding light burst into the room from outside.

Immediately following was a glint of icy cold light from a blade.

The cold blade of the shaving knife illuminated the ghostly eyes of the underworld official Han, who longed for liberation.

"As you wish, I'll send you to your death!"

With a flash of light, the body of Yincha Han was instantly dismembered.

The screams had just erupted in the room.

Qi Yu's eerie figure pounced forward like a ghost!

At the same time, the mother blade of the razor in Xu Lindong's hand vibrated suddenly, emitting a grayish-brown evil aura.

Under his prompting, the Mother Artifact began to replace the puppet.

.

The next day, Xu Lindong acted as if nothing had happened.

After breakfast, I went to work in the squadron office at the headquarters of the Department of the Supernatural.

He sat at his desk in his private office, casually scrolling through the internal group chat on his Supernova phone.

I didn't pay much attention to it overnight.

The number of messages in the internal group chat has exceeded 999.

"It seems there's some very important news."

He struggled to climb the stairs.

The message at the very top caused an uproar in the group.

Yang Qiwei, ranked 62nd on the list of prodigies, died suddenly without warning.

"A prodigy of such strength, suddenly died?" Xu Lindong asked in astonishment.

Look at what the executives in the group are discussing.

It seems that Yang Qiwei accidentally ate a poisonous mushroom from some sinkhole world and died from suspected poisoning.

When the body was discovered, it was covered in poisonous mushrooms and spores, and had even undergone mutations. It has now been isolated and treated.

The news caused a stir throughout the entire supernatural community.

Many people who usually enjoy picking and eating wild mushrooms are now hesitant to do so.

"Are you kidding me? Yang Qiwei is a genius of Sequence Seven, his Qi and Spirit have long since exceeded 500, how could he possibly be poisoned by mushrooms?"

Xu Lindong scrolled through the screen, feeling somewhat incredulous.

The probability of that is almost the same as an ordinary person choking to death from drinking ice water.

This matter has sparked heated discussions all night.

However, the exact type of mushroom Yang Qiwei ate and the specific sinkhole it came from are still under investigation.

In addition, another, even more significant and unsettling piece of news has emerged.

The Salvation Society on the federal side claims that their "true god" Quentin, in his human form as the "Savior" Finch, is ready to open the third high-risk sinkhole, as well as all the remaining medium-risk sinkholes.

Upon hearing this news, the Xia Kingdom government immediately issued a strong response:

They strongly condemned it and made it clear that they would directly intervene and stop it.

Xu Lindong looked at the response sent in the group: "Anyone who dares to continue opening high-risk sinkholes, regardless of whether they are human or so-called incarnations of evil gods, will be severely punished by the high-ranking experts of Xia Kingdom."

This response was indeed very strong.

At this critical moment, the newly established Church of the New Gods in the Federation also stepped forward.

Owen, the self-proclaimed "God of the Federation," a Sequence Two Angel of Light, hypocritically declared that a new era would inevitably arrive as the sinkhole gradually reopened, but still "urged all parties to ensure the safety and evacuation of people in the surrounding area."

If the evacuation cannot be guaranteed, the New God Church will "personally intervene in the evacuation operation."

Finally, Irving didn't forget to make a promise: all those who believe in the Star Heart God will be protected and become "God's chosen people".

This series of messages exudes an absurdity and madness.

Xu Lindong frowned as he watched.

This was clearly a scheme orchestrated by the Federation's top experts long ago.

One played the bad cop, forcibly opening the sinkhole, while the other played the good cop, pretending to save people and winning over the hearts of the people.

They want to unlock the sinkhole to reap benefits, and they also want to exploit the survival crisis to harvest the faith of the lower classes and build up popularity for the new church.

The surreal thing is that quite a few people at the bottom of society in the Federation actually fall for this.

They had unwavering faith in that "new god of the Federation," Owen.

According to their closed-loop logic.

The Xia Kingdom stood by and did not come to the rescue, relying on its complete sequence to monopolize the global benefits of the supernatural transformation, plundering resources and suppressing the Federation.

The Federation was "forced" to open the sinkhole in order to make up for the defects in the sequence and "embrace the benevolent deities who were willing to lend a helping hand" in order to fight against the threat from the Xia Kingdom.

In the future, the Federation will surpass the Xia Kingdom with this and usher in the "Global Extraordinary Era".

"They're all a bunch of self-deceiving bastards trapped in information cocoons..."

"7

Xu Lindong shook his head.

I simply turned off the interface to avoid being contaminated by thoughts.

He then opened another document stored locally.

The document contains detailed information about the members of the Federation's hostile forces, which was compiled by Sister De last time.

These were all the targets he was going to "visit" this time.

With the global situation becoming increasingly tense, the newly unearthed statue of an evil god outside the city made him feel uneasy.

The country might soon descend into chaos as well.

He had to get to the Federation before things got chaotic.

On one hand, it was to investigate clues about the Pharaoh's pyramids for the Goddess Houtu, and on the other hand, to eliminate those foreign enemies who were eyeing the "King Yama's Decree" wanted poster.

On the other hand, it would be best to transfer the karma of the evil gods on one's body to them, so that they can help share the burden and feel the favor from the evil gods of Xia Kingdom.

This is a win-win-win situation.

Now that the investigation into the Yama's Decree has come to a temporary halt, the action cannot be delayed any longer.

He has to take action tonight.

"It's inconvenient to bring the Crimson Bow this time; I'll only bring the evil artifact 'Face-Scraping Straight Knife' and the Door God Shield..."

"I must use the abilities of the door gods and the earth god as little as possible, unless I am forced to do so in a completely hidden place where no one can see me, so as not to expose my identity."

""

Xu Lindong quickly sorted out his thoughts.

He then got up, went to the restroom to take care of personal matters, and walked out of the office.

He glanced at the team members in the office area, briefly explained the work arrangements for the next two days, and then left the office amidst Gu Yi's earnest flattery.

Back home, Xu Lindong took out a bottle of medicine that shimmered with a faint golden light from the storage cabinet.

This is the "Nourishing Essence Potion" that he exchanged for from the headquarters' supplies department by spending five thousand merit points.

This stuff can be taken quickly when someone is critically injured and on the verge of death, and it can repair the injury and get them out of danger at an extremely fast speed. It is a rare item that can truly save lives, and its price is naturally outrageously high.

He only managed to get this bottle after the list of prodigies was finalized more than two months ago and the headquarters returned the merit points he had earned from exchanging "town land" for extraordinary materials.

After consuming these 5,000 merit points, his total merit points on the Prodigy Ranking were still over 51,200, ranking 122nd, of which over 46,000 were still available.

"With this potion on me, and the fact that I've already opened seven of the eight gates of the human body, the safety of this mission should be sufficient."

:

After putting the medicine into his tactical backpack, Xu Lindong felt a little more at ease.

He has been diligently studying the Eight Gates of the Human Body for the past two months and has already comprehended seven of them.

The only thing he couldn't grasp was the "Gate of Death".

The Gate of Death can only be opened by putting oneself in a life-or-death situation; it is by no means something that ordinary cultivation can reach.

Many door gods who comprehended the "Eight Gates of the Human Body" never comprehended the "Gate of Death" in their entire lives.

After all, no one would risk their life to comprehend it.

But this last gate is also the most dangerous and mysterious of the eight gates.

In addition to the Qi-nourishing medicine, Xu Lindong also took out many self-made tribute items and packed them up.

After preparing everything, he took out his phone and sent a message to Yi Qianxun: "I'm going to cultivate tonight."

After he said that, Xunxun, being smart, naturally knew what he was up to and wouldn't come looking for him tonight.

He then drank a bottle of Level 2 Extraordinary Potion and his consciousness entered the Tower of Babel to continue his cultivation.

It wasn't until nightfall that heavy snow began to fall outside the window.

Xu Lindong's figure swayed, his aura suddenly turned cold, and he quietly switched to Night Wanderer mode, passing through the wall.

Their figures quickly disappeared into the swirling snowflakes, speeding away into the vast darkness outside the city.

The Commonwealth, a small outlying town on the outskirts of Oakwell.

Inside a manor permeated with the stench of rotting mushrooms, the stench of blood, and the atmosphere of madness.

Field Kerman swirled the wine in his glass.

This wine glass contains red wine brewed with the blood of young girls.

He savored the metallic sweetness, his tone casual as he soothed the increasingly agitated Terence: "Relax, my brother. Look at the life you've been living here, isn't it comfortable enough?"

The girls I sent you were all top-notch. What more could you want?

Is it just because you didn't kill that timid little mouse that was always hiding, that cowardly death warrant? You're unhappy about that?

Listen to me, brother.

Field scoffed, "He's clearly terrified; he hasn't dared to show his face for months."

Maybe they've already changed their names and are hiding in some corner, too afraid to come out.

:

We don't have that much energy to waste on him; we need to look ahead.

"Damn it! Field, that's not what you said!"

Terence's voice was extremely agitated: "You said you'd kill that guy and avenge the dead direct descendants of your family! You said you'd uphold the prestige of the Kerman family. Have you forgotten all of that? What about your family's honor?!"

"Don't mention that damned glory to me!"

Field's face gradually darkened, and he forced out a suppressed and ferocious growl from his throat: "That coward has escaped! In the past few months, even Captain Wilson's connections in Xia Country have been unable to find him. How are we supposed to take revenge?"

We've already wasted enough time, resources, and manpower on him! These losses must be recovered!

He practically roared, "We don't have time to play hide-and-seek with him anymore!"

"Fortunately, our plan has now been basically successful."

Field took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and swirled his glass. "That evil artifact has been tested and it is indeed effective."

We've already taken down a prodigy from the Xia Kingdom from such a great distance. Listen, that's already a huge success!

""

"With this one time, we can recover all our losses. Next time, if that damned Yama's Decree dares to show his face again, we can kill him outright."

"Next time? Again, next time!"

Terence jumped to his feet. "How much longer do we have to wait? Is that connection Mr. Wilson mentioned actually going to work?!"

"Enough, Terence!"

Field suddenly shouted angrily, interrupting his rambling.

"Continue to do what I told you to do; we need more manpower now."

"It's just that we haven't resolved the hidden threat of death. Aren't the benefits we've gained enough? Soon, we'll be able to hunt down even more of Xia Kingdom's prodigies!"

He impatiently waved Terence away.

Although he also really wanted to crush the mouse that was hiding everywhere with his own hands.

But he knew even better that he shouldn't limit his energy to such insignificant people.

The most important thing is for the Kerman family to cooperate with the Salvation Society to destroy the plan of the Xia Kingdom's prodigy.

After Terence left with a gloomy face, Field, holding a wine glass, slowly walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

Snowflakes fluttered outside the window, and amidst the vast expanse of white snow, one could vaguely see the ragged refugees still huddled and toiling.

Outside the manor, darkness stretched endlessly. As he gazed at it, a sudden, inexplicable unease gripped his heart.

A strange chill and unease surged up from the darkness.

Field shook his alcohol-numbed head, then suddenly tilted his head back and downed the blood-red liquid in his glass in one gulp, muttering a curse under his breath: "This damn weather—I really miss my old home in Texas County, where it's spring all year round."

.

Just now.

Beyond the city walls, deep within the secluded road.

A tattered car seat suddenly appeared on this eerie road, speeding forward in the dim light and shadow.

On the seat, Xu Lindong wore a faceless mask, and the Netherworld Soul Garment manifested on his body floated like mist.

He seemed like a mysterious traveler passing through the gap between yin and yang.

However, just as the seat passed over a certain cold and damp section of road, Xu Lindong's mind was suddenly filled with alarm bells.

In the depths of darkness.

There seemed to be an intense, almost tangible sense of being watched, rapidly approaching him.

He could even clearly sense the chilling threat, but the Tower of Babel on his neck remained completely silent and unresponsive.

This isn't right.

The malevolent entities that pose a threat on the path to the underworld are not actually malevolent ghosts.

But such beings are already rare—why did they specifically target him?

"Could it be people from the ghost market again?"

Xu Lindong's expression hardened, and his gaze swept like a knife into the depths of darkness.

A strange light was flashing in the distance.

Bathed in light, a slender figure slowly emerged.

He was draped in a black cloak, and held a large black banner in his right hand. The banner moved without wind, and ghostly figures swirled and surrounded him.

In his left hand he held a white lantern, within which a pale green flame burned eerily.

Surrounded by ghostly figures, this person was like a king walking on the path between Yin and Yang, exuding an eerie and oppressive aura.

"What the hell is this?"

Xu Lindong's gaze fell on the black banner and the cloaked figure, and his heart sank.

This image—he seemed to have seen it before.

The corresponding information he had seen before quickly flashed through his mind.

Among the dozen or so "Xia Kingdom Butchers" wanted by the federal government, one person's appearance basically matches that of the uninvited guest in front of him.

Code name: Midnight Killer.

However, what surprised him even more was the white lantern the other person was carrying.

"This lantern is clearly the ghost lantern that guides the supernatural beings from the headquarters of the Department of the Supernatural."

According to the information he had previously obtained from his squad leader Luo Li, Liu Zhixing had entered the Netherworld Road carrying this lantern to capture ghosts and interrogate them about the whereabouts of the Yama's Decree.

Now, this mysterious midnight culprit has suddenly appeared, carrying the lantern of the Department of the Supernatural—

"Could they have been sent by the Bureau of Mysteries? Are they specifically lying in wait for me on the Path to the Netherworld?"

The surrounding environment flashed by, but the light blocked their path, and Xu Lindong's expression became extremely solemn.