Old Refining Spirit

The dawn did not bring much warmth to Qingping County; instead, it was like a pale, sickly shroud covering the rows of blue bricks and black tiles.

"Selling steamed buns! Thin-skinned, generously filled meat buns!"

"Fresh pork ribs, would you like two pounds, sir?"

"Tofu pudding, piping hot tofu pudding..."

Passing through the dark and deep city gate, the bustling sounds of the marketplace immediately rushed towards you. On both sides of the long street, vendors enthusiastically called out their wares, and early risers came and went, carrying vegetable baskets and yawning. Steam rose from hot pots on the street, mingling with the aroma of scallions and meat, looking especially tempting in the slightly chilly morning.

Xiaoman followed closely behind Li Xuangeng, sniffing hard as her stomach growled loudly. Having experienced a near-death experience since last night, the rich aroma of meat buns was more potent than any elixir.

"Master..." Xiaoman swallowed hard, timidly pointing to a steaming bun shop nearby, "Should we...should we eat something before we leave?"

The owner of the steamed bun shop was a middle-aged, plump man with a beaming smile, wearing a slightly yellowed apron. Seeing a customer stop, he immediately and enthusiastically lifted the lid of the steamer: "Oh, dear sir, and young lady, how about two meat buns? Authentic black pork and scallion filling, one bite and your mouth will be bursting with flavor—if you don't like it, you don't have to pay!"

Li Xuangeng stopped in his tracks, and the three-finger-wide white silk covering his eyes turned slightly to face the enthusiastic steamed bun shop owner.

"Black pork and scallion filling?" Li Xuangeng's voice was gentle and warm, like a spring breeze.

"Yes, yes! The pig was just slaughtered this morning, it's very fresh!" The boss smiled so broadly that the fat on his face was squeezed together, and he picked up the fire tongs to grab a bun.

"What a pity." Li Xuangeng shook his head regretfully, a gentle yet chilling smile playing on his lips. "The meat is good, but unfortunately this 'pig'... suffered a great shock before dying, and all its resentment is locked inside the meat. Plus, your scallions... aren't they just soul-summoning herbs growing on graves in mass graves? The yin energy is too heavy, overpowering the meat's freshness."

The boss's smile suddenly froze on his face.

However, within the field of vision of Li Xuangeng's [Aura Observation Technique], which he had been using, the scene before him was already a completely different world.

Where are you going to find any steaming hot meat buns? The so-called meat filling is just clumps of dark red, rotten meat that are still slowly wriggling; the rising white steam is just wisps of grayish-black resentment from the dead!

Then look at the smiling boss. He was wearing an ill-fitting human skin, beneath which the skeleton resembled that of some kind of arthropod, with barbs even growing from the joints. Above his head, a ball of scarlet karmic energy floated, meaning he held at least a dozen innocent lives in his hands.

In Li Xuangeng's "mind," the entire bustling street was a chaotic buffet feast of demons.

Of the "people" on the street, 70% were either deformed beings in human skin or evil spirits corrupted by demonic energy. The remaining 30% were truly alive, but they were like walking corpses, their life force being slowly drained away by these monsters.

This is a "human sacrifice" farm that is systematically and on a large scale.

"Master... what are you saying?" Xiaoman was completely confused, but seeing the boss's suddenly sinister and stiff expression, she instinctively felt a sense of panic and subconsciously hid behind Li Xuangeng's Taoist robe.

"It's nothing, just evaluating the freshness of the ingredients." Li Xuangeng slowly twirled the white bone prayer beads on his wrist. "Let's go, these are just scraps, not worthy of being served in a formal setting. The real main course is ahead."

The steamed bun shop owner's previously cloudy eyes suddenly fixed intently on Li Xuangeng's back, two streams of thick, yellowish fluid flowing from his eyes. He opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of jagged, black, sharp teeth, about to let out a shriek.

"Pfft!"

A very faint muffled thud.

Without even turning his head, Li Xuangeng flicked his left finger. A miniature palm-sized grenade, barely larger than a soybean, shot precisely into the boss's wide-open mouth.

With a loud bang, the boss's head exploded inside like a ripe watermelon. Before he could even scream, his massive body slumped limply beside the steamer. His skin quickly dried up, and a large puddle of foul-smelling green pus oozed from it.

The "vendors" and "diners" who had been pretending to live normal lives all stopped what they were doing instantly. Hundreds of malicious, greedy, and resentful gazes focused on the blind Taoist priest in white.

"Outsiders..."

"Can you smell it? Such a pure scent of essence blood..."

"Eat him...and present him to the county magistrate..."

The atmosphere on the entire street instantly plummeted to freezing point, the original bustling marketplace transforming into eerie whispers that sent chills down one's spine. All the deformed creatures were slowly enveloping Li Xuangeng in a distorted manner.

"Daoist, Daoist Master! What...what's wrong with them!" Xiaoman was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground. Although she couldn't see their true forms, the oppressive feeling of hundreds or thousands of people simultaneously displaying murderous intent was enough to drive a mortal to a mental breakdown.

Li Xuangeng did not stop walking. His white cloth shoes made a very regular "tap, tap" sound on the bluestone slabs.

"A bunch of low-grade waste, only fit to be used as fertilizer, they don't even deserve to let me start the furnace."

Li Xuangeng tilted his head slightly, his brows furrowing in disdain beneath the white silk. He then suddenly swung the wide sleeve of his right hand.

"BOOM—!!!"

It wasn't some sophisticated Taoist technique, but rather pure, extremely violent qi! A visible white wave of energy surged outwards from him, sweeping wildly in all directions.

This wave of energy contained his unique [Creation True Qi], which had an absolutely devastating effect on any evil spirits containing karmic obstacles.

The dozen or so mutants at the very front were instantly shredded into a bloody pulp the moment they came into contact with the shockwave! The monsters behind them screamed in terror, like a swarm of rats that had spotted their natural enemy, frantically trying to flee backward.

But it was too late.

The show is about to begin!