Ren Yin, along with Zhang Henshui, quickly headed towards the bathhouse to find Mo Chuan and Abe Haruko. However, they didn't notice that the large hole they entered was covered by a thin light screen the moment they stepped inside.
Meanwhile, the poison in Mo Chuan's body gradually lost its effect. His eyes flickered, and then he slowly woke up.
Mo Chuan first shook his head. Seeing Abe Haruko safe in his arms, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Ignoring his still numb limbs, Mo Chuan hurriedly got up and then patted Abe Haruko's face.
"Haruko! Wake up! Quickly, wake up!"
Mo Chuan forcefully pushed Abe Haruko's body, intending to shake the unconscious woman awake.
But as he moved, a rolled-up blanket fell from his arms.
"What is this?..." Mo Chuan scratched his head, opened the blanket, and saw the police badge and number inside.
"Brother Zhang's badge number?!"
Seeing this, Mo Chuan didn't even bother calling Abe Haruko to help with the divine statue. He directly collected her into the lantern and, clutching Zhang Henshui's police badge and number, ran quickly towards the main hall.
In the police force of this world, there was an unwritten rule: if a police officer tore off their badge number and badge, it meant that the officer had resolved to sacrifice themselves for righteousness.
Mo Chuan didn't know how long he had been unconscious. It wasn't dawn yet. He estimated it would be no more than two hours, so it was probably only three or four in the morning.
But Zhang Henshui clearly couldn't defeat the divine statue, and whether he could hold on for an hour against the statue was a matter worth considering.
As soon as he ran out of the corridor where the storage room was located, he heard an explosion not far away.
"This is bad..."
Mo Chuan ignored his not yet fully recovered body, directly activated his spiritual power, and with a surge of dark red flames, revealed his Scarlet Moon state.
"Hold on, Zhang Henshui!" he said, then charged forward, heading towards the back door.
But to save time, he ran in a straight line, crashing through walls as he went.
Unfortunately, this "straight" path would cause him to miss Zhang Henshui, who was on his way with Ren Yin.
...
King Yama's face was contorted, and a surging spiritual power fluctuation that should not belong to his age erupted from his body, even distorting the surrounding air.
"This spiritual power..." Influenced by "Shu Dao Nan," Xin Lei directly felt the spiritual pressure from King Yama. His brows furrowed, and he clearly felt that this pressure was already greater than the full power pressure of Jiu Tun Tong Zi in his prime.
King Yama sneered, waved his sleeve, and dozens of tattered bamboo slips, glowing with purple light, floated around him in mid-air.
"Let me see... let's start with this one..." King Yama gently flicked, and a bamboo slip flew out towards Xin Lei.
Xin Lei's pupils contracted. Knowing King Yama, he was well aware that King Yama had absorbed the power of "Greed" from the Outer Realm Celestial Demons. He could usually collect a large number of famous books and surviving works. These ancient books were like magical artifacts; their use required corresponding spiritual power reserves and cultivation. Without sufficient spiritual power, it was difficult to unleash their full power, and the ancient books would subtly influence the holder's thoughts. Therefore, only King Yama could preserve so many ancient books at once without being severely affected, as absolute greed suppressed the chaos of thought.
Among these, the most common were copies like Tang Dynasty's "Guo Qin Lun," which contained little spiritual power and could only unleash a fraction of the original's strength.
Higher up were originals or engraved editions of poems and lyrics like "Shu Dao Nan." These generally had a single effect but possessed powerful spiritual energy.
The most formidable and difficult to deal with were these tattered bamboo slips.
Firstly, as King Yama's collection over his nearly hundred years of life, there were bound to be many ancient famous essays and wise sayings, and they were basically 100% original works.
Secondly, although the Underworld had changed its Ten Palaces several times, with some dying due to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and others perishing from internal strife, King Yama had never changed. Moreover, few of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches in the Dragon Country in recent eras could directly confront King Yama.
And the only one who had a certain understanding of King Yama was Xin Lei, who had always held the position of "Xin Lei." This was because those who had seen King Yama use his bamboo slips were basically all dead.
Therefore, no one knew King Yama's trump cards, let alone whether he had collected any new ancient books. (Xin Lei being hit by "Shu Dao Nan" was also because King Yama had never used this poem before.)
Xin Lei dared not be negligent. He exerted his full strength to break free from the control of "Shu Dao Nan." His sturdy body erupted with bursts of lightning, and he turned into a streak of lightning, rapidly retreating.
He grabbed the stunned police officer and shouted, "Don't just stand there! Go! Get everyone away from this area!"
After releasing the trembling police officer, Xin Lei summoned a Thunderclap Axe again. Simultaneously, a mass of crackling dark clouds formed beneath his feet, lifting him into the sky.
At this moment, the bamboo slip landed not far in front of Xin Lei.
King Yama's eyes flashed with a hint of mockery. He subtly moved his spiritual power and said, "In ancient times, the Yellow Emperor drew wood from the Eastern Mountains, metal from the Western Mountains, fire from the Southern Mountains, water from the Northern Mountains, and stone from the Central Plains, and cast them with light bronze. The front was engraved with scenes of mountains, rivers, trees, insects, fish, and birds; the back was engraved with methods of farming and weaving, and the ways of governing and divination..."
This is bad!
It's the Xuanyuan Sword!
Xin Lei immediately felt a bad premonition – King Yama was using his ultimate move right from the start; he intended to kill him!
The characters on the bamboo slip flashed slightly. Within a few breaths, a golden sword phantom enveloped it, and a supreme benevolent and sacred imperial aura instantly filled the entire space, making people involuntarily want to prostrate themselves.
Xin Lei gritted his teeth and slightly bent his knees, releasing his immense spiritual power.
Thick dark clouds began to gather in the sky.
Then he raised his hand: "Sky Thunder—"
Boom—
With a deafening boom in the sky, violent lightning instantly tore through the dim sky.
Silver-white arcs surged around Xin Lei. Under the release of his ability, his white beard and hair completely transformed into the form of lightning elements, flickering constantly above Xin Lei's head. Following that, a blue-white phantom rose from behind Xin Lei.
This heaven-piercing figure was as mighty as Xin Lei himself, with bulging muscles, veins throbbing, his upper body bare. His solid arms were adorned with prayer beads and bracers, his left hand held a golden awl, and his right hand wielded a double-edged battle axe.
The giant drum behind this dharma body and its image of a leopard's eyes and sharp beak all indicated its identity—Lei Gong, the God of Thunder.
"Lightning—"
Crack—
As Xin Lei shouted, the scale of the thunderstorm grew larger and larger.
Empowered by the dharma body, Xin Lei's body swelled, and a battle axe, golden awl, and war drum made of lightning appeared in his hands. He leaped from the dark clouds, carrying immense lightning, and charged straight towards the Xuanyuan Sword phantom, confronting it head-on.
As Xin Lei attacked, the phantom of Lei Gong swung his battle axe and golden awl, smashing them forcefully against the war drum surrounding him.
Boom—Crack—
Amidst the rolling thunder, nine lightning pillars, like silver dragons, descended from the sky, striking directly at the Xuanyuan Sword phantom.