Wandering Gods of Day and Night

Throughout Mingjiang Prefecture, invisible threads crisscross landscapes unseen by ordinary eyes,

The souls of those drowned by the flood and those slain by Mo Tingsheng's hired kidnappers emerged from their lifeless bodies,

And many of these souls were pierced through by the threads.

Their power drained completely, absorbed by the threads,

The threads carried the stolen energy upward, toward the Heavenly Dome.

Apart from those ensnared by the threads, countless souls were submerged by the flood, and nearly all the bodies were consumed—

—one wave, and the corpse remained intact; the next wave, nothing but a dismembered foot remained.

"Incense and fire, incense and fire, that's all it is."

"Peng Hou, this Mingjiang catastrophe—it seems you're ready to feast, while those two useless fools in the heavens wait to reap the rewards."

"Spare me the chatter. Kill more people, devour more incense and fire, and bring the Buddha Country folk into this realm."

The gods within the flood consumed incense and fire from corpses and souls, laughing maniacally in their arrogance.

Zhou Xuan finally understood,

Above Mingjiang Prefecture's Heavenly Dome, five God-level beings reign supreme:

Bone Elder's god "Heavenly Official," Tattooed Peng Hou's alien ghost, "Bone Teeth," Divine Stealer's ghost hand, "Ghost Hand," City God Shui Yong's divine entity, "Water Yong," and the Witch's god, "Queen."

Of these five, three had descended onto Mingjiang Prefecture.

The remaining two stayed aloft in the Heavenly Dome.

The gods who descended sought to use Mingjiang's apocalypse to gather enough incense and fire,

While those atop the Dome, though afraid to descend and wreak havoc, still used divine silk to extract incense and fire from the souls below.

Zhou Xuan sneered,

"Now I see why Mingjiang Prefecture hosts five gods yet allows the Kidnapper Hall to thrive. Disgraceful leadership corrupts all beneath it!"

With sensing power, Zhou Xuan probed the floodwaters, searching for the three hidden gods.

But the gods concealed within the torrent eluded his search entirely.

"Even with such strong perception, I still can't find them?"

Zhou Xuan felt he had pierced through the murky waters, yet the gods remained elusive.

"Ah Xuan, I've deduced how to use the Netherworld Stone,"

"Tell me." Zhou Xuan reached into his Secret Realm, retrieved the ethereal blue Netherworld Stone, and asked Miss Qiang, "How does it work?"

Miss Qiang explained, "The Netherworld Stone contains immense perception; it's a special product of the Buddha Country."

"How immense?"

"The stone you hold carries countless times more perception than you or the Blood Well Society combined possess."

"Such immense power?"

Zhou Xuan recalled when he first held a Netherworld Stone, releasing all his perception into it—it felt like a stream merging with the ocean.

"The Netherworld Stone, containing vast perception, creates a miniature world within itself,"

"Netherworld Stones can communicate with each other through their worlds, sensing one another's existence."

Miss Qiang said, "Remember Peng Town became a Forbidden Land due to a Netherworld Stone? That was because the perception within the stone was fully unleashed.

By the way, the perception of Jing Country is peculiar. By standard reasoning, their physical structure shouldn't allow such strong perception, yet it does,

In this aspect, Jing Country surpasses the Buddha Country."

"Because Buddha Country people lack perception?" Zhou Xuan asked.

"Indeed."

Miss Qiang added, "Have you noticed that Mo Tingsheng lacks perception—or to be precise—externalized perception, unlike Jing Country folk.

But the Buddha Country compensates for their deficiency with items like the Netherworld Stone. Still, external objects don't offer the same flexibility in use."

"So how do I use this Netherworld Stone?" Zhou Xuan pressed.

"The overwhelming perception within the stone needs Buddha energy for guidance."

Miss Qiang explained, "Luckily, you possess Buddha energy and can channel it, but you'll need specific hand seals. This stone was used by Mo Tingsheng—I can deduce his hand seals."

She instructed the White Bone Monk from the Secret Realm's Black Water to demonstrate using its skeletal frame.

The White Bone Monk's left hand formed a holding flower seal, while the right assumed a meditative seal.

"This hand seal gathers Buddha energy to activate the Netherworld Stone and connect it with others, provided they aren't too far apart."

Zhou Xuan mimicked the White Bone Monk's hand seals, raising the Netherworld Stone into suspension.

The moment the seals locked into place,

A faintly somber Buddha energy surged from Zhou Xuan's body, through his limbs, into the seals.

The Netherworld Stone's azure light flared, bathing him entirely in deep blue.

Within the stone, Zhou Xuan heard voices.

"Taiping Monk, respond! Tell me—is the Jing Country pathway open yet?"

"Yunwu Venerable, you just keep pushing; Mingjiang God is already helping the cause."

"Wansese Realm, damn it, how long must I push?"

"Just keep striking; Mingjiang God is in a Daoist-descended state and won't reveal their true form. Naturally, things proceed slowly. I've been urging them within the Netherworld Stone," Wansese Realm replied.

Hearing this, Zhou Xuan stopped the hand seals, and the stone dimmed.

"So the gods hidden in the flood are using the Netherworld Stone to communicate with the Buddha Country."

With this realization, Zhou Xuan told Miss Qiang, "Miss Qiang, you've made a critical breakthrough by deciphering the Netherworld Stone."

He immediately performed a Divine Soul Day Trip, returning to his physical body, then used the Ancestor Tree's link to have Zhou Lingyi act as his messenger.

"Sister, ask my master to teach me the voice-changing technique—I need to imitate Mo Tingsheng's voice."

Yuan Buyu was adept at voice-changing, manipulating his breath to mimic the voices of others.

"Elder Yuan said to imitate Mo Tingsheng's voice, direct your airflow one inch below the Adam's apple using a folded fan technique."

Following the instructions, Zhou Xuan transformed his voice to match Mo Tingsheng's tone.

"Mo Tingsheng?"

Zhou Xuan called out, imitating Mo Tingsheng's voice.

"Why are you imitating my voice?" Mo Tingsheng suddenly caught on, asking, "You cracked the Netherworld Stone?"

"Without your Netherworld Stone, Mingjiang Prefecture would truly face annihilation."

As Zhou Xuan said this, he unleashed Bone Teeth, slashing Mo Tingsheng's face until bone was exposed.

"What are you doing?" Mo Tingsheng gasped in pain, his breath cold.

"Just taking a deposit—I can't stand the Buddha Country folks." Zhou Xuan said and performed another Divine Soul Day Trip back above Mingjiang.

Using the Netherworld Stone once more,

Its azure light flared.

Addressing it, Zhou Xuan declared, "A peerless master has intervened. If Mingjiang Prefecture remains out of reach today, retreat!"

Immediately after,

Yunwu Venerable, unable to suspect Zhou Xuan's mimicry, lashed out, cursing,

"Taiping Monk, damn it, I've been assaulting Mingjiang Prefecture all day, and now you call for retreat?"

"Mingjiang God is assisting—why withdraw? Who is this 'peerless master' you speak of?"

"A Jing Country Guardian—the legend of 'Xiang and Fire.'"

Zhou Xuan replied, "I saw him personally, riding a black donkey toward Hong Bo—leave now, or I fear none of you will escape."

The name "Xiang and Fire" was known to all masters of the Time Law.

Fatefully, the Hundred-Eyed High Priest accompanying Wansese Realm had mastered Time Law.

He explained to Wansese Realm who "Xiang and Fire" was.

Wansese Realm fell silent.

Yunwu Venerable, ignorant of who "Xiang and Fire" might be, scoffed, "An enigmatic name—how powerful could they be? Certainly no match for me."

Wansese Realm, in that moment, found himself unable to respond…