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“Task location: Huangtong Mansion City.

“Task summary: Reported by the mansion lord Wu Zongshan, many harmonious couples inexplicably turn against each other, assaulting and verbally abusing one another, resulting in three cases of disability, a husband murdering his wife and then committing suicide, siblings fighting against each other, creating enmity among friends and families, and similar cases of apprentice turning against master—all occurring frequently and exceptionally abnormal.

“Task objective: Investigate whether these incidents involve Evil Creatures.

“Task warning: If it is discovered that it has to do with Evil Creatures and the creature has reached Eighth Rank, immediately report to the organization and do not take rash actions.

“Basic task reward: Two hundred good deeds, one thousand taels of silver.”

“Additional task reward: Confirm the involvement of Evil Creatures and secure information about the creature, reward of five hundred good deeds.”

Right in Huangtong Mansion City?

Zhou Heng was somewhat surprised; it seemed the inner seats of the Five Emperors were indeed earnestly selecting targets, otherwise how could there be such a coincidental task location—just in Huangtong Mansion City.

“I still have to thank him for his consideration.”

However, judging by the rewards for this mission, it seemed to be more difficult and dangerous than the previous one in Ansong County. After all, the reward was higher and more substantial.

“Evil Creatures.” Zhou Heng pondered these two words.

Compared to ghosts, his understanding of Evil Creatures was limited, having encountered them only a few times, and those instances all related to the ghost Yu Shang.

After that, he had no more encounters with Evil Creatures.

Naturally, there were no further understandings to speak of.

It wasn’t until Zhou Heng joined the Zhou Tian Boundary Officers and went to the Purple Tenuity Palace, receiving the inheritance of the “Ziwei” star position, that he learned some information about Evil Creatures through the mask.

Evil Creatures were strange beings that appeared inexplicably three thousand years ago, and even the Zhou Tian Boundary Officers had very limited understanding of them.

It was known that these odd beings favored the company of ghosts when they were weak, even actively seeking out ghosts to serve and be commanded by them.

Furthermore, even newly born, extremely feeble Evil Creatures possess a spiritual impact far exceeding that of Ninth or Eighth Rank ghosts. A mere Lower Third Rank Evil Creature could, in an instant, frighten thousands of people to death.

They’re considered very effective assistants in the ghosts’ troublemaking everywhere.

Yu Shang did just that back then, first giving Sun Zhengping an Evil Creature disguised Pill, and later using the Evil Creatures to erode a Guard and chase after Zhou Heng.

Clearly habitual in employing Evil Creatures as pawns.

However, once Evil Creatures grow stronger, that is, reach Eighth Rank, they leave the ghosts and act alone.

From then on, they feed on the negative emotions of living beings to strengthen themselves.

Evil Creatures, too, absorb Yang Energy, but unlike ghosts, they are not bound by the law of Yin-Yang convergence and do not have the instinct to absorb Yang Energy innately. For Evil Creatures, the negative emotions of living beings are their best sustenance.

Therefore, if a place suddenly goes from being quiet and harmonious to being filled with constant strife and disasters, with elusive sources and inexplicably trivial reasons, it is very likely that Evil Creatures are causing mischief behind the scenes, provoking conflicts between people and stimulating negative emotions, which they can then absorb to grow stronger.

In some ways, the threat of Evil Creatures is greater than that of ghosts of the same rank.

Ghosts at most can possess one person’s body and take over it, whereas Evil Creatures secretly instigate negative emotions in people, leading to various kinds of conflicts and even riots, usually on a large scale and with extensive reach.

Moreover, Evil Creatures have various special abilities like ghosts but are even more eerie and bizarre. They have more abilities than ghosts of the same rank, making them unpredictable, and it’s easy to fall into their trap without being careful.

If it weren’t for the fact that no Sect Fifth Rank Evil Creature has been discovered in the past three thousand years, and most Evil Creatures are only of Lower Third Rank, the danger posed by Evil Creatures would definitely surpass that of ghosts.

Even so, the Zhou Tian Boundary Officers still take the appearance of Evil Creatures very seriously.

Just like the task Zhou Heng has accepted, if the involvement of Evil Creatures is discovered and at least Eighth Rank is confirmed, he is warned not to act recklessly and must report to the organization.

Still, the undeveloped Evil Creatures are relatively easy to find, usually taking the form of insects, emanating a strange aura that makes people’s scalps tingle, and are easier to distinguish.

But once the Evil Creatures have developed and become strong, they will completely hide their Evil Creature aura and transform into ordinary animals, making it extremely difficult to identify them.

Even if it’s confirmed that there is an Evil Creature in a place, it’s extremely difficult to find it.

Unless one has a very strong spirit perception ability.

Even if it’s found, it’s hard to kill it with one person’s strength.

Because the killing effect of Taoist Formulas on Evil Creatures is relatively poor, it’s easier to kill the undeveloped ones, but when facing stronger Evil Creatures, the lethality of Taoist Formulas greatly decreases.

One often has to cast the formula three or four times, or even more, to kill them.

“The Evil Creatures that Yu Shang manipulated at that time were probably only of Ninth Grade, without even basic spiritual awareness, only the instinct to thirst for blood and slaughter.”

Zhou Heng fell into deep thought, musing: “If it’s truly able to incite negative emotions in people in the shadows and affect so many, if it really is an Evil Creature, it’s probably at least of Eighth Rank.

“That is to say, as long as it’s confirmed to be related to Evil Creatures, report it immediately… They take it very seriously, indeed, very seriously. With the location in Huangtong Mansion City, I must investigate thoroughly.

“Let’s go!”

He removed his mask and pulled on the reins in his hand.

The fiery-red steed between his legs, as if understanding his intentions, immediately bolted like an arrow released from its bow, with a speed so fast that flames soon engulfed it.

The horse galloped through a sea of fire, charging thousands of miles towards Huangtong Mansion City.

…

The gentle morning sunlight dissolved the slight chill of a September day.

Wu Zongshan was in his study dealing with a mountain of documents, mostly reports of various conflicts from the people below. Now, Huangtong Mansion City was even more chaotic than when he had reported to the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer.

What was originally just two or three households having incidents each day had now developed into conflicts involving over a dozen households daily.

All kinds of situations arose: fathers turning against their children, brothers bickering, and conflicts between teachers and students… The murdered and those who had committed suicide had already reached nearly a hundred people.

The entirety of Huangtong Mansion City had fallen into an unprecedented state of panic.

The key problem was that even if people were cautious and tried their best to restrain themselves, it was all in vain.

Many would inexplicably become enraged and start arguing with others, which then led to enmity, murder, and eventually suicide.

It was as if an invisible hand was stirring the dark side of everyone’s hearts in secret, amplifying these negative aspects and allowing people to unleash their negative emotions to their heart’s content.

Wu Zongshan was so busy with the situation that he was at his wit’s end, not knowing what else to do. He could only pin his hopes on the Star Envoys sent by the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer.

Before the arrival of the Star Envoys, all he could do was try to control the spread of this influence as much as possible; however, he was well aware that the spread of this influence was too rapid, almost increasing exponentially. No matter what he did, it was like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water.

——In the beginning, it was only a few households that had incidents, but as people are interconnected, and families even more so, the rate of spread naturally skyrocketed as the number of affected people increased.

Unless the evil creatures at the source were eliminated, there was no stopping it.

Bang bang!

Just then, the sound of knocking spread through the air.

Wu Zongshan’s eyes lit up, and he quickly stood up and rushed to open the door of the study. He then saw a tall man in a Purple Robe and wearing a mask.

The mask was adorned with the portrait of an exceptionally majestic emperor, exuding an aura of authority which made Wu Zongshan feel that this Star Envoy was more noble than any other he had previously encountered.

“Star Envoy, Your Excellency!!” Nevertheless, he was very excited.

After all, the only ones capable of dealing with ghosts and evil creatures were those of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer, and without someone from there, he had no way to deal with such bizarre and elusive evil creatures.

Now, at last, he saw a glimmer of hope.

“Prefectural Lord,” Zhou Heng said in a deep voice, he had altered his voice and not used his original identity but had come in the capacity of the “Ziwei Master” from the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer.

By doing so, he could separate the identities of “Zhou Heng” and “Ziwei,” avoiding many unnecessary troubles.

Since the mask had a strong effect of concealment, even changing the wearer’s breath and characteristics, Wu Zongshan did not recognize that the “Star Envoy” before his eyes was Zhou Heng.

“Please have a seat, Your Excellency the Star Envoy,” Wu Zongshan said, treating the Star Envoy as the savior of both Huangtong Mansion City and himself. He quickly invited Zhou Heng to sit down and poured him a cup of clear tea. “Your Excellency must already have some understanding of the situation here, but would you need me to go over it in detail again?”

“I have a general understanding of the situation, but I am missing specific cases for reference,” Zhou Heng acknowledged, nodding. “Please, Prefectural Lord, provide a few cases.”

“No problem,” Wu Zongshan nodded.

He had been handling the files and records of this matter for days and had memorized the cases, especially some typical ones, which he could recite chapters and verses.

…

The first case occurred five days ago.

The people involved were a young couple, who had just gotten married last year; the woman was twenty-one, and the man twenty-three.

Even though their families weren’t particularly well-off, they were both in the prime of their youth and willing to work hard; they had a harmonious life, which was the envy of their neighbors.

Three months ago, the woman became pregnant, and the man found a better job. It seemed that their life was set to improve.

But it ended in a tragedy where the husband killed his wife and then committed suicide.

Two dead, three lives lost!

A family destroyed, lives shattered!

According to the neighbors’ recollections, the couple had a fierce argument before the incident. The noise was so loud that they could roughly make out the reason for the dispute.

It was about whether to have porridge or noodles for breakfast.

…Such a trivial matter, which normally would result in a brief quarrel and a quick reconciliation between the couple.

But this time, it led to the ruin of the entire family.