"Those are isolated cases," Qiao Ling'er immediately retorted. "If you fail, the price is something you cannot bear."
"I've had enough!"
The man, however, let out a low growl and clenched his fists.
He turned to Xuan Hao, his face displaying a desperate madness:
"Messenger, you heard it too."
"We need power! Does that Immortal Master... need manpower? We are willing to serve, whether it's running errands, gathering information, or other dirty work. We only ask... that you bestow power upon us!"
Hearing this, the little boy also ran over.
He looked up, his small face full of anticipation.
Becoming a powerful Martial Artist was everyone's dream.
Listening to these people argue and yearn for power, a faint thought appeared in Xuan Hao's eyes.
This was not strange.
The pursuit of power was enough to make everyone brave extraordinary dangers.
Xuan Hao did not look at Qiao Ling'er and Qu Huaiwei, his indifferent gaze fell on their faces:
"For the Immortal Master, guiding you to become Martial Artists is merely a flick of a hand."
The few were overjoyed, almost kneeling down in worship.
"But..."
Xuan Hao's tone changed.
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His cold gaze swept over them, "What is the price? Mundane offerings and meaningless loyalty are useless to the Immortal Master. What can you offer?"
The leading man was stunned, then said decisively:
"This life is the price!"
"As long as you say the word, we will do it! Murder and arson, we will not flinch!"
As soon as the words fell...
"Buzz!"
Xuan Hao's main body, suspended high in the sky, one of its three giant heads, like a moving mountain, glanced at the tiny figures below.
"Buzz!"
An invisible, terrifying pressure, stemming from the difference in life-level, swept over everyone like a tangible giant wave.
"Pfft."
"Pfft!"
Qu Huaiwei let out a muffled groan, her knees went weak, and she almost fell to her knees!
Qiao Ling'er's face turned pale, and her Mental Energy vibrated violently.
Zhou Han and several young people directly collapsed to the ground, like shrimp crushed by a giant rock.
That indifferent "gaze," with its inhuman quality, made them instantly experience what true despair was!
Fortunately, that gaze only lingered for a moment before moving away indifferently.
The immense pressure receded like a tide.
Xuan Hao looked at the few people still on the ground, shaken and unrecovered, and spoke indifferently:
"Mundane transactions are meaningless, but..."
"Your prayers, the Immortal Master has heard."
He slowly raised his hand, as if receiving some invisible great power.
Without any energy fluctuations, Zhou Han and the others, who were slumped on the ground, suddenly felt their bodies shake.
They only felt that a long-dormant area within their bodies, like stagnant water, was gently touched and opened by a grand will!
Crack!
It was as if invisible shackles had shattered.
A faint but clear energy sensation instantly arose from the depths of Zhou Han and the others' minds.
"We..."
They felt the energy fluctuations!
The few were immediately ecstatic.
"You are Martial Artists," Xuan Hao said in a cold tone. "Now, your Souls belong to the Immortal Master."
As he spoke, he turned and left.
Like ink blending into water, he silently disappeared into the depths of the thick fog.
"We are Martial Artists!"
The few were suddenly overjoyed.
But besides the immense ecstasy, there was also a deep reverence.
What kind of great power was this, to break the limitations of the human body with a mere gesture and turn ordinary people into Martial Artists?
Qu Huaiwei's expression was also complex.
He could not imagine such great power.
"I've had contact with Outer Gods before, but none of them possessed such great power, perhaps..." Qu Huaiwei clenched his fists.
Actively contacting Outer Gods was undoubtedly dangerous.
But everyone had their own goals, and so did he.
The gray fog churned, and a massive shadow still loomed over the city, silently overlooking all life.
Xuan Hao paid no heed to the bittersweet emotions of the ants below.
Time held little meaning.
The city was noisy, the sun rose and the moon set.
The long period stuck in the spatial crack had accustomed Xuan Hao to waiting.
His only clear perception was the slow solidification of his Primordial Spirit and the silent expansion of his Mental Energy Domain, like a living thing.
Who knows how much time had passed.
The two adjacent main roads in Financial City were completely enveloped by the grayish-white thick fog.
It was like a huge bubble parasitic on reality, greedily absorbing the scattered "spirit" of the city as Xuan Hao's Primordial Spirit recovered.
And silently encroaching on more of the real space.
Mid-July, the height of summer's heat.
But in the Mental Energy Domain, the temperature was constant.
In this quiet, fog-shrouded district, there were no longer just a few sporadic trespassers.
On the streets, dozens of figures had begun to appear in the depths of the fog at fixed times and fixed locations.
Most of them wore masks of various shapes, concealing their true faces.
They maintained a distance from each other that was both wary and tacit.
This group called themselves the "Corpse Immortal Path."
And the one they all looked up to, revered, and tried to please...
Was the magnificent shadow, three-headed and six-armed, like an ancient deity, towering in the high sky of the fog sea.
They honored it as the "Five Prison Corpse Disassembly Immortal"!
Xuan Hao's vast Primordial Spirit overlooked the street, gazing at the ant-like gatherers below.
Their whispers, fervent murmurs, and the articulation of their trivial ambitions and prayers.
"Corpse Immortal Path? Five Prison Corpse Disassembly Immortal?"
A faint ripple appeared in the cold thought within his Primordial Spirit.
Inside a certain apartment building.
Dozens of masked figures sat cross-legged, in various postures.
A peculiar energy sensation permeated the air; it was the Mental Energy ripples they spontaneously emitted while Cultivating in the gray fog environment.
Qiao Ling'er let out a long breath.
Cultivating in this Domain indeed had far superior effects than outside.
A young man next to her, wearing a fox mask, chuckled, "You're quite bold. Cultivating here is good, but aren't you afraid of being sniffed out by the officials?
"People like us..."
The young man looked around, his gaze beneath the mask carrying a hint of self-mockery and vigilance, "are not meant to see the light of day."
Dozens of gazes swept over Qiao Ling'er.
She was the only one here who didn't wear a mask.
Her beautiful face seemed a little out of place in the gray fog.
"Afraid?" Qiao Ling'er straightened her back. "I'm not like you. I'm a student of Star Martial Academy, and I'm only here to use the environment to Cultivate."
"I haven't joined your Corpse Immortal Path, nor have I done anything illegal. Why would the officials bother me?"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
Although they gathered together, their relationships were not deep after all.
The person next to her, wearing an ox-head mask, spoke, his tone filled with worry: "Xuanmiao Zhenren, I heard the situation has been a bit tense recently? Are the officials investigating us?"
Everyone's attention was focused on the front of the crowd.
It was a figure dressed in a large black robe, with a white ceramic mask covering her face.
Despite being wrapped in a black robe, her full, curvaceous figure still revealed her gender.
She was the administrator of the Corpse Immortal Path.
And also its initiator and actual organizer.
She called herself "Xuanmiao Zhenren."
Xuanmiao Zhenren slowly raised her head, her gaze from behind the mask's holes calmly sweeping over everyone: "The situation... indeed is tense."
A suppressed commotion broke out in the crowd.
"Then what do we do?"
Someone's voice trembled.
"That's right, with so few of us, we're not even enough to fill the teeth of an official task force."
"Although Outer Gods are terrifying, if you don't actively provoke them, they might not bother you."
"But if the officials really start investigating, our underwear will probably be stripped clean!"