Infinite Professions

Chapter 337 - 177: Bandits and Marauders

"Lanruo Old Demon?"

Shen He frowned: "What is its origin?"

The old ghost raised its arm, pointing to the east: "Thirty-eight thousand miles from here, at the border of Jinling and Jinyang Mansions, there is a county named Guobei, within which stands an ancient temple called Lanruo.

This Lanruo Temple has been abandoned for years, the monks within mysteriously vanished, leading to the proliferation of ghosts and monsters. Ultimately, an ancient demon, thousands of years old, emerged. It’s unknown what creature gained essence, but it possesses great magical power, surpassing even a Ghost King.

This demon resides in Lanruo Temple, recruiting vicious evildoers as its minions, and commands an army of fierce and evil ghosts, with a notable presence that even the City God Divine Monarch of Jinling Prefecture cannot subdue."

The old ghost’s words unveiled the background of the Lanruo Old Demon.

Hearing this, Shen He also frowned.

In this world, primordial spirit is scarce, with ninety percent of the world’s essence residing in the divine souls of living beings. Therefore, whether human gods or ghosts and monsters, they rely on incense to cultivate. Without incense, they can only devour other yin souls or living beings.

This leads to the division between good and evil, with the Orthodox Dao using incense as a resource to protect humanity and all creatures, while the Evil Dao consumes souls as food, devouring various living beings, especially humans. The two sides oppose each other, like fire and water.

Yet, despite the opposition between good and evil, water and fire, some matters exist in a delicate balance, with an unspoken understanding.

The path of deities and ghosts is like this. Though good and evil oppose, some old demons possess profound foundation and formidable strength, making it impossible even for great gods above the third class to conquer them, as forcing a solution would lead to mutual destruction, a Pyrrhic victory.

Thus, many demons and monsters occupy their territories, establishing ghostly realms, just like various deities in counties and prefectures, ruling as kings. Not only humans, but even divine beings dare not enter these realms lightly.

Clearly, the Lanruo Old Demon is one of them.

The ghostly flow is categorized into evil ghosts, fierce ghosts, ghost heroes, and ghost kings. Corresponding to the divine dao system, the twelfth to tenth class are evil ghosts, ninth to seventh grade are fierce ghosts, sixth to fourth grade are ghost heroes, and first to third grade are ghost kings.

This Lanruo Old Demon, situated at the border of two mansions, rendering even the Divine Monarch of both Jinling and Jinyang ineffective, must be at least a third-grade Ghost King, since Jinling Prefecture is one of the two capitals’ auxiliary cities, and its Jinling Divine Monarch is a Capital City God, ranked third grade, a great god.

A third-grade Ghost King, when aligned with other systems, equates to a Tier Ten existence.

Tier Ten expert!

Shen He had never formally encountered such an existence. The closest was during the Tianbei battle, when the Ten Thousand Mothers Sect and Blood God Sect made every effort to cultivate a Blood God Child, but the Blood God Child was slain by him before reaching Tier Ten.

Thus, Shen He has yet to encounter such an expert, let alone confront one.

Some pressure.

However, it matters little. This vast Middle Thousand Realm, with regions so extensive that one mansion encompasses tens of thousands of miles, positions Lanruo Temple thirty-eight thousand miles away from his Little Huang Village, so despite the Old Demon’s strength, its reach remains limited.

This isn’t to say a dignified Ghost King lacks the ability to traverse thousands of miles, but rather that the divine and ghostly paths mutually threaten, forming a balance.

Though powerful, the Lanruo Old Demon is constrained by the Divine Monarchs of Jinling and Jinyang Mansions, unable to easily leave the Ghostly Realm lest its lair is destroyed and its retreat blocked.

Thus, the Lanruo Old Demon poses no immediate threat to him.

However...

"The Lanruo Old Demon, intimidated by the Divine Monarchs of the two mansions, dares not leave the Lanruo Ghostly Realm and thus gathers fierce and evil ghosts to form a predatory force, looting yin souls and living humans, which are then offered to the Lanruo Ghostly Realm for its enjoyment."

The old ghost said in a somber voice: "There is a nest of evil ghosts in Little Yellow Mountain acting under the name of the Lanruo Old Demon, controlling a group of mountain bandits who wreak havoc, plundering travelers and nearby villages. Miss Nie probably encountered them earlier."

"Evil ghosts!"

"Mountain bandits?"

Shen He murmured, his eyes changing.

Life and death differ. Whether deities or ghosts, those who wish to cross the realm of Yin and Yang and interfere in mortal affairs must pay a significant price.

Thus, divine beings cultivate temple priests and temple officials as their representatives in the mortal world, while evil ghosts and demons hiding in the deep mountains will control some mountain bandits as their minions.

These living bandits can do things that ghosts cannot, such as invading villages to destroy temples, using mortal means to eliminate divine beings of the Underworld.

Ordinary villages and common lands struggle to fend them off. Only the strong places with dock fortresses can barely keep them at bay.

This pack of evil ghosts and bandits lurking in Little Yellow Mountain poses a threat to him and Little Huang Village, needless to say.

But that concerns the future and is not an immediate worry.

Shen He lowered his gaze, looking at the old ghost: "With such insight, you must not be an ordinary wandering soul?"

"I would not dare to deceive the Divine Monarch!"

The old ghost bowed: "I was originally the village chief of Baixi Town in Qinghe County. After my death, I was recruited by the Land God of Baixi Town to serve as a land subordinate official, thus having gained some knowledge."

"Baixi Town?"

Shen He searched his memory: "The Baixi Town massacred fifty years ago by horse bandits?"

"Exactly!"

The old ghost nodded: "Fifty years ago, a group of horse bandits raided Baixi Town, looting and destroying temples, killing villagers, and even the Land God fell victim to the evil ghost behind the bandits. Though I escaped, I had nowhere to go and ultimately became a stray soul."