Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!

Chapter 552: Mysterious Soul Fragment

"Quick! Quick, hold him down! Ow, this little brat bit me again!"

Amidst the chaotic crowd, a sudden shout rang out, and Jiang Yuan swooped down from mid-air, with the Bright Moon Sword automatically sheathing itself with a "swish".

He quickly took out a Spirit Stone and swiftly placed it in the hand of a roughly seven or eight-year-old boy, who was fiercely biting his own father.

The child, sensing the rich Spiritual Energy, calmed down and greedily clung to the Spirit Stone, sucking on it, showing no aggression.

"Whoa, this young man just dropped from the sky!"

"From the sky? Really? I was too focused on the kid acting like a hungry wolf and didn’t see it. How did he fall?"

"Shhh! He might be in cahoots with the Sect Leader!"

"And you still call him Sect Leader! Are you out of your mind? That Lu guy screwed everyone over like this! If I weren’t unarmed, I’d have torn his shrine down... "

...

Some were crying, some were cursing, and others watched closely as if expecting a spectacle, making the entrance of the Fox Immortal Sect as lively as a temple fair.

Jiang Yuan, with the Soul Hook on his wrist, observed the possessed villagers, noticing their changed appearances—ordinary faces originally just emitted a bit of green light under the Fire Eyes Golden Gaze skill. But now, they appeared half-human with one side resembling a fox, occasionally bulging with green pustules, as if something eerie lurked beneath the skin. The fox-like eyes glimmered with eerie green light.

Those with less severe symptoms had only half their face showing partial fox-like features.

Besides the young boy, there was a roughly twelve or thirteen-year-old girl and an elderly man, who all exhibited strong devouring tendencies under the bloodly aura’s stimulation.

Evidently, the crowd had had a spat, managing to control those into a frenzied biting state by pinning them to the ground with wooden sticks temporarily.

The man who seemed to gain a little control back on his son loosened his grip slightly, only to be bitten hard enough to draw blood.

Jiang Yuan quickly handed each of the other two a Spirit Stone for comfort as well. Only at this point did the tumult begin to gradually settle down.

"Thank you, young master! What treasure is this?" The young boy’s mother, both excited and frightened, cried tearfully while expressing gratitude and inquiring, "Why did my son suddenly turn out like this? Did Lu Erxi have something to do with it?"

"It’s indeed related to the Fox Immortal Sect, but rest assured, I can eliminate the hidden dangers for all of you." Jiang Yuan first calmed everyone, assuring them that the dire transformation was reversible, which elicited a collective sigh of relief from the sect’s members.

"I’ve never seen anything like this before!" An elderly lady lamented while patting her thigh, "As I’ve grown older, I’ve had backaches and leg pains. But after each Granting Skill, the ailments improved a lot, so I put my trust in that Lu fellow. Had I known... I wouldn’t have brought my family here yesterday for the Granting Skill..."

Yesterday?!

Jiang Yuan was taken aback, "When was the Granting Skill performed yesterday? Who officiated it?"

"Lu Erxi! No one but him could summon the Fox Immortal to descend!" someone nearby promptly added, "They abruptly summoned believers yesterday at noon, saying there’d be a Granting Skill. It wasn’t like the usual every three days where whoever was available would attend. Yesterday, for some reason, Lu Erxi hastily gathered as many sect members as possible, claiming to bestow great blessings, so all of us came."

"Isn’t that right! Surely, something went wrong with the Granting Skill! It never lasted that long before. After my son Xiao Si underwent the Granting Skill yesterday, he went home too exhausted to eat and just wanted to sleep, only to wake up at dawn screaming for food.

I figured he didn’t eat last night and was just hungry.

But he finished everything edible at home in one go. When we wouldn’t let him eat anymore, he became aggressive, biting people, and even started gnawing on leaves! We hurriedly brought him up the mountain to find Lu Erxi, only to find the gates locked and were unable to enter. Deprived of food, Xiao Si turned berserk, biting people wildly. Damn that Lu Erxi, he’s brought nothing but harm to my son!"

The man with a bloodied arm from the bite was red-faced with anger, lodging a complaint.

Jiang Yuan’s heart sank; this was bad! The Green-eyed Fox wasn’t bragging; their communication probably didn’t require a statue.

After leaving the Celestial Sword Sect yesterday, it was likely that the Lu father and son had again sought help from the Green-eyed Fox, adding that their Mana levels were also quite powerful—many haven’t even had the skills or means for travel.

This enabled them to return to Wangshi Ridge in such a short time, summon the believers for Granting Skill, and escape with the Life-Buying Money given to the believers, along with collecting gold and other valuables!

No wonder they hurried to gather as many sect members as possible; the Green-eyed Fox’s reward was calculated per head—the more people, the more gold and other prizes they could get.

Jiang Yuan casually cast a Heaven-Burning Storm, shattering the premium wooden gate, allowing the others to follow in and search.

Sure enough, every layer of courtyard inside was empty, except for some vacant houses and furniture—everything else was gone.

"This is serious!" Jiang Yuan frowned deeply. The problem was when he encountered them yesterday, they didn’t have a high enough Level to trigger the side quest; he had only thought they were partly possessed by the Divine Soul, spoke conservatively, and advised them kindly while giving Spirit Stones to help them stand on their own, which was supposed to be a chance for mortals to defy fate.

Who would’ve thought that father and son would be so avaricious, not even caring for their lives? More tricky still, they entangled with not a Demon Cultivator or Evil Cultivator, but something eerie from the void!

Initially, he had hoped they’d know when to stop and step into the cultivator circle, contributing to human cultivator’s resurgence and prosperity. But now, it seemed urgent measures must be deployed to locate them; otherwise, if completely overtaken by the Mysterious Soul Fragment, the consequences would be unimaginable!

"Please remain calm. Now, I am going to expel the nefarious influence from your bodies, ensuring you won’t suffer like this again." Jiang Yuan flung the Soul Hook, capturing the green glow inside the blood-caked boy clinging to the Spirit Stone and slowly pulled it out.

There was slight resistance but nothing too daunting.

In a few seconds, the progress bar completed, and as he watched, the green glow surged out, accompanied by a human wisp emitting a soft white light, summoned from somewhere, instantly filling the vacancy as the green light departed.

The fierce-looking, green-eyed boy blinked, dazed, dropped the Spirit Stone, and clutched his rounded belly, exclaiming, "Oof, I’m so stuffed! Mom! Mom, my stomach is so full!"

"The young master truly healed with a single touch. Xiao Si realizing he’s too full means he’s really recovered!"

"Isn’t that right? Stuffing oneself silly without awareness—clearly a problem in the head."

"Hey, you reckon... that Lu Shaojie constantly gnawing and munching—could it be he’s turned silly too?"

"For heaven’s sake! They always say, there’s no free lunch, but we didn’t heed the warning. Indeed, after the Granting Skill, our bodies felt tougher, we didn’t tire while working in the fields; but not sleeping or feeling tired meant being downright foolish! Why did we put our faith in that Lu person, mistaking it for something good?"

"You bloody well keep your place! I’m queuing in front. Didn’t the young master mention not to panic? They can remove the very roots of the ailment..."

...

[Mysterious Soul Fragment +1]

[Mysterious Soul Fragment: Extremely dangerous object. Originating from the void and corrupted and mutated by the Ghost Realm, possessing severe contamination.

Prolonged contact with ordinary people can result in lethal contamination. Post-mortem bodies will still release ominous aura unless purified, gradually polluting surrounding life; only cultivators with certain purification abilities can avoid it.

Note: Upon reaching Level Seven, the Melting Workshop can refine and purify the Mysterious Soul Fragment, turning it into raw material for crafting special Elixirs]