I Can Extract Divine Power

Chapter 185 - 117: Casting Technique’s Qualitative Change, Anomaly at Qingyun Cloud Temple

In the pitch-black room, only a few specks of firelight flickered.

Illuminated by the firelight, Huang Erniu’s expression grew more and more savage. Bathed in darkness, he looked somewhat sinister and terrifying.

Not far ahead, two soundly sleeping children in tattered clothes remained undisturbed by Huang Erniu’s movements.

"Hehehe... to be living like this... living is so tiring."

Huang Erniu took a step forward, his body trembling slightly. The anger in his eyes faded into calmness, a calmness tinged with a chilling cold.

"Every day is a struggle just for a bite to eat, but the food tastes as bland as wax."

"My children suffer with me, and my wife died because we had no money for treatment."

"When these two grow up, they’ll just be like me... What’s the point?"

Huang Erniu continued toward the two children on the bed, his tone becoming crazed and delirious, as if possessed.

A sinister chill gradually filled the air, and the temperature in the room began to drop.

The oil lamp on the table started to sway gently with Huang Erniu’s movements.

Its orange-yellow flame was fading, slowly turning a ghastly green.

On the floor, strands of withered, yellow straw began to appear on his black shadow.

The straw, as if coming to life, wove itself together on the black shadow. In just a few breaths, it formed a set of clothes woven from the withered straw.

Just then, the black shadow, now wearing the withered straw clothes, rose up from the cold floor, standing upright like a person.

The shadow slowly extended its paper-thin arm, which touched Huang Erniu’s calloused palm and gradually merged with it.

If one were to look from the outside, they would see the black shadow seemingly pulling Huang Erniu, guiding him toward the two children.

With every step, a conflicted look appeared on Huang Erniu’s weather-beaten face. His legs, clad in straw sandals, trembled uncontrollably, but he couldn’t stop himself.

In less than a few breaths, the sinister chill reached its peak.

Lying on the bed, the children in their tattered clothes seemed oblivious, still sleeping peacefully.

But on their sallow faces, a hint of a deathly pallor, imperceptible to ordinary people, had appeared.

Then, Huang Erniu’s hands separated and settled on the two children’s necks, gradually applying pressure.

"Die. Just die."

"Once you’re dead, you won’t be hungry anymore, and no one will laugh at you."

"Your father has failed you. I’ll come join you later."

Huang Erniu spoke these words one by one through his cracked lips, the coldness in his eyes intensifying.

The two children, seemingly affected by the sinister, resentful energy, showed no signs of waking even as their breathing became shallow and rapid.

Just as the two children in tattered clothes were suffocating, on the verge of taking their last breaths, a soft footstep echoed in the room.

"Hm... a shadow wearing clothes. It really did appear."

A calm voice accompanied a flash of blood-red light that pierced the deep darkness.

In the darkness, the blood-red light coalesced into a razor-sharp Sword Qi, pinning the weird in the straw clothes to the ground.

The shadow weird struggled, its paper-thin limbs flailing.

A moment later, the shadow weird dissolved into a puff of smoke and vanished.

A wisp of Evil Qi, invisible to ordinary people, emerged and was collected by Shen Bai.

Freed from the shadow weird’s control, Huang Erniu’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

The icy chill gradually faded, and the low temperature in the dark room, caused by the resentful energy, slowly returned to normal.

The children on the bed returned to normal, their soft breathing echoing gently in the dark room.

Huang Guang stood behind Shen Bai. "Lord Shen..."

Shen Bai raised a hand. "They’re asleep. Let’s talk outside."

The group didn’t linger and left the dilapidated, dark hut.

Outside, the street was pitch-black and deserted.

High-hanging red lanterns adorned the eaves of the surrounding houses, their light, along with the moonlight, piercing the darkness of the street.

In the distance, Kong Fang, wearing a pair of custom-made gauntlets, was striding quickly down the dark street.

He spoke before he even got close.

"Lord Shen, of the ten streets under the Ding Division’s jurisdiction, three shadow weirds have appeared, but they have all been taken care of."

Ten streets was a large area, so Shen Bai had assigned Kong Fang to act as a messenger, moving between the streets to check on the mission’s progress.

Shen Bai rubbed his chin. "Keep searching."

Kong Fang clasped his fist in his palm. "Yes, sir!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kong Fang left the street.

After Kong Fang had gone, Huang Guang approached Shen Bai.

"The state celebration hasn’t even begun, yet shadow weirds are already appearing. Once the celebration starts, situations like this man’s might become more widespread, and there will be even more shadow weirds."

Shen Bai nodded, gripping the hilt of his Cold Moon Sword. "Have our men stay vigilant. The state celebration only lasts a few days. We can take advantage of this large-scale outbreak of shadow weirds to eliminate more of them. It will save us a lot of trouble later."

Huang Guang agreed.

The group fell silent and resumed their patrol of the street.

Unexpectedly, after walking for some time with the Ding Division members, Shen Bai ran into a few familiar faces.

Wuhua, with his large, bald head, was walking toward them.

Following behind Wuhua were quite a few young monks.

"What are you all doing here?" Shen Bai asked.

As if he had known he would run into Shen Bai, Wuhua put his palms together. "Every year during the state celebration, Xuanxin Temple sends people to Fenglin State to distribute free congee. It is an act of the Buddhist Sect’s compassion."

Shen Bai had a moment of realization. ’So there’s a tradition for this, too,’ he thought.