Stronger with Crimson Modifier

Chapter 145: Descent (3)

On the offering table below the Divine Statue.

It was laden with offerings like fruit and pastries.

Besides these, there was a three-legged bronze censer from which incense smoke curled upwards like threads, filling the air.

Several prayer cushions were placed on the floor.

All sorts of tourists came and went.

They knelt on the prayer cushions in an orderly fashion.

Regardless of their beliefs, everyone who came here would reverently take incense and a candle from a young Daoist in a blue robe standing to the side.

They would then offer the incense before the Divine Statue.

Unlike other places, the incense and candles here were free. There was no need to buy them, nor was there an entrance fee. Each person could take one stick.

There was another strange thing.

No matter who came here,

upon seeing this Divine Statue,

any troubles in their heart would vanish, replaced by a sense of peace.

Ordinarily, people might feel something similar in the solemn environment of a Daoist or Buddhist temple, aided by the fragrance of incense.

However, the feeling here was far more intense.

This was a true tranquility that permeated both body and soul.

Such a strange phenomenon couldn’t help but inspire a sense of awe in everyone’s hearts.

"I hope Qiuqiu gets better soon, so Mom and Dad can be happy!"

At that moment, on three prayer cushions in a corner below, knelt a family of three: a young couple with their ten-year-old daughter, who had her hair in a single ponytail.

The little girl was chubby and wore a pink padded jacket, looking very cute.

But her face was pale, completely devoid of color, a clear sign of poor health.

"As long as you’re happy, Mom and Dad will be happy. The Xuanqing God will protect Qiuqiu. Let’s go offer the incense."

Hearing this, the father beside her reached out and stroked his daughter’s head.

But a deep, hidden sorrow showed in his eyes.

Since birth, his daughter had suffered from an Innate deficiency, making it impossible for her to play normally like other children.

Even slight overexertion would leave her gasping for breath.

It was as if the act itself was incredibly difficult for her.

As time went on, her condition showed no signs of improving.

During that time, they had been to all the major hospitals.

The diagnosis was always the same: incurable. If her condition worsened in the Late Stage, she would at most live to be eighteen.

Learning this, and with no other options, they could only place their hope in spirituality. Having heard that the Daoist temple here was exceptionally efficacious, they had rushed over with her.

The little girl nodded obediently. With her parents’ help, after finishing her prayer, she stood up, took a stick of incense, and lit it.

She held the incense in her left hand, fanned out the flame with her right, and raised the stick above her head.

Walking up to the censer, she inserted the incense into the ash.

The reason this place was so crowded was partly due to its excellent location.

But more importantly, the Xuanqing God here was exceptionally efficacious.

He specialized in curing difficult and complex illnesses; under normal circumstances, any sincere prayer would be answered.

This was what had created the immense popularity of the place.

Incidents like this were not uncommon, and most online reviews for this place were positive.

Of course, in this kind of situation, it wasn’t that people believed so-called Divine Spirits truly existed.

Most city dwellers, like this family of three, came here out of desperation when afflicted with a serious illness, seeking a sliver of peace of mind.

However, what no one noticed was that after the girl had reverently offered her stick of incense,

as the tip of the incense glowed red, wisps of green smoke began to rise.

The green smoke swirled around the Divine Statue, seeming to form a faint, almost imperceptible connection with it.

At the same time, three threads, invisible to the naked eye, flew from the foreheads of the girl and her parents, following the green smoke from the burning incense and disappearing into the Divine Statue.

A few seconds later, a sliver of light shot out from the horsetail whisk on the Divine Statue and entered the girl’s body.

Perhaps it was just an illusion, but after the light entered the girl’s body, a faint touch of color actually appeared on the little girl’s deathly pale face.

She felt her body become lighter, as if a great weight had been lifted. It was a comfortable, easy feeling she had never experienced before.

’Did the god really show its power?’

The little girl looked up in confusion.

Just as she raised her head, she saw a streak of cyan light flash across the face of the originally featureless Cyan Profound God.

"Mom, Dad, I think the Divine Statue just glowed."

The girl, who had looked up out of curiosity, had seen this happen and couldn’t help but cry out in surprise.

Her voice was not quiet, and it sounded extremely abrupt in the silent environment.

Hearing her, the crowd couldn’t help but follow her pointing finger with their eyes.

However, the Divine Statue was unchanged.

There was nothing unusual about it.

They simply assumed the child’s eyes were playing tricks on her and didn’t take it seriously.

But what no one noticed was that off to the side, the young, blue-robed Daoist who had been handing out incense paused for a moment.

His expression hardened as he looked up toward a distant point—the direction of Anshan City.

————

「Anshan City.」

Above the sea.

Ao Lin’s figure stood motionless.

Waves of invisible Divine Soul Power rippled out from him, spreading and radiating in all directions as he tried to find the person who had repeatedly ruined his plans.

If he had previously wanted to kill Hu Qi outright,

now the methods his opponent had displayed had successfully piqued his interest.

He was very curious how the man had managed to break through from a Martial Artist to a Qi Dao Grandmaster in such a short time, and even kill two of his subordinates.

This person definitely held a great secret.

If such a method could be popularized, it would be a huge disaster for the Black Blood Species.

It would undoubtedly make it much more difficult to enter the Surface World to hunt and harvest "blood food."

It was with this in mind that he had recklessly descended here through the passage.

But what he hadn’t expected was that after a thorough search, he couldn’t find the slightest trace of the person.

If this place weren’t enveloped by his Domain, making escape impossible, he would have suspected that the man had already left Anshan City.

But if the man was in Anshan, even if he had dug a deep pit and hidden a hundred meters underground, he still shouldn’t have been able to escape his search.

Yet, the truth was right before his eyes: the person had simply vanished into thin air.

"A pity. In that case, there’s no need for this place to exist anymore!"

A cold light flashed in Ao Lin’s eyes.

He opened his palm and grasped at the air beside him.

The void distorted, and a huge, black Long Spear appeared in his hand.

The next moment, with a flick of his arm, the Long Spear shot out, transforming into a bolt of black lightning.

Everywhere it passed, the void collapsed and twisted.

Carrying a destructive power, it flew straight toward Anshan City.

At the same time, an ominous feeling surged in the hearts of everyone in Anshan City.

It was as if a world-ending disaster was about to descend.

But at that very moment,

BUZZ!

A cyan glow lit up within the gray, fog-shrouded sky.