"Mr. Bai, City Lord Geman, I am Yidi from the Life Church. I apologize for the wait. It takes some time to travel from Warm Phoenix City here, and I also had unresolved matters in my previous parish, causing several days of delay."

Yidi gently bowed.

Despite his old age, this bishop of the Life Church was very humble, without any air of arrogance.

Baiyu and Geman explained the situation to Yidi.

Although before coming here, Yidi already knew the general idea.

"This matter, I can only do my best. After all, curses are very hidden things, especially since the cursed subject has already died."

Yidi didn't speak definitively.

Before seeing the specific situation, no matter how confident he was, he didn't dare boast.

Very quickly.

Geman took Bishop Yidi to the graves of previous mercenaries, but Yidi found nothing there.

He was an explorer.

Extraordinary abilities allowed him to directly see powers like curses. Not seeing them proved there was no curse present here.

It seemed that after these mercenaries were killed by curses, the curse no longer tormented them.

"I'll go see the places where they lived."

Just looking here couldn't determine if the matter was truly resolved, so Yidi proactively proposed to visit the living quarters of the mercenary team to see if any clues could be found.

Of course, Geman was delighted to agree.

The two of them went to the lower residential area of Bailan City, where some mercenaries lived in He Hao's terraced houses, while others resided alone outside, coming to gather at He Hao's place when there were tasks.

However, before they even approached the residences of the deceased mercenaries.

Bishop Yidi stopped in his tracks, his facial expression changing from a smile to a sudden, grave concern.

"What's the matter?"

Seeing Yidi's pause, Geman couldn't help but ask.

Yidi took a deep breath, gazing deeply ahead, his voice tinged with hesitation: "I don't know if I'm mistaken. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

But, but ahead.

Among those walking on the streets, many are carrying curses."

Upon hearing this.

Geman nearly fainted from shock. Baiyu was also puzzled. Could it be that the curse not only escaped but could also multiply?

"Is there a way to resolve it?"

Geman inquired.

Yidi's brows furrowed into a frown, seemingly contemplating how to handle the matter. Both men refrained from disturbing him.

After a long while.

Yidi rubbed his temples: "To deal with so many infected individuals, there is only one solution, and that is to find the source of the curse.

With this many curses, there must be something controlling them at the source.

This isn't a singular curse.

Only by finding the source can the spread of the curse be halted, utterly eliminating this entity. But action must be swift, as the curse is like a virus, not yet fully erupting, still at its spreading phase.

Once time progresses.

The curse erupts.

At that point, Bailan City will be in trouble.

"The source of the curse..."

The only thing Baiyu could think of was that Illusion Beast, but it was already dead, and the curse had been spread. Besides, who could be sure that this Illusion Beast wasn't infected by some other creature's curse?

"City Lord Geman, for now, I suggest sealing off this area. Before the curse thoroughly spreads, curb its continual expansion pace."

Yidi said gravely: "Once this area is sealed off, we can resolve it one by one. Although the workload is large, it's the most secure method."

Geman nodded in agreement with the plan.

Very quickly.

The City Guard Army of Bailan City surrounded the area, and Yidi continuously identified people among the crowd who carried curses.

The curse had two forms.

One was like now, lurking within the host, enabling a normal life.

The other was like He Hao and his peers.

Gradually entangled in nightmarish toils, ultimately leading to death.

Due to Geman's emphasis, Baiyu and Yidi led a large contingent, capturing people crazily on the streets.

Those martial artists who tried to resist were intimidated by Baiyu and quickly submitted.

All cursed individuals were taken back to the Redemption Church.

"Are there more?"

For a moment, at least hundreds of people were captured and taken back to the Redemption Church, yet they still didn't understand what had happened.

Baiyu took a deep breath, looking to the side at Yidi.

Yidi shook his head: "For now, I've only found these. I'll go look again. These people should be in the places where those mercenaries lived, thus being the first to be infected by the curse. The curse's spreading method likely isn't transmitted upon the host's death but through a more covert means."

After saying this, Yidi proceeded to move forward into the area.

A large contingent of the City Guard Army guarded the streets' sides, creating an intensely tense atmosphere.

Baiyu followed behind Yidi, noting those he identified as curse spreaders, then directing the City Guard Army to apprehend them.

However.

After the two, accompanied by the City Guard Army, ventured further into the residential district of the lower city.

The worst suspicion in Yidi's mind finally came true.

In his vision.

Many pedestrians on the road, behind them followed a black shadow of a curse, with roughly one in ten bearing a curse.

It was no exaggeration to say.

The residential district of the lower city had already fallen.

"If we don't find the curse's source, this matter will never be resolved.

Yidi abandoned the thought of controlling cursed individuals.

Without finding the source, this curse could no longer be controlled.

"How to find the source? The beginning of this incident was a small group of mercenaries, who brought back an Illusion Beast from outside the city, carrying a curse."

Baiyu said gravely.

Yidi pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice: "In this situation, we can only seek divine guidance."

"God? The Life Church has divine oracles descending?"

Momentarily, Baiyu found it somewhat unrealistic.

Even if the Life Church truly had divine oracles, it was unlikely that a divine spirit would concern themselves with such trivial matters.

Yidi didn't respond directly, "The power of God is not limited to oracles alone. Let's go. I remember there's still a lot of Holy Water in the Redemption Church."

Baiyu tried to have the City Guard Army continue controlling those cursed individuals.

No matter what method Yidi wanted to employ to resolve it, having preparations on both fronts was necessary, controlling some where possible.

While capturing on one side.

Baiyu followed Yidi back to the church.

He took only one curse carrier.

Baiyu stood aside, quietly watching him use a purification ceremony to extract the curse and then swiftly cover the dark cursed shadow with the Holy Water nearby.

In an instant.

Countless Life Holy Water began to envelop the shadow, emitting sizzling sounds, while green healing rays continuously spread around.

In a short time.

The Holy Water rapidly contracted, solidifying into a cube, sealing the black cursed shadow within, as if frozen in ice.

"Next, by creating a magical item with this as the material, we can find the curse's source."