Rise to God with Life Skill Professions-Chapter 387 - 377: Chen Xian Turns Traitor

"It seems that evil qi has already appeared."

Cui Qi’s words made everyone look towards the Tianxi River ahead.

They saw a faint evil qi lingering above the river surface.

If not paying attention, it might have gone unnoticed.

Lv Bu leaned on his long spear, eyebrows slightly furrowed: "A pseudo-god is the embodiment of people’s faith, their thoughts have taken shape long ago, just waiting for the final moment to erupt."

"This mission might not be that simple."

Patriarch Sun, having heard the words of the Mountain Patrol Generals, broke out in a cold sweat.

He also knew this mission was not simple, yet he didn’t expect that even the Mountain Patrol Generals found it difficult.

Chen Xian still remained silent, as if everything around had nothing to do with him.

Qin An stroked Cold Star and said lightly, "Let’s find a place to rest first. Our mission is to be the last line of defense; if an uncontrollable situation occurs, then extinguish the Tianyuan pseudo-god immediately."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

This was also the best course of action for now.

Governor led Qin An and the others to the largest tent after the introduction.

These tents were for the people from the Evil Extermination Bureau to stay temporarily. When the time came for ancestor worship to begin, then would they step forth to confront the ensuing danger.

The interior of the tent was very spacious; Qin An and Lv Qi each found a place to sit.

Cui Qi, sensing the heavy atmosphere inside, stepped out of the tent.

Chen Xian followed behind.

After they left the tent, they started to stroll around Tianxi River.

Chen Xian still didn’t utter a word.

After a stick of incense worth of walking, Cui Qi stopped at a place with fewer people, suddenly turning back: "What’s wrong with you?"

Chen Xian lifted his eyes: "Nothing."

"You’ve been silent since yesterday," Cui Qi thought for a bit and said, "Is it because of Qin An?"

Chen Xian shook his head: "No."

"Then why has your character changed so much?" Cui Qi stepped forward, staring intently at Chen Xian: "You used to be very talkative."

Chen Xian smiled self-mockingly: "Talking more would attract your favor."

"You know, we’re just friends," Cui Qi shook her head: "At least not to that extent."

Chen Xian gave a cold laugh, almost imperceptibly: "Since it’s so, I don’t need to be too eager, do you say so?"

Cui Qi still wanted to say something.

She felt that Chen Xian was increasingly strange today, and his enthusiasm for her seemed to have vanished entirely.

Yet before she could speak, Chen Xian turned and headed back to the tent.

"I’m tired from walking, I’ll head back first, you also rest early, after all, there’s a tough battle tonight."

Cui Qi watched Chen Xian’s disappearing figure, pondering by the river for a long time.

She thought for a while but couldn’t understand, and chose not to dwell on it as she retraced her steps.

...

The folks were still gathered in their own groups, and time flowed away like water.

The sun set in the west, painting the sky with a layer of warm dusk.

In the night, a sound of gong beating resounded.

The surrounding woods were hung densely with torches, illuminating Tianxi River clearly.

Qin An emerged from the tent, gazing at the sky as bright as day, feeling something in his heart.

"A world of peace, that’s what the Daqian Kingdom should seek."

Lv Qi had just walked out of the tent, and hearing Qin An’s sentiment, his expression turned incredibly complicated: "Everyone wants a peaceful life, even the Evil Extermination Bureau as well. After all, no one wants to live a life on the edge, but sometimes there’s just no choice."

The people of the Evil Extermination Bureau brave death, but that doesn’t mean they like it. It’s merely the state of times and destiny.

Qin An looked back: "The evil qi is getting stronger, be cautious, don’t lose your life because of it."

As Lv Qi just mentioned, stability or chaos isn’t for the Daqian Kingdom to decide, even if Daqian wants peace, demonic pseudo-gods won’t let them.

Qin An wouldn’t dwell on these; he simply wanted to complete the mission and return to the Evil Extermination Bureau to pursue other professions early.

Lv Qi nodded: "Of course, I understand."

Cui Qi and Chen Xian also came out of the tent.

The group patiently waited not far from the Tianxi River.

Candles were lit on the scaffold, extending along the frame up to the high platform.

Patriarch Sun, supporting himself with a staff, strode up the platform with a dragon’s gait and tiger’s steps.

Numerous villagers quickly stood up, their gaze following Patriarch Sun.

Patriarch Sun coughed, and said loudly: "Everyone, the ancestor worship is commencing!"

As his words fell, a sound of footsteps approached.

Sun family disciples carrying furnace fires came before the villagers, placing a furnace before each of them.

After accomplishing this, Sun family disciples fetched various yellow incense sticks, inserting them around the high platform.

The curling smoke, stirred by a gentle breeze, enveloped Tianxi River.

Only then did Patriarch Sun cough again.

Several Sun family disciples brought up a giant cauldron as tall as a person onto the platform.

Another disciple handed three arm-thick yellow incense sticks to Patriarch Sun.

Patriarch Sun lit the yellow incense and inserted them into the cauldron.

The yellow incense burned slowly, while the villagers began bustling with the ancestor worship.

Using the furnace fires as an anchor, incense and yellow papers ignited with bright flames.

From Qin An’s perspective, the entire Tianxi River surged in the light of the flames as if a phoenix was about to be reborn from the fire.

Amidst the swirling smoke, Qin An’s gaze fell on the river surface.

The evil qi grew denser, seemingly ready to break through the water at any moment.

The dark clouds in the sky thickened, even obscuring the once clear moonlight.

If it weren’t for the blazing fire, darkness would have consumed everything, leaving nothing visible at arm’s length.

Just then, Qin An suddenly furrowed his brow.

This expression was immediately noticed by Lv Qi.

Lv Qi asked, "Mr. Qin, what did you discover?"

Cui Qi and Chen Xian also turned their gaze towards Qin An.

Though both had conflicts with Qin An, there was no doubt that Qin An was the strongest among them.

Qin An frowned and said, "Even though the evil Qi has appeared, it hasn’t gathered, something’s strange here."

Lv Qi turned his gaze toward the river, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He saw more and more evil Qi emerging over the lake, yet it did not gather.

According to past patterns, once the evil Qi gathered, the Pseudo-God would appear.

But now, the evil Qi was only spreading, not gathering.

Either this Pseudo-God was too powerful, requiring time to gather, or someone was controlling it, preventing the gathering.

"This seems difficult to handle," Liu Mei frowned slightly.

"Regardless, let’s first assess the situation."

Lv Qi turned to a state officer, saying, "Go notify the Evil Extermination Bureau, everyone else must keep a strict watch, not letting any Pseudo-God escape."

The state officer accepted the order and quietly withdrew to maintain order among the people.

While the few conversed, the rites of ancestor worship were drawing to a close.

At that moment, an anomaly suddenly appeared.

People who had been worshipping their ancestors suddenly screamed and fell to the ground.

On closer inspection, about half of the people had fallen into a coma.

The unexpected situation left everyone present in shock.

Seeing this, the conscious people shouted in panic, some even tried to leave the Tianxi River.

Patriarch Yang, pale-faced, hurriedly ordered Yang family disciples to check on the people, stabilize the rest, preventing panic and fear from spreading.

"It’s here, an anomaly indeed appeared," Qin An stroked Cold Star.

Cold Star was unsheathed and taken in hand.

"Mr. Lv, let’s go have a look."

Lv Qi nodded solemnly in agreement.

The two headed towards the unconscious people.

Liu Mei and Chen Xian exchanged glances and followed silently.

Upon reaching the people, Qin An crouched down to carefully examine their condition.

"No external injuries, no internal injuries, but their souls are incomplete, which is why they’re in a coma."

"Incomplete souls?" Lv Qi widened his eyes, "What can do this? How could souls be extracted into thin air?"

Lv Qi, as a Mountain Patrol Silver General, was knowledgeable, yet this scene was beyond his expectations.

Qin An shook his head, "Knowing too much isn’t always good."

The recent inspection had given Qin An a hypothesis.

Not long ago, the slain Ma family was related to the Divine Soul Refining Body Skill, and now a large number of people’s souls were extracted, undoubtedly connected.

Lv Qi didn’t know why Qin An was unwilling to disclose, but didn’t probe further, instead pulling back the topic, "Where did the extracted souls go?"

Liu Mei said, "Souls are invisible and intangible, they are very difficult to track down. These people lost part of their souls, if too much time passes, they could become dazed or die."

Chen Xian said nothing, remaining silent, but his fist clenched slightly within his sleeve.

Suddenly, Qin An said, "I can see it."

Lv Qi was shocked, "Could it be Mr. Qin has great achievements regarding souls?"

Qin An shook his head, "No, I haven’t studied souls."

Lv Qi looked slightly disappointed, "In that case, finding it is still too difficult."

He initially thought Qin An could resolve this, but didn’t expect Qin An wasn’t versed in souls.

Suddenly, Qin An thrust his Straight Blade into the ground.

Seeing this scene, Lv Qi and Liu Mei showed confusion, not understanding why Qin An acted this way.

But in the next moment, confusion turned to shock.

The Seven-Colored True Essence pierced into the ground along the blade, causing the river to churn violently, as if someone had lit a fire beneath it.

With Qin An’s motion, an array suddenly took shape.

Qin An drew Cold Star, saying calmly, "Using the Tianxi River as the array, the array forms naturally, the souls are there."

Lv Qi looked up, seeing something terrifying gradually forming in the sky.

It was a massive spherical entity, forged from souls.

But these souls were a fusion of surrounding people’s souls, not only chaotic but carrying a terrifying sense of fear.

Moreover, Lv Qi noticed that the lingering evil Qi was bypassing them, gathering into a humanoid form in the sky.

The humanoid form hadn’t fully formed, yet enormous pressure was already pressing upon them.

"How could this be?" Lv Qi exclaimed, "Why did so much evil Qi gather as a Pseudo-God without our notice?"

Qin An said calmly, "The reason is simple, someone is controlling all this from the shadows, not allowing us to see. This thing hasn’t fully formed, it’s best to cut it down early."

Qin An raised the Straight Blade, pointing toward the humanoid Pseudo-God in the sky, Seven-Colored True Essence spreading across it.

At that moment, an anomaly suddenly appeared.

Liu Mei suddenly cried out, turning her head, her eyes filled with terror.

"Why would you..."

Without finishing the sentence, pain spread through her body.

Lv Qi immediately followed the sound, seeing Stark scene that made his eyes narrow.

In the darkness, Chen Xian’s axe had struck Liu Mei’s neck.

Half of Liu Mei’s neck had been chopped off, blood splattering.

Chen Xian’s eyes showed a trace of pain, leaning close to Liu Mei, "I’m sorry, I still really like you, but I have no choice, you must die, must die..."

"No lives must remain here, for my future, for me to step into a higher realm, I will offer more incense for you in the future."

With that, Chen Xian exerted his right hand.

The axe followed the momentum, splitting Liu Mei’s head along with half her body in two.

The corpse fell to the ground, blood soaking into the earth, dyeing it dark red.

"Traitor!" With just a quick glance, Lv Qi had a clear understanding, raising his spear and charging at Chen Xian.

The sudden appearance of the Pseudo-God, the hidden orchestrator, along with the gathered souls, compounded by Chen Xian’s sudden betrayal.

A clear indication that Chen Xian was the pawn laid by the mastermind.

Chen Xian raised his axe to intercept.

A sound of metal clashing erupted, Lv Qi was shocked by the axe, retreating several steps, disbelief painted on his face.

"This is ultimate power!" Chen Xian’s eyes burned fiercely with madness, "I’m right, today none of you will survive, I’ll offer your heads to my master!"