I have to admit, the "surprise" before me was overwhelming.
I came to the city from the countryside to escape danger. But now, with Liu Changxuan not having found me, I've inadvertently walked straight into danger myself.
If I had the chance to choose again, no amount of money from those rich people would tempt me to wade through this mess.
The icy frost spread to within five or six meters of us, and a terrifying aura came rushing at us.
This pressure was as heavy as the black-clad men from the ten-thousand-mountain range.
All of Tang Quan's talismans began to glow, but they faded after only a second or two, completely suppressed and rendered useless.
The Buddha bone relic and the blood dagger I carried were both burning hot, their temperature rising steadily.
Even through my clothes, I could feel the burning pain, but despite this, I dared not toss them away.
As long as they weren't destroyed by the pressure, it meant they still had the ability to retaliate.
It seemed that the owner of the frost had also noticed the items I carried. The frost moved forward a meter and then stopped.
It was already past nine in the morning, the sun was rising, but the moment the frost halted, the light inside the building dimmed instantly, as though it had transitioned to dusk.
Then, a flash of white light flickered twice, and a woman in a white dress appeared out of thin air before us.
She was extraordinarily beautiful—beautiful enough to be called a fairy.
But beauty was just skin-deep. The coldness in her eyes seemed to pierce directly into one's soul, indifferent in a way that didn't belong to this world.
With just one glance, I felt an ice-cold chill run through me, and fear welled up inside.
Puh!
Tang Quan couldn't withstand the terrifying pressure and spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood hit the ground and instantly froze into ice, exuding a chilling aura.
I could feel the pressure as well, but the blood dagger and Buddha relic shielded me from it.
"Eh!"
The woman's eyes flickered in surprise, and for a moment, there was a slight glimmer of life in her cold, indifferent gaze.
But it lasted only for an instant. She returned to her usual icy demeanor and coldly asked, "What are you carrying? Show me."
Gulp!
I swallowed hard, feeling as though my mind was no longer under my control. Without thinking, I pulled out the Buddha relic and the blood dagger.
But just as I was about to offer them, the burning heat of the blood dagger and relic snapped me back to my senses. Ignoring the searing pain, I tightly gripped the blood dagger and stepped in front of Tang Quan.
I blocked most of the pressure, giving Tang Quan a moment to catch his breath. He looked at the woman in despair and asked, "A being like you can already be called a god in today's world. Why are you stuck in this haunted building, serving as a lackey?"
"God?"
The woman's eyes wavered slightly.
I was also stunned. I didn't expect Tang Quan to describe this woman as a "god."
But after thinking for a moment, it made sense.
An exorcist might be called a "fairy," simply because they have the ability to deceive ordinary people.
Adding in their altar and rituals, they're just a glorified evil spirit.
So whether "god" or "ghost" depends entirely on how people view it.
For things that human strength cannot overcome, they're often seen as gods.
The difference now was that this woman was regarded as a god by Tang Quan.
A much higher-level one.
When Tang Quan said this, it sounded like a rebuke, but in reality, he was pleading.
He was telling her that someone with such great power as her had no reason to target ordinary people like us.
As Tang Quan spoke, he wrote something on my back with his hand.
Normally, I might not have noticed, but now, my mind was highly focused, and my nerves were extraordinarily sensitive.
I realized he had written: Give it to me.
Naturally, "it" referred to the Buddha relic and blood dagger I was holding.
Normally, this wouldn't be possible.
And even though the blood dagger contained 108 divine generals, if they didn't agree, it wouldn't matter if Tang Quan got his hands on it.
But now, I felt that the 108 divine generals agreed. With that, I had no hesitation.
Taking advantage of the moment the woman was distracted, I quickly turned, standing behind Tang Quan and passing the blood dagger into his hands.
As for the Buddha relic, I kept it in my own grasp.
I couldn't risk giving away both of these items, as they were the only two things that could fight back against this woman.
They were my last hope. How could I hand everything over to someone I had only known for half a day?
Tang Quan didn't seem surprised. Upon receiving the blood dagger, he gained its approval. He slapped his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood onto the dagger.
The blood contained his Taoist energy.
The blood dagger immediately glowed a brilliant red.
Tang Quan's face turned pale. With all his strength, he swung the dagger, and countless blood shadows flew out one after another, transforming into blood-clad divine generals.
I felt a surge of hope because I could see my future reflected in Tang Quan.
But he didn't release all the divine generals. I noticed only fifteen appeared, and all their names started with "Di" (Earth).
These "earth dogs" were pitch black and looked as unrefined as a judge, whereas Tang Quan's were blood-clad and emanated a strong, masculine, killing aura that suppressed the building's chill.
Moreover, the fifteen divine generals had their own consciousness. As soon as they appeared, they surrounded the woman.
I stored this all in my mind. If I managed to survive today, this would be useful for further studying the blood dagger.
After all, it was my own item. Even if I couldn't fully wield its power, I needed to understand it.
Having a future to look forward to is what motivates personal growth.
But right now, the most important thing was finding a way to escape.
After the divine generals surrounded the woman, Tang Quan hesitated for a moment and then stumbled toward the stairwell.
I followed him quickly, thinking he would head downstairs to break through the fire doors. But he instead headed upwards.
Just as I was puzzled, Tang Quan gasped, "With her power, a four-evil formation won't trap her. There must be something upstairs that can suppress her, or it's her true form. That's our only chance."
"But..." I grabbed his arm, "What if my divine generals get destroyed by her?"
Not to mention the 108 generals who could form the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays, just their origins were enough that I couldn't bear to see them harmed.
Tang Quan almost choked on his breath, saying between gasps, "At this point, you should think about surviving first!"
I didn't let go of him.
Tang Quan sighed helplessly and said, "They can be considered immortal. If they're destroyed, they'll return to the blood dagger, nurture for a while, and then recover."
I was hesitant to believe his words.
At that moment, Huang Jiu, who had been frightened into hiding inside my clothes, peeked his head out of my collar and said, "What he said is true, Li Ge, we need to move quickly. Finding a way out is the priority."
Huang Jiu's words made me release my grip on Tang Quan and quickly ran up the stairs ahead of him.