Chapter 52: Found You, Jellyfish Guardian!

After killing Zhang Youzhi, Luo Zhou felt a sense of total clarity and immense comfort throughout his entire body.

There was no reward from "Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil" for this kill.

To trigger the reward, Luo Zhou had to come into contact with a Death Nether Spirit. Humans killing others does not produce Death Nether Spirits like the Crocodilian Dragons do; generally, they can only be born through the Moth Demon Ritual.

Although Immortal Zhang had killed people, he had not produced a Death Nether Spirit, so there was no punishment reward.

Nevertheless, Luo Zhou was happy.

It had been a long time since he had done this kind of work; it felt incredible!

*So, I really do enjoy killing!*

With the kill complete, Luo Zhou immediately moved to clean the crime scene.

He took out Corpse Dissolving Powder and sprinkled it over Zhang Youzhi's blood, waiting for the body to melt.

However, to Luo Zhou's surprise, only small fragments of Zhang Youzhi's body were dissolved by the powder.

The torso, limbs, head, and internal organs remained unaffected by the powder.

He was a Qi Refining stage cultivator and contained True Qi within his body; even if crushed, the presence of True Qi allowed him to resist the dissolution of the Corpse Dissolving Powder.

No wonder Cheng Wanli only used the powder to dissolve Body Tempering stage cultivators.

Qi Refining cultivators couldn't be dissolved!

Gritting his teeth, Luo Zhou thought for a moment and quickly gathered the remains of Zhang Youzhi.

The torso, limbs, head, and organs were all swept into his Universe Bag.

It was extremely disgusting, but it had to be done.

While cleaning, he spotted a golden light amidst the bloodstains.

Looking closer, it was a talisman, shimmering and perfectly intact.

Zhang Youzhi had taken out a Talisman Treasure, but he died before he could activate it.

Luo Zhou did not reach out to pick it up; instead, he used his Universe Bag, spoke the command, and retrieved it from a distance.

At this point, nothing remained but a pool of blood, which, under the effect of the Corpse Dissolving Powder, had turned into yellow liquid.

Luo Zhou went outside to fetch a bucket of water and rinsed the floor.

The Library of Sutras required frequent cleaning and sweeping, so it was easy to wash the corpse fluids away, letting them flow out into the external gutters.

The ten Dragon-Slaying Thorns had all been driven into Zhang Youzhi's body, causing no damage to the environment, which was a stroke of luck.

Luo Zhou fetched seven or eight buckets of water in succession and mopped the floor dry to prevent the books from getting damp, tidying the area completely.

After a careful inspection, finding no further issues, he prepared to leave.

Suddenly, a sudden thought struck him, and he looked at the desk in front of Zhang Youzhi.

There was a handwritten book there, the very one Zhang Youzhi had been reading before his death.

After some thought, Luo Zhou tucked the book into his robes.

This was a book from the Library of Sutras and bore no trace of Zhang Youzhi's aura.

Luo Zhou turned to leave. Outside, it was already late, and the great battle had subsided.

The sea beasts had all withdrawn. Luo Zhou quietly approached the battlefield and asked Omniscience

"Is someone watching us?"

"In my perception, there should be no one, but if the opponent is at the Foundation Establishment stage or above, I cannot perceive them."

"I can't worry about that much right now!"

Luo Zhou carefully took out the spirit stones and clothes from his Universe Bag.

He wrapped them into a bundle using the clothes.

Then, he struck the Universe Bag with a single palm strike.

With a *puchi* sound, the Universe Bag was shattered.

The space within collapsed, instantly creating a space-time fluctuation.

Amidst this fluctuation, the remains inside the Universe Bag were pulverized and dissipated.

However, one object survived the space-time fluctuation.

It was that golden talisman, which fell to the ground from the air.

Luo Zhou glanced at it but did not touch it. If he took this thing, his aura might be locked onto by someone.

Regardless of what it was, he wouldn't touch it.

Whether the sea beasts or some other cultivator picked it up tomorrow, it was none of his business.

Luo Zhou did not notice that as the Universe Bag shattered, a mysterious fiery divine light attached itself to his body.

With the cleanup finished, Luo Zhou hurried home.

***

Inside the Demon Suppression Courtyard of the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect, a soul lamp extinguished at the moment of Zhang Youzhi's death.

Someone immediately reported this to the Courtyard Master.

The Demon Suppression Courtyard Master spoke slowly

"Zhang Youzhi, though he was a useless waste, he was still my sect's disciple. He cannot die so silently!

Before he left, he requested our courtyard's Talisman Treasure, 'Watery Sky in One Color,' and the divinity of the Desolate Flame God. Even facing a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he should not have been easily killed!

Qingyin, Baitong, go and investigate this thoroughly!"

Immediately, two voices replied: "Yes!"

***

When Luo Zhou returned home, he found it hard to believe that he had actually killed Zhang Youzhi.

Having survived a tribulation, he felt a sense of joy in his heart.

Zhang Youzhi had left almost nothing behind; even if he had, Luo Zhou wouldn't have dared to take it, and the Talisman Treasure had been discarded.

Only the book he had been reading remained with Luo Zhou.

That night, Luo Zhou read the book. It was a handwritten manuscript, similar to a diary, recording various legends surrounding Cuiling City.

It claimed that there was originally no ocean here; in ancient times, great powers fought a decisive battle here, causing the heavens to collapse and forming the current oceans and lands.

To the east of Cuiling City, within the ocean, lies the ruins of the Jellyfish Heavenly Palace, known as the Tide Heavenly Palace, which possesses various miraculous uses.

Additionally, the Great Xuan Mountain to the west of Cuiling City was originally called Mount Taixuan, where a Great Spirit Beast King once resided.

He ruled over ten thousand beasts and was extremely ferocious, but upon encountering an outsider of great power, he was converted and left Mount Taixuan.

With his departure, Mount Taixuan lost a bit of its essence and became Great Xuan Mountain.

It is said that the descendants of the Great Spirit have returned from the outer realms and live in seclusion on Great Xuan Mountain.

Nonsense!

It was all completely impossible, pure fabrication.

However, Luo Zhou was startled when he saw the author's name: Yue Cangqing.

This was a travelogue written by the True Person of Cuiling; it likely wasn't baseless and was probably eighty percent true.

In that case, Zuo Sanguang hadn't lied. It was possible he was indeed a descendant of the Great Spirit, because back then, he had said "Mount Taixuan," not "Great Xuan Mountain."

The next day, Luo Zhou obediently avoided the battlefield and went to the Dao Academy to cultivate.

Seeing him arrive, Zuo Sanguang's eyes lit up.

"Brother Luo, according to my intuition, we are safe now!"

"We were safe to begin with. Don't assume the worst of people. From now on, you are not allowed to speak ill of Immortal Zhang again. Just act as if he never existed."

"I understand, I understand... he will never appear again!"

"Get some good rest. Once your mental accumulation is sufficient, we will continue our 'game'."

"Don't worry, Brother Luo, leave it to me!"

Days passed like this. By the seventh day of the sea beast siege, there were basically no more sea beast attacks.

In truth, the sea beasts didn't want to siege the city. It had only been five years since the last great war, and they had not yet finished recovering. However, the ancient contract had been activated, and they had to fulfill their responsibility.

They were merely going through the motions without truly exerting their full strength, intending to let this catastrophe pass.

Although the end had not been officially declared, there were signs of it concluding.

During these days, Luo Zhou had been calculating something.

On the night of the seventh day of the great war, Luo Zhou quietly returned to the battlefield once more.

He walked silently, searching for the sites of the deadly battles from the past seven days.

Then, he began to activate his talent, the Death Curse.

Incantations appeared in his hands, slowly being infused into the sites of the deadly battles.

Luo Zhou immediately searched for a second site, and so on.

In total, he found thirty-six sites of deadly combat within the battlefield.

Many cultivators and sea beasts had died there.

Once the setup was complete, Luo Zhou waited silently.

Soon, midnight arrived, and Luo Zhou suddenly opened his mouth to cry out.

He let out a massive roar, yet not a single sound emerged!

He cursed again!

"The one who incited the sea beasts to siege the city, the despicable Guardian!

Die, die, die! May your intestines be torn, your seven orifices bleed, your heart be ripped apart, may you be beyond cure, may you be torn limb from limb, may toxic fire consume your heart! You killed so many people, so many sea beasts—die, die, die, die!"

Using his previous experience of activating a Death Nether Spirit to consume the old Crocodilian Dragon, he attempted to mimic the Death Curse again.

However, this time, the effect was not as strong as the last time.

The thirty-six sites Luo Zhou had prepared only drew out the resentful cries of the fallen cultivators and sea beasts!

"Die, die, die, die!"

Countless dead spirits cried out, yet there was still no sound.

The silent cries gathered and suddenly transformed into a torrent, rushing toward the depths of the city.

Luo Zhou let out a long breath. The curse was successful, though he didn't know what the effect would be.

Suddenly, he heard a mental roar from deep within the city

"Who? Who is cursing me? So annoying!"

Everything dissipated. The opponent had exerted their power, shattering the curse Luo Zhou was wielding.

Luo Zhou remained silent for a long time. Having no other way, he went home.

He said nothing during the night, but for some reason, Luo Zhou kept ruminating on that mental roar.

"Who? Who is cursing me? So annoying!"

Had he heard that somewhere before?

Luo Zhou immediately activated Omniscience, reviewing all his past memories to find a match.

He had a feeling he could find the Jellyfish Guardian!

He recalled, recalled, and thought repeatedly, thinking for an entire night.

Suddenly, Omniscience brought a sentence to mind!

"Sigh, why are they fighting again? Making such a fuss every day, so annoying!"

It was a sentence spoken mentally by someone during a quarrel between a couple in the Flower, Bird, Fish, and Meat Market!

The final "so annoying" was identical!

Luo Zhou smiled. *Found you, Jellyfish Guardian!*