Closing

Watching Lin Mo pick up the four cursed artifacts, Shouzhen's expression changed. Unable to hold back any longer, he stepped forward, his tone grave:

"Esteemed master, these cursed objects contain at least a thousand years of the Eight Sufferings' resentment. They must be sealed immediately."

Lin Mo glanced at Shouzhen, though the latter could only see a blurred face.

"Oh? You want them? Here, have a look."

With that, Lin Mo casually handed over the bronze dagger in his hand.

At the same time, he released the spiritual suppression enveloping the blade.

Shouzhen instinctively reached out to take it.

As a cultivator, he believed that even if he couldn't subdue the artifact, holding it briefly for examination shouldn't be an issue.

But the moment the dagger touched his palm, an indescribable torrent of deathly energy surged into him.

It wasn't cold—it was the hollow sensation of life being drained away.

Shouzhen felt as if his very soul was freezing solid.

Then, starting from his palm, tiny black spots appeared out of nowhere, crawling like living creatures up his wrist and rapidly spreading toward his arm, burrowing into his flesh.

He wanted to drop the dagger, to retreat, to channel his spiritual energy—but he couldn't move a single finger. He could only watch helplessly as the black spots invaded his body.

"Damn it!"

Liu Zheng roared and, without hesitation, delivered a swift kick to Shouzhen's wrist.

Clang!

The bronze dagger flew out of his grip and clattered to the ground.

The moment the restraint vanished, the black spots on Shouzhen's arm stopped spreading.

His legs gave way, and he collapsed into a seated position, his face pale and drenched in cold sweat.

As he urgently recited the Heart-Cleansing Sutra, his spiritual energy struggled to circulate, forcing out wisps of foul black smoke from beneath his skin. The smoke twisted into ghostly faces that screamed silently before dissipating.

Liu Zheng watched with a twitching eyelid, then glanced at the dagger on the ground, his heart filled with lingering fear.

Lin Mo leisurely walked over, bent down, and picked up the bronze dagger that had nearly crippled Shouzhen in an instant, his fingertips once again coated in a layer of spiritual light.

"See? If an ordinary person touched this thing, at worst, their mind would be affected."

He weighed the dagger in his hand, his tone indifferent.

"But for someone like you, with a bit of cultivation, it's like a feast. It’ll eagerly burrow inside and devour you from within."

"These things… you can't handle them."

With that, Lin Mo clasped his hands together, then flipped them open—the four cursed artifacts that had terrified Shouzhen and Liu Zheng vanished into thin air, stored away in his possession.

"I'll take these cursed objects and destroy them. Next time, don’t be so reckless as to barge into a prearranged formation."

As Lin Mo turned to leave the clown house, Liu Zheng quickly raised his hand, his voice tense.

"Master, wait!"

Lin Mo paused, slowly turning his head just enough to cast a sidelong glance, his gaze carrying an intangible pressure.

He had been waiting for this very moment.

"What is it?"

His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.

Liu Zheng swallowed hard, stepping forward under that piercing gaze as he carefully chose his words.

"I am Liu Zheng. May I ask how the master should be addressed?"

"Don’t try to get chummy," Lin Mo cut him off, a hint of impatience in his tone. "Get to the point."

Liu Zheng stiffened, his prepared speech stuck in his throat.

Gritting his teeth, he pressed on. "We are from Yanhuang Awakening, a special national department dedicated to handling incidents like these."

Lin Mo finally turned fully to face him, giving him a once-over. "Impressive. Should I give you an award?"

The air froze. Liu Zheng stood rigid, his face alternating between pale and flushed.

Beside him, Old Bai instinctively touched the gun at his waist before letting go, his palm slick with sweat.

Liu Zheng knew that for an unfathomable recluse like this, protocol dictated a long-term approach—offering astronomical sums to recruit them as an advisor.

But if Lin Mo walked away today, finding him again would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Without further hesitation, Liu Zheng laid out the department’s purpose.

"Yanhuang Awakening operates directly under the central authority. If the master is undergoing worldly cultivation and encounters injustice or trouble in the mundane world, we can handle it on your behalf—guaranteed to your satisfaction."

Indeed, leaving room for imagination was the best way to invite assumptions.

Lin Mo’s appearance had given Liu Zheng plenty to speculate about, especially his attire, which fueled endless theories.

Liu Zheng then pulled out a uniquely textured black business card from his pocket, presenting it with both hands.

The card bore only a gilded phone number and his name.

"If the master ever has need, just call this number."

Lin Mo didn’t reach for it.

Instead, he merely lifted an eyebrow, and the card floated from Liu Zheng’s hand, drifting effortlessly across the space between them before landing in Lin Mo’s palm.

This effortless display of telekinesis made both Liu Zheng and Old Bai’s hearts skip a beat.

"So if I told you to do something evil, you’d comply?" Lin Mo toyed with the card, his tone casual.

Liu Zheng immediately straightened, his expression dead serious.

"Yanhuang Awakening serves the nation. Our only principles are fairness and justice. We will never act against them."

Watching Lin Mo tuck the card into his pocket, Liu Zheng knew he had succeeded.

"This one is known as Bei Xuan, and I reside in Goat City."

With those words, Lin Mo gave a light flick of his wide sleeve—his form gradually faded, turning transparent before vanishing entirely, leaving behind only a faint breeze.

Only after Lin Mo had disappeared did Old Bai finally speak, his voice shaky.

"Damn, this Bei Xuan is terrifying! Liu Zheng, have you ever seen anyone that powerful? Breaking illusions, slicing buildings with a wave of his hand, telekinesis—what the hell?"

Liu Zheng exhaled heavily, his entire body drenched in sweat.

He shook his head repeatedly before turning to Shouzhen, who still sat cross-legged on the ground.

"Little Daoist Shouzhen, what do you think?"

Shouzhen remained silent for a moment longer before slowly opening his eyes. Deep within them lingered the fear of that bronze dagger.

"This master is far stronger than we imagined. No wonder he subdued Grandmaster Chunzhenzi so easily."

His gaze shifted to the clown house, split cleanly in two.

"If he wished, he could reduce us to the same state without effort."

Liu Zheng let out a bitter laugh, his voice full of resignation.

"At first, I thought he was just an animal-controlling psychic. Then, seeing him overpower Chunzhenzi, I was stunned. But now… he’s on a level we can’t even comprehend."

Old Bai helped Shouzhen to his feet.

"Next step is reporting back to headquarters. Shouzhen, you’ll need to come too. With you as a witness, they’ll actually believe there’s someone like Bei Xuan out there."

"Naturally," Shouzhen nodded. "Before leaving, Grandmaster instructed me to follow Yanhuang Awakening’s lead in all matters."

The three said no more. After a final glance at Qian Xin'er and the other three corpses, Liu Zheng pulled out his phone and dialed the cleanup team.