Chapter 131: This is Giving Off Strong Cyberpunk Vibes (Part 2 in 1)

Songdu was originally just an obscure little city in Xuzhou. Because of its remote location, it was unsuited for commerce, and as the years passed, it had grown increasingly desolate.

Having produced a few high-ranking officials, the imperial court paid considerable attention to Songdu. Over the span of a decade, several prefects were appointed in succession, but to no avail; instead, one-fifth of the population gradually trickled away.

People had assumed this remote little city would grow ever more desolate, yet perhaps no one could have anticipated that Songdu's prosperity would become inextricably linked with Xuzhou's calamities.

Xuzhou was a region of abundant mountains and forests, and Songdu's surroundings were heavily covered by woodlands, making encounters with ominous spirits an inevitability. Consequently, the Underworld Ministry had permanently stationed a significant number of personnel within the city.

When the disaster struck, Songdu was the first to be preserved. Populations from surrounding towns and villages converged here, and as the situation fermented, many people from across Xuzhou fled to this sanctuary, swelling the local population to nearly a million.

With the assistance of the Underworld Ministry, the town developed at an astonishing pace. Armed with immortal techniques, as long as sufficient materials were provided, a city wall could be erected in mere days. The same applied to houses, and even grain could be transported effortlessly using storage pouches.

As a result, three additional rings of walls had been expanded outward from Songdu's original fortifications. A total of four layers of walls, inside and out, now enclosed a population nearing one million, and its area had expanded to several times its original size.

The closer one got to the inner layers, the more prosperous it became. The Songdu prefectural office was situated right at the center, with hundreds of bailiffs entering and exiting daily, alongside thousands of government soldiers maintaining order.

In the main hall of the prefectural office, a round table was set, surrounded by a dozen individuals, mostly talented youths. The oldest among the seven men appeared to be in his early thirties, while the three female disciples possessed delicate features, all in the blooming prime of youth.

At their head sat an old man with white hair and a beard, yet remarkably few wrinkles on his face. He wore the robes of the Underworld Ministry, embroidered with a turquoise python swallowing the heavens.

Generally speaking, only those at the True Soul Realm in the Underworld Ministry were permitted to display unique patterns and traces on their garments.

Seated beside the old man was Songdu's current prefect, Zhang Zhongming, a man of about forty with a slightly servile expression, his hands constantly rubbing together on the table.

"Immortal Elder Wu, could the strange occurrences in the city be the work of demons and monsters?"

Wu Yifeng glanced at him sideways. Zhang Zhongming had originally been quite capable, but owing to the disaster and consecutive encounters with demons, his courage had been entirely frightened out of him. Now, seeking help from the Underworld Ministry at the slightest trouble had become second nature to him.

"Jiang Cheng, explain it."

He gestured toward the youngest of the dozen or so individuals, signaling her to speak.

These people were, in truth, disciples under Elder Wu's tutelage. In the Underworld Ministry, relationships were frequently anchored in master-disciple lineages, though purely hierarchical superior-subordinate bonds, like that of Wang Zhen, also existed.

Jiang Cheng cast a nervous glance at the people around her. As one of Elder Wu's few female disciples and the most junior in seniority, she would normally not be required to speak at all, so she naturally felt somewhat tense.

"Reporting to Master, starting from this morning... um... the hour of *mao*, several children have been reported missing one after another. The number is approximately two hundred."

Wu Yifeng let out a long sigh. Despite his own cultivation at the True Soul Realm, he had not sensed the slightest abnormality within the city. "Two hundred people... Does anyone know how they vanished?"

Jiang Cheng opened her mouth, pondered for a moment, and readied her response, but a short-haired man in his early twenties sitting beside her chimed in first.

"This disciple knows. Many women have reported to me that one second they saw their children playing, but the moment they turned their heads, the children were gone."

Wu Yifeng nodded slightly. His ten disciples possessed varying personalities; while some were solemn and calm, others were naturally eager for merit and glory.

The disciple who had just spoken was named Jiang Xing. His talent could be said to be the most outstanding. Unlike the others, whose divine abilities were awakened postnatally, his divine ability was innate, and his potential vastly exceeded that of ordinary people. His only flaw was an arrogant and easily angered disposition.

Judging by the current clues, yet another demon had appeared in Songdu, and it possessed the ability to be formless and colorless—a thoroughly thorny problem indeed.

Fortunately, due to the disaster, the mortals in the town held an exceptionally high degree of trust in the Underworld Ministry. Even if their own family members died at the hands of demons, chaos would not ensue.

Stationed in Songdu, Wu Yifeng could not possibly make a move casually. Should he suffer any mishap, even a minor injury, it might attract the prying eyes of demons. Moreover, this was an excellent opportunity to temper his disciples.

He turned to the eldest among the disciples and said, "Xu Ping, you are the senior martial brother, and your cultivation is the deepest. Lead your junior martial brothers and sisters to deal with this demon."

Jiang Xing's face lit up with joy. His family were bureaucratic gentry, and his father served in the imperial court as the Vice Minister of Works.

Becoming an immortal had never been his ultimate pursuit, but he cared deeply about official ranks within the Underworld Ministry.

Thus, he hoped to slay more demons to elevate his official position. He looked eagerly at Senior Martial Brother Xu Ping, knowing full well that with the latter's easygoing nature, he would certainly not refuse.

Sure enough, seeing Jiang Xing's reaction, Xu Ping found it hard to refuse and intended to agree. Before he could speak, however, Elder Wu chimed in first.

"Aside from Jiang Xing, choose six others. This demon can commit crimes right under my nose; we must not underestimate it."

Xu Ping bowed respectfully, cast a sidelong glance at the disgruntled Jiang Xing, and said, "Understood, Master."

Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief. This junior martial brother of his was too difficult to manage and often acted on his own initiative; things being thus was for the best.

Jiang Xing could not help asking, "Master, why is this? In terms of divine ability and cultivation, aside from the Senior Martial Brother, which of the martial siblings present is my match?"

At these words, the others showed a trace of suppressed anger. Jiang Xing came from a better family background, so they accommodated him everywhere. Although his divine ability was indeed slightly superior, in a life-or-death struggle, the outcome remained uncertain.

"Silence!"

Elder Wu's face flushed red. He had never expected someone with an innate divine ability to be so unmanageable. Those with postnatally awakened divine abilities usually shared similar hardships and found it easier to understand one another.

A dark-skinned, rather honest-looking male disciple stepped forward. Named Zhang Tie, he came from a farming family whose entire household had been slaughtered by demons. By a twist of fate, he had been accepted into Elder Wu's sect as the third disciple.

"Master, since Junior Martial Brother insists on meddling in demonic affairs, why not let him search alone?"

"Fine by me. Thank you, Third Senior Martial Brother." Jiang Xing wore the expression of someone who had been sold yet was still helping count the money, provoking light laughter from the others.

With a headache-inducing sigh, Elder Wu said, "I have other arrangements for you. Song Fang, a disciple of the senior I know, has already arrived in Songdu. Since you consider your talent extraordinary, go and test yourself against him."

Jiang Xing replied with a hint of impatience, "Song Fang? How is it I've never heard of him?"

The senior martial sister, Wu Qinger, sneered. "Have you never heard of Song Fang of the Lesser Immeasurable Sword Rain?"

"The Lesser Immeasurable Sword..." Jiang Xing muttered a few times before suddenly recalling the name. Rumored to be the disciple of the Underworld Ministry's Palace Master, his swordsmanship was nothing short of astonishing.

Meanwhile, in Songdu's Fourth District, Song Fang suddenly felt his nose itch and looked around the surrounding environment with dissatisfaction.

Zhou Ba walked beside him, holding a lean horse by the reins with one hand while Ah Huang trotted behind. His attention, however, was entirely focused on this newly emerged town.

Though its area was probably more than twice that of Hangzhou, its population was at least three times greater, giving it a somewhat chaotic appearance.

Because the outermost wall had been constructed only recently, the Fourth District was the most disorderly and congested, the streets lined densely with multi-story houses built of stone and brick.

These buildings were at least four stories high, partitioned into tiny cubicles, every single one packed to capacity with commoners.

Above Zhou Ba's head, bamboo poles and drying clothes crisscrossed the space, and the streets hummed with a bustling stream of carriages and horses. Walking too slowly meant being swept along by the press of the crowd.

The air was saturated with various scents—the aroma of food mingling with the foul, rotting stench of garbage on the ground.

Traces of the Underworld Ministry were visible everywhere; for instance, the materials used to construct such high-rise buildings inevitably contained spiritual minerals, without which they could never have stood.

Such dense population concentration also necessitated a vast number of employment opportunities, but Songdu, having just transformed into a million-person city, clearly fell short of the demand. Food still relied heavily on the Underworld Ministry's assistance to stave off starvation.

Song Fang seemed completely out of place in this environment. Staring at the ground, he couldn't help complaining, "Though this isn't my first time here, I still find it deafening. What do you think, Zhou Ba?"

"It's all right, though there certainly are a lot of people."

Zhou Ba felt quite fine about it. Songdu gave him the illusion of being back in a metropolis from his past life, and given this hyper-dense housing, lacking only a touch of futuristic technology, it was practically cyberpunk.

"Let's go, let's go. Hurry to the next district; the closer we get to the center, the fewer people there will be."

Song Fang quickened his pace, hugging his long sword to his chest to prevent it from dropping into the slushy ground.

Curious, Zhou Ba glanced at nearby shops selling all sorts of novel foods. Though he wanted to pause, Song Fang was the guide, and there would be plenty of time later.

He hurried to catch up. Fortunately, being tall and solidly built, pedestrians instinctively parted for him, sparing him from collisions.

Before Zhou Ba had gone far, a boy of seven or eight rushed head-on toward him, colliding squarely against his chest with a body less than a meter tall.

"Sorry, sorry..."

The boy apologized repeatedly, keeping his head down as one of his hands nimbly fished a pouch out of Zhou Ba's robes.

Sensing the bulging, heavy weight of the pouch, a flicker of joy crossed his heart. He intended to slip around Zhou Ba and flee, only to feel his wrist caught in a vise-like grip.

Lifting his gaze, he saw Zhou Ba looking down at him with a smile.

"Next time you make a move, remember to polish your eyesight." Zhou Ba retrieved the storage pouch from the boy's hand, patted his head, and turned to catch up with Song Fang.

By the time he had walked away, the boy snapped back to his senses. Several burly men immediately closed in, whispering inquiries.

Even in the lowly trade of pickpocketing, rules existed; one had to pay respects to the local turf's gang. Shaking his head repeatedly, the boy ducked into the crowd under the men's warning glares.

Finding a quieter alley, he eagerly fumbled inside his tunic and pulled out a dozen small, fragmented silver pieces.

It was evident that the silver had originally been a single complete piece, but someone had forcefully crushed it apart with their bare fingers. Breaking it down into such tiny fragments made it much easier for him to spend.

Knowing he had struck great fortune, the boy understood even better that he must never breathe a word of it. Pulling a piece of cloth from his pocket, he wrapped the silver fragments up and, gritting his teeth, swallowed them into his belly.

This was a natural talent he had possessed since childhood; he could easily regurgitate items from his stomach, allowing him to evade the gangs' searches.

By this time, Zhou Ba had passed through the city gate into the Third District. Though the guarding bailiffs were relatively strict, the two merely flashed their Underworld Ministry tokens and passed through smoothly.

Though the boy from earlier was young, Zhou Ba had distinctly sensed the aura of demonic Daoist arts on him using his Yin-Yang eyes—though it was extremely faint and impossible to notice without careful inspection.

Thus, Zhou Ba had casually planted a seed of good karma; a few taels of silver were, after all, of little consequence to him.

Upon entering the Third District, Song Fang immediately relaxed. Looking ahead, the expanse enclosed by the two walls was filled with vast fields of rice.

Many farmers were already harvesting the ripe grain with extreme efficiency. Once the rice plants were sheared, others immediately burned the remaining stalks before tilling and sowing anew.

A spiritual array enshrouded the paddy fields, maintaining a constant temperature regardless of external weather shifts.

"That's quite a grand scale. A spiritual array of this magnitude must consume numerous spiritual minerals, right?" Zhou Ba asked in surprise, laying down such labor-intensive and costly spiritual formations simply to accelerate grain maturation.

Unfazed, Song Fang replied, "Of course. Besides, there is also a colleague in the city whose divine ability accelerates plant growth. Don't you think this is far more effortless than having the Underworld Ministry constantly dispatch people to transport grain back and forth from Xuzhou?"

"That stands to reason." Zhou Ba pondered. After all, the Underworld Ministry dominated the Nine Provinces, and the resources at its disposal were terrifyingly vast; it certainly had the capability.

Walking through the golden rice paddies, the two finally entered the more core Second District. The buildings here were noticeably lower, at most two stories high, and laid out with far less congestion than the outer layers.

The pedestrians walking the streets were dressed much more neatly, many even wearing lavish attire adorned with gold and jade. After all, virtually all the wealthy merchants who had fled across Xuzhou were likely concentrated in the remaining three towns.

And since Songdu was the town that had absorbed the highest number of refugees, under the Underworld Ministry's protection, prices had not skyrocketed, creating this unique landscape.

Just as the two stepped through the city gate, someone appeared to be waiting for them not far away.

Jiang Xing led two others forward, blocking Zhou Ba and Song Fang directly. His gaze swept over both of them before finally settling on the long sword at Song Fang's waist.

"The Lesser Immeasurable Sword, is it?"

Song Fang furrowed his brow. Sensing the open hostility from the person before him, he instantly assumed a sword-drawing posture.

Zhou Ba wore the look of a spectator. Was this the mandatory face-slapping plot of the legendary protagonist template?