This person hasn't stepped into the Extreme Realm, that much he can be sure of.

But his growth speed far surpasses the Extreme Realm!

Emperor Jiang turned around and quietly watched the other party.

"Do you want to see your limits?"

"Please enlighten me, senior!" Zhang Rongfang turned around, the wound on his hand completely healed.

"Good..." Emperor Jiang raised the Love Saber again. "I know you want to understand what the mysterious cloud is for. Come with me."

He didn't make another move, turned around, and quickly walked down the mountain.

Zhang Rongfang hesitated for a moment, looked at Ran Xinyue, and the latter nodded at him.

Immediately, the two followed him.

Linghua Mountain is very large, and the three quickly moved from the sunny side to the shady side, stopping in front of a ruined temple halfway up the mountain.

"You come with me alone." Emperor Jiang glanced at Ran Xinyue and walked into the ruined temple first.

Zhang Rongfang gave Ran Xinyue a signal to stay outside, then followed him inside.

He didn't believe the other party wanted to harm him.

If he wanted to kill him, Emperor Jiang would have had plenty of chances during their first meeting.

Of course, he is now the Daoist of the Great Dao Teaching, the world's largest sect.

Probably the other party wouldn't kill him.

After all, Yue Shi is still around, so even the Inverse Time Association wouldn't provoke him at this time.

This was also his backing when he dared to continually challenge.

But later, discovering that Emperor Jiang was quite ill, Zhang Rongfang actually became a bit worried.

After all, the actions of a mentally ill person are unpredictable.

But fortunately, after a few encounters, it seemed that Emperor Jiang wasn't that difficult to get along with.

As long as he could withstand his sudden outbursts, everything was actually fine.

On the other side, watching the two walk into the ruined temple one after the other.

Ran Xinyue breathed a sigh of relief.

For some reason, having either of these two nearby always gave her different feelings of oppression.

But now it's fine.

After so much time, slowly getting used to it, every time she brought Zhang Rongfang up the mountain, looking for people, fighting.

She always had a feeling of herding sheep up the mountain.

'They are not human, why should I compare with two non-human beings? I, Ran Xinyue, am a talented individual, skilled in both literature and martial arts, an honorable Grandmaster. Perhaps in the future, I can break through again in martial arts. If I want to compare, it should be with humans.'

Thinking this way, the restless conclusion in her heart slowly calmed down.

'Yes, as long as I don't compare with these monsters, I'm still very strong!'

Thinking of this, her slightly restless heart calmed down again. For a moment, even the chilly mountain wind seemed mild and warm.

Standing in the cold wind, she tried to hold her chest high.

Now she felt like a shepherd, and the two sheep had just gone out to graze.

Though thinking this might be somewhat reckless, the shaken conclusion thoroughly stabilized again.

Ah, sure enough, someone able to keep company with monsters... truly strong....

On the other hand.

Gathering his thoughts, Zhang Rongfang followed Emperor Jiang into the ruined temple.

The temple was full of spider webs and moss, with mildewed spots on the walls, no longer suitable for humans.

The statue of the deity was only half remaining, the other half of the body crudely sliced off with a sharp blade.

Only the hand pinching a flower was placed on the knee, and the lotus flower in a lower seated position.

It was clear this was a Buddhist statue.

"Are you ready?" Emperor Jiang, with his back to him, stood before the statue.

"I'm ready!" Zhang Rongfang nodded vigorously.

As soon as the words fell.

A large amount of white mist suddenly emerged in the ruined temple.

The white mist grew thicker, gradually filling every inch of the place.

Zhang Rongfang took a deep breath, looking at Emperor Jiang less than a meter ahead.

Strangely, although everything else vanished, Emperor Jiang remained clearly visible.

The surroundings were shrouded in dense fog, nothing to be seen.

"This is the mysterious cloud." Emperor Jiang turned around.

"If you want to deal with it, there's only one way."

"What way!?" Zhang Rongfang's spirit thrived, finally, at long last, this point was addressed.

"Pray to the gods!"

"!?!!?"

Zhang Rongfang's expression froze.

What does this mean?

Isn't the Extreme Realm not supposed to pray to gods!? Why is there a need to start praying to gods here?

"Only gods can counteract gods. Similarly, only the same entities can counteract the mysterious cloud." Emperor Jiang replied.

"Our Extreme Realm can't pray to gods, but that doesn't mean we have no means."

He slowly drew the Love Saber.

"Our method is to use weapons to pray to gods!"

"Use weapons to pray to gods?!" Zhang Rongfang seemed to vaguely guess something.

"As the name implies. People don't pray, but weapons do!"

Emperor Jiang gently shook the Love Saber in his hand.

The blade vibrated with a light hum.

"The method is simple, but also very difficult. Because, first, you need to step into the Extreme Realm, extremely concentrate your mental resolve."

"Then with extremely concentrated intent, pour it into a chosen weapon daily. Over time, once a certain threshold is reached, you can choose a deity, and consecutively kill over twenty of that deity's followers using this weapon, through a secret process, to complete it."

"...Is this even praying?" Zhang Rongfang was speechless.

"Sacrificial worship is also prayer. Using the hatred of gods to temper the weapon. Ultimately obtaining a demonic weapon that can offset the interference of the mysterious cloud." Emperor Jiang replied. "Of course, if you can completely kill a single deity once, the power of this demonic weapon will be even stronger. Just like that of Emperor Kun."

Today he seemed exceptionally clear-headed for a long time.

Zhang Rongfang, hearing this, momentarily fell into deep thought.

Only gods can counteract gods....

No wonder the Righteous Alliance, led by Reverse Time, and the various religions of the Spirit Court are natural enemies.

It seems there's deeper causality behind it.

"Then, if one doesn't have magic soldiers, what should they do? Must all Extreme Realm individuals possess magic soldiers to combat Spirit Generals or deities?" Zhang Rongfang asked again.

"You're mistaken on one point," Emperor Jiang replied.

"Only Spirit Generals and above, or specialized deity worship from the Great Dao Teaching, can produce the mysterious fog. The rest don't need magic soldiers to deal with."

"Besides, if you don't wish to nurture magic soldiers, you can just go and seize the ones that already exist."

After saying this, Emperor Jiang turned and walked toward a certain direction in the thick fog.

He walked slowly, allowing Zhang Rongfang to catch up.

Before long, the two of them walked straight forward in the fog, unbelievably covering several hundred meters without reaching the end.

Yet this dilapidated temple is only about ten meters wide, impossible for it to be hundreds of meters long.

"We're here." Emperor Jiang suddenly halted, looking ahead.

The fog ahead gradually dispersed, revealing a tall silver-skinned humanoid with silver wings on its back.

This figure had a bare torso and was wearing a simple white skirt below, with a flat chest yet an exceptionally beautiful face.

Its face was sharply chiseled like if sculpted by knives, eyes slightly closed, as if in slumber.

"He is Chen Qi. A former Spirit General of a secret cult. Now, his deity is mostly forgotten; only I remember him. So he's now merely a Residual Spirit General."

Emperor Jiang softly pointed to the figure.

"The mysterious fog here is his natural influence."

Spirit General!?

Zhang Rongfang felt a chill in his heart, examining the figure carefully.

This person's entire skin was silver, without a single bit of flesh exposed.

A large eagle pattern was etched onto his chest.

"Want to give it a try?" Emperor Jiang turned back to look.

"What?" Zhang Rongfang was stunned.

"Kill him," Emperor Jiang replied. "You can try to kill him."

After a moment of silence, Zhang Rongfang slowly moved forward, with Emperor Jiang assisting to dispel the mysterious fog.

Now he could directly face a Spirit General at this level.

This was his first time truly seeing the form of a Spirit General.

Entirely silver, like a sculpture.

"Can I assault him freely? He won't wake up?" Zhang Rongfang asked.

"He's fair game. Don't worry; I killed him once already. Due to having no substitute to die in his place, he cannot revive," Emperor Jiang answered. "You'd better hurry; I must return to cook for Jun'Er."

Zhang Rongfang inhaled deeply, intending to ask further.

Suddenly, his expression twitched as he noticed Emperor Jiang's eyes began to turn vacant.

A sense of unease arose immediately within him.

"Husband...? Where are you? I plan to make your favorite green bean almond cake... Husband..."

"Jun'Er, where are you? I'll be back soon to cook for you; please wait, soon, it'll be ready."

"Husband...."

"Jun'Er...."

Emperor Jiang's expression fluctuated, continually shifting, as he ambled confusedly into the mist.

"Senior! Senior!!?" Zhang Rongfang felt even more uneasy, hastening to follow.

But it was already too late.

In an instant, Emperor Jiang vanished before him.

"..." Zhang Rongfang stood speechlessly in place.

What... should he do now? What should he do now??

Sure enough, the insane can't be relied upon!

He gritted his teeth hard, once again eyeing the sleeping Spirit General not far away.

"Don't be afraid. I'm right behind you."

Suddenly, Emperor Jiang's voice sounded from behind him.

Startled, Zhang Rongfang quickly turned around.

Indeed, Emperor Jiang had returned, but his expression now shifted to that of a gentle and charming wife.

"Alright!"

Clenching his teeth, Zhang Rongfang activated the Blood Lotus, rapidly enlarging his figure.

Boom!

He stomped the ground, dashing forward, with an incoming palm to strike at the Residual Spirit General.

Clang!!

The tremendous force slammed into the Spirit General's head.

The sensation to Zhang Rongfang felt like he hit an exceedingly hard lump of metal.

As his palm fell, the massive equivalent force instantly rebounded against his hand.

Launching his hand high into the air.

"You can use full force," Emperor Jiang's voice came from behind. "His deity has fallen; he has no substitute believer, so he won't awaken."

Zhang Rongfang gritted his teeth.

This time, he withheld nothing, concentrating the full strength of the Blood Lotus, fiercely striking at the Spirit General's chest.

This punch was almost the strongest he had ever achieved.

Nobody had ever stood still before, waiting for him to accumulate energy for several seconds before letting him strike their chest.

In rapid changing moves, force is often not fully utilized.

But this time was different.

Zhang Rongfang's right arm swelled and expanded, blood vessels entwining on the skin like blood worms.

The violent wind pressure pushed back the surrounding fog, then delivered a heavy blow to the Spirit General's chest.

Crack!!

The Spirit General remained motionless, his skin slightly indented.

Whereas Zhang Rongfang.... his robust arm immediately snapped, with large droplets of blood bursting from the skin's surface, forming blood mist.

"Understand now?" Emperor Jiang appeared ghost-like beside him.

"Spirit Generals can resist direct Spiritual Line piercings with ultra-powerful deity worship! So, in dealing with them, merely relying on force is ineffective.

Only speed and Body Technique. Combined with magic soldiers...."