[Mighty Gate Pass already existed before the establishment of the Vermilion Dynasty. It is a necessary pass from the western border toward the Central Plains region. The city walls on both sides of the pass cross the desert and Gobi. It can both withstand warfare and was the bond connecting the former divine capital, Luoyi, with the western border.]

[After the Vermilion Empire was established, the Martial Emperor moved the capital to Yanjing, the capital city, and Luoyi’s name as the divine capital ceased to exist.]

[Now, the world has been peaceful for a long time, so Mighty Gate Pass naturally does not have heavy troops guarding it…]

[From far away, you see scattered soldiers stationed atop the pass and city walls. Several Fire-Worship army soldiers wear black armor, hold weapons, and slowly patrol and wander atop the city wall.]

[It is somewhat different from what you have heard. According to rumors, as a great pass connecting the Central Plains and the western border, this pass should have endless streams of merchant caravans coming and going, with the long line entering and exiting the pass visible even from across a mountain ridge.]

[But now, Mighty Gate Pass is lifeless and gloomy. Aside from a few scattered soldiers at the city gate pass, there are no merchants traveling for trade at all. It appears utterly silent and desolate.]

[The soldiers guarding the pass have cold expressions and gloomy black pupils. When they see you senior brothers approach, they do not react much. Only when you take out your travel ordination certificate does a soldier silently take the certificate, glance at it, and allow you through.]

[The White Elephant Demon beside you feels very uncomfortable and says to you, Junior brother, why does it feel that the closer we get to the Central Plains, the more wrong the atmosphere becomes?]

[Could it be that junior brother already expected this, which is why you advanced step by step and did not fly directly to Luoyi?] 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

[You shake your head and carefully observe the stationed soldiers. On the small half of their cheeks not covered by black armor helmets, a faint pitch-black aura emerges and coils.]

[You raise your head and look at the soldiers atop the city wall. From afar, those soldiers seem to be patrolling normally, but only after getting closer do you discover that they are fundamentally shambling and wandering mechanically like walking corpses.]

[Other than dense bloodthirsty malice, there is nothing in the soldiers’ gazes…]

After Lin Xun finished incorporating Qingtang City’s Incense Power, the Child of Evil’s Shell Level rose as if riding a rocket.

Now, the Child of Evil’s level had already surpassed the Executor’s. It had just broken through the 200 mark and successfully advanced from Follower to Leader.

The next stop after Longyuan was Luoyi, located in the Central Plains region. As he traveled along the way, he passed some villages and relay stations, and discovered that the closer he got to the Central Plains, the deeper the degree of corruption the people suffered.

By the time he reached Mighty Gate Pass, these soldier monsters had nothing left but endless malice aside from extremely limited intelligence.

If he were not possessing the Child of Evil’s Shell, and if the White Elephant Demon did not also have the Extreme Evil prefix, this group of soldier monsters would have long since turned into bloodthirsty evil ghosts and pounced forward to attack the two of them.

Of course, Lin Xun had other reasons for stopping at Mighty Gate Pass.

According to the records of Vermilion Geographical Records, before the Vermilion Empire was established, this pass was not called Mighty Gate Pass, but Dragon Gate Pass.

Legend said that in ancient times, an evil demon dragon-kind fell at this mountain pass. People built its massive remains into bricks and stones, and used them to construct Dragon Gate Pass. After the Vermilion Empire was established, the Martial Emperor regarded dragon as an evil and ominous thing, so the pass was renamed Mighty Gate Pass.

Lin Xun suspected there was hidden plot and reward here…

[You press your palms together toward the leading soldier at the pass and say, This military lord, this poor monk is a great dharma-protector of Wusi City. While traveling here, I wish to pay a visit to the general guarding the pass. Might it be convenient?]

[The soldier coldly glances at you. The malice long suppressed in its eyes gradually surges and thickens. The hand tightly gripping the saber hilt at its waist lifts slightly, revealing half of a snow-bright blade.]

[Its meaning is very clear, it is telling you to get lost.]

[The surrounding soldiers also reveal strange smiles with ill intent one after another, staring fixedly at you…]

[How could the White Elephant Demon endure this kind of anger? It looks toward you. After seeing you nod, it gives a savage laugh and turns its wrist, conjuring two lotus great hammers.]

[With a boom, firelight suddenly appears!]

[The leading soldier’s charred corpse flies sideways and crashes into the city wall bricks and stones nearby, bursting apart and exploding into a cloud of blood mist!]

[The White Elephant Demon shouts, This is what happens when you dare defy your Buddha master!]

[Quickly have the general of this place roll out and meet us, otherwise it will wash Mighty Gate Pass in blood today!]

[The White Elephant Demon originally thinks this action can overawe a group of soldiers. After all, under its great magic power, the leading soldier could not even block a single move. Even if there were thousands upon thousands of mortal warrior soldiers like this, it could kill them all cleanly.]

[It never expected that the surrounding soldiers would actually draw their weapons and recklessly pounce forward to kill.]

[Anger rises in the White Elephant Demon’s heart. The Samadhi True Fire on its pair of lotus iron hammers burns even more intensely, and as the iron hammers swing, the soldiers turn into charred corpses one after another.]

[In just a few breaths, the White Elephant Demon has cleaned up all the soldiers at the pass.]

[You select several relatively intact corpses. After possessing them, you do not obtain any useful information. These soldiers’ memories are filled with endless malice.]

[You narrow your eyes, then fly up to the city tower and strike the great drum that warns of war…]

[The thud, thud of the drum echoes. Soon, squad after squad of fully armed Fire-Worship soldiers surges out from within the pass city.]

[The person at the front rides a warhorse, with a tall and burly build, holding a great halberd…]

[You have discovered Extreme Evil Mighty Gate Pass Guerrilla General!]

[The Guerrilla General gathers over a thousand soldiers and leads the vast troops and horses toward the pass…]

[From far away, it sees the stationed soldiers atop the city wall lying dead in disorder. The Guerrilla General gallops on horseback, points the great halberd in its hand toward you and the White Elephant Demon standing atop the city wall, and shouts Kill!]

[The many soldiers all follow the general, raising the weapons and crossbows in their hands as they shout together.]

[For a time, killing intent boils, and endless malice transforms into surging black qi that steams and coils, rushing straight into the clouds!]

[A fierce light flashes in your eyes. Under the drive of your will, that surging malice transforms into a huge pitch-black sharp claw…]

[Shell Skill Extreme Evil Assault Demon Claw activates!]

[The black qi of malice filling the sky all transforms into a demon claw, slamming fiercely toward the ground!]

[For a time, the earth trembles, and black waves of qi sweep out. The soldiers in the military formation are thrown into chaos, men and horses overturning, while screams and wails ring out without end…]

[The black demon claw strikes the earth again and again. In just a few breaths, it slaughters over a thousand soldiers to the last.]

[You have defeated Extreme Evil Mighty Gate Pass Foot Soldiers x732. Experience slightly increases!]

[You have defeated Extreme Evil Mighty Gate Pass Crossbowmen x219. Experience slightly increases!]

[You have defeated…]

[…]

[In the blink of an eye, only that Guerrilla General remains, sitting on horseback before the formation, while behind it are severed limbs covering the ground.]

Although Extreme Evil Assault Demon Claw’s skill grade was low and its power could not quite keep up with the current pace, it was still more than enough to deal with these miscellaneous small fry monsters.

Moreover, this skill could drive the malice aura scattering from small monsters. It was equivalent to using the enemy’s energy bar to cast the skill and could achieve cost-free release. Its effect in group clearing was fairly good.

Lin Xun glanced at the Greedy Wolf Star Lord’s panel progress bar. Compared with slaughtering small villager monsters, eliminating these Fire-Worship soldiers provided quite a bit more Demon-Banishment Merit.

After the Child of Evil advanced in grade, he thought about raising the Greedy Wolf Star Lord’s Shell grade as well. Otherwise, it would be wasting Emperor Yuanwu’s skill inheritance for nothing.

But after eliminating several villages of small monsters along the way, Lin Xun gave up on this time-wasting operation.