Rise to God with Life Skill Professions-Chapter 423 - 414: The Ceremony Begins, Madness Unleashed

Chapter 423: Chapter 414: The Ceremony Begins, Madness Unleashed

Beside the platform ahead, the guards were strict, and people came and went.

After Qin An said it was difficult, Liu Yi nodded in agreement.

"It really is difficult."

It takes the time of one stick of incense to burn the talisman paper to achieve its maximum effect, and one has to go to the platform to do so.

If they ignore the heart demon and go directly, these Jianghu people are like clay chickens and pottery dogs in their hands.

But if they really make a move, the heart demon will definitely sense it, and even a human skin mask won’t be able to conceal their aura.

By then, let alone burning the talisman paper, the mission will inevitably fail.

So at the moment, it seems a bit difficult.

Qin An narrowed his eyes and walked back the way they came.

Seeing this, Liu Yi didn’t ask much and quietly followed.

The two quickly left there and came to a more secluded street.

At this moment, only the two of them were on the street.

Liu Yi got close to Qin An and whispered, "What strategy do you have?"

She knew Qin An’s character; leaving silently just now meant he must have thought of a way to break the situation.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought her to such a secret street.

Qin An nodded and said, "Currently, the only way is to wait for the so-called Gathering of Deep Obstinacy to start. Then, we can secretly burn the talisman paper during the meeting."

"Also, whether the talisman paper burns with smoke or not, if it does, we’ll need to think of a way to block this smoke and the commotion of the burning."

Liu Yi showed a look of realization and pondered, "Your strategy is indeed feasible, and I also have a way to block the burning commotion, but there’s one more thing: the aura during burning is easily exposed."

Even if Liu Yi used all her skills to block the smoke and burning commotion, the aura is hard to completely erase.

If the talisman paper is burned in front of so many people, others may not be able to sense it, but the heart demon surely will.

"Let’s go back first." Liu Yi sighed softly, "In the next few days, let’s discuss how to tackle this."

She naturally overlooked Qin An’s strategy, as she had just mentioned her reasons to him.

However, given the tenacity of the Mountain Patrol General, even if one strategy doesn’t work, he will think of other ways to break the situation.

Who knew that before Liu Yi could take two steps, Qin An stopped her by the shoulder.

Liu Yi turned around, her bright eyes filled with endless confusion, not understanding why Qin An suddenly stopped her.

Qin An shook his head: "Just because you don’t have a way to isolate doesn’t mean I don’t. Give me the talisman paper."

Liu Yi, puzzled in her heart, then followed Qin An’s words, took the talisman paper out of her bosom, and handed it to Qin An.

Having just taken the talisman paper, Qin An drew a few esoteric tracks in the air over it.

As Qin An moved his fingers, strands of eight-colored true essence wrapped completely around the talisman paper.

Then, Qin An extended his left hand toward Liu Yi.

"Your hair."

Liu Yi did not know what Qin An had in mind, but still pulled out a strand of her long black hair and handed it to Qin An.

Qin An pinched Liu Yi’s hair and began to twist it onto the talisman paper.

With each twist, the eight-colored true essence floating in mid-air was infused into the hair.

In no time, the talisman paper was wrapped several times.

Liu Yi’s eyes widened, revealing a look of realization: "So it’s an array!"

As Qin An tied the hair onto the talisman paper, the aura on the talisman paper grew weaker and weaker.

This wasn’t suppression, but rather a division and concealment of it, minimizing the influence of the aura.

Qin An handed the talisman paper to Liu Yi: "With your hair as the array eye, arrange an isolation array. Even if you burn the talisman paper right before the heart demon’s eyes, it won’t notice."

Liu Yi’s face showed a look of joy: "Inviting you over truly was asking the right person."

Without Qin An’s extremely profound isolation array, she might now be out of ideas, maybe even considering to forcibly attack to accomplish the mission.

If they went for a strong attack, even she wouldn’t be able to control the outcome.

But now, it’s different. With Qin An’s help, under this array power, Liu Yi believes their upcoming mission will be much simpler.

Qin An didn’t say much more to Liu Yi.

The two headed towards their residence.

They quietly waited until a few days later, when the so-called Gathering of Deep Obstinacy began, and that would be when the mission would start.

...

Time passed.

During this period, Quanxin County remained as peaceful as ever.

Qin An and Liu Yi didn’t stay in the room all the time; they occasionally went out on the streets.

However, the more Qin An walked around, the more he felt that Quanxin County had an extremely terrifying vibe.

Not to mention anything else, just the madness on the faces of every passing citizen was something unseen in any outside place.

Not only that, but many Jianghu people were also the same.

These Jianghu people, when moving around in Quanxin County, displayed behavior that was nothing short of madness.

"If he’s allowed to continue like this, once Quanxin County is stabilized, he might even expand outward." Qin An returned to the house, gently stroking the Cold Star saber.

Liu Yi sat opposite Qin An, sipping tea: "Indeed, the reason he doesn’t expand outward is that he uses Quanxin County as a base, continuously absorbing interested individuals. Once the number absorbed reaches a certain level, he will expand outward."

Qin An said, "The heart demon forces, as mentioned before, are indeed a force. It seems these citizens and Jianghu people are like disciples of the force, and the heart demon is the leader of this force."

The heart demon’s force is too special; after all is said and done, there is only one pseudo-god.

But it’s extremely difficult to deal with.

No one dares to kill the people here, not even a demonic pseudo-god.

The more you kill, the stronger the heart demon becomes; it’s all like a vicious cycle.

Liu Yi said, "You’re right, and it’s precisely because of this that the Evil Extermination Bureau isn’t willing to pay a higher price. After all, the heart demon is currently well-behaved, and if he wishes to continue expanding, even at a cost, the Evil Extermination Bureau would have to use thunderous means."

Qin An nodded, lying on the bed: "Rest early today. Tomorrow is the so-called Obsession Ceremony. I want to see what the inner demons are up to."

The two said no more.

Maintaining abundant energy is extremely important for a Mountain Patrol General during a mission.

Both of them were experts in this regard and naturally understood this principle.

Subsequently, while remaining vigilant, the two fell into a slumber.

...

The next day.

When the first ray of sunlight streamed through the sky, Qin An slightly opened his eyes and sheathed his saber.

On the other side, Liu Yi also got out of bed, looking towards the door.

First, there was a slight sound of footsteps, then the door was pushed open from the outside.

Zhao Lan, whom they had met a few days ago, entered the room with a hint of madness on her face.

Seeing Qin An, she showed a mocking expression: "Not bad. You are very smart. If you had messed around during this time, not only would you not gain the favor of the Inner Demon, you might even be expelled from Quanxin County."

Liu Yi quickly said: "We naturally understand. After all, we also need the guidance of the Inner Demon to completely liberate us from suffering."

Zhao Lan nodded with satisfaction and said: "Now, follow me to the Obsession Ceremony. The Inner Demon will soon free you from your obsessions."

With that, Zhao Lan turned around, with an incomprehensible fervor on her face, leading the way ahead.

Although Qin An and Liu Yi had already been there once, they pretended to be unaware and followed Zhao Lan to the high platform.

At this moment, there were more people at the high platform, incomparable to the night before.

A dense crowd of townspeople and Jianghu people wandered here, and some of the people were already sitting on the prayer mats.

During the interval, several Jianghu people were engaging in conversations in small groups.

Zhao Lan led Qin An and Liu Yi to a spot in front of a prayer mat.

"Both of you sit here. The Obsession Ceremony will begin soon. You’re in luck. Many newcomers are joining this time."

After saying this, Zhao Lan no longer paid attention to them and silently left the area.

Qin An and Liu Yi exchanged a look, and Qin An gave Liu Yi a subtle signal.

Liu Yi understood and took out the talisman paper entwined with hair from her sleeve, quietly beginning her task.

She first folded it, then injected a wisp of True Essence, placing the talisman paper back in her sleeve.

The talisman paper burned fiercely, yet if one looked closely, even as it burned intensely, there was no smoke or fire emerging.

Liu Yi’s actions were extremely subtle, drawing no attention from the crowd.

It would take a stick of incense time to burn the talisman paper, but after half a stick, the Obsession Ceremony officially began.

An old man exuding an aura of decay stepped onto the high platform with a cane.

After casting a glance around, he loudly declared: "Gentlemen, you are all here to participate in the Obsession Ceremony and are here to release your obsessions. The Obsession Ceremony is about to start, but before that, we need to make you one of us."

Upon hearing this, many newcomers looked perplexed.

They had come from afar, wanting to let go of their obsessions after hearing about the situation in Quanxin County.

But now they were being told they needed to become one of them, and they couldn’t understand why.

At this moment, the old man signaled a young man below the stage with a glance.

The young man immediately understood and quietly left.

After a few breaths, a group of burly men followed behind the young man.

Each burly man was dragging an ordinary townsman.

These townspeople were tightly bound; even their mouths were stuffed with cloth, their eyes filled with extreme fear.

Their limbs writhed, yet they couldn’t break free from the tethering ropes.

"Bang!"

A dull sound echoed as the burly men threw them to the ground, their eyes indifferent as ice.

The old man coughed and pointed at the bound townspeople: "To shed obsessions, the first thing you must do is what you dared not do before. Today, those here to attend the Obsession Ceremony must first kill these people, and you must do so in the most brutal way."

A few burly men retrieved fishing nets from behind, binding the townspeople in a bundle.

The gaps in the fishing nets exposed skin and flesh.

A hint of madness flashed in the old man’s eyes as he approached with a small knife: "Slash a thousand cuts along the gaps of these nets. Once you’ve finished, the Inner Demon can help you release your obsessions."

Upon hearing this, all the newcomers showed expressions of terror.

Even though they appeared terrified, a trace of excitement surprisingly accompanied their fear.

Those entwined with obsessions already had twisted personalities.

What lay before them now offered an unparalleled novel thrill.

None of them even considered leaving.

Qin An squinted slightly, suddenly turning to Liu Yi, asking: "Was it like this before?"

Liu Yi’s eyes bore a heavy look as she shook her head slightly: "Quanxin County is very isolated. We’re not entirely sure what they’ve done previously. If we were to send a large group from the Evil Extermination Bureau in, it might alert the Inner Demon, potentially leading to unexpected changes. So we temporarily maintained the current balance."

Simply put, even Liu Yi had never seen such a brutal method before.

Qin An suddenly said: "In that case... have these people done such things before?"

Liu Yi didn’t understand the implication in Qin An’s words, but instinctively nodded.

"If so, then indeed, they have done such things."

Qin An asked again: "How much time is left for the talisman paper?"

"Less than half a stick of incense," Liu Yi replied.

At this moment, Liu Yi noticed Qin An’s gaze becoming increasingly colder, akin to eternal frozen ice, emanating a chilling aura.

Liu Yi knew very well that this was killing intent, and it was so dense it couldn’t be dispelled.

"What do you intend to do?" Liu Yi asked instinctively.

Qin An sneered: "Once this is over, there’s no need for anyone here to stay behind."