Zi Kang suddenly understood. He finally knew why, upon arriving in the True Man Realm, Zhi Chi immediately pegged someone from the outside, Luo Lianxin, as an extra-territorial celestial demon.

It turned out that in this place, anyone who didn't believe in the Heavenly Emperor was branded a heretic and condemned to be burned to death. Since she came from the outside, she was naturally a heavenly demon attempting to bewitch the populace.

Faced with such logic, Feng Zi Kang could only offer a wry smile; the reasoning, though completely misguided, hit a mark of truth in its own twisted way.

“Slay the demon.”

Huo Zhongguang, yanked out by Feng Zi Kang, sniffed repeatedly. Apart from near the little fox, he hadn't detected any other demonic aura.

“Junior Brother, why did you let that Old Wu fool you into taking the God-tier Foundation Establishment Merit Task? Look now, we don't even have a thread to follow! How is anyone supposed to complete it?”

This world was so utterly peaceful; the supposed rampages of great demons sounded like utter nonsense.

Feng Zi Kang frowned, racking his brain in confusion. “The most urgent matter is finding Luo Lianxin. She’s been here for two years; she should have some leads.”

That sounded easy enough, but in this vast, boundless world, where would one even begin to look?

Ghost King Tu let out a cold sneer. She was a Foundation Establishment expert. Though she hadn't gone through the Merit Ascension process, she was certainly well-traveled and experienced. Even though she had only just emerged here, she could already sense something was deeply wrong.

“This place is rather bizarre, Young Master Feng. You ought to be careful!”

She held Zhu He'er’s hand. Though her daughter had betrayed her, she was, after all, flesh torn from her own body. Now, reduced to nothing more than a puppet capable only of gentle smiles, how could the Ghost King Tu not ache? The resentment she held for her daughter was gradually fading.

Long Que also shook its head and wagged its skull, sensing something amiss. “Master, I feel that while there is no true demonic qi in the True Man Realm, there is a faint, lingering essence of flood dragon, which is quite strange…”

As something manifested from the bones of a five-clawed divine dragon, it was naturally most sensitive to this dragon-flood dragon aura, which is why it could perceive it.

“Flood dragon essence?”

Feng Zi Kang’s brow furrowed again. Everything about this True Man Realm was permeated with strangeness. However, he had already mentally prepared for the fact that this God-tier Merit Task must hold some hidden trickery.

“I think for the next few days, we should visit several temples to gather intelligence. See if there are any monsters haunting the countryside.”

In the True Man Realm, there were no cultivators in the conventional sense. Those like the three red-robed figures Feng Zi Kang first encountered were all enshrined devotees within the temples; they gained divine abilities by devoutly honoring the Heavenly Emperor.

If there were monsters on these lands, then handling demon-slaying and devil-extermination naturally fell to these devotees.

The next day, Feng Zi Kang rose, washed, and, after asking the innkeeper for directions, set off for the grandest temple in Daliang City: Puji Temple.

Puji Temple was located southwest of Daliang City, thriving with incense. It was called an ancient temple spanning a thousand years. Its eaves and dougong brackets were covered in mottled green moss on the outer walls. It enshrined the Heavenly Emperor within, while the area outside the temple was dotted with small food stalls doing brisk business.

Feng Zi Kang paid two cash coins for a stick of high-grade incense and slowly entered the temple with the flow of people.

Today was the day Master Hongfa was giving a sermon. The crowds surged, all rushing into the Grand Hall of Heroes. At the front was the massive, majestic statue of the Heavenly Emperor. Upon the statue, a bloody crescent moon symbol was painted. Master Hongfa stood solemnly before the statue, dressed in red robes, his head adorned with a silver crescent-shaped crown.

The hall was vast and open on all four sides, capable of seating several hundred people. Many floor cushions were neatly arranged on the ground. Though many people entered the Grand Hall, they were extremely orderly, sitting down in sequence. Any slight bumps were met with gentle smiles and whispered apologies. These hundreds of people sat in the hall in near-total silence.

Seeing that all seats were filled, Master Hongfa finally nodded, signaling a young attendant to strike the bell. The bell chimed melodiously. The murmuring that had persisted immediately ceased, and the entire Grand Hall became dead quiet, awaiting Master Hongfa’s opening words.

Feng Zi Kang observed from the side. He saw that those on both the left and right possessed expressions of deep piety, staring unblinkingly at Master Hongfa, their faces alight with excitement.

“The Heavenly Emperor says: To love others is what makes one truly human.”

Master Hongfa cleared his throat, opened the book in his hands, and began transmitting the dharma. The passage he was discussing today, Feng Zi Kang happened to have read in the Heavenly Emperor’s Handed Instructions just yesterday. This was said to be fragments of wisdom left by the Heavenly Emperor during his time walking the mortal world, recorded by his disciples then and passed down.

The meaning of this passage was that a person truly earns their humanity only through their capacity to love others. Therefore, all mortals who devoutly believe in the Heavenly Emperor should love their family and neighbors, treating strangers as if they were kin, and never engaging in unnecessary disputes.

This was inherently a very simple principle, yet Master Hongfa endlessly debated and analyzed it, to the point of being tiresome to listen to. But watching the people around him, they seemed to grow more and more agitated, as if the sermon was striking a deep chord within them.

“Something is strange,” Feng Zi Kang thought, finding the situation exceedingly peculiar. He felt that the master’s speech carried a subtle vibrational rhythm, a hidden magic technique influencing the moods of the hundreds gathered in the hall. If he weren't naturally immune to such mental manipulation techniques, he might not have noticed it so easily.

If the world created by the Heavenly Emperor could truly make everyone follow his teachings and know selfless love, why would there be a need to employ such methods?

Feng Zi Kang suddenly noticed Master Hongfa’s gaze sweep in his direction. Startled, he knew that among such an ecstatic crowd, he could easily reveal himself. He quickly imitated the expressions of those nearby, adopting a look of fervent excitement. Master Hongfa nodded once before shifting his gaze away.

Not long after, the sermon concluded. Those hundreds of people left with bright smiles, radiating more vitality and spirit than when they arrived.

Feng Zi Kang intended to slip out with the crowd. He took two steps, only to see Master Hongfa elegantly approach him and offer a respectful bow with palms joined.

“Brother, you look unfamiliar. Is this your first time visiting Puji Temple?”

According to the Heavenly Emperor’s decree, all under heaven were brothers and sisters, so those who served in the temples addressed outsiders as ‘Brother’ or ‘Sister.’ Feng Zi Kang had not expected Master Hongfa to initiate conversation, but he remained outwardly calm and returned the respectful bow.

“Master, I am a traveler from afar. Hearing that Puji Temple was transmitting the dharma today, I came specifically to listen.”

“Excellent merit,” Master Hongfa praised loudly, smiling. “If Brother harbors such intent, you can accumulate boundless merit. The Heavenly Emperor speaks through my mouth; those who hear the teaching benefit greatly.”

It seemed Master Hongfa genuinely took him for an outside believer and patiently explained things, acting quite amiable and approachable.

“By the way, Brother Feng, where are you from originally? How did you come to be in Daliang City?”

After exchanging the standard pleasantries, the questioning naturally turned to his origins. Feng Zi Kang had anticipated this. Yesterday, he had purchased several copies of Principles of Governance to gain a basic understanding of the geography and political situation in the Han Dynasty of the True Man Realm.

“Alas,” he sighed, “I am from Lanshan Village in Wufeng Prefecture, a farmer by trade. My life was quite comfortable, but who knew that a monster would suddenly cause trouble, destroying my fields? I was forced to abandon my old profession and now make a small living, moving between prefectures and counties.”

“A monster?”

Master Hongfa was startled. “There is actually a monster causing trouble?”

His expression turned grave. He joined his palms together and sighed deeply. “Our Great Han Dynasty has enjoyed long periods of peace, yet these past two years, demonic disturbances have become frequent. It truly pains the heart. It must be that the world’s people are not pure enough, carrying too much sin, which invites such calamities!”

Under the rule of the Heavenly Emperor, history was marked by tranquility. Feng Zi Kang had indeed found very few records of significant monster outbreaks. His previous statement was purely an attempt to draw Master Hongfa out. Hearing the master’s tone now, it sounded as if monsters had been cropping up often in recent years.

“Are there monsters springing up in other places too?”

He feigned surprise, hoping to prompt Master Hongfa further.

“Alas,” Master Hongfa sighed deeply. “Although the Great Han world is peaceful, in these past few years, there has been…”

The Heavenly Emperor had shown few divine miracles in recent years, but there had never been a shortage of devout believers. However, two years ago, an extra-territorial celestial demon arrived, causing cosmic upheaval. Dozens of devotees from temples across the land mobilized and swarmed the demon. Though they succeeded in eliminating the demon, they suffered losses of over half their number, severely weakening their strength.

The subjugated demon race, which had been tightly suppressed, seized the opportunity to rise.

Although they still couldn't muster significant power, and under the spiritual blockade maintained by the devotees, not even a trace of demonic aura could leak through, let alone infiltrate the cities to cause trouble, monsters were still frequently sighted in remote areas.

“The extra-territorial celestial demon… was it destroyed?”

A cold sweat broke out on Feng Zi Kang’s back. Calculating the timeline, that extra-territorial celestial demon seemed to be Luo Lianxin, who had broken through space to complete her Merit Task. From the tone of Master Hongfa’s words, it sounded like she might actually have been annihilated.

Feng Zi Kang didn't doubt that the combined might of the devotees from the Heavenly Emperor’s temples could manage to eliminate Luo Lianxin. At least the Master Hongfa before him was a Foundation Establishment expert. If high-ranking figures from various temples possessed similar cultivation, joining forces against Luo Lianxin might indeed put her in serious trouble.

“But… she probably wouldn't be wiped out so easily, right?”

If Luo Lianxin had died, the mission would have failed, and the Military Strategists of Dragon-Tiger Mountain would surely not have remained ignorant. They would have suffered a huge loss and probably vanished into hiding.

Feng Zi Kang felt a surge of internal caution, reminding himself to keep a low profile.

He lamented inwardly. He had come to the True Man Realm only to help them eliminate monsters, but he hadn't expected the people here to have such narrow minds. Any outsider was an extra-territorial celestial demon, and having hundreds of devotees risk their lives to swarm and beat him—how could anyone stand that?

Before even fighting any monsters, being chased raggedly by the devotees was quite an ironic turn of events.

“Then, Master,” Feng Zi Kang asked, “do you know of any other places where monsters are wreaking havoc? I must be careful and try to avoid those areas.”

Since Luo Lianxin was nowhere to be found, he had no choice but to try his luck. At least finding the so-called ‘great demon’ would allow him to apply the correct remedy.

“Speaking of monsters, the world is suffering greatly, and disturbances occur in many places, but…”

Master Hongfa paused. “In most locations, wherever a devotee is stationed, they can be suppressed. However, in Northeast Mount Luolong, there is a powerful monster whose great magic we, several assembled devotees, have failed to eradicate through joint assault. We are planning to gather more personnel for a siege soon. You should avoid that area for now.”

“Northeast Mount Luolong!” Feng Zi Kang murmured the name, committing the location to memory.