Rebirth of the Urban Demon Lord

Chapter 4 A Different World

Chapter Four: A Different World

Upon entering the villa, Zhuo Yang was led by the old butler to the living room to wait. All the seating areas in the living room were occupied by people dressed in strange and unusual clothes. Seeing that Zhuo Yang was young, they paid him no attention and continued chatting in small groups.

The old housekeeper was in a hurry. He greeted them and ran upstairs without even arranging tea.

Zhuo Yang didn't care and stood quietly.

"Have you heard? A thousand-year-old tomb was discovered in Longyang last month!"

A monk, gnawing on a pork knuckle, wiped the grease from his mouth and said, "The archaeological team arrived quickly, and then, do you know what happened?"

“I heard!” A man in his forties, who looked like a wandering singer and carried a heavy guitar case, chimed in, “I heard the archaeological team encountered danger, and all eight of them died!”

"Yes!" the monk continued, "But it wasn't just eight people; there were also hundreds of villagers who had come to watch. They were all eaten by the zombies that came out of the ancient tomb. The scene was absolutely horrific!"

"Those zombies were impervious to swords and spears, and even the army couldn't stop them, but suddenly a swordsman appeared and killed them all with just his sword!"

"Is that so?" The wandering singer was shocked. The guitar case on his back fell to the ground, and an iron erhu was thrown out.

Zhuo Yang glanced to the side and his brows twitched immediately. That erhu was not a musical instrument, but a strange weapon!

The wandering singer quickly put away his erhu and asked again, "Great monk, how did you know?"

"You don't know how to use the internet?" The monk tore off another piece of meat and ate it. "The news was taken down by 404 in less than an hour. I only found out the details because I have a senior brother in a special department!"

The people around fell silent, and many of them wore expressions of confusion.

Someone in the crowd said, "Monk, don't talk nonsense, or you'll get into trouble."

The monk was very displeased and snorted, "Many strange things have happened in the past two months. I know a lot more. Do you want to know?"

Several voices responded, showing that everyone had a strong desire to learn.

Zhuo Yang was also very curious. Recently, many paranormal posts have appeared online, but they don't last long and are almost always censored.

For example, a forum message:

"A huge whirlpool appeared on the river and swallowed a sand-carrying ship. There is video evidence!"

Zhuo Yang didn't see the video. When he finally found it, the link he clicked on was already a 404 error.

There's another video on Douyin (TikTok) showing a coal mine where workers are frantically trying to escape from the mine entrance. Then, a toad as big as an elephant jumps out, curls its tongue, and swallows one of the workers whole.

Zhuo Yang only watched it once; when he tried to watch it a second time, the video was taken down.

Zhuo Yang then saw a message with a video showing a fire at a hospital, with countless people fleeing the building and firefighters rushing inside.

In the final segment of the video, a humanoid figure engulfed in flames emerges from the fire. With a wave of its hand, a long, fiery whip lashes out, instantly igniting the fire truck outside the building…

The video sparked a frenzy online, with netizens offering various interpretations, ranging from supernatural beings to demons. However, the official explanation was that an explosion occurred at the hospital, and the flames were the shockwave from the blast.

There are many more reports, all of which have only appeared frequently in the last two months.

Yesterday, Zhuo Yang would have just treated it as entertainment, but now, he thinks that nothing is simple.

At this moment, the monk, having built up enough suspense, loudly proclaimed, "And there's one more explosive piece of news!"

Everyone immediately focused their attention, and the entire room fell silent.

The monk tore off a piece of meat and said as he chewed, "Three months ago, on the second day of the second lunar month, just after midnight, an earthquake struck Xizhou. It wasn't strong, but I'm sure everyone here felt it, right?"

"Yes, my internal energy surged at that moment; I've never experienced anything like it before!"

"I'm even more powerful than you. My cultivation level improved greatly back then, and then it increased by leaps and bounds. Now I've reached..."

"After that day, it seems my cultivation speed has increased even more!"

"I observed the celestial phenomena last night, and it seems a great calamity is about to befall us..."

Everyone chimed in, sharing their own experiences.

Zhuo Yang frowned slightly as he listened, thinking to himself, "Judging from what they're saying, it seems that every cultivator sensed something different on the second day of the second lunar month."

The more Zhuo Yang thought about it, the more something seemed wrong. He closed his eyes and used his spiritual sense to perceive his surroundings.

No, the vital energy in the air is extremely unstable and should not be at the normal level of the mortal realm!

"What do you know?" The burly monk swung his elbow arrogantly and shouted, "For the sake of us all being cultivators, I'll tell you some news that has been blocked by a special department."

"On February 2nd, a massive explosion occurred in the West, causing a global shock that has yet to subside."

"The special department has discovered that after the energy fluctuations, the concentration of energy on Earth has increased significantly, and numerous 'monsters' have appeared in various locations!"

A collective gasp filled the living room, and someone immediately asked, "What exactly is this 'monster'?" The head monk adopted a mysterious demeanor, repeatedly saying, "It cannot be said, it cannot be said!"

Zhuo Yang stood in the crowd and snorted.

The "monster" the monk spoke of was probably a deeply dormant demon beast, or some kind of evil spirit!

The explosion that caused the energy turbulence must have been caused by the detonation of a high-level magical artifact or even a divine artifact, which in turn affected the energy of Blue Star, making Blue Star suitable for cultivators to cultivate, and also causing monsters, demons, and ghosts to revive.

This is a good thing, as it will accelerate the cultivation speed of all cultivators. However, if the vital energy increases at this rate, it might turn into a bad thing, and Blue Star might eventually become a blessed land for some immortal lord.

Opportunity, and challenge!

"Do you think that the young lady of the Dongfang family might also be possessed by evil spirits due to the fluctuation of vital energy?"

Not far from Zhuo Yang, an old Taoist priest dressed in a magnificent robe asked a question.

The entire room fell silent instantly, everyone's expression filled with doubt and horror.

Not everyone has the strength to confront evil directly.

"Tch." The meat-eating monk chuckled a few times. "Do you think it's so easy to take ten million from the richest man in Lingzhou? Didn't you think about it carefully before you came?"

Everyone was taken aback. No one had expected things to become so complicated. They all thought that the young lady of the Dongfang family just had a rare disease that the hospital couldn't cure, which gave them a chance to make money.

The monk widened his eyes and scanned the crowd, then revealed a smug expression. The fewer people, the better; I can make a fortune this way.

The old Taoist priest patted him on the shoulder and said in a sinister voice, "Monk, you know a lot, but if I were to tell everyone about your outrageous remarks today, aren't you afraid the special departments would come after you?"

The monk's expression froze instantly. When did the old Taoist priest get behind me? I didn't even sense him!

His cultivation level is far superior to mine!

"Don't block my path to wealth!"

The old Taoist priest patted him on the shoulder again. The head monk glared at him angrily, then retreated to the side, seemingly unwilling to compete for the ten million.

But before the old Taoist could even feel smug, he was patted on the shoulder, which startled him so much that he "stood up in a flash."

He turned around angrily, and in front of him stood a young man in white, who was incredibly dashing and particularly pretentious.

"What do you want to do?"

The old Taoist priest was furious. "I just managed to scare the big monk, and you're trying to scare me in the same way?"