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Spring had passed, and the ice and snow in the north should have melted according to past routines, but this year was different. The surge in spiritual energy made the lingering ice in the Mortal World unusually tough. In a time lacking food, this deadly weather proved fatal.

It made the already difficult survival of the common people even harder.

Since the serpent disaster, the Northern Territory had suffered heavy casualties.

Near the Capital City in the north, areas not invaded by the giant python could previously hold on.

But that was only up until six months ago.

By this year, the Imperial Court had essentially lost the ability to govern locally.

Almost every district below the county level was out of control, with refugees everywhere.

Daily, thousands either starved to death or were killed by mutated livestock.

Great Lian City, close to the Northern Sea, had some maritime resources.

Before the catastrophe, life there was relatively prosperous.

The citizens of Great Lian City used to be among the better-off in the north, but now things were different.

Being near the coast, it was easier to suffer from water demon attacks.

With the Imperial Court no longer suppressing and the mutation of spiritual energy, demons grew more rampant, turning nearly every city and county into ghost towns with hardly any human presence, just cold skeletons and eerie shadows of the past.

Yet, in this small town, many people had gathered.

In usual times of disaster, refugees would flee to large cities where the granaries were generally full.

Government offices and civil officers, to avoid unrest, would at least establish disaster relief shelters and distribute porridge.

However, this time it was unusual. Tens of thousands of ragged refugees had gathered in this inconspicuous small town.

Many were so hungry they were just skin and bones, staying here with their families, seemingly very persistent.

"Husband, is it really useful?"

In the crowd, in a secluded corner, a family of four watched from a distance.

Even in broad daylight, the town emitted a gentle Buddha Light. In the days of deep winter, people could feel a trace of warmth here, dispelling the dreadful chills.

"It’s correct. I remember, it’s not mistaken. There is a method to transcend the world here. Similar disasters have occurred before, but as long as there is Buddha Light, there will be a way...."

The wife looked at her husband feeling somewhat estranged.

He used to be a man who did not believe in spirits, always relying on himself.

Whenever there were difficulties, he would find a way out for the whole family by himself, including escaping the snake disaster to Great Lian City.

Relatives who initially stayed in the north had no news.

Initially, his decision was to go through Southeast Pass to seek a way out in the territory of the King of Qin, Chen Qing. For some reason, a few days ago, he suddenly led the whole family back to this small place, claiming there was a path of redemption for the family here....

"Head of the household..." the woman whispered cautiously while looking outside: "I feel something is wrong here; perhaps... we should leave?"

Among the crowd outside, it was not only people.

She had clearly seen many wearing human clothes but with demon faces, and she spent every night uneasily with her children, worried about the demons hidden among the crowd coming to steal and eat her children, she had heard of such things.

Just the other day, a woman cried that her three children had disappeared, but her husband, heart as hard as iron, no matter how the woman sobbed and screamed, was unwilling to leave the place to search for their children.

In the end, when the woman made a big fuss, the husband even violently killed her!

She had seen heartless acts before, but never had she been so frightened as now.

Because she saw that many of the onlookers at that time were indifferent, behaving as if it were none of their concern, including... her own husband!

She always remembered that her husband was a warmhearted person. Back when they were in the village, if someone in the neighborhood had any issues, he would lend a hand, but this time... it was completely as if he had changed into another person...

Yes, she had felt it from a few days ago, her husband... seemed like another person.

"Is anyone there?"

Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded outside.

Her family had chosen a dilapidated thatched cottage because the roof had been completely leaking, which was why it had been uninhabited.

Her husband was quite skilled in carpentry and quickly repaired the house.

Since it was a bit far from the town center, it hadn’t been noticed yet, back when her husband hadn’t yet changed so drastically.

"Who is it?"

The husband looked outside coldly.

The two children also cautiously looked over. Standing at the door was a young, gentle-faced scholarly man dressed in white, seemingly not a bad character.

This literate and reasonable man indeed seemed more reassuring than those starving refugees outside with green glinting eyes.

"Sorry to disturb..." the Scholar said gently: "My name is Chen Lin, guided here by Buddha Light, to visit and resolve my karmic debts from past lives.

Seeing that the town seems to have filled up, I thought about finding a place outside to stay, never expecting that this secluded cottage still had someone. "

Upon hearing the other being guided by Buddha Light, the husband’s originally cold face showed a trace of warmth, quickly standing up and saying, "My brother, are you also guided here?"

"It appears so, brother," the Scholar said with a gentle smile: "Your complexion is rosy; it seems you’re not lacking food.

To provide warmth and fullness for your family in such chaotic times, you must be a capable man.

Under these circumstances, you did not go to the Capital City or Jiangnan to avoid trouble, but came here. You must not be ordinary."

"It seems we are like-minded!" The man immediately burst out laughing, glanced outside to make sure there was no one else, then hurriedly invited the Scholar in: "Please, come in sir."

The Scholar smiled and nodded, stepping inside.

The woman, upon hearing about the past life, felt a chill in her heart. She had always felt her husband was somewhat deranged these past few days, and now it wasn’t just her husband. What did this past life refer to?

Could this so-called memory of past life be the reason why her husband had become so unrecognizable?

"Sir, your clothes are spotless, not like an ordinary scholar. It seems...you must be from a Noble Family, right?"

"You have a good eye," the Scholar smiled. "I’m a descendant of the South Sea Chen Family."

"The South Sea Chen Family?" The man scrutinized him and nodded: "Is it the Chen Family that retreated from Capital City to the Southern Sea? That’s a prestigious family. You gave up the protection of the Chen Family to come here? Aren’t you afraid?"

"There was indeed some hesitation," the Scholar smiled bitterly.

"In these chaotic times, the Chen Family is one of the few families capable of offering protection. And now that the Chen Family has allied with Jiangnan, it’s even more stable.

But I always feel that, compared to the things in my memory, family possessions are nothing. My true path lies here..."

"It seems you and I are the same," the man exclaimed, seemingly having found a kindred spirit. "These days, each time I dream a different life. Sometimes I don’t know whether I am in a dream or in reality. Coming here, I just want to know, which one is me."

"Although you dress ordinarily and possess no Spiritual Power or Divine Skills, your demeanor is extraordinary. It seems that in your dreams, you must have encountered extraordinary events. You must have been... a great figure before?" the Scholar squinted and speculated.

The man confirmed, seeming to recall something. His gaze became puzzled but also frenzied!

In his dreams... he had dominated the Storm and Cloud, even the Four Seas Dragon Kings dared not provoke him. Kings of the Human Race seemed no better than livestock in his eyes. How could he be like now, insignificant as ants, dependent on others even for a full meal?

That dream was so real that it made him even more unable to accept his current days. That’s why he had to come here, to search for the truth!

A dream?

The woman listening to the two men talk, watching her husband’s confused yet frenzied eyes becoming even more unfamiliar. It was like this again; she had sensed it long ago, The way her husband looked at her and their children was not like a husband and father’s gaze but... like looking at food...

Sometimes she doubted whether her husband’s mind had been seized by a Water Demon.

And now, this Scholar suddenly appearing was further bewildering her husband. No, she had to think of something...

But suddenly, just as she was about to do something, a gentle voice came into her mind.

"Madam, do not act rashly. Your husband is deluded by the charms of the Buddha Kingdom and has already lost his reason. Do not provoke him casually, else he might do something insane."

The woman was startled and sharply turned her gaze towards the Scholar still chatting merrily with her husband.

Was it he who was secretly talking to her?

Should she believe him?

What exactly... is he?

This Scholar was none other than Chen Qing, originally planning to go directly to that temple to investigate, but unexpectedly found so many people gathered here.

And naturally, Chen Qing did not dare to approach easily, as he didn’t know how many of Buddha’s Incarnations were hidden among these tens of thousands of people, and with his Spiritual Power completely gone, a slight misstep could capsize his plans.

Especially this person before him.

Although he still appeared to be an ordinary person, once the memory of his past life was activated and the seed hidden inside his body sprouted, he might instantly find something from the Dream Space to prove his self-identity, becoming a Great Demon!

This place was a breeding ground for demons; anyone could transform into an extremely terrifying being in a flash!