Chapter 52: Revenge Before Midnight, the Evil God Is a Real Man!

At the foot of Western Mountain, Li Si casually killed a few Alien Trees and wandered to the other side. Without a word, he released the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl to keep watch for him and sped southward. In no time, he reached the village downstream by the river.

Of course, he wasn’t there to court death out of boredom or to ignore the warnings from Ji Chang and Xu Shen.

In fact, if Xu Shen and Ji Chang hadn’t reminded him today, he wouldn’t have known he left such a big flaw.

After all, this world was now the Evil God’s domain.

He thought he acted without anyone noticing, but he didn’t realize he might have pushed the Floating Cloud Sect, which had just gotten on track, into the abyss of despair.

To put it plainly—he thought Ji Chang’s Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Talisman was too lousy.

As everyone knew, sealing Dao Techniques into blank Talisman Paper caused a 20% loss in power.

That guy Ji Chang was obsessed with talismans his whole life. His Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Curse was already limited in power, and on top of that, it lost 20%?

So he just found an excuse to come and clean up that guy Ji Chang’s mess…

Holding the Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Talisman, Li Si sighed. Only three times the power, and still docked 20%? Senior Brother Ji, where did you get your confidence?

No more needed to be said.

Li Si directly activated the Fate Forge, refining one piece of White Fate Firewood, then broke it down into one hundred portions of Gray Fortune.

He took 15 portions and instantly comprehended the Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Curse.

He took another 7 portions and enhanced it to its limit, what Ji Chang called a half-step Divine Ability.

At this point, the effect of the Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Curse finally looked a bit better.

[Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Curse: Advanced Dao Technique]

[Required 180 Magic Power to release. Instantly forms three Tracking Fields. Can quickly search and determine based on the target or traces left by the target, as well as areas the target passed through. Finds all traces left by the target within a five-kilometer radius.]

[Additionally gains one Annihilation Field, which can block one enemy deduction.]

“This isn’t safe enough.”

Li Si looked grim and immediately refined eight more pieces of White Fate Firewood, obtaining eight portions of Black Fortune. He had to admit, big bills felt satisfying.

He took one portion of Black Fortune and upgraded the already Advanced Dao Technique Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Curse further, turning it into a Primary Divine Ability.

Then he took seven more portions of Black Fortune and enhanced the Primary Divine Ability into an Advanced Divine Ability.

Looking at the effect now, he felt relieved instantly.

[Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Curse: Advanced Divine Ability]

[Required 10000 Magic Power to release. Instantly forms nine Tracking Domains. Can quickly search and determine based on the target or traces left by the target, as well as areas the target passed through. Finds all traces left by the target and its companions within a thirty-kilometer radius.]

[Additionally gains nine Annihilation Domains, which can block nine enemy deductions. Each time an enemy’s deduction fails, it automatically erases 10% of the clues the enemy has grasped.]

[Note: When using this Divine Ability, taking the initiative is crucial. It works best when used before the enemy performs deductions. It can block deductions from enemies up to the True Immortal level. But if you lose the initiative, you’re on your own.]

“Crap!”

Upon seeing this last note, Li Si broke out in a cold sweat. Without another word, he exchanged for Magic Power and cast a fully-powered Track-Finding and Trace-Erasing Curse on himself.

Because now, the target he wanted to track and erase was himself.

In an instant, surging cyan light erupted violently. Centered on Li Si, it swept across everything within a thirty-kilometer radius. The nine Tracking Domains not only clearly and accurately marked Li Si’s recent movements,

but even the traces that Ji Chang had boastfully “handled” earlier were laid bare. Damn, you didn’t even need deduction—the evidence was right there.

“Good, good!”

Li Si breathed a sigh of relief because he hadn’t wasted much time. The Evil God Cult hadn’t made their move yet, so he was one step ahead. This was the advantage of taking the initiative.

With a thought, the nine Tracking Domains automatically began to erase all traces of him and Ji Chang. Wait, were these traces from seventeen days ago?

Li Si was shocked. Seventeen days ago, he and Jiang Ying came to fetch water. After so much time had passed, his Tracking Domains still dug them up. And because Jiang Ying was with him, her traces were displayed too.

Besides, the traces he left in the valley between Western Mountain and Northern Mountain were also uncovered. Even the three Evil God Cultists, because they had interacted with Li Si, had their movement routes revealed at this moment.

Oh, and that fallen Golden Core Devil was no exception.

For a moment, everything within a thirty-kilometer radius was like a large sand table, condensed in Li Si’s mind.

Even if he were a fool, he could see something from this.

The effect of this Divine Ability was truly powerful!

Next, Li Si noted the path of the Golden Core Devil’s appearance and the exploration routes of the three Evil God Cultists. Then he erased all these traces.

As for the traces he just left, they would also be directly wiped out by the Tracking Domains.

With an effect like this, it’d be a waste not to do something exciting.

After all, this cost nine pieces of White Fate Firewood. Just thinking about it made his heart ache, his tears fall, and his spirit break.

Ah, could this be what they meant by “When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a great man, it always first frustrates his wallet, exhausts his treasury, and empties his private savings?

“Maybe I should catch a few Mist Demons tonight. Mist Demons are valuable too.”

A bold idea rose in Li Si’s mind. Or rather, this idea had been there since he obtained the Black Fog Cloak.

Killing one Mist Demon earned one hundred portions of Black Fate Fuel. If he killed a few hundred, wouldn’t that be…?

For a moment, this thought grew stronger and stronger in Li Si’s mind, so strong that even he thought it was too unreal.

“Ah, the Heart Cleansing Curse is too effective—it’s a bother. I’m having such strong greedy thoughts, but the Greedy Rat isn’t picking up the signal…”

He gave a bitter smile and abandoned the idea of luring Little Mushroom or the Greedy Rat. He’d be a good person today—doesn’t the Evil God deserve some face?

There was still a little surprise waiting for him today.

He returned to the north side of Western Mountain. By the time, it should be around two in the afternoon.

Li Si hesitated for a moment and didn’t rush back to the village. There was still time; he went to take care of his little surprise first.

He passed through the end of the valley of Northern Mountain, then went north through two hills and three valleys, finally stopping at a spot near the river at the foot of a mountain.

This spot was very hidden, U-shaped, with calm water. That day, the three Evil God Cultists came upstream and left their small boat here.

As for why the fleeing Evil God Cultist didn’t take the boat away that day, it was because the Golden Core Devil killed him. Their movement tracks didn’t lie.

In any case, Li Si came for this small boat. Even if there were no supplies left inside, he didn’t mind. He only wanted to understand the outside world.

The place was quiet, the river flowing silently. Li Si gave himself a Disaster-Averting Domain, replenished his Magic Power, then picked up a stone and threw it at the boat.

Thud—the sound was dull, no abnormality.

Only then did Li Si leap lightly onto the boat.

The boat wasn’t big, only able to hold four or five people. Inside the cabin, aside from two oars, there was a large sack, identical to the ones in the village downstream. They were made from specially treated Mutant Grass Molt woven together—not heavy but very sturdy.

Opening it, sure enough, it was full of Aberrant Wood Husks. It seemed there wasn’t much difference in terms of food.

Slightly disappointed, Li Si checked it first, then lifted the large sack, planning to return to the Deserted Village. But the next moment, a sudden unease made his face change drastically.

His Disaster-Averting Domain was warning him!

What was going on?

For a moment, Li Si was suspicious and uncertain. He tried jumping onto the riverbank, but after taking a few steps toward the Deserted Village, the dread in his heart surged like a tide. When he moved back toward the river, the feeling disappeared.

At this moment, Li Si was completely baffled.

What happened?

The Disaster-Averting Domain wouldn’t lie to him. This meant if he forced his way back to the Deserted Village, he would face a terrible disaster. So, was there something wrong with the Deserted Village?

For a while, Li Si’s mind was in turmoil. Though he had only been in this world for less than a month, he already considered the Floating Cloud Sect his home.

How could this be?

After a few breaths, Li Si calmed himself down. He didn’t force his way back but summoned the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl. He wanted to see what was happening over there.

The Wish-Fulfilling Pearl flew straight up to five hundred meters high. But Li Si only had time to glance toward the Deserted Village—just one glance—before the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl was contaminated by a terrifying evil force, instantly losing control and falling down.

And Li Si was greatly shaken.

Because in that one-second glimpse, he didn’t see the Deserted Village.

Yes, the entire village had disappeared, but the terrain around it was unmistakable. It was as if the Deserted Village had never existed.

He even saw a squad of over fifty Black-Armored Warriors, led by five Evil God Cultists, carefully searching the hill at the southeast corner of the Deserted Village, completely oblivious to the village’s existence.

“This isn’t right!”

Though Li Si didn’t know exactly what happened, he felt somewhat relieved.

The Deserted Village definitely existed. When he passed by Western Mountain earlier, he had specifically looked, and everything was normal then. There was no reason for it to vanish in just over ten minutes.

Did they think the Old Madam was made of clay?

“Probably an emergency happened. Xu Shen, Ji Chang, and the others activated a Formation Array I didn’t know about, hiding the Deserted Village.”

“Could it be related to the Evil God Idol I destroyed this morning?”

Li Si quickly reached a conclusion and felt lucky. Fortunately, he had already taken action to erase all traces and clues. Otherwise, even if the Deserted Village activated a concealment Formation Array, the Evil God Cult could still lock onto its general location.

Probably even the Old Madam didn’t expect the Evil God Cult to react so violently!

Thinking this, Li Si jumped back onto the small boat and quietly waited for night to fall.

The Deserted Village should be safe for a short while, so he shouldn’t panic either.