Cultivation Starts from Killing Pigs

The sky darkened, and storms roared.

What obscured the sky, causing the blazing sun to lose its luster, was not clouds but locusts.

The howling sound filling the heavens and earth was not the fierce wind, but the locusts.

The earth seemed to be heaving, and everywhere was the rustling sound. Mountains, forests, grasslands, fields—wherever there was a trace of green—were swarming with locusts.

Greenery disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye…

These locusts were a species never seen before by people, yellow-bodied with red bellies and compound eyes. Not only were they large in size, but they were also exceptionally ferocious.

Once they devoured the green leaves, they began to gnaw on the tree bark, and even smaller insects could not escape their fate.

That's right, they ate meat!

In the fields, an old farmer stared blankly as the crops were devoured, suddenly letting out a cry resembling a fierce ghost, charging fiercely forward.

He stomped with his feet, smashed with his hoe, and finally, in a frenzy, grabbed a handful and bit into it.

Soon, he fell to the ground, face ashen, his pupils gradually losing their light…

On the walls of Gushui County, the County Magistrate stared blankly at the apocalypse-like scene. Thoughts of promotion and wealth, beautiful wives and concubines, were all smashed to pieces by a great despair.

"Heavens…"

The County Magistrate looked to the sky, suddenly letting out a roar:

"Blind!"

Then, he crashed headfirst into the city wall…

On a hill over a hundred miles from Gushui County, Yuan Kong, Captain of the Lanzhou Astronomical Bureau, stood with a group of Black-clothed Profound Guards, their lips trembling.

"How could this be, how could this be…"

He had personally witnessed Zhang Kui cleanse the area, unable to fathom how Gushui County became the starting point of the locust plague.

"Captain, True Man Zhang is here!"

The Black-clothed Profound Guards suddenly exclaimed in shock.

Yuan Kong quickly turned around, only to see Zhang Kui, ashen-faced, galloping on his tiger, amidst black smoke and evil wind, plunging unhesitatingly into the swarm of locusts.

Clang!

A melodious bell suddenly rang out.

Like a commandment, the resounding flapping of wings that filled the heavens and earth abruptly stopped.

Then, a golden radiance swiftly spread out, and the locusts fell like rain.

In an instant, the jade sky cleared.

On a bright spring day, the world was silent, but looking at the desolate ground covered with insect corpses, everyone's hearts descended into an ice cellar.

This, was only a single county.

And the locust plague had spread throughout the entire Central State!

...

"Investigate!"

"Deploy everyone to investigate!"

Zhang Kui, rarely losing his temper, exploded.

"The locust plague was foreseen to occur in a month, why did it erupt here in advance, we must turn over every place to find the reason!"

Not only was the plan disrupted, but more importantly, Zhang Kui felt as if he had done something futile.

The horror of this locust plague already surpassed his imagination, if the locusts formed an army in the wild, that little plowed land would not be enough to save it.

These locusts were poisonous, chickens and ducks that ate them all died violently, and even steaming, boiling, frying could not remove the toxin.

More terrifyingly, these locusts ate meat!

Many animal bones were seen in the wild, and a few civilian corpses were found in the fields and pathways, their clothes even eaten clean.

Although there were only a few scattered cases, who could guarantee that after the swarm exhausted the plants, they wouldn't start eating people in masses.

This was no longer a problem of food shortage, but a complete and unparalleled catastrophe.

"Disaster Beast, Disaster Beast…"

A chill coursed through Zhang Kui's heart. He couldn't comprehend how such a terrifying thing could exist in the world.

To deal with this, at least a Grand Celestial Sacrifice involving a thousand two hundred divine spirits was required for the Disaster Exorcism Skill.

But in this realm, the Divine Path was shattered, there was no means available.

No, there must still be a way!

Zhang Kui was someone who grew braver in the face of setbacks, and in despair, instead, his stubborn nature was spurred.

In the empty room of the County Government Office, he sat cross-legged with closed eyes, recalling in detail the murals he had seen in the Ji Temple Secret Realm.

At the time, he didn't pay much attention, merely glanced at them briefly, but now with his high cultivation, sitting in meditation, those forgotten murals gradually resurfaced before his eyes.

The Locust Demon emerged from the round hole just like the other Divine Spirits, and upon recalling, it might not have been a cave.

Could it be… a Cross-Realm Gate?

After the Locust Demon emerged, turning into innumerable small insect black dots, it should be similar to this current situation.

Hmm… the ground littered with white bones, what he thought was depicting chaos indeed seemed real…

The locusts gathered together…

Zhang Kui suddenly opened his eyes, his brows knit tightly.

"What is that thing?"

...…

"Quick, don't overlook any anomaly!"

Yuan Kong, the Captain of the Lanzhou Astronomical Bureau, dispatched scout after scout with a stern face, and even the Black-clothed Profound Guards were fully mobilized, concentrating all the elite forces throughout Lanzhou here.

They didn't even know exactly what to search for.

But each of them was extraordinarily earnest.

In the face of such great disasters, even if it felt futile, they had to do something, for that despair could drive anyone mad.

"Captain, Captain, come quickly!"

Unexpectedly, someone soon discovered an anomaly.

Yuan Kong hurried forward to see a Black-clothed Profound Guard clearing away the locust corpses scattered on the ground with his foot.

"Captain, look, this side is where True Man Zhang performed his spell, no abnormalities. But this side's land is severely cracked, and there are many holes…"

Yuan Kong's expression fluctuated, hastily ordering the excavation of another area where Zhang Kui hadn't performed a spell, yet the land still remained moist.

Beneath the surface, a considerable number of locust eggs lay dormant.

"Ground cracking… Drought Fiend!"

Yuan Kong's mind was keen, quickly deducing the connection, his face changed dramatically, "Quick, call True Man Zhang!"

...

"Drought Fiend Divine Statue?"

Zhang Kui felt it was almost certain, it was this thing causing havoc.

Locust and drought coming simultaneously, there's even a saying that extreme drought leads to locusts. These two calamities were inherently intertwined.

Without any hesitation, Zhang Kui immediately mounted Fatty Tiger and quickly scouted, soon finding the source of the drought.

It was a barren mountain, the setting sun like blood, a scene of solitude with only a dense scattering of insect corpses visible.

Zhang Kui recalled that last time he passed through, here was lush and green, shrouded in mist, and now even the soil had dried to a crisp powder.

"Master…"

Beside him, Yuan Kong suddenly became pale, tearing madly up the mountain.

Zhang Kui shook his head slightly and followed, remembering now that this place seemed to be Yuan Kong's sect, only, most likely, they had already met with disaster.

Sure enough, upon reaching the top, all they found were cavities everywhere and a temple collapsed into ruins.

In front of the ruins,

Yuan Kong howled at the sky, his grief and indignation like that of a lone wolf.

Zhang Kui sighed, his eyes glimmering, scanning around. Soon, he gazed toward the ruinous temple.

"Yuan Kong, step aside."

With just a word of caution, Zhang Kui waved his hand, sword light shooting out from his body, instantly scattering soil and rocks, dust and smoke rising.

As the dust settled, an odd black shell appeared before them, formed from the wax-like, shriveled bodies of monks piled together.

"Master, junior brothers!"

At the sight, Yuan Kong's eyes turned bloodshot.

Zhang Kui's expression shifted slightly, seeing not only was the black shell broken, but beside it lay the decapitated head of the Drought Fiend Divine Statue, its inside hollow and completely devoid of Spirit Charm.

Could this ghostly thing actually…

Zhang Kui had a bad premonition in his heart, hurriedly approaching, taking advantage of the lingering trace of evil aura, and performed the Moon-taking Skill, soon manifesting an image:

In boundless darkness, a spectral creature was rapidly traversing. Her skin was dark, her face savage, covered in white fur, three-headed six-armed, yet only the size of an infant, indescribably bizarre.

So it's been reanimated!

Judging by her appearance, still in the Earth Element.

Zhang Kui's countenance was grim, after conveying instructions, he immediately enveloped in black smoke, squaring his Nether Soil coffin, pursued.

These mutant Drought Fiend Secret Skills from the Peacock Buddha Country were numerous, they must be eradicated immediately upon rebirth, otherwise, with the locust plague rampaging everywhere, it would certainly stir up even bigger trouble.

Although the Drought Fiend could perform the Earth Element, its speed was far inferior to the Nether Soil coffin.

Within the span of a cigarette burn, Zhang Kui sighted his target, moving forward in an eerie stance.

Soon, Zhang Kui's face turned strange.

Because this Drought Fiend was heading towards the direction of the Lanjiang Water Mansion...