Master of Strange Dao

"Do you have such a method?"

"There is a great possibility for success, but I can't guarantee it," Yu Ziqing replied.

"Hahaha, what does it matter if one dies?"

Yu Ziqing took a deep breath and pressed his hands together in a salute.

"Alright, I will go see Lord Nie first. Gentlemen, take care," he said.

Yu Ziqing's thoughts were in turmoil for a long time.

He could tell that those people must have been Cultivators in their lifetimes, and from their tone, they likely served under Nie Shuang.

Yet, they all starved to death.

They were certainly not the last group of people to die of starvation.

And Nie Shuang, a mere Prefectural Governor, a high-ranking official, had also starved to death, becoming a starving ghost.

Yu Ziqing did not know what had happened, but he could see that during this period, there were actually a small number of people who had not yet starved to death.

Logically speaking, Nie Shuang should not have starved to death either.

Thinking of the starving ghost he initially encountered, Yu Ziqing suddenly understood.

Starving to death and turning into a starving ghost meant one could never starve again; they would have all the time and energy to do other things.

A strong Cultivator starved to death...

Such an occurrence, in the current era, who would dare even think of it?

Having returned to the outskirts of Dingwei City, Yu Ziqing did not find the group of starving ghosts. He walked around Dingwei City and saw the group of starving ghosts once more.

Yu Ziqing descended from the sky and brought out the Big Seal of Dinghai City.

"County Magistrate Qing Ziyu of Dinghai City, at your service, Lord Nie," he announced.

The starving ghost who claimed to be a Junior Officer of Dingwei City stepped forward solemnly.

"Prefectural Governor Nie Shuang of Dingwei City, at your service, Lord Qing."

"Lord Nie, you knew last time that I am a stranger here, right?" Yu Ziqing asked.

"I knew," Nie Shuang nodded, casually crushing a locust that flew near his face, "But it's no use knowing that. The locust god is truly undying."

"Can you tell me more?" Yu Ziqing inquired.

"This locust god is different from the locust plagues that appeared in the past. It is not just a Great Demon."

"Then what is it?"

"Have you ever heard of the term 'Deities'?"

Yu Ziqing's heart trembled; how could he not have heard of it?

He had even personally witnessed the tragic state when Deities descended upon the world.

But were there still Deities in ancient times?

Moreover, from Nie Shuang's implication, at that time, the word seemed to have already become some kind of taboo, unheard of by ordinary people.

"I know of it," Yu Ziqing responded.

Nie Shuang looked at Yu Ziqing with a somewhat surprised expression, seemingly shocked that Yu Ziqing was aware of it.

"That locust god, is indeed a kind of Deity; otherwise, it wouldn't have left behind the name 'locust god'.

It has no fixed physical body. Even if you kill it, it can resurrect in any locust and restore its original strength.

After which, it would retaliate even more fiercely. Even if those locusts consume all vegetation, they won't all starve to death.

Countless more locusts will emerge from the ground, again and again, never disappearing.

Unless you can eradicate all locusts in one fell swoop and destroy their roots, the locust god will never truly die.

Sealing it away is the last resort.

Before you, several others have already come, and they all left."

"You don't really believe I can exterminate those locusts, do you?" Yu Ziqing asked.

"Indeed, I have my doubts."

"Then you must have forgotten the original intention of the Dadui Seal to contain these disasters."

"Hmm?" Nie Shuang's gaze sharpened as he looked at Yu Ziqing.

"Disasters that cannot be resolved presently, or cannot be resolved in a timely manner, may cause even greater harm. They are sealed away until preparations are sufficient, and a solution is found to resolve them."

"Indeed, it's an incredibly clever ability and a measure of last resort.

"What I disagree with is the continual sealing without resolving, leading to an accumulation of disasters.

"But I still agree with that original intent.

"The disaster of the locust god occurred during the Bingyin year.

"And then, in the following Dingmao year, another disaster of Alien Fire emerged.

"I resolved the Alien Fire disaster and thus gained a method to resolve the locust god disaster.

"And this aligns perfectly with the intentions of our predecessors."

"It's already the Dingmao Era..." Nie Shuang's expression became somewhat vague.

Lost in the Seal, he had no concept of time and had no idea how long had passed, even unaware that Dadui was no more.

Yu Ziqing did not address this issue; he had more questions to ask.

"If it is possible to burn those locusts, there's a chance for you to survive, but you would have to transform into another race. Would you be willing to do that?"

"If there's a chance for us to live after those locusts are killed, let those who starved with me live on. We've already become starving ghosts, we won't mind changing again..."

Yu Ziqing said no more.

He indeed wished for these starving ghosts to first transform into hungry ghosts.

That would increase their chances of survival.

But he knew it would be useless to say so.

Their obsession had grown so strong that, apart from exterminating the locusts and strangling the locust god, they had no other concerns.

Without resolving this obsession, they would not be willing to transform into hungry ghosts.

Despite Nie Shuang still having clarity of mind, Yu Ziqing knew he could no longer reason with him.

Any suggestion that would make him take a step back would not be considered.

And to them, becoming hungry ghosts to resolve the locust god would seem like a compromise.

Yu Ziqing sent a message to Yang, asking him to come over on his own.

Yu Ziqing stood still, his heart growing more and more complex. He could not bear to see starving ghosts; the sight of even one made him feel uncomfortable in body and soul.