ã€ŠStop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!ã€‹


 Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Yi Taoist Sells the King Chicken

    ```Qingli, year eight, autumn.

    Fengyun County, Treasure Street.

    The street was bustling with people coming and going, their voices loud and excited, while carts and horses clattered past.

    At this moment, a group of people surrounded a stall on Treasure Street, marveling and bantering for a bit before turning and walking away.

    Sitting cross-legged by the street was a young Daoist, tall and lean, with eyebrows like swords and eyes like stars, his robust chest pushing against his Daoist robe.

    By his side lay an iron cage and a wooden board.

    Inside the cage, a rooster pecked at millet in a celadon bowl.

    A sign beside him written in brush script read, "For sale: Tyrant Chicken, one hundred taels, non-negotiable."

    Among the onlooking crowd, someone called out teasingly, "Daoist, why don''t you let that Tyrant Chicken show us some tricks?"

    To these curious onlookers, Yi Chen replied not with words but by pulling out another wooden board engraved with the phrase: "Sold to the destined, willing buyer approach."

    The crowd continued to pass by in droves, many observers but not a single buyer.

    Just then, Wang, the owner of an antique shop who was among the crowd of spectators, narrowed his eyes, his attention caught not by the rooster eating, but by the small celadon bowl it was using; he pushed through the crowd and said, "Daoist, indeed the Tyrant Chicken is extraordinary; I will buy it."

    After the exchange of money and goods, Yi Chen handed over the four-jin rooster to the plump Wang, smiled, and performed a salute, saying, "May boundless fortune bless you, esteemed Wang. With this Tyrant Chicken, your household shall be free of worries."

    "Haha, thank you for your auspicious words, Daoist. How about you give me that celadon bowl as well?"

    "I intend to keep this Tyrant Chicken as a pet."

    "I''m afraid the chicken I''ve bought won''t be accustomed to pecking millet from another bowl!" Wang said, reaching out to take the celadon bowl, but he was a step slower than the young Daoist who quickly pocketed it.

    "You jest, esteemed Wang, how could that be?"

    "I''m selling the Tyrant Chicken, not the bowl."

    "Thanks to this antique celadon bowl, I''ve sold many a Tyrant Chicken around here. You didn''t know that, did you? Today, it happens to be fated for you, esteemed Wang."

    "By the way, esteemed Wang, steamed or stir-fried, either way, this chicken greatly replenishes one''s vitality."

    "No need to thank me."

    "Esteemed Wang, please excuse me, I must be off," Yi Chen said.

    After finishing, Yi Chen rose leisurely to his feet, bowed to the watching crowd, gathered the two green bricks he had been sitting on, stacked them neatly, and with a single punch reduced them to pieces.

    Carrying the iron cage and holding the celadon bowl, he disappeared down the street with a few leaps and jumps.

    The dazed onlookers came to their senses only after a good while and burst into laughter.

    .....

    .....

    .....

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen, who had spent one hundred taels on good medicines and half a piece of ginseng, exited the gates of Fengyun County.

    He was not originally from this world; ten years ago, he had transmigrated into the body of an eight-year-old orphan boy in the middle of a snowy winter, nearly freezing to death.

    As he felt life slipping away, convinced he was about to see his great-grandmother, he was saved by Bai Yunzi, the master of Hidden Dragon Temple, who took him in as a disciple.

    Ten years had passed and, some time ago, his master Bai Yunzi contracted a Yin Qi while exorcising a fierce ghost for villagers and had since been bedridden.

    Out of necessity, Yi Chen had to venture out to obtain money to buy medicine.

    There was no help for it; his master was a truly good man. Most of the Temple''s savings had gone to his master distributing porridge and medicine generously, leaving them on the brink of not having enough food, let alone buying medicine.

    Glancing up at the sun overhead, Yi Chen became slightly anxious and silently spurred the weak Pure Yang Inner Qi within him, quickening his pace.

    Indeed, the world into which Yi Chen had transmigrated was not an ordinary ancient setting.

    It was a terrifying world where demons roamed and evil spirits appeared.

    In this fearsome world, being able to become a disciple of a master skilled in the Pure Yang Daoist arts, Daoist Bai Yunzi of Hidden Dragon Temple, Yi Chen felt extremely fortunate.

    Of course, the only downside was that after ten years since his transmigration, his Golden Finger had yet to arrive, which was quite regrettable.

    Without a Golden Finger, how could one thrive in a transmigration?

    He had practiced the Minor Pure Yang Skill for ten years, toiling without end, barely reaching the second level, with Inner Qi so meager he had to conserve it even when traveling.

    Lost in his thoughts, Hidden Dragon Temple came into view on the horizon.

    Worried about his master''s condition, Yi Chen couldn''t help but hasten his steps.

    Hidden Dragon Temple lay at the foot of Falling Dragon Mountain, a small Daoist temple built brick by brick by his master with the help of some pious benefactors, consisting of no more than five rooms.

    There were two trees in the front courtyard.

    One was a jujube tree, and the other was also a jujube tree.

    Upon entering, he saw his cross-eyed junior, Qing Yunzi, running out with a mournful expression, "Big brother, you''re finally back. Master¡­ Master¡­ he''s not going to make it."

    Yi Chen''s heart skipped a beat, "What? Wasn''t master holding on earlier? How has it suddenly gotten so bad?"

    ```

    ```

    His eyes reddened as he hurried toward the back courtyard.

    In the courtyard, a tall but gaunt elderly man lay on a bed, barely clinging to life.

    Qing Feng and Ming Yue, two young Daoist boys, stood by the bed, stealthily wiping away their tears.

    Everyone from Hidden Dragon Temple had gathered.

    "Master! How did your injury suddenly worsen like this?" Yi Chen said, tears spinning in his eyes at the sight.

    In a fluster, he tried to stuff half a ginseng into his master''s mouth.

    The tears in Yi Chen''s eyes were sincere, for he was the first orphan his master had taken in. For the past ten years, the master had treated him with no less affection than a father would show his own child.

    In the days when common people subsisted on husks and vegetables, Yi Chen always had meat to eat and was personally taught the Minor Pure Yang Skill.

    Unfortunately, his aptitude was lacking, and his cultivation in inner skills had been overtaken by his junior brother, Qing Yunzi.

    "You mischievous student, you... are you trying to choke me to death?" choked the tall elder on the bed as Yi Chen shoved the ginseng in, reviving some vitality as if regaining light and returning from the brink.

    "Naughty student, where did this ginseng come from? Where did you get the silver for it?" questioned Bai Yunzi, his brows furrowing in a grave tone.

    "I sold an overlord chicken and bought it from the herb shop," replied Yi Chen obediently.

    "Your broken rooster sold for that much money?"

    "The boss knows the goods, ''only sells to those with fate,''" explained Yi Chen, still with an obedient look. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Enough, as long as you did not resort to nefarious means, let it be," the white-haired Daoist on the bed sighed deeply, nibbled a few bites of ginseng, and his complexion improved slightly.

    "Yi Chen, your master is of great age, and now I''ve accidentally let Yin Qi invade my body. The end is near for me today. I have a few words to tell you, and you must promise me," said the white-haired Daoist, half-sitting in bed, gazing earnestly at Yi Chen.

    "Master, please speak."

    "There are strange changes in the heavens and earth nowadays, and evil spirits are increasingly rampant¡ªchaos is not far away."

    "I... after my death, you will be the new head of Hidden Dragon Temple."

    "Your junior brothers, their minds are not as sharp as yours. After I''m gone, you must take extra care, bear... bear the responsibility of an eldest brother."

    "You are shrewd and firm-handed, as I''ve always known. Without me, no one will be there to keep you in check. You must promise me, do good deeds, seek no reward, and... absolutely do not commit crimes. Win people over with virtue and follow the path of benevolence and righteousness."

    Hearing these words, Yi Chen nodded vigorously, "Master, rest assured. I will take good care of my junior brothers, win people over with virtue, and follow the path of benevolence and righteousness."

    "Good!"

    The white-haired Daoist on the bed, seeing this, also revealed a relieved smile and then spoke with difficulty:

    "In... in my final moments, I only have two wishes."

    "One... is to magnify the reputation of Hidden Dragon Temple so that the common people no longer suffer from... from demons and ghosts."

    "The... the second wish is in the legacy I''ve left for you. After my death, you... look at it yourself."

    "I do not insist on these two things. If you can do them, do them. If not, prioritize preserving your lives. When necessary, you can abandon this temple and live as ordinary people."

    "It''s just... a pity that none of the four of you disciples have awakened the ''spirit,'' capable of cultivating my Pure Yang true power to slay demons and banish evil spirits!"

    After mustering the strength to utter that last part, the white-haired Daoist''s head tilted, and his eyes closed.

    "Master, why... why did you leave so soon~" Yi Chen, seeing this scene, could not help crying out, tightly embracing his master''s body. The four brothers sobbed together in a heap.

    "Cough... cough cough"

    "Rebel... You''re hugging so tightly. Do you want to be unfilial and betray your lineage? I''m just resting a while."

    "What... you''re wailing now? There will be plenty of time for that later."

    The white-haired Daoist in Yi Chen''s embrace opened his eyes again. His face suddenly became rosy, and he sat up straight. A red aura began to seep from his orifices, eventually dissipating into the air.

    Yi Chen knew that this time, his master truly had reached his end, unable even to hold back the Pure Yang mana he had cultivated so rigorously within his body. Tears as large as beans spilled from his eyes.

    The white-haired Daoist smiled and caressed Yi Chen''s cheek, then went on to gently touch the faces of Qing Yunzi, Qing Feng, and Ming Yue, speaking kindly to all, "Foolish children, who doesn''t die in this world?"

    "There is no banquet under heaven that does not come to an end."

    "After my death, cremate my body and let it be. No need for elaborate arrangements. I, Bai Yunzi, have come into this world with clear conscience and shall depart it the same way, living a life without regret under heaven."

    "Qing Feng, Ming Yue, Qing Yunzi, remember... listen to your eldest brother."

    "It''s a pity... none of you... none of you have awakened the ''spirit.''"

    "Otherwise, you could certainly maintain peace in the region and truly inherit my teachings. "

    "Remember... always do good deeds and seek no return. "

    "The spirit... the spirit..."

    At that moment, a withered leaf quietly fell from a jujube tree in the front courtyard.

    The white-haired Daoist touched Yi Chen''s cheek once more, then sat upright on the bed, and passed away with a smile on his face.

    ```

 Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Minor Pure Yang Skill

    ```"Master~!" This time, Bai Yunzi did not wake up again and truly died.

    Everyone cried out in grief and wept aloud.

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, helped his junior brothers up, and after carefully cleaning up their master''s body, he moved five large bundles of firewood from the backyard woodshed and placed his master''s body on top.

    In the blazing fire, the four of them sat in each direction, reciting the scripture for the departed. The firelight illuminated their faces, and their master''s body was reduced to ashes in the flames.

    Yi Chen got a hold of his emotions and looked at Qing Yunzi, Qing Feng, and Ming Yue with a firm expression on his face again.

    Qing Feng and Ming Yue were only eight years old, orphans picked up by the master from outside. Qing Yunzi was a bit older, but only fifteen, As the eldest disciple, he had to take responsibility and could not indulge in the pain.

    After finally convincing the three junior brothers to go back to rest, Yi Chen gazed at the moon outside the window, a sense of desolation and confusion emerging in his heart.

    With their pillar, the master, gone, could he support the gate of Hidden Dragon Temple? It was known that in his lifetime, the master, being upright and unyielding, had offended many people.

    Without "spirituality," one could not cultivate the Pure Yang Mana like the master, and could only practice the Minor Pure Yang Skill.

    Pure Yang Mana and Minor Pure Yang Skill might sound similar, but the actual results were worlds apart.

    In this world, demons prevail, and evil spirits roam. When facing those aberrations, one measure of mana could overpower ten or even a hundred measures of ordinary inner qi.

    For those with mana, facing a master of inner qi was akin to fighting from a higher dimension.

    A plethora of thoughts flooded Yi Chen''s mind at once.

    "Right, the master''s belongings, he wanted me to open them after his death for his second last wish. Now that the master has passed away, it''s time to see what that second wish is."

    Yi Chen hurriedly went to his master''s room, where a black package lay beside the bed.

    He opened the package to find two letters and a small box.

    One of the letters was addressed to his beloved disciple Yi Chen.

    The other was for Abbess Piao Xue of the Water Moon Nunnery, with the sender''s name being¡­ Yi Fengjiu.

    Yi Chen: "..." Well, well, Abbess Piao Xue of the Water Moon Nunnery. The master had an old flame? No wonder he kept his lips sealed before he died, asking me to check his belongings¡­

    Qing Feng and Ming Yue are still young; indeed, it''s not something suitable to discuss in front of the children.

    The moment he opened the bundle, a thought crossed Yi Chen''s mind, containing an expletive.

    Yi Chen opened the letter left to him by his master.

    "My disciple, as you read this, I have already passed away. There is one regret I''ve harbored in my heart all my life. I have lived a life of integrity, but I failed a friend long ago."

    "If one day the time is right, once your junior brothers are well established, take my ashes and this letter to the capital, to the Water Moon Nunnery, and find an abbess named Piao Xue. Hand her my ashes and this letter."

    "With this, your master will rest in peace."

    "Also, the box contains the Sect Leader token of Hidden Dragon Temple, passed down for a thousand years, which I now bestow upon you. If one day you tire of this duty, then pass it on to your junior brother Qing Yunzi."

    "In this current world where evil is rampant, you must take good care of yourselves. If Hidden Dragon Temple becomes unsustainable, or if none of you four disciples awaken ''spirituality'', then go your separate ways and find your own paths to live."

    "Although reviving the Taoist line of Hidden Dragon Temple is my wish, I wish more for you all to live well."

    "Finally, I must repeat this important matter twice."

    "The letter for Abbess Piao Xue must not be read by you, Yi Chen, nor shown to others, let alone tell them its contents.

    The letter for Abbess Piao Xue must not be read by you, Yi Chen, nor shown to others, let alone tell them its contents.

    If you violate this, you are no longer my disciple, and I will rest uneasy in death¡­"

    Yi Chen: "..." My master is so meticulous, and it''s making me curious.

    Looking at the letter sealed with lacquer, Yi Chen thought for a moment. Despite being very curious, his master had been so serious in his letter. He didn''t dare to disappoint his master, so he carefully put the letter away.

    After hiding the letter in a secret spot in his room, Yi Chen opened the small black box in the package. Inside was a dark green jade thumb ring, which was the token of the Sect Leader of Hidden Dragon Temple.

    It was also one of the few possessions his master left in this world.

    Yi Chen, feeling melancholic, slipped the thumb ring onto his finger and caressed it. After a short while, a cool sensation emanated from the ring, absorbed into his body through his fingers.

    Suddenly, his vision blurred and a light screen appeared in front of his eyes.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 18/89] Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    [Strength: 2.0, Stamina: 2.0, Spirit: 2.5, Agility: 1.8] (The average person''s values are 1)

    [Cultivation Technique: Minor Pure Yang Skill Level 2 (Traits: Healthy Body, Strong Yang Qi)]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3, Culinary Skill lv3]

    [Origin Points: 0] (Can be obtained by exercising to stimulate the body and can improve the four attributes of strength, stamina, spirit, and agility.)

    [Deep Red Value: 66.] (Can be gained through special items or by killing demons and evil beings, used to enhance cultivation levels or derive insights.)

    Yi Chen rubbed his eyes.

    "???"

    "Dad, you''re here!"

    "That''s great!"

    ```

    Yi Chen accepted the appearance of the Golden Finger with equanimity. After all, having transgressed through time, wasn''t it perfectly reasonable for him to have such a boon?

    Ten years it took, ten whole years to come into effect.

    Do you know how Yi Chen spent those ten years?

    In this terrifying world where demons and evil spirits roam, one must sleep with one eye open every night¡ªit''s been incredibly hard.

    But fortunately, good things come to those who wait.

    His master''s ring gave Yi Chen exactly 66 Deep Red Points.

    It was the perfect opportunity for Yi Chen to test their quality.

    "Deep Red, let''s see your limit!"

    "Minor Pure Yang Skill, break through!"

    Yi Chen shouted inwardly without making a sound.

    Three lines of tiny text appeared on Yi Chen''s retina in succession.

    [To break through to the second level of the Minor Pure Yang Skill, you will need to spend 10 Deep Red Points. Do you want to break through? Yes/No]

    [To break through to the third level of the Minor Pure Yang Skill, you will need to spend 20 Deep Red Points. Do you want to break through? Yes/No]

    [To break through to the fourth level of the Minor Pure Yang Skill, you will need to spend 30 Deep Red Points. Do you want to break through? Yes/No]

    Yi Chen naturally chose yes.

    Sixty Deep Red Points flashed and were deducted; Yi Chen seemed to see a young Daoist on a cliff edge, braving the elements, ingesting the purple mist of the sun. After half a cycle of sixty years, the young Daoist''s Pure Yang Inner Qi turned from light red to deep red; he had cultivated the Minor Pure Yang Skill to the fifth level.

    The enhancement occurred in an instant. Yi Chen opened his eyes and suddenly a massive surge of Yang attribute Inner Qi appeared within his body.

    This Inner Qi was so powerful and continuously tempered his body. He felt as though he was submerged in scalding hot water, and his body, like parched land, was greedily absorbing this heat.

    A dozen seconds later, the strengthening ended, and the surged Inner Qi stabilized. Covered in profuse sweat, Yi Chen appeared as if he had just been fished out of the water.

    With the enhancement complete, his attribute panel had also undergone changes.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 18/92]

    [Strength: 12.0, Stamina: 12.0, Spirit: 12.5, Agility: 11.8] (The average for a normal person is 1)

    [Cultivation Technique: Minor Pure Yang Skill Fifth Level (Traits: Vitality Boost, Scorching, Immense Strength, Evil Warding.)]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3, Culinary Skill lv3]

    [Origin Point: 0] (Can be obtained through exercising the body; can enhance the four dimensions of strength, stamina, spirit, and agility.)

    [Deep Red Value: 6.] (Can be obtained through special items or by killing demons and evil beings, etc. Used to elevate cultivation levels or for inferences.)

    "6!"

    Yi Chen was overjoyed. He had spent ten years painstakingly cultivating the Pure Yang Skill, and he had not anticipated that today a simple click would be far more efficient. What a great Golden Finger, what a fantastic cheat!

    With 60 Deep Red Points spent, the breakthrough of the Minor Pure Yang Skill not only resulted in an average increase of ten points across his attributes but also added three years to his lifespan. His Inner Qi now even possessed some evil-warding properties.

    The Minor Pure Yang Skill is a cultivation method of Inner Qi derived and simplified by the ancestors of the Hidden Dragon Temple from their foundational Daoist scripture "Supreme Celestial Soaring Pure Yang Fundamental Daoist Scripture."

    It required no spiritual nature and could be cultivated.

    There were four levels in total.

    And with the help of the Golden Finger, Yi Chen had reached the unprecedented fifth level overnight.

    If the second level''s Minor Pure Yang Skill Inner Qi was like a small stream, then the fifth level''s was like a vast, surging river, unstoppable in its current.

    "Eh, that''s not right.

    Why does the panel indicate that I can still add points? Could it be that the fifth level of the Minor Pure Yang Skill is not the limit of this method?"

    Staring at the light screen panel before him, Yi Chen suddenly widened his eyes as if he had discovered something brilliant.

    A conjecture suddenly formed in his heart; the Minor Pure Yang Skill originated from the "Supreme Celestial Soaring Pure Yang Fundamental Daoist Scripture," with profound implications.

    Could it be that if he continued to add points, his Minor Pure Yang Skill could eventually transform from Pure Yang Inner Qi into the Pure Yang True Power cultivated by the "Supreme Celestial Soaring Pure Yang Fundamental Daoist Scripture"?

    Enter the doorway with no spiritual nature, just relying on Deep Red Points?

    "Hiss"

    The mere thought of such a possibility filled Yi Chen''s heart with immense excitement.

    "Deep Red Value, I need more Deep Red Value!"

    Tonight, Yi Chen''s eyes shone with exceptional brightness, his fists clenched tightly as the majestic Pure Yang Inner Qi surged within his body.

    He stamped his foot lightly, and a clear footprint appeared on the bluestone tile.

    Although he could not awaken a ''spiritual nature'' and inherit his master''s mantle, he finally had the confidence needed to support his younger fellow disciples in this chaotic world filled with demons and spirits.

    "Master, Hidden Dragon Temple will definitely not be disbanded. You can rest in peace."

    Under the starry night, a young Daoist looked up at the night sky and whispered to himself.

 Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Big Brother, something terrible has happened, the principle of righteousness!

    Three days later, Hidden Dragon Temple.After dealing with his master''s affairs and respectfully placing his master''s urn on the altar, Yi Chen went to the backyard to begin his daily training.

    Qing Yunzi, along with Qing Feng and Ming Yue, two little ones, recited the "Supreme Spiritual Flying Scripture" in the front hall.

    This scripture was what their master had required them to do each morning, claiming it would be greatly beneficial for their awakening of ''spiritual nature'' if they gained insight.

    However, Yi Chen didn''t believe in it one bit; the scripture was abstruse and difficult to comprehend. He had recited it for ten years to no avail, only managing to make his lips particularly nimble.

    Eventually, when there were any events in need of someone to preside over them in the nearby villages, Bai Yunzi would almost always send Yi Chen, because he did it so professionally that he himself felt inadequate in comparison.

    Once Yi Chen raised his voice, he would deliver a flawlessly linked speech, and the hosts would eagerly pay up.

    This was professionalism!

    Now that the master had passed away and no one was there to oversee him, Yi Chen added a rule to the Hidden Dragon Temple: the Sect Leader didn''t have to recite the "Supreme Spiritual Flying Scripture."

    Spiritual nature was to him nebulous and elusive. He had recited for ten years and hadn''t made an inch of progress, so he''d effectively sentenced it to death.

    The Golden Finger he had awakened three days prior was, however, truly and effectively real.

    Although he couldn''t find more Deep Red Points in a short time, he could still gain Origin Points through physical exercises that stimulated his body.

    This was a stable path to becoming stronger.

    "Reciting scriptures, what''s the use of that? Evil people won''t buy that, neither will evil spirits. For me, it''s better to increase my physical strength through rigorous training."

    Listening to his junior brothers reciting the scriptures in the backyard, Yi Chen couldn''t help but inwardly criticize.

    He had expressed similar sentiments to Bai Yunzi before, who, irritated, had called him an obstinate stone...

    In the backyard, Yi Chen had assembled a makeshift barbell using an iron bar and two huge stone mills.

    The stone mills looked even larger than a cartwheel, each weighing over three hundred pounds.

    This was after his Minor Pure Yang Skill had broken through to the fifth level three days ago, substantially increasing his physical strength and prompting him to modify the equipment himself.

    Bench presses with a straight bar.

    Flat bench presses.

    Barbell squats.

    Deadlifts.

    Upright barbell curls.

    Rear delt rows.

    After this series of exercises, even for someone with physical capabilities far beyond the ordinary like Yi Chen, his muscles were aching.

    But pain was precisely the point.

    Gaining Origin Points came through enduring pain.

    Transforming his grief over his master''s death into motivation, Yi Chen always found time to exercise over the past three days, pushing himself further and through sheer determination, he had managed to gather 0.1 of an Origin Point.

    "This is my cultivation. Reciting scriptures? Ridiculous!"

    "This is my Dao," Yi Chen panted heavily and chugged down the salt water from the bamboo tube in one gulp.

    Just as Yi Chen debated whether to do a few more sets, a flurry of anxious voices reached his ears.

    "Senior Brother, Eldest Senior Brother, there''s trouble! People from the Evil Tiger Gang have come!"

    It was Qing Feng and Ming Yue''s voices.

    "The Evil Tiger Gang? How dare they?"

    Yi Chen''s eyes narrowed, seemingly grasping the situation, and he dashed toward the front courtyard.

    The Evil Tiger Gang was a notorious force in the nearby Green Bull Town, running gambling dens and brothels, and coercing the good into prostitution. When Bai Yunzi was alive, he could not stand their deeds and had seriously ''converted'' members of the Evil Tiger Gang a few times to suppress their arrogance.

    It seems that they had likely learned of Bai Yunzi''s passing and had come to take revenge.

    "The Senior Brother is here, the Senior Brother is here!" Qing Feng and Ming Yue came running haphazardly to Qing Yunzi.

    At that moment, a dozen or so burly men stood in the front yard, chests bared, and one of them was leading two ferocious dogs, a Tibetan Mastiff and a wolf dog, both growling softly.

    Qing Yunzi was confronting the men from the Evil Tiger Gang and upon seeing Qing Feng and Ming Yue, he shielded them behind him and scolded in a low voice:

    "Qing Feng, Ming Yue, when outsiders are present, you must refer to positions, not call out Eldest Senior Brother. You should say ''Temple Leader.'' Understand?"

    Yi Chen: "..."

    Yi Chen ignored Qing Yunzi''s nagging and stepped in front of the members from the Evil Tiger Gang.

    Because he had been exercising, he wasn''t wearing his Daoist robe, but rather a tight-fitting vest that showed off his strong chest muscles and muscular, broad arms.

    Although Yi Chen''s physique was previously well-built, he hadn''t been as muscular as he was now, with all these changes occurring within the last three days.

    His height also shot up from slightly over 1.8 meters to now just under 1.9 meters, only recently stabilizing.

    Stepping forward, even the previously arrogant members of the Evil Tiger Gang had become refined, and even the Tibetan mastiff and the wolf dog, two fierce hounds, couldn''t help but tuck their tails in.

    "Black Tiger, what are you doing here at Hidden Dragon Temple? Have you forgotten the teachings master imparted to you before?" Yi Chen frowned and said in a deep voice to the leader, a broad-faced and flat-nosed hulk.

    Seeing his underlings shrinking back, Black Tiger could barely contain himself. He stepped forward to stand face to face with Yi Chen, and black Inner Qi began to emerge on his arms and legs.

    "Yi Chengzi, as soon as I heard that Daoist Bai Yun had died, I stopped visiting brothels and rushed over from out of town to pay my respects."

    "I''m well aware of your cultivation in inner strength. Do you think you can intimidate me, your tiger boss, just because you''ve trained some dead muscles?"

    "Ten taels of silver, how about you sell this broken daoist temple to our Evil Tiger Gang? I want to open a brothel on this feng shui treasure land, find a bunch of women to pretend to be nuns¡ªI''m sure it will make a killing."

    On hearing Black Tiger''s words, the gang members behind him couldn''t help but burst into loud laughter.

    The memories of being humiliated and suppressed by Bai Yunzi in the past resurfaced, and Black Tiger''s domineering speech was like eating icy poles on a sweltering summer day for them, greatly boosting the morale of the Evil Tiger Gang members. Even the dogs began to howl and dig the ground anew.

    With Bai Yunzi dead, and the fledglings not to be feared!

    What was there to be afraid of.

    One of the hulking men with a mustache laughed the most exaggeratedly, cackling nonstop, all of them feeling ashamed for their earlier cowardice and now looking fiercely at the four people inside the daoist temple.

    Before coming here, their boss, Black Tiger, had calculated with them¡ªif they were not cooperative, they would kill the two slightly bigger stinky Taoists and sell the two delicate young daoist boys to the Beggar Sect in the county, who could be mutilated for begging money.

    Such adorable children were best at arousing compassion in the hearts of kind people in the city, and would surely fetch a good price.

    Just then, an unexpected change occurred.

    Thump!

    A muffled sound.

    The gang member, who had been laughing loudly a moment ago, abruptly stopped as if someone had choked their necks.

    The head of Black Tiger, who had been spouting wild boasts, had suddenly disappeared. With a smack from Yi Chen, his head had plunged directly into his chest cavity, clearly never to speak again in this lifetime.

    Not only the Evil Tiger Gang members were stunned by this move, even Qing Yunzi behind him was shaken.

    Qing Yunzi finally understood why his master had repeatedly exhorted his eldest senior brother to win people over with virtue and to practice the way of kindness and righteousness before his death.

    Not holding back, his eldest senior brother really had a dark hand and a heavy heart....

    "Nobody move, whoever does, I''ll kill them!"

    Yi Chen, smiling, threw the still bleeding corpse of Black Tiger to the ground, facing the dozen or so muscular men of the Evil Tiger Gang, revealing two rows of big white teeth that shone with white light in the sunlight. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The calm tone scared the gang members of the Evil Tiger Gang, who instantly turned into quivering kitty cats, huddling together.

    However, Yi Chen had not a shred of pity for them in his heart at this moment.

    If he had not activated Golden Finger and made significant progress in his cultivation, he feared that the fate of him and his brothers would not be much better.

    He had once advised the master to eradicate evil completely, but the master had spared Black Tiger upon his pleas for mercy, leading to the consequences they faced today.

    Kindness, righteousness, kindness, righteousness.

    Daoist Bai Yunzi always hoped he would be a person who practiced the way of kindness and righteousness, even naming him Yi Chengzi after these virtues.

    However, Yi Chen had always had a different interpretation of the words kindness and righteousness compared to Bai Yunzi.

    Towards the evil people of the world, one should not exercise the way of kindness and righteousness.

    Those sons of bitches, they only fear power and do not cherish virtue. If kindess and righteousness are extended to them, then who will extend kindness and righteousness to those they have persecuted?

    When they were being violated by members of the Evil Tiger Gang, where was kindness and righteousness?

    This kind of kindness and righteousness infringes upon the rights and interests of the victims, it''s unfair, and Yi Chen does not approve of it.

    Daoist Bai Yunzi''s kindness and righteousness represented a vast love, but Yi Chen did not possess such a high level of awakening and sentiment.

    In his understanding of the way of righteousness, Yi Chen had his own enlightenment.

    Propounders of antiquity created characters.

    The character for righteousness, with one stroke on top, another on the bottom, and a dot in the middle.

    Clearly, the ancient sages were hinting to him that the best way to deal with evil people is to smash their heads into their chest cavities. Their heads would become the dot in the character for righteousness, and thus righteousness would be achieved.

    Glancing at the headless corpse of Black Tiger, Yi Chen felt a great moment of enlightenment.

    "The good receive rewards, the evil suffer punishment."

    "This is righteousness, the true profundity!"

    "The sages said it, and they are never wrong!"

    "Master, I''ve realized it!"

    "I will definitely win people over with virtue and carry out the way of kindness and righteousness!"

    In front of Hidden Dragon Temple, today the sky was clear, the breeze gentle and pleasant.

    A robust Daoist looked at his palm and couldn''t help showing a knowing smile. The sunlight cast a golden edge on his tall figure, and behind him, a shadow resembling the character for righteousness quietly formed.

 Chapter 4: Chapter 4: A Nighttime Conversation with Qing Yunzi, All Sins Rest on Me

    Looking up at the sun above, Yi Chen turned around and spoke indifferently to the Evil Tiger gang members, who were as silent as cicadas in winter."All of you thugs from the Evil Tiger gang, it''s possible that not all of you deserve death."

    "But killing every other one, there are certainly some who would escape."

    "Today, I''ll give you a chance to live. I will only kill half of you, as long as you go into the room with my junior brothers one by one and confess your misdeeds."

    "The half of you who have committed the least evil will be given a chance to live. You''d better grasp this opportunity and report on each other; do not err out of selfishness."

    "Don''t even think about lying. With my current cultivation level, your lies cannot escape my perception. Line up and go in, one by one."

    ...

    ...

    ...

    An hour and a half later.

    Under a row of chestnut trees halfway up Falling Dragon Mountain, a row of small graves had risen.

    "May you find boundless blessings in the Great Immensity. Go in peace," Yi Chen said to the mound, bowing with his junior brothers.

    As the saying goes, knowledge and action must be one.

    Yi Chen had ultimately carried through with the Dao of Righteousness that he had just come to understand.

    Only this sole survivor remained out of all the Evil Tiger gang members he had killed. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A big fellow with the build of a tiger and the waist of a bear, yet his face still showed a touch of naivet¨¦, kept kowtowing nonstop to Yi Chen and the other three.

    He kowtowed so quickly, he almost seemed to create afterimages.

    Qi Goushi had every reason to be scared; aside from him, everyone from their group had been slapped to death by this Daoist who called himself Yi Chengzi.

    This was his first mission after joining the gang, and he had not expected that the gang would be destroyed, not to mention that he had to dig the graves and bury them with his own hands.

    Especially the vice gang leader who liked to cackle wickedly; he died a horrible death. That Daoist said it was a slip of hand and he had to slap twice to make the head cave in¡­

    Qi Goushi believed it was on purpose.

    Yi Chen did have a reason for not killing this simpleton before him.

    After an interrogation, it turned out that although the simpleton was tall, he was only twelve years old. His impressive height was due to a unique talent...

    To avoid being bullied, he joined the Evil Tiger gang in a confused state and had yet to commit many bad deeds.

    "Alright, Qi Goushi, stop kowtowing. Considering you just joined and haven''t done much evil, I''ll let you off with a minor punishment as a severe warning. If you ever oppress the good people again, I will surely kill you!"

    Watching Qi Goushi kowtow rapidly, Yi Chen flickered and sent him flying with two slaps, knocking out several of his teeth, his face instantly swelling to the size of a pig''s head.

    Seeing this, the Tibetan mastiff and wolfhound lying on the ground playing dead were so frightened that they tucked their ears back tightly, pitiful and fearful of losing their heads, with a sneaky look that was quite expressive.

    Yi Chen glanced down at the two creatures, shook his head, and chanted:

    "Offenders against Hidden Dragon Temple, though distant, must be punished."

    "The same applies to dogs; there are no exceptions."

    The dogs desperately closed their eyes.

    Pia, Pia, two muffled sounds followed, and dog teeth scattered all around.

    After the slapping, Yi Chen turned elegantly and left the mountain with his junior brothers who were full of astonishment.

    It''s not that Yi Chen went back on his word. After creating a prisoner''s dilemma for the Evil Tiger gang members, those criminals began accusing one another to save their lives, committing such evil that even Bai Yunzi, a typically benevolent person, couldn''t help but kick them several times.

    They bullied widows, desecrated graves, trafficked children, sold women, forced virtuous women into prostitution, ran gambling dens, and gave out usurious loans.

    There was no evil the Evil Tiger gang wouldn''t dare commit.

    Aside from a naive youngster who had joined the gang not long ago, the others were all more or less responsible for several human lives. Yi Chen had no choice but to retract his promise to kill only half and once again carried out the principles of the Dao of Righteousness.

    ...

    The moonlight was soft as water, casting a cool veil over the entire room.

    After his bath, Yi Chen sat upright in his Taishi Chair, resting with his eyes closed. Beside him on the tea table, two cups of steaming tea were placed.

    "Did elder brother know I was coming?" Qing Yunzi arrived, but he didn''t sit down; instead, he stood aside respectfully, glancing sideways.

    Sideways glance was not out of disrespect; Qing Yunzi was simply born that way.

    "Qing Feng, Ming Yue, have they gone to bed?"

    "They just went to sleep."

    "Sit down."

    "Thank you, elder brother," said Qing Yunzi, taking his seat.

    "Do you think my actions today were too brutal, Junior Brother?"

    "Yes and no."

    Yi Chen lifted his teacup, gently blowing on the froth, but did not drink. He muttered to himself:

    "I was picked up by Master at the age of eight, an orphan who seldom had a full meal."

    "Before, I''d fight with people until bloody over a bite to eat, just like a feral child."

    "Without cruelty, one cannot stand firm."

    "Senior Brother, you''ve never been what one might strictly call a ''good person.''

    "Master had just passed away, and promptly the Ferocious Tiger Gang came knocking, certainly with other forces testing us from behind."

    "Hei Hu, a mediocre expert with a lesser achievement of the Postnatal realm, where did he get the boldness to provoke our Hidden Dragon Temple with his elite forces? Master had enemies, but he also had many friends."

    "He dares not, nor can he afford to mess with our Hidden Dragon Temple."

    "Yet he came regardless."

    "It shows there''s someone backing him."

    "Master had his secrets, and so do you, Junior Brother. Our Hidden Dragon Temple has something worth coveting."

    "Senior Brother, I..." Qing Yunzi began to speak but was interrupted by Yi Chen who gestured with his hand.

    Yi Chen stared into Qing Yunzi''s eyes and said sternly:

    "Master and you Junior Brother have your reasons for not telling, and there''s no need to inform me."

    "I was shortsighted before. Junior Brother, your Minor Pure Yang Skill has reached the fourth level, hasn''t it? You truly are the foundation that Master left for our Hidden Dragon Temple."

    "But do you know why Master chose me to be the leader of the Hidden Dragon Temple?"

    "It''s not because I''m the eldest disciple, but because you''re not cruel or cunning enough."

    "Junior Brother, you possess a truly compassionate heart, the innocence of a child, incapable of contesting against those malevolent spirits lurking in the dark, so naive that you''d be counting money for others even after being sold."

    Qing Yunzi: "..."

    Yi Chen finished his tea in one gulp and laughed:

    "Senior Brother is like a hard rock, without spirituality, I don''t even know what Master meant by ''spirituality'' before his demise. But I know, among the four of us disciples, you''re the most likely to awaken and comprehend ''spirituality.''

    "It doesn''t matter if my hands are dirty, Junior Brother, you don''t need to share your secrets with me. Just acknowledge me as your Senior Brother. I can''t buy you much time, but don''t let Master''s expectations of you go unfulfilled."

    "The future of Hidden Dragon Temple depends on you."

    After hearing this, Qing Yunzi fell silent for a moment, then said with a pained expression:

    "Senior Brother! I have indeed realized something lately while chanting the scriptures, but it''s like looking at flowers through the fog, I''m not sure how to put it into words."

    "How did you know, Senior Brother?"

    Yi Chen laughed, stood up, ruffled Qing Yunzi''s neatly arranged hair until it was disheveled, and then replied deliberately:

    "Among our four brothers, I am named Yi Chengzi. Qing Feng and Ming Yue are too young, only you, Junior Brother, were given the name Qing Yunzi by Master, while Master''s own name was Bai Yunzi."

    "Qing Yun, signifies soaring straight to the heavens."

    "You are the one to fulfill Master''s hopes and to truly inherit the Hidden Dragon Temple."

    "You are too much like Master."

    "Today, Senior Brother will teach you a lesson."

    "Killing to protect life, cutting off karma, not people."

    "At this time of turmoil for our temple, you must not be soft-hearted. Let your Senior Brother handle the dirty work."

    After speaking, Yi Chen took out a set of night-traveling clothes he had prepared earlier and dressed in front of Qing Yunzi before striding out of the room with a clear voice.

    "Let all the sins fall upon me."

    "The overarching Qi of the heavens flows vigorously."

    "Thus my Dao flourishes more intensely."

    As his voice echoed in the room, and Qing Yunzi wanted to follow his Senior Brother''s figure, Yi Chen had already vanished into the night.

    The era of Bai Yunzi had passed, and now was the time for Yi Chenzi to rule. He needed to give those behind the scenes a small shock from Hidden Dragon Temple.

    The next day, a devotee came to the Hidden Dragon Temple to offer incense, bringing news.

    The remaining eighty core members of the Ferocious Tiger Gang in Qingniu Town had been completely annihilated, not sparing even chickens and dogs.

    The Ferocious Tiger Gang''s headquarters were burnt to the ground, to the cheer of the townspeople!

 Chapter 5: Chapter 5 Economic Crisis and Strange Events

    When the news arrived, Qing Yunzi was leading Qing Feng and Ming Yue in scripture recitation in the great hall. Upon hearing the message, Qing Yunzi''s recitation paused momentarily before returning to its previous fluency.At that time, Yi Chen was weeding in a vegetable patch near the Daoist temple.

    Sometimes, evil people are like the weeds in the vegetable patch. When the wicked are powerful, the good cannot live in peace.

    Moreover, weeds are incessant; such is human nature and the environment. Today you pull out the weeds, but in a few days, they will spring up again.

    When Bai Yunzi saw weeds, his first thought was to convert and discipline them, and he wouldn''t resort to killing unless there were no other means of salvation.

    Yi Chen, however, was different. His first reaction upon seeing the unruly weeds was to choose to pull them out because even if new weeds would continue to grow later, the vegetables and fruits in the patch could enjoy a few days of peace.

    The Evil Tiger Gang was like the weeds plaguing the neighboring town, and Yi Chen had eradicated them the day before. He was curious about what kind of reaction the mastermind behind them would have to such an intense move.

    "It seems that the surrounding gangs and forces, upon hearing the news, might think twice before causing trouble for Hidden Dragon Temple in the future, weighing whether they could withstand the retaliation from Hidden Dragon Temple or not," he thought.

    Yi Chen rubbed his smooth chin, looking over the weeded vegetable patch, feeling quite refreshed in his heart.

    ....

    ....

    Time is like a wild donkey, never stopping once it starts running.

    In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. It seemed like the fierce manner in which the Evil Tiger Gang was eliminated had deterred others, and Hidden Dragon Temple returned to its former tranquility, without further troubles from other forces.

    Even the stray dogs outside steered clear of the temple, daring not to bark.

    Because if they barked too much, a tall Daoist would come out and give them a couple of slaps.

    .....

    .....

    The bench press.

    The flat bench press.

    The barbell squat.

    The deadlift.

    The standing barbell curl.

    The rear delt row.

    A sweaty Yi Chen took a white cloth from beside him and wiped the stench off his body, then headed to the well to fetch several buckets of water to wash himself, marking the end of his exercise for the day.

    At this moment, he had finally accumulated one Origin Point. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He had thought it would have happened two days earlier, but as time went on, the speed at which he accumulated these Origin Points from such common physical stimulus was getting slower and slower.

    While Yi Chen was contemplating which attributes¡ªstrength, constitution, spirit, agility¡ªto allocate this one Origin Point to, the two adorable little ones, Qing Feng and Ming Yue, came over.

    Qing Feng: "Big senior brother."

    Ming Yue: "There''s only enough rice in the rice jar to last five more days."

    "What? There''s only enough rice to last five days? Didn''t we just buy two dan of rice?" Yi Chen asked in surprise as he looked at Qing Feng and Ming Yue.

    The two little Daoist acolytes glanced at their increasingly robust senior brother, their eyes clearly asking, "Don''t you have any clue why it would only last five days?"

    Yi Chen sheepishly touched his nose, realizing that he had been eating... just a tiny bit more lately.

    For the past month, he had not been idle, engaging in crazy masochistic fitness every day. Although his strength had progressed slightly, this also had exacerbated the economic woes of the already not-so-rich temple.

    A single penny can stifle a hero.

    When he annihilated the Evil Tiger Gang, he had quickly dispatched their leader Black Tiger to the next life in the heat of the moment and had no idea where most of the money was hidden. The remaining minor members had little to offer, being the kind to value wealth over life. He found it too troublesome to question them one by one, preferring to simply kill them all.

    As a result, he barely collected any silver.

    After all, it was his first time doing such a deed and he wasn''t very skilled or familiar with the work yet.

    After sending Qing Feng and Ming Yue away, Yi Chen stroked his chin, deep in thought.

    He couldn''t just rob wealthy households and distribute to the poor, even though he had a flexible moral baseline. But he had made a promise to his master to walk the path of benevolence and could not act without just cause.

    This was a road that was temporarily closed.

    As for relying on antique celadon bowls for fishing or selling strong roosters, kittens, and puppies, these methods were no longer viable. He had done it several times and the local rich folks had almost been sheared bare.

    Facing this new situation, it was necessary to establish a new game plan. He needed to target the pain points of the wealthy class and develop new strategies.

    This approach had to have a point of explosion, be detachable and reusable, fixed in quality and quantity, creating a new business model.

    Unfortunately, Yi Chen had not yet developed this new methodology...

    What a predicament.

    Just as Yi Chen was worried about the money issue, suddenly there came a rapid knocking at the front courtyard door.

    "Daoist, Taoist, open the door, it''s terrible trouble."

    Yi Chen hurriedly went to the front courtyard and opened the door.

    It was a middle-aged constable.

    With a beard, he looked dusty and travel-worn.

    Chief Zhang Long locked eyes with Yi Chen and then lifted his head to look at the signboard above, checking once more that he hadn''t come to the wrong place.

    "Hello, is this Hidden Dragon Temple? You look unfamiliar, Daoist. I''m looking for Daoist Bai Yunzi," said Zhang Long, looking at the Daoist in front of him who seemed even stronger than a brown bear, speaking very politely, his expression becoming extra cautious.

    He appeared poised to flee at the slightest sign of trouble.

    That''s because Yi Chen had just finished exercising and was wearing close-fitting shorts rather than Daoist robes, looking more like a fierce bandit than a Daoist.

    Yi Chen was at a loss for words. Ever since his Minor Pure Yang Skill broke through to an unprecedented fifth level, he had been getting stronger day by day, and his height had even surpassed the 1.9-meter mark, only recently beginning to stabilize.

    "The master has passed away; I am now the chief of Hidden Dragon Temple. Chief Zhang, you can tell me whatever you need," said Yi Chen, recognizing the constable, whom he had met once two years ago when with his master.

    "Are you the little Daoist who was with Daoist Bai Yunzi?" Zhang Long''s expression turned incredulous at that remark, staring at Yi Chen for a long time, finally matching him with the somewhat blurry face from his memory.

    "Haha, Chief Zhang has a good memory. I''ve just been eating a lot these past two years and developed rather quickly, causing you some amusement," Yi Chen said.

    Yi Chen led the man to the back courtyard, and after Qing Feng and Ming Yue served tea and left, Chief Zhang Long began to talk non-stop about the purpose of his visit.

    It turned out there had been some strange happenings in the nearby town of Qingyuan.

    The residents of the town discovered that their livestock¡ªpigs, cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, and others¡ªhad died mysteriously, leaving only their blood-drained carcasses scattered on the ground. The chief constable of Fengyun County led seven or eight constables to investigate the incident, but they never returned.

    Those constables were also drained of their blood and reduced to dried-up meat.

    After Chief Zhang recounted the origins of the issue in one breath, he took a sip of tea, smacked his lips, and grimaced. The tea was bland and slightly stale, clearly not of good quality.

    He frowned as he swallowed the tea and stared intently at Yi Chen,

    "Taoist Yi, what do you think?"

    Yi Chen: "....."

    Yi Chen: "Chief Zhang, perhaps you could be a bit more explicit."

    Chief Zhang put down his tea, and said earnestly,

    "Then I''ll be frank, the county governor hopes Hidden Dragon Temple can step in to handle this matter. He does not wish to report this to the officials from the Court of Judicial Review, as it could affect his performance evaluation by the higher-ups."

    "Heaven cherishes all living beings, and the reputation of Daoist Bai Yunzi is known to all in Fengyun County. As his outstanding disciple, handling this minor evil spirit should certainly be within your capabilities, Taoist Yi."

    Chief Zhang easily placed a tall hat on Yi Chen, acting as if once Yi Chen took action, the issue would be surely resolved.

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen inwardly scoffed.

    Immediately, ten big characters flashed through his mind.

    "Never worshiping in peacetime, calling on me to act in times of need?"

    Chief Zhang was trying to use him as a scapegoat, expecting a few words to freeload off him and have him risk his life against the evil spirit; that was impossible.

    Yi Chen had not yet mastered his master''s Pure Yang True Force and lacked extraordinary capabilities. Even though his Minor Pure Yang Skill had advanced to the fifth level, a realm unprecedented in history and with a special effect against evil, he was not willing to take the bet.

    He was willing to take the risk once.

    But he needed to be paid!

    Freeloading was out of the question.

    With that effort, he''d rather ponder over new strategies and fishing methodologies or maybe develop another triathlon to earn more Origin Points.

    After all, Origin Points could also enhance his four-dimensional strength. Although not as rapid as Deep Red Points, it was safer.

    His moral standards were never high. Even though he abstained from crimes and bullying the innocent, expecting him to burn himself to illuminate others was out of the question.

    It was time to show the guest out, definitely time!

    Without much thought, Yi Chen raised his teacup,

    "Qing Feng, Ming Yue."

    At that moment, Chief Zhang took out a banknote worth two hundred taels from his chest pocket and continued, "Taoist Yi, the county governor says that the emperor does not stint his soldiers. Hidden Dragon Temple has always been the cornerstone of Fengyun County in combating evil spirits.

    Here is two hundred taels, the travel expense for Taoist Yi''s intervention.

    This matter is of great importance to the county governor. The mayor of Qingyuan Town is said to have also requested the assistance of Master Lianhua from the nearby Moon Wheel Monastery.

    However, given the significant impact this incident has had, the county governor believes it is more appropriate for Hidden Dragon Temple to also get involved in the investigation.

    If this affair is resolved, the county office will offer an additional three hundred taels as a reward.

    Even if the problem remains unsolved, as long as Taoist Yi makes the trip, these two hundred taels are yours."

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen stood up, with a face-changing speed to rival the ice cream vendor in his past life, he swiftly accepted the banknote and pocketed it:

    "The county governor, how perceptive!"

    "Indeed, our Hidden Dragon Temple has always supported the righteous path and eliminated demons. Such acts of evil cannot prevail. As the pillar of Fengyun County, it is our inescapable duty."

    "Qing Feng, Ming Yue, why is the tea you served Chief Zhang so weak? Change it immediately, serve good tea, and add more leaves!"

    Pocketing the banknote, a beaming Yi Chen said,

    "My apologies for the oversight, Chief Zhang."

    "I shall set out early tomorrow morning for Qingyuan Town."

    .....

    .....

    .....

    At night, Yi Chen sat opposite Daoist Qing Yunzi.

    "Big brother, why take such risks?"

    "Naturally, it''s for the benefit of all under the heavens," Yi Chen said with a visage of compassion.

    Daoist Qing Yunzi looked utterly unconvinced and didn''t even believe the punctuation marks, "Big brother, be serious. Matters of evil spirits can be trivial or grave. One misstep and you could easily become ensnared. You should reconsider this."

    "I have perused all of master''s collections¡ªdiscussions, notes. The power of these evil spirits typically varies, encompassing Ghosts, Grudges, Fierces, Evils, Killings, Massacres, Disasters, and so forth."

    "Our master encountered a fierce battle between two Fierce-level ghosts and had to use forbidden techniques to slay them, which ultimately drained his vital energy. He passed away prematurely, his lifespan unfulfilled."

    "Big brother, the master once said that even if the Minor Pure Yang Skill is cultivated to the fourth level, it might suffice to bully the inferior Grudge-level spirits. At best, it equals a middle Grudge-level, and facing a superior Grudge-level, being able to flee would be fortunate enough."

    Yi Chen: "When did the master ever say these things? I don''t recall any of it."

    Daoist Qing Yunzi: "It seems like you most disliked the morning lessons, big brother. You would excuse yourself to pee but then run up the mountain to catch wild chickens, saying they were worth a lot."

    Yi Chen: "..."

    Daoist Qing Yunzi: "..."

    Yi Chen somberly pulled out a banknote worth two hundred taels and an employment contract from his chest,

    sighing, "It''s too late to say these things now, little brother. I''ve already accepted the down payment and signed the contract. I am to set off tomorrow."

    "If I were to flee the battlefield, the reputation of our temple would be ruined, and we''d have to return double the down payment. We don''t have the funds for that right now."

    "But¡­" Daoist Qing Yunzi was visibly anxious and wanted to say more, but Yi Chen cut him off.

    "I know you''re worried, but don''t be in a rush. Isn''t Master Lianhua from Moon Wheel Monastery also involved?"

    "You know how I am, little brother. If real danger arises, I''ll definitely run faster than anyone."

    "The banknote can''t be returned, but if there is danger, let us put more pressure on Master Lianhua. I''ll take the blame." Yi Chen said, shamelessly.

    Daoist Qing Yunzi: "..." Master, you really knew how to pick them.

    Daoist Qing Yunzi now somewhat understood what their master meant by saying his big brother had a scheming mind and blackened hands on his deathbed.

    "Buddha of Infinite Life," Daoist Qing Yunzi murmured a sacred name and, seeing Yi Chen''s mind was made up, he left the room.

 Chapter 6: Chapter 6 Going to the Mystery

    The next day, the sun was bright and shining.Yi Chen rose early to wash up, while Qing Yunzi and the others had prepared rice balls for his breakfast and to stave off hunger on the road.

    Beyond that, at the strong insistence of Qing Yunzi, Yi Chen also carried the magic sword that Bai Yunzi had cultivated for many years¡ªthe Dragon-Slaying Sword.

    This sword was about one meter and twenty-three centimeters long, resembling an octahedral Han sword, with dragon patterns on its eight facets and silver seal script inscribed upon it. It was a magic artifact that had been cultivated over the years by the masters of Hidden Dragon Temple and even an ordinary person wielding it could restrain common evil spirits to some extent.

    In reality, what Qing Yunzi didn''t know was that even if Yi Chen had been aware of last night''s conversation, he would have most likely made the trip to Qingyuan Town anyway.

    Ever since his master had passed away, a faint sense of crisis lingered in his heart. Only relying on training to accumulate Origin Points was far too slow, and as his body grew stronger, the rate at which he gained Origin Points by stimulating his body slowed down even more.

    He feared that the hidden antagonist couldn''t wait that long, and time wasn''t on his side, so to become stronger quickly, he had no choice but to take some risks.

    Only Deep Red Points could enable him to grow strong at an astonishing rate, quickly beyond everyone''s expectations. Regardless of the hidden antagonist''s schemes, as long as he became strong enough, he could ultimately break the game with power.

    All sophisticated conspiracies are like paper tigers in the face of absolute power.

    Once Qing Yunzi fully awakened his spirituality, Yi Chen could carry his master''s ashes to the Royal City. The world was vast, and he wanted to see it.

    After all, with the great opportunity of rebirth and the Golden Finger by his side, if he stayed cooped up in this small county instead of going out to see the higher scenery of the world, wouldn''t that mean he had been reborn in vain?

    Moreover, his master had said before his demise that the world was undergoing strange changes, with an increasing number of evil spirits, suggesting a great chaos was not far off.

    What exactly were these strange changes? Why had his master said a great chaos was nearing?

    Yi Chen knew that Da Yue Country, where he resided, was not thriving or completely harmonious, but it was far from being in the state of a dynasty''s end.

    The more Yi Chen thought about it, the more chaotic his thoughts became. If there were indeed great changes in the future, he would need to rapidly strengthen himself. He couldn''t afford to act as the sword god of Ten Mile Slope.

    Staying safe in one corner and arrogantly assuming peace might work temporarily, but only true strength can stand tall amidst real turmoil and take control of one''s fate.

    If future troubles were severe, the weak would be ruined while the strong could face the surging waves from all directions and remain seated in the Royal City.

    However, simply surviving was not an option, but rash action was also unwise. Yi Chen had studied the Taoist scriptures thoroughly. Although he lacked "spirituality," he had a good understanding of the principles of activity and stillness, the mother of yin and yang.

    He had his own thoughts on the wisdom and choices between action and stillness, survival and rashness.

    Hidden Dragon Temple wasn''t too far from Qingyuan Town. With Yi Chen''s pace, it took roughly an hour before the grand archway of Qingyuan Town loomed on the horizon.

    By that time, Chief Zhang and a stocky, strong man were already waiting at the archway.

    "Sorry to have kept you both waiting," Yi Chen greeted them with a nod of his head.

    "No worries, we''ve just arrived too. Yi Taoist, let me introduce you. This is Ji Bochang, the militia leader of Qingyuan Town. We''ll rely on his strong support in our investigation of the evil spirit," said Chief Zhang.

    "With Yi Taoist taking action, and Ji Bochang''s familiarity with Qingyuan Town, this matter will be resolved quickly," Chief Zhang said, a man of the government hall, speaking flowery words that mildly flattered both Yi Chen and Ji Bochang.

    The short and stout Ji Bochang had a sincere face and a glint of shrewdness in his eyes, appearing to be a capable and astute man.

    He bowed politely to Yi Chen and said, "I am Ji Bochang, the militia leader of Qingyuan Town. We''ll have to trouble you with the matter of the evil spirit in our town."

    "This incident has caused quite a stir, affecting the trade routes of Qingyuan Town significantly. The townsfolk are in a state of panic, and the town chief, out of concern for the people, has used his own money to invite Master Lianhua from the Moon Wheel Temple to discuss countermeasures. You won''t mind, will you?"

    "Mind? Mind my ass. It''s easier to slack off when there are more people," Yi Chen couldn''t help but grumble internally.

    Now that he had an astonishing physique, like a little Superman, if he really started running away, he would give others a bit of a shock.

    And don''t curse - if you can''t beat them and still refuse to run, only a fool would just stand there and take it.

    Was Yi Chen a fool? Clearly, he wasn''t, so he didn''t mind at all; in fact, he would prefer the more, the merrier.

    Besides, referring to it as "running away" sounded so crude and lacked elegance.

    Calling it a strategic withdrawal, a technical adjustment, preserving one''s fighting force for the right moment¡ªthat instantly raised the tone, didn''t it?

    He indicated that it was no problem.

    Compared to that prematurely arriving Master Lianhua, Yi Chen paid more attention to Ji Bochang''s name, giving him several more glances.

    Ji Bochang, that name had some substance; normal people''s fate couldn''t suppress it!

    Wishing you safety!

    "Taoist, is there something on my face?" Ji Bochang asked, his senses sharp enough to detect Yi Chen''s subtle actions and asked out loud.

    As Yi Chen observed him, Ji Bochang was also discreetly studying this expert summoned by the officials.

    If the man before him hadn''t been wearing a Taoist robe, he looked more like a fierce general than a Taoist.

    He had seen tall Taoists before, but they just had large frames; this was the first time Ji Bochang had seen a Taoist with such developed and impressive muscles.

    Indeed, he was unique.

    Compared to the pomp of that Master Lianhua, this Taoist named Yi Chengzi simply carried a sword on his back and had a very young looking face. He didn''t look reliable at all, but the shrewdness he developed over many years of experience kept him from showing any contempt.

    In response to Ji Bochang''s question, Yi Chen casually laughed it off and found an excuse to get past the issue.

    The group passed under an archway and proceeded along the street.

    All the way, Ji Bochang was introducing Yi Chen and Chief Zhang to various aspects of Qingyuan Town.

    Qingyuan Town was a commercial hub in Fengyun County, bustling with traders coming and going daily to buy furs and herbs, while also bringing in novelties from the outside world.

    But ever since unexplained corpses started appearing in the town, the traders became scared, and now Qingyuan Town had become much more desolate.

    If this continued, the livelihoods of many townspeople would be affected.

    At this point, Ji Bochang also showed a worried expression.

    It wasn''t long before the three of them arrived at a large mansion.

    Yi Chen looked around and saw red walls, green tiles, and a stone-paved courtyard, all signs of a wealthy household.

    At the moment, many withered corpses were laid out in the courtyard, both human and animal. Yi Chen noticed that Chief Zhang looked at the human bodies with a hint of sorrow¡ªthose must have been his colleagues.

    A rabbit dies, a fox grieves; one feels sorrow for the misfortune of one''s kind.

    A monk dressed in moon-white robes was meticulously examining the bodies on the ground, unfazed even by some that were already giving off a faint odor.

    The monk''s brows were tightly furrowed as if contemplating something. Behind him stood two acolytes, around fifteen or sixteen years old, one holding an alms bowl and the other carrying a demon-subduing staff.

    The two young acolytes were also dressed in moon-white robes and wore jade Buddha beads around their necks.

    In comparison to Yi Chen, they certainly looked more impressive.

    However, Yi Chen was not the sort to be outdone by others. He remained calm and confident, inwardly critiquing, "Clearly, they are not as adorable as Qing Feng and Ming Yue."

    Ji Bochang, who was by Yi Chen''s side, saw this and, despite not understanding why, felt the Taoist Yi Chengzi suddenly emanating ''pride and confidence.'' He couldn''t help but hold Yi Chen in higher regard than before.

    In front of Master Lianhua of the Moon Wheel Temple, he still dared to stand tall and chest out¡ªhe must possess some real skills. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Ji Bochang silently praised in his heart.

    If Yi Chen could read minds and knew what Ji Bochang was thinking at that moment, he would surely laugh out loud. Ji Bochang, you''re getting happy too soon.

    This is my first major mission, and my heart is also anxious.

    Whether I can make it or not, only time and the fight will tell.

    But don''t worry, I''m really fast when it comes to running away, even when taking corners.

    Before long, a chubby old man saw Yi Chen and his group arriving and hurried out to greet them, inviting Yi Chen and the monk in the courtyard to take a seat in the hall.

    After exchanging pleasantries, Master Lianhua, upon hearing Yi Chen was from Hidden Dragon Temple, couldn''t hide his delight:

    "Brother Bai Yunzi from Hidden Dragon Temple is a true enlightened Taoist, whose Pure Yang power far surpasses my inferior methods. He is a well-known figure of righteousness in Fengyun County."

    "I did not expect that Yi Taoist would be the head disciple of Brother Bai Yunzi. It seems that this matter will surely be resolved without issue."

    Yi Chen: "..." Master, you''re too optimistic. The master is the master, and I am myself.

    Although he was inwardly criticizing, Yi Chen could not admit his shortcomings, as he was now the Sect Leader of Hidden Dragon Temple, representing its reputation. Thus, he could only respond modestly and strive to maintain a respectful image.

    At this moment, he was already planning to slack off.

    Slacking off, what a delightful thing it is!

    If I could just swoop in at the last moment, stealing the final blow from Master Lianhua, that would be the ultimate kill. 233333

    "Master, you came before me. Have you discovered any clues?" Yi Chen asked out of feigned curiosity, already strategizing how to ''steal the boss'' quietly.

    Upon hearing Yi Chen''s inquiry, Master Lianhua furrowed his brows deeply and shared his thoughts.

    "This evil event at Qingyuan Town is likely not as simple as it seems behind the scenes," he said.

    "I have carefully examined all the wounds of the victims and the animals, and it can be basically determined that a zombie is at fault. However, there are several doubts that I have not been able to resolve."

    "What doubts?" Yi Chen asked promptly.

    "Firstly, such an evil entity like a zombie, when newly created, is muddled and acts only on instinct. So why is it that despite several searches by the young and strong around the town, no trace of the zombie has been found? This is unreasonable."

    "Secondly, for such a long time, aside from a few officers from the yamen, not a single resident of Qingyuan Town has been harmed. It''s almost as if the evil entity deliberately avoids the townspeople, which is highly unusual."

    "So what does the Master mean?" Yi Chen tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table.

    "What the poor monk is thinking is what the Taoist must also be considering," Master Lianhua said with his hands in prayer.

    Yi Chen: "..." Master, so what exactly am I supposed to be thinking?

 Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Spirituality and Wisdom, Master Lianhuas Shock and Speculation

    Yi Chen was fully aware of the murmurs behind him, but he had no time to pay attention to the crowd of simpletons.There are five people in the Four Heavenly Kings, so isn''t it logical for the Hundred Pace Divine Fist to kick instead?

    Yi Chen tilted his neck, his joints cracking with a clear sound.

    This zombie was his for the taking today; not even Daozun could keep it from him, he had declared.

    The colossal strength and evil-dispelling properties of the fifth level of the Minor Pure Yang Skill allowed him to perfectly suppress the bridal zombie in front of him.

    Looking at the ghastly fanged bridal zombie, Yi Chen''s eyes revealed a deep longing.

    How is this a terrifying zombie? Isn''t this my beloved Deep Red Points?

    Little did he know, his yearning gaze gave the onlookers around him goosebumps...

    Could this Taoist Yi Chengzi have some peculiar tastes?

    This is a zombie after all!

    Hiss!

    Truly, the experts of this era are unconventional.

    "Evil creature, why don''t you just give up and get caught!"

    With a loud shout, Yi Chen charged at the bridal zombie like a cannonball.

    Seeing this, the bridal zombie that had just gotten over the shock now showed a human-like horror in its eyes. Fortunately for her, she was as hard as an ironclad shell.

    If she had been human, that kick might have sent her to meet her great-grandmother.

    Having pulled itself out of the wall with difficulty, the bridal zombie faced the oncoming Yi Chen with a renewed ferocity in its gaze.

    It roared at the sky and leaped forward, its black zombie Qi vibrating around it, its nails elongated, and with a retraction and extension of its elbow, it posed as if it wanted to stab Yi Chen to death.

    However, things did not go as it wished.

    The idea was nice!

    Reality was cruel!

    "Nine Heavens Thunderous Double Kick," Yi Chen''s emotionless voice rang out.

    The bridal zombie, leaping high into the air, was struck hard again and sent flying, not into a wall this time but sliding down the bluestone street, sparking as it went.

    The onlookers'' teeth ached at the sight.

    This was the first time they had seen anyone exorcise demons in such a fashion.

    It was simply a one-sided beating.

    "The Lord of Fengyun County was indeed insightful to have me invite the priest from Hidden Dragon Temple to deal with this evil spirit. Hidden Dragon Temple truly is the pillar of Fengyun County, absolutely reliable," muttered Chief Zhang, dumbfounded.

    But now, Chief Zhang felt a bit numb, finding something odd. This Taoist Yi Chengzi''s style seemed somewhat different from his master, Bai Yunzi...

    Yi Chen naturally wasn''t concerned with the people behind him; at the moment, he was conducting a test on the fifth level of the Minor Pure Yang Skill''s Inner Qi. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Understanding the suppression of his Pure Yang Inner Qi over evil spirits, the novice ironclad zombie in front of him was an excellent test subject.

    The previous kick, the Nine Heavens Thunderous Double Kick, had borne running and leveraging force but had not been like the ''Hundred Pace Divine Fist'' where he channeled Pure Yang Inner Qi to its fullest onto his legs.

    Therefore, although the red armored zombie appeared miserable and the visual effect was strong, the damage inflicted was not as severe as his first strike.

    "It seems that against zombies cloaked in zombie Qi, one must rely on Pure Yang Inner Qi to neutralize and break through their defenses," Yi Chen mused to himself.

    At that moment, his pupils constricted sharply as he suddenly considered a possibility.

    "Spiritual nature, the very thing my master broods over. Could it be that those more vicious evil creatures, with their strong ghost Qi, demon Qi, or zombie Qi, become nearly impervious to ordinary attacks as they are protected?"

    "There''s no such thing as ants overwhelming an elephant; only beings of not too dissimilar essence can harm each other."

    "Strength has its uses in fighting evil spirits, but it''s not substantial; it only becomes more than the sum of its parts when enhanced by Inner Qi of comparable quality."

    Hissing, Yi Chen drew a sharp breath, unknowingly contributing to global warming by his minuscule measure.

    The world''s waters were deep, and he felt out of his depth.

    The handsome dreamer''s aspirations for invincibility through the Origin Point crumbled.

    It looked like he had to work on both Deep Red Points and the Origin Point ¡ª both hands needed to be strong.

    Shaking his head, he pressed down the thoughts for now. The battle continued.

    The bridal zombie that had slid for tens of meters leaped to its feet and roared toward Yi Chen, then turned around in a hurry to run toward the town''s outskirts.

    In the opposite direction, Season Group Leader, with his waist sword and accompanied by several strong men, had just arrived to block the way.

    Yi Chen was momentarily stunned; he had not expected that a zombie would flee if it couldn''t win the fight.

    To flee was one thing, but to bare its fangs at him before fleeing? Unacceptable.

    "How audacious!"

    "You dare to offend me and think you can run away?" Yi Chen bellowed in rage as he powered his back leg, his legs suddenly swelling, denting the bluestone pavement and launching himself like a cannonball towards the bridal zombie.

    Meanwhile, Monk Lianhua had arrived from the other side of the street, but seeing the distance, he couldn''t help yelling anxiously at Season Group Leader: "Stop him."

    Seeing the bridal zombie, the stout Season Group Leader was not alarmed but pleased.

    His moment of fame and glory was upon him.

    Having diligently practiced the Fiery Heart Skill for years, he had reached the threshold of a first-tier master in his middle age, and his Inner Qi could now momentarily cling to external objects.

    "Evil spirit, if you want to cross here, first ask if my blade is sharp enough!"

    "Fierce Fire Blade Technique."

    Facing a zombie bride in a wedding dress that had leapt several meters towards him, Ji Tuanlian bellowed loudly. He soared into the air, with the inner qi of the Fierce Fire Heart Technique staining his waist saber a pale red.

    With one strike, he met the zombie bride''s arm.

    Clang!

    A muffled sound.

    Ji Tuanlian, always strong and unwilling to show weakness, spat out blood and was sent flying, his life or death uncertain.

    Obviously, his blade was not sharp enough.

    His Fierce Fire Blade Technique only left a pitch-black mark on the zombie bride''s arm. The wound was as shallow and as narrow as a chopstick. Soon after, he was struck by the zombie''s immense strength and sent flying.

    If it weren''t for the fact that the zombie bride had been shadowed by Yi Chen''s attack, Ji Tuanlian might have been devoured on the spot, drained of blood and turned into cured meat.

    However, his obstruction was somewhat effective. The speed of the zombie bride was hindered, and Master Lianhua had already arrived nearby.

    "Yuan Tong, Yuan Yue, bring me the dharma net, glutinous rice, and black dog blood. I will go stop this fiend first," Master Lianhua urgently ordered the novices behind him, turning to move forward.

    But he stopped almost immediately, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

    In an instant, a figure as menacing as a demon chased after the zombie, trailing a deep red streak behind him.

    This was the phenonenom caused by Yi Chen''s cultivation of the Pure Yang Inner Qi to the fifth layer.

    "Think you can offend me and run? Are you playing with me?"

    "It''s like you''re not giving the Three Pure Ones any respect."

    The zombie bride shuddered when she heard this indifferent voice, its corpse qi fluctuating, and it jumped into the air, abandoning the thought of biting Ji Tuanlian''s neck to replenish its blood. It only wanted to get as far away from this scourge as possible and prepared to leap away.

    Unfortunately, it was too late.

    Failure to leap!

    A giant hand, as broad as a fan, grabbed the zombie bride''s ankle. Muscles bulging and with terrifying strength, she was yanked downwards and then fiercely smashed toward the ground.

    Boom!

    A dull thud rang out.

    The ground shook.

    Too brutal, too overwhelming.

    Everyone, including Master Lianhua, widened their eyes at the scene before them.

    They didn''t understand, but they were greatly shocked!

    No, it was not over yet.

    After flinging the zombie around by the ankle, Yi Chen immediately began the signature move of the classic character from King of Fighters ''97, the chain and sledgehammer wielding big fat guy, Chang Koehan.

    The flinging of the corpse continued.

    Left, right, left, right.

    Left, right, left, right.

    This scene left everyone completely dumbfounded.

    Everyone was at a loss for words.

    The novice Yuan Tong couldn''t help but step forward and tug at Master Lianhua''s sleeve, asking, "Master, what kind of technique is Taoist Yi Chengzi using now? How is it so... brutal?"

    "It seems like he doesn''t need black dog blood or glutinous rice at all..."

    Master Lianhua remained silent for a long moment, wiping the nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead before finally speaking, "From what I observe, Taoist Yi Chengzi must have awakened his spiritual nature and has cultivated the Hidden Dragon Temple''s secret ''Supreme Pure Yang Origin Point Daoist Scripture''."

    "Naturally, he wouldn''t need external items like black dog blood or glutinous rice."

    "Taoist Yi Chengzi might now belong to the order of True Persons of the Daoist arts, different from us."

    "My ''wisdom roots'' are insufficient, and I can only use external methods to exorcise demons. I have to make other sacrifices as fuel to forcibly use some spells, while Taoist Yi Chengzi is different."

    "Master, what are wisdom roots? When can I and my junior brother awaken our ''wisdom roots''?" Yuan Yue, standing by the side, couldn''t help but ask.

    "Spiritual nature or wisdom roots, it''s just different terminology used by our Daoist and Buddhist practices.

    "It is profoundly mysterious and elusive, a gift from heaven and earth, the beginning of transcendence."

    "There might be some unique objects in the world that can forcefully awaken one''s ''spiritual intellect'', but the price is also immense, beyond what we can aspire to."

    Master Lianhua paused, smiled, and ruffled the shaved heads of Yuan Tong and Yuan Yue before continuing, "You should focus on your cultivation, striving to reach enlightenment and awaken your wisdom roots."

    "Your grandmaster once said that when the time for awakening comes, you will naturally understand; it is something that cannot be expressed in words."

    "Even if the spiritual intellect is nurtured by heaven and earth, it requires cultivation to awaken."

    "Great Strength Bodhisattva has said even more so that everyone has spiritual intellect, differing only in depth. Cultivate earnestly, and you will reach enlightenment, awaken your ''spiritual intellect'', and attain great mana."

    Master Lianhua cheerfully filled his two disciples with a large bowl of metaphorical chicken soup, then squinted his eyes at Yi Chen, who was still tossing the zombie bride left and right.

    Still, something felt slightly amiss in his heart. He had been fortunate enough to witness Bai Yunzi in action; Pure Yang True Qi flowed through him, with the force of wind and thunder, moving unhindered, and common evil spirits would surely die upon contact.

    However, his disciple seemed a bit off.

    The deep red inner qi had the power to ward off evil far surpassing the capabilities of ordinary martial artists, yet it was still a few notches below Pure Yang True Qi, resembling a weakened version of it.

    "Could it be that Taoist Yi Chengzi has awakened his spiritual nature but not completely?" Touching his own smooth chin, Master Lianhua mused to himself.

 Chapter 9: Chapter 9: The Puppet Master and Yi Chens Choice (Part 1)

    At this time, after a series of left and right slammings,Yi Chen had basically completed the testing and reached a conclusion.

    That is, for entities like these malevolent spirits, pure physical strikes did indeed cause some damage, but the force was reduced by the protective corpse aura, barely transmitting one-tenth of its power.

    Only by breaking through that protective corpse aura could one''s strength find greater room to unleash.

    Having completed the tests, Yi Chen stopped his actions, holding the ankle of the bridal gown female zombie and pondering deeply in his heart.

    He felt something was amiss. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This was also why he left the bridal gown female zombie alive; otherwise, driven by his Pure Yang Inner Qi, with his fierce flailing technique, ten female zombies would have perished.

    Aside from the first blow, Yi Chen mainly used the sheer power of his physical body to thrash the female zombie.

    Even so, at this moment, the bridal gown female zombie''s corpse aura was scattered, its head deformed, having been so ravaged that even the mastermind behind the scenes might not recognize this as their cultivated corpse.

    "Damn it, I was enjoying the show, why did Taoist Yi Chengzi suddenly stop?"

    "No idea, could it be that the Taoist is going to perform some other big act for us?"

    Onlookers, the young and strong, began whispering among themselves.

    "This bridal gown female zombie, doesn''t she look a lot like Xiao Cui who jumped into the river to commit suicide two months ago?"

    "I think the Taoist is probably up to some mischief; he''s all about dirty tactics. He even tricked a zombie before," said Wang Lao Si, peeking in and out of the crowd, looking eager yet fearful to watch.

    "I curse your grandpa, Wang Lao Si, whose side are you on?"

    .....

    ....

    Yi Chen: "..."

    Yi Chen could clearly hear the conversation among the crowd, and he took a deep look at Wang Lao Si, who had claimed he was plotting, memorizing his features.

    Seeking revenge.jpg.

    You''re cursed to see prices rise every time your mother goes grocery shopping, Wang Lao Si.

    After silently cursing Wang Lao Si, the high-minded Yi Taoist generously decided to forgive him and then released the ankle of the zombie. He walked over to Master Lianhua and whispered a few words, causing Master Lianhua to nod repeatedly in agreement.

    Meanwhile, the bridal gown female zombie slowly opened her eyes, struggled to rise, and started hopping towards a certain exit of the town in small, labored jumps.

    Her body emitted a dissipating black corpse aura. However, as the corpse aura faded, her eyes began to glimpse something indescribable.

    Yi Chen followed leisurely about thirty meters behind the bridal gown female zombie, with Master Lianhua, Chief Zhang, and a group of others trailing behind him.

    Yi Chen had felt perplexed earlier upon seeing the female zombie dressed in a bright red bridal gown; who in their right mind would dress their cultivated corpse in such attire? If this was done without thought, the master of this corpse was quite twisted...

    And Wang Lao Si''s snide comment had reminded him,

    "This bridal gown female zombie, doesn''t she look a lot like Xiao Cui who jumped into the river to commit suicide two months ago?"

    These doubts, combined with Master Lianhua''s theory that the mastermind was someone from the town or connected to it, led Yi Chen to take a gamble. He decided to let this iron-clad corpse lead the way. Following her might just bring an unexpected surprise.

    After all, if his guess was wrong, he could always catch up and kill it. Either way, he wouldn''t lose, and those Deep Red Points would eventually be his.

    It was worth a shot.

    Master Lianhua found the idea convincing and persuaded everyone to agree, leading to the scene unfolding before them now.

    A group of people thus followed the jiangshi out of the town under the cover of night, arriving at a wooden house that was neither too large nor too small.

    On the doorway of the wooden house hung a signboard that bore three large characters¡ªFushou Hall.

    In the courtyard there was also a white flag for summoning souls planted, as well as two high-quality redwood coffins placed upright.

    "Eh, isn''t this the coffin shop owned by Boss Shi? Why have we come here?" A young man in the crowd said while looking at the white flag fluttering in the distance, full of shock and confusion.

    Yi Chen waved his hand to signal for the others not to follow any longer; he continued to tail them on his own.

    Under the veil of night, what Yi Chen failed to notice was that as the corpse energy slowly dissipated, the deformed head of the bridal-dress female jiangshi gradually recovered, and the purplish color on her face also faded from its previous intensity.

    Her original features became visible, with cherry lips and almond-shaped eyes. Despite her still somewhat terrifying complexion, one could faintly discern her youthful beauty from when she was alive.

    However, as the corpse energy slowly escaped, the bridal-dress female jiangshi''s hopping became lower and less frequent. When she reached the front of Fushou Hall, she was practically dragging herself forward.

    Eventually, she couldn''t even hop over the threshold of Fushou Hall.

    At that moment, the door creaked open, and a black silhouette stepped out, picking up the bridal-dress female jiangshi by the waist and carrying her into the courtyard.

    With a bang, the door slammed shut.

    "There''s definitely something wrong. Master, cover me from outside," Yi Chen spoke with grave concern.

    "No hurry, I''ll go play with him," Yi Chen called out firmly to Master Lianhua.

    Master Lianhua nodded slightly to indicate agreement.

    Yi Chen approached the gate of the courtyard, hesitated for a moment, and then smiled. Could such a lousy gate really stop him? With a powerful kick, he shattered the two gate doors, which went flying apart, causing the eyebrows of the people behind him to jump.

    Goodness me, the same old formula.

    As expected of you, Taoist Yi Chengzi.

    Yi Chen looked back at the people behind him, flashed a grin, revealing eight shining white teeth under the moonlight, and then stepped into the courtyard, the scene within completely entering his field of vision.

    In the center of the courtyard, there was a table with two red candles on top and several dishes of snacks.

    A pale-faced young man sat in the main seat, cradling the bridal-dress female jiangshi in his arms. At that time, the jiangshi lay quietly in the young man''s embrace, as docile as a cat, none of her previous ferocity to be seen, her expression gentle.

    "Please have a seat, Taoist. I apologize for the simple hospitality. If you''re not afraid, there''s water and wine on the table¡ªyou may help yourself," the young man said.

    Yi Chen frowned slightly and sat down on a wooden stump.

    Even though the young man before him seemed as fragile as a candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment, Yi Chen still did not want to take the risk.

    And as for the water and wine, there was no need to mention it. Although he wasn''t scared, he had decided to avoid alcohol for the day, so he did not drink.

    "You''re on the brink of death," Yi Chen said with a furrowed brow.

    "What joy is there in living, and what suffering is there in dying? Why don''t I tell a story to the Taoist?" The pale-faced young man did not respond directly to Yi Chen''s words, but instead took out a black dagger, slicing it across his wrist.

    Blood dripped down, moistening the lips of the bridal-dress female jiangshi.

    At this moment, the bridal-dress female jiangshi seemed to exhibit a human-like sense of panic, her nails turned green and black as she reached out to grasp the wrist of the young man, only to be gently avoided by him.

    A melodramatic story, just as Yi Chen had anticipated, began to unfold beside his ear.

 Chapter 10: Chapter 10: The Puppet Master and Yi Chens Choice (Part 2)

    "Taoist, my name is Shi Shoufu, and I am the owner of this coffin shop,""The undead you injured is my fianc¨¦e, her name is Xiao Cui,"

    "Xiao Cui and I grew up together like two peas in a pod. After my father died and my brother traveled far, I inherited this Fortune and Longevity Shop,"

    "I thought we would live happily ever after, together forever, but unfortunately, as Xiao Cui grew older, she became more and more attractive, catching the eye of Town Chief Wu Changshou,"

    "He bribed the officials and suppressed Xiao Cui''s family''s tofu business with heavy gold, while on the other hand, he tempted Xiao Cui''s parents with a large dowry. Under such immense pressure, they could no longer hold out and had to agree to marry their daughter to that old man over sixty,"

    "Had my Shi family not been established in Qingyuan Town for hundreds of years with a large and influential clan, I suppose I too would have suffered his malice, huh,"

    "Later, on the night before Xiao Cui was to be married off, she brought her wedding gown to me, refused my proposal to elope, and snuck into the Qing River to drown herself,"

    "Caught between filial piety and love, it was impossible to have both. Fearing her parents would suffer Wu Changshou''s retribution if we eloped, she chose death to prove her resolve,"

    "A person''s death settles all. That was Xiao Cui''s way of satisfying both,"

    "How foolish she was. On the day she died, I died as well; only a shell is left alive. I went mad, searching for a way to bring her back to life,"

    "My elder brother, a tomb raider obsessed with antiquities, had left home to go far away. While I was sorting through the family''s possessions, I actually found an odd book ¡ª ''Corpse Sutra'',"

    "I never had any interest in such things. I only enjoyed my carpentry and reading medical texts. I used to scorn these matters, but after finding the book, I treasured it like nothing else,"

    "According to the scriptures, if I could master the ''Corpse Sutra,'' there would be a chance to bring the dead back to life with their memories intact, so I could indirectly revive Xiao Cui,"

    "But practicing the ''Corpse Sutra'' is difficult. I chanted it for three days before I felt a faint response, waking the spiritual nature of the corpse as described in the book was truly too hard,"

    Yi Chen: "..." It is indeed hard. Some people chant for ten years without any reaction at all.

    Hearing this, Yi Chen couldn''t hold back any longer. A faint response after three days? Have I lived on a god''s body for the past ten years...

    Damn, a born genius.

    Man to man, enough to infuriate a Taoist.

    In the courtyard, the young man''s deep voice continued to echo.

    "Xiao Cui''s body couldn''t be left out for long, I couldn''t wait, so I used forbidden methods from the ''Corpse Sutra'' to nourish and refine her using my own blood essence. If Xiao Cui had completely rotted away, what use would perfecting the ''Corpse Sutra'' be to me?"

    "The ''Corpse Sutra'' doesn''t have the power to revive flesh and bone. A rotten body couldn''t even become a refined corpse,"

    "So I settled for the next best thing. I wanted to make Xiao Cui an ironclad undead, to kill Town Chief Wu Changshou and his family, so that Xiao Cui could take her revenge and ease my heart,"

    "Unfortunately, forbidden practices are ultimately unsuited for elegant society. I sought quick results; these practices could only issue simple commands. Several times I even lost control of Xiao Cui''s ferocity, causing the subsequent accidents,"

    "Taoist, I didn''t want to kill anyone. From the beginning to the end, the only one I ever wanted to kill was Wu Changshou alone. I didn''t harm a single Qingyuan Town resident. Those dozen or so constables had been abusive before and then came to investigate me. I had no choice but to kill them all, haha,"

    The young man''s somewhat hysterical laughter filled the whole yard, while the undead woman in the bridal gown held in his arms tightly closed her mouth, her eyes anxious, not wanting to suck the fresh blood flowing from his wrist.

    "Taoist, did I do anything wrong? What did Xiao Cui do wrong?"

    "Why do Xiao Cui and I, who were charitable and kind, suffer such fates, while Wu Changshou, a man steeped in debauchery and corruption, enjoys prosperity and longevity?"

    "Why can those in power trample on our dignity like this, playing with us?"

    Shi Shoufu''s voice grew increasingly intense.

    Yi Chen, looking at the young man in front of him who seemed to be going mad, a hint of pity flashed in his eyes.

    He spoke deliberately and seriously to Shi Shoufu, "You''re not wrong, it''s the world that''s wrong, it''s because you are too weak."

    "Kindness is a great virtue,"

    "and it is also a costly one,"

    "But kindness without power is worthless,"

    "You are the greatest genius I have ever seen, but you are dying now,"

    "Taoist, if you were me, what would you do?" After venting, the young man''s expression calmed somewhat and he asked.

    Yi Chen: "..."

    Yi Chen: "Naturally, I would kill his entire family," S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The young man: "..." Are you really a Taoist? That doesn''t seem right.

    The young man: "I thought you would persuade me to be magnanimous, to see the bigger picture, to accept that life and death are predestined, that wealth and status are determined by fate,"

    Yi Chen: "Let me tell you, you should stay away from those who persuade you to be magnanimous; they will get you struck by lightning. I''ve thought about it again. Not only would I kill his entire family, but I would leave no living creature behind. If even one hen or a dog survived, it would be my failure,"

    The young man: "..."

    The young man: "Taoist, who did you learn from?"

    "Hidden Dragon Temple, Taoist Bai Yunzi is my master," Yi Chen said proudly, puffing out his chest.

    "Young chap, you don''t understand me. I was personally raised by my master, who knows me all too well, which is why he often thinks about hitting me,"

    "No, correcting me,"

    "But I still think some things he says are not right. However, he can''t convince me, and I can''t beat him, nor he me,"

    "Today''s restraint, next time he will dare again,"

    "However, before he died, he admonished me to follow the path of benevolence and righteousness and not to commit crimes. So I''ve always been conscientious and not done bad things... exactly,"

    "Strictly speaking, I think I am a good Taoist,"

    The young man: "..."

    The young man: "Taoist, you are magnificent!"

    As the blood drained from him, the young man''s complexion grew paler. Holding the undead woman in the bridal gown, he said with difficulty:

    "Unfortunately, my efforts have come to naught today. Xiao Cui was too weak before. Only after killing those dozen or so constables and draining their blood was I barely able to turn Xiao Cui into an ironclad undead,"

    "Which then brought you Taoists here,"

    "Today, I originally intended to send Xiao Cui to take the life of Wu Changshou''s dog. Truly... truly, it''s an injustice of the Heavenly Dao."

    "I regularly dispense porridge and medicines to the poor, accumulating yin virtue, yet I end up in such a state, while Wu Changshou, vile with every sin, enjoys good fortune and longevity."

    "How can this world discern purity from filth?"

    Yi Chen''s eyes held an inscrutable expression at this moment. He sighed upon hearing these words, "You have encountered the humble Daoist¡ªthis shows that the yin virtue you''ve accrued indeed has its uses."

    "If you truly have done good deeds regularly, I will inquire about it with others."

    "The world is sick, some things need to be corrected."

    "Dao... Daoist, what... what do you mean by your words...?" The young man''s eyes flashed with surprise and astonishment upon hearing this.

    "Blessings be as boundless as the heavenly honour, the humble Daoist has said nothing," Yi Taoist said, his eyes and brows lowered, radiating kindness and benevolence.

    "The Daoist is truly a remarkable person, unlike anyone else. It''s a pity that I''m about to die; otherwise, I would definitely love to have a hearty drink with the Daoist.

    I wish to ask the Daoist for one more thing: after my death, I hope the Daoist will bury me and Xiao Cui together. In life we could not share a blanket, but in death, we shall share a grave."

    "Regrettably, I now possess nothing of value, my wealth scattered. I only have a copy of ''Corpse Sutra,'' I wonder if it could catch the Daoist''s eye. If the Daoist finds it disdainful, just burn it. This land deed of the Felicity Hall, I also give it to the Daoist as a token of my gratitude, cough cough cough."

    The young man''s complexion began showing a strange red. In his greed for success, he had rushed progress by using forbidden necromancy to cultivate a corpse. His life essence had long been greatly depleted, and now his life had reached its end.

    "Daoist, please wait a moment. I will go and clean up Xiao Cui and myself, and change our clothes."

    "Xiao Cui loved beauty the most, she deserves to depart in beauty."

    As if a dying flame flared up one last time, the young man, holding the bridal gown of the female corpse in his arms, struggled to stand and walked into the room.

    Yi Chen watched his figure, silent for a long time.

    The young man''s melancholic tune echoed in the courtyard.

    I reside in the east of Qinyuan.

    You are in the north of Qinyuan.

    When you left, your bridal dress was red.

    It vanished by the Qingshui River.

    I engraved our vows on the riverbank.

    An expanse of cold moonlight flooded the city over the river.

    I waited for you by the Qingshui Riverbank for a long time.

    Mischievous children mocked me, laughed at my graying hair.

    ¡­

    A homing pigeon flew out from the backyard of the Felicity Hall, and the singing abruptly stopped.

    At that moment, a stream of information appeared on Yi Chen''s retinal display.

    [You have successfully killed the Bridal Armor Corpse Xiao Cui, gaining ten Deep Red Points.]

    For some reason, Yi Chen did not feel pleased at this moment.

    He slowly walked into the room, where the young man was dressed in a red groom''s robe, with Xiao Cui in her bridal dress. Their fingers were interlocked, tightly clinging to each other.

    Dead.

    On the room''s table were a land deed, and a book neither of gold nor jade, inscribed with golden seal characters¡ª''Corpse Sutra.''

    Seeing this scene, Yi Chen let out a long sigh.

    Gone, it''s good that you''ve gone.

    The world is too bitter; do not come back in the next life.

    Shi Shoufu, you''ve lost ''Shoufu'' (longevity and fortune).

    You were without fortune or longevity; who cursed you with such an inauspicious name?

    Don''t worry, the name of the man who harmed you, Town Chief Wu, is not much better.

    He''s called Wu Changshou (long life), but he won''t be long-lived.

    I guarantee he won''t live past a week!

    I said so.

    Not even Daozun can save him.

    Yi Chen silently picked up the land deed and the ''Corpse Sutra'' from the table and tucked them into his chest.

    The ''Corpse Sutra'' felt cool to the touch, a cold current flowed into his body upon contact.

    [Touching a special item, Deep Red Points count +50]

    ???

    A look of joy appeared on Yi Chen''s face.

    Is there such a blessing?

    "Shi Shoufu, rest in peace."

    "That Wu Changshou; I guarantee that he won''t live past three days."

    "I''ll make sure to deal with him before your seventh day after death."

    "You can trust the humble Daoist''s work¡ªit''s all about professionalism, and I''ll expedite it for you."

    ...

    ...

 Chapter 11: Chapter 11 Upgrade! Minor Pure Yang Skill Level 6!

    On the second day.As the red sun rose, its path shone brightly.

    Yi Chen stood in a place of scenic mountains and clear waters, before him lay a solitary raised grave.

    After Shi Shoufu died yesterday, he first deliberately trashed the room, then came out and falsely claimed that the mastermind behind the scenes had been severely injured by his hand and fled far away, not long to live.

    However, that murderer, with a diseased heart full of hatred, lashed out in his final moments, severing the wrist of Fu Shou Tang''s Boss Shi and causing his death.

    The matter was concluded.

    Of course, this version of the story naturally couldn''t deceive Master Lianhua.

    However, after Yi Chen earnestly appealed to him and reasoned with him and then copied the "Corpse Sutra" left by Shi Shoufu to give to Master Lianhua, Master Lianhua fell silent.

    He simply uttered, "What is this thing called love that teaches men to vow their life and death to each other?" and then spoke no more.

    Yi Chen set the narrative, Master Lianhua tacitly agreed, and the rest, even if doubtful, had to hold their noses and accept it.

    Who with such low emotional intelligence would dare to question Taoist Yi Chengzi who casually smashed armored zombies for fun?

    Sometimes the truth isn''t important, who speaks it is.

    Once one has power, they gain the right to define certain things. If you can''t accept it, just keep it to yourself.

    "Boss Shi, the first promise I made to you has been fulfilled; Xiao Cui''s ashes after cremation have also been secretly buried next to you. This spot is blessed with good fengshui, a fine burial site, you and Xiao Cui rest easy here."

    "I won''t charge you for the fengshui consultation."

    "Some things can''t be blamed on me. If I were to say you were the mastermind behind the crime, I fear your grave would be dug open sooner or later. You wouldn''t pass the official''s scrutiny, so fabricating this tall tale was already doing my best."

    "Right, as for the deed to your Fu Shou Tang, I can''t be bothered to take it. I''ve told the elders of your town, the deed will be kept at your Shi family''s ancestral hall. Should your brother return from his journey one day, he can retrieve it himself."

    After reciting the Rebirth Mantra three more times to the grave mound before him, Yi Chen decided to leave; there was still the second promise he made to Boss Shi that hadn''t been fulfilled.

    Someone wasn''t going to enjoy a long life.

    But before leaving, there was one more thing he had to do.

    "Deep Red, give me a boost. Minor Pure Yang Skill, break through for me!" Yi Chen silently exclaimed in his heart.

    This place was sparsely populated, perfect for a breakthrough.

    [Minor Pure Yang Skill has broken through to the sixth level. An additional expenditure of ten Deep Red Points is required to extrapolate the subsequent technique, totaling fifty Deep Red Points needed for the breakthrough. Confirm breakthrough? Yes/No]

    "Eh, a price hike? It actually requires an extra ten points to deduce the subsequent Minor Pure Yang Skill technique?" Yi Chen curled his lips, muttered a complaint about the profiteer, and then chose yes.

    The fifty Deep Red Points were deducted in the blink of an eye, as a torrent of memories suddenly flooded his mind.

    Within that span of memory, he racked his brain tirelessly studying the Minor Pure Yang Skill, finally perfecting the pathway to the sixth level.

    Afterward, Yi Chen''s spirit became momentarily dazed; he saw a Daoist atop a mountain peak, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth without rest, day and night, assiduously circulating the Minor Pure Yang Skill.

    The deep red Inner Qi within his body grew increasingly saturated over time, until one day, a wisp of faint purple Inner Qi appeared within him.

    This thread of faint purple Inner Qi was like a gluttonous beast¡ªit emerged to greedily consume the surrounding deep red Inner Qi, slowly transforming it.

    Ninety-nine years passed in the blink of an eye. The young Daoist had become an old man with white hair; the deep red Inner Qi within him had all transformed into surging faint purple Pure Yang Inner Qi.

    Inner Qi liquefied, red turned to purple, and the Minor Pure Yang Skill finally reached the sixth level.

    Though the transformation would take long to describe, in reality, it was completed in just a moment. Yi Chen opened his eyes again, now with a faint purple hue in his gaze.

    A surge of faint purple Pure Yang Inner Qi, far exceeding its previous state, suddenly appeared within his meridians.

    This power was so strong that, wave after wave, it continuously strengthened his body. Every cell in his body, nourished by the faint purple Inner Qi, shone with a crystal-like luster as if it had been revitalized by a potent elixir.

    The faint purple Inner Qi, with each powerful circulation, also began to seep into his bones, which started to show faint purple lines as if carved from white jade.

    The lines, as though naturally formed or like cryptic symbols, were gracefully shaped, appearing profound and mysterious.

    More than ten seconds later, the entire enhancement was completed, and a Daoist with the presence of a majestic mountain emerged.

    Under the enhancement of the faint purple Pure Yang Inner Qi, Yi Chen''s height surged a few centimeters above his six-foot-three stature, nearing two meters tall. His arms became muscular and sinewy, tough enough to stop a charging horse.

    He lightly swung his fist at a tree in front of him, releasing a burst of faint purple Qi from his body that struck the trunk, as thick as a sea bowl. The tree was cleanly sliced as if by a high-temperature oxy-acetylene cutting torch, snapping apart with a charred cross-section and crashing down with a thunderous fall.

    At this moment, the display panel on Yi Chen''s retinal screen also underwent corresponding changes.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 18/97]

    [Strength: 27.0, Stamina: 24.0, Spirit: 27, Agility: 23] (normal human value is 1)

    [Cultivation Technique: Minor Pure Yang Skill Level 6 (Traits: Body Enhancement, Intense Heat, Divine Power, Evil Warding, Resilience). Active Skill: Yang Extreme Change (Strength triples for ten minutes, after which Inner Qi and Strength temporarily reduce to 70% of the original value.)]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill Lv1, Auspicious Event Host Lv2, Funeral Host Lv3, Culinary Skill Lv3]

    [Origin Point: 1.0] (Can be obtained through physical training, used to enhance the four dimensions of strength, stamina, spirit, and agility.)

    [Deep Red Value: 16.] (Can be obtained through special items or by slaying demons and evil beings. Used to enhance cultivation levels or for deduction.)

    "Good! You truly didn''t disappoint me, Deep Red."

    "With my effort and your unrivaled wisdom, we''ve completed in just over ten seconds the journey that would take others ninety-nine years."

    "Let''s push harder; I feel that I''m not far from the power of Master''s Pure Yang True Force."

    This improvement significantly raised Yi Chen''s four-dimensional stats, especially his strength, which increased to 27 points, the most outstanding among his dimensions. His lifespan also increased by five years, which pleased him greatly.

    Besides, the sixth level of the Minor Pure Yang Skill now included an active skill called Yang Extreme Change which tripled his strength for ten minutes. Although after the effect, both Inner Qi and strength would weaken to seventy percent of their original value.

    But in a fight where life and death could hinge on a split second, even a slight increase in strength could tip the scales of victory in his favor, let alone a threefold increase.

    As for the color change of the Inner Qi to faint purple, although Yi Chen had never heard of Minor Pure Yang Skill being cultivated into faint purple Pure Yang Inner Qi before, and his master, a person of spiritual nature, also possessed a red-colored, domineering Pure Yang True Force, Yi Chen didn''t care.

    As long as it was powerful and the potency was strong enough, color was a minor issue. Even if it turned pink, he wouldn''t mind. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Though, the image of a Daoist exorcising demons with pink Inner Qi was somewhat unconventional...

    "However, it seems I''ve taken a path that''s entirely different from that of spiritual nature. Is this the path of martial arts or the way of spirit? No spirituality, but I have Deep Red Points to make up for it?" After dispersing the faint purple Pure Yang Inner Qi, Yi Chen''s height also returned to just over one meter ninety.

    He stroked his smooth chin, pondering to himself.

    Regarding the Yang Extreme Change active skill derived from the breakthrough of the Minor Pure Yang Skill, Yi Chen decided to try it out after returning to the Taoist temple.

 Chapter 12: Chapter 12 Chief Zhangs Ambition, Taoist Priest, I Desire Progress So Much.

    "Taoist! Taoist! I''ve finally found you. Chief Wu is hosting a banquet at noon to treat you and Master Lianhua to a meal," Chief Zhang, panting heavily, ran over and said on the mountain road.This time, Chief Zhang used the honorific ''you''.

    "Oh? Chief Wu wants to invite me to a meal again? Just right, I wanted to thank Chief Wu for his hospitality yesterday before I left," Yi Chen said with a wide smile upon hearing the news, unable to help but laugh.

    "Let''s go, lead the way ahead!" Yi Chen waved his hand grandly.

    Chief Zhang, staring at Yi Chen''s tall figure, felt a sense of trance in his heart. He had an odd feeling: how come, after just a few hours apart, Yi Taoist seemed even stronger?

    "Could it be that the Taoist had been holding back all this time? Sss! How old is the Taoist anyway?" Chief Zhang''s pupils shrank in shock.

    This was a golden thigh indeed.

    Hidden Dragon Temple truly had a golden signboard.

    After pondering for a moment, he winced as he took out a silver ingot and stealthily passed it over.

    Yi Chen glanced at it. It was no light weight, estimated to be around twenty taels, but he didn''t immediately reach out to take it.

    Some silver burns the hands.

    "Chief Zhang, what do you mean by this?"

    Chief Zhang replied with a humble smile, "In a few days, the county magistrate will likely host a banquet to honor you, Taoist, and also present the final payment of three hundred taels for resolving the recent evil spirits'' incident."

    "I was thinking that perhaps you could speak a few kind words on my behalf in front of the county magistrate then."

    "Didn''t the former Chief Constable die in Qingyuan Town?"

    "Taoist, I''m so eager to advance."

    Yi Chen: "..." Aba aba.

    In fact, Yi Chen had a fairly good impression of Chief Zhang. Pursuing advancement wasn''t a bad thing per se, mainly because one needed to get things done and be capable. In the incident of the disturbance caused by evil spirits in Qingyuan Town, Chief Zhang hadn''t dropped the ball and had been fully involved.

    There had been no merit, but there was hard work, and he hadn''t fed fewer mosquitoes while following him.

    At least Chief Zhang was the only constable from Fengyun County who had shown up, and such behavior deserved commendation, albeit his political acumen was a bit low.

    Direct bribery? Who did he think he, Yi Chengzi, was? He had promised his master to follow the path of benevolence and righteousness.

    Thinking this, Yi Chen''s face grew stern:

    "Chief Zhang, what kind of person do you take me, Yi Chengzi, for?"

    "How can you look at me like this, Fortune Begets Boundless Heaven Honored One."

    "If you truly have your heart set on the Way, you could simply donate some incense money to the merit box at my Hidden Dragon Temple. I''ve taken note of your contribution this time."

    Yi Chen made his point and stopped there; what came next would depend on Chief Zhang''s perceptiveness.

    Sure enough, Chief Zhang showed good intuition, potentially having the makings of a Chief Constable, as he quickly said:

    "Taoist, my words were amiss."

    "I aim for the Way, I too can aim for the Way, ah."

    "I just misspoke, see what a mess this mouth of mine made. My heart is steadfast in aspiring to the Way, and Hidden Dragon Temple is the pillar of the Dao Sect in Fengyun County. This ingot of silver is a donation for the temple incense, to prove the sincerity of my heart towards the Way."

    "Is that so," Yi Chen said, his expression easing slightly, and he nodded, "Since it''s incense silver for Daozun, then I shall reluctantly accept it on behalf."

    "Don''t do this next time, alright?"

    Chief Zhang nodded repeatedly.

    Walking along the mountain road, Yi Chen couldn''t help but decide to give a few words of advice.

    "Chief Zhang, being courageous in your duties is good, but you must never engage in corrupt practices. We can earn clean money in a completely legal and proper way."

    "Taoist, I understand, I understand."

    "You don''t understand a damn thing!"

    "A good Chief Constable should not always look for the tiniest profits from the poor; the highest realm of making money is to pluck the goose without it hissing. Do you understand?"

    "Your predecessor was a fool, earning little and stirring up a stink, incurring hatred from others, and his untimely death was his retribution."

    "Such a person, I wouldn''t even recite the Rebirth Mantra for him."

    "Lean in closer, I''ll teach you a few tricks."

    Chief Zhang, with a face full of anticipation, leaned in closer, and after a while, his expression became increasingly dumbfounded, he said with a morose face, "Taoist, I can''t understand what you''re talking about."

    At this point, Chief Zhang''s mind was filled with thoughts of review, empowerment, levers, benchmarking, settling, middle structures, funnels, closed loops, techniques, compliance, alignment, cross-checking, pushback, implementation, links, matrices, cognition, coordination, feedback, connection, compatibility, packaging...

    It sounded impressive, yet as incomprehensible as an arcane text.

    "Alas, such a blockhead," Yi Chen sighed.

    He decided to make his point even more clear.

    "Fengyun County has a Treasure Street, within your jurisdiction, where fake antiques are sold, along with overlord chickens for fishing, fake medicines, and so forth. Is there one good person among them? Even those who sell genuine items only open shop every three years, and they make enough profit for three years'' worth. The profit margins are so high that I''m tempted to get involved, if not for my master''s forbiddance."

    Yi Chen''s face carried a look of regret at this moment.

    "Do you think these people are lacking money? They''re always fighting over spots and not maintaining hygiene, littering everywhere. Is this acceptable?"

    "You should draw up some stall spaces with lime, charge them stall fees."

    "Hire some of the old, weak, sick, and disabled to handle the sanitation, collect their sanitation fees, and give me the monthly pay at the full rate of a healthy person. Don''t hire anyone good; just choose the pitiful ones who are honest and kind-hearted, as doing so counts as accumulating virtue."

    "With this, you''ll have an easier time having sons without skin diseases."

    Upon hearing this, Chief Zhang''s face lit up with admiration, looking at Yi Chen with reverence, "Taoist, I''ve got it, I''ve had my realization, ah."

    "You''ve realized a fart!"

    "How are you going to divide the money you collect?"

    "Ah?"

    "The waters here are deep, do you think you can handle them?"

    "You conspire with a few friends who are also constables, keep the money collected, you all split twenty percent, thirty percent goes to the Prefectural Chief, fifty percent to the County Magistrate."

    "Why does the Prefectural Chief gets thirty percent, and the County Magistrate receives fifty percent, you''ll have to figure out on your own."

    "Also, don''t be too harsh with collecting booth fees and sanitation fees, you want a steady stream, not crossing people''s bottom lines."

    At this moment, Chief Zhang admired Yi Chen so much that he was completely convinced, "Taoist, this time I really get it, thirty percent goes to the Prefectural Chief because he''s in charge of the armed force, and in case of a conflict, we need him to step in, while fifty percent to the County Magistrate because those who run stalls are often from influential city families who need the County Magistrate to mediate."

    "A steady income is to avoid uniting those people to flip the tables on us, resulting in the higher-ups scapegoating us."

    "With this round of maneuvers, I have taken good care of colleagues and superiors, who else if not me should be the Chief Constable?" Chief Zhang was grinning from ear to ear, as if he had heard music from heaven.

    "You''ve finally caught on a bit, remember, in a lucrative business, whoever has money, that''s who you make a profit from. Don''t scrape for oil from the poor devils'' mosquito legs, let them be."

    "Remember, after it''s all set, whoever is still selling Overlord Chicken, along with all sorts of junk on Treasure Street, have their stalls smashed. Without innovation, they just know how to copy, it''s those people who spoil the industry."

    Yi Chen said furiously.

    If it weren''t for too many copycats replicating his methods, he could have raked in more rotten money.

    Only those who have been soaked by the rain know to break other people''s umbrellas when it rains.

    If I can''t sell, neither can any of you.

    Yi Chen had heard the news; now there was a growing trend of people selling the Overlord Chicken.

    Piracy, blatant piracy, and they didn''t even pay him royalties¡ªoutrageous!

    Chief Zhang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead... So, it turns out you''re the grand master.

    "Rest assured, Taoist, I will definitely crack down hard on this," Chief Zhang assured while thumping his chest.

    "Taoist, may I take you as my master?"

    "No, a master leads you to the door, sentencing depends on the individual."

    "Ah???"

    "My mistake, a master leads you to the door, cultivation depends on the individual. Your comprehension is poor, I can''t teach you. In the future, just manage your business on Treasure Street, spend less money on brothels and listening to songs, do more good deeds to accumulate virtue, use your influence to do a few more practical things."

    "If you cause trouble in the future and use my name, saying I taught you, then I will recite the Rebirth Mantra for you." Yi Chen had a kind and benevolent smile.

    Chief Zhang: "..."

    "Rest assured, Taoist, I definitely wouldn''t dare. I want to make progress to do more for the people of Fengyun County. From now on, without your nod, I''ll just stick to managing business on Treasure Street."

    Heeding advice brings a full meal, this is a principle Chief Zhang still understands.

    Yi Chen smiled upon hearing this. Chief Zhang now had a bit of a Chief Constable''s air about him, and he gave Chief Zhang a slight nod and said:

    "Little Zhang, I am now ordering you to do something for me, go down the mountain and investigate whether the owner of the Fortune Longevity Hall, Boss Shi, is a person who loves to do good deeds."

    "As well as the reputation of Wu Changshou, the Mayor of Qingyuan Town, and the issue of a girl named Xiao Cui who committed suicide by jumping into a river more than two months ago, find out the bottom line for me."

    "Also, if anything big or small happens in Fengyun County that strikes you as odd, feel free to send someone to Hidden Dragon Temple to inform me."

    "Alright, Master, I will take care of it thoroughly for you," Chief Zhang suddenly had an epiphany and seized the opportunity.

    Yi Chen looked at Chief Zhang with surprise and smiled:

    "You are progressing quickly, aren''t you?"

    "Well then, from now on, you will be my named disciple. If anyone gives you trouble in the future, or you encounter anything sinister, just come to Hidden Dragon Temple to find me." Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "As long as it''s not your fault, I''d like to see who dares not give Daozun a bit of respect."

    "Disciple, the more I look at you, the more you seem like the Chief Constable of Fengyun County."

    Chief Zhang: "It''s all thanks to the master''s cultivation."

    Yi Chen: "It''s all down to your own performance, there''s not much I can help you with."

    Half a cup of tea time later.

    Chief Zhang couldn''t help asking, "Master, how come you understand so many tactics at such a young age? Could it be that there are truly those who are born with knowledge?"

    "The luck of the immeasurable heavenly noble, my disciple, what born with knowledge? It''s mainly because you lack spirit."

    "Not like your master, I have so much spirit that it''s almost overflowing."

    "Then how do I acquire that kind of spirit?"

    At that moment, a reminiscent look appeared on Yi Chen''s face as he said faintly:

    "Simple, experience more, observe more, learn more.

    Get conned every day, each con different from the last; if you persist for some time and aren''t dead yet, then you''ve got it."

    Chief Zhang: "..."

    "Or maybe I just do whatever the master tells me to."

    Yi Chen paused and said, "Actually, you do have some spirit, my disciple, your master almost missed it."

    Yi Chen had made a spur-of-the-moment decision to take Chief Zhang as his named disciple, a casual move in his game of chess.

    Placing a confidant at the entrance of the yamen could be greatly beneficial in gathering information for him, especially to keep an eye out for anyone targeting Hidden Dragon Temple.

    He hardly needed to invest anything, just consider it planting a seed on a whim; whether it bore fruit or not, he would leave it to fate.

    As for Chief Zhang betraying him, Yi Chen didn''t consider it because he would instill in him the principles of righteousness to guide him back on the right path.

    Is the Taoist''s boat like a pleasure boat that you can board or disembark at will, where even a dog barking a few extra times at Hidden Dragon Temple has to face a couple of slaps? Betray? Hiss, even the Taoist himself doesn''t dare to think about the consequences.

 Chapter 13: Chapter 13 If good and evil go unrewarded, heaven and earth must be partial

    The journey was silent, and the location where Shi Shoufu and Xiao Cui were buried wasn''t very high. As Chief Zhang also had martial arts skills, the two quickly descended the mountain."Master, there''s still some time before the noon banquet, I''ll go and investigate the matter you mentioned first, is that alright?"

    After undergoing Yi Chen''s PUA education, Chief Zhang''s initiative had greatly improved.

    "Great, go for it©d(?¡ã?¡ã?)??," Yi Chen responded with a bow.

    Watching Chief Zhang''s receding figure, Yi Chen narrowed his eyes and started walking in the opposite direction.

    There was still time, so he also wanted to investigate the lives of Shi Shoufu, Xiao Cui, and Mayor Wu in his own way. He would then cross-reference his findings with Chief Zhang''s investigation results for confirmation.

    A wise man listens to all sides while a fool clings to his own view. He couldn''t just take Shi Shoufu''s word for it, especially since he had made it clear beforehand: if Shi Shoufu''s words were true, only then would he act as an agent of heavenly punishment and lend a hand.

    If Shi Shoufu dared to deceive him,

    What was buried could be excavated, and even ashes could be scattered.

    ....

    ....

    An hour later, the two met in a private room of a small tavern in town.

    After cross-referencing, Yi Chen confirmed that Shi Shoufu''s words were not false, and even understated.

    One shouldn''t judge by appearance, as the sea''s depth is immeasurable.

    Some appear kind and benevolent yet have hearts like serpents and scorpions.

    Some look hideous but have kind hearts.

    Mayor Wu, always smiling like a benevolent Buddha, was secretly committing acts that were too numerous to record.

    Monopolizing the fur trade, oppressing the villagers, running gambling dens and brothels, loan sharking¡ªwith both overt and covert means he crushed his competitors, leading to their ruin, and then forced himself upon their wives...

    He even enticed people to gamble. A rich young man named Jia Fugui was tricked into losing his ancestral home and has now joined the Beggar Sect to start anew.

    According to the information Chief Zhang got from acquaintances, Mayor Wu, truly a lustful ghost, had even... committed adultery, which had become a semi-public secret in Qingyuan Town.

    "Apprentice, elaborate, this is what I love to hear."

    Startled, Chief Zhang froze. Was his master really that wild?

    However, he quickly regained composure and vividly recounted all the information he had heard.

    Half an hour later, Chief Zhang''s mouth was dry from talking. He had highlighted Mayor Wu''s misdeeds and even mentioned the victims'' names.

    Then he took the opportunity to pour himself a cup of turbid wine to rinse his mouth and moisten his throat before speaking,

    "Master, are you investigating these to discipline Mayor Wu?"

    "This Wu Changshou has tenuous connections to the county and even the provincial city¡ªthey are all intertwined, you scratch my back, I scratch yours. It''s not easy to deal with on the surface."

    Chief Zhang, who was about to pour another cup of turbid wine to quench his thirst, suddenly met Yi Chen''s eyes, calm as the deep sea, dark and deep, as if they could suck in a person''s soul.

    His hand froze mid-air.

    The ethereal voice of Yi Chen reached his ears, "Apprentice, I shall teach you another lesson today."

    "Things in society, best not to probe too deeply.

    "Excessive curiosity will only harm you.

    "Have you realized this?"

    Upon hearing these words, a chill went through Chief Zhang''s heart, and he pretended to be an ostrich, deepening his understanding of the master he had just recognized today.

    When he looked up again, Yi Chen''s figure was nowhere to be seen, only the lines written with turbid wine on the table remained.

    He read them out, word by word.

    With a single thought born, heaven and earth are fully aware.

    Without retribution for good or evil, the cosmos must hold a bias.

    He looked up sharply at the spot where Yi Chen had been seated, now empty; however, he could imagine his cheap master angrily writing these four lines.

    He stood up abruptly, then slumped back down.

    "Without retribution for good or evil, the cosmos must hold a bias."

    "Master, naturally rewarding good and punishing evil is a grand virtue of the human realm, but if you meddle too much, I fear you will not meet a good end."

    "An excessive sense of justice will only harm you.

    "In this life, it''s better sometimes to be muddled."

    If Yi Chen could listen to his cheap disciple''s inner voice right now, he might just laugh. Apprentice, you think too highly of your master.

    He had no intention nor the strength and courage to cleanse the entire world; doing what he could within his power, if he encountered evil, sweeping it out was the extent of his duty.

    He was never traditionally perceived as a ''good person''; otherwise, why would Bai Yunzi, on his deathbed, say he had a heavy heart and a wicked hand?

    But he was not an unfeeling, mad sociopath either. He was a person with a bottom line, willing to do a small deed for the greater benefit of the world.

    If it weren''t so, Bai Yunzi, who couldn''t tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes, would have expelled him from the sect long ago.

    Yi Taoist has always been a not so good ''good person'', and not so bad ''bad person''; his true colors never changed.

    .....

    .....

    At the Wu family estate.

    The banquet and dance began.

    Dong dong dong dong.

    As the host, Mayor Wu naturally sat at the main seat.

    Yi Chen sat to his left, Master Lianhua to his right, while Chief Zhang, representing the government office, sat behind Yi Chen. Distinguished merchants and guests from Qingyuan Town took their respectful places, each at his seat, partaking in the feast.

    "Today, our gathering is graced by esteemed guests; a fine assembly indeed. I, Wu Changshou, couldn''t be more delighted that you all could attend today''s banquet at my Wu family home."

    Yi Chen and Master Lianhua wore smiles on their faces but said nothing, while the others were quick to proclaim their unworthiness.

    Wu Changshou continued,

    "Especially this Yi Taoist sitting below us, who is the distinguished disciple of Bai Yunzi from Hidden Dragon Temple, adept in Daoist arts. He has expelled the evil spirits that plagued our Qingyuan town, restoring trade to its former flow. Let us all toast to Taoist Yi Chengzi and Master Lianhua."

    "Good!"

    "To Taoist Yi Chengzi!"

    "To Master Lianhua!"

    The atmosphere surged as everyone heartily agreed, with flattery flowing like a tide. Yi Chen was even more social, draining his cup with each toast, which left Chief Zhang utterly dumbfounded. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Master, you truly do not disappoint.

    As round after round of toasts passed, the ambiance grew increasingly warm.

    Yi Chen, his face flushed with alcohol, took the opportunity to stroll to Mayor Wu''s side, clapped him on the shoulder, and addressed him as "Old Brother." He said if any malevolent spirits cause trouble again, just send someone to notify Hidden Dragon Temple, and he would surely take care of it thoroughly.

    Mayor Wu was beaming with delight at these words, praising Yi Chengzi for his straightforward nature. He didn''t notice, however, the fleeting trace of faint purple Pure Yang Inner Qi that passed when Yi Chen patted his shoulder.

    If Yi Chen''s Minor Pure Yang Skill were still at the fifth level, he would have never dared to do such a thing.

    But ever since Yi Chen''s Minor Pure Yang Skill broke through to the sixth level, his control over Pure Yang Inner Qi had reached a wondrously subtle level. He was confident that even if Master Lianhua kept a constant eye on him, he might not detect his slight movements.

    Naturally, Mayor Wu was even less likely to notice. In the midst of the celebratory banquet, Yi Chen unnoticeably added a few more flattering pats, further inflating Wu''s ego. Wu felt like the brightest star of the evening.

    What he didn''t realize was that this undetectable Inner Qi had already begun eroding the blood vessels connected to his heart. On the surface, it seemed like nothing was amiss, but in reality, the vessels had become fragile. The moment his excitement became excessive or he took any stimulant drugs, the pressure on his heart would spike dramatically.

    If several more exciting incidents occurred, Mayor Wu was bound to die within three days.

    The cause of death, windstroke!

    Even the most skilled coroners would fail to trace any clue.

    There existed a way to survive, which was abstinence and nurturing health, avoiding anger and desires.

    However, considering Mayor Wu''s infamous lecherous nature, this was exceedingly difficult.

    "Continue the music."

    "Continue the dance!"

    Mayor Wu was too delighted that day. With a clap of his hands, another group of dancing girls entered, clad in sheer veils, their graceful movements making even Yi Chen take a few extra glances.

    Surprisingly, the mayor of a mere Qingyuan town was so lavish as to afford so many dancers.

    Deserving its reputation as Fengyun County''s trading hub, it truly was wealthy.

    Hmm, and his taste wasn''t bad either, not a single unpleasant sight to be seen¡ªa detail that earned Yi Chen''s approval.

    Time at the banquet flew by, and as the phrase goes, all gatherings must come to an end. Two hours later, the guests dispersed.

    The mood throughout the banquet was wonderful; the dancing girls performed excellently. Yi Chen mingled comfortably, taking stock of the wealth of the various magnates present to know how to price his services when they came seeking aid from Hidden Dragon Temple for evil spirits in the future, haha.

    Of course, there were regrets. He never got a chance to see Mayor Wu''s daughter-in-law, whose beauty was said to be extraordinary¡ªa missed opportunity that left him feeling incomplete.

    How Yi Taoist lamented his unfulfilled curiosity!

    But having some regrets in life is normal. Perfection can be less beautiful, and a breeze can easily scatter these minor disappointments.

    Outside the Wu estate, Mayor Wu clung to Yi Chen''s sleeve, reluctant to see him leave.

    He found Taoist Yi Chengzi to be an extraordinary person.

    Pleasant in conversation, profound in Daoist arts, some words striking right to his heart. Despite their brief acquaintance, they seemed like old friends.

    Wu handed out two envelopes, one each to Yi Chen and Master Lianhua, saying,

    "I, Wu, have always respected Daoists and Buddhists. Thank you for your assistance this time, gentlemen. Here is a small token of my appreciation, please accept."

    Yi Chen exchanged a smile with Master Lianhua and took the envelope first.

    Master Lianhua also accepted his with a smile.

    Sometimes, the details and alacrity are revealed in these seemingly trivial acts.

    Although Yi Chen felt capable enough to take Master Lianhua in a fight, after all, Master Lianhua was his master''s friend and a senior.

    How could you let a senior initiate, taking a red packet before you? Is that proper?

    If he doesn''t take it first, how could Master Lianhua follow?

    If neither of them take it, how would the temple and Daoist sanctuary progress?

    Maintenance for the ever-burning lanterns and temple repairs, they all cost money.

    See, now everyone is in harmony.

    If not earning from the wealthy, whom do you plan to exploit? It''s simply wrong.

    Feeling the envelopes, Yi Chen knew at a touch that inside were two fifty tael banknotes for him, while Master Lianhua''s envelope, he estimated, contained only one.

    This was the premium Yi Taoist earned through his exceptional professional skills.

    "Mayor Wu, you''re too kind. There''s no need for a send-off. Our paths will cross again in the future," Yi Chen graciously bowed to Wu Changshou and said.

    However, inwardly he added to himself, if you indeed have a future.

    After bidding farewell, Master Lianhua departed first.

    Yi Chen, eyeing the rosy-cheeked Mayor Wu, pinched the envelope and laughed, "This humble Daoist knows a bit of medicine. Mayor Wu, you must not be as rash as in your youth. Such behavior is detrimental to your health."

    Winking, he turned and strode away laughing.

    "A maiden fair at twenty-eight, a body soft as curd; girdle-bound, her sword could cut down any foolish cur."

    "Openly, you see not heads fall; in secret, you let men''s marrow dry."

    Mayor Wu laughed even brighter behind him.

    Yi Chengzi Taoist could even spin poetry off the cuff¡ªhe truly was extraordinary, so extraordinary, wondrous in person and verse alike.

 Chapter 14: Chapter 14 The Way Home, The Terrifying Red House

    The banquet dragged on too late, and by now it was already the hour of Shen. Yi Chen, carrying the Dragon-Slaying Sword, hurried off. If he didn''t move quickly, he wouldn''t make it back to the Hidden Dragon Temple before nightfall.Before leaving the town, Yi Chen remembered that the two adorable kids, Qing Feng and Ming Yue, liked candied hawthorns on a stick, so he bought out the entire stick from the street vendor.

    Just as he was about to leave Qingyuan Town with his sticks of candied hawthorns, he happened upon an old acquaintance, Ji Bochang, who was redolent of medicinal plasters and had his hand wrapped in white cloth¡ªa likely sign of a break. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Ji Bochang, I hope your injuries aren''t too serious," Yi Chen said, pausing to greet him.

    "Ah, it''s Taoist Yi Chengzi. My left shoulder took a nasty hit from that zombie, and the bone''s a bit cracked, but with some rest, I''ll be fine¡ªit''s not a big deal."

    "I''ve been getting hurt since I was a kid; it''s nothing new to me."

    "I''m used to it by now. When I was young, I''d get kicked by cows, chased by wild boars in the mountains, and get cramps while swimming in the Qingshui River. But ever since I mastered the Fiery Heart Technique, these incidents have mostly stopped happening."

    Ji Bochang smiled brightly and openly, his short stature and middle age notwithstanding¡ªhe still laughed like a big boy, even with bandages on.

    At that moment, a young man beside Ji Bochang muttered under his breath, "Boss, you got struck by lightning during last year''s rainstorm though."

    "You''re such a talkative brat," scolded Ji Bochang, unable to hold back.

    Yi Chen: "..."

    "Ji Bochang, when I first met you, there was something I wasn''t sure whether I should say or not."

    "You needn''t have any reservations, Taoist. Speak freely," Ji Bochang said, his eyes brightening. He felt that he had indeed been particularly unlucky throughout his life.

    He had heard from his underlings about this Yi Taoist who could divine with great accuracy, even predicting on the spot that the red-dressed female zombie would appear near Mayor Wu''s residence and intercepted it accordingly.

    He still remembered Yi Chen''s hesitant expression when they first met; surely Yi Taoist must have perceived something.

    "Very well," Yi Chen said.

    "''The Book of Changes'' says, first is fate, second luck, third comes geomancy, fourth is accumulating virtue, fifth is scholarship, sixth reputation, seventh appearance, eighth is respecting deities, ninth making noble connections, tenth cultivating health."

    "If Ji Bochang trusts in me, you might consider changing your name," suggested Yi Chen.

    "Ji Bochang, your name is too grand; I can handle it, but perhaps your destiny cannot."

    "To be frank, the fact that you have lived this long, I believe is the result of your family''s accumulated virtue."

    "Change your name, and in the future, do more good deeds. I believe your luck will improve."

    Yi Chen laughed heartily, not waiting for Ji Bochang to respond. With the candied hawthorns in hand and the Dragon-Slaying Sword on his back, he took big strides in the direction away from Qingyuan Town, leaving nothing but verses of a Daoist song echoing between heaven and earth.

    A whit of kindness, be convenient to others.

    A whit of evil, advise you not to commit.

    To bully brings misfortune, to help brings fortune.

    Heaven''s law is clear, retribution comes swift.

    Hear my words, deities admire, demons cower.

    "These timeless words of warning have a profound meaning. Taoist, you truly are a great and enlightened being," Ji Bochang said, watching Yi Chen''s receding figure. He decided then and there to change his name¡ªreplacing the character ''Bo'' with ''Dan'' should cause no harm.

    .....

    .....

    The verses Yi Chen recited were admonitions from Lu Dongbin, the revered Pure Yang ancestor of his former life. Yi Chen''s memory of the verses was limited; as he recited one, he lost another.

    Naturally, he made his exit quickly; that way, his image as a great enlightened being wouldn''t crumble.

    Planning ahead, such a strategy only needed a few more applications, build up the reputation, establish the persona. Once everyone starts calling him a great enlightened being, wouldn''t the wealth roll in thereafter?

    In the future, if anyone asks him to officiate at a wedding or funeral, would they offer just ten or twenty taels of silver and expect a distinguished person like him to accept it? You wouldn''t even dare to suggest it.

    This approach is about empowerment, restructuring, value transformation, reaffirming recognition, refinement, influence. It is about becoming a leader in the premium sector of hosting life events.

    By turning his influence as a great enlightened being into brand value, once his reputation is established, wealthy folks even from ten miles away or further will feel compelled to invite Taoist Yi Chengzi from Hidden Dragon Temple to preside over their events with a resounding call¡ªif not, they''d lack prestige and filial piety.

    They''d be laughed at by their wealthy peers.

    This is the power of crafting a brand identity and telling captivating Taoist stories.

    While others are still stuck in small circles exploiting human frailties to sell tyrant chickens, making mere silver coins, Yi Taoist has raised his ambitions to personal branding and market cultivation.

    This is the vision.

    Whosever''s got the money, that''s whose money we earn.

    Once the brand image is solidly established, just for Taoist to make an appearance, it should be worth at least a hundred thousand!

    How many tyrant chickens would you have to sell to earn that back?

    .....

    .....

    The sun dipped low, and its remaining light bled like blood across the sky.

    Yi Chen walked along, dreaming of a splendid future. As time passed, the path grew narrower and the mountain road was flanked by dense woods.

    Suddenly, a rustling sound broke the silence.

    A sika deer bolted out from the left side of the thicket, its hooves stirring the wind, dashing across the mountain path to the right, running as if for its life.

    Closely trailing the deer was a swift yellow figure¡ªa fierce spotted tiger. Perhaps sensing that Yi Chen was not one to be trifled with, the tiger did not stop to attack him, but instead, with a powerful leap and a flick of its tail, continued its pursuit.

    Unfortunately, as the tiger adjusted its balance with a swish of its tail, it hit the stick brimming with candied hawthorns that Yi Chen was carrying, scattering them all over the ground.

    Yi Chen was stunned.

    In a moment of distraction, the candied hawthorns were gone?

    How was he going to explain this to Qing Feng and Ming Yue, the two adorable kids?

    Should he say that their eldest senior brother bought them treats, but along the way, he encountered a fierce spotted tiger and they were lost?

    "Damn it! Don''t run."

    "Spotted cat, you embrace a path to your demise."

    Yi Chen stared at the candied haws scattered in the mud on the ground, his expression changing as fast as a lantern show. With an angry roar, a faint purple Inner Qi emerged from his body, and he too, chased into the dense forest.

    Ever since his cultivation had significantly improved, he had not suffered such a loss.

    You think you can offend me and run away?

    Although the candied haws were gone, Yi Chen clearly remembered how Qing Feng and Ming Yue had a special fondness for orange cats.

    Sometimes female believers would come to Hidden Dragon Temple carrying orange cats, and Qing Feng and Ming Yue would use their cuteness to strike up a conversation and take the opportunity to pet the cats.

    The marbled tiger was also a cat; it was just significantly larger.

    Since the candied haws were gone, the plan was to knock the marbled tiger unconscious and take it back to settle the account.

    It was still indulging in the love for cats.

    This wild one had even more strength!

    He figured Qing Feng and Ming Yue would probably like it¡­ right?

    His vision elevated, overviewing the entire forest.

    A bizarre scene unfolded.

    A spotted deer took the lead, the marbled tiger following closely behind, with Yi Chen attached to the back end of the tiger. The distance between each was steadily decreasing.

    Although Yi Chen was not as agile as the spotted deer or tiger, his strength was astonishing, like a human bulldozer. He would go around the trees if he could, but if he couldn''t, he would smack down the trees as thick as a bowl with a slap of his hand.

    A cloud of dust rose along the way.

    With brute force, he miraculously closed the distance between himself and the marbled tiger.

    Closer.

    The distance between them grew even shorter.

    A hint of triumph flashed across Yi Chen''s mouth.

    But what he failed to notice was a faint mist beginning to spread throughout the forest, growing denser with time at an unnatural pace.

    Crack!

    The marbled tiger finally caught up with the spotted deer, with a powerful head pat, the deer''s neck snapped instantly.

    At the same time, Yi Chen''s right foot stomped the ground forcefully, and his faint purple Pure Yang Inner Qi explosively burst out. He leaped high into the air and landed in front of the marbled tiger in the posture of a crow flying on a plane.

    Pia, pia¡ªtwo crisp sounds.

    Two big pockets went down, and the marbled tiger vaguely saw its own mother, seeing double of everyone.

    Then, its fate was gripped by a pair of large hands like palm-leaf fans.

    "Little bastard, quite the runner."

    "If you don''t behave, I''ll kill you."

    "You overturned Taoist Yi''s candied haws; now you tell me how you''ll make it up."

    Yi Chen sneered.

    He''d already figured out how to deal with this marbled tiger. He would take it back, train it well, wear off its wildness, and Hidden Dragon Temple would gain a strong addition, raising its prestige to another level.

    Imagine, in the foggy dawn, the first light of morning shining through, a young novice with red lips and white teeth sitting backward on a tiger''s back, coming from the front yard of Hidden Dragon Temple, starlight shining on the novice''s face, under the gilded sign of Hidden Dragon Temple. This influence¡­ and having a painter ''accidentally'' record it. Heh heh heh.

    In this world, unlike his previous life, there were plenty of tigers and no concept of wildlife conservation.

    Life''s tough. A tiger performing for its livelihood is perfectly logical.

    What? You say wildness is difficult to tame?

    Ever heard of tiger bone wine? And tiger skin, tiger whip, tiger meat¡ªthey''re all hot commodities. There''s no loss in it.

    The marbled tiger leaned against a large tree, its hind legs on the ground, shivering all over.

    At this moment, the mist''s spread suddenly accelerated, becoming even thicker.

    Yi Chen finally felt something amiss.

    He found it odd. As the king of animals, why was this tiger so cowardly, only knowing to tremble? It should at least put up some resistance, move a bit, make things a bit exciting.

    He grabbed the marbled tiger by the scruff of the neck, looking around, and the mist churned. In front of him, a strange red residence suddenly appeared.

    Hiss!

    The sight of this red ancient residence made Yi Chen''s hair stand on end, as a bizarre atmosphere spread.

    He was one hundred percent sure he had not seen this red ancient residence before.

    Danger! Danger! Danger!

    His instincts were frantically warning him, and even the quiet, faint purple Pure Yang Inner Qi inside him began to stir slightly.

    Something was very wrong, terribly wrong.

    Yi Chen watched the red ancient residence in front of him with a solemn expression.

    It was his first encounter with such a strange occurrence, ultimately due to his strength skyrocketing twice in succession, resulting in a slight change in his mindset.

    He had lost his original reverence and steadiness.

    "People get carried away, huh? Into the deep forest you should not go, and the night road is not to be traveled," Yi Chen sighed deeply.

    He had a feeling that this time he had stumbled upon a huge trouble.

    But no panic. Yi Taoist decided to try and exploit a bug. He carried the marbled tiger by the scruff of its neck, turned around, and tried to retreat.

    Sure enough, trying to exploit the bug failed. The eerie red residence appeared in front of him again, as if sticking to his shadow.

    To the left, it was there.

    To the right, also.

    Hiss, it''s so intelligent...

 Chapter 16: Chapter 16 The Human-headed Capital Spectator, Melon Seller Old Man

    "Stripy Tiger, perk up, let''s go!""The best way to eliminate fear is to face it head-on. Keep it up, give it your all!"

    After signalling a thumbs-up to the brindled tiger, Yi Chen squatted down to lift the tiger''s nape with one hand and grasped the Dragon-Slaying Sword with the other, then marched straight out of the room.

    Fear couldn''t solve the crisis; the only option was to fight.

    Stepping out of the side chamber and into the main hall, a massive ancestral tablet bearing the character "Offer" caught his eye, with two white candles burning on the altar.

    Above the altar were thousands of spirit tablets arranged in rows. The number of tablets increased toward the bottom and decreased toward the top.

    The tablets barely bore any names, just portraits of individuals, and the majority of those portraits had turned to gray.

    By now, Yi Chen had a hunch that those whose portraits had turned gray probably didn''t meet a good end.

    Yi Chen looked towards the very top, where a vividly colored Daoist figure was placed, with a smile at the corner of his mouth and bold letters that read "Zhang Ji Shi".

    Hisss.

    Worthy of being a big shot who dared to suppress evil spirits alone in the Yin Manor, definitely high-profile.

    Top of the list, indeed.

    Yi Chen gasped in surprise, and regardless of whether the big shot could hear him or not, he hastily bowed to the spirit tablet and said, "Yi Chengzi, junior disciple from Hidden Dragon Temple, pays respect to the senior. If I''m lucky enough to escape today, I will surely return your jade tablet to Dragon Tiger Mountain in person."

    ¡­.

    He waited for a long while, but there was no response.

    Regrettably lifting his gaze, Yi Chen realized he still had to rely on himself. He looked at the white ancestral hall in the eerie red mansion, not daring to draw his sword and damage it.

    He had a strong intuition that if he acted recklessly, something bad would happen.

    Yi Chen had never heard of such a peculiar entity as the Yin Manor in recent years. It could very well be that Daoist Zhang Ji Shi had exhausted his methods to put its master into a dormant state, with only instincts remaining.

    If that was the case, acting impulsively might not only undo Daoist Zhang Ji Shi''s previous efforts but wake the master of the Yin Manor, leading to a horrific demise for himself.

    Frustrating!

    He was still not strong enough.

    The pride Yi Chen felt from his breakthrough to the sixth level of the Minor Pure Yang Skill vanished instantly as he realized that his current strength was still lacking, quickly disillusioned by the harsh reality.

    After waiting a little longer with no signs of any change, Yi Chen gradually lost his patience. He crossed the hall and headed for the side room on the right.

    Creeaak.

    Using the tiger head of the brindled tiger to push open the vermilion door of the side room, Yi Chen narrowed his eyes at the sight that met him.

    At this moment, he felt even more aware of the extraordinariness of the Yin Manor.

    As the door opened, it seemed as if the world had changed. Yi Chen found himself on a long street amid dense fog, with hazy silhouettes barely discernible in the murkiness.

    Yi Chen stamped his foot forcefully, and a solid sensation came from beneath. This place didn''t seem like an illusion; it was as if he had been transported to some mysterious space with a long street.

    "Damn, is this an illusion or reality? It''s too realistic," Yi Chen muttered as he tentatively continued along the street with the brindled tiger in tow.

    Strangely enough, as he walked, the fog on both sides began to dissipate, revealing the surrounding scenery.

    A hoarse old voice came from nearby: "Young Daoist, would you like to buy a melon? If you buy one, I''ll tell you how to get out of here."

    Upon hearing the voice, Yi Chen stopped in his tracks, a glint of joy in his heart. This was the first voice he had heard since entering the Yin Manor, and any change was a good sign.

    If he was really trapped in this damned place forever, exchanging blank stares with a dumb tiger every day, that would be too desperate.

    Yi Chen believed the dumb tiger probably felt the same way.

    Looking in the direction of the voice, Yi Chen saw an old man wearing a tattered straw hat crouching by the roadside, next to a white, worn flag that read "Premium Melons."

    The shabby little white flag, likely pilfered from a gravesite, was stained with dirt and yellowed with a foul stench.

    In front of the old man''s stall lay a pile of human heads arranged like melons...

    Fog on the long street reveals an old man, human heads displayed like melons in view.

    Having finally found a ghost he could speak with, Yi Chen naturally wouldn''t let the opportunity slip by, even though the scene was a bit unsettling.

    He walked forward and asked with a smile, "Old man, how much for a melon?"

    "Twenty years of your lifespan for one, and I''ll tell you how to get out," replied the old man squatting by the roadside, his mouth stretching into a grin that barely revealed three intact teeth.

    Yi Chen frowned: "Is your melon peel made of gold, or are the seeds made of gold? Twenty years of lifespan for one; are you trying to rob me?"

    Tossing aside the brindled tiger he''d been carrying, he continued, "Old man, see this fierce tiger next to me? It''s pure, and it''s a male with equipment. How about I trade it for one of your melons? Your teeth are so loose they''re about to fall out; it could do with a bit of reinforcement."

    "I don''t take trash; I want yours," the old man laughed even more presumptuously. As his grinning intensified, his mouth split open down to his neck, revealing two rows of sharp, inverted triangular teeth, and his fingernails started to turn black and grow longer.

    "My teeth¡­" S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ```

    Crack!

    The old man''s voice came to an abrupt halt.

    Yi Chen''s fan-like huge hand directly smacked his head into his chest cavity, and he sneered:

    "Old guy, what the hell are you laughing at!"

    "Has anyone ever told you that your laughter is really unpleasant?"

    How could there be a good end to a deal with a ghost? Words from a ghost are all lies, not even the punctuation can be trusted.

    Yi Chen never intended to deal with this ghostly thing from the beginning. He even deliberately threw the colorful tiger aside, fearing it would get hurt if the fight started, leaving its fate to chance.

    After smacking the old man''s head into his chest with one palm, Yi Chen gave a fierce kick towards the ''melon stall'', sending heads flying into the sky. He then waved the Dragon-Slaying Sword repeatedly, slashing at the falling heads as if playing Fruit Ninja.

    Swish swish swish.

    Most of the heads were split into halves by him.

    All of this happened in the blink of an eye. The old man''s headless body was twitching wildly on the ground. A new head grew from his neck, and the moment it opened its eyes, it saw its stall trashed and was so furious that the yin qi surged all over its body, clearly enraged.

    "Taoist, you dare to slash my melons," the old man howled to the sky. Suddenly, the heads scattered on the ground leapt up and attached to the old man''s ghostly body, embedding themselves into it, even his chest had two more heads now.

    In an instant, the old man turned into a giant deformed monster, chilling to the bone and likely to trigger trypophobia. After the transformation, the yin qi around him intensified. All the heads on his body opened their eyes and bared their fangs, roaring in rage:

    "Taoist, I want you dead!!!" His voice was thunderous.

    There was a sizzling sound.

    The newly grown head on the old man''s neck was swept away by a pale purple sword edge, and the good head rolled onto the ground, then was stepped on and exploded into a mist of blood by Yi Chen.

    "Old guy, is that all you''ve got?"

    At this moment, Yi Chen wielded the Dragon-Slaying Sword, pale purple Pure Yang Inner Qi ran wildly within him, his muscles bulged, and blue veins emerged on his skin like serpents, showing that he had pushed his Minor Pure Yang Skill''s Inner Qi to the limit at the sixth level.

    Facing the old man''s transformation, Yi Chen did not hesitate to use the active skill derived from breaking through to the sixth level of Pure Yang Skill, Extreme Yang Change, fearing he couldn''t overcome him otherwise.

    The strike was indeed exceedingly effective. Yi Chen himself possessed extraordinary strength; when it tripled in addition to the sharpness of the Dragon-Slaying Sword, he easily took off another of the old man''s heads.

    "You''re proud of having so many heads, right? Keep growing them, keep going. I love watching," Yi Chen said with a sneer, holding the Dragon-Slaying Sword and stepping towards the old man''s ghostly body. The pale purple sword light flickered unpredictably at the tip of the sword, searing the ground to a charred color.

    The old man squeezed out two conjoined heads from his neck, which were then effortlessly sliced through by Yi Chen''s sword. His neck was now smoking with black smoke from the erosion of Pure Yang Qi, and no new heads were willing to grow anymore.

    "Come on then, keep growing. Let''s see if your heads grow faster or my sword is quicker." Yi Chen said with a slight smile.

    "You... How has your aura suddenly surged? And that sword of yours, damn it..." Seeing this, the old man''s expression wildly changed; he was beginning to doubt his ghostly existence.

    Although he no longer had heads on his neck, there were plenty more embedded in his body, which did not hinder his sight.

    With every step Yi Chen took forward, the old man took a step back.

    One step forward, one step back.

    "You... don''t come any closer... ah"

    "I don''t sell melons anymore, okay?"

    "Don''t you want to know how to get out of here?"

    At this time, Yi Chen''s aura was brutally violent, his body enveloped in pale purple Pure Yang Qi, veins on his neck bulging, nearly two meters tall, he looked more like a demon than a Daoist. He wielded the Dragon-Slaying Sword again, flashing towards the old man''s ghostly body and split it into a butchered mess.

    Then he stamped heavily on its chest:

    "Speak quickly if you''re going to speak. My patience is limited," he grunted, indeed, the duration of Extreme Yang Change was only ten minutes...

    The old man was trembling with fear, babbling avoidance, and Yi Chen, frowning at the possible scenarios, grew tired of the nonsense. Without hesitation, he struck out like a dragon with his sword, slicing the old man into mincemeat, and the old man dissolved into black smoke and disappeared.

    The place was a mess.

    The expected message of successfully killing the melon-selling old man did not come, leaving Yi Chen utterly confused, his face drooping like that of a disappointed puppy, clearly unhappy.

    The melon-selling old man was spewing nothing but lies, and it was clear he was simply stalling for time. Yi Chen couldn''t maintain his state of Extreme Yang Change for long, so his decision was to fight to sustain the fight, to kill outright.

    He was just fifty-four points short of breaking through to the seventh level of the Minor Pure Yang Skill. If he could make up this gap by the end of the Extreme Yang Change, he would still have a fighting chance.

    On this long street, the fog was thick, and ghosts seemed to lurk everywhere. Who knows what malicious spirits were hidden. Even if the melon-selling old man didn''t provide enough Deep Red Points, he could still take two more steps forward and welcome the next victim.

    But the plan failed before it even really started.

    "Golden Finger failing at a critical moment? Is there a bug?"

    Yi Chen sheathed the Dragon-Slaying Sword, looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle; the sky was misty, with no birds in sight.

    The confusion in his eyes lasted less than a second before they became resolute again.

    ```

 Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Return and Mark

    Life is often filled with disappointments, wouldn''t it be nice if everything could follow a script? But then, how could life have such a mix of joy and sorrowful drama?He wouldn''t give up until the very last moment. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At this point, he had a hunch that his Golden Finger hadn''t made a mistake; it was just a matter of time before the old man selling melons would come back to life, as long as the Yin Manor didn''t perish.

    Just as Yi Chen hesitated between moving forward or retreating to the atrium, suddenly, at the old man''s original stall, a disturbance arose, and a blood-red portal began to materialize from nothing, gradually becoming visible.

    At the base of the blood-red portal were inscriptions of a boundless sea of blood with a black lotus floating and sinking within it.

    Above the sea of blood, flanking the portal, sat a dragon and a tiger, two fantastical beasts with vivid and extraordinary expressions.

    Suddenly, a dragon''s roar and a tiger''s bellow sounded, and the blood-red portal was violently pulled open halfway, revealing a mess of a small grove outside.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen''s face lit up with joy, I know this place.

    At the same time, as the portal slowly opened, thick fog began to churn violently deep in the street, and a strong ghastly ghostly aura began to condense.

    Yi Chen''s expression changed dramatically, and his figure flashed rapidly, seizing the moment to rush toward the open blood-red portal, not forgetting to scoop up a handful of the tiger''s tail and drag it along in the process.

    Just as Yi Chen''s figure disappeared into the portal, a powerful surge of ghostly aura, sharp as a knife''s edge, grazed past the blood-red portal...

    Outside the disheveled grove, Yi Chen, holding onto the tiger''s tail, panted heavily. The last burst of ghostly energy was so terrifying it nearly scared his soul out of his body. Fortunately, at the critical moment, he narrowly avoided being "cleaved in two."

    However, the tiger''s fate was not so fortunate. Yi Chen looked at the half-remains of the tiger in his hand and couldn''t help but lament:

    "Brother Tiger, your fate is so thin. I did my best, yet I could only save a tail and half a buttock."

    Behind him stood a creepily quiet, red mansion ¨C he had finally escaped.

    Yi Chen turned to glance back at the mysterious red mansion known as the Yin Manor, licked his lips, and wondered how many Deep Red Points he could get for destroying this rundown manor.

    Just then, a change occurred at the distant red mansion. In the front yard, an old man selling melons, with hardly three good teeth in his mouth, emerged smiling at Yi Chen.

    "Damn it~"

    Yi Chen''s hair stood on end instantly. He flung the half-corpse of the vibrant tiger onto a tree and ran off, his body wrapped in a faint purple Pure Yang Inner Qi as he sprinted away.

    Thanks to the effects of the Yang Extreme Change, which had not yet worn off, he ran extremely fast, plowing a straight line through the dense forest.

    Behind him, the tiger''s half-buttock dangled from a tree, with its tail gently swaying in the wind.

    Inside the Yin Manor, changes were also occurring; a new colorful memorial tablet suddenly appeared at the very bottom of the main hall''s spirit shrine, bearing the face of Yi Chen.

    ...

    ...

    ...

    By the time Yi Chen saw the lights from the Hidden Dragon Temple, night had fallen.

    Seeing the familiar temple on the distant horizon, Yi Chen finally exhaled a murky breath.

    The venture to Yin Manor had been extremely dangerous. Despite the ease with which he had seemed to dispatch the old melon seller like cutting through melons and vegetables, he had exhausted all his tricks, employing both the Yang Extreme Change and the Dragon-Slaying Sword.

    Without the assistance from the dragon''s roar and the tiger''s bellow that had come from the blood-red portal in the end, he probably would have ended up like the vibrant tiger, with only half a body left.

    The final intense burst of ghostly energy had been utterly chilling; even with Yi Chen in the state of Yang Extreme Change, he too would have ended up "cleaved in two" in front of that arrow-sharp ghostly aura, no different from the tiger''s fate.

    At night, Hidden Dragon Temple.

    Yi Chen and his three martial brothers sat around a table, with Qing Feng and Ming Yue, the two adorable youngsters, attentively bringing tea. The two little ones rested their cheeks in their hands and stared intently at Yi Chen with their big innocent eyes, inspecting him up and down as if searching for something.

    Qing Feng, "Big Senior Brother."

    Ming Yue, "You said you''d bring us something delicious when you came back. Where is it?"

    Yi Chen chuckled awkwardly, took a sip of tea, and replied,

    "Qing Feng, Ming Yue, you might not believe me, but I really did bring you candied haws this time."

    Qing Feng and Ming Yue exchanged glances, already feeling a bad premonition. They asked in unison, "And then?"

    "Then Big Senior Brother rushed back home, you know. I bought a whole stick of candied haws, but guess what happened on the way?"

    "While passing through the woods, I encountered a deer that darted past me, followed closely by a vibrant tiger that also sprang past. With a flick of that tiger''s tail, guess what happened?"

    "All the candied haws were knocked over! Gone!"

    "Could Big Senior Brother stand for that? I immediately gave chase."

    Qing Feng, "....."

    Ming Yue, "....."

    Hearing this, Qing Feng puffed his cheeks irritatedly, like a pufferfish, and interrupted Yi Chen''s story to ask, "Big Senior Brother, what about the tiger that knocked over the candied haws?"

    Yi Chen: "Dead."

    "How did he die?"

    "Big Brother died because he was so greedy for money. Didn''t you bring him back?" The two little ones continued to question, one after the other.

    "He was cloven in twain by a ghostly qi arrow, leaving only half a buttock. How could I bring that back? I just tossed it onto a tree."

    Qing Feng: "....."

    Ming Yue: "....."

    Qing Feng and Ming Yue exchanged glances for the second time. The two little pufferfish hopped down from their chairs, pulled a face at Yi Chen in unison, and then went back to their room to rest.

    Yi Chen: "..." Nobody believes the truth these days.

    He turned to look at Qing Yunzi, "Do you believe me, little brother?"

    "Of course I believe you, Big Brother. This time you''ve encountered something formidable," Qing Yunzi spoke with a slant in his eye, which had become increasingly severe.

    "Little brother, you understand me. How did you figure it out?"

    Qing Yunzi didn''t say anything but pointed at a patch of exposed skin on Yi Chen''s chest.

    Yi Chen followed Qing Yunzi''s gaze and looked down to find a chilly sensation shooting up to his forehead. A teardrop-shaped blood mark had appeared on his chest without his noticing.

    "Holy shit, what the hell is this? And it''s still coming?" Yi Chen exclaimed in horror, with a premonition that this ghostly mark was inextricably linked to the eerie Yin Manor.

    "Big Brother, could you please tell me in detail what happened? With more heads, there''s more wisdom. Let''s think of a solution together."

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen succinctly recounted his encounters in the Yin Manor. After listening, Qing Yunzi, who was learned in many texts, furrowed his brows.

    "Big Brother, I''m afraid this is a big deal."

    "I don''t know what Yin Manor is, but the jade token you got with ''Zhang Ji Shi'' written on it¡ªif I''m not mistaken¡ªbelongs to the missing thirty-sixth generation Sect Leader of Dragon Tiger Mountain and the most famous Heavenly Master of the righteous path," Qing Yunzi''s worried voice came through.

    Yi Chen: "..." He couldn''t help thinking of the dragon and tiger phantoms on the bloody portal and the colorful Daoist figure at the top of the spirit hall when he left. Could it be that it was this old Heavenly Master who had secretly aided his escape?

    If that was the case, then the favor he owed was indeed quite large.

    But even a powerful individual like the old Heavenly Master had been trapped for over a hundred years in that damned Yin Manor...

    Yi Chen looked down at the teardrop-shaped blood mark on his chest, his expression fluctuating. Finally, with a forced chuckle, he comforted Qing Yunzi:

    "Little brother, there''s no need to worry too much. Maybe it''s just a mosquito bite."

    "I passed through a forest on the way back. Wild mosquitoes¡ªwith quite a punch!"

    Qing Yunzi was stubborn, and he earnestly said, "Big Brother, my accumulation is almost sufficient now, and I have become quite sensitive. Your body is brimming with robust vitality, exceptionally tough. Even if someone tried to chop you with a kitchen knife, they likely wouldn''t make a dent. What kind of mosquito could leave such a mark?"

    "Big Brother, stop lying to me."

    "But don''t worry, Big Brother. In no more than two months, I will have fully awakened. Then, even if it costs me my life, I''ll definitely find a way to ensure your safety."

    A faint red Pure Yang energy flickered at the tip of Qing Yunzi''s left finger, a look of excitement crossing his face.

    "Little brother, impressive! Quick, tell Big Brother about it. What does it feel like, how did you make this breakthrough?" Yi Chen happily ruffled Qing Yunzi''s hair, quickly making it a disheveled mess.

    This little junior brother was more fun when he was a child; as he grew up, he became a little too serious.

    "Big Brother~, stop pulling, you''ve been doing it for so many years..." Qing Yunzi dodged Yi Chen''s ''claws'' while pouting, "I can''t articulate how I awakened the Pure Yang spirit, but I can tell you what it feels like after."

    "There is qi in heaven and earth. Once the spirit is awakened, one can sense the presence of qi, see into one''s nature, absorb qi for one''s own use, and even leverage one''s qi to mobilize the forces of nature, displaying all sorts of incredible powers. That is the method."

    "There are many types of qi between heaven and earth: multifarious, yin and yang, the five elements, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, abundant and varied. Besides the red Pure Yang qi, which is the most compatible with me, there is also starlight qi."

    Having said this, Qing Yunzi gestured with his hand, and to Yi Chen''s astonishment, the starlight and moonbeam from outside the window slowly gathered into a small orb of light in Qing Yunzi''s hand. Then, he opened his mouth and directly swallowed the orb of light.

    "Is this the Power of Taiyin? Little brother, how did someone practicing Pure Yang Daoist methods awaken two such distinct powers?"

    "Is it difficult? I''ve also been puzzled about what Pure Yang power is and what the ultimate realm of Pure Yang Dao is. At last, while reading the ''Supreme Spiritual Flying Pure Yang Root Source Daoist Scripture'' last night, my efforts culminated, and naturally, I broke through a layer of mystery."

    "The extreme of yang is yin, and the extreme of yin is yang. This is the ultimate principle of heaven and earth."

    "For example, the Heavenly Master once spoke of the treasure of heaven and earth¡ªthe water of Yang Spring¡ªwhich can only be nurtured in an extreme yin environment."

    "That is the birth of yang from the extreme of yin."

    "After understanding all this, I was able to absorb the starlight and moonlight qi from the heavens and earth, as well as the Pure Yang qi."

    "Cultivation is about aligning oneself with the Celestial Heart and absorbing the qi that suits one best¡ªto befriend the qi."

    Qing Yunzi spoke with a proud expression, pouring out all his insights like spilling beans.

 Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Night Talk and Beating

    "Junior Brother, have you ever mentioned these matters to a second person? Including Qing Feng and Ming Yue," Yi Chen asked Qing Yunzi seriously.He thought more profoundly than Qing Yunzi, indeed his Junior Brother lived up to the Dao name their master gave him, as his future was certainly bound for greatness.

    But a genius who has not yet grown up, no matter how exceptional his talents are, is nothing but a scoop of yellow soil once killed in his infancy.

    The taller the tree in the forest, the stronger the wind that pulls it down.

    This was something Yi Chen deeply understood.

    After all, in his previous life, he was too outstanding and ended up being sent to this world by a dumper truck...

    "Ah... no, I have been waiting for Senior Brother to come back so you would be the first to know. I didn''t tell Qing Feng or Ming Yue," Qing Yunzi said, looking at the serious-faced Yi Chen with a bit of surprise. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "That''s good, Junior Brother, you don''t know how dangerous the world can be."

    "The hidden mastermind targeting our Hidden Dragon Temple still hasn''t been found out. If others learn of your talent, Junior Brother, I''m afraid you might fall victim to an assassination."

    "This..."

    "However, it''s not a problem. Come closer, I cannot teach you the Grand Dao of Pure Yang nor the practice of the Power of Taiyin, but I can teach you the ways of ''Survival Wisdom.'' Follow my instructions, and you can avoid many disasters and calamities, and directly enter the realm of a True Monarch."

    In this world, Daoist cultivation generally has four major realms: Refining Essence into Qi, Qi Refinement into Spirit, Refining Spirit and Returning to Void, and Refining Void into Dao.

    One who refines the Spirit and returns to the Void may be called a True Monarch.

    Yi Chen''s master declared that he had only barely managed to reach the mid-stage of Qi Refinement Realm, still tens of thousands of miles away from reaching the realm of a True Monarch.

    The realm of a True Monarch is the cultivation level that countless high-level cultivators dream of.

    Upon hearing this, Qing Yunzi''s eyes couldn''t help but shine brightly, "Senior Brother, is this ''Survival Wisdom'' truly so powerful? Why have I never seen it mentioned in the classics by any of the former sages?"

    "Heh, it is certainly powerful, our master just didn''t understand the wisdom of survival; always wanting to confront any evil spirit he saw. That''s why he met his doom before his time. You should listen to your Senior Brother," Yi Chen said.

    "As for Li Changshou... forget it, you would not understand even if I told you. Just remember the twelve-character maxim of ''Survival Wisdom.''"

    Yi Chen cleared his throat at this point, and Qing Yunzi, very observant, brought him a cup of clear tea, which Yi Chen accepted before he continued:

    "These twelve characters are easy to know but difficult to execute. You must remember them, and they are,"

    "''Pretend weakness to hide strength, avoid karma when possible, sense danger and evade.''"

    "Talent only indicates your potential. A genius who dies young is still nothing more than a pile of rotting flesh."

    "Junior Brother, come with me. Today, your Senior Brother will teach you what''s called life''s bitter trials."

    "Senior Brother, what does life''s bitter trials mean?"

    "Don''t worry; you''ll understand soon."

    .....

    .....

    Half an hour later, outside the Hidden Dragon Temple.

    Qing Yunzi sat on the grass with a bruised and swollen face, while Yi Chen, with his torso bare, exhibited bulging muscles with light purple Pure Yang Inner Qi surrounding him, casting a large shadow in the moonlight behind him.

    "Junior Brother, have you realized it yet? Do you still feel self-satisfied, thinking you''re strong? Throughout history, geniuses are as common as carps crossing the river, but how many of them actually become True Monarchs?

    "Look at you, Junior Brother, with your dual spirit awakenings, you are sure to surpass Senior Brother in future achievements, yet now aren''t you being pinned to the ground and beaten by your Senior Brother?"

    "The world''s bitter trials are much more ruthless than your Senior Brother''s moves," Yi Chen said with a serious and instructive tone.

    "Impossible, absolutely impossible. My Inner Qi from the Minor Pure Yang Skill has already partially transformed into Pure Yang Divine Power. How could I be completely unable to fight back?" Qing Yunzi hastily spit out the dust and weeds from his mouth, squinting through his swollen eyes, his expression clearly filled with life''s doubts.

    Yi Chen struck several handsome poses under the moonlight and said to Qing Yunzi,

    "That''s naturally because, little brother, your purity is too low! Just look at these big muscles of your big brother."

    Qing Yunzi: "..."

    "Big brother, stop joking."

    "Alright." After striking a few poses, Yi Chen also put away his playful expression and said seriously, "Actually, with your current strength, little brother, you should not have lost so miserably."

    "You were all tied up at the start, and you were hesitant in your movements. During the fight, your attention was divided. What were you thinking about?"

    "Even when a lion fights a rabbit, it uses all its strength. Fighting is not just about showing off your cultivation. Poisoning, throwing lime, spreading animal traps, fighting with brass knuckles, ambushing, ganging up, kidnapping someone''s family to threaten them, all kinds of dirty tricks you can think of and those you can''t, you might encounter them all in the future."

    "With your current combat qualities, capsizing in the gutter is just a matter of time."

    Under the moonlight, Qing Yunzi showed a thoughtful expression, then slowly nodded and bowed deeply to Yi Chen with respect: "Thank you for the guidance, elder brother."

    Experience is shallow until one learns from reality. Qing Yunzi had grown a lot after being beaten severely, and he had also thought a lot.

    The elder brother was indeed worthy of being the elder brother, truly knowing the art of playing the pig to eat the tiger. He had previously thought that the elder brother was just an ordinary person with a bit of divine power who barely reached the second level of the Minor Pure Yang Skill. Yet, he had never imagined that the elder brother had hidden so deeply.

    And that strange pale purple Inner Qi emanating from the elder brother gave him a feeling both familiar and strange.

    "Hiss, could it be that elder brother advanced the Minor Pure Yang Skill to the unprecedented fifth level?"

    Qing Yunzi stared at the tall figure of Yi Chen under the moonlight, his eyes widening as he speculated quietly to himself.

    "So this is playing the pig to eat the tiger? Elder brother, I''ve got it." Qing Yunzi gently patted the dust off his clothes with both hands.

    Yi Chen walked over to Qing Yunzi, placed a big hand on his shoulder, and couldn''t help but rub the big bump on Qing Yunzi''s head again, causing Qing Yunzi to wince in pain.

    "Little brother, your head and horns are outstanding, you, you are extraordinary," Yi Chen said with a hearty laugh.

    "Remember what your brother told you tonight. Once you start a fight with someone, don''t show mercy. Being kind to your enemy is cruelty to yourself."

    "You must cultivate diligently. In the future, Hidden Dragon Temple will rely on you to carry the banner."

    As the two of them walked and talked, they soon reached the courtyard wall. The moonlight poured down, and Yi Chen''s face was half exposed in the moonlight and half hidden in the shadow cast by the wall, giving him a somewhat eerie look.

    Qing Yunzi stopped walking, narrowed his panda eyes, and raised his head to look seriously at the bear-like Yi Chen, speaking deliberately, "Elder brother, don''t worry, I''ll find the Yang Spring for you, even if I have to search from the highest heavens to the yellow springs below, and cleanse that mark off you."

    "The Yang Spring is the extreme yang of heaven and earth; it will surely help you recover to normal."

    Looking at Qing Yunzi''s serious eyes, Yi Chen felt a little moved, but couldn''t resist grabbing another handful of the lump on Qing Yunzi''s head:

    "Good! That''s the spirit!

    In the future, once you become a True Monarch, take your elder brother with you. We''ll wreak havoc together, slaying demons and eliminating devils. Remember, after you beat those ghosts and goblins half to death, let your brother finish them off. That way, your brother''s affection won''t have been wasted on you."

    "Hiss, elder brother, be gentle. But why do I need to let you finish them off? Isn''t it the same whoever kills them?"

    "Of course it''s different. Pretend your elder brother did a lot of bad things in his last life, feared his virtues weren''t enough, and wanted to accumulate some good deeds for the next life."

    "Oh, elder brother, I''m not afraid. I have plenty of merits. Just deduct from mine."

    "Good lad...!" Yi Chen ruffled Qing Yunzi''s hair for the third time, then said, "It''s getting late, little brother, you should hurry back to your room to sleep."

    Watching Qing Yunzi''s retreating figure, Yi Chen looked up at the full moon and muttered to himself, "Don''t worry, Elder Brother''s life won''t be taken by any monster without a price to pay."

    "Yin Manor, just give me some time; I will dismantle your broken residence sooner or later."

    Yi Chen clenched his fist fiercely at the full moon, his breath suddenly turning incredibly ferocious. The moonlight stretched his shadow long, making him resemble a humanoid demon.

 Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique

    Returning to the Daoist temple, Yi Chen didn''t immediately go back to sleep. Instead, he made his way to the main hall, took out the silver ingot Chief Zhang had presented to their ancestor, pondered for a moment, broke it in half, and put one portion into the charity box; only then did he head to the backyard for a quick rinse.The teardrop-shaped blood mark, clinging to him like a festering bone disease, refused to come off no matter how hard he scrubbed his skin, nearly wearing it raw. With no choice left, Yi Chen returned to his room and sat down, feeling helpless.

    Fortunately, although the blood mark stuck to him like glue, Yi Chen sensed that, for the time being, it would remain dormant. Deep down, he had a premonition that in one year, the mark wouldn''t be as docile as it currently was.

    "One year, huh? A lot can happen in one year." Yi Chen looked down at the mark on his chest, and through the deep crimson color, he vaguely sensed that a great terror might descend after a year.

    Before him now were a jade token, a jade scroll, letters, three hundred taels of banknotes, and ten taels of silver.

    After some thought, he hid the jade token and the letters in a secluded corner, then turned to the jade scroll by candlelight ¡ª the record of the old Heavenly Master''s painstaking work ¡ª opening it to study with great attention.

    As expected, this "Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique" was extraordinary, meticulously conceived, with profound intentions. Yi Chen was completely engrossed, studying and gesticulating continuously. Only at dawn, when the rooster crowed, did he snap back to reality.

    A line of small characters promptly appeared on the light screen panel.

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique (Entry Level)]

    With Yi Chen''s proficiency in the Minor Pure Yang Skill reaching the sixth level, mastering this cultivation technique pioneered by the old Heavenly Master Zhang Ji Shi in one night wasn''t too farfetched.

    "According to the old Heavenly Master, this cultivation technique has a fatal flaw: the longer one practices it, the more difficult it becomes to progress. I am going to give it a try."

    Having studied the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique, Yi Chen felt his horizons had broadened enormously. The technique encompassed the principles of yin and yang, the power of insight, and, more importantly, it refined one''s divine power, sharpening one''s intuition and the ability to sense danger and avoid it. It was worth investing a substantial amount in.

    "Deep Red!"

    Yi Chen called out internally, summoning the light screen panel. His consciousness stabbed fiercely at the plus sign behind the "Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique," and three lines of small characters appeared on his retina.

    [Breaking through to the first level of the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique requires 5 Deep Red Points. Proceed with the breakthrough? Yes/No]

    [Breaking through to the second level of the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique requires 10 Deep Red Points. Proceed with the breakthrough? Yes/No]

    [Breaking through to the third level of the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique requires 20 Deep Red Points. Proceed with the breakthrough? Yes/No]

    Naturally, Yi Chen chose "Yes" for all.

    Thirty-five Deep Red Points were deducted in a flash, and a torrent of memories surged into Yi Chen''s mind.

    A young Daoist practiced meditation and cultivated his Inner Qi daily, collected morning dew to refine his eyes. Not only did he diligently train every day, he also gathered various precious herbs from mountains and rivers to cleanse his eyes. The deeper he went into his training, the more lucid and profound his eyes became, shining with divine light.

    Thirty years had passed from youth until the first white hair sprouted. When the young Daoist exhaled his first breath of impure air against the rising purple dawn, his pupils transformed yet again, and the third level of the "Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique" was achieved.

    In an instant, a cool sensation emerged around Yi Chen''s eyes. Already experienced with many such bodily changes, Yi Chen stayed completely calm, knowing that this sensation was the start of the transformation and strengthening of his eyes.

    Yi Chen slowly closed his eyes.

    More than ten seconds later, when he opened his eyes again, they were no different from those of the young Daoist in his memories.

    "Shh, I''m using falsehood to cultivate truth, reflecting on myself. This ''Golden Finger'' really is something!" Yi Chen admired himself in the copper mirror in his room, then couldn''t help but exclaim.

    "Another hardworking day awaits."

    Yi Chen summoned his light screen panel. The changes in his body were also synchronously updated on this panel.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 18/97]

    [Strength: 27.0, Physique: 24.0, Spirit: 31, Agility: 24] (The normal human value is 1) S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    [Cultivation Technique: Minor Pure Yang Skill Level 6 (Traits: Body Strengthening, Fiery, Divine Power, Warding off Evil, Tenacity). Active Skill: Extreme Yang Transformation (Strength triples for ten minutes, after which Inner Qi and Strength temporarily drops to 70% of the original.)]

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique Level 3 (Traits: Eagle Eye, Night Vision, Yin Qi Perception.)]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3, Culinary Skill lv3]

    [Origin Point: 0] (Can be obtained by exercising to stimulate the flesh, which can improve the four-dimensional data of strength, physique, essence, and agility.)

    [Deep Red Value: 11.] (Can be obtained through special items or by killing demons and evil creatures, etc. Used to enhance Cultivation Technique levels or for deduction.)

    The Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique truly had the effect of refining the divine, as Yi Chen''s mental attribute had increased by three points, and even his agility had increased by one point. Yi Chen guessed it was because a stronger ''divine'' presence led to sharper reactions.

    Beyond that, the third level of the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique also granted Yi Chen three traits: Eagle Eye, Night Vision, and Yin Qi Perception.

    Each was very practical, especially the Yin Qi Perception.

    If Yi Chen had possessed this Pupil Technique earlier, he would not have pursued the marbled tiger into the dense forest. He certainly would have been more keenly aware of the Yin Qi there and would not have encountered something as powerful and strange as the Yin Manor.

    But then again, if he hadn''t strayed into the Yin Manor, he wouldn''t have obtained the Pupil Technique painstakingly created by the old Heavenly Master. It must be said that it was a matter of both time and destiny.

    Yi Chen sensed that the next level of the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique required forty Deep Red Points to advance, and he quickly snapped the virtual screen closed.

    The third level of the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique was sufficient for him for now. The next step was to focus entirely on raising the realm of the Minor Pure Yang Skill.

    It didn''t matter that he couldn''t cultivate Pure Yang real power without ''spirituality.'' As long as his Minor Pure Yang Skill realm was high enough, Qing Yunzi would still be beaten to the ground by him, wouldn''t he?

    The Minor Pure Yang Skill was the foundation of his existence, and this he knew very well.

    At the same time, he was curious about the limit of the Deep Red Value. Even if the intentions of the Minor Pure Yang Skill were lofty, it surely couldn''t be enhanced indefinitely¡­ right?

    With his cultivation session over, Yi Chen pushed open the window. The sky was faintly bright. Looking outside, he replayed the details of the previous day in his mind and suddenly harbored a hint of doubt about the sudden appearance of that marbled tiger.

    Was his misadventure into the Yin Manor an accident or was it a deliberate lure by someone?

    And what exactly was the evil behind the Yin Manor?

    Yi Chen could be sure that the Yin Manor was not just any ordinary malevolent spirit, because when he was fleeing halfway, he had also looked back from a high vantage point and found that the Yin Manor had vanished from its original location as if it had never existed.

    However, whether the manifestation of the Yin Manor had anything to do with the world changes the old Heavenly Master spoke of on his deathbed was beyond his knowledge.

    The old Heavenly Master had also mentioned in his letter that with the world changes, the future was uncertain.

    Unable to come to any conclusion after much thought, Yi Chen simply decided not to dwell on it any longer. Worldly matters, without reaching a certain position, were futile to consider excessively.

    A pawn on a chessboard, no matter how clearly it sees the game, is still not in control. It can only move forward ceaselessly and, even if it crosses the Chu River and Han boundary, is only slightly less bound. It still isn''t free.

    Only through continuous strength and growth, until one becomes the chess player holding the pieces, does one have room to choose.

    Just like ordinary people in his previous life, after graduating and entering society, they seemed to have many choices, but in reality, they had none. They seemed to understand what the scythe meant, but they still couldn''t escape the fate of being harvested. Understanding only added to their troubles.

    That was the sorrow of pawns.

    If one was to spend too much energy pursuing this so-called understanding, and if it occupied the energy that should be used for cultivation and growth, then it would delay one''s own strengthening, making the situation even worse.

    Unhappy in life, not at ease in death, that''s probably what this meant.

    Only by fully strengthening oneself can one see through and transcend after understanding.

    Even if you cannot see through everything, as long as you are strong enough, the insurmountable Flame Mountain of your past can be extinguished by a single urination.

    This was what Yi Chen was thinking at the moment.

    If his Minor Pure Yang Skill were at the 666th level instead of the 6th, no matter what kind of conspiracies or calculations were behind him, if he were to visit the Yin Manor again in a year, the master behind it would have to personally come forward to offer a toast and plead for mercy.

    And if it were at the level of 6,666, what would these world changes matter? Even if one day the sun and moon fell, and the world sunk, he could recreate the universe; the heavens and earth could decay, yet he would not. The sun and moon could extinguish, yet he would not.

    In the face of absolute power, if there really was a mastermind, they would have to endure a few slaps from him.

 Chapter 20: Chapter 20 The Taoists Tough Job

    The paths to quickly become stronger were essentially two, Origin Point and Deep Red Points.The former enhanced four-dimensional data, the latter deduced and elevated the realm of cultivation techniques; regretfully, neither path was easy to tread.

    For Deep Red Points, one could obtain them by slaying evil spirits, but this was also a perilous venture. If one failed to conduct a proper risk assessment and rashly got involved, there was a fear of not earning Deep Red Points and instead paying with one''s life.

    And those ancient relics containing Deep Red Points were not so easy to come by.

    So far, he had obtained three special items containing Deep Red Value: the jade thumb ring passed down for a millennium at Hidden Dragon Temple, the "Corpse Sutra" from Shi Shoufu, and a jade tablet from the old Heavenly Master.

    These three items had one thing in common: they had all been used by cultivators for a long time and were crafted by the passage of time.

    This one commonality was enough to snuff out Yi Chen''s idea of scouring the world for ancient relics to harvest Deep Red Points, especially since he was as poor as a church mouse, with nothing to collect.

    He surely couldn''t just dig up the graves of Hidden Dragon Temple''s past ancestors to see if anything worthwhile would come out, right?

    Hiss!

    Truly a decision that would go against the teachings of his ancestors.

    After some consideration, Yi Chen still did not dare to be so unfilial; he feared that his master, Bai Yunzi, would crawl out of his urn to strangle him to death.

    "Alas, what a pity that I promised my master not to commit any treachery or crime, and to follow the path of benevolence and righteousness. Otherwise, I have a hundred ways to become a tycoon, a hundred ways!" Yi Chen sighed with regret.

    If he were very wealthy, he could collect antiques and try his luck to find a bargain; regrettably, he only had three hundred and ten taels of silver on him.

    That ten taels tail-end was actually money he had set aside for his ancestor''s temple offerings.

    After all, if it weren''t for him, Chief Zhang would not have donated twenty taels to the temple; therefore, Yi Chen felt it was only fair to split these twenty taels fifty-fifty with his ancestor.

    "Three hundred and ten taels of silver may seem like a lot, but the things I can do with it are indeed limited. My junior brother Qing Yunzi is currently in the critical phase of transforming his Pure Yang Inner Qi into Pure Yang true power and needs nourishing. I myself am a big eater, there''s nowhere money doesn''t need to be spent..."

    After some deliberation, only one path remained.

    By training, to stimulate the physical body and gain Origin Points, transcending the ordinary with extraordinary abilities and attributes.

    "Well then, I''ll just have to suffer a bit, ''Without lunacy, there''s no survival.''" Yi Chen clenched his teeth, deciding to start a strenuous activity for himself tomorrow.

    ...

    ...

    The next day, the sun shone high in the sky.

    Not far from Hidden Dragon Temple, there lay a place called Falling Dragon Pool, whose waters were dark and bottomless.

    Spring water cascaded down from more than twenty meters high, splashing water sprays over a meter high.

    At this moment, a tall man with his upper body bare was holding a Grand Grinding Disc, standing at the upstream of the cascading water, continually taking deep breaths.

    Looking at the roaring waterfall plunging into the enigmatic surface of the pool, Yi Chen felt a chill in his heart as he watched from high above.

    However, he had no choice; the red mark on his chest was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, constantly reminding him to grow stronger quickly, or await death.

    "Damn it, you can''t stand firm without being ruthless, let''s go all out!"

    Yi Chen gritted his teeth and, with the stone mill in his arms, jumped into Falling Dragon Pool.

    People are driven to extremes.

    This saying, whether justified physiologically or philosophically, is the truth.

    If it had been before, he would not have subjected himself to such harsh training; getting into prisoner fitness and triathlon had already been his limit. But now, that''s not enough.

    He needed strength, and he had an insatiable desire to become stronger.

    Having gone through two rounds of strengthening with the Pure Yang technique, he too could sustain this kind of trial without killing himself.

    Boom!

    Yi Chen leaped down and plunged heavily into the dark depths of the pool, creating waves several meters high.

    Immediately after, he, holding the stone mill, sank straight to the bottom of the pool.

    The tremendous water pressure continuously challenged his physiological limits, and the parts of his body that had come in contact with the water during the jump suffered bursts of intense pain. His lungs also felt a burning soreness.

    The pale purple Pure Yang Inner Qi on his body was rotating at high speed, swelling his entire body''s muscles to resist the pressure surging around him.

    He held the stone mill at the bottom of the pool and slowly did squats...

    Time slowly passed.

    Yi Chen felt as if each second at the bottom of the pool lasted an eternity.

    One second.

    Ten seconds.

    One minute. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Three minutes.

    Five minutes.

    Even with his extraordinary physique, after the inhuman torture of five minutes, Yi Chen could not hold on any longer. He kicked off with his feet, carrying the stone mill, and burst out of the water''s surface.

    Huff, huff.

    ```

    Huff, huff.

    As soon as Yi Chen surfaced, he collapsed by the pool like a dead snake, panting heavily.

    His lungs were expanding and contracting rapidly, as if bellows were at work.

    He felt sore and ached all over, but fortunately, his physique was astonishing, and his recovery was very strong, so he managed to endure.

    After resting for ten minutes, Yi Chen, hugging the grinding stone, returned to his original spot.

    "Yin Manor, fuck you!"

    "Ah...!" Cultivated Yi Taoist, his eyes tightly shut, jumped down again.

    The underwater bombs continued.

    You don''t know your limits until you push yourself.

    As long as it doesn''t kill you, play it to the edge.

    Yi Chen was frantically teasing his own limits while registering every bit of suffering in the name of Yin Manor, cursing as he dived like crazy.

    Every time Yi Chen felt he couldn''t endure any longer, the thought of the half body and buttocks of the splashed tiger surged within him, giving him infinite motivation.

    .....

    Hidden Dragon Temple, the kitchen.

    Qing Yunzi made a roast chicken, twenty pounds of braised pork, and two small dishes of greens, then called over Qing Feng and Ming Yue, instructing them to fetch the senior brother for dinner.

    Soon, the two little ones came back crying.

    "Second brother, something terrible has happened, senior brother has gone mad."

    On hearing the little ones'' words, Qing Yunzi became alarmed.

    "Nonsense, the senior brother was fine when he went out, how could he have gone mad?"

    "Didn''t the senior brother say he was going to cultivate by Falling Dragon Pool?"

    Qing Feng, wiping away tears, stammered, "Second brother, the... the senior brother really is acting mad; he''s jumping from over twenty meters high with a grinding stone, and after a while, bubbles rise from the water, and I waited a long time without seeing the senior brother emerge."

    Ming Yue nodded vigorously, adding, "It''s true, I can vouch for Qing Feng; I saw it all clearly from a distance."

    Qing Yunzi was stupefied....

    Qing Feng and Ming Yue leading, the trio hastily headed towards Falling Dragon Pool.

    Yi Chen lay limp on the rocks around Falling Dragon Pool, struggling to open his eyes, only to see three figures rushing towards him rapidly.

    He struggled to sit up and said to them, "Junior brothers, what has happened?"

    "Why are you all running as if your tails are on fire?"

    With a strange expression, Qing Yunzi looked at Yi Chen, "Senior brother, you are alright?"

    "Qing Feng and Ming Yue came to call you for dinner and ran back crying, saying you''d gone mad; you''ve scared us to death."

    ???

    Yi Chen felt a bit bewildered inside. How have I gone mad?

    "Nonsense, I was cultivating." Using the last of his strength, he sprang to his feet with a fish-leap thrust.

    "Watch closely; I''m not mad. I''ll show you again."

    Qing Yunzi, Qing Feng, and Ming Yue, one tall and two small, gaped in shock as Yi Chen, clutching the grinding stone, leapt from the height once more, causing a sky-high splash, and after a while, a head surfaced.

    "Do you see? I''m cultivating, cultivating!"

    The-three wiped the sweat from their foreheads, dumbfounded.

    ......

    Night, a sky full of stars.

    In the room where Qing Feng and Ming Yue lived, Qing Feng opened a blank journal, fervently writing a diary entry.

    Qingli, eighth year, October fifth.

    The senior brother must be mad; today he jumped into Falling Dragon Pool with a grinding stone the whole day, still stubbornly claiming he was cultivating, an entirely new version we''ve never seen before.

    He was so shaky at dinner his chopsticks couldn''t stay steady, even breaking a bowl, looking quite scary.

    I think the senior brother is lying; I''ve never seen anyone cultivate like this.

    The senior brother always deceives us, last time he even tricked me with candied hawthorns.

    Tonight, I noticed that many fattened fish in Falling Dragon Pool had turned belly-up, and we had a feast of fish. I''m starting to understand.

    Could it be that the senior brother was actually playing at exploding fish?

    What a lavish way to catch a fish; truly, it''s an entirely new version we''ve never seen. Senior brother, you truly are something else.

    Also, tonight''s feast of fish was delicious.

    ```

 Chapter 21: Chapter 21 Qing Fengs Diary and the Strengthening Test

    Time is like a wild donkey, once it starts to run, it doesn''t stop.In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

    Days passed without a ripple.

    Qing Feng found that he had taken a liking to keeping a journal, and if he didn''t write something down each day, he felt like he was missing something, and just couldn''t settle down.

    Another night came, and Qing Feng once again spread open his diary and began to write feverishly. Above his writing there was already a string of records.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Qingli, year eight, October the sixth.

    The eldest senior brother was really quite ill; early this morning, he went off to the Falling Dragon Pool to fish with explosives again, and second senior brother, Ming Yue, and I were all worried that he''d pass out and drown. Master is gone, and we don''t want to lose eldest senior brother too.

    But we couldn''t deter eldest senior brother.

    Second senior brother tasked me with keeping an eye on eldest senior brother. If he didn''t surface within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, I was to call him.

    Several times eldest senior brother nearly didn''t make it up, which gave me quite a scare. Thankfully, in the end he did emerge, lying on the ground like an overheated dog, panting heavily.

    Eldest senior brother must be sick, and quite seriously at that.

    Oh right, we still had a full fish feast tonight.

    The fat fish was delicious.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Qingli, year eight, October the seventh.

    Today was uneventful, just watched eldest senior brother play with fishing bombs, don''t know why, but it felt a bit intoxicating.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Qingli, year eight, October the eighth.

    Today was uneventful, just watched eldest senior brother play with fishing bombs, really strange, not sure if it''s just my imagination, but eldest senior brother seems to have gotten a bit more robust.

    He looked very tired, I don''t understand why eldest senior brother insists on doing this.

    Fortunately, nothing happened to eldest senior brother, and today is another happy day.

    Tonight we feasted on fish again.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Qingli, year eight, October the ninth.

    Watched eldest senior brother fish with explosives.

    .....

    ¡ª¡ª

    Qingli, year eight, October the fifteenth.

    Qing Feng, you must practice diligently, how can you let yourself sink like this? Tomorrow, for sure, I must practice hard. I''ll let Ming Yue keep an eye on eldest senior brother.

    Also, we had a full fish dinner again tonight, and I kinda didn''t want to eat it.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Qingli, year eight, October the sixteenth.

    Watched eldest senior brother fish with explosives.

    Eldest senior brother''s technique in fishing has improved, he jumps in sideways, splashing high waves.

    Don''t know why, but eldest senior brother''s momentum seems to be growing stronger. Could it be that he''s really cultivating? That''s really bizarre.

    Tonight''s dinner was the full fish feast, not in the mood for eating.

    ....

    ¡ª¡ª

    Qingli, year eight, November the fourth.

    Watched eldest senior brother fish with explosives.

    Eldest senior brother has become even stronger, and his fishing stances flashier. He used to be as exhausted as a dead dog after a few tries, now it seems there''s no effect on him at all.

    So impressive!

    It turns out eldest senior brother wasn''t lying to me, he is really cultivating, albeit with a bizarre method.

    There''s fish for dinner again tonight, another day I don''t feel like eating fish.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Qingli, year eight, November the fifth.

    Another day of watching eldest senior brother fish with explosives.

    But today, eldest senior brother seemed a bit unhappy. I asked him, and he said he didn''t want to fish with explosives anymore.

    Honestly, I no longer wish to recite scriptures either.

    I want to fish with explosives too.

    But eldest senior brother said I couldn''t handle it, that I would die.

    Strange, if I can''t handle it, how can eldest senior brother handle it so well? But he seemed very serious when he said it, he probably wasn''t lying to me.

    There''s fish for dinner again tonight, I threw up.

    ¡ª¡ª

    After finishing the diary entry for the day, Qing Feng hid the small booklet under his pillow, wrapped himself up in his little blanket like a cocooning silkworm, wriggled a few times to find a comfortable position, and then fell into a deep sleep.

    He dreamt that he, like eldest senior brother, had become a strong man also fishing with explosives.

    The water splashed by his flailing teemed with fat fish muddled every which way, countless fat fish circled around him, crying out, "Come eat me! Come eat me!"

    Upon closer inspection, those fat fish circling him had all turned into plates of steamed, boiled, pan-fried, deep-fried, stir-fried, pickled, salt-rubbed, braised, and stewed fish.

    He was terrified to the extreme.

    ...

    ...

    In the backyard of Hidden Dragon Temple, Yi Chen sat wearing a black form-fitting short jacket, drinking yellow wine, his strong pectoral muscles pushing the front of his jacket taut.

    After a month of crazed, intense cultivation, his originally well-fitting jacket now felt slightly tight.

    Following this month of frenzied training, Yi Chen''s stats panel had also changed.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 18/97]

    [Strength: 27.0, Vitality: 26.0, Spirit: 31.0, Agility: 24.0] (average human values are 1)

    [Cultivation Technique: Minor Pure Yang Skill Level Six (Traits: Strengthening, Burning Heat, Divine Power, Demon Warding, Resistance). Active Skill: Yang''s Extreme Transformation (Strength triples for ten minutes, then Inner Qi and Strength temporarily reduce to 70% of the original.)]

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique Level Three (Traits: Eagle Vision, Night Vision, Yin Qi Perception.)]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3. Culinary Skill lv3]

    [Origin Point: 7] (Can be obtained through exercise stimulation of the physical body, can improve the four attributes of strength, vitality, spirit, and agility.)

    [Deep Red Value: 11.] (Can be obtained through special items or by killing monsters and demons etc., used to upgrade cultivation techniques or for deducing them.)

    After a month of inhumane, relentless cultivation, the results of his training were significant. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen had gained a total of 9 Origin Points, two of which he had to allocate early to Vitality just to survive, otherwise, he simply couldn''t have continued.

    This was still accomplished under the condition that Minor Pure Yang Skill broke through to the sixth level, bestowing the Resistance trait upon him.

    After this points allocation, Yi Chen also tested the effect of the Vitality attribute, which turned out to be recovery power, superhuman-like recovery power.

    That sensation, akin to bathing in warmth, was still fresh in Yi Chen''s memory.

    It was extremely comfortable.

    Even more so than rewarding oneself.

    When Origin Points were used to boost physical attributes and strengthen the body, a warm current was generated, healing bodily damages. It was practically a miraculous healing elixir, which took Yi Chen completely by surprise.

    This trait doubtlessly gave him another huge advantage in combat: trading blows.

    In a head-on battle, if he allocated just these two points to this trait, it was like giving himself a health pack, and that surely meant takeoff. Not to mention he still had the benefit of a toughened body from the Minor Pure Yang Skill, simply perfect.

    "Using Origin Points to boost Vitality gave me such a great surprise. It''s time to see what kind of breakthroughs Strength and Agility will bring." Yi Chen lifted the cup of wine in his hand, drank it in one gulp, and with a thought, he added an Origin Point to Strength.

    Suddenly, a scorching sensation arose from every limb and bone. Under the tempering of this burning sensation, Yi Chen''s muscles, already as tough as steel wires, started to evolve towards something even more powerful.

    If Yi Chen''s muscle fibers were like steel wires before, after being enhanced by the Origin Points, they started to develop in the direction of high-toughness, high-strength alloys.

    This took his already peerless explosive power to an even higher level.

    "Strength attribute, not bad!"

    Yi Chen was quite satisfied with the enhancement of his strength attribute. The experiment he conducted in Qingyuan Town, beating up the Ironclad Zombie, proved that with the combination of Pure Yang Skill, he could produce a synergistic effect where one plus one equals more than two.

    Against ghosts without the protection of Yin Qi, under his overwhelming might, they were nothing more than chickens and dogs made of clay; even with the reduction by Yin Qi protection, his mighty strength still had a significant impact on them.

    "More importantly," Yi Chen''s eyes flashed with a cold light as a thought passed fleetingly, "this overwhelming might might not be very effective against evil spirits, but it''s genuinely useful when hitting people."

    Naturally, Yi Chen had not forgotten the mastermind behind the scenes who incited the Fierce Tiger Gang to cause trouble at the Taoist temple.

    Regarding the person behind the scenes, Yi Chen already had a suspicion in his heart.

    Everything is motivated by profit; whoever benefits the most from Hidden Dragon Temple''s downfall can essentially be pinpointed.

    The Hidden Dragon Temple, under his master''s care, had accumulated a vast reputation. However, his master was a kind person who pitied the poor and often exorcised demons and evil spirits for free or at a very low price.

    Such a deed, how were his peers supposed to make a living?

    Those he offended were naturally as numerous as the sea.

    Cutting off someone''s livelihood is akin to killing their parents.

    You, Bai Yunzi, might be content with poverty and righteousness, but others can''t endure it.

    Being widely praised also inevitably led to widespread slander.

    Moreover, Bai Yunzi detested evil and did not hesitate to teach a lesson to some unscrupulous peers, greatly embarrassing them.

    In the past, others couldn''t beat Bai Yunzi and had to swallow their grievances. Now that Bai Yunzi had passed away, those demons and evil spirits naturally couldn''t wait to seek revenge.

    Even Yi Chen malevolently speculated that during this quiet period, those bastards with black hearts were actually afraid that his master was faking his death to trick them, waiting for them to show themselves and then pop out from some haunted place to take them down with him.

    You say you''re dead, but who would believe that? Isn''t it necessary to observe and test?

    Conspirators never go all in right from the start. In their eyes, everyone is like an old silver coin that needs to be tested several times. After a while, those offended by the master will naturally start to reveal themselves.

    "Hehe, Master just doesn''t understand the principle of ''if the roots are not removed during weeding, the spring breeze will bring them back to life.'' Offending someone, either don''t do it, or do it thoroughly; now we end up in this situation," Yi Chen said mockingly.

    Yi Chen picked up the jar of wine, drained the remaining yellow wine in one gulp, and collected his scattered thoughts.

    He was not a kind person like his master Bai Yunzi. Anyone who dared to reach out to him had to be ready to be beheaded by him.

    Did they really think Taoist Yi Chengzi was a good-hearted person?

    If you''re not ruthless, you can''t stand firm.

    Being ruthless to others doesn''t make you ruthless. Only those who are ruthless to themselves are truly ruthless. It''s not normal for someone to push themselves to the brink like Yi Chen. It was this ruthlessness that miraculously pulled him through when he felt he could no longer hold on.

    "Agility, enhance," Yi Chen commanded.

    Yi Chen tossed the empty wine jar into a corner of the yard, and with a thought, he added another Origin Point to his agility.

    A cool sensation suddenly coursed through his legs and gradually spread throughout his body as another round of enhancement began.

    A few seconds later, Yi Chen sprang up from the vermilion wooden chair, his figure flashed, and he suddenly stood by the wall.

    Yi Chen smiled, a smile of pure joy, as his white teeth gleamed in the moonlight.

    He stretched out his left hand towards the direction of the moon and made a grasping motion, as if trying to capture the moonlight in his palm, or perhaps trying to seize control of his own destiny.

 Chapter 22: Chapter 22 The Lantern Goes Out

    Under the same moonlight, different lands.While Yi Chen clasped the moonlight in this place, over in Fengyun County''s Wang residence, small changes were also happening.

    Wang Dazhu was a house servant who guarded the estate in Fengyun County''s Wang residence. He originally came from a destitute household in Li Family Village of Gunshi Town. His mother died when he was three years old, and his father was bitten to death by a wild boar while hunting in the mountains at thirteen.

    This added layer upon layer of hardship to an already impoverished family.

    The home was so poor that not even mice would visit, and thieves upon breaking in would leave wiping away bitter tears, sometimes even leaving behind a couple of copper coins, truly embodying poverty that wrenches the heart.

    Having attended a private school for three years and having some understanding of characters, Wang Dazhu looked at his dilapidated home, and finally, on a starry night, when he saw a gray mouse unhesitatingly slip away from his doorway, the grievances he had been holding back finally erupted.

    He made a decision that went against his ancestors.

    He sold himself! He sold himself to the Wang family, a wealthy household in the county town, and changed his surname to Wang.

    Even though his father, with tear-filled eyes, clutched his hand when dying and expressed his hope for him to continue the family line, the family was in such poverty, even the mice had evacuated, and he just couldn''t bear it anymore.

    They say poverty doesn''t last for three generations. By the time it reached his generation, it was precisely the third generation. What family line was there to speak of?

    Poverty breeds change, change brings about understanding.

    The clan elders cursed him for seeking pleasure, ignoring the family''s legacy, and acting like a dog for others.

    "Heh, a bunch of old coffin covers, what''s wrong with being a dog for a wealthy family?"

    If he hadn''t had some literary knowledge, among those who sold themselves, those with a similar educational level did not have as strong a physique as him, and those with a better physique did not have as high an educational level as him. He wouldn''t even have been able to be this ''dog''.

    Wang Dazhu touched the dark-colored brocade clothes on his body and revealed a knowing smile.

    After ten years of hard work, the former mud-legged youth from Li Family Village in Gunshi Town was now a little captain of the guards in Fengyun County''s Wang residence. If he hadn''t been a dog for others, he would never have been able to wear this dark-colored brocade in his life.

    He then touched the saber tied at his waist, feeling a wave of regret. Relying on his naturally strong body, he had worked hard for ten years and finally reached the advanced level in the Iron Cloth Shirt, a martial arts technique practiced by the Wang family''s house servants, just three months ago.

    More than two months ago, the Family Head returned from Treasure Street with a sullen face and a wild chicken in his hand. Only later did he find out that the Family Head had been tricked by a young Daoist, who sold him a ''King of Chickens'' for a hundred silver taels.

    Wang Dazhu sneered, his hand pressing down on the hilt of his saber, inwardly lamenting the missed opportunity.

    If only he had been there at that time, if only he could have stopped that Daoist and recovered face for the Family Head, would he not have been appreciated and rewarded?

    He was so desperate to advance.

    He was so eager to rise above others.

    He was so hungry for silver.

    He so longed for Yuan Yuan from Lanxiu Pavilion.

    Speaking of Yuan Yuan, the now twenty-four-year-old Wang Dazhu couldn''t help but be moved.

    Her skin was so fair, just like tofu pudding, and she was skilled in singing and playing instruments. She could make even someone proficient in Iron Cloth Shirt feel overwhelmed. Unfortunately, as everyone knows, Iron Cloth Shirt has its limits. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Some areas cannot be toughened, there are weak points, he can''t be blamed for that.

    "Truly an unforgettable two and a half minutes," Wang Dazhu thought, staring at the round moon, his mind already wandering off into the clouds.

    What a pity that Yuan Yuan was so costly that he could only afford to visit once with two months of his salary.

    However, that was not Yuan Yuan''s issue, it was his.

    Thinking this, Wang Dazhu couldn''t help but glance at his two subordinates behind him, Wang Qi and Wang Ba.

    It was these two fools who had accompanied the master that day and were so intimidated by the Daoist''s presence that they didn''t dare to intervene, a clear pair of idiots.

    An opportunity lay right before them, and they failed to grasp it.

    Being unable to fight is one thing, but not daring to make a move is another; it''s a matter of attitude, not even understanding how to be a dog.

    Being a house servant and not using your brain means a lifetime at the bottom of the house servant tier.

    Wang Dazhu was different though, his mind was nimble, and his principles were flexible. Some of the lands in Li Family Village of Gunshi Town belonged to the Wang family''s properties. One year, when times were tough and the heavens were unkind, the harvest was poor.

    It was Wang Dazhu who took the lead, breaking the old chieftain''s limbs to collect the grain.

    This also showed the wealthy Wang family Head his capability, his courage in taking tasks, and his ruthlessness, the qualities needed by the Wang''s household, so he was promoted to be a minor chieftain with a monthly salary also increased to two taels.

    As Wang Dazhu patrolled around the Wang family mansion with his head full of random thoughts, a shadow under the willow tree suddenly caught his attention.

    "What is that, who''s hiding there? Come out!"

    Wang Dazhu, with his hand on his waist knife, shouted loudly. He was tall and imposing, and his angry, wide eyes had a certain intimidating presence.

    The wealth of the Wang family was known to everyone in Fengyun County, which naturally attracted those "gentlemen on the beam" to come and steal.

    This was also an important reason why the wealthy Wang family Head kept these house servants to guard the residence and even hired people to train them in martial arts.

    Accompanying Wang Dazhu''s roar, the shadow under the willow tree suddenly stopped moving.

    It was the end of autumn, and the willow leaf had turned from green to yellow, resembling an old man who had reached the age of decline, looking desolate and weathered.

    Moonlight spilled down, casting large, dappled shadows under the willow tree, but because of the backlight, there was more darkness, making it difficult to see clearly.

    "Playing tricks like a ghost, if you don''t come out, I''ll chop you to death." Wang Dazhu braced his courage and walked toward the willow tree with a lantern in hand.

    If it weren''t for the Wang family''s young Miss''s fondness for willow trees and the Family Head being indulgent towards his daughter, this willow tree would have been chopped down long ago, and such a defensive flaw wouldn''t exist.

    Planting trees outside the courtyard wall, truly a stroke of genius.

    But the young Miss is really beautiful, really busty.

    Wang Dazhu drew his waist knife and slowly walked towards the willow tree, followed closely by his subordinates Wang Qi and Wang Ba.

    At that moment, an unexpected change occurred.

    A shadow about the size of two palms suddenly attacked in the direction of Wang Dazhu and his two men.

    Wang Dazhu twisted his waist and swung his big arm, Chop!

    A sword light, like a ribbon, appeared in the moonlight.

    In an instant, the black shadow stopped, cut in two.

    Wang Qi and Wang Ba, holding lanterns, moved closer to look and found it was a large rat, now decapitated with one stroke.

    Seeing this, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

    It seemed to be a false alarm. Wang Dazhu had thought that some formidable person was hidden behind the willow tree.

    "Boss is mighty, that stroke had the three essences of speed, ruthlessness, and accuracy, truly brilliant. The position of the head instructor of the mansion will certainly be yours. If ever there''s a vote for head instructor, I''ll surely cast mine for you," Wang Qi immediately flattered upon seeing this.

    Being a house servant, picking sides was also very important; one must always remember to show their loyalty, as choice sometimes mattered more than ability.

    Wang Ba quickly followed suit, "Me too."

    Hearing this, Wang Qi''s fists relaxed and tensed.

    "Good, work hard with me, and you will undoubtedly reap your rewards," Wang Dazhu was mainly satisfied with his subordinates'' performance; mimicking the Family Head, he immediately started making promises to his two men.

    Wang Dazhu sheathed his knife, intending to say a few more words.

    But just then, a strange wind blew, snuffing out their lanterns all at once.

    The moonlight shone on their faces, pale as death.

    Unbeknownst to them, a mist had risen along the mansion''s perimeter where they were patrolling.

    At the end of the road, a human-shaped shadow appeared.

    The three men looked at each other, a chill inevitably rising in their hearts.

    Wang Dazhu took out a flint, hurriedly relit his lantern, and the light from the lantern brought them a little peace of mind.

 Chapter 23: Chapter 23 The Extermination of the Wang Family. What does Yi Taoist think?

    ```Guided by the light of the lantern piercing through the fog, an old man with white hair pushing a vermilion-colored cart came along, incessantly muttering, "Knives for sale, knives for sale."

    "Damn, scared the shit out of me." Wang Dazhu charged forward, thudding his foot against the white-haired old man''s cart, "Old guy, out selling in the middle of the night instead of sleeping¡ªselling your own mother, are you?"

    At each gate of Fengyun County, there was a Bagua mirror to ward off evil spirits; generally, evil spirits couldn''t enter. Plus, with long-standing peace within the city walls, Wang Dazhu was relieved when he saw that it was just an old man emerging from the mist.

    How many evil spirits could there be? Inside the city wasn''t like outside the city; he was indeed overthinking it.

    He figured it was just a slightly addled old man, a sight he had seen before. He had even seen people running naked in the middle of the night.

    He noisily kicked at the old man''s cart, flaunting his bravery as if the person who had been scared just moments ago had nothing to do with him.

    Wang Qi and Wang Ba naturally followed suit.

    After all, if the boss kicked, and you just stood by watching, wouldn''t it seem like you weren''t on the same page as him?

    However, to his surprise, the cart, although appearing decrepit, was astonishingly sturdy. He kicked several times, but it didn''t fall apart at all.

    "Sir, would you like to buy a knife? They''re very cheap," said the white-haired old man, looking at their actions without any anger, speaking in a ghostly manner.

    The light of the lantern shone on the old man''s face, highlighting his strange smile, making him look very creepy in the night.

    "Buy your mother, get lost. Your damn knives are all rusty. It''d be hard to even kill a chicken with them. If people didn''t know better, they''d think they were dug up from a graveyard. Get out, get out, hurry up and get out."

    After venting their frustrations, the trio saw the old man''s creepy smile and couldn''t help feeling a chill in their hearts as Wang Dazhu mustered his courage and roared.

    "My knives are very fast, cutting through bone and flesh is nothing to them. Just take a look, sirs," the white-haired old man replied unperturbed. He picked up a rusty kitchen knife from his cart and, with a swift motion, chopped off his own head, which rolled to Wang Dazhu''s feet.

    The head''s mouth kept opening and closing on the ground: "Sir, are my knives fast? They only cost a hundred years of your lifespan. Or you could trade with your liver; I want your livers."

    The lantern went out again.

    This eerie turn of events petrified the trio of Wang Dazhu, and although they wanted to run, their legs seemed to have rooted to the ground, incapable of moving.

    They wanted to scream, but the words wouldn''t come out, stuck in their throats.

    Wang Dazhu''s eyes filled with intense despair¡ªhad he been able to look in a mirror, he would have seen he looked just like the old village chief of the Li family, whom he had crippled by breaking all his limbs.

    A foul smell spread through the air, leaving the ground damp.

    Some people might look fierce, and Wang Dazhu always prided himself on being a tough guy, but when disaster befell him, his weak nature was exposed.

    The old man''s body walked over to the head, dusted off the dust, and reattached it to the neck.

    Realizing it was backwards, he held his head and twisted it one hundred and eighty degrees.

    The stench in the air grew stronger.

    "Sirs, would you like to buy a knife? I told you my knives were fast," the old man said as he approached them, speaking ominously. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "If you don''t speak, you agree. I want your livers."

    Wang Dazhu and the others struggled fiercely, but it was as if an invisible force was upon them, rendering them mute and motionless.

    They shook their bodies furiously, wanting to shout, "I don''t want it, I don''t want your damn knife, I want my liver."

    Unfortunately, the old man didn''t care about their protests and started carving with his rusty knife.

    Blood flowed profusely.

    In no time, Wang Dazhu and the others had their bellies slit open, their livers and gallbladders exposed, bearing it all.

    Wang Dazhu''s case was particularly tragic since the well-developed iron cloth shirt he wore was tough, so he took a few more slices than the others while being cut open, suffering a terrible fate.

    The white-haired old man, as if by magic, pulled a gray cloth bag from somewhere, reached in with both hands and, one by one, plucked the livers and put them into the bag.

    While doing so, he muttered, "These livers are a bit bad, ah, poor quality, such a loss, such a big loss. If I had known, I wouldn''t have sold to you."

    With three thuds, Wang Dazhu and his companions fell to the ground, blood pooling around them.

    "Sirs, don''t you want the knives then? I''ll take them away, but let me ask someone else if they want them," said the white-haired old man, lifting his head to gaze at the gilded plaque above that read "Wang''s Mansion" and glanced at the words "Home of Accumulated Goodness" engraved on the stone lion beside him, revealing a benign smile.

    "This Wang family must be missing a good knife; I should ask them," he mused.

    He pushed his cart, slowly heading into the Wang family estate. The large gates, as if being pulled by some great force, slowly opened. As the old man entered, they suddenly closed behind him.

    Inside the Wang family compound, all was deathly still as if no one had heard the commotion outside.

    Under the moonlight, a dark iron curtain suddenly descended, cutting off the moonlight, plunging the entire Wang Mansion into darkness.

    The thin mist on the streets began to churn, furiously seeping through the cracks of the Wang family''s gate, and in a moment, the streets cleared up once more.

    Inside the Wang family estate, the sleeping people suddenly awoke.

    ```

    A strange sound arose in everyone''s ears.

    "Would you like to buy a knife? Esteemed sirs."

    "If you''re buying, I''d like your livers."

    The mansion instantly boiled over with activity, as someone lit an oil lamp and tried to step out to see what had happened, only to find that the door couldn''t be opened, no matter how hard they tried.

    The wooden door was as firm as an iron wall, impossible to break open.

    Those servants who were patrolling within the mansion found themselves trapped by the fog, unable to walk out, and weirdly began walking in circles on the spot.

    A demonic wind blew through, extinguishing all the candles, lanterns, and any other sources of light; the Wang residence plunged into complete darkness.

    Then came the sounds of knives cutting through flesh and people falling to the ground from the darkness.

    Tonight, the Wang family''s house was especially quiet.

    ...

    ...

    The next day, dawn''s early light was faint.

    Hidden Dragon Temple.

    Yi Chen was still soundly asleep, when suddenly he was awoken by frantic knocking at the door.

    "Master, Master, quickly open the door, something terrible has happened."

    It was Chief Zhang''s voice.

    Yi Chen, with sleepy eyes, opened the door of Hidden Dragon Temple.

    "Why the panic, disciple? Let me teach you again to be calm in the face of trouble. Flustering about like this, what does that look like?"

    "Yes, Master." Seeing Yi Chen''s towering figure, Chief Zhang seemed to find his backbone and calmed down a bit.

    The two went to the guest room in the courtyard, where Qing Yunzi had also been woken up and started brewing two cups of clear tea for them.

    "Speak, what has happened to cause such a flurry?"

    "Surely the county prefect hasn''t just up and vanished."

    Yi Chen picked up his tea cup, gently blew on the froth, and then gulped down the scalding hot tea at once.

    With his current physique, he could easily withstand such temperature.

    Drinking boiling water was the real deal.

    It benefited the accumulation of Origin Point.

    After finishing one cup, he poured another and was about to take a sip.

    Watching Yi Chen''s exaggerated actions, Chief Zhang also had a face full of disbelief. He put down his tea cup and said urgently:

    "Master, stop joking around, there really has been a disaster," he said.

    "There''s been a haunting in Fengyun County. The entire household of the wealthy Wang family, two to three hundred people, all dead, a dreadful scene, not a chicken or dog left alive."

    "And the Wang family''s young miss had it worst; her mouth was split open."

    "There was minced flesh and dismembered corpses everywhere, not enough pieces to even make a complete pair of pants for ten people."

    Yi Chen: "....."

    Pfft!

    All the hot tea he just drank sprayed out.

    He widened his eyes and said, "What did you say? Say it again?"

    "Master, remember to keep your composure in the face of important matters," Chief Zhang wiped the tea from his face and repeated the previous statement, then continued.

    "The Wang family has been wiped out by an evil spirit."

    "Master, the county prefect has issued invites, calling on all well-known Taoist temples, Buddhist monasteries, and loner experts to discuss the matter at the county office today."

    "The county prefect specifically asked me to inquire about your thoughts?"

    "I think it''s badass," Yi Chen had returned to his laid-back demeanor and spoke indifferently.

    Chief Zhang: "..." How am I supposed to respond to that?

    For a moment, Chief Zhang was utterly confused.

 Chapter 24: 24 Chapter Heading to

    "Who has the County Lord invited to discuss the matter?" Yi Chen asked, furrowing his brow."There are Spirit Wind View, Huanzhen View, Marvelous Moon Convent, and Moon Wheel Temple, four families. Besides that, the County Lord also posted notices, offering a high reward for experts from all over to discuss and resolve the matter," Chief Zhang replied.

    "A high reward? How much?"

    With keywords acquired, Yi Chen''s eyes lit up.

    For him, no amount of money was ever enough.

    Qing Yunzi had already started cultivating the "Supreme Spirit Flying Pure Yang Origin Taoist Scripture." This stage of converting essence to qi required substantial nourishment.

    Reliance on just meat not only affected his cultivation progress but even the quality of the Pure Yang true force would contain more impurities than others'', necessitating more time for refinement.

    Because of the blood-red mark on his body and the matter of the old Heavenly Master''s jade token, Yi Chen did not have much time to delay; he urgently needed to make a trip to Dragon Tiger Mountain.

    Firstly, as entrusted by others, he needed to serve those people well.

    Secondly, it was to inquire about some intelligence regarding Yin Manor along the way.

    Know thyself, know thine enemy, and you will fight without danger in many battles.

    Only by understanding what exactly Yin Manor was could he rid himself of it, or even dismantle that dilapidated house.

    Once Qing Yunzi had fully transformed all his Pure Yang true force, stabilizing his cultivation realm completely and possessing the ability to protect himself, he could set off with peace of mind.

    The difference would just be a month or two.

    Chief Zhang at this moment wished he could slap himself.

    He had been careless; he had actually forgotten to mention the most important thing.

    A master unsatisfied with his salary is unbeatable when he is fully paid.

    He still remembered the last time he had invited the master to make a move; before he handed over the banknotes, even the tea leaves were crude stems, drinking a mouthful felt like it was grating on the throat.

    After pulling out the banknotes, the master switched to premium buds...

    He had an epiphany.

    Immediately, he began to speak about the main point: "The County Lord has offered a reward of three thousand taels of silver to resolve this matter."

    "Each expert invited can receive two hundred taels as travel expenses, and Master, you can take this amount," Chief Zhang said, wagging five fingers.

    "Five thousand taels? In cash? The County Lord is generous; we''ll set off right away," Yi Chen''s eyes shone even brighter.

    Chief Zhang: "..."

    "It''s five hundred, five hundred taels, Master. Please, come to your senses..."

    "Oh." The light in Yi Chen''s eyes vanished.

    It seemed the County Lord was not an easy mark.

    "So, Master, about the County Lord''s invitation, are you going or not?" Chief Zhang could not help but ask.

    Yi Chen pondered for a moment, then decided to go on this trip.

    While the evil spirit that had slain over two hundred people in one night certainly was powerful, this time the County Lord of Fengyun County had gathered all the cultivators of high ability within the county. If worse came to worst, he could just frown like some powerful figure and retreat to the back of the crowd. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He still had five points of Origin Point saved up for flexible responses, not yet added.

    If he encountered an irresistible danger, he could just add those points to agility, and wouldn''t he just take off?

    On the grasslands, when a flock of sheep is being chased by wolves and fleeing everywhere, as long as you run faster than the slowest sheep, your chances of survival greatly increase.

    Without a doubt, he was very fast.

    That is unless the evil spirit was not as strong as he imagined.

    Uh...

    Why bother with chivalry and standing shoulder to shoulder against malevolent heretics? When the time came, he could look for the opportunity to deliver the final blow. Wouldn''t that be splendid?

    Moreover, he was quite eager to see the methods of his peers.

    Yi Chen narrowed his eyes, thinking of a possibility. Upon reflection, it was indeed necessary for him to meet and interact with the influential forces within Fengyun County''s borders to deepen their understanding of him.

    After all, he was not as kind-hearted as his master, Bai Yunzi.

    "Disciple, lead the way," Yi Chen commanded with a wave of his hand, making his decision on the spot.

    Go, I absolutely must go this time.

    He remembered that the county magistrate still owed him a final payment of three hundred taels that had not yet been settled. Last month, completely engrossed in cultivation, he had almost forgotten this matter.

    What about the promised feast and thank-you gift?

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen stood in front of the east gate of Fengyun County.

    The city gate was adorned with a Bagua mirror as large as a grinding plate, now covered in cracks.

    This mirror, known as the Bagua Evil-Repelling Treasure Mirror, was a magic artifact crafted by cultivators from the Imperial Astrological Bureau. It had a restraining effect on common malevolent spirits, and was typically installed at the city gates of larger towns.

    With this treasure mirror in place, malevolent spirits of the wandering and resentful levels could absolutely not enter through the city gates.

    As for the city walls, they were built solidly with the incorporation of special positive materials like Zhu Sha, which would make malevolent spirits shake their heads in dismay.

    Thus, the city was naturally much safer compared to the wilderness.

    The iron-armored corpse that had caused a major disturbance in Qingyuan Town couldn''t even enter the gates of Fengyun County.

    And that was why property prices in Fengyun County were so high¡­.

    Within the county, the officials were truly esteemed, their leg hair thicker than the waists of commoners.

    But now, the Bagua Evil-Repelling Treasure Mirrors at all four city gates of Fengyun County were shattered.

    Completely ineffective.

    This indicated that at least a fierce-level or higher malevolent spirit had infiltrated the city. No wonder the county magistrate was acting as if his backside was on fire, hastily summoning all the notable cultivation forces within the county.

    "Hiss, the property prices are going to fall."

    Yi Chen felt his Dragon-Slaying Sword on his back and strode into the city through the gate.

    Since I''ve come, then I must be at peace.

    At worst, I''ll just have to run a bit more.

    The remaining payment from last time, and the five hundred taels for travel expenses this time, I''m determined to get them!

    Roads can make a poor man rich. In some time, I''ve got to travel far again; should I beg for food along the way, or should I perform on the streets, breaking rocks on my chest?

    Life is not easy; should a Taoist sell his skills?

    Although I''m capable of doing so, I can''t lose that much face.

    Chief Zhang, following behind Yi Chen, noticed the direction he was heading and hurriedly said, "Master, you''re going the wrong way. The yamen is not in this direction."

    "I know, but aren''t you hungry?" Yi Chen replied.

    "Well, I am a bit, but the county magistrate and the others are already waiting."

    "They won''t die if they wait a little longer. If we go to Wang Yuanwai''s residence for the investigation now, the victim won''t survive anyway. Why rush there so early?"

    Chief Zhang suddenly felt that Yi Chen''s words made impeccable sense and was at a loss to object.

    "Then, Master, let me treat you to beef noodles. I know a noodle shop where the beef noodles are extremely delicious. My treat, and after eating, we''ll hurry over."

    "???"

    "You''re inviting me, a Taoist, to eat beef? Are you looking for trouble?" Yi Chen casually picked a noodle shop, sat down with an air of authority.

    "Keep it simple, let''s start with eight bowls of mutton noodles to fill up."

    "And add two eggs to each bowl."

    "Eating too much in the morning is not good."

    After spending the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, in the painful company of Chief Zhang''s wincing and the joyful waving off of the shop owner, they left the shop and finally headed towards the yamen.

    By this time, the sun had already risen, and although there were few pedestrians on the city streets, those seen were hurrying along, suggesting that the news of the Wang family''s annihilation had already spread.

    Outside the yamen, a chubby middle-aged man in a green official''s robe stood at the entrance, looking around.

    Yi Chen''s gaze inadvertently met with the chubby middle-aged man''s.

    After confirming the look in each other''s eyes, they understood they were birds of a feather.

 Chapter 25: Chapter 25 Exchange

    "It must be Taoist Yi Chengzi, indeed a man of imposing stature¡ªhis mana is clearly formidable." The laughter arrived before the person did.The county magistrate, with a beaming smile, strode over in measured steps.

    "Haha, it is indeed I."

    "Magistrate, where''s the banknote? And please, settle the last payment as well. Our temple is about to run out of provisions."

    County Magistrate Zhou: "???"

    His smile froze on his face.

    Why was there such a gap between this Yi Chengzi of the Hidden Dragon Temple and Daoist Bai Yunzi when it came to dealing with money? Opening his mouth, and immediately it''s about funds?

    Daoist Bai Yunzi never asked for the final payment.

    A thought flashed through his mind, and County Magistrate Zhou still promptly handed over eight hundred taels of banknote to Yi Chen.

    The circumstances demanded flexibility, not nitpicking over every detail. It was crucial to hold onto his official hat.

    As long as his official hat remained on his head, a fortune spent could always be regained.

    If the situation got out of hand and people from the Imperial Stabilization Division took over, the evil spirits would certainly be cleared out, but those office holders from the Stabilization Division would also investigate corruption...

    His accounts were anything but clean. If someone casually uncovered anything amiss, sheesh, not even nine heads would be enough to spare from the axe.

    Some issues, if not addressed, could be manageable, but once pointed out, not even a thousand pounds could stop them.

    Better to cover up what could be covered and suppress what could be suppressed.

    "Taoist, the other distinguished guests from the temples and monasteries are already discussing matters in the county office''s backyard. If it''s convenient, I''ll have someone take you there," said the magistrate.

    "Fair enough, fair enough. I''ll have to trouble the magistrate then."

    Yi Chen stretched out his hand to receive the banknote passed by the magistrate but upon pulling, he failed to bring the banknote with him.

    The magistrate was holding onto the banknote tightly.

    "Magistrate, there''s no end to earning money," Yi Chen''s solemn voice floated over.

    "The Wang family, they''ve been wiped out, what a tragedy."

    Yi Chen stopped at that.

    Hearing Yi Chen''s words, County Magistrate Zhou managed a sheepish smile, loosening his grip on the banknote, and after a moment of pondering, he took out another banknote worth two hundred taels and handed it over to Yi Chen.

    "Then I entrust everything to you, Taoist." This time, the magistrate spoke with exceptional sincerity, "With your profound cultivation, you''re sure to drive away the evil spirits and restore peace and prosperity to the people of Fengyun County."

    "Daoist Bai Yunzi once told me that you are a prodigy blessed by heaven, exceptionally intelligent."

    "Behind the scenes, both Hidden Dragon Temple and Lingfeng Temple have their own calculations. This time, without their abbots attending and counting on them to make great efforts and acts of self-sacrifice is impossible."

    "Abbess Shuiyue of Miaoyue Nunnery and the master of Yuelun Temple, while truly devoted, are facing an evil spirit too perilous this time. I fear they are not up to the great task ahead."

    "Should you manage to vanquish this evil spirit, I, Zhou, will be sure to reward you handsomely."

    "..." Yi Chen was momentarily taken aback.

    Does Master praise me like this behind my back? The cat''s out of the bag. It seems Master couldn''t maintain his facade. None of his four disciples have awakened their spiritual nature, so he boasted about my prowess and talent to save face.

    No wonder he rarely brings me along when mingling with other peers¡ªit must be to avoid being found out.

    I wonder why the magistrate has such blind trust in me. I''m curious to hear just how Master praised me...

    After a whirlwind of thoughts, Yi Chen had a clear understanding of the situation at hand.

    Both Hidden Dragon Temple and Lingfeng Temple sent their disciples, not their strongest abbots. They did not put all their eggs in one basket.

    No wonder these two temples were flourishing more and more, with properties in the city, while his Hidden Dragon Temple''s influence dwindled.

    Wherever malevolent spirits emerged, the Hidden Dragon Temple would charge into action. And once the clash was over, they weren''t satisfied until they had reaped enough benefits, often leaving with a flick of their robes, deeply concealing their skills and reputations. Could there be any justice in the world if this wasn''t considered a decline?

    When Bai Yunzi was seriously injured, the temple couldn''t even produce a hundred taels, forcing Yi Chen to sell the Overlord Chicken on Treasure Street in exchange for ginseng. For a temple with Taoists of the Qi Refinement Realm to fall to such a state was truly¡­respectable and admirable.

    Practitioners of the Pure Yang way could not tolerate even a speck of sand in their eyes.

    "Master," Yi Chen murmured to himself, as the image of the towering elder once again surfaced in his mind.

    His master, Bai Yunzi, was actually well aware of the world''s ways; it wasn''t that he couldn''t see what was happening. But he couldn''t help himself¡ªhe had to rush towards malevolent forces causing havoc, and in the end, he burned his life force using forbidden techniques to kill two powerful ghosts, Red Clash and White Clash, which caused Yin Qi to invade his body, leading him to pass away prematurely.

    Heh, the world is full of holes, yet there are always those who strive to mend it.

    "If good and evil go unrewarded, then heaven and earth must have their biases."

    "Hidden Dragon Temple must flourish again, otherwise it would mean the heavens are blind!"

    In an instant, Yi Chen made a decision in his heart¡ªthis matter could be an opportunity to rejuvenate the temple.

    The greater the turbulence, the higher the price of fish.

    After much thought, he spoke:

    "County Magistrate, even fine wine fears the depth of the alleyway."

    County Magistrate Zhou, understanding the subtle hint, immediately replied:

    "That''s easy. After this matter is resolved, I will have people from the government office openly and covertly promote the glorious deeds of Hidden Dragon Temple. The incense offerings at the temple will surely become more prosperous."

    "I need alchemical medicine to replenish essence and vital energy, and I need it now. My junior fellow disciple is a prodigy, with intelligence beyond compare. Should he grow in strength, the County Magistrate will have more options. In the future, should malevolent spirits emerge while I''m not around, you won''t have to be restricted by powers like Huan Zhen Temple."

    County Magistrate Zhou pondered for a moment before smiling and saying:

    "I agree to this as well. In my study, I have treasured three hundred-year ginseng roots and two eighty-year astragalus roots. I can send them to your junior fellow disciple today."

    Yi Chen gave Magistrate Zhou''s rotund face an odd look, not expecting this fat magistrate to be so decisive. He indeed had some measure of resolve.

    "County Magistrate truly speaks and acts with speed. Chief Zhang from the government office has taken a liking to me, and I have accepted him as my honorary disciple. If there are matters in the future, you can have him get in touch with me."

    "Chief Zhang is brave in carrying out tasks, and his ideas for Treasure Street are indeed eye-opening. Among the arresters, he holds considerable esteem. I believe the position of Fengyun County''s Head Arrester belongs to no one but him."

    "After this matter is resolved, Zhou has many issues he would like to consult with the Daoist about."

    Yi Chen did not pick up on this conversational thread but instead gave the County Magistrate a deep bow, "Boundless blessings from the Heavenly Venerate, I shall take my leave."

    All was said without words.

    Yi Chen flung his wide sleeves and strode confidently into the county government''s back courtyard.

    In the latter part of last month, based on the information Chief Zhang had gathered, his master Bai Yunzi didn''t get along well with Ling Feng Temple and had even taught a lesson to a Daoist from Ling Feng Temple. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It was said that the Daoist propositioned a beautiful woman under the pretext of exorcising the evil afflicting her husband, suggesting that she should sleep with him to facilitate the process. Bai Yunzi, upon finding out, gave the Daoist a thorough beating, ruining his scheme and severely embarrassing Ling Feng Temple.

    Today was a good day to see what Ling Feng Temple was made of.

    Yi Chen walked through a long corridor and soon arrived at the entrance of the grand hall in the back courtyard.

    He paused his stride, made up his mind, pushed open the vermilion door, and walked into the grand hall.

    Inside, there were four figures seated, two Daoists, one monk, and one nun.

    The monk Lianhua remained as before, in his moon-white robe, exuding elegance.

    With a lean face and a sharp chin, dressed in a grey monastic robe with wide sleeves and a square collar, the person was presumably Abbess Shuiyue of Miao Yue Convent.

    This took Yi Chen by surprise; he had not expected Abbess Shuiyue to be so young, looking like a woman in her thirties with all the grace of a twenty-eight-year-old beauty.

    Her lips were red without the need for rouge, her eyebrows green without pencil, but more importantly, even the expansive monastic robe could not hide her slender figure.

    Hisss, how was one supposed to exorcise demons and eliminate devils with such a distraction? It hardly seemed convenient.

 Chapter 27: Chapter 27 Investigation.

    Before long, a party of four arrived in the vicinity of the Wang family estate, where Chief Zhang, accompanied by several pallid-faced yamen runners, was cordoning off the scene to prevent any tampering.Yi Chen and his companions halted at the entrance of the estate.

    Three corpses lay on the street outside the gate; each one had been gutted, their livers vanished without a trace. Of the three, the one clad in dark brocade had suffered the most¡ªboth the depth and number of his wounds surpassed the others.

    Master Lianhua crouched down, thoroughly examining the scene before revealing a contemplative expression.

    "Judging from the positions the bodies fell and the wounds on them, these three were alive and had their livers gouged out right where they stood," said the master.

    "Their eyes bulging and filled with terror before they died, and yet they didn''t run or make any sound. This evil spirit might possess the ability to intimidate the mind or control the body of others."

    "Master is perceptive," Yi Chen and the others nodded in agreement.

    The four of them then proceeded to enter the estate in single file.

    Upon crossing the threshold, they were assailed by a pungent stench of blood. Abbess Shuiyue''s delicate nose twitched, and her brow furrowed deeply.

    Daoist Qingxu then proposed from behind, "Why don''t we split up to inspect the place, then exchange our findings afterwards?"

    Yi Chen and his companions saw no reason to disagree, as the Wang family estate was large; sticking together and inspecting the place as a group would prolong the investigation indefinitely.

    In an instant, they dispersed in different directions.

    Abbess Shuiyue headed for the back courtyard, the residence of the female family members, making her the most appropriate choice for inspection and out of respect for the deceased, given the circumstances.

    After all, Chief Zhang had mentioned that even the young miss of the Wang family had her mouth torn apart¡ªin this vast estate, they could hardly muster a complete pair of underpants. Between Yi Chen and the other two men, Abbess Shuiyue''s involvement was most proper.

    Watching Daoist Qingxu and Master Lianhua head to different areas, Yi Chen''s eyes gleamed; he followed the perimeter wall on a casual stroll.

    It wasn''t long before he spotted a corpse beside the wall, dressed as a martial artist, its death a ghastly sight. It had left a narrow, elongated blood handprint on the blue brick wall, and its chest was torn open from the front, red and white viscera spilled all over.

    His face still bore an odd, post-calamity expression of joy.

    Yi Chen looked up at the two-meter-high wall and then back at the corpse¡ªa man over one meter eighty in height, strongly built, sporting a physique that hinted at some sort of external martial arts training.

    This sight unwittingly brought a look of confusion to his face.

    He stretched out his finger to pinch the skin on the corpse, finding it tough and resilient, akin to feeling a layer of cowhide.

    Hmm, truly a robust body.

    A skilled fighter, no wonder he made it to the wall.

    Yet Yi Chen''s confusion only deepened.

    With the man''s imposing stature and external martial arts rendering him robust and virile, how could he not scale a mere two-meter wall?

    And why did the corpse have that odd smile, as if he''d survived a great disaster?

    How did the evil spirit accomplish this?

    Through melody? Psychic control? S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Even if two hundred pigs were lined up for slaughter, it would take a good while; yet out of the entire Wang family estate''s two hundred souls, not a single one escaped, with no neighboring households hearing any disturbances.

    "Interesting," Yi Chen muttered, his brow furrowing as he took another lap around the wall, spotting several more scattered bodies along the way.

    The confusion in his heart grew ever stronger.

    After a moment''s thought, he leapt over the wall with a swift motion, exerted force under his feet, and circled the four gates of Fengyun County to internally check the fissures in the eight trigrams evil-banishing mirrors before returning to the Wang family estate.

    By then, it was high noon, and Master Lianhua and the others had just finished their inspections. Led by Chief Zhang, the four gathered at Fengyun County''s largest restaurant, Shili Xiang, to have a meal and exchange information.

    All accustomed to corpses, including Abbess Shuiyue, none were deterred from eating after seeing the dead. As soon as the dishes were served, each began to devour heartily.

    They had no choice but to be quick.

    For fear of missing out due to someone''s whirlwind feast, and unlike a certain someone who had already consumed several bowls of noodles before arriving, they hadn''t even had breakfast.

    A dish of greens vanished in two bites, and Yi Chen grabbed a pork knuckle, gnawing it without even spitting out the bones; his gaping maw was like a black hole, swallowing everything without a trace.

    What was shocking was that despite his speed, Yi Chen''s eating manners were not unsightly, exuding an air of boldness.

    Abbess Shuiyue watched Yi Chen, her delicate mouth slightly agape, as if she had stumbled upon something fascinating.

    Feeling the gaze of Abbess Shuiyue, Yi Chen, despite his usually thick skin, couldn''t help but blush slightly. He put down the chopsticks reaching for the braised chicken leg, rubbed the back of his head, and offered an embarrassed smile to everyone, saying,

    "My apologies for the spectacle."

    Watermoon Abbess, noticing the bizarre disparity between this young Daoist who had just moments ago threatened to fight Old Peach Blossom Daoist, and now sat sheepishly smiling for having overindulged in his meal, found herself amused.

    A thought flickered, and bearing the possibility in mind, Watermoon Abbess''s demeanor softened even further. She pushed a plate of chicken legs toward Yi Chen and said,

    "Taoist, please don''t be shy. Eat. If it''s not enough, we can order another round of dishes."

    Her voice, like the chiming of a spring, was extraordinarily pleasant to the ear.

    Yi Chen glanced at Abbess Shuiyue bashfully.

    Such large chicken legs, beautifully curved.

    He quickly lowered his gaze, muttered a thank you, and then began to focus on devouring the chicken leg.

    The dishes at this Ten Li Fragrance Restaurant were truly excellent, far superior to eating fish, which made him inadvertently take a few extra bites.

    Now, in the entire Hidden Dragon Temple, everyone turns pale at the mention of fish¡­

    Before long, the table was a mess of plates and cups, everyone sated with food and drink, and the server brought over a few cups of tea and some plates of fruit before leaving the private room.

    The group began to share their findings with one another.

    Daoist Qingxu was the first to speak, "I meticulously inspected the front courtyard, and the death states of those maids, old women, and house slaves were basically the same as those three individuals found outside the main gate, all showing terror before death, their livers vanished into thin air."

    "From this it appears that this evil spirit is indeed as Master Lianhua said, there is a very real possibility that the evil spirit has the ability to psychically shock or control others'' bodies, something we cannot afford to ignore."

    Everyone nodded, and Master Lianhua continued, "I examined the death states of the night patrol guards and found that they died in disarray, as if they had been walking in circles on the spot right before death. I suspect that this evil spirit not only has psychic powers like shock but may also have the ability to confuse and bewitch."

    "That would explain why this evil spirit was able to kill more than two hundred people in the Wang family in one night without being discovered."

    "It must have first confused and muddled everyone''s mind, before killing them one by one."

    "Among the many corpses, I even found the body of a daoist whom the Wang family had recruited with a hefty sum, also dead without a sound, his liver taken."

    "This evil spirit is indeed vicious."

    Abbess Shuiyue pulled out a white silk handkerchief to wipe her mouth before speaking, "In the back courtyard, the female corpses were torn apart, their livers similarly missing."

    "It appears they suffered abuse before death."

    When she reached this point, a trace of faint anger appeared on Abbess Shuiyue''s egg-shaped face, her complexion turning slightly red, as if recalling the tragic deaths of the once-beautiful ladies.

    Everyone understood immediately, shocked to think that this evil spirit was also a lascivious old ghost.

    All three turned their gaze to Yi Chen.

    "I may not be comparable to the esteemed elders here in examining and investigating corpses, but I have indeed discovered something new."

    "Even if the evil spirit possesses the ability to bewitch, Wang Yuanwai''s estate had no shortage of capable people. How did it manage to control so many at once?"

    "The more people it controlled, the weaker its bewitching abilities must have become, and certainly, some strong-willed and vigorous martial artists, or a lucky few carrying some magical item, would have broken through the blockade. I found over a dozen corpses near the wall, which corroborates this theory."

    "However, those who had escaped the bewitching, carrying the look of having survived a great catastrophe, were dead."

    "They died without ever climbing over that wall more than two meters high."

    "Or perhaps, they thought they had climbed over that wall and escaped, but in reality, they remained right beside the wall."

    Upon hearing this, all three furrowed their brows, and Daoist Qingxu spoke, "Yi Taoist, are you suggesting there might be more than one evil spirit?"

    "Could this evil spirit, like the wolf and jackal, have an accompanying or parasitic ally? Is that what caught those martial artists who fled to the wall off guard again?"

    "Of course, it''s possible," Yi Chen said, giving the group a deep, searching look.

    "It''s even possible that someone used dark magic to smash the Eight Trigrams Soul-Capturing Mirror and let this spirit in."

    "If the spirit is someone''s familiar, controlled by some evil practitioner with flags or a special Magic Artifact to seal off the Wang family estate, that could have had the same effect."

    The group was startled by this possibility.

    After all, Yi Chen''s conjecture was too horrifying to contemplate.

    If it was the kind of ghost with a parasitic ally, then their mission was bound to be extremely dangerous; even death here was a possibility.

    Such unusual ghosts usually have the ability to merge or even swallow each other during crucial moments, dramatically increasing in strength. Fortunately, such evil spirits are rare and hard to encounter.

    But if they do, the danger is great.

    If it''s the second possibility, then the matter is even more troubling.

    Who knows what the intentions and capabilities of the person behind the curtain are?

    At that moment, all three thought of the scene where the livers of the Wang family''s corpses had all vanished and grew more anxious.

    Seeing the somewhat low spirits of the group, Master Lianhua forced a laugh and said, "These are just our speculations. Unless the experts from the imperial Court of Judicial Review come to investigate, we have no way to determine if the Eight Trigrams Soul-Capturing Mirror was shattered by human or evil spirit."

    "Now that the arrow is on the string, we have to shoot it tonight. We must be careful in our actions," he continued.

    "If there truly is someone behind this, this matter is beyond our capacity. At that time, we should faithfully report to the County Magistrate and ask for assistance from the Court of Judicial Review."

    "If it really is a parasitic evil spirit, let us do our best. The four of us together, that spirit won''t find it easy to take us down in one bite."

    After Master Lianhua spoke, everyone nodded in agreement.

    What Master Lianhua''s words essentially meant was:

    Currently, it''s all speculation, but we have to fight, otherwise, we can''t justify ourselves. If this matter is too complex, we''ll let the Court of Judicial Review handle it.

    We''re just earning a little money, why risk our lives?

    Even risking our lives might not solve the problem. It''s better to trust in the wisdom of the court to handle things and deter the nefarious.

    Tonight, let''s be careful, brothers. Even if it''s a parasitic evil spirit, if we can''t beat it, we can still run.

    "The Master speaks wisely, with the caution of experience," they all said.

    Being individuals of keen intellect, they all understood the subtext of Master Lianhua''s words.

 Chapter 28: Chapter 28: The knife, I want it; money, I dont have any. What do you think I should do?

    The night was still, with the moon hanging high.All of Fengyun County was tranquil.

    All the citizens had been notified, the curfew was in place for the night, no one was permitted to travel outside, doors and windows were to be tightly shut, and if anything unusual was observed, they were to shout loudly, causing a commotion, and the officials would come to deal with it.

    "Then let''s proceed in this manner," they agreed.

    In the pallid moonlight, Yi Chen and the other three each held a yellow triangular talisman and went their separate ways.

    These triangular talismans were provided by Master Lianhua, with the agreement that if they encountered any malevolent spirits, they could simply ignite the talisman with mana, and all would be able to sense the location and support each other.

    Yi Chen, Master Lianhua, Abbess Shuiyue, and Daoist Qingxu each took positions in the eastern, southern, western, and northern districts respectively.

    After everyone took their positions, they began their actions.

    Yi Chen naturally relied on the third level of the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique for his perception of Yin Qi, wandering the streets continuously, sensing the presence of Yin Qi.

    Master Lianhua took out a small furnace of incense ash, chanting sutras while scattering a bit of it along the way.

    Abbess Shuiyue carried a white jade bottle with a willow branch showing a hint of green sticking out of its mouth. She cautiously observed her surroundings and at every intersection, she dipped the willow branch into the bottle and sprinkled some of the liquid on the ground.

    Daoist Qingxu carried a small tripod with three legs, murmuring indecipherable scriptures. He would walk a few steps, take out a wooden mallet, gently tap the tripod, stand still to listen for any movement, and if none was heard, he would continue on, repeating this over and over.

    To each their own way of dealing with things.

    Each individual had their own methods.

    By the time midnight approached, still no abnormalities had occurred, which left Yi Chen with complicated feelings.

    On one hand, he hoped the malevolent spirit would appear, as he was truly eager for the Deep Red Points, but on the other, he feared if the malevolent spirit was too strong, they might not be able to defeat it¡­

    His mindset at that moment was like a young girl in her first love, waiting for her beau, afraid he wouldn''t come, yet also afraid of his reckless arrival.

    The night, deepened.

    Unnaturally silent.

    Yet tonight, who knows how many were unable to sleep.

    Yi Chen walked slowly along the main street of East City, the moonlight elongating his shadow, as he carried the Dragon-Slaying Sword on his back, continuously surveying his surroundings.

    With his sharp senses, he could tell that many citizens within Fengyun County were not asleep; some bolder individuals would stealthily open their windows and peek outside, where upon seeing a tall Daoist patrolling, sturdy as a bear, they would feel somewhat reassured, and would then quietly close their windows once more.

    Unknowingly, Yi Chen reached the border between East City and South City, where he happened to meet Abbess Shuiyue carrying her jade bottle.

    At night, Abbess Shuiyue was not dressed in the grey monk''s robes she wore during the day but had changed into a white plain dress.

    Abbess Shuiyue, with her fair complexion, appeared even more beautiful under the moonlight, looking like a jade statue moving through the moonlight.

    What''s more, without the bulky monk''s robes to hide and diminish her form, her curves were more pronounced, extremely pleasing to the eye.

    Her long legs moved gracefully, swaying with her steps.

    After a brief nod of acknowledgment, the two parted ways and continued their separate patrols.

    Reaching another long street, Yi Chen stopped, smacked his lips in admiration, and after sighing for a moment about the hidden beauty, he resumed his patrol.

    Yi Chen had a strange feeling that Abbess Shuiyue did not seem like a nun, but rather like a well-educated and trained lady from a prestigious family.

    Some things are ingrained in the bones and can''t be changed; the details and the aura of nobility in all her movements hinted that Abbess Shuiyue''s background might not be so simple.

    In the world, one must have either strength or background, and at least possess one of the two.

    Whether it''s the Moon Wheel Temple or the Marvelous Moon Hermitage, neither are minor institutions; they have branches in other counties and prefectures as well.

    And naturally, it was the same in Fengyun County.

    In contrast, the Lingfeng Temple, Huanzhen Temple, and Hidden Dragon Temple had no such patronage and were considered local forces rooted around Fengyun County.

    As he pondered these thoughts, Yi Chen paused, slapped his handsome face lightly, and chastised himself.

    "Damn it, at this critical moment when that malevolent spirit could emerge any minute, what am I thinking about Abbess Shuiyue for?"

    "I really shouldn''t have."

    "Tonight''s moonlight is so bright, so white."

    Yi Chen raised his head for a glimpse at the full moon overhead, then walked over to a water jar set outside a household, struck a pose, and a face as chiseled as if carved by knife and ax appeared in the reflection in the jar.

    He commented to himself it wasn''t bad, fit for a rather mediocre evaluation, then continued his patrol down the street with his head held high and chest puffed out, shamelessly nonchalant.

    Meanwhile, in South City.

    Abbess Shuiyue looked at the deserted street, and as the night breeze brushed against her delicate, eggshell-thin face, she suddenly felt a chill and fear within.

    She lifted her head to gaze at the full moon above, and the thought of Yi Chen, whom she had just encountered¡ªthe young Daoist as burly as a bear¡ªmade her chuckle softly, and the flicker of fear she just felt vanished without a trace. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    That sudden outburst from Yi Chen in the backyard of the county office had left a deep impression on her.

    She found that loathsome old Daoist utterly nauseating, his eyeballs always roaming around her sensitive areas like a lame toad that, while not biting, disgusted others to death. She restrained herself from lashing out, and Yi Chen had vented her frustration for her.

    In fact, her impression of Yi Chen was not bad at all. She was reasonably familiar with the situation at Hidden Dragon Temple: Just a few cats big and small, all relying solely on Yi Chengzi to hold up the sky. How could one establish a foothold in Fengyun County without being fierce and aggressive?

    Having a soft spot without reliable support made it impossible to stand ground without having some thorns.

    Not everyone had a background as substantial as hers.

    Her origins had exposed her to too much of the savagery hidden beneath genteel exteriors, so she didn''t take offense to Yi Chen''s behavior; on the contrary, she found it quite responsible, much like her elder brother before she became a nun. Moreover, Yi Chen was not bad-looking¡ªat a million times better than that revolting old Daoist.

    "He''s really not had it easy."

    Abbess Shuiyue sighed softly, exhaled a cloudy breath, tightened her clothes, and continued walking forward.

    Her movements were full of grace and beauty as she walked.

    At this moment, she didn''t notice a patch of dark clouds drifting over, obscuring the moonlight and suddenly dimming the light. A faint mist began to rise from the street.

    At the far end of the long street, an old man with white hair emerged from the thin mist, pushing a small cart.

    The elderly man''s face was adorned with a lewd smile, brimming with malice.

    "Knives for sale, knives for sale."

    "Abbess, would you like to buy a knife? They''re very cheap."

    Their gazes met.

    Abbess Shuiyue suddenly felt chilled to the bone, her body rigid.

    She felt the air around her grow heavy as lead, firmly entrapping her.

    A disgusting, chicken-skinned old face loomed close to her.

    "Abbess is truly beautiful, would you like to buy a knife? It''s not expensive."

    A bitter feeling emerged in Abbess Shuiyue''s heart; she had been careless. Her fingers twitched slightly, ready to activate a costly ancestral secret technique to escape the predicament.

    Suddenly, a voice that sounded like heavenly music to her reached her ears, stopping her from acting.

    After all, should she use that secret technique...

    A towering figure forcibly wedged himself between her and the white-haired old man, a boundless strength causing the old man to stumble backward. The tall figure also blocked the old man''s malevolent gaze, instantly freeing her from her restraints.

    She hastily retreated several steps.

    The scene that unfolded before her eyes left her utterly shocked, her mouth agape.

    Yi Chen''s broad hand, like a palm-leaf fan, was pressed on the old man''s shoulder, and he grasped a firewood knife from the cart with the other.

    His voice rolled in like thunder.

    "Old fellow, the Abbess isn''t buying your lousy knife."

    "But I wish to purchase."

    "I want the knife, but I have no money, what do you suppose I should do?"

 Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Fury and Change.

    ```The white-haired elder was a bit stunned at the moment, only feeling a darkness before his eyes, as the nun who was as beautiful as a jade vanished, and a daoist as strong as a bear appeared in front of him.

    A huge shadow covered the light and enveloped his figure, and without even smelling, he knew the person before him was filled with the Pure Yang Qi he hated the most.

    "You gonna talk, or did you leave your vocal cords at home?"

    "I want your firewood knife, but I don''t want to pay; what should I do?"

    "Got any more? I''d like to buy a few more."

    Yi Chen picked up the white-haired elder''s firewood knife and flicked the blade with his finger, grinning wickedly in the moonlight.

    He really did want that knife; it wasn''t just empty talk.

    As soon as he gripped the handle, a trickle of cool qi entered his body, and his Deep Red Value immediately increased by twenty points, which surprised and delighted him.

    He took the knife and tucked it into his waistband, then stretched out his hand and beckoned provocatively in front of the white-haired elder, looking every bit the bully.

    When the clouds covered the moon earlier, Yi Chen had detected that something was off, sensing a burst of Yin Qi appearing not far from South City, so he immediately rushed over.

    After observing in the dark for a second or two, he noticed that the evil spirit''s Yin Qi wasn''t as dense as he had imagined, quite similar to the old ghost who sold ''melons'' in Yin Manor.

    Danger -50 points

    Righteousness +500 points.

    So he first ignited the triangular talisman with mana and then decisively chose to act, rescuing Abbess Shuiyue.

    Looking at the young daoist in front of him, dressed in a robe but resembling a bandit, the white-haired elder finally reacted.

    It seemed he had been robbed.

    This was utterly ridiculous.

    A surge of anger rushed to the top of his head.

    He twisted his mouth into a sinister smile, about to speak when suddenly a blast of wind hit him¡ªYi Chen had already launched a preemptive surprise attack.

    A powerful, heavy diagonal knee strike hit the white-haired elder in the chest.

    The elder''s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets from the knee strike as stars exploded in his vision, as if seeing his own great-grandmother from his past life.

    Under the force of the blow, his body began to rise ''towards the clouds,'' but this was far from the end. Yi Chen''s body slightly bowed, legs bent, as his leg muscles suddenly bulged out.

    He sprung up like a coiled spring, and in an instant, he was above the white-haired elder.

    His elbow, emanating a faint purple Pure Yang Inner Qi, smashed fiercely into the lower part of the elder''s neck.

    The white-haired elder plummeted at a faster rate than he had ascended.

    Boom!

    A loud noise.

    The white-haired elder''s entire body embedded into the street paved with long, green stone slabs, sinking into it.

    With the point of his fall as the center, cracks spread out in all directions.

    Dust was thrown up everywhere.

    At this moment, Master Lianhua and Daoist Qingxu arrived just in time to witness the scene where Yi Chen leaped up high and struck the white-haired elder with his elbow.

    Both widened their eyes in unison, looking as if they''d seen a ghost.

    Especially Daoist Qingxu, who was even more astonished. This wasn''t right.

    The fighting style of Taoist Yi Chengzi was much too different from that of his master.

    He sniffed, focused intently on the pale purple Inner Qi surrounding Yi Chen, with growing doubts in his heart.

    "It''s the aura of Pure Yang true strength, but it lacks the purity of Bai Yunzi''s, and the color is also off."

    "Though it hardly differs from Pure Yang true strength and has a significant restraining effect on evil spirits, this inhuman colossal strength is simply inconceivable, it doesn''t seem like strength that a human could possess."

    All of a sudden, a suspicion sprang into Daoist Qingxu''s mind.

    ``` S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Could it be that Taoist Yi Chengzi is truly a genius? Using the ''Supreme Celestial Pure Yang Root-Source Taoist Scripture'' as a foundation, has he carved out a new path for himself?"

    "Or does Hidden Dragon Temple possess a secret tradition, and the path Taoist Yi Chengzi is following is the second one?"

    "Sss, a tiger does not display its might when dead. Hidden Dragon Temple truly has a profound foundation and enduring blessings."

    Thinking of these possibilities, the complexion of Daoist Qingxu turned somewhat uncertain.

    Originally, after the death of Bai Yunzi, amongst all the powers of Fengyun Temple, his own Huanzhen Temple should have been the leader, and his senior brother, the Huanzhen Temple Master, was also a powerful figure at the peak of the Essence Refinement Realm.

    Who might step into the Qi Refinement Realm at any moment.

    This...

    In an instant, Daoist Qingxu thought of many possibilities.

    Behind Yi Chen, Abbess Shuiyue stood watching the figure in front of her like a demon god, and with her jade-like hand covering her red lips, her shock was incomparable.

    Too terrifying, too ferocious, is this the might of the Pure Yang Taoist method?

    Blood Qi like a melting furnace, Pure Yang soaring to the heavens.

    Indeed, a powerful path next in esteem only to thunder magic in warding off evil.

    The three gazes converged, focusing on Yi Chen, then shifted to the human-shaped pit in front.

    "Is he dead?"

    The same question rose in the hearts of the three.

    Yi Chen stood with his hands behind him, looking forward, but not feeling much joy in his heart.

    He always felt that things wouldn''t be so simple, after all, this was a powerful evil spirit capable of silently killing more than two hundred people overnight; it couldn''t be that it was dispatched by his two strikes.

    Indeed, a series of coughing sounds rose from within the pit, and a hunched old man with white hair struggled to stand up from within it.

    "Taoist, you are indeed strong, but pity that your Pure Yang Qi is not pure."

    The sinister voice of the white-haired old man came from all around, and just listening to the voice one could sense the venom and hatred in his heart.

    He stood up like a zombie, pivoting on his heels in an arc. His skinny, chicken-claw-like hands reached for his protruding eyeballs and pushed them back in. Then he twisted his own head with both hands, exerting force to dislocate his own head and spine.

    A headless old man stood in the middle of the street, endless black ghostly Qi gushing from the severed neck.

    "I will have you all die!"

    He let out a long howl towards the sky, his gaunt body swelling, his presence becoming ever more frightful, and his body stretching to almost two meters tall.

    His head became the hilt of a sword, his spine the blade.

    A headless old man, holding his own head, charged toward Yi Chen with great strides.

    The thick black ghostly Qi emerging from his neck transformed into three black smoke skull heads that separately rushed toward Abbess Shuiyue, Lotus Blooming Master, and Daoist Qingxu.

    This scene was extremely grotesque, and it made onlookers'' scalps tingle with alarm.

    This evil spirit was exceedingly brutal and tremendously confident.

    Facing the four of them - Yi Chen and his companions - it still fancied a delusion of one against four, swallowing them all.

    "Be careful, Daoist."

    "Impudence!"

    "Arrogance!"

    Abbess Shuiyue, Lotus Blooming Master, and Daoist Qingxu each let out a great shout, immediately employing their skills to counter the black smoke skull heads.

    Yi Chen''s gaze was fixed on the headless white-haired old man charging toward him, his body surged with Pure Yang Qi, yet his mind remained extremely calm.

    He abruptly drew the Dragon-Slaying Sword, the pale purple Pure Yang Inner Qi roaring at full throttle, lifting the hem of his Taoist robe into the air.

    "If you want to take my life, let''s see if you have the capability."

    Yi Chen bellowed, his Pure Yang Inner Qi becoming even more intense. The sword light on the Dragon-Slaying Sword increased by threefold, and in an instant, the sword met the headless white-haired old man''s spinal blade.

 Chapter 30: Chapter 30 Anode Change, Pulling Earth Mud and Fog Ghost.

    With a thunderous roar,Yi Chen instantly swung the Dragon-Slaying Sword, entangling it with the headless white-haired elder''s spine longsword, as both sides exchanged over a dozen blows in a blink of an eye.

    Just as their longswords crossed again, something unexpected happened.

    The head that the headless white-haired elder was holding as the hilt of his spine longsword suddenly opened its eyes.

    A heavy force field instantly pressed down on Yi Chen.

    In almost an instant, the air around them solidified as if it were made of iron.

    At this moment, a smug smile crossed the face of the white-haired elder.

    How this Taoist had cultivated was beyond his understanding; not only was his Pure Yang Qi surging and roaring, but his physical body was exceptionally strong and unmatched, able to exchange over a dozen strikes with his ghostly body without being at a disadvantage, and moreover, this man had an astonishing will.

    He had long sensed that if he used his mental intimidation immediately, it would not have much effect on Yi Chen and would instead make him aware of and cautious against this innate ghostly skill.

    Therefore, he had calculated in advance that using it at this very moment would be perfect.

    One step too slow, and every step would be too slow.

    At this moment, the white-haired elder seemed to have already seen the scene of Yi Chen''s head being severed by his sword, so he couldn''t help but let out a strange, gleeful laugh.

    "It''s over, Taoist."

    "Ghost Slash of the White Spine!"

    Meanwhile, Yi Chen''s mind remained as calm as a tranquil lake.

    He found that the more dangerous the battle became, the calmer he was.

    No, that''s not right.

    It was that state of fire and ice: boiling with passion in his body but with utter calmness in his mind.

    He thoroughly enjoyed this current state, walking a tightrope between life and death, as if only then could he finally feel the meaning of life.

    To feel himself... truly, alive.

    Truly, existing.

    He felt his passion ready to ignite.

    Faced with the sudden dramatic change, Yi Chen remained composed, letting out a fierce shout!

    "Extreme Yang Transformation!"

    "Open for me!"

    His shout was like thunder, and in an instant, Yi Chen''s already tall stature rose a few centimeters, his muscles and skin becoming even more swollen and tough.

    Thick blue-black veins emerged on his body.

    After the Extreme Yang Transformation, the pale purple Pure Yang Inner Qi around his body became even more violent than before, as if cold water had been poured into a pot of hot oil.

    The wild power allowed Yi Chen to easily break free from his bonds.

    He gripped the Dragon-Slaying Sword with both hands, twisted his waist and hips, and with a powerful flick, his sword moved diagonally up to meet the white-haired elder''s killer blow.

    Boom!

    A sound even louder than before rang out.

    The explosive power made both of them involuntarily retreat several steps.

    Thud, thud, thud.

    Yi Chen took three steps back to fully absorb the force, transferring the impact to the ground.

    Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

    The white-haired elder was forced back seven steps.

    In an instant, the stronger party was evident, and not to mention that the white-haired elder''s spine longsword now had a large nick, and was riddled with tiny ones, which pained him to the core.

    "Magnificent, Yi Taoist!"

    Seeing this, Abbess Shuiyue was naturally greatly inspired. With a clear shout, the liquid inside the white jade bottle surged forth, transforming into a transparent water dragon that lunged at the black skull in the night sky.

    With one bite, the black skull was shattered into a burst of black smoke, which then scattered and disappeared into the night sky with a sweep of the dragon''s tail.

    Lianhua Fashi, of course, would not show weakness either. He reluctantly took out a black prayer bead and threw it at the skull in the night sky, directly blowing the black skull to pieces.

    Seeing that the two had spectacularly dealt with the smoke skulls, Qinxu Daoren''s eyes flashed with a trace of regret. It would have been wonderful if Yi Chen and that white-haired old ghost had both been injured or even better, died together. Alas, things did not go as he wished. The young master of the Hidden Dragon Temple was indeed not someone easy to deal with.

    He immediately stopped dragging his feet, struck a small three-eared cauldron in his hand heavily with a wooden staff, producing a deep humming sound that shattered the ghost heads in the night sky into fragments.

    The four stood with cold expressions, each guarding a direction as they took steps toward the white-haired old ghost.

    Yi Chen eyed the white-haired old ghost eagerly, as if he was looking at an incomparable treasure, his gaze burning intensely and causing the old ghost to feel a chill in his heart, sensing that among the people present, this tall Daoist was the most sinister. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    What a pervert this one is.

    He looks like he wants to devour it in one gulp.

    Yi Chen grinned, his Pure Yang state could last for only a limited time, so he could not afford to waste it. Seeing that everyone had surrounded them, he immediately shouted loudly:

    "My fellow Daoists, don''t be courteous to this evil spirit, let''s join forces."

    "Kill it!"

    Upon uttering these words, Yi Chen felt refreshed inside as if he had drunk cold water on a scorching summer day.

    He had been waiting a long time for the opportunity to say that.

    Finally, his wish had been fulfilled.

    Just at that moment, the white-haired old ghost could no longer hold back and angrily shouted, "If I die, neither will you survive! Won''t you take action and kill these people, or would you really watch me die?"

    "Will you be able to bear the responsibility if you delay the master''s important affair?"

    Upon hearing this, the movements of Yi Chen and his companions involuntarily paused.

    Swaying people''s hearts?

    Damn it, is there a bigger fish behind this?

    Suddenly, the night sky darkened abruptly as black smoke emerged from the neck of the white-haired old ghost.

    A black iron curtain descended like an overturned bowl and enveloped the four, with a swath of earthy yellow radiating quickly from the white-haired old ghost toward them.

    Seeing this scene, Qinxu Daoren''s face changed drastically, exclaiming:

    "Damn it, they are the Fog Demon and the Dragging Mud, these two kinds of evil spirits."

    "Impossible, absolutely impossible, how could a Corpse Ghost possess these two kinds of evil spirits?"

    "It''s simply unheard of."

    At this moment, Qinxu Daoren, Abbess Shuiyue, and Lianhua Fashi could not help but cast their gaze towards Yi Chen.

    Taoist Yi Chengzi really had a crow''s mouth.

    During the earlier discussion, Yi Chen had proposed two hypotheses: either there was more than one evil spirit, or someone was behind this evil spirit.

    Well, it was not an either-or scenario; it turned out they were faced with a script that included both.

    Just now, they had heard loud and clear, the white-haired old ghost mentioned delaying the master''s affair, taking on a responsibility that could not be borne.

    If the lackeys were this fierce, how strong must their master be behind them?

    The four of them each showed a change in expression.

    At that moment, Qinxu Daoren incessantly struck the small cauldron, his face flushing red, no longer holding back. His Mana surged, temporarily holding off the encroachment of the Dragging Mud, whilst quickly explaining to the others, "The Dragging Mud can immobilize one''s body, making one stuck in the mud."

    "The Fog Demon is even more formidable. Not only can it bewilder people''s vision, but it can also form an iron curtain that seals off a space, cutting off sound, and can bring down strange and eerie Yin Qi. Within its Yin Qi enveloped range, all ghosts can be nourished, their power enhanced, while our strength will be weakened."

    "If anyone still has any ace up their sleeve, better use it now, or today we all might die here."

    Just as Qinxu Daoren finished speaking, wisps of peculiar mist began to float down from above the iron curtain.

 Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Blood Battle, Their Power and Will Beneath Me (Part 1)

    Yi Chen raised his head, looking at the grey ribbon-like mist drifting down from the iron curtain. His fingertip lightly tapped, and a wisp of light purple Pure Yang Inner Qi rose to meet the peculiar mist.Hisss!

    A sour, grating sound ensued. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The mist evaporated instantly.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen''s expression immediately changed.

    He felt his Pure Yang Inner Qi being neutralized.

    It was just an insignificant amount.

    But what if this ribbon-like mist kept falling down? Under such a diminishing situation, they truly might not survive here.

    Moreover, his Pure Yang surge state could only last for ten minutes, followed by a twelve-hour period of weakness.

    The white-haired elder looked at the four people trapped under the iron curtain, revealing a smile mixed with both pleasure and hatred.

    It cackled, "Fog Ghost, Mud Tendril, be gentle with that abbess, leave her alive¡ªI want to personally torture her."

    "As for the other three, kill them all, let''s evenly divide their vital essence."

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen was rendered speechless. He glanced at Abbess Shuiyue and sighed in his heart that this ghostly creature was consistently cruel, then without further hesitation, he charged at the white-haired elder with the Dragon-Slaying Sword in hand.

    Seeing Yi Chen make a move, the three companions, all experienced fighters, exchanged glances. They knew that the longer the night, the more dreams might disrupt them. The longer the delay, the worse it was for them, so they also attacked the white-haired elder together.

    Just then, an unexpected change occurred.

    Streams of black mist rose from the ground, isolating the lotus monk, Abbess Shuiyue, and Daoist Qingxu from one another.

    The black mist swept over, and their figures were instantly concealed.

    Meanwhile, the Mud Tendril that previously contended with Daoist Qingxu''s sound wave technique rolled back and covered the white-haired elder.

    Parts of the mud wound around the elder''s joints, wrists, and knees.

    Another portion of the mud formed a half-body armor of earthen style, covering the elder''s upper body, with a relief of a huge gaping mouth on the chest.

    The mouth relief eerily began to open and close upon hearing the command.

    "Corpse Ghost, you damned bastard, if I weren''t afraid of upsetting our lord''s plans, I''d not care if you lived or died," it said.

    "Fog Ghost can only temporarily detain those three, so hurry up and deal with this Taoist!"

    After merging with the Mud Tendril, the white-haired elder''s Yin Qi surged, and his aura instantly returned to its peak and even kept climbing.

    Whether out of fear of the lord mentioned in the Mud Tendril''s speech or guilt, the white-haired elder did not respond. Instead, he wielded his spine sword and met Yi Chen''s Dragon-Slaying Sword head-on.

    Boom!

    A muffled sound.

    This time, both Yi Chen and the white-haired elder each took three steps back.

    The white-haired elder, seeing this, cackled, "Daoist, await your death."

    "Weren''t you very brave?"

    "Weren''t you very strong?"

    "Come on, kill me!"

    "How come you''ve suddenly become a weakling?"

    "I want to see how long you can maintain this secret technique. When the time comes, I will slowly flay you alive, bit by bit."

    While spouting this trash talk, the white-haired elder, wielding his spine sword, moved to meet Yi Chen.

    It knew the scales of victory were slowly tilting in its favor.

    Yi Chen frowned, clearly aware of these ghastly beings'' plans.

    Although he seemed to be keeping pace with the white-haired elder, the grey ribbon-like mist falling from the sky occasionally provided a boost to the elder, and slowly, Yi Chen started to feel overwhelmed.

    Moreover, the Pure Yang surge''s duration was also more than half over.

    "This can''t continue, I have to fight with all my might."

    "Otherwise, if this goes on, the white-haired ghost will only get stronger."

    "I must deal with this white-haired elder in the shortest time possible; otherwise, today, we''ll all die here."

    Yi Chen clenched his teeth tightly, a resolute determination rising in his heart as he poured all five Origin Points without reservation into the strength attribute among his four-dimensional attributes.

    He did not even allocate a single point to stamina, for it was not a time for endurance battles but a need for an explosion of power, for strength.

    With his unmatched formidable strength, coupled with the advantage of the Dragon-Slaying Sword, an ancient Pure Yang sword cultivated over generations by the masters of Hidden Dragon Temple, he was to achieve an effect greater than the sum of its parts.

    Perhaps, what was missing to finally defeat the white-haired old demon was just that little bit more.

    At their level, a half step more in strength could have a huge impact in real combat.

    In an instant.

    A warm current surged forth, continuously coursing through his entire body.

    Every cell in Yi Chen''s body began to cheer as if parched earth welcoming a sweet rain, greedily sucking up the warm current.

    His height increased by another two centimeters, now standing over two meters tall; his fasciae, arms, thighs, abdomen, and the muscles around his neck began a new round of strengthening.

    The warm current infiltrated his bones, which started to emit faint flashes of light under its influence, shimmering as if they were breathing.

    By now, Yi Chen''s strength attribute had reached 33.

    Bang, bang, bang.

    The Dragon-Slaying Sword and the backbone longsword clashed several more times.

    The white-haired old man was starting to sense that something was wrong.

    He discovered with horror that the towering Daoist before him had once again increased his momentum, and the already inhuman Divine Power was still growing stronger.

    At the first clash, he stepped back one step.

    At the second, he retreated two steps.

    At the third, he stumbled back five steps.

    He was becoming flustered.

    "Taoist, let''s call it quits for today, what do you say?"

    Yi Chen remained silent, head down, hacking away fiercely.

    "Taoist, I admit defeat today; don''t overdo it. If you push me too hard, I have my Secret Techniques as well. Then everyone will be done for."

    Yi Chen kept silent, head down, continuing to hack away fiercely.

    The white-haired old man now had an expression as if he''d seen a ghost.

    This Daoist, with the strength of a Ferocious Beast.

    This persistent Pure Yang Inner Qi, like a stubborn disease in the bones.

    This incomparably sharp Pure Yang sword, exceedingly restraining of the Yin Qi around his body.

    When combined, these three aspects made him finally consider beating a retreat.

    Looking at the towering figure before him, he couldn''t help but feel a tingling in his scalp.

    Even though he was holding his own head in his hands, it was still tingling.

    Finally, he couldn''t bear it any longer.

    "Taoist, for fuck''s sake, say something."

    "Cultivation is hard; why fight to the death? If we both suffer, it benefits no one."

    This time, Yi Chen stopped.

    The white-haired old man felt a surge of joy, thinking the Taoist had finally come to his senses, which was not easy at all.

    But soon, the smile on his face froze as Yi Chen''s indifferent voice reached his ears.

    "The poor Daoist only wishes to either kill you lot or be killed by you!"

    "Come on, continue, let''s decide who''s superior as well as who lives and dies."

    By then, the flow of warmth in his body had long dissipated, but Yi Chen''s expression grew more fierce, a look of someone who greatly enjoyed the fight.

    In each exchange with the white-haired old devil, Yi Chen naturally sustained some minor injuries, but his spirit became ever more vibrant, each collision like a hammer continuously forging and tempering his essence, energy, and spirit.

    He even felt that his sixth level of the Minor Pure Yang Skill had advanced a small step forward, the light purple hue of his Pure Yang Inner Qi darkening ever so slightly.

 Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Blood Battle, Their Strength and Will Beneath Me (Part 2)

    In this life-and-death confrontation, what he gained was not just strength, not just improvement in skills, but the most precious thing was the tempering of his will.An unstoppable will, like a blade cutting through the fog, cutting through the illusory, cutting through hesitation.

    A powerful will allowed him to better grasp the moment of battle.

    A powerful will meant that every time he swung his sword, he could better marshal the strength of his whole body. His power began to condense as one, allowing him to perform at his best, cutting with seven or eight parts of his strength to achieve the effect previously only possible with his full force.

    This wonderful feeling made Yi Chen''s very soul tremble with exhilaration.

    "Come on!"

    "Kill me, use all your strength!"

    "Otherwise, you will be the one killed by me."

    Yi Chen, wielding the Dragon-Slaying Sword, quickly lunged toward the figure of the white-haired elder.

    At that moment, a flash of white light passed, and the figures of Abbess Shuiyue, Lotus Master, and Daoist Qingxu slowly emerged from the black mist.

    At this point, their hearts felt as heavy as if they were pressed by a thousand-pound boulder.

    They had been careless. They had accidentally been trapped by the Fog Ghost''s wall of mist, and they had no idea how Taoist Yi Chengzi was faring. Yi Chen was facing a mud monster and the white-haired elder who were in a buffed state.

    The Fog Ghost was a very special existence among the malevolent spirits, with chaotic will, slow reactions, and generally not high in spirit intelligence, even lacking strong offensive means.

    However, its ability to impede and obstruct others was unparalleled. It could not only buff the malevolent spirits within its range but also weaken the enemy.

    It was like a nurturing mother in the world of malevolent spirits. Once it merged or cooperated with other malevolent spirits, it often could produce incredible effects.

    Abbess Shuiyue, Lotus Master, and Daoist Qingxu found themselves trapped for a while by a natural spell of the Fog Ghost called "Ghost Hitting the Wall."

    "Yi Taoist, you must hold on."

    Not only Abbess Shuiyue and Lotus Master, but even Daoist Qingxu, who had previously been watching idly as Yi Chen fought the white-haired ghost to the death, prayed in their hearts.

    After all, times change.

    Daoist Qingxu felt as if his heart were a clear mirror. Once the Fog Ghost turned into an iron curtain, although its movement would be limited, it would also seal this space, which was not easy to break through.

    If Yi Chen were to die, then the inevitable outcome for the three of them would be to be defeated one by one, leading to total annihilation.

    "Look quickly!"

    The first to emerge, Abbess Shuiyue, exclaimed in surprise.

    Her voice was clear and enchanting, like pearls falling onto a jade plate, adding a touch of color to the oppressive environment.

    The three of them turned their gaze to the focal point of the battlefield, the tall figure bloodily fighting with the white-robed elder. Everyone couldn''t help but stare in astonishment.

    Yi Chen, bloodied and even dead as they had imagined, did not appear. Instead, a towering figure in Daoist robes was violently slashing down the white-haired elder.

    Abbess Shuiyue covered her mouth with her hand again in surprise.

    "It is truly... astonishing. Was Taoist Yi Chengzi hiding his strength before? Did he not show his true limit?"

    Abbess Shuiyue murmured in astonishment, her gaze following the movement of Yi Chen''s figure.

    Daoist Qingxu and Lotus Master were naturally shocked beyond measure.

    Daoist Qingxu''s gaze sharpened as he said solemnly, "Look, the Fog Ghost is continuously pouring Yin Qi into the white-haired ghost. The fact that we were able to break out so quickly is probably because Taoist Yi Chengzi had cornered these spirits in desperation."

    Upon hearing this, Lotus Master''s eyes gleamed brightly, and he said with a smile, "How can we allow Taoist Yi Chengzi to work so hard by himself and take all the glory?"

    "Let''s cast spells together, cut off the Fog Ghost''s Yin Qi transmission to the white-haired ghost, cover for Taoist Yi Chengzi, and see if these spirits still have any tricks to play."

    The three exchanged glances, nodded at each other, and each began to deploy their methods to intercept the Fog Ghost.

    Mana radiance sped towards the black iron curtain.

    Seeing the arrival of the three, the white-haired ghost, who was already complaining, felt even more regret.

    Indeed, desire could be a sharp edge over one''s head.

    Previously, by relying on the Yin Qi provided by the Fog Ghost, it managed to barely hold on against the suddenly explosive Yi Chen. Although it was hard-pressed, it had somehow managed to survive.

    It felt each second stretch into an eternity, hoping only for the relentless high Daoist''s secret technique to wear off.

    Instead of the secret technique''s duration expiring, what arrived was Yi Chen''s reinforcements.

    "This is bad."

    As Lotus Master and others made their move, the already dire situation for the white-haired ghost worsened even more.

    Yi Chen swung the Dragon-Slaying Sword non-stop at the white-haired ghost, his swordplay becoming increasingly wild. The Dragon-Slaying Sword tore through the air, stirring up ripples.

    Seeing Lotus Master and the other two emerge, Yi Chen couldn''t help but sneer:

    "You stupid jerk, wait for your death."

    "Aren''t you very brave?"

    "Aren''t you very tough?"

    "Come on, kill me!"

    "Why are you suddenly turning into a soft-shelled shrimp?"

    "I want to see how long you can hold out without the Fog Ghost''s Yin Qi support. When the time comes, I will slowly skin you alive, inch by inch."

    Yi Chen suddenly transformed into a character similar to Murong Fu, employing the same reciprocal tactics, returning all the rubbish talk the white-haired elder had spouted right back to him.

    Polarity inversion.

    The white-haired old man, upon hearing this, was so angry his heart felt like it would vomit blood.

    At this juncture, Yi Chen''s endurance for the Yang Extreme Change was less than two minutes, so he channeled his remaining courage to pursue the weakened enemy, avoiding resting on his laurels. After venting his frustration, he focused on dealing with the white-haired old ghost.

    After all, the longer the night, the more dreams to disturb it; catching him sooner rather than later was preferable. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Once again, their swords clashed.

    The vibrational ripples spread out in all directions.

    This time, the white-haired old ghost nearly lost his grip on his spine-bone sword. He couldn''t contain himself any longer.

    "Taoist, do you really intend to kill me off completely?"

    "If you don''t let me live, then let''s both die..."

    Thud.

    The sound of a blade slicing through flesh.

    The tip of the Dragon-Slaying Sword pierced out from the chest of the white-haired old ghost.

    "To... to control the earth... I... dammit..."

    The white-haired old ghost trembled as he pointed at a yellow figure in front of him, but he never got to finish his last words. Instead, he turned into a black smoke and disappeared between heaven and earth.

    At that moment, Yi Chen saw a stream of information appear before his retina.

    [You have successfully slain the Corpse Ghost and earned thirty Deep Red Points.]

    However, Yi Chen had no time to check this information as he yelled towards Abbess Shuiyue, "Abbess, stop it quickly!"

    Just now, as the white-haired old ghost threatened to fight to the death with Yi Chen, the controlling earthy mud that had turned into armor attached to the old ghost detached itself, forming into a small mud figure, and fled.

    After all, the three entities were only forcefully bound together by their master using a spell. For the controlling earthy mud, rather than making a last stand with the white-haired old ghost, it was better to take advantage of the old ghost''s hardship to make an early escape, and Yi Chen seized this moment, slaying the white-haired old ghost as soon as the mud detached itself.

    The intentions of the controlling earthy mud were clear as day. Even if the old ghost blew up his own ghost heart, what good would it do? Even if he managed to kill the towering Taoist before him, there were still three others standing behind.

    After the previous fight, both it and the Fog Ghost had been greatly depleted. Initiating another confrontation would undoubtedly lead to its doom, so it was better to bet on abandoning the white-haired old ghost for a chance to escape.

    As soon as Yi Chen''s words ended, Abbess Shuiyue reacted. A transparent water dragon burst forth from the jade bottle she carried, directly colliding with the controlling earthy mud shrouded in Yin Qi.

    Water splashed in all directions.

    Upon observing this, the mud figure formed by the controlling earthy mud revealed a humanoid smirk.

    Finally, a chance for survival.

    Right at that moment, it heard a voice.

    "Celestial Flying Immortal!"

    A piece of sword tip protruded from its chest as well, nailing it to the iron curtain.

    It turns out that after Yi Chen shouted, realizing he couldn''t reach it in time, he mustered all his strength and hurled the Dragon-Slaying Sword in his hand, skewering the controlling earthy mud spirit.

    "Everyone, get back!"

    Yi Chen roared, and as Abbess Shuiyue, Lotus Flower Sorcerer, and Daoist Qingxu watched in astonishment, he stomped the flagstones underfoot, sending a crack rippling through the surrounding ground.

    Using the powerful recoil from the ground, Yi Chen shot towards the controlling earthy mud like a cannonball.

    He yanked the Dragon-Slaying Sword out with a gesture as if chopping ribs, repeatedly hacking toward the iron curtain formed by the controlling earthy mud and the Fog Ghost. His sword dance created afterimages until both the controlling earthy mud and Fog Ghost dissipated into black smoke, only then did Yi Chen cease his assault.

    Would he let a secured prey slip through his fingers?

    If those shiny Deep Red Points escaped, he wouldn''t be able to sleep at night; he had fought desperately for them.

    If someone else snagged the first kill, that would be even more unbearable; he had to be quick.

    Soon after, two more information streams appeared before Yi Chen''s retinas.

    [You have successfully slain the controlling earthy mud and earned thirty Deep Red Points.]

    [You have successfully slain the Fog Ghost and earned thirty Deep Red Points.]

    Phew, a windfall indeed; the greater the storm, the more valuable the fish.

    Never had Yi Chen felt so wealthy; with this haul, plus the twenty Deep Red Points he gained from the White-haired Old Man''s firewood knife, he had amassed a total of one hundred ten Deep Red Points.

    Truly, that was so cool.

    "Taoist, how did you accomplish that?"

    Abbess Shuiyue, gazing at the towering figure before her, couldn''t help but ask.

    She was truly curious as to how Yi Chen, a youth, had achieved such a feat.

    At this moment, the timed duration for the Yang Extreme Change also elapsed.

    Yi Chen''s body reverted to its normal height. Leaning on the Dragon-Slaying Sword, he looked at Abbess Shuiyue''s oval face, and said with a gentle smile, "Well, naturally, it''s because their will and strength were beneath mine."

    "With conflicting intentions and no desire to fight, their will and strength were inferior to mine. Slaying them with my hand was but a routine matter."

    "Their purity was too low."

    Finished speaking, Yi Chen turned to face Daoist Qingxu''s direction. The tip of his Dragon-Slaying Sword plunged into the flagstones, and a cold voice emerged.

    "Daoist Qingxu, wouldn''t you agree?"

 Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Deep Purple Inner Qi, Calling for Help

    As Yi Chen''s gaze shifted, Daoist Qingxu felt as if he was being watched by a ferocious beast, his whole body jolted, and he couldn''t help but take a step back, forcing a smile and saying, "What Yi Taoist said is indeed profound.""I greatly admire it."

    The atmosphere around them suddenly became tense again.

    After a moment of silence, Yi Chen''s face revealed a smile once more. "Haha, just a joke. For our success in slaying the evil spirit that destroyed the Wang family, I must thank Daoist Qingxu, Master Lianhua, and Abbess Shuiyue for holding off that fog ghost."

    Yi Chen naturally saw Daoist Qingxu''s subtle movements, but now was not the time for pettiness. He had already offended Lingfeng Temple, and to offend Zhen Temple was not the act of a wise person.

    At least not now, when it was time to let the bullets fly for a while.

    What he lacked most at the moment was time, not to create more chaos after showing his strength.

    "So," Yi Chen thought, "should one prioritize harmony, or wait until my cultivation has greatly advanced and, on a moonless and windy night, break the old Daoist Qingxu''s limbs as a minor punishment and major warning? Then, consider the matter settled?"

    Seeing the atmosphere turning a bit awkward, Master Lianhua stepped forward to deftly change the subject with a smile.

    "Everyone, although the evil spirit was fortunately eliminated under Yi Taoist''s display of divine power today, we still need to discuss together how to proceed and come up with a plan."

    "After all, behind this evil spirit is a mysterious master."

    At these words, everyone fell silent.

    What kind of powerful existence could control corpse ghosts, fog ghosts, and earth-grasping mud spirits, bringing these three together under one master?

    Today, they had managed to slay the three great evil spirits largely thanks to Yi Chen''s display of divine power. Otherwise, they could only have fled for their lives. But these three were only servants of that mysterious master.

    I only took a few pieces of silver, why risk my life for this?

    And even if I risked my life, it wouldn''t be enough to fill this deep pit.

    It would be truly sinful to deplete the heritage passed down from the ancestors and end up like Hidden Dragon Temple, with all its masters gone.

    The four of them exchanged knowing glances and decisively chose to trust the wisdom of the government.

    "The day is drawing to an end, so why don''t we discuss this further tomorrow morning and then report the actual situation to the county magistrate?" Yi Chen said in a deep voice.

    Having contributed the most to the battle and deeply impressed the others, Yi Chen''s words were naturally met with nods of agreement from everyone, bringing a satisfactory close to the night''s intense confrontation.

    ¡­

    ¡­ S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Nighttime, Fengyun County, Ping''an Inn.

    Dressed in undergarments, Yi Chen sat on the terrace of the number one room in Ping''an Inn, with a cup of fragrant tea on the table next to him.

    The room was specially arranged by County Magistrate Zhou, who had allocated the best upper room to Yi Chen, which was very considerate.

    He couldn''t help but rub his brow with his thumb, his face showing a trace of fatigue. After a night of battling both people and evil spirits, even someone with extraordinary stamina like Yi Chen felt somewhat weary.

    "However, it''s all good in the end. Though no Origin Points were gained, a substantial one hundred and ten Deep Red Points were accumulated to my account," he thought with relief.

    Thinking of the Deep Red Points, the fatigue on Yi Chen''s face gave way to a surge of vigor.

    The efforts of this ordeal had not been in vain.

    He picked up the fragrant tea from the table, drained it in one gulp, and stood up against the fierce cool breeze and under the bright moonlight.

    "Minor Pure Yang Skill, level up."

    With that thought, one hundred Deep Red Points were instantly deducted, and a lengthy memory emerged in Yi Chen''s mind.

    Like watching a fast-forward film, Yi Chen began to peruse this sudden recollection.

    Standing in a secluded mountain valley, a young daoist with his hands clasped behind his back, the mountain wind billowed his wide sleeves fiercely.

    The young daoist stood in the valley, watching the sunrise, sunset, morning glow, and evening clouds.

    He neither ate nor drank as he observed the world around him.

    He watched a little grass struggle to break through the rocky crevices, take root, sprout, grow into a grass blade, wither to yellow, and repeat the cycle.

    He watched the sunlight bathe the entire valley, nurturing all living creatures.

    Time passed, and one day the young daoist seemed to have an epiphany. He stretched out his large, fan-like hand towards the rising sun in the sky and made a grabbing motion.

    As if he had seized the light itself.

    "Yang Qi, Pure Yang Qi."

    "Infuse my body!"

    The daoist suddenly spoke, his clear voice echoing throughout the valley.

    His body, gaunt from prolonged fasting, began to fill out, resembling an inflating ball, as his once tight daoist robes became loose with his body''s expansion.

    The morning glow was harvested, and the evening sun was refined, through countless seasons.

    As the young daoist continued to cultivate, the pale purple Pure Yang Inner Qi within him slowly darkened and thickened. One morning, the color became as deep as amethyst.

    The memory suddenly ended there.

    Yi Chen felt as though he had just watched an accelerated stream-of-consciousness film, with countless insights crowding his mind, as if he had truly undergone years of cultivation.

    He looked up slightly at the bright full moon and smiled.

    A deep purple hue of Pure Yang Inner Qi danced within his palm.

    Minor Pure Yang Skill level seven, achieved.

    At this moment, with the circulation of the deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi, earth-shattering changes were also occurring within his body.

    His muscles, which were already like well-forged steel, now took a step further, evolving toward the direction of thousand-refined mysterious iron. The cells interlinked even more tightly, and the previously somewhat exaggerated muscles became beautifully streamlined.

    But this didn''t diminish his strength at all; on the contrary, his power received a further boost.

    His hands were like white jade, and with a gentle clasp of Yi Chen''s hands, the sound of a sonic boom occurred, bursting air had become an easy task for him now if he wished.

    The strength to easily crush air with bare hands was formidable; it would be easy for these hands to twist off the heads of demons... or people, or to smash their skulls into their chests.

    In the state of introspection, Yi Chen discovered that deep within his bones, changes were taking place¡ªmore golden lines appeared, winding and intertwining like strange seals, mysterious and profound, spreading throughout his skeleton.

    The cells within his body also seemed to combine with the mystical substances between heaven and earth, becoming different from before. Upon closer inspection, streaks of faint purple occasionally flashed by.

    Moonlight shone down from the night sky, bathing thousands of miles in its glow and also showering upon Yi Chen on the terrace. Traces of light seeped through his skin and into his body, transforming into almost imperceptible Pure Yang Inner Qi.

    Yi Chen felt an inexplicable shock in his heart!

    "Hiss, terrifying to such an extent!"

    "Could it be that I''ve become a Taoist of light? What strange path has my Golden Finger led me down to?"

    ".¡­"

    "By absorbing light energy and extracting the essence from food, converting it into Pure Yang Inner Qi, am I still photosynthesizing like a human? Crikey."

    "The style is getting more and more preposterous."

    Suddenly, a speculation surfaced in Yi Chen''s mind.

    Perhaps in the process of deducing and transcending in cultivation techniques, none of the paths emerged out of nowhere; instead, they are a combination of the knowledge in his mind, and then deduced by the infinite wisdom of the Golden Finger into a feasible and correct path.

    Since advancing to the sixth level, Yi Chen had become a glutton¡ªhis Inner Qi was pale purple, and his Minor Pure Yang Skill had reached what seemed to be the human limit at this step.

    On this basis, how could Yi Chen progress further?

    Well, naturally, it was to say goodbye to being human.

    Before the advancement, Yi Chen also wondered whether he might starve to death after another promotion....

    Now, it seemed that the clever Golden Finger had already resolved this concern for him.

    Not enough sources of energy to support further advancement, right? No problem, Yi Chen had a belly full of strange scientific knowledge from his previous life.

    Spiritually awakened beings see the world filled with all kinds of peculiar qi, including the Yin and Yang, the five elements, and forces like wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. The extraordinary path of cultivators is to root themselves in the various qis of heaven and earth.

    All kinds of mysteries and spells also base themselves upon this qi.

    The qi of heaven and earth is endless, and spiritually cultivated beings rely on this great power to refine themselves, lever the world, and reach incredible realms.

    The divine power cultivated from the "Supreme Celestial Pure Yang Origin Taoist Scripture" is based on the Pure Yang Qi between heaven and earth, combining and purifying it to cultivate and nurture.

    Yi Chen, however, was different. Up to now, he still saw mountains as mountains and water as water, without the slightest sign of an ''awakened spirit.''

    To leverage nature? That was something he truly didn''t know how to do.

    The Pure Yang Inner Qi he cultivated was a mysterious force born from the extreme enhancement and purification of his own blood and Qi. In short, his source of power was to plunder from heaven and earth to strengthen himself¡ªit was the true might returning to himself. This was also why with each advancement of his Pure Yang Skill, his physique strengthened by a large margin.

    The source of his power had a foundation. Yi Chen''s robust physique was his cornerstone, the generator of his unparalleled Pure Yang Inner Qi.

    He couldn''t understand what qi was, but he knew what light was.

    In his previous life, paths like converting light energy into starch or carbon dioxide into sugar were proven to be feasible.

    Perhaps in the eyes of the Golden Finger, the light between heaven and earth was omnipresent. With proper self-transformation, solving the problem of energy supply would be child''s play, and the advancement of Pure Yang Skill would no longer be rootless.

    After this speculation surged in his heart, Yi Chen felt a bout of speechlessness.

    He didn''t know if his guess was correct or not, but regardless, his Minor Pure Yang Skill had broken through to the seventh level with a deep purple color¡ªan ironclad fact.

    He could absorb the surrounding light energy to replenish and convert it to Pure Yang Inner Qi; that was also a fact.

    If his conjecture was correct, then it would truly be ludicrous.

    This Golden Finger seemed to be based on logic intertwining both idealism and materialism in a state of quantum entanglement...

    Whew!

    Yi Chen gathered his scattered thoughts, stopped his wild speculations, and leaned on the terrace railing, exhaling a breath of turbid air that formed an arrow, shooting four or five meters into the night sky without scattering.

    "Is this considered an evolution of life?"

    He gazed at the night sky, his eyes focused, and a virtual screen appeared before him.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 18/107]

    [Strength: 45.0, Stamina: 38.0, Spirit: 41.0, Agility: 36.0]

    [Cultivation Technique: Minor Pure Yang Skill level seven (Traits: Strengthen Body, Burning Heat, Divine Power, Ward Off Evil, Tenacity, Qi Recovery, Ignition). Active Skill: Yang Extreme Change (Muscle strength triples, Inner Qi becomes more active, lasts for ten minutes, after which Inner Qi and strength temporarily drop to 70% of the original). Active Skill: Soul Ignition Technique (The most intense heat is burning; ignite one''s potential, burn lifespan for might, currently burning one year of lifespan for a 50% increase in strength and Inner Qi, with a maximum of five times strength enhancement).]

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique level three (Traits: Eagle Eye, Night Vision, Yin Qi Perception.)]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3. Culinary Skill lv3]

    [Origin Points: 0] (Obtained through physical training, used to improve strength, body, spirit, and agility data.)

    [Deep Red Points: 21.] (Obtained through special items or by killing malevolent beings, used to advance cultivation technique levels or for cultivation deduction.)

 Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Promotion, Negotiation, Seeking Peace.

    At this moment, Yi Chen''s panel underwent another drastic change.His lifespan limit increased to 107 years old, a full ten years longer than before.

    His strength attribute rose from the previous 33 points to 45, topping the four attributes, and his stamina, spirit, and agility had all made significant strides, though not as much as his strength.

    Just as Yi Chen had predicted, the seventh layer of the Minor Pure Yang Skill gave him a new active technique¡ªthe Soul Ignition Technique.

    "The most intense heat is from burning, igniting one''s potential, consuming lifespan in exchange for power. Currently, by burning one year of lifespan, one can increase strength and inner qi by fifty percent, with a maximum of fivefold strength enhancement."

    Yi Chen read the fine print on the light screen word by word, gaining some understanding of the active skill of the Minor Pure Yang Skill''s seventh layer.

    However, he had no intention of actively trying out the power of the Soul Ignition Technique for the time being, waiting to see which lucky one would witness his blaze.

    "Given how it''s changed, calling it Minor Pure Yang Skill doesn''t seem appropriate anymore. Better to call it True Pure Yang Skill."

    Yi Chen looked at the words Minor Pure Yang Skill on the light screen and, with a thought, the words slowly faded, while the symbol for True Pure Yang Skill gradually emerged and finally stabilized.

    Looking at the words True Pure Yang Skill for the seventh layer on the light screen, Yi Chen gently tapped the plus sign next to the True Pure Yang Skill with his mind, and suddenly a row of small print appeared at the bottom of his retina.

    [Current Deep Red Value is insufficient at 600, unable to upgrade.] sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Hiss.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen couldn''t help but inhale sharply.

    Holy shit, it directly increased the price by sixfold?

    Scraping together a hundred Deep Red Values almost killed him, and he even got involved with a master whose depth he didn''t know, behind an evil spirit.

    To accumulate six hundred... I''d have to slay twenty corpse ghosts, fog ghosts, or mud-pulling ghouls of that ilk.

    Unfathomable, truly unfathomable.

    "Dad, big daddy, can you invite a friend to help with a slash? This is too expensive," Yi Chen muttered to himself as he faced the light screen on his retina.

    However, the Golden Finger did not move at all, not showing any response.

    Having no choice, he turned off the light screen.

    "Let me test the quality of the seventh layer True Pure Yang Skill," Yi Chen''s expression changed as he remembered another trait added behind the seventh layer True Pure Yang Skill, the returning Qi and the ignition, and his curiosity surged.

    Unable to restrain himself anymore, a smear of deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi appeared at his fingertips. He lightly drew his fingertip across the sandalwood tabletop on the terrace and, like a torch cutting through, a triangular piece fell onto the terrace.

    The cut surface was pitch black with faint blue flames barely visible, likely the burning effect brought by the deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi.

    Yi Chen looked at it with great satisfaction.

    "The seventh layer of the True Pure Yang Skill is indeed not bad."

    "This bone-attaching burning effect is simply the nightmare of evil spirits."

    "Even if used for murder and arson, for destroying bodies and erasing evidence, the effect is first-class."

    "Eh, why would such thoughts arise in this Taoist''s mind? Blessings be to the Limitless Heavenly Venerate, my mistake, my mistake."

    "Scratch that last part, pretend I didn''t say anything."

    Yi Chen flicked his finger and a burst of deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi shot towards the triangular piece, instantly igniting it and reducing it to ashes.

    He glanced at the charred piece, crushed it underfoot, then left the terrace and returned to his room.

    Strength is indeed the courage of a person.

    Compared to his tired expression before the upgrade, his face now showed no signs of weariness, only a faint smile remained.

    He looked up, gazing through the carved wooden window at the deep night sky, his eyes profound as an unfathomable lake, mulling over something.

    After a while, he came back to his senses and shook his head with a smile.

    "Overthinking is useless."

    "Better to sleep."

    "Striving to improve one''s own strength is the one true noble path."

    With that thought, Yi Chen threw himself onto the bed and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    The next day, the rooster crowed at dawn.

    Cluck cluck~ cluck~ (Requesting sound effects.)

    Yi Chen got up with the rooster, washed up, and straightened his clothes in front of the room''s bronze mirror.

    An image of a young Daoist with chiseled features and a sunny, handsome face came into view.

    He couldn''t resist striking several poses in front of the mirror.

    "Tsk tsk."

    "This chest muscle, this back muscle, these biceps¡ªif I were in my previous life, I wonder how many rich and noble ladies I would''ve enchanted to death."

    ```

    "Powerful without being bulky, truly a rare gem."

    Since his breakthrough last night, Yi Chen''s physique had undergone further refinement. His muscles appeared smaller than before, but in reality, both his strength and defense had increased significantly.

    Now, his body was extremely dense; despite being nearly two meters tall, he weighed over three hundred kilograms. The toughness of his body far exceeded ordinary human imagination.

    More than human.

    After a night''s rest, Yi Chen had fully recuperated. He was spirited, and his deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi had returned to its original state, filling his body.

    "It''s time to step out and meet with my ''partners''."

    As the largest and most luxurious inn in Fengyun County, Ping An Inn naturally incorporated both lodging and dining.

    In a private room on the second floor, Yi Chen sat around a square table with Abbess Shuiyue, Daoist Qingxu, and Master Lianhua.

    Although Abbess Shuiyue and the other two were surprised by Yi Chen''s physical transformation, they tacitly did not ask questions, leaving Yi Chen regretful that he couldn''t use the excuses he had prepared in advance.

    Unlike his energetic appearance, Abbess Shuiyue and the other two had worried expressions on their faces, indicating they had not rested well.

    Master Lianhua was the first to speak among them.

    "Regarding the mysterious master mentioned by that demon, does anyone have any good strategies to deal with him?"

    At these words, everyone fell silent.

    After all, there''s a saying that one can only be a thief for a day, but one cannot guard against a thief forever.

    Master Lianhua sighed, saying helplessly, "It seems that we can only take one step at a time. After I return, I will write to the Moon Wheel Temple in the mansion city and ask if they have any intelligence. If they do, I will send someone to inform everyone."

    "At this stage, we must support each other; we cannot afford to pull each other down."

    While saying this, Master Lianhua''s gaze intentionally paused on Daoist Qingxu''s face for a moment before turning towards Yi Chen.

    After a discussion, they agreed to share information and support one another.

    After all, the four of them had killed the subordinates of that mysterious master¡ªwho knew if he bore grudges?

    Supporting each other was in everyone''s best interest.

    At the very least, intelligence should be shared.

    This is often the case in the world: people unite against a common enemy but harbor their own agendas when there is none. This is not surprising.

    Under the threat of that mysterious master, the four quickly reached a consensus.

    Mobilize all their hidden forces to gather intelligence on the mysterious master.

    Was he just passing by, or did he intend to take root in Fengyun County?

    Would he continue to trouble them?

    Would there be more acts of aggression?

    Was wiping out the Wang family a spur-of-the-moment decision, or was there some unspeakable purpose?

    Fengyun County belonged to all of them, and if it was thrown into chaos by that demon, resulting in widespread suffering, no one would benefit. Therefore, while trusting in the wisdom of the Town Security, they could not afford to be completely passive and had to take action.

    "Then, there''s a second matter," Master Lianhua cleared his throat and continued, "The county lord has sent three thousand taels of silver notes."

    "For the slaying of the demon that eradicated the Wang family, Taoist Yi Chengzi has made great contributions, so he should take one thousand five hundred taels. The rest of us will take five hundred taels each. What does everyone think of this arrangement?"

    Everyone nodded in agreement. Abbess Shuiyue and Master Lianhua left in a hurry after the matter was settled, leaving Yi Chen and Daoist Qingxu in the room, the air heavy with tension.

    Daoist Qingxu broke the silence after a moment and pushed the five hundred taels of silver notes in front of Yi Chen.

    "Daoist, what does this mean?"

    "An apology, a request for peace."

    "Fengyun County is not large, but it is not small either; it''s large enough to accommodate both Hidden Dragon Temple and my True Technique Temple," said Qingxu Daoist earnestly.

    "We have always admired Daoist Bai Yunzi''s conduct, and my True Technique Temple has no intention of being enemies with the Daoist."

    Daoist Qingxu was straightforward, voicing his intentions directly. They were all centuries-old foxes¡ªthere was no need for pretense or deception. It was better to be forthright than to beat around the bush, as the latter would only cause annoyance.

    Bowing one''s head required the proper humble attitude; to be evasive would only irritate others.

    Seeing Yi Chen''s figure that morning, Daoist Qingxu felt a powerful sense of oppression, keenly aware that Yi Chen might have made another breakthrough. This was why he took advantage of the moment Abbess Shuiyue and Master Lianhua had left to swallow his pride and directly seek peace.

    He was very decisive in his actions!

    Yi Chen looked at the silver notes before him and shook his head.

    "Not enough."

    "What do you mean, Taoist Yi Chengzi? Surely you don''t want my old life," Daoist Qingxu spoke with a hint of age in his voice.

    "Of course not, Daoist Qingxu, you''re overthinking it. What would I want your life for?"

    "What I mean is, five hundred taels is not enough."

    "You need to add more money!" Yi Chen tilted his head, bearing the resemblance of a money-grubbing client.

    Daoist Qingxu: "..."

    ```

 Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Junior Brother, our Taoist temple has money now!

    After some back and forth, when Yi Chen walked out of the private room, his pocket was heavier with an additional 2,300 taels of silver notes. Ultimately, Daoist Qingxu still added three hundred taels, and the matter was concluded.With a smile, Yi Chen pushed aside the curtain, allowing Daoist Qingxu to leave first, while he, with a bulging purse, headed in the direction of the county office.

    Chief Zhang, who should now more accurately be called Head Chief Zhang, had already been waiting at the entrance of the office for quite some time.

    Guided by his new student, Yi Chen entered a secluded study in the backyard of the county office.

    Yi Chen detailed their guesses and decisions to Master Zhou of the county once over.

    Instantly, a cold sweat broke out on the forehead of Master Zhou.

    "Taoist, you mean to say that even though the evil spirits that annihilated the Wang family have been executed, there is still a mysterious master behind them, and Fengyun County may still be troubled in the future?"

    Yi Chen nodded gently.

    "This matter is too significant, it''s no longer something that can be resolved by just one or two households in Fengyun County. Master Zhou, you had better start preparing early."

    "Disaster does not rest on the blessings, and blessings do not lie in disasters. Master Zhou, you need not fear the arrival of the peacekeeping officials too much. Fengyun County has transformed from a lower county to a middle county under your governance, which is ample proof of your ability."

    "Perhaps because of this incident, Master Zhou may turn misfortune into fortune and even catch the eye of a higher official," Yi Chen said reassuringly.

    Having dealt with Master Zhou, Yi Chen found he held no ill will towards him. The chubby Master Zhou, who always wore a forced smile, might be corrupt, but he also got things done.

    Whether it was the armored corpse incident in Qingyuan Town or the eradication of the Wang family''s evil spirits, Master Zhou had always been the first to try to settle the matters, which was more endearing than those who sat quietly discussing righteousness and would report to the emperor at the sight of danger.

    The common people are simple. As long as you lead them to better days, they won''t mind if you take a little more for yourself.

    However, one thing belongs to one category.

    Yi Chen had resolved the evil spirits that had wiped out the Wang family, and he would not return the silver notes given by the county master.

    Asking him, Yi Taoist, to take out the money from his pocket was more painful than killing him.

    After ensuring he would speak a few good words for Master Zhou to the peacekeeping officials in the future, Yi Chen bid farewell to Master Zhou and left the county office.

    Now, with a huge sum of 3,500 taels of silver notes on him, he planned to buy some fine wine and food to treat his junior brothers back at Hidden Dragon Temple.

    When one has money, one should treat oneself well.

    First off, candied haw sticks. Yi Chen bought a whole two sticks'' worth, making Old Li, the seller, smile so broadly that his face was all creased.

    Today, he had encountered a big spender. He could close shop just after opening in the morning; could there be anything better?

    The answer is, there could be.

    Wang, the butcher who had sold pork in the market for decades, received a large order today: to deliver half a fat pig to Hidden Dragon Temple every two days.

    The chicken seller, the vegetable vendor, the dried fruit and preserved fruit sellers, and the liquor dealers were all jubilant because they had also received large orders.

    Except for the fishmonger...

    Because there was too much to carry, Yi Chen simply rented a horse-drawn carriage to transport the goods he had bought, ready to leave the city and return to the temple.

    This time could truly be called a bountiful harvest. He had not only made a breakthrough in his cultivation, but he had also almost recouped the travel expenses.

    Rich in travel, the Yi Taoist could not bear to suffer.

    "Giddy up! Giddy up!"

    The coachman cracked his whip and steered the carriage toward the city gates, with Yi Chen following behind. When they passed by the Wang residence halfway, Yi Chen couldn''t help but stop his steps.

    At that moment, many bailiffs were busy going in and out of the Wang estate, carrying either corpses or belongings, and the leader in the courtyard was none other than Yi Chen''s head apprentice, Chief Zhang.

    The newly appointed Head Chief of Fengyun County had been tasked by the county master with disposing of the corpses from the Wang family''s residence and sealing away the property deeds, valuables, and other items found inside.

    A chubby corpse with a dark green face was being carried into a thin red coffin. Yi Chen took a closer look and couldn''t help but laugh.

    Wasn''t this the same boss who had previously bought his King Rooster?

    Yi Chen didn''t enter the inner courtyard when he first went to inspect the scene; he really didn''t know that it was this person who had died.

    "Wang Yuanwai, oh Wang Yuanwai, when you bought my ''Overlord Chicken,'' I helped you avenge the extermination of your family. Now we''re even. As a personal gesture, I''ll recite a ''Rebirth Mantra'' for everyone in your household, wishing you a smooth journey on the road to the Yellow Springs," he said. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After pondering for a moment, Yi Chen began to recite from outside the door.

    By the supreme decree, I lead your lonely soul, and all ghosts and apparitions, touched by grace in all four forms of life.

    Those with heads are lifted high, those without are raised; those sentenced by spear or sword, drowned or hanged.

    Deaths seen and unseen, victims of injustice, debtors and foes, seeking their children''s lives.

    Kneel before my altar, where the Eight Trigrams shine; rise from the Trigram Kan, reborn elsewhere.

    ¡­

    All gifts from fate come with a price tagged in the dark, for everything is interconnected. Yi Chen''s freely given ''Rebirth Mantra'' was because he knew that his own appearance fee was ultimately paid for by the ''sheep''s wool from the sheep''s back''.

    Who knew that the thin coffin in which Wang Yuanwai lay, when recorded by Chief Zhang, was a treasure worth a city''s ransom? These expenses were advanced by the government office and were to be deducted from the Wang family''s estate; Yi Chen was well aware of this.

    All this was considered having a nice ''eating appearance,'' but deeper waters lurked within.

    After reciting the ''Rebirth Mantra,'' Yi Chen shook his head, didn''t enter to chat with Chief Zhang, and left straight away with an air of ease.

    Wang Yuanwai''s death struck a chord with him.

    What use is a wealth of ten thousand coins? In a world where evil spirits exist, only power is fundamental. He must never mistake the root for the branch.

    ...

    ...

    Noon, Hidden Dragon Temple.

    Qing Feng and Ming Yue were reciting scriptures in the main hall under Qing Yunzi''s guidance.

    Suddenly, a knocking sound at the door interrupted them.

    The ever-playful Qing Feng raised an eyebrow and hurried to the door, leaving behind the words "I''ll go open the door" echoing in the air.

    The door opened to reveal a stranger''s face.

    "Is this one of Hidden Dragon Temple''s young Daoists? I''m a coachman hired by Taoist Yi Chenngzi to deliver goods. Where would you like these items placed?"

    Qing Feng eyed the coachman warily, then glanced at the large carriage outside, his mind filled with puzzlement. Why was his eldest brother buying so many things unexpectedly, were they short on provisions?

    He was about to ask.

    At that moment, a familiar figure appeared; Yi Chen sauntered up to the gate, scooping Qing Feng onto his shoulder.

    Delighted, Qing Feng shouted, "It''s Eldest Brother, Eldest Brother is back!"

    Upon hearing this, Ming Yue also ran over quickly and was smoothly pulled onto Yi Chen''s right shoulder.

    Yi Chen directed the coachman to move the goods to the kitchen, while his arms wrapped around the legs of the two little ones, cautious to prevent them from tumbling off.

    "Eldest Brother, why did you buy so many things?" Qing Yunzi emerged and walked up to Yi Chen, bewildered.

    Just last night, he had received three century-old ginseng roots and two eighty-year-old astragalus roots from someone claiming to be sent by the county magistrate, and now his eldest brother had brought back a great deal of supplies.

    What on earth had happened in this day and a half?

    Yi Chen set the two little ones down from his shoulders and patted their heads with a smile, "Junior brother, we won''t have to eat fish anymore, our temple is wealthy now."

    "We''ll discuss the details tonight, but for today, let''s cook up an extra meal!"

    "Hooray!" The two little ones cheered immediately, their joyous notes filling the courtyard, and even the coachman unloading goods couldn''t help but smile, touched by their happiness¡ªand because Yi Chen had tipped him a handful of silver.

 Chapter 36: Chapter 36: The Talented Chief Zhang, Stop Fighting, Senior Brother.

    At night, the stars dotted the sky.The Fengyun County government office was abuzz with people''s voices.

    "Quick, someone come! There''s a fire!"

    "Hurry, someone! The archives are about to be burned down, such a big fire."

    Suddenly, a mysterious blaze swept through the entire archive room of the county office, and many age-old records were reduced to ashes.

    The clamor of voices finally subsided after a while.

    Sitting in the courtyard with a gloomy expression, the county magistrate listened silently to Chief Zhang''s report, as moonlight scattered on the ground like a thin veil.

    "Chief Zhang, is the archive room completely burned down?"

    "Reporting to your Excellency, the archive room caught fire due to the dryness of the season. Although the on-duty officers discovered it in time, many important documents could not be saved. Please punish me accordingly," Chief Zhang said, kneeling down as if he were a collapsing tower.

    Upon hearing this, the county magistrate''s face showed a hint of relief, and then he said sternly, "How could so many important records and documents be destroyed all at once? What exactly happened?"

    "I must have an explanation for this."

    Still kneeling, Chief Zhang said, "Your Honor, this matter has been investigated. It was a temporary clerk in the archive room who was slacking off and forgot to extinguish a candle when leaving, which led to this disaster. I have already punished and expelled him, never to be employed again."

    "I also heard that the man, knowing he could not face your Honor, has decided to relocate his entire family to a neighboring county to seek refuge and has no intention of returning."

    "As the archives burned and I failed to extinguish the fire adequately, I too am guilty of oversight. Please, your Honor, punish me."

    The county magistrate couldn''t help but smile upon hearing this.

    "Government affairs are numerous, and Chief Zhang has just assumed his post. Some oversights are inevitable. For now, let''s just leave this matter be."

    "I had my reservations when Yi Taoist recommended you for the position of chief constable, fearing you wouldn''t perform well. Today I see that you truly are capable."

    "By the way,"

    "Have you properly settled the affairs of Merchant Wang''s family? Have all the property and goods been catalogued?"

    "Merchant Wang was a well-known local gentry. Such a tragedy having occurred, one must ensure they leave with dignity. The remaining assets must be reported to the court."

    The county magistrate signaled to someone on the side, and immediately a servant in black brought over a chair for Chief Zhang to sit down.

    After many thanks, Chief Zhang began to speak.

    "Regarding the task your Excellency entrusted to me, I wouldn''t dare to neglect it," he said.

    "All of Merchant Wang''s assets have been catalogued. All direct family members were provided with quality coffins made of sandalwood and rosewood, while others have also been dealt with properly."

    "The county government has temporarily covered all expenses, only waiting to deduct them after the inventory is complete."

    "However, since Merchant Wang''s family died at the hands of an evil spirit, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, I think it best to cremate the bodies along with the coffins. Later, we can collect the ashes for a ritual ceremony and burial, settling the minds of the local citizens and preserving the dignity of Merchant Wang''s family."

    The county magistrate''s smile grew even wider.

    "Chief Zhang, your handling of matters is appropriate and speaks of maturity and composure, truly impressive."

    Facing the magistrate''s praise, Chief Zhang looked around and, seeing no one else nearby, cautiously approached the county magistrate and whispered:

    "Reporting to your Honor, when I was seizing and sealing Merchant Wang''s assets, I inadvertently discovered a golden Buddha seated on a jade base over a foot tall, beautifully crafted and said to be an ancient artifact. I did not list it in the inventory, and on my way back, I went to your residence first and handed it over to your steward."

    "Rest assured, I went alone, and no one noticed."

    At that moment, the county magistrate finally couldn''t help but burst into laughter, clapping his hands. "Chief Zhang, you are indeed a rare talent," he said.

    "I never realized that such an outstanding individual as Chief Zhang was hidden within my county office. It is my negligence as the county magistrate."

    "Let''s do this: greater ability entails greater responsibility. You should continue to shoulder the burden on Treasure Street. Work hard, for I hold your merits close to my heart."

    "Someone, pour Chief Zhang a cup of wine."

    "Thank you, your Honor," said Chief Zhang, looking up at the county magistrate under the moonlight, knowing in his heart his position as chief constable was secure.

    After Chief Zhang took his leave, the county magistrate summoned the old servant to start grinding ink and began to write a letter.

    The correspondence was not a plea for aid to the imperial Peace and Security Bureau, for that plea had been sent at noon. This letter was one the magistrate was writing to his own mentor.

    He too had to mobilize his connections to conceal what had transpired, hoping for a safe resolution.

    After finishing,

    "Uncle Fu, trouble you to make a trip to the prefectural city and deliver this letter to my mentor," said the magistrate.

    "Also, bring the golden Buddha seated on the jade base with you."

    The old servant who had helped Chief Zhang bring chairs earlier appeared like a ghost, holding a letter. He nodded at the county magistrate, then, like a large bird, he leaped and vanished into the deep night.

    Watching the direction in which the black-clad old servant disappeared, the county magistrate remained silent under the moonlight, drinking cup after cup of wine, lost in his thoughts.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Under the same moonlight, at Hidden Dragon Temple.

    Yi Chen and Qing Yunzi sat opposite each other in the backyard, with many fruits and candied snacks on the table, along with two jars of fine wine.

    Clearly, compared to the plain tea served before, Hidden Dragon Temple had achieved a significant breakthrough in economic status, moving up a notch.

    Yi Chen picked up some salted peanuts and put them in his mouth, then he lifted his cup and began to drink heartily.

    "Junior brother, I''ve told you everything, from start to finish, and that''s the situation now,"

    "You said there''s some evil spell that requires human liver? I suspect that behind that evil spirit, the mysterious master is not a more powerful evil spirit, but a person."

    "A person who cultivates evil practices."

    Upon hearing this, Qing Yunzi squinted his eyes and also tilted his head back to finish a cup of the fine wine. After chewing on a peanut, he finally said, "I do know of some ghosts and goblins that are fond of hearts, but I''ve really never come across any in the books that prefer livers."

    "Perhaps it''s a peculiar preference of some ghosts and goblins."

    For some reason, Qing Yunzi''s habit of looking askance was getting worse.

    Seeing that Yi Chen still seemed somewhat worried, Qing Yunzi''s body flashed with a red light, and his Pure Yang Inner Qi suddenly spread throughout his body. He said confidently,

    "Senior brother, rest assured, over the past month, my Pure Yang Inner Qi has made great strides, and I am now anything but a mediocre player."

    "Even if that evil spirit comes to kill us, we will handle it with ''an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.''"

    "From now on, senior brother, you won''t have to support Hidden Dragon Temple on your own."

    "Hidden Dragon Temple is not just your place, senior brother, it''s mine too."

    "If you don''t believe me, senior brother, let''s spar."

    Under the moonlight, Qing Yunzi''s eyes glinted with the eagerness of battle as he stared at Yi Chen, seemingly still haunted by his last defeat. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The more talented a person is, the more pride they hold.

    Over the past month, he didn''t dare to slack off, practicing arduously.

    "Are you sure you want to fight?" Yi Chen glanced at Qing Yunzi sideways and rubbed his hands together with joy, itching for action.

    The little junior brother is just too young and naive about the dangers of the world, but it''s a good thing he has me.

    One tea-time later.

    Outside Hidden Dragon Temple.

    Qing Yunzi, with disheveled hair, floundered on the ground, wailing continuously,

    "Senior brother, stop hitting me, I was wrong."

    "What were you wrong about?"

    "I forgot the teachings of my senior brother, I went against the true essence of lying low, I got carried away with pride."

    "That''s the right answer." With a smack, another big lump rose on Qing Yunzi''s head.

    "Senior brother, you still hit me even after I got the answer right?"

    "Don''t you think it''s more symmetrically pleasing? My formidable looking junior brother with outstanding talents."

    Under the bright moonlight, Yi Chen laughed like a big-tailed wolf. He stretched out his hand and vigorously rubbed Qing Yunzi''s head, declaring loudly, "Junior brother, don''t blame your senior brother for being heavy-handed; you won''t learn your lesson otherwise."

    "You don''t know how tough times are right now."

    "Outside, it''s all old silver coins."

    "Your senior brother beating you is for your own good."

    "Do you accept it?"

    "I accept it, senior brother."

    Watching Qing Yunzi leave, rubbing his head, Yi Chen turned and looked up at the moon in the sky, his mind wandering far away. Moonsilver gathered around him, disappearing from sight, replenishing the deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi he had consumed.

    After a while, he came back to his senses, stretched lazily, made a biting gesture at the moon in the sky, and then slowly strolled back to his room.

 Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Gathering Herbs, The Wild Boar King and Cultivation.

    The sun was already high in the sky¡ªthree pole lengths high to be exact¡ªwhen Yi Chen leisurely opened his eyes, the warm sunlight already beating down on him.He had slept incredibly well, both his body and mind had greatly relaxed, and the weakness that came after the transformation into extreme Yang had completely vanished.

    This made Yi Chen feel even more invigorated.

    "I wonder, if I had a fight with the master that the white-haired old ghost spoke of, who would have a better chance of winning," Yi Chen suddenly thought a bold idea.

    "If that mysterious master isn''t human but a demonic creature, they should be worth quite a lot of Deep Red Points," he speculated.

    With a powerful weapon in hand, a killing intent naturally arises.

    Times change.

    Now, possessing the Dragon-Slaying Sword and the seventh level of the True Pure Yang Skill, Yi Chen felt a bit inflated inside. If he was still on the sixth level of the True Pure Yang Skill, his heart would definitely be uneasy.

    But the seventh level of the True Pure Yang Skill not only increased his attributes significantly on paper, the purity and recovery speed of his Inner Qi had also greatly improved. This caused a slight shift in his mentality.

    The eagle dares to perch on the branch growing on the edge of the cliff, not because it trusts the strength of the branch, but because it trusts its own wings more.

    Even if the branch breaks, with the eagle''s strength, a flap of its wings would be enough to fly away.

    Yi Chen was now in a similar state of mind.

    It''s important to note that the Soul Ignition Technique could increase his current strength fivefold at its peak; although it came with significant risks, it also improved his ability to take risks further.

    He craved Deep Red Points more than anything.

    Right now, his Inner Qi was a deep purple. If he could go one step further, who knows what kind of world that would be.

    To have a mortal body, yet stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhang Ji Shi, the Heavenly Master? Tsk, tsk, tsk.

    He''s getting ahead of himself, swept away by his imagination.

    He probably won''t reach the level of the Heavenly Master in just a few more steps.

    The road to cultivation is long and arduous, I shall search high and low.

    Yi Chen focused his mind and dispelled those unrealistic fantasies. Meals should be eaten one bite at a time, just as the road should be walked one step at a time.

    First, he would set a small goal¡ªto take down the Yin Manor.

    After breakfast, as usual, Yi Chen did a set of prisoner workouts for himself.

    What he found regrettable was that, since the breakthrough of the Minor Pure Yang Skill to the seventh layer, his physique had become so strong that it was unimaginable to the average person. Such workouts could no longer stimulate his body to produce Origin Points.

    "This doesn''t seem to work anymore. Do I have to go fish bombing again today?" Yi Chen was particularly attentive to Origin Points as one of the stable paths to getting stronger, but fish bombing was also like a nightmarish memory for him. Even thinking back on it made his mouth twitch.

    He had persevered, all thanks to his will to survive and grow stronger, and his hatred toward the Yin Manor.

    "Maybe I should take a half-day off. After all, humans are not machines. Relaxation is just as important as tension in the way of civil and martial arts."

    "How about I go up the mountain today, gather some medicinal herbs that boost Qi and blood for my junior brother, and if I can hunt some game, that''d be even better."

    Riding a bike to the bar, saving where I can, spending where I need to.

    Yi Chen too, lived day by day. Though he had gained a considerable amount of silver notes recently, and his financial pressure had eased up, he had also spent nearly three hundred taels on supplies, so it was still best not to spend frivolously.

    Thus, his gaze turned toward Falling Dragon Mountain.

    Hidden Dragon Temple was located at the foot of Falling Dragon Mountain, standing tall and majestic. The mountain was home to countless birds and beasts and was over a thousand meters high; it might be a good idea to climb the mountain with a load to hunt and gather herbs.

    "Junior brother, I''m going up the mountain to take a look around and see if I can find any game or wild ginseng to bring back to nourish you," Yi Chen told Qing Yunzi in the main hall, then turned and left.

    Qing Yunzi was still in the stage of refining essence into Qi, requiring a large amount of meat to replenish. Although the county lord had sponsored some good herbs, they weren''t enough for a few meals.

    Those herbs could speed up cultivation but only a little.

    It was clear that eating more meat and drinking some blood-enriching and Qi-boosting soup was more suitable for the frail constitution of a poor kiddo.

    Carrying a barbell made from a stone mill, and under the watchful eyes of Qing Feng and Ming Yue, who had straight black lines on their faces, Yi Chen jogged all the way to the Falling Dragon Mountain.

    "Second brother, how come our eldest brother has gotten so much sturdier than before? Look at his arms, they''re thicker than my waist!" Qing Feng tugged at Qing Yunzi, who was meditating in the front hall, and exaggeratedly gestured with his hands.

    Qing Yunzi laughed and delivered a knuckle-rap to Qing Feng''s head. "Pay attention to your chanting instead of making up stories about our senior brother."

    Ming Yue, seeing Qing Feng being hit, giggled gleefully until a glance from Qing Yunzi made her immediately sit up straight, as decorous as a little adult.

    If it wasn''t for the periodic influx of worshippers into the temple on the first or fifteenth days of the lunar month, they''d rarely need to serve the visitors.

    Qing Yunzi glanced at his two younger martial brothers, then his gaze followed the distant figure of Yi Chen.

    "No matter what secrets you have, as long as you''re still my martial brother, that''s all that matters," murmured Qing Yunzi to himself. Then he smiled heartily and continued his cultivation.

    ¡­.

    With the homemade barbell on his shoulders, Yi Chen jogged his way up Falling Dragon Mountain, pushing his physical limits to the extreme.

    Halfway up the mountain, when he came across suitable blood-enriching and Qi-boosting herbs, he would stop to pick them and store them in the pouch he carried with him.

    Unfortunately, on his way up, he hadn''t encountered any medium or large-sized wild animals¡ªjust a small grey rabbit and a wild chicken dashed in front of him. Considering their size, barely weighing three taels, Yi Chen didn''t bother to chase them. Generously, he let them go and spared them from disaster.

    "Huff, huff."

    Half an hour later, at a break in the path near a cliffside, Yi Chen put down the heavy barbell and his breathing became noticeably rougher.

    Using weighted mountain climbing to stimulate the body still had some effect. Of course, it didn''t compare to fish bombing, but at least it was somewhat effective¡ªjust not up to Yi Chen''s expectations.

    If it weren''t for the threat of the Yin Manor looming over his head, he might have chosen this kind of training. But now, it was obviously not suitable.

    It was too slow.

    Just as Yi Chen was stretching his body in the sunlight, a faint cry for help carried by the distant breeze caught his attention.

    "Help, is there anyone there?"

    "Help, a wild boar is going to eat someone!"

    This cry for help immediately stopped Yi Chen in his tracks.

    "An emergency?"

    "A wild boar?"

    ```

    Having grasped the keywords, Yi Chen instantly perked up; however, once bitten, twice shy, he still activated his Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique, casting a wary eye around the vicinity, but he found no traces of Yin Qi.

    Only then did he move stealthily like a civet cat towards the direction of the screams.

    As he approached the source of the noise, Yi Chen climbed a rather thick tree and saw a young girl, dressed like a herb collector, trembling atop a large tree thick enough for a person to embrace, loudly calling for help.

    Beneath the tree, an enormous wild boar nearly three meters long relentlessly slammed against the trunk, its crimson eyes suggesting a grudge as if the girl had slain its entire family, causing a flutter of leaves to fall from the canopy.

    "What a massive wild boar."

    "It must be the king of the wild boars here, how big of a pot would it take to stew it?"

    "It has a fate with our Hidden Dragon Temple."

    Witnessing the scene before him, Yi Chen couldn''t help but exclaim in amazement.

    The boar, nearly three meters long, had its bristles standing up like steel needles pointing straight into the sky, while its body was covered in a thick layer of tree resin, resembling armor.

    With the wild boar''s continual battering, the tree was already shedding wood chips and teetering on the brink of collapse, causing the young girl perched upon it to be close to tears.

    If only she knew the large wild boar was nearby, she wouldn''t have poisoned those piglets...

    Exhaling white breaths from its snout, the King of Wild Boars dug at the ground with its hind hooves, geared up for a fatal charge at the tree, while a look of despair flashed through the eyes of the girl above.

    A frenzied wild boar is so fearsome that even a fierce tiger of the forest would steer clear, and it seemed inevitable that her fate was sealed today.

    She wasn''t even married yet; listening to Wang Da-niang from her village say that it''s great fun to be with...she felt genuine regret.

    Just as the girl was closing her eyes, preparing to face the judgment of fate, a thunderous roar echoed throughout the forest. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "You wild boar, let go of that girl!"

    A towering figure appeared, bounding over in a few leaps, landing like a divine soldier to intercept the charging path of the King of Wild Boars.

    With a thud.

    A pair of large hands firmly gripped the charging boar''s head, forcefully halting its momentum.

    The herb-dressed girl, who expected the tree to fall at any moment, opened her tightly shut eyes, her lips agape, shocked by the sight before her.

    A man strong as a bear had descended from the sky, one hand pressing on the boar king''s skull, while his other fan-sized palm alternatively struck the boar''s huge face.

    The boar king frantically dug at the ground and roared angrily, but to no avail against the enhanced strength of Yi Chen.

    After several enhancements, Yi Chen''s arm strength had reached nearly ten thousand pounds. The inner Qi of the True Pure Yang Skill is refined from one''s own blood energy, hence practitioners of the Minor Pure Yang Skill were often broad and robust, like Yi Chen''s master Bai Yunzi.

    Yi Chen, who had cultivated the Minor Pure Yang Skill to the seventh level, was even more terrifyingly strong.

    "Trying to wrestle with a poor Taoist like me? You''re still too unseasoned," Yi Chen said mockingly to the still digging and resisting boar king.

    Next, he delivered a forceful elbow strike to the head of the boar king, the impact sending the boar sprawling to the ground.

    Crack.

    A bone-chilling sound of snapping echoed, and the boar king''s eyes nearly bulged out. Yi Chen clapped his hands and kicked its skull, and the weighty body of the boar king slid across the ground for over ten meters, breaking several trees before it finally came to a halt.

    It slumped over, neck crooked, and ascended to heaven.

    This scene left the young girl on the tree shaken and astounded.

    My goodness, that physique...

    "Miss, come on down."

    ....

    ....

    Minutes later, Yi Chen descended the mountain with a medicine basket slung over his back, a self-made barbell in his left hand, and the King of Wild Boars, weighing over a thousand pounds, slung over his right shoulder, puffing and panting along the way.

    The medicine basket, of course, was the girl''s way of saying thank you, containing medicinal herbs for replenishing Qi and blood.

    After a few minutes of conversation, Yi Chen finally learned the reason behind the wild boar''s madness: it turned out that the herb-collecting girl, named Chun Ya, was from the nearby Rolling Stone Town.

    She had gone up the mountain today to collect herbs and, upon seeing a nest of piglets, acted on her hunting instinct and smeared the corn she brought with the juice of a toxic herb called "Broken Intestine Grass" before feeding it to the piglets.

    A few minutes later, as the boar king prowled nearby, it returned to find all its piglets laid out, witnessing the girl who was about to scavenge them, which sparked its rage.

    After hearing the full story, Yi Chen was speechless at the girl''s audacity and cunning; she was indeed bold and meticulous, daring in her actions.

    By the time Yi Chen returned to the temple, it was nearly noon. He handed the medicine basket to Qing Yunzi.

    "Junior brother, the basket contains some herbs for replenishing Qi and blood. Stew them into a soup and drink it yourself," he said.

    After taking a glance at the contents of the basket, Qing Yunzi''s expression froze.

    "Senior brother..."

    "Is there a problem?"

    "A little one."

    "Speak."

    "These herbs indeed replenish Qi and blood, but they seem to be intended for women to recuperate after their monthly period," said Qing Yunzi softly.

    "Ah... Ah? Well, that''s quite tonic, apt for your stage of refining essence into Qi, don''t waste it," Yi Chen replied.

    With a silent groan, Qing Yunzi walked towards the kitchen with a constipated look, vowing silently that come what may in his cultivation, even if he died from a deficit of Qi and blood during the phase of refining essence into Qi, he would not drink that concoction.

    In the afternoon, after Yi Chen had finished processing the entire wild boar, salting it well, he then threw himself back into the strenuous task of frying fish.

    Day and night, without rest.

    The muscles of Yi Taoist were earned through sweat and labor.

    Qing Feng sneakily watched his senior brother fry fish, with the same fascination as some people have when watching blacksmiths shoe a donkey.

    It''s worth mentioning that.

    Tonight, Hidden Dragon Temple would not eat fish.

    ```

 Chapter 38: Chapter 38 Show Me Your Heart

    Evening.Moonlight spilled over like water, but it wasn''t only the moonlight that resembled water; the ladies of Lanxiu Pavilion did as well.

    As a well-known den of iniquity in Fengyun County, Lanxiu Pavilion naturally saw a daily throng of visitors, especially since the official announcement that the evil scourge of the Wang family had been eradicated. Tonight, Lanxiu Pavilion welcomed a surge of what could only be described as retaliatory spending.

    After all, people''s tightly wound nerves needed easing.

    And certain activities were the perfect remedy.

    Li Fugui, a middle-aged jovial man, was certainly among those who thought so. He didn''t enjoy a day without the company of women.

    After all, studying was too exhausting, martial arts too bitter, and he never quite found his way with Taoist cultivation¡ªthe fleshly pleasures seemed to be the only thing that reminded him that he was still alive.

    With numerous fields, farms, and stores under its name, Li''s family had their course set by his great-grandfather, who had completed all his life''s work (KPIs) upon his return from the government service. Why shouldn''t he enjoy himself?

    He had even tasted tea that cost two hundred taels per jin.

    And just the day before yesterday, there had been grand news that brought joy to his heart: his archrival, Wang family''s eldest son and his whole family had ascended to the heavens, leaving nobody to compete with him for the top courtesan.

    From now on, he would be the brightest young master in Fengyun County''s Lanxiu Tower.

    Given such delightful news, how could he not go out and revel a bit?

    The moonlight, watery and clear, shone on the greeters outside Lanxiu Tower, bringing out the fair and delicate skin of the ladies, an almost pitiable sight.

    The ladies, faced with a bustling crowd of guests, didn''t resort to the seductive posturing often depicted in films and TV shows; instead, their decorum was exceptionally reserved, merely curtsying to the incoming guests to signal their welcome.

    Crude language like "Big fella, come play!" or "Young Master Li, it''s been so long since you''ve visited, have you forgotten little Taohong?" was absolutely unthinkable coming from the girls of Lanxiu Tower.

    Too low class, beneath their status.

    That''s exactly what Li Fugui liked about Lanxiu Tower.

    Class.

    Places reeking of vulgarity like Hook Lane, Semi-Hidden Doors, and Spring Beauty Courtyard¡ªthat''s where they have whole floors of beckoning red sleeves. What was his standing, what was his class? Going to those places, mingling with butchers and peasants¡ªwouldn''t that make people laugh their heads off, as if his great-grandfather had slogged for nothing?

    His family''s three generations of effort couldn''t be tarnished by frequenting places that would embarrass his ancestors.

    Amidst the hustle and bustle, Li Fugui with a group of his fair-weather friends sauntered into Lanxiu Pavilion, laughing and chattering.

    With their pompous air, they certainly didn''t join the crowd in the ground floor hall to drink and make merry. Instead, Li Fugui, as the center of his group, led them into a private room on the second floor.

    Once everyone was seated, a flock of enchanting ladies filed in to wait on them. The group initiated drinking games and intermittently enjoyed shots from small cups, creating quite a lively atmosphere.

    After three rounds of drinks, Li Fugui, now in high spirits with a beauty in his arms, posed a question to the group:

    "Gentlemen, tell me, how could we achieve wealth and status if not for the shadow of our ancestors?"

    His question was met with silence.

    Clearly, the musings of Li the Youthful Master had stumped his band of sycophants.

    "Wu Changshou, what about you? How did your family rise to prominence?" Li Fugui''s gaze hardened as he targeted his newest underling¡ªthe eldest son of the Wu family from Qingyuan Town.

    Now technically the Family Head of the Wu family, as more than a month earlier, Wu Changshou''s father had succumbed to a violent illness. Overwhelmed with grief yet opportunistic, Wu Qing quickly stepped into his father''s shoes and dismissed his younger brother.

    With the Wu family''s trade in mountain goods and furs heavily reliant on the Li family''s channels, after assuming the role of Family Head, Wu Qing became particularly ingratiating to Young Master Li, often accompanying him in his indulgences, hoping to maintain and even expand his family''s business.

    Confronted with Li the Youthful Master''s question, Wu Qing showed a troubled expression, unsure of how to respond. As he caught sight of other boot-lickers around him smirking, an idea suddenly struck him, and he shared it:

    "My grandfather once told my father and me, in the world today, if you want to be wealthy and noble, there are only three ways to go about it."

    "Which three ways?" Interest piqued, Li the Youthful Master and his entourage perked up and turned their heads in curiosity.

    "These three ways are¡­"

    "Forget honor at the sight of profit, play both ends against the middle, take good care of your brother''s wife."

    "Ha! Wu Changshou, you''re a witty one, and your old man was even wittier, quite the candid insight," laughed Li the Youthful Master, as the room burst into an uproar of amusement.

    Forgetting honor for profit and double-dealing were all too common in their circle; Li the Youthful Master wasn''t going to look down on Wu Changshou for it.

    Surrounded by flatterers and yes-men, Wu Changshou''s words were intriguing to him, like discovering a new toy.

    Li the Youthful Master favored clever people, those who were obedient even more so. Today Wu Changshou had self-deprecatingly besmirched his own family name in front of everyone, humbling himself, much to Li''s satisfaction. He might consider taking him on as a pet dog. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The answer about "taking good care of your brother''s wife" was simply brilliant, reminding him of his dearly departed older brother.

    Tsk tsk.

    He was getting excited.

    "Tonight''s expenses are on me, gentlemen. Go find a lady of your liking and get some rest," declared Young Master Li, calling an end to the evening''s festivities.

    As the moon reached its zenith, the crowd grew tired of revelry and, assisted by the ladies, made their way toward their chambers.

    Young Master Li declined the help of the beauties beside him and staggered towards the peony pavilion on the coveted twelfth floor of Lanxiu Tower.

    After all, what was his class? How could he possibly share a common class of women with his underlings?

    Too low.

    Browsing the twelve floors of Showy View, they were named after twelve flowers: peony, Yue Ji, peony... daisy, and the like. To start, one had to pay a full year''s silver, and during this year the madam would not entertain any other patrons, thus avoiding the embarrassment of her jade arms pillowing a thousand men, her rouge lips tasted by ten thousand.

    After a year, you could redeem the courtesan''s contract, extend her term, or add money!

    Passing through the flower garden, crossing the rockery, the moonlight was like water, shining on the pavilions and waterside pavilions within Showy View. Suddenly, a cool breeze blew, and Young Master Li sobered up halfway.

    Not far ahead, next to a well, a girl dressed in plain white was sobbing softly.

    A crimson ribbon tied up her ink-black hair, and a jade-green belt accentuated her slender waist, making it slim enough to hold.

    The girl''s feet were bare... she wore no shoes, and her lotus feet were such that adding a fraction would make them too long, removing a fraction would make them too short, her toes radiant like jade, particularly tempting under the moonlight.

    Who could withstand this?

    Young Master Li hurried forward, wishing to get a better look.

    With that look, he might as well have lost his soul.

    Face like a lotus flower and lips painted black, brows arched like willows, eyes sparkling like fireflies.

    And small branches bearing heavy fruit.

    She was just his type.

    In that moment, Young Master Li forgot his destiny, the madam of the Peony Floor.

    Who was the madam of the Peony Floor? Completely unfamiliar.

    "Miss, why do you weep so late at night?" Young Master Li hurriedly approached to inquire.

    Seeing someone approaching, the girl in white stopped crying, turned her head away, and did not speak. Under the moonlight, her delicate nose stood out prominently.

    Young Master Li asked again.

    Finally, the girl spoke faintly, "Young Master, why are there so many heartless and fickle men in this world? My elder sister was deceived by such a man, found life unbearable, and hanged herself."

    "That''s because your sister encountered a scoundrel," Young Master Li replied. "Miss, are you a new maid in Showy View? I haven''t seen you before. You should keep your eyes peeled in the future." Finished speaking, Young Master Li puffed out his chest, confidently regarding the girl in white, as if he were about to tattoo the word ''good man'' across his face.

    A shy expression flickered across the girl''s face.

    "And are you a ''good man,'' sir?"

    "Absolutely, without a doubt. The people of Fengyun County all call me the most passionate man in Fengyun."

    "The moment I saw you tonight, I fell in love, and I shall marry no one but you."

    "I don''t believe you."

    "How can you believe me?" Young Master Li suddenly grew anxious.

    "Unless you cut out your heart and show it to me."

    "Very well, as you wish. My heart, I give it all to you."

    "Truly?"

    "Truly." Young Master Li''s face brightened, and he stepped forward, ready to wrap his arms around the girl in white.

    Just then, a cloud suddenly passed over, obscuring the moonlight, and the lights in the corridor went out.

    Young Master Li felt as if he were hugging a block of thousand-year-old ice.

    It was only then that his mind, befuddled with lust, snapped back to reality as he looked at the beauty in his embrace.

    "Young Master, do you find me beautiful?"

    The girl in white raised her head, and her face slowly melted like wax, her eyes and mouth merging into three black holes.

    "Ah!" Young Master Li cried out in terror, only to realize that at some point a faint mist had risen around him, and no matter how loudly he shouted, no one paid him any heed.

    He wanted to run, but his legs felt as if they were filled with lead, and he could not lift them.

    "Young Master, you promised to show me your heart."

    "Here I come."

    "The little scissors are coming."

    Out of nowhere, a pair of red scissors appeared in the hands of the girl in white.

    "Young Master Li, oh so white, first the kidneys, then the heart¡ªlying still makes you so cute."

    "Young Master Li, your heart is black! Where, oh where, is my true love?"

    "I must search for my true love once again."

    The girl in white placed the still-beating heart into a grey cloth bag, waved her hand, and the large red lantern hanging outside the gate of Showy View suddenly turned white, with two large characters for ''condolence'' written on it.

    Both lanterns continued to emit white smoke.

    The white lantern, as if contagious, spread its color to many of the lanterns inside Showy View, and more and more lanterns turned white, eventually adorning the entire building.

    In an instant, the largest social establishment of Fengyun County was shrouded in a mysterious fog.

 Chapter 40: Chapter 40 This is how we at Hidden Dragon Temple slay demons and eliminate evil

    The next day, dawn broke gently.Yi Chen was still in his slumbers when a burst of urgent knocking woke him up.

    "Master, open the door, there''s big trouble again."

    Yi Chen: "..." Can''t this unlucky disciple use a different phrase for once?

    "I''m coming, I''m coming, stop damn knocking, the chickens haven''t even woken up yet, what''s all the fuss about? Is the county magistrate bewitched by a female ghost or did a horse catch a cold?" Yi Chen grumbled as he threw on his clothes and walked over to open the front door.

    Who doesn''t have a bit of a temper when they''re woken up?

    As the door swung open.

    The first thing Yi Chen saw was Chief Zhang''s big face, and standing behind him... was the county magistrate.

    County Magistrate Zhou''s face was black as a pot lid.

    Behind County Magistrate Zhou stood a row of people.

    Abbess Shuiyue, Lotus Master, Daoist Qingxu, and a square-faced middle-aged man wearing a Flying Fish suit embroidered with the words "Zhen An" on his chest.

    Sheesh, that''s quite a crowd.

    Didn''t expect the county magistrate to be here, too.

    Even Yi Chen, with a face as thick as city walls, couldn''t help but blush at this moment.

    Talk about meeting a ghost, why would the county magistrate come too?

    Fortunately, he had excellent mental composure and quickly adjusted himself.

    With awkwardness, as long as you''re not embarrassed, then the embarrassment is on others.

    Yi Chen''s adjustment was on point, after reciting a courteous phrase to wish everyone well, he led everyone to the guest hall in the backyard with a face full of righteousness.

    "Qing Feng, Ming Yue."

    "Hurry up and prepare some good tea for our distinguished guests, and bring some chestnut dishes over."

    "This year''s chestnuts are especially plump, you must all try them." Yi Chen warmly invited the guests to take their seats, the chestnuts from the mountain plentiful thanks to the help of those fine lads from the Fierce Tiger Gang, perfect for serving guests since his disciples weren''t keen on eating them.

    Qing Feng and Ming Yue were woken up by the knocking, came out to check, and were promptly put to work by the observant Yi Chen.

    Soon after they served the tea and chestnuts, they returned to their rooms to continue sleeping.

    After taking a light sip of tea, County Magistrate Zhou quickly explained the situation as though his butt was on fire.

    "So you''re saying there''s a problem at Lanxiu Pavilion now?"

    "Yes, currently a malevolent spirit is running rampant, I''ve taken a look at Lanxiu Pavilion and it''s filled with ghostly energy. I alone am weak and without support, and the fellow Daoists of Fengyun County all say that Taoist Yi Chengzi is of high prowess in Taoist arts. I, Lin Zhengyi from Ping''an County''s Zhen An Office and holder of a hundred households, specially invite Daoist friends to lend a hand."

    The one speaking was the middle-aged man in the Flying Fish suit.

    "This..." Yi Chen glanced at Lotus Master and the others, hesitating.

    "Do not worry, Daoist, if you all are willing to lend your support, once this affair is concluded, my Zhen An Office is willing to offer a horse of inferior dragon lineage as a gesture of gratitude," the man said.

    "If the Daoist doesn''t need it, then it can be exchanged for a hundred Contribution Points, which can be used to trade for pills, magic artifacts, and other treasures of my Zhen An Office."

    "Sheesh, rest assured, Hundred Households, whether it''s the dragon horse or treasures is of no consequence, my main concern is my enmity with malevolent spirits," Yi Chen stated righteously.

    "Add a thousand taels of banknotes as well."

    "Disciple, bring my Dragon-Slaying Sword, I can set out right now."

    Yi Chen figured out why Daoist Qingxu, the old hand, had been drawn here,

    only to discover that the Zhen An Office was surprisingly generous this time, willing to offer a horse with inferior dragon lineage.

    He was familiar with such a horse; it was a hybrid dragon horse bred by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau''s Imperial Beast Yard, with a hint of flood dragon lineage in its veins, not only resilient but capable of traveling a thousand li by day and eight hundred by night.

    This horse with inferior dragon lineage was tightly controlled within the royal court; ordinary people simply couldn''t breed such fine stock, so in the black market, being sold for ten thousand taels of silver was not an implausible tale to tell.

    Even if he had no use for it, he could always sell it at a discounted price.

    It was, after all, a horse with formidable monetary attributes. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As for those Contribution Points from the Zhen An Office, they were even more valuable.

    The Zhen An Office was the oppressive force of the Great Yue Dynasty, brimming with experts and countless treasures. The items there weren''t bought with gold or silver, but with Contribution Points distributed by the office.

    Helping the Zhen An Office with a case was one of the ways to earn Contribution Points.

    By the looks of it, Lotus Master and the others were clearly swayed by the price offered by Lin Baihu, which is why they had come together.

    Since they had already offended the person behind the scenes, they might as well go all the way, collaborate with this officer of the Zhen An Office and uproot the problem altogether.

    All of them were resolute in their conviction; once they made a decision, they no longer hesitated. Now, as they stood together, their bravery soared.

    Yi Chen firmly believed that if only one person in their group could survive, that person would definitely be him¡­.

    If they won, they''d gain fame and rice to claim. If they lost, they could blame the team, and he''d likely be able to escape. Not to explore the evil spirit of the Lianxiu Building, that would be inhuman, wouldn''t it?

    And speaking of those glittering Deep Red Points, he couldn''t bear the thought of not taking a look.

    Looking at the composed and formidable appearance of the Chief of the Public Security Bureau, it was clear that he was a master in his own right, advantage mine.

    Let''s do it.

    "Fellow Daoists, let''s go!" After a brief consideration, Yi Chen silently cheered his teammates on in his heart.

    They set off for Lianxiu Building shortly after.

    Being cultivators, they traveled quickly, and within half an hour, they arrived at the entrance of Lianxiu Building.

    Upon reaching the door, Yi Chen and his three companions couldn''t help but inhale sharply, making their tiny, negligible contribution to global warming.

    Now they understood why the highly cultivated Chief had sought help from the county officials upon witnessing the abnormality of Lianxiu Building.

    No wonder the price was set so generously. Indeed, there was a good reason.

    By now, Lianxiu Building had been enveloped in mist. Even Yi Chen, using his Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique, could only make out the alarming Yin Qi and a visibility of less than three meters. And that was after deliberately enhancing his vision.

    If one hadn''t specifically trained their spiritual vision, they would likely fare far worse than him.

    The two large white lanterns hanging outside Lianxiu Building tirelessly exhaled white mist, making the surroundings even chillier.

    Inside the building, the ghostly energy was chilling, and within the fog, the shadows of eerie figures could be seen drifting.

    Master Lianhua furrowed his brow as he walked in front.

    "Fellow cultivators, where should we start?"

    "Looking at the astonishing fluctuations of Yin Qi, the evil spirit inside Lianxiu Building must have profound cultivation."

    "We must make well-considered plans."

    Master Lianhua looked back, sweeping his gaze over the group.

    Abbess Shuiyue nodded in agreement.

    Daoist Qing Feng found it highly reasonable.

    Chief Lin Zhengyi''s eyebrows were tightly knit, as if pondering how to tackle the situation.

    Taoist Yi Chengzi¡­

    Hey, where did Taoist Yi Chengzi go?

    Suddenly, a thunderous blast sounded.

    The vermillion gate of Lianxiu Building was smashed to pieces by a long green brick that Yi Chen had pried from the street. The door panels instantly shattered, and the long green brick, not losing any momentum after breaking the gate, flew towards the depths of the mist, propelled by its powerful kinetic energy.

    Yi Chen walked over from the side, dusting off his hands.

    "I just went to pry out a long green brick over there; sorry I didn''t notice. Did you need me for something, Master Lianhua?"

    Master Lianhua looked at the broken gate, then at Yi Chen''s sincere expression, and fell silent for a long while, "There was something, but not anymore."

    "Oh, that''s good then." Yi Chen drew the Dragon-Slaying Sword and started slashing vigorously at the lanterns outside that kept emitting white mist.

    Under the combined effect of the Dragon-Slaying Sword and the deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi, the white lanterns suddenly exploded in a burst of flames, fell to the ground as black ash, and were blown away by the wind, disappearing without a trace.

    Seeing this scene, Abbess Shuiyue fell silent.

    Master Lianhua was stunned.

    Daoist Qing Feng simply shook his head.

    This was not logical, completely bypassing the process.

    Bai Yunzi was considered a master of his generation, had he never taught Taoist Yi Chengzi any of the basic procedures for confronting evil spirits? What about probing? Why did you just rush in?

    Lin Baihu couldn''t hold back and asked the Yi Chen at the door, "I mean... Taoist Yi Chengzi... is this how you always... exorcise demons and slay evil?"

    Lin Baihu carefully chose his words.

    "Ah?"

    "Is there a problem?"

    "This is how we of the Hidden Dragon Temple exorcise demons and slay evil."

    Yi Chen, carrying the Dragon-Slaying Sword, twisted his neck and retorted.

    Silence¡­.

    "No problem, let''s go inside."

 Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Someones Mouth Glowed?

    "Lin Baihu makes sense. With so many of us, even if this Lianxiu Tower is a dragon''s den or a tiger''s lair, we have to level it today,"Yi Chen readily agreed with Lin Baihu''s words, but his feet remained still as if they had grown roots.

    He wasn''t a fool. Smashing a few doorways or chopping up some white lanterns was one thing, but to be the first to rush in headlong?

    How much was he being paid?

    At best, he was just a contracted temp. The permanent staffer, Lin Baihu, was right next to him. If he went charging in first, it would mean he had muscles for brains.

    Smashing the stone door with a bluestone brick from the outside and examining the lanterns shouldn''t pose much trouble. To be the first to step inside, however, now that was truly asking to walk into an ambush.

    No way. Not doing it.

    Yi Chen''s mind was as clear as a mirror, his mental calculations clicking away.

    After all, it wasn''t his junior brothers who were trapped inside, so he was in no hurry.

    Lin Baihu''s gaze turned to Master Lianhua, who looked up at the sky, studying the clouds.

    Lin Baihu''s gaze turned to the Daoist Qingxu, who had closed his eyes and begun reciting scriptures.

    Lin Baihu''s gaze turned to Abbess Shuiyue, and the mercurial eyes of the abbess glanced at Lin Baihu but said nothing.

    ".¡­.."

    "The local customs of Fengyun County are truly lacking,"

    "When it came time to agree, everyone was brisk, but when push comes to shove, no one''s good for a smooth talk; even the seemingly rash Taoist Yi Chengzi is extremely wary."

    Lin Baihu grumbled to himself and, having no other option given the reluctance of his four companions, took the lead himself.

    He led the charge, with Yi Chen and the other three closely following behind. Together, they stepped into the mist-enveloped front hall of the Lianxiu Tower.

    The moment he entered, Yi Chen couldn''t help but frown.

    Inside the hall was blood everywhere, the thick stench of it wafting through the air.

    Yet not a single corpse could be seen.

    The hall was a mess, in complete disarray.

    Looking forward, his gaze moved to the wall where a large bluestone brick had impaled a paper effigy with rouged cheeks, nailing it straight to the wall.

    The paper effigy, as if it were alive, was still flapping its arms, clutching the long bluestone in its chest as if trying to pull itself out of the wall.

    No, it really was trying to pull itself out. Yi Chen''s gaze sharpened; although it was slow, the paper effigy had already managed to pull nearly half of itself out of the wall.

    "What a pitiable little thing."

    Yi Chen had a kind heart and couldn''t bear to see spirits suffer, so he decided to help it.

    The flapping arms and legs of the paper effigy on the wall were heart-wrenching to watch.

    He drew his Dragon-Slaying Sword and chopped off the paper effigy''s limbs on the wall, turning it into a mutilated figure.

    Now it was better; the paper effigy didn''t have to struggle so hard anymore.

    So good.

    The paper effigy on the wall now remained still, its eyes painted with some dye, staring fixedly at Yi Chen.

    Staring intently.

    If Yi Chen wasn''t mistaken, that long piece of bluestone was the one he had thrown, nailing this patrolling paper effigy by accident in the mist.

    "Taoist Yi Chengzi, what is the meaning of this?" Abbess Shuiyue, witnessing this scene, furrowed her brows and couldn''t help but ask Yi Chen. After all, what he was doing seemed rather perverse.

    However, Yi Chen did not immediately reply. Instead, he continued to thrust his sword, piercing it into the chest of the paper effigy on the wall. The body of the paper effigy trembled violently, and a flame slowly kindled where the Dragon-Slaying Sword touched its body, emitting bursts of black smoke.

    After observing for two breaths, another flash of sword light passed, and the head of the paper effigy fell to the ground. Its body, hung on the wall, also burst into flames and burned into a puff of fire.

    Yi Chen noted that his Golden Finger did not react throughout, with no Deep Red Value credited to his account. Clearly, this paper effigy was a magical creation.

    "Is the Daoist testing the weakness of this paper effigy?"

    The Lotus Flower Master, who had been observing Yi Chen for a while, seemed to have figured something out and took the opportunity to ask.

    "The Abbess is compassionate."

    "The Master''s discernment is impeccable," Yi Chen said. "Indeed, I am trying to probe for the weak points of this ghostly thing."

    Yi Chen thought for a moment before beginning to explain the purpose behind his recent actions.

    "This paper effigy possesses considerable strength. I noticed that even though I pinned it to the wall with a long strip of green brick, by the time we entered, the thing had nearly pulled itself halfway out."

    "Just now, I attempted to sever the limbs of this ghostly thing. However, apart from being limited in movement, the paper effigy did not sustain much damage. This indicates that its vital points are not located there."

    "Next, I pierced the chest of the paper effigy with the Pure Yang Dao Sword several times. Even when I imbued a trace of my own Pure Yang vitality into the sword, the effigy, apart from slight burning at the point of contact, still did not take much damage."

    "It wasn''t until I chopped off the head of the paper effigy that it automatically burst into flames."

    The Daoist Qingxu frowned upon hearing this.

    "Does the Daoist mean to say that, apart from its head, the paper effigy nearly has no weak points and it possesses significant resistance to our Daoist sect''s mystic arts?"

    At this moment, everyone couldn''t help but turn their gaze towards Yi Chen, feeling inward admiration.

    If Yi Chen had not discovered the peculiarities of this paper effigy in advance, they could have suffered greatly from an unexpected encounter.

    It was finally time for Lin Baihu to show a trace of a smile. The famous Taoist Yi Chengzi had proven that there was substance to his reputation. While they were not yet certain of his strength, his attentiveness was indeed keen.

    He cleared his throat to bolster everyone''s spirits:

    "Everyone here is a person of exceptional talent and wisdom. With the help of each other on this expedition, our chances of success are that much greater."

    "It seems that the evil spirits within this building are nothing more than mediocre."

    "The person behind all this is not clever. If I were that person, I would have hidden a squad of paper effigy ambushers, fully armed, and taken advantage of the fog to unexpectedly strike. Wouldn''t that be wonderful?"

    "Hahaha... Huh?"

    Suddenly, Lin Baihu''s smile froze on his face.

    The mist inside the hall began to boil as if cold water had been poured into a hot oil pan.

    A rustling sound approached rapidly from a distance.

    "Everyone, be careful."

    The Lotus Flower Master warned everyone in a low voice.

    Each person took out their weapons, readying themselves for what was to come.

    Abbess Shuiyue, the Lotus Flower Master, and Daoist Qingxu naturally readied their same old trio of tools.

    Among the three, Abbess Shuiyue and the Lotus Flower Master likely had similar strength, probably in the mid-stages of refining their essence and transforming it into qi. Daoist Qingxu was slightly more powerful than the other two, seemingly about to step into the later stages of essence refinement.

    Lin Baihu''s magic artifact was a hundred-refined battle saber, engraved with script as tiny as flies and mosquitoes. After thinking for a moment, he pulled out a fiery red charm from his chest and applied it to the saber with a somewhat pained expression.

    The charm ignited without wind, and in an instant, a red glow began to emerge along Lin Baihu''s saber. The redness started from the tip of the blade and spread slowly until it reached the guard before stopping.

    This miraculous scene also caught Yi Chen''s eye for an extra moment.

    Zhen''an Department''s Lin Baihu indeed had a variety of tricks up his sleeve.

    But in the blink of an eye.

    With the swift approach of the foreign objects from afar, the mist could no longer hide their figures. Two squads of tall paper effigies, some carrying battle sabers, others wielding chained hammers or seasoned bronze staves, charged at them.

    They were as fast as the wind.

    Yi Chen and his companions took a deep look at Lin Baihu, whose smile was frozen on his face. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Someone had jinxed them with their words, but nobody would say who that person was.

 Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Bai Hu, you better stop talking.

    In the depths of Lanxiu Tower, two Daoist figures were still laboring to set up a formation.Suddenly, the ghostly woman in white furrowed her brows and halted her actions.

    "One of the puppet paper figures I had patrolling the front hall has died. How can the cultivators of Fengyun County respond so swiftly?"

    "What do we do now? The formation is at a critical moment; do we stop and go kill those people first?"

    The mysterious figure paused at these words and replied.

    "No need. My squad of paper figures have already struck with all their might to hold those people off, and I''ve sent Xiao Bai with the last troop of paper figures as well. We must hurry, to avoid any complications with a protracted night."

    "I don''t know why, but I feel somewhat uneasy. We should complete the attraction formation as soon as possible."

    Having said that, the woman in white swept her jade-like arm, and a paper figure over three meters tall suddenly appeared by her side.

    Next to the towering paper figure were more than twenty paper figures just over a meter tall.

    She took out her red scissors and a piece of red paper, and in an instant, she swiftly snipped out a pair of crimson eyes and affixed them onto the head of the towering paper figure.

    Two red beams of light shone from the face of the towering paper figure, resembling red searchlights.

    The woman in white looked at the multitude of paper figures in front of her and after a moment of thought, to be on the safe side, she imbued the edges of their blades with potent poison.

    "Slay all living things within the mist, paper ghosts!"

    The woman dressed in white roared softly through the fog, issuing commands to the towering paper figure.

    After a series of spells, the towering paper figure fully awakened and burst into an impressive and intimidating ghostly aura. It knelt on one knee, signaling submission to the woman in white before it.

    "As you wish, my master."

    It surveyed its surroundings as if sensing something, then strode forward leading the team of paper figures toward the front hall.

    Seeing this, the mysterious figure couldn''t help but reveal a slightly relieved smile, "Hong Jian, your paper cutting magic has become even more exquisite."

    "This giant paper ghost is tough and resilient; even I would not necessarily be able to subdue it within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."

    "No wonder the Great Protector values you so much, to the point of planting a soul-controlling sigil within you with the spirit-binding technique."

    Upon hearing this, the woman in white''s face darkened: "It is indeed so."

    "Hurry up with the formation."

    As a single ghost in this ancient wilderness house, she was accidently discovered by the Great Protector of the Corpse God Sect. Noticing her astuteness and exceptional talent, unlike those dull ghosts whose minds were eroded by the Yin Qi and who knew only to eat and kill, he used the spirit-binding technique to bring her to the Corpse God Sect.

    Within the sect, she received guidance on more advanced magical techniques, not just relying on innate spells and fighting on instinct as before.

    But at the same time, she also lost her freedom, her life and death now in the hands of others.

    After all, one cannot have all the advantages in the world -- to want this and that, yet still want more.

    The same goes for ghosts.

    Every gift from fate is secretly marked with a price.

    In the process of growth, while gaining some things, one will also lose others.

    This is the Heavenly Dao.

    "Fortunately, if this mission is successful and we can bring back the left arm of the Corpse God, the Great Protector will remove my slave mark and will also pass on to me the art of seizing spirits and stabilizing gods. By then....."

    "As long as it''s a success, even if all the paper figures I''ve amassed over the years go up in flames, it will be worth it."

    The woman in white gathered her scattered thoughts, shook her greenish-black hair sitting atop her head, and refocused intently on the great task of setting up the formation.

    It was close to completion, just a little more time.

    ...

    ...

    Meanwhile, the first squad of paper figures had already begun confronting Yi Chen and the others face-to-face.

    Thanks to Yi Chen''s prior warning, the group was not too flustered and fought steadily and securely.

    Lin Baihu and Yi Chen took the forefront like two boulders in a stream, blocking the onslaught of the paper figure squad.

    Abbess Shuiyue, Lotus Master, and Daoist Qingxu were mending any gaps in the rear, fending off the paper figures attempting sneak attacks from the sides.

    Their five-person team became increasingly in sync as the battle progressed.

    The number of paper figures visibly dwindled.

    "Haha, splendid!"

    Lin Baihu laughed heartily as he beheaded a paper figure with his sword and then kicked another attempting to sneak up on him flying far away.

    From the corner of his eye, Yi Chen saw clearly the savage kick aimed at the figure''s vitals.

    However, this kick was of no real use, it merely pushed back the paper effigy, which, with a roll, once again charged forward carrying a large saber, showing no fear of death.

    After all, a paper effigy isn''t a real human, and doesn''t have such obvious weaknesses.

    "Mere mudchickens and pottery dogs."

    Like a hot knife slicing through butter, Lin Baihu''s war saber, enhanced with talismanic inscriptions, was truly peerless in sharpness, piercing through the last charging paper effigy and its armor, leaving it thoroughly chilled. He lifted his saber, and softly whispered ''Gale''.

    A stream of green energy suddenly appeared on his war saber.

    The moment the energy appeared, Lin Baihu''s saber speed and strength instantly advanced to a new level.

    As the paper effigy''s chest was pierced, it still tried to swing its saber at Lin Baihu, but before the motion was completed, its body was already cleaved in two by Lin Baihu''s upward slash.

    Yi Chen''s eyebrows knitted upon witnessing this scene.

    Although Lin Baihu''s mouth had been kissed by the light, he was indeed a master, with abundant combat experience and a myriad of techniques at his disposal.

    Especially that last strike, it was truly stunning. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Even with his current strength, well.

    It seems like after the transformation into Extreme Yang, he could still kill him, so no worries there.

    "Amitabha, I had not expected Lin Baihu to also be a cultivator who has mastered both the law and the body, this humble monk admires you deeply," said Taoist Yi Chengzi, although his spirituality was awakened through heterodox methods and his aptitude was not particularly good, his discernment was extremely sharp, spotting at once the finesse of Lin Baihu''s final move.

    Law and body dual cultivation.

    "You flatter me, you flatter me." Lin Baihu reciprocated with modest words, yet anyone could see the satisfaction gleaming in his eyes.

    He cast a sidelong glance in Yi Chen''s direction, and had it not been for the stimulus provided by the imposing stature of Taoist Yi Chengzi standing beside him, he wouldn''t have revealed the new battle strategy he had recently developed.

    He had a strong desire to win.

    In his lifetime, Lin Baihu refused to be inferior to others, aiming to perfect himself through law and body dual cultivation and, in one vigorous effort, break through to the Qi Refinement Realm.

    Among his peers of the same realm, he never wanted to be a notch below anyone at any time.

    In the battle just now, Yi Chen had put considerable pressure on him, and he had seen it.

    Yi Taoist''s swordplay was nothing special, but his strength was truly immense.

    Extremely powerful.

    His attacks were as fast as lightning; the paper effigies surrounding him lost limbs or were severely injured with just a graze.

    And then there was that peculiar deep purple true energy, which was profoundly potent.

    "Taoist Yi Chengzi, what do you think of my final strike? I would appreciate your critique," said Lin Baihu as he sheathed his saber and smiled at Yi Chen.

    "Skill without parallel, I concede to your superiority," Yi Chen nodded slightly, quietly adding to himself, under the transformation into Extreme Yang, it would take at least three moves before I could kill you, not bad.

    However, even if Yi Chen thought he could hang Lin Baihu in the sky and beat him when at full strength, he would not show it.

    Not only would he not show it, but he would also bolster Lin Baihu''s esteem further.

    That is the mark of a mature, seasoned member of society.

    Without money or interests at stake, why bother to compete with others for transient superiority?

    This Lin Baihu, looking scruffy with a middle-aged appearance, had not expected to remain oblivious to this layer of understanding; it truly was quite absurd.

    At this thought, Yi Chen''s mind raced, "Damn it, Lin Baihu can''t possibly be only eighteen."

    For a moment, he remembered the twelve-year-old Qi Goushi from the Evil Tiger Gang whom he had once let go.

    Yi Chen gave Lin Baihu a once-over; scruffy-bearded, his face weathered, the very image of a middle-aged man.

    "Impossible, absolutely impossible."

    In an instant, Yi Chen discarded the thought from his mind.

    By now, the first team of paper effigy squadrons had been entirely annihilated, and apart from Daoist Qingxu getting an unexpected shallow cut on his hand from one of the fearlessly charging paper effigies, everyone else was unharmed.

    In this battle, they had won a complete victory.

    Lin Baihu couldn''t help but burst into hearty laughter.

    "I laugh at the ones behind the scenes for their lack of wisdom."

    "They only know how to lay ambushes; if they had poisoned their blades, we wouldn''t have overcome these paper effigies so easily."

    "Do my fellow Daoists agree?"

    As the mist swirled, two streaks of red light hurtled towards them.

    "Baihu, you''d better stop talking," Daoist Qingxu said urgently.

 Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Mooching is often a wonderful thing.

    All of a sudden, from far to near, the ground began to tremble slightly."What the hell is this now?"

    "Everyone, be careful."

    Master Lotus whispered a reminder to everyone.

    Lin Baihu''s smile was once again welded onto his face, solidified.

    He violently drew his battle saber, thinking to say more, but was collectively glared back by the crowd.

    Some people''s mouths truly are blessed, top-notch jinxes.

    By now, they had clearly seen who the attacking enemy was.

    A three-meter-tall giant paper figure stood in front of them, with about twenty smaller paper figures standing densely behind it, fully armed and equipped, and even their blades flickered with a faint blue glow.

    Obviously, they were coated with deadly poison.

    Seeing this scene, Yi Taoist''s face instantly turned dark as he quietly edged towards Yi Chen''s direction.

    His seventh sense told him that in critical moments, it would still be Yi Taoist who could be relied on.

    "Kill... you all!"

    The tall paper figure brandished a thick copper club the size of a sea bowl as he charged towards everyone, with the smaller paper figures swarming behind him.

    A few treacherous small paper figures even sneakily shot cold arrows on the way, completely disregarding any martial ethics.

    Several arrows shot straight towards Abbess Shuiyue, three inches below her navel.

    Clearly, this troop of paper figures surpassed the previous ones in intelligence and cunning, understanding the principle that it''s better to break one finger than to injure all of them.

    Upon seeing this, Abbess Shuiyue''s face turned dark; this was too much bullying.

    Singling him out for such insidious attacks.

    How vicious!

    He put his hands together, quickly took off the beads from his hand, and chanted.

    "Amitabha!"

    A speck of golden light appeared from Abbess Shuiyue''s clasped hands, and suddenly expanded into a large golden sphere, enveloping his figure tightly, instantly turning him into a bright light bulb.

    In the nick of time, the incoming arrows were deflected by the light shield.

    At this moment, fine beads of sweat appeared on Abbess Shuiyue''s forehead.

    Although he was old and a monk, which made it somewhat irrelevant to him, he still did not want to be completely useless.

    So, he decisively used his ultimate protective spell, the Golden Light Shield, to protect himself.

    Yi Chen, however, had no time to concern himself with others; his attention was firmly fixed on the tall paper figure in front of him.

    "Such strong ghostly energy."

    "This one must have Deep Red Points."

    Do it, the essence of war is speed.

    By now, Yi Chen had already sensed something wrong.

    Ever since they entered the Lanxiu Tower, they had been faced with one wave of... resistance after another.

    That''s right, resistance.

    But the person behind the scenes had not yet shown their face, instead sending out waves of paper figures in a relentless attempt to wear them down.

    "They really don''t want us to proceed?"

    "Then I will do exactly the opposite."

    Yi Chen was undoubtedly fast, but someone was even faster than him.

    With a grim expression, Lin Baihu drew his battle saber, turning into a blur as he swept toward the tall paper figure.

    "Swift Wind, Star Points"

    A green stream of energy wrapped around Lin Baihu''s entire body, and with the boost of this mana, his speed became as fast as lightning. In the blink of an eye, his battle saber clanged against the tall paper figure, sparks flying everywhere.

    The tall paper figure swung its copper club in anger, but couldn''t catch up with Lin Baihu''s speed.

    One side couldn''t break the defense, while the other couldn''t catch up. Lin Baihu tried several times to take a vicious shot at the paper ghost''s eyes, but was driven back by the paper ghost''s copper club each time.

    He couldn''t dare to withstand such a heavy blow; he felt that if he did, the Lin family might come to an end. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The battle between the two ground to a stalemate.

    Yi Chen had a thought and did not immediately join the fight against the tall paper figure. Instead, he drew his Dragon-Slaying Sword and charged toward the group of small paper creatures.

    Anyway, it looked like Lin Baihu wouldn''t be able to take down the tall paper ghost in a short time, and the Deep Red Points wouldn''t be able to escape in a hurry, so he might as well let Lin Baihu have a good time with this tall paper ghost.

    First, he would take care of those disgusting little paper creatures.

    "You... bunch of damned pests!"

    "You have already chosen a path of certain death!"

    With a roar of anger from Yi Chen, he rushed towards the small paper creatures, Dragon-Slaying Sword in hand.

    These damned little paper creatures even dared to shoot cold arrows at three inches below his abdomen¡ªcompletely lawless.

    Did they think the Daoist''s sword was not sharp?

    "Abbess, I''m here to assist you!"

    At this moment, under the relentless siege of the paper figures, Abbess Shuiyue was hard-pressed on all sides. The water dragon she had released had been chopped into three segments by the assault of the small paper creatures and had dispersed, and now she could barely summon a second one, her situation highly precarious.

    Yi Chen''s right foot powered off the ground, causing a surge of deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi to envelop his body as he shot out like a cannonball. He beheaded a bow-wielding paper figure that had been hiding and launching sneak attacks with one sweep of his sword.

    Afterward, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, he sliced and smashed through them. In a few breaths, he had cleared all the little paper creatures around Abbess Shuiyue.

    Actually, it wasn''t entirely Abbess Shuiyue''s fault that they were struggling. They walked the path of magical cultivation, and these strong, fearless, and bizarrely magic-resistant paper creatures were the bane of their type of cultivation.

    Who knows what kind of sinister materials were used to make these paper figures.

    It didn''t matter, though.

    Yi Chen was a perfect counter to these small paper monsters.

    Soon, all the surrounding small paper creatures were chopped into black ash by Yi Chen except for one that was left scrambling on the ground, clawing at the floor with its left hand and holding a pointy knife in its right, looking very determined.

    But it was in vain.

    In this world, not everyone who tries hard is guaranteed success or to accomplish certain things.

    In fact, there are some things that if you''re not born with, you might never have in your entire life.

    The world is inherently unfair.

    Some people are born in Rome, while others are born as mules and horses.

    Even more heart-wrenching is when those born in Rome criticize the little mules and horses for not trying hard enough...

    The small paper figure on the ground had been trying so hard, then a large foot descended from the sky, crushed its head into pieces, and exploded into a bright flame. With its remaining half of a body ignited, a black mark was left on the ground¡ªits final trace in the world.

    At this point, everyone had their hands free, and they all turned their gaze forward.

    Lin Baihu was just plain unlucky. The material that tall paper ghost was made from was outrageously tough.

    Thankfully, it was finally all about to end.

    Under his relentless efforts, the tall paper figure in front of him was already broken and tattered, with many parts already ablaze with a blue flame, emitting black smoke.

    He was about to slay this paper ghost.

    Although Lin Baihu was breathing like a bellows at this point, he still managed to keep going.

    "The final strike, sending you on your way."

    "Swift Wind - Star..."

    "Backstab~!"

    Suddenly, a sword tip pierced through the throat of the tall paper ghost from within.

    With a sweeping motion from Yi Chen''s long sword, the head of the tall paper ghost fell to the ground and rolled towards Lin Baihu.

    An information stream suddenly appeared on Yi Chen''s retinas.

    [You have successfully killed a paper ghost, earning twenty-five Deep Red Points.]

    Lin Baihu''s face turned red with frustration.

    He felt quite upset.

    Yi Chen, on the other hand, was beaming with joy.

    To reap without sowing¡ªtruly a delightful thing indeed.

    Just then, a blood-red pillar of light suddenly rose in front of them.

    Everyone''s expression changed dramatically as they hurriedly raced towards the location of the rising pillar of light.

    Alas, it was already too late.

 Chapter 44: Chapter 44 Mystery, Dao Ye is Very Unhappy

    Blood-colored pillars of light connected to the sky, directly blasting open the clouds.A strange rhythm propagated through the air.

    In every corner around the walls of the Lanxiu Building, in places unknown to Yi Chen and his companions, one formation pattern after another lit up.

    By the time Yi Chen arrived near the pillar of light, he saw a circular blood pool about five meters in diameter on the open ground in front of him.

    The pillar of light was emanating from the pool of blood.

    A pale red light shield enveloped the entire blood pool.

    The perimeter of the blood pool was built of unknown black stone, inset with various strange gemstones. There were five notches on the circular edge divided into quintiles, each containing a putrid object: a black heart, a rotten liver, a dirty spleen, a stinky lung, and a foul kidney. Numerous threads of blood connected and wriggled on them, exceptionally eerie.

    Inside the blood pool lay hundreds of corpses, haphazardly submerged¡ªit seemed that all the people from Lanxiu Building were gathered here.

    Seeing the corpses in the blood pool, Yi Chen knew that the entertainment industry of Fengyun County had suffered a devastating blow.

    From production to demand, all had been severely hit; it would likely take three to five years to recover.

    After all, the ones soaking in the pool were the elite professionals of Fengyun County''s entertainment industry.

    Bubbles gurgled up in the thick blood water.

    Within the viscous blood, faces of various people floated and sank, each taking their turn as the others finished.

    Men and women, old and young.

    Yi Chen even spotted a silver-haired old man among the floating figures in the blood water.

    Truly vigorous in old age.

    To think he had come to such a place to spend the night at such an age.

    Perhaps this is what passion looks like.

    "Girls in their teens, men in their eighties, a pear tree''s blossoms overshadowing the crabapples¡ªthough they walk in troubled steps."

    "Heh heh heh," a strange laugh echoed.

    Within the pale red shield, a mysterious figure clad in a black robe and hood spoke with a cold laugh,

    "Fengyun County''s response is quite quick, but alas, you are not quick enough."

    "The ''Five Viscera Five Elements Black Heaven Attraction Formation'' is already activated, and the Corpse God''s divine body will soon be welcomed back by our sect. Our Longevity Cult particularly values talent, and considering the difficulty of your cultivation, why not join our Corpse God sect?"

    "I''ve killed quite a few people lately, and today I don''t want to kill anymore."

    "Don''t mislead yourselves."

    "If anyone among you is willing to lay down your arms and surrender respectfully, I can still recommend that person as an incense master after joining the sect."

    "After joining the sect, we will all be brothers, pursuing the great Dao of longevity together."

    While the figure in the black robe spoke persuasively, the woman in white ghostly garb furrowed her brow and said sharply, "Black robe, the formation is only one step away from completion, why do you waste words?"

    "Have you not heard that in the long night, dreams abound?"

    Hearing this, the figure in the black robe showed an expression of unexpected displeasure, feeling dissatisfied in his heart, but still suppressed his temper and began to cast various hand seals with the woman in white toward the blood pool to carry out the final step of the Attraction Formation.

    The strange rhythm in the air became even more pronounced.

    "Damn it, it''s that group of lunatics from the Corpse God Cult; I knew there was something complicated behind all this, involving so many counties." Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Now it seems that the ghostly incidents in the other counties have been nothing more than a ruse to cover up what''s happening in Fengyun County."

    Lin Baihu''s face turned a bit pale. With the information he had, he quickly understood the cause and consequence.

    Behind the chaos in Ping''an County, there was the evil Corpse God Cult stirring up trouble.

    "Corpse God Cult? What on earth is that?" Yi Chen''s eyes were somewhat bewildered.

    Although he had been hurriedly catching up on reading the classics lately, this was indeed a blind spot in his knowledge.

    Lin Baihu''s gaze sharpened, his eyebrows knitting together as he quickly explained, "It is normal for the Daoist not to know about these things."

    "According to the archives of our Peacekeeping Division, the Corpse God Cult was originally known as the Longevity Cult, and it is somewhat connected to the Dao Sect."

    "This cult was originally founded by a mighty being from the Dao Sect known as True Monarch Wan Hua, a person of astounding talent, but he fancied the notion of eternal life."

    ...

    As Lin Baihu spoke like the spilling of beans, Yi Chen came to understand.

    Eight hundred years ago, there was a powerful Daoist called True Monarch Wan Hua¡ªa prodigy boasting mastery over countless spells, expert in everything, second to none.

    Yet, he could not achieve eternal life, nor could he see any hope for it, nor could he break through the bottleneck of his own cultivation.

    If things continued, his inevitable end would be a shovelful of yellow earth.

    He was not content with that.

    He hated the thought¡ªhow could he, dazzling in talent, be lumped in with rotting wood?

    If it hadn''t been for distractions in his early years, how could he have ended up in such straits, with his life force insufficient?

    There''s a limit to human effort.

    In life and death, there lies great horror.

    Thus, he decided no longer to be human.

    The gifted True Monarch started on a deviant path of self-rescue. He secretly killed to practice his skills and with his outstanding aptitude, he actually managed to forge a new path for himself.

    That was to cultivate the Blood Dao with the spirit, and house the Primordial Spirit in a corpse.

    For the sake of preserving life and attaining longevity, the Blood Dao was exceptionally endowed.

    For the sake of bodily immortality, lasting forever in this world, the Corpse Dao was unique on its own.

    Blood Dao, large cup.

    Corpse Dao, large cup.

    If the two were combined, wouldn''t that be an extra-large cup?

    With an extended lifespan and formidable strength, the combination could complement each other''s flaws, eliminating the vulnerability of relying on a single practice.

    This was quite like Qin Shi Huang eating Sichuan peppercorns while touching a live wire, extremely numb to the point of no return.

    In his shocking and brilliant fashion, he created numerous spells, killing and extracting blood, summoning spirits and commanding ghosts, refining corpses, and nurturing gods¡­

    In his later years, the already crazed man went on to establish the Longevity Cult, boldly claiming to forge a new path to immortality for all, self-proclaimed as the Longevity God.

    Before long, his followers included a throng of desperate evildoers and even demons who joined him, participating in the profound arts, their power becoming increasingly formidable, at their peak boasting thirty-six saints.

    The Sect Hierarch of the Longevity Cult treated all with equal disdain as they seized cities and territories, felled mountains and destroyed temples.

    Whether the orthodox path or the heretical, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.

    All were fine things to bolster the body.

    The essence-blood was used to nurture corpses, the living souls to refine gods, and the secret techniques to fill the library.

    In the end, the True Monarch of Myriad Transformations actually succeeded in cultivating an undying corpse.

    The Primordial Spirit also transformed and began cultivating the Blood Sea Primordial Spirit.

    In the moment when he used the secret technique to seize the corpse and merge souls, the exasperated orthodox path, the heretical path, and the super-experts from the imperial court all emerged and joined forces to execute him, splitting him into six Corpse God Daoists.

    Because eradicating the physical body of the True Monarch of Myriad Transformations would cost too much, his undying corpse was secretly dismembered and suppressed in various locations across the continent, while the whereabouts of his Primordial Spirit remained unknown, and all the forces involved in the siege of the Longevity Cult kept their silence.

    Following this battle, the Longevity Cult crumbled and dispersed over the course of eight hundred years, leaving its remnants to become the present-day Corpse God Cult.

    Upon learning such secrets, Yi Chen and the others were so shocked they looked like dumbfounded dogs.

    This is what happens when one strays from the right path, the more knowledge one possesses, the more rebellious they become.

    The True Monarch of Myriad Transformations was truly a fiendish genius to have stirred up such a storm.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "What do we do now, run or not?"

    In the midst of the chaos, Yi Chen seized on the crux of the matter.

    This ancient secret was so deep that one could get buried by it just by listening.

    What Lin Baihu said was merely the version from the Ping''an County authorities; who knew what the truth was back then. Eight hundred years ago, the Da Yue dynasty hadn''t even been established for that long.

    As a cunning old fox, Yi Chen had long understood that history is but a young girl to be dressed up by anyone.

    "Everyone, run to the Ping''an County authorities, and get the news out about what''s happening here," suddenly Lin Baihu spoke up.

    "Lin Baihu, what about you?"

    "I want to try and see if I can stop them. I have a secret technique that comes at a great cost, but I have to try. If the Corpse God Cult gets their hands on a part of that undying corpse, who knows what kind of chaos these madmen will unleash next."

    The group couldn''t help but look at him with solemn respect, instantly understanding Lin Baihu''s intent.

    It seemed that Lin Baihu himself did not have much hope for his attempt and had made preparations for both outcomes.

    He planned for Yi Chen and the others to break through to the Ping''an County authorities with the news, while he himself would take a chance at a life-risking assassination of the two members of the Corpse God Cult in front of the formation.

    In this tattered world, there always seemed to be people who would step forward at critical moments, unafraid to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

    Such people are the backbone of the Human Race.

    Yi Chen knew he could not be such a person, but he had boundless respect for those who were.

    He bowed deeply to Lin Baihu, wished him to take care, and prepared to flee.

    Any more dawdling, and what? Waiting for the feast to begin?

    The Corpse God Cult, after planning so long, how could they not have contingencies in place?

    Although his expression was calm, inside he was dying of urgency.

    Lin Baihu had raised the mood to such a pitch, even the Lotus Master and Abbess Shuiyue were somewhat tempted to stay and try their luck.

    Ultimately, reason prevailed, and the group collectively bowed deeply to Lin Baihu before preparing to flee.

    However, within just a few seconds, Yi Chen, with a defeatist look on his face, led the Lotus Master and the others sheepishly back.

    At this moment, the mysterious man in the black robe and the woman in white had ceased their casting, and two golden armored corpses stood in front of Yi Chen and the others.

    "Run, why aren''t you running?"

    "You were given a chance before, but you didn''t take it. Today, you are all going to die,"

    "Especially that big, dumb Taoist, you''re quite impressive, eh? Daring to kill my corpse ghost. I will flay you alive inch by inch and throw you into the blood pool to enhance my formation''s power,"

    the man in the black robe said sinisterly.

    The Corpse God Cult had invested so much in this place, would they really allow people to freely escape and spread the news?

    To come and go as they please, was this some sort of formation or a brothel?

    They had expended so much resource and effort in their preparations.

    When the blood-red pillar rose into the sky, everything would be settled.

    The whole region where the Lanxiu Building stood was imprisoned by an invisible barrier formed by the formation, blocking both entry and exit.

    No matter what choices they made, the outcome was the same: birds in a cage.

    In the end, they couldn''t avoid a fight.

    Hearing the words of the man in black, Yi Chen fell silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed, revealing his bright white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

    He drew out the Dragon-Slaying Sword, and slowly said:

    "I''m glad you think Daoist Yi is impressive, but I don''t like being called a big, dumb Taoist. Let me explain something to you, I''m not a big dumb guy, I am... robust!"

    Yi Chen roared, his muscles bulging as deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi diffused throughout his body, transforming him into a purple streak that thundered towards the mysterious man in the black robe.

    His bones were too stubborn, he disliked being someone else''s hound, so he had no choice but to carve out his own destiny.

    Witnessing the full force of Yi Chen''s assault, the man in the black robe''s complexion finally changed.

 Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Beating people up is not stimulating enough, and you still call it a cult?

    "Damn, this power,""Didn''t the intelligence within the sect say there was no one in Fengyun County at the Qi Refinement Realm?"

    "Is the intelligence fake?"

    After Yi Chen made his full-strength move, the man in black finally showed a drastic change in color, utterly shocked in his heart.

    He knew that Yi Chen was strong, after all, he was capable of slaying Corpse Ghosts.

    To know that the Corpse Ghost was a gift from the Great Protector himself, who had ''molded'' it together from earthbound mud and fog spirits, its strength was extraordinary.

    That was why he chose to confront Yi Chen.

    But this was way too fucking exaggerated.

    How on earth did he cultivate such devilish strength?

    Was his father a demon elephant?

    The man in the black robe drew a black stick that reached his eyebrows from behind him to face Yi Chen''s Dragon-Slaying Sword.

    Boom!

    A loud explosion.

    Step, step, step, step, step.

    The man in the black robe took five steps back before he completely absorbed the force.

    Yi Chen, on the other hand, took two steps.

    The difference in strength between the two was immediately clear.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen''s eyes lit up.

    "Lacking the strength to even beat someone up, and you call yourself a cultist?"

    "Your techniques must''ve been learned from your mistress."

    "And you call Taoist Yi a dumb brute, I #@#£¤£¤£¤@!@"

    Yi Chen, whose parents were still alive and had once studied on the Zuan servers for many years, began to spout trash talk wildly as he charged at the man in the black robe again.

    "You''re fucking looking for death!"

    "Taoist."

    "Corpse Transformation ¡¤ Berserk!"

    The man in the black robe, retreating from the attack, changed his expression and let out a roar, his body inflating like a balloon, growing until he was about two and a half meters tall before stopping.

    His body was covered with dense black and green blotches, the skin on his hands became tough and greasy, and his nails began to grow, flashing black gloom under the sunlight.

    Two sharp fangs pierced through his mouth, protruding out.

    This time, when the sword and stick crossed, Yi Chen''s expression finally changed.

    The tables turned, and it was his turn to take five steps back.

    The thick stench of decay drilled straight into Yi Chen''s nostrils, accompanied by an extremely faint sensation of dizziness, but thanks to Yi Chen''s Pure Yang Inner Qi rotating, the dizziness disappeared in an instant.

    For the first time, Yi Chen felt overpowered in strength.

    He looked at the monster the man in the black robe had transformed into, feeling an inexplicable shock in his heart.

    What kind of spell is this?

    A living person could transform into a corpse?

    With an aura of death all around, yet the breath of a living being could still be sensed, it was truly strange.

    Suddenly, a speculation emerged in Yi Chen''s mind.

    This crazy fucker from the Corpse God cult, he wouldn''t be cultivating his own body using some secret corpse-refining techniques, would he? sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ```

    Using oneself as material for corpse refinement¡ªpeople of the Corpse God Sect do indeed have some ideas.

    At this moment, the wind began to howl, swirling the flowers and plants inside Lianxiu Tower into disarray.

    The blood-colored pillar of light above the blood pool became even denser, and that strange cadence in the air grew more intense.

    Suddenly, the ground within Lianxiu Tower split open with a narrow crack as wide as a person''s palm; gusts of Yin wind blew out from within the crack.

    "Haha, the traction formation has been activated, the left arm of the great Corpse God buried deep underground is about to return. For the rebirth of the Corpse God, offer your flesh and blood."

    "You big oaf, this will be your greatest honor."

    Seeing this abnormal change, the mysterious cloaked figure burst into frenzied laughter.

    "Tear you apart!"

    "Follow the Longevity God, save the world with wide compassion!"

    The cloaked figure''s corpse energy surged, turning into a black streak that shot directly toward Yi Chen, and then it was sent flying back even faster.

    Earlier, when Yi Chen was repelled by the cloaked figure, he had secretly activated the Yang Polarity Shift.

    Using it for the first time after breaking into the seventh layer of his True Pure Yang Skill, he felt an unparalleled sense of power on his mind.

    At that moment, he felt he could smash the skull of the golden-armored corpse fighting Lin Baihu into its chest cavity.

    With that image in mind, his heart seemed to quiver.

    It''s been a long time since he had struck someone else''s head, and some had already forgotten how to write the character for "righteousness" in Taoist Yi Chengzi''s name.

    Now, every Tom, Dick, and Harry dared bare their teeth at him.

    A monster, neither human nor corpse¡ªdoes he deserve it?

    Power was surging within his body, with the sensation of burning.

    His heart was pounding wildly, pumping energy to every part of his body.

    Suddenly, his stature increased by nearly thirty centimeters, and the muscles in his neck, hands, waist, and legs swelled crazily, becoming larger and thicker as if he had donned a layer of muscle armor.

    The fighting spirit in his heart had been thoroughly ignited!

    At this moment, Yi Chen uncharacteristically sheathed the Dragon-Slaying Sword.

    He only needed his fists!

    He was loyal to his fists!

    Compared to the sword, he believed more in the conviction and strength conveyed through his fists.

    Of course, more importantly, he feared that the Dragon-Slaying Sword might chip from a fierce collision with the cloaked figure''s eyebrow-high staff....

    After sending the cloaked figure flying with a sudden, accelerated sneak attack, Yi Chen accelerated again. With a forceful push of his left leg against the ground and leveraging the strong reactive force, he surprisingly overtook the flying figure, delivering a decisive elbow to the heart.

    This strike was fast and fierce, caving in the chest of the undead cloaked figure.

    Boom!

    The cloaked figure''s body slammed into an invisible air wall and was then flung down onto the ground.

    At this time, Yi Chen finally had a chance to survey the entire battlefield.

    To his left.

    Master Lianhua, Abbess Shuiyue, and Taoist Qingxu were jointly facing off against a white-clothed female ghost wielding Hong Jian. The trio and the ghost were immersed in a fierce battle, barely maintaining the fight with the help of their sect''s magic artifacts.

    To his right.

    Lin Baihu''s body was enveloped by a deep green flow of qi, and having used some secret technique, his aura surged, drawing his combat saber and trapping the two golden-armored corpses within the flash of his blade.

    Then...crazily "scraping."

    Lin Baihu''s saber thudded as if he were striking iron, sparks flying everywhere, but the two golden-armored corpses were still hopping about, howling and screeching.

    Seeing this made Yi Chen want to shout out, "Master Lin, stop scraping."

    Clearly, as someone who had awakened the spirit of wind and followed the path of agility, Lin Baihu was fast indeed, but he lacked force.

    ```

    Being a man, just being fast isn''t enough.

    It''s going to cause big problems.

    Yi Chen keenly noticed that Lin Baihu now had many more white hairs on his head, his forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, likely because the secret technique couldn''t be sustained for much longer.

    It was tough for him to have stood up against the two armored corpses for so long alone.

    For a practitioner in the late stages of Qi Refinement, he had every reason to be proud of himself.

    Just as Yi Chen was about to step forward to teach the armored corpses a lesson about the principle of righteousness, suddenly, an unexpected change occurred.

    The mysterious person in a black robe, whom Yi Chen had previously beaten half to death, suddenly appeared near the armored corpses. With his head thrown back, he let out a piercing roar, and the two armored corpses seemed to deflate as countless streams of black Qi seeped out from their bodies.

    That massive amount of black Qi, like a whale sucking in water, surged into the body of the man in the black robe.

    With the nourishment of this huge amount of corpse Qi, the black-robed man''s aura grew stronger and stronger, and his chest, which Yi Chen had bashed in, swelled up once more like a ping-pong ball soaked in hot water.

    Yi Chen''s expression tightened and he quickly charged forward.

    He had to interrupt it.

    Only a fool would let the enemy slowly recover and reach their peak power.

    One should pursue a beaten enemy with vigor, not linger and act like a pompous king.

    Strike while the enemy is ill, strike to kill.

    When dealing with such sinister, heretical foes, there''s no need to talk about the chivalry of the jianghu. As someone from the Hidden Dragon Temple, a righteous sect, it was perfectly honorable to launch a sneak attack!

    "Brat!"

    "Give me a fair fight!"

    Yi Chen, with a burst of anger, surged with deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi all over his body, charging like a human tank towards the man in the black robe.

    The ground shook violently, dust filled the air.

    The violent wind generated by the energy blast lifted the sand and pebbles into the sky, bringing down a heavy shower of dust in all directions.

    Two formidable forces collided amidst the thick dust.

    This tumultuous scene quickly drew the attention of everyone who was still engaged in battle with Hong Jian.

    Their gaze turned toward the flurry of dust, but they couldn''t see clearly.

    From within the dust, they could only hear the sounds of fists meeting flesh and the following remarks.

    "Didn''t you eat? Put more strength into it!"

    "My grandma has more strength than you."

    "Are you giving me a massage?"

    "You don''t even pack a punch when you hit someone, and you call yourself a cult member?"

    "Is that unholy corpse technique taught by your master? Watch your footwork, brat!"

    "That old face of yours covered in corpse spots is really damn disgusting."

    "I usually don''t attack someone''s appearance, unless their looks attack me first."

    "@#£¤%"

    ¡­.

    An endless stream of trash talk and C runes came through the dust, showcasing Yi Chen''s profound mastery of the language.

    Lin Baihu almost couldn''t keep a firm grip on his sword upon seeing this.

    What an intense battle scene this was!

    Just by feeling the tremors underfoot, one could tell just how astonishing and powerful the clash at the center of the dust cloud was.

    "Everyone, look! There''s light!"

    "Light!"

    The monk Lianhua had incredibly sharp eyes and instantaneously discovered something that others had overlooked.

    Countless beams of light, as if attracted by a magnet, surged towards the dust cloud, an anomaly that cast the surrounding environment into darkness.

    At that moment, Abbess Shuiyue, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

    She glanced at the woman in white who was standing to one side and said,

    "Everyone, now that Taoist Yi Chengzi from Hidden Dragon Temple is valiantly battling demons ahead, we can''t just stand by and watch, there''s still one here to deal with."

    Four pairs of eyes suddenly focused on the woman in white.

    The woman in white felt her scalp tingle.

    She had previously been dominating Abbess Shuiyue and the others, and in the spirit of women being hard on each other, she hadn''t hesitated to target Abbess Shuiyue. Now it was payback time.

    She might be able to gain the upper hand when fighting three on one, but the addition of Lin Baihu from the Town Peace Office made it impossible for her to cope.

    "Kill her!"

    "There''s no need for chivalry with these cultist scum, we stand together!"

    No one knew who led the charge, but three or four spells instantly struck the woman in white.

    The woman in white could no longer hold back, and as she fled at breakneck speed, she couldn''t help but yell, "Black Robe, is your brain full of corpse water?"

    "Why aren''t you using that thing now, are you waiting until we''re all beaten to death?"

    "Black Robe, were you born of incest? I''m not going to last much longer, are you just going to wait and bring it into the coffin?"

    With a thunderous boom,

    The figure of the black robe was blasted out from the dust cloud and once again smashed heavily against the aerial barrier formed by the Formation.

    This time, he couldn''t even maintain his corpse-like state.

    He sat up with a pair of panda eyes, his body a mosaic of blue and purple bruises, with not an inch unscathed. Even the overgrown teeth from his corpse transformation had one knocked out, and another broken in half.

    With a retch, he spewed out a mouthful of black reverse blood from his insides, but then started to laugh like a maniac,

    "Hong Jian, shut your mouth!"

    "Hidden Dragon Temple''s Yi Chengzi, right?"

    "You, you''re strong."

    "You''re the first among my peers to push me this far."

    "But today, you''re going to die!"

    "All of you, you''re going to die!"

    The black robe shouted in rage, smashing a red ancient jade he held in his arms to the ground.

    He was going for broke.

    The ancient jade hit the ground and shattered.

    A burst of blood mist rose from the broken jade, quickly surging into the black robe''s body.

    His pupils instantly turned a blood-red color.

    An entirely different, powerful aura emerged,

    So strong that it made hearts tremble.

    That indifferent gaze, like the Heavenly Dao viewing all beings as insignificant, made Yi Chen''s scalp go numb.

    Yi Chen: "..." Damn it, I knew these big factions had contingencies.

    Standing firm against the ''Black Robe''s gaze, Yi Chen emerged from the crowd and with a gesture of respect said,

    "Fellow Daoist, it''s all a misunderstanding!"

 Chapter 46: 46th Chapter Yi Taoists Two Bottom Lines, The Suppressed Madness (Part 1)

    To live, one must be flexible!Yi Taoist said so.

    However, "Black Robe" did not respond to Yi Chen''s words. He merely continued to stare at him with an indifferent gaze.

    "So I leave?"

    "You might not believe this, fellow Daoist, but I got involved accidentally and know nothing."

    "I keep tight-lipped."

    With a slight step back, Yi Chen put on a smiley face and continued to probe.

    The previous domineering aura had disappeared without a trace, and he smiled harmlessly.

    If he had a choice, he truly did not want to engage in a fierce battle with the awe-inspiring new "Black Robe" before him.

    War is about preying on the weak and bullying the less powerful.

    Combat must be measured by its benefits.

    Only by preying on the weak and bullying the less powerful can one gain the greatest benefit with the least cost. Haven''t you seen how proxy wars are fought?

    If before the battle, one''s benefit counts as 100, the cost of battle is -20, and the gains from battle are +5.

    Then this battle is a losing transaction.

    A weak state destroyed by a surviving one, a strong state perished alone, that''s the reason, in the end, one bankrupts oneself.

    Engage in too many losing deals, clash with anyone you encounter, and in fact, you''re constantly bleeding yourself dry.

    Taking history as a mirror, Yi Chen genuinely did not want to fight this battle.

    The "Black Robe" before him, at first glance, was obviously not a pushover, and Yi Chen still didn''t understand, even if he did kill the Black Robe, would he count as a person or an evil spirit? Would there be any Deep Red Points credited?

    The risk was infinitely high, and the profit uncertain; that wasn''t a good deal at all.

    At that moment, "Black Robe" finally began to speak. His detached gaze meticulously swept over Yi Chen from top to bottom as if trying to see through him.

    "Interesting, I never expected among the cultivators of the Pure Yang path, there would be a Taoist like you, with such flexible moral boundaries."

    "How does the Taoist view the rumors about our Corpse God religion''s founder, True Monarch Wan Hua?"

    Yi Chen paused for a moment before cautiously saying, "The Corpse God path is sincere in its own way, with hearts steadfast toward the Dao; I hold utmost respect for that."

    "Back then, True Monarch Wan Hua opened his sect widely to disciples. Although pooling the wisdom of many and commanding a grand momentum, it inevitably led to a mix of good and bad elements."

    "Some bad apples, under the name of the sect, sought shortcuts without thorough understanding, and the more they pursued, the further astray and more wicked they became."

    "Yes, that''s the way it is."

    "True Monarch''s intention was good; it''s a pity that people below twisted the teaching."

    "Ha ha ha." Black Robe suddenly cackled neurotically, clapping loudly.

    "Well said!"

    "A talent like you, Taoist, should indeed join our Corpse God religion."

    "I am willing to accept you as my disciple, into my fold, as the first Saint Heir of our religion. Mystical powers, marvelous methods, blessed lands, heaven-sent treasures, fine wines, and beauties, all at your beck and call."

    "Taoist, are you willing?"

    "Such a thing is absolutely impossible!" This time, the usually slippery Yi Chen answered decisively without a trace of hesitation.

    Even the "Black Robe" person was taken aback by such a response.

    It caught him completely by surprise.

    Yet, what he did not know was,

    Even though Yi Chen''s moral standards were disgustingly low, he still had limits.

    In his previous life, he was set on climbing the ladder at all costs, experiencing countless deceptions and betrayals, but he never cut the leeks of the poor...

    The ones he schemed were also predators of the fame and fortune field.

    Having sat at the gambling table meant accepting whatever fate dealt; he cut those leeks without any remorse.

    That was his moral line.

    In his former life, he too came from hardship; taking money from the poor was a sin. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Taking from predators; that was fair game¡ªpoor skills on their part, and he felt completely justified.

    This was also one of the reasons why he had not completely plundered the Evil Tiger Gang previously.

    A small town-level gang, with the leader and the core members mostly killed by his lightning-fast hands, how much could the ordinary gang members and a few mid to low-level cadres have?

    Those mixed up in gangs live for today, not tomorrow, spending money extravagantly, hardly saving any.

    Joining a gang either means indulging in gluttony, prostitution, gambling, and drinking, or being forced by life''s circumstances, needing to provide for the family.

    This isn''t a third-rate pulp novel; those involved in shady dealings aren''t out gallivanting with all their belongings every day, nor do martial arts masters carry their practice manuals for fear of their enemies benefiting from their death.

    Fairy tales are all lies, the rich cling to life, but it is the lower-middle class, the beasts of burden, who would rather lose their life than their wealth, clever as a shrew with many dens.

    After all, Zhou Shuren once said, you can cheat me of my feelings, but not of my money¡ªthat''s unacceptable.

    How much money can a common person earn in a lifetime? Being cheated of feelings can be grudgingly accepted, but losing money is a fate worse than death.

    That night, Yi Chen experienced it.

    Under the Pareto principle, the upper echelons took most of the profits, leaving the majority of the ordinary gang members of the Evil Tiger Gang impoverished, not exactly penniless, but certainly destitute to the point of heart-wrenching poverty.

    Yi Chen truly had no time to waste scraping oil from a mosquito''s leg, nor the leisure to torture them one by one, so he simply ended them decisively.

    The money they protected with their lives would be left for their families then.

    After all, the Taoist doesn''t prey on the poor.

    Because he has plenty of ways to make money.

    And showing gratitude is his second bottom line.

    Looking back ten years, when he first transmigrated here, drifting aimlessly, weak-bodied, even reduced to competing with stray dogs for food¡ªdamn it, he never even won once, ultimately fainting in a snow pit. If it weren''t for his master Bai Yunzi, the grass over his grave would be three meters tall by now.

    It was Bai Yunzi who pulled him up from that low point, the tall old man provided him with warmth and comfort beyond compare.

    He gave him food, taught him to practice martial arts, treated him as his own without asking for anything in return, only giving.

    Although Bai Yunzi was both pedantic and a Holy Mother, he was beyond reproach when it came to Yi Chen.

    You throw a peach to me, I give back a precious gem in return.

    Yi Chen''s principles may be flexible and sway, but he still has a line he will not cross.

    "Refuse?"

    "Do you know what you''re losing?"

    The smile on ''Black Robe''s'' face disappeared.

    "As a man in this world, there are things to do and things not to do."

    "Although the Taoist is not exactly a good person, he would never commit the disgraceful acts of ingratitude and betrayal of his vows."

    Yi Chen''s face no longer bore any frivolous expression, he was incredibly serious, speaking deliberately.

    Between life and death lies great terror, but there is something more terrifying than death itself.

    That is the soul drifting aimlessly, flitting with the wind, subject to any direction!

    If the soul has no anchor, no principles, ready to take on any form at any time, then who are you, and what defines you?

    Even beasts have the right to choose to survive.

    But as a human being, living is not just about surviving, there must be perseverance, something more noble than life itself.

    The Taoist likes to keep accounts, avoids loss-making deals, yet there are things in the world that can''t be judged solely by the gain or loss of profit.

    "Hahaha, I thought the little Taoist was a talent."

    "Turns out he''s just another naive fool."

    "Stubborn and obstinate, lacking the sense to advance or retreat, not recognizing the signs of the times."

    ''Black Robe'' grew cold, clenched a fist with one hand, and struck Yi Chen in the stomach with a blow that came with a speed he simply couldn''t react to.

    The moment the punch hit Yi Chen, it was as if he saw the dump truck that brought him to this world.

    Thump!

    The immense force hit him, the tremendous impact causing his internal organs to churn tumultuously; he slid across the ground for over ten meters.

    "Do you submit?"

    ''Black Robe'' asked coldly.

    Yi Chen''s mouth oozed a trace of fresh blood, but he still held his head high. Slowly getting up, his spine remained perfectly straight, like a divine sword pointing straight up to the sky.

    "Old man, I still don''t submit!"

 Chapter 47: 47th Chapter Yi Taoists Two Bottom Lines, The Suppressed Madness (Part 2)

    At this moment, the sudden change had already left Abbess Shuiyue and the others completely stunned.One moment, Taoist Yi Chengzi had been showing off his divine might, hanging the mysterious black-robed figure in the sky to be beaten, and in the next, the winds and clouds had shifted, turning into the ''black-robed person'' pummeling Yi Taoist into disarray.

    "Yi Taoist, are you alright?"

    Abbess Shuiyue and the others hurried over, concerned, a tremendous sense of despair arising in their hearts.

    Their strongest, Yi Chen, seemingly had no strength to fight back against the mysterious ''black-robed person'' before them, a feeling of powerlessness that made everyone''s emotions complex and varied.

    "Stand back, don''t come closer."

    Yi Chen used his gaze to stop the others from coming any closer, then turned his attention toward the ''black-robed'' figure, licking the blood at the corner of his mouth, a long-lost taste of rust appearing on his tongue.

    "No strength, no strength at all! Were you also taught by the master?"

    "Hahaha."

    A trace of madness appeared on his face.

    He, stirring up his Inner Qi from his entire body, actually took the initiative to attack the ''black-robed'' figure.

    Boom!

    Once again knocked flying.

    The ''black-robed'' looked at Yi Chen sprawled on the ground and couldn''t help but shake his head; he was not affected by Yi Chen''s trash talk.

    How could someone who had lived for so many years be easily disturbed by a few words? Wouldn''t that mean his lifelong cultivation had gone to waste?

    In fact, the look of appreciation in the ''black-robed'' figure''s eyes grew even stronger.

    He liked this young man.

    He was sharp-witted, had principles, and possessed resolute willpower.

    It was as if he saw his younger self.

    Equally handsome.

    If Yi Chen had readily agreed after he extended the olive branch, then he would have thought less of him, only fooling around with him and not truly nurturing him.

    But now, he was truly moved.

    He saw the will Yi Chen held within his do-or-die attack, a will to never compromise.

    That will, as sharp as a blade''s edge and as thick as a mountain, unwavering and dazzling.

    After all, who in the world truly appreciates those consumed by greed?

    Today I offer a high price, and without a backward glance, you would betray your sect and submit under my command.

    If someone else offers a higher price tomorrow, would you also turn and betray me without a second thought?

    The ''black-robed'' now truly wanted to bring Yi Chen under his control.

    He walked step by step, a surge of dark aura suddenly coiling around his hand.

    "Edict: Imobilize."

    He glanced in the direction of Abbess Shuiyue and others and spoke indifferently.

    A terrifying force of spatial stagnation suddenly descended upon Abbess Shuiyue and the others, feeling as if the whole space was opposing them.

    They felt as if they were enemies against the heavens and earth, what an unimaginable spell.

    ''Edict: Attraction.''

    As the ''black-robed'' walked, his hand continuously formed various mysterious seals, and as his words fell, the strange rhythm in the air became even more apparent.

    Inside the Lanxiu Tower, the cracks that had appeared earlier once again widened, the dark aura churning violently within the crevice, as if something was about to burst forth.

    No, something was indeed surging underneath.

    In an unnamed corner under Fengyun County, an ancient jade box that had been lying in an underground river for countless years, lay quietly there.

    Three unremarkable talisman scripts were attached to the jade box.

    The scripts weren''t made of talisman paper; they were crafted from an unknown beast''s hide, dull and lightless.

    Inside the jade box, a baby arm looking tender as lotus root rested quietly; a piece of emerald green jade suppressing it, sparking electric arcs that steadily depleted the arm''s vitality.

    The strange vibrations in the air reached the underground river and seemingly responding to a call, the arm inside the box began to tremble violently, racing toward the source of the vibrations at high speed.

    The black aura steaming up from the crevices grew denser, with occasional groundwater spilling out.

    After doing all this, the ''black-robed'' once again turned his gaze towards Yi Chen.

    "Impressive fighting spirit, I truly admire you," he said.

    "Allow me to introduce myself; I am the Great Protector of the Corpse God Sect."

    "You can call me¡ªTrue Person Yan."

    "This is your last chance, will you submit or will you not?"

    "If you submit to me, I might spare the lives of those by your side."

    "If my disciple fancies that beautiful nun, you can also take her into your room. In our sect, as long as you do not betray the sect, there are no taboos."

    Abbess Shuiyue, restrained to one side, could not speak, her cheeks flushed with a crimson hue of shame and anger as delicate as jade. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen did not answer the ''black-robed'' man''s question.

    "You, hitting me¡ªit really hurts!" He rose from the dust, blood streaming down his forehead.

    It ran into his eyes, his nose, and dribbled to the corner of his mouth.

    Eventually, it fell to the mud on the ground.

    "But, this time, it really was powerful!"

    "You hitting me was so satisfying, incredibly satisfying!"

    He extended a finger, dabbed at the beads of blood on his head, then put it to his mouth and sucked it, his eyes growing increasingly wild.

    "That''s the feeling!"

    "The feeling of being alive, of truly existing."

    "Absolutely delicious, intoxicating."

    "True Person Yan!"

    "Please, you must beat me to death, or else I will absolutely kill you."

    "True Person, do you know the principle of ''hearing the Way in the morning but dying in the evening''?" Yi Chen suddenly switched from crazy to calm.

    The ''black-robed'' man frowned, not understanding why Yi Chen suddenly brought this up.

    But Yi Chen''s previous abnormal demeanor only made him more excited.

    It was just like when he was young. He too was abnormal when young.

    Equally mad, equally frenzied, equally¡ªresolute.

    Damn it, it was the feeling of being moved.

    I will take him as my disciple, I must conquer him.

    If he does not submit, I will beat him continuously. I will beat him until he submits.

    "Is it that one can die in the evening if they attain the Way in the morning?" Although puzzled, the black-robed man still answered Yi Chen''s question.

    After all, he was his future disciple, one he had reserved.

    "No, it''s that if I know the way to your house in the morning, then I must kill you by night!"

    "That is the true meaning of ''hearing the Way in the morning but dying in the evening''!"

    Yi Chen roared with rage!

    "Soul Ignition Technique!"

    "Ten years!"

    "Try to kill me!"

    "If you can''t kill me, how can you become my master!"

    In an instant, Yi Chen unleashed his ultimate trump card.

    As soon as he made his move, it was as if he had ignited ten years of his lifespan.

    It''s not that he didn''t want to burn more, but the most he could burn was ten years.

    A powerful aura slowly gathered around him, his deeply purple Pure Yang Inner Qi burning intensely. It emanated from him as the epicenter, rippling out in all directions.

    Invisible air currents kicked up the dust and weeds from the ground, coiling into a vortex, swirling violently around him.

    His body swelled once more, growing more than ten centimeters taller than before, his veins bulging all over his body like coiling dragons entwined upon him.

    His hands, legs, waist, neck¡ªall of his muscles inflated and intensified once again.

    His muscles, like a thick coat of armor, protected him while also providing an incomparable source of power to his entire body.

    His heart throbbed violently again, pumping the surrounding energies with force.

    All the Inner Qi in his body felt as if it would ignite due to the frantic circulation and friction.

    Heat waves engulfed the area.

    An overwhelmingly powerful aura, far surpassing his earlier might, spread out from him.

 Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Pale as Ice, Sturdy as a Beast

    Yi Chen did not choose to use the tactic of adding fuel to the fire, such as burning three to five years of his life span to probe; instead, from the outset, he maxed out the effect of the Soul Ignition Technique.The effect of the Soul Ignition Technique was gradually increasing.

    In facing a powerful enemy like ''Black Robe,'' he had to play all his cards and completely drain every ounce of his strength¡ªonly then could he increase his chances of victory.

    At this moment, his complexion was icy, his body beast-like.

    Although his body felt like a scorching volcano about to erupt, his mind was clear.

    He was waiting.

    Waiting for an opportunity to arise.

    "Hundred Steps Divine Fist!"

    Yi Chen roared, his entire body trailing a deep purple flame as he dashed rapidly towards Black Robe.

    The intense heat of the deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi even scorched the ground along the way slightly black.

    In an instant, he arrived in front of Black Robe, and with great momentum, executed a direct side kick. With deep purple flames on his leg assaulting his opponent, the flames suddenly surged as he neared Black Robe, rolling towards him.

    Is it reasonable to use kicks instead of fists for the Hundred Steps Divine Fist? It is reasonable.

    After all, in both length and strength, legs are superior to fists.

    At this time, surprise appeared on Black Robe''s face for the first time, and he chuckled,

    "Worthy of being the disciple I''ve set my eyes on, always coming up with new tricks."

    "Now let me teach you what real combat is!"

    As soon as Black Robe''s voice fell, three major spells descended instantly, three circles of golden light enveloping him.

    "Imperial Edict: Divine Power"

    "Imperial Edict: Fortitude"

    "Imperial Edict: Vajra"

    He gently moved his arms to meet Yi Chen''s kick and shouted,

    "Disciple, brute strength alone cannot lead to the Great Dao."

    "You have chosen the wrong path."

    "Turn back, and you shall find the shore!"

    Boom!

    In an instant, their fists and legs collided fiercely.

    At the moment of contact, Black Robe''s face paled.

    A force far beyond what he had imagined struck him.

    He had been careless, not dodging, choosing to withstand Yi Chen''s offensive directly, wanting to defeat him in the area in which Yi Chen took the most pride, to utterly crush his confidence.

    But he hadn''t expected Yi Chen to give him quite a shock first, sending him flying back.

    "Imperial Edict: Stasis"

    Another golden light was bestowed upon himself, and Black Robe finally managed to steady his figure without making a fool of himself.

    This time, he wore a thoughtful expression.

    "Pure Yang Scorches the Void, the Gigantic Strength of the Dragon Elephant"

    "Creating Solar Flare from the flesh, are you a naturally born treasure body, my disciple?"

    "Is it the body of the Dragon Tiger Dao or the Underworld Divine Body? No, it doesn''t seem like it, could it be some kind of constitution that I am unaware of?"

    "Haha, disciple, with such aptitude, you should indeed join my sect even more!"

    "If you also cultivate my Word Spirit Secret Technique and push your treasure body to its peak, where in this world can''t you go?"

    "Even if you encounter a True Monarch who has pushed their cultivation to the pinnacle of refining the divine and retroverting to the void, who is on the path of enlightenment, you might not be unable to withstand a few moves."

    Black Robe clapped and laughed heartily.

    "You''re talking nonsense, what kind of so-called treasure body? I''ve never even heard of it."

    "My strength, it all comes from my own hard work!"

    Yi Chen immediately refuted with a sharp voice upon hearing this.

    His strength was all hard-earned; what did it have to do with any treasure body?

    Frying fish till his scalp tingled day after day, yet now that his physique had reached its current level, even such frying could hardly provide any enhancement.

    Next, he almost wanted to stew himself in an iron pot.

    Wasn''t this his own effort?

    Who has witnessed deep-water bombing in the Falling Dragon Pool at three or five in the morning?

    Not wasting words with Black Robe, he once again mustered the deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi inside his body and charged at Black Robe once more ¡ª this time, he was genuinely throwing punches.

    Black Robe''s expression became serious, and a trace of solemnity appeared on his face.

    "Imperial Edict: Divine Power"

    "Imperial Edict: Shockwave" S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Imperial Edict: Confinement"

    In an instant, an incomparable pressure descended upon Yi Chen, as if a mountain was weighing down on his back.

    This time, he did not score any success, but instead, the counterattack from Black Robe sent him stumbling backward several steps.

    At this moment, he was like carrying the abyss on his back.

    An endless pressure seemed bent on crushing him.

    "No!"

    "Absolutely not!"

    Yi Chen''s muscles were trembling all over.

    Pinprick-sized bleeding spots began to appear on his body, secreting tiny droplets of blood.

    No sooner did the blood droplets emerge than they merged into the scorching Pure Yang Inner Qi.

    With this addition, it was like pouring fierce oil into the fire; the deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi picked up speed again.

    As the blood droplets emerged, a faint green color began to appear in the originally deep purple, and at its peak, yet another shade impossible to deepen.

    At this moment, the effect of the Soul Ignition Technique had reached its zenith as well.

    Leveraging the indiscriminate burning, Yi Chen was able to catch a glimpse of the way ahead, the direction of the eighth level of the True Pure Yang Skill.

    True Pure Yang Skill Level Eight: The Purple Reaches to Green.

    This appearance of faint green Inner Qi was like a signal, sweeping around his body.

    Yi Chen seemed to hear a sound like glass shattering in his ears, and the invisible pressure that had been restraining him instantly vanished, burned to nothingness.

    His spine straightened once more like a javelin.

    Yi Chen himself had not anticipated that under the pressure of life and death, his indiscriminate burning would grant him a brief glimpse into the path ahead.

    His face showed excitement as he once again swept towards Black Robe.

    "Come again!"

    "Fight"

    "Fight"

    "Fight me to death!"

    At this moment, the robed figure''s expression changed again.

    "Damn it, if not for this body being so useless and unable to fully display the strength my split soul should have, how could the binding have failed?"

    A hint of thin anger flashed across his face, and he exclaimed in rage:

    "If you seek death yourself, don''t blame your master for being heartless!"

    "Decree¡¤Divine Power"

    "Decree¡¤Fortitude"

    "Decree¡¤Vajra"

    "Decree¡¤Shockwave"

    Four golden lights descended instantly upon him.

    Boom!

    This time, as the two fists made contact,

    A visible ripple of shockwave dispersed from their fists'' center in all directions.

    Abbess Shuiyue and the others who were immobilized around them lost their hearing instantly; several of them fainted outright.

    The dust and grass were swept up by the cyclones generated by their clash and swirled into the sky.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Ora, Ora, Ora, Ora, Ora.

    In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged countless blows.

    Yi Chen was covered in blood, his body enveloped in a thick mist of blood steam, which, as soon as it appeared, was slowly absorbed into the light cyan Pure Yang Inner Qi to be burned as nourishment.

    Every punch was a gamble with his life; every moment was like tightrope walking.

    Yi Chen''s will crystalized in the crucible of life and death, like raw iron shedding impurities under relentless hammering.

    Reborn anew.

    His breath had grown weak, but his eyes were brighter than ever.

    His muscles had been pushed beyond their limits; he was now fighting solely on willpower, continually throwing punches against the ''robed figure''.

    His fists were covered in scars, deep enough to expose the bone.

    This was the damage taken in his life-and-death struggle against the robed figure.

    The calloused skin gone, the flesh peeled away; all that was left were bones that would clash next.

    He couldn''t hold on any longer.

    Was he going to die?

    From afar, the sound of rushing water came from a crevice in the ground, and a jade box was rolled up from it, along with some dark river catfish that lived in the underground streams.

    However, by then, Yi Chen and the ''robed figure'' could no longer afford to pay any attention to it.

    Both were struggling desperately.

    There is a limit to human strength.

    And to willpower as well.

    The real world is not like Naruto from his previous life where willpower decides everything; when one can''t hold on, they simply can''t.

    Soon.

    It would be the limit soon.

    He truly couldn''t hold on any longer.

    In fact, if it weren''t for the fact that light had been continuously pouring into Yi Chen''s body during the fight to supplement his exhaustion, he probably would have collapsed long before now.

    After their final collision, the robed figure and Yi Chen stood facing each other.

    The robed figure stopped moving, cracks spread across his body like a spiderweb.

    Like a bowl with a network of cracked glass.

    Yi Chen''s lips were pale; three-tenths of the blood qi steaming around his body had burned away, leaving him feeling faint and severely anemic.

    However, he still had the strength for one more punch.

    He had won.

    He had been waiting for this moment.

    "Disciple, this is the result you were waiting for, isn''t it?"

    "You''ve been plotting from the start, waiting for this moment," the robed figure suddenly said, a smile unexpectedly appearing on his face.

    "You never intended to defeat me head-on; you wanted to drag me into a war of attrition, all offense, no defense, to wear out this body."

    Yi Chen was silent for a moment before answering, "Yes."

    "Senior, although it''s only a split soul that has entered the body, your realm and wisdom are far above mine."

    "Your combat skills and control of the battle far exceed mine."

    "I am full of rash courage, with no chance of winning."

    "But Senior''s weakness was also very clear. I did not believe that with this fishy shrimp body you''ve seized, you could perfectly display your might."

    "As long as I kept attacking without defense, even at the cost of one punch for your two, I did not believe that the shell hosting your split soul could hold up."

    "But I didn''t expect you, Senior, to hold up so well..."

    "Truly... vigorous in old age."

    "I almost lost."

    "Heh, don''t be modest now, winning is winning, losing is losing, this old man doesn''t mind losing."

    By then, Yi Chen''s Taoist robe was in tatters, looking like beggar''s rags.

    Just at that moment, the robed figure''s gaze became sharp, his eyes fixing intensely on a red mark on the bare skin of Yi Chen''s chest.

    "Damn, it''s Yin Manor''s mark."

    "Disciple, when were you targeted by Yin Manor..."

    All of a sudden, the voice of the robed figure stopped abruptly; his body could no longer bear the strain. Like a shattered glass bowl, it collapsed along its cracks, falling into a pile of mangled flesh.

    The robed figure cracked open.

    "Senior, Senior, say something,"

    "What''s with Yin Manor?"

    Yi Chen squatted before the pile of decaying flesh, his scalp tingling at the sight.

    No one just cracks open while mid-sentence.

    Just then, Yi Chen caught a glimpse in the corner of his eye of a white-robed female ghost, who had been shivering and hiding to one side, rushing towards the unconscious Abbess Shuiyue and others on the ground.

    It seemed the robed figure had previously cast a spell to immobilize their bodies and mana, not allowing the white-robed spirit to kill Abbess Shuiyue and her company without orders. Now, seeing that even the robed figure''s split soul had disintegrated, the spirit acted on impulse, intending to take the group as hostages.

    Upon seeing this, Yi Chen became furiously enraged. His left fist clenched, his figure burst into motion, leaving a trail of afterimages as he lunged toward the white-robed spirit.

    "Damn it, I couldn''t beat the robed big shot, but I can''t beat you?"

    "Die, for all that''s holy!"

    With the last of his strength, Yi Chen mustered all the power he had left and threw the mightiest punch he could manage at the moment.

    A thick arm emerged from the front of the white-robed ghost''s chest, pale cyan Pure Yang Inner Qi rolling up along the arm, causing the spirit of the white-robed ghost to grow dim like a faded photograph, before finally vanishing completely.

    A pair of red scissors fell to the ground.

 Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Origin Points New Treasure Trove? The Daoists Art of Language

    Yi Chen held the red scissors in his hand, and two streams of information suddenly appeared on his retina."You have successfully killed the white-clothed female ghost Hong Jian and gained forty Deep Red Points." S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Touched a special item, Deep Red Points +20"

    "Hehe, struck it rich, huh?"

    At that moment, he was speechless.

    The black-robed man and the disembodied spirit of True Person Yan were not of malevolent spirits and did not ''drop Gold Coins,'' the only good news was that the red scissors before him, like the cleaver from the Corpse God before, had also contributed twenty Deep Red Points to him.

    Yi Chen casually tore off a strip of cloth from his body and wrapped it round and round the almost-exposed white bones of his left palm.

    The whole process was done in silence, enduring the severe pain; he was the epitome of toughness.

    The motto of his previous life was:

    In life, apart from life and death, everything else is just a scratch.

    Real men are like lone wolves; when they are injured, they lick their wounds themselves, and you get used to the pain while it hurts.

    Showing your weakness not only makes you a sissy, but it also gives others the right to hurt you.

    So.

    A man has to be strong!

    Yi Taoist had a profound understanding of this.

    After briefly treating his injuries, Yi Chen looked around.

    Just then, a jade box caught his attention.

    Under the enhancement of the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique''s eagle-eye vision, he saw a jade box lying quietly on its side in the pile of catfish near the distant fissure.

    Yi Chen walked swiftly to the crevice. The crack no longer emitted black gas, and its edges were full of mud and water stains. A baby''s left arm, like a section of lotus root, lay in the muddy water, near which were the overturned jade box and a piece of emerald jade.

    Yi Chen drew the Dragon-Slaying Sword, intending to pick out the emerald jade from the muddy water.

    Then, he began to bustle about cheerfully.

    "Damn, this broken thing is electrified."

    He quickly cut off the spasms in his body with his will and broke free.

    The Dragon-Slaying Sword was thrown onto the ground.

    Just as he was about to curse, he suddenly stopped.

    Behind the decimal point on the virtual panel''s Origin Point, it had directly increased by 0.001.

    "Holy shit, electrotherapy?"

    At that moment, a bold idea emerged in his mind.

    Perhaps, he didn''t need to stew himself in a pot anymore.

    Wouldn''t electrotherapy be more hardcore?

    Touch the electric gate once with your hand, that''s 0.001.

    Touch the electric gate ten times with your hand, that''s 0.01.

    Touch the electric gate a hundred times with your hand, that''s 0.1.

    Touch the electric gate a thousand times with your hand, even King Yama would compliment me on my good health.

    At this moment, Yi Chen''s eyes shone as he looked at the emerald jade on the ground as if it were a rare treasure.

    No, it was like an Origin Point treasure trove.

    Suddenly, the depression Yi Chen felt for not harvesting enough Deep Red Points from this battle was swept away.

    Deep Red is great, but isn''t Origin Point great too?

    Although any method of stimulating the body would, in the end, lead to resistance and result in diminishing returns, given the fierce method of electrocution, the upper limit of this resistance was bound to be extremely high.

    Based on his previous experience, Yi Chen conservatively estimated that with proper use, he could probably gain forty to fifty Origin Points in a short time.

    "Holy shit, it''s a blessing in disguise."

    Enduring a little more hardship, I won''t be human anymore.

    Thanks to the gift of nature!

    Origin Point, let me see your limit!

    After experimenting, Yi Chen found that wrapping the emerald jade with several layers of clothing could insulate it from discharging electricity, so he did not hesitate to cut a large piece from the Daoist robe of Daoist Qingxu and wrapped the emerald jade inside and out before placing it in his bosom.

    After all, he did owe a life-saving favor to Daoist Qingxu and the other two, so it seemed reasonable to tear off a few inches of their robe.

    This way, they would feel cooler, too.

    As for the baby''s left arm that was like a lotus segment, Yi Chen had already placed it in the jade box, sealed it with beast skin talismans, and stored it away.

    As for how to handle the jade box, he already had a rough idea in his mind.

    After giving a brief explanation to the county magistrate, Yi Chen hired four horse-drawn carriages to collectively transport the four people lying like planks back to Hidden Dragon Temple.

    ...

    ...

    The next day, as the morning sun rose and its way shone brightly.

    In front of the Hidden Dragon Temple, the courtyard door was wide open.

    Yi Chen and Lin Baihu were sitting in the courtyard, drinking tea, with many fruits and candied snacks laid out on the table.

    However, Lin Baihu hadn''t touched any, just peeling chestnuts in front of him and eating; from time to time, he looked up at the tall Daoist before him, with a slightly elusive gaze and a hint of embarrassment on his face.

    After all, they were all retrieved by Yi Chen yesterday. His cultivation was somewhat deeper than Abbess Shuiyue and the others, so he had already woken up yesterday and sent a secret signal to the Chief Officer of Ping''an County using a secret technique.

    Whereas Abbess Shuiyue and the other two were still sound asleep, probably because they were immobilized by the Great Protector''s dismembered spirit with his spell, and then were shaken by the violent clash triggered by Yi Chen''s group, they received slight concussions and needed some time to recover.

    After all, the dismembered spirit of the Great Protector had a myriad of secret techniques at his disposal, and without mana for protection, they were not much stronger than ordinary people.

    At this moment, on the distant horizon, a figure appeared, slowly drawing nearer.

    This person was also clad in a flying fish robe, yet it seemed far more exquisite than the one Lin Baihu wore, with a different animal pattern on the chest.

    His steps were not fast, but in a flash, he had moved more than ten meters away from his original spot, and soon, he drifted into the Hidden Dragon Temple.

    This plump man, who resembled a well-off merchant, was none other than the head of Ping''an County''s security, as well as Lin Zhengyi''s father¡ªLin Zhenbei.

    His cultivation level: the early stage of the Qi Refinement Realm.

    It was only in casual conversation yesterday that Yi Chen came to know that Lin Baihu was actually only twenty years old, albeit a bit¡­ precocious?

    Who knew how shocked Yi Chen felt upon learning this news, and he immediately gained a deeper understanding of Lin Baihu''s initial choices.

    After all, youthful vigor, it''s normal for young people to be impulsive.

    "This towering Taoist must be Taoist Yi Chengzi."

    Lin Zhenbei, smiling, was the first to greet Yi Chen with a clasped hand.

    "I must also express my gratitude to the Taoist for saving my son."

    "May I ask why the Taoist secretly had my son summon me here? Is there something important?"

    Yi Chen returned the greeting with a similarly beaming smile.

    "I''m here to save you, Excellency."

    "Save me? What do you mean by that?"

    "The turmoil caused by the Corpse God Cult has thrown the entire Ping''an County into chaos; you, Excellency, bear a heavy responsibility."

    "Now, even the left arm of True Monarch Wan Hua has been excavated by the Corpse God Cult. Tell me, if this news reached the ears of your deputy, another prominent official, what kind of storm do you think it will stir up?"

    "Dismissal? Investigation?"

    "A lifetime of efforts gone to waste?"

    Lin Zhenbei''s smile faded slightly: "Taoist, please be more direct."

    Yi Chen was neither flustered nor hurried as he brewed a cup of fresh tea for Lin Baihu, then slowly began.

    "I felt an instant connection with your son and deeply admire Lin Baihu''s character."

    "''Like father, like son.'' Excellency, you also seem to be a man of virtue, and it is not my wish to see such a situation arise."

    "Therefore, I would like to propose a trade with you, Excellency."

    "Fortune rests on disaster, and disaster lurks within fortune, I am aware that there is another version to this affair."

    "The truth remains singular."

    "That is, you, Excellency, had long seen through the dark schemes of the Corpse God Cult and, from behind the scenes, formulated a superior strategy, defeating them from afar, deploying your son with a powerful secret treasure deep into Fengyun County, joining forces with several righteous individuals in Fengyun County to smash the enemy''s insidious plot and retrieve True Monarch Wan Hua''s left arm."

    "Excellency, you are of great wisdom."

    "Lin Baihu, you have shown great courage."

    "Thus, the dilemma is resolved."

    "Wouldn''t you agree, Excellency?"

    Lin Baihu was stunned on the side; having lived for twenty years, this was the first time he''d encountered such an impressive display of verbal artistry.

    Such an artistic approach could leave Lin Baihu at a loss; he could never figure out that he could play the game this way.

    At that moment, Lin Zhenbei''s expression remained unchanged. Having lived for many decades, he naturally understood that there is a price to everything.

    "So, what is the price, Taoist?" Lin Zhenbei asked seriously.

    "I want an item, a treasure that matches the value of this matter."

    "As a parent''s love for their child leads to far-sighted plans, "

    "You wouldn''t want Lin Baihu to stop progressing rapidly, would you?"

    "Do you wish Lin Baihu to be a hero, or to be a minor official deposed and investigated because of his father?"

    "Should that happen, his future path would indeed be challenging."

    Yi Chen said with a smile, taking a gentle sip of the tea.

    The fragrance of the tea blossomed in the mouth, a sign of high-quality Longjing tea picked before the rain.

    And Yi Chen''s purpose in setting up this entire situation today was clear.

    The left arm of True Monarch Wan Hua is too hot to handle; Yi Chen cannot secure it, but surely Ping''an County''s security can manage it.

    Hence, it''s more practical to exchange it for treasures that he can utilize.

    Don''t ask. After all, the members of the Corpse God Cult are all dead. If asked, it was a royal plot, carried out with a few small minions like us. How many people do we have at Hidden Dragon Temple, capable of thwarting the Corpse God Cult''s conspiracy?

    What? How did Ping''an County''s security know about the Corpse God Cult''s conspiracy?

    I don''t know; it''s the royal court''s grand strategy. I, a mere country Taoist, wouldn''t understand such things. I merely lent a hand, but Lin Baihu of the security must carry the beam.

    The potential gains and losses in this situation were as clear to Yi Chen as patterns in his palm.

    His small Hidden Dragon Temple couldn''t bear the revenge of the Corpse God Cult.

    Having True Monarch Wan Hua''s left arm brings neither food nor clothing nor improved strength, and it would also attract the Corpse God Cult''s attention¡ªa fool would treasure it.

    It''s a hot potato, the kind that, if mishandled, could lead to the destruction of one''s clan.

    If it is said that the security of Ping''an County masterminded the whole affair, that seems reasonable. If the item ended up their problem, and the Corpse God Cult would have to attack the security forces of the Da Yue Dynasty.

    A truly clever person should engage in matters where others take the fall for you, and you still benefit and even offer thanks for it.

    Eventually, we''ll all be in the same boat. I take the treasures, you make progress, and we both win¡ªit''s a beautiful thing.

    Furthermore, the development of Hidden Dragon Temple could thus receive support from Ping''an County''s security, a little covert aid¡ªhee hee.

    Even Yi Chen couldn''t help but mentally pat himself on the back at this moment.

    "My meticulous manipulation is as suave as ever."

    "It''s just a shame that in my last life, despite being technically successful, I didn''t expect those bastards to play dirty, literally bringing in the bulldozers."

 Chapter 50: Chapter 50 The Game, Father Lin Teaches His Son

    The essence of all human social relationships is exchange.In the process of exchange, whoever needs the other more has the initiative in the negotiation.

    Upon hearing Yi Chen''s words, Lin Zhenbei''s face took on a pensive look, and then he smiled.

    We are all millennia-old foxes; what''s the use of pretending we''re in some folklore tale?

    He decided to get straight to the point.

    "Taoist, let''s get real."

    "You want my Peacekeeping Division to take on the karmic responsibility for this matter, and on top of that, you''re asking for benefits and even trying to owe a favor."

    "That doesn''t seem quite right."

    Yi Chen picked up two red dates from the table and slowly chewed on them.

    "Hmm, Captain Lin, that''s not how the calculation works."

    At this moment, Yi Chen sat up straight, leaning slightly forward.

    "This transaction benefits both parties. I do need the Peacekeeping Division to bear the karma this time, but Captain Lin, you''re not the only one in the Peacekeeping Division, are you?"

    The quiet voice of Yi Chen came through, not heavy in words but enough to make Lin Zhenbei''s heart skip a beat.

    Lin Zhenbei couldn''t miss the implied threat in Yi Chen''s words.

    If you won''t do it, there are plenty who will.

    After all, his deputy was a sycophant with a smiling face. If Yi Chen truly went to his deputy to make the deal, then he would be the one at loss.

    "Spit it out, Taoist. Which of my treasures has caught your eye?" Lin Zhenbei leaned back in his chair, spread his hands, and clearly conceded.

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen''s eyes lit up instantly and he eagerly poured another cup of tea for Lin Zhenbei.

    "I heard from the young master that years ago, Captain Lin found an unidentified Spirit Beast Egg in some ruins and has treasured it ever since."

    "What do you say... can you part with it?"

    As soon as Lin Zhenbei heard this, his face darkened instantly; he turned to look at his eldest son.

    "Damn it, Taoist, you were setting me up..."

    However, before Lin Baihu could finish, Lin Zhenbei grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out. Five minutes later, having experienced a generous dose of paternal discipline, Lin Baihu came back with a bruised nose and swollen face, casting a resentful glance at Yi Chen.

    God damn it.

    Who says the countryside is simple and honest?

    Hidden Dragon Temple is in a rural place so remote that even the birds don''t crap there.

    The temple road is slippery, and people''s hearts are even more complicated.

    "Taoist Yi Chengzi, I''ll make the sacrifice. Tomorrow morning, I''ll make another trip to bring the Spirit Beast Egg over, and we can complete the exchange," Lin Zhenbei said sullenly with a dark face.

    Hearing this, the smile on Yi Chen''s face grew even more radiant as he quickly consoled both of them.

    He then went on an intense persuasive speech.

    Talking about how he might make a small profit, but Captain Lin was not losing anything at all.

    How one should not just tally small gains, but look at the big picture.

    How integrating personal interests into the nation''s strategic board game means the young master''s accomplishments today ensure a smooth future path, that he is a talent, well-rooted and genuine, and how could the Peacekeeping Division''s rewards be lacking? That remarkable methods and precious treasures can be spent without worry, they will return¡ªa mere egg is nothing in comparison.

    And then, there was something about a father and son being promoted together, becoming a wonderful story of the Peacekeeping Division, reported by the court gazette, and how the two generations'' dedication moved Da Yue...

    After this barrage of eloquence, Lin Zhenbei and his son felt almost ungrateful.

    Taoist Yi Chengzi is such a good person; they had already won, overwhelmingly so.

    They had won by far too much against this tall and strong Taoist, who was even more powerful than a bear.

    Yi Chen discussed the details a bit more with Lin Zhenbei and confirmed their cover story before he enthusiastically escorted Lin Zhenbei and his son to the temple gate.

    "Qing Feng, Ming Yue, what''s with this service?"

    "Haven''t you brought a few pounds of our Hidden Dragon Temple''s special chestnuts for Captain Lin and your dear brother Lin Zhengyi?"

    "Really, how inconsiderate."

    Yi Chen mockingly chided Qing Feng and Ming Yue.

    The two rosy-cheeked children hurried out with two bags made of kraft paper.

    "Big Brother Lin, here you go."

    "Captain Lin, here are some chestnuts for you."

    The two little ones offered the bags to them.

    But before their words ended, a sugar-coated chestnut fell onto Qing Feng''s head.

    "Big Senior Brother, why are you hitting me!" Qing Feng said, holding his head and looking aggrieved.

    "That''s getting off lightly."

    "You impolite, unlucky child, what are you calling Captain Lin? You should call him Uncle Lin."

    Lin Zhenbei: "..."

    Lin Zhengyi: "..."

    Watching the two figures depart, Yi Chen still waved his hands from behind, bidding them farewell.

    "Come and visit whenever you have time~"

    Blown by the cold wind outside the temple, Lin Zhengyi felt the pain from the thrashing by his father''s loving hammer on his face wasn''t so bad anymore.

    Just then, Lin Zhenbei, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

    He gazed affectionately at his eldest son.

    "My boy, have you learned it?"

    "Huh? Learned what?" Lin Baihu responded with a look of enlightenment, unsure of what his father was getting at.

    This time, Lin Zhenbei surprisingly chose not to let Lin Baihu experience the full weight of paternal love.

    He found an open space, patted beside him, and gestured for Lin Baihu to sit next to him.

    "Zhengyi, what do you think of Taoist Yi Chengzi from Hidden Dragon Temple?"

    Lin Zhengyi pondered for a moment before answering, "I''ve inquired about him, and it seems Taoist Yi Chengzi generally doesn''t have a bad record."

    "Even though he''s quite calculating, he''s also rather pitiable, single-handedly maintaining the entire temple. His master, Bai Yunzi, is simple and straightforward, a proper character. For such a person to entrust the position of temple master to him, he must certainly not be a bad individual."

    "Now it seems the revered man has become a bit greedy, but how many people in this world are saints without any selfish desires? Even if Yi Taoist is somewhat covetous, after all, he saved the child''s life."

    "During this trade, Taoist Yi Chengzi actually didn''t say anything wrong, in reality, we didn''t suffer a loss at all; on the contrary, we benefited."

    "All in all, my impression of Taoist Yi Chengzi is still quite positive. Although he is a little greedy, when faced with evil spirits, he dared to explore with the child, not hiding away and feigning death like those from Ling Feng Temple."

    Hearing his eldest son''s words, Lin Zhenbei smiled. He reached out and touched the large bump on top of Lin Zhengyi''s head.

    "Does it still hurt?"

    "Zhengyi, I know that you have always had a strong sense of justice and hatred for evil."

    "This is both a good and a bad thing."

    "Let me tell you, kindness and a sense of justice are both extremely excellent and costly qualities."

    "But without power, kindness and a sense of justice will only harm you."

    "You want to be a good person, to eliminate demons and heretics, and father knows this."

    "You once vowed, ''As a man, one should stand for justice and clear the evil miasma with a loyal heart.''"

    "But the cost of upholding justice is very high. Only if you are more cunning and astute than those evil ones can you fight against them and still keep yourself safe."

    At this point, a nostalgic look came over Lin Zhenbei''s face, as if he was reminded of something. He sighed and continued:

    "In short, you must think carefully before you act in the future and learn a little from Yi Taoist of Hidden Dragon Temple."

    "Grow your abilities. You are my only son, and I don''t want to send a white-haired man to a black-haired one, do you understand?"

    At this moment, Lin Zhengyi''s face also showed a moved expression.

    "Father, I understand. I will definitely think carefully from now on and keep several things in mind."

    "You have grown up, and it is good that you understand."

    "Does your head still hurt?" Lin Zhenbei stretched out his large hand and gently rubbed the lump on his son''s head.

    His touch was soft, making Lin Zhengyi feel as if he had returned to his childhood, when his father would comfort him in the same way after he fell.

    "Father, it doesn''t hurt anymore." A mist appeared in Lin Zhengyi''s eyes.

    The love of a parent for their child is deep and unending.

    Soon enough, "thwack," a lump formed on top of the existing bump on Lin Zhengyi''s head, causing it to protrude impressively and distinctively.

    "Doesn''t hurt?"

    "Doesn''t hurt, does it? Your old man''s heart aches."

    "It kills me."

    "That Spirit Beast Egg was acquired by me at great expense, I nourished it for ten years, and it was about to hatch. I was planning to give it to you in a few days."

    "You good-for-nothing rascal~"

    "See this hammer~"

    Paternal love is like a mountain, sometimes unique and profound.

    Another vivid and visual lesson in the education of love.

    Lin Zhengyi''s cries echoed across the open ground.

    "Have you learned your lesson?"

    "I have, I have."

    "Did you learn from Yi Taoist''s ways?"

    "I have, I have."

    "Dad, stop hitting me, or I''ll tell mom!"

    Sensing the threat, Lin Zhenbei immediately stopped his educational discipline.

    He reached out, intending to touch his son''s swollen lump again as a gesture of comfort, perhaps having been a bit too hard this time.

    But this time he didn''t make contact.

    Lin Zhengyi leaped three feet away, dodging the touch. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He let out a scream, which halted the clouds in their tracks and resonated through the forest.

    "Ah~"

    "Dad, again?"

    "That''s too much!"

 Chapter 51: Chapter 51: The Vengeful Yi Taoist

    "Ah~"At that moment, a piercing scream also resounded in the backyard of the Hidden Dragon Temple.

    Qing Xu Taoist woke up and was shocked to find himself lying on the same bed with Monk Lianhua, his hand passing through the monk''s neck and resting on his shoulder, while the monk''s leg was draped over his.

    Damn, this bizarre posture.

    What''s more, his robe was missing a piece.

    Hiss~

    Upon closer thought, it was horrifying.

    Qing Xu Taoist looked around and gently patted his chest.

    It''s okay, it''s okay, no one saw.

    Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to show his face, not even if he jumped into the Qing Shui River and tried to wash himself clean.

    The door creaked.

    It opened.

    The glaring sunlight flooded into the room, colliding into him and revealing everything inside the room crystal clear.

    Yi Chen rushed over upon hearing the scream, fearing that something untoward had happened. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Behind him stood Qing Yunzi.

    Behind Qing Yunzi was Abbess Shuiyue, who had just woken up not long ago.

    Behind Abbess Shuiyue were Qing Feng and Ming Yue.

    When Yi Chen entered, the scene in front of him also made him freeze.

    He quietly retreated and closed the door behind him.

    Abbess Shuiyue and Qing Yunzi wore strange expressions, their mouths twitching uncontrollably.

    Qing Feng and Ming Yue covered their eyes with their tender little hands, yet their fingers were splayed apart.

    With the door closed, the room returned to its previous darkness.

    At this moment, Monk Lianhua also slowly came to his senses. He looked at Qing Xu Taoist, and Qing Xu Taoist looked back at him.

    Their eyes met.

    You look at me, and I look at you.

    Silence, dead silence.

    Finally, it was Monk Lianhua who couldn''t hold back any longer and was the first to ask:

    "Qing Xu, what happened here?"

    .....

    Within the Hidden Dragon Temple, a large group of people were now sitting around the dining table.

    Yi Chen''s Culinary Skills were not bad. He personally cooked, steaming, stir-frying, and braising the wild boar king he had hunted before, preparing a whole pig feast for everyone. (Cultivators in this realm do not abstain from certain foods)

    The pig''s trotters were rich but not greasy, rosy in color, and he even carefully fried some sugar to make them look very appetizing.

    Part of the pork rib was made into sweet and sour, while another part into red-braised.

    In front of Qing Xu Taoist was a plate of stir-fried kidney flowers.

    However, the shoulders of several people seated at the table were slightly trembling as if they were holding back something, especially Abbess Shuiyue, whose face had turned red, bright as a Red Delicious apple, which made one want to take a gentle bite.

    "Eat, let''s eat." Seeing the atmosphere getting a bit awkward, Yi Chen took the lead in breaking the silence and called everyone to start eating.

    In truth, he couldn''t really be blamed for putting Qing Xu Taoist and Monk Lianhua on the same bed during the day.

    Hidden Dragon Temple only had five rooms in total: one for Bai Yunzi, with Qing Yunzi, Qing Feng, Ming Yue, and Yi Chen each occupying one, but suddenly four more people arrived, so how to allocate them?

    Abbess Shuiyue definitely needed to have a room to herself.

    Lin Baihu would take one room, right?

    Qing Feng, Ming Yue, and Qing Yunzi would stay in one room, right?

    Yi Chen would need one room, right?

    What else could be done with Qing Xu Taoist and Monk Lianhua left over? Yi Chen could only put the two of them in the large bed he had previously used.

    Because he was tall, his bed could easily fit two people with plenty of room to spare.

    Who would have known that the two of them would not stay still in their sleep while unconscious~

    Blame me, why don''t you~

    This meal was the most awkward one Yi Chen had ever had in years, so awkward that he could dig out a three-room apartment with his toes.

    During the meal, no one spoke, everyone silently ate their food, not bringing up what had happened before or making conversation.

    During the meal, the observant Qing Xu Taoist even moved the stir-fried kidney flowers in front of Yi Chen.

    After finishing the meal, Qing Xu Taoist and Monk Lianhua put down their chopsticks and swiftly bid farewell to leave, as if they had something more terrifying than ''dark robes'' chasing after them.

    The two of them directly used spells to hasten their journey, disappearing into the distant horizon in the blink of an eye, without even taking the two bags of chestnuts that Yi Chen had prepared for them.

    Outside Hidden Dragon Temple, Abbess Shuiyue stood tall and graceful in plain clothes, wrapped tightly around her, revealing only a small section of her swan neck.

    She was also bidding farewell to Yi Chen.

    "I must thank Yi Taoist for his life-saving grace this time. If it weren''t for the Taoist, I''m afraid all of us might have faced disaster."

    Abbess Shuiyue bowed deeply to Yi Chen, her figure tensing as she bent, revealing her exquisite curves.

    "Abbess is too polite. As fellow Daoists, we should naturally help and look out for one another."

    "Qing Feng, Ming Yue, come over here and bring a few bags of chestnuts for the Abbess."

    "You have no tact at all."

    Yi Chen took the bags of chestnuts that Qing Feng was holding and walked over to Abbess Shuiyue, stretching out his large hand to give them to her.

    Because he was backlit, the shadow of Yi Chen''s tall figure loomed over Abbess Shuiyue, yet she felt no fear or unease, but rather an involuntary sense of safety arose in her heart.

    A rich scent of hormones entered Abbess Shuiyue''s delicate nose.

    A hint of blush flashed across her cheeks, but it was quickly suppressed by her mana. After thanking Yi Chen, she disappeared into the distance as if she were fleeing.

    Yi Chen: "....."

    Damn it, how come one runs faster than the other.

    Speaking of which, the Abbess really has a nice figure.

    Her aura is also exquisite, like an orchid in a secluded valley.

    With that in mind, Yi Chen couldn''t help but give himself a light slap.

    He was damn right, now was the rise of his career, what kind of mess was he thinking about.

    Yi Chengzi, Yi Chengzi, you''re still wounded.

    Yi Chen first went to the front hall to inform Qing Yunzi that he didn''t need to be called for dinner as he wanted to cultivate to heal his injuries, and then slowly returned to his room.

    At this moment, another graceful figure suddenly emerged in his mind.

    Speaking of which, the Abbess really has a nice figure.

    Her aura is also exquisite, like an orchid in a secluded valley.

    Thinking of this, Yi Chen first stuck his head out, looked around to make sure there was nobody outside, then locked the doors and windows.

    Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

    He had his work cut out for him.

    After securing the doors and windows, Yi Chen took out... a green jade.

    After consulting the books, he now knew what this green jade, which could release electricity, really was.

    It was none other than one of the wonders of heaven and earth, the Thunder Stricken Jade.

    This was a treasure that could rank within the top ten of all heavenly and earthly oddities.

    The books stated that observing its patterns and arcs over the years could even advance one''s understanding of thunder techniques, making it a sought-after wonder for cultivators specializing in thunder techniques.

    The Thunder Stricken Jade could not only be used for cultivation, but also to wear down some particularly troublesome evil spirits and spectres due to its unique properties¡ªextremely precious.

    However, these characteristics were of no practical use to Yi Chen. With trembling hands, he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and reached for the Thunder Stricken Jade, only to retract immediately upon touching.

    ZZZzzzz.

    Alright, now he couldn''t think about anything else.

    Once, twice, three, four times, five, six, seven, eight times.

    ...

    The cultivation life of Yi Taoist was just this boring and dry.

    It wasn''t until the sun set and the moon rose that Yi Chen finally ended his cultivation for the day.

    He was all tingly, his head buzzing¡ªit was practically torture.

    By now, he had reached the limits of his willpower.

    After last night''s and today''s arduous efforts, he finally accumulated a bit more Origin Point and couldn''t wait to add it to his constitution among his four-dimensional attributes.

    A warm current suddenly appeared within his body, healing his injuries and slowly strengthening his physique. Although it wasn''t much, it was indeed a gradual improvement.

    The contours of his muscles became clearer and more robust.

    "Hmm, so comfortable."

    "More enjoyable than rewarding oneself."

    Thanks to the healing from the warm current and his robust physique''s recovery power akin to that of ferocious beasts, his internal injuries had now healed to about seventy or eighty percent.

    Pushing open the window, the evening breeze flowed in, bringing the fragrance of the earth, instantly filling the room.

    Yi Chen looked up at the moon overhead, silent.

    He clenched his fist, with surging power coursing through his body.

    Some scores needed to be settled.

    The person behind the scenes who had instigated the Evil Tiger Gang to come, he had that noted down in his little notebook; he hadn''t forgotten for a second, even though the situation had forced his hand at that time.

    Tomorrow, during the handover, he would ask the people from the Peace and Security Office to investigate. Such a small matter, Lin Baihu would likely not refuse.

    The fist is the power, the power is the fist.

    A man who clenches his fist is seizing power.

    For a trifle like this, the Peace and Security Office surely wouldn''t refuse his friendship and goodwill, the camaraderie of a strong man who could fight off the Great Protector''s split spirit.

    As for the future, Yi Chen already had a clear plan.

    In this recent life-and-death struggle with the ''Black Robe,'' Yi Chen''s strength, while seemingly unchanged on paper, had actually honed his combat skills and mental will, taking yet a small step forward.

    That is to say.

    He was stronger.

    The sacrifice of his life force allowed him a glimpse of the path to the eighth level of True Pure Yang Skill¡ªPurple Ultimate Produces Green, reducing the Deep Red Value needed to break through to the eighth level by a hundred points; now he needed only five hundred points, which was another gain.

    This also indirectly proved that his Golden Finger was improving and optimizing based on his understanding.

    Yi Chen was no longer in need of being overly cautious in Fengyun County; he was, without a doubt, the highest cultivator there.

    In today''s Fengyun County, no matter who was behind the Evil Tiger Gang, he now had the right to make them pay the price.

    Looking at the bright moon outside the window, Yi Chen revealed a somewhat fierce smile, his aura turning brutal.

    "You little bastards, are you all cleaned up?"

    "Daoist master is coming to collect."

    The surging power caused his long robe to flutter lightly.

    This man, he held grudges.

    An eye for an eye, a favor for a favor.

    Just over two months ago, at eighteen, he stood like a minion, selling tyrant chicken.

    More than two months later, by his own effort, no one in Fengyun County could overlook his will.

    My name, Yi Chengzi.

    The new master of Hidden Dragon Temple.

    The person pulling the strings, you''re in trouble now.

 Chapter 52: Chapter 52 You know who I am, Thousand Households.

    The next day dawned bright and clear, with a gentle and soothing breeze.Lin Zhenbei and Lin Baihu arrived as promised.

    In Yi Chen''s room at the Hidden Dragon Temple''s back courtyard, the three men met secretly.

    The room was dimly lit, with doors and windows tightly shut, and Qing Yunzi even stood guard outside to keep watch.

    "Did you bring the item?"

    "Of course." Lin Zhenbei patted a small, tightly sealed box beside him.

    In this world''s realm of cultivation, naturally there were storage rings and special magic artifacts with a storage ability.

    But without exception, such treasures were in the hands of big shots or second-generation cultivators. Lin Zhenbei wasn''t qualified for such items yet, so he still resorted to physical transportation.

    For Yi Chen as well, storage artifacts were like ghosts from his previous life: heard of but never seen.

    Lin Zhenbei opened the small wooden box, revealing an egg with a deep blue base and intertwining purple and red patterns on its shell to Yi Chen''s eyes.

    Indeed, the egg was extraordinary; as soon as the box was opened, a circle of scorching air wafted out.

    "Taoist Yi Chengzi has seen the Spirit Beast Egg; now for the goods," Lin Baihu quickly closed the wooden box with practiced ease.

    "Hehe, don''t worry, Lin Baihu, I always handle things with care," Yi Chen said with a smile, donning sheep intestine gloves and pulling out a conspicuously large... chamber pot from under the bed, as if by magic?

    He reached into the ''chamber pot'', took out a jade box and placed it on the table.

    "Please have a look, Lin Baihu."

    Lin Zhenbei: "....."

    Lin Baihu: "..."

    "Rest assured, this thing may look like a chamber pot, and somewhat resembles one, but it''s actually not a chamber pot¡ªit''s a disguise. You know it, I always act with caution," Yi Chen explained softly, seeing the peculiar look on their faces.

    Lin Zhenbei''s mouth twitched slightly, clearly struggling to hold back his reaction.

    Who on earth crafted this abomination that made people feel disgusted at first glance? How could any sane person hide things this way?

    "Haha, disgusting, right? Unsettling, isn''t it? This was a custom design I had made by a master craftsman back then," Yi Chen declared, puffing out his chest with pride.

    ".¡­."

    "Not bad, you''re a careful man," Lin Baihu stated deliberately, one word at a time, his expression resembling a judge who had just tasted a horrifying sausage.

    Yi Chen partially tore off the talisman seal on the jade box, and a baby arm segment, looking like a piece of lotus root, lay quietly inside the box.

    However, Yi Chen, with his keen eyesight, was shocked to find that the severed end of the baby arm had sprouted tiny tendril-like flesh buds that were certainly not there last night.

    Hisss, it couldn''t be because I took the Thunder Exorcism Jade, could it?

    Is this thing going to turn into a Qilin''s limb?

    The small flesh buds sprouting from the arm''s severed end filled Yi Chen with alarm; after eight hundred years of suppression and erosion, to still possess such vitality was truly terrifying.

    Damn it, take it away, take it away; this thing is a curse.

    Yi Chen had no desire to release something akin to a parasitic beast. Better to trust in the wisdom of the Imperial Court, which surely could handle it properly, given that Zheng''an Department was full of experts. After scouring the world for so many years, they must have countless treasures and skilled cultivators.

    Lin Zhenbei, a man of exceptional caliber, naturally noticed the fleeting changes in Yi Chen''s facial expressions.

    "Taoist Yi, you didn''t secretly take anything else from the jade box, did you?"

    At this moment, Lin Baihu felt so weary.

    "How could you have such thoughts about me, Lin Baihu? Blessings be as vast as the heavens," Yi Chen immediately denied staunchly. "I am astounded every time at how such life can still be so robust after being suppressed for hundreds of years."

    "That True Monarch of Myriad Transformations was indeed extraordinary."

    "You really didn''t take anything?" Lin Zhenbei asked, skepticism still apparent on his face.

    "I really didn''t take anything."

    "If I did, may my cultivation in the ''Supreme Primordial Lingfei Pure Yang Root-Origin Scripture'' not only fail to progress but even regress to the first level. Now you believe me, Lin Baihu?"

    Yi Chen immediately swore an oath.

    He made his vow with a righteous and earnest tone.

    Anyway, he wouldn''t progress even one level...

    "Supreme Primordial Lingfei Pure Yang Root-Origin Scripture" failing to progress doesn''t concern my Pure Yang True Technique, does it?

    Regress to the first level? Problem is, I don''t know even one level, and now there are such good fortunes?

    An oath sworn on one''s cultivation technique, tied directly to one''s heart, carried credibility.

    Lin Zhenbei found himself beginning to doubt, yet also started to believe.

    But it didn''t matter now; it was no longer important.

    Whether Yi Taoist took something or not, the sight of the fluffy flesh whiskers at the severed end of the arm inside the jade box had also made his heart tingle.

    He decided he would head straight to the provincial capital after leaving the Hidden Dragon Temple to hand it over to his superior.

    The merit report from the previous night was already written, ready to be submitted along with it.

    At times like these, one must trust in the wisdom of their superiors. Keeping such an evil object for even one second longer was a disrespect to his own annual salary.

    Having worked at the Zheng''an Department for so many years, Lin Baihu was well-versed in such matters.

    Anyway, as long as the thunder doesn''t explode in one''s own hands, that''s all that matters.

    Once his memorial was submitted, his contribution was set in stone, and no one could take it away.

    As for this evil arm, it was now time for his superior to worry about it.

    What? You say his superior can''t solve it either?

    Does his superior not have a superior? Hurry and send it up¡­

    Besides, what is deadly poison to me may be sweet nectar to others.

    Perhaps among the high ranks of the Peacekeeping Division, there are those who would be overjoyed to have this evil arm.

    After both parties had exchanged their thoughts, they finally revealed a knowing smile without saying a word.

    This matter was settled.

    Next, it was time to solidify the relationship.

    Yi Chen took the opportunity to make a request, hoping to use the channels of the Peacekeeping Division to investigate who was the mastermind behind the original Evil Tiger Gang incident.

    Lin Baihu naturally agreed without hesitation.

    A small favor in exchange for owing Yi Chen a favor, this deal was worthwhile.

    The bond between people grows in this way, I trouble you a little, you trouble me a bit, and in these troubles, our friendship gradually strengthens, doesn''t it?

    If you don''t trouble others frequently, how can they muster the courage to ask for help when they encounter problems?

    In his last life, even if there was no trouble, Yi Chen would create some minor issues to trouble his ''friends'' in his circle¡ªit was for this very reason.

    If you don''t offer regular prayers or visit, carrying a pig''s head when there''s trouble won''t even get you through the temple''s gate.

    Try asking an old schoolmate you haven''t contacted in ten years for a loan of a hundred thousand and see¡­

    Even the best of relationships and feelings need interaction, trouble, and maintenance.

    The ways of the world, the fruits grown from thousands of years on the big tree in his past life, still hold true in this world.

    "In that case, I must thank the gentleman for his noble intervention, I, Taoist Yi Chengzi, owe you a favor," Yi Chengzi said.

    "How can you speak of such things, Taoist? I''ve even heard of Bai Yunzi Taoist''s noble deeds in the county town. It hasn''t been long since Bai Yunzi Taoist''s passing before some small-minded people covet his legacy."

    "Is there no law left? No legal system?"

    "Even if you, Taoist, can tolerate him, I absolutely cannot spare such a person," Lin Baihu said with a righteous gleam in his eyes.

    Their gazes met, each understanding the other''s thoughts, both parties were interested in forming a connection.

    What Lin Zhenbei valued, naturally, was Yi Chen''s potential; he had meticulously reviewed Yi Chen''s information the night before and reached a conclusion.

    This person truly concealed his abilities well.

    A true expert never shows off.

    During Bai Yunzi''s lifetime, he did not make waves or show off, even using ploys like selling overpriced chickens to tarnish his own reputation¡ªyet in secret, he quietly accumulated strength.

    In the end, when Bai Yunzi passed away, some blind fools, blinded by greed, really did come knocking.

    Heh, such people dared to test the waters, it''s like searching for feces with a lantern in the latrine!

    In Lin Baihu''s eyes, Yi Chen was a person who prioritized concrete benefits over face, deeply scheming, yet with principles and bottom lines.

    Forming a friendship would surely be rewarding.

    And as for making him an enemy...erm, why would he make an enemy of him? Was his brain filled with corpse water, or was there atrophy of the cerebellum?

    Such a person, serious and ruthless, with principles, and deeply versed in the art of laying low, would surely have an immeasurable future.

    Investment, he must invest.

    And as for those strange comments that Taoist Yi Chengzi was originally incompetent, and only recently became strong¡ªif anyone dared to say that in front of Lin Zhenbei, he would definitely kick their ass with his cloud-patterned magic boots.

    Is their brain waterlogged?

    Is the cerebellum not developed, or is the brain not fully developed? S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Where in the world does one gain strength without effort? Whose power isn''t earned through their own hard cultivation?

    Could it be they expect to grow stronger by lying down, and with a light touch, reach the limits of this realm? Even the boldest novel wouldn''t dare write it like that.

    Without a doubt.

    Yi Taoist is a gem of Fengyun City, merely obscured by dust and self-deprecation.

    When the dust washes away and the light shines forth, it will surely illuminate the mountains and rivers to the amazement of all!

    Stunning the world.

    As for the mastermind, the Peacekeeping Division''s archives already had a suspect in mind. With the professional capability of the Peacekeeping Division, they would soon find irrefutable evidence.

    However, he decided that even if the real culprit was found out quickly, he would delay for a couple of days before telling Yi Chen.

    If it was too quick, it would appear too easy, and lose its value.

    Delaying for a few days would show dedication.

    He had decided, this matter would be handed over to his able son; this favor must fall upon his son.

    Lin Zhenbei''s mind was made up, so he turned to look at his son, and Lin Baihu returned his gaze with an intelligent light.

    "Father, why are you looking at me like that?"

 Chapter 53: Chapter 53: The Egg Breaks, the Azure Fierce Beast of Hidden Dragon Temple

    Lin Zhenbei''s fists clenched hard as he kept muttering to himself, "This is my own flesh and blood, this is my own flesh and blood," which helped him suppress the anger in his heart.In the end, the matter was settled; it was still Lin Baihu who would take care of the investigation.

    Outside Hidden Dragon Temple, Yi Chenli bid farewell to Lin Zhenbei and his son as they stepped out.

    At that moment, Lin Zhenbei seemed to remember something and couldn''t help but inquire,

    "Master Taoist, I have a good friend in the county city who cannot return home due to official business."

    "His grandmother is not doing well, and he asked me to find an expert to manage the funeral. Do you have the time, Master Taoist?"

    "Ah?" Yi Chen was startled for a moment before blurting out, "How much silver is the family offering? It''s not like before, you know. My charges are quite expensive now."

    Lin Zhenbei held up a finger.

    Yi Chen pursed his lips and said, "Merely one hundred taels? With that amount, at most, I could chant for one night."

    "No, it''s one thousand taels. My friend comes from a wealthy household, with vast lands and numerous shops."

    "Good heavens, what are you saying, Lin Baihu? Your affairs are my affairs, your friend is my friend, and your friend''s grandmother is my grandmother."

    "We are all friends."

    "Whenever the old lady passes on, just have someone send me a message."

    "I will do my utmost to ensure that she departs with dignity and grace."

    Yi Chen immediately beamed with joy.

    He had saved up some silver, but when was there ever too much money?

    He remembered his master''s dying wish very well¡ªto make Hidden Dragon Temple flourish.

    But with only himself and his little junior brother as well as a couple of cats around, how could they possibly fulfill such a wish?

    Thus, they needed to open the mountain gate wide and acquire land for expansion.

    He wanted to establish a foundation and have his junior brother start the expansion before returning the jade token to the old Heavenly Master at Dragon Tiger Mountain.

    Afterward, he planned to find a group of orphaned children from good families, take them under his wing, and meticulously train them in hopes of cultivating several promising disciples.

    The grand development of Hidden Dragon Temple could not proceed without people.

    All these matters, one by one, were akin to devouring gold, and the money he had saved before was simply not enough.

    One thousand taels, for a job that was well-paid, simple, and close to home, and it was Lin Baihu who had personally requested it¡ªhe was prepared to accept the task.

    "Uncle Lin, here are some chestnuts for you."

    "They''re really plump, you know. I picked out only the big ones for you."

    During this exchange, Qing Feng and Ming Yue came bouncing over.

    Human children are always particularly endearing, especially when the two little ones were rosy-cheeked and bright-eyed, looking very cute.

    Basking in the warm rays of the rising sun, Lin Zhenbei and his son walked away with the chestnuts and a wooden box holding a jade canister, heading into the distance.

    The sunlight cast upon them, leaving long, narrow shadows behind them while adorning their figures with a golden glow, painting a heartwarming scene.

    After watching the two leave, Yi Chen let out a soft sigh and then returned to the temple.

    For some reason, as he watched their departing backs, he suddenly missed his deceased master.

    A sense of indescribable sorrow welled up within him.

    Unconsciously, it had been over two months since his master had passed away.

    Fighting back the emotions welling up inside, he turned and went back to the main hall. He solemnly offered three sticks of incense to his master and the ancestral masters before returning to his room.

    A large azure-colored egg, about twenty centimeters long, lay quietly on his bed. The purple and red patterns on the egg flickered like a breathing light, alternating between bright and dim in a steady rhythm.

    After closing the door, the change became even more noticeable.

    Lin Baihu had said that he obtained the Spirit Beast Egg after a life-threatening ordeal in a relic site years ago, and it had a taste for Pure Yang Qi.

    Normally, he would nurture it with sun-attribute spirit stones through a formation. Now, after ten years, sensing the life fluctuations inside the egg, the hatching could happen within days, or it might even hatch today.

    "I hope you can become the Azure Fierce Beast of my Hidden Dragon Temple; even if I unfortunately pass away one day, you can still protect the Hidden Dragon Temple for me."

    Yi Chen sighed softly in his heart, then touched his fingers to the eggshell.

    As the deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi from within him flowed into the egg, the life inside emitted an intense sensation of joy and throbbing.

    It was as if everything it had eaten before was fast food, whereas the Pure Yang Qi that Yi Chen was infusing now was like a delicately prepared gourmet meal.

    After all, Lin Zhenbei was not a cultivator of the Pure Yang path; the Pure Yang Qi generated by the Formation through Yang attribute spirit stones was far inferior to Yi Chen''s Inner Qi in both richness and quality.

    As the deep purple Inner Qi flowed into the egg like a trickling stream, the red-purple patterns on the eggshell shone increasingly bright.

    "Heh, you like absorbing so much, huh? I''ll make you full to bursting," Yi Chen said, brimming with confidence.

    Half an hour passed.

    One hour passed.

    Two hours passed.

    At this point, the Taoist''s mentality underwent a subtle change.

    He opened the door of the room, allowing the sunlight to stream in.

    The light outside seemed drawn like a magnet, pouring into Yi Chen''s body in large quantities. The light in the backyard dimmed somewhat due to this change, endlessly replenishing Yi Chen''s consumption of Inner Qi.

    "You''re quite the absorber, kid~" S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Four hours passed, and now as the sun set in the west, Yi Chen felt numb all over. Even with the light''s restorative replenishment, he began to feel a wave of fatigue.

    At the same time, his heart was extremely exhilarated.

    Worthy of being my Hidden Dragon Temple''s future Azure Fierce Beast, look at this shell''s color scheme, look at this appetite, I wonder what kind of Spirit Beast it is.

    Is it a Dragon Hawk? Or some kind of spiritual bird?

    Or perhaps one of the celestial spirit species? If so, I would have made a killing, not wasting all the effort I had put into planning this.

    It''s not without precedent in the texts; some cultivators with astonishing fortune have brought back eggs of celestial spirit species from ancient ruins, and later on relied on their Spirit Beasts to dominate all quarters.

    Looking at the anomaly of this Spirit Beast Egg, the creature inside must be extraordinary.

    Finally, as the sun set, the egg¡ªwhich seemed like a bottomless pit in terms of appetite¡ªslowly became satiated. At last, it absorbed Yi Chen''s Pure Yang Inner Qi at a gradually slower rate, less and less, until it stopped absorbing completely.

    By then, the brightness of the red-purple patterns on the eggshell had reached its peak, the patterns shimmering with light, very mystical.

    Within the flowing light, a mysterious aura seeped out.

    Crack.

    A tiny fissure appeared in the eggshell.

    "Is it coming out? Haha."

    "Being early isn''t as good as being timely; I didn''t expect this Spirit Beast Egg to hatch today. This truly shows it''s fated with my Hidden Dragon Temple."

    Crack crack, more and more fissures appeared, and the eggshell started to break apart.

    "My Hidden Dragon Temple''s Azure Fierce Beast, guardian Spirit Beast, come forth!" Yi Chen roared.

    "Meow!"

    Inside the Spirit Beast Egg, a small black cat broke through the shell, letting out a cat''s cry, its fur glossy and black, with a pair of small wing-like flaps on its ribs.

    Yi Chen''s voice stopped abruptly, as if someone had grabbed his throat.

    "Damn, this can''t be real."

    "This is my Hidden Dragon Temple''s Azure Fierce Beast?"

    "How come a cat hatched from your egg? Even if it has a pair of small wings, if the Tathagata himself came today, it would still be a black cat."

    "Meow meow meow," the black cat cried out again. With a light leap, it jumped onto Yi Chen''s shoulder, affectionately licking his cheek with its little tongue, adorably cute.

    Yi Chen''s face turned black as coal.

 Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Is It Impossible to Rely on a Spiritual Beast Anymore?

    Yi Chen''s grand plan to mooch off his own spirit beast for a century was declared a miscarriage as soon as it was conceived.Looking at the little black cat that had just jumped off his shoulder and gnawed the eggshell to nothing, Yi Chen watched for a long while but failed to discern any domineering presence of a heaven and earth spiritual species.

    Acting cute, on the other hand, was something it was quite skilled at.

    But what good is acting cute?

    Send a sealed letter to Abbess Shuiyue, saying I''ve got a little black cat at my Taoist temple that can do backflips¡ªwanna come and see it?

    .....

    Just then, the little black cat that had finished nibbling on the eggshell walked over with graceful feline steps. It leaped onto Yi Chen''s shoulder, rubbed its little face against his, and a purple light rose from the top of his head. It entered his body with a speed Yi Chen couldn''t react to.

    "Meow meow ow." (Father)

    A voice suddenly rang in the depths of his heart. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    And it was a child''s voice.

    Yi Chen jumped up as if he had seen a ghost, looked around the room from left to right to make sure there were no other living creatures, and then directed his gaze back to the little fellow in front of him.

    "Are you calling me?"

    "Meow meow meow." (Yes, Father)

    "Cut the crap, I''ve never even touched a woman in my life, how could I have a big kid like you? Don''t call me that in the future; call me big brother or master, either is fine."

    "Meow meow meow." (Okay, Father)

    Yi Chen: "....."

    After some cross-species communication, Yi Chen finally discovered the extraordinary nature of the little black cat. He could understand the cat''s meowing only because of a gifted spell that had awakened when it ate the eggshell, the Equitable Spirit Mark.

    This was a beast that had bloodline magic from birth.

    Beasts with bloodline spells are the entry-level standard for a heaven and earth spirit species.

    For a moment, Yi Chen didn''t know how to evaluate the little black cat before him.

    You''d say it''s useless because it has a bloodline spell.

    You''d say it''s extraordinary, but aside from being smart, it really had no other particular talent to boast of.

    At most, it was faster.

    Oh, and it could do backflips.

    Looking at the little one with its meat wings, Yi Chen''s mind wandered off.

    Could the little black cat be the result of a mistake made under a heavenly and earthly strange species flower field?

    The combination of birds and beasts: immoral, shameful, coercion?

    What a bizarre style of painting.

    This was either a twist of beast nature or a degeneration of morals.

    Only this could explain why there is no such spirit beast in the Spirit Beast Compendium, but it possessed a bloodline spell.

    A cross-species hybrid, born of fortuitous circumstances, only to be despised by both parents and heartlessly abandoned in some ruins.

    Great, that matched Yi Chen quite well.

    In this life, Yi Chen himself was also an orphan, and the little black cat was basically an orphan too.

    An orphan meeting another orphan, then, they were family.

    The brothers at Hidden Dragon Temple were all orphans picked up by Bai Yunzi, who now were like one big family.

    Thinking of this, Yi Chen couldn''t help but soften his gaze when he looked at the little black cat.

    He decided to let the little black cat acknowledge him as big brother and join the Hidden Dragon Temple orphan center family.

    "You''re so black, how about we call you Little Heizi from now on?" Yi Chen said casually as he pet the little black cat''s head, giving it a succinct name.

    "Meow meow meow..." (No, no, no)

    The little black cat shook its head like a rattle drum, clearly very resistant to this name.

    After a round of encrypted conversation, the man and cat finally reached an agreement.

    The little black cat would no longer call Yi Chen father but big brother.

    And Yi Chen would not call him Little Heizi, but Little Miao instead because it was always meowing and annoying him.

    As he pushed open the door, the sun had already set long ago, and the moon was rising. Yi Chen had already instructed Qing Yunzi and the others to eat early and not to wait for him, so the dinner he had with Little Miao was brought back to the room to eat together.

    He tore off a piece of wild boar trotter and disdainfully placed it inside a large bowl in front of Little Miao.

    The bowl was almost half the size of Little Miao''s body.

    "Little Miao, look at you, so skinny, you need to learn from your big brother. See these muscles of mine? When you get stronger and find those two irresponsible parents, give them a head butt, you got it?"

    "Eat more, then you''ll have the strength."

    "Those skinny arms and legs of yours won''t amount to anything."

    Little Miao raised its little face to glance at its ''father'' who was tall and burly, then looked at its own thin arms and legs, nodded fiercely, and started gnawing on the trotter.

    It revered Yi Chen as a father¡ªcould its dad possibly lie to it?

    Must show off fiercely.

    In the future, I need to be as strong as ''Father.''

    Fortunately, Little Miao is after all a spiritual beast. Though newly born, it indeed possesses iron teeth and steel jaws, effortlessly dealing with a mere trotter.

    "Not bad, it''s starting to look like something." Watching Little Miao''s performance, Yi Chen nodded in satisfaction. He expressed high approval and gave an important instruction, "If you recognize me as your big brother, you need to show the right attitude. This is how you should eat from now on."

    Seeing Little Miao gobble down its food, Yi Chen also started to show off his meal-eating skills.

    Eating the soft rice of a spiritual beast wasn''t possible; he still had to rely on himself.

    The night was windless but moonlit.

    After dinner, Yi Chen once again entered the necessary arduous training for the day.

    Touching the electrocution door, what a delightful thing, ah.

    Every time, he would be ecstatic to the point of spasms.

    However, every time after the stimulating touch on his body from the Thunder Punishing Jade, the pulsing of the Origin Point on the virtual screen spurred him to continue.

    The growth of Origin Point on the virtual screen was like a visible progress bar, letting him know that none of his efforts was in vain.

    With every electric shock, he could see his own progress.

    At this time, Little Miao didn''t dare to sit on Yi Chen''s shoulder but had climbed onto the roof beam instead.

    At the beginning, it was extremely scared.

    But later, its attention was completely captured by the Thunder Punishing Jade in front of Yi Chen.

    The circulating radiance on the jade piece seemed to have enlightened it.

    For a moment, it felt somewhat dazed, its entire mind seemingly immersed in it.

    At some point, when it came back to its senses, a flurry of fragmented memories rushed to it. Little Miao looked at its paws, which were now surrounded by a trace of electric arc light.

    That arc light, finer than the smallest hair, had actually appeared on its paws.

    As the arc light emerged, Little Miao''s body also suddenly grew in size.

    Previously, its body was only about twenty centimeters long, but now it surged to thirty centimeters in one go.

    Yi Chen, still immersed in his ''joyful'' convulsions, did not notice the anomaly with Little Miao at that moment.

    He touched the electrocution door again and again.

    Just like that, he touched it all night long.

    A black cat with ribs adorned with wings sat quietly on the roof beam all night, watching.

    The scene was very harmonious.

    When Yi Chen reached his mental limit, Venus was already hanging high in the night sky.

    Only then did he come back to his senses, wrapping up the Thunder Punishing Jade to keep it secure on him.

    A thirty-centimeter-long black shadow, like an arrow released from the string, leaped onto his shoulder, giving Yi Chen quite a scare.

    "Damn, is eating a trotter that nutritious? It grew so fast?"

    Meowwww.

    Another series of meows.

    "Father, I have recalled some new memories," Little Miao said.

    Little Miao stretched its front paw out in front of Yi Chen, with strands of very faint electric arc light twining around its claw.

    Although weak, it was indeed the aura of thunder and lightning.

    Little Miao did not call Yi Chen big brother, smoothly calling out ''Father'' again.

    Yi Chen''s eyes widened in amazement, looking at the electric light swirling around Little Miao''s paws, and this time he unusually did not correct Little Miao''s words.

    Finally, he spoke excitedly:

    "My good son, not bad."

    "Keep up the good work, in the future fly with your father, and we, father and son, will cause chaos together."

    Meow meow meow.

    Little Miao happily responded to Yi Chen.

    That night, Little Miao gained a father, lost a big brother, and the Taoist priest gained a good son.

    A spiritual beast can''t live off its soft rice?

    No, it''s completely possible.

    A spiritual beast that awakens to a thunder attribute talent spell on the first day of hatching is no ordinary creature.

    Thunder-attribute magic beasts are highly treasured in the cultivation world and are very rare.

    It''s essential to set down a myriad of rankings and cultivate them well.

    What great labor potential, when the electrical stimulation effects of the Thunder Punishing Jade diminish in the future, let Little Miao step in to increase the intensity.

 Chapter 55: Chapter 55: The Expansion of the Taoist Temple and the Wang Family Visitor

    Moonlit night.In the depths of a dark mountain range, countless twisted black trees grew entangled, contorted, and connected, with numerous strange black birds perching atop them. This sinister forest lay countless leagues east of Hidden Dragon Temple, beyond mountains and rivers.

    These odd black trees bore no leaves. Yet from their branches hung countless air roots, which under the moonlight seemed all the more ghastly and terrifying.

    At this time, among these black trees, one especially tall and dark tree stood out.

    It was a dead tree without a crown, as if its head had been chopped off. Their bare gnarled branches twisted outward, resembling two arms stretched out.

    At the foot of this tree lay an unknown depth of crevice.

    Following the crevice down, one would find an enormous, churning blood lake below, with bubbles occasionally gurgling up on the surface. The thick, indissoluble scent of blood congealed in the air.

    A young daoist clad in a blood-red robe sat cross-legged with closed eyes by the lakeside.

    Crrack, crrack.

    Under the moonlit night, a mysterious figure with a black hood, tall and towering, stepped forward in the moonlight, leaving deep footprints on the soft earth. His arrival stirred the viciousness of the black birds perched on the trees.

    Countless black birds flapped their wings and flew towards him with blood-red eyes, only to be turned into mush by the man''s fist as large as a cooking pot.

    He then moved to the tree without a crown, glanced at the deep fissure, and without a blink, jumped right in. Behind him lay the corpses of numerous birds.

    "Subordinate pays respect to the Great Protector."

    "Following the Longevity God to save the world with boundless mercy."

    The mysterious figure came to the side of the blood-robed daoist, knelt down as if toppling a tower of gold and pillars of jade.

    "Rise. Who now holds the left arm of the Longevity God? Who spoiled the good deed of our sect?"

    A voice filled with sudden fury emerged, echoing throughout the underground, causing rubble to fall from the cavern''s walls into the blood lake, splashing up droplets shaped like flowers.

    Hearing the Great Protector''s furious voice, the once domineering mysterious figure trembled, and quickly replied,

    "Reporting to the Great Protector, we received a message from our undercover agent at the Peacekeeping Division. We seem to have been ensnared in the Peacekeeping Division''s scheme."

    "Our actions in Fengyun County had already been anticipated by the Peacekeeping Division. They deceived us, turned our plan against us, and seized the left arm of the Longevity God after we summoned it."

    A glint of divine light flashed in the eyes of the blood-robed daoist, and after a moment of contemplation, he spoke,

    "I always feel there is something fishy about this matter."

    "Tyrant Chicken, I entrust this task to you."

    "Go to Fengyun County yourself, investigate the truth. If it really is a trap set by the Peacekeeping Division, so be it, but if someone has disrupted our sect''s plan, you know what to do."

    "I will uphold the Great Protector''s command."

    The mysterious figure said in a deep voice as he pulled down his hood, revealing a gigantic chicken head under the light of the Luminous Pearls in the underground chamber.

    As it turned out, this mysterious person was one with the head of a chicken and the body of a man.

    With a red beak, dark skin, a green cockscomb atop his head, and two white lines that meandered from his shoulders to his waist, his body swelled with bulging muscles that seemed to have each undergone puberty independently; his fists could stand a person, his arms could run a horse.

    The chicken-headed man clasped his fists in salute, suddenly rose to his feet, and swiftly departed with decisive steps.

    After he left, the blood-robed daoist raised his left hand, and a small crystal coffin slowly rose from the blood lake, inside which lay an infant''s torso and two legs.

    The blood-robed daoist sighed,

    "Alas, with the left arm of the True Monarch falling into the hands of the Peacekeeping Division, things have become troublesome."

    "Time is running short."

    The gaze of the blood-robed daoist fell upon the crystal coffin, a flicker of greed passing swiftly through his eyes, then with a wave of his hand, the crystal coffin slowly sank back into the blood lake.

    ...

    ...

    ...

    The following day, as the sun risen high, Yi Chen finally got out of bed leisurely.

    Little Miao lay quietly at his bedside. It liked the scent of Pure Yang on Yi Chen, insisting on being by his side at night. Unable to dissuade it, Yi Chen simply let it be.

    After introducing Little Miao to Qing Yunzi and the others, Yi Chen had Qing Feng and Ming Yue take Little Miao out to play, as he had matters to discuss with Qing Yunzi.

    "What? Expand the temple?

    "And adopt a few more children?" Qing Yunzi looked at Yi Chen in surprise, "Senior brother, where are we going to get that much money?"

    Yi Chen, like a magician, pulled out three thousand taels of banknotes from his carrying pouch and handed them over to Qing Yunzi, shocking Qing Yunzi to the core.

    He knew Yi Chen had earned a lot of banknotes, but he didn''t expect there to be so much.

    For a moment, his gaze started to become strange.

    What industry has our eldest senior brother empowered this time? How did he suddenly earn so many banknotes?

    It wasn''t long before a bump landed on his head.

    "How dare you look at your eldest senior brother with that kind of eyes? All these banknotes are what your eldest senior brother earned with his own skills."

    Yi Chen knocked on the table, "Junior brother, the expansion of the temple is now in your hands. Hiring workers, supervising quality, and the like, all require your attention. Don''t be afraid to spend money, just go ahead and do it."

    "After the temple expansion is complete, go find Chief Zhang and tell him you want to recruit a few orphans with clean backgrounds into our Hidden Dragon Temple. He will help you."

    "Senior brother, I''m afraid I won''t do it well, maybe you should do it," Qing Yunzi habitually shied away.

    "If you don''t do it well, you learn to do it. Is there anyone born knowing everything? Be bold and do it; your senior brother is behind you if you fall short."

    Yi Chen waved his hand decisively, not allowing any objection to settle the matter.

    This was a decision he made after careful consideration.

    Qing Yunzi and the others could not always live under his protection; they needed to stand out and temper themselves.

    The future master of Hidden Dragon Temple couldn''t be someone inexperienced in the ways of the world. Assigning him the task of temple expansion was the first step in tempering him.

    This might cost them a tuition fee, spend a bit more money, and result in a few falls, but all of it was worth it.

    Facing losses isn''t scary; what''s scary is not knowing where you have lost. With Qing Yunzi''s intelligence, Yi Chen believed he would understand.

    This kind of tempering, dealing with all kinds of people, would also benefit Qing Yunzi''s cultivation.

    In this realm, breaking through in cultivation requires a certain level of spiritual realm.

    One of the requirements during spiritual awakening is to see one''s true nature, and as one ascends to higher realms, the spiritual requirements become even higher.

    Even in cultivation, you cannot simply hide in a deep mountain or cloister yourself in a tower, indifferent to the seasons passing by.

    Running away and avoiding the world, pretending to be detached from all methods, may seem transcendent but in reality, it can lead to a deviant path.

    How can the spirit grow strong without experiencing trials?

    How can you appreciate beauty if you''ve never seen ugliness?

    If you''ve never been part of the world, how can you claim to be apart from it?

    All high-level cultivators must first engage with the world before withdrawing from it; none become experts by enduring hardship in one place alone.

    The elite disciples of major sects and noble families all venture out into the world to see and experience it, using their experiences to nourish and strengthen their hearts.

    Reading thousands of books is not as good as walking thousands of miles.

    Learning from books feels shallow; one must experience things personally to truly understand, that''s what it means.

    Ever since Yi Chen took over the position of Sect Leader of Hidden Dragon Temple, Qing Yunzi had become a bit too reliant on him, one thing after another.

    This was a bad sign.

    Relying on mountains, mountains collapse; relying on people, people fall; one must learn to be self-reliant.

    He still remembered the astonishment and wariness he saw on the face of the Corpse God''s True Person when they had a separate confrontation, when at the last moment they noticed the Yin Manor mark on Yi Chen''s body.

    Just a separated spirit almost pushed Yi Chen of today into a desperate situation. High-level characters like these avoided Yin Manor to the greatest extent, shrouded in taboo, which elevated Yi Chen''s sense of crisis regarding Yin Manor to a new level.

    If he hadn''t the sword of Damocles hanging over his head, not knowing when it might fall, he''d rather not subject himself to such torturous training.

    Had it not been for the deterrent of Yin Manor, Yi Chen would never dare to assign himself such arduous tasks.

    Sometimes without pushing yourself, you never know how much potential you have.

    Now, Yi Chen through daily diligent practice with the Thunder Punishment Jade, could gain about one Origin Point every two days; his efficiency far exceeded that of the old days of fish-blasting. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Under the pressure of a death crisis, he dare not relax for a moment.

    After arranging everything, Yi Chen let out a long sigh, ready to enjoy a rare moment of leisure when suddenly a rider came from afar, it turned out to be Lin Baihu Lin Zhengyi.

    "Daoist, the old matriarch of the Wang family may only have a couple of days left. Would you be available to come to the county town tomorrow?"

    Yi Chen, who had just spent a lump sum of three thousand taels and was looking to make ends meet, promptly agreed.

    "You can rest assured, Baihu. I will set out early tomorrow morning and will certainly not miss the hour."

 Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Future Prospects

    "By the way, Lin Baihu, do you know the current Family Head''s name?""Who is in charge now?"

    Just as Lin Baihu was about to take his leave, Yi Chen seemed to remember something and quickly inquired.

    Up until now, he didn''t even know the basic information or preferences of the main family, which was not conducive to conducting business.

    If you are prepared, you will succeed; if you are not, you will fail.

    This was the first step for him, Taoist Yi Chengzi, toward entering the high-end funeral market. He needed to handle his business with meticulous care.

    At Yi Chen''s question, Lin Baihu paused his steps, pondered for a moment, and then replied, "At present, the Wang family consists of two branches. The branch that asked for my father''s assistance is the second branch, which includes a chief in charge of several county and town peacekeepers. However, he is currently unable to leave due to urgent official duties."

    "As for the first branch, they stay at home. The Family Head of the first branch is named Wang Ba. The Wang family is very prominent in Ping''an County; they are a significant household. Taoist, once you enter the city, you can easily find out by asking around."

    Yi Chen: "...."

    "His name is Wang Ba?"

    "What''s the matter? Taoist, is there something wrong with this name?" Lin Zhengyi asked curiously.

    He detected a hint of surprise in Yi Chen''s tone.

    Yi Chen chuckled awkwardly, quickly making up an excuse to gloss over the issue.

    The name Wang Ba is a good one.

    It sounds like it would bring a long life.

    Compared to Ji Tuanlian''s name, it was notably outstanding.

    Of course, such sarcastic inner commentary was not suitable to be directly expressed to Lin Zhengyi.

    If you say it out loud, can it still be called an inner commentary?

    Before long, Lin Baihu, with a bag of chestnuts specialty from Hidden Dragon Temple, mounted his horse and vanished over the horizon.

    He had to busy himself with investigating the mastermind behind the malicious gang for Yi Chen, as his father had strictly instructed him to take this matter seriously and ensure the favor was properly reciprocated.

    But not too swiftly...

    "Not even stopping for a sip of tea, Lin Baihu is a good man, reliable and amiable," Yi Chen mused to himself as he watched Lin Baihu''s travel-worn figure, which seemed more mature. He then turned and went back into the Hidden Dragon Temple.

    There were some crucial issues that he needed to inform Qing Yunzi about.

    "Junior brother, if possible, I want you to acquire the deeds to the lands surrounding Hidden Dragon Temple. Buy them if you can, and buy as much as you can."

    "Even the wastelands need to be purchased, and it''s fine if the price is slightly higher than the market rate by ten to twenty percent."

    "If you encounter any troubles, go consult with Chief Zhang. If Chief Zhang can''t handle it, seek assistance from the county magistrate. As of now, your senior brother still has a bit of influence in Fengyun County," Yi Chen muttered to Qing Yunzi in a stealthy tone.

    "Ah? Senior brother, what''s the value in wastelands? Why spend that silver on them?"

    "You don''t need to worry about that; just listen to your senior brother, buy if you can, and make sure to get the deeds."

    "It''s crucial to have multiple intermediaries to witness the transactions."

    Qing Yunzi didn''t understand the subtlety of this, but how could he not understand?

    In today''s world, what''s most important?

    Of course, it''s security.

    Haven''t you seen how the existence of the Eight Trigrams Demonic-Eradicating Mirror has driven up the housing prices within Fengyun County?

    In the future, when Hidden Dragon Temple flourishes, won''t living around it be even better than in the city?

    With Yi Taoist''s astonishing ability to empower the industry and operational capabilities comparable to a True Monarch, Qing Yunzi would be overwhelmed by the mountains of wealth awaiting him.

    Therefore, it was necessary to layout early and acquire the chips. The scheming Yi Taoist would not let others take advantage of this situation.

    Buying at the price of wastelands to sell at the price of Gold, there''s no room for complaint¡ªit''s practically like stealing money. Now, that''s a tactic.

    And when the time comes, don''t you dare complain about the price. If you don''t buy, there are plenty who will. I might even need to limit the sale through a lottery system.

    This world is forever dominated by the strong, where winners take all. The more wealth accumulated, the stronger its siphoning effect on the surroundings.

    With proper management, Yi Chen was confident that with his skillful means of exploiting others, he could make the rich willingly offer up their wealth and still thank him reverently, worshipping him.

    The highest level of exploitation is plucking the feathers without letting the goose squawk, and Yi Chen had a myriad of ways to do so. He wanted to show these people from foreign lands the wisdom of the Blue Planet.

    To give them a slight shock of Blue Planet.

    The sickle of the Taoist was always swift.

    And in this life, he no longer feared the bulldozers.

    His blade was even sharper.

    Thus far, it was only the first strategy.

    Hehehe.

    However, Yi Chen was well aware that in a world where such tremendous power belonged to oneself, wealth had to match one''s own strength; otherwise, you were nothing but a fat pig waiting to be slaughtered.

    Only as his strength grew more formidable could he release one scythe after another from his toolbox.

    Strength is the foundation, and wealth is the booster of strength.

    He would not be dazzled by wealth and end up making wedding dresses for others.

    As for the project of expanding Hidden Dragon Temple, Yi Chen had long had an outline in his heart, and the blueprint had already been sketched out; meals would be eaten one bite at a time.

    Overstepping could easily lead to injury, a truth he was very clear about in his heart.

    "The younger brother is still too young, not yet understanding the principle that a great thief does not wield a weapon. Those who rob with knives and guns are small traders; the real big traders don''t even think about it,"

    Yi Chen watched Qing Yunzi''s receding back and couldn''t help but silently sigh in his heart.

    Expanding Hidden Dragon Temple was Bai Yunzi''s last wish, and therefore, it became Yi Chen''s wish as well.

    Now, it was time to start laying the foundation step by step.

    Harvesting leeks was just a means for Yi Chen; his ultimate goal was not so narrow.

    He hoped to create a world within the influence of Hidden Dragon Temple.

    A world where those who wished to lie low could do so, those who aspired to struggle could receive what they deserved, a world that could accommodate the howls of jackals and soothe the cries of the weak.

    If one day in the future, he was lucky enough to survive and his power reigned supreme, he would then create such a world.

    It was the world he wanted to see in his previous life.

    It was also the world Bai Yunzi had always hoped to see.

    No one understood his old-fashioned master better than him.

    When that time came, harvesting leeks would merely be a means of redistribution.

    "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so let''s start cutting them down first."

    "Where there is wealth and power, there are people; where people gather, wealth further flourishes, I hope such a cycle can start."

    "Only the strong have a voice, only they can define this world."

    "So first of all, I must become a strong man, a truly powerful man."

    "Powerful enough that no one can ignore my will."

    Yi Chen looked out at the wasteland beyond Hidden Dragon Temple, his fists clenched tightly, his thoughts racing.

    The Family Head put a lot of effort into the development of Hidden Dragon Temple. His ultimate conception was grand, but these beautiful blueprints were like presentations shown to investors; how much of them would actually take shape in the end, only heaven knows. Find more to read at §Þ??

    Maybe a year later, he would die at the hands of Yin Manor and go bankrupt. The world is unpredictable.

    If you aim for the stars, you get the moon; aim for the moon, you get halfway there, which is already an excellent outcome.

    The way of heaven is to take from the excess and give to the deficient, the way of humanity is to take from the deficient to serve the excess.

    The scriptures of a previous life said, to everyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

    The principle is just this principle, the world is inherently cruel.

    Can human force overcome heaven? Yi Chen did not know.

    After all, he had never heard of anyone who had defied Zou Qil¨¹.

    Such a world couldn''t be achieved overnight, but things could start to be done.

    Like first taking money from the rich, then paying high wages to hire people, driving the income of the surrounding populace, this could also be considered taking from others and giving back to them.

    Money is like water; it''s only useful when it flows. Stored in a vault, it only tarnishes and grows mold, utterly useless.

    Water benefits all things, and when it reaches the hands of those at the bottom, it becomes a spring, a great kindness.

    After all, those at the bottom are as desperate as starving wolves; they hardly ever get to drink enough water.

    The Taoist cuts from the wealthy, then distributes the money, giving to the poor. Hidden Dragon Temple gets development, the poor get an unexpected sum of money to improve their lives, and the rich get the grand visions painted by the Taoist.

    This is the perfect cycle.

    Holy shit, a triple win.

    Yi Chen completed the logical loop in an instant. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He had perfectly aligned personal interest, his master''s last wish, with the development of the temple.

    A world where nobody gets hurt had been achieved.

    "I really am a genius."

    "Master, look, I truly have carried out the Way of Benevolence and Righteousness."

    "Though my heart is heavy and my hand black, and I cut down men, sell tyrant chickens, and harvest leeks, I know I am a good Taoist."

    Looking out at the wasteland, Yi Chen saw it as if it were paved with gold. Excited, he rubbed his hands together and then turned back into the house.

 Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Yi Taoist Crosses the River with a Log

    Crack.A thick bolt of lightning tore through the sky, as if intent on splitting it in half.

    Torrential rain cascaded down from the towering clouds, plunging rapidly to the ground and exploding into small and large craters upon the muddy earth.

    Yi Chen, wearing a straw raincoat, trudged through the muck towards the county town, cursing inwardly without cessation.

    "Damn this weather, been raining non-stop since yesterday, and it''s still coming down this morning. Does it know I''m heading out on a long trip, deliberately making things difficult for me?"

    "Meow meow meow" (Yeah, right, the rain is so annoying.)

    Little Miao perched on Yi Chen''s shoulder and responded softly.

    Yi Chen lifted his head and glared fiercely at the dark clouds above.

    Shit, the rain got even heavier, and a lightning bolt struck a mere ten meters away from him, hitting a big tree nearby, giving him quite a scare.

    He shrank his neck and dared not mouth off any longer. Little Miao, too, kept silent, squatting obediently on Yi Chen''s shoulder as they resumed their head-down journey.

    They continued like this for about an hour when suddenly, a caravan loomed through the distant rain curtain, three covered wagons surrounded by eight knights and about a dozen swordsmen.

    The head knight had prominent temples and brawny arms, with a left hand covered in thick calluses, suggesting that he was a formidable fighter.

    But that didn''t matter much; such fighters were a one-punch affair for Yi Chen, with the corpses perhaps remaining more intact than others, not exploding on impact.

    Yi Chen glanced at the caravan plowing through the rain curtain. He didn''t spot anyone particularly noteworthy.

    He took long strides, covering two to three meters with each step, rapidly making his way forward.

    Yet, somehow, things began to subtly change, unclear and intangible.

    He was not afraid, but someone in the caravan was extremely so.

    There they were, traveling in peace beneath the curtain of rain when, lo and behold, out from behind them in the rain, leaped a man over two meters tall, his muscular form knotted with strength, his pectorals stretching his shirt taut.

    He carried a large sword on his back, his expression cold and silent, his stride spanning three meters, both quick and urgent. A large black cat perched on his shoulder, its gaze also cold as it licked its paws.

    Frightening? That was an understatement.

    At least for Zhang Dekai, who was on rear guard duty, the cold sweat on his forehead flowed down instantly.

    He had read countless wuxia novels, and such a scenario had played out in his mind countless times before.

    A stormy night, bearing a sword, no umbrella.

    A strong man, wearing a straw raincoat, inclement and detached, harbinger of death¡ªa black cat.

    The elements were all lined up.

    Ah!

    A narrative began to form in Zhang Dekai''s mind.

    He is the strongest assassin in Jianghu, known as the Red Dot of Da Yue.

    He is a man cold to the core.

    His sword is even colder than himself.

    He is devoid of emotion.

    After an internal storm, Zhang Dekai suddenly couldn''t contain himself any longer, shrieking at the top of his lungs:

    "Enemy attack!"

    "Enemy attack!"

    "Everyone on alert, a strong enemy has come."

    "How terrifying."

    In an instant, the well-ordered caravan descended into chaos. Some drew their sabers, others unsheathed long swords, some grabbed pouches of lime from inside their robes, others discreetly scattered animal traps on the ground, and one with a furrowed brow took an elegant step back, positioning his comrades in front of him...

    The burly knight with a goatee at the front, Zhang Bukai, suddenly swung around.

    "Who dares to attack the banner of my Weiyuan Escort Agency? Planting a banner to decapitate, do you take me, Zhang Bukai of Wu Hu''s Severing Blades, for a dead man?"

    The leading knight bellowed out, then felt a cold, indifferent gaze pierce through the rain curtain towards him. His forehead began to throb like mad.

    That was his years of life-or-death experiences screaming a warning at him.

    Danger! Danger! Danger!

    This man cannot be overcome by force.

    Instantly, his fiery temper cooled.

    With a stiff expression, he rode forward, "Esteemed hero, I am Zhang Bukai, the deputy leader of Weiyuan Escort Agency in Duanyang County. Our chief escort is the ''Thundering Hand'' Wen Tai, who has some influence among the local outlaws."

    "Please, in the name of our chief, spare us this day, and we will surely repay you generously in the future."

    With that, a heavy pouch of silver flew at Yi Chen''s feet.

    By then, Zhang Bukai had finally gotten a good look at the man approaching: two meters tall, with bulging muscles, a face like ice, and piercing eyes. Rain water trickled off his straw raincoat onto the ground, and the bizarre black cat seated on his shoulder added to his icy aura.

    He thought his own height of over 1.8 meters and his husky build made him quite formidable, but next to the man before him, he felt as underdeveloped as a bean sprout.

    If it could be avoided, then avoid it.

    Right there and then, Zhang Bukai internally made a decision.

    Maybe by giving out some bribery money, they could pass without trouble. If it didn''t work, well, he''d consider it a job done for nothing.

    Yi Chen: "..."

    What had just happened?

    Why did the group ahead suddenly erupt into chaos, shouting about some strong enemy approaching? Where was this strong enemy?

    Yi Chen himself was slightly bewildered at the moment.

    A faint malice spread out from the people in front of him.

    "So this is malice? They''re all drawing weapons against me. It doesn''t seem particularly intense, though; they seem to be afraid."

    "Is this malice related to the strength of those who exude it?"

    For a moment, Yi Chen was lost in thought.

    Little Miao, still perched on his shoulder, kept licking her paw indifferently, this time switching to the right one.

    Seeing that Yi Chen offered no reply, Zhang Bukai''s forehead beaded with even more sweat.

    Damn, was it not enough?

    Biting his lip, he stomped his foot and, with a pained expression, fished out another ingot of silver from a hidden pocket and tossed it in front of Yi Chen.

    "Hero, there really is none left, not a single ingot."

    "I even took out my private savings."

    At this point, Yi Chen understood.

    As if resurrected from a deathbed, he realized the strong man was himself.

    He was about to explain, but at that moment, a young swordsman in the convoy, holding a waist knife in his left hand and a lime bag in his right, seemed to recognize Yi Chen and began shouting loudly:

    "Damn, it''s a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!"

    "Second Master, this hero is Yi Taoist from Hidden Dragon Temple in Fengyun County, not some brigand."

    "I''m from Fengyun County myself. The Wang family, one of the major households, suffered from an evil spirit, and it was Yi Taoist who resolved it."

    "This is a master of Taoist magic; I''ve seen it myself."

    .....

    Five minutes later, Yi Chen was sitting in the last carriage at the end of the convoy. Due to the overwhelming hospitality and the increasingly annoying rain, Yi Chen pondered for a moment and did not refuse. He agreed.

    By then, he had also figured out the mix-up that had occurred.

    The convoy was a mission accepted by the Weiyuan Escort Agency to escort Madame Li back to the provincial town of Duanyang County for a family visit.

    However, the problem arose when Zhang Dekai, the leader''s nephew on his first escort mission, had no experience and let his imagination lead things astray.

    Youth, lacking the gravity of the more experienced.

    As the instigator of the mix-up, his preconceived notions nearly doomed the entire convoy. Therefore, his irate colleagues outside began a session of ''loving education'' after which they decided he no longer needed to keep watch and should instead feed the horses.

    .....

    After another hour or so, the convoy suddenly stopped. By this time, the rain was not as heavy as before, becoming as fine as cow hair.

    A voice came through.

    "Second Master, trouble! Qingshui River has flooded, even the bridge is submerged. We can''t cross!"

    Yi Chen exited the carriage upon hearing this. The bearded cavalry leader looked at the flooded Qingshui Bridge with despair.

    With the Qingshui River being nearly a hundred meters wide without a bridge, how could it be crossed by mere human strength?

    "The bridge is submerged, we can''t cross now."

    "Perhaps, Taoist Priest, you could join us in retreating to an inn nearby to rest for a bit. We could cross together after the water recedes?"

    One day and one night of heavy rain combined with flash floods had significantly raised the river level, surpassing the bridge.

    However, while the convoy might afford to wait, how could Yi Chen?

    He promised Lin Baihu he would arrive today, so he couldn''t break that commitment.

    Turning his head to glance around, a smile appeared on Yi Chen''s face.

    "I''ve got it."

    "Zhang Master, I do appreciate your kind offer to transport me this way in a carriage."

    "But, Master Zhang, you really need to exercise more; you seem to have no energy."

    Yi Chen said encouragingly as he gently patted Master Zhang''s shoulder, almost causing Zhang to stagger.

    Then, Zhang''s pupils shrank suddenly, as if he had seen a ghost.

    No, the pupils of everyone in the convoy contracted at the same time.

    As if they had collectively seen a ghost.

    Their mouths gaped open, as wide as a goose egg, shocked by the scene before them.

    Yi Chen flashed to a large tree by the roadside as thick as a sea bowl, cut it into two with a hand chop, making it look as effortless as slicing through sugarcane.

    He chose the most eye-pleasing segment, stood by the riverbank, put strength into his feet, gathered fifty percent of his power, and with a mighty kick, the large log shot across the river''s surface, throwing up a cascade several feet high.

    The log sped away quickly, but Yi Chen was faster. With a powerful push off the ground, he took off after the log, arriving before it, and landed firmly on it.

    A single log stirred waves thousands of layers deep.

    Today, Yi Taoist crossed the river on a log.

    "Gentlemen, I must be on my way. With fate, we shall meet again!"

    The thunderous voice suddenly exploded on the spot, echoing long in the heaven and earth. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This scene left the members of the escort agency dumbstruck.

    "Damn, what sorcery is this? Are all the masters from Fengyun County like this?"

    "Yi Taoist''s Divine Power is truly terrifying. Today has truly been an eye-opener."

    "Look, Yi Taoist has already crossed the river, but the momentum doesn''t diminish. That log has hit shore, and he is still sliding, still sliding~"

    .....

    The people of the escort agency on the riverbank began to chatter.

    Little Miao gripped Yi Chen''s collar tightly with its paws, terrified of falling, the strong river wind squinting even its eyes.

    Suddenly, it found the experience exhilarating.

    It couldn''t help but start meowing again.

    However, unnoticed by everyone, at the very front of the convoy on the riverbank, the corner of the curtain on one of the carriages had already been lightly lifted by a palace-dressed beauty. With her delicate fingers like freshly cut scallions and her lips as if adorned with cinnabar, she clasped her hands over her red lips, fearful her startled cry might escape.

    "My heavens."

    "Could there truly be such a strong man in this world?" Continue reading on §Þ??

    Madame Li, who witnessed Yi Chen''s log crossing from beginning to end, watched his retreating figure with a slightly dazed look in her eyes.

    Not until she could no longer see Yi Chen did she gently let the curtain fall back in place.

    She crossed her long, jade-like legs in another position.

    Shifted to another position.

    And yet another position.

    ...

    Madame Li came from a wealthy family and had been a widow for many years.

    .....

 Chapter 59: Chapter 59 Entering the City and Ghastly Air

    Even with Yi Chen''s swift feet, it was not until the afternoon¡ªduring the hour of Wei¡ªthat he finally arrived at the county seat of Ping''an City.There''s a saying: comparing oneself to others will only bring despair, just as comparing goods will lead to rejection.

    The city walls of Ping''an City were naturally much more grandiose than those of Fengyun County, towering at more than ten meters high, teeming with a ceaseless flow of people like a surging river, with travelers and merchants coming and going nonstop.

    Yi Chen meandered through the long streets of Ping''an City, where carriages sparkled in the sun, and the shop fronts on either side of the street continued unbroken, with their banners and cloth streamers fiercely dancing in the wind, creating a scene of extraordinary liveliness.

    Little Miao, perched on Yi Chen''s shoulder, was also extremely excited, meowing incessantly, looking here and there, fascinated by everything it saw.

    Of course, what captivated Little Miao most were the street vendors selling crispy fish on the roadside.

    Fish fresh from the Qingshui River, barely the length of a finger, had their mouths propped open and bellies split, skewered on bamboo sticks, fried until crispy in oil, sprinkled with sauce and green onions, and then dipped into a secret broth.

    Indescribably delicious, so very toothsome.

    The aroma drifted for miles.

    Little Miao was so anxious that it kept calling out.

    "Meow meow meow" (Father, I want to eat this.)

    However, Yi Chen was utterly unmoved.

    "Little Miao, the food from these street stalls is not good for you; you never know what harmful things they might contain. You''re growing right now, so you can''t eat this. I''ll take you to the dog tycoon''s place for a big meal later," Yi Chen said.

    Little Miao: "No, I''m not afraid, I want to eat."

    Yi Chen: "Are you going to be obedient?"

    Little Miao: "I''m very good, Father."

    Yi Chen: "Oh, if you''re obedient, then we won''t eat it."

    Little Miao: ".¡­"

    Little Miao, oblivious to the world''s perils, had only been alive for a few days and was already bamboozled by Yi Chen''s logic.

    Its cheeks puffed out, resembling an indignant blowfish.

    After scratching Yi Chen''s hair a few times with its paw, it sulkily pouted and listlessly watched the other delicacies by the roadside, occasionally twitching its nose.

    Compared to Little Miao, Yi Chen naturally appeared much more composed.

    All it knew was eating¡ªhow could it accomplish great things?

    A cat is a cat, with an unchangeable nature.

    He was different, though.

    He¡­ watched the beautiful girls.

    It was indeed a county seat; there were indeed many attractive young women with fine figures and a softness like water, whose walk resembled willows swaying in the breeze. In just a short ten minutes, he saw several such ladies.

    He also saw quite a few ladies with ample curves and full figures.

    It was truly astonishing.

    How could they be so shapely!

    Of course, with Yi Taoist''s self-control, he naturally wouldn''t do something as crass as let his eyes linger on others.

    Because he had discovered the marvelous use of the fourth level of the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique.

    Using Heart Eye Reflection at level 1 on the ladies was simply a divine skill.

    While Yi Chen appeared to practice "eyes observing the nose, nose observing the heart," maintaining an image of eyes not straying, in reality, everything around him was already modeled in his mind, much like a 3D perspective.

    So you see, he was too busy for trivial matters like buying dried fish for Little Miao.

    Interest is the best teacher for a person.

    In his continuous experiments, Yi Chen became more adept with the skill of Heart Eye Reflection.

    This feature was essentially 3D modeling, recreating the surrounding scene, offering a very unique viewpoint.

    Truly, different views are seen when looking from various angles; from afar or near, high or low, there''s always a difference.

    Appreciation of beauty is intrinsic to all humans.

    As a normal person, Yi Chen also had a fondness for beauty¡­ for women.

    However, he, who had been scarred by experiences in his past life, had long decided to avoid romantic entanglements.

    Women, they would only slow down the speed of his sword-drawing.

    Don''t ask, as the answer is a heart sealed with concrete.

    Not even Old Mo, who had killed fish at the Da Run Fa market for ten years, had a colder heart than his.

    Yet abstaining from romantic relationships did not equate to ignoring the beauty of women; this interest he had always retained.

    Just like in his previous life, where there were many who clamored about their fear of marriage and disinterest in love.

    Then what?

    On a spring breeze-filled journey through Yangzhou, scrolling through barrage comments while lifting the pearl curtain.

    Can''t you see, the streaming room of Coconut Tree Juice now has separate events for men and women.

    The internet streaming rooms are almost becoming the equivalent of pleasure houses.

    This too is the empowering and transformative effect of ''Internet Plus'' on traditional industries.

    Previously, a young lady hosting a few clients was already considered a formidable woman.

    Even young men couldn''t match the number of clients a lady could attend to.

    But what about now? My goodness, each streaming room now easily reaches tens and hundreds of thousands of people.

    This empowerment has greatly boosted productivity!

    For the money-making speed of traditional industries, it''s practically a dimension-reducing strike.

    Yi Chen''s former colleagues lament that bars and bathhouses are no longer places to go, with quality having plummeted off a cliff.

    When they asked the manager where No. 8, No. 18, and No. 88 were, the answer was they''d gone to do livestreams.

    The former colleague was so angry he even sold his Cadillac.

    So it is said,

    the pursuit of beauty is engraved in human genes, and this is neither something to be proud of nor ashamed of.

    However, humans are different from wild beasts after all, they must be rational and learn to restrain their desires.

    Behaviors such as sticking eyeballs on others, stalking, or making inappropriate physical contact are absolutely unacceptable and violate both morals and the law.

    It''s the weak who draw knives on the even weaker.

    For example, right now, there''s a burly, muscular man in front of Yi Chen¡ªhe''s let his animal instincts take over, and his big hands are brazenly reaching for the thighs of a young lady in a short skirt.

    Crack.

    The sound of bones breaking.

    The burly man felt the world darken all at once. Your next journey awaits at §Þ??

    A pair of hands as large as fans gripped his inappropriate hand, crushing it completely.

    "Ah!~~"

    The burly man couldn''t hold back a pig-slaughtering scream, as an intense pain shot up to his crown.

    "Taoist, who the hell are you? Daring to ruin my good time."

    "The head of the Wild Boar Gang is my big brother; if you''ve got the guts, leave your name and mark your territory."

    The burly man, enduring the excruciating pain, bellowed with tears streaming down his face.

    Yi Chen thought for a moment, didn''t say a word, and after breaking one of his legs, he drifted away.

    This kind of scum is simply the public enemy of all men; the world is ruined by such people.

    If such hooliganism becomes rampant, who would dare to wear short skirts anymore?

    Everyone will go out wrapped up like dumplings, and then add a veil¡ªwhat would Yi Taoist have left to see?

    This is intolerable.

    It''s an attack on the interests of men as a collective; a heavy punch must be thrown.

    It was getting late, and after the novelty had worn off, Yi Chen bought a dried little fish for Little Miao, inquired about the location of the Wang family''s residence, and then strode towards the Wang estate.

    Of course, along the way, Yi Chen again keenly spotted a woman attempting to traffic a child. The kind-hearted Yi Taoist inflicted a light punishment, merely crushing her limbs and knocking out her canine teeth before drifting away, concealing his abilities and reputation.

    A veritable nemesis of evil, a partner of justice.

    For some evildoers,

    death isn''t the ultimate punishment.

    Living a life worse than death is.

    As for retaliation from the woman or the people behind that burly guy, Yi Chen didn''t give it a second thought.

    Has he been toiling in his cultivation just to live like a coward?

    If he''s always cautious and afraid, ducking and hiding at every little thing, then what''s the point of his arduous cultivation?

    He practices his cultivation so he can live freely and joyfully!

    Good deeds deserve rewards, and evil deeds deserve punishment; only then will his mindset be clear and unobstructed.

    Not just to scrape by, not just to live for the sake of living.

    A person needs to live with spirit, and that spirit must be smooth.

    Besides, now he''s sworn brothers with Lin Zhenbei¡ªif he can''t even handle this little trouble, he''d really become a laughingstock.

    He''s not worried at all.

    Before long, he arrived at the Wang estate.

    Yi Chen looked up at the plaque in front of him, and in an instant, his pupils shrunk sharply.

    With his current heightened senses, he actually detected a faint whiff of ghostly aura within the walls of this county''s Wang estate.

    Although the ghostly aura was almost imperceptible, Yi Chen still captured it.

    "Interesting,"

    "A trace of ghostly aura in the residence of a prominent family in the county town? Is someone using magic, or is there a ghost being kept in the house?"

    "Can I earn some Deep Red Points again?"

    Yi Chen, with an unchanged expression, announced his arrival and then stepped through the vermillion gates of the Wang residence under the guidance of an elderly butler.

    At this moment, he had a premonition that this exorcism service at the Wang family might deviate from the norm.

    "But fear not, just pay extra,"

    "A thousand taels is the fee for officiating the funeral; other services will be charged separately,"

    Yi Chen mused to himself.

    sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 60: Chapter 60 Travel Companions, Daoist White Cranes Tea Ceremony

    They took their seats and were served tea.Yi Chen sat to the left, while another Daoist with the hair of a crane and the face of a child took his place on the right.

    The two exchanged glances and recognized each other as peers.

    The Wang family head, Wang Ba, and his wife sat upright in the seats of honor.

    "Taoist Yi Chengzi, the grand matriarch''s time is drawing near. Unbeknownst to my clumsy wife, my second brother invited you, and without his knowledge, she asked her family to invite the esteemed Daoist White Crane."

    "Both are revered and skilled practitioners. How about leaving the funeral arrangements to the two venerable Daoists to handle together?"

    The speaker was the Wang family head, Wang Ba. Yi Chen had initially thought upon hearing the name that he would meet a robust and heroic man, but upon meeting, he found that Wang Ba was more like a scholarly middle-aged Confucian.

    He spoke slowly and methodically, his tone tinged with sadness¡ªpresumably due to the impending demise of the Wang family matriarch.

    Both Yi Chen and Daoist White Crane naturally had no objections and readily nodded in agreement.

    At this moment, the Wang family head''s wife beside him began to speak.

    "My lord, everything has its primary and secondary, even in funeral matters. Between Taoist Yi Chengzi and Daoist White Crane, who will take the lead and who will assist?"

    Mrs. Wang was a strikingly elegant and beautiful woman with a lofty demeanor, curvaceous figure, dressed in a rose-colored long-sleeved gown, exuding a very alluring presence, yet her expression was as cold as ice.

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but glance at her an extra time.

    Quite the icy fire rose indeed.

    Yet, he also couldn''t help but wonder. As a daughter-in-law, why was Mrs. Wang dressed in such vivid colors during the impending death of the old matriarch?

    Even more astonishing to Yi Chen was the discovery that a faint aura of ghosts lingered on Mrs. Wang, although it was very weak, it was still captured by his heightened senses.

    "Is Mrs. Wang the one harboring ghosts behind the scenes, or has she encountered some evil in the last few days?"

    "Things are getting more and more interesting," he thought to himself.

    Yi Chen was deep in thought, with many questions in his mind, but he kept them to himself, maintaining an appearance of calm composure.

    "Ahem, as to who leads and who assists, the matter is quite simple."

    The Daoist White Crane sitting opposite Yi Chen spoke up, "In learning, there is no sequence; the adept takes precedence. What specific Daoist arts do you specialize in, Taoist Yi Chengzi?"

    "I have some knowledge of the Pure Yang arts," Yi Chen replied.

    "Oh? Are you versed in the Art of the Fireball?"

    "Eh, no."

    "What about the Technique of Beans into Soldiers?"

    "Eh, neither."

    "How about Locating Dragons and Acupoints, the Method of Observing Qi?"

    "Eh, I have a slight understanding, slight understanding."

    "Then what are you most skilled in?"

    Yi Chen fell silent for a moment before he finally responded:

    "Well, I do have a certain strength. That might be worth mentioning..."

    With this, Daoist White Crane immediately stopped, recited his Daoist name, and then fell silent. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Proficient in the art of gauging the situation, he knew the right moment had been reached.

    "Daoist White Crane is older and undoubtedly has more experience. How about we let Daoist White Crane take the lead, with Taoist Yi Chengzi assisting? Manage the funeral affairs this way, how does that sound?"

    Mrs. Wang couldn''t resist interjecting at this point.

    Upon hearing this, the verdict of superior and subordinate had been decided.

    At this moment, Daoist White Crane displayed a satisfied expression, constantly stroking his three goat''s whiskers.

    Yi Chen didn''t argue and immediately agreed.

    This White Crane Daoist was personally sought out by Madam Wang from her maiden home, and her bias was already quite evident; he was brought in by the brother of the Wang Family Head.

    Some things were a matter of taking sides; arguing was pointless.

    He didn''t want to get involved in the complex interests of a major household; whether he played a major or minor role didn''t matter, as long as the money was paid.

    Furthermore, the moment he entered the Wang residence, he felt something was not quite right; he always felt that things were not so simple. The green tea skills of this White Crane Daoist were also very exquisite, not inferior to his. Yi Chen then simply took the opportunity to bow out gracefully.

    He would let White Crane Daoist take center stage and perform, while he observed the overall situation from the shadows.

    Heh, as if the cunning and smug look in White Crane Daoist''s eyes could escape the current Yi Chen?

    Little did this person know that every gift from fate had a price secretly marked on it.

    When he asked Yi Chen what he was most skilled in, Yi Chen''s response¡ªthat he had quite a bit of strength to speak of¡ªwas actually him going along with the situation and taking the opportunity to bow out gracefully.

    Yi Chen guessed that when White Crane Daoist heard him say this, he must have laughed his head off, thinking he had encountered an honest man.

    However, this situation was just what Yi Chen wanted to see, simply going with the flow.

    You all see me as a fool, and I should see you in the same way.

    No hurry, the play has just begun; let''s accompany them in this performance.

    Yi Chen and True Person White Crane were led by the servants to a separate courtyard, and the main hall regained its silence.

    "My lady, Taoist Yi Chengzi was selected by my second brother; it''s not right for us to do this," the Family Head of the Wangs couldn''t help but murmur at this moment.

    Madam Wang''s eyebrows raised slightly, and she said with a thin veil of anger, "You have the nerve to say that? With the old lady''s passing imminent, your second brother still hasn''t returned, and you look at the sort of riffraff he has found to preside over the old lady''s ceremony."

    "How strong can a man be who claims he''s worthy because of his strength? Our Wang residence is large, and there are no shortage of strong men. Do we need someone from his side of the family to find a Daoist with great strength to preside?"

    "Should we let the oxen in the estate rest and have someone with great strength come to plow the fields?"

    After a barrage of retorts from Madam Wang, the Wang Family Head showed a sheepish look and didn''t want to argue further. Being a soft person by nature, although he guessed that the lady was partly motivated by the thought of exploiting the situation to divide the family wealth, since he would also benefit, he fell silent and tacitly agreed.

    At night, in the Wang estate, the dining hall.

    Candles as thick as arms lit up the entire hall as if it were daytime.

    The small dining hall, with its carved beams and painted rafters, surrounded by celadon antiques, displayed the color of wealth.

    Yi Chen sat below True Person White Crane, and everyone ate at their own tables.

    At this time, he was fervently battling with the roasted lamb chop in his hands. Opening his mouth wide, he swallowed the ribs like sugarcane, bit by bit.

    No, even more fierce than eating sugarcane, for sugarcane required spitting out the residue. He chewed the bones and meat directly and swallowed them down.

    Like master, like pet: Little Miao''s eating manner was identical to his owner''s, gnawing on a lamb leg bone from a large bowl in front of her, getting oil all over her mouth and not minding the stains in her fur.

    True Person White Crane, seated above Yi Chen, ate much more elegantly.

    Even Yi Chen had to admit, True Person White Crane really had a pleasing appearance¡ªhair as white as a crane''s feathers but with a youthful face, his hair meticulously combed, dressed in a purple Daoist robe with gold-thread embroidery at the edges, and the robe''s back embroidered with mountains, rivers, and lakes, while the front featured the sun, moon, and stars. He looked very imposing.

    True Person White Crane ignored the small lamb chop in front of him, only occasionally taking a small bite of fruit and sipping tea. He didn''t even drink wine, as he claimed he was fasting for the old lady''s ceremony.

    Next to True Person White Crane, a spotlessly white crane stood, with a neck slender and graceful, mirroring its owner. It only occasionally pecked at grapes and water, and now and then it sneaked a glance at Little Miao, who was gorging away, yet it never dared to meet her gaze directly. The moment their eyes met, it looked away, appearing quite frightened.

    Sitting at the head of the table, Madam Wang and the Wang Family Head watched Yi Chen''s eating habits. The Family Head shook his head; what on earth had his brother found? This was too unreliable.

    What kind of high person eats like this? If it weren''t for the Daoist robe on his body, he''d be more like a brute.

    It seemed that the lady''s decision was both correct and wise.

    Madam Wang could not help but show a hint of disdain in her eyes as she watched Yi Chen.

    Explore more stories at M V L

    Thank goodness her urgent request for the highly skilled and respected White Crane Daoist from her parental home had arrived; otherwise... it would have been a disaster.

    Alas...

 Chapter 61: Chapter 61 The Story of Xiuer and Yi Taoist

    True Person Baihe disdainfully glanced at Yi Chen, who was indulging in gluttony and heavy drinking, out of the corner of his eye."Youngsters are still too naive. This Wang family is wealthy, but you don''t leave a good impression on your host; all you know is to indulge in food and drink. If you offend the host here, will your red envelope still be as generous afterwards?"

    "Dinner could completely be eaten later, and this little lamb chop isn''t going to run away; one must maintain a sense of style."

    True Person Baihe looked at the crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside little lamb chop in front of him, licked his lips, and resisted.

    He could eat them as takeout later in the evening, just the same.

    Then, while he was focused on putting on airs, True Person Baihe suddenly felt the light dim around him, and a large face loomed close to him.

    "Daoist Baihe, do you not fancy these little lamb chops?"

    "It''s quite a pity~"

    "Er... I, the poor Daoist, do not fancy the greasy and rich."

    "I love them. Since you''re not eating them, Daoist Baihe, why not give them to me?" S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Without waiting for Daoist Baihe to respond, Yi Chen directly took all the little lamb chops in front of Daoist Baihe, and that scoundrel even swiped a peach from in front of him.

    Daoist Baihe''s mouth twitched, his chest heaved violently, and he couldn''t speak for a long time. He knew that his late-night snack was gone.

    At this moment, sitting at the main seat, the Family Head of the Wang family and his wife had little appetite for the exquisite food before them. After nibbling on some food, they excused themselves and left.

    Because they needed to attend to the elderly grandmother and fulfill their filial duty.

    However, keen-eyed Yi Chen still noticed a flush of red, not quite normal, on the face of the wife of the family head.

    Although she had applied powder to her face, the unusual flush was still captured by Yi Chen.

    The lingering afterglow of their intimate relations...

    Drawing on his past life''s experience of tea-drinking, Yi Chen was certain he hadn''t been mistaken.

    Hiss~

    The old grandmother was still around. Did this couple still find the leisure for their bridal chamber?

    Or... was it out in the wide open fields?

    City folks really know how to enjoy themselves.

    Yi Chen''s love for gossip burned fiercely within him, yet outwardly he remained stoic. He broke off a rib for Little Miao, then quickly devoured the rest of the little lamb chops.

    Patting his belly, he was led back to the guest room by a maid.

    The heavy rain had already stopped by the time Yi Chen had arrived at Ping''an County; tonight, the moon shone brightly, and the stars were sparse.

    Yi Chen opened the window to let the evening breeze fill the room. He picked up a cup of freshly brewed tea from the table and took shallow sips, but nobody knew what he was thinking.

    Little Miao, on the other hand, was on the floor of the room, hooking the crossbeam under the table with her hind legs, doing sit-ups over and over again.

    Everything was so harmonious.

    ...

    ...

    Tonight, the moon shone brightly, and the stars were sparse.

    Ping''an County, the Wang family''s mansion, the back courtyard.

    Xiu''er was the personal maid to the wife of the family head, favored by her, but about five or six days ago, she, uncharacteristically, asked her to move to the back courtyard to live with other maids.

    She was very unhappy and did not know what she had done wrong.

    The events of these past five or six days were enough for her to remember for the rest of her life, who had just turned eighteen.

    Before, she was the favored headmaid of the lady of the house. The house servants adored her, the older women held her in high esteem, and the younger maids envied her.

    Everything had been so wonderful.

    But all that had shattered like bubbles just five or six days ago, completely breaking apart.

    The colorful world suddenly turned to shades of gray.

    The world changed in an instant.

    The elder women who used to flatter her, now suppressed her.

    The house guards who had eagerly courted her cursed her out once she refused their advances again in private, scolding her for still thinking she was the head maid, telling her to stop putting on airs, that a phoenix bereft of its feathers is inferior to a chicken, let alone a head maid like her.

    As for the other maids who used to sweetly call her "sister," their attitudes had now turned to cold disdain, and they were isolating her publicly and privately.

    The harsh reality of society''s lifting up and putting down was vividly displayed before her.

    Tears brimmed in Xiu''er''s beautiful eyes.

    As a child, she heard a storyteller relay a tale, the specifics of which she had mostly forgotten; she only remembered the storyteller, looking moved, saying these words at the end.

    "Life is like a monkey climbing a tree, the higher you look, only butts are to be seen; looking down, however, you see smiling faces."

    As a child, she didn''t understand what this meant; she only remembered it because the storyteller was handsome, which made an impression on her.

    Her youthfully curious self once asked that storyteller for his name.

    He didn''t reveal his name, only stating that he was styled Yun Long and that he told stories of olden days, smilingly.

    He said he wasn''t from Ping''an County.

    He claimed to be a famously handsome young fellow in his hometown, also skilled in the craftsmen''s arts.

    He spoke of a past lover, whose name was the same as hers, also called Xiu''er.

    But she was not her.

    Afterwards, the storyteller despondently left the town of Ping''an, carrying his bookcase on his back.

    Back then, Xiu''er did not grasp the meaning behind the storyteller''s words, did not understand why he compared life to a monkey climbing a tree; now, she understood.

    These recent days, she had seen far too many "butts."

    Unable to find peace on either side, Xiu''er frowned and lay alone in the cramped quarters for maids, reminiscing about the day five or six days ago when the lady of the house had cast her out.

    She found it very strange.

    Lately, she had been feeling that the entire Wang family estate was somewhat chilly.

    The lady''s expression was also very strange; she hadn''t done anything, yet one day, the lady suddenly sent her away, not allowing her to continue serving by her side.

    For many years, she had served the lady every night without fail.

    Right, there was also that night a few days ago when she couldn''t stand it any longer and sneaked to the lady''s room, wanting to plead with her for a chance to return.

    However, outside the door, she heard the lady''s whimpers and the sound of spanking.

    This frightened her so much that she ran away.

    Since the old lady fell seriously ill, the lady had been sleeping in separate rooms from the Family Head, spending her days praying to the gods and worshipping Buddha, hoping for blessings and abstaining for the elderly woman''s sake.

    What could be the strange noises coming from her room?

    Night fell deeper.

    The moon was obscured by the clouds.

    At this moment, a sudden urge to urinate surged in Xiu''er''s heart.

    She couldn''t hold it any longer and wanted to go to the toilet.

    She had to go alone, as the other maids in the same side wing no longer favored her, stepping on her ruthlessly, seemingly wanting to take back all their previous attentiveness with interest.

    She walked out of the room at a slow pace.

    The night was deathly silent.

    So quiet that even the sounds of insects had vanished.

    The path to the toilet passed through a circular arch, dark and menacing, like a giant maw within the darkness eager to devour someone. Enjoy new chapters from M V L

    She always felt as if something was hiding in the dark.

    Even during the days when she bathed with the other maids, she always felt as if someone was spying on her, but when she turned around, she could find no one.

    Oh.

    She couldn''t hold it any longer.

    Ultimately, shame overcame fear, and Xiu''er bravely ran toward the direction of the circular arch.

    Running faster made her feel less afraid.

    This is what her late mother had told her when she was a child.

    Oh, that''s right.

    Her mother was also a maid.

    However, the method that had always worked before failed miserably today.

    Xiu''er ran halfway and was about to reach a brighter place when,

    Suddenly.

    Her legs became as though stuck in a swamp, unable to move at all.

    The hairs on her body all stood up instantly.

    Her heart was filled with immense fear, as if a profound and deep shadow had enveloped her.

    She, couldn''t move.

    Suddenly.

    It was as though a greasy, cold tongue-like thing abruptly appeared on her face.

    Damp and sticky.

    Extremely disgusting.

    Shadows seemed to stretch out from the darkness.

    And began slowly untying her sash.

    Her name was Xiu''er, and she was very pretty.

    Was she going to die today?

    She was so scared.

    Just at that moment, when Xiu''er thought she was going to be dragged into the abyss by the monster within the shadows,

    A tall figure suddenly appeared in the light ahead.

    He was well-built, his strong pectorals lifting the Daoist robe high.

    He carried a large precious sword on his back.

    His arms were much thicker than her waist.

    The moment this strong Daoist figure appeared, Xiu''er suddenly felt the swamp beneath her feet vanish, and she could move again.

    She quickly ran to the light, her hands propped against her knees as she gasped for air, like a fish out of water.

    At this moment, Xiu''er, who was still panting heavily, suddenly heard the puzzled voice of the tall Daoist beside her.

    "Gan Ni Nian, why did I feel the presence of an evil ghost just now, and then it disappeared so suddenly?"

    Yi Chen turned his head, looking at the small girl in front of him, who wore space buns and was young, appearing to be quite pretty.

    "Little girl, what is your name?"

    "I have something I want to ask you."

    "Don''t worry, I''m not a bad person," Yi Chen said gently to Xiu''er.

    "Taoist, my name is Xiu''er~"

    .....

 Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Worship the Wrong God, The Book-Loving Malevolent Wutong Demon

    The Mansion, in Steward Wang''s room.An old man with silver hair lay on the brocade couch, his expression serene, so calm that not even his chest rose and fell.

    Suddenly, there was a disturbance outside the tightly closed doors and windows, and a wisp of black smoke seeped through the gap in the door, transforming into a humanoid form of smoke and, like a whale drawing in water, it rushed into the silver-haired elder''s mouth and nostrils. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In an instant, the old man slowly opened his eyes, a flash of resentment fleeting across them.

    "Damn Taoist, I truly thought you were a brute, you almost had me fooled."

    He was called the Five-Tongued Demon, a nefarious spirit born coincidentally from the convergence of human desire and the grudges of heaven and earth.

    In his life, he had not cultivated good deeds, only taking pleasure in lust.

    A week ago, he went out as usual to gather inspiration and happened to see the wife of Lord Wang going out of the city to offer incense to the elder matriarch, and at that moment, he was struck in awe as if she were a goddess descended from heaven.

    Everything about her was exactly what he found aesthetically pleasing.

    He was smitten, thoroughly smitten.

    From the moment he saw Lady Wang, he felt as if all his previous objects of inspiration were mere misshapen fruits.

    If his previous sources of inspiration were coarse grains, then Lady Wang was like a refined steamed bun.

    Alas, the Five-Tongued Demon was uneducated, succeeding only through brazenness.

    The day he saw Lady Wang, he whispered "damn" to himself ninety-nine times in his heart.

    Thus, he transformed into a statue, waiting on the road Lady Wang would take on her return to the city.

    Luckily for those with determination, after basking in half a day''s sun, he finally awaited the goddess he yearned for.

    It was an autumn day, the wind so tender, swirling the fiery red maple leaves into the sky.

    And with them, his heart soared too.

    Lady Wang appeared in a white dress, her figure exquisite. That bosom, those lotus feet in embroidered shoes, those white socks, the ultimate waist-to-hip ratio, were simply "damn" times 99.

    On this day, the Five-Tongued Demon, who usually had no love for learning, for the first time entertained the thought of enrolling in private classes.

    Indeed, it''s always at a moment of need when one laments their lack of words.

    Experience more tales on M V L

    Such ignorance, would it not be an insult to the lady?

    Seeing the roadside statue, Lady Wang, reclining in an opulent palanquin carried by four men, ordered a stop and, walking over with swaying grace, offered three sticks of incense to the statue, wishing for the elder matriarch''s speedy recovery.

    Saving people? He could not.

    Lady Wang? He was smitten.

    What should he do?

    Mix it up.

    This matter was not difficult at all.

    For he was a nefarious spirit.

    He couldn''t possibly abide by morals like humans, right?

    Morals are but a construct created by humans to bind themselves, not applicable to him.

    Therefore, he clung to the bottom of the palanquin, followed Lady Wang back to the mansion, and conveniently devoured the brain of the old steward of the mansion that very day, lying in wait.

    Nighttime.

    He took form from smoke.

    Under the threat of his words, "My lady, you wouldn''t want me to kill everyone in the mansion, would you?" he spent several days living a heavenly life.

    That feeling, if described with two words, would be "damn~"

    And if described with three words?

    It would be.

    Aiming for the clouds~

    "Eh, it''s a pity, good times never last long," the silver-haired elder in the room showed a forlorn expression.

    Two days ago, that Lady Wang started to act up, inviting a white-haired Daoist to come under the pretense of taking care of the elder matriarch''s funeral rites.

    How could he not understand Lady Wang''s thoughts? It was nothing but a hope to find someone with high mana to uncover his ruse and rescue her and the lives of the others in the mansion.

    Although Lady Wang didn''t dare to say it outright, he could see through the thoughts lingering in her heart.

    For example, she, who usually loved wearing white clothes, put on red garments for the first time when the old madam fell gravely ill. It was nothing but an attempt to use abnormal behavior to get the attention of the Daoist who entered the mansion and to let him realize her hidden plea for help.

    But all of this was destined to be in vain.

    The Five-Pass Demon naturally excelled at hiding his true form and possessing human bodies. As long as he did not act, it was impossible for anyone to detect him unless they were cultivators whose strength surpassed his by tenfold.

    In the small Ping''an County City, there was definitely no one with such heaven-reaching cultivation.

    Still, even so, he severely punished Lady Wang for it.

    During the punishment, he seemed to have alarmed a pretty maid listening outside the door and made her flee in shock.

    Heh heh, it seemed even more thrilling.

    Gathering his scattered thoughts, the Five-Pass Demon, feeling a bit agitated, rubbed his brow with his thumb.

    "This has become a bit troublesome, it would be better not to wander for inspiration recently. Caution is paramount. I didn''t expect that burly Daoist to have such sharp senses."

    "That brute, usually his vital energies are not obvious, subdued in calm, but once activated they''re shocking, like a melting furnace."

    "Even if I faced him, I''m afraid I wouldn''t fare well. If a prolonged fight attracts the attention of the Town''s Peace Office, that would be terrible."

    "Good thing I ran fast tonight."

    "Had I known, I wouldn''t have taken action tonight. I stirred the grass and startled the snake."

    "However, there''s no need to worry too much. As long as I go back into hiding and endure for a while, Lady Wang will still have to submit to me obediently."

    "In Ping''an County City, it''s absolutely impossible for anyone to see through my disguise."

    The Five-Pass Demon mused to himself.

    If it weren''t for threatening the life of everyone in the Wang residence, with Lady Wang''s firm and unwavering nature, she would rather die than submit.

    The Five-Pass Demon not only liked her looks but was more captivated by her personality.

    Quite interesting.

    He truly adored Lady Wang. Otherwise, given those little actions of hers that crazily tested his limits (dancing wildly), he would have long since wiped out everyone in the Wang residence and fled.

    But that''s the end of that.

    If there were any more excessive actions, he would surely kill and flee.

    When it comes to choosing between a beauty and his own life and wealth, he could clearly weigh his options.

    You can show off, but not too much~

    That beauty was also clear-headed, knowing where her bottom line lay.

    Having made up his mind, Wang the steward, or rather the Five-Pass Demon, suddenly relaxed. He pushed open the window, turned the title page of a book under the pure moonlight, and began to read.

    Under the moon''s illumination, the title on the book''s first page was revealed in full clarity.

    It boldly read "Biography of Cao Aman"

    This was a vernacular novel with a roller coaster of a plot. The way the protagonist acted suited his tastes perfectly.

    Reading it wasn''t difficult and was just right for his level of education from private tutoring.

    After reading for a few days, he felt his level of education had subtly improved, though it made him somewhat restless as well.

    It was this book that had made him so restless tonight, causing him to lose control of his desires and make a move on a maid with a fair appearance.

    He had thought that as long as he was careful, even if he took action, no one would discover it. He hadn''t anticipated that the young, impetuous Daoist, who even the White Crane True Person couldn''t match, was the one who never showed his true capabilities.

    What? You ask why he didn''t go for Lady Wang tonight?

    Simple, because he hadn''t had his way with her yet.

    You can''t just eat meat every day; sometimes you need a little vegetable too, right~

    Who knew it would almost end in disaster?

    After grounding his will and severing his distractions, the Five-Pass Demon started reading intently in the moonlight, nodding repeatedly when he came upon an excellent passage, occasionally picking a peanut from a plate beside him and popping it into his mouth.

    He, the Five-Pass Demon, loved reading.

    He even gave himself a human name, Cao Kun, sharing it with the protagonist of the popular novel.

 Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Yi Taoists Cunning Trick for Identifying Evil Spirits.

    ```Time, like a wild donkey, runs without stopping once it starts.

    Before anyone knew it, another night had passed, and sunlight began to bathe the earth, colliding with the early risers.

    It was unclear whether the old Madam Wang''s vitality was tenacious or if it was due to the abundance of treasures like ginseng within the Wang residence, but despite the fuss that the old Madam Wang was on the brink of passing away, tranquility still prevailed in the mansion.

    When Yi Chen returned to the Wang residence from outside, he unexpectedly learned from Xiu''er that this morning, the old Madam Wang had broken her usual routine and had a bowl of porridge...

    He was genuinely happy for the old lady... ah.

    However, regardless of what happened, he wasn''t going to return the five hundred taels of silver deposit that Family Head Wang had given him the day before.

    After all, Taoist Yi Chengzi''s lost work time had to be accounted for.

    Today, the Wang residence was tranquil, with everyone fulfilling their duties as usual.

    This kind of day had been repeated by the servants for many days, and they were already accustomed to it, or rather, they had become numb to it.

    Those who were supposed to chop wood did so, those who were meant to move bricks did so, those who were to cook did so, and those who were to wash clothes did so.

    But when Yi Chen returned from the outside, the servants found that today was a bit different from the usual days.

    That was because the tall Daoist who claimed to be Yi Chengzi, invited by the second master and who wandered around with a huge sword on his back, had his eyes bulging like copper bells today, catching whoever he saw to boast and shoot the breeze about all sorts of things from heaven and earth.

    Sometimes he would ask repetitive questions, and sometimes, like a ghost, he would suddenly appear out of nowhere, pat your shoulder abruptly, and stare at your face with intense eyes as he spoke, not even sparing the maidservants of the mansion.

    The wolfhounds raised in the residence for guarding the house were constantly sniffed around by a strange black cat; if their tails weren''t tightly clamped, they would get a swipe from the cat. Strangely, the previously ferocious wolfhounds were submissive like little chicks and didn''t dare to resist at all.

    "Steward Wang, how old are you this year?" A large face suddenly appeared next to Steward Wang¡ªit was none other than Yi Chen.

    He held a glass tumbler in his hand and sneakily squeezed next to Steward Wang to ask.

    Wutong Demon felt a bit numb beneath his skin.

    "Taoist Yi, you''ve already asked this for the third time."

    "Ah? Is that so, my memory seems a bit poor today~ sorry, haha."

    Yi Chen chuckled awkwardly and turned to leave.

    Just as Wutong Demon was about to heave a sigh of relief and return to his room to continue reading, away from this pest, another large face suddenly appeared at the corner.

    "Taoist Yi, I''m seventy, seventy, seventy already~" Wutong Demon couldn''t help but feel a rush of irritation, growling lowly.

    "Ah? You''re answering preemptively now?"

    "I didn''t ask you that, I suddenly remembered something, and I wanted to tell you about it."

    "I''ve planted two trees in the courtyard of my temple!"

    "What kind of trees?" Wutong Demon, compelled by an inexplicable force, asked reluctantly.

    "One is a date tree~"

    "And the other one?"

    "Um... also a date tree~"

    At that moment, Wutong Demon wished he could slap himself.

    I deserve to die.

    Why the hell did I ask~

    He lowered his head, failing to suppress the fleeting glint of murderous intent in his eyes.

    "Taoist Yi, why do you jest with this old man? I cannot compare to you young people, I want to return to my room for a rest. Do you need anything else, Taoist Yi?"

    "Your strange behavior today, teasing and disturbing the order of our Wang residence, I will report to the Family Head in full detail. Please be mindful of your actions, Taoist Yi."

    Wutong Demon suppressed the anger in his heart and turned to leave.

    "Steward Wang, one last thing, I want to ask you, truly the last thing."

    With a swift movement, Yi Chen once again blocked his path.

    "What is it?"

    "How about, you guess?"

    At this moment, a myriad of raging thoughts stormed through Wutong Demon''s mind, but before he could lash out, Yi Chen''s following words chilled him to the bone.

    Yi Chen suddenly grabbed his hand, dropping his previous frivolous guise, and said coldly, "Steward Wang, one last question."

    "Is Madame Wang beautiful?"

    "Tao... Taoist, what strange talk is this~"

    "I... I am an old man..."

    Crash!

    Before Steward Wang could continue to evade the topic, Yi Chen abruptly smashed the glass tumbler he was holding against the wall, producing a crisp sound.

    Wutong Demon felt a tremendous force along his arm, and in an instant, Yi Chen pulled him into the front yard.

    "Audacious evil spirit, I saw at a glance that you are not human~"

    "Now reveal your true form!"

    Yi Chen bellowed.

    As the sound of the shattering glass tumbler against the wall echoed, five officials from the Zhen''an Division dressed in flying fish attire suddenly appeared outside the Wang residence.

    The leading man was none other than Lin Zhengyi, Lin Baihu.

    Each person was holding a banner, positioning themselves meticulously in five different directions of the courtyard, plunging their banners into the ground forcefully.

    "Summon the golden light, Reverse Small Five Elements Sky-Sealing Formation, activate!"

    Lin Baihu stomped one foot and shouted loudly before pulling out a Bagua mirror from his chest and tossing it into the sky.

    The Bagua mirror froze mid-air, catching a streak of sunlight and reflecting it onto the gold-character banner, followed by the wood, water, fire, and earth banners.

    A golden light formation facing downward instantly formed.

    "Haha, Taoist, how about this formation?"

    "After receiving your message last night, I immediately contacted the four flag-bearers under me and pulled out the five hidden flags from my father''s collection, ensuring a foolproof setup."

    Lin Zhengyi laughed heartily, his laughter both sunny and open like that of a big boy.

    "Baihu, well done~ Beautiful!"

    Seeing Lin Zhengyi appear, Yi Chen was naturally overjoyed.

    After a long chat with Xiu''er last night, Yi Chen had basically confirmed that there was indeed an evil spirit in the manor with an extraordinarily strong ability to hide. To be extra cautious, Yi Chen chose to visit the peacekeepers at night directly. Find your next read at M V L

    After all, it was perfectly normal for his Hidden Dragon Temple, being an upright sect, to call upon the peacekeepers, wasn''t it?

    As a righteous partner, he didn''t need to talk about any chivalry with these demonic heretics; they just stood shoulder to shoulder and got it done.

    That''s how we, the orthodox sects, operate.

    If we can team up to outnumber the enemy, we avoid playing the lone hero.

    If the evil spirit were to escape and wreak havoc, Yi Chen himself would not care much, but his fellow disciples, especially Qing Feng and Ming Yue, would suffer greatly.

    They might just have to start the funeral preparations.

    After all, there''s no such thing as a thief who can hide for a thousand days against a vigilant guard.

    Last night, after his long talk with Xiu''er, Yi Chen visited the peacekeepers under the cover of darkness, and it just so happened that Lin Baihu was in the office; they hit it off right away. With the crash of a cup as the signal, they would burst in and take down the culprit.

    This led to the current scene.

    Considering the lady''s unusual behavior, her uncharacteristic red attire, the strange act of sending away her personal maids, the peculiar flush on her face, and the odd noises in the room, Yi Chen quickly pinpointed the few people who had been intimately involved with the lady these past few days.

    As a Daoist skilled in human nature, in his previous life, he once convinced a wealthy investor to pour fifty million into his PowerPoint presentation with just three sentences.

    Manipulating the suspects on his list was as easy as clapping his hands.

    To ensure justice, to not wrong a good person, and definitely not to let a bad person off, he must investigate thoroughly and fairly.

    After casting a wide net and careful verification, Yi Chen had only sensed a needle-like killing intent from the house steward at a certain moment.

    Although the methods he used were a bit rough, they were very effective.

    The steward''s malevolence was so thick it didn''t seem human.

    Now it was a certainty.

    Malicious detection, how truly useful it was.

    Yesterday, when he crossed the river, the bearded knight who led the way didn''t even make him feel as much evil intent when drawing his sword as this decrepit old man had emitted, far surpassing that of the bearded knight. If this wasn''t an evil spirit, what was?

    "House Steward, show your true form."

    Yi Chen looked at the steward whose left arm he had grabbed and couldn''t help but reveal a fierce smile.

    "You''ve hidden yourself well, young one~ You made the Taoist look hard."

    At this moment, the Five-Pass Demon''s mind was in turmoil, having no clue how Yi Chen had seen through his disguise and so confident in his own judgment.

    But given the current situation, he had no choice but to stubbornly refuse to give in. He didn''t believe that without any evidence, the peacekeepers could do anything to him.

    "Yi Taoist, you''re accusing an innocent man. How could an old fellow like me be an evil spirit?"

    "Still not admitting it, hm? Won''t shed a tear until you see the coffin, huh? My Hidden Dragon Temple is famous for identifying evil spirits. I''ll pass a wave of Pure Yang Inner Qi through your body, and you''re sure to reveal your true form~"

    Yi Chen''s sinister smile was unrelenting as he dangled the house steward like a big wolf carrying a little chick.

    With a thought, he swept Pure Yang Inner Qi towards the steward~

    Yi Chen: "....." Five hundred crows flew across the sky. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

    None the less, there was no abnormal reaction; the steward was still trembling and cowering in his grasp.

    This¡­

    Doubt also started to flicker in Lin Baihu''s eyes. With a frown, he threw a demon-expelling talisman at the steward, but still, there was no reaction.

    A smug grin began to form inside the Five-Pass Demon~

    "Hehe, Taoist, today I will ruin your reputation."

    "If my skill in hiding my form were so easily detected, I would have been reduced to ashes a hundred years ago."

    "Just wait, Taoist, after today, await my endless revenge~"

    The Five-Pass Demon''s inner self began to roar.

    Yi Chen fell silent for a moment. As whispers from the increasingly gathering crowd around him grew, he waved his hand and drew the Dragon-Slaying Sword from behind him.

    Dark purple Pure Yang Inner Qi suddenly enveloped his whole body. His stature seemed to grow taller, the veins on his neck stood out like a dragon''s sinews, and the deep purple Inner Qi on the Dragon-Slaying Sword flickered uncertainly, scorching the ground to a charred black.

    He snorted coldly.

    "Everyone, do not be afraid!"

    "This evil spirit is extremely tolerant, managing even to keep its composure against my Pure Yang Inner Qi."

    "This is no ordinary evil spirit, we must use our full force!!!"

    "Take this, Mountain-splitting Strike~"

    In an instant, Yi Chen''s sword slashed horizontally.

    This move was inspired by King Nie Ren~

    Confronted with such a forceful and powerful strike, the Five-Pass Demon could no longer maintain his composure. To keep up the pretense would mean death!

    "Yi Chengzi, I curse your mother~"

    With this cry, the Five-Pass Demon''s voice even broke from strain.

    He quickly retreated, his body swelling with Yin Qi, narrowly escaping Yi Chen''s ferocious strike.

 Chapter 64: Chapter 64 Battle with the Five-Path Demon.

    "You despicable wretch, still claiming you''re not an evil spirit?"Yi Chen''s eyes shone as he saw the ''steward'' Wang, surrounded by swirling black qi, and his face couldn''t help but light up with glee.

    "Lin Baihu, you and your colleagues maintain the formation well. Don''t let this evil spirit escape at all costs."

    "Together with Daoist White Crane, I will join the battle to ensure a swift and overwhelming victory for us all."

    "Daoist White Crane, we righteous path cultivators need not speak of morals when dealing with such crooked demons. Let''s take them on together."

    Yi Chen''s eyes were sharp; the commotion in the front courtyard was so loud, it had naturally alerted the white-haired, youthful-looking Daoist White Crane to come and check. Yi Chen immediately seized the opportunity and invited him with a determined expression. Your journey continues at M V L

    He, Taoist Yi Chengzi, had been fighting a bloody battle at the forefront, while his counterpart, Daoist White Crane, thought to hide behind and take advantage of the situation with platitudes¡ªthat was wishful thinking.

    The mind of Taoist Yi Chengzi was not broad, but he certainly had the strength and means to ensure a dire outcome for the other. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    For instance, by throwing him into the fray.

    As soon as these words were spoken, the pressure suddenly shifted to Daoist White Crane.

    Everyone''s gaze instantly focused on Daoist White Crane.

    Watching the intense scrutiny from the surrounding crowd, Daoist White Crane knew that if he did not step forward today, his reputation would be tarnished greatly.

    Previously, he had looked down on the honest Yi Taoist, but with just one sentence, Yi Taoist had cornered him. He saw a fierce light flashing in the young man''s eyes, indicating that if he didn''t step in, Yi Chen might just drag him into the formation.

    When the inevitable outcome of a situation cannot be changed no matter how one struggles, it is best to accept it promptly¡ªthis way, the loss is minimized.

    For example, when someone wants to borrow money or asks you for a favor, and you know you cannot refuse in the end, it''s best to commit right away without hesitation, effectively granting the favor.

    Beating around the bush when you ultimately can''t change the result only increases your loss¡ªyou may give out the tangible benefit, but the goodwill is not achieved, leaving you at a disadvantage.

    Being a seasoned veteran of the world, Daoist White Crane was well aware of these principles. Seeing that the looks from both Madam Wang and Family Head Wang also turned towards him, he decisively drew the Peach Wood Sword from behind him.

    With a swipe of his palm over the blade of the Peach Wood Sword, bright red blood instantly seeped into the sword.

    The Peach Wood Sword, nourished by his blood, instantly turned blood red, as if it were a glowing hot iron bar. With a flourish of his sword, Daoist White Crane leaped into the formation with a stomping leap, drawing praises from the crowd.

    "With the venerable immortal here, we have nothing to worry about."

    "Though Taoist Yi Chengzi has discerning eyes, when it comes to exorcising demons and subduing evil, we must rely on the old master."

    "It''s clear when a master makes a move¡ªDaoist White Crane using his own blood to boost the power of the Peach Wood Sword clearly means he''s furious. Let''s just sit back and enjoy the show."

    In just two short days, the charming and approachable Daoist White Crane had already cultivated a following within the Wang mansion.

    Perhaps spurred on by the excited words of the onlookers, Daoist White Crane felt his courage surge, and the searing red glow on his Peach Wood Sword even extended by two centimeters.

    "Though I am advanced in years, my blade is still sharp!"

    "Evil fiend, behold my sword."

    With a roar of anger, Daoist White Crane took the lead, brandishing the Peach Wood Sword directly at ''steward'' Wang''s head.

    This scene caused Yi Chen''s expression to change dramatically.

    "Damn it, what a fool¡ªhow dare he?"

    Yi Chen had felt something was wrong the moment the man smeared blood on the sword; it was a definite sign of unorthodox methods.

    Even among unorthodox techniques, it was one of the more mediocre ones.

    He knew Daoist White Crane was incompetent, but he had not anticipated that one could be so incompetent and yet so bold at the same time.

    Yi Chen only meant for Daoist White Crane to embarrass himself, not to get him killed.

    Cursing inwardly, Yi Chen flicked the Dragon-Slaying Sword and silently struck at ''steward'' Wang as well.

    The so-called techniques, sword moves, martial arts maneuvers, are merely shortcuts devised by those who cannot fully comprehend the mysteries within themselves, who fail to completely excavate the divine treasures of their physical bodies.

    With True Pure Yang Skill at the level Yi Chen has now achieved, he is no longer confined by form; the strength throughout his body has been polished to smooth perfection, and every movement, every step he takes, exudes the overwhelming power of dragon and elephant.

    A deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi courses through his entire body, unrestrained and flamboyant, causing even the hem of Yi Chen''s Taoist robe to flutter slightly with vigor.

    In this slash, Yi Chen unified his body, mind, and spirit as one; the air around the blade of his sword rippled and cleaved like water waves, a sight that even the well-traveled Wu Tong Demon couldn''t help but show a slight change in color.

    "Haha, what a Yi Chengzi, truly a force to be reckoned with."

    "This Wang family is blind to the pearl before them, failing to recognize the True Dragon."

    A sudden red line split open right at the middle of the brow on the body inhabited by the Wu Tong Demon, spreading rapidly downward from the center of the forehead with the precision of a protractor''s calculation.

    Five thick, black tentacles emerged abruptly from the line, tearing the body of Wang the housekeeper apart as if pushing open a door.

    Rip!

    Red, white, blue, yellow, green¡ªall spilled onto the ground.

    A deformed monster with five tentacles emerged into the view of all present.

    Its body was covered in festering sores, littered with bizarrely shaped tumors, and had two incredibly thick and robust legs, like a mutated giant frog thriving on nuclear waste water thrice a day.

    Unlike a frog, however, its jaws were lined with countless sharp teeth glinting in the sunlight with a cold gleam.

    A ghostly aura, even more potent than before, began to permeate the air.

    "Remember my name, Taoist, my name is Wu Tong Demon!"

    With a roar, one of the Wu Tong Demon''s tentacles, like an iron whip, lashed directly onto the Peach Wood Sword of Daoist Bai He, with no regard for the red glow that enveloped it.

    Another tentacle smashed toward Daoist Bai He''s chest.

    The remaining three intertwined in the air, merging into an even larger ''iron whip'' to counter the Dragon-Slaying Sword wielded by Yi Chen.

    Boom!

    An invisible ripple emanated from the point of contact, spreading outward, forcing the Wu Tong Demon to stagger backward four steps. Meanwhile, Daoist Bai He was sent flying, his blood scattering across the sky.

    "Daoist Bai He, stop engaging, and stand aside to use your ''Bean Soldiers'' magic, support me in formation."

    Yi Chen could not help himself and admonished Daoist Bai He lying on the ground with a potbellied voice.

    Some people really are all bark and no bite.

    Yi Chen once more wielded the Dragon-Slaying Sword to counter the flurry of tentacles from the Wu Tong Demon.

    "But I don''t know how to perform the ''Bean Soldiers'' magic."

    "Then use your fireball magic!" hollered Yi Chen, looking back.

    "I don''t know that one either."

    "Damn it, if you don''t know them, how dare you ask me if I knew these spells before? You son of a bitch, what can you actually do?"

    Yi Chen was feeling a bit frustrated; this guy could puff himself up even more than him.

    "Is knowing how to find dragon veins and acupoints with geomancy considered a skill?" Daoist Bai He struggled to stand up again.

    "Get lost!"

    Yi Chen once again swept away the tentacles of the Wu Tong Demon, standing sword in hand.

    "Is this the best you can do, Taoist?" The Wu Tong Demon laughed through his teeth. One of its tentacles swept across the ground, picking up the two halves of the Peach Wood Sword it had earlier split in two and started to chew vigorously, with sparks flying from its mouth.

 Chapter 65: Chapter 65 Harvest

    At that moment, the onlookers had collectively dropped their jaws in shock.Their highly anticipated Taoist White Crane had barely set foot in the arena before being smacked to the ground like a dead dog, while Taoist Yi Chengzi, whom they hadn''t thought much of, repelled the attacks of the Five-Origin Demon time after time.

    "This... can''t be real," someone said in disbelief.

    "Of course, it''s real, no one knows Taoist Yi Chengzi better than I do, I''ve always known that Taoist Yi Chengzi''s mana is strong. After all, he''s a high-level practitioner invited by the second master, standing two meters tall."

    A security guard in the crowd procured a feather fan from who knows where, muttering to himself as he fanned.

    He had the air of being the only sober person in a world of drunkenness.

    Yi Chen had no spare attention for the idle chatter of those around him now; his gaze was fixed solely on the Five-Origin Demon.

    Thankfully, he was cautious and had held back a move, catching the supervising officials by surprise to trap this evil spirit with a formation; otherwise, today''s event wouldn''t have been easy to handle.

    "Taoist, you''re quite strong. How about we both take a step back today? From this day forward, I swear I''ll stop half a step away from entering Peace City and will not trouble you folks again. Let me go, and what do you say?"

    The Five-Origin Demon spat out the remnants of the Peach Wood Sword, hissing, while five thick black tentacles constantly swayed behind him.

    In truth, the Five-Origin Demon was inwardly cursing his luck; he had thought he could easily break the formation and make his escape, but the small Five Phases Inversion and Aerial Prohibition Grand Formation laid out by the officials was unexpectedly enigmatic.

    He feigned attacks several times, trying to burst through the formation, but whether it was spells or tentacle strikes, all were intercepted by the pale gold light barrier.

    Under the operation of the formation, the barrier managed to transfer all the force exerted by him onto the five people casting the formation and the flag banners, afterward channeling it into the ground, making all his attempts to break through in vain. He even almost got struck by the Taoist, who possessed tremendous Pure Yang strength, during one attempt.

    What was more terrifying was that the formation was gradually weakening and suppressing his strength; regeneration of his ghostly energy within the formation space became increasingly difficult.

    If he couldn''t win on the battlefield, it naturally became time to negotiate.

    The Five-Origin Demon, seizing upon a thought, immediately started a ruthless move, pulling the old Taoist''s Peach Wood Sword into his mouth and crunching it, as a display of his strength.

    "Be careful, Taoist, this Five-Origin Demon is naturally cunning, lascivious, and has committed countless blood crimes. In our supervising office''s Wanted List for Evil Spirits, he ranks ninety-seventh. You absolutely cannot let him escape this time."

    "Otherwise, once this demon flees, it would be like a fish entering the ocean or a tiger returning to the forest, and we would never find such a good opportunity again."

    The Wanted List for Evil Spirits from the supervising office does not list any average criminals; usually, only those old demons with years of wickedness can make the list, each with a frightening level of power.

    This Five-Origin Demon was somewhat of an anomaly on the list, famous for being slippery as an eel. His direct combat strength wasn''t that impressive, but his ability to hide was unmatched in the world. Plus, being very careful by nature, he managed, through years of hard work, to climb into the top hundred of the list.

    Fearing that Yi Chen might consider retreating, Lin Baihu spoke up to persuade him.

    Actually, his concerns were completely unnecessary. Could he still be considered human if he let go of those sparkling Deep Red Points?

    Such a sin.

    After much effort to corner it, how could he possibly let it escape now?

    The Five-Origin Demon frowned and said, "Taoist, our cultivation is not easy, it''s unnecessary for us to fight to the death. You''re not from the supervising office, why struggle so hard against me?"

    "Whatever they''re paying you, I''ve saved up a bit over the years. No matter their price, I''ll triple it. What do you think?"

    "Sounds kind of tempting," Yi Chen licked his lips, his fierce gaze intensifying, "but I''m afraid you can''t afford what I want!!!"

    All of a sudden, with a furious shout, Yi Chen added the slight amount of Origin Point he had saved up over the past two days to his strength attribute in the four-dimensional attribute column and instantly activated Yang Pole Transformation.

    He did not want to fall into a weakened state, but he couldn''t defeat the Five-Origin Demon without using his power now, so he decisively maxed out his strength.

    Familiar power began to fill his body. His height shot up, breaking the two-meter barrier and growing even taller.

    The muscles in his legs, arms, abdomen, and neck began to swell and thicken.

    The warm current from the Origin Point also spread throughout his body, further enhancing it.

    Power surged within him.

    In an instant, Yi Chen''s momentum soared; his wild aura and burning eyes made the Five-Origin Demon''s scalp tingle.

    It was a terrifying look.

    The Five-Origin Demon knew all too well.

    It was the same look he gave to ordinary humans, as if they were meat on a chopping board.

    The wild surge of energy formed a cyclone that swept up the sand, stones, and dirt from the ground into the sky, and the Five-Origin Demon could no longer hold back. The five tentacles on his back suddenly lengthened, twisted together like a massive club, and smashed down towards Yi Chen''s head.

    However, the giant tentacles which had previously fought Yi Chen to a standstill were now caught in one hand by Yi Chen, unable to advance an inch further.

    "Is this all you''ve got?"

    Yi Chen lifted his head, revealing a sinister smile.

    "You mangy dog, that''s not enough, nowhere near enough," Yi Chen said. Continue reading at M V L

    "Use your real skills, or this is where you''ll end up dying."

    With a swing of his longsword in his right hand, Yi Chen directly severed the entwined tendrils before him.

    His aura grew increasingly violent as he stepped closer and closer toward the Wutong Demon.

    With every step Yi Chen took forward, the Wutong Demon took a step back.

    With every step Yi Chen took forward, the Wutong Demon took another step back. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The Wutong Demon''s strength lay not in confronting foes head-on but in his ability to conceal his presence and form; suddenly, he found himself in a dire situation.

    He constantly unleashed ghostly qi, driving the tendrils behind him to strike at Yi Chen in an attempt to slow his advance, but it was all in vain.

    Under the suppression of the Formation, the advantage shifted in favor of Yi Chen, making the demon''s attempts to stop him seem utterly ridiculous as Yi Chen cut down the tendrils before him as effortlessly as slicing radishes.

    "Taoist, will you freaking say something?"

    "What''s your price?"

    Watching the Wutong Demon pressed into a corner, Yi Chen stopped advancing. The enhancement effect from the Origin Point had ended, and his aura had reached its peak through the accumulated steps.

    At that moment, his strength attribute had astonishingly reached 46 points.

    Yi Chen didn''t stop because he was moved by the Wutong Demon''s words but because he suddenly had a premonition that when his strength attribute broke through forty-nine, he would receive a tremendous benefit.

    The Great Extremes number is fifty, but its use is in forty-nine.

    Once his strength attribute reached fifty, he would undergo a transformation.

    "What a surprising change," Yi Chen thought, delighted.

    He decided to send the Wutong Demon to his death early, so he could return sooner and experience it.

    He must go back and work overtime, reaching the threshold of fifty as soon as possible.

    "Wutong Demon, what do you think, can you afford the price of lending me your head?" Yi Chen chuckled coldly as he transformed into a streak of deep purple flame, slashing rapidly towards the Wutong Demon.

    The Wutong Demon''s face showed despair. His last resentful gaze was cast toward Madame Wang.

    "You bitch, did you bring this daoist and the Town Peace Division to me?" he said.

    "Well done."

    "I should have never left you alive in the first place."

    Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

    The Wutong Demon''s last few broken tendrils struck out in a futile attempt to slow Yi Chen, only to be severed by him once again.

    He opened his mouth wide, and a black column of flame suddenly surged out, heading straight for Yi Chen''s face.

    This was his final hope.

    And yet, hope was shattered.

    Yi Chen had been wary all along, how could he not be prepared for the demon''s last counterattack?

    He vibrated the Dragon-Slaying Sword, splitting the black column of flame in two. After being cleaved, the flame brushed past Yi Chen''s body and hit the Formation barrier, creating ripples.

    By then, the Wutong Demon had completely lost his mind, knowing he could no longer escape his fate. He suddenly laughed madly in the direction of the Family Head Wang, saying:

    "Family Head Wang, your wife is truly..."

    Crackle.

    The Wutong Demon''s mad laughter was abruptly cut off.

    Like a hot knife through butter, the Wutong Demon perished.

    [You have successfully killed the Wutong Demon and gained one hundred twenty Deep Red Points.]

    Wow, quite the harvest.

    A wave of joy surged again in Yi Chen''s heart.

 Chapter 66: Chapter 66 Progress, Yi Taoist has diligently worked hard

    "Congratulations, Taoist. Congratulations, indeed, for slaying the Wutong Demon ranked ninety-seventh on the imperial court''s wanted list. Such a meritorious deed truly brings boundless virtue.""With such a great accomplishment, I believe it won''t be long before the court issues a reward."

    Having witnessed Yi Chen exterminate the Wutong Demon, Lin Baihu, who had just exhaled a long breath of turbid air, walked over with his four subordinates, all smiling, to offer his congratulations.

    Each of them had sweat beading on their foreheads, looking quite exhausted.

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    After all, maintaining the large formation was immensely draining on their mana, and even with the transfer and sharing offered by the formation, the Wutong Demon''s counterattacks exerted tremendous pressure on them.

    Fortunately, everything had ended now, with the Wutong Demon reduced to ashes.

    However, Lin Baihu''s profuse compliments did not receive the response he sought.

    Yi Chen, restraining the joy on his face, turned around with a surprised tone and asked:

    "Lin Dao-you, where does this joy come from?"

    "The Wutong Demon was pursued for many years by Lin Dao-you and your loyal and diligent subordinates, the four distinguished small flag officers, after expending a great deal of effort, finally, his trace was discovered in Ping''an County City."

    "I just happened to be there and exerted a tiny, negligible amount of effort. The real heroes should be Baihu and the several small flag officers under your command."

    "Lin Qianhu strategized behind the scenes, Lin Dao-you stepped forward, and the four small flag officers served with devotion, thereby slaying this evil spirit."

    "It is indeed amusing for Lin Dao-you to come and congratulate me. I dare not claim credit due to heaven."

    This time, it was another textbook example of artful verbal expression.

    Yi Chen''s words were earnest and well-founded, and his tone was so sincere that Lin Baihu, despite being the party involved, began to doubt whether he was misremembering and whether the endeavor was indeed orchestrated by him.

    Seeing Lin Baihu''s face still showing hesitation, Yi Chen sighed internally. Lin Baihu was ultimately someone with thinner skin who couldn''t catch on quickly and needed a bit of guidance.

    "Lin Brother, may we step aside for a moment?"

    Lin Baihu, Lin Dao-you, Lin Brother.

    The relationship became increasingly intimate, and the way of addressing him changed smoothly, as if it had always been natural to do so.

    Yi Chen, having reverted from his Yang Polar Transformation, shrank in stature, but still stood out conspicuously among ordinary people.

    He sheathed the Dragon-Slaying Sword and hooked his arm around Lin Baihu''s shoulder, walking to a corner of the yard.

    "Lin Brother, do you want to do something for the people?" Yi Chen''s gaze was burning.

    "I... of course, want to, but this is not exactly according to the rules," Lin Baihu replied, sounding a bit hesitant.

    "Oh, Lin Brother, you hold the wrong view there~"

    "If you want to accomplish things, you need to climb higher. Greater power, higher status, so you won''t be hindered by others. What can you do with just a minor official post like yours?"

    "It''s not pleasant being constrained by others, is it?"

    Yi Chen gave Lin Baihu a meaningful look and continued:

    "As long as you don''t forget your initial resolve and sincerely do a few more good deeds for the people once you have climbed higher, then all this is worthwhile."

    "I''m not a member of the Stability Bureau, so such a credit on my head is just a few more ordinary treasures from heaven and earth, a few thousand taels of gold and silver at most, not of much use."

    "For you, Lin Brother, it''s different. Today, let''s use the Wutong Demon''s head as leverage, coupled with your previous achievements in breaking the Corpse God Cult. With another new victory, you will surely catch the higher-ups'' attention."

    "Once might be a coincidence, but twice? With this in mind, Lin Brother, you will definitely rise as an important talent targeted for cultivation in the new generation of the Stability Bureau, with divine skills, heavenly treasures, and a grand future all beckoning to you."

    Seeing Lin Baihu''s face still torn with indecision, Yi Chen decided to administer a stronger dose of persuasion, continuing to admonish: "Lin Brother, a man should be judged by his actions, not intentions. Without actions, no one is a sage."

    "As long as you remain just and upright, and perform good deeds, the faster and higher a good person climbs, the better it is for the people." S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Besides, even if you don''t think for yourself, you have to think for your brothers, right?"

    Having said this, Yi Chen motioned with his lips toward his side.

    Lin Baihu glanced in the direction Yi Chen indicated and felt a chill in his heart.

    The four small flag officers under his command were all watching him with searing eyes.

    Ha, you are the son of a Qianhu; if you don''t want to advance, can you stop your subordinates from progressing?

    To block one''s path to wealth is akin to killing one''s parents.

    So, what about ruining someone''s prospects?

    The act of driving a wedge and undermining loyalty is considered light.

    This is an overt plot, akin to a twisted intestine''s blatant scheming.

    It''s a difficult choice rooted deeply in human nature.

    "Yi Taoist, what exactly do you want to gain from me?"

    "Let me be direct with you, even if I owe you a favor this time, should you commit evil without cause in the future, I won''t collude with you, you should know that,"

    Lin Baihu''s expression turned cold as he couldn''t help but speak out.

    He was only naive, not foolish.

    Seeing Lin Baihu speaking frankly, Yi Chen also responded with straightforward honesty.

    His actions were merely impromptu, firstly, to repay the favor of investigating the mastermind behind the scenes, and secondly...

    Yi Chen declared solemnly:

    "Brother Lin worries too much."

    "How could you think so lowly of me."

    "I would never expect Brother Lin to shield my Hidden Dragon Temple. What I seek is but one thing."

    "You are aware of the situation with my Hidden Dragon Temple; I offer you the great merit only to ask for one promise, which won''t require you to betray your morals or the imperial laws."

    "What promise?" Lin Zhengyi asked, puzzled.

    "It''s simple. I want you to swear by your Taoist conscience that, even if one day I perish without care, whether you are present or not, you will exert your Lin family''s influence to ensure that Ping''an County''s Peacekeeping Department gives extra attention to my Hidden Dragon Temple,"

    "If any external force makes a move on my Hidden Dragon Temple, I want the intelligence support from the Peacekeeping Department, to notify us promptly and send aid in times of danger."

    "The Peacekeeping Department bears the responsibility for protecting the land and maintaining peace among the people, quieting the world and calming the hearts. Their role lies here."

    "Of the over two million residents of Ping''an County, my Hidden Dragon Temple represents one part of those millions. My request is not too much, is it?"

    "Brother Lin, my Hidden Dragon Temple... it''s tough."

    "Being the eldest disciple is hard."

    "My teacher lived with unyielding integrity, never yielding or adapting, unaware of how many small-minded people and evil spirits he offended."

    "Having been entrusted with the Hidden Dragon Temple by my teacher, I cannot even sleep well at night, constantly filled with worry, tiptoeing on thin ice."

    Yi Chen started to emotionally act, contorting his body to appear pitiable.

    Little Miao suddenly emerged from some corner, leaped onto Yi Chen''s shoulder, and upon hearing this, couldn''t help but curl its lips, sticking out its pink tongue to lick its paw.

    Hehe, can''t sleep? Little Miao didn''t believe a punctuation mark of it.

    "If that''s the case, I''ll agree to it,"

    "However, the rewards from the Peacekeeping Department are yours. I won''t take my share; it will all be passed on to you."

    "Deal!"

    Lin Baihu was silent for a moment, remembering the task of investigating the mastermind behind the scenes. In the end, he nodded and swore the oath, agreeing to it.

    At that moment, smiles appeared on their faces, and their hands clasped together, everything understood without words.

    Now with common interests and secrets, the undercover relationship between Hidden Dragon Temple and the Peacekeeping Department was undoubtedly tighter, and the scope of their relationship had broader potential for expansion, establishing a more solid foundation.

    The move today was an impromptu strategy by Yi Chen, like a casual move in a game of weiqi, with life resembling the placing of pieces¡ªwho knew which casual move would turn out significant in the future?

    Yi Chen and Lin Baihu, smiling, walked towards the others together.

    The four little officers were grinning from ear to ear, knowing their boss, as immovable as a rock in a latrine, had been persuaded.

    Progress!

    It was right in front of them!

    Except for the deceased Fifth-Demon, they all had bright futures ahead.

 Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Blood Moon, Meteor, Anomaly.

    Nine days later.The Wang family was draped in white.

    Amidst the sounds of sorrow, everyone respectfully accompanied the old madam on her journey up the mountain.

    Yi Chen''s masterful skills as a Funeral Host naturally earned effusive praise from the mourners who had come to pay their respects.

    It could be called an art!

    Soon after the Wutong Demon Body perished that day, the Wang family old madam unfortunately passed away.

    Her brief improvement that day was nothing more than the final flicker of vitality before the end.

    Yi Chen ultimately still completed the task as a Funeral Host.

    "These past days have been arduous for the Taoist master."

    Madam Wang, dressed in mourning clothes, bowed deeply to Yi Chen, her eyes red-rimmed.

    There''s a saying that''s right, wearing mourning clothes makes one more fetching.

    Madam Wang, who was naturally beautiful, now appeared even more moving. A plain ribbon tightly cinched her waist, only a handful wide, and a white flower adorned her head. The somber grace of her figure was revealed as she bent forward in respect.

    Sometimes, being too attractive is both a blessing and a curse.

    She clapped her hands and Xiu''er gracefully approached, handing over an envelope.

    After the Wutong Demon matter was resolved, Xiu''er had returned to her position as Madam Wang''s chief maid and had grown more composed after her ordeal.

    Looking at the envelope in front of him, Yi Chen pinched it with his hand and revealed a satisfied smile.

    Not bad, three banknotes of a thousand taels each.

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    He unhesitatingly put them into his purse, for he had spent his life following a path of benevolence and righteousness, accumulating good deeds; this was his due.

    The Wutong Demon, before dying, had attempted a final act of defiance. Had not Yi Chen acted swiftly, had his final word been revealed, matters would have taken a dire turn.

    Some things, as long as the lid is not lifted, can still be managed.

    Once it''s opened, there''s no going back.

    Regardless of what the future held for Madam Wang and her husband, at least in the eyes of the others, Yi Chen had preserved her dignity till the end.

    "You are too kind, Madam."

    "Now that the matter is settled, I should take my leave."

    Just then, the Family Head of the Wangs came in upon hearing this.

    "The hour is already late, and it''s difficult to travel at night. Why doesn''t the Taoist master stay another night and depart early tomorrow morning?"

    After thinking it over, Yi Chen ultimately chose to decline.

    He thought that tonight, Madam Wang and her husband were sure to have much to discuss, and it just wouldn''t be convenient for him to stay on.

    But the Family Head had a point; it was difficult to travel at night.

    Upon leaving the Wang residence, Yi Chen, with a thought, decided to rent the best room at a city inn and stay for the night, returning the next day.

    This week, he had been either busy supervising the Wang family old madam''s funeral or returning to his room to work on the Thunder Jade; even with his extraordinary strength and will, he was feeling a bit weary.

    "A person is not a machine; one should relax a bit too."

    After a short while, Yi Chen bought himself a set of casual clothes and walked out of the inn where he was staying.

    Now, having shed his Taoist robe and dressed in splendid garments, he presented himself as a dashing wanderer and immediately stepped into Ping''an County''s largest... establishment for human connection¡ªTianxiang Pavilion.

    How to dispel worries?

    By listening to songs in the courtesan house.

    The Hidden Dragon Temple did not forbid marriage; why shouldn''t he expand his horizons at Tianxiang Pavilion?

    Besides, today he had taken off his Taoist robe and was no longer Taoist Yichengzi.

    ...

    ...

    Tianxiang Pavilion.

    Yi Chen, imposing and majestic, took a seat in the main hall and immediately called for eight girls.

    There were plump ones and slender ones, each with their unique charms.

    The girls were busy massaging, peeling grapes, and pouring wine, bustling with activity.

    "Sir, you have yet to tell us your esteemed name," said a girl with a fox-like face as she peeled a grape and brought it to Yi Chen''s mouth.

    "Remember it well, I''m known as ''Heaven-Overturning Sparrowhawk,''" Yi Chen laughed heartily, swallowing the grape offered by the beauty.

    After a round of feasting and frolicking, he amiably placed eight banknotes of twenty taels each into the inner clothing of the eight girls and then asked them all to leave, not to let anyone else disturb him.

    The noise from the hall and the surrounding sounds of silk and bamboo music entered his ears; despite the lively surroundings, Yi Chen felt an intense loneliness within him.

    He had changed and was different from others.

    The muscles of those girls who massaged his arms were so dense that even with all their might, they couldn''t manipulate them, and if they continued, he feared they might sprain their wrists.

    His muscular density was so great that he now weighed six to seven hundred pounds; if he were to exert himself, he doubted whether the combined weight of those eight girls even matched his own¡ªthat would be deadly.

    Of course, there was a more significant reason.

    Although the eight girls were quite attractive, their demeanor did not meet his standards; nowadays, beauty was often a result of makeup, and upon careful observation, he could even see the foundation in their pores, which made it hard for him to be intimate; he''d rather have his peace.

    Unless it were someone with natural grace like Madam Wang, perhaps.

    Damn it, Yichengzi, how could you think such thoughts!

    Abbess Shuiyue would be more appropriate.

    A beautiful lady''s silhouette suddenly floated into Yi Chen''s mind.

    At this thought, Yi Chen felt he was really despicable, so he decided to punish himself with another drink, and then he forgave himself.

    After all, tonight''s wild thoughts were about the flipping hawk, what did it have to do with Taoist Yi Chengzi?

    Listening to the noise of the crowd around him, the sound of finger-guessing games, cheers, and toasts, Yi Chen leaned on the carved rosewood chair, gently patting the armrest, and started to sing softly.

    "East isn''t bright then west is bright, ah, drying up the remaining sun I dry my sorrow."

    "Not busy last night, busy tonight, ah, finishing dreams of gold I dream of millet wine."

    .....

    "I drift among the people at ease, originally a carefree immortal of the heavens."

    "Not for the dust of vulgarity a mere object, only for fine wine does my heart string play."

    For some reason, Yi Chen suddenly recalled the "Xian Er" from his past life''s secondhand Yue Ji, and started singing it aloud.

    "How boring."

    After the song ended, Yi Chen chuckled, stood up, paid the bill, and left.

    Although the noises around him were clamoring and the atmosphere was lively, he could no longer blend into the world of ordinary people.

    He was truly different now.

    The light of life of ordinary people, in his eyes, was as fragile as candle flames in the wind, extinguishable with a mere wave of the hand... a whole swath of them.

    Dealing with ordinary people, he had to be extremely careful, afraid that a careless move might kill them.

    The alcohol, wealth, and beauty that used to pass the time, now seemed more and more dull and uninteresting to him.

    The mundane world was no longer his playground.

    He longed for a higher level, a more thrilling world.

    He craved that kind of fight where lives hung by a thread, the kind where every punch hit flesh, a true feeling of being alive, where his soul elevated.

    After drinking his last cup, Yi Chen, feeling out of place with his surroundings, decided to return to the inn, when a girl blocked his way.

    It was Xiao Huan, the girl with long black hair who had peeled grapes for him earlier.

    "Flipping hawk, will you stay tonight?"

    "I like you."

    Xiao Huan''s face was flushed red with courage.

    Yi Chen chuckled.

    "I''m a traveler of the martial world, here today, gone tomorrow. The money I had is already spent, I''m afraid I cannot return the sentiment, miss."

    "I won''t take your money."

    Xiao Huan was very persistent, seemingly fascinated by Yi Chen''s aura.

    She liked this man of contradictory temperament, strong physique, and enigmatic nature.

    She had secretly watched him for a long time; he carried an aura of loneliness that was utterly different from his surroundings, a bone-deep solitude.

    A temperament that was both cool and maniacal.

    In short, extremely charming. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "How about I return the money from earlier?" Xiao Huan was relentless.

    Yi Chen: "..."

    Although somewhat speechless, Yi Chen was secretly pleased.

    After giving it some thought, he patted Xiao Huan''s cheek, picked up a chopstick from the table, broke it, and said with a smile:

    "To meet is to have fate. If the miss wishes for a different life, take this broken chopstick to Ping''an County''s Bureau of Peace and look for a man named Lin Zhengyi, or go to Fengyun County and find the chief hunter Sun. Say it''s an entrusted matter from an old friend of Hidden Dragon Temple. They will make arrangements for you."

    "Believe me, you''ll get what you wish for. Even the big boss behind Tianxiang Pavilion wouldn''t ignore the face of the Flipping Hawk."

    Yi Chen laughed heartily and suddenly vanished from the spot.

    Only Xiao Huan was left, holding the broken chopstick in her hand, stunned.

    If it weren''t for the broken chopstick in her hand, it would seem as if nothing had ever happened.

    Yi Chen now had the power to casually change the fate of an ordinary person.

    In the whole Ping''an County, no one would dare to ignore his will.

    Because he had the fist!

    Standing on the balcony of the inn, Yi Chen clenched his fist, reached out his hand to welcome the moonlight, and gave a crooked smile.

    Thanks to his secretive and arduous cultivation during these nine days of stolen moments, pushing himself inhumanly hard, he had accumulated a full four Origin Points.

    The big moment was finally coming.

    The great count is fifty, its use forty-nine, what change would reaching the full fifty points in strength attribute bring him? Yi Chen was looking forward to it.

    Just as Yi Chen was watching the moonlight, ready to add points for improvement, suddenly the night sky changed dramatically, and countless blood-red meteors sliced through the sky, smashing towards the earth.

    In an instant, the moon turned blood red.

    This blood-red appearance immediately made Yi Chen''s hairs stand on end, and he felt a deep malice fill the world that he had never encountered before¡ªa malice of extraordinary thickness.

    Compared with this malice, even Yin Manor was like a minor charm in the presence of a grand sorcerer.

    This malice appeared abruptly and disappeared just as quickly.

    "A change in the world, what lies ahead on the road?"

    Suddenly, Yi Chen thought of the beginning of the Heavenly Master''s letter, and his eyebrows involuntarily furrowed.

 Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Strength-Breaking Realm.

    The blood moon spanned the sky, as meteors descended upon the world.Such a grand event naturally drew the attention of the world.

    Dragon Tiger Mountain was the ancestral court of the Celestial Master Dao, reaching high into the clouds, towering above all.

    At this moment, atop the golden summit of Dragon Tiger Mountain, a gaunt Daoist sat cross-legged, watching the blood moon with an expression of bitter sorrow. He raised his hand and cast out nine thunder dragons to meet the largest of the blood meteors streaking across the night sky.

    In the end, both the thunder dragons and the meteors perished.

    Yet the number of thunder dragons was limited, and how could they be compared to the thousand or more large and small blood meteors? Like a cup of water attempting to put out a cartload of burning hay, it was utterly futile.

    The gaunt Daoist''s face showed even more bitter sorrow, his figure flashed, leaving behind a golden decree of mana before disappearing into the depths of the back mountain.

    Mount Daguangming, the ancestral court of Buddhism, saw an old monk with white eyebrows sitting motionless on the edge of a cliff for unknown years. Abruptly, he opened his eyes, looked at the sky filled with meteors, lightly tapped the wooden fish beside him, and nine golden lotus platforms rose up to meet the nine largest blood meteors before they too vanished into silence.

    The old monk sighed and likewise vanished from the spot.

    Mount Qingping, the Daoist center of the world''s foremost female True Monarch Yue Qingping, faced the sky full of blood meteors. At the peak of Mount Qingping, a Dharma Aspect of a nun hundreds of feet tall suddenly appeared. With a furrow of her willow eyebrows and a light shout, a Flying Sword that seemed to be made of converging starlight shot out from her mouth.

    The sword expanded rapidly upon meeting the wind, inflating countless times in a moment, an untold number of starlights sticking to it like magnets, enhancing its might. After piercing through twelve massive blood stars, the sword finally shattered with a thunderous crash.

    After witnessing this, the nun swept her sleeves and the Dharma Aspect dissipated, vanishing under the starry sky.

    At that moment, the countable powers of the world, the Three Mountains, Six Sects, a Dynasty, the Five Great Sword Cultivation Sects, Twelve Clans, and Nine Great Families that housed skilled practitioners, all reached out to intercept the blood meteors raining down upon the earth, their mana lighting up the heavens and earth.

    Joined together, they managed to erase most of the blood meteors from the sky, blocking them outside the heavens.

    However, many medium and small blood meteors could not be stopped in time, and they fell to the ground. One such small blood meteor just happened to fall near Yangjiawu Fort, not far from Ping''an County.

    As the blood meteors fell and shattered, the blood moon in the sky also slowly began to fade, with the pure white moonlight once again illuminating the earth, and everything returned to normal.

    Besides those fallen blood meteors, the world didn''t seem any different from before.

    But, was this world really the same as it had been, without the slightest difference?

    Yi Chen stood with his hands behind his back, watching this scene, and decisively chose to add points.

    It was too overwhelming.

    He had just felt that life was meaningless and wanted to pursue a more exciting world when this supercharged event happened.

    He somewhat doubted whether he had been afflicted by Lin Baihu''s curse.

    That abnormal celestial phenomenon that dyed the moon blood-red, that sudden overwhelming malice that filled the heavens and earth before disappearing, all proved to Yi Chen that the world would become incredibly thrilling henceforth.

    "Sigh, why is it so difficult to take control of one''s own destiny?" he lamented.

    With a thought, four Origin Points instantly boosted his strength attribute.

    Yi Chen''s heart couldn''t help but roar.

    "Come on, Origin Point, let me see your limit!"

    "Strength-Breaking Realm, now is the time!"

    A tremendous warm current suddenly emerged within Yi Chen''s limbs and bones, and unlike before, the current now contained an indescribable mysterious presence.

    Unlike the warm sensation of adding points in the past, which felt like a relaxing bath, more comfortable than rewarding oneself, today''s warm current became hotter as it rushed, growing more and more intense.

    This was no longer a warm bath; it was like soaking in magma.

    In no time, steam rose from Yi Chen''s head, and his skin instantly reddened as if he were a boiled shrimp.

    Hot, hot, hot.

    The hot current raced wildly within him, slashing through his body like a sharp blade. The muscle fibers he once thought were incredibly tough were first severed by the heat, then rapidly reconnected and repaired under its nurturing.

    This excruciating pain happened in every corner of Yi Chen''s body.

    Yi Chen struggled to control the surging current with his will, trying not to let it run wild like an untamed horse.

    Enduring the intense pain, he thought countless times of closing his eyes and fainting away¡ªwhy should he endure such inhuman torment?

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    Yet his reason told him that if he chose to escape, rather than guide and accept the transformation by this enormous heat, he might well end up charred to a crisp, leaving a mystery for Ping''an County.

    Even in later times, bored storytellers would turn this into a tale to grandstand about in tea houses and taverns for petty cash.

    For example:

    "Unbelievable, Fengyun County''s number one cultivator''s inn burnt to a crisp¡ªself-immolation or murder?"

    This is the suspense version.

    For example:

    "A cultivator, lovesick over a brothel woman, resorts to self-immolation in despair, the affairs of Taoist Yi Chengzi and Huan''er."

    This is the salacious gossip version.

    For example:

    "Shocking! Suspected childhood sweethearts reunite in a brothel only to find out they are siblings, Taoist Yi Chengzi burns with rage."

    This is the melodramatic ethical bombshell version.

    "No, never!"

    "I''ve braved all sorts of dangers, lifting iron, fishing with dynamite, touching live wires, how could I fall here!"

    Yi Chen''s eyes instantly turned bloodshot, his teeth clenched tightly, withstanding wave after wave of agonizing pain.

    He was like a small canopy boat on a stormy river, looking as if it would capsize at any moment, yet remained upright against all odds.

    One second.

    Two seconds.

    One minute.

    Two minutes.

    Time trickled by bit by bit.

    The stormy river from before gradually calmed, the clouds parted, and the sunshine began to cast its light upon the small canopy boat once more.

    Yi Chen opened his eyes, a sharp glint flickering within.

    He had won.

    He endured the agony as if being slashed by a thousand knives, persisting to the very end.

    At that moment, he finally understood the true reason why he had narrowly escaped death this time. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Stereotypes and dependency on familiar paths can be lethal.

    His body wasn''t strong enough, and the sudden strike at the Strength-Breaking Realm with an attribute score under 49 was the true culprit behind the peril he faced.

    Strength is not like a rootless duckweed; it needs to be anchored in a powerful physique to provide the kinetic energy required to burst forth with astonishing power.

    It was Yi Chen''s careless oversight that had plunged him into danger.

    After all, the boost received after breaking through the realm far exceeded that of a normal attribute increase.

    Fortunately, relying on his experience from multiple attribute increases and superhuman will, he was barely able to control the warm current, gradually managing it, and fully assimilated the gains of this breakthrough.

    "Fortunately, my physique has been tempered many times, and it is on the verge of the Strength-Breaking Realm; otherwise, this time I might have dug a hole and buried myself."

    "However, the final outcome wasn''t too bad."

    "I, I made it through."

    "Even turned a misfortune into a blessing, gaining a point in my physical attribute, which is an unexpected joy."

    Recalling the experience he just had, Yi Chen still couldn''t help but feel a lingering fear in his heart.

    But the greater the risk, the more valuable the reward.

    Due to this careless misadventure, Yi Chen had prematurely acquired the strength of the Strength-Breaking Realm.

    A gleam of divine light flashed in his eyes, and a virtual screen suddenly appeared on his retina.

 Chapter 69: Chapter 69 The Trouble Between Young Master Yu and Lin Baihu.

    ```[Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 18/107(-10)]

    [Strength: 50, {Strength-Breaking Realm once: Penetration lv1 (Added shock and penetration effect to strength), Power lv1 (20% increase in strength attribute effects)}]

    Physique: 40,

    Spirit: 41,

    Agility: 36]

    [Cultivation Technique: True Pure Yang Skill Level Seven (Traits: Strengthen Body, Fiery, Divine Power, Warding off Evil, Resilience, Regain Qi, Ignition). Active Skill: Pure Yang Extreme Change (Muscle strength triples, Inner Qi becomes more active, lasts for ten minutes, after which Inner Qi and strength temporarily drop to 70% of original). Active Skill: Soul Ignition Technique (The most fiery thing is to ignite, igniting one''s potential, burning lifespan in exchange for might, currently burning one year of lifespan increases strength and Inner Qi by 50%, up to a maximum of five times the increase in power.)]

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique Level Four (Traits: Hawk Eye, Night Vision, Yin Qi Perception, Heart Reflection lv1, Evil Thought Perception lv1.)]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3. Culinary Skill lv3]

    [Origin Point: 0] (Can be obtained through exercising to stimulate the body, can improve the four aspects of strength, physique, spirit, and agility.)

    [Deep Red Value: 161.] (Can be obtained through special items or by killing demons, evil spirits and the like. Used to improve the level of Cultivation Techniques or for deduction.)

    Yi Chen clenched his fists, explosive strength surging within his body.

    At this moment he felt that, if he were to face the Five-Element Demon again, he wouldn''t even need to use Pure Yang Extreme Change to defeat it head-on.

    The Strength-Breaking Realm had granted him two special effects, one being Penetration.

    Yi Chen tested it, and unlike the inner strength or hidden power generated through technique in traditional martial arts, the Penetration effect after the Strength-Breaking Realm seemed to operate like a rule, reaching a realm beyond what skill alone could achieve.

    To use an inappropriate analogy, this Penetration effect could be simplified to... shock and explosion.

    Once strength consolidates as one, using past technology for analysis, it''d be like a spectrum of vibration frequencies at extremely high rates, able to transmit force through obstacles with high-frequency vibrations and erupt at its peak.

    It''s like the difference between a gun with and without rifling.

    The gun is still the same gun, but with added rifling, the bullet''s penetration effect dramatically increases; the Penetration effect after the Strength-Breaking Realm is that added rifling.

    "It''s practically the Corpse God''s skill for shredding bodies."

    Looking at the rosewood long table leg in front of him that had exploded into bits, Yi Chen''s pupils suddenly constricted. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He had controlled the strength, imprinting the long table with the same force he had used to break the table leg before, and the result was that the table instantly burst into bits. It might even affect the floor below...

    Such a terrifying shock and penetration characteristic greatly enhanced the lethality of his strength.

    The other special effect after the first Strength-Breaking Realm was easier to understand - Power.

    An additional 20% to the strength attribute means that his current base strength of 50 could exhibit the benefits of 60 points, profiting an extra 10 points out of thin air, the more he added, the more he gained...

    "Such a delightful change."

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but laugh out loud.

    Just once into the Strength-Breaking Realm and already so impressive, what would happen when his base strength reached 100 and he broke through again?

    And what if it was three times, four times, five times?

    Wouldn''t it mean that a mere bump would be deadly, and a collision would cause an explosion?

    Coupled with the ferocious and violent Pure Yang Inner Qi, it would be perfect.

    As Yi Chen was lost in his wild dreams about the future, a series of urgent knocks at the door abruptly interrupted him, coupled with a burst of cursing.

    "Upstairs, in the middle of the night, you don''t sleep; do you think I, Master Yu, live off air..."

    The door creaked open.

    Lanterns provided illumination in the hallway.

    A huge shadow enveloped the person outside the door.

    It was a young nobleman in brocade, followed by two brawny guards with bulging temples, suggesting considerable martial prowess.

    "Is there something amiss?"

    Yi Chen inquired with a deep voice as he opened the door.

    "You scoundrel, you''ve disturbed my master..."

    One of the guards behind the noble started to scold aggressively, but before he could finish, the young noble kicked him, sending him flying and tumbling.

    "My lord, it''s all right now."

    "These guards of mine had a few too many drinks, now they''re acting crazy. Please don''t stoop to their level."

    "We''re leaving, right away."

    The self-proclaimed Master Yu at this point had a face full of smiles, bowing and scraping obsequiously.

    ```

    At his neck, a fire-red squirrel was buried under his inner garments, shivering incessantly.

    However, a cold and indifferent voice came through, causing the Young Master Yu to stand frozen, as if struck by lightning.

    "Did I say you could leave?"

    At that moment, Young Master Yu felt like crying. He had been exploring the mysteries of the human body with a girl downstairs and was just about to score when suddenly a loud thud from above startled him, making him lose his mojo instantly.

    So, he stormed up to seek an explanation in anger, only to find that the one who had opened the door was such a formidable person.

    He had thought that his guards, A-Da and A-Er, were strong and mighty, having fully mastered the hard techniques of physical training, but he had not expected someone to be even more fierce than A-Da and A-Er, a person whose origins were unknown.

    Compared to this fierce individual, his guards were like mere bean sprouts.

    Even the Flame Mouse he had been raising for a long time was so frightened that it was trembling non-stop, showing just how formidable this person was.

    According to what the Flame Mouse had communicated to him from the family, this person had at least a hundred and eighty lives on his hands and still had an aura of lingering malice about him. It was almost certain he was a strong practitioner who had recently killed a powerful evil spirit.

    "Great... sir, is there anything else... you need?"

    Young Master Yu managed to squeeze out a smile, but it looked worse than crying.

    "Sorry, I accidentally disturbed your rest. You can go now,"

    Yi Chen said with an expressionless face.

    Seeing that the man was so sensible, he didn''t feel like lashing out; after all, fair is fair.

    He had also figured out the truth based on the bits and pieces from the conversations of this person and his guards. Most likely, his testing of the Strength-Breaking Realm''s penetration effect must have shaken the building below, and the guy had come to seek retribution.

    "Ah... what?"

    "No need to apologize, no need to apologize."

    "Sir has done nothing wrong. It''s all my fault."

    Upon hearing this, Young Master Yu put on a face-changing performance from extreme grief to great relief, as seen in Sichuan opera, and dragged his guards to run like the wind to the corner of the hallway; then came the sound of slaps.

    "A-Da you son of a bitch, we almost died because of you this time. I haven''t even spoken, so why were you barking?"

    "We were lucky this time."

    The guard called A-Da complained while covering his face, "Young Master, I was just taking up for you. Even if that guy is a cultivator, is our Li family from Qingping Prefecture afraid of him?"

    "Our Family Head is also a high-level practitioner of the Qi Refinement Realm, and your elder brother is even a cultivation genius..."

    Slap! Slap!

    Two more heavy slaps were plastered onto A-Da''s face.

    "Dare to talk back?"

    "You son of a bitch, do you think I want to make an enemy out of a such a strong person over such a trivial matter?"

    "You turn a small issue into an unsolvable problem, and drag the family into it. The family has spent hundreds of years accumulating the strength we have today. Today you clash with this one; tomorrow, you clash with another¡ªare you a mole sent by the enemy of the Li family?"

    The more Young Master Yu thought about it, the angrier he got, and he slapped A-Da''s face a few more times.

    Son of a bitch with a dog''s brain, my father may be a high-level practitioner who has reached the Divine Power Realm, but that''s like distant water that can''t put out a nearby fire. And you actually want me to challenge such a person?

    If it weren''t for the fact that you''ve been with me for so many years and have been quite loyal, I would really want to chop you, you damn fool.

    Stay updated through M V L

    It''s not a core interest issue; you just know how to bump into people all the time, like a fool!

    You''re a fool fit to be buried in an ancient tomb!

    The commotion in the hallway obviously couldn''t escape the sharp senses of Yi Chen, who was now listening around the corner and couldn''t help but laugh.

    "So, he''s quite astute."

    "It turns out fairy tales are all lies; there are not so many fools among heirs who come looking for trouble and get face-slapped."

    "Only third-rate novels would dare write such nonsense."

    By now, night had fallen, and Yi Chen walked out to the terrace. He took another look at the moon above and wondered if it was psychological suggestion, but he consistently felt that the moon seemed different from before, although he couldn''t quite put a finger on what was off.

    "Sigh, I wonder what impact those falling blood-colored meteorites will have on this world."

    Unable to figure it out, Yi Chen stopped thinking about it.

    After his trial in the Strength-Breaking Realm, he was quite drained, so he threw himself onto the bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.

    The next day, he was roused by another round of hurried knocking.

    It was the voice of Lin Baihu.

    "Taoist priest, please open the door; something terrible has happened."

 Chapter 71: Chapter 71: The Sinister Residents and the Disappearance of the Great Man

    "What? Not going in now? Still need to investigate outside?""Taoist, you''ve got quite the nerve."

    "If you delay the rescue of the young mistress, the entire Hidden Dragon Temple, from top to bottom, will have to join her in burial. You too, Lin Baihu, you won''t get away with it either."

    The maid named Yue Ya, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, jumped up. She put her left hand on her hip, pointed at Yi Chen with her right hand, and stood with her feet apart, like a pair of compasses, shouting at Yi Chen with an agitated expression.

    Some people just can''t recognize their place.

    Those close to power think they possess it.

    But it''s an illusion.

    No different from a supermarket cashier fantasizing that the entire store depends on them for survival.

    Let alone her just being the so-called third young mistress''s maid, even if that third young mistress herself was standing in front of Yi Chen saying these things, he wouldn''t allow her to stay.

    Yi Chen chuckled and said nothing either way.

    He grabbed the hair of the maid named Yue Ya and threw her into the low wall of the Yang family stronghold, then disgustingly wiped his hands on his Daoist robe.

    Some people are afraid of the Cui family''s punishment, disregarding other people''s lives, and thus meet their retribution.

    Was she not desperate to save her master? Yi Chen decided to help her along the way.

    If he felt even the slightest malice from her later on, it would be quite reasonable for a maid to die in the vast Yang family stronghold, especially with its strange occurrences.

    Lin Baihu opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something but then hesitated, seemingly feeling Yi Chen acted a bit too harshly, but ultimately said nothing.

    Yi Chen smiled, patted Lin Baihu on the shoulder, and went on to explain:

    "Brother Lin, compassion does not lead an army, does it?"

    "This person is afraid of taking responsibility and is urging us to go inside. A mere maid just arrived and dares to meddle in our plans. I can''t even begin to think what she would dare do later on."

    "I did this for everyone''s safety."

    Having said that, Yi Chen turned and began walking around the perimeter of the Yang family stronghold without further discussion.

    "What are you standing around for? Didn''t you hear what Taoist Yi Chengzi just said? Form groups of three and search around the Yang family stronghold, and note down anything unusual."

    With Lin Baihu''s order, the servants started to take action.

    Yi Chen quickly began investigating around the dirt wall of the Yang family stronghold, looking for any possible clues.

    Bodies, sometimes, can speak.

    Yi Chen walked and scrutinized, pondering over the mysterious affair at the same time.

    If this incident was affected by the bloody meteor, what was the most likely outcome?

    Confusion? Contamination? Mutation?

    For a moment, Yi Chen''s imagination ran wild, and he started to speculate.

    He hadn''t gone far when he quickly noticed something unusual.

    Bodies, hundreds of rat corpses, lay by the wall of the Yang family stronghold.

    Some of the rats had eyes bulging and bleeding from all orifices; others had their heads blown off in part.

    The bodies were scattered, giving the impression that the rats were fleeing from something.

    "It seems that something extraordinary indeed happened at this Yang family stronghold," Yi Chen thought.

    "And perhaps it can no longer be explained by ordinary reasoning."

    Seeing the multitude of small animal corpses ahead, Yi Chen immediately heightened his guard to the maximum.

    He took a few steps back and continued walking around the low wall when, with his astonishing eyesight, he spotted a bloody man sitting on the roof of the biggest and tallest building within the stronghold, dancing and flailing about with his back to him.

    The man was dressed in a white undergarment covered in bloodstains.

    At that moment, the man on the roof suddenly turned his head. His face was pale, the eye sockets were hollow, reminiscent of the ghostly makeup in the movie "The Ghost Will Reflect," and there was a fist-sized black circular birthmark on his face.

    "Taoist, have you found anything?"

    Lin Baihu''s voice called out from a distance.

    He was looking for Yi Chen.

    Continue your adventure with M V L

    Yi Chen turned his head to Lin Baihu and said, "Brother Lin, look at the person sitting on the rooftop ahead."

    Lin Baihu looked puzzled and turned in the direction indicated by Yi Chen''s finger.

    "Taoist, there''s nothing on the roof. Where''s the person?"

    Upon hearing Lin Baihu''s words, Yi Chen abruptly turned to look in the direction he had just been viewing, only to find the ghostly figure of the burly man had vanished without a trace, as if he had been a mere illusion.

    For a moment, Yi Chen''s expression flickered uncertainly, and no one could tell what he was thinking.

    Before long, the group had assembled, and the officers from the Town Peace Division reported that many small animal carcasses had been found in the vicinity, as if they were fleeing from something: chickens, ducks, mice, and so on, the list went on.

    Following Yi Chen''s suggestion, they sent people to fetch drinking water from the distant river, then set off, ready to enter the fortified village.

    At that moment, the sound of galloping hooves arose, and a convoy of horsemen appeared on the horizon, swiftly approaching.

    Lin Baihu furrowed his brows and spoke to Yi Chen,

    "It''s the guards of the third young lady and the people from the nearby Fire-Worshipping Dao."

    "It seems the third young lady''s guards split into two groups, each seeking help in different places."

    The Fire-Worshipping Dao was quite a prominent cultivation force nearby. The newcomers, a man and a woman, both clad in white, were an attractive pair. Both had a flame lotus tattoo on their chests. They exuded an aura that suggested their cultivation was not weak, akin to that of Daoist Qingxu.

    Yi Chen glanced at them and paid them no further mind, deeming them insignificant.

    Even the big chickens were still just chickens in his eyes.

    Compared to the average person, under his full-powered strike, they should at least leave a complete corpse, nothing to be concerned about.

    He instructed Lin Baihu to negotiate with those people, while he himself led a team of officers into the Yang Family Fortified Village.

    Contrary to Yi Chen''s expectations, peace reigned within the Yang Family Fortified Village, as if nothing had happened.

    The residents had faint smiles on their faces and seemed entirely serene, apparently unaffected by last night''s disappearances.

    Those who planted vegetables did so, those who picked mulberries continued their work, the ones pushing hand carts transported charcoal, and the blacksmiths kept hammering.

    The Yang Family Fortified Village was renowned for trading ironware: kitchen knives, hoes, cleavers, long swords, all kinds of items which sold extremely well.

    Especially the large cleavers, which were the best sellers, good for chopping trees and people alike.

    In his past life, the one who was adept at dual purposes was Oddball, cutting both bananas and people.

    Yet, normalcy was the most abnormal sign of all.

    For some reason, as Yi Chen watched the villagers each going about their business, a sense of falseness suddenly emerged within him.

    They seemed like a group of marionettes on strings.

    However, his senses told him that these people had blood coursing through them, they were very much alive.

    Malevolence, an indescribable malevolence.

    Yi Chen stopped a middle-aged man carting charcoal to inquire if there was anyone in the Yang Family Fortified Village with a black circular birthmark the size of a fist on their face, but the man shook his head like a rattle-drum, adamantly claiming to have lived there for decades without seeing such a person.

    After making similar inquiries with several others, receiving the same response, Yi Chen''s brows furrowed even more deeply.

    He cautioned the officers not to consume any food or water from within the fort and then had them start a thorough, systematic search of the Yang Family Fortified Village, grouping up in teams of three.

    Having experienced many battles, the professional specialists of the Town Peace Division needed no detailed instructions; they knew their protocols. Though they were not cultivators, their martial skills were no worse than those of Ji Tuanlian from Qingyuan Town, and they were well-equipped for their tasks.

    Despite a thorough search, they came up empty-handed. All the residents of the fortified village were cooperative, and no trace nor clue emerged.

    "Taoist, what should we do now?"

    Lin Baihu came over and spoke to Yi Chen, his own heart feeling fuzzy with anxiety due to the abnormal condition of the villagers he had certainly noticed as well.

    As a precaution, he had even slapped exorcism talismans on more than a dozen people, but the talismans showed no signs of activation.

    Yi Chen sighed. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Let''s have half our brothers stay outside on sentry duty. If we don''t come out by tomorrow, they should go back to send word and ask for reinforcements."

    "We''ll stay overnight there tonight to see what kind of demons or ghosts are hiding within the Yang Family Fortified Village."

    Looking in the direction of Yi Chen''s pointed finger, they saw a house that stood out as the tallest and largest at the center of the Yang Family Fortified Village.

    It was also the very house where he had seen the ''sneaky'' figure disappearing that day.

    Lin Baihu nodded silently and immediately went out to make the arrangements.

 Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Night of Terror (Seeking to Read Today)

    "Trouble for Miss Yu Yan."Yi Chenli politely nodded slightly to the white-clothed maiden in front of him and watched her leave.

    The one Yi Chen called Miss Yu Yan was the person who came out to receive them in this large estate.

    Just as the white-clothed maiden was about to step out of the door, Yi Chen suddenly flashed in front of her.

    "There''s still one thing I''d like to ask Miss Yu Yan about."

    "Please speak, Taoist."

    "Are you sure that, apart from your servants and parents, you don''t have brothers or the like?"

    "Could it be that you''ve forgotten something?" Yi Chen asked in an even tone.

    "Why would the Taoist say such a thing? My parents have only had me over these years. They did wish for a boy, but my mother never conceived one; as they grew older, they gave up the hope," she said.

    Miss Yu Yan''s eyes widened in surprise, and her tone revealed some astonishment, as if she found Yi Chen''s question quite strange.

    "Haha, just asking. Still, be careful at night, Miss. If you remember anything or encounter anything strange, just cry out for help,"

    "I will certainly rush over posthaste," Yi Chen added, glancing at the white-clothed maiden''s exposed hand and chuckling.

    This eased the tension that had been in the white-clothed maiden''s heart. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The tall Daoist suddenly blocked her way and asked her some odd questions, which had frightened her a bit.

    Compared to the people from the Peacekeeping Office, she preferred the other group staying in the side hall, especially the sword-carrying, white-clothed young master¡ªso handsome and upright with a charming smile. She was still unmarried; if she could become his wife and stay with him forever, that would be wonderful.

    Alas, it seemed he had a junior sister.

    Really, she was like a pesky fox, always clinging to her senior brother.

    After thanking Yi Chen, Miss Yu Yan ran out of the hall as if flying, for the night was cold with dew, and she wanted to ask the white-clothed young master if he needed another blanket, hehe~

    She would feel for gegie.

    The romance novels she often read in her boudoir all played out like this: the childhood sweetheart loses to the fated arrival, and junior sisters have always been the defeated dogs. When the time comes, everyone would rely on their own schemes.

    With this thought, she straightened her chest and walked even faster.

    "Taoist, have you discovered anything?"

    This time, the one speaking was a small ensign under Lin Baihu, named Niu Da, who couldn''t help but come over and ask.

    Hearing his question, everyone in the hall turned their gazes toward Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen added a piece of charcoal to the brazier in the hall, sending a multitude of sparks flying and rising before suddenly dying down.

    After doing all this, he then turned his gaze toward the people around him.

    "Don''t you guys find it somewhat odd?" Discover stories with M-V-L

    "The Miss Yu Yan just now claimed to be the sole daughter of the master of this large residence, and yet her hands seemed rough from doing frequent heavy work."

    "Her clothes are quite decent, but you can see the traces of careful starching and folding, as if the owner cherishes this garment a lot."

    "That does not quite fit the behavior of a young lady."

    Yi Chen expressed his puzzlement in detail.

    "Perhaps this Miss Yu Yan is just not so delicate in her daily life, or very frugal? Or could it be that she likes to practice with weapons?"

    "Sometimes, it''s better when a lady''s hand is a bit rough. I, for one, like it rougher¡ªit''s more thrilling," said the ensign Niu Da with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a suggestive tone.

    At these words, the men sitting on the ground in the hall burst into laughter, and some of the bolder lads even began to tease.

    "Boss, is that why you always go for the madam at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion?"

    "The boss is right; old ginger is spicier, rough is indeed better."

    ¡­

    For a moment, the hall was filled with a joyful atmosphere, sweeping away the previously gloomy and oppressive mood.

    Even Yi Chen couldn''t help but laugh.

    The Office of Peaceful Townships really does have an endless supply of talented people, and Niu Da is one of them.

    Those outside the circle might feel his speech is inappropriate and untimely, but only those who have truly led a team and have leadership experience would know that such talent is the real backbone.

    In a few words, he revived the previously gloomy and oppressive atmosphere; it doesn''t matter if someone''s methods are refined or not, as long as they work.

    Pressure needs to be released.

    In a team, if there is a role for release, then there must also be a role for restraint.

    If we say that the small banner-bearer Niu Da is the one to release,

    Then Lin Baihu would be the one to restrain.

    Seeing that the atmosphere had loosened up considerably, he gently clapped his hands, signaling for everyone to quiet down.

    "Stop the ruckus, everyone, and listen to what the Taoist has to say first," he said.

    After clearing his throat, Yi Chen finally continued to point out the doubts he had discovered one by one.

    "First of all, outside Yangjia Wu Fort there are many corpses of small animals."

    "These chickens, ducks, cats, and rats either had exploded heads or their eyes bulged out with blood flowing from their seven orifices."

    "What kind of force had eroded them?"

    "Why did they die this way?"

    "Why haven''t the pigs, cows, sheep, and other large livestock inside Yangjia Wu Fort shown any signs of death or escape?"

    "You all saw the abnormalities with the residents of Yangjia Wu Fort during the day today; although no evil aura was detected on them, here I want to remind you all."

    "Don''t use the old way of thinking to speculate about the strange occurrences at Yangjia Wu Fort this time."

    "The celestial phenomenon of the blood-red meteor is unprecedented; this is a change."

    "No abnormalities doesn''t mean there are no problems, talismans for expelling evil are not omnipotent, perhaps it''s just that a certain special moment has not yet arrived."

    Time took another small step forward, and the night seemed to grow even more gloomy.

    Yi Chen tossed another piece of charcoal into the brazier in the hall and then spoke faintly, "Everyone, tell me, is there a difference between humans and pigs, cows, sheep, and horses?"

    "Do you think, perhaps the entire Yangjia Wu Fort has no living people left, and that it will show its ferocious teeth at a certain moment?"

    "So, tonight, no one should act alone; those who want to sleep should simply lay out their mats in the hall. Don''t blame Daoist Yi Chengzi for not warning you if something happens."

    "Let it not be said that I did not forewarn you."

    After finishing his warning with a chuckle, Yi Chen fell silent and began to rest with his eyes closed. He had said all that should be said and what should not have been said. If they truly encountered an unstoppable danger, then nobody should blame Taoist Yi Chengzi for swiftly vanishing.

    The night deepened further.

    Perhaps out of weariness or perhaps startled by Yi Chen''s speculations, the people inside the hall who had initially whispered among themselves gradually fell silent, leaving only the crackling sounds of the charcoal splitting in the brazier.

    Just then, suddenly, a rasping noise erupted.

    All the people in the hall were awakened, their eyes snapping open.

    Some of the more violently reactive soldiers even drew their waist knives, while others placed their hands on the water bottles beside them, the cork already pulled out, and a faint scent of blood wafting from them, the smell of black dog''s blood.

    Indeed, even among the Office of Peaceful Townships, aside from the small banner-bearers, most of the soldiers do not possess mana. However, they are more alert than ordinary martial arts experts, and the weapons in their hands are simply more professional.

    "Ma Da, what are you doing?" Lin Baihu asked with a furrowed brow, addressing a tall soldier who had made the noise.

    "Lord Baihu, I... I need to relieve myself... I always feel the urge to urinate when I''m nervous," the tall soldier replied. He was one of those who had previously teased the small banner-bearer Niu Da.

    Upon hearing this, the face of the small banner-bearer Niu Da darkened instantly as he said in a deep voice, "My Lord, I''ll accompany him for the trip."

    After pondering for a moment, Lin Baihu nodded and instructed, "Don''t go to the latrine; just relieve yourself at the corner of the small garden outside. Make it quick."

    Amidst Ma Da''s embarrassment and words of gratitude, the two brothers, Niu and Ma Da, opened the front door of the living room and disappeared outside.

    Five minutes passed.

    Ten minutes passed.

    The two had not yet returned.

 Chapter 73: Chapter 73: You Are Also a Malevolent Spirit (Seeking Continued Reading Today)

    The air inside the hall began to grow restless and agitated.Ma Da was among the top in martial skills within the sergeant ranks and an old-timer of the Zh¨¥n''¨¡n S¨¬, while Niu Da was a junior officer who had developed mana, already reaching the mid-stage of refining essence and transforming qi.

    Two full-grown men, not making a sound, just disappeared like that?

    Yi Chen exchanged a glance with Lin Baihu, both understanding the meaning in each other''s eyes.

    "Something''s happened."

    Yi Chen abruptly stood up, and taking the lead, he prepared to head out with the others to search, followed closely by Lin Baihu, half a step behind.

    Just then, a weird wind suddenly arose, and the lanterns in the hall went out instantly, while the door of the living room slammed shut with a loud bang.

    Only the burning charcoal remained as the sole source of light in the room.

    A braver junior officer stepped forward to forcefully pull at the doorknob several times, only to find that the door seemed to be cast shut with iron on the outside, utterly immovable.

    "Daoist priest, what should we do now?"

    A sergeant asked Yi Chen. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Unbeknownst to them, Yi Chen had become the spokesperson and backbone of this troop.

    "What should we do?"

    "Make a cold dish of it!"

    "Get out of the way."

    "These shenanigans, not taking this poor Daoist seriously at all."

    "Daring to mess with someone under my protection."

    A fierce smile appeared on Yi Chen''s face as he powered his thigh, which suddenly swelled noticeably, and he viciously kicked the gap in the middle of the double doors.

    The doors flew backward as if hit by a cannonball, disintegrating into pieces mid-air.

    With the others staring dumbfounded, Yi Chen strode over the threshold and went on his way.

    "Everyone follow me, search room by room. Don''t even overlook the cellars."

    Yi Chen''s roar was particularly grating in the silent night.

    Upon hearing the command, the sergeants felt a surge of courage, standing straighter as they hurriedly followed suit.

    The sergeants weren''t afraid of the call to action, after all, if the boss was leading the charge, they had nothing to fear.

    What they feared was the opposite, being told to go ahead while the boss watched from behind.

    Like the classic scene from the past life''s "Journey to the West," where the Hydra told B¨¨ngb¨­ ¨¦r B¨¡ to eliminate Tang Sanzang and his disciples... that would unnerve anyone.

    Was Yi Chen afraid at this moment?

    Actually, he felt not so scared.

    The sneaky ghostly thing in the shadows only dared to play small tricks, seemingly unable to deal with them openly.

    Otherwise, why go to all this trouble? A straightforward assault would have sufficed to roll over their whole troop.

    Not only do corpses speak, but incidents do as well.

    As the ghostly presence in the shadows weakened, Yi Chen grew bolder.

    In such times, as the leader, what one should do is gather everyone together to prevent being taken down one by one.

    The last thing one should do is divide the forces.

    Understanding that things are always changing, one must look at issues with a developmental perspective.

    If one were to still be overly cautious now, thinking of using others'' lives to fill trenches, then they wouldn''t be smart¡ªthat would be aiding the enemy.

    Feeding them, in a way.

    In no time, the entire mansion became a hive of activity; Yi Chen kicked open one door after another and, like the enemy entering a village, the sergeants started ransacking, even stabbing under the beds with knives.

    No one.

    No one.

    No one.

    There wasn''t a single soul, as if everyone in the separate courtyard had vanished, not even a servant to be seen.

    At that moment, a group of about seven or eight people approached from the left at the corner, including the maid Yue Ya, who had had a conflict with Yi Chen earlier. They were part of the group.

    Leading them was a man and a woman dressed in white, the two practitioners of the Fire-Worshipping Dao they had seen during the day.

    Lin Baihu stepped forward to negotiate with the leader in white, and the two groups proceeded in a clear but united manner.

    For some reason, a faint unease began to emerge in Yi Chen''s heart.

    After finishing the search in the kitchen and everyone prepared to move on to the next location, the slight unease in Yi Chen''s heart started to grow stronger.

    No, something was off.

    He seemed to have forgotten something.

    He kept feeling that he had overlooked certain details.

    Yi Chen''s gaze fell on an osmanthus tree ahead, where a large piece of bark had been scraped off.

    At that moment, alarms went off in Yi Chen''s heart, and he suddenly raised his hand, signaling the group to stop, and looked back toward the rear of the team.

    "A fellow Taoist of the Fire-Worshipping Sect, where is your junior sister?"

    The man in white was taken aback by Yi Chen''s words.

    "Isn''t my junior sister right behind me?"

    He looked over his shoulder, and what he saw made his soul nearly jump out of his body.

    His junior sister was indeed behind him, but there were two of them...

    As Yi Chen''s words fell, the two identical ''junior sisters'' suddenly realized there was another person exactly like themselves next to them, and they both hopped out of the line at once.

    Enjoy exclusive chapters from M-V-L

    "You''re the fake one, senior brother, believe me, the one opposite is the fake one, a wicked spirit."

    "You''re the one who''s fake, senior brother, believe me, she''s the fake one, a wicked spirit."

    The ''junior sister'' from the Fire-Worshipping Sect had a somewhat baby-faced look, youthful and pretty, naively charming, and now they both accused each other of being illusions conjured by wicked spirits.

    "Nice try, wicked spirit, daring to impersonate me. I dare to verify my true identity with an exorcism charm, do you?"

    One of them, becoming anxious, pulled out an exorcism charm from her pouch and stuck it on her own forehead.

    "Why would I not dare?"

    The other, showing no weakness, also took out an exorcism charm and stuck it on her forehead.

    However, the exorcism charms had no reaction at all and could not verify their true identities.

    "Senior Brother, that wicked illusion certainly doesn''t know our secrets," one said.

    "You peeked at me bathing when you were little."

    Everyone''s eyes immediately turned towards the man in white.

    The man in white, embarrassed, touched his nose and drew out the magic artifact, a long sword, pointing it at the other ''junior sister'' and shouted:

    "How dare you! You wicked spirit, pretending to be my junior sister!"

    Yi Chen: "..."

    Lin Baihu: "..."

    The crowd: "..."

    At this moment, the ''junior sister'' pointed out by the man in white''s sword suddenly became desperate, her eyes misty as if she were about to cry.

    "Senior brother, must I really speak of what happened in the cornfield?"

    The man in white''s face turned bright red, and he returned the sword to its sheath.

    The crowd: "..."

    Just as the situation became deadlocked, Yi Chen had an idea and stepped forward briskly, positioning himself between the two women.

    "I happen to have a small method of identifying the real from the fake, though the process might be somewhat unpleasant."

    "Would you two be willing to undergo it?"

    "Willingly, Taoist Priest, please proceed," both ''junior sisters'' said in unison.

    Slap!

    Slap!

    Yi Chen closed his eyes, and in a flash, both his heavy palms landed on the cheeks of the individuals, instantly causing their faces to swell up.

    "You''re the wicked spirit!"

    Without waiting for a response, Yi Chen burst out in an angry roar, drew the Dragon-Slaying Sword with surging deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi, and in a flash, cleaved the ''junior sister'' on the left in two.

    The bisected ''junior sister'' fell to the ground, still screaming: "Taoist Priest, what is the meaning of this?"

    "Taoist Priest, what is the meaning of this?"

    The crowd was shocked, then they looked at Yi Chen with admiring eyes. ''The Taoist Priest certainly has amazing abilities.''

    The remaining ''junior sister,'' finally clearing the mist from her eyes, beamed with joy as she tried to run towards the man in white for comfort.

    At that moment, another sword light streaked by like a whip, and under the ghostlike gaze of the crowd, the remaining ''junior sister'' was also cut in two.

    "You''re a wicked spirit too~" Another eerie voice floated through the air.

    "Taoist Priest, it hurts so much~"

    "Taoist Priest, it hurts so much~"

    The other half of the ''junior sister'' lay on the ground, lips still moving, repetitively saying the words as she tried to crawl towards the man in white.

    The officers from the Department of Peace and Order looked at Yi Chen''s demonic silhouette and felt tingling on their scalps.

    "Taoist Priest, what about... my junior sister?"

    The man in white felt as if he was losing his mind and he turned to ask Yi Chen.

    "You''re a wicked spirit too~"

    Yet another sword light, whip-like, descended upon the man in white''s head, only this time it struck vertically.

    Yi Chen then looked towards the people from the Department of Peace and Order.

    The officers from the Department of Peace and Order suddenly looked terrified and stepped back in unison.

 Chapter 74: Chapter 74 All Is One

    "Everyone, don''t be afraid, I have my ways to discern who is truly the evil spirit,"Yi Chen said as he casually crushed the head of the man in white with a stomp, causing everyone''s eyebrows to twitch once again.

    Deep purple Inner Qi was leaping incessantly all over his body, appearing incredibly eerie under the moonlight when combined with the indifferent expression on Yi Chen''s face.

    Yi Chen dared to take such bold action earlier because, naturally, he had something to rely on in his heart.

    At this moment, he still had his eyes tightly shut, with the mystical power eroded individuals within the team appearing crystal clear under the 3D perspective rendered by his mind''s eye.

    With a pale face and eyes sporting dark circles the size of fists, looking like they were covered in smoky makeup, dare you tell me you''re a normal person?

    Nevertheless, to be cautious, Yi Chen still chose to give the woman in white a couple of slaps to see if she had any malice toward him in her initial reaction.

    If there was malice, it would mean there might still be hope; it was only erosion after all.

    But the outcome was utterly empty.

    Combining both factors for verification, even Bian Que would want to nod thrice upon seeing this situation.

    After Yi Chen exposed the mysterious evil spirit in Yang Family Fort, it still wanted to play the game of sacrificing pawns to save the chariot, hoping to erode more people with the same trick. He decided to use this strategy against it and behead several of its generals first.

    This game of wits led to the scene now unfolding before them.

    Like chopping melons and slicing vegetables, Yi Chen launched several more strikes, severing the heads of all the people eroded by the sinister force within the team.

    After a small victory, Yi Chen''s face showed no hints of pride; he knew the greater challenge lay ahead.

    He didn''t even know how the group of men and women in white had fallen victim to the scheme and why his team was unaffected.

    "Could it be that there is something on my person that the evil spirit fears? Or is it that my Pure Yang Inner Qi renders its corrosive tactics ineffective?"

    With a thought, Yi Chen pressed the Thunder Condemnation Jade even tighter against his chest; if there was anything on him that would make the evil spirit wary, it would only be the Thunder Condemnation Jade.

    After all, it was ranked as the tenth heavenly and earthly wonder.

    No matter the truth of the matter, Yi Chen did not plan to continue tonight.

    The bodies of the man and woman in white still lay twitching before him.

    As fellow cultivators, dying so unclearly brought a sense of sadness and empathy to Yi Chen''s heart.

    He wondered how much money they made to dare to wade into these troubled waters.

    Had the cornfields become too dull for them?

    At that moment, the woman in white on the ground was continuously opening and closing her mouth in pain, struggling towards Yi Chen''s direction.

    "Good, it will stop hurting soon."

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    Yi Chen''s sword flew like a dragon, cleaving her head in two.

    The effect was immediate.

    As expected, the woman in white stopped crying out in pain.

    Yi Chen flicked his sleeves, inserting the magic artifact swords from the hands of the man and woman in white into his belt before he planned to lead everyone away.

    Before leaving, he flicked his fingers, sending several deep purple sparks onto the corpses on the ground, which began to burn fiercely with flame.

    Under the moonlight, as the fire ignited, it was as if a signal had been blown, and the evil spirit behind became clearly infuriated.

    The whole Yang Family Fort began to ''come to life.'' S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    First were the severed heads on the ground, which suddenly turned to look in unison toward Yi Chen and the others, their eyes filled with resentful blame.

    They suddenly let out a skyward howl, and the flames on their bodies unexpectedly extinguished, as the mutilated bodies began to crawl chaotically, seeking and connecting with one another.

    Numerous flesh buds grew from the cut surfaces of the bodies, attaching whatever they could as if they were vegetables in a pot, not caring whether it was their own body or not.

    Some attached the heads of others to their own necks, some put their bodies on backward, some ignored gender differences, and those without heads cut a slit above their own belly buttons and roared as they charged towards Yi Chen and his group.

    At the same time.

    One by one, the residents of Yang Family Fort came out of their doors, eyes all turning in this direction.

    Some carried hoes, others brandished large machetes, steadily marching toward them.

    Threads of pale red light appeared on ''their'' bodies.

    Then came the teams of pigs, cows, horses, and sheep with eyes blazing red.

    The view rose, overlooking Yang Family Fort from a bird''s-eye view.

    ```

    The crowd, like ants, roared and converged towards the grand mansion at the center, where Yi Chen and his companions were located, as if zombies had broken out of their cages.

    As soon as the anomaly began, Yi Chen felt something was wrong and yelled "Retreat!" before charging towards the surrounding wall.

    At a time like this, who cares about the main gate?

    Keep in mind, as we learned in middle school math, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. At this moment, it was necessary to take a shortcut.

    Boom!

    A loud noise thundered.

    In an instant, Yi Chen had smashed a human-shaped gap in the grand mansion''s surrounding wall.

    The people of the Zhen''an Division were initially stunned, then yelled and followed the Taoist priest in a swarm, pouring through the breach.

    The direction of the deep purple flame tail was where they charged.

    On the road made of slag leading to the fort, a girl in white was running like mad at this moment, one of her shoes lost, revealing her fair and delicate feet which were bloody from the slag, but she didn''t care.

    Seeing Yi Chen and his group, she couldn''t help but show an ecstatic expression on her face and ran even harder as she cried out:

    "Taoist priest, save me!"

    "Brother Zhengyi, save me!"

    Behind her were hundreds of villagers who had completely transformed, black tendons wrapping around their bodies, visible on their faces as well, like tattoos or some kind of peculiar script.

    A faint red smoke rose from the villagers'' bodies.

    Several times, the transformed villagers'' claws nearly touched her neck.

    "There are still people alive~"

    "Miss Yuyan, don''t panic, I''m here to help you!"

    Lin Baihu drew his waist knife and wanted to charge forward to meet her.

    However, he was caught by the collar by a large hand that suddenly appeared, as if it were a big fan.

    Yi Chen threw him back and stood in front of everyone, yelling:

    "Brother Lin, take the brothers and retreat quickly, I''ve got this!"

    Having said that, Yi Chen took the lead and rushed towards Miss Yuyan.

    The deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi surged, burning fiercely, brilliantly radiant, and particularly eye-catching in the night.

    "Taoist priest."

    After a 180-degree turn, Lin Zhengyi''s tiger eyes flashed with a clear light, and then he turned his head and led his brothers running in the opposite direction.

    Yi Chen turned into a streak of light, his foot landing quickly and viciously on Miss Yuyan''s face.

    The ecstatic look on Miss Yuyan''s face vanished. Her face deformed from the impact, her body flew backward, knocking over a dozen transformed villagers and finally crashed into a wall behind her, then bounced off, falling to the ground.

    This kick by Yi Chen was not a mistake; it was deliberate and premeditated.

    By this point, he had roughly guessed how the evil entity of Yangjiawu Fort was invading and eroding everybody¡ªit was through eye contact.

    The moment Miss Yuyan appeared, everyone from the Zhen''an Division felt an irresistible urge to rush forward and rescue her.

    It was utterly inconceivable.

    As if a collective stupidity aura had been cast, instantly planting a psychological suggestion in their minds.

    Presumably, the white-clothed male and female cultivators, along with the missing Niu Da and Ma Da, had been corrupted and controlled by this method.

    Fortunately, he reacted immediately, standing in front of everyone, stopping Lin Baihu, and awakening everybody.

    "Taoist priest, that really hurt~"

    Miss Yuyan crawled out from the mud and stood up.

    The mutated villagers behind him also uniformly stopped, and said in unison:

    "Taoist priest, that really hurt~"

    The voices were synchronized, as if coming from one person.

    ```

 Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Cause and Effect and the Blood Battle

    A day before, under the moonlight.A frail girl clad in coarse cloth was still tirelessly washing clothes with a laundry stick.

    Her hands were wrinkled and bleached from the blisters caused by the water.

    Her name was Yang Yuyan, the eldest daughter of the fortress lord of the Yang family manor.

    As the eldest daughter of the fortress lord of the Yang family manor, how did she end up in such a plight? Naturally, it was because she had a wicked stepmother.

    For a child who lost her mother early, having a malicious stepmother was very tragic.

    Even more tragic than having a stepmother was that the stepmother then bore a son.

    The two combined was a deathblow.

    Since she could remember, she had never eaten a decent meal.

    In the morning, she ate sweet potatoes, at noon it was regular potatoes, and in the evening, more potatoes.

    Such a diet would make even dogs shake their heads, yet it was her daily routine for three meals.

    As the young mistress of the manor, she lived a life worse than that of a servant.

    However, not a single person in the entire manor dared to speak up for her. Instead, to curry favor with her stepmother, they intensified their bullying of her.

    Why?

    Simply because her stepmother used to be the wet nurse of a certain young master from the eminent Mingguang Prefecture.

    Eighteen years ago, her father went to the city for business. Because he was handsome and stood tall, he caught the eye of her future stepmother. After seeking the favor of the Cui family, she left the estate and married her father.

    Oh, the irony.

    Two days before marrying her father, her own mother drowned by accident, clearing the way for her to become the official wife ¨C and Yang Yuyan''s stepmother.

    From that day onwards, her disaster began.

    It was also from that day that the originally poor Yang family manor started to flourish.

    Thanks to her stepmother''s connection to the Cui family''s young master''s wet nurse, the manor''s iron tool business skyrocketed, and everything else fell into place seamlessly.

    Everyone''s face was smiling, except for hers.

    Because she had lost her mother.

    A child with a mother is treasured like a gem, while one without is worthless as grass.

    And that was her.

    Later, from the whispers of others, she learned the truth about the past and understood why her stepmother disliked her so much.

    Her mother was drowned by the elders of the Yang family, not due to an accident. It was to make room for her stepmother.

    Her father was a ''filial son'', spineless and incompetent, who reluctantly accepted the reality once the deed had been done.

    Ha, she knew her father, that cowardly man, still held her mother in his heart.

    This was also the main reason she had always been targeted by her stepmother.

    Who would have expected that as time went by, she would grow to resemble her beautiful mother ever more?

    Her very birth carried the original sin.

    Latter, her stepmother bore her a little brother, and the whole manor celebrated as if it were New Year''s, except for her.

    Sure enough, after her brother was born, her life got even worse. Even her father no longer cared for her in secret, shifting most of his attention to her little brother.

    With each strike of the laundry stick against the clothes before her, each followed by a string of sparkling water droplets, Yang Yuyan''s gaze became blurred with tears as she looked back on the past.

    Why?

    Why was she bullied by everyone in the Yang family manor?

    Why could someone enter her room at will?

    Why was it that the third young miss from the Cui family who visited today was showered with love and affection?

    Why did she have to eat those damned, disgusting potatoes every single day?

    Why?

    Under the moonlight, Yang Yuyan could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down her face.

    She threw down the laundry stick and sat beside the well, hugging her knees.

    At this moment, she desperately wished for a celestial being to descend from the clouds as described in storybooks to take her away from this sea of suffering.

    If not, she would rather die.

    Endless potatoes to eat, endless clothes to wash; she had had enough of this life.

    Life burning the midnight oil was far less satisfying than turning to dust and being scattered to the winds!!!

    Ha ha ha.

    She stood up and went back to her room, putting on the white dress that she was only allowed to wear when outsiders were present.

    This was her best piece of clothing, and she treasured it dearly.

    After all, which young girl doesn''t dream of spring? She too loved to look beautiful.

    She wanted to wear her prettiest dress to leave with dignity.

    She moved toward the edge of the well.

    The mouth of the well was pitch black, like a great maw sprouted from the earth, ready to swallow anyone at any moment.

    At this moment, she was feeling a bit scared, a little shaken.

    Then, she remembered the big yellow dog that used to accompany her in her childhood, deliberately smashed to death in front of her.

    She remembered her stepmother''s arrogant, wild cackle.

    She remembered the person who entered her room.

    She remembered that tomorrow would be another meal of the potato, sweet potato, and yam trilogy.

    Especially potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes.

    Her eyes regained their determination. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Let it be destroyed!

    Just as she was ready to leap forward, suddenly, a blood-red meteor streaked directly from the sky towards her location.

    When she was a child, an old grandma in the fortress once told her that, when people die, they become stars in the sky.

    That was the only grandma in the fortress who was kinder to her, but of course, she has passed away now.

    "Yes, mother."

    "Has mother come down to see me?"

    Yang Yuyan smiled.

    Let it end!

    She tidied up her hair, tried to put herself together, then extended her arms, welcoming the direction of the falling blood-red meteor.

    No!

    That''s not a meteor!

    It''s a red token, engraved with a strange symbol!

    That is, power!!!

    The red light merged into her bosom, and endless knowledge, endless transformations appeared in her mind.

    Ha ha ha.

    The heavens have eyes, the heavens truly do!

    So what if I offered up my soul?

    Living a life burning the midnight oil, how could it be as swift and decisive as crushing bones to dust!

    Die! Let them all die!

    "In this Yang family fortress, those unslain shall fill the ditches and valleys!"

    A hint of red flashed in Yang Yuyan''s eyes. She quietly entered the third lady''s room and, after coming out, belched contently, the red in her eyes even more intense as she turned to enter another person''s room.

    She, was growing up fast.

    An hour later, she watched two troops riding fast horses leaving the Yang family fortress, her gaze crimson, bloodthirsty.

    "What a pity."

    "However, it''s time for it to end."

    "Let this filthy place be destroyed."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "Taoist master, you''re hurting me, it hurts so much."

    "Will you stay with me too, can all of you stay?"

    "If I eat you, I will surely become even stronger."

    Yang Yuyan spread her arms wide, her figure suddenly grew larger, and she let out a long howl to the sky. Behind her, the heads of many transformed villagers exploded, spurting blood fountains that eventually gathered around her.

    Under the influence of the blood fountains, her body began to rise, two meters, three meters, four meters.

    No, this was not the end.

    The surplus blood covered her body, forming a magnificent and enchanting armor of blood, a bewitching blood-red long sword.

    "Let us become one, Taoist master."

    A nearly three-meter-long blood-red sword cleaved down towards Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen looked at the monster before him, and for a moment, he too felt his scalp tingle. His muscles bulged, and he raised his Dragon-Slaying Sword to meet the incoming attack.

    Boom!

    As soon as they made contact, a huge shockwave sent the transformed villagers nearby tumbling and stumbling.

    Yi Chen staggered back five steps before he could steady his stance.

    "Miss Yang, not bad at all."

    "Pure Yang Transformation!"

    With an inner roar, Yi Chen''s body suddenly grew taller, his muscles abruptly swelled even more, covering him like armor, his heart beating more fiercely, pumping tremendous energy throughout his body, his Pure Yang Inner Qi burning even more intensely.

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    This was the first time he had gone all out since reaching the Strength-Breaking Realm.

    He stomped on the ground with a single foot, and a ring of deep purple Qi spread out from him, stirring the surrounding grass and rocks into the air.

 Chapter 76: Chapter 76 Yang Jis Summon, The Blood Tokens Transformation and Speculation

    "Come at me again."Yi Chen let out a furious roar, his whole body soaring into the sky to deliver a direct, overhead strike at the blood giant.

    The blood giant Yang Yuyan had become was strong, but not so strong as to drive him to despair. It served as the perfect measure for weighing his current strength.

    The air blossomed once again with his savage force. Given the intensity of their current clash''s strength, those mutated villagers couldn''t get a hand in. They could only be sent flying in all directions by the shockwave of the energy released.

    In the blink of an eye, the two sides had exchanged over a dozen moves.

    The enormous noise made Lin Baihu, who was leading the remaining servants in escape, turn his head for a sidelong glance.

    "Taoist Yi Chengzi has held back that bloody monster for our brothers. If you don''t want to die, put more effort into it and hurry out of this Yang Family Fort."

    "Everyone, charge with me!"

    "Wind Spirit Slash!"

    Lin Baihu pushed his mana to the limit, and a five-meter-long dark green blade qi flashed from the magic artifact at his waist.

    Szzzt.

    Like reaping wheat, the dozens of mutated villagers blocking their way were all cut in half at the waist.

    After using this move, a bizarre flush of red tinged Lin Baihu''s face, a clear sign that the move was a heavy burden for him at this moment. He stopped wasting words and led the way with large strides toward the direction out of the fort.

    Behind him, there were about eleven or twelve servants, each with a face full of panic, a shared sense of dire urgency propelling them to run frantically, almost wishing they''d been born with an extra pair of legs.

    You couldn''t blame the servants for being faint-hearted; the ''monsters'' they faced were too bizarre.

    All those supposed remedies, black dog''s blood, lime, were completely useless.

    If you chopped off an arm of one mutated creature, it wouldn''t even blink before stabbing at you with its remaining limb.

    If you decapitated one of the monsters in front of you, it would simply pick its head up from the ground, reattach it, and before long, it would be a capable man once again, sword in hand and ready to continue the battle.

    That these servants from the Peacekeeping Department hadn''t broken ranks was surely a testament to their disciplined training.

    Under the lead of Lin Baihu, the servants one by one stepped over the corpses on the ground, charging toward the fort''s enclosing wall.

    That was the direction of life.

    The last servant to step over the corpses was a bit slow, and had his buttocks sliced by a rusty sickle held by a half-recovered corpse. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With a scream of agony, the servant ran even faster, swiftly overtaking several of his colleagues to move to the front of the group.

    Yi Chen, of course, was unaware of what Lin Baihu and his men were going through; even if he had known, there was nothing he could do. By holding off the blood giant for everyone, he had already earned the pay Lin Baihu offered.

    After an intense and vicious battle, Yi Chen''s hair was disheveled and his body was covered in wounds of varying sizes, flesh turned inside out, but no blood was flowing out. Instead, he controlled his own muscles to tightly close the wounds. Given a day''s time and his terrifying ability to recover, he would be fine.

    On the other hand, the blood giant Yang Yuyan had turned into was faring rather miserably.

    The blood armor was torn and tattered, and the bewitching sword was riddled with cracks, as if it would fall apart with just one more movement.

    Indeed, that was exactly the case.

    All this was due to the penetrating special effects Yi Chen had gained after breaking through to the Strength-Breaking Realm.

    If it weren''t for the explosive impact that accompanied each release of his Inner Qi, he wouldn''t have been able to achieve such results.

    "Miss Yuyan, if you had consumed some more blood food, taken control of more experts, I would have definitely turned and walked away. But now, it''s over."

    "This battle has been thrilling, and I have gained some insight. Allow me," continued Yi Chen, "to send you off with the strongest move I''ve understood."

    ```

    "This move is called ''Yang Ji''"

    As soon as Yi Chen''s voice fell, he raised his long sword horizontally, channeled all his strength, and a purple streak shot up from his abdomen to the top of his head, forming a strange purple pattern on his forehead.

    Boom!

    The sword struck like a dragon, seeming to whip up a violent storm along its path, scattering iron slag from the road''s foundation on both sides and plowing a trench more than ten centimeters deep. The incredibly fierce strength combined with the Pure Yang Inner Qi directly exploded the blood giant to smithereens, scattering blood like a rain from the sky.

    This move was Yi Chen''s strongest technique after reaching the Strength-Breaking Realm, a total command of his body''s strength and Inner Qi in an explosive burst.

    By outputting the maximum Inner Qi and the strongest force in the shortest amount of time it looked like only one move on the surface. However, it actually utilized the explosive piercing effect inherent in the Strength-Breaking Realm to strike multiple times in succession, uniting them in an instant. In the briefest duration, all the strength''s vibrations were stacked and ignited, causing maximum carnage.

    Battle is the best teacher.

    Although this technique was extremely powerful, it also placed a great strain on the body. The moment he executed the move, Yi Chen realized that with his current physique, he could at most stack the Inner Qi tides three times. Otherwise, he would lose control and backlash against himself, and using it thrice in succession could even rupture his own heart channels due to the body''s inability to withstand the shock.

    However, that was already enough.

    Under this technique, his offensive power had at least tripled, equivalent to facing three hits from masters of the same level all targeted at the same spot, making it a decisive killing move.

    This move can be seen as an overloading technique that pushes the limits of the physical body.

    But what kind of overload comes without damage and limits?

    Overclock a computer''s CPU too much, and it might just die on you¡­

    At this moment, Yi Chen was quite satisfied with this technique. As a wall-hanger, stacking the Inner Qi tides three times was definitely not his limit.

    He decided that his next realm-breaking four-dimensional attribute would be the physical attribute.

    As long as his body was strong enough, this technique of pushing his physical limits to the extreme could definitely become his trump card for overcoming enemies.

    Don''t fear the lack of ''spiritual nature''. With attributes in place and combined with the cultivation of Pure Yang Inner Qi to its peak, even immortals shall crumble. Discover stories with M-V-L

    Yi Chen sheathed his sword, when suddenly among the blood rain, a strange blood-colored token caught his attention.

    His move was as fast as lightning, and in an instant, the blood-colored token was in his hand. As soon as the token touched his palm, a familiar and icy sensation surged into his body, bringing with it many fragmented images into his mind.

    He saw the broken life of a girl named Yang Yuyan.

    "Damn, this token also has Deep Red Points?"

    Yi Chen''s eyes suddenly widened, and just as he was about to take a closer look, the blood-colored token trembled oddly and vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed.

    Yi Chen was left with only one hundred and fifty Deep Red Points and the shattered memories of Yang Yuyan, evidence that the mysterious blood-colored token had indeed appeared.

    After thoroughly searching the surroundings to no avail for the missing token, Yi Chen licked his dry lips and abandoned the thought of searching further.

    He had a faint premonition that the blood-colored token was still hidden within the Yang family fort''s territory; it was just that he could no longer see or find it.

    Perhaps it was underground or in some different dimensional space.

    Fortunately, Yi Chen was naturally optimistic. If he couldn''t figure something out, he simply chose not to dwell on it.

    Some things are a blessing when received and fate when lost.

    This time around, he had made quite a profit, having realized the technique of Yang Ji and gained one hundred and fifty Deep Red Points. He was like Emperor Qin eating Szechuan peppercorns and touching live wires, thrilled beyond relief.

    As for the secrets of the blood-colored token and the mysteries of the world''s anomalies, as long as his strength continued to grow, he believed the world would naturally unveil its mysteries before him.

    Some things, if you don''t have the power, knowing won''t help much; you''re still trapped in the cage.

    ```

 Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Shatter Bones and Tear Flesh, The Might of Taoist Priest.

    "Miss Yang Yuyan was also a pitiable person."Yi Chen flipped through the memory fragments that had entered his mind alongside the Deep Red Points, and in a moment, pieced together the truth of the matter, which was pretty close to accurate.

    Another sad story.

    The cycle of joy and sorrow in the human world never ends; that was nothing strange.

    After all, there were many things that were even more explosive.

    Yi Chen casually broke off a branch, drew out the Dragon-Slaying Sword, and quickly whittled it into a hairpin. After pinning up his hair and arranging his appearance, he began the cleanup operation at Yang family''s stronghold.

    Elegance is timeless.

    Taoist, here to collect the ''people''!

    After the blood giant that Yang Yuyan had become exploded, the mutated villagers left behind were no match for Yi Chen.

    Whether it was fists or swordplay, the mutated villagers were torn apart with a single blow.

    Under the moonlit night, within the terrifying Yang family stronghold, a tall Daoist dragged his long sword, moving within the stronghold, killing every one he encountered.

    If before, Yi Chen felt mostly sympathy for the villagers inside the stronghold, then after reading through Yang Yuyan''s memory fragments, this sympathy had transformed into a kind of indifference.

    A person can be as humble as dust, but they should not be twisted like maggots.

    Enjoy exclusive chapters from M-V-L

    The tragedy of Yang Yuyan, given that the villagers could turn a blind eye to her powerful stepmother, but chose to kick an already pitiable girl into the dust and step on her for the stepmother''s favor, was a bit too much.

    Yi Chen believed that among the dead villagers, there were definitely some who were wronged, who also fell victim to Yang Yuyan''s revenge.

    But in a situation where everyone benefited because of Yang Yuyan''s stepmother, whether they deserved to die or not had already become a philosophical proposition.

    It was like the question of the children of corrupt officials benefiting in his previous life; should they be held accountable?

    Chaos! Chaos! Chaos!

    Yi Chen couldn''t sort out the reasoning, anyway, it was Yang Yuyan who did it, it had nothing to do with Taoist Yi Chengzi.

    He only knew that the monsters in front of him were all evil spirits.

    If they''re evil spirits, they should be killed.

    Yi Chen''s sword was very fast.

    Wielding the Dragon-Slaying Sword, Yi Chen struck as if

    he were hacking with a knife, recalling the feeling of furiously cutting down the Snow Wing Sculpture.

    Yi Taoist, devoid of emotion, his swordplay never hindered.

    Heh.

    So many things in the human world are unclear.

    Everyone has their own biases, their own perspectives.

    Double standards, in fact, are the true normality of the secular world.

    For example:

    Above oneself, all are equal.

    Below oneself, do you count as a person?

    Entangled in the web of cause and consequence, many issues have become an utter mess.

    Right and wrong.

    Sin and punishment.

    Who can truly claim the right to interpretation?

    To debate, or not to debate, it''s not your choice; posterity will do the talking!

    Yi Taoist only took care of banishing evil spirits, not playing the judge.

    Yi Chen, like a diligent little bee, cleared one group of mutated villagers after another, moving forward in the moonlight, stepping over corpses, his Dragon-Slaying Sword occasionally sparking against the rubble or large stones in his path.

    His body, enveloped in a deep purple Inner Qi, was the shiniest thing under the moonlight.

    With another sword strike, he blew apart a mutated villager. Scanning his surroundings, Yi Chen felt the whole Yang family stronghold seemed much fresher.

    Under the bright moonlight, the vast white expanse was truly clean.

    "Taoist, come out!"

    "It''s safe outside! Those monsters can''t come out to this Yang family stronghold." It was Lin Baihu and his entourage calling out.

    Unbeknownst to him, Yi Chen had furiously chopped his way down the street, arriving at a gap in the wall of the Yang family stronghold.

    Lin Baihu and his men were standing outside the gap, waving.

    Presumably, this was where they had breached the wall to escape.

    Seeing the people outside the gap, Yi Chen couldn''t help but wave back, grinning widely to reveal a set of white teeth.

    "Don''t be in a hurry, I''ll play with them a little longer," Yi Chen said.

    Dragging the Dragon-Slaying Sword, Yi Chen plowed around the Yang family fortress twice more.

    He was not idle.

    He was searching for other blood-colored tokens that might be hidden among the corpses of the remaining mutated villagers.

    In just a brief moment, that blood-colored token had contributed a hundred and fifty Deep Red Points to him.

    If he didn''t search carefully, would he still be human?

    There had to be more that hadn''t been gleaned!

    Yi Taoist was a meticulous man; he had to search thoroughly. Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, he would still dig three feet into the ground to find it.

    This was top-grade wool; getting it was making a fortune.

    However, contrary to his wishes, what couldn''t be found just couldn''t be found.

    Having plowed around the Yang family fortress twice, Yi Chen could only choose to retreat helplessly.

    Through his efforts, the mutated villagers had become even more disgusting, with limbs put together haphazardly, exuding a kind of Cthulhu-esque beauty.

    Even a man with a strong heart like Yi Chen felt that these creatures looked somewhat repulsive.

    For instance, there was one that had fused the severed part of its lower body with another''s, walking with two legs up and two legs down, a true heavyweight.

    It was simply psychic pollution.

    Physical damage was reduced, but psychic damage was maxed out.

    After an unsuccessful search, Yi Chen decided to retreat first. At that moment, he had a premonition that Yang Yuyan, whom he had blasted apart, was not dead.

    If the mutated villagers could stitch themselves back together, then why couldn''t Yang Yuyan, the host of the blood-colored token, be reborn from his flesh and blood?

    Otherwise, with only the power and immortality displayed so far, how could a blood-colored meteor have the entire cultivation world on edge?

    Was the blood-colored token a beacon?

    Or was this blood-colored meteor just the first wave, with a second and third wave yet to come?

    For a time, Yi Chen''s thoughts were tumultuous as he carried the Dragon-Slaying Sword and left the Yang family fortress.

    If he couldn''t figure it out, then he wouldn''t think about it.

    When Yi Chen''s figure appeared outside the fortress, the surrounding soldiers instantly fell silent¡ªthey had been watching Taoist Yi Chengzi''s powerful strikes against the mutated monsters at the breach. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Crushing bones and tearing flesh effortlessly.

    Grazing ignited explosions, touching induced cracking.

    Suddenly, someone started to shout out loud, breaking the stillness.

    "Taoist''s divine might!"

    That shout was like a signal, like the first falling domino.

    One voice after another, a surge of acclaim for the Taoist''s divine might gathered together.

    "Taoist''s divine might."

    "Taoist''s divine might."

    Especially the seven or eight soldiers who had escaped alive from the Yang family fortress, who shouted the loudest.

    The crowd''s cheer made Yi Chen feel exhilarated inside, but to maintain his poise, he kept his expression as still as a calm lake, revealing no happiness or anger.

    Nodding reservedly at everyone, Yi Chen flicked the hem of his garment and sat down far away from the Yang family fortress, with the Dragon-Slaying Sword lying across his lap.

    He wanted to see if there would be further mutations at the Yang family fortress and whether the monsters inside would rush beyond the fortress''s borders.

    Seeing his gesture, the soldiers gathered around. Yi Chen had a thought and whispered a few words to a soldier. Soon after, a horse galloped away swiftly.

    Just then, an abrupt change occurred.

    The entire ground of the Yang family fortress began to rise with misty pink mist. As time progressed, the mist grew thicker, but it didn''t spread outwards. It seemed constrained by some force, always lingering within the territory and airspace of the Yang family fortress, not daring to cross the boundary.

    "Taoist, what should we do now?"

    The speaker was Lin Baihu, whose breath was unsteady, as though he had suffered some minor injuries in the fierce battle before.

    Yi Chen: "..." You''re asking me again?

    "Clouds are in the sky, water in the jar."

    "Taoist, let''s not play coy with each other; we''re all on the same side. Won''t that ghostly thing come out later?"

    Yi Chen sighed and stood up.

    "Brother Lin, you know yet you still ask. Tell the brothers to step back a bit, watch the front closely. If the mist starts to spread, we''ll immediately retreat further back."

    "It''s best if you move further away. I feel I can run faster than you can ride your horses."

 Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Returning and Planning

    The crowd upon hearing this, retreated another nearly two hundred meters in unison.Yi Chen watched the misty pink fog rising from Yang Manor, his eyebrows tightly furrowed, with no one knowing what he was thinking.

    After tumbling through the air several times, the fog still couldn''t break free from Yang Manor''s confines, as if it had finally given up and suddenly pulled back towards the center before seeping back into the ground.

    By this time, the day had already brightened, and the situation within Yang Manor once again became visible to everyone.

    All of their pupils involuntarily constricted.

    In the daylight, they saw Yang Yuyan, dressed in white, startlingly appear at the breach in the wall of Yang Manor, now unharmed, with her altered legion standing behind her, lined up in a neat row.

    Yang Yuyan turned her head, her eyes coldly fixating on the direction of Yi Chen and the others. Her legion of altered beings also turned their gazes in unison, chillingly uniform, sending shivers down everyone''s spine.

    For some reason, Yi Chen always felt that this resurrected Yang Yuyan wasn''t the same as before¡ªit was as if, her core had been replaced.

    ''Yang Yuyan'' moved her lips, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, no sound came out. She gave Yi Chen a deep look then let out an unearthly roar to the sky before leading her legion back into the depths of the manor, vanishing from sight.

    Yi Chen frowned as he observed the scene, and if his guess was correct, with his half-baked ability to read lips, that ''Yang Yuyan'' seemed to say, "We will meet again".

    "We will meet again?"

    Yi Chen smacked his lips, repeating the phrase silently in his mind twice, then a sinister smile surfaced on his face.

    "Waste of space."

    "Whether or not you have changed your core, if I could kill you once, I can kill you a second time."

    Yi Chen muttered to himself, then called over Lin Baihu and the others to prepare for their retreat, leaving two or three swift riders behind to keep watch.

    He had already done plenty this time. Next, it would be up to the wisdom of the imperial court and the various sects.

    No cause for alarm; the sky wouldn''t fall without someone tall to uphold it.

    "Brother Lin, let''s retreat. Report the true situation; we have done all we can do."

    "That monster is highly infectious, grows fast, and seems indestructible. But luckily, its range of activity is limited. For the time being, you should evacuate the surrounding people and animals, and it would be best to encircle the entire Yang Manor with a wall to contain it."

    "Otherwise, if that monster continues to spread and breaks the blockade, things will become troublesome."

    "With this matter concluded, I''ve been away from the temple for many days; I will return now."

    "The task of infusing Gold into the Dragon-Slaying Sword, I will have to entrust to you, Brother Lin."

    Yi Chen took off the Dragon-Slaying Sword and handed it to Lin Zhengyi, then turned and prepared to leave.

    "This time, we owe a great debt to the Daoist master. Rest assured, I will take care of the Dragon-Slaying Sword. Once it''s been forged, I will personally deliver it to you," Lin Baihu assured him.

    Seeing that Yi Chen was ready to depart, Lin Baihu did not attempt to hold him back. He had plenty to deal with himself, including immediately reporting the situation at Yang Manor to his superiors at the peacekeeping headquarters, and providing compensation for the deceased conscripts¡ªa truly daunting task.

    Shortly thereafter, only a few riders remained behind as Lin Baihu, leading the rest of his militia, hurriedly left the area.

    "Little Miao, let''s go." sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen called out, and with a leap, Little Miao jumped onto his shoulder. He hadn''t brought Little Miao into Yang Manor earlier for safety reasons but had left it with the conscripts stationed outside.

    "Meow meow meow" (Father, can you stop calling me Little Miao? I want to change my name)

    With a meow, Little Miao reluctantly hopped onto Yi Chen''s shoulder.

    When looking closer, there were a few white cat hairs clinging to its body.

    The hairs seemed like they could belong to either a Persian or a Ragdoll cat.

    Perhaps a bit of both.

    Yi Chen: "..." Buddy, I was worried about your safety and didn''t bring you in. Where did you sneak off to last night? You''ve only been born for a few days, do you know this counts as puppy love?

    Yi Chen internally ranted, and with a hint of annoyance, lightly tapped Little Miao on the head.

    "Not Little Miao, so shall I call you Morning-lament?"

    "Enough with your whining. Let''s go, let''s go."

    He ignored Little Miao''s protests and finally turned his head for one last look at the Yang family''s stockade behind him before striding toward Hidden Dragon Temple.

    The Yang family''s stockade stood silently behind him, like a scar upon the earth, indelible.

    As for how many such scars would mar the earth in the days to come, only Heaven knew.

    ¡ª¡ª

    When the east is not bright, the west shines,

    I dry up the remaining sun to dry my sorrows,

    Busy not the night before, busy the night after,

    Dreaming not of gold, I dream of millet and wine.

    The spring rain doesn''t wet the confidant ghost,

    The autumn chill pierces the lovelorn man profoundly.

    ...

    Humming a tune from his previous life, Yi Chen began to make his leisurely way back home.

    When passing by the Qing Shui River, although the floodwaters had receded and the bridge was passable, Yi Chen still carved another log at Little Miao''s vehement request, and together they experienced the thrill of ''shrimp fishing'' once more.

    The rest of the journey went smoothly, with no unusual events.

    Aside from a green snake suddenly darting out from the roadside grass, attempting to attack Yi Chen, who crushed it with his foot, there were no accidents.

    With his exceptional leg strength, Hidden Dragon Temple was within sight by the hour of Shen.

    "The senior brother has returned, the senior brother has returned."

    Find more to read on M-V-L

    From a distance, the two young ones, Qing Feng and Ming Yue, saw the tall Daoist figure approaching the temple¡ªthose arms, that waistline; who else could it be but their beloved senior brother?

    The two youngsters'' happiness also infected Yi Chen; being awaited by others after a ten-day absence felt quite nice.

    With one in each arm, he laughed heartily as he carried them both across the threshold of the temple.

    Tonight at Hidden Dragon Temple was exceptionally festive, with a large table filled with chicken, duck, various fruits and mushrooms. All four brothers were cheerful. Even Qing Yunzi, who rarely drank, shared two cups with Yi Chen.

    Of course, there was still no fish on the dinner table.

    ...

    ...

    At night, Yi Chen opened the window and stood with his hands behind his back, facing the evening breeze. He let the wind rush into his sleeves and whip his robe into a fluttering sound.

    He thought a lot at that moment.

    When heaven and earth undergo great change, there is no such thing as an unbroken egg in an overturned nest.

    Perhaps after he reached the Body-Breaking Realm, he could prepare for a journey to Dragon Tiger Mountain.

    Considering the favor of returning the Heavenly Master''s jade token, Dragon Tiger Mountain would likely share some information about Yin Manor or the news of the blood-colored meteor with him. This way, he could make early preparations and plan ahead.

    "But relying on a mountain means the mountain may fall, relying on a person means they may leave."

    "Iron must be strong in itself."

    "I still need to work hard on my cultivation."

    Looking into the profound night sky, Yi Chen''s eyes flashed with a severe light. He closed the window and took out the closely guarded Thunder Exorcism Jade. Taking a deep breath, he reached out to touch the beautiful green jade.

    "Let''s begin."

    "Without ruthlessness, one cannot stand firm."

    Little Miao, seeing this, let out a strange cry and whooshed up to the roof beam once more.

    In the small room, a tall Daoist practiced his stances all night, while a black cat quietly lay on the roof beam watching, an oddly harmonious scene.

 Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Body-Breaking Realm, Arrival of the Zhengan Bureau

    Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, half a month has passed.During these fifteen days, Yi Chen had been diligently cultivating behind closed doors. In the meantime, he gave his junior brother Qing Yunzi another two thousand taels in banknotes, instructing him to work hard, while he himself completely played the role of a hands-off manager.

    There was no other way, as high buildings rise from the ground, one can only rely on oneself for brilliance.

    His Hidden Dragon Temple had no such ace up its sleeve as an ancient ancestor buried on the back mountain, feigning death, only to rise from the coffin when foreign enemies invade.

    Although his junior brother Qing Yunzi had considerable talent, he had awakened his spiritual nature not long ago, and it was still Yi Chen who had to shoulder the heavy load of the Hidden Dragon Temple.

    For the past half a month, apart from his cheap disciple Chief Zhang coming over once to ensure everything was in order, reporting on the progress of the investigation behind the scenes, Yi Chen had been ceaselessly practicing in the extreme limits of his body and mind, accumulating Origin Points.

    In his room, Yi Chen''s hands trembled slightly as he carefully wrapped up the Thunder Jade and placed it close to his chest.

    Half a month.

    A whole half a month.

    Who knows what he went through in this half a month?

    To accumulate the ten Origin Points needed for the Body-Breaking Realm, his body was practically electrified.

    Not venturing out of his room for half a month, his face was ashen from mental overexertion, which made even his little junior brothers look at him with strange glances...

    Qing Yunzi held back his words several times.

    Fortunately, Heaven does not let down those who toil. Today, Yi Chen finally gathered the Origin Points needed for the Body-Breaking Realm.

    "Body-Breaking Realm, today is the day,"

    "Origin Points, add them for me!"

    Yi Chen roared in his heart as the ten painstakingly accumulated Origin Points were instantly deducted, and a mighty warm current suddenly surged through his limbs and bones.

    With the experience from the Strength-Breaking Realm, Yi Chen was much more skilled in guiding the warm current this time, as the endless stream nourished every cell in his body.

    Every part, every cell of his body, like parched fields, let out a thirsty cry.

    Each circulation of the warm current was a polish for his physical body.

    With each circulation, the hidden injuries deep in his body were slowly being repaired by the dripping warm current.

    Next to be strengthened were his muscle fibers, which grew increasingly tough through constant forging, with strands of tightly knit fibers coiling around each other, much like the arresting wires of an aircraft.

    Then came the tendons that connected the muscles to the bones, which began to thicken and strengthen, growing a strange and tough layer of keratin under the nourishment of the warm current.

    Next were the bones. Countless warm currents slowly permeated deep into the bones ¨C the foundation that supported the body and the source of strength and blood Qi.

    As the warm current seeped in, Yi Chen entered a state of inner vision, seeing his originally translucent, jade-like bones slowly evolve towards a pale gold color.

    His entire skeletal structure, like a bottomless pit, greedily absorbed the permeating, settling warm currents.

    As the warm current continuously flowed, a pale gold color became increasingly prominent on his bones, eventually settling into fine, exquisite gold lines that connected all across his body.

    The unceasing nourishment of the warm currents made his blood Qi grow more and more powerful.

    However, it was not yet the end.

    All of a sudden, the blood Qi in various parts of Yi Chen''s body began to surge, and points of blood-red light appeared on his organs, muscles, and bones.

    These points of blood-red light attracted each other, intertwined, and grew, forming a strange blood-red sphere in his abdominal cavity.

    The sphere initially appeared dim and obscure, but as the blood-red points kept converging within, the sphere''s color grew increasingly bright.

    The blood-red sphere grew to the size of an infant''s fist through continuous aggregation.

    Just as Yi Chen felt that everything was about to come to an end, a sudden change occurred.

    From the blood-red sphere, fine lines of blood began to grow, continuously wriggling and rooting, connecting to the organs and parts of the flesh.

    Suddenly, a new circulation channel formed within Yi Chen''s body.

    By then, the warm current within Yi Chen''s body had finally been exhausted, and the newly formed blood-red sphere began to fluctuate with his breathing.

    Yi Chen watched the changes within his body in shock, momentarily at a loss for words.

    "Fuck, after reaching the Body-Breaking Realm, did I just get an energy heart?"

    "Am I even still human?"

    With a gentle clench of his fist, unparalleled strength began to surge within him.

    The strengthening was over, and Yi Chen felt as though a layer of shackles had been released from his body, inexplicably comfortable and effortless.

    This feeling was like that of an ordinary person who usually carried dozens of kilograms of lead suddenly unloading his burden¡ªlight and quick.

    Even his heartbeat slowed down suddenly.

    The Body-Breaking Realm, not bad at all.

    A mild smile couldn''t help but surface on Yi Chen''s face, feeling incomparably good at this moment.

    "I wonder if I am now stronger or weaker than my master in his prime."

    "Could I beat him in a fight?"

    Suddenly, a thought flashed through Yi Chen''s mind, which he immediately squashed. Experience more on M-V-L

    Such thoughts seemed a bit disrespectful to his master...

    At that moment, he focused, and a virtual interface suddenly appeared on his retina.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 18/128]

    [Strength: 51, {Once Strength-Breaking Realm: Penetration lv1 (Strength with additional shock penetration effect) Vitality lv1 (20% increase in strength attribute effects)}

    Stamina: 50, {Once Body-Breaking Realm: Surplus Energy Storage lv1 (After energy storage is full, stamina and Inner Qi total amount increased by threefold) Overload Recovery lv1 (Stamina consumption doubled, muscular self-healing power increased by fivefold)}

    Spirit: 41,

    Agility: 36]

    [Cultivation Technique: True Pure Yang Skill Level 7 (Traits: Body Strengthening, Scorching Heat, Divine Power, Evil Warding, Toughness, Qi Recuperation, Ignition.) Active Skill: Yang Extreme Change (Muscular strength triples, Inner Qi becomes more active, lasts for ten minutes, after which Inner Qi and strength temporarily drop to 70% of the original.) Active Skill: Soul Ignition Technique (The most blazing thing is to ignite, lighting up one''s potential by burning lifespan, in exchange for might, currently burning one year of lifespan for a 50% increase in strength and Inner Qi, up to a maximum of fivefold increase in power.)]

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique Level 4 (Traits: Eagle Eye, Night Vision, Yin Qi Perception, Heart Eye Reflection lv1, Malicious Intent Perception lv1.)]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3. Culinary Skill lv3]

    [Origin Point: 0] (Can be obtained through stimulating the physical body with exercise, and can improve the four attributes of strength, physique, spirit, and agility.)

    [Deep Red Value: 311.] (Can be obtained through special items or by killing demons and evil entities, etc. Used to improve Cultivation Technique levels or deductions.)

    At this moment, his attributes panel had undergone earth-shattering changes, with the most significant change being his lifespan, which had surged by 31 years, instantly growing to 128 years.

    Strong body leads to strong strength. After entering the Body-Breaking Realm, his strength attribute also increased by a point, which was an unexpected joy. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    What excited him even more were the two special abilities he gained after breaking through to the Body-Breaking Realm.

    Excess Energy Storage lv1 (After fully storing energy, total stamina and Inner Qi increase by threefold)

    Overload Recovery lv1 (Stamina consumption doubles, and the body''s self-healing power increases by five times)

    "This is... an incredibly strong and practical ability."

    If one had to describe Yi Chen, who had broken through both the Strength-Breaking and Body-Breaking Realms, in one sentence.

    That would be, tough as hell while also dealing massive damage¡­

    Just as Yi Chen was rejoicing in his heart, suddenly a hunger like a tsunami emerged in his mind.

    Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!

    At this moment, it seemed as though every cell in his body was screaming.

    For a moment, he even thought about eating...

    The surrounding light, as if attracted by something inexplicable, began to surge frantically towards the inside of his body.

    However, this only slightly relieved his hunger.

    "Damn it!"

    "Does this Excess Energy Storage have such side effects too?"

    In an instant, Yi Chen figured out the culprit behind his intense hunger.

    Excess Energy Storage.

    Ever since awakening the ability to absorb external light energy, Yi Chen had not experienced such intense hunger for a long time.

    Damn!

    With a grunt, he pushed open the door with a big hand and headed straight for the kitchen.

    Meat! Meat! Meat!

    He wanted to eat meat!

    He wanted to eat all kinds of high-energy food.

    Luckily, since Yi Chen started to make a little fortune, the Hidden Dragon Temple had developed the good habit of hoarding food, especially now that the temple was expanding, they hoarded even more.

    Yi Chen picked up an egg and carefully fried it with Pure Yang Inner Qi, instantly making a runny fried egg.

    One gulp!

    Alternating hands to fry eggs, in no time, he had consumed over a hundred eggs, and his stomach churned wildly, transforming the ingested food into energy in an instant and sending it through the crimson channels into the crimson orb inside.

    As light poured in and food went down, Yi Chen finally eased that devouring hunger somewhat.

    But that was not enough.

    The Excess Energy Storage was far from being full at this time.

    Yi Chen looked towards the chicken, duck, and pork stocked in the kitchen, beginning to show a ferocious gleam in his eyes.

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen lay in the backyard of the Hidden Dragon Temple with a toothpick in his mouth, a cup of clear tea on the table beside him.

    Now that felt good.

    Not only was he full, but the Excess Energy Storage was also topped up.

    Under his inner vision, the crimson orb inside Yi Chen''s body now seemed as substantial as reality, quietly flashing bright and dark with his breathing.

    It was virtually his second heart.

    Excess Energy Storage, after fully storing, increased his physical stamina and Inner Qi by threefold, at the cost of an unparalleled hunger when energy was depleted.

    Compared to the tremendous power it gave, Yi Chen felt the minor side effect was acceptable.

    Inside that substantial crimson orb, the immense energy stored and compressed could slowly melt away, converting into physical strength and Inner Qi for him, greatly increasing his stamina.

    In such a state, even the relentless pace of the True Pure Yang Skill could be maintained and extended for much longer.

    Enjoying a sip of tea, Yi Chen, who had emptied the entire kitchen, was about to rest for a while when Qing Feng and Ming Yue''s anxious voices reached him.

    "Big senior brother, big senior brother!"

    Yi Chen frowned.

    "Big events should be met with calmness. How does big senior brother usually teach you?

    You should remain unmoved even if Mount Tai crumbles before you. What is it that makes you rush in so frantically?"

    "Speak slowly, there aren''t many things in Fengyun County that big senior brother can''t handle now."

    Yi Chen grandly waved his hand.

    He now had that confidence.

    "Big senior brother, a thief has infiltrated our temple, the kitchen has been emptied, what are we going to eat tonight?" That was Qing Feng''s voice.

    Yi Chen: "¡­"

    "Big senior brother, several people in flying fish robes came to the temple, it''s Uncle Lin and Big Brother Lin who came last time. They are asking if you are free now; they have some leads on the matter behind the scenes." That was Ming Yue''s voice.

    Yi Chen: "Quick, invite them in, no, I''ll go to welcome them myself."

 Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Truth and Tacit Understanding

    "Taoist Yi Chengzi, the matter at Yang Family Fort was resolved largely thanks to your righteous intervention, otherwise my son would have been in grave danger," Yi Chen said as he had just stepped out of the temple, with Lin Zhenbei bowing his hands in gratitude toward him.Lin Baihu, who stood behind Lin Zhenbei, stepped forward and returned the Dragon-Slaying Sword into Yi Chen''s hands.

    "Taoist, this Pure Yang cultivation sword has now been rightfully returned to its owner."

    "I still want to thank the Taoist for his help last time. Next time you come to Ping''an County, please let me know so that I can fulfill my duties as a landlord," said Lin Baihu.

    Yi Chen politely declined the repeated thanks, took the Dragon-Slaying Sword, and led everyone to the backyard.

    They took their seats.

    Tea was served.

    Qing Feng and Ming Yue attended by their sides.

    Qing Yunzi sat beside Yi Chen on his right.

    Under the cue of Lin Zhenbei''s gaze, Lin Baihu took out a tea-colored paper bag from his chest and handed it over.

    "Taoist, this is the truth uncovered by our Town Security Office through extensive investigation. It contains confessions and physical evidence, and you may examine it," Lin Baihu said.

    "Some of the witnesses have also been brought here and are being held outside the temple."

    "The main reason for the delay was the incident at Yang Family Fort; otherwise, the investigation could have been concluded even earlier," Lin Zhengyi explained.

    Yi Chen smiled, took the paper bag, but did not open it immediately.

    Inspecting it right away was not the way to treat a guest.

    He smiled and placed the paper bag on the side table next to him, then turned to inquire about the incident at Yang Family Fort.

    "The incident at Yang Family Fort?" asked Yi Chen.

    Hearing Yi Chen''s question, Lin Zhenbei''s eyebrows knitted together, and his expression seemed to show some difficulty. After a moment of contemplation, he said:

    "This matter should not be spread, but since the Taoist is not an outsider, I will share some information that I''ve learned."

    Lin Zhenbei cleared his throat, "In fact, I too have limited knowledge of this matter. The news has been strictly sealed by the higher authorities, and I heard only a bit of information from my direct superior."

    "It is said that the blood-colored meteors scattered across the land have spawned various strange disasters in the Da Yue dynasty. Fortunately, these ghoulish things, while troublesome and odd, are not a major concern if dealt with promptly," he said.

    "The upper echelons of our Town Security Office have already used a marvelous treasure to transfer those troublesome and dangerous sites directly into a Secret Realm for confinement. Those sites that pose less danger have been enclosed with high walls to prevent people and animals from inadvertently entering."

    "What concerns us now is the fear that those blood-colored meteors were not just a one-off occurrence. When the next change happens, that will be the real test."

    As he spoke, Lin Zhenbei suddenly lowered his voice and whispered:

    "When I was escorting the left arm of the True Monarch of Transformation, I accidentally heard the chief executive say that with the anomalies in heaven and earth, we are entering an era of endless troubles."

    "The attitude from above does not seem optimistic, and we need to start making early preparations."

    Yi Chen was not too surprised by what Lin Zhenbei said, as he had already seen the letter from the old Heavenly Master when he had mistakenly entered the Yin Manor.

    The old Heavenly Master had indicated in the letter that with the anomalies in the world, the future was uncertain.

    Many powerful cultivators must have predicted today''s changes long ago.

    However, according to what Lin Baihu said today, the first wave of blood-colored meteor strikes had been withstood, and it seemed the next disturbance would require some time to come.

    This was the prime opportunity for one to strengthen their power. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The coming storm was inevitable, and only the true masters would be able to break free from their constraints and take control of their destiny.

    A glint flashed in Yi Chen''s eyes¡ªwhat an opportunity.

    Without great destruction, there cannot be great order.

    If his Hidden Dragon Temple were to develop and become a superpower alongside the Three Mountains and Six Cults, it would need to break the current power structures. Under the stable and solidified old power structures, this was nearly impossible to achieve.

    Only in times of turmoil would there be a chance for newcomers to rise.

    For instance, the current Da Yue dynasty could not have risen to power if the Longevity Cult of the True Monarch of Transformation hadn''t plowed through the previous dynasty''s court and sects, resulting in heavy casualties among the masters. How else could Da Yue have seized the opportunity?

    With each era comes new talents; every generation surpasses the last.

    The Da Yue dynasty feasted on the remains of the former, integrating many broken sects and noble families to become the reigning empire, overpowering all under heaven. Even the Three Mountains and Six Cults had to bow their heads to the might of the Da Yue dynasty, at least nominally.

    Yi Chen naturally had no ambitions to dominate the world, but amidst the chaos, he had the courage to greatly develop his sect and to preserve the relics and Cultivation Techniques from the ruined ancestral tombs of other sects.

    Not only did he have that courage, it was considerable.

    Such behavior, under an orderly rule, would easily get one killed.

    The chaos, however, gave him the opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

    Moreover, with the current supernatural changes to the world, it seemed that the future would be plagued with frequent appearances of ghosts and evil spirits¡ªall of which amounted to a wealth of Deep Red Points.

    If he played his cards right, he could very well rise swiftly using the momentum, testing his strength against the world.

    "Still, I have to thank the landlord for being so forthright."

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    "If there''s anything in the future, just send a letter and I will not hesitate to help if I can."

    Yi Chen stood up and bowed deeply to Lin Zhenbei, who quickly got up and returned the bow. A young and an old fox exchanged glances, understanding each other without words.

    Yi Chen needed the official status and intelligence from the town''s peacekeeping office, while Lin Zhenbei saw promise in Yi Chen''s future and decided to invest early.

    The so-called web of human relationships is one thing, and what you have in your hands that others need is another.

    In the previous life, some people liked to socialize, but how could you fit in with the circle of predators if you came empty-handed?

    Are you expecting them to take an interest in charitable work?

    This is why different circles can''t be forced together.

    It is also the reason why teachers and doctors were held in such high regard in society in the past life.

    There were many smooth talkers, but one''s real strength had to keep up, or it was in vain.

    The protagonist of the story of the wild dog who was hunted by the lion failed to understand this principle.

    When the strength was there, relationships and circles would naturally form.

    Yi Chen believed that as long as his strength progressed, his relationship with Lin Baihu of the Hidden Dragon Temple would only get better.

    Furthermore, he was not the type to be ungrateful.

    In the early stages, Lin Baihu had helped protect the Hidden Dragon Temple, and Yi Chen would reciprocate with generous rewards later on.

    After another round of casual conversation on various topics, Lin Zhenbei and his people decided it was time to leave. This personal visit was merely to show importance to Yi Chen; in the future, some affairs would not necessitate a personal presence.

    Yi Chen personally saw Lin Zhenbei and his party off for a hundred meters.

    Outside, the autumn wind was bleak, whisking away the dried grass on the ground.

    Lin Zhenbei hesitated to speak, but in the end, he still voiced his question.

    "Taoist, there has been something weighing on my mind; I must speak to feel at ease."

    "Landlord, please speak freely; we can talk about anything."

    "What I want to ask is, does your junior brother, Qing Yunzi, have an issue with me and my son? He has been looking at us with dismissive eyes for several encounters now."

    "You know, that kind of, domineering and unyielding gaze."

    Yi Chen: "....."

    "To be honest, for some reason, my junior brother has been severely cross-eyed since he was young, and he looks at everyone like that¡­"

    "And over time, it has gotten worse."

    Lin Zhenbei: "....."

    Lin Baihu: "....."

    "Farewell!"

    With the misunderstanding cleared, Yi Chen watched Lin Zhenbei and his group leave before finally opening the tea-colored paper bag.

    On the first page of the intelligence report, the words "Qing Feng Temple" were written prominently.

    At this sight, Yi Chen''s eyes involuntarily narrowed.

 Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Great Talent, Tao Hua Daoist.

    The Peach Blossom Daoist had just staggered out from a tenant farmer''s dwelling, drunk as a lord, his footsteps sloppy and belching from time to time.He lifted his hand to his nose and took a fierce sniff, a sweet milky fragrance shooting straight up his nostrils.

    The Peach Blossom Daoist let out a sleazy chuckle with a mouthful of big gold teeth shining, those false teeth he had had made by a master craftsman after that little bastard from Hidden Dragon Temple had knocked his out.

    "So fragrant!"

    "I''ll come again tomorrow!"

    Half of Rolling Stone Town belonged to his Spirit Wind View, and with a mix of lawful and illicit, overt and covert means, they had indeed annexed quite a bit of land over the years.

    So what if he slept with one of his tenant farmers'' new daughters-in-law?

    After all, they depended on farming for the temple to have food to eat.

    Gratitude was a virtue people should learn to express.

    Don''t bite the hand that feeds you.

    After all, half of Rolling Stone Town relied on their Spirit Wind View for sustenance.

    "Brother, your cultivation has reached a critical juncture; we need to hurry up with the next batch of sacrificial offerings."

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    "They''re just destitute families, unable to repay their loans, losing a few beasts wouldn''t matter much."

    "Once Brother''s divine powers are complete, I will flay that little bastard from Hidden Dragon Temple alive to vent the hatred in my heart."

    "Kill the adults, and take the young alive to beg for their lives as penance."

    The Peach Blossom Daoist muttered to himself, let out a belch, then took another fierce sniff with his palm before staggering in the direction of Spirit Wind View.

    With the help of the moonlight, Spirit Wind View was already in sight at this point.

    Squinting as he walked, the Peach Blossom Daoist suddenly felt the daylight dim, and he opened his bleary, drunken eyes to look up.

    Standing there was a towering figure over two meters tall, garbed in a cloak for night travel and built like a bear.

    Even though the cloak was a size XXL, it still looked tight on that person''s body.

    Instantly, the Peach Blossom Daoist sobered up by half.

    "Yi Cheng..."

    With a snap, a hard slap sent another good portion of his recently fixed gold teeth flying, doubling his vision immediately.

    Yi Chen dragged the Peach Blossom Daoist by the ankles as if dragging a dead dog, pulling him to a secluded spot.

    "What Yi Chengzi, I''m a notorious bandit, a sea-hawk supreme."

    "I''m here to interrogate you about a few things, and you better spill the beans."

    The Peach Blossom Daoist''s eyes bulged with incredulous shock.

    "I didn''t even finish my sentence, how could you know I was talking about Yi Chengzi?"

    "With that body of yours, you dare say you''re not..."

    Whack!

    Another violent slap, and all the Peach Blossom Daoist''s gold teeth were knocked out for nothing.

    "Wrong answer."

    "That does not please me, the sea-hawk supreme."

    Yi Chen''s cold voice followed.

    With a swing of his Dragon-Slaying Sword, the Peach Blossom Daoist''s thumb was sheared off in an instant. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Agony struck, and just as the Peach Blossom Daoist was about to wail in panic, he heard Yi Chen''s eerie voice again.

    "If you keep screaming, it won''t just be your fingers that are dropped, oof,"

    Half an hour later, the Peach Blossom Daoist, who had been interrogated and tortured by Yi Chen to the point of resembling a dead dog, was being held up by him.

    After repeated questioning, the Peach Blossom Daoist confessed to everything, even admitting to the fortune-telling he had just done for another family''s wife.

    During the interrogation, he had thought about being tricky, exaggerating the truth, and distorting the facts, but under Yi Chen''s relentless questioning and torture, his little tricks were no match for Yi Chen''s perception.

    Under the extreme torture, Yi Chen managed to piece together most of the truth.

    The Peach Blossom Daoist was indeed a talented manager of external affairs, secretly supporting and controlling quite a few gangs to work for his temple, even maintaining a clout through single-line contacts, quite a strategist.

    His senior brother, the master of Ling Feng Temple, had not been able to advance to the Qi Refinement Realm for many years and had somehow acquired a method that used fresh human blood as a medium, paired with a blood refining technique to craft blood pills and increase mana.

    Of course, this is not yet where the Peach Blossom Daoist''s genius shows.

    To satisfy his senior brother''s need for fresh human blood, the Peach Blossom Daoist hinted to the gangs to detain those who were unreliable, owed money, were gamblers, or gang members.

    Then.

    Sustainability was drained dry.

    He called these people blood offerings. They were well-fed and bled regularly. If they fell ill, they were treated. Under his meticulous cultivation, the turnover of blood offerings was not fast, and over the years, it hadn''t attracted anyone''s attention.

    After all, those chosen as blood offerings were either the destitute, whose deaths would not be investigated, or those despicable to both humans and dogs.

    You know, for some people, their death is a greater contribution than anything they did in life.

    The Peach Blossom Daoist was so secretive in his dealings that no one investigated.

    The matter with the Evil Tiger Gang was entirely the Peach Blossom Daoist''s personal resentment. He could not let go of the punishment Bai Yunzi had given him years ago and hence sent members of the Evil Tiger Gang to probe.

    His senior brother, the master of Ling Feng Temple, was originally indifferent to his meddling, after all, his dear junior brother had provided significant help for his blood pill enterprise.

    Furthermore, the stone from other mountains can be used to polish the jade¡ªif he could obtain the foundational Daoist techniques of Hidden Dragon Temple, he would certainly welcome it.

    However, under Yi Chen''s violent methods, not being sure of the depth of Hidden Dragon Temple, the master of Ling Feng Temple called a halt to the Peach Blossom Daoist''s antics.

    Everything was to be secondary to his breakthrough to the Qi Refinement Realm.

    To avoid detection, the master of Ling Feng Temple had not made a move in front of others for a long time.

    "You little bastard are really damn talented,"

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but exclaim as he held the Peach Blossom Daoist by the neck.

    By that time, eight of the ten fingers of the Peach Blossom Daoist had been sliced off, blood dripping steadily into the soil, his complexion ashen, like a dead dog.

    No, he was a dead dog.

    Because as soon as Yi Chen finished speaking, the Dragon-Slaying Sword pierced the heart of the Peach Blossom Daoist, and with a kick of his legs, he quickly lay still.

    His death was a boundless merit.

    More than all the contributions he had made in his lifetime.

    Yi Chen, holding the corpse of the Peach Blossom Daoist, strode toward the direction of Ling Feng Temple in the distance.

    With the efforts of several generations, Ling Feng Temple had prospered under meticulous management, with emerald tiles and white walls, and statues of ancestors lined in gold.

    Not only did it have many courtyards and vast grounds, but even its arrangement was exquisite and costly.

    Compared to it, Hidden Dragon Temple was as poor as a starving wolf dog.

    However, tonight, all of that was about to vanish.

    In the quiet room, the master of Ling Feng Temple took a crimson pill from the porcelain bottle he carried and placed it in his mouth. Then he closed his eyes tightly, circulating his mana to dissolve the pill and absorb its power.

    Thanks to his daily dedication for the past three years, combining his efforts, he tirelessly refined and consumed these blood pills, and his mana had finally reached the peak of refining essence into qi. At that moment, his mana was boiling, and he had a premonition that with another dozen blood offerings next month.

    He, reaching the Qi Refinement Realm, was just within reach!

 Chapter 82: Chapter 82 Annihilation.

    Once the mana had quieted down, the master of Ling Feng Guan opened his eyes, a gleam flashing within, a hint of joy spreading across his face.His lifespan was running out, but at last, a breakthrough was imminent.

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    Terrifying things lie between life and death that those who have never experienced it could never understand.

    In his youth, he had also slain demons and exorcised evil spirits, risking life and limb, but as he grew old, his vitality waned, and he could no longer do so.

    He began to indulge in pleasures, he began to fear, to panic.

    Some say the world is too harsh, and they do not want to return in the next life.

    Others wish to borrow another five hundred years from heaven.

    The master of Ling Feng Guan belonged to those who wished for another five hundred years.

    "Eh, why hasn''t my junior brother come back today? The next batch of sacrificial offerings needs to be arranged soon," the master of Ling Feng Guan murmured to himself as he pushed open the window and looked out at the bright moon.

    Just then, suddenly a tall figure darted over the wall and hurled a humanoid object at the window.

    "You old coot, here''s your junior brother, enjoy!"

    Who else could this person be but Yi Chen?

    The master of Ling Feng Guan''s face changed instantly at the words, a faint green light tinged with crimson swirling in his hand as he caught the object, retreating three steps before stabilizing himself.

    Only then did he have the presence of mind to look at the person in his hands, and he could not help but cry out in pain, tears seeping from his already blurry eyes.

    "Junior brother!"

    "You died such a tragic death." sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    His pained cry was indeed heartfelt.

    Human beings are complex creatures; while playing the role of a villain, one can also be a good husband, a good son, a good father, and a good senior brother.

    "Eh, you old coot, I didn''t expect you to be genuinely heartbroken."

    "Do you think those whose families were destroyed and lives ruined by your junior brother were heartbroken?"

    "Don''t tell me you didn''t know about the terrible things your junior brother did."

    "And in front of someone else''s husband at that."

    "Pah! Disgusting!"

    Disgusted and surprised, Yi Chen spat a thick glob of saliva onto the ground.

    "Yi Chengzi, your heart is truly vicious!"

    "I will have your life for this!"

    The master of Ling Feng Guan didn''t respond to Yi Chen''s words but instead mobilized all his mana, and suddenly a massive wind blade appeared in the air, swiftly striking towards Yi Chen.

    The howling wind scattered the books in the room, and Yi Chen''s hair was blown wildly about.

    The master of Ling Feng Guan''s eyes were bloodshot, his look was so feral it was as if he could eat someone alive.

    "You''re talking nonsense, I''m known as ''The Sea-Covering Hawk'', I''m really not familiar with this Yi Chengzi," Yi Chen retorted.

    "You can eat whatever you want, but you shouldn''t spout nonsense, you old coot."

    With an angry shout, deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi suddenly entwined around his fist. Facing the huge wind blade speeding towards him, he didn''t dodge or evade but met it with a direct punch.

    Boom!

    Yi Chen''s punch shattered the massive wind blade spell, scattering the currents in all directions.

    Yet this was not the end, as Yi Chen continued his advance, his iron fist raised once more before smashing directly into the chest of the master of Ling Feng Guan.

    Faced with this staggering force, a look of terror flickered in the master of Ling Feng Guan''s eyes, but it was already too late.

    Yi Chen, now at the double-breakthrough stage of strength and body, faced the master of Ling Feng Guan at the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm like a one-sided steamroller, not even needing to unleash the Yang Ji transformation.

    In just a few moves, Yi Chen''s heavy iron fist struck the chest of Daoist Ling Feng, who, after spewing a mouthful of blood face-up, suddenly howled at the sky:

    "Run!"

    "All disciples of Spirit Wind Watch, listen to my command, run!"

    Their voices were filled with a heart-wrenching sorrow, as if cuckoos were crying blood.

    A fierce smile flashed across Yi Chen''s lips.

    "Run, can you really run away?"

    "With one punch, I''ll kill you with one punch!"

    "Warm-up is over!"

    He pumped the energy throughout his body, and the Yang Ji technique re-emerged!

    But this time he wasn''t using a sword, but his fist, yet the underlying principle was the same.

    "Your dominant hand is weak, your mana is scattered, your reactions are slow, not a single move is decent, Master of Spirit Wind Watch, what kind of technique have you cultivated, what kind of Dao have you trained in!"

    With a roar of anger, Yi Chen turned into a streak of deep purple light and fiercely punched the chest of the Master of Spirit Wind Watch, who then coughed up a trickle of fresh blood. He slapped his palm down, shattering a portable Jade Talisman, and a protective golden light suddenly appeared around him.

    "I''ll fight you to the end!" the Master of Spirit Wind Watch roared.

    However, Yi Chen remained completely calm in the face of this sudden change. Facing the Master of Spirit Wind Watch, whom he had just sent flying, he once again accelerated, delivering another punch wrapped in deep purple Inner Qi against the Master''s protective light shield.

    At that moment, the golden shield flickered violently before vanishing abruptly.

    Yi Chen accelerated a third time, his strength and momentum reaching their peak.

    Boom!

    The Master of Spirit Wind Watch didn''t even have the chance to leave last words before he exploded into a cloud of blood mist.

    The Qi Refinement Realm he had sought with solitary dedication became an illusory dream, cut short on the eve of dawn.

    Yi Chen raised his eyebrows and no longer hesitated. After killing all the disciples of Spirit Wind Watch who had come upon hearing the news, he looked at the figures moving in the night. Relying on the night vision and eagle-eyed capabilities provided by the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique, he leaped up, trailing a long tail of deep purple flames, and pursued.

    If you don''t remove the roots, the spring breeze will blow again and bring them back to life!

    Now that they''ve been reduced to animals, do they still deserve rational discussion?

    Is it really necessary to individually determine which of them are guilty but not deserving of death?

    Having joined the fray, the disciples of Spirit Wind Watch benefited from its power, and thus must also bear its karma!

    Determining whether their crimes merited death was not Yi Chen''s responsibility.

    If all sins must be accounted for, Yi Chen was willing to shoulder them!

    Strike with a punch first, then consider the rest afterwards!

    If they had a next life, they were welcome to seek revenge against him!

    Kill! Kill! Kill!

    Under the moonlit night, killing intent lurked.

    The destruction of a clan with a legacy of two to three hundred years naturally had its share of loyal and righteous individuals, whom Yi Chen had dealt with swiftly after blasting the Master of Spirit Wind Watch.

    And of course, there were plenty who fled upon hearing the news, but they knew nothing of the true meaning of power.

    One by one, they were hunted down and named by Yi Chen.

    Under the moonlit night, Yi Chen, enveloped in a terrifying aura of death, dragged the bodies of the slain one by one back into the confines of Spirit Wind Watch with a stern face.

    Killing was one thing; he still had to take care of the aftermath properly, not leaving the bodies strewn about.

    This was also his, Yi Chengzi''s duty.

    In retrospection, he vaguely remembered a certain Martial Saint of Ashes, who had terrible manners; after killing someone, he would throw the body directly into the river, horrifying the people downstream. Taoist Yi Chengzi certainly could never do such a thing.

    After gathering all the bodies together, Yi Chen walked into a secluded meditation room within Spirit Wind Watch. He looked at the white-haired Daoist who was continuously chanting scriptures while sitting on a cushion and asked with puzzlement,

    "Old Daoist, why didn''t you take the chance to run while I was dragging the bodies?"

    Yi Chen had naturally detected the life force of this man long ago, but at the time, he was busy chasing after the fleeing disciples of Spirit Wind Watch and hadn''t immediately killed him. He figured that there was no rush, and he could kill the others first before dealing with this one. Unexpectedly, not only did the man not flee, he wasn''t afraid either, and instead began reciting scriptures while sitting cross-legged.

 Chapter 83: Chapter 83: A Decision, Chief Zhang and His Brother-in-Law

    The white-haired Daoist held a wooden mallet and struck the chime in front of him, his face devoid of sorrow or joy, and said:"Your Excellency jokes, do you think I can run away just because I wish to?"

    "Since you can''t escape anyway, why bother trying? It''s easier for everyone."

    "I''m an old man in the twilight of my years, I''ve grown up in Lingfeng Temple since I was young, and I haven''t cultivated any mana. Dying in Lingfeng Temple would be like falling leaves returning to the roots."

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen grinned, revealing a kind smile:

    "Well said, the old Daoist speaks with a true charm. However, it''s a pity that you still have to die. Under my hand, the Hawk of the Seas, I never leave enemies alive."

    "But since you''re so sensible, you can end it yourself."

    The white-haired old Daoist didn''t directly answer Yi Chen''s words, but instead sighed deeply and said:

    "Ever since my elder brothers secretly began refining the Blood Pills, I knew this day would come, just did not expect it to come so soon."

    "May I propose a deal with Your Excellency? I''ll tell you where the hidden treasures of the temple are, as well as where the fundamental scriptures of Lingfeng Temple are kept."

    "As a fellow cultivator, all I ask is that when you find a suitable candidate in the future, you pass on the fundamental Daoist teachings of our temple to them. That would be enough to consider the transaction complete."

    Seeing that Yi Chen was silent for a long time, the white-haired Daoist spoke again:

    "Without my guidance, Your Excellency will definitely not be able to find the treasures of Lingfeng Temple."

    Yi Chen laughed upon hearing this.

    He had already found out where all the valuable things in Lingfeng Temple were hidden when questioning the Peach Blossom Taoist earlier.

    Being the financial director of Lingfeng Temple, in charge of external affairs, and having a deep relationship with the temple master, what could the Peach Blossom Taoist not know?

    Even the matter of ''Blood Sacrifice'' was under his management.

    "The Taoist is deeply concerned about the transmission of the temple''s teachings, I understand this dedication. But if I say I agree now, would you dare to believe me?"

    "You should be on your way, Taoist Master."

    Yi Chen didn''t pick up the old Taoist''s cue, but instead took a step forward, expelled his energy, and with a twist of the old Daoist''s neck, he passed away suddenly.

    The older the person, the slier, the older the horse, the wiser.

    Yi Chen couldn''t be bothered to engage in a battle of wits with this white-haired old Daoist.

    After a period of searching and rummaging, Yi Chen''s figure flashed, and he arrived inside the Ancestral Hall of Lingfeng Temple.

    From Yi Chen''s past experience with Deep Red Points, items imbued with the emotions and essence of many generations of high-level cultivators were highly likely to contain Deep Red Points.

    This was something Yi Chen urgently needed.

    The True Pure Yang Skill of the eighth layer was still nearly three hundred points short, and he just wanted to gather the remaining Deep Red Points as soon as possible.

    Zi Ji Sheng Qing. When he battled the divided spirit of True Person Corpse God from the Corpse God Sect, he had a fleeting glimpse of the profound mysteries of that realm.

    That powerful feeling still lingered in his mind.

    In today''s increasingly tense situation, only strength can soothe one''s heart.

    "Found it."

    After a search, relying on the information provided by the Peach Blossom Taoist, Yi Chen revealed a trace of joy on his face. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The fundamental scripture of Lingfeng Temple was called "Lingfeng Qingmiao True Scripture," a jade scroll.

    As soon as he touched it, a fine, icy sensation instantly entered Yi Chen''s body.

    Deep Red Value +35.

    Perhaps because Lingfeng Temple''s strength was lacking and its legacy was not very long, the Deep Red Value contained in this jade scroll was not very substantial, but Yi Chen was not picky.

    No matter how small a mosquito is, it''s still meat; once it lands on the plate, it becomes a dish.

    With that, he took another solid step towards the True Pure Yang Skill of the eighth layer.

    Lingfeng Temple had accumulated wealth over many years, which largely consisted of property in the form of land deeds rather than much silver. After Yi Chen''s looting, he found no more than six thousand taels, filling two large boxes of silver.

    The rest consisted of a large pile of IOUs.

    These were loan pledges borrowed by local villagers or tenant farmers from Lingfeng Temple.

    The interest was so high that when Yi Chen briefly glanced at them, he immediately felt that compared to Lingfeng Temple, the capitalists of his previous life were exuding a halo of virtue.

    These IOUs were naturally burned in a fire, a bunch of unconscionable things.

    Using the moonlight, Yi Chen, carrying a chest of silver, went to the gathering place of over six hundred households of those hardworking people who tilled the land for Lingfeng Temple. After leaving five taels of silver with each household, he vanished into the night with the chest of silver.

    After all, the wealth amassed by Lingfeng Temple had been squeezed out of these hardworking people anyway. It seemed only reasonable for Yi Chen to take it back from Lingfeng Temple and keep half as a service fee.

    Even if Yi Chen''s master, Bai Yunzi, came to him in a dream to argue, he would not feel slightest bit guilty.

    What''s wrong with deducting some hard-earned money for the skillful work?

    Isn''t this the practice of the way of benevolence and righteousness?

    Now Hidden Dragon Temple was everywhere in construction, buying land, buying medicinal materials. Money was needed everywhere, and Yi Chen was only taking half. He felt he was already glowing with golden light.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    The next day, it was the fifth watch of the day, still dimly lit.

    Chief Zhang rode a large horse, wearing his official uniform, leading a team of officers, and hastened to the vicinity of Lingfeng Temple.

    "Seal it all off, all unrelated persons are forbidden to enter."

    After being the head constable for a time, Chief Zhang had an air of authority when he spoke.

    At his command, more than ten constables surrounded Lingfeng Temple.

    Chief Zhang led the way on horseback, accompanied by a twenty-something coroner surnamed Li, as they entered the temple for inspection.

    "Brother-in-law¡­"

    "Hmm? I''ve said it many times, during work, address me by my official title. Call me Chief!"

    Just as Coroner Li was about to speak, Chief Zhang gave him a sidelong glance and interrupted him. Li hurriedly corrected himself:

    "Chief Zhang, Lingfeng Temple has most likely been struck by a thug. These people died in tragic states, it''s just that we don''t know who the culprit is. We need to report this as soon as possible."

    "Report? Report what?"

    "Li, you¡­ how can you be so dense?"

    "If you weren''t my wife''s younger brother, I wouldn''t bother to cultivate you."

    Chief Zhang frowned and began to scold his brother-in-law, striding to a corpse that was still somewhat intact.

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    "Li, look, eight out of ten fingers on this corpse have been shaved off, and there''s a hole in his heart. Tell me, how did he die?"

    "Homicide! He was tortured before death, must have been interrogated by the thug."

    "Really? Why do I feel like it was a suicide?" Chief Zhang turned his head, his gaze lingering on Li.

    "Impossible, absolutely impossible!

    Who would chop off eight of their own fingers before stabbing themselves in the back?" Coroner Li, Chief Zhang''s brother-in-law, was very confident in his professional skills, insisting firmly on his point.

    Hearing this, Chief Zhang sighed. He decided that in the future, he would ask his in-laws to have another child; this one was already a lost cause...

    "Then write it down, don''t ask why, just put down that Lingfeng Temple was visited by a rampaging evil spirit."

    "Struck by such a calamity, some survivors couldn''t withstand the shock and committed suicide."

    Seeing Li still wanted to argue, Chief Zhang had no choice but to persuasively say:

    "Li, let me teach you another lesson."

    "When you encounter something unreasonable, something you can''t understand, look for a pig."

    "Do you think those nobles are pigs, do you think your brother-in-law is a pig?"

    "When something outrageous happens, yet everyone seems to agree on it, then you should think harder."

    "If you can''t find the pig at the scene, then, most likely, you are the pig yourself."

 Chapter 84: Chapter 84 Aftermath, Working Cat, Fleet, Bronze Horn Golden Coffin.

    Before the Hidden Dragon Temple courtyard.Under the jujube tree.

    Yi Chen sat sipping tea at a square table, while Chief Zhang perched on half a stool.

    "Master, I''ve taken care of everything,"

    "The incident at the Lingfeng Temple was attributed to a passing evil spirit, with heavy casualties. Some survivors couldn''t bear the shock and chose to commit suicide."

    "As for the bodies of the deceased, the government has provided the best ''sandalwood'' coffins for burial, with the funds advanced by the government and later deducted from the assets such as the land and fields sold by Lingfeng Temple."

    "About the proceeds from those sales, Master, what do you think should be done with the money?" Chief Zhang carefully asked.

    With experience from handling the Wang family''s assets, Chief Zhang had a replicable strategy and was adept at dealing with bad assets. However, when it came to the distribution of benefits, he dared not decide on his own and came to consult Yi Chen early in the morning.

    Yi Chen sipped his tea, thought for a moment, and then, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, replied:

    "Whoever buys those fields, the tenancy rent cannot exceed forty percent of what the tenant farmers earn for a hundred years. In exchange, the price of the fields can be a bit lower¡ªthat''s the bottom line. Can it be done?"

    "Master, by the rules, the tenancy rent usually takes up to sixty or seventy percent. If it''s reduced to forty percent, it will greatly affect the sale price of the fields..." Chief Zhang hesitated, but before he could finish, under Yi Chen''s sidelong glance, he decisively chose to keep quiet and then said, "No problem."

    "That''s good to hear," Yi Chen nodded in satisfaction.

    "My disciple, today your master will teach you another lesson."

    "Money is something you can never fully earn, and one should never seek to pressure to the limit and take away the last copper coin; otherwise, unforeseen disasters may strike."

    "Trust your master, you should ponder this yourself. What you realize on your own will truly be yours."

    "As for the money earned from selling Lingfeng Temple''s fields, give the county magistrate twenty percent, you and your men take ten percent, and make a trip to the town anzhen department in the county city. Say you are my disciple and meet with Lin Zhenbei, the Thousand Householder; give him thirty percent. The remaining forty percent is to be sent to me."

    After swiftly arranging these matters in a few words, Yi Chen sent Chief Zhang on his way.

    Five days later, Chief Zhang brought four thousand taels in silver notes.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    At night, in the back courtyard of Hidden Dragon Temple.

    "Brother, are you leaving tomorrow?" Qing Yunzi sat opposite Yi Chen and slanted his eyes as he spoke.

    "Indeed, I''ve called you here today to give my instructions."

    Yi Chen nodded, took out six silver notes of a thousand taels each from his bosom, and handed them to Qing Yunzi.

    The cash acquired from Lingfeng Temple a few days earlier had already been converted into silver notes by him.

    "Keep these silver notes safe, my junior brother, and remember to leave three thousand taels untouched as a reserve. Use the rest to recruit new disciples and expand the temple."

    "You must also diligently oversee the training of Qing Feng and Ming Yue. Don''t neglect your own cultivation either; you bear a heavy burden."

    "Before your elder brother leaves, there is one last piece of advice I wish to share with you." S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Preserve man and lose land, both man and land are secured; preserve land and lose man, both man and land are lost."

    "Although your elder brother has already established a good relationship with the town anzhen department, accidents can still happen. If faced with insurmountable risks and after receiving intelligence from the town anzhen department, when it''s time to hide or withdraw, don''t hesitate to leave behind what you have now."

    "The three thousand taels I''ve told you to save are for dealing with such crises."

    "Brother..." Qing Yunzi''s expression was a mix of emotions.

    Seeing the mood turning sentimental, Yi Chen smiled, stood up, and ruffled Qing Yunzi''s hair like they were children again.

    "What''s the matter? Are you sad to see your big brother go on a long journey?"

    "How about this? The moon is beautiful tonight, so why don''t we brothers spar one more time for old time''s sake, and let your brother see how much you''ve improved these days?"

    "No sparring, no sparring." As soon as he heard Yi Chen''s words, Qing Yunzi got scared and quickly took three steps back, shaking his head like a rattle drum, amusing Yi Chen immensely.

    The next day, as dawn''s light spread.

    Yi Chen went to the ancestral hall to offer three sticks of incense to the tablets of the ancestral masters and to his master, Bai Yunzi.

    "Venerated masters above, your disciple is about to embark on a journey. Please bless me with a smooth and safe trip."

    "Rest assured, once your disciple makes his fortune, I''ll surely craft for the Venerated Masters golden statues worth a hundred thousand taels, making our Hidden Dragon Temple famous across the land."

    "If you remain silent, I''ll take it as your consent. Thank you for your blessings, Venerated Masters."

    After bowing deeply three times with respect, Yi Chen decided it was time to depart.

    "Elder brother, take care on your journey."

    "Big brother, go and come back soon; we''ll miss you."

    The two youngsters said their goodbyes to Yi Chen, one after the other, with Qing Yunzi standing to the side.

    Early in the morning, Yi Chen got up and prepared to leave with his travelling bag on his back.

    Apart from a few changes of clothes, his bag contained a portable tent he had custom designed.

    Not fond of sentimental goodbyes, he had planned to sneak away early, but to his surprise, Qing Feng and Ming Yue were alert enough to wake up even earlier than him¡­.

    "Alright, no need for a send-off. Qing Feng, Ming Yue, listen to your second brother. It won''t be long before I return."

    With a nonchalant wave of his hand, Yi Chen strode away and soon disappeared over the horizon.

    Sword securely belted, stepping out the door was entering the jianghu.

    Little Miao perched on Yi Chen''s shoulder, while Yi Chen took out the official map he had prepared earlier, planning his route to Dragon Tiger Mountain. With a grand gesture, he pointed at a certain city on the map.

    "Ready, Little Miao?"

    "Our next stop is, Longjiang Prefecture."

    "I''ve heard the alley cats in Longjiang Prefecture are plenty, sleek and well-groomed."

    Upon hearing this, Little Miao''s eyes gleamed brightly, and she responded to Yi Chen''s words with cheerful meowing, urging him to set off quickly.

    "Meow meow meow! (Charge charge charge!)"

    "You little pervert," Yi Chen cursed with a laugh before turning away and stepping onto the official road leading to Longjiang Prefecture.

    Behind him, once Hidden Dragon Temple became a tiny speck in his field of vision and the great Falling Dragon Mountain shrank to the size of a soybean, Yi Chen couldn''t suppress a tinge of sadness welling up in his heart.

    "Let''s hope everything goes smoothly on this trip."

    Yi Chen looked back one last time at Falling Dragon Mountain, shook his head to dispel the strange emotions in his mind, then continued on his journey without further hesitation.

    Thus, one man and one cat gradually left Fengyun County and Falling Dragon Mountain farther and farther behind.

    After walking for three or four hours, the sun began to tilt westward, and the sky slowly dimmed.

    Just then, a large grey rabbit darted across the road; seeing it, Yi Chen''s eyes lit up. He had only eaten some dry food at noon and was about to grow tired of its blandness.

    As it turned out, he hadn''t come across any game along the way that he could feast on, thwarting his plans for a nice meal.

    Now that a wild rabbit had finally made an appearance, he couldn''t let it escape.

    He immediately began to give orders.

    "Little Miao, go get it!"

    "Little Miao, cut off its middle path, attack its undercarriage."

    With the journey growing dull, Yi Chen became a fountain of commands, directing Little Miao to catch the rabbit.

    Having raised a cat for many days, it was time to put it to use; such a minor thing shouldn''t require his personal intervention.

    Before long, Little Miao, with graceful cat steps, came over holding the large grey rabbit in its mouth.

    "Well done, a verbal reward for you."

    With Little Miao by his side, Yi Chen''s journey had become much easier.

    Yi Chen smiled and patted Little Miao on the head as a sign of appreciation, which made Little Miao hold its head even higher.

    A young cat had never experienced the harsh beatings of society and knew nothing about empty promises and verbal praise.

    As a spiritual beast, Little Miao grew rapidly; now fully capable of overpowering those beasts without awakened intelligence, it was like Tyson fighting children¡ªwith a mere pinch, Yi Chen could easily reap the benefits.

    Being from a poor household at Hidden Dragon Temple, a young cat like Little Miao had to take on responsibilities early, so it made sense for it to work more.

    Looking around, Yi Chen found a place with a spring, where he skinned and cleaned the rabbit before shaking it with his Pure Yang Inner Qi to start roasting it. He then took out the spices he had prepared from his bundle and sprinkled them on the meat. Soon, the aroma of roasted rabbit filled the air.

    Although roasted rabbit cooked this way, without the use of charcoal, lacked a certain soul, it was not bad when enhanced with a secret sauce.

    Sharing fairly, Yi Chen tore off a rabbit leg for Little Miao, then, under its astonished gaze, he alone devoured the rest of the roast rabbit.

    "It''s getting late, and we still have a ways to go before reaching Wooden Forest Post. Little Miao, we need to hurry, otherwise we''ll have to sleep outdoors tonight."

    Yi Chen glanced at the map given to him by the county magistrate and then at the fading daylight before setting off on the road again with Little Miao.

    ...

    ...

    "Stay sharp, everyone; night is nearly upon us. We need to hurry to Wooden Forest Post; traveling at night is difficult, brothers."

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    "The brothers watching our back also need to keep their eyes peeled¡ªwe''re in the wilderness, and danger doesn''t come just from evil spirits."

    "Sometimes, people can be more terrifying than evil spirits. If you encounter any suspicious activity, report it immediately."

    "This is an important business trip, so we absolutely cannot tarnish the reputation of our Wei Yuan Escort Agency."

    After some rallying cries, Zhang Bukai, seeing his subordinates perk up with renewed spirit, rode his big horse to the front of a carriage and respectfully said to the compartment,

    "Miss Jun, the post is not far ahead. We''ll stay there for the night and continue traveling tomorrow."

    At that moment, the curtains of the carriage were parted, revealing the bewitching face of a fox spirit.

    "Then I shall trouble you, Escort Head Zhang."

    "My great-grandfather''s remains aren''t in any trouble, right?" she asked, her voice soft and alluring enough to make one''s heart flutter.

    The young escorts around her stood even prouder at her words, as proud as peacocks displaying their feathers.

    "Miss, rest assured, your great-grandfather''s remains are in the middle of the convoy, encased in a copper-horned golden coffin, guarded by Daoist Baihe and his four disciples. Absolutely nothing will go wrong."

    Just then, an escort in charge of watching the rear suddenly cried out,

    "Escort Head, Escort Head, a mighty figure is approaching from behind¡ªtall and big, with the build of a bear and carrying weapons, emanating a deadly aura. This doesn''t bode well."

    Upon hearing this, Escort Head Zhang drew the saber from his waist and turned to shout,

    "Who dares to target the cargo of Wei Yuan Escort Agency? Show yourselves if you want to fight! Do you think I, Zhang Bukai of the Five Tiger Severing Gate Saber, am dead?"

    "Shit, that mighty figure even has a strange black cat perched on his shoulder. It looks terrifying."

    Zhang Bukai sheathed his saber and the roar that was about to burst from his lips was swallowed back down.

    He rode forward, and under the astonished gaze of the other escorts, his face blossomed into a chrysanthemum-like smile, even a bit ingratiating, changing so quickly it was astonishing.

    "Daoist, we truly are fated to meet again!"

    Yi Chen: "....." Who wants to be fated with a brute like you, scram.

    Yi Chen grumbled inwardly, but he still politely clasped his hands and said,

    "Escort Head Zhang of the Five Tiger Severing Gate Saber, we meet again."

    The person before him was none other than the same Escort Head Zhang he had encountered previously at Clear Water River.

    On this night, there was no wind, no moon, and the pitch-black sky hung like an iron curtain overhead.

    In the courtyard of Wooden Forest Post, several bonfires had been lit; the charcoal crackled and hissed while the red sparks drifted into the sky and vanished.

 Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Do You Need My Help? Approaching Malice, Mission: Impossible (I)

    "Taoist, isn''t life full of unexpected reunions? Here''s to you, drink up," Zhang Biaotou, carrying a jug of wine, led a group of young escorts over to toast Yi Chen, chatting about the amusing incident of Yi Chen crossing the river on a log.The crowd of men listened in wonder, clicking their tongues in amazement.

    Yi Chen, ever the hearty fellow, drained his cup in response, quickly becoming one of the gang.

    "Head Escort Zhang, the Wei Yuan Escort Agency''s business sure seems to be booming. Why are you risking your life running these escorts every day? What about your nephew? Isn''t he joining you on this trip?"

    Finding himself running into acquaintances on the road, Yi Chen couldn''t help thinking just how small the world really is.

    "Alas, my wife bore me a son with the hope of having a daughter next, but then she gave birth to triplets... all boys..." Zhang Biaotou''s eyes reddened as he spoke, turning away to take a big gulp of wine.

    Without thousand pounds of burden, who would leave their home to venture far away?

    Ah, so this was the root of Head Escort Zhang''s workaholic ways~

    Yi Chen chuckled awkwardly. Come on! To the bottom! It''s all in the wine!

    Having four sons, in any age, is an explosive situation for ordinary people without financial freedom.

    While Yi Chen was enjoying his drinks and meats, bustling with energy, a group of five Daoists in somewhat whitened robes due to washing were nibbling on coarse grain cakes by another campfire.

    The youngest among them looked enviously in Yi Chen''s direction and couldn''t help asking, "Master, why is it that this man, also a Daoist, can drink alcohol and eat meat without any restrictions?"

    Upon hearing this, Master Bai He with furrowed brows glanced in Yi Chen''s direction, revealed a solemn expression and replied:

    "Simply wearing a Daoist robe doesn''t make one part of our Daoist community."

    "Our Linghe View has its own principles; to cultivate our methods to a profound level, it is best to avoid meat and pungent foods, to meditate and fast daily, keeping the precepts and a tranquil mind."

    "Think about it, can a physical body compare to the vast expanse of a Yang Spirit?"

    "And how can human effort overcome the powers of heaven and earth? Daoist practice seeks harmony with nature, moving heaven and earth is the true path."

    "Don''t be fooled by that man''s robust appearance; his muscles are lifeless and of little use. When it comes to cleansing the world of evil spirits, it''s us, the practitioners of the arts, who must bear the burden."

    Convinced by their master''s words, the four young Daoists nodded frequently and agreed in unison, deeply convinced.

    Master Bai He''s words all reached Yi Chen, who had exceptionally keen senses, but he didn''t bother to argue.

    Because there was no need.

    He had already seen that even Master Bai He was nothing more than an outsider who had awakened to cultivation, his mana chaotic and inferior to that of Master Lianhua.

    It''s often said that the worse the student, the more abundant his supplies, just as the lower the cultivation, the more absolute the talk.

    Yi Chen believed in the Dao of unparalleled combat, where true skill lay in the ability to win, regardless of the path.

    The campfire continued for more than an hour before everyone dispersed to continue their journey tomorrow.

    Watching Zhang Biaotou stagger toward him to say goodbye, disappearing around the corner, Yi Chen glanced at the I Ching coins atop the bronze-cornered gold coffin in the courtyard, then around at the pitch darkness. For some inexplicable reason, he felt sort of oppressed tonight, and even sensed someone spying on him.

    How strange and mysterious. After searching left and right without finding the source, Yi Chen quietly returned to his room.

    In the middle of the night.

    Yi Chen finished his daily routine of touching electricity and cultivating, having accumulated three points of Origin since he had last used it all up. However, at the moment, he hadn''t decided on the next attribute to break through, so he set it aside as a contingency, ready to adapt to the situation as needed.

    Just as he was about to rest, a loud commotion suddenly broke out outside.

    "Master, it''s bad! The corpse-suppressing coins on the bronze-cornered gold coffin are gone; the corpse inside is going to come out."

    Yi Chen quickly pushed open the door and saw that Master Bai He and his four disciples had already gathered in the center of the courtyard.

    Seeing the missing I Ching coins on top of the coffin, Master Bai He was both shocked and furious.

    "Didn''t I tell you to keep watch over it tonight?"

    With no time to scold his disciples, Master Bai He leaped onto the top of the coffin and pressed down on the lid, which was jumping erratically.

    "Fortunately, aside from the corpse-suppressing coins, this coffin is also tied with ropes that have been soaked in glutinous rice and black dog blood, otherwise, we would be in big trouble."

    "Disciples, hurry, bring the corpse-binding ropes."

    As quick as a flash, Master Bai He''s four disciples took positions on either side of the coffin and flung out a red rope magic artifact. Each took hold of one end and channeled their mana. The rope began to glow red-hot like burning charcoal, exceptionally conspicuous against the night sky.

    By now, more and more people, roused by the noise, were gathering around, including the guards of Wei Yuan Escort Agency. Yi Chen looked around but didn''t spot the noble lady mentioned by Zhang Biaotou.

    According to Zhang Biaotou, the noble lady was exceptionally beautiful, a pity that Yi Chen had yet to see her.

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    As the shaking of the coffin lid began to subside, the watching escorts sheathed their drawn swords and started praising Master Bai He for his mightiness.

    They failed to notice that Master Bai He and his disciples were already sweating, hands trembling slightly.

    Just then, as the commotion around the bronze-cornered gold coffin began to quiet down, it suddenly shook violently. Master Bai He, who sat atop it, was flung away by a powerful force and crashed to the ground.

    His disciples'' corpse-binding ropes snapped into two pieces in an instant. Under the force of the inertia, all four disciples fell backwards onto the ground.

    A tall zombie clad in armor and covered in red hair stood up from the bronze-cornered gold coffin, its bloody red eyes gazing at everyone.

    It turned out that the previous stillness of the zombie in the coffin was nothing more than it gathering strength.

    Seeing this scene, chaos erupted on the scene.

    Unbeknownst to them, a faint fog had begun to envelop the surroundings of the post station, but except for Yi Chen, no one had noticed, or rather, their attention wasn''t on it at the moment.

    Yi Chen frowned as he watched the white fog rising around him, his heart already secretly heightening its vigilance.

    That zombie was just a minor irritation, but this sudden appearance of white fog gave him a very sinister feeling.

    The feeling in his heart of being watched grew even stronger.

    The Yi Taoist did a lazy donkey roll to unload the force, quickly got up, and drew the Peach Wood Sword strapped to his back. Biting his lower lip, he sprayed a mouthful of fresh blood onto the Peach Wood Sword in his hand, which immediately turned bright red like a branding iron.

    He held the sword, chanting under his breath, while his right hand formed a seal. A faint aura of light enveloped him, and his body suddenly accelerated, rushing towards the evil zombie.

    Then, with a sweep of the red-haired zombie''s large arm, he was sent flying back even faster, crashing heavily into the wall and rebounding, falling to the ground, vomiting another mouthful of fresh blood.

    Clutching the half-remaining blade of his Peach Wood Sword, his face was ashen, as if he had lost everything dear to him.

    "I am incompetent, unable to eradicate this evil zombie, everyone escape separately..."

    Just then, a sudden change occurred.

    The latter half of Yi Taoist''s words were harshly stuck in his throat, unable to come out.

    The crowd watched the scene before them in shock, hardly believing their eyes.

    A fist as large as a sand pot, wrapped in dark purple light, descended from the sky and fiercely struck the red-haired evil zombie''s face, caving in half of its skull, knocking it to the ground.

    "You''re pretty strong."

    "To feign death right under the nose of a Daoist, you truly didn''t put me in your eyes."

    After Yi Chen''s successful attack, he stepped forward vehemently, and the crowd heard a teeth-clenching sound of bones breaking as his foot caved in the chest of the red-haired evil zombie.

    My goodness, this was the terrifying evil zombie that had previously snapped Yi Taoist''s Peach Wood Sword, yet now it was casually brought down by a punch and a kick from Yi Chen, whom they had met along the way.

    The stark contrast shocked the convoy and the disciples of Yi Taoist, who were left agape.

    What is it to be at the end of one''s rope and to find a new village amidst the willows after a dark flower-filled path? This was it.

    Just when they were all ready to flee for their lives, the Yi Taoist they had encountered halfway turned out to be a hidden dragon, rising up unexpectedly.

    Among the crowd, probably only the convoy head was not so shocked, for he had witnessed Yi Chen''s feat of crossing the river on a log, but the other convoy guards he brought with him were not the same group as the last time; they were all shaken to their core.

    Yi Chen stood, foot on the red-haired evil zombie, a sinister smile on his face. He didn''t even glance at the evil zombie that was continuously flailing under his foot, but rather surveyed the thickening fog around him with an ever deepening wariness in his eyes.

    The eerie aura in the air grew denser, and he felt the slowly approaching malice. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This malice was strong!

    At this moment, the pathetic red-haired evil zombie beneath his feet could only flail and attempt sit-ups under his suppression, but sadly it could not rise, and its attempts to bite Yi Chen''s ankle never reached, leaving it to furiously rage in impotence, letting out roars that were either out of anger or fear.

    Although they didn''t understand why Yi Chen didn''t finish it off, the crowd couldn''t read the situation, but the scene before them was utterly shocking!

    "Daoist''s divine might!"

    "Daoist''s divine might!"

    Not knowing who started it, the crowd from the convoy began to chant one after another.

    Listening to the deafening chant, Yi Taoist''s face turned from blue to white, the shouts slapping his face like slaps.

    Yi Chen frowned as he looked around, still detecting no abnormalities. Unwilling to play with the malice behind the fog, he released a surge of force through his foot, and the red-haired evil zombie let out a final agonized howl before going still.

    The onlookers burst into excited cheers. Around the corner of the post station, a lady in white, Miss Jun, gracefully approached, her legs clamped tightly, her eyes brimming with spring.

    A beauty spot on the edge of her lips added to her allure.

    Under the glowing moonlight, Miss Jun moved gently within three meters of Yi Chen.

    The convoy guards looked on with envy at the scene before them.

    Beauty loves a hero, after all¡ªwho could blame them for not being as impressive as Yi Chen.

    They had no choice but to look on with envy.

    Miss Jun was a prized daughter of the Jun family; winning her over meant half a lifetime less of struggle.

    No, it meant completing a lifetime''s KPI.

    As they were lost in wild thoughts, suddenly, their pupils shrank violently.

    Their goddess, Miss Jun, had her head severed by Yi Chen''s sword, rolling on the ground.

    "How dare you!"

    "To approach me so closely."

    "I knew at a glance you were not human!" Yi Chen said coldly.

 Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Do you need my help? Approaching Malice, Mission Impossible (Part Two)

    As Miss Jun''s head fell to the ground, the severed head quickly revealed dense patches of livor mortis, turning the dreamy goddess''s face the men had been obsessed with instantly nauseating.Even the most ignorant of people now realized there was something wrong with Miss Jun.

    In that moment, the entire place was shocked.

    A look of bewilderment filled everyone''s eyes.

    If the reanimation of the red-haired evil corpse was still within their comprehension, then the fact Miss Jun had been parasitized by an evil spirit touched upon everyone''s blind spot of knowledge.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, haven''t you seen what''s going on yet?"

    Yi Chen held the Dragon-Slaying Sword in his reverse grip and sighed as he spoke to the crowd.

    Seeing that everyone was still looking puzzled, Yi Chen continued to ask:

    "Escort leader Zhang, a noble lady without a guard, carrying a copper coffin escort mission, have none of you felt something was amiss?"

    "The task you took on, if I''m not mistaken, has been a setup from start to finish."

    "The Towning Coins on top of that golden-horned copper coffin should have been knocked off by this ghost that was parasitizing Miss Jun."

    "Had I not chanced upon the scene today, all of you would have died."

    Escort leader Zhang scratched his head in confusion. He felt he was about to have an epiphany, but there was still something he didn''t understand, so he inquired:

    "Taoist, you say our escort mission was a setup, so why didn''t they just kill us halfway through? Why bother waiting until this Mosen Posthouse to make a move?"

    "And she even paid us three times the market price in silver, without making any moves during the journey."

    "Well said. But has anyone among you ever fished?"

    "Who doesn''t bait when fishing?"

    "You are like the fish attracted to the bait, selectively chosen at that, all strong men, with even a few possessing some shallow mana, practitioners. That female ghost was like a trained osprey."

    "As everyone knows, when an osprey catches a fish, it must hand it over to its master." Yi Chen''s somber voice carried.

    "Am I right, my friend?"

    Suddenly, Yi Chen called out toward the gate of the posthouse.

    At that moment, the gate of the posthouse swung open, and white fog surged in.

    Through the distance mist, four white-clothed female ghosts, biting their cheeks, carried a sedan chair, their feet not touching the ground as they approached.

    The sedan chair had no curtain, revealing an old woman with a sinister complexion inside. The part of her body below the abdomen was all writhing roots, instead of legs.

    "Taoist, you''re somewhat clever. But you''ve killed grandmother''s most astute ghost servant. How will you compensate grandmother?"

    "This is going to be difficult to resolve."

    "How about you serve as grandmother''s face for a year, and grandmother will let you go. How about that?"

    The strange, fluctuating voice of a man and a woman emerged from the mouth of the old crone, her small mung bean eyes staring intently at Yi Chen''s robust chest, her wrinkled hands like old tree bark incessantly fondling.

    If she could drain this Daoist before her, it would be a thousand times greater than any ordinary person, and her powers would make a great leap forward.

    With the eerie old crone''s appearance, everyone suddenly woke up as if from a dream, filled with retrospective fear.

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen''s face instantly darkened as if it were the bottom of a pot. He raised the Dragon-Slaying Sword straight up, his deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi vibrating, and transformed into a purple flame path that slashed toward the weird crone.

    This strike was ferocious.

    However, the reaction of the weird old crone was swift as a massive root suddenly burst up from the ground, striking the Dragon-Slaying Sword held by Yi Chen.

    Boom.

    A terrifying sound wave followed the collision between the sword and the root, and three visible ripples of water waved through the air.

    The eerie old crone''s complexion changed as she grimly stared at the root in front of her, now left with only a layer of tough skin still connected at its base.

    "Taoist, it seems I''ve underestimated you."

    "Your sword is formidable, and so are you. Let''s stop this now. I''ll allow you to leave, and the others will stay. What do you say?"

    After just one clash, the weird old crone rolled her eyes and suddenly spoke.

    Upon these words, the onlookers immediately grew anxious, desperately hoping Yi Chen wouldn''t agree to the ghoul''s terms the next moment.

    However, their worries were clearly unnecessary.

    Just as the demon craved Yi Chen''s astonishing vitality, Yi Chen himself lusted after her Deep Red Value.

    Yet, even if his true desires were such, he still had to maintain appearances for the occasion.

    A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

    A river forms from many small streams.

    Sometimes, one''s reputation is built up through these very details.

    A certain Taoist Yi Chengzi who did not want to reveal his name spoke with great righteousness:

    "Without learning, one cannot understand righteousness."

    "Good and evil cannot coexist."

    "I, Yi Chengzi of Hidden Dragon Temple, have lived an open and honorable life."

    "My heart and my actions are as clear as a bright mirror."

    "Everything I do, I do for justice."

    "Why would we, of this generation, hesitate to fight!"

    Hearing Yi Chen''s words, the onlookers couldn''t help but feel their spirits stirred.

    What an upright and just Taoist he was. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A younger escort couldn''t help but call out softly:

    "Taoist, if you go and don''t return, what then?"

    "Then I shall not return!" Yi Chen, with his back to the crowd, said heroically.

    He said no more, turned around, drew his sword, and struck at the eerie old crone, silently giving that young escort a thumbs-up in his heart.

    He didn''t know about this escort''s professional abilities, but this fellow definitely had full points in seizing the moment; he admired the young man.

    If this battle were to be sung of later, the young man''s last-minute support would merit recognition.

    "Taoist, you don''t know when you''re well off."

    "Since you are so eager to die, then stay here forever."

    "Why should one''s bones be buried in their homeland, when there isn''t a place in the world without green hills," Yi Chen quickly added another line.

    The eerie old woman was now furious; she would bet that this Taoist was not battling her for justice.

    She could see the same greed burning in his eyes that burned in hers.

    This man truly had no shame.

    "Let me show you how formidable Granny is!"

    "The Forest Descends! Union with the Spirit Trees! Ritual of the Dark Roots!"

    The old woman threw her head back in a long howl, and countless roots broke through the ground, whipping through the air like steel lashes, coiling like standing cobras, ready to strike at any moment.

    However, that was not the end.

    The surrounding woods began to stir, and as Granny''s voice fell, one tree after another seemed to come to life, their roots splitting the soil, striding toward the direction of Mu Sen Station.

    The ground shook and the mountains trembled; it was a terrifying spectacle.

    The four white-clad female ghosts who were previously carrying the palanquin for the old crone turned into a dark light upon hearing this and instantly disappeared into the four tallest trees.

    After the Union with the Spirit Trees, the might of the four largest tree people surged yet again.

    But this was not the end of the strange changes.

    The onlookers raised their heads to the sky, only to see countless white petals falling like a dreamy, illusory shower.

    "It''s flowers, locust flowers, so many locust flowers," exclaimed a young escort in the crowd.

    "Everyone be careful, make sure these petals don''t touch you," Taoist Bai He too changed his expression and warned the crowd loudly.

 Chapter 87: Chapter 87 Fierce, Annihilating, Yi Taoist Seems to Want to Eat People!

    ```A series of anomalous changes naturally shook Yi Chen to his core.

    The eerie old hag''s strength was indeed extraordinary. After a touch-and-go encounter, Yi Chen no longer hesitated, revealing his current strongest form.

    The Yang Ji Transformation roared to life.

    Since entering the Body-Breaking and Strength-Breaking Realms, this was Yi Chen''s first time activating the Yang Ji Transformation.

    An unparalleled strength began to surge within his body.

    His stature started to grow, his muscles swelling rapidly like sponges soaking up water, forming protective layers akin to armor that provided him with strong defense and abundant kinetic energy.

    His heart started to beat rapidly, pumping blood throughout his body.

    The blood-colored energy sphere within his chest flickered, pulsating like a heartbeat, supporting the transformation unfolding before his eyes.

    A confidence like never before began to emerge in Yi Chen''s heart.

    His purity had increased again.

    The deep purple Inner Qi also began to move with an unprecedented speed, creating intense friction.

    Strength is also a man''s courage.

    At this moment, Yi Chen''s courage was immense.

    Gripping the Dragon-Slaying Sword firmly, Yi Chen took a big step forward, concentrating all his strength with a unified intention.

    He unleashed a full-powered sword strike at a towering tree person from a distance.

    This was a tall tree person fused with a white-clad fierce ghost, its aura even more robust than that of the Daoist master of Zhen Guan.

    The long sword cut through the air, emitting a deafening boom, the piercing sound of breaking the sound barrier.

    A massive resistance transmitted from the blade, a result of the brief yet intense friction between air and sword.

    However, as formidable as this force was, it still paled in comparison to Yi Chen''s current level of purity.

    At the edge of the Dragon-Slaying Sword, a terrifying pressure wrapped in deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi descended fiercely towards its target.

    Like being sliced by a high-frequency laser, the tall tree person was cleaved neatly in two by Yi Chen''s distant sword strike and then exploded violently into countless fragments.

    This was the terrifying effect produced by the explosive force accompanying the realm after the Strength-Breaking Realm.

    With this sword strike, Yi Chen''s eyes grew even brighter, and the suffocating irritation and violent emotions caused by his Inner Qi felt slightly released, a hint of pleasure emerging in his heart.

    Exhilarating!

    This was a pleasure more supreme than mere self-release, impossible to describe with words.

    "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

    "All of you, die for me!"

    Facing numerous large and small tree people, Yi Chen continued to swing his sword from afar, creating wave after wave of deep purple energy strikes. With each sword swing, two or three tree people exploded, turning into a shower of wooden fragments.

    It was simply because the smaller tree people not merged with the white-clad female ghost were no match; often, it took the destruction of two or three tree people to finally halt the advance of those deep purple energy waves.

    Like slicing through vegetables, the tree people that the eerie old hag strenuously animated were soon reduced to a scant few still standing by her side. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The ''Granny'' finally showed a change in color at this moment.

    Too violent, it was simply too violent.

    Yi Chen''s efficiency was also unbelievably swift.

    Because Yi Chen exerted immense pressure on ''Granny'', the number of dreamlike pagoda trees above everyone''s heads suddenly reduced significantly.

    Apart from two or three unlucky ones who failed to evade in time, getting their faces firmly suction-cupped by the descending pagoda flowers, with fine roots growing out of their body orifices, indicating their near demise, the rest managed to survive this onslaught.

    At this moment, they all looked on in shock and fear at the scene before them.

    Yi Chen''s aesthetic of violence overturned their entire concept of fighting in an instant.

    This was particularly true for the Daoist master Bai He and his four disciples.

    Their long-held beliefs were being shattered and torn apart at this moment, a wave of complex emotions emerging in Daoist master Bai He''s heart.

    Perhaps he was wrong.

    The path of physical cultivation could reach incredibly lofty heights, not inferior to technique cultivation, and might even surpass it under certain circumstances.

    With a complex look, he glanced at his four disciples and murmured to himself:

    "Perhaps it is I who have been biased."

    "The mountain does not refuse soil, thereby achieving its grandeur."

    "The ocean does not refuse water, thereby achieving its depths."

    "In the Way, there is no superior or inferior, the one who reaches is the master!"

    He decided that after this battle, he would definitely seek guidance from Yi Chen, this exalted figure of Daoism.

    Yi Chen, of course, could not attend to the matters on the side of the escort fighters.

    His previous frenzied and unrestrained striking consumed energy at a first-rate speed.

    According to his estimate, even with the extra storage capacity brought by the Body-Breaking Realm, such lavish spending of Inner Qi and physical strength would last at most seven to eight minutes before being completely exhausted.

    At that time, the situation would reverse completely.

    "Esteemed Daoist, we can discuss and negotiate this matter, my Pagoda Tree Granny concedes, how about we both cease our actions?"

    "Daoist, I am willing to offer three drops of vital essence as a gift to you."

    Pagoda Tree Granny''s face turned ashen, and she started to plead for compromise repeatedly.

    Her tree person army had been decimated by eighty percent by this devil-like Daoist in a matter of seven or eight breaths¡ªhow could she continue to cope?

    She did not want to die; she wanted to live.

    She had been very careful and cautious, taking advantage of the current situation when the blood meteor appeared, and the control of the Peacekeeping Department over the world was at its lowest in history to lay out her plots and fish a few times.

    The first few attempts were all trouble-free, and she became addicted to the quick sensation of growing stronger, never expecting that this time she would hook a great white shark.

    ```

    If she wasn''t a plant spirit and belonged to the slow-moving spirits of the wooden kind, she would have run away long ago.

    Yi Chen paid no heed to the old locust tree spirit''s plea for peace, his face revealing a hint of a grim smile.

    "Only three drops of life essence?"

    "With such a hefty body, what''s three drops good for?"

    "Not enough, far from enough."

    "Not even sufficient to moisten the lips of this Daoist."

    "Were you not the one cursing me as the ''Taoist'' just now? Saying I would be buried here?"

    "Bring out that spirited defiance you showed earlier; I prefer it that way."

    Yi Chen, dragging the Dragon-Slaying Sword, strode toward the old locust tree spirit, casually releasing waves of deep purple energy bursts as he walked.

    The old locust tree spirit propelled her whip-like roots, and, relying on her vast network of roots, she barely managed to hold her ground.

    But to the discerning eye, it was clear that the rate of root breakage far exceeded the healing and growth, and at this rate, she wouldn''t last much longer.

    "Daoist, six drops; truly, I can''t give more. Any more and I''ll die!" the old locust tree spirit screeched!

    "If I kill you, it all becomes mine." Yi Chen licked his lips greedily in response.

    "If you don''t agree, then let''s both be destroyed. I''ll destroy my core and ensure you don''t benefit at all."

    As their words fell out of sync, they clashed again in the blink of an eye.

    Yi Chen''s eyes were set on the old locust tree spirit''s Deep Red Points, naturally leaving no room for compromise. Life essence was a rich life force treasure cultivated by the spirits of wood, but did Yi Chen lack it?

    The Origin Point of body attributes was the best substitute for it.

    What he lacked was only the Deep Red Value.

    The gap in the eighth layer of the True Pure Yang Skill was to be filled by the old locust tree spirit.

    "If you want my life, use your own to fill the gap!"

    "Taoist, let''s die together, hahaha!"

    A series of cringe-inducing cracking sounds ensued.

    Seeing no escape, the old locust tree spirit shattered her own body, with thick sap oozing out, and her aura grew increasingly fierce.

    She even moved her roots, taking the initiative to attack Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen''s expression changed, and disregarding the strain on his body, he lifted the Dragon-Slaying Sword and exerted all his strength, unleashing six tides of Inner Qi ¨C the move "Yang Ji" resurfaced.

    Boom!

    A vast cloud of dust obscured the forms of the two combatants.

    The peculiar locust blossoms in the sky had ceased, and everyone held their breath, watching the spectacle unfold before them.

    At this moment, they were eagerly anticipating Yi Chen to emerge from the dust, like waiting for a light.

    Reality did not disappoint them; after a short time, Yi Chen, leaning on his Dragon-Slaying Sword, walked out.

    His eyes bloodshot, he swept a glance over everyone without a word, and in an instant, vanished between the trees.

    Taoist Bai He ultimately missed the chance to consult Yi Chen.

    Everyone was taken aback.

    Suddenly, a voice in the crowd said weakly, "Why do I feel like the Daoist''s gaze just now seemed like he wanted to devour someone?"

    The young escort wasn''t wrong.

    Yi Chen truly wanted to eat people at that moment.

    The battle with the old locust tree spirit had drained the surplus energy in his body, and an endless hunger flooded his mind.

    Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!

    This emotion was all that filled his mind at the moment.

    As he emerged from the dust and saw the crowd, what he smelled was an overwhelming scent of flesh.

    Yi Chen had never thought that one day he would develop an appetite for humans.

    He could only suppress the urge with a strong will, turning to run into the woods in search of food.

    Little Miao let out a strange cry, trailing far behind Yi Chen.

    ...

    ...

    The next day was sunny, and Yi Chen emerged from the cave carrying bear pelts, large and small, his eyes recovering their lucidity.

    Contrary to his expectations, the old locust tree spirit''s many years of cultivation and her determination and power when cornered far exceeded his estimations: it was only with a full-strength blow of "Yang Ji" that he finally dispatched the monster.

    Yet, the sixfold Inner Qi tide of the "Yang Ji" technique had also drained all the excess reserve energy in Yi Chen''s body, forcing him to find a cave of a brown bear and to indulge greatly before finally suppressing the ravenous hunger within him.

    The brown bear resting inside the cave could never have dreamed that it would one day be knocked out by a forceful blow, skinned and roasted, its whole family taken in one clean sweep.

    However, the gains from Yi Chen''s fierce battle were also immensely substantial.

    Once he had quelled the cannibalistic hunger inside him, he noticed several lines of text had appeared on his retina.

    "You have successfully killed the Red-haired Evil Corpse, gaining thirty Deep Red Points."

    "You have successfully killed Charm Ghost 1, gaining twenty Deep Red Values."

    ...

    "You have successfully killed Charm Ghost 5, gaining twenty Deep Red Values."

    "You have successfully killed the old locust tree spirit, gaining one hundred and fifty Deep Red Points."

    At that moment, he had finally gathered enough Deep Red Points to break through the eighth layer of the True Pure Yang Skill.

 Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Great Progress in Strength, Wild Ambition, Longjiang Prefecture

    Accompanied by Little Miao, Yi Chen took a stroll and hunted a few game animals. By noon, he returned to the brown bear''s cave, feeling fully content and satisfied.After a round of barbecuing in the wild, Yi Chen lay on the bear skin inside the cave, squinting his eyes in comfort.

    It wasn''t until now, by extracting vital energies from food and absorbing the light of heaven and earth, that he once again accumulated a surplus of energy to full capacity.

    "My state has been adjusted to its optimum. It''s time to make a breakthrough to the eighth level of the True Pure Yang Skill," he thought.

    Having rested for a while, Yi Chen smoothly sat up cross-legged.

    This secluded place was perfect for a breakthrough!

    Glancing at Little Miao, who was fervently performing pull-ups on the rock wall to help with digestion, Yi Chen slowly closed his eyes.

    He had a premonition that with this breakthrough, his strength would make substantial strides.

    With the enhancement of four-dimensional data by the cultivation technique, the Spirit-Breaking Realm and Agility-Breaking Realm seemed to be within reach.

    After adjusting both body and mind to their best state, Yi Chen let out a roar within his heart.

    In an instant, five hundred Deep Red Value points were deducted, and at the same time, an overwhelming flood of memories suddenly emerged in his mind.

    It was the familiar data reading segment once more.

    Memory unfolded like a glance at whirling flowers.

    In the deep ravines and secluded valleys, a young Daoist, eating the aura of dawn and drinking the dew, painstakingly circulated the deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi.

    Such was his meditation for eighty years. Aside from refining his deep purple Inner Qi to a cohesive and satisfactory state, vibrant with a purple aura, he ultimately failed to grasp that faint opportunity hidden in the obscure.

    Purple extreme gives birth to green.

    Difficult, difficult, difficult.

    As difficult as the long, gloomy night.

    Eighty years passed, and the once-young Daoist now had hints of white in his hair.

    This was the result of eighty years of meditative sitting, burning the essence of his life.

    The long night is hard to understand, yet there are Daoists who travel far with a lantern.

    He began to leave the valley, determined to measure the world with his feet.

    Purple extreme gives birth to green, but where does the meaning lie?

    He intended to measure it with his feet, to discover with his eyes, and to feel with his heart.

    Another eighty years went by.

    There was a Daoist who traveled with a lantern, and still, the long night was hard to understand.

    His deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi remained dazzling like purple crystal, flowing gently, yet the hint of green he anticipated still did not appear.

    However, after eighty years of travel, the Daoist now knew what he lacked.

    Purple extreme gives birth to green; previously, he thought the key lay in the character for "extreme."

    "Extreme" is the key to everything.

    But he was both right and wrong.

    After one hundred sixty years elapsed, he refined his deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi to a level unimaginable by ordinary people, every detail perfected in his grinding and polishing.

    Then, one hundred sixty years later, when he inadvertently saw a charred peach tree struck by lightning sprout anew, bamboo knots forming across the rock face, and a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis on that peach tree.

    The Daoist, relying on the provisions accumulated over the years, suddenly had an epiphany.

    He was wrong, terribly wrong.

    One sentence from a true transmission, an entire scripture from a false one.

    When he kept trying to push his deep purple Inner Qi to an impassable state, all his subsequent efforts were like holding a religious ceremony inside a snail shell, with precious little room to maneuver.

    The extreme in "Purple extreme gives birth to green" was not about pushing Inner Qi to its limit, but rather about the creation and transformation within the realm of the spirit.

    Now, the once-young Daoist was no longer young, though his stature remained impressive and extraordinary. However, his vital energies had begun to show signs of fatigue.

    The Daoist returned to the familiar valley once again.

    Facing the rising morning sun, today, he was ready for one last attempt.

    If one hears of the Dao in the morning, they can die content in the evening.

    Purple extreme gives birth to green; it signifies rebirth after a resolute end.

    How can it be achieved?

    From death comes life.

    The Daoist drained three jars of strong liquor, laughing heartily as he released the constraints on his Inner Qi.

    Raising a finger, a deep purple flame ignited at its tip, at first the size of a soybean, then suddenly expanding.

    The Daoist''s entire body, and all his internal organs, were enveloped in this purple blaze.

    The unrestrained burning of the deep purple Pure Yang Inner Qi ignited his flesh.

    Burn! Burn!

    Burn everything, to either come out purified or to perish and be extinguished.

    Enduring the agony of the fierce fire consuming his body, the Daoist perceived the changes around him.

    He felt the passing of his own life.

    He felt the silence and the void.

    He felt rebirth!!!

    A new and magnificent power began to brew in the aftermath of the silent death.

    ```

    He finally grasped that slim chance to breakthrough that was looming in the unknown!

    Now was the moment!

    The Daoist roared to the heavens, his voice vibrating the woods, echoing so loudly that it stopped the clouds in their tracks.

    Burning flames consume the body, mud dissolves the bone, in the long night searching for the light proves futile.

    Butterflies flap their wings as new sprouts emerge, the time when extreme purple generates vibrant green has arrived.

    The slightly slack skin on his body began to rapidly shed, revealing skin as smooth as egg whites.

    He was reborn!

    His memory abruptly ceased there!

    However, unlike his previous breakthroughs, Yi Chen was so moved by the images in his memory that he found himself with tears streaming down his face without realizing it.

    In an instant, he locked eyes with the Daoist in his memory, and under the reflection in his heart, countless insights and emotions flooded in. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A stroke of green started to emerge within his Inner Qi!

    Extreme purple generates vibrant green.

    The eighth level of the True Pure Yang Skill was achieved!

    The first hint of light green Inner Qi that appeared acted like a signal. As soon as it emerged, it began to crazily absorb the deep purple Inner Qi around it.

    A new round of enhancement had begun.

    However, this was not the end.

    ...

    ...

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen slowly opened his eyes and summoned his unique virtual screen.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 18/211]

    [Strength: 66¡ªhe broke through the Strength-Breaking Realm once: Penetration Level 1 (Strength carries an additional shock penetration effect), Strength Essence Level 1 (Strength attribute effect increased by 20%)

    Stamina: 61¡ªhe broke through the Body-Breaking Realm once: Extra Energy Reservoir Level 1 (After energy storage is complete, total stamina and Inner Qi increased by three times), Overload Recovery Level 1 (Stamina consumption doubled, body''s self-healing power increased by five times)

    Spirit: 52¡ªhe broke through the Spirit-Breaking Realm once: Divine Defense Level 1 (Protect spirit, strengthen the defenses against soul-type magic attacks.)

    Agility: 52¡ªhe broke through the Agility-Breaking Realm once: Agility Level 1 (Agility attribute effect increased by 10%)]

    [Cultivation Technique: Eighth level of True Pure Yang Skill (Traits: Body Enhancing, Intense Heat, Divine Power, Warding Off Evil, Tenacity, Qi Returning, Ignition, Pure Yang.) Active Skill: Pure Yang Overwhelming Power (Azure flames scorch the sky, applied on oneself, significantly enhances physical quality and Inner Qi activity, strengthens the ability to break spells, lasts for eight minutes with no period of weakness)

    Active Skill: Soul Ignition Technique (The most intense heat comes from burning, igniting one''s own potential, exchanging lifespan for might, currently igniting two years of lifespan for a 50% increase in strength and Inner Qi, up to a maximum of a fivefold increase in overall strength.)]

    [Cultivation Technique: Fourth level of Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique (Traits: Eagle Eye, Night Vision, Yin Qi Perception, Mind Reflection Level 1, Malice Perception Level 1.)]

    [Passive Abilities: Danqing Painting Skill Level 1, Auspicious Event Host Level 2, Funeral Host Level 3. Culinary Skill Level 3]

    [Origin Point: 0] (Can be obtained through exercising the body, can improve the four dimensions of strength, stamina, spirit, and agility.)

    [Deep Red Value: 126.] (Can be obtained through special items or by killing demons, evil spirits, etc. Used to enhance Cultivation Technique levels or for deduction.)

    Yi Chen''s attribute panel had undergone a earth-shattering change.

    This was an unprecedented transformation.

    Firstly, his lifespan had shot up from the previous 128 to 211, a terrifying increase of a whopping 83 years.

    Next, his strength and stamina had passively made significant progress, with strength increasing by 15 and stamina by 11 points.

    The spirit attribute had even broken through with added blessings, gaining a Divine Defense ability, which greatly improved Yi Chen''s weak spot in mental defenses.

    Agility was a bit short of breaking through, but Yi Chen poured all his accumulated Origin Points into it, making an all-out effort, and his agility also successfully broke through once, significantly increasing his speed and closing the gap in his agility.

    As for changes in his cultivation technique, naturally, the True Pure Yang Skill had broken through to the eighth level. The previous active skill, Extreme Yang Transformation, was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a derived new active skill, Pure Yang Overwhelming Power.

    The cost of the Soul Ignition Technique had also increased, with the previous ignition of one year''s lifespan for a 50% increase in Inner Qi and strength now requiring two years¡ªa doubling of the cost.

    Yi Chen pondered for a moment and did not find it strange, as the strength he now possessed was incomparable to his former self. If the cost were still one year, it would have been somewhat unreasonable.

    An unparalleled feeling of strength emerged in Yi Chen''s heart. He felt that he could now defeat three of himself from yesterday, winning easily.

    "Finally, I''ve taken another small step towards controlling my own destiny."

    "I, am stronger!"

    Yi Chen pulled open his clothes to look at the crimson blood-like mark on his chest, revealing a satisfied smile.

    Compared to natural disasters, Yin Manor was the major concern at his current stage.

    This was also the main reason he was now headed for Dragon Tiger Mountain.

    After all, an entity capable of confining the old Heavenly Master was something that could not be too heavily guarded against.

    He could still vividly remember the rows of spiritual tablets in the grand hall of Yin Manor and those faded photographs...

    After regaining control of his emotions, Yi Chen, with Little Miao by his side, briskly walked out of the cave.

    A big and a small bear skin were also tucked into his bag. With his superhuman physique, carrying a little extra was no bother at all.

    In the future, he and Little Miao would often need to camp outdoors while on the road. The pair of bear skins would serve them both perfectly.

    Perfection.

    "According to the map, with my current pace, I am two to three days away from Longjiang Prefecture. Once there, I can enter the city and recuperate a bit."

    "Firstly, I need to replenish and purchase some essential supplies, and secondly, I need to prepare some high-energy blood food or heaven and earth treasures rich in energy. Longjiang Prefecture, as a prefectural city, will certainly be rich in resources."

    With that in mind, Yi Chen put away the map and signaled Little Miao to hit the road.

    Man and cat hastened along the mountain path.

    Two days later, a towering Daoist with a peculiar black cat emerged from the wilds, with the tall walls of Longjiang Prefecture visible in the distance.

    ```

 Chapter 92: Chapter 92: The Tyrannical True Yang, the Nether Flame Corpse

    A fierce "True Solar Tyranny!"Suddenly, a wild wind arose from the ground.

    A violent pale cyan qi cyclone abruptly appeared around Yi Chen as the center, and then the Inner Qi flowed backward, collapsing and pouring into the middle with force.

    In an instant, there was a tall Daoist on the ground, as if he had donned a full body armor of pale cyan glaze.

    With the support of the pale cyan glaze armor transformed by the Inner Qi, Yi Chen''s figure grew taller, two meters two, two meters three, two meters four, two meters five¡ªwith a single bound.

    At this moment, even his pupils were tinged with a faint cyan layer, and upon close inspection, it seemed as though a cyan sun was slowly rising within his eyes.

    A qi far surpassing that of before spread out from his body.

    He lightly swung his arm and punched, sending a pale cyan qi that roared like a ray, streaking towards the head of Hu Erniang, who stood suspended in the air.

    A punch forced the hovering Hu Erniang to descend to the middle of the street, her hair bun somewhat disheveled by Yi Chen''s punching force.

    Seeing this, Hu Erniang''s face instantly underwent a great change, shock churning within her as she pondered who this formidable figure could be, one whom she had never heard of before¡ªtruly terrifying and fearsome.

    Yi Chen followed close behind Hu Erniang to the long street, where they stood facing each other. His towering figure loomed over Hu Erniang, casting her in his shadow.

    His fists collided left and right, making a muffled sound like metal striking stone, and he sneered,

    "I hate it most when others talk down to me from above my head!"

    "This feels much better."

    "Hu Erniang, your blood corpse state is indeed very strong, and your speed is extremely fast, but what would you do if I were to use ''True Solar Tyranny''?"

    "Come on, try to kill me!"

    "So many people have said they want to kill me, yet in the end, they all died!"

    Yi Chen laughed heartily and then threw punches in rapid succession. In a moment, the qi surged wildly. Hu Erniang''s form flickered rapidly, awkwardly dodging the punches that Yi Chen unleashed.

    At this moment, she had no intention of performing gua sha on Yi Chen or tearing off his clothes.

    She couldn''t harm him to begin with, and now this Daoist, who seemed as mad as a hatter, had transformed into what looked like a can of pale cyan, obviously very hard¡ªwhy would she waste the effort?

    The fight had escalated to such a degree that many of the residents around had been awakened. The windows of many guesthouse rooms were quietly opened a crack, with numerous people watching the scene unfold in shock.

    "Chairman Qi, didn''t you say that Hu Erniang is at her most powerful under the moon and especially capable of overcoming strength-based cultivators? What''s going on now?"

    "She looks as pathetic as a dog~"

    "I feel that perhaps we won''t even need the experts from the Town Security Bureau to come; just this Daoist here might be able to drive her away or even kill her."

    Inside the Red Dust Inn, a slightly younger merchant couldn''t help but tease the previously silver-haired old merchant.

    The face of the old merchant turned from green to white, and he kept silent.

    Another dangerously close punch whizzed by her side, and Hu Erniang could no longer bear it. She let out a piercing howl towards the sky:

    "San Lang, you heartless man, why aren''t you coming yet? I can''t hold on much longer!"

    "This Taoist is formidable; let''s get him together!"

    Following Hu Erniang''s cry, a black coffin swiftly broke through the air.

    "Damn, calling for backup?"

    Yi Chen, seeing the black coffin approaching from afar, became anxious. He spread his arms wide and rapidly sped up toward the spot where Hu Erniang was standing, bringing his fists together and smashing down fiercely!

    Boom!

    A huge wave of sound spread in all directions.

    Along with the sound wave, a towering wave of qi rose.

    However, Yi Chen''s speed was ultimately still a fraction slower than Hu Erniang''s, and he failed to achieve his goal.

    With a flash, Hu Erniang once again narrowly escaped Yi Chen''s pursuit.

    She stood suspended in the air, her face turning from green to red, red to black, black to white, white back to green¡ªas variable as a carousel lantern.

    Yi Chen looked at the tattered half of a red dress beneath his clenched fists, feeling a wave of numbness in his scalp. He was stuck in an awkward situation.

    Damn it, his punch had been just a fraction too slow and ended up hitting the hems of Hu Erniang''s dress. In her haste to avoid it, Hu Erniang had soared into the sky, which caused the red dress she was wearing to tear off two-thirds of the way... S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen looked up and thought, damn, that burns my eyes~

    A Daoist still needs to save face, so he covered his eyes with his hand, leaving just a small slit open~

    Oh, and there''s a white tiger~

    At this time, the onlookers looked alternately at Hu Erniang in the sky and Yi Chen, who was holding the remains of Hu Erniang''s dress, each with a dumbfounded expression, casting strange glances at Yi Chen.

    My heavens, is this what high-end magic battles are like?

    Fighting and ending up stripping someone''s dress.

    Just what kind of divine being is this Daoist, with such a unique style~

    Whispers began to spread among the crowd.

    Their imaginations ran wild, and all sorts of theories were tossed around.

    At this moment, Yi Chen''s face was also turning iron blue as he looked at the half of the dress in his hands.

    Damn!

    He really didn''t do it on purpose!

    If this battle gets spread around, how could he ever stand in the cultivation world?

    The moment he appeared, fellow Daoists in the cultivation world would laugh and say, isn''t that the Daoist who strips skirts, the Dress Terminator, the Gown-Breaking Taoist Yi Chengzi, filling the air with a jovial atmosphere.

    Just thinking about certain future scenarios made Yi Chen''s scalp tingle. His reputation as a high and mighty cultivator seemed like it was about to collapse.

    What kind of revered cultivator gets into fights and strips others'' clothing? That''s just perverted.

    Damn it, damn it, damn it.

    Little Miao was even hiding on the rooftop, covering her own little eyes with her paws.

    "But luckily, this is Longjiang, where nobody should recognize me."

    "Otherwise, I''d have to change my Daoist title..."

    "No, today I am not Yi Chengzi. I am Qitian Yaor!"

    Yi Chen glanced around, feeling a sense of relief. He fondled the remaining half of the skirt in his hand.

    The material wasn''t bad, not gold or jade, and if he sold it to the Heavenly Troops Pavilion for recycling, it seemed he could make some money.

    As if possessed, he casually tucked the half skirt into his waistband~

    At that moment, a black coffin shot from the distance and suddenly landed on the ground, revealing a potent figure shrouded in black corpse energy.

    He was dressed in a green long robe, wearing a blue scarf on his head, and continuously fanned himself with a feather fan in hand.

    "Erniang, have you run into trouble? I have taken care of everything on my end," said the powerful corpse cultivator who walked out of the coffin, his tone gentle and scholar-like.

    He scanned his surroundings and saw no one particularly noteworthy, except for the tall Daoist standing in the middle of the road.

    Just then, his pupils shrank abruptly!

    Damn, something''s off!

    The half of the skirt tied around the waist of this Daoist looks familiar~

    He lifted his head to see Hu Erniang in midair, trying hard to stir up bloody corpse energy to conceal her form, and then looked at the half skirt tied to Yi Chen. It seemed like he understood something~

    Damn, some demonic fiend shows up out of nowhere, with no respect for cultivation virtues!

    Half of Erniang''s red skirt was even tied around the waist of that lunatic!

    Damn it, just what happened while I was away?

 Chapter 93: Chapter 93: The Etiquette of Benevolence, Who is Yi Chengzi, Really Unfamiliar.

    Almost instantly, Hei Sanlang stopped fanning himself, and with a burst of black corpse energy, he blasted his feather fan into a sky full of flying feathers.Furiously, he then tore off the blue scarf from his head and threw it viciously to the ground.

    At this moment, even the moon seemed green in his eyes.

    A roar of rage exploded between heaven and earth!

    "Taoist, what kind of Dao are you cultivating, damn it!"

    "I''m going to kill you!"

    Hei Sanlang''s body vibrated with corpse energy, turning into a black arc of light as he attacked Yi Chen, trailing a thick black flame tail, his momentum terrifying.

    If he didn''t avenge this, what face would he, Mingyan Corpse Hei Sanlang, have to stand in Yin Mountain Prefecture?

    In the blink of an eye, fists and palms clashed.

    Mingyan Corpse Hei Sanlang was sent flying dozens of meters back by Yi Chen''s punch, sparking a trail of fire.

    "Good! Good! Good!"

    "Indeed a master, no wonder you dare to act so recklessly and audaciously," Hei Sanlang said, chuckling in rage after three exclamations of "good."

    This man did have some skills, no wonder he had the gall to uncover his wife''s dress in front of everyone. But it was unknown when such a disgraceful master had emerged from the sect, so shamelessly brazen.

    "Sir, hear me out, this is all a misunderstanding," Yi Chen still wanted to struggle to explain.

    Even if it was a fight to the death, Taoist Yichengzi, though not a good person, would not stoop so low as to do something like this.

    That corpse of Hu Er Niang looked so shriveled after one glance.

    It''s not worth it, at least it shouldn''t be¡­

    "Misunderstanding my ass, what is that at your waist? You think I''m blind?"

    "Er Niang, come quickly to aid me, together we will kill this Taoist," Hei Sanlang let out a ferocious roar, flying towards the Yin Moon Blood Corpse.

    Locking gazes, the two corpses understood each other''s intentions through a communion of thoughts; today, if they didn''t kill this Taoist, they couldn''t ''rest in peace.''

    How could they continue to exist in Yin Mountain Prefecture otherwise?

    Today, even if it meant paying a price, they would bring the head of this tall Daoist back with them.

    Only fresh blood could wash away today''s humiliation.

    With their determination firm, the black corpse energy from their bodies and the blood-red corpse energy began to violently mingle, and their corpses slowly fused together.

    This was a secret technique they had spent half their lives researching together.

    Yinming Corpse Form!

    In an instant, a powerful monster, far surpassing its previous form, appeared before everyone.

    How terrifying a creature it was.

    Its body was extremely robust, and it was covered with thick black hair that shimmered like iron bristles under the moonlight.

    It had four arms and four thick legs, all wrapped in surging corpse energy.

    Around its neck hung two heads, one upright, the other reversed; one was Hei Sanlang''s and the other Hu Er Niang''s.

    At this moment, their eyes were full of venomous resentment as they glared furiously at Yi Chen. The eerie monster slowly rose into the air and, in the blink of an eye, reached a height of ten meters. Hei Sanlang''s mouth opened wide, and a terrifying column of corpse energy flame erupted from it.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen quickly retreated, narrowly avoiding the attack.

    Before him now was a deep pit, over a meter wide.

    The corpse energy blown out by the eerie monster seemed highly corrosive, and after melting a more than one-meter-wide pit into the ground, it continued to eat away beneath the surface.

    "Taoist, await your death, being killed by our combined forces is a matter of pride for you," Hei Sanlang laughed loudly, his voice filled with both resentment and... pain.

    It seemed like the current state was torture for him too; madness had begun to tinge his eyes.

    He dived sharply from the sky and attacked Yi Chen.

    Another clash of fists and palms, only this time upon contact, Hei Sanlang spewed another pillar of corpse energy flame, another shameless sneak attack; no wonder they were a couple.

    Boom!

    A loud noise accompanied by a giant wave of air, and the walls of some nearby houses collapsed amidst the terrible tremors.

    Yi Chen''s hair, while avoiding the gray flame pillar, had been blown disheveled by the shockwave.

    His black hair draped over his shoulders, his face colder now than a knife which had been slaughtering fish at Big Run Fa for ten years.

    He needed to be serious now.

    "Many have desired the life of this impoverished Daoist, but they all died afterward,"

    "Some I cut in half, others I beat into a mist of blood, unable to gather their corpses."

    "You two want my life, let''s see if you have the strength!" Yi Chen scoffed.

    Catching a falling lock of hair that had been severed, he exhaled his Inner Qi into his hand, incinerating it to ash.

    The eerie monster could scatter his hair and even break a strand; indeed, it was very strong!

    Now that a deadly feud had been established, there was no longer any reason to hold back.

    If this eerie monster could break a hair today, wouldn''t it break his arm in the future?

    Damn it, this corpse actually wanted to annihilate his entire Hidden Dragon Temple; it had such ambitions that it couldn''t be left alive.

    It had to be uprooted completely!

    Yi Chen''s thoughts shifted, and as he shed any playful attitudes, two rich cyan-colored Inner Qi flows spouted from beneath his feet. Propelled by that force, his figure swiftly climbed, his momentum growing ever stronger, and even the cyan glaze Inner Qi armor on his body became shinier and thicker.

    It was only now that he truly unleashed the most powerful state of Pure Yang Domineering Might.

    ```

    "It''s just flying, as if no one else knew how to, what a damn act."

    He hated it most when others talked down to him from above his head.

    Yi Chen transformed into a faint cyan arc of light and launched a fierce attack on the bizarre corpses that Hei Sanlang and Hu Erniang had become.

    At this moment, Hei Sanlang repeated his old trick, his wide mouth opened again, and another column of corpse flame as thick as a sea bowl spewed forth. But this time, Yi Chen, without dodging, clenched his fist and violently struck the pillar of flame.

    The faint cyan Pure Yang Inner Qi fiercely rubbed against the grey corpse Qi of the bizarre corpses, ultimately cancelling each other out, with Yi Chen''s Qi, refined to its utmost through the purple and green stages, proving superior.

    Like a hot knife through butter, the column of corpse flame was directly scattered by the punch, the Qi overflowing in all directions, followed by another unstoppable punch landing on the chest of the bizarre corpse.

    Under this punch, Hei Sanlang felt as though he had been hit head-on by an ancient mammoth, even the beating of the core of his strength, the corpse nucleus, suddenly stuttered, missing a beat, as his body crashed heavily onto the street.

    At the same time, Hei Sanlang''s full-force palm hit Yi Chen''s chest, but only succeeded in pushing Yi Chen back by about ten feet, causing only a fine crack to bloom on the faint cyan glaze armor formed by his Inner Qi.

    "If this is all you''ve got, then go to hell!" Yi Chen grinned viciously, his large white teeth flashing a cold light under the moon.

    By now, Yi Chen stood in mid-air, countless streams of moonlight pouring into his body, darkening the surrounding night sky considerably.

    And he was the brightest source of light in that pitch-black night, coupled with the faint cyan Inner Qi flames spurting from beneath his feet, resembling a giant cyan demon standing tall in mid-air.

    "Bring it on!"

    Yi Chen roared without hesitation and launched a fierce assault toward where the bizarre corpse was falling.

    Strike when the enemy is ill, take their life.

    The bizarre corpse roared and, using some secret technique, the crimson color deepened in its eyes, appearing maddened as its body once again grew larger.

    In a flash, the man and the corpse were fighting intensely again.

    Accompanied by continuous roars, the faint cyan Inner Qi crisscrossed, and the grey corpse Qi spread, stirring up clouds of dust.

    After more than ten seconds, the tremors within the dust slowly dissipated.

    A magnificent Daoist, clad in faint cyan glaze armor, emerged from the dust, holding the twisted and mutilated body of the bizarre corpse.

    As the onlookers stared in shock, as if they''d seen a ghost, Yi Chen exerted force in his arms and ripped forcefully.

    Black corpse blood sprayed, falling onto Yi Chen''s armor of Inner Qi, raising wisps of white smoke.

    But that was not the end. With a heavy stomp, Yi Chen burst the two heads that had fallen to the ground.

    Then, flicking his fingers, a faint cyan flame landed on the bizarre corpse''s body and instantly ignited a roaring fire.

    At that moment, a stream of information suddenly appeared on Yi Chen''s retina.

    [You have successfully killed the Yin Ming corpse and gained two hundred Deep Red Points.]

    Only then did Yi Chen disperse his True Yang overbearing form, standing next to the fire, bowing respectfully.

    This bizarre corpse was not bad.

    It had earned his respect.

    Even in the final battle, it didn''t beg for mercy but kept throwing punches at him until the last moment of its life.

    Among the many opponents he had encountered, this was very rare.

    To show his respect, Yi Chen decided to send it off in a dignified manner, using a respectful ritual.

    This was Taoist Yi Chengzi''s respect for an adversary worthy of admiration.

    Seeing this scene, the onlookers in the inn all had their mouths agape, with enough space between their upper and lower jaws to fit two eggs.

    They were at a loss for words for a while.

    They even felt a trace of sympathy for the two bizarre corpses that had come to kill them.

    Inside the inn, the survivors came out from hiding, all turning their gaze toward a corner where an old merchant with graying hair stood.

    Chants of the Daoist''s divine might began to ripple among the crowd.

    At the end of the long street,

    a girl with a high ponytail appeared. She was around 1.68 meters tall, dressed in black, her feet in white-cloud patterned boots still stained with mottled blood, and in one hand she held a long-handled Eight Trigrams axe higher than herself, still dripping blood. Who it belonged to was anyone''s guess...

    The giant axe, almost as big as a door, seemed effortlessly held by the girl.

    This person was none other than Qian Yueru, the governor sent to find Yi Chen.

    Her mouth opened wide in shock at the scene in front of her.

    She had arrived at the end of the long street just in time to see Yi Chen lifting the bizarre corpse above his head, ripping it in half with his hands and bathing in its blood.

    At that moment, she was overjoyed.

    "Dare I ask if this is Taoist Yi Chengzi of Hidden Dragon Temple in person?"

    "Lin Zhenbei was right; the Daoist is indeed a master."

    "I never expected that the shallow waters of Ping''an County could nurture a True Dragon like you!"

    Qian Yueru''s voice thundered, rolling toward him.

    The surrounding crowd turned their gaze toward Yi Chen, murmurs gradually rising.

    However, before Qian Yueru could finish, Yi Chen''s face suddenly changed, he interrupted her words and denied everything three times.

    "I''m not, you''re talking nonsense."

    "I really don''t know who Yi Chengzi is."

    "My nickname is Qitian Yaor."

    As for this powerful girl who suddenly appeared and called him out by his real name, Yi Chen was completely puzzled.

    Dammit, I have no grudges with this powerful girl who has suddenly appeared; why does she want to harm me like this? Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ```

 Chapter 94: Chapter 94 I wanted to refuse, but...

    Late at night, the top floor of Dragon Throne Hall.A square table about five meters long was set with over a hundred dishes.

    There were no vegetarian dishes, all were non-vegetarian.

    Roast lamb chops, roast suckling pig, steamed bear paws, and other hearty dishes were plentiful. Creatures that flew in the sky, swam in water, and ran on land could all be found on this table.

    The most eye-catching was the main dish in the center of the table, which resembled neither a snake nor an eel and was as thick as a water bucket, coiled into a pile.

    Yi Chen stared for a long time but couldn''t figure out what it was.

    To call it an eel, it had tattoos; to call it a snake, it had two big lumps on its head.

    However, Yi Chen finally learned the name of the young lady in white before him.

    The Governor of Longjiang Prefecture¡ªQian Yueru.

    Only the Governor of Longjiang Prefecture had the power and strength to come to the top floor of Dragon Throne Hall and prepare such a feast late at night.

    "So, Qian friend, you''re saying that the two evil corpses I encountered tonight are from Yin Manor?"

    "The bloody massacres they''ve initiated in Longjiang Prefecture recently are to draw out the legacy treasures of the Evil Dragon Daoist, the Dragon Essence, the Great Destroying Divine Spear, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner?"

    Yi Chen sat upright and still, not touching his chopsticks, and asked confirmatively.

    It''s best to ask clearly beforehand, as eating from someone''s hand is to become soft-hearted.

    Qian Yueru glanced at Yi Chen, then bit into a bone-in beef rib with the ease of chewing on sugarcane, crunching a few bites before swallowing, then comfortably squinted her beautiful phoenix eyes and reclined in her chair as she spoke,

    "Indeed, I''ve occasionally heard Lin Zhenbei mention that there''s a Daoist in his jurisdiction, renowned for his peerless Pure Yang Daoist techniques. Seeing you today, truly, the famed are well-deserved."

    "Presently, demonic powers, evil sects, and demon-worshipping forces are violently encroaching. Our Bureau of Peace is stretched thin, and reinforcements won''t arrive for another seven days. Hence, I wish to invite you, Daoist, to help defend the southern part of Longjiang Prefecture for seven days."

    Although the young lady in white was not tall, her voice was loud and clear, and she exuded an imposing aura with every move, especially when she ate, which reminded Yi Chen of himself.

    This made Yi Chen have a favorable impression of Qian, the Governor.

    However, admiration aside, Yi Chen was still prepared to refuse.

    While Qian friend looked quite good, with eyes like stars and lips like she carried a pill of cinnabar, and with astonishingly long and slender legs,

    women only slowed down his punching speed.

    He pondered briefly, weighing how to politely express regret, strongly denounce, and urge both sides to remain calm and settle disputes through peaceful dialogue before making his leave, when Qian Yueru spoke again.

    "I''ve always heard how the Taoist Yi Chengzi is righteous, morally noble, and unparalleled in benevolence and righteousness."

    "But it''s always been about setting up the pot for cooking rice, not for cooking up reason."

    "Privately, I, Qian Yueru, am willing to offer a storage ring as compensation in exchange for seven days of your assistance, Daoist. How about it?"

    Upon finishing,

    a dusty ring appeared on the table.

    The moment these words were spoken, even the maid with a bun behind Qian Yueru couldn''t help but widen her eyes.

    "Damn, a storage ring right from the start."

    "This... this woman..."

    Yi Chen clenched his fists upon hearing this, and the words of refusal that had reached his lips suddenly felt difficult to utter.

    Little Miao, squatting on the ground, meowed incessantly upon hearing this, frantically rubbing its little face against Yi Chen''s pant leg, desperately urging him to agree.

    It really didn''t want to carry luggage anymore...

    In this world, storage rings were incredibly precious and rare items. Not only were the materials required to forge them hard to find, but one also needed an expert True Person, at least at the stage of Refining the Spirit and Returning to the Void, skilled in artifact refinement to forge it.

    In the world of cultivation, owning a spatial natured magical treasure was a symbol of status and identity.

    Yi Chen had seen many ghostly things but had never laid eyes on a storage ring.

    Seeing Yi Chen without a response, Qian Yueru sighed and added,

    "Whether the Daoist agrees or not, Yueru will not retract her offer."

    "For tonight''s misunderstanding, I have already warned those merchants; no one is allowed to gossip. The Daoist can rest assured."

    "Here is one thousand taels of silver as thanks for the Daoist''s action this time."

    Qian Yueru reached out her hand to take the storage ring back from the table.

    Yi Chen painfully closed his eyes; his chance for a storage ring was slipping away.

    No!

    After an internal struggle, he quickly made a decision.

    "My master once said that the struggle between good and evil is lifelong,"

    "For the people of Longjiang Prefecture, for all the living beings of the world, I shall undertake this task."

    "However, the storage ring must be provided upfront, and upon success, I want an additional three thousand taels."

    Yi Chen declared decisively.

    He had wanted to refuse, but Qian Yueru''s offer was simply too generous.

    Take the money, get the storage ring, cut down evil spirits, earn Deep Red Points.

    Seven days'' work for so many benefits.

    What a great deal indeed!

    Longjiang Prefecture was like a powder keg, with who knows how many demons and evil spirits lurking about¡ªtheir defeat promising a wealth of Deep Red Points.

    Yi Chen had hesitated upon hearing the truth from Qian Yueru,

    but the moment she took out a storage ring, it became the straw that broke the camel''s back.

    With a storage ring, his travels across the world would become much easier, and he would never again face an awkward situation of running out of food.

    Besides, there''s a darker thought in his mind¡ªif the Evil Dragon Daoist''s lair emerges ahead of schedule despite their vigilant guard, he''s also very interested in the Daoist''s legacy treasures.

    If he could obtain the Dragon Essence, a treasure that significantly strengthens the physical body, his strength would surely advance further.

    Sure, there were risks involved, but the benefits were immense.

    After weighing his current power, the risks, and the potential rewards, Yi Chen decided he could take on this task.

    The threat of Yin Manor looms imminent, the blood-red meteor of earth-shattering change could descend at any moment. If I don''t seize the present to enhance my strength, missing this crucial window, the future will be troublesome.

    This time, the Longjiang Prefecture''s emergence of the evil Daoist''s abode managed to attract so many demonic ghosts and heretical masters¡ªit''s probably fueled by this same anxiety.

    The pressure has reached everyone, daring many to openly defy the deterrence of the dynasty from the shadows.

    Signs of great chaos under heaven have already begun to appear.

    "Excellent! Taoist truly speaks and acts decisively. If successful, add another three thousand taels of gold," Qian Yueru said, slapping the table and pushing the storage ring towards Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen: "¡­" Ah? Gold?

    "Then I have to thank comrade Qian," he said.

    After finalizing the matter, Qian Yueru pulled out a huge axe from behind her back, effortlessly splitting the main dish on the table into two halves.

    "Taoist, come, try this snake dish. It''s very nourishing and tough to catch."

    "It took me three nights by the Dragon River just to catch it. I wouldn''t have shared it if it weren''t for treating you." S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Let''s split it between us," Qian Yueru said with enthusiasm.

    Yi Chen''s pupils suddenly shrank at the scene.

    It was his first time seeing someone with such divine power, especially a young girl.

    And the tiger was a real tiger, simply using her dining tool to divide the dish, quite forcefully¡­

    The long handle of the decorative axe was actually made of solar true gold and fiery crystal copper.

    She really is loaded.

    This Commander Qian is truly formidable; based on Yi Chen''s estimation, her skill might not be inferior to his own.

    This made him even more confident about the seven-day city defense to come.

    Seeing Yi Chen staring at her decorative axe, Qian Yueru smiled proudly, her phoenix eyes turning into narrow slits.

    She casually wielded the big axe, tossing a few decorative patterns and laughed, "Taoist, do you think my axe looks nice?"

    "My dad even said it was ugly, he really doesn''t understand aesthetics."

    "Bigger is stronger, heavier is more beautiful."

    "It can smash enemies and act as a shield; there''s no more perfect weapon."

    Yi Chen nodded in agreement.

    Qian Yueru''s large decorative axe was indeed beautiful, and he was quite envious.

    Naturally, after his breakthrough in the eighth layer of the True Pure Yang Skill, he found the Dragon-Slaying Sword in his hand increasingly awkward to use.

    Too light!

    Womanish chatter.

    It was simply no fun to wield.

    However, the background of the girl in white made Yi Chen quite curious.

    Thinking this, he couldn''t help but ask, "Comrade Qian, forgive my boldness, but who is your father?"

    The girl in white bit fiercely into the dragon-shaped eel on the plate, tearing off a big piece of meat. Her cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish as she replied:

    "Ah? My father is Qian Erhe."

    "Everyone calls him True Monarch Ling Shui."

    "He is now the deputy commander of the Town Safety Office."

    Yi Chen: "¡­." I see, the infamous second-generation cultivator, truly loaded indeed.

    "Taoist, you should eat quickly, it won''t taste good when it''s cold. This snake dish greatly nourishes vital energy."

    "I''m sharing half with you because I find you to be a congenial fellow."

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen also cast aside formalities and dug in.

    In an instant, the two human-formed ferocious beasts tangled into a battle.

    With every swallow, a whole dish of meat disappeared, both of them ruthlessly chewing without spitting out the bones.

    They competed as if in a match, neither giving way.

    The snake dish touted by Qian Yueru did indeed greatly replenish vital energy. After the meal, Yi Chen''s excess storage was fully replenished.

    Not long after, Yi Chen, with the storage ring and rubbing his round belly, stood up to bid farewell and returned to the Dusty Inn to rest. The next morning, Qian Yueru would send someone over for him.

    Watching Yi Chen leave, the bun-headed maid Xiao Lian beside Qian Yueru couldn''t hold back and hesitated.

    Seeing her like this, Qian Yueru wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, smiling said, "Xiao Lian, are you wondering why I didn''t personally test Taoist Yi Chengzi''s skills before handing over the precious storage ring?"

    "Hehe, don''t worry too much. If someone can eat like that, matching me bite for bite, and also be capable of slaying those two evil corpses in Yin Mountain Prefecture, his skills must be no less than mine, surely with astounding talents."

    "Moreover, he''s highly regarded by the wily old Lin Zhenbei, so there should be assurance in terms of character and strength."

    "Don''t suspect those you employ, don''t employ those you suspect. I appreciate this Taoist Yi Chengzi."

    The bun-headed girl sighed helplessly and said to her somewhat na?ve mistress:

    "Miss, it''s not about that."

    "I''m referring to the axe you used to split the snake dish earlier, you seem to have not washed it¡­"

    "It was still dripping blood earlier."

    Hearing this, Qian Yueru''s face suddenly changed.

    "Ah? Why didn''t you say so earlier?"

    "You were eating too fast; if I had mentioned it then, wouldn''t it have been awkward for you, Miss? This way the Taoist also ate it, so it''s not a loss for you, right~" Xiao Lian stuck out her tongue playfully.

    "Why bring it up now then? Daring to play tricks on your mistress, you''re asking for a ticklish punishment¡ªprepare yourself for my tickle attack~" Qian Yueru was not angry. With her rough and tough character, she was not squeamish; she had endured much hardship for her cultivation.

    However, she couldn''t let Xiao Lian off that easily; the maid''s boldness was growing too much and needed a lesson.

    She cackled and pounced on Xiao Lian.

    Although officially master and servant, they had grown up together and were close as sisters. The two now play-fought on the top floor, a delightful sight to behold.

 Chapter 96: Chapter 96: The Daoist Goes Out - Take Down! Arrest Them All!

    "Taoist, I was reckless last night,""Today I''ve prepared a modest dinner and hope that the Taoist can honor me with his presence and forgive my error."

    As soon as Yi Chen descended, Shen Hong immediately approached with a jovial smile, inadvertently opening a small crack in the wooden box he was holding.

    Golden Legend~

    Inside were ten small yellowfish.

    A smile crept onto Yi Chen''s face, and he nodded silently in approval.

    Not bad, this Shen Hong is capable.

    As they say, punish the past and be cautious in the future, heal the sick and save the people.

    We must give the young boss a chance to correct his mistakes.

    Yi Taoist is always magnanimous.

    He immediately bowed slightly with a smile and said, "Shopkeeper Shen''s sincerity is deeply felt. If I were to refuse repeatedly, it would make me seem unapproachable. Please, Shopkeeper Shen~"

    "Taoist, please~"

    After a bit of back-and-forth, Yi Chen was finally the first to take a seat.

    Shen Hong eagerly poured Yi Chen a cup of fragrant monkey wine and gently pushed the wooden box toward Yi Chen.

    "Shopkeeper Shen, what is this for? I don''t take rewards without meriting them," Yi Chen asked, feigning ignorance.

    The necessary procedures must still be followed.

    Otherwise, it would be undignified.

    Shopkeeper Shen sighed, and said, "Taoist, please allow me to report that my mother has always revered the Dao, and I am the same. Unfortunately, in these times, there are many who are unworthy. Yesterday, upon witnessing the Taoist''s majestic Dharma Aspect, I felt delighted. Hence, today I specifically brought a little offering, requesting the Taoist to pass it on in honor of Daozun, to promote the great Dao, and to cleanse the evil mists."

    "Rest assured, Taoist, though my store is small, as long as the Taoist is here for a day, you need not worry about food and lodging. All provisions shall be undertaken by Shen Hong alone, and I sincerely hope that the Taoist will not refuse, as it represents my commitment to the Dao."

    Yi Chen glanced at Shen Hong across from him, noting his earnest speech and sincere expression.

    Lying without a change in expression, he even deceives himself.

    This Shopkeeper Shen is truly talented.

    Much more perceptive than Head Constable Sun ever was.

    Yi Chen mused internally.

    "Well, since Shopkeeper Shen has a heart directed toward the Dao, I shall accept."

    With a sweep of his sleeve, the small wooden box on the table was absorbed into his storage ring.

    Ever since receiving the storage ring from Qian Yueru last night, Yi Chen had played with it early on and had mastered its use.

    He lifted his cup and drank it all in one go.

    Seeing this, Shen Hong''s expression brightened with joy.

    This matter was settled.

    He tactfully stood up to take his leave, exhibiting astute awareness.

    Little Miao had slinked off somewhere early in the morning, so Yi Chen was left to have breakfast alone.

    Thus, he indulged in his meal while awaiting the arrival of Qian Yueru''s envoy.

    Before long, a young man in his thirties dressed in flying-fish attire sat down across from Yi Chen.

    "Are you saying that the Longjiang Prefecture''s South City is entirely under the watch of just the two of us by the intention of the Governor Qian?"

    Yi Chen widened his eyes as he stared at the somewhat delicate-looking young man before him, suddenly feeling the pork knuckle in his hand lose its appeal.

    In that moment, he considered Qian Yueru, who seemed a bit of a simpleton the night before, as being rather cunning.

    This was asking the Daoist to work a 996 schedule.

    "Exactly, Governor Qian said taskforces are stretched thin now. With the Taoist''s cultivation, natural ability entails more work. If anything suspicious is detected, I, Mo Yu, can convey it for coordinating the dispatch of reinforcements. Here is the latest intelligence report on South City. The adult may wish to examine it," stated Mo Yu seriously.

    Yi Chen: "..." And they''ve assigned me an assistant named after slacking off.

    Suddenly, Yi Chen lost his appetite for food and quickly glanced over the intelligence report handed to him by Mo Yu.

    A minute later, Yi Chen chose to give up.

    What''s the point in looking?

    It''s valuable to recognize one''s limits. Expecting to outperform the professionals at the local Security Bureau and the Yamen, who hadn''t found any leads, would mean overestimating his mediocre investigative skills and challenging others in their own area of expertise.

    If one approach is blocked, take another; a person should play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

    He was a man with a reflective mind.

    Instantly, Yi Chen had a plan.

    "Mo Yu, gather a couple of subordinates, we''re going out on patrol."

    "Sir, aren''t you going to study the intelligence report?" Mo Yu frowned slightly, seemingly frustrated with his new superior.

    At first glance, this Daoist looked like a brute. Upon closer inspection, he was even less than he appeared to be.

    Without analyzing the plethora of intelligence to discern the current situation of South City, to anticipate the next focal point of the evil spirits'' attack for increased vigilance, and to find the hiding places of these demonic beings¡ªwhat skill is there in mere patrolling?

    He couldn''t understand the thoughts of those higher up. To properly maintain the security of the entire South City, it was not about finding someone who could fight but someone with a clear head.

    With such a vast area, they would end up being led around like dogs.

    He wanted to persuade further and offer some of his own ideas, but quickly chose to relent under Yi Chen''s gaze.

    It was an indescribable feeling of being targeted by a top predator; every hair on his body stood on end, and due to his unique cultivation technique, this sensation was exceptionally sharp.

    "Sir, I''ll call for people right away," Mo Yu quickly ran off.

    Before long, the Daoist, along with Mo Yu and two subordinates, were patrolling the streets.

    Yi Chen''s brow furrowed as he stopped in front of a melon stall.

    "Shopkeeper, how much are you selling these melons for?"

    "Twenty copper coins per pound."

    "Twenty copper coins a pound? That''s quite expensive, isn''t it?"

    Yi Chen sneered, moving with lightning speed. With the swiftness of a bell''s toll, he quickly snapped the stall owner''s neck.

    He wasn''t killing indiscriminately; through his reflective mind, he could see the deep sockets around the man''s eyes, the darkened brow, and two giant panda eyes.

    He could see through the truth at a glance.

    ```

    This is someone unlucky enough to have become possessed by an evil spirit.

    ```

    ```

    Mo Yu: "....."

    ```

    ```

    Fanzi: "..."

    ```

    ```

    Vendors who were still selling in the street instantly moved ten meters away from Yi Chen.

    ```

    ```

    "Sir...."

    ```

    ```

    "What ''sir''? Can''t you see that this is an evil spirit right before your eyes? Are you waiting for Taoist Yi to come and invite you out, you damn thing?" With a raise of Yi Chen''s eyebrows, he brushed a pale blue Pure Yang Inner Qi across the corpse, which the ghost shadow couldn''t withstand and wailed as it ran out.

    ```

    ```

    It was tainted with pale blue flames, igniting and burning it like a relentless ulcer that eats away at the bone.

    ```

    ```

    The crowd''s color changed in an instant.

    ```

    ```

    Mo Yu stepped forward and searched through the body of the melon seller, finding a blood-colored talisman folded into a triangle hanging around his neck.

    ```

    ```

    "A Guiyang talisman?" Mo Yu exclaimed in shock.

    ```

    ```

    A Guiyang talisman is a sinister talisman drawn by masters of the evil path, and when matched with a wearer, it can mimic the yang energy of a living person. Without a charm to detect evil close at hand, and just by sensing, those who have not specially trained in unique eye techniques would find it very difficult to recognize at first glance.

    ```

    ```

    Mo Yu looked at Yi Chen with some admiration. The Daoist invited by the Prefectural Commander seemed to have some real skills, perhaps he truly could bring peace back to South City.

    ```

    ```

    Just a minor ghost only brought ten Deep Red Points to Yi Chen.

    ```

    ```

    It seems this unfortunate fellow was looking for new bodies to possess, searching for its next victim, and then it ran into Yi Chen, akin to a living Yama King.

    ```

    ```

    "Such a weak spirit being able to get into the city."

    ```

    ```

    Yi Chen stroked his smooth chin, and for a moment thought a great deal.

    ```

    ```

    It looked like a big fish had made its way to South City of Longjiang Prefecture, for without the concealment of a big fish, these ghostly things being able to come in with these pieces of garbage, wouldn''t even get through the city gate.

    ```

    ```

    Moreover, there was cooperation with evil cultivators ¨C a Guiyang talisman is not something an ordinary cultivator can refine.

    ```

    ```

    It seems that forces like the Yellow Springs Sect, Hongfang, and Yin Mountain Prefecture had temporarily formed an alliance.

    ```

    ```

    But it didn''t matter, no matter how deep they hid, Yi Chen would chop off all their tentacles and see how well they could still sit comfortably.

    ``` S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ```

    Little by little makes much, and a pile results from accumulation.

    ```

    ```

    Even a mosquito leg is still meat.

    ```

    ```

    Ten Deep Red Points gathered in the basket is still harvest!

    ```

    ```

    Yi Chen''s mind raced with thoughts, and in an instant, he made a decision.

    ```

    ```

    For the life and property safety of the people in South City of Longjiang Prefecture, Taoist Yi Chengzi would need to work some overtime.

    ```

    ```

    As this thought crossed his mind, his expression became solemn, and with an air of integrity, he said:

    ```

    ```

    "Mo Baihu, issue the order, call the people from the government office over, and assemble by district."

    ```

    ```

    "Everyone must be screened!"

    ```

    ```

    "If someone notices anything unusual about their neighbors recently, they can denounce them on the spot. Once it''s confirmed that there is an evil spirit, a reward of twenty taels of silver will be given."

    ```

    ```

    "The silver, you ask from Prefectural Commander Qian~"

    ```

    ```

    It was time to let the evil spirits and demons witness the vast ocean of people''s war.

    ```

    ```

    Mo Yu happily took the order and set out while Yi Chen continued patrolling the streets with the remaining fanzis.

    ```

    ```

    He intended to catch the group of evil spirits off guard.

    ```

    ```

    Suddenly, the whole South City of Longjiang Prefecture blew up into a state of chaos~

    ```

    ```

    "You''re an evil spirit¡ªkill!"

    ```

    ```

    "You''re also an evil spirit¡ªkill~"

    ```

    ```

    "How come you three female ghosts are so ugly~"

    ```

    ```

    "One looks like it''s made of paper~"

    ```

    ```

    "One looks like it''s been blown up with fireworks~"

    ```

    ```

    "One looks like it''s been run over by a car~"

    ```

    ```

    "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

    ```

    ```

    On that day, the evil spirit forces of the entire South City suffered a heavy blow.

    ```

    ```

    A strong Daoist leading a group of fanzis, as if injected with chicken blood, plowed through one-sixth of the entire South City.

    ```

    ```

    In just one morning, Yi Chen earned fifty Deep Red Points.

    ```

    ```

    Especially when he raided the Rabbit Pavilion, it was outrageous. In one fell swoop, he caught three female ghosts possessing the bunnies there, apprehending them before they could even entertain guests.

    ```

    ```

    He couldn''t understand it, but he was profoundly shocked.

    ```

    ```

    Unconsciously, noon had arrived, and Yi Chen was just about to take a group of his fanzis to lunch when a clamor reached them.

    ```

    ```

    It was a pleasant-sounding woman''s voice.

    ```

    ```

    "Stop fighting, you all~"

    ```

    ```

    "You''re going to beat someone to death."

    ```

    ```

    Yi Chen frowned and led the people to the front.

    ```

    ```

    There, in front of a tofu stand, the flag of Wenjun Tofu fluttered in the wind.

    ```

    ```

    A fair-skinned scholar was being beaten on the ground by three sallow-faced men.

    ```

    ```

    A beautiful woman with attractive features was anxiously pulling at the three sallow-faced men beating the scholar but was groped in the chest by one of the men and pushed to the ground.

    ```

    ```

    "Taoist, I have made inquiries."

    ```

    ```

    "It''s these three sheepherders. They were drinking douhua at the Tofu Xishi''s stand when the Tofu Xishi''s husband saw the sheep herders'' dozen or so sheep under the sun, sticking out their tongues, barely alive, and felt very sorry for them, so he brought over a basin of water to offer help by watering the sheep."

    ```

    ```

    "These sheepherders have bad tempers and accused him of trying to steal their sheep, hence the conflict."

    ```

    ```

    "Such a trifle, let the government office deal with it."

    ```

    ```

    A sharp fanzi had quickly gathered this information from the surroundings and explained to Yi Chen.

    ```

    ```

    "Deal with it? How can the government office people handle such a thing?" Yi Chen looked at the fanzi with surprise, then shouted:

    ```

    ```

    "In broad daylight, they dare to beat someone right in front of me."

    ```

    ```

    "I dare not even think about the things they could do behind the scenes."

    ```

    ```

    "All units, take them down!"

    ```

    ```

    "Take them down!"

    ```

 Chapter 100 Chapter 100 So Many Big Eaters! Yi Chens Countermeasure, The Angry Umbrella Girl.

    Today marked the third day of Yi Chen''s tenure defending Longjiang Prefecture.The sun still rose slowly from the east, illuminating the earth.

    The flow of people in South City today was even greater than yesterday.

    No other reason, people always pursue benefits and shun harm.

    Under Yi Chen''s firm defense and steady tactics, the safety of South City had already far surpassed that of the other four major districts.

    As a result, the general cost of goods in South City had once again climbed.

    Especially the Red Dust Inn, where Yi Chen was staying, the innkeeper Shen couldn''t stop grinning from ear to ear.

    He was making a fortune, making an absolute fortune.

    This gift, he truly sent to the right person.

    At this moment, inside the Red Dust Inn.

    Yi Chen was heartily feasting at an Eight Immortals table.

    A plump, fragrant braised pork knuckle was devoured by Yi Chen in no time, bones and all swallowed down.

    Mo Yu stood to one side, slowly reciting intelligence reports.

    "Taoist, these are all the details about South City''s grain, oil, and natural/unnatural deaths of people that you ordered me to gather yesterday."

    "Well done. Remember, in the coming days, even the naturally deceased citizens must have their causes of death recorded in detail. We will not overlook a single one."

    Yi Chen patted Mo Yu''s shoulder in approval, then set out with his men for another round of patrolling the streets.

    Just like yesterday, today Yi Chen once again received a warm welcome from the citizens.

    "Taoist, have a roast chicken."

    "Taoist, try some pancakes."

    ¡­

    Yi Chen naturally rejected them with a smile. He couldn''t deny that being regarded with such reverence felt surprisingly pleasant.

    Just then, a sudden commotion reached Yi Chen''s ears, drawing his attention.

    It was a group of diners causing a scene at a noodle stall.

    "Boss, why are the noodles served so slowly? I''m so hungry."

    "Dear customer, you''ve nearly eaten five bowls already."

    "What''s wrong with having a good appetite? Are you insinuating that I can''t pay the bill?" A customer clad in brocade slammed down a ten-tael silver ingot on the table, "Hurry up and make my noodles."

    "It''s like seeing a ghost, how come my appetite suddenly got so good?"

    Yi Chen''s brows furrowed upon hearing this.

    However, his inner sight revealed nothing unusual, so he had to continue on.

    As he progressed, he noticed the number of gluttons in the street was slowly growing.

    Many strange sights were emerging.

    Men and women, young and old, were all included.

    Especially when an eight-year-old child in front of Yi Chen ate an amount equivalent to twenty steamed buns, his face finally turned ashen.

    Trouble was afoot.

    Even a born glutton shouldn''t be able to eat food almost equivalent to their own body weight.

    "Seems you really want to embarrass me," Yi Chen muttered to himself, looking at the emerging gluttons with his back to the sun, his shadow stretching out ominously behind him.

    It was as if a ferocious beast had opened its sleepy eyes.

    And the Ferocious Beast was about to devour someone.

    Mo Yu, who was a step behind Yi Chen, shivered upon hearing this.

    From Yi Chen''s words, he heard an undertone of suppressed cruelty and anger.

    "Mo Yu, there are two things you need to do. Immediately mobilise people to compile a list. I want to gather all individuals with abnormally good appetites in recent days, have experts skilled in medicine examine them thoroughly. I want a detailed record of what these people have eaten and where they''ve been lately."

    "Secondly, inspect all the important water sources throughout the city immediately."

    The sudden emergence of many gluttons had instinctively triggered Yi Chen''s alarm.

    Mo Yu also understood the gravity of the situation and immediately went to carry out the orders.

    But it wasn''t long before a group of his men came to report.

    The water sources had always been under the surveillance of the security bureau; there were no issues.

    And as for those individuals with increased appetites that were found, after examination by medical experts, no cause could be identified.

    Mysterious. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The situation had suddenly become complex and baffling.

    Epidemiological investigations have always been exceedingly time-consuming and labor-intensive, necessitating the diversion of considerable manpower and resources.

    The individuals aware of their anomalies might not comply with the yamen''s investigation due to fear, as they were uncertain how the agents of the Peacekeeping Division would deal with them.

    And if the source of these anomalous transformations was not quickly identified, the number of deaths could become unimaginable.

    Now, it was a race against time.

    This had caused the situation to reach a stalemate.

    "Sir, what should we do now?"

    "With so many people in South City and so few of us, how long will it take to investigate each person and gather all these testimonies?" asked Officer Mo, looking uncertain.

    The current situation was that time equaled life.

    "What to do?" Yi Chen suddenly turned around, smiling.

    "Officer Mo, do you think we have too few people?"

    "No, we have too many people."

    "If my guess is correct, the person behind this must be spreading it through special methods and has special means to evade our detection."

    "But can they escape our magical detection, and yet escape the gaze of so many eyes in South City?"

    "I don''t believe the person behind this could act in isolation without causing a stir and accomplish such a feat in these few days."

    "So, we are not short of people at all."

    "Officer Mo, this is war."

    "The person I admire most once said that the most profound power of war is rooted among the common people."

    "Since the enemy has chosen to play dirty, then let me show them the vast sea of people''s war."

    "All the citizens of South City are my eyes; they are all our people."

    "Officer Mo, issue my command: take all those people who were reported by the public in the past few days for behaving differently from usual but who checked out fine after investigation, and control them for me."

    "No need for caution, just arrest them, I want to see who dares to resist."

    "Send out a message that, starting today, the yamen will begin to accept reports. Anyone whose behavior deviates from their usual habits, if the reporter''s words are proven true by the lie-detecting spell, the first ten each day will receive a reward of twenty taels, the eleventh to twentieth will receive ten taels, the first two hundred will receive five taels each, and those after that will receive one tael each."

    "I need you to coordinate with the Peacekeeping Division to find a few pennants who can perform lie detection on ordinary people, you can manage this task, can''t you?"

    "Those who dare to lie for a reward and falsely report will be sent to plant potatoes."

    "And by the way, the epidemiological investigations of those who suddenly develop an increased appetite must not be halted."

    Yi Chen''s words instantly propelled the entire South City region into an era of massive reporting.

    In times of chaos, strict laws are to be enforced.

    Everything was for the sake of racing time!

    He believed this move would certainly buy precious time for the investigation, and at the very least, it would serve to intimidate and disrupt the enemy''s propagation.

    This was the most effective method he could think of at the moment.

    As Yi Chen gave the order, the entire South City region instantly became abuzz.

    In the afternoon, in Copper Coin Alley, Scholar Li was happily selling his wonton noodles when, suddenly, an agent from the Peacekeeping Division came over with two yamen runners.

    "Scholar Li, please come with us~"

    In a flash, beads of sweat formed on Scholar Li''s forehead.

    In South City, within the Listening Rain Pavilion.

    A Qing porcelain teacup was fiercely smashed to the ground as a stream of vile curses poured out of the Umbrella Lady''s mouth.

    "@#£¤%..."

    "How dare that Taoist do this!"

    Yi Chen''s unorthodox move inadvertently caught Scholar Li and sent him off to a concentration camp.

    After a round of venting, Umbrella Lady calmed down and asked the person in black kneeling in the hall, "Where is Lord Parasite now?"

    "The Lord is in a sealed state and was taken away along with Scholar Li."

    "What about our other informants in the southern district?"

    "Those who were reported were also taken away. Sir, we are now practically blind and deaf in the South City district. Any slight misstep from our people could be reported..."

    Umbrella Lady: "..."

    "@#£¤%..."

    Just as Umbrella Lady managed to suppress her rage, she could no longer hold back and began another round of verbal gymnastics, cursing furiously:

    "That Taoist, a beast not fit to be human!"

    "Dishonoring your parents, dishonoring your parents, ah~"

    The great hall was filled with echoes of Umbrella Lady''s curses.

 Chapter 101 The Emergence (First Update)

    Respect humanity, respect interests.Thanks to the days of diligent patrolling and Yi Chen''s encouraging whistle-blower reward system, South City had apprehended several hundred people in an afternoon.

    Under the promise of protecting whistleblowers'' identities by the Public Security Bureau, there was a surge in responses; anyone late to the scene would miss out on shiny silver coins.

    Yi Chen understood all too well.

    As a Taoist adept in human nature, Yi Chen deliberately aligned personal gains with societal safety and, using lie-detecting spells to filter out false data, he had already gained the upper hand.

    Nighttime.

    Within a spacious courtyard owned by the Public Security Bureau, it was now overflowing with people.

    From the peddlers and porters to the silk-clad nobility, all were required to squat with hands over their heads.

    Around them, fires crackled in braziers, providing light and warding off the chill of the night.

    Under the glow of the fire, expressions varied widely among the crowd.

    Some had shifty eyes, some were stricken with grief, and others were seething with anger.

    Umbrella Girl had not expected Yi Chen''s unscrupulous mobilization at all.

    Umbrella Girl had considered inciting some to falsely report others, but those ordinary folks were quickly exposed and sent to mine.

    Moreover, Yi Chen had specifically instructed to detain those who reported more than five individuals.

    This increased the difficulty and cost for Umbrella Girl to meddle to an unacceptable level.

    It was as if Umbrella Girl had developed undetectable cheats with great effort, only to have the authorities directly ban those with aberrant behavior by analyzing play records, without regard for fair play.

    And they restricted IP comments...

    You say there''s no issue? Fine, go ahead and appeal~

    Currently, the appeal meeting was in full swing.

    Within a side courtyard lay a dozen severed limbs and mutilated corpses¡ªthose who could not explain their anomalies or were caught lying by Yi Chen.

    If people did not wish to remain dignified, then he could only help them to be so.

    Another peddler was brought up.

    "Li Fugui, tell me, why has your walking posture changed so dramatically recently?" Yi Chen asked coldly.

    "Your honor, it''s not that I''ve switched my core, I''ve been suffering from hemorrhoids," Li Fugui was near tears, having been dragged away mid-squat at home by two officers.

    Yi Chen: "....."

    After sensing that Li Fugui was telling the truth, Yi Chen waved his hand to have people take him away to eat potatoes.

    In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are necessary.

    Even if they provided a clear explanation, they could not leave and must be under unified management until reinforcements from the Public Security Bureau arrived.

    ----

    "Merchant Zhang, tell me, why have you been so fond of eating green tangerines and buying them lately?"

    "Sir, I''m henpecked, I''ve recently kept a mistress outside, and I''m afraid of being discovered by the tiger at home; I had to disguise myself this way," Merchant Zhang sobbed profusely.

    "You are very creative, take him away."

    ----

    "Boss Ximen, why have you been sneaking into the woods lately?"

    "Sir¡­ can I¡­ not say it?"

    "I''ll count to three."

    "Three"

    "One"

    "Adultery, I''m committing adultery; I''ve been meeting up with Little Golden Lotus in secret, sir. I like married women."

    "The wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a theft, but a theft is not as satisfying as being caught~" Boss Ximen was desperate.

    "With the integrity of Jian''an and the legacy of Wei Wu, take him away."

    ----

    "Zhao Dechu, I''ve heard you''ve been quite generous lately. Where''s the silver coming from? Don''t think about lying, otherwise, the skeleton beside you will be your example."

    "This¡­ Sir¡­."

    "I''m counting to three!"

    ¡ª¡ª

    ...

    Time ticked away, second by second, as person after person was checked. Though some suspicious characters whose explanations were murky were uncovered, even more were simply people mistakenly seized for a variety of messy reasons.

    The assorted messy reasons made Yi Chen both laugh and cry.

    Soon, another person was brought in.

    It was none other than Scholar Li.

    Yi Chen rubbed his temple and began the routine questioning,

    "Spill it, Scholar Li, I heard you recently made a tidy sum, and when did you get your hands on a secret wonton noodle recipe?"

    "This...this...this..." Scholar Li''s forehead was now beaded with large drops of sweat as he seemed to be wrestling with his conscience.

    "Your crappy trinkets are of no interest to me, just speak frankly, or do you see those people on the ground?"

    "This...this...this... I found the silver, and I saw the secret recipe in some ancient book¡­"

    "Scholar Li, you really are a straw poking a frog, utterly satisfied with yourself. How dare you try to deceive me with lies at a time like this?"

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen''s pupils instantly shrank, and his expression grew a tad more serious.

    "I''m counting to three!"

    "Three"

    "One"

    "Stubborn fool."

    Without further ado, a massive pale blue fist of energy surged directly towards Scholar Li.

    The Daoist priest was in a hurry.

    Such sneaky creatures must be transcended on the spot.

    Suddenly, a light click came from somewhere on Scholar Li''s person.

    It sounded like the shattering of glass.

    A fierce, centipede-like creature stood up, abruptly appearing before Scholar Li.

    It seemed to hold a grudge against Scholar Li; with a stamp of its enormous leg, it caught Yi Chen''s casually thrown punch, and with a flick of its long pink tongue from its mouthparts, it strangled Scholar Li in two.

    "Demon Insect greets you, fellow Daoist. Your methods are truly breathtaking to behold,"

    "May I ask, venerable Daoist, does killing at will not weigh upon your karma?"

    "Killing follows the heart; fortune and blessings are one''s own to bear; you should join our Holy Sect."

    Under the moonlit night, the monstrous insect articulated its mouthparts as if chastising Yi Chen, creating a bizarre scene.

    The creature was shrouded in sinister Yin Qi, its presence terrifying to behold.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen abruptly stood up, and a sneer of ferocity couldn''t help but escape his face.

    After searching for so long for small fry, he had finally hooked a big fish. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If he wasn''t mistaken, the strange occurrences in South City were likely caused by this monstrous bug.

    It remained unknown how the creature had concealed its aura and form, eluding his detection until now.

    The creature had been careful in its dealings, not doing anything to Scholar Li''s person directly, but luring him with wealth, attacking his heart; thus, it had remained undetected until this moment.

    Damn it.

    The old society turns people into ghosts.

    Seeing the towering four-meter-tall insect standing in the night sky, Mo Yu, who stood behind Yi Chen, seemed to remember something. He quietly stepped back and exclaimed, "Be careful, Daoist Priest! This Demon Insect is the steed of the Lady of the Red Chamber; its cultivation is incredibly profound."

    Upon hearing this, the Demon Insect puffed up its insect belly with pride as if boasting of its status as the Lady''s mount.

    It opened its mouthparts and proclaimed loudly, "Swallowing skies and earth, sun and moon, the insect soars through the clouds to devour¡­"

    However, before it could finish speaking, Yi Chen had already transformed into a pale blue streak of light, striking fiercely towards it, with rumbles of thunder following close behind him.

    "So you''re just a little weasel!"

    "Fuck your mother."

    Find exclusive stories on empire

    "You, a mount, have a poetic title as well?"

 Chapter 102 Explosive Kill! (Second Update)

    Faced with the nonstop chattering of the demon insect, Yi Chen''s choice was simple, punch first!Ask all the questions after the fight!

    As a seasoned veteran of the battlefield, he keenly sensed something was amiss.

    Because that demon insect was talking too much nonsense.

    It even wanted to recite a poem for him.

    Why not throw in a rap while at it?

    Anything abnormal was a sign of demons at work.

    The damned creature''s first choice wasn''t to run but to engage in a war of words with him, probably because its secret technique for hiding its presence needed time to recover.

    In just a few words, Yi Chen had seen through the big bug.

    "Taoist, you''re seeking death!" The demon insect was clearly infuriated facing Yi Chen''s punch enveloped in pale cyan Inner Qi.

    If it weren''t for the fact that it would fall into a thirty-second period of weakness after deactivating its secret technique, it, the mighty demon insect, wouldn''t bother buying time with a junior in such an awkward manner.

    Why not just strike and kill to resolve the matter?

    It was truly like a dragon trapped in shallow waters, played by a shrimp.

    But now it didn''t matter much, at most a few more seconds. After ten-odd seconds, when the weakness from the secret technique faded, it would be able to attack or escape.

    Boom!

    A loud noise erupted.

    The moment the giant foot of the bizarre insect made contact with Yi Chen''s fist, a huge shockwave was released.

    In an instant, the demon insect''s expression changed drastically.

    An explosive force, unique to the Strength-Breaking Realm, surged through the part of it that had made contact with Yi Chen.

    With one strike, the insect was forced to the ground, retreating step by step with its giant foot to dissipate the overwhelming force of Yi Chen''s punch.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen''s eyes lit up.

    There was indeed a problem!

    How could a demon insect that had shocked Mo Yu be so weak?

    It was already struggling with just an ordinary punch from him in his normal state.

    So then,

    If he didn''t take advantage of his enemy''s weakness, was he even human?

    It was best to chase the desperate foe with the courage left, rather than seek fame like an overbearing ruler.

    As thoughts raced through his mind, Yi Chen decided to step up the intensity and end things quickly, lest the night bring more dreams. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "True Pure Yang Power!"

    Yi Chen pounded his chest and shouted loudly.

    The pale cyan Inner Qi suddenly rippled out from him as the center, before quickly flowing back to form a pale cyan glaze armor on his body.

    This was the unique transformation granted by the eighth level of the True Pure Yang Skill.

    The armor, vibrant with verdant cyan Inner Qi, enveloped his entire body like a thick exoskeleton, leaving only his eyes, filled with a violent gaze, visible.

    His stature began to rise, his joints thickened and enlarged, and muscles started proliferating and hardening on his feet, thighs, waist and abdomen, arms, and neck¡ªa wild power began to dance unrestrained within him.

    Muscles covered his body like armor, and the Inner Qi-transformed cyan glaze armor clung to his muscles like syrup wrapped around hawthorn fruit.

    He grew taller by the second, and quickly surpassed the height of two and a half meters.

    The pale cyan Inner Qi began to roar inside him, displaying his formidable momentum.

    Endless moonlight poured into Yi Chen''s body like a whale drawing water, dimming the surrounding light.

    This made Yi Chen, clad in pale cyan glaze armor, stand out even more under the night sky.

    "Senior, please enlighten me with your moves; let us fight to our heart''s content today,"

    "Demon Insect Daoist friend."

    "Today, you and I have determined our superiority and have decided life and death!"

    Yi Chen''s voice thundered like wild, and before the word ''death'' had even finished, his entire body, trailing a pale cyan flame tail, plunged down towards the bizarre insect again.

    At this moment, the commotion inside the courtyard had also attracted some of the guards from the Town Peace Corps, including a few minor banners with decent cultivation.

    The demon insect seemed to have quite a reputation.

    As soon as they entered, they recognized the massive insect shadow, their expressions drastically changing as they couldn''t help but exclaim:

    "Taoist small..."

    Their words stopped abruptly.

    The rest of the sentence, ''heart,'' just couldn''t make it out of their mouths, as the scene before them made them feel like their jaws were about to dislocate.

    Once Yi Chen perfectly displayed the formidable Pure Yang dominant form, the demon insect, in its secret technique-weakened state, couldn''t keep up with his speed at all.

    In an instant, Yi Chen threw a savage straight punch that landed in the middle of the demon insect''s body.

    With that hit, a green, eerie juice spurted from the mouth of the demon insect, splashing onto the ground, corroding the soil in the courtyard into pits of various sizes.

    The demon insect felt as if it had been hit in the waist by an ancient mammoth, bile nearly spewing out.

    The pale cyan Inner Qi transmitted from the tall Daoist''s body was extremely venomous, wreaking havoc inside it like an incurable disease on the bone, causing unbearable pain.

    At this time, the demon insect was furiously hating in its heart!

    This little brat, how merciless.

    Talking about having an eager battle with an elder, to determine the superior and decide life and death.

    The demon insect absolutely didn''t believe the young brat in front of it couldn''t see its weakened state.

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    It was clearly taking advantage of its weakness, aiming for its life.

    Damn it, the demon insect, having roamed freely for hundreds of years, had never suffered such a loss.

    While the demon insect was going mad with hatred, Yi Chen''s next punch was already on its way.

    Right now, the only thought in Yi Chen''s mind was to finish this quickly.

    "Stone Skin!"

    However, even in a weakened state, the demon insect was not an easy opponent. It finally let out a sharp scream before Yi Chen''s next punch could reach it, its body suddenly turning into a stone-like earthy yellow color.

    As the punch connected, heavy rocks from the demon insect''s body fell to the ground, but, luckily, compared to being unprepared before, it was faring much better now.

    "In no more than ten seconds, it will completely break free from the weakened state and escape underground."

    Just as the demon insect was about to reinforce itself with another innate spell, Stone Skin, it suddenly felt dizzy and weightless.

    It was Yi Chen grabbing its two massive legs and swinging it around.

    The move from the King of Fighters with the chain hammer-wielding King Kong pig was replicated.

    Left right, left right.

    Left right, left right.

    The earth trembled violently, kicking up clouds of dust.

    Only Yi Chen''s ferocious laughter, like thunder, echoed from within the dust cloud.

    "Senior demon insect, won''t you say something?"

    "Oh, you''re still kicking me with your other legs, let''s dismember those."

    "With such little strength, you might as well stop calling yourself a demon insect and go by ''Dung Sea Insane Maggot'' instead~"

    With a forceful yank of his arms, one massive leg descended from the sky, landing on the ground in front of everyone. As the leg landed, still twitching, with a rough break and uneven muscle fibers, it was clear it had been torn off by sheer strength.

    Such a brutal scene left the Town Peace Corps, led by Mo Yu, utterly numb.

    In their eyes, the fearsome demon insect, whose presence and aura were terrifying, seemed like a tender chicken chick when caught in Yi Chen''s hands, being manipulated effortlessly.

    This was a fearsome creature equivalent to the late stage of the Qi Refinement Realm, yet in the palm of Yi Chen''s large hand, it couldn''t even escape underground.

    Every time the demon insect''s body touched the earth, their brows twitched involuntarily, and for a moment, they began to feel a bit sorry for the demon insect.

    Just why provoke the Yi Taoist, a fine fellow?

 Chapter 103 Qian Yuerus Request. (Third update)

    Ten seconds passed swiftly.The demon worm lay in the deep pit, its exoskeleton already tattered, with viscid green liquid hanging all over its body.

    Its last two intact compound eyes looked up in terror at the sky, at the pale giant plummeting towards it, its mind in turmoil.

    At this moment, the ten-second period had ended!

    "Burrow!"

    The demon worm mustered its last bit of vitality, screaming desperately into the sky.

    But it was already too late.

    Like Great Desolation Star falling from the heavens, Yi Chen''s massive feet crashed down onto its body.

    In the final moments, the demon worm''s burrowing spell was activated, but sadly it only succeeded halfway. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The back half of its body vanished without a trace, but the upper half of its head was firmly pinned under Yi Chen''s foot, utterly unable to escape.

    At this time, the half of the demon worm''s body lying in the pit incessantly leaked green liquid from its severed section.

    It hadn''t taken its last breath yet, except its last two compound eyes also burst out of their sockets under Yi Chen''s heavy blow.

    The demon worm struggled to lift its last intact limb, trembling as it seemed to want to point at Yi Chen, its mouthparts slowly opening and closing, as if wanting to communicate something.

    Crack!

    Another large hand suddenly appeared, and with a tug.

    The demon worm''s last huge limb was completely broken off by Yi Chen and casually thrown onto the open ground behind.

    The soldiers of the Mo Hundred quickly noticed another giant limb on the ground.

    This limb bore even more severe damage; its mottled wounds attested to the extent of its owner''s suffering.

    "Today''s battle was delightfully satisfying, what a pity, oh senior, you still fall short of this humble Daoist," Yi Chen said, leaping out of the pit, standing on its edge, his back to the crowd, speaking with an imposing tone.

    Hearing Yi Chen''s unabashedly shameless words, the demon worm could no longer hold on, and from its huge mouth, like paying homage to the king of kings, a massive green fountain sprayed forth, finally tilting its head and dying in desolation.

    No one knew whether it succumbed to its severe injuries or was pissed off to death by Yi Chen.

    Looking at its final moments, no one knew how much unwillingness filled it at the end of its life.

    If it had been in its prime, it surely wouldn''t have ended like this.

    It still had tactics up its sleeve, yet before it could even start, everything was already over.

    "[You have successfully killed the Ghost Face Worm, the demon worm, and obtained two hundred and twenty Deep Red Points.]"

    A stream of information suddenly appeared on Yi Chen''s retina.

    A girl in black armor slowly emerged from a corner of the compound, two massive gossip-patterned axes crossed and resting on her back.

    The axe heads were caked with blood scabs, swirling with a dense aura of blood and evil, unknown just how many unlucky souls had fallen to these axes over the past few days.

    "Qian, you''ve arrived?"

    Yi Chen turned around and spoke to Qian Yueru.

    Earlier in the battle, he had sensed Qian Yueru''s presence.

    With such a commotion occurring in South City, she, as the enforcer of Longjiang Prefecture, naturally had many people reporting to her, so she had always kept a part of her attention on South City.

    Yi Chen''s actions had also been supported by her to be carried out decisively.

    "Yes, I have," she replied.

    "What a pity; I hid for so long, even brought along some toys, but never expected not a single big fish from the Yellow Springs Sect, Yin Mountain Manor, or behind the Red Workshop would show up to rescue. Truly regrettable."

    Qian Yueru still had her hair tied up high, but unlike before, today she wasn''t wearing cloud boots, but a pair of distinctively designed high-rise combat boots.

    The black boots tightly clasped her pale thighs, making her already fair and jade-like legs appear even more pristine and elongated under the moonlight... enticing.

    Yi Chen let go of the energy around his body and returned to his normal form. Smiling at Qian Yueru, he said, "This time, by sheer luck, managing to hook such a big fish is already quite good."

    "To ask for more would indeed be greedy."

    Qian Yueru bit her pretty red lips, whispering softly, "That''s true, I was a bit too anxious."

    She donned her skirt armor and strode forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Yi Chen.

    Moonlight scattered over them, casting long shadows.

    However, this picture didn''t exude much of an aesthetic feel.

    Because.

    Under the moon, she looked as delicate as jade, while the Taoist priest resembled a burly bear.

    The artistic style was still a bit abstract.

    Facing Yi Chen, whose height exceeded two meters, Qian Yueru''s mere one-meter-seventy frame made the composition seem somewhat odd, no matter how one looked at it.

    By this time, the other agents from the Longjiang Prefecture''s Maintain Peace Division had already started to clean the area and restore order.

    While they worked, they stole glances at their leader, looking like sneaky weasels in a melon patch.

    Seeing Qian Yueru strode up to stand beside him, Yi Chen felt a sudden sense of alarm. Discover stories with empire

    Without a sound, he discreetly took a half step back, positioning the Qian Town Subdue Commander protectively in front of his chest.

    What''s this woman up to?

    Could it be she''s got a thing for my body?

    Damn it, women only slow down my punching speed.

    But she seems to be a rich lady~

    Qian Yueru hesitated for a moment, then suddenly leaned close to Yi Chen''s face, startling him into nearly stumbling backward with a jump.

    "Qian Daoist friend, please speak your mind directly; such behavior makes me nervous~"

    Yi Chen said vigilantly.

    Something''s off with this woman today.

    "Taoist priest, let''s have a fight. The loser must agree to a condition from the winner."

    As Qian Yueru spoke, she began to unstrap the two huge axes from her back, casually twirling a few axe blossoms before gently placing the axe heads in the ground, burying them halfway into the soil.

    Yi Chen''s eyebrows twitched at the sight of her violent strength.

    Holy shit, a female Tyrannosaurus~

    How could a woman with such low muscle density possess such savage power? Truly curious and baffling.

    But then Yi Chen thought, her real dad''s a True Monarch, one of the people at the absolute pinnacle of the world, and he let go of his bewilderment almost instantly.

    Certain unique worldly treasures or the essence of dragons, phoenix blood, or Qilin''s inner pills might achieve this feat.

    Who knows how these top-tier immortals are nurtured.

    If Lin Zhengyi knew about the resources Qian Yueru consumed for her cultivation, he might also perceive a world of differences.

    Yi Chen looked at Qian Yueru''s face and vigorously shook his head like a rattle drum.

    "No fight, no fight,"

    "Qian Town Subdue Commander, if you''re not versed in using reverse psychology, don''t scare people like that."

    "I almost misunderstood."

    Heh, only a fool would fight Qian Yueru.

    If I lose, I''m taken advantage of for free.

    If I win, well, I''ve beaten up a True Monarch''s daughter.

    Such boldness!

    Just say what condition you want to state, and let the True Monarch listen properly.

    Why go through the hassle of fighting?

    Upon hearing Yi Chen''s words, Qian Yueru appeared stunned, her expression adorably blank: "Taoist priest, what misunderstanding?"

    As she spoke, she pulled out the Bagua Xuanhua Axe from the ground, gave it a flick, and instantly, the dried blood on the huge axe glistened as new. After placing the axe back, Qian Yueru stretched out her hand to smooth a stray lock of hair by her ear and said warmly,

    "Since that''s the case, I''ll be forthright. I would like to invite the Taoist priest to stay and join our Longjiang Prefecture''s Maintain Peace Division."

 Chapter 104 Midnight Secret Talk, Murderous Intent Lurks.

    "Impossible, absolutely impossible.""There''s no need to bring this up again, fellow Daoist Qian," Yi Chen refused without a second thought.

    His decision to agree to Qian Yueru''s request to guard Longjiang Prefecture was merely a matter of convenience.

    Never one to be bound by others'' constraints, he would never again join any other power.

    "Eh, I just knew it would be like this," Qian Yueru''s face fell, momentarily wilted like a frost-stricken eggplant.

    As the saying goes, it''s easy to recruit an army, but difficult to find a good general.

    Who could refuse a subordinate both capable and smart?

    If she could win over Yi Chen, think of all the trouble she could save.

    With a light sigh, Qian Yueru began walking down the streets of the other districts, carrying her Bagua Xuanhua Axe on her back.

    It was rare to find a satisfactory subordinate, and now her attempt to recruit one had been rejected; she was in a bit of a bad mood and felt like venting her frustration by practicing her axe skills on a few unlucky ones.

    Then she would go back for a simple late-night snack.

    In these extraordinary times, one mustn''t overindulge.

    Maybe just some carp baked with noodles, or a whole roasted sheep.

    After watching Qian Yueru leave, Yi Chen dusted off his hands and continued his investigation of the reported "fortunate ones."

    Even though a big fish had been caught, who could guarantee there weren''t problems with the rest?

    Therefore, Yi Chen still had to put in the extra effort in this night''s shift.

    ...

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    The night of the full moon.

    Light spread everywhere, and the moon above Longjiang shone like a jade belt, winding its way forward.

    At this moment, four paper figurines enveloped in Yin Qi were carrying a large, red palanquin as they flew swiftly, arriving at a secluded location hundreds of miles away from Longjiang Prefecture.

    The top of the red palanquin was round, and dreamlike red gauze curtains cascaded down. A beautiful figure lay sideways atop the vast palanquin, and just the glimpse of a shadowy profile was enough to parch one''s mouth and tongue.

    A fair hand lifted the curtain revealing a cheek fitting for both anger and joy, playful words drifting towards a shadow by the riverbank: "Daoist You Quanzi, you have become ever more cautious, haven''t you? The night is deep and dew is cold, why not come inside my gauze curtain and have a chat?"

    Her voice was both grievous and affectionate, highly enticing.

    The shadow by the riverbank suddenly writhed as it was called out by the owner of the gauze curtain. The hiding place of the shadow slowly lost its shade, revealing its occupant.

    It was a thin, tall Daoist in black robes, with a waist hanging a purple gourd.

    Strange red patterns wound around the gourd, giving it a mystical appearance.

    The Daoist was revealed, but his face was still shrouded in shadow, obscuring his true features.

    In the darkness of the night, a voice as grating as sawing a pot with a broken saw spoke up.

    "Daoist You Quanzi would like to live a few more years; Madam Butterfly, I think I''ll stay out of your dark and lovely tent," he said.

    "I am here today to discuss with you, Madam. Now that three days have passed of the seven required for the blood sacrifice, and we have yet to collect all the offerings, what shall we do?"

    "I have already learned that your pet chubby bug has just met its demise in the netherworld this very night."

    Upon hearing You Quanzi''s words, Madam Butterfly didn''t get angry but chuckled instead, her laugh breaking the clouds and revealing the moon, stunningly beautiful, making hearts flutter.

    She played with her hair next to her ear with fingers that could slice onions, opened the curtain wide, stretched lazily, revealing a breathtaking curve as she giggled and said:

    "The foundation of the Yellow Springs Sect is truly profound. Just as my useless pet perished, you, You Quanzi, already knew about it. Tell me, have you placed someone near me or within Longjiang Prefecture?"

    The beauty inside the curtain held a jade finger to her lips but stared intently at the tall, gaunt figure of the Daoist ahead, as if desperately trying to see through the shadows on his face to discern something.

    "Why bother testing me, Madam? I merely wish to make a trade with you."

    "I can single-handedly resolve the issue of the offerings; it''s not too difficult. But in exchange, I want the Daoist who guards South City right now."

    "He has great secrets upon him, and he must be taken alive."

    "Dead is fine, but the body must remain intact."

    "Yin Mountain Prefecture has agreed to send over the Shura Ghost General, the Yasha Ghost General, and King Zhao Corpse to work in tandem with Umbrella Girl and Extreme Yin."

    "What does madam think?"

    Lady Butterfly tilted her head in thought, then chuckled lightly, "You''re thinking of using my Ghost Qi Netherworld Banner to set a trap and ambush that young Daoist, aren''t you?"

    "That''s quite a clever plan, but after all, little bug did follow me for so long, and now that someone has killed him, if I don''t show any reaction, that would make me seem too easy to look down on."

    "Fine then, I''ll consent to this matter; taking such action could be considered fair."

    "But now I''m a bit curious, how do you plan to gather the required number of sacrifices for the blood ritual?"

    "We''re still short by at least a few thousand live offerings."

    "Don''t let us be in the middle of the heated battle on our end only for you to drop the ball."

    Under the night sky, You Quanzi hesitated for a moment before whispering a few words to Lady Butterfly in secret.

    Suddenly, Lady Butterfly began to laugh wildly, clapping her hands, she said:

    "Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!"

    "When it comes to cruelty and grasping the subtleties of human nature, none is better than humans themselves."

    "Old coot, I''m starting to admire you now; compared to you, Umbrella Girl is as tender as a little chick without any feathers."

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    ....

    ....

    The fourth day.

    Today the sky was somewhat overcast.

    Yi Chen stepped out of the guest house, twisted his neck, and stretched mightily, his joints crackling.

    Since he had killed the Demon Worm child last night, he rested for a while before plunging back into the major task of investigation, only now completing it all.

    "Eh, where''s Little Miao?"

    "This damn thing, hasn''t been following me these past two days, where has it been messing around?" Yi Chen looked around but couldn''t spot his dear companion.

    Just then, on the distant street, there appeared a strange black cat with ribs sprouting wings, elegantly prancing in the morning breeze.

    Accompanying it, three slightly smaller cats of tabby, ragdoll, and Persian breeds.

    They ran together in the morning wind, chasing each other.

    There was a sense of did I come at the wrong time, no, you came just at the right time kind of beauty.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen''s fists couldn''t help but clench.

    "This unfilial son!"

    "It''s only been a few months since it was born, and it has become this wild, is this the manner of the Azure Fierce Beast of Hidden Dragon Temple? Such a waste."

    As if noticing Yi Chen''s gaze, Little Miao suddenly snarled at the tabby, ragdoll, and Persian cats with true scoundrel cat nature, then scampered towards Yi Chen with its tail tucked between its legs.

    It jumped onto Yi Chen''s shoulder in an instant, showing a flattering smile.

    Yi Chen slapped Little Miao''s head in annoyance, then grabbed the scruff of its neck and set it down on the ground.

    He gazed at the three female cats in the distance looking over sorrowfully, wanting to approach but not daring, and sighed in resignation.

    "Miao Zi, beat it."

    "Don''t run too far, if someone catches you and decides to stew you, don''t blame your dad for not warning you."

    "Meow meow." (Alright.)

    With a somewhat sycophantic meow, Little Miao turned into a black bolt of lightning and ran off to play again.

    The pink pads of Miao Zi''s feet touching and kicking up the street dust were not merely specks of dirt; they were the remnants of its fleeting youth.

 Chapter 105 Human Nature.

    "Alright, everyone has worked hard these past couple of days, staying up all night. Go back and rest in shifts," Yi Chen said, turning his head to the subordinates behind him.He was quite considerate of his subordinates.

    Not all the subordinates had mana, and they had been busily on their feet for the past few days. Since the alert had been essentially lifted, he gave everyone half a day off.

    Upon hearing this, everyone''s faces broke into smiles, and after thanking Yi Chen, they dispersed. As for how the subordinates should take turns resting, that was no longer his concern.

    The security department had its own system in place.

    The insect demon was dead. As for the sudden appearance of those with large appetites, one could guess with their heels that it was due to the wonton noodles sold by Scholar Li.

    Using the results to trace back to the cause, finding those who had eaten the wonton noodles went quite smoothly.

    Perhaps it was because the insect demon had died, many of the citizens who had eaten the wonton noodles were showing signs of improvement, but there were still a considerable number of weaker individuals who had perished.

    Nevertheless, this was already the best outcome.

    The treatment of the subsequently infected citizens was now in the hands of specialists, so Yi Chen didn''t need to worry about it.

    "Mo Yu, I''m giving you half a day off too. Go and attend to your matters," Yi Chen said, waving his hand without turning to look at Mo Yu before continuing on his patrol. He found that Longjiang Prefecture had become like a treasure land, where one could ''hit gold coins'' every day, so he needed to patrol even more.

    As for giving the subordinates time off, Yi Chen had his reasons.

    People are not machines, maintaining high pressure all the time isn''t good, so giving everyone half a day off was beneficial. He could change his outfit and patrol the streets incognito, which allowed for a combination of relaxed yet tight security; this was better for the "crops" to grow.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    When Mo Yu heard Yi Chen''s words, he was momentarily stunned and looked around at the street crowd, somewhat at a loss.

    After pondering for a moment, he looked at the vendors selling clothes and sugar-coated haws on the street, and an idea struck him. He bought many clothes and snacks suitable for children, and holding the large and small packages, he rushed to the welfare institution in the city.

    His name was Mo Yu, and he too had grown up in a welfare institution.

    The security department had taken him from the welfare institution when he was a child and taught him cultivation.

    Born and raised in the same place.

    He had a deep sense of belonging to Longjiang Prefecture, and that was why he had been working so hard recently.

    Otherwise, he would be one of the biggest slackers in the security department.

    The welfare institution of Longjiang Prefecture was located at the border of South City and North City, and after a long walk, Mo Yu finally arrived at the welfare institution.

    The welfare institution was one of Da Yue Dynasty''s notable acts of charity.

    It was led by the government, with various major families and wealthy households funding its construction and operations.

    The welfare institution in Longjiang Prefecture was built with the Chen Family as the primary financier. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The Chen Family was one of the nine great families of the Da Yue Dynasty.

    The Chen family in Longjiang Prefecture was a branch that had moved out and separated from the main Chen Family hundreds of years ago, basically developing step by step alongside Longjiang Prefecture. They held an extraordinary status in Longjiang Prefecture and, of course, their wealth was second to none.

    After hundreds of years of deep cultivation, the Chen family''s influence had penetrated every aspect of Longjiang Prefecture and was tightly connected to the city.

    "Mo Yu, you''ve come again," a servant greeted Mo Yu eagerly as soon as he entered the welfare institution.

    After nodding and exchanging a few words with the servant, Mo Yu went straight to the inner yard, knowing the way well.

    In no time, countless children came running out, shouting "Big Brother Mo, Big Brother Mo" non-stop.

    "Xiaoxin, Xiao Wanzi, here''s something for you to eat. Don''t let the other kids see," Mo Yu said, handing out the clothes and snacks he had bought. He then stealthily pulled the two kids to a corner, and from his pocket, he took out two bags of candied fruits and gave them to Xiaoxin and Xiao Wanzi.

    No love in this world is evenly distributed.

    Everyone has their biases.

    Those who could love every person equally must be among the saints.

    Clearly, Mo Yu was not a saint.

    As for why he specially treated Xiaoxin and Xiao Wanzi with extra kindness, the reasons were quite simple.

    Xiaoxin''s facial features resembled his own.

    And Xiao Wanzi''s personality was like his.

    It was that simple.

    And for the common folk, candied fruit was considered a precious delicacy.

    Because.

    Sweet!

    Those who had enough bitterness in life would cherish every bit of sweetness in it!

    Don''t think the orphanage is a paradise on earth.

    It''s also a microcosm of society, with many undisclosed scandals.

    There was bullying, desire, and hierarchy.

    Mo Yu was at the bottom of the food chain back then, dirty like a skinny monkey.

    An old town sergeant rescued him from the mire; he was too weak to fight for food and would often get beaten up by children his age.

    The old sergeant pulled him from the mud, brushed the grass off his lips, and put a piece of candied fruit wrapped in oily paper into his mouth.

    He who was soaked in life''s bitter waters tasted for the first time that the human world could contain such delicious food.

    After that, the old sergeant visited him now and then; with the old man''s care, Mo Yu''s life improved substantially, and his natural intelligence led the town guards to single him out from the orphanage.

    It was a day when the sunshine was particularly bright, dazzlingly so.

    The old man''s weathered face bloomed like a chrysanthemum with a smile.

    Years later, just as he awakened his spirit and cultivated his first strand of mana, hoping to share the news with the old sergeant, he received only the man''s waist knife¡ªthe old sergeant had perished on a mission.

    That day, though never asked, he took the surname Mo in the old man''s honor, donned sackcloth and filial piety bands, and buried the old sergeant like a son would for his father.

    Afterwards, he took over the old sergeant''s role, visiting the orphanage every month for a few days.

    Only those who have been drenched know to hold an umbrella for others when it rains.

    For some reason, looking at the gloomy sky, Mo Yu felt an intense longing for the old sergeant today, missing the clumsy, tall old man.

    His eyes became slightly moist in that moment.

    "Big Brother Mo, have one." A crisp, childish female voice interrupted Mo Yu''s reverie.

    Girls'' thoughts are always especially sensitive.

    And children who''ve suffered a lot are even more delicate.

    Xiao Wanzi extended her thin arm, offering Mo Yu a piece of candied fruit.

    Mo Yu smiled and took it.

    "It''s very sweet, Xiao Wanzi."

    Seeing Mo Yu smile, Xiao Wanzi also revealed a happy smile¡ªand so did Xiaoxin.

    Mo Yu was an orphan, and so were Xiaoxin and Xiao Wanzi.

    Their parents had all perished in a world beset by evil.

    When orphans meet orphans,

    Then,

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    They become family.

    Once the evil in Longjiang Prefecture was dealt with, Mo Yu decided he would adopt the two youngsters.

    He had no plans to find a dao companion anyway.

    A dao companion? What nonsense!

    Were the sisters at the Moonlight Pavilion not fragrant anymore?

    After leaving the orphanage, Mo Yu rushed to the largest seafood market in Longjiang Prefecture, the Moonlight Pavilion, without stopping for a break.

    Visiting the orphanage was just a form of mental relief.

    For physical fatigue, there were the sisters of Moonlight Pavilion.

    He would report to the Taoist priest in the afternoon after finishing there.

    The plan was set.

 Chapter 106 Darkness. (Special thanks to the generous reward from Lord Houjinguagua)

    ```Longjiang Prefecture, the Chen Family estate.

    The Chen Family estate, spanning dozens of acres, was the preeminent existence within the entire Longjiang Prefecture.

    Within it, artificial mountains and flowing water, pavilions and terraces were all meticulously crafted and beautiful without exception.

    In the eyes of the common people, the Chen Family of Longjiang Prefecture had a reputation: "Halls made of white jade and horses shod with gold, pearls common as dirt and gold as plentiful as iron."

    After centuries of deep cultivation, the entire city of Longjiang Prefecture bore the Chen Family''s imprint.

    If you wanted to do any sort of business in Longjiang Prefecture and hadn''t paid tribute to the Chen Family''s docks, don''t even think about it, because you simply wouldn''t be able to continue.

    Every year, who knows how many corpses of those who didn''t believe in superstitions were sunk to the bottom of the Longjiang River.

    Butcheries, farmsteads, fresh produce, commercial shops, horse and carriage businesses, private schools, brothels, martial schools¡ªall visible and invisible industries within Longjiang Prefecture had shares owned by the Chen Family.

    Thus, one might say.

    What is wealth passed down through generations?

    It is not measured by how much gold, silver, and jewels a family has, but by dominance.

    Dominance over resources, dominance over knowledge, dominance over the channels of advancement.

    If a noteworthy challenger appeared within the jurisdiction, that, too, was an easy matter to handle.

    Eight words.

    Entertain guests, behead them, take them in as dogs.

    For those outsiders who excel, if they could be absorbed, they would be married off to concubines and absorbed.

    After two or three generations, they would all be part of the same family.

    Those who couldn''t be absorbed would be sunk into the river.

    In this world, having a fair share of evil spirits is all too normal.

    That''s just the way of the word; some are destined to toil like beasts of burden, while others sit back and revel in power and authority.

    Laozi once said, "The Way of Heaven is to take from those who have too much and give to those who have not enough, while the Way of Man is to take from those who have not enough and give to those who already have too much."

    The "New Testament¡¤Book of Matthew" also wrote¡ª

    "To everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

    Within the glittering grand mansion, the Chen Family patriarch Chen Fuyun, dressed in splendid silk garments, tapped to the beat as three beauties draped in light gauze danced before him.

    In front of him, a great table of fine wines and culinary delicacies was laid out.

    Such wines and foods were beyond the wildest imagination of others.

    The wines were of two kinds; one was a grape wine transported from the far-off Arabian empire, thousands and thousands of miles from the Da Yue Empire, served in luminous cups.

    The other was called "Elixir of the Immortals," a white liquor more valuable than gold, served in rhinoceros horn cups.

    As for the most common dish on the table, Stir-Fried Phoenix Tongues.

    It is made from the tongues of chickens, where only one tongue is used per bird, and three hundred chickens are required to prepare a single plate.

    Preserves could not grace this table.

    The wealth of the Chen Family could thus be seen.

    The Chen Family patriarch Chen Fuyun had three passions: fine wine, fine food, and beautiful women.

    He closed his eyes, listening to the soft song of the beauties beside him, his relaxed demeanor masking a deeply hidden trace of bitterness.

    After the beauties finished their song, they glided over to the table, those who picked food picked food, those who peeled grapes peeled grapes, and those who passed cups of wine passed cups of wine.

    "Master, why do you seem somewhat downcast? Shi Shi, An An, and Xiang Xiang are all distressed," said a beauty, whose skin was as white as frost and as smooth as jade, as she placed a grape into Chen Fuyun''s mouth with a concerned tone.

    Chen Fuyun deliberately licked the jade finger of the beauty, hid his bitter feelings, and laughed heartily, "In this lifetime, the master has almost obtained everything he has wanted to obtain, to eat, to taste; what is there to be dissatisfied with?"

    Embracing the light-gauze-draped beauties, he kept time with his hands and sang loudly:

    "Shi Shi is voluptuously charming,"

    "Xiang Xiang bears me deep affection,"

    "An An''s company surpasses harmony,

    "Four together become one."

    ```

    "Fortune from panic not yet eased,"

    "New words laboriously engraved,"

    "Several attempts, shifted and rephrased,"

    "Treachery sits within, myself entwined,"

    While Chen Fuyun''s bestial desires were raging, contemplating his odds with the three beauties to make a four-to-one, suddenly the room''s door burst open, a demonic wind blew in, sending all three women tumbling to the ground unconscious.

    Chen Fuyun abruptly rose to his feet, only to see an elderly butler with grizzled hair in black attire step through the doorway.

    That was his old butler.

    However, Chen Fuyun knew that the butler standing before him was no longer the same person.

    "What talent you have, Chen my friend," sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "But what a pity. Do you truly have no other desires left to fulfill?"

    A grating sound like a rusty saw dragging across the bottom of a pot came deep from the old butler''s throat.

    "Which esteemed presence has come to jest with Chen? If you need anything, please, speak up. My Chen family is one of Da Yue''s nine great lineage families. Although our branch in Longjiang Prefecture is minor, we still possess some clout."

    Chen Fuyun was quick to assert his background in a tone that was half assertive, half plaintive.

    "I am You Quanzi of the Dark Springs Sect, here to offer Chen a deal that might save your life," You Quanzi''s voice rose again.

    "Ridiculous, I am in perfect health, why would I need someone like you to save my life? Perhaps, You Quanzi, you should be more concerned about the vengeance from the Peacekeeping Office," Chen retorted disdainfully.

    "It''s precisely because your lifespan is limited, my friend. Am I right or not?" You Quanzi said.

    Upon hearing these words, Chen Fuyun went silent, like a duck grasped by the throat, struggling to make a sound, as if his vital spot was firmly in someone else''s grip.

    After a long moment, he finally managed to ask, "How do you propose to save me?"

    Find adventures at empire

    "I have four Stygian Fruit Pills, each made with the main ingredient of Stygian Fruit. Each can extend one''s life by five years," You Quanzi detailed.

    "Even if consuming all four pills may yield diminishing returns, at the very least, you could live an additional fifteen years."

    "You''ve been stuck at the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm for some time now. With the help of the Stygian Fruit Pills, fifteen years of determined progression could allow you to break through the barrier and extend your lifespan even further."

    "Tell me, friend, wouldn''t this save your life?"

    Chen Fuyun''s face turned red with desire, and with a suppressed hoarse voice, he asked, "What''s the price?"

    "I require a blood sacrifice within your Chen estate. You will cover for me. Two thousand lives for one Stygian Fruit Pill. You help bring me the people. Once the number is met, our side will provide you with one of the pills. How about that?"

    "Although I, You Quanzi, am ruthless in my practices, I''ve never broken a promise. You must be aware of that, and I have no wish to offend the main house of your family."

    "Impossible! The Peacekeeping Office is watching too closely. How could I possibly find so many people for your blood sacrifice?"

    "I can maybe arrange for twelve hundred in exchange for one pill, that I can consider," Chen Fuyun said, his eyes bloodshot as he nearly roared with the exertion of his entire being.

    He didn''t hesitate to bargain, not about whether to trade or not, but to negotiate the price.

    Only those who have savored all the pleasures of life would dread death to such an extent.

    He had no hopes of breaking into a new realm of power, but if he could trade thousands of commoners for an extra fifteen years of life, that was a deal worth taking.

    It would be an honor for those commoners.

    You Quanzi fell silent for a moment; this Family Head of the Chen family was even easier to manipulate than he had anticipated. He had intentionally quoted two thousand lives to create room for negotiation, but the result was even more than his anticipated margin by twenty percent.

    To show some difficulty in the decision, he took a moment before finally speaking,

    "Very well, I shall make a friend of you, Chen."

    "If you say twelve hundred for one pill, then it will be twelve hundred for one pill."

    You Quanzi wasn''t the least bit worried about how the Family Head would procure the victims. Noble families were numerous with slaves and tenants, and hiding populations was an age-old talent.

    Wasn''t having hundreds to thousands of unregistered people a tradition for any major clan?

    Muster the people, conduct secret blood sacrifices¡ªsuch tasks may be challenging for the Dark Springs Sect, but not so much for the Chen family who had their brand on the entire Longjiang Prefecture. With a bit of effort, it was definitely feasible.

    Cart drivers, tenants, brothels, gambling houses, slave traders, and even welfare institutions¡ªall were viable sources.

    After finalizing some details with the Family Head, You Quanzi transformed into a wisp of black smoke and vanished. The old butler collapsed to the floor, having been merely a vessel for a sliver of You Quanzi''s consciousness projected by a secret technique.

    In the afternoon, Yi Chen, accompanied by his men, combed through South City once more, leaving Yi Chen both gratified and regretful:

    It seemed as though the malevolent spirits had given up on causing trouble in his domain.

    He spent the whole day searching and only caught an unfortunate soul, earning him ten Deep Red Points.

 Chapter 107 Good! Good! Good!

    Day Five.The weather had not improved; it was still gloomy, creating a sense of discomfort.

    Yi Chen, accompanied by Mo Yu and others, kept wandering around South City, feeling that the city had become much more desolate. At the same time, a sense of unease began to grow in his heart.

    He had felt that something was off since yesterday, but he couldn''t pinpoint what it was.

    The reports coming from his subordinates all appeared normal.

    "Mo Yu, tell me, why are there so few people on the streets lately? Have your men reported anything unusual?" Yi Chen suddenly stopped, furrowed his brow, and spoke to Mo Yu who was following behind him.

    "Ah? No, nothing," Mo Yu replied, his mind preoccupied with Xiaoxin and Xiao Wanzi, hesitating over whether to adopt them today. Surprised by Yi Chen''s question, he said,

    "The data reported by the officials from the yamen are all normal, all thanks to the Yi Taoist. South City has been very peaceful these days, and every civilian death can be traced back and accounted for; there have been no special cases of death."

    "As for fewer pedestrians on the streets, perhaps it''s the backlash from the reporting measures we implemented earlier. Many people with a little wealth are reluctant to come out."

    "Show me the sales statistics for rice, flour, grain, and oil today, as well as the mortality statistics." Hearing Mo Yu''s response, Yi Chen still harbored some doubts, yet after carefully examining a stack of messages, he found no issues and had to let it go.

    Despite that, he still ordered that all intelligence reports had to be submitted every half a day going forward.

    After making the arrangements, the subtle unease in Yi Chen''s heart did not subside; instead, it intensified.

    The current situation was actually the most troublesome.

    How are you to solve a problem when you don''t even know where the problem lies?

    He did not believe that the people from the Underworld Sect, the Red Chambers, and Yin Mountain would surrender and yield so easily.

    There is no turning back once the bow is drawn.

    The three major forces had banded together to offend an empire; how could they possibly end things so anticlimactically?

    Today was the fifth day, which meant there were only two days left before the reinforcements arrived.

    So far, these devils had only shown one demon insect, with all other somewhat significant figures lurking beneath the surface.

    They had caused no major harm yet, but nothing unusual had been detected either.

    This lack of the unusual was itself the greatest anomaly.

    For Yi Chen, this eerie silence was far more terrifying than if these devils were to hysterically kill and set fires everywhere.

    It indicated that something he had overlooked was likely being carried out in secret, and he was completely oblivious to it.

    Time ticked away.

    Before he knew it, evening on the sixth day had arrived.

    Watching the sun set in the west and the Moon Rabbit rise in the east,

    Still, no flaws had been found.

    With a long sigh, Yi Chen turned to look at the many familiar faces who had followed him for several days and said, "Do not be complacent, everyone; the real trial will come in these next two days."

    "The relief forces will be here soon, and these devils will certainly not give up easily. The darkness before dawn is the most terrifying and dangerous."

    "If you trust me, you may bring your family to the auxiliary residence for the next two days, where I will be staying."

    The auxiliary residence was previously used by Yi Chen to interrogate the scholar Li and others; it covered a wide area, despite its less than stellar conditions.

    Upon hearing Yi Chen''s offer, the crowd showed delighted expressions and thanked him in unison.

    Everyone present knew of Yi Chen''s astonishing cultivation. If their families could sleep under the protective eye of the Taoist, even on the floor, they were willing to accept it.

    Many were already persuaded.

    One by one, the crowd bid farewell and left.

    This included Mo Yu.

    He decided to bring Xiaoxin and Xiao Wanzi over that very night.

    As seasoned veterans who had been fighting in the trenches for years, they too could sense that something was amiss, despite no one voicing it.

    Yi Chen watched their departing figures with an unflappable expression. He stood still for a moment, then turned and entered the auxiliary residence, his thoughts inscrutable.

    Yi Chen had decided to have his men bring their families over, out of necessity more than anything else.

    Your next journey awaits at empire

    Even now, he still had no clue how Underworld Sect and the rest planned to make their move; therefore, his only option was to do everything he could to protect those who had been with him all these days.

    Save one more if he could, as a reward for their relentless support.

    He couldn''t believe that these demonic spirits could cause trouble right under his nose, in his own territory, unobserved by him. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The island was brightly lit inside, the main hall of the auxiliary residence.

    Spread out before Yi Chen on the long table were all the reports and intelligence that the Security Bureau had handed him in recent days.

    He laid out every piece of intelligence and data on the table and began to study them word by word.

    ...

    ...

    Ming Yue hung high in the sky, illuminating the streets with its bright light.

    Mo Yu strode lightly towards the direction of the welfare institute.

    He really hit it off with Xiaoxin and Xiao Wanzi and had initially planned to adopt them after wrapping up this matter.

    But today, Yi Chen mentioned that families could temporarily stay in the auxiliary residence for a couple of days, which piqued his interest. After speaking with Yi Chen, he hurried towards the welfare institute.

    For some reason, he had a persistent ominous feeling over the past two days, as if something bad was about to happen. The welfare institute was not as safe as being under Yi Chen''s watchful eye.

    As soon as Mo Yu reached the entrance of the welfare institute, his pupils shrank sharply like the point of a needle.

    Something was wrong.

    Tonight, the welfare institute was exceptionally quiet, and even Fu Bo, who always stayed in the gatehouse, had disappeared, replaced by two muscular bald men wielding broad knives.

    One wore a huge golden earring, the other a silver one.

    "Stop right there, what are you doing?" the one with the golden earring asked, his hand on his waist knife, his tone indifferent.

    "Don''t recognize the uniform I''m wearing, do you? Get lost," Mo Yu replied with a sinking expression, meeting force with force.

    The situation before him intensified his unease.

    "My apologies, sir, but by the secret command of the Chen Family, no one is allowed to enter or exit the welfare institute at present."

    "After all, it is a time of many troubles, and the institute is weak. The Chen Family Head, being kind-hearted, has thus stationed us here to stand guard. Sir, please turn back."

    "You wouldn''t be thinking of forcing your way in, would you? This is an order from the Chen Family." The man with golden earrings remained unyielding in the face of Mo Yu who was asserting his official status. His tone cold as ever, he even subtly mentioned the consequences, hoping that Mo Yu would back off knowing the difficulties.

    Half a tea hour later, Mo Yu looked around at the dozen hulking men lying disheveled on the ground, trembling with fury.

    An orphan with no vulnerabilities, he had acted impulsively in frustration and didn''t bother with excuses about the Chen Family anymore. He had simply struck, breaking the bones of the men before him.

    Mo Yu, a formidable centurion with mana at his disposal, found the muscular men before him formidable in size, weighing over two hundred catties, but their muscles were as good as dead before him, no match at all.

    However, the results of his interrogation sent a chill through his heart.

    All the children from the welfare institute had been taken, including the old servant, Fu Bo.

    Everyone had been secretly brought to the Chen Family mansion in the city.

    Gold and silver earrings and the others had been ordered to stay here and drive away anyone who tried to enter.

    Upon learning this, Mo Yu was struck as if by a thunderbolt, his mind going blank.

    He wasn''t a fool; in fact, he was quite intelligent.

    He had climbed to the position of centurion through his own strength, step by step.

    The actions of the Chen Family aroused a foreboding feeling in his heart.

    Having been stationed in the stability office for so long, he was certainly aware of the dirty deeds the Chen Family, who appeared virtuous on the surface, engaged in behind the scenes.

    In an instant, Mo Yu''s entire body stiffened.

    "How dare you!" Mo Yu murmured to himself, a trace of moisture appearing in his eyes.

    "Centurion Mo, this is the Chen Family you''re dealing with. Do not make a mistake," the golden earring man warned.

    "You''re a centurion in the stability office, with a great future ahead. If you leave now, there''s still room for the situation to change."

    Although the man''s arm was twisted at an odd angle, his fierce expression remained unchanged, and he spoke threatfully.

    After a moment of silence, Mo Yu''s eyes swiftly shifted from struggling in pain to being resolute.

    A flash of sword light cut through the still air and several heads tumbled to the ground.

    He pulled out two yellow papers from his sleeves, hastily noted down information and conjectures, activated his mana, and in an instant, the papers transformed into two agile paper cranes. With the boost of his mana, they flew off in two different directions within the city.

    One of those directions was notably towards the location of the side residence.

    After doing this, his face expressionless, he stealthily advanced in the direction of the Chen Family mansion.

    In the current state of Longjiang Prefecture, the only ones he could trust were Commander Qian Yueru and his current superior, Yi Taoist.

    Given the matter involved the Chen Family, he too was anxious about what choices they would make.

    Therefore, he wanted to infiltrate the Chen Family to find some stronger evidence.

    If the truth was as he suspected, then as long as he could find concrete evidence to blow the whole thing wide open, exposing the truth for all to see, then no matter how powerful the Chen Family was, they would be attacked by the public.

    After all, there are things that don''t weigh much until they are scaled, but once they are, they become unbearably heavy.

    This was the only solution Mo Yu, an ordinary centurion of the stability office, could think of when confronting the enormous Chen Family.

    Only by finding evidence and uncovering the truth could more innocent people be spared from sacrifice.

    Some tasks simply needed to be undertaken.

    Different folks, different strokes.

    In this world, the despicable and the servile were not uncommon, yet there were also many who held public spirit, had morals, and shouldered burdens for others.

    These individuals may not have high cultivation levels, or they may even be ordinary people...

    But it''s these people who are mending the tattered world.

    Amidst the dark human heart, some still carry lanterns as they walk.

    Under the silent sky, a solitary black figure treaded alone on the bluish-gray streets, stepping into an unseen future.

    In the well-lit side residence,

    Yi Chen slammed his hand down on the long table and stood up abruptly, his eyes glaring with fury!

    "Good! Good! Good!"

    "Damn it all, the intelligence was fake!"

    After meticulous data analysis, he discovered that the information provided by the government office, stating stock numbers of staples like rice and oils, followed a dispersed ratio, clearly indicating fabricated data.

    The intelligence from the past few days had been too normal, creating a bizarre contrast with the actual atmosphere. Eliminating all impossibilities, the only possibility was that the data was fictitious.

    Yi Chen had indeed discovered something secret upon further study.

    The reasons behind the falsification of intelligence were things that Yi Chen did not even want to contemplate.

 Chapter 108 Kill! Kill! Kill! The Virtues Back Appears!

    Just as Yi Chen''s anger surged, causing the hem of his Daoist robe to billow like a flag in the wind, a servant boy holding a yellow paper crane rushed in."Reporting to my lord, there''s a secret message from Mo Yu, sent via crane. Please read it personally."

    One minute later, Yi Chen''s expression had returned to calm, yet it was cold and indifferent as if it were millennia-old glacial ice.

    After summoning a servant boy to notify Qian Yueru to seek him at the Chen Family estate, his entire being transformed into a faint cyan streak and burst through the roof, streaking directly in the direction of the Chen Family estate.

    Yi Chen had always been one to assume the worst of others, but he hadn''t anticipated someone could be so vile and brutal.

    Corroborating with the intelligence transmitted by Mo Yu''s paper crane, he now had approximately sixty to seventy percent of the true situation outlined.

    There were no others.

    Inner treachery met by outer ghosts.

    Humans feared the terror of ghosts; ghosts knew the venom in human hearts!

    Only the Chen Family, with the power to influence the entirety of Longjiang Prefecture, could have managed such a feat.

    The Huangquan Sect, Red Square, and Yin Mountain Prefecture surely had unspeakable dealings with the Chen Family.

    Yi Chen felt that it was his excessively high bottom line that had led to his being played for a fool by the Chen Family.

    Moonlit night, in front of the five-meter-tall vermilion gate of the Chen Family estate.

    A Daoist with a stature surpassing that of a bear descended slowly, his gaze fixed quietly on the gentle glow shed by the large red lanterns in front of the mansion. With a distant grasp of his large hand, the shadow of a gigantic fist materialized above the gate.

    "There are always people who do not regard the lives of others as lives!"

    "There are always people who believe they can scheme everything and control everything!"

    "There are always people who sit high above and don''t give this poor Daoist face!"

    Boom!

    The five-meter-tall vermilion gate suddenly exploded, flying backward like a cannonball.

    "Unfortunately, this is an illusion!"

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "Father, are we not going to be discovered by the Zhen''an Division with what we''re doing?"

    "And that new Daoist priest doesn''t seem like an easy target either."

    Inside the Chen Family estate, Chen Fuyun''s son Chen Daqi was frowning anxiously as he spoke to his father.

    He felt that his father had gone mad, to agree to trade with those demonic cult forces.

    Chen Fuyun glanced at the streak of rejuvenated black hair hanging beside his ear and, with a displeased tone, flicked the foam from his teacup cover, "Daqi, you must remain composed in the face of significant matters. How can I confidently hand over the Chen Family to you in the future if you''re like this?"

    "Those people are just lowly citizens, lives as cheap as weeds. Cut them down, and they''ll grow back. Next year, we''ll just reduce the taxes and everything will be fine."

    "When I was known as the All-Encompassing Tactician, how could I not have left myself some tricks up my sleeve?"

    "The sacrifices chosen this time are either tenant farmers without household registration that our family has hidden over the years, house slaves, or defenseless weaklings. These expendable wretches will have no one to avenge them if they die. We didn''t touch anyone we shouldn''t have."

    "My Chen Family has operated in Longjiang Prefecture for many years, with students and old officials everywhere. Even if someone detects something is amiss, knowing it''s the work of my Chen Family, they wouldn''t dare to get involved rashly."

    "The only concern for my Chen Family in Longjiang Prefecture now is that girl Qian Yueru, daughter of a True Monarch, with her noble status."

    "However, even Qian Yueru, without my support, wouldn''t be able to take a step in Longjiang Prefecture. If I want, I could turn her into a deaf-mute in a minute."

    "As for that new little Taoist from a destitute city, huh.

    He doesn''t understand what power is!

    A mere brute.

    Everyone in Longjiang Prefecture is under my thumb.

    It''s been two days. What has he found out?

    If he can detect anything, I''ll drink from a chamber pot, take big gulps!

    "

    "Chen Old Dog, come out and face me!" Thunderous shouting echoed above the Chen Family estate, refusing to subside.

    Chen Fuyun''s previously smug expression froze instantly and turned iron blue.

    Yi Chen, shrouded in faint cyan Inner Qi, didn''t bother to hide his murderous intent as he strode towards the central area of the estate.

    Along the way, numerous retainers with some cultivations emerged from various parts of the estate to question him or take action against him, and all were sent flying with a single slap from Yi Chen, their fates unknown.

    "Fellow Daoist intrudes upon my Chen Family in the dead of night, what is your purpose? Without a reasonable explanation, you owe my Chen Family an account," Chen Fuyun said with a grim face, deciding from that day forward, no chamber pot shall exist in the entire Chen Family.

    "Hand over my subordinate Mo Yu, or all of you will die," Yi Chen said coldly, not in the mood for beating around the bush.

    There aren''t many good people left in this world, and those who gather firewood for others should not be allowed to perish in the wind and snow. Yi Chen still harbored a sliver of hope in saving Mo Yu.

    "What the devil is this ''Mo Yu''?" Chen Fuyun''s face showed a trace of surprised confusion, which Yi Chen observed and deemed not feigned.

    At that moment, an abrupt change occurred.

    A soft laughter carried through the air.

    In the center of the Chen Family estate, spanning a diameter of a kilometer, suddenly, four massive black iron pillars ascended.

    Each iron pillar was etched with bizarre formation markings, and atop each pillar were the blood-colored ancient seal characters for Ghost Aura, Dark Heaven.

    As soon as the pillars rose, a powerful surge of Yin Qi spread rapidly, repelling everything in the vicinity.

    A semi-transparent gray shield appeared out of nowhere, enveloping the entire central area of the Chen Family estate top-down.

    The woman with the umbrella chuckled as she approached from where she had risen beside the iron pillar and said, "Family Head Chen, this Mo Yu that the Taoist talked about, I''ve actually just met him not too long ago. Please take a look."

    The woman with the umbrella drew a circle in the void, and suddenly, a ghost mirror formed from black ghostly qi appeared in mid-air.

    Beneath the ground in front of the Chen Family estate, a strange blood pool was bubbling with blood bubbles.

    One by one, the expressionless populace lined up, walking toward the guillotine.

    A tall minotaur-like demon appeared to have noticed the woman''s spell. It grinned, raised a ghostly cleaver, and slashed the throat of an elderly servant in front of it. Blood gushed out instantly, cascading down into the blood pool below.

    After the throat-slitting bloodletting, the minotaur-like demon ruthlessly grabbed an iron hook hanging from the rock wall, caught the old servant by the leg, and hung him upside down on the hook like hanging pigs and dogs, allowing blood from the throat to trickle down, apparently so the blood would drain cleaner that way.

    Above the blood pool, countless corpses were hanging like cured sausages, creating a terrifying scene.

    Yi Chen keenly spotted Mo Yu in the middle to the back of the line heading towards the guillotine.

    The ghost mirror conjured in mid-air suddenly vanished.

    The woman with the umbrella clapped her hands, and four tall ''shadows'' closed in from all around.

    One of them was enveloped in ghostly qi, a face like a vengeful Asura.

    One of them was shrouded in ghostly qi, a face like a demonic Rakshasa.

    One was surrounded by a dense deathly qi, extremely tall and muscular, with unknown silver claws on his hands. His muscles bulged and two elongated blood fangs protruded at the corners of his mouth.

    Another was lean and frail, staggering as he walked, coughing with each step, like a consumptive ghost, yet his presence was the most terrifying.

    An overwhelming malice roared towards Yi Chen like a tide.

    Above all was the woman''s malice, so thick it was as if Yi Chen had slaughtered her entire family.

    "What a coincidence, not a day passes since Madame handed the formation flag over to me, and you, the Taoist, come stumbling in." S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Taoist, you''re now surrounded by the five of us. Death awaits you!"

    "Under the constraining space of the Ghostly Qi Deathly Sky array, which rejects all qi that isn''t of yin ghosts, you might find even killing yourself is an impossible feat. If you don''t believe me, try and see if your Pure Yang Taoist arts aren''t severely weakened?"

    Seeing the array successfully trapping Yi Chen, the woman couldn''t help but revel in great joy, speaking spitefully.

    If it weren''t for this Taoist''s lack of martial integrity, disrupting her plans, would things have led to this stage today?

    This opportunity was meant to be her chance to show off her skills among the three sects. Instead, not only did she not get to show a good face - she ended up putting her own backside on display after losing Madame''s mount. She couldn''t help but resent Yi Chen for this.

    The Ghostly Qi Deathly Sky array, a precious treasure from Madame Butterfly''s collection.

    It could confine a space, repelling any non-yin ghost qi within, and also absorb all the qi fluctuations inside the shield, preventing any from spreading out.

    Simply put, it''s a comprehensive array that traps enemies, adds buffs, applies debuffs, and conceals qi.

    Four thick iron pillars plunged deeply into the ground, endlessly swallowing and drawing in the Earth''s qi for replenishment. The pillars flickered with faint light, powered by elemental stones embedded in them to provide energy for the array''s central system.

    In an instant, the deadly trap was set.

    The five top Qi Refinement Realm experts launched an attack on Yi Chen under the array''s amplification, bringing along a confused Chen Family ancestor.

    Facing such a peril, Yi Chen''s face showed no panic. Instead, a fierce smile appeared.

    Heavens, this array repels mystical Taoist practices, how fearsome.

    Fortunately, I''m somewhat versed in hand-to-hand combat.

    Yi Chen''s entire culmination of Pure Yang, which had penetrated heaven and earth, was based entirely on the cultivation of his robust physique. What a laugh, the premise of repelling mystical Taoist practices is that he would have to know them.

    Strictly speaking, he had developed a school of Pure Yang martial arts with the highest of ambitions to unprecedented levels, achieving a might akin to magical arts.

    With his own efforts and just a little insignificant help from Deep Red, on the path where mighty power returns to oneself, he walked further than anyone else in this world.

    "You bunch of trash that managed to surround me, do you want to gauge my weight?"

    "What a joke."

    "Come on, then, come and kill me!"

    "I just want to kill you lot, or be killed by you, there''s no need for courtesy."

    Yi Chen felt the opportunity had come to break through to the ninth level of True Pure Yang Skill.

    He had struggled until now and accumulated 656 Deep Red Points, but needed 1600 to advance to the ninth level of True Pure Yang Skill.

    He thought he would still need a long time to accumulate enough, but he hadn''t expected such good luck to come his way now.

    Yi Chen''s eyes shone viciously as he watched the approaching ghostly evil beings as if they were nothing more than pigs and dogs.

    These were not enemies; these were the foundation of his ascension.

    Thank you, Mother Nature, for your generous gift! Your journey continues at empire

    All my life, I have accumulated virtue and acted with kindness, adhering to the path of benevolence and righteousness. All of this, I truly deserve.

    Yi Chen grinned with a fierce and crazed laughter, his demeanor unhinged.

    "Come on, come and kill me!"

    "True Yang Overpowering Might!"

    "Soul Ignition Technique, ten years!"

    He shouted within his heart. Since killing the Tree Granny and adding the three Origin Points he had accumulated over the eight days of traveling, they all went into his physical attributes.

    Suddenly, Yi Chen''s Taoist robe could no longer withstand the transformation. It burst apart, turning into pieces of cloth that slowly fluttered down, his back muscles viciously forming the character for ''virtue''.

    An exceedingly ferocious aura burst forth from him. Sensing this momentum, the woman and her companions'' expressions changed drastically.

    "Damn it, this aura..."

    "Taoist, you''re actually a True Person Realm expert?"

 Chapter 109 Evil Faction Pillars Unite Against Righteous Path Yi Taoist!

    Intense changes occurred abruptly on Yi Chen''s body.His figure began to elongate, his joints thickened and enlarged, and the muscles on his feet, thighs, waist, hands, arms, and neck started to proliferate wildly and harden, as surging power danced recklessly within him.

    His muscles, like biological armor, covered his body, while the azure glaze armor transformed by his Inner Qi was even more dazzling than when he used the True Yang Overbearing Power before.

    The light of heaven and earth surged toward Yi Chen''s body, making the spatial environment within the formation grow increasingly dim.

    With Yi Chen as the center, waves of blue Inner Qi rippled outward like water, as a ferocious aura suddenly erupted.

    The ground within ten meters of where he stood seemed unable to bear the immense pressure and abruptly sank three feet.

    The blue Inner Qi trembled, and Yi Chen''s enormous figure slowly rose into the air.

    "Senior, let''s talk nicely, everything is negotiable, everything''s open for discussion." With such wildly ferocious demeanor and overbearing aura, didn''t the ladies with the umbrellas realize they had outsmarted themselves, fishing for a king whale?

    The extremely Yin cultivator was stricken with alarm and, bracing himself, said to Yi Chen.

    This time, his speech shifted from the previously slow and methodical way to hurried and rapid!

    He had miscalculated.

    The extremely Yin cultivator had thought that he had the upper hand, but suddenly the situation had become perilously unstable.

    Once the Ghost Qi Dark Heaven Formation was activated, it couldn''t be stopped voluntarily until the energy was exhausted or half an hour passed.

    This formation trapped both enemies and the ones who cast it, unless Madame Butterfly herself came to stop and open the formation midway.

    The umbrella girl certainly didn''t possess such cultivation and capacity.

    If it weren''t for the fact that the umbrella girl had also fallen into the trap, they would have seriously suspected that the Red House had betrayed them.

    God damn it.

    Weren''t they told the Ghost Qi Dark Heaven Formation could weaken and restrain all the mysterious Taoist arts?

    Weren''t they told this Taoist''s cultivation was at most a notch above theirs?

    The five top experts of the Qi Refinement Realm working together with the formation to take care of him had been a sign of ample respect, but who could have imagined that this Taoist had hidden his true potential so deeply.

    Yi Chen rose slowly, ignoring the words of the extremely Yin cultivator, and sneered:

    "Take a punch from Taoist Yi first, then we''ll talk about the rest."

    "Weaklings have no right to speak."

    Instantly, the Yang Ji Punch reappeared.

    Yi Chen dove swiftly, turning into a blue streak as he launched a fierce attack on the umbrella girl.

    It was this ghostly woman who had led the ambush against him, harboring the greatest malice; while Yi Chen was unaware of the reason, this did not stop him from bearing a grudge.

    He had no concept of compassion for the fairer sex.

    If they were enemies, they deserved to die!

    Among the five, only this woman with the red umbrella appeared to have the weakest defense; if he didn''t kill her first, then whom?

    Faced with Yi Chen''s fierce assault, the umbrella girl''s heart skipped a beat as she let out a sharp shriek and threw her red umbrella.

    That red umbrella, of unknown make, was engraved with many strange patterns, and upon release and facing the wind, it grew larger, spinning rapidly in an attempt to block Yi Chen''s sudden Yang Ji Punch.

    At the same time, the extremely Yin cultivator and the others also simultaneously attacked, casting various gray and black Mana beams towards Yi Chen, aiming to defend by attacking.

    Just as everyone thought Yi Chen would retreat to defend, the scene that unfolded before their eyes filled them with shock and rage. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Without any evasion, Yi Chen''s figure suddenly split into three partially overlapping illusions as he neared the umbrella girl.

    It seemed like an illusion yet also real.

    This was a visual residue caused by the Yang Ji Punch''s activation.

    The first Yi Chen illusion landed a punch on the shield created by the red umbrella, causing it to crack instantaneously.

    The second Yi Chen illusion struck another punch on the cracked shield, shattering it like a spider web.

    The third Yi Chen, withstanding the mana beams from the others, punched through the umbrella girl as she watched in horror, bursting her chest and dispersing her into gusts of yin wind, torn asunder.

    Yi Chen had used all of his killing moves as soon as he struck.

    At this moment, his expression was cold as ice, his body and mind as fierce as a beast''s.

    The familiar sensation had returned.

    It was a feeling of being vividly alive.

    At this moment, his fighting instincts had been pushed to the limit.

    It was a predatory instinct.

    As soon as the others launched their attacks, Yi Chen keenly perceived their deceptions, with each retaining some strength for personal defense.

    After all, they were all like millennia-old foxes, with dark and deep thoughts¡ªhow could anyone be sure that Yi Chen''s target was indeed the umbrella girl? If it was a feint and themselves were targeted, wouldn''t that mean they had left themselves wide open to sacrifice for others?

    This predicament at the start was Yi Chen''s biggest opportunity.

    To injure five fingers does not compare to severing one.

    He had to strike like thunder while the five harbored their own schemes at the beginning, causing casualties in the battle.

    Vital opportunities come and go in an instant and must be firmly grasped.

    Otherwise, if the group truly united, advancing and retreating as one, Yi Chen might have a hard time getting out unscathed.

    After all, none among the five were weak, their cultivation further empowered by the formation, adding to their might.

    "Good! Good! Good!"

    "The Taoist indeed has good schemes, as cunning as a fox, as ferocious as a wolf, as fierce as a tiger."

    "Fellow Taoists, if we continue to distrust each other and have divided minds, I''m afraid none of us will be able to leave this formation today."

    "It''s just a pity for the Umbrella Taoist friend."

    The extremely Yin cultivator laughed bitterly in rage, exchanged glances with the remaining three, and each nod to one another, rising into the air to form a circle, their backs entrusted to their allies.

 Chapter 109 The Evil Sects Pillars Unite to Resist the Righteous Path of Yi Taoist!_2

    At this moment, the pillars of the evil sects reached a consensus in an instant, agreeing to stand united against the righteous Yi Taoist.All four were extremely experienced in combat, hardened monks who had emerged through blood and fire. If they let Yi Chen defeat them one by one as did just now, then none of them would survive. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But as long as they were of one heart and one mind, no matter who Yi Chen attacked, everyone would lash out at Yi Chen with all their might. Perhaps one of them could survive, sacrificing Yi Chen to secure a slim chance of life.

    This was the insight and execution ability of monks who had battled their way out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

    It was a truly high-level duel.

    After withstanding a joint attack from the four, Yi Chen couldn''t help but bleed at the corner of his mouth, having sustained a light wound, and the cyan glaze armor on his back had also formed several cracks.

    He was shaken as he looked at the four ''people'' who had formed a circular formation, waiting in tight array.

    Just as the likes of the Supreme Yin Reverend hadn''t expected Yi Chen to be so decisive, Yi Chen hadn''t expected the remaining four to be so decisive either, instantly making the most correct decision.

    If the five had been able to act like this from the start, then Yi Chen would really have had a headache.

    Fortunately, Yi Chen''s opening move was the king bomb.

    He had already gained the upper hand in the current situation, and the opponents were out of strategies, completely without any negotiating power with him.

    "Taoist, wouldn''t it be better to stop fighting? If we continue, the Taoist may be able to kill all four of us, but the Taoist also shouldn''t expect to get away unscathed."

    "If the Taoist is willing to stop, we will surely present a generous gift once we are outside."

    The Supreme Yin Reverend''s hoarse voice communicated his last-ditch effort.

    The Asura Ghost General, the Rakshasa Ghost General, and Zhao the Corpse King all nodded repeatedly and said in unison:

    "Exactly."

    If they were to fight a decisive battle, they didn''t know how many of them would survive to the end; better to negotiate peace now.

    Unfortunately, they had no idea of their worth in Yi Chen''s eyes, or the existence of such strange things as Deep Red Points.

    This misjudgment in awareness was why they had let Yi Chen defeat the Umbrella Girl first, landing them in their current predicament.

    Yi Chen extended a finger, dabbed at the fresh blood trickling from his lips, licked it lightly with his tongue, revealing an enigmatic expression that made the heart of the Supreme Yin Party jump.

    For a moment, they felt like the orthodox sects, and the tall Taoist in front of them seemed more like a demonic sect member.

    The flavor was too intense.

    It should be someone from their side who acted like this.

    Yi Chen''s eyes fervently gazed at the four, as if looking at a peerless treasure, making their scalps tingle.

    "No way."

    "Unless you beat me to death, not one of you will leave here today."

    "If the Taoist persists in his own way, we will fight to the death, and the Taoist may not be unscathed!" the Supreme Yin Reverend shouted angrily.

    "Exactly, Taoist friend, please think thrice, our cultivation has not come easy, and we bear no deep grudge or hatred; if we fight to the end, even if you can kill a few of us, you will also be gravely injured, endangering your cultivation base, or even die. Why bother to such extremes?" Zhao the Corpse King couldn''t help but utter a threat.

    "Evil karma, wrongly wandering in samsara, take my fist first!"

    Yi Chen stopped wasting words with them and turned into a cyan thread, first turning Chen Fuyun¡ªwho had nearly curled into a ball in the corner, trying to minimize his presence¡ªinto a blood mist, and then continued flying towards the Supreme Yin Reverend and the others, who were waiting in tight array.

    Chen Family''s patriarch, spoiled by years of wealth, in addition to his approaching end of life and the oppression of the sinister ghostly aura, seemed like no more than common poultry in Yi Chen''s eyes now.

    After all, what''s wrong with killing off the third in command when the first and the second are at loggerheads?

    "Fellow Taoists, let''s fight this Taoist to the death!" the Supreme Yin Reverend, seeing Yi Chen''s utter imperviousness to reason, also let out a fierce shout, clashing with Yi Chen.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The continuous explosions echoed non-stop within the Formation space.

    Yi Chen, as if possessed with madness, furiously attacked the Supreme Yin Reverend. The pillars of the demonic path struggled to fend off Yi Taoist''s assaults.

    Yi Chen''s fighting style was now completely focused on trading blow for blow.

    Relying on the restoration of the light around him and the heat flow generated from the Origin Point that enhanced and healed his body, he fought with utter abandon and flamboyance.

    That was the substantial worth of being considerably more durable while still dealing higher damage.

    It was the source of Yi Chen''s enthusiastic confidence.

    "You little brat, have you gone mad? Stop, listen to what I have to say," the Supreme Yin Reverend, his hair and beard bristling with fury, struggled to defend himself with the help of the other three and his Styx Battle Banner in hand.

    Yi Chen, as if he had a murderous vendetta against him, kept pushing and attacking him. Such torment nearly made the Supreme Yin Reverend vomit blood.

    Clearly, he was the strongest of the four.

    "What did you say? I can''t hear you!" Yi Chen laughed heartily and continued his furious assault on the Supreme Yin Reverend. The energy was rampant; the ground of the Formation space was plowed over several times by the combatants, and dirt was occasionally swept up by the energy, flying around.

    "You little brat, have you gone mad? I said stop¡ªlisten to what I have to say, I have a great secret to share with you," the Supreme Yin Reverend shouted.

    "Can''t hear you, I said I can''t hear you!"

    "I @$*%," the Supreme Yin Reverend''s face showed a look of despair.

    He had miscalculated again; this tall Daoist seemed like a monster, flinging around his Pure Yang Qi Force as if it cost him nothing.

    He was tougher than the Supreme Yin Reverend had ever imagined, and there seemed to be a mysterious power constantly repairing his body.

    It was like cheating.

    He had never seen or heard of such a Daoist method in his over two hundred years of roaming.

    "Yang Ji Fist."

 Chapter 109 The Evil Sects Pillars Unite to Resist the Righteous Path of Yi Taoist!_3

    Within moments, the Yang Ji punch reappeared.Extreme Yin Elder''s expression froze on his face in an instant, shattering like porcelain, and his Yellow Spring battle flag was also blasted in two by Yi Chen, its treasured radiance vanishing in a flash.

    At that time, Yi Chen also took the full force of the other three''s strikes, coughing up another mouthful of fresh blood, but the madness in his eyes grew even more intense.

    "What''s the matter with you guys, didn''t eat your meal?"

    "Tickling me again?"

    "No strength at all!"

    He suddenly turned around and roared at the remaining three.

    This time, he had his sights set on Zhao Corpse King.

    It was this bastard who scratched him earlier; he must finish him off.

    Zhao Corpse King felt Yi Chen''s cold and insane gaze and shivered down to his scalp.

    He didn''t know how he got so unlucky to be marked by this fiend.

    The remaining one corpse and two ghosts mustered all their spirits to continue resisting Yi Chen''s assault.

    At this moment, those from Yin Mountain had already cursed Yellow Spring Sect and Red Boudoir countless times in their hearts.

    This was utterly ridiculous.

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    Who the hell said the Ghost Qi Stygian Formation weakens and rejects all profound Daoist techniques? That''s obviously a sham.

    If not, that person is the world''s greatest bragger.

    The Daoist in front of them was growing stronger with each battle, as if he were on steroids; where was the weakening?

    And which bastard from the Yellow Spring Sect and Red Boudoir did the investigation claiming this Daoist''s strength was only slightly above theirs?

    How is this slightly?

    This damn well is a master of the True Person Realm.

    They were unlucky enough to have such teammates, tasked with surrounding and killing a True Person Realm master with a broken formation meant to trap themselves. What a fortunate life!

    "Daoist, please stop, no more fighting,"

    "As long as the Daoist stops, everything can be discussed, everything is negotiable."

    Zhao Corpse King couldn''t hold back anymore and was the first to plead for peace.

    He felt it was all well and good when he arrived, all puffed up with pride, but now he might not be able to return.

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen let out a light chuckle.

    "But I''ve killed Second Sister Hu and Black Three of your Yin Mountain; don''t you hold a grudge against me?"

    "What is Daoist saying? Just a few slain fellow disciples, that''s nothing."

    "But I don''t believe you."

    Yi Chen had barely finished speaking when, seizing an opportunity, a large hand burst forth from Zhao Corpse King''s chest. When Yi Chen withdrew his hand, a black heart, still beating, was clutched in his grasp.

    That was the core of Zhao Corpse King''s heart, the source of his power.

    Zhao Corpse King''s form suddenly froze and then he collapsed with a thunderous fall.

    For some reason, as Yi Chen held the faintly pulsating heart, he couldn''t help but feel his nose quiver, an alluring scent drilling into his nostrils.

    Damn!

    He actually felt an urge to eat the heart in his hand.

    Considering the extensive exertion from fighting until now,

    the supernatural ability he gained after reaching the Body-Breaking Realm¡ªthe surplus energy storage¡ªwas nearly depleted.

    The other ability for rapid recovery was also a major energy consumer.

    Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!

    An insatiable craving to feast took over Yi Chen''s mind.

    "Maybe I should try?"

    "My instincts tell me this thing might be edible."

    "Anyway, no one sees me eating this thing, who dares to say the Daoist isn''t upright."

    A thought flashed through Yi Chen''s mind instantly.

    ```

    "Maybe I''ll just take a small bite, just a little taste."

    As if possessed, Yi Chen gulped down two-thirds of the still faintly beating heart in his hand.

    The taste was actually a bit sweet...

    Suddenly, a furious energy burgeoned within Yi Chen''s body, and the energy core that had dimmed pulsed to life, half-erect in an instant.

    With just one bite, he had managed to recharge half of the excess energy stored within.

    The effect was extraordinary.

    Even the damaged azure glaze armor erected itself in a flash, shining as if it were new.

    Yi Chen instantly felt as if he had been revived.

    This was simply a miracle.

    If it weren''t for the fact that there was only one Zhao Corpse King, he would have seriously considered stocking up on a wave of this stuff.

    Yi Chen''s action had completely petrified both the Asura Ghost General and the Raksha Ghost General.

    Where did this ferocious man come from?

    So fierce.

    Seeing the unclear liquid still smeared at the corner of Yi Chen''s mouth, both ghost generals felt a peak of terror in their hearts.

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    The Asura Ghost General tried to communicate with the towering Daoist, but Yi Chen mercilessly interrupted him.

    "My two Daoist friends, there''s no need for further words."

    "You''ve seen something you shouldn''t have, and there''s nothing I can do about it."

    "If people were to find out... how can I continue to live as a Taoist?"

    "Besides, since you all came here together, it''s most important to stay together."

    Yi Chen''s voice carried a haunting chill, as though an icy wind swept up from the netherworld.

    Suddenly, two fan-like large hands appeared above the Asura Ghost General and the Raksha Ghost General''s heads.

    The Taoist touches my crown, and the Pure Yang opens my spiritual essence.

    Both ghost generals fell backward, their demise seemingly peaceful, faces showing a hint of relief, with no one knowing their final thoughts at the end of their lives.

    Now, there wasn''t a single living creature left in the formation space.

    Yi Chen took a long breath, taking the opportunity to look at the messages on his retina display.

    [You have successfully killed the Umbrella Woman, earning two hundred and eighty Deep Red Points.]

    [You have successfully killed the Zhao Corpse King, earning two hundred and eighty Deep Red Points.]

    [You have successfully killed the Asura Ghost General, earning two hundred and seventy Deep Red Points.]

    [You have successfully killed the Raksha Ghost General, earning two hundred and seventy Deep Red Points.]

    Yi Chen: "..."

    Seeing the messages on his retina display, a surge of ecstatic emotion flooded Yi Chen''s mind.

    Good indeed comes to those who do good.

    With the aid of his Body-Breaking Realm abilities, the amplification of the Soul Ignition Technique, the help of the Origin Point, and a bit of initial strategizing,

    he had actually managed to annihilate all five experts.

    Although he had paid the price of severe injuries, with his shoulder blade vaguely showing bone and a hole poked in his left shoulder by that old thief of the Ultra Yin, not to mention countless other wounds, it didn''t matter.

    At this moment, all the Deep Red Points necessary for the ninth level of the True Pure Yang Skill had been accrued.

    As long as he broke through to the ninth level of the True Pure Yang Skill, healing would follow, and it would all be worth it.

    The outside world was too dangerous, with too many old silver coins, and in that moment, he craved power, a greater power more than ever.

    Yi Chen looked around, sensing the ghastly atmosphere, the formation barriers still impenetrable, with no other living entities around. His mood shifted, and he promptly sat down cross-legged.

    This place was perfect for a breakthrough!

    "Deep Red! Let''s see what your limit is!"

    A cry suddenly rang out in Yi Chen''s heart.

    ```

 Chapter 110 The Ninth Level of True Pure Yang Skill! Success!

    ```1,600 Deep Red Points were instantly deducted, and at the same time, a vast expanse of memories suddenly emerged in Yi Chen''s mind.

    It was that familiar disc-reading segment once again.

    Like glimpsing a horse passing by a gap in the wall, the memories unfolded.

    Next to a thousand-foot-high waterfall, a man built a hut to reside in.

    He watched the sun rise in the morning and set in the evening for countless winter and summer seasons, but alas, made hardly any progress.

    Eventually, he left his seclusion with a bamboo staff and straw sandals to begin wandering the world.

    He had seen a thousand miles of ice, ten thousand miles of drifting snow, the vastness inside and outside the formidable passes, the great rivers once tumultuous, now silent.

    He had also witnessed ancient volcanos suddenly erupting after years of dormancy, destroying the heavens and earth, powerful volcanic ash obscuring the sun, and all creatures wailing in despair.

    He saw the bursting of river banks, tens of thousands of laborers linking hands, carrying stones, like ants in a line leaping down into perilous places to block the gaps, uniting in spirit to shake the very earth.

    He had also seen epidemics sweep across a thousand miles as the earth dragon turned over.

    He had seen emotions flow freely in the cups of wine, witnessed the beauty of evening, generals turning grey, and Buddhas bowing low.

    The Daoist wandered the world, saw himself, beheld the universe and all its creatures, and finally, after a hundred years, returned to the same spot beside the waterfall where he once built his hut.

    By then, the dust in his heart had already been cleansed by years of experience, leaving a sheer clarity.

    He had gained enlightenment on the direction in which to forge ahead.

    At the level he had reached in the path of Pure Yang, if he wanted to advance further, he had to seek from both outside and inside.

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    During the day, the Daoist ventured into the deep mountains and great marshes, gathering potent herbs, slaying demonic beasts, and enriching himself.

    At night, he would sleep beneath the thousand-foot waterfall, refining his spirit in the hopes of proving his divine abilities.

    Day after day of nourishment and night after night of polishing, his formidable spirit and will began to further combine with his pale cyan Inner Qi, undergoing a transformation.

    When the first thread of spirit seeped into his energy, no longer distinguishable from each other, a profound and mysterious change arose, and the process of transformation began uncontrollably.

    After more than a hundred years of relentless effort, beneath the thousand-foot waterfall, a Daoist with his upper body bare, displaying incredibly robust muscles, raised his eyebrows to the rising sun,

    And chanted softly!

    Pure Yang!

    Then he chanted again!

    Pure Yang! Pure Yang!

    And chanted again!

    Pure Yang! Pure Yang! Pure Yang!

    With each chant, the Daoist''s voice grew louder, more intense, more rapid! S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The entire mountain forest trembled under his calls of Pure Yang.

    All the birds and beasts were startled!

    For a moment, boars bolted and wolves ran, countless wild fruits fell with a rustle from the mountains and rivers, some into the water, others into the soil.

    A wave of sound named Pure Yang swept higher and higher, surging toward even more distant lands.

    Within two thousand meters of the Daoist, a long-tongued ghost was suddenly touched by such Pure Yang sound waves, and on the spot, it burst with fright and its soul fled into the nether.

    Pure Yang! Pure Yang! Pure Yang! Pure Yang!

    Standing beneath the thousand-foot waterfall, with eyes wide and muscles knotted, the Daoist chanted Pure Yang four more times, then fell silent and suddenly opened his mouth wide. He took a fierce inhale towards the rising sun, his hands forming a complex and mysterious hand seal.

    The Daoist''s body was enveloped in steaming blood Qi, even as the thousand-foot waterfall roared down, not a single drop of spray could touch him.

    Under the Daoist''s actions, countless streaks of purple Qi from the far-off sun, as if drawn by some unfathomable force, surged into the Daoist''s body like a whale gulping water.

    With the addition of the purple Qi to the Inner Qi, combined with the powerful spirit and mental force, the pale cyan Inner Qi continually transformed in the direction of a deep cyan color, until the transformation was complete.

    However, this was not the end.

    An even more ferocious change was occurring all of a sudden.

    With the purple Qi enveloping him, Inner Qi trembling, spirit and will thundering in the void, the combination of the three triggered a profound and mysterious transformation.

    Like 3D printing, a deep cyan-colored, three-meter-tall, gigantic but illusory Qi silhouette gradually emerged around the Daoist.

    At first, it was just large feet, followed by lower legs and thighs, and then the waist, abdomen, and chest, finally reaching the neck.

    This alteration struggled to continue when it came to shaping the head, as if running out of power toward the end.

    Seeing this, the Daoist fiercely slapped his chest, threw his arms wide, and looked up to the sky with a roar!

    Two deep red lines shot up from his torso to his brow, forming a beautiful and complex pattern, full of profound mystery.

    All the visible light in the sky started to rush into the deep cyan Qi silhouette around the Daoist, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, completing the final transformation.

    The deep cyan Qi silhouette''s head was finally formed.

    In the last moments, the Daoist stood two meters tall beneath the thousand-foot waterfall, untouched by a single drop of water.

    His body''s muscles were like a top sculptor''s masterpiece, pleasing to the eye, neither too swollen nor too solid, exuding both a sense of strength and hardness.

    On his brow were two mysterious red patterns intertwining, the red lines shimmering faintly, as if some mystery was gestating within.

    Surrounding the Daoist was a three-meter-tall, deep cyan Qi silhouette, majestic and towering.

    Around the silhouette, the deep cyan Inner Qi undulated and adorned.

    The Daoist looked up, gazing into the sky.

    The illusory Qi around him moved in sync with his intentions, also looking up.

    As the transformation completed, a burst of extremely contented laughter came from the Daoist.

    Utter bliss.

    With a loud "haha," he let out a long howl.

    ```

    True Yang Spirit!

    The Daoist under the waterfall stamped one foot, and in an instant, he shot up into the sky, ascending against the waterfall, reaching the origin above in a blink.

    The memory halted abruptly there.

    Yi Chen felt as if he had just watched a sped-up stream-of-consciousness movie, countless enlightenments emerging in his mind, as if he had really gone through years of cultivation.

    Through false cultivation reflecting the true, under the reflection of his spirit, Yi Chen''s inner qi also began to transform, from light blue to deep blue, completing the change in just a few breaths.

    True Pure Yang Skill ninth layer, achieved!

    At this moment, with the circulation of the deep blue inner qi, earth-shaking changes were beginning to take place inside Yi Chen''s body.

    His muscles tore and reassembled continuously, each fiber becoming tougher than aircraft arrestor cable material. The cells bonded even more tightly. His formerly slightly bulky muscles became like that of the Daoist in the memory fragment, as if sculpted by a top-notch artist.

    Powerful yet not bulky, at first glance, they radiated solidity and strength.

    Even his bones, under the constant washing of the deep blue inner qi, were tinged with a hint of blue. More and more strange patterns crept across his skeleton, linking his whole body.

    Yi Chen thought his physique, which he believed difficult to improve, became increasingly powerful under the flow of the deep blue inner qi. The density heightened further, making his normal stature return to two meters with no increase, but he now emitted an awe-inspiring presence far surpassing that from before.

    Strength, a wildly ferocious strength, surged within him.

    Compared to before the breakthrough, he felt he had entered a completely new world.

    A flash of joy sparkled in Yi Chen''s eyes.

    True Pure Yang Skill ninth layer, not bad!

    With a thought, a virtual light screen panel appeared on his retina.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 18/261]

    [Strength: 82, {Strength-Breaking Realm once: Penetration lv1 (force comes with shaking, penetration effect) Vitality lv1 (strength attribute effect increased by 20%)}

    Stamina: 77, {Body-Breaking Realm once: Excess Storage lv1 (after full energy storage, the total amount of stamina and inner qi triples) Overload Recovery lv1 (stamina consumption doubles, muscle self-healing ability improved by five times)}

    Spirit: 67, {Spirit-Breaking Realm once: Divine Defense lv1 (solidify spirit, enhance defense against soul-type spell attacks.)}

    Agility: 67, {Agility-Breaking Realm once: Agility Level 1 (agility attribute effect increased by 10%)}

    [Cultivation Technique: True Pure Yang Skill ninth layer (Traits: Strengthening the body, Intense heat, Divine Power, Warding off evil, Toughness, Recovering qi, Ignition, True Yang, Unparalleled). Active Skill: True Yang Overwhelming (Blue flames burn the sky, applied to oneself, greatly improves physical condition and inner qi activity, enhanced ability to break spells, duration thirty minutes, no weakness period)

    Active Skill: Soul Ignition Technique (The most intense burning is ignition, igniting one''s potential, burning life span in exchange for might, currently igniting three years of lifespan for a fifty percent increase in strength and inner qi, up to a maximum of five times the strength increase.)

    Active Skill: True Yang Spirit (When essence and qi merge, qi and spirit merge, the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit become one, called spirit ¨C by consuming a significant amount of qi energy, summon one''s True Yang Spirit, gaining boundless strength, the ability to break spells, solidity, and divine presence, lasts for eight minutes.)

    ]

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique fourth layer (Traits: Eagle Vision, Night Vision, Yin Qi Perception, Heart Reflection lv1, Malevolent Intent Perception lv1.)]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3. Culinary Skill lv3]

    [Origin Point: 0]

    [Deep Red Value: 156.]

    Force! Force! Force!

    Such augmentation is truly terrifying.

    The foundation for stability and life is even more robust now.

    This breakthrough not only completely replenished the ten years of lifespan lost due to the Soul Ignition Technique but also added fifty years, reaching a staggering 261 years.

    Such a deal could truly be called a huge profit. There''s no need to say more about the four-dimensional data; all have gone through a significant increase.

    Especially the two major attributes of strength and stamina, they are now within reach of the second breakthrough.

    After the inner qi turned deep blue, the duration of True Yang Overwhelming reached an impressive thirty minutes, but the bigger gain was¡ª

    The new active skill, True Yang Spirit!

    In Yi Chen''s previous memories, when he unleashed True Yang Spirit, his strength was terrifyingly immense, even slightly stronger than after he''d pushed the Soul Ignition Technique to its limit.

    This allowed Yi Chen to truly step through the gates of the True Person Realm of refining the spirit to transcend the physical.

    "The scenes in the memory are ultimately one step removed from the real me; why not try the might of the True Yang Spirit?"

    A thought suddenly sprouted in Yi Chen''s mind.

    No time like the present, Yi Chen looked at the defensive formation barrier, grinned fiercely, and thought activated the spell.

    "True Yang Spirit!" he roared in his mind.

    The deep blue inner qi surged forth, and a three-meter-tall giant Daoist phantom suddenly appeared over Yi Chen, bearing an identical expression to his, seemingly real and illusory.

    Guided by his will, a three-meter giant Daoist, transformed into a deep blue radiant light, swung his fist fiercely against the formation barrier.

    "Burst open for me!" Yi Chen bellowed as he smashed his fist onto the formation barrier.

    Ripples exploded!

    Then the ripples faded away...

    Yi Chen''s face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

    This one doesn''t count.

    ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!

    Yi Chen, enveloped by the phantom around him, kept throwing punches, for a moment his qi energy roared like raging waves, pounding the formation barrier like a tsunami.

    One minute later, the barrier''s color faded, became translucent, clear, and then disappeared.

    The four thick iron pillars supporting the formation exploded violently, breaking into three segments.

    The formation is broken!

    The Daoist is out!

 Chapter 112 The Aftermath, the Epilogue, the Embers of the Setting Sun, the Taoists Journey Afar.

    The second day.Dawn gradually broke, the pale azure sky adorned with a few lingering stars, and the earth lay shrouded in a hazy veil, as if covered by a light gossamer.

    Yi Chen, clad in undergarments and draped in a Taoist robe, clutched the railing, gazing toward the direction of the fire lotus clouds, the morning breeze slightly billowing the robe hanging off his body; no one knew what he was thinking at the time.

    At this moment, the piercing injury caused by the super Yin being on his left shoulder had mostly healed, the pinkish flesh already filling the void, and he would recover completely within a day or two.

    Having been in Longjiang Prefecture for seven days and witnessing so much that had transpired, Yi Chen couldn''t help but feel a multitude of emotions.

    "Indeed, the affairs of the world are like a game of chess, unpredictable like the vast cosmos."

    "The mortal world is like a cage, the weak lack freedom."

    "Among those who perished in these seven days, what did they do wrong, and among those who survived, what did they do to stay alive?"

    "One''s fate is but a drifting duckweed in the rain; the slightest ash of destiny tossed about at will can become an unbearable weight for the common folks."

    As the morning light began to glow, the heavily damaged Longjiang Prefecture, much like a tenacious giant, started to stir back to life.

    On the streets, groups of pedestrians resumed their daily toil¡ªvendors selling vegetables, buyers purchasing produce, deliverymen dispersing goods in abundance.

    They walked the long streets alone, their expressions numb.

    Looking down upon the myriad lives below and observing the various faces of the living, Yi Chen suddenly smiled.

    While he lamented the struggles of life, he wondered what the True Monarchs thought when they looked down upon the cultivators below. Probably only those of the True Person Realm could receive their slight acknowledgment.

    Like the umbrella woman and the super Yin being he had killed, they seemed no different from ants.

    "Fortunately, with the aid of the Golden Finger and my efforts, one day I will be able to reach that realm, or even surpass it."

    "And stand shoulder to shoulder with immortal masters and wicked giants both within and beyond the mountains and seas."

    "I, too, will become one of the chess players of this world."

    Yi Chen released his grasp from the railing, his eyes showing determination, and suddenly clenched his fist, causing a sonic boom in the air.

    An old farmer pushing a wheelbarrow full of vegetables passed underneath the railing and jumped in shock. He looked up, only to see no one above, but a ten-tael piece of silver fell from the sky and landed right before him.

    The old farmer was instantly no longer afraid.

    He stepped forward and firmly placed his foot on it.

    Seeing that there was no one around, he carefully tucked the silver into the purse at his side, made a bow to the sky, and hurriedly pushed his cart away.

    A hint of joy appeared on the old farmer''s face. With these ten taels, plus his prior savings and selling some coal in a bullock cart during the winter, he would be able to send his grandson to a martial arts school in the city.

    In today''s chaotic times, the more martial prowess one had, the more security it brought.

    The one who threw the silver was, of course, Yi Chen.

    Caught in a moment of emotion, he had clenched his fist and frightened someone, so he decided to throw a lump of silver and run off as an apology.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    The sun rose in the east, illuminating the mountains and rivers, and the vast lands became clear.

    The skies over Longjiang Prefecture today were crystal clear.

    At many street corners, people discussed the downfall of the Chen Family of Longjiang Prefecture with great interest.

    Their spirits were high.

    Contrary to Yi Chen''s expectations, he thought that Longjiang Prefecture would be in mourning today or, at the very least, lacking in vitality.

    But he had underestimated the resilience of the common people of Longjiang Prefecture.

    To his surprise, Longjiang Prefecture was unexpectedly lively today.

    After carefully eavesdropping for a while, Yi Chen learned part of the truth.

    It turned out that Qian Yueru had taken action.

    The enraged Qian Yueru, upon learning the truth the previous night, had uprooted the entire Chen Family of Longjiang Prefecture, a power that had been accumulating for hundreds of years, scattered to the winds overnight.

    The collusion between the Chen Family and demonic cult forces was utterly indefensible once exposed to the light.

    Even the Chen Family Head could not justify it, because Qian Yueru''s father was a True Monarch, and when those in power are nearly equal, righteousness starts to prevail.

    After a heart-to-heart talk with Yi Chen, Qian Yueru had an epiphany.

    She introspected thrice during the night.

    Was I too polite?

    Did I give them too much face?

    Is it time for me to take action?

    The answer, of course, was affirmative.

    So that night, heads rolled in Longjiang Prefecture.

    The judicial bureau fared somewhat better, but outside the courthouse, it was a complete disaster, with everyone related to the Chen Family taken in for questioning, and the damning evidence unearthed after a round of lie-detection spells was voluminous.

    When a giant falls, myriad life thrives.

    With so many positions suddenly vacant, everyone who survived felt as if their lives suddenly had direction again.

    To make up for her oversight, it was said that Qian Yueru had an emergency meeting with the local gentry and leaders of the business guilds the previous night, directly intervening to reduce rent, excessive taxes, and levies.

    The process went very smoothly.

    The atmosphere was surprisingly harmonious.

    Qian Yueru slammed the Eight Trigrams Annihilation Axe on the table, and her aides set the documents before everyone; the scene probably went something like this.

    "Gentlemen, I am in a hurry."

    "I''ve said my piece, who agrees, who opposes?"

    Seeing the blood-dripping axe on the table, the remaining interest groups became as meek as chicks, and they would''ve nodded in agreement if Qian Yueru had declared the sun green at that moment.

    Yi Chen: "....." Qian Town Marshal, you''re really playing for real, huh?

    With a thought, Yi Chen suddenly realized how brilliant this move was. As the daughter of a True Monarch, being so wronged, and under her watch, such a large mistake occurred in Longjiang Prefecture. What''s wrong with venting a bit?

    Dragging this matter out only made it harder to manage.

    Force! Force! Force!

    For a moment, Yi Chen had to admire this fierce girl; she was genuinely fierce, and as the daughter of a True Monarch, she really knew how to play the game.

    ...

    ...

    Red Dust Guesthouse.

    Having purchased the necessary supplies, Yi Chen returned to the guesthouse past noon, planning to have his meal, bid farewell to Qian Yueru, and then take his leave.

    At this time, Shen the landlord was seated opposite Yi Chen, bringing over another wooden chest.

    Simply put, it was a tribute.

    These days, his money had come too easily; it was almost burning a hole in his pocket.

    "Landlord Shen, what does this mean?"

    "Taoist, I seek advice oh, this was from my mother last time; this time, it''s mine, just a small token of my appreciation."

    "Landlord Shen, you don''t have it easy, and since your mother has already provided the offering last time, this time I shall cast a divination for you." Yi Chen thought for a moment and decided to come up with a new reason to accept the money.

    "What''s your full name, Landlord Shen?" Yi Chen asked.

    "I dare not claim the title of landlord, Taoist may refer to me as Shen Yishi."

    Yi Chen: "..." My friend, you can''t go by that name. I fear you might self-combust and die, to the tune of ''Guangling San'', waiting for Yunniang.

    "This name is not good; let''s change it. How about Shen Wansan?"

    "And I''ll gift you eight more characters, ''Going too far is as bad as not going far enough, retreat when the current is fierce!''

    "This way, you may avoid unforeseen disasters."

    After making a profit of ten more yellow croakers with tears in his eyes, Yi Chen turned and left the Red Dust Guesthouse, heading towards the direction of the local government office.

    What he did not know was that, after his departure, the landlord Shen ordered his staff to seal off the room with the Tian character number one where Yi Chen had stayed and no longer offer it to outsiders.

    At the same time, Landlord Shen had already decided that he would find a dozen or so storytellers to recount the great achievements of Yi Chen in Longjiang Prefecture to the public day and night. Of course, the key point of the story had to be highlighted: initially, Yi Taoist had stayed in room number one of the Red Dust Guesthouse.

    As of today, Red Dust Guesthouse, price increase!

    ...

    The top floor of the J¨³ L¨®ng Pavilion.

    A five-meter square table was set with over a hundred dishes.

    Just like seven days ago.

    No vegetables, all meat dishes.

    "Taoist, are you leaving so soon? I''ve been too busy these last two days. Why don''t you stay a few more days and let Yueru repay your generosity as a host?"

    Opposite the long table, Qian Yueru was skillfully gnawing on the elbow of a ferocious beast that Yi Chen didn''t recognize, chewing it as if it were sugar cane.

    Qian Yueru''s condition was much better than the previous night, her eyes sparkled with more luster, and if one had to describe her current state, she was clear-headed. The pressure emanating from her body also seemed stronger than before.

    "I can''t help it; I have urgent matters to attend to and cannot enjoy wine and conversation with my friend any longer."

    "Looking at my friend''s aura, it seems you''ve gained new insight and have almost stepped halfway into the True Person Realm. Truly a cause for celebration," Yi Chen said with a smile.

    After hearing Yi Chen''s words, Qian Yueru set down the elbow she was holding, sighed, and said mournfully, "But half a step is not the same as fully breaking through the realm, after all. It''s not as good as you, my friend."

    "Besides, even in the True Person Realm, one must complete the nine levels before beginning to comprehend the Dao and approaching the realm of the True Monarch. You made it sound easy yesterday, but I have no idea how long it will take me to catch up to my father."

    "It''s all because my father bathed me in Qilin blood when I was young. Otherwise, with my accumulation, I should have already stepped into the True Person Realm."

    The case was solved, Yi Chen now understood why Qian Yueru''s physique was so astonishing.

    This was saturated support from her True Monarch father, wasn''t it?

    But fortunately, it was still slightly inferior to his own efforts.

    After all, a physique nurtured by top-notch heavenly and earthly treasures was not as strong and deeply founded as his painstakingly cultivated precious body.

    Following another round of pleasantries, two human-shaped ferocious beasts began to boast about their meals, turning the dining table instantly into a battlefield.

    Half an hour later, the long table was broken, and dishes were in disarray; the battle was intense.

    Of course, Yi Chen still had the bigger appetite.

    The meal was finished.

    It was almost the hour of Shen.

    "Taoist, with our parting this time, I don''t know when we''ll see each other again."

    Qian Yueru raised her head, her beautiful and dignified face with an elegant gesture using a square white handkerchief to wipe the grease from the corners of her mouth, and said regretfully.

    "Naturally, we will see each other the next time we meet," Yi Chen laughed heartily, immediately displaying his talent in the art of empty talk.

    "Friend Qian, mountains and rivers can meet again; until next time." S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Thank you for the three thousand taels of gold notes."

    The Taoist post-meal was bold in speech. He hoisted his belt, patted the hem of his robe, waved goodbye to Qian Yueru without turning back.

    Halfway through his departure, Qian Yueru suddenly shouted, "Taoist, are we friends now?"

    "Of course, we are friends now," Yi Chen replied, turning back with a smile, revealing eight bright teeth, a smile both sunlit and cheerful.

    As Yi Chen was about to exit the city gates, he suddenly encountered an old acquaintance, Mo Yu leading two children, a boy and a girl, whom Yi Chen did not recognize.

    After some conversation, he learned that he had been lucky yesterday; he hadn''t been chosen to ascend the sacrificial altar to offer blood when the blood ritual had been completed. Qian Yueru had arrived in time, sparing him a narrow escape from death, though he had been seriously injured and needed time to recuperate.

    Upon hearing Mo Yu''s account, Yi Chen felt even better.

    At the gates of Longjiang Prefecture.

    Under the dying embers of the sunset, a Daoist set off on a long journey.

    A Daoist with a big black cat squatting on his shoulder, his expression melancholy.

    It seemed he was reluctant to leave his ''good friend'' behind.

 Chapter 113 Encounter with the Tyrant Chicken at Night, Slaughtered

    "Miao Zi, being so mopey will only hurt you.""How are you going to be the protective beast of the Hidden Dragon Temple in this state?"

    "At your age, how can you afford to sulk? Snap out of it."

    Seeing Little Miao down in the dumps, Yi Chen ruffled Little Miao''s head and then strode forward, embarking on the new journey.

    This big guy is surely ruined.

    Useless at everything--but comes first in hitting on chicks.

    Yi Chen took out the official map he had prepared earlier and planned the route to Dragon Tiger Mountain, his big hand pointing to the location of a city on the map.

    "Are you ready? Little Miao~"

    "Our next stop is Wujang Prefecture."

    "I heard the alley cats in Wujang Prefecture are even hotter than those in Longjiang Prefecture."

    At these words, Miao Zi''s eyes lit up, cheerfully meowing in response to Yi Chen''s words, urging him to hurry up and get moving.

    It''s not sulking anymore, revealing its true fickle feline nature.

    Hurrying down the mountain path, Yi Chen quickly switched into opportunistic mode, leaving behind the controversial Longjiang Prefecture.

    It''s not that he was afraid of experts from the Yellow Springs Sect, Yin Mountain, or Red Brothel coming after him; it''s just that he''s an impatient person.

    As the sky grew gradually dim, Yi Chen furrowed his brows and quickened his pace, hoping to find the next station to rest before the night fell completely.

    What he didn''t know was that right at this moment, the Tyrant Chicken was also hurriedly making its way toward Longjiang Prefecture. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Since receiving the edict from the Great Protector of the Corpse God Sect that day, Tyrant Chicken had been making its way here, frolicking through mountains and waters.

    At every human city it came to, it would use its magic to change its appearance and indulge in food and drink to its heart''s content.

    The food of humans is particularly delicious, especially the stir-fried noodles, which it fancied most.

    "But, having delayed for so long, I can''t put it off any longer."

    "One last time, I''ll only stay in Longjiang Prefecture for a day, then head straight for Fengyun County."

    "Otherwise, if I take too long, the Great Protector might get angry."

    The Tyrant Chicken smacked its lips, reminiscing the delicious taste of human stir-fried noodles, then quickened its pace, hoping to reach Longjiang Prefecture by nightfall to have a good rest and a feast.

    If there are stir-fried noodles in Longjiang Prefecture, that would be even better.

    The mountain roads were difficult, and soon, the moon climbed up the treetops.

    On the narrow mountain path, two tall figures arrived unexpectedly.

    Yi Chen was taken aback for a moment, only to see a tall figure in a hooded cloak approaching rapidly.

    This person was a few centimeters taller than him, impressively so, with their entire face enveloped in the hood, looking quite mysterious.

    Both couldn''t pass through the narrow path at the same time, so one of them had to move aside. Yi Chen walked forward with a frown until they were almost three meters apart before coming to a standstill.

    Because neither was willing to give way.

    "Taoist, get lost!"

    "Good dogs don''t stand in the way. I''m in a good mood today and don''t feel like killing!" Your next read awaits at empire

    An abrasive voice came from the mouth of the tall hooded figure in black, sounding very unfriendly.

    At that moment, Yi Chen finally saw the true face of the person before him.

    Although this person had changed his appearance with magic, under Yi Chen''s discerning gaze, their true form was as clear as a pattern in his palm.

    This mysterious person was actually with a chicken head on a human body.

    With a red comb, black skin, and a green caruncle on top of its head, two white lines slithered down from the shoulders to the waist. Its body was rippling with muscles, every one bulging as if each had gone through puberty on its own, fists stout enough to knock someone down, arms strong enough to outrun a horse.

    "How will you force me if I don''t move?" Despite the chicken-headed person''s threatening stance, Yi Chen was unfazed and stood his ground.

    Having just achieved the ninth level of the True Pure Yang Skill, should I give way on this road?

    He felt like smashing this yapping nuisance right away, only wondering if such a chicken-headed creature could drop Deep Red Points.

    "If you won''t move, then perish for this lord!"

    Seemingly quick-tempered, the chicken-headed person tossed aside his hooded cloak upon hearing Yi Chen''s retort, throwing it onto a tree branch by the side of the road.

    He stopped pretending and directly dispelled the illusion, revealing an extremely robust physique.

    "Remember, the one who kills you is none other than the Corpse God Sect''s one of the top ten valiant generals, Overlord Chicken."

    "May you be a well-informed ghost on the road to Yellow Springs."

    "Soaring Demonic Magic?Chicken Dominates the World?Giant Transformation!"

    Under the moonlight, Overlord Chicken let out a skyward roar, and his body started swelling rapidly, growing taller; his already exaggerated muscles became even more pronounced. Clusters of air, like tiny mice, surged nonstop beneath his muscles, creating an intimidating aura.

    Blood-red demonic energy swirled around his body, and suddenly a violent wind arose from the ground, sweeping up the fallen leaves and whirling around Overlord Chicken fiercely, rotating incessantly.

    "A demon from the Corpse God Sect?"

    "Also, this direction¡ªisn''t this the way to Fengyun County?"

    Hearing the words of the chicken-headed man, Yi Chen immediately narrowed his pupils to pinpoints. Regardless, he could not let this chicken-headed monster go today.

    He had to strike hard!

    Mimicking the move, he stripped off his Daoist robe and threw it onto the branch of a nearby tree, revealing his own equally magnificent body. His strong pectoral muscles pushed up his tight-fitting undershirt, and deep cyan Inner Qi began to rise from his body.

    "Taoist, not bad at practicing. Among those who focus on physical cultivation, you stand out. But you are unfortunate to meet me,"

    "Today, I will let you know what ¡ª¡ª true strength is!!!"

    "Taoist, tremble. This is the true power of one of the top ten valiant generals in my sect."

    Seeing Yi Chen reveal his momentum, the chicken-headed man knew that Yi Chen was not a common man. He slapped his chest, using some secret technique that intensified his aura, his height surged once more, and the demonic energy began to whirl even faster around his imposing body.

    All of a sudden, Overlord Chicken''s height jumped from two meters four, two meters five, to two meters six in a blink of an eye, towering over Yi Chen by more than a head.

    At this moment, his eyes turned a blood-red and his gaze vicious as he looked down at Yi Chen, as if maintaining his current state exerted great pressure on him. Without hesitation, his massive legs, as thick as millstones, heavily stamped on the ground, then...

    Then, there was no after.

    Overlord Chicken''s pupils dilated, and all of a sudden, his expression was like being throttled by fate.

    Suddenly, in front of him appeared a shadow of a great Daoist figure, three meters tall, even taller, stronger, and more formidable than he was!

    Reversal of poles!

    In an instant, Yi Chen surpassed Overlord Chicken by more than a head, casting a vast shadow over him under the moonlight.

    The Daoist''s gaze was indifferent, viewing him as if he were merely a chicken waiting to be slaughtered, and a pair of hands covered in deep cyan Inner Qi suddenly appeared around his neck.

    Like the pincers of fate, they tightly gripped his throat.

    "Little chick, what are you barking for?"

    "Bark for Daoist master one more time, I dare you."

    "I like the look in your eyes now!"

    "Truly... weak, pitiful, and defenseless!"

    The Daoist looked at the chicken-headed man with a gentle voice and a teasing smile in his eyes.

    Overlord Chicken, in terror, flailed his limbs, beating on the Daoist''s shadow. But all his efforts were as laughable as a joke, only amusing, barely tickling Yi Chen.

    Unable to fight, unable to flee.

    To Yi Chen''s perception at this moment, Overlord Chicken was only on the level of Zhao Corpse King, even lesser than the Supreme Yin Master.

    "Boring, it''s over."

    "You''ve chosen the wrong path, chicken-headed man."

    "Your muscles are dead muscles, they have no strength!"

    "You are inferior to me in purity ah~"

    Yi Chen''s indifferent voice came through, like a chilling wind scraping up from the depths of the ninth hell.

    With his words coming to an end, Overlord Chicken''s neck went limp, and the overpowering deep cyan Inner Qi instantly ignited his body.

    Under the True Yang Spirit, those like Overlord Chicken, who could once exchange a few moves with Yi Chen, now seemed as easy to kill as a chicken.

    Unknowingly, Yi Chen had grown to far surpass his master, Bai Yunzi, in skill.

    He had become a full-fledged True Person Realm expert.

    Under the moonlight, a hooded Daoist continued to move forward.

 Chapter 118 Do You Call This Being Somewhat Strong?

    Conversations between men are always so plain and boring, devoid of any flair. After the commotion, everyone seemed a little less afraid, and followed Yi Chen into the main hall.At night, the firewood in the brazier crackled and popped as it burned, occasionally bursting with loud bangs.

    Yi Chen sat dominantly in the seat of honor, watching the numerous escorts below him.

    Some of the younger escorts, having been exhausted for days, were nearly falling asleep. These were the individuals Yi Chen paid close attention to.

    He was very curious. Under his watch, how exactly did the evil spirit invade dreams and kill?

    Unless he couldn''t find a way to navigate out of the fog, Yi Chen wouldn''t choose to confront the spirit in a dream without fully understanding its capabilities.

    It''s a matter of "every man for himself, and the Devil take the hindmost." He needed to observe a few more samples first.

    Anyway, there were plenty of people in the town who couldn''t hold out much longer.

    The night was inherently cool, and this sensation was even more pronounced within the ancient town.

    Outside the room, ghostly winds would occasionally sweep by, causing the trees in the courtyard to rustle violently.

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    One could also faintly hear the sound of waves crashing against the rocks.

    Hours passed quietly like this, without any incidents except for a young escort with a stomachache who needed to use the latrine.

    But Yi Chen learned from the previous experience at the Yang family fortress and immediately took a dozen people to surround the latrine, stretching their formation to its limits.

    Having Yi Taoist personally guard him while he relieved himself was an honor for the young escort, not to mention the dozen colleagues standing with arms crossed, keeping watch.

    With that, everyone returned to the main hall. All was calm, except the wind outside had grown stronger on their return.

    Yi Chen took a deep look at everyone in the main hall. For some reason, ever since he had entered the ancient town, he always felt something was off, but couldn''t put his finger on it. As a result, he had to be extra vigilant.

    As time ticked by, the outside wind suddenly intensified, as though a ghost was swirling and roaring above the ancient town.

    Bang! The firmly closed doors of the main hall were blown open by the gusts, bringing in a foul stench of rotten seafood that was nauseating.

    At the same time, a distant sound of crashing waves could be heard, as if some unknown creature had crawled out from the Wujang River.

    The sounds grew closer and louder.

    "Interesting."

    "Just in time."

    Seeing this change, a smile played on Yi Chen''s lips. He feared not the change, but the lack of it.

    It seemed that the evil spirit in the town expended quite the price to befuddle the senses of a master like him and create that strange fog; unable to find Yi Chen''s weak spot, it had finally lashed out in anger.

    No matter what, this was a good development.

    He had originally planned that if he couldn''t find a way out by tomorrow, he would simply dismantle the entire ancient town. He would turn every stone, dig three feet deep to see if the ghostly thing causing the fog could maintain its astonishing abilities without anything to hold onto.

    Boom!

    A loud explosion.

    The gates of the residence were blasted open by a tremendous force.

    A tall shadow strode in.

    It was a corpse, bloated to the size of a giant.

    The corpse was still draped in a daoist robe, now swollen and rotting, with the faint image of a white crane spreading its wings embroidered on it.

    In its hand, the large corpse clutched a dark and huge Wolf Fang Club, covered with dense and vicious barbs.

    "Everyone, step back."

    "The undead monster is ferocious; let me handle this!"

    Just as Yi Chen was about to intervene, Ning Feixue had already arrived with the twin maidens, drawing the Peach Wood Sword from his back and slashing at the giant undead creature.

    In an instant, mana clashed, the undead roared, and man and monster were locked in a fierce battle.

    Yi Chen watched the giant undead with a hesitant expression, feeling that the clothing on the corpse seemed familiar, as if it belonged to someone he once knew.

    And during the giant corpse monster''s roar, a thin red ribbon could be seen peeking out from its throat, seemingly hiding something.

    This discovery couldn''t help but bring a possibility to Yi Chen''s mind, causing him to survey his surroundings in shock, startling himself with his own conjecture.

    If that was really the case, then...

    "Good, thrilling!"

    "Truly thrilling!"

    Ning Feixue, whose martial arts practice was unknown, moved with incredible speed, becoming like a shooting star under the moonlight, fluttering around the giant corpse monster like a butterfly threading through flowers, constantly seeking opportunities to slash, drawing its hate.

    His speed was extreme, while the giant corpse monster''s movements were relatively clumsy, driving it into a continuous rage.

    However, the monster''s skin was coated in a strange yellow grease, tough and thick, making it a match for Ning Feixue, who was equally skilled, engaging in a frenzied battle.

    At this moment, led by Zhang Bukai, the bodyguards from the Wei Yuan Escort Bureau stood grasping their waist sabers behind Yi Chen, unable to get involved in such a battle.

    Zhu Sha and Qing Rou clenched the corners of their clothes tightly in their jade-like hands, excitedly watching the battle, their eyes shaping into Ning Feixue''s form. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Overcome by emotion, the two women couldn''t help but wave their delicate fists and shouted loudly:

    "Go Brother Feixue, you can do it!"

    Especially the younger sister, Qing Rou, who looked frequently towards Yi Chen as she cheered, her taunting expression pronounced.

    Encouraged by the two women, Ning Feixue somehow intensified his mana, his aura growing stronger.

    His speed increased even further.

    The sounds of thumping against the corpse monster sparked showers of sparks, reminiscent of Lin Baihu''s style.

    At that moment, Ning Feixue stood tall and slender, like an exiled immortal, while his Peach Wood Sword exhaled a seven-inch long yang-attribute sword light.

    With each sword strike, he whispered a line of poetry, utterly ostentatious.

    "One laments the talent wasted in idleness."

    "Two laments the brief fates of beauties."

    "Three laments that herring have too many bones."

    "Four laments the scentless begonias."

    "Five laments..."

    There was no fifth lament, Yi Chen could no longer stand by and watch. Ning Master would be scratching at this until when? Yi Chen''s figure suddenly accelerated, stirring up leaves into a dance as he vigorously stepped forward, launching a ferocious stomp towards the giant corpse monster''s chest.

    Crack.

    A grating sound of bone crushing echoed as the chest of the giant corpse monster collapsed as if kicked by a prehistoric mammoth.

    The onlookers, especially the two ladies, Zhu Sha and Qing Rou, were as if they''d seen a ghost; even their cheering stopped abruptly.

    However, this wasn''t the end. After kicking the giant corpse monster away, Yi Chen accelerated again, outpacing expectation. His azure hand, like an eagle''s talon, snatched at the monster''s head, delivering a fiercely powerful knee strike.

    This knee almost knocked the eyeballs out of the corpse monster.

    At this moment, including Ning Feixue, everyone''s mouths were agape, as if they could swallow a duck egg.

    But this still wasn''t the end. Yi Chen''s figure flashed and suddenly appeared above the giant corpse monster, delivering a crushing stomp directly onto its spine from midair.

    Boom!

    With a sound of bones breaking, the monster fell to the ground much faster than it had risen, its entire body embedding into the hard rocky surface.

    Dust and debris flew everywhere, with a web-like spread of cracks radiating from the center of the monster, sending leaves scattering in all directions.

    When the dust eventually settled, the crowd was shocked to see Yi Chen standing with one foot on the back of the giant corpse monster, the broken cross-section of its spine, with bone fragments sticking out.

    How wild, how overwhelmingly powerful!

    In an instant, the terrifying monster that Ning Feixue had not subdued even after a long fight was now motionless.

    "Taoist... Taoist master, you call this a bit of strength?" Ning Feixue said tremblingly, pointing at Yi Chen, his eyes full of disbelief.

 Chapter 119 The Situation Changes Again, The Truth, Rage! A Blue Sun Rises in the Night Sky!

    Yi Chen didn''t pay attention to the change in everyone''s expressions; he had more important things to do at this moment.By now, he had guessed the identity of the enormous corpse creature underfoot.

    That white crane pattern¡­

    If he wasn''t mistaken, it was the Daoist Master Bai He who he had encountered at the Mu Sen Relay Station.

    "Sigh." Yi Chen heaved a silent sigh in his heart and proceeded to remove the lower jawbone of the corpse creature, within which, bound in a red silk ribbon, was indeed a manuscript wrapped in animal skin.

    Just as Yi Chen opened the manuscript and began to browse through it, a sudden change occurred. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Ning Feixue cried out in alarm:

    "Damn it, Qing Rou girl, what are you doing?"

    "Sister, what''s wrong with you?" This was Zhu Sha''s grief-stricken voice.

    Yi Chen looked up to see that, at some point, the originally feeble Qing Rou had taken on a new appearance, with two canine teeth growing sharply, piercing through her lips, her eye sockets darkened, her complexion turned a ghastly hue of green, as she suddenly launched a surprise attack on Ning Feixue.

    Fortunately, Ning Feixue reacted in time and narrowly escaped disaster.

    "Has she been possessed by some evil spirit?"

    "Master Daoist, please lend me a hand to restrain the girl Qing Rou, I have a method we might try."

    "Mystical and profound, heaven and earth¡­"

    Ning Feixue''s voice came to an abrupt halt.

    Because Qing Rou''s head was gone, having retracted into her chest cavity.

    "Master Daoist, why would you kill my sister? She still had a chance."

    "Master Daoist, why have you done this."

    The voices of Zhu Sha and Ning Feixue rose nearly simultaneously.

    "They are already dead! Calm yourself."

    "Daoist Ning, let''s go, let''s meet the master of this place!"

    "You think these tricks could kill me? Not a chance."

    Yi Chen said coldly to Ning Feixue; he was like a silent volcano at that moment, with an unnamed fury brewing in the pit of his stomach.

    "Master Daoist, what are you talking about? What do you mean they are already dead?"

    "And where are we going? What about the others left behind, Zhang Biaotou and Zhu Sha?" Ning Feixue was completely baffled at the moment.

    The things Yi Chen was saying were strange and incomprehensible to him.

    "Are you sure you want to stay with them? They are already people of this place, I reckon they will soon turn into corpses." Yi Chen threw the manuscript beside Ning Feixue.

    In fact, as soon as Yi Chen encountered Zhang Biaotou, he had wondered why, after the incident at Mu Sen Relay Station, Zhang Biaotou dared to still travel as a convoy with only a few of their men?

    And to have transported goods across provinces to this place.

    Not to mention not having a single cultivator accompanying them.

    This couldn''t be explained even if his wife had given birth to four sons.

    You must realize that the world is not a peaceful place right now, it''s not just about humans robbing paths.

    However, Yi Chen did not show his suspicion at that time but suppressed the doubts in his heart and stayed silently on guard.

    Now, when he saw the Daoist robe embroidered with white cranes on the corpse creature tonight, Yi Chen was startled. If the person wasn''t Daoist Master Bai He, then it must be someone from the same sect as Bai He.

    If Zhang Biaotou came to Yao Guan Du with him, what then was Zhang Biaotou now?

    And what about the residents still living in this strange old town?

    All the answers were found in the manuscript hidden in the throat of the corpse creature.

    Daoist Master Bai He, valiant indeed!

    He had recorded his experiences of coming to this ancient town on silk scripts, and before his death, he swallowed the scripts that held the truth, leaving them for those fated to uncover the truth about the town.

    This terrifying town had long been devoid of any living souls, all ordinary townspeople who died at the hands of the evil entity were caught in their own cycles of reincarnation, from the first day of the strange incidents to the end of their lives, repeating endlessly without rest.

    On the day of the cycle''s end, under the moonlit night, they would crazily attack any living person in sight, then return to the rolling river waters, only to walk out the next day and repeat the cycle.

    Truly never surpassing life!

    And it was Bai He who had discovered this fact, and as he himself was being eroded by the evil entity and could no longer hold on, he resolutely recorded all the information onto the silk scripts, and ended his life through self-destruction.

    In the end, he escaped the fate of his soul being enslaved; however, his corpse could not evade the same fate and was turned into a monstrous creature by the evil entity behind the scenes.

    Miserable! Miserable! Miserable!

    Ning Feixue was still somewhat skeptical about the content on the silk scripts, yet at that moment, another anomaly occurred.

    The remaining Zhu Sha, Head Escort Zhang, and the other escorts, one after another, began to experience changes ¨C their canine teeth grotesquely enlarged and punctured through their lips, dark circles formed around their eyes, their skin turned a ghastly blue, and they, in unison, turned their heads towards Yi Chen and Ning Feixue, revealing sinister smiles, which frightened Ning Feixue enough to quickly retreat behind Yi Chen.

    "Head Escort Zhang, I will ensure your belongings and your brothers'' ashes are transported by escort to your family, may you have a safe journey," Yi Chen said with regret.

    Over a dozen dark cyan Inner Qi flame seeds were shot at everyone, and in an instant, the transformed bodies of Head Escort Zhang and the others were engulfed in fierce flames, and shortly after, only a small heap of black ashes remained scattered on the ground.

    Yi Chen took out over a dozen empty boxes originally meant for food and spices from the storage ring, labeled each box with the names of the deceased, and placed their ashes inside.

    Head Escort Zhang was dead.

    He died within this ancient town called Yaoguandu.

    This man, who had a wife that bore him four sons, fell in the journey of life.

    The burly man who weighed over two hundred pounds now, along with the box, weighed little over three pounds.

    In the end, Head Escort Zhang failed to overcome life''s hurdle.

    His brothers, some as young as seventeen or eighteen, and the eldest of the escorts barely past thirty.

    Not long ago, they had amiably introduced themselves to Yi Chen and offered him drinks, calling him "Daoist" with warmth and familiarity, but now they too had fallen upon this land.

    They were all strong men carrying heavy burdens.

    They were, in a way, Yi Chen''s acquaintances.

    Therefore, someone had to pay a price for this.

    Suddenly, a presence far beyond Ning Feixue''s imagination emanated from Yi Chen''s body.

    The intensity of this aura made his heart tremble.

    It was only now that he realized just how powerful, just how grandiose, this tall Daoist master before him truly was.

    And how ludicrous his previous show of strength had been.

    "Come out, you fiend!"

    "Your little tricks are not enough, far from enough. Come out and kill me if you can!!!"

    "Do you like this ancient town? Well then, let me erase it, let me see what kind of phantom you are, and where you are hiding!"

    With each word Yi Chen spoke, he took a step forward, and with each step, his aura grew stronger, deep cyan Inner Qi swirling fiercely around him.

    As he advanced, more and more of the dark cyan Inner Qi surrounded him.

    Finally, under the astonished gaze of Ning Feixue, in the night sky above Yaoguandu, an azure sun slowly began to rise!

    Nothing, no one could halt the progress of this cyan sun; everything blocking Yi Chen''s path was destroyed and burned away.

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    He was determined to plow through this ancient town, determined to destroy this realm of sin!

    The gloomy winds above the town grew fiercer, howling angrily, but they could not extinguish the cyan sun.

    From the distant banks of the Wujiang River, amid the increasingly turbulent splashes, one towering corpse after another lined up to emerge from the river.

 Chapter 120 Causes, Consequences, The Old Official, The Corpse Monster Splits in Two

    Nearly twenty days ago, at noon.Yao Guan Crossing, by the banks of the Wujang River, the sound of gongs and drums filled the air, creating quite a lively atmosphere.

    Today was the annual boat race at Yao Guan Crossing, and it was also a significant day for honoring the ancestors who had come to this land.

    Many sturdy youths, shirtless, were seated in boats, ready to spring into action, while on the riverbank, numerous young women and wives, adorned with rouge and powdered faces, wearing waist drums, cheered on the strong men.

    "Elder leader, you''re of considerable age now, yet you still compete with us young blokes," Gou Wazi joked with the elder leader as he warmed up by the riverbank. "How about we find you a wife so you can go home and retire."

    "Get lost, Gou Wazi, you can''t spit anything good out of that dog mouth of yours. Just make sure you row your boat well and don''t lose to this old coot," the elder leader replied irritably.

    Although his hair was white with age, he was still spry and energetically greeted everyone.

    The elder leader had long since lost his family, or rather, every person in Yao Guan Crossing was his family; he had dedicated his life to the town.

    He had braved death to bring back the "Gecko Climbing Dragon Technique" from the outside world, and over the years, he had painstakingly studied the cultivation techniques of some common medicinal herbs, achieving great success, all of which he unreservedly taught to the villagers.

    Thanks to his dedication, the rate of injury during herb gathering decreased, the quality of herbs gathered increased, and the income soared. Within a hundred miles, the mention of Yao Guan Crossing would earn a thumbs up, and many women from other places were willing to marry into their town.

    Watching the town develop and grow strong step by step was the elder leader''s lifelong wish.

    He had achieved it.

    But he had also aged and was no longer able to work.

    Today was his last time participating in the ancestral boat race. After the competition was over, he would announce that he was passing the position of chief to his capable disciple, the former leader''s son, Guan Daniu.

    Guan Daniu was respected, capable, and ambitious in the town. It seemed he would take the town to a new level.

    There is always a new generation of talented people to take over; it was time for this old coffin to step down. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This race would be the elder leader''s final battle, marking the end of his tenure as the chief. He took it very seriously and had arrived early at the shore to prepare.

    The elder leader could have never imagined that he would die today, assassinated by his own people.

    His own villagers, whom he had dedicated most of his life to, could be so ruthless.

    The river breeze was gentle, but as the drumbeat on the shore sounded, it suddenly turned into a fierce competition, with everyone rowing frantically towards the river center three hundred meters away.

    The elder leader exerted all his strength, but due to his old age and waning energy, he fell behind. However, just then, an unexpected change occurred.

    Without any warning, a sudden demon wind kicked up on the river surface, so fierce and unpredictable that it was hard to even maintain the boat''s course.

    Such strange occurrences could only mean one thing: demons were at work.

    The elder leader''s expression changed dramatically, and he quickly called for the villagers to retreat.

    At the elder leader''s urgent call, everyone began to panic and turned to head back to the shore.

    But then, another unexpected event happened.

    Suddenly someone on the shore yelled out, "Everyone run! A whirlpool has appeared below, a huge whirlpool, and it''s getting bigger. Be careful!"

    On hearing this, the elder leader looked and was struck with horror. An enormous whirlpool had appeared downstream on the river, growing larger by the moment.

    At the center of the whirlpool, it seemed as if a monster lurked, eager to devour anyone in its path.

    "Run! Everyone head for the shore! Don''t panic! Manage your Inner Qi and strength!" While commanding everyone to escape, the elder leader, undaunted by his already limited Inner Qi, helped those who were rowing slower due to lack of strength by expertly pushing their boats from behind to accelerate their escape.

    Under the elder leader''s command, the chaos began to stabilize, but it was then that he noticed his own boat was leaking.

    This discovery chilled him, but he then reassured himself.

    There was no need to panic; his fellow villagers were close by. He could just catch a lift on any passing boat.

    However, what happened next plunged the elder leader into despair.

    "Dazhuang, stop for a moment, my boat is leaking. Give me a ride," the elder leader called out as someone rowed past him.

    Contrary to his wishes, the passing boat hesitated upon hearing the elder leader, then sped away even faster.

    The elder leader could swear that Dazhuang had heard his cries for help. A moment of disappointment washed over him but was swiftly quashed.

    Dazhuang had three sons at home; it wasn''t his fault, it wasn''t his fault. There were still other villagers.

    "Erzhu, my boat is leaking. Give me a ride," the elder leader shouted as another boat rushed past him.

    Soon, the light in the elder leader''s eyes faded.

    People came and went; more than a dozen boats had passed, but everyone hesitated briefly before rowing away vigorously.

    The elder leader couldn''t understand why they were doing this.

    Among those who had passed, many had learned their inner skills directly from him, many owed him favors, some even owed their lives.

    But everyone ignored his pleas for help.

    This filled the elder leader''s heart with a cold dread; he could no longer deceive himself. His boat was sinking fast.

    He no longer had the strength or Inner Qi to swim to the shore. He needed to save himself.

    The elder leader dove into the water and swam to the nearest boat, clinging to its edge.

    "Tie Niu, my boat..."

    Before the elder leader could finish, Tie Niu, with a ferocious look, swung the oar down hard, striking the elder leader on the head, knocking him into the water.

    The oar, made of tough ironwood, was so heavy and forceful that it struck the elder leader, causing stars to burst in front of his eyes and blood to stream down.

    At the juncture of life and death, the dark depths of human nature were fully revealed.

    Everyone''s choice was to look out for themselves, pleading for the old clan leader to face death.

    Blood flowed down the forehead of the old chief and was soon washed away by the icy river water.

    However, at this moment the old chief hadn''t given up, he still had a chance.

    There were still people behind him.

    Once again he swam and clawed his way to the edge of a sampan.

    Crack!

    This time, before the old chief could speak, another heavy blow struck him.

    After two or three such cycles, the old chief''s head was swollen, covered with large lumps and gashes, and now, driven by the instinct to survive, he clawed his way onto Doggie''s sampan.

    By now, the old chief''s consciousness was becoming blurred, the bones of his left hand fingers were faintly visible, not knowing who behind him had struck him, nor could he remember anymore.

    "Doggie..." the old chief said weakly.

    "Old clan leader, I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I''m only eighteen, I don''t want to die, my Inner Qi cultivation has only just reached the primary stage, I don''t have enough strength, if I take you with me, we will both die."

    "That''s right, Guan Daniu is right behind, he paddled the quickest earlier, go to him, Guan Daniu''s Gecko Swims Through Dragon technique has already reached full mastery, he can definitely take you ashore," Doggie said while wiping his tears and strenuously prying the old chief''s hand loose.

    Once again, the old chief fell into the icy river.

    By now, his heart, after repeatedly experiencing disappointment and betrayal, had grown even colder than the bone-piercing river water.

    However, this time the old chief heard that his beloved disciple Guan Daniu was still at the back, he still had a chance.

    He strained to open a slit in his unswollen right eye, prying open his swollen eyelids to take one more glance at his departing clansmen, at the brutally hot sun that was blood-red, reflecting rippling waves on the river''s surface, and at the colorful world around him.

    He summoned his last bit of strength to claw his way to his favored disciple Guan Daniu''s boat''s edge.

    Guan Daniu''s somber voice came through.

    "Master, you look like a dog now."

    "Where is the majesty you had when you stole my father''s position as clan leader?"

    "If we weren''t in the middle of the river now, I would hang your ass from the rafters."

    "To be old and not die is to be a thief, master."

    "Oh right, master, do you know why your boat was leaking water? It was my doing, master, I only wanted you to be embarrassed, never thought today would be a perfect opportunity, haha."

    Guan Daniu''s sullen face loomed before the old chief''s, as he lifted the wooden paddle made of ironwood. He meant to directly chop off the old chief''s hands clawing at the boat''s edge, turning them into something akin to Doraemon''s stubs, but his inevitable heavy strike missed.

    The old chief had long been resigned to his fate, had already let go of his grip voluntarily, and closed his eyes.

    He stopped struggling and let himself be pushed by the icy river water towards the whirlpool.

    The last glimmer of light in his eyes also extinguished.

    The colorful world suddenly turned to black and white, and finally plunged into an endless darkness, silent and cold.

    Forever fallen into the abyss.

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    That day, the river waves were vicious and swallowed the old clan leader.

    In the depths of the whirlpool, a blood-colored token fluctuated, merging with the old chief.

    An evil and tempting voice rose from the bottom of the old chief''s heart.

    "Do you desire power?"

    "Do you want to take revenge on those who betrayed you?"

    "Surrender your soul, do not resist, merge completely with me~"

    "Kill! Kill! Kill!

    "Kill to disturb the realm of the dead, a ghastly horror that shakes the netherworld!"

    "Blood creates waves that span thousands of miles, corpses amass to form mountains of bones!"

    "Ten steps to kill one man, the heart ceases yet the hand does not rest!"

    "See them alive, wish them dead, hear their voice, snatch their life!"

    "Since ancient times, benevolence and morality only harm people, truth in righteousness has never existed!"

    ...

    "I am willing!" the old chief''s face revealed a sinister and ferocious smile, he opened his arms to embrace the blood-colored token, and abruptly, his body was covered with black hairs sharp as steel needles.

    ...

    ...

    Under the bright moon, the Wu River cold, one after another, undead monsters emerged from the water, swiftly rushing towards the distant ancient town.

    They numbered in dense masses, easily a thousand in count, comprising men, women, the elderly, and children alike.

    Strangely, upon entering the ancient town, the tide of corpses split in two, half rushing towards the houses ignited by Yi Chen, seemingly trying to protect their homeland, the other half surrounding Yi Chen as if wishing to kill him for a quick release.

 Chapter 121 Fierce Battle, the Giant Corpse.

    "Good!""Good!"

    "Good!"

    "You seem angry."

    "Can''t you take it?"

    Yi Chen''s expression was ice-cold as he rampaged through the ancient town like a bulldozer.

    Blazing like a cyan sun, he illuminated half of the ancient town. Anything in his path, be it courtyard walls or big trees, faced the wrath of his powerful punches.

    For a time, he plowed through the land, creating long, narrow trenches everywhere, leaving it scarred.

    Wherever he went, fierce fires ignited, and walls crumbled and houses collapsed.

    The glow of the fire lit up the entire town.

    "Taoist master, my lord, please slow down, slow down. Don''t tear it down," someone begged.

    "That evil spirit has been agitated by you to the brink of madness."

    "So many, so many zombies are rushing toward us."

    At this point, Ning Feixue had lost his previous noble son demeanor; his hair was disheveled, and his expression panicked.

    He had just extricated himself from the shocking truth that within this ancient town not a single living person remained, and both Zhu Sha and Qing Rou had been corpses controlled by the evil spirit in an endless cycle of reincarnations,

    only to plunge into another terror immediately afterward.

    Too fierce, the Taoist to the side was simply too ferocious.

    Without a word, he turned on demolition mode.

    The evil spirit was formidable.

    Without a word, it unleashed its troops.

    Zombies surged like a tide, emerging from the Wujang River, rushing toward them.

    Looking at their momentum, although they were less formidable than the previous gigantic zombie, and he could take on ten at a time, the numbers were still overwhelming.

    At least several hundreds of them.

    Both sides were mighty, and his small frame, Ning Feixue, how could he endure it.

    Seeing Ning Feixue, who looked like he was about to cry, Yi Chen was also rendered speechless, only trying his best to make him dodge behind himself.

    Facing the roaring tide of zombies, Yi Chen showed no hint of fear; instead, his face unexpectedly revealed a hint of excitement.

    Bring it on!

    Just what I needed for a good fight!

    A true fierce Taoist never fears being outnumbered.

    Only ants move in packs!

    A fierce tiger dominates the forest alone!

    Yi Chen''s fighting spirit soared instantly.

    He slapped his chest, uttering a powerful True Yang roar, and suddenly a wild wind rose from the ground, blowing his and Ning Feixue''s robes violently.

    Yi Chen''s figure swelled as endless Inner Qi spread out from all over his body.

    The cyan-colored, glazed full body armor reappeared.

    A towering cyan figure reflected in Ning Feixue''s pupils.

    He never would have guessed that the display before was not the limit of Taoist Yi Chengzi.

    The dazzling Pure Yang brilliance dwarfed the seven-inch long Yang-attribute Mana he had struggled to produce; it was like comparing the light of a firefly to the brilliance of the bright moon.

    Yi Chen moved as if walking on the moon, his hands urging deep cyan Pure Yang Inner Qi, his punches powerful like dragons, two thick streams of deep cyan Sword Qi directly pushing toward the oncoming zombie tide.

    No fancy shapes made of Sword Qi, only the simplest and most direct form of violent aesthetics.

    Only the strongest power and speed, the fiercest fluctuations of the Pure Yang.

    With the penetration effect of the Strength-Breaking Realm, the two massive streams of Qi blasted out a path of blood and fire.

    The ground was littered with the remains of zombies and severed limbs.

    Since the breakthrough of the True Pure Yang Skill, Yi Chen''s True Yang dominance had improved, becoming even more fierce.

    The zombies, like flooding waters, appeared to have some intelligence; after one blow, they scattered in a fan-shaped formation to continue rushing towards Yi Chen.

    Since the zombies no longer maintained a dense formation, Yi Chen couldn''t continue to waste Inner Qi so recklessly and started to fight by combining physical strength with Inner Qi.

    After all, the two bursts of Inner Qi he had ignited earlier were not trivial for him, almost like small missiles.

    That was too crazy.

    Pretty moderate, though.

    A few dozen more such attacks, and his excess energy would start running low.

    Missiles against ants, not worthwhile.

    To conserve strength, Yi Chen took out the rarely used Dragon-Slaying Sword from his storage ring.

    To the current Yi Chen, the Dragon-Slaying Sword was not really effective at equal-level collisions anymore, but for slaughtering the weak, it was a good tool that could save him some strength.

    In an instant, the Sword Qi roared, body parts flew, and black blood rained, which was then evaporated by a shake of Yi Chen''s protective Pure Yang Inner Qi.

    However, Yi Chen discovered an intriguing phenomenon; the evil spirit behind it all seemed to cherish the ancient town greatly, diverting half of the zombie swarm not to attack him first but to put out the fires instead.

    This surprised him.

    With such a concern for the ancient town and the cruel enslavement of the townspeople, the evil spirit''s behavior was quite interesting.

    Could it be that the town was crucial to the evil spirit, the foundation of its power?

    Or did it have special feelings for the ancient town?

    At this moment, observing all that unfolded,

    Ning Feixue''s expression had gone from initial panic and fear to shock, and then transformed into excitement and adoration!

    Unknowingly, Yi Chen had gained himself a young admirer.

    Ning Feixue followed behind Yi Chen, responsible for delivering ruthless blows to the carcasses that, though split open, still struggled to crawl up and bite.

    As time passed, his cooperation with Yi Chen became more tacit, and together they slaughtered haphazardly.

    From the east of the town to the west, from the south to the north.

    Just as Ning Feixue was getting into the swing of the carnage, Yi Chen suddenly stopped.

    He said to Ning Feixue sternly, "Daoist Ning, better hide behind. I might not be able to look out for you later."

    Before Ning Feixue could ask why, he closed his mouth and quickly swept towards the back.

    Heeding advice prevents misfortune.

    As Yi Chen''s words fell, on the distant banks of the Wujiang River, the waters suddenly parted a few hundred yards from the shore, revealing the riverbed and the dark silt deposited at the bottom.

    A shadowy black mass in the silt writhed violently, twisting and rising to its feet.

    An enormous creature, three meters tall and covered in needle-like black fur, emerged from the riverbed.

    Embedded obliquely at the center of its chest was a sinister blood-colored token.

    This token was somewhat different from the one Yi Chen had seen earlier in Yangjiaowu Fort¡ªnot only was it larger, but the patterns on it were also different.

    "Just as I expected, it''s this damn thing causing trouble again," murmured Yi Chen to himself.

    Each time he saw this blood-colored token, he was exceptionally shocked.

    He wondered what kind of formidable power this token held; it could not only turn an ordinary person into an expert in a very short period, but it also had the ability to create creatures more bizarre and terrifying than the last.

    And this was only the first wave. In just a short span of twenty days without anyone noticing, this accursed thing had grown powerful enough to momentarily confuse and entrap him, a True Person. With such abnormal and deviant abilities, given more time, what else might it achieve? Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    And if there were a second wave, a third, a fourth?

    Would not the entire world be engulfed in warfare and covered in scars?

    And what if... the true mastermind behind the scattering of these blood-colored tokens were to appear in this world?

    Gazing at the blood-colored token, Yi Chen''s mind wandered, contemplating many possibilities.

    Meanwhile, circles of light radiated in his sea of consciousness, defending against unknown erosion and corruption.

    This was the first time his Spirit-Breaking Realm''s unique ability to fortify his mind had activated since his breakthrough, which startled him; he dared not focus on the blood patterns of the token too intently. Only then did the light in his sea of consciousness dissipate.

    At that moment, the fur-covered monster took a step forward.

    It uttered a shriek unlike any human noise, and suddenly, all the filth and animal carcasses that had settled at the bottom of the river for countless years rushed towards it.

    It acted like a black hole, absorbing all the surrounding impurities, growing taller and bigger continually.

    By the time it reached the riverbank, the waters behind it had already surged back together, no longer divided.

    Now, the giant beast covered in fur was no longer discernible in its original form; it was enveloped in countless carcasses and filth, becoming a ten-meter-tall colossus of cadavers.

    It was surrounded by boundless death energy and resentment.

    Yi Chen couldn''t imagine how this monster had managed to accumulate such an astonishing amount of negative emotions.

    "Roar!"

    The undead giant raised its head and let out a piercing roar as it took long strides toward Yi Chen. The ground trembled with its approach, and as it neared, wisps and tufts of black air continued to seep from the flesh and blood of the corpses that Yi Chen had smashed in the ancient town, merging into the giant.

    With this added strength, the aura of the undead giant grew even more formidable, and its form more solid.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen''s expression turned icy, and he instantly entered a state of mind as serene as glacial ice, unshakable even if the heavens fell. Rings of clear light rippled in his sea of consciousness, resisting the waves of psychic assault unintentionally emitted by the undead giant.

    If it weren''t for Yi Chen''s timely warning, allowing Ning Feixue to retreat in time, with his level of cultivation, he wouldn''t even be qualified to stand at the foot of the undead giant.

    Fortunately, the man proved to be obedient, hiding far away with Little Miao, and by doing so, he was able to suppress the boiling horror and demonic thoughts within him.

    From afar, worry couldn''t help but manifest in Ning Feixue''s eyes at the sight.

    This undead giant was so powerful; how would Yi Chen deal with it?

    At that moment, his chances of winning seemed slim.

    However, the worry in his eyes quickly dissipated a fraction.

    Suddenly, a three-meter-tall Daoist apparition appeared on the distant horizon.

    Equally majestic and overwhelmingly powerful, even standing opposite the undead giant, at three meters against ten, it did not falter in the slightest.

    The Daoist stretched out his hand, and the light of the world, as if responding to some command, surged into his body. Even the night sky dimmed slightly. Within a ten-meter radius centered on the Daoist, the ground sank three feet, as if unable to bear this formidable presence.

    Though this scene might seem complex, it all transpired in an extremely short span of time. The two giant figures collided on the horizon without delay.

    Bang!

    An explosive burst of energy erupted, scattering in all directions, whipping up gales, and the large trees nearby, as thick as bowls, were directly snapped by the force of the blast.

    The intense collision exploded with boundless airflow, sweeping up gravel, flinging large swathes of soil around.

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    In that instant, two terrifying forces made contact, neutralized, and clashed against each other.

    Such violent combat was not a single exchange but countless exchanges in just a moment.

    Collision! Collision! Collision!

    The deep azure, tall Daoist apparition''s ethereal giant fist met the undead giant''s massive palm.

    The bright and burning deep azure Pure Yang Inner Qi met the pitch-black, silent energy of death and resentment.

    All sorts of collisions occurred in just an instant, the sounds merging together into an invisible sonic wave, vibrating and spreading out.

    For a moment, the energy was like raging waves, creating layers upon layers, and Yi Chen''s hair bun was undone by this air wave, his ink-black hair cascading over his shoulders.

    The undead giant, not bad!

    In an instant, Yi Chen added the two Origin Points he had accumulated over the past five days of travel to his physical attributes.

    Having fought until now, it was time to give himself a boost.

    A warm current suddenly emerged, sweeping through his entire body. With this extraordinary support, Yi Chen''s previously weakening aura revitalized, and a round of azure sun slowly rose within his eyes.

 Chapter 122 The Giant Weeps Blood, Yang Ji ? The Four Symbols, Finale

    "Good, that''s exhilarating.""Battle is indeed the best teacher, I feel Yang Ji''s technique is just one step away from materializing into four phantoms."

    "Continue."

    Yi Chen''s fists collided, creating a ring of sonic booms, and then he once again rushed towards the giant corpse monster with a fierce smile.

    Fighting to this point had already become a do-or-die situation.

    The corpse giant wanted to kill Yi Chen quickly, but Yi Chen was likewise coveting the Deep Red Points contained in the blood-red token on the giant''s chest.

    Under the starry sky, the two giants entangled in combat once again.

    It was another series of dangerous and fierce battles.

    The pitch-black, deathly aura of resentment clashed and annihilated with the deep aqua Pure Yang Inner Qi in the night sky.

    Before long, the azure glaze armor covering Yi Chen was riddled with spiderweb-like cracks, and the terrifying deathly aura of resentment surrounding the corpse giant had also thinned considerably.

    The various strange corpses attached to its body were shattered and scraped away by Yi Chen, exposing the furry creature''s true form.

    The strength and tenacity of the corpse giant were beyond Yi Chen''s expectations.

    However, this only made his fighting spirit surge even more.

    Since he had the Soul Ignition Technique as a fallback, he might as well use it as a whetstone to perfect his Yang Ji technique.

    Just at that moment, the furry creature suddenly shook its shoulders, its body trembling violently.

    Its eyes, like light bulbs, alternated between a blood-red madness and a profound pain, as if there was a second will inside its body fighting for control.

    "Is it the problem with its body that I''ve stripped away ninety percent of its deathly aura of resentment?"

    "Or is it the distorted primal will trying to resurrect and seize control?"

    A guess suddenly emerged in Yi Chen''s mind, bringing a surge of ecstasy to his heart.

    On the battlefield, there''s no need for fair play!

    You must strike when your enemy is sick and take their life.

    Yi Chen once again channeled the True Pure Yang Skill, absorbing and transforming the surrounding moonlight, and attacked the furry creature. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Another series of energy surged through the air.

    As the deep aqua Pure Yang Inner Qi collided and annihilated once more with the deathly aura of resentment from the furry creature, the struggle in its eyes intensified, and the time that the blood-red light appeared in its pupils grew shorter.

    Under Yi Chen''s relentless assault, and through the effects of the penetrating ability that had manifested after the first Strength-Breaking Realm, the furry creature was now tattered and torn.

    The needle-like hairs all over its body had been knocked off, revealing the yellow skin hidden underneath.

    Meanwhile, Yi Chen''s mind was shedding the superfluous and evolving, growing more refined with each collision.

    His punching strength became more concentrated, and his comprehension of the principles behind Yang Ji''s technique deepened.

    Suddenly, a sound like shattering glass echoed in his mind.

    All kinds of insights flooded in, merging into one.

    In the night sky, four tall Daoist phantoms suddenly appeared and attacked the furry creature in unison.

    Each one used a different technique, whether fists, legs, palms, or fingers.

    The techniques varied, but the underlying principles behind each were interconnected.

    "Yang Ji ¡¤ Four Symbols!"

    Almost at the same instant, the four tall Daoists landed their ultimate moves on the furry creature.

    This was Yi Chen''s latest insight, unleashing in a very short time a formidable move that seemed as if four versions of himself were striking simultaneously.

    Under the effect of Yang Ji ¡¤ Four Symbols, the body of the furry creature suddenly split open and collapsed.

    At the same time, the madness in the furry creature''s eyes disappeared completely, replaced by a lucidity.

    With a mix of complex emotions, it let out a painful roar towards the old town, like a cuckoo crying blood, then fell backward with a thunderous crash.

    The black fur on its body also suddenly turned into a stream of black smoke and dissipated into the air.

    The true face of the furry creature was revealed.

    It was a hunchbacked old man with a bruised and swollen face.

    Yi Chen reached out and plucked the blood-red token from the old man''s chest.

    A familiar scene unfolded once again.

    Countless fragments of memory flooded toward him.

    He saw an old man called Old Guan Head, a life shattered to pieces.

    A familiar yet chilling current also surged into his body simultaneously.

    And then, in an instant, the blood-red token in Yi Chen''s hand trembled strangely and vanished without a trace.

    What remained for Yi Chen were only five hundred Deep Red Points and the fragmented memories of Old Guan Head, proving that the mysterious blood-colored token had once appeared.

    Flipping through the fragments of these memories, Yi Chen couldn''t help but fall silent.

    Only a sigh of regret, light as a feather.

    Many things in this world are indeed hard to articulate.

    The old man in the memory fragments had the surname Guan.

    As a young man, he traveled and was thrown down a cliff by bandits, narrowly escaping death nine times. At the bottom of the cliff, he found a dead white ape in a cave and discovered a third-rate martial arts Cultivation Technique titled "Gecko Roams the Dragon Skill" underneath the skin membrane of the ape''s abdominal wound.

    He was fortunate enough to learn it, made small achievements, entered Jianghu, married a lovely spouse, embarked on a spirited youth''s journey, and then, during an attempt to stand up against injustice, he ended up sacrificing the lives of his wife and children.

    Heartbroken and dispirited, he returned to Yao Guan Du, taught his clan members the Cultivation Technique, devoted himself to studying and cultivating medicinal herbs, never married in his whole life, and was later elected as the clan leader due to his reputation.

    In the end, at the moment of his intended retirement, he was abandoned by his clan members, backstabbed by his favorite disciples, and eventually, under the bewitchment of the blood-colored token, became the eternal nightmare hovering over Yao Guan Du.

    Perhaps everyone who abandoned the old clan leader thought they could just push him further, assuming there would always be someone else after them.

    Human nature is dark, and it''s typical to be self-concerned at critical moments.

    Great kindness often turns into deep resentment.

    Facing the ghost of the old clan leader, unable to confront their own hearts, many chose as their first option to exorcize the demon under the orchestration of Guan Daniu, to eradicate the old clan leader.

    Thus, the old clan leader personally killed everyone in Yao Guan Du.

    He imprisoned the souls of those who had betrayed him within the old town, forcing them to relive their last moments before death, day after day.

    Yet this same old man driven by insane vengeance, instinctively protected the town as Yi Chen wreaked havoc in Yao Guan Du.

    Perhaps he loved this land, yet he also hated it.

    Although it''s quite possible that the actions of the folks of Yao Guan Du were influenced by that peculiar token, amplifying the dark side of human nature, it''s clear that there was not one amongst them who was as purely driven by loyalty and righteousness as the old clan leader.

    Together, a group of people conspired and directed this tragedy.

    At this moment, Yi Chen''s heart was filled with sighs, lacking the joy that comes from the acquisition of Deep Red Points after defeating a boss.

    He sighed for the old man.

    The deeds of the private are momentary, while the deeds of the public last forever.

    Yi Chen never had such noble sentiments.

    Therefore, he could not understand the old man''s actions.

    For example, during disaster, he actually dragged his frail body, consuming his already scarce Inner Qi, to help others escape...

    Although people cannot truly empathize with each other, they can still show respect for one another.

    Yi Chen respected such a person.

    A person who shone with the light of humanity.

    "Old Clan Leader, sometimes people shouldn''t live too hard, be a bit more selfish, and then help others within what''s manageable."

    "Give up the obsession of helping others, respect their destinies, for how can a man of worth put his fate in the hands of another."

    "Fools have fool''s luck, idiots do not."

    "To spare the foolish is to spare yourself."

    With a flick of his fingers, Yi Chen ignited a blue flame and let it fall upon the body of the old clan leader, cremating him to ashes.

    Yi Chen scattered the old clan leader''s ashes all around the town.

    Let him rest in peace with the town to which he had devoted half his life.

    At least for now...

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    Suddenly, the call of a cat pulled Yi Chen''s thoughts back to reality.

    Little Miao came over, carrying a sandalwood box in her mouth, and opened it.

    It was two ginseng roots, each with hundreds of years of growth.

    The spiritual energy above them rippled, and one of them even faintly showed the face of a person, obviously a top-quality spiritual material.

    "Miao Zi, not bad, you''ve finally found your shining point. Your nose is even better than a dog''s," Yi Chen said joyfully. The great battle had nearly depleted all the energy he had stored beyond his capacity, and he had been suppressing the gnawing hunger in his body with his willpower.

    He had even considered going to fish in the Wu Jiang...

    This spiritual material was just what he needed at the moment.

    Without regard for waste, Yi Chen took the ginseng and bit into it immediately.

 Chapter 123 A Journey, A Plot, The Dragon And Tiger Embrace The Great True Qi.

    The surging medicinal power in the old ginseng was instantly transformed into pure energy and digested as he swallowed.It was like munching on a giant radish, and with two pieces of old ginseng down his throat, Yi Chen''s energetic heart got a bit more support, the intense hunger washed away like a tide, and his somewhat weary spirit was also involuntarily lifted.

    Indeed, the old ginseng was a fine spiritual herb, still potent when consumed raw. If combined with other auxiliary herbs and refined into pills by a pill master, the effects could be even better.

    Yi Chen wasn''t surprised to find such spiritual herbs in the ancient town because he had seen these two herbs in the fragments of the old chieftain''s memories. Experience new tales on empire

    What did surprise him was that his endearing pet had such a talent, capable of finding the two pieces of old ginseng in the town, which pleasantly surprised Yi Chen.

    Who would have thought that besides flirting, Miao Zi had such a talent for finding herbs, which wasn''t inferior to a Treasure-seeking Rat''s.

    Having read plenty of history and following the principle of "if something works, use it to death," Yi Chen instructed Little Miao to notify him if it sensed any treasures on their journey. That would make it his good boy.

    Encouraged by Yi Chen, Little Miao puffed out its chest and responded with eager mews, full of drive and looking very proud.

    The young creature didn''t yet understand the treacherous nature of the adult world, nor what "empty promises" or "lip service" meant.

    Ning Feixue slowly approached, with a restrained expression that lacked her usual carefree demeanor. She watched Yi Chen, who seemed to breathe in and fade out, absorbing the surrounding light, and speculated internally about the nature of his Daoist technique, something she had never heard of.

    However, prying into the details of someone else''s Cultivation Technique is a major taboo, a rule he understood well. Suppressing her curiosity, she cautiously asked,

    "Daoist, what do we do now?"

    As she spoke, Ning Feixue glanced back at the current state of Yaoguan Pass, where her heart felt a twinge.

    The ancient town, after suffering destruction from Yi Chen and the aftermath of his battle with the skeletal giant, had mostly collapsed, leaving ruins and deep ravines in some areas.

    It was as if a delicate maiden was seized by a vile general, who then ordered hundreds of his soldiers to queue up outside her cell; a dismal scene indeed.

    "What to do?" Yi Chen stroked his smooth chin, looking around at the many large trees in the surrounding woods, and quickly had an idea.

    Dawn broke with a faint light.

    On the mountain path, Yi Chen and Ning Feixue gazed down at the ancient town below.

    From the path, the distant Yaoguan Pass was now entirely surrounded by Yi Chen with tree trunks, having felled numerous large trees from several nearby mountainsides.

    He also personally smashed a large rock to create a stele, using his finger as a pen to briefly record the causes and effects of the incident at Yaoguan Pass.

    "Hmm, not bad. Add a line that says ''Let the posterity lament but not learn from it, so as not to have future generations also lament over them,'' perfect."

    Yi Chen was satisfied with his work, carrying the huge stele into the air and tossing it a hundred meters in front of the ancient town; thus, a stele entitled "Record of Yaoguan''s Crossing" stood upon the earth.

    Time is the greatest judge; right and wrong, achievements and faults, are left for posterity to comment on.

    "Daoist, you wrote the character for ''coffin'' wrong," Ning Feixue pointed out.

    "Ah? Don''t worry about the small details. There''s not a single living person left in this ancient town, and it''s enclosed by wooden barriers erected by this Daoist. It makes sense to call it Yaoguan''s Coffin," replied the Daoist, his argument lacking in logic but full of bluster.

    With a deep glance at the white-clad, gentle-looking young master before him, he said amiably, "What do you think, Ning Daoist friend?"

    Scanned by Yi Chen''s gaze, Ning Feixue felt as if she were the target of an ancient ferocious beast, her heart tightening. She resolutely chose to agree with him: "I think the Daoist is right; it should be so!"

    Both individuals peered silently at the ancient town in the distance, but Ning Feixue couldn''t help asking, "Daoist, why did you go to such lengths to encircle this ancient town and warn others not to stray into it?"

    Yi Chen did not speak, but merely pointed toward the front.

    Ning Feixue followed the direction indicated by Yi Chen''s finger and suddenly felt fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

    Under the sky''s light, a white mist rose anew, quickly spreading until it halted right before the stele where Yi Chen stood. The ancient town had come alive again.

    As far as the eye could see, figures flickered. Numerous undead creatures were bustling about the ancient town once more, driven by some mysterious will, shifting stones as they rebuilt their homes.

    "Daoist, this¡­." Ning Feixue faltered.

    "The world has changed, a blood-red meteor shot across the sky, and these creatures can never truly be killed. After a while, they just change their appearance and start all over again," Yi Chen said indifferently, with the tone of someone who had seen it all before.

    Ning Feixue''s scalp tingled, "Then what should I do to save myself if I encounter such a situation in the future? Do you have any good advice, Daoist?"

    Yi Chen smiled at this.

    "One should hate that the talented lack moral integrity."

    "Hate that the begonias have no scent." sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "That way, at least you die with a bit more dignity."

    Ning Feixue: "¡­.."

    After teasing Ning Feixue, Yi Chen also became serious and said to her, "This is only the second time I have encountered such an event."

    "From my experience, especially when you are outdoors in deserted places and encounter bizarre and extremely dangerous sights, remember, first, do not trust your eyes too much."

    "Second, if you can escape early, then do so. If you can''t run, try to stay low. These ghostly things have certain patterns at the beginning. Some are triggered by eye contact, this time it was by falling asleep and entering dreams. The patterns vary, and you must observe carefully."

    "Maybe in the future, you could fall into a trap through contaminated water, sounds, or smelling a certain scent¡­ it''s all possible¡­"

    "Of course, the most useful thing is still to improve your cultivation. For instance, with the recent strangeness in the ancient town, only high-level cultivators at the True Person Realm could break the situation. Whether there will be places in the future that can entrap cultivators at the True Person Realm or even the True Monarch Realm, remains unknown."

    "Ning, there isn''t much time. Focus on your cultivation and get stronger as soon as you can."

    After patting Ning Feixue''s shoulder, Yi Chen turned and, with Little Miao, left in the direction of Wujang Prefecture.

    Ning Feixue might have liked to stand out, but when faced with the giant undead creature into which Daoist Baihe had transformed, he was the first to step forward; his character was not bad, which is why Yi Chen took the time to give him a few more pointers.

    In the absence of conflicting interests, the Daoist was quite willing to help those he took a liking to.

    "Thank you for your guidance, Daoist," Ning Feixue deeply bowed to the receding figure of Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen, upon hearing this, did not look back, but simply waved his hand casually to acknowledge, a tall Daoist continuing his journey under the morning sun.

    Some words, he did not only say to Ning Feixue but also to himself.

    Didn''t he too need to diligently cultivate?

    For instance, setting a small goal for himself, such as during his upcoming visit to Dragon Tiger Mountain, he had no interest in the Dao Sect''s sacred cultivation techniques like "Taiyi Dragon Tiger Supreme Seal Divine Method."

    But he was very much interested in "Dragon Tiger Embracing the Elixir Great True Qi," which was a simplified version derived from the "Taiyi Dragon Tiger Supreme Seal Divine Method."

 Chapter 124 New Ideas, Wujang Prefecture, Yi Taoists Ambition.

    The Minor Pure Yang Skill, which evolved from the "Supreme Spiritual Pure Yang Root-Source Taoist Scripture," was certainly ambitiously conceived. However, after Yi Chen pushed it to the ninth layer of True Pure Yang Skill, he was already vaguely aware of the existence of a ceiling.The tenth layer of True Pure Yang Skill required 3,600 Deep Red Points.

    Moving beyond that, it was still unknown how many Deep Red Points would be needed to fill this massive pit.

    Therefore.

    Confronted with new circumstances and new tasks, one must adopt a new perspective and new measures. Explore more adventures at empire

    .....

    New methods, new results, new heights, new momentum, new vitality (one hundred words omitted here...).

    It''s necessary to develop a new playstyle.

    In light of the current situation, where extrapolating the True Pure Yang Skill requires an exorbitant amount of Deep Red Points, clashing head-on is no longer cost-effective.

    Thus, Yi Chen had already decided to exert effort in the blue-ocean market and carve out a completely new track.

    Through qualitative and quantitative supplementary output, cultivate an entirely new business landscape.

    Find a handle in niche areas and achieve ecosystem nourishment through refined operations.

    Seek new growth points amidst the huge expenses.

    Putting it in human terms, this means:

    The cost-performance ratio of clashing with the True Pure Yang Skill isn''t cutting it anymore. To clash up to the realm of a True Monarch in the Nine Stages of True Person Realm, who knows how many Deep Red Points that would take.

    Hence, while trees die when moved, people thrive.

    To be human, one must both bow their head to the road and also look up at the sky.

    Across the world with its three mountains and six teachings, the five great sword cultivation sects, the twelve clans, the nine great families, one royal dynasty.

    All of them have cultivation techniques that, like the Minor Pure Yang Skill, evolved from their highest scriptures and were conceived with lofty intentions.

    Yi Chen could "borrow" some and critique them.

    The stone from other mountains can be used to polish jade.

    Even if not to practice, broadening one''s horizon is also good.

    Of course, only the finest. Those commonplace martial arts don''t appeal to Yi Chen, as they''re too lowly conceived. A bunch of trash, no matter how much you extrapolate, remains trash. Apart from wasting his Deep Red Points, it''s completely useless.

    For example, this time Yi Chen''s destination was Dragon Tiger Mountain''s "Dragon Tiger Embracing the Golden Core Great True Qi," which is a simplification of "Taiyi Dragon Tiger Commanding True Seal Divine Technique." He was very interested in it. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He wondered if "True Pure Yang Skill" and "Dragon Tiger Embracing the Golden Core Great True Qi" could be mixed together.

    "True Pure Yang Dragon Tiger Golden Core Great True Qi"?

    It sounded rather powerful.

    "The Taoism of Dragon Tiger Mountain is also characterized by its fierce and powerful style, which is boundless in might. It seems that pairing it with the Pure Yang foundation I''ve previously established only serves to complement each other, with no conflict."

    "This cultivation technique seems predestined for me."

    "I have traveled thousands of miles, across provinces and prefectures, to return the relic of the old Heavenly Master."

    "And I''m not even looking at their ''Taiyi Dragon Tiger Commanding True Seal Divine Technique,'' just requesting to glance over what they use to lay the foundations for their common disciples, ''Dragon Tiger Embracing the Golden Core Great True Qi.'' That''s not too much to ask, right?"

    "I won''t spread it; I''ll just contemplate it on my own to enhance my accumulation."

    While on his way and envisioning the future, Yi Chen couldn''t help but feel excited.

    With his unparalleled wisdom.

    With his lifetime of martial arts.

    With the insights of his life.

    To fiercely burst out and obtain gold coins from the major sects of the three mountains and six teachings, selecting the best to practice. He, Taoist Yi Chengzi, had a promising future ahead.

    By taking the strengths of numerous schools and melding them with Deep Red Points, he believed his path to True Monarch would be much easier.

    "Hehehe."

    "In the path of cultivation technique, I, the poor Taoist, truly am --"

    "Far ahead, far ahead indeed~"

    "Once I take the True Pure Yang Skill as my foundation and fuse the essences of various supreme techniques from different schools, continuously refining and discarding the chaff to keep the grain, who in the world then could stop me?"

    "I, Taoist Yi Chengzi, will surely grasp my own destiny."

    The more Yi Chen thought about it, the more excited he became, his steps growing brisker, wishing he could arrive at Dragon Tiger Mountain immediately.

    The ninth layer of the True Pure Yang Skill requires one thousand and six hundred Deep Red Points.

    The tenth layer of the True Pure Yang Skill would need three thousand and six Deep Red Points.

    As for the eleventh layer, that would cost ten thousand.

    This is practically like using a water pump to drain his blood.

    Just thinking about it makes one''s liver tremble.

    Seeking innovation and change is imperative.

    He must stand on the shoulders of those who came before to see further.

    "However, in the future should I follow the path of the ultimate yang or the integration of yin and yang?"

    Yi Chen shook his head, dispelling the messy thoughts in his mind and focused on making his way.

    Regardless, he had to get his hands on the "Dragon Tiger Embrace Golden Elixir True Technique", comprehend it, and try out its variations.

    Furthermore, he needed to secure the legal authorization from Dragon Tiger Mountain, hehe.

    To avoid others settling scores after the autumn harvest and to give himself an additional layer of insurance.

    Although it was somewhat underhanded to demand to view the "Dragon Tiger Embrace Golden Elixir True Technique" from Dragon Tiger Mountain by taking advantage of their kindness.

    Yet in the initial stage of accumulating capital, using some low-level means was unavoidable.

    If nothing else, after he attained the position of a True Monarch, he would repay them a favor.

    As long as he succeeded in this path, the divine techniques and exceptional skills of the world''s great sects would all become his wings.

    However, he couldn''t just learn anything recklessly; he needed to make good discriminations to avoid any conflicts that could corrupt his Dao foundation. Some he would learn simply to broaden his horizons.

    Once his mind was set, Yi Chen had no more distractions and strode forward confidently.

    He even quashed the thought of upgrading his "Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique" to the sixth layer.

    He needed to save up a wave of Deep Red Points; good steel should be used for the blade''s edge.

    What would it be if used on the shaft of the halberd?

    Hurrying along the mountain paths, ten days passed in this manner.

    On the tenth day at noon, a city much more magnificent than Longjiang Prefecture emerged on the distant horizon.

    The Da Yue Dynasty divided its administrative regions based on geography and natural features.

    Starting from the smallest to the largest, they are arranged as county, prefecture, circuit, and country.

    Divided into two capitals and thirteen circuits.

    Wujang Prefecture is the second-largest city within the Jiangbei Circuit and is particularly prosperous.

    As for the two capitals, one of them is the Great Capital, which is also the current capital of the Da Yue Dynasty, where Yi Chen''s master, Bai Yunzi, wanted him to deliver a letter.

    Yi Chen racked his brain but could not understand how his master, Bai Yunzi, got involved with Piao Xue, the abbess of the Water Moon Convent in the Great Capital, let alone why he mysteriously instructed him to deliver his ashes and a letter there.

    And he wasn''t allowed to look; that was the most important part.

    Speaking in riddles, shrouded in mystery, Bai Yunzi had no idea how much torment it was for someone living in a melon patch to be surrounded by melons yet unable to eat any.

    Aside from the Great Capital, the other capital is known as the Supreme Capital.

    The Supreme Capital was the capital of the previous dynasty, strategically located and rich in resources, equally as prosperous.

    Both the Supreme Capital and the Great Capital are the most elite cities of the whole Da Yue, for example, the headquarters of the Zhen An Division in the Great Capital is suspended in the sky by a great formation, making the entire city incredibly magnificent, akin to a fairyland on earth.

    The walls of Wujang Prefecture were exactly forty-nine meters tall, neither more nor less, immensely majestic and spectacular.

    It is a super-metropolis with a population of over one million people.

    Divided into the outer city and the inner city.

    The outer city is where the common people reside.

    The inner city is where officials, nobles, and cultivators live.

    Yi Chen had done his research in Longjiang Prefecture and heard that within Wujang Prefecture, there was a place dedicated to hosting cultivators, the Kunxiu¡­

    But it operates on an invitation-only basis and is not open to the public.

    Customized services divided into thirteen floors, not open to non-experts, and not accessible without an introduction from regular customers.

    It is said that only experts of the True Person Realm can enter the ninth floor and above.

    Just hearing about it made it sound impressive, inciting an urge though unreachable, yet still yearned for.

 Chapter 127 The Daoists Shrewdness, Cutting the Grass Requires Removing the Roots.

    "Master, are you here to stand up for Brother Chen?" Yi Chen, head bowed as he showed off his rice, didn''t even lift his head as he spoke.The long table, made of solid yellow rosewood, had a wide base. Even though it had been cleaved in two by a single sword strike from Chen Liu, not a bit of the cuisine had spilled.

    This was also why Yi Chen had left half of Chen Liu''s body intact.

    There was no helping it; who could blame him when the Yi Taoist had such a kind heart?

    If the food were to spill, then Chen Liu''s ashes would be gone.

    The Taoist had plenty of dishes, but some had no ashes left.

    "The Taoist jests. You merely eat a meal, and the Dragon-Tiger List loses a ranker. How could this humble monk ever convert the Taoist?" The monk placed his hands together in a gesture of respect, radiating a dignified aura, "Brother Chen has his own karma. What place does this monk have to intervene? I only wish to form a good connection with the Taoist."

    "If it were me, I would already be on my way to inquire about Brother Chen''s wife."

    "!!!" With such abundant martial virtue, it''s a pity for the master to mingle with the Buddhist monks.

    After inwardly sighing, Yi Chen also quietly relaxed a little.

    Eliminating two high-ranking martial artists from the Dragon-Tiger List in one meal was, after all, a bit excessive.

    "As long as the master isn''t here to preach about being magnanimous, that''s fine. An accidental meeting is better than a planned one. Master, why not join me for a bite?"

    Yi Chen lifted his head and cordially extended an invitation.

    After some conversation, Yi Chen learned that the handsome monk before him actually had a slight connection with him. He was the nomadic monk of this generation from the Moon Wheel Temple, the demon monk Kong Xiang. The Lotus Master was also from the Moon Wheel Temple.

    As their discussion deepened, they chatted more amicably.

    "The Dragon-Tiger List actually labels the master as the ''Mad Monk,'' which is a downright slander," Yi Chen said, hoisting his wine cup in a toast to Kong Xiang.

    "Exactly, the Peace-Keeping Department is simply playing the lute to a cow; I am very normal."

    "It was because when I traveled around the world, I flattened a notoriously evil bandit stronghold. Those bandit chiefs begged for my mercy, so I put down my knife. But then I found out that after putting down the knife, I did not become a Buddha, so I killed them all."

    "Tell me, Taoist, could you blame me for this? It was the arrangement of the Buddha."

    "No problem at all, no problem. Master, eat some vegetables, stop with the wine," Yi Chen said with three black lines appearing on his forehead, hearing for the first time a monk who could shirk responsibility onto the Buddha himself, truly a rare talent.

    At least his Yi Chengzi was more reasonable.

    Even though his actions were severe, he always reflected deeply before making a move.

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen settled the bill and left the Dragon Ascension Tower.

    Upon learning that Kong Xiang''s travels would pass through Duan Yang County, Yi Chen entrusted the monk with the remains of Zhang Biaotou and the others, leaving behind two yellow croakers as travel provisions.

    When Yi Chen first entered the city, he had sought out a local courier service in Wujang Prefecture. To his surprise, they asked for a price ten times higher than seventy-nine taels, claiming it had been that way for years, questioning how it could be expensive when local couriers were hard to find.

    Yi Chen wouldn''t deal with such a swindle, so he turned around and left.

    Now, entrusting them to Kong Xiang was just right.

    After stepping out of the Dragon Ascension Tower, Yi Chen called over Little Dog, and gave him fifty taels of silver, instructing him to have someone keep an eye on the bodies that had just been carried out from the Dragon Ascension Tower as well as the movement of the brocade-clothed young master.

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    Yi Chen always felt there was something not quite right about the appearance of Chen Liu, spending the money for some peace of mind.

    If it really was the master''s task, then that would be rather interesting.

    As for Little Dog''s ability to handle such a small matter, Yi Chen wasn''t worried.

    Snakes have snake ways, mice have mouse ways.

    Little Dog seemed clever at a glance, a local who worked as a guide with a wide network. Finding people to check on the movements of bodies and people shouldn''t be a problem.

    Yi Chen patted Little Miao on the shoulder and whispered instructions. Little Miao, upon hearing them, immediately darted out.

    ...

    ...

    The night in Wujang Prefecture was much quieter than the day.

    The streets were silent, an occasional biting wind swept by, rustling through the leaves and over the rooftiles, making an eerie whooshing sound.

    At this hour, only a handful of taverns and brothels still had their lights on.

    The residences along the street had mostly turned their lights out.

    There was only a middle-aged night watchman, carrying a battered copper gong, intermittently striking it and shouting, ''The air is dry, be careful with candles and fires.''

    Yi Chen, clad in a cloak borrowed from the Overlord Chicken, dodged the pedestrians, creeping towards a certain residence.

    The night was dark, the wind was high, perfect for a killing.

    During the day, the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off. Chen Liu, no matter what, was a skilled practitioner of the Qi Refinement Realm. For such a dashing young master to insult him in public, and for Chen Liu to not even have the courage to retort, was strange indeed.

    Even if the Chen Family''s son-in-law had fallen on hard times, from phoenix to a less-than-chicken status, his worth shouldn''t have plummeted to such an extent.

    Upon closer consideration, the dashing young master''s words seemed more like an attempt to disassociate himself from the situation and stir up trouble.

    "Chen Liu, just say you can''t afford to offend Qian Yueru and want to use the Taoist as a stepping stone to ascend the ranks and join the main Chen Family in the capital," Yi Chen muttered.

    "Losing is normal, winning would mean regaining some face for the Chen Family of Longjiang Prefecture. Chen Liu, you truly have a knack for strategic planning."

    "Taoist, should we accept his challenge? It would serve as a warm-up for the grand battle with the Sword Immortal this afternoon," he teased.

    The way this was framed, it wasn''t just a slap in Chen Liu''s face¡ªit was as if he was being slapped with his own behind.

    In such a scenario, if it wasn''t due to oppressive strength, it must be class oppression at work.

    Yi Chen, whom in his previous life had been terrified by a dump truck accident, now wanted to uncover the hidden calculations of others upon detecting their subtle signs. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Therefore, he divided his investigation into three paths.

    One route was handled by the hound, tracking Chen Liu''s ashes to determine if anyone was behind the scenes.

    As long as no one intentionally concealed it, the destination of Chen Liu''s remains could certainly be tracked by the hound, who knew the territory like the back of its paw.

    Sometimes not finding information is information in itself.

    Yi Chen hadn''t scattered Chen Liu''s ashes during the day out of mercy; he just used them as bait.

    When the mad monk Kong Xiang said that he would have been on his way to find Chen Liu''s wife right now, Yi Chen knew he''d won.

    He had outsmarted Kong Xiang by far too much.

    Kong Xiang was only in the fifth layer, while he, Yi Chengzi, was in the vast sky layer.

    Although Kong Xiang was prudent, he was clearly not prudent enough.

    After all, who goes fishing without baiting the spot?

    Keeping Chen Liu''s body could verify whether someone was behind him and could also lure out the whereabouts of Chen Liu''s wife.

    This was truly a clever plan to follow the vine to get to the melon.

    Of course, if Chen Liu''s wife or whoever was behind him was ruthless enough to discard such a renowned underling as chaff, then Yi Chen would accept it.

    Who goes fishing without ever coming up empty-handed?

    The second team was naturally Yi Chen himself.

    He had kept a close watch on the dandy all afternoon, then left in feigned dejection to mislead others.

    The third team was the real trump card, Miao Zi.

    As a Casanova and a spiritual beast, Miao Zi possessed the ability to command the respect of all the stray cats in the city, leading them with an unquestioned authority.

    There was no shortage of stray cats in Wujang Prefecture and with Miao Zi''s arrival, a new king was crowned.

    After all, with the two previous arrangements in place, who would pay attention to cats?

    So, the cat brigade accomplished a great feat.

    The fish that Little Miao ate at noon was not eaten for nothing.

 Chapter 128 Death! One less on the Dragon-Tiger List.

    "Well done, this time you''ve earned a merit."Yi Chen patted Little Miao, who was hiding inside his clothes with only its head poking out, and praised it.

    He converged his breath, tapped the ground with one foot, and lightly leaped onto the roof of a house. He moved across the rooftop like a civet, covering over a hundred meters before he finally stood still, silent as a shadow.

    This was a small, inconspicuous two-section house nestled among many other residences.

    Heart''s eye, reflect, activate.

    The abilities of the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique silently initiated. Yi Chen didn''t need to observe with his naked eye; through the crooked gaps between the tiles, the scene inside the room manifested in his mind with crystal clarity.

    A 3D perspective, vividly lifelike.

    There were a man and a woman in the room.

    The woman had peach blossom eyes and a sorrowful, teary look. She was dressed in white, with a small flower adorning her hair and her fair neckline was exposed.

    Quite a generous bosom.

    This made Yi Chen marvel at the ample "dining hall" of Chen Liu.

    The man was, of course, the brocade-clad young master from the daytime.

    There was a small wooden box placed on the table.

    "Brother Qing, we won''t be discovered by that evil Daoist, will we?" the woman in white said with a pitiful tone.

    "Little sister, rest assured. I''ve already taken precautions. Although Yi Chengzi became suspicious, sending mortals to track and follow, and even chasing personally, your Brother Qing is obviously superior and has warded him off.

    Even with Yi Chengzi''s cunning as a ghost, he has to drink my foot-washing water." The brocade-clad young master said while rubbing his face, suddenly peeling off a strange, semi-transparent mask to reveal his true visage.

    It was very ordinary, a commonplace face, one that would be impossible to find in a crowd.

    "Brother Qing, you said you would avenge our branch of the family, but now my husband has been caught up in this too. I''m just a woman of the household, what should I do now?" As the woman in white spoke, she grew sadder, her shoulders quivering, and she started to tremble while sitting on the brocaded couch, sobbing.

    They say that grievance enhances beauty, and with her natural attractiveness, the woman in white became even more charming under the light.

    Though the light was dim, it couldn''t hide the luster of her jade-like skin.

    The small white flower in her hair only added to her charm.

    Beneath her light-white dress was a glimpse of a beautifully shaped ankle, with a red string tied around the left one and a small butterfly tattoo on the right.

    The brocade-clad young master, watching the woman in white sob and shake, felt his heart tremble as well.

    Unexpectedly, he realized that his cousin from the connected branch of the family was actually quite captivating.

    Beauty is enhanced under the lamp, growing lovelier the more one looks.

    The brocade-clad young master''s gaze flickered, and he moved to sit on the brocaded couch beside her, his hand continually caressing her spine to console her,

    "It''s my fault as your brother for not planning well. I didn''t expect the Daoist to be so brutal, act so decisively, and possess such strong cultivation."

    "But don''t worry, little sister. With your brother here, how could you be wronged in the future?"

    As the brocade-clad young master touched her, the woman in white''s body stiffened as if electrified, her spine going rigid. The thought of dodging his touch crossed her mind.

    His hand was moving lower and lower, almost reaching her buttocks.

    However, perhaps thinking of the future, she ultimately opted not to dodge, choosing instead to be compliant.

    She sat quietly on the brocaded couch like a docile little rabbit.

    Feeling the brocade-clad young master''s increasingly bold hand, the woman in white, gritting her teeth, reached out her hand to stop the hand that was creeping lower, and said coldly,

    "Brother Qing, my husband and I wanted to wander the world, to live out the rest of our lives in leisure. Unexpectedly, we encountered you in Wujang Prefecture."

    "My Chen family was ruined, and although Qian Yueru was the instigator, Yi Chengzi also played an important role. You said my Chen Family from Longjiang Prefecture, with its centuries of foundation, couldn''t perish without someone to mourn it."

    "The result is that my husband never returned after receiving your message."

    "If that Qian Yueru, that vile woman, is untouchable, so be it. But Yi Chengzi, I must make him pay with his life."

    "If you, Brother Qing, can accomplish this, I will be at your disposal."

    ¡­.

    Having listened by the corner for quite a while, Yi Chen had finally pieced together seven or eight parts of the truth.

    This Chen Liu and the woman in white were probably survivors who slipped through the net, or perhaps they were not in Longjiang Prefecture at the time. After the fall of the Chen Family there, it''s likely that the main family in the larger region was also brooding with repression.

    However, Qian Yueru was the True Monarch''s only daughter and had righteousness on her side. She was untouchable, beyond reprimand, so all their suppressed anger was directed at Yi Chen.

    ```

    Without Yi Chengzi''s initial promise to defend the city, where would all these troubles come from?

    If Qi¨¡n Yu¨¨ru is untouchable, isn''t Yi Chengzi?

    The downfall of a separated family must have someone to annotate it.

    So, Chen Qing, the third son born out of wedlock from the main branch of the Chen family who was traveling abroad, volunteered to take on this task.

    The reason why he could so coincidentally blockade himself in Wujang Prefecture was naturally that Yi Chen had inquired a lot about the affairs of Wujang Prefecture when he left.

    What followed was easy to understand.

    Chen Qing encountered the couple in white and easily won their support by acting in the name of the main family.

    It''s likely that someone had been lying in wait at all the major city gates, for Yi Chen''s figure was too recognizable, leading to the scene at the Ascending Dragon Tower.

    This brocaded young master, Chen Qing, was a smart little ghost, wanting first to probe Yi Chen''s depth before making a move, as, after all, how he rose to his current status, from a son born from a culled servant girl, relied not only on his cultivation talent but also on caution.

    Sixty-sixth on the Dragon Tiger List, Vine Falcon Hunter Chen Qing.

    He has always been a cautious person.

    Even when facing Yi Chen, who ranked far below him at ninety-eighth on the Dragon Tiger List, he was this steady.

    Chen Qing had a good plan, all ruined because Yi Chen recited the wrong scripture.

    He had planned to play an innocent bystander, instigate Yi Chen to fight Chen Liu, and then decide whether to kill forcefully or shake people off after seeing Yi Chen''s true colors.

    But Yi Chen''s violent move left him utterly dumbfounded.

    The moment Chen Liu''s blood splattered onto his shoes, he inwardly shouted luck and even praised himself for his cleverness.

    Indeed, Chen Qing was clever as a whip.

    By then, Chen Qing had already lost heart. Killing Chen Liu with a punch as easily as smashing a watermelon¡ªwas this really the ninety-eighth rank?

    However, this did not prevent Chen Qing from boldly undertaking the task in front of the woman in white.

    "Little sister, what are you talking about? How could our Chen family tolerate this humiliation? Wait until I write a letter explaining the dangers, and the family will surely send other experts to eliminate this person."

    "The death of your husband is all due to Qing brother''s lack of thought, but don''t worry, brother Chen Liu; for your wife, I will take care of her."

    "Little sister, I will treat you well."

    At that moment, Chen Qing''s intelligence soared to 250¡ªif he had been asked to promise to go topple the current Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain tomorrow, he would have dared to agree.

    "Well, then, I''ll leave everything up to Brother Qing." Without realizing it, the beauty was already in his arms, and a blush of red rose to the woman in white''s cheeks.

    With a coquette sound.

    "Brother Qing, blow out the candle," cooed the woman in white.

    "No." Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Then... then... you... get a cloth... and cover... your husband''s box," she stammered.

    "No."

    Under the lamplight, two shadows slowly merged into one.

    In the reflection of the heart, butterflies fluttered around the ankles.

    Yi Chen, crouched on the roof, had his eyes widened.

    Wow, this guy, this guy.

    Indeed a cultivator.

    Even a teacher throwing a tantrum couldn''t compare to the spectacle at that moment.

    After an indeterminate amount of time, Vine Falcon Hunter Chen Qing suddenly let out a high, delighted shout.

    He was waiting for just this moment.

    Surprise attack~

    The roof where Chen Qing was collapsed abruptly.

    Chen Qing only saw darkness before his eyes.

    Before death, he vaguely heard a familiar light rebuke.

    "True Solar Tyranny."

    ```

 Chapter 129 Murderous Intent in the Dark Night, Deep Love for a Child.

    A burst of intense energy erupted, raising a small column of dust and debris, causing the entire two-section dwelling to collapse.Yi Chen, whose cultivation was far superior to Chen Qing''s, had launched a dishonorable surprise attack when Chen Qing''s vigilance was at its lowest.

    Chen Qing and the woman in white, this pair of wild mandarin ducks, had no chance of escaping their fate.

    The strike was successful.

    Clutching a peculiar, semi-transparent mask in his hand, Yi Chen vanished into the night without a trace.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "Giddy up!"

    "Giddy up!"

    Under the moonlit sky, horse hooves kicked up clouds of dust on the earthen-yellow track, a magnificent mid-grade dragon steed galloping past with incredible speed.

    The dragon steed had a large bulge on its forehead, and a faint dark aura emanated from its hooves. It was as fast as lightning, as if it was chasing the wind and catching the moon.

    The intense wind pressure it created bent the roadside weeds.

    From Yi Chen''s perspective in a past life,

    it wasn''t that the dragon steed was running fast, but rather that it was flying too low¡­ S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However, Zhang Dabe, the thousand-household commander of the Mu Yang Prefecture, still felt it wasn''t fast enough. Black veins bulged on his forehead; he was missing part of his forearm and bathed in blood.

    Behind him, a red beam of light tenaciously pursued, occasionally launching blood-coloured glows at him, playing with him like a cat with a mouse.

    "Can''t hold on any longer, am I going to die?" Zhang Dabei''s eyes showed a look of despair.

    He could never have dreamed that the Inferno Demon Cult would dare to be so audacious, with Saint Heir Hu Bugui leading an assault on the Mu Yang Prefecture''s Office of Peace and Security.

    If not for the desperate resistance of his loyal subordinates, who sounded the alarm, and the strength of his dragon steed, he feared the entire Mu Yang Prefecture would have silently fallen into the hands of the Inferno Demon Cult.

    Thinking of his colleagues who had died to cover his escape, Zhang Dabei''s eyes abruptly reddened.

    "No, even if I die, I must get the message out."

    "The Inferno Demon Cult dares to commit such an outrageous act against the entire world, the imperial court will surely not let them go."

    "Damn bastards, attacking Mu Yang Prefecture so stealthily, what exactly are they trying to do?"

    Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Zhang Dabei bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Instantly, the blood sprayed out and turned into a mist, enveloping him and his dragon steed.

    In a flash, the dragon steed''s speed increased once again, evading the sure-kill strike from the person behind.

    "Interesting."

    "But your struggles are in vain, everything is inevitable."

    The youth inside the red light cracked a smile, set aside his playful demeanor, and accelerated once again.

    As the pursuing light closed in again, Zhang Dabei''s eyes filled with despair.

    Then, in an instant, his expression was replaced by wild joy.

    Ahead on the track, suddenly appeared a middle-aged scholar dressed in a blue long gown.

    This man was eight feet tall with an extraordinary presence, sprinting along the track.

    "Commander, something terrible has happened. The Inferno Demon Cult has gone mad. Hu Bugui led a raid on our Mu Yang Prefecture Office of Peace and Security,"

    "All messages have been blocked, we can''t get the word out."

    "I risked my life to break out and report."

    Just when all seemed lost, a glimmer of hope emerged like a village found beyond dark mountains and a forest blooming with flowers.

    Zhang Dabei rolled off his horse, disregarding his image, and scrambled over to the middle-aged scholar to report.

    "Good job, Commander Zhang, you''ve done well. Leave the rest to me,"

    "You''re tired. Rest well."

    The mid-aged scholar''s gentle voice came through, identical to the one Zhang Dabe had in his mind, just as reliable and powerful.

    A sudden, invisible surge of Qi formed a giant hand that clutched at Zhang Dabe''s throat.

    Crack.

    Zhang Dabe''s body flopped onto the ground, lifeless.

    "Governor Zhu really has a cruel heart, to kill such a loyal subordinate just like that," he said.

    "This man''s cultivation isn''t bad; why not give his corpse to me, so I can put it to some use?"

    "You take his living soul to concoct the Blood Soul Pill, and I''ll take his essence blood to cultivate my Yin Wheel Blood Fiend Magic."

    A red light retracted, revealing a young man in red, utterly nonchalant and frivolous.

    "Hu Bugui, you are becoming increasingly presumptuous."

    The middle-aged scholar''s cold gaze landed on the man in red.

    Faced with the scholar''s icy stare, the red-clad young man remained unperturbed, still carrying himself with the air of a carefree playboy, his expression mockingly lighthearted.

    Seeing Hu Bugui''s seemingly imperturbable demeanor, the scholar could only sigh helplessly, "If it wasn''t for my son, why would I ever cooperate with you devils and heretics?"

    "Enough, have you set everything up for this time?"

    "My son failed to break through to the True Person Realm; at this juncture, only a top-grade Blood Soul Pill might save him."

    "I will lure the cultivators lurking in Longjiang Prefecture here in the next few days to ''eliminate'' you, the heretic. Then, we shall join forces to activate the grand formation. You can use their essence blood to refine your Yin Wheel Blood Fiend Magic, and I will extract their living souls to concoct a top-grade Blood Soul Pill."

    "Once this is done, you go your way, I''ll go mine, with no further entanglement."

    "Ha ha, such deep fatherly love, even the Saint Heir is moved to shed a tear," the young man said mockingly.

    "But with your son''s talent, even if the inferior Blood Soul Pill he took previously didn''t breakthrough, it''s simply a matter of more cultivation time. Why the rush, Governor?"

    "I''m truly curious. Can the Governor enlighten me?" asked Hu Bugui, his face full of confusion.

    "Have you heard of Yin Manor?" The scholar''s voice came hauntingly.

    The name ''Yin Manor'' seemed to hold an eerie power; suddenly, Hu Bugui''s flippant expression vanished. He recalled some records about Yin Manor from his sect''s archives and couldn''t help shivering.

    After a while, he finally said, "Zhu Buqun, although I''ve always thought of you as a hypocrite, I must admit you are a good father."

    "Don''t worry. After pulling off something as big as this, you''re pinning all the blame on me, and those righteous sects will surely wish to eat me alive. I fear I will have to stay within my sect for a long time from now on."

    "So, our chances of working together again are slim."

    "Therefore, as compensation, besides the living souls you need to concoct the Blood Soul Pill, all the loot from this time must go to me."

    "Agreed," the scholar said coldly.

    Having discussed some more details, Hu Bugui vanished into the horizon to prepare the setup.

    Watching Hu Bugui''s disappearing figure, the middle-aged scholar couldn''t help sighing. If his own Teng''er weren''t about to enter Yin Manor again, if he didn''t need the living souls of high-ranking cultivators to concoct a top-grade Blood Soul Pill, why would he take such a risk?

    Thinking of the aftermath, the scholar felt worried, but at this point, there was no better solution.

    "A man''s actions should be fierce."

    "Mercy does not coexist with such deeds."

    "As long as my Teng''er can survive, even if many more have to die, it''s all worth it."

    Thinking of his son, the middle-aged scholar''s gaze became resolute once more. He casually killed the dragon horse, then flicked his finger, shooting a flame onto the corpses of Zhang Dabe and the dragon horse.

    With a slight wave of his hand, a whirlwind sprang up from nowhere.

    Zhang Dabe''s traces vanished between heaven and earth.

    Not disturbing Zhang Dabe''s body and living soul was the greatest kindness he could afford his old subordinate.

    For his son, he could forsake everything.

 Chapter 130 Sword Fairy, Overlord Blade, Boiling Goat, Youre Seeking Death! Demon Blade (Part 1)

    The sky was faintly bright, and the vast expanse above was cloudless.By the bank of the Wujang River.

    Screech!

    A sharp cry of an eagle pierced the air.

    An old eagle, distinguished by a small tuft of white feathers on its head, plummeted from the sky, soaring over high walls and towers before perching atop a towering tree by the bank of the Wujang River.

    As it preened its feathers, it surveyed the scene below with a keen gaze.

    By now, the riverbank near Wujang was teeming with people, all of them craning their necks toward the river expectantly, some even from the town''s peacekeeping forces.

    The mad monk was among the crowd as well.

    Today was the day Dao Baibi of the Dragon and Tiger Ranking would duel the wandering sword immortal from the Zhi Killing Sword Hut.

    Many onlookers, lured by the promise of such an event, had arrived early in anticipation.

    Yi Chen was no exception.

    Ranked lower on the Dragon and Tiger Ranking, Yi Chen had already eliminated two opponents with ease, barely finding them to be a challenge.

    Today''s high-tier duel was the perfect opportunity to observe the techniques of the top-ranked masters, providing a better understanding of his own strength.

    However, unlike the solemn reverence of the crowd, Yi Chen carried a different demeanor.

    He had come with a fishing rod in hand.

    Sitting beside him was the guide, Thin Dog.

    The two of them fished at a spot downstream, away from the crowd.

    This location was at a bend in the expanse of the Wujang River.

    After boasting to Thin Dog about his extraordinary fishing skills, Yi Chen started to bait and nest his fishing spot.

    An hour later, under Thin Dog''s incredulous stare, a frustrated Taoist threw Little Miao into the river.

    Soon, Little Miao''s claws were surrounded by arcs of electricity, and many fish began to twitch and float to the surface.

    The considerate Little Miao even dove into the water to attach a fish to Yi Chen''s line, turning his annoyance into delight.

    There''s no fishing without nesting, and Little Miao proved worthy as his top cat. Thin Dog gave a thumbs-up in approval.

    In the game of chess, sometimes victory lies beyond the board.

    At that moment, a sudden exclamation burst from the crowd upstream.

    "He''s here, he''s here!"

    Yi Chen looked up and saw a figure in black, a swordsman riding the waves from afar. This man, his face cold as ice, radiated a rainbow-like presence and wielded a gleaming long sword as bright as snow. His face bore a prideful expression, as though everyone owed him a great debt.

    This was the overbearing Dao Baibi who had emerged as a standout among the Loose Cultivators, having awakened the spirit of gold and, by a stroke of luck, acquired the cultivation technique "Overwhelming Blade." This had immensely empowered him, and now he was on the verge of the True Person Realm.

    Rumor had it that Dao Baibi was reckless and had a volatile temper with extreme tendencies.

    He had once slaughtered all the guests at a banquet simply because a newcomer didn''t finish his drink when toasting to him, which Dao Baibi took as an insult.

    Another time, he beheaded a friend who had joked about an embarrassing moment from his past during a meal, taking it as a personal slight to his honor.

    From then on, Dao Baibi was a loner, and others either kept their distance or treated him with extreme respect.

    Dao Baibi took no shame in this and was rather proud, declaring that it was better to be feared than pitied.

    Regarding this lunatic, Yi Chen had casually gathered some information that morning and swiftly made an assessment¡ªSaint Elizabeth''s Mental Hospital, chair number one.

    However, the fact that such a cultivator had survived this long and even obtained the sixteenth rank on the Dragon and Tiger Ranking meant that his martial prowess should not be underestimated; Yi Chen was rather looking forward to that.

    As for the sword immortal from the Zhi Killing Sword Hut, a talent blessed by the heavens with unparalleled beauty and a natural understanding of the sword, commanded countless followers in the cultivation world. With a sword in hand, she kept all the young disciples of the Zhi Killing Sword Hut from daring to look up.

    Experience exclusive tales on empire

    This clash of sword and blade indeed promised to be quite the spectacle.

    In the midst of Skinny Pup''s astonished gaze, Yi Chen conjured up, as if by magic, three small stools, a few dishes of melon seeds and peanuts, and a jar of fine wine, and began to enjoy the show.

    One stool for Skinny Pup, one for Little Miao, and one for the Taoist priest¡ªjust perfect.

    "Advance with a slash, retreat with a slash, I wield but one slash, who dares block my blade?"

    "Be it demon or ghost, all shall be cleaved, nothing shall not be cleaved."

    "My name is Dao Baibi, Sword Spirit, I trust you''ve been well."

    Above the Wujang River, Dao Baibi''s arrogant voice spread in all directions, shaking the fish in the river into chaos, causing those without mana to painfully cover their ears.

    "A man''s reputation, a tree''s shadow¡ªDao Baibi indeed has extraordinary presence."

    "Rumor has it Dao Baibi once withstood a blow from a master newly entered into the True Person Realm; I wonder if the rumors are true?"

    "Heh, even if the rumors are somewhat exaggerated, Dao Baibi is certain to firmly enter the realm of True Persons in the future. It seems he seeks to refine himself in this challenge against the Sword Spirit, aiming for a breakthrough into the True Person Realm."

    "How come I heard that Dao Baibi has long been smitten with the Sword Spirit, and he doesn''t want to put in the effort anymore?"

    Many onlookers by the riverbank began to gossip eagerly.

    Yi Chen smacked his lips and cracked some melon seeds.

    Not very interesting.

    Come on, just fight already~

    This Dao Baibi seemed more like he was showing off his feathers, could it be that he really was swayed by that flower-wearing old brother''s words, and doesn''t want to make an effort anymore?

    Although far away, with Yi Chen''s current cultivation, the discussions of the surrounding people naturally could not escape his ears.

    "Come, Miao Zi, take one." Yi Chen clinked his cup with Miao Zi''s.

    "What a magnificent spirit, Brother Baibi," a serene female voice suddenly appeared from the sky.

    The voice was pure and unaffected, not harsh like Dao Baibi''s tone¡ªlike a spring''s ding-dong, it soothed the soul and made one want to lay down their sword.

    "The Stop-Killing Sword Abode," Yi Chen commented, seeming interested, "Winning without fighting by bending the will of others¡ªa sword cultivator combined with an auditory attack technique?"

    "What a pity, though¡ªthe Sword Spirit truly lives up to the name ''plain Jane'', so wealthy she carries an ''airport'' with her." Yi Chen clinked glasses with Skinny Pup again, making a sharp remark.

    Amidst the raging waves, a woman in white clothes appeared, crossing the void, her movements as ethereal as those of an immortal; but she wore a face covering, obscuring her features, and behind her were three long swords, one green, one purple, and one cyan.

    "Immortal lady, since we parted last time, I''ve been haunted by dreams of you. If I win this battle, why don''t you become my cultivation partner?"

    "Immortal lady, I fancy you~"

    As the Sword Spirit appeared, a look of admiration shone in Dao Baibi''s eyes, and he laughed boisterously while slashing with a beam of cyan blade energy.

    The air itself seemed to be split apart, and the strong wind pressure caused by different airflow speeds on the sides of the blade energy made the onlookers'' clothes flutter violently.

    "Amazing! Dao Baibi is indeed formidable."

    "Dao Baibi has mastered three flavors of the blade, not inferior to those famous experts who have become well-known over many years; truly fierce and full of power, impressive!"

    A brawny man with a blade among the crowd showed a look of great admiration.

    Hearing Dao Baibi''s greasy declaration of love, the Sword Spirit''s eyebrows furrowed slightly, signaling perhaps displeasure; she formed a sword gesture with her hand, and a strange green sword emerged from the scabbards on her back.

    This sword appeared to be crafted of some bizarre and marvelous metal.

    Blue as the heavens, deep as the waters.

    The long sword in her hand moved effortlessly, and with a single slash, a green sword wave suddenly materialized, neither too much nor too little, perfectly neutralizing Dao Baibi''s blade energy.

    Dao Baibi was not discouraged, lifting his blade to strike again¡ªblade light like a prison, with overwhelming momentum. However, within ten meters of the white-clothed girl, it was like an iron wall; no matter how hard Dao Baibi tried, he just couldn''t break through.

    Yet, to the ordinary spectators on the riverbank, it appeared that Dao Baibi was pressuring the Sword Spirit, and soon, countless accolades resounded along the banks. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Deserving of the name, Dao Baibi."

    However, at this moment, Dao Baibi himself was feeling extremely frustrated and aggrieved within.

 Chapter 131 Sword Fairy, Overlord Blade, Boiling Goat, Youre Seeking Death! Demon Blade (Part 2)

    Seeing this, Yi Chen lost interest and prepared to make an escape.The gap was too big; the Overbearing Blade was only slightly stronger than the Corpse God Sect''s Tyrant Chicken¡ªhe hadn''t seen the depth of the Sword Immortal''s skill at all.

    Sure enough.

    A short while later, the Sword Immortal drew the green sword from behind her back and swept the Overbearing Blade into the water with one stroke, thus ending the duel.

    Time to slip away, time to run for the hills.

    Yi Chen packed his folding stool and other items into his storage ring and signaled Little Miao to escape, but at that moment, the figure of the girl standing against the wind in the sky suddenly sped towards where Yi Chen was.

    A ethereal voice reached him.

    "Is that Taoist Yi Chengzi in person?"

    Yi Chen frowned, unsure what this woman was getting at.

    "Indeed, it is I."

    At this, the onlookers at the riverbank suddenly perked up, turning their attention towards them.

    They were no longer people at that moment; they were more like excited monkeys.

    In the blink of an eye, Yi Chen''s intelligence spread among the crowd.

    "It is said that yesterday at the Dragon''s Ascent Pavilion, Brother Chen sought your guidance, and you beat him to death with a single punch. Don''t you think that was a bit excessive?" the girl in white said with a frown.

    "Are you teaching me how to conduct myself?"

    Yi Chen''s smile faded at the words, and his expression began to turn unfriendly.

    He hadn''t expected the Stop the Killing Sword Pavilion, which promoted the doctrine of universal love and non-aggression, to interfere in his matters.

    "How dare you, that''s your attitude when speaking to the Sword Immortal? A wild Taoist from Fengyun County dares to be so disrespectful, you kill a worthless man and you won''t even regard the Immortal in your eyes?"

    Suddenly, the Overbearing Blade, who had been knocked into the river by the girl in white, also flew over, landing on the riverbank.

    At that moment, the admiration in his eyes for the girl in white intensified strangely, as if triggering some bizarre attribute.

    In this world, there are always many who play the saint, advocating love and peace in the name of urging others to be magnanimous, generously spending other people''s money.

    If Yi Chen hadn''t ended up in a different world, he really would have liked to tell the girl in white that there''s a place called Leshan; there''s a bus station at Shuangliu Airport to Leshan ¨C the bus or public transport will get you there. There''s a big Buddha¡ªyou go and let it stand up so you can sit down.

    Or maybe Notre Dame de Paris is missing someone to ring the bell.

    He wondered if the moral high ground was windy or noisy.

    However, in this world, there is no Leshan and no Notre Dame; stopping just short of speaking out, Yi Chen couldn''t be bothered with the two idiots and turned to leave. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen''s dismissive attitude naturally infuriated the Overbearing Blade, his face alternating between blue and white.

    Suddenly, a strong burst of Qi exploded from behind Yi Chen¡ªit was the aura of a blade, and the light of the blade descended upon Yi Chen in an instant like a prison.

    In full view of everyone, no one expected the Overbearing Blade to attack so shamelessly, let alone with a killing move.

    Boom!

    A loud noise erupted, and those on the riverbank with weaker hearts couldn''t help but turn their heads away, unwilling to witness the bloody scene unfold.

    However, the expected scene did not occur.

    A chilling voice rose as if it came from the depths of the netherworld.

    "Fei Yangyang, you''re f*cking looking for death!!!"

    The bloodthirsty look in the Overbearing Blade''s eyes vanished in an instant, as a green fist flashed out from the blade prison, striking him squarely.

    The Overbearing Blade didn''t understand the meaning of Fei Yangyang, but he knew he was in big trouble this time.

    He seemed to have messed with someone he shouldn''t have.

    The Overbearing Blade felt as if he had been kicked in the chest by an ancient demon elephant, his internal organs twisting together all at once.

    Pain! Pain! Pain!

    It hurt so much.

    Over the years, he may have looked fierce on the surface, but those he killed or hurt were either much weaker than him or had no background, which was why he survived, despite the heavy karma of his killings.

    He even cultivated an image as the Overbearing Blade and carved out a notorious reputation.

    No one knew that he, the Overbearing Blade, actually feared pain very much, which is why he enjoyed seeing others in pain.

    No one knew that when he killed all the guests at the banquet because the newlyweds toasted him, it was out of intense jealousy, as the groom was his friend, and he couldn''t stand that his friend could marry the goddess he had coveted before becoming a cultivator.

    Currying favor for riches and glory.

    He had groveled to her for three years before he became prominent, but the goddess had been indifferent to him, uttering the most common phrase to him being, "ha ha."

    Only after he returned from his travels with unexpected gains did he discover that his goddess had married his former friend.

    He once sought out his goddess in private.

    But she told him he was a good person, ha ha.

    How hilarious.

    Another "heh."

    So that day, he carried out a bloodbath on the Gao Liu family.

    He finally got a taste of the fragrance.

    Strike while the iron is hot.

    A great fire could bury all filth.

    The so-called truth is but a little girl dressed up at will, allowing him to weave stories as he pleases.

    It wasn''t until that day, after obtaining the knife and the Knife Scripture, that he truly felt his strength.

    A massive azure fist struck.

    The tyrant blade cut through the water for three thousand meters, spewing out a huge cloud of blood mist.

    Yi Chen brutally showed his Pure Yang tyrannical demeanor.

    His upper body''s clothes had been shredded into strips from the tyrant blade''s previous sneak attack, which even broke two of his sweat hairs, completely enraging him.

    Bands of muscle, resembling biological plating, surfaced on his body.

    Strong and forceful, strong and forceful.

    It was a blend of strength and beauty.

    It was true aesthetic violence.

    His body grew taller, his Deep Azure Inner Qi transformed into a glaze battle armor covering his whole body, looking down on the retreating tyrant blade as if it were nothing more than a pig or dog.

    Taoist master, it''s time to collect your people.

    If it weren''t for his extraordinary Pure Yang Taoist foundation and boundless vital energy, he would have been the one spitting blood today.

    Anyone who dares to swing a blade at Yi Chengzi is an enemy.

    If they are enemies, they must die.

    Not even Daozun could stop him, Yi Chengzi said so.

    The more his enemies oppose him, the more it proves he is right.

    Those who oppose him are all his enemies.

    Circular reasoning completed.

    Yi Chen''s face was ferocious, revealing a kindly smile.

    "Advance a blade, withdraw a blade, who dares to block the blade?"

    "Are you blocking your mother?"

    "Weak and powerless."

    Yi Chen took a large step forward, rushing towards the distant center of the river where the tyrant blade was, his majestic figure kicking up sprays of water that split the river in two.

    The immense impact raised waves more than ten meters high, and the parted water took nearly ten seconds to fully close again.

    Witnessing Yi Chen approaching like a savage beast, the tyrant blade''s courage was shattered, his mind momentarily overpowered, finally unable to resist revealing his last trump card.

    Enjoy new tales from empire

    "Corpse God, aid me!" he bellowed inwardly.

    All of a sudden, the tyrant blade''s aura changed dramatically, his eyes turning blood-red.

    A power far stronger than before soared into the sky.

    The Corpse God was the dormant spirit of the demon blade in his hand, the root of his rise from an ordinary man to the sixteenth place on the Dragon and Tiger List.

    Red blood light shone through his body.

    "Flames divide the waves, the sea of blood is boundless!"

    The ''tyrant blade'', now with a mind overtaken, let out a roar that was unlike any sound a human could make, and his boundless blade energy met Yi Chen''s fist.

    Like needles clashing against a blade of wheat.

    In the blink of an eye, everyone on the riverbank gasped in disbelief.

    The tyrant blade''s ambush, Yi Chen''s explosive counter, the tyrant blade''s transformation.

    All of these scenes were too much for them to take in.

    Boom!

    The blade energy collided with the massive azure fist, causing visible ripples to burst out.

    For a moment, furious waves surged like water dragons, sweeping across thousands of yards of sky.

    "Good! Good! Good!"

    "I said before that the so-called tyrant blade was so weak and pathetic, a complete waste, but I had no idea it was a technique of using the blade to control people," Yi Chen said coldly.

 Chapter 132 Beauty Goat, Hot Goat Isnt Moving Anymore

    "Yi Taoist, cease your actions,""You all must stop fighting."

    The Sword Immortal floated in mid-air, emitting a startled cry.

    With jade-like hands, she formed a sword gesture and the green sword leaped from its scabbard, ready to join the fray.

    However, at that moment, a gentle circle of Buddhist light enveloped her.

    It was the frenzied monk Kong Xiang, emerging from the riverbank crowd, stepping in front of the Sword Immortal and matching her palm for palm.

    The result was a dead heat.

    His intervention immediately propelled the atmosphere at the scene to a new climax.

    Many marveled at the spectacular display unfolding on the banks of the Wu River that day.

    "Isn''t that Di¨¡n H¨¦ Shang, one of the ''Three Eccentrics of Buddhism''?" someone knowledgeable within the crowd recognized Kong Xiang, who had stepped in front of the Sword Immortal.

    "Di¨¡n H¨¦ Shang? Who is that?" someone asked, not understanding.

    In the world, every poison has its antidote within five steps.

    In the company of three, one is my teacher.

    At this moment, thousands of onlookers, drawn by the battle, had gathered on the banks of the Wu River.

    Among them were many bold ordinary people and masters of profound internal strength and courage.

    According to the sage''s saying, there were no fewer than three hundred ''teachers'' among them.

    When someone asked out of ignorance, there was bound to be someone who would clarify for the masses.

    Sure enough, someone in the crowd took it upon themselves to explain.

    The ''Three Eccentrics of Buddhism'' referred to the most unconventional practitioners within this generation of Buddhist cultivators.

    They were the Demon Buddha, the Charmed Monk, and Di¨¡n H¨¦ Shang.

    As for Di¨¡n H¨¦ Shang, he ranked thirteenth on the Dragon Tiger List.

    "Great Master, why do you obstruct me?" the Sword Immortal''s eyebrows knitted slightly. Even veiled, one could sense a trace of anger gracing the countenance of this graceful immortal lady.

    However, facing the Sword Immortal''s rebuke, Kong Xiang remained deaf as a block, turning a blind eye. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Instead, he spoke as he parried her moves.

    "Yesterday while drinking with Yi Taoist, the Taoist shared a story with me that greatly enlightened me, and today I wish to consult with my fellow Daoist on this matter."

    "Yi Taoist mentioned a village with two villagers, one named Da Xiong, whose physique was weaker, and one named Fatty Tiger, who was rather robust."

    "When a conflict arose between the two and you found Fatty Tiger bullying Da Xiong, there were four possible choices."

    "The first is to aid Fatty Tiger, the second is to help Da Xiong, the third is to walk away, out of sight, out of mind, and the fourth is to scold both for fighting, as both are at fault,"

    "Which would you choose, Fairy?"

    "Forget it, let me just tell it straight. Yi Taoist said to me, aside from the second option, all other three amount to helping Fatty Tiger."

    "I believe Yi Taoist is right!"

    Great Master Kong Xiang brought his hands together, and suddenly, a gigantic Buddhist swastika emerged in the sky, pressing down toward the Sword Immortal.

    "Nonsense."

    "You''re equivocating, Great Master Kong Xiang. If you don''t desist now, someone will lose their life,"

    "It''s true that Fatty Tiger''s bullying is deplorable, but Taoist Yi Chengzi''s intervention is equally tyrannical. He is no Da Xiong; he is a fierce tiger."

    The Sword Immortal pierced through the great swastika with her green sword, shattering it into a shower of luminous splendor, her anger evident in her retort.

    "Before the sneak attack by the Overbearing Blade, if it were not for the astounding cultivation of Yi Taoist, he would already be dead."

    "Fairy, you''ve been corrupted,"

    "The creed of the Stop Killing Sword Hut is universal love, non-aggression."

    "Yet universal love does not mean loving everything; non-aggression is not without contention."

    "With such actions, Sword Immortal, the Stop Killing Sword Hut will surely perish because of you."

    "You of the Stop Killing Sword Hut cannot bear the karma of discerning good and evil in this world."

    Di¨¡n H¨¦ Shang Kong Xiang shook his head in regret, seemingly lamenting her lack of contention. He muttered a Buddhist chant, and another colossal Buddhist seal appeared.

    "Master, if you do not stop now, someone will die because of you. How will you achieve Buddhahood, what kind of Buddhism are you practicing?" The Sword Immortal was frantic, as Kong Xiang''s foundation far exceeded her expectations; his mana was enormously vast, surpassing his peers, sticking to her like adhesive and impossible to shake off.

    "Ha ha, in all my life, why should I have to explain my actions to others!"

    "My relics have always cultivated within a sea of blood!"

    "Why should some be exempt from death? ''Good brings good return, evil brings retribution'' - I uphold this. The Overbearing Blade has slaughtered indiscriminately, which I have long heard about since leaving the temple. Yi Taoist is the recompense for his life. In consideration of your honorable teacher, Fairy, you''d better not get involved in this karma."

    "Why do I need to become a Buddha, for, in truth, I am Buddha, and everyone is Buddha."

    "This monk is truly sincere in my path! I''m done pretending; damn it, I just can''t stand the sight of Domineering Blade. Sword Fairy, bring it on!"

    The crazed monk burst into laughter like a madman, spouting mad words as he summoned a violent True Void Palm Strike towards Sword Fairy.

    "Holy shit, I can actually deal with Master Kong Xiang? Invite him for a meal, and he''s really up for it~" While Yi Chen was engaged in a fierce battle with the demon-possessed Domineering Blade, he also spared a portion of his attention to follow the battle on the crazed monk''s side.

    Thus, he heard every word the crazed monk said.

    He would remember this favor.

    Since Kong Xiang had already taken on Sword Fairy, Yi Chen no longer needed to be distracted by that concern.

    It was time to show his true power.

    The power of the True Yang Spirit.

    "Domineering Blade, you think you are worthy of this name?" Yi Chen snarled with a sinister smile.

    At this moment, Domineering Blade''s consciousness was entirely suppressed by the demon sword and couldn''t respond to Yi Chen. With a roar, as if tireless, he lifted his blade to strike again.

    "Demon Blade Momentum - Dawn Breaks!"

    A grand blade qi slashed out from Domineering Blade''s hand. Covered in blood, the ''he'' that was now demonically possessed didn''t spare his body, intent only on killing the imposing Daoist before him.

    The blood-colored blade light appeared in an instant, swelling against the wind. Amidst the white surges, a streak of red blade light emerged, like the first light of breaking dawn, but it was not as warm as the morning light; instead, it carried a boundless desire for slaughter.

    A single strike divided the river!

    Cutting through a myriad of waves!

    Endless blade qi flooded out from the demon blade''s edge, hurtling towards Yi Chen''s head with a force that could destroy heaven and earth.

    This strike, there was no avoiding it.

    However, Yi Chen had no intention of avoiding it at all.

    He chanted the word "Pure Yang" in his heart.

    An imposing Daoist phantom stood tall above the river''s surface, the mighty deep blue Inner Qi turning the river water into a mist.

    Yi Chen bathed in the river of blade qi, moving against the current while continually throwing punches, swiftly charging towards Domineering Blade.

    The intense blade qi friction against his True Yang Spirit''s Daoist phantom sparked bursts of fire.

    Yet Yi Chen remained unfazed.

    This was the real substance of the damage-resistant Yi Taoist who could also dish out high injury.

    He could withstand it!

    By the time the river of blade qi had eroded away his True Yang Spirit''s phantom, he would have already made enough round trips to reach Domineering Blade.

    Boom!

    Fist met blade!

    Centered around the two of them, the river water within dozens of meters instantly exploded upwards and cleared away.

    The onlookers'' eyes widened, only to see a large green hand grasping the tip of Domineering Blade''s blade.

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    The cold voice of Yi Chen swept across the area.

    "Got you, you little bastard."

    "Ora!"

    Fists fell like raindrops, hammering onto Domineering Blade.

    The demon sword slowly faded in color in Domineering Blade''s hand, and his eyes began to clear.

    "Taoist... Taoist, stop... stop hitting, I''m wrong...." Domineering Blade struggled as he begged for mercy.

    "Domineering Blade, without a domineering heart, you dare to claim the name Domineering Blade? You dare to provoke me?"

    "Your purity, it''s too low!"

    Yi Chen''s face wore a pleased smile as he delivered a punch right to the head. Simultaneously, the river water that had been blasted into the sky also happened to fall back down, obscuring what followed.

    A circle of red blood water emerged on the surface of the river.

    Yi Chen walked out of the river''s center, dragging Domineering Blade''s corpse like dragging a dead dog, leaving deep footprints.

    "Pretty Sheep, Fiery Sheep isn''t moving anymore, huh?" Yi Chen said to Sword Fairy with a smile.

    He couldn''t help but laugh out loud.

    Upon erasing the demonic thoughts residing within the demon sword with his Pure Yang Inner Qi, he was shocked to find it had released five hundred Deep Red Points.

    "There''s such a windfall?" Yi Chen was ecstatic inside.

    He had improved once again.

 Chapter 135 I already know your trump card.

    Ma Tianyuan gritted his teeth and tossed in another wave of chips.Yi Chen stared deeply at Kong Xiang and Ma Tianyuan for a long while, pondering before finally giving a slow nod of agreement.

    "I want the goods first."

    "Agreed!"

    Immediately after, Ma Tianyuan handed over a major pill and a True Yang Breakthrough Talisman to Yi Chen and also revealed the first piece of information about Yin Manor.

    "Those who possess the Yin Manor mark have their own tablet in the Spirit Hall. Mark holders who kill one another can obtain the remaining time of the mark bearer they killed, thereby delaying the next trial of Yin Manor."

    "Additionally, Taoist might want to conceal your own Yin Manor mark well. Those who''ve seen the mark can perceive that unique, faint aura belonging to Yin Manor when they see your mark," Ma Tianyuan said somberly.

    Hearing this, Yi Chen quickly pulled out a hooded cloak from his storage ring, which he got from the Overlord Chicken, and put it on, no longer caring whether it was a good fit or not.

    Damn that Ba Dao, if not for that son of a bitch, it wouldn''t have come to this.

    As for how Ma Tianyuan came by the information about Yin Manor, Yi Chen didn''t ask. It wasn''t hard to understand that the Ma family, even as a branch of one of the nine great clans of Da Yue, possessed some unique intelligence.

    "Taoist, just find a random inn to rest at. I can recognize the mark on you, and Zhu by surname will naturally do the same. He will surely send someone to invite Taoist," Ma Tianyuan advised.

    After nodding, Yi Chen left the place expressionlessly and returned to Wujang Prefecture.

    He headed straight to a clothing shop and bought ten sets of Daoist robes.

    The clothing shop owner, Xiusan Nian, sent Yi Chen off with flushed cheeks, staring deeply at Yi Chen''s broad back muscles and sturdy legs, then looking at her own potbellied husband behind the counter. She sighed deeply, twisted her hips, turned her head, and walked out towards the stall selling goji berries.

    Yi Chen casually found an inn and booked an upper room where he could quietly reflect on the recent events.

    He couldn''t help but admire Ma Tianyuan''s tactics more and more.

    Indeed, the dogs that bite don''t bark.

    The waters of Wujang Prefecture run deep.

    He wondered how long Ma Tianyuan had been waiting for this day.

    Perhaps the recent marriage arrangement between the Ma and Zhu families was merely one of his smoke bombs to deceive others?

    Moreover, Ma Tianyuan likely had a deeply hidden mole within the Zhu family, playing the fool for decades, finally making his move against the Zhu family after obtaining key information.

    Once successful in this endeavor, Wujang Prefecture would likely bear the Ma surname.

    This man was extremely cautious, even secretly allying with the Red Flame Army stationed near Wujang Prefecture. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Heh, considering the Zhu family has connections within the Town Peace Office, he must have feared startling the snake. Fearing the Peace Office might squash the matter internally, he thus boldly allied with the military to make sure Zhu Buqun''s crimes were firmly established.

    This likely also involved a struggle for power between the military and the Town Peace Office.

    "Those surnamed Ma are indeed ruthless," Yi Chen reflected, gaining a clearer understanding of Ma Tianyuan''s tactics and the current situation.

    The nine great families of Da Yue are not a monolithic entity. Though harmonious on the surface, there are turbulent undercurrents below.

    All want to take a bite out of the other.

    Even the current situation might have been facilitated by the Ma family''s acquiescence.

    Decades of being a yes-man, tolerating, could it not be a tactic of arrogance, bait laid out for fishing?

    The one with a plan always has the upper hand, this venture should be almost guaranteed, Yi Chen felt the gains outweighed the risks.

    Not only did he obtain a life-extending pill, he acquired information about Yin Manor from the Ma family, but he could also extort something from the Zhu family.

    Although it was likely that he could get some information about Yin Manor after ascending Dragon Tiger Mountain, it wasn''t 100% certain. Getting a portion in advance, even simply to cross-check later, would be beneficial.

    Knock, knock, knock!

    Speak of the devil, and the devil is here.

    A forceful knocking resounded.

    Yi Chen opened the door to find a young man clad in the attire of a thousand-household official, his face as pale as death.

    His complexion was whiter than if he had been soaked in formalin for three days, as if he had rewarded himself eight hundred times in a single day.

    "Who are you?" Yi Chen asked ''suspiciously''.

    "Could you be Taoist Yi Chengzi? I am Zhu Teng, a thousand-household official from the Town Peace Division, and I have a favor to ask of you," the young man said ''urgently'',

    "Our Town Peace Division has received intelligence that Hu Bugui, the first Saint Heir of the Purgatory Demon Sect, who has caused countless slaughters near our Wujang Prefecture, is currently secluded in Muchang County, cultivating his Yin Wheel Blood Evil Demon Technique."

    "However, this man''s cultivation is extremely high, and our Town Peace Division is short-handed and fears it will be difficult to surround and kill him, hence we specifically wish to ask for your assistance to lend us a helping hand," he continued.

    In order to strengthen his persuasiveness, the young man added, "Sword Immortal Lady has already called upon the righteous heroes to join the demon subjugation, and Master Kong Xiang has also agreed."

    "Oh," Yi Chen responded flatly.

    For a moment, the two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

    Suddenly, the air began to quiet down.

    Eventually, it was the young man who couldn''t hold back any longer, and he tentatively asked, "Taoist, the battle is urgent, what do you mean?"

    "Oh, is that so, then what?" Yi Chen asked, tilting his head.

    What a joke, his opponent''s hand had been completely spoiled by Ma Tianyuan''s bombshell; he didn''t believe he couldn''t handle this weakling in front of him, he must kill two birds with one stone and score a hefty sum.

    In the future feast of spoils, when the Zhu family falls and the Ma family is satiated, Yi Chen must grab more benefits first; otherwise, his conscience would hurt.

    He would despise himself.

    The young man cursed inwardly, gritting his teeth, "Of course, we can''t let the Taoist come all this way for nothing, our Town Peace Division is willing to offer a Vajra Marrow Tempering Pill as a gift to you."

    The Vajra Marrow Tempering Pill, requiring a True Person Realm elixir master to produce, significantly strengthens a cultivator''s muscles and bones; it is a top-tier precious elixir, highly valued even within the Town Peace Division where it can only be obtained through a great deal of merit.

    After some bargaining, the young man finally succeeded in adding money.

    They struck a deal for two Vajra Marrow Tempering Pills plus a thousand taels of gold.

    Yi Chen nodded with a compassionate air, "So be it, good and evil stand opposed, the struggle is for life."

    "For the sake of all under heaven, I shall make this journey," he said.

    The young man led the way with a dark expression, recalling his father''s words, there''s no fishing without baiting the hook, let''s just consider it baiting the hook.

    With his back to Yi Chen, a cold gleam flashed in the young man''s eyes.

    He would definitely teach this lofty Taoist a lesson. Your journey continues at empire

    What is given to you is not necessarily yours.

    It could just be that someone wants you to keep it safe for a while.

    Zhu Teng licked his lips, to be honest, he had taken a liking to Yi Chen''s storage ring.

    Even his father had only one such item, what deeds had qualified this man to possess a storage ring as well.

    Zhu Teng strode vigorously towards the front, not realizing that the closely following Yi Chen looked at him as one would look at a dead man walking.

    The group surged mightily in the direction of Muchang County.

    Yi Chen looked at the young faces around him and couldn''t help but shake his head.

    These young ones were still not cautious enough.

    Unaware that city roads are slippery, and human hearts are even more complex.

 Chapter 138 The End (Part 1)

    "General Chi Yan, why bother mocking me? Victory is for the king, defeat for the vanquished, it''s all about the battle."Zhu Buqun was indeed a stubborn man. The moment the General of the Chi Yan army appeared, he knew his influence had gone.

    It was like playing landlord in cards; if you hide four twos and someone else starts with a pair of jokers, then there''s nothing you can do.

    Yet, he was by no means the kind who would just wait to be slaughtered. For a time, he no longer hid his clumsiness and displayed his aura without any concern.

    True People should not be insulted.

    Even if he were to die, he would die on the battlefield.

    "Zhu Buqun, I originally thought you were quite a character. But, for the sake of your son, you''ve come to such an unwise end," scoffed the General of Chi Yan, casually sweeping the iron-blooded battle flag in his hand, sending an invisible surge of force straight towards a specific spot underground,

    "Lin, the fellow from the Infernal Demon Sect, do I need to personally invite you out?"

    A short, fat Daoist with a bitter face emerged from underground.

    His eyes filled with resentment as he gave Hu Bugui a hateful glare, releasing the imposing aura of the sixth layer of the True Person Realm without restraint.

    Hu Bugui had plotted well. Zhu Buqun had a weak point¡ªhis son¡ªwhich made it difficult to ask others to lend a hand in such dirty affairs. Even if he had a trump card, with his strength just entering the True Person Realm as number ten on the Dragon Tiger List, plus his own uncle,

    they planned to have Zhu Buqun first engage in a desperate struggle with sword immortals and cultivators led by Jian Xianzi, then his uncle would launch a sudden sneak attack,

    but unexpectedly, there was a mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

    For a moment, both Zhu Buqun and Hu Bugui couldn''t help but curse loudly.

    "Zhu Buqun, you worthless trash, you can''t even manage your own people. To have such a big affair eyed and sold out without your knowledge?" Hu Bugui was beside himself with anger; this time Zhu Buqun was really going to get him killed.

    When Zhu Buqun saw the short, fat Daoist hidden underground, how could he not have realized Hu Bugui''s schemes? He too was furious and rebuked the other.

    This scene even brought joy to Yi Chen.

    By now, he had more or less understood the full picture of the situation¡ªall three parties were dishonest.

    Just then, the short, fat Daoist from the Infernal Demon Sect, his body enveloped in a blood glow, actually tried to flee. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The short, fat Daoist was not foolish; how much money had he taken? His good nephew had given him nothing but IOUs. If it wasn''t for the fact that he was his master''s disciple and the first Saint Heir of the Infernal Demon Sect, it was still debatable whether he would have come at all.

    He never expected that Hu Bugui''s scheming was so careless, landing him in danger. His heart was filled with extreme hatred by now, and he naturally no longer cared about Hu Bugui''s life or death.

    Facing the notorious reputation of the General of Chi Yan, he had no desire to even engage in combat. Instead, he immediately used a certain Secret Technique that severely damaged his life force to escape.

    "Daoist Lin, why the rush to leave? If others see this, they might think that I have not been a good host," said the General of Chi Yan, seeing the Daoist act so decisively. He unfurled his flag and promptly pursued him.

    "Yi Taoist, please hold onto Hu Bugui. Master Kong Xiang, Sword Immortal, let''s join forces to hold down Governor Zhu."

    "Once General Chi Yan returns, our great task will be accomplished."

    Ma Tianyuan''s figure flickered, using some Secret Technique to suddenly appear beside Zhu Teng, a thousand-household officer, instantly turning him into a mist of blood with a palm strike.

    Sword Immortal and the mad monk exchanged glances. Neither held back any longer, each deploying their respective trump cards.

    "Each step a sin transforms, each step a lotus blossoms," chanted the mad monk with hands clasped together. In an instant, his body seemed to be cast in gold, and his eyes took on a golden hue. The aura around him surged vigorously, quickly reaching a pressure comparable to the first layer of the True Person Realm.

    "Swift!" Sword Immortal shouted crisply. Behind her, three Spirit Swords soared out of their sheaths like swimming dragons. The Sword Qi of the three swords interacting with each other formed a strange sword formation.

    The sword array appeared, and suddenly a three-colored pattern emerged in the center of the Sword Immortal''s brow.

    The pattern blossomed into three petals, one green, one blue, and one purple.

    With the emergence of the pattern, the Sword Immortal''s aura climbed steadily, instantly catching up with Kong Xiang, and by the end, even slightly surpassing him.

    Zhu Buqun, with bloodshot eyes, knew there was no chance of good fortune today. Tears filled his tiger-like eyes, as if grieving the death of his beloved child.

    "The indestructible golden body of ''The Great Mount Sumeru Worldsubduing Sutra,'' not yet a True Person but already solidifying the three-colored sword seal, and cultivating ''The Five-Colored Sword Sutra'' to such a realm¡ªthis generation''s list of powerful martial artists can be said to be the most remarkable in hundreds of years."

    "Ma Tianyuan, you''ve waited a long time for this day, haven''t you?"

    "Today, there is no fortune for Zhu. At the brink of death, I only want to ask you one true question. Years ago, when I was immersed in cultivation, and my wife went back to her maternal home, she was sneak-attacked and killed by a mysterious person¡ªwas that person you?"

    Zhu Buqun stared at Ma Tianyuan for a while, Ma Tianyuan''s movement technique seemed to remind him of something, and he suddenly asked aloud.

    "I am well-versed in poetry and books, Brother Zhu, how could you see me like that?" Ma Tianyuan''s complexion changed abruptly, clearly caught off guard.

    "Ah! Ma Tianyuan, you''re not just a mighty tiger, you''re a poisonous snake! Though I am ruthless, I am not as deeply calculating and dangerous as you!"

    A voice as mournful as a night owl echoed, and Zhu Buqun''s eyes shed two streams of blood tears. He no longer held the demeanor of an esteemed gentleman, and with a vengeful glare cast towards Ma Tianyuan, he attacked him desperately.

    In an instant, the four were entangled in a fight.

    Meanwhile, Yi Chen had already confronted Hu Bugui.

    Yi Chen''s fists were as heavy as mountains, while Hu Bugui brought the Yin Wheel Blood Fiend technique to its limit, wielding a blood-colored spear that thrust out a sky-full of illusory shadows.

    The blood-colored spear was enveloped in demonic energy, as if thousands of wronged souls were wailing.

    Yi Chen''s True Yang Spirit unfolded, and a three-meter-tall Daoist shadow stood in the sky like a blue flaming sun, dispelling all demonic energy and illuminating all directions.

    For a moment, energy surged chaotically.

    Hu Bugui made every effort to break through Yi Chen''s defenses, but each attempt ended in failure.

    Although Yi Chen was slightly stronger than Hu Bugui, to kill this demon was no easy task, thus the battle reached a stalemate.

    But Yi Chen was not at all anxious, merely entangling Hu Bugui was enough.

    This was like the strategy of using mismatched horses in a race; with their strongest fighter about to return, Yi Chen certainly wouldn''t use the Soul Ignition Technique at this moment for the sake of killing Hu Bugui.

    Time was on his side.

    "Taoist, stop fighting, I''m willing to pay for my life."

    "As long as the Taoist is willing to spare me, I will gift everything I have, from this ancient demon weapon in my hand to all resources, spirit stones, elixirs in my storage ring."

    Yi Chen ignored the pleas, continuing to punch and block Hu Bugui''s path.

    This relentless attitude completely broke through Hu Bugui''s defenses.

    "Taoist, you mad dog, is my life really that important to you? Once the leader of the Red Flame Army returns, you won''t get as many benefits," Hu Bugui couldn''t hold back and continued to roar through his spiritual transmission.

    His eyes blood-red, he executed a life-risking secret technique; his spear pierced out like a dragon, trying to break the encirclement.

    Yi Chen laughed, Yang Ji''s ''Four Symbols'' reappeared, and he blocked Hu Bugui once again, striking him from the sky down to the ground, creating a huge crater upon impact.

 Chapter 139 The End (Part 2)

    A cold voice came through, making Hu Bugui''s heart plummet to the bottom of the valley."Saint Heir, you''re not important to me, but to many people in Muyang Prefecture, you are very important!" Yi Chen replied expressionlessly.

    Just then, the leader of the Red Flame Army flew back from the sky, carrying a fine head.

    He glanced at the battle on Yi Chen''s side, then swept straight toward Zhu Buqun''s location.

    Unlike the ease on Yi Chen''s side, even though there was a three against one situation on Sword Immortal''s side, their situation became precarious.

    If it weren''t for Zhu Buqun''s deep hatred for Ma Tianyuan, making him act like a madman, they probably couldn''t have held him off, and he would have already broken through.

    Seeing the Red Flame Army''s leader free up the Sword Immortal and others, Yi Chen was overjoyed.

    "Fellow Taoists, there''s no need to talk about chivalry with a demon like Hu Bugui. Let''s fight side by side."

    When it''s time to call for help, one must do so.

    It can save a lot of effort this way.

    In an instant, Yi Chen, the Mad Monk, Sword Immortal, and Ma Tianyuan had Hu Bugui surrounded.

    "You think you still have the upper hand?" Yi Chen sneered at Hu Bugui.

    Beating a dying dog is always a pleasurable feeling.

    Hu Bugui, already hard-pressed to counter Yi Chen, was now up against three top experts. Naturally, he was subjugated in a moment and pierced by countless holes from Sword Immortal''s Spirit Sword.

    Blood spurted out like it was coming from a leaking plastic bag.

    Even the king of kings would commend the professionalism.

    After such a deed, Sword Immortal was still unsatisfied. A waterfall of sword light enveloped Hu Bugui''s body, and this young expert, ranked tenth on the Dragon and Tiger List and the first Saint Heir of the Infernal Demon Sect, was gruesomely dismembered alive amidst his screams.

    Only a skeleton remained, falling to the ground.

    Such malevolence made Yi Chen''s scalp tingle; he felt that this woman seemed to have changed.

    Perhaps sensing Yi Chen''s gaze, Sword Immortal removed her bloodstained veil, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.

    A dainty nose, cherry lips, eyes like limpid pools, and elven ears adorned her visage, with slender calves and slightly fuller thighs, skin as white as snow, bones as fine as jade, and a waist so delicate it could be encircled with a single hand.

    She was a collection of the world''s ethereal beauty, making one marvel at the Creator''s favoritism.

    "What are you looking at, Taoist priest?" Sword Immortal said, taking light steps forward, her smile radiantly charming as she looked up at Yi Chen.

    Next to the girl, there was Hu Bugui, reduced to a boney carcass that now resembled a lotus blossom made of flesh and blood.

    This bizarre contrast of scenes blended together, creating a uniquely thrilling beauty.

    "Immortal''s might is admirable!" At this moment, Sword Immortal''s demeanor was somewhat unique, as if she had awakened something strange. Yi Chen, not wanting to chat with someone lacking substance, moved over to the Mad Monk.

    "Are you Yi Chengzi?" a robust voice came; it was the leader of the Red Flame Army.

    It took less than three moves. Zhu Buqun, who could not hold out even in a three against one fight, was captured like a dead dog in the hands of the Red Flame Army''s leader.

    Yi Chen was seeing a human bigger than himself for the first time, nearly three meters tall, exuding an overwhelming presence.

    "I, Yi Chengzi, have seen the Army Leader."

    "You, not bad, quite strong. A priest like you is exactly the kind of talent we need in the Red Flame Army. Come, join us, and I''ll offer you the position of deputy leader." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The leader of the Red Flame Army looked Yi Chen up and down carefully, his eyes filled with admiration as he spoke, prompting Ma Tianyuan to widen his eyes in surprise.

    He had never seen the Red Flame Army''s leader take such a liking to anyone.

    Yi Chen naturally declined.

    Whether it''s the Bureau for Stability or the military, such tightly knit organizations come with too many restrictions and are not suited to his temperament.

    "Well then, do you have a beloved?"

    "I have a daughter, tender and beautiful."

    "You have a good build, and you look alright. I think you can make my daughter happy. How about we set the wedding date today?"

    The leader of the Red Flame Army stroked his sparse beard, continuing with his astonishing proposal.

    Yi Chen glanced at the Red Flame Army leader''s three-meter stature and contemplated his daughter.

    The daughter of the leader of the Red Flame Army?

    Tender and beautiful?

    Extremely beautiful?

    My god.

    That "little bird" must be a pterosaur.

    I can''t handle that.

    Yi Chen shook his head like a rattle drum and continued to decline politely.

    "Hey, you''re missing out on an opportunity; if I didn''t dislike those weaklings out there, a chance like this wouldn''t fall to a little Taoist priest like you. Come to the Red Flame Army base for a drink sometime," the leader of the Red Flame Army said to Yi Chen with regret.

    He showed not a hint of annoyance at Yi Chen''s twin refusals, demonstrating an exceptionally good temper.

    He gave Ma Tianyuan a nod, lifted Zhu Buqun like a dead dog, and flew into the sky, vanishing in an instant without paying any attention to Sword Immortal or Kong Xiang.

    Master Kong Xiang looked at Yi Chen with a strange expression.

    Ma Tianyuan''s eyes widened, as if trying to comprehend the scene before him.

    Sword Immortal''s mouth hung open slightly, also seemingly shocked.

    "Why are you all staring at me like that?" Yi Chen asked uncomfortably as he was being gazed at by several people.

    "Does the Taoist priest know the name of the Commander of the Red Flames?"

    "I don''t know," Yi Chen answered truthfully.

    "The full name of the Commander of the Red Flames is Yan God Pillar."

    "His daughter''s name is Yan Ling''er, exceedingly beautiful. Gossips have ranked her fifth on the ''Dynasty Beauty List'' of the most beautiful women of the age."

    "The number of suitors proposing to the Commander of the Red Flames every day is countless, but the Commander has agreed to none, looking down on them all. It''s quite baffling, really, why the Commander holds the Taoist priest in such high regard."

    Yi Chen: "..." Maybe it''s because I''m of high purity?

    The deranged monk seemed to have seen Yan Ling''er and patted his thigh regretfully on Yi Chen''s behalf.

    With such an anguished expression, Yi Chen wondered if the monk would make a decision against his founder''s teachings had the Commander of the Red Flames made that statement to him.

    But Yi Chen had no regrets about it.

    Women, they only slow down the speed of his punches.

    However, that did not stop Yi Chen from digging a pit for Kong Xiang.

    "Is Yan Ling''er truly so peerless in beauty? How does she compare to the Sword Immortal''s daughter?"

    Some Taoist priests are just craftily wicked.

    The ball was now in Master Kong Xiang''s court.

    The Sword Immortal''s daughter fixed her enchanting eyes on Kong Xiang''s face, seemingly quite eager for his response.

    The deranged monk was suddenly at a loss for words, and with a swish of his large sleeves, he left behind the phrase, "There are still some little rats resisting below; this poor monk will go handle it," and beat a hasty retreat.

    Monks do not lie, they only strike people.

    Yi Chen followed closely behind.

    Under the guiding principle of "Those who surrender, live; those who do not, transcend life," the battle below was quickly settled.

    To express their gratitude, Yi Chen received a storage ring from Hu Bugui''s hand, while the elixirs and other materials were divided between the Sword Immortal''s daughter and the deranged monk.

    Ma Tianyuan did not take a single thing, or rather, he gained the most.

    From today onwards, Wujang Prefecture would be under the sole dominance of the Ma family.

    "Taoist priest, there were many affairs today. Tomorrow, I will hold a banquet in the prefecture and I hope that the Taoist priest, the Immortal''s daughter, and the master will come for a chat," he said.

    The three exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. Then Yi Chen left the place alone and headed towards the location where he had previously encountered Little Miao.

    To meet is to be fated.

    For many years, Muyang Prefecture had suffered hardship. It was impossible for Yi Chen to help everyone, but ensuring a safe and joyful life for Little Miao was as easy as flipping his hand.

    With his status and strength at this very moment, a sprinkle of his goodwill was a blessing most deserving in the lives of ordinary people.

    With just one word, he could dispel calamities and decide fate and fortune.

    The insurmountable Flame Mountain in the fates of ordinary people was nothing more than a puddle of urine to be extinguished in his eyes.

    If he was in Muyang Prefecture, people like Hu Bugui and Zhu Buqun would have to look elsewhere to strut around, even if they had the inclination to do so.

    Otherwise, it would mean disrespecting him. And if they couldn''t get past that, then everyone would be at an impasse.

    By now, the sun was setting in the west. Looking at the bleak Muyang Prefecture, Yi Chen felt a sense of oppression. With a stomp of his foot, he soared into the sky.

    He saw the vast expanse of blue mountains like a sea, with the sunset''s glow as red as blood.

    Unknowingly, a crescent moon appeared on the horizon.

    The sun and the moon shared the sky.

    Most auspicious.

    More than a decade in Muyang Prefecture.

    How many wronged souls have lamented.

    With only emptiness, the human world is boundless.

    The waning moon rises, a sudden strong wind blows, scattering everything away.

    Looking at the slanting sun shining on the earth''s paths, it all begins anew.

    "Master, before you died, you asked me to follow the path of righteousness, and I have done so indeed," he said.

    The Hidden Dragon has Taoist priests, faithful and true to their word.

    "This evening, an intense wind has blown away the dark clouds over Muyang Prefecture. Although I do not know when the miasma will return, for the common people of Muyang Prefecture, it should grant them a few years of peaceful slumber," he mused.

    "With my face, it should be no problem to greet people like Kong Xiang and ask Wujang Prefecture to reduce some taxes for Muyang Prefecture," he lamented.

    Yi Chen sighed.

    The dark clouds over Muyang Prefecture had been scattered, but who could help dispel the dark clouds over Yi Chengzi''s head?

    "I still have to rely on my own efforts~"

    "I must acquire more Deep Red Points."

    Yi Chen''s expression became serious as he sensed Little Miao''s location and quietly descended in a residential area.

    Even before the great battle had begun, he had instructed Little Miao to follow Little Miao and flee.

 Chapter 144 Midnight Ghost Stories, Encounter in the Old Temple.

    Within the dilapidated temple, the place was dense with cobwebs.A broken Buddha head had fallen to the ground, directly facing the temple''s entrance.

    The break was extremely rough, as if it had been swept off by a tremendous force.

    The paint on the Buddha head and the statues inside had faded and dissolved, erasing any sense of compassion and instead conveying a fierce and terrifying appearance.

    Yi Chen entered with a frown on his face.

    At this time, seated to the left side of the temple''s main hall was a girl in a red gauze dress with picturesque eyebrows and eyes. She wore a long sword at her waist, and the slit in her dress ran up to her thigh, revealing her creamy leg.

    A tiny bell hung at her ankle.

    A youthful face.

    With great karmic ties.

    Upon seeing Yi Chen enter, the girl in red seemed quite nervous, subtly shifting further inside without making a sound.

    Yi Chen glanced at her briefly, said nothing, and then busied himself starting a fire. He took out skewers of bread pieces and lamb chops from the storage ring and began barbecuing.

    Soon, the scent of barbecue wafted throughout the dilapidated temple.

    The girl in the red dress clearly swallowed several times, her throat moving. She hesitantly spoke, "Daoist, my name is Su Su."

    When the girl spoke, she sounded timid, like a little rabbit newly exposed to the spring sun.

    Yi Chen glanced at her, grunted in acknowledgment, and then started to eat with Little Miao, ignoring her.

    But in his mind, he couldn''t help but comment, "Miss, your attire is anything but plain."

    "Perhaps you should be called ''Meaty'' instead."

    After a moment''s thought and perhaps feeling it was somewhat cruel, Yi Chen gave a subtle signal to Miao Zi. Little Miao then brought five skewers of grilled bread pieces to the girl in red.

    The girl in red was startled, then looked at the bread pieces before her, hesitated, and finally began to nibble on them obediently. Her eyes brightened as she chewed, her cheeks puffed out.

    Just then, with a creaking noise, a young couple and a scholar carrying a book chest entered the temple one after another.

    The scholar was dressed in a whitened scholar''s robe, looking quite handsome with his hands tucked into the large sleeves.

    As for the young couple, they were wearing conical bamboo hats and carrying bundles, dressed like wanderers of the martial world.

    The man had a rather arrogant demeanor, whereas the woman was pretty with a hint of slyness in her eyes.

    "Daoist, might I..." The young woman who had just entered began to speak to Yi Chen.

    "Is there something you need?"

    Just as she was about to broach a topic, Yi Chen bit each of the remaining skewers in his hand.

    "Never mind."

    The young couple, with darkened faces, found a corner to sit down in the broken temple, and the scholar did the same.

    The four groups of people sat clearly segregated in their respective corners of the dilapidated temple. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It had been evening when Yi Chen entered the temple, and without noticing, the sky gradually darkened.

    Inside the temple, the sound of wind, rain, and thunder filled the ears.

    The girl who claimed to be Su Su shivered uncontrollably in a corner after finishing her bread pieces, catching the eye of the young man until the sly young woman beside him pinched him several times, causing him to grimace in pain.

    However, evidently a man of great perseverance, he dared to look again.

    His eyes roving, he seemed to have thought of something and addressed the group:

    "We meet by fate in this ancient temple deep in the mountains; why don''t we all introduce ourselves?"

    "I am Li Qingyang, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Pine Crane Sword Faction, and this is my junior sister, Li Jingjing. I presume you''ve all heard of the grand reputation of the Pine Crane Sword Faction."

    No sooner had he spoken these words than everyone looked blankly at each other.

    The scholar, on the other hand, was quite polite. He stood up and courteously said, "I have heard much of it. I am merely a poor scholar from nearby named Liuseng, and I''ve come to the mountain solely to pick some herbs to supplement my family''s income."

    The scholar opened the bamboo book chest he carried, revealing several herbs inside.

    "A mountain hermit, Yi Chengzi," Yi Chen said sparingly.

    Hearing Yi Chen''s words, a flicker of surprise appeared in the girl in red, as if recalling some rumor. She shivered even more violently, stammering, "I... I''m called Su Su."

    She trembled even more fiercely.

    The young man became even more enthusiastic and couldn''t help but say, "The night is long, why don''t we each tell a ghost story to pass the time? How about it?"

    "I''ll go first."

    "Let me tell about a ghost incident that happened in Mizhi County a year ago."

    "A couple in Mizhi County were always quarreling, and during one argument, the husband accidentally killed his wife and then buried her body under the chestnut tree in the backyard."

    "A few days later, the man found it strange why the children hadn''t seen their mother for days yet didn''t ask him about it at all."

    "So one day he asked the child, ''Your mom hasn''t been home for several days, aren''t you worried at all?''"

    The child answered, "I find it very strange, why Dad, in the last few days, you''ve been carrying Mom on your back."

    "Hehe, after that the child''s father came to us at the Songhe Sword Sect. I saw through the ghost instantly, and with a sword that soared like a dragon, I killed the ghostly figure and also delivered the wife-killer to the authorities."

    "If Miss Su is afraid, perhaps she would sit beside me."

    Yi Chen: "..." Your damn scheme clanked louder than the thunder outside.

    Just as Li Qingyang''s scheme was exposed, his junior sister by his side became as puffed up as a blowfish, and mercilessly ridiculed him, "Big brother, you''re farting, our Songhe Sword Sect is more than twenty-six thousand li away from Mizhi County. How come I didn''t know you went to Mizhi County a year ago? You''re just lusting after Miss Su''s body, you''re despicable."

    Miss Su did not speak, but continued to shiver.

    "Let me tell one," said the herb-picking scholar, taking over the second turn.

    "This is my personal experience."

    "My family is poor, so I normally go to help guard the night at our town''s charity hall to earn some hard-earned money."

    "One night while I was on duty, I heard someone knocking on the door. When I opened it, a cold breath came through and a girl with a bamboo plaque tied to her hand stood outside."

    "Startled, I slammed the door shut and called the charity hall''s master."

    "Do you know why?"

    "Hehe, because having a bamboo plaque tied to the hand is the rule at our charity hall, each corpse has a bamboo plaque tied to the wrist to identify the body."

    "After that midnight scare, I switched to harvesting herbs on the mountain to supplement my family''s income."

    The scholar said, still shaken by the memory.

    At this moment, the sound of the wind and rain outside the temple grew louder, mixed with the roars of unknown beasts, as if a strange creature was approaching, sending shivers down everyone''s spine.

    A mysterious expression emerged in Yi Chen''s eyes.

    "Daoist, it''s your turn," urged Li Qingyang, his eyes rolling around, clearly not giving up on his tricks.

    The scholar was the same.

    "Do you really want me to tell it?" Yi Chen rose and said.

    "Of course," the two said in unison.

    "My ghost story is¡ª"

    Boom!

    Yi Chen''s figure flashed violently, his big hand suddenly gripping the throat of the reading scholar.

    "Is the bamboo plaque of this style?" With a fierce tug, Yi Chen''s other hand, which had been tucked in his sleeve, pulled down the scholar''s hand that was constantly hidden, and filthy blood spilled out, leaving everyone''s eyes wide in shock.

    In an instant, the scholar''s complexion turned dark, his face covered with greenish-black corpse spots, revealing his true form.

    "Evil creature, did you really need me to compel you to show yourself?"

    Yi Chen spit out a deep azure Pure Yang force, instantly burning the scholar to ashes.

    The girl in red burst into tears at once:

    "Daoist, don''t kill me. Although I am a disciple of the Evil Sound Sect, I didn''t do this. I''ve never even killed a chicken, let alone use evil magic to harm people."

    Being naturally sensitive, Su Su of the Evil Sound Sect was extremely alert. She often heard her senior brothers and sisters say that good and evil cannot coexist and that upon meeting, they''d be at each other with swords drawn. When she ran into Yi Chen in this broken temple, she was scared stiff.

    Damn it, the first time she went on a long journey, she encountered a Daoist whose Pure Yang power was like a furnace.

    Feeling the mountainous and ocean-like Pure Yang Qi inside the Daoist, she was terrified.

    She was going to die.

    "You''re making too much noise."

    "What does your Evil Sound Sect have to do with me?" Yi Chen shouted angrily.

    No sooner had he spoken when a Mountain Lord, over five meters long and shrouded in black Qi, elegantly walked into the decrepit temple.

 Chapter 145 Killing the Tiger, Little Miaos Promotion.

    Behind the Mountain Lord, there followed eleven ghosts, their bodies covered with corpse spots, including men, women, old and young alike. Leading them was a pregnant ghost, whose aura was not much less intimidating than that of Lin Baihu.Seeing the appearance of the Mountain Lord, Little Miao couldn''t help but let out a low growl.

    However, its growl, compared to the massive presence of the Mountain Lord, was undoubtedly like the light of a firefly trying to compete with the bright moon.

    Witnessing this scene, Yi Chen''s heart was filled with ecstatic joy for a moment.

    The moment he first saw the scholar in the ruined temple, he realized it was a ghost under thrall.

    The bigger one was yet to come.

    Indeed, heaven rewards the diligent, and finally, his wait was over.

    It was even a big cat that came into the temple with offerings.

    Buy one, get twelve.

    This wasn''t a Mountain Lord, this was a living Buddha.

    "Ah, it''s actually the Black Wind Mountain Lord, now we''re doomed," the girl in the red dress instantly snapped out of the joy from Yi Chen letting her go, and her head turned towards a new despair.

    In the sudden turn of events, although Li Qingyang was visibly terrified, he still drew his long sword to protect his junior sister behind him, earning him another look from Yi Chen.

    True to the saying, you can''t tell if a person has integrity until a crisis hits.

    Yi Chen cast his gaze towards the Mountain Lord, licking his lips with an intense look in his eyes, as if admiring a peerless treasure.

    Even the gigantic Mountain Lord felt a chill run down its spine under Yi Chen''s stare.

    "Taoist, what are you looking at?"

    "Was it you who killed my ghosts under thrall?"

    "Hand over that spirit beast by your side, and I can let you leave."

    The gigantic tiger before them had actually refined its hyoid bone to speak human language.

    It looked at Little Miao by Yi Chen''s side, eyes filled with greed. It sensed a call from the source of its bloodline; by devouring Little Miao, it might advance further towards the source, stepping closer to the True Person Realm of human cultivators.

    This was also the reason it dared to reveal itself.

    Although the Daoist before it had a deep and inscrutable aura, Black Wind Mountain Lord was willing to take this gamble.

    Others fear, I covet!

    If one can''t compete with lineage, then one must compete with life itself.

    Stuck at its current bottleneck for nearly a hundred years, limited by its bloodline and unable to break through, how could it not seize this rare opportunity when it finally sensed the flow from a superior ancestral bloodline of its tiger demon kin?

    It had to consider whether this was the only chance it would have in this life.

    To revive the glory of the splendid tiger clan, Black Wind Mountain Lord felt an unavoidable duty!

    This time, it had brought out all its belongings.

    Once its mind was set, Black Wind Mountain Lord''s black aura surged again, its momentum growing stronger.

    "Taoist, tell me your decision!!!"

    Black Wind Mountain Lord roared, and from its nostrils sprayed a breath that formed a white mist sword in the cold air, extending over three meters long.

    Yi Chen smiled slightly and did not respond directly. His eyes showed a hint of reminiscence.

    "Tiger, every time I enter the forest, I''m reminded of an ''old friend''."

    "Back then, it knocked over my candied haws."

    "Sadly, I still wasn''t able to bring it out in one piece."

    "So, you go and keep it company."

    Suddenly, Yi Chen''s voice rose eight octaves.

    A blue sun shone on the two large eyeballs of Black Wind Mountain Lord. The tall Daoist stood hovering in the air, his robe billowing furiously, his body muscular, and slabs of muscle, like armor, covered his body.

    Such a transformation startled the three onlookers, who opened their mouths in amazement.

    Especially the girl in the red dress, Su Su, who couldn''t help but weep with joy.

    She felt that life was really full of ups and downs, truly thrilling.

    Yi Chen had considered subjugating the huge Mountain Lord before him, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

    First, this demonic beast was wild and untamable; the ghostly apparitions it cultivated had harmed countless people. Without a means to restrain it, it was impossible to let it remain.

    Secondly, his dear eldest son was meowing incessantly by his side, fiercely urging Yi Chen to kill it so it could devour its blood and flesh to grow rapidly.

    Therefore, the fate of the Mountain Lord was sealed.

    "Attack!"

    The huge, magnificent tiger let out a roar, urging its ghostly minions to stop Yi Chen while it turned and ran without looking back.

    It admitted that there was an element of gambling in its actions, yet it was clear that it had lost the bet.

    "Damn it, to think it was a True Person of the Human Realm, flawless all around."

    "I''m afraid the spiritual beast accompanying this person was also specifically brought out to arouse my greed."

    "Despicable humans, truly have sinister intentions."

    In an instant, the Mountain Lord recalled many things. It had fought battles for hundreds of years, immersed in a sea of blood¡ªit accepted losses as they came and acted with extreme decisiveness.

    Without hesitation, it abandoned the ghostly minions it had accumulated over the years, all to delay that Daoist behind it even for just a moment.

    It still had a chance.

    The sight of the Mountain Lord fleeing caused Yi Chen to laugh with exasperation.

    The eleven ghostly minions could not defy the Mountain Lord''s will¡ªsome flung themselves at Yi Chen like moths to a flame, while others attacked the three individuals behind Yi Chen.

    However, all of this was in vain.

    The vast difference in strength made the ghostly minions disappear like soap bubbles under the sun. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After dealing with all the ghostly apparitions, Yi Chen''s Pure Yang Inner Qi surged as he chased after the escape route of the Mountain Lord with great speed.

    In the blink of an eye, he vanished from everyone''s sight, leaving only the continuous roars of beasts and the trembling earth behind.

    Less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, Yi Chen returned to the dilapidated temple dragging a huge five-meter-long magnificent tiger corpse.

    The Mountain Lord had a long, narrow cut in its abdomen, its internal organs and blood spilled everywhere.

    After reigning for hundreds of years, the master of the forest within a thousand li, the Mountain Lord, met its end.

    One by one, notifications appeared before Yi Chen''s eyes.

    [You have successfully killed Ghost 1, awarded twenty Deep Red Points.]

    [You have successfully killed Ghost 2, awarded thirty Deep Red Points.]

    ¡­

    ¡­

    [You have successfully killed Ghost 12, awarded forty Deep Red Points.]

    [You have successfully killed the Mountain Lord, awarded two hundred and forty Deep Red Points.]

    Together with the scholar, a total of twelve ghostly apparitions contributed three hundred and sixty Deep Red Points to Yi Chen, and with the Mountain Lord''s share, this journey actually yielded a full six hundred Deep Red Points.

    This was the most effortless and substantial amount of Deep Red Points Yi Chen had ever earned, leaving him feeling somewhat incredulous.

    "Could it be that touching the Sword Immortal''s flying hair bun could change one''s luck?"

    Yi Chen inspected his left hand carefully, his face filled with disbelief.

    On the panel, Yi Chen''s accumulated Deep Red Points had now reached an impressive total of 1856.

    The gap in Deep Red Points needed to reach the tenth level of True Pure Yang Skill was now halfway closed.

    Seeing Yi Chen return, Little Miao excitedly rubbed against his face, then promptly burrowed into the Mountain Lord''s abdomen and began to devour it voraciously.

    As Little Miao feasted, its body began to glow red like breathing, growing larger. The red light grew denser, eventually forming into a blood cocoon, entwined with sinister purple patterns that twinkled under the moonlight.

    Yi Chen, looking at the Mountain Lord hollowed out by Little Miao, leaving nothing but a magnificent tiger skin and skeleton, was filled with endless emotions.

    "Mountain Lord, truly a great benefactor."

    "Burning oneself to illuminate others."

    "Incisive, correct, hit the nail on the head, doing good deeds daily¡­"

    "One day, when my great Dao is accomplished, and I compile my travelogue, I shall certainly include a chapter on the tale of the magnificent tiger."

 Chapter 146 Journey, Approaching Dragon Tiger Mountain

    With that thought in mind, Yi Chen swept up the Mountain Lord''s skeletal remains from the ground with a wave of his sleeve and stored them in his storage ring.This item was useless to him, but for the ordinary landlords who couldn''t cultivate, it was a treasure; just soak it in some strong liquor, and it would be a great tonic.

    Soon enough, each jar would be priced at one hundred taels, and don''t you dare haggle.

    The bones of a late-stage Qi Refinement Realm tiger demon were a rare find; a bone-soaked liquor sold to you for one hundred taels wasn''t expensive, not at all.

    If you didn''t buy it, there were plenty of others who would.

    He would even have to set different prices based on the different parts of the tiger brother''s bones.

    As he mulled over this, Yi Chen had a sudden inspiration and also collected the leftover bone trimmings on the ground into the storage ring.

    He had almost forgotten about the down-market.

    These were the people who had some money, but not much.

    In his previous life, Maotai could collaborate with Luckin Coffee to offer a taste to others; he could completely consider following that example.

    If you couldn''t afford authentic tiger bone-infused elixirs, you could buy those infused with bone trimmings; this one was cheaper, sold for only ten taels.

    He could also release a version where bone sticks were used for a few days, like the Yangcheng Lake''s bathing crabs, selling for one tael each.

    Yi Chen''s mind raced with thoughts, contemplating how to maximize profits from this opportunity. It was a pity that he was too naive and kind-hearted; having not exercised his mind much lately, his thoughts were rusty, resulting in only a few simple plans even after some contemplation.

    Cultivation, cultivation, wealth as the partner to the law and the land, with wealth at the forefront.

    In the world of cultivation, gold and silver were indispensable elements.

    For example, after reaching the eighth or ninth level of the True Person Realm, if one could refine a treasure similar to the Heaven-reaching Tower or another building of the sort, it would greatly aid a cultivator in better understanding the heavens and earth.

    To forge structures such as the Heaven-reaching Tower, a mountainous sea of gold and silver was required as the base material.

    For instance, Dragon Tiger Mountain possessed a Thousand-Zhang-Tall Tower that unfolded with an inscription of eight large characters:

    Observe the Tao of Heaven, uphold Heaven''s mandate.

    This tower, which had been enhanced and blessed by successive Heavenly Masters, was one of the foundations of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

    Of course, for such mighty weapons, gold and silver were merely the easiest parts to solve; a countless number of precious ores and elemental stones would follow.

    This was a game only the top sects could afford to play.

    Even the great sects themselves felt the pinch and couldn''t keep such buildings open at all times, with many restrictions, despite the greater benefits. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Therefore, if Hidden Dragon Temple intended to become a top sect, it would need plenty of gold and silver, plenty of resources.

    Without resorting to theft or robbery, solely relying on cutting the leeks for development, Yi Chen would earn from those with money.

    Begin the harvest!

    For now, start with some small-time hustles; once he had the combat power of a True Monarch, he could afford to take bigger and wilder steps.

    There''s no rush, Yi Chengzi''s toolbox still had many tools to utilize. Slowly accumulating, gradually devouring, Hidden Dragon Temple was sure to become a great sect.

    "Master, oh Master, taking me as your disciple was like finding a treasure."

    "What accurate judgment!"

    Yi Chen touched his chin and couldn''t help but break into a smile.

    Today he had earned another six hundred Deep Red Points.

    "Steadily improving."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "Bright sunny days, what splendid spring light, with red blossoms and the green grass."

    "Merrily, merrily, I run forward, over the green mountains my youth not yet worn."

    Humming a tune from his hometown, Yi Chen continued his journey on the official road; it had been nine days since he left the ancient temple.

    Little Miao also finally achieved her breakthrough a few days ago, emerging from the blood cocoon.

    A strange black cat with wings on its ribs was darting about the mountain path, catching butterflies and pouncing on birds, one moment growing into a meter-long little black panther, the next shrinking to the size of a palm to play with butterflies.

    This was Little Miao after her breakthrough.

    She had gained a new innate spell, ''Shape at Will.''

    Of course, she could grow to a bit more than a meter long at most, and shrink to palm size at the least.

    When Little Miao first grew big after her breakthrough, Yi Chen was overjoyed and took her for a test ride.

    But Miao Zi didn''t make it a few hundred meters before she sprawled out on the ground, refusing to move¡­

    With his mount dream shattered, Yi Chen continued on the road with Little Miao.

    Another ten days passed, and Yi Chen, his face weathered by the journey, took out a map to carefully compare his location and finally showed a long-missed smile.

    "Zhengyang City, I''m finally almost there."

    Zhengyang City was a major city not far from Dragon Tiger Mountain. It was initially formed by those who were disheartened in their hopes of entering Dragon Tiger Mountain, gathering to reside there. Over time, various powers slowly developed and converged, eventually forming the present Zhengyang City.

    The Daoists of Dragon Tiger Mountain do not prohibit marriage, and many of their family members also live in this city.

    "Miao Zi, let''s put in a bit of effort and aim to have a hot meal in Zhengyang City by noon," Yi Chen said, patting Little Miao''s head to encourage her.

    Through this journey, Little Miao had been meritorious; ever since her breakthrough, Yi Chen naturally handed over such small tasks as hunting to his lovely daughter.

    After all, why should a father do something when he has a son to do it?

    With Little Miao''s current strength, catching a leopard or a wild boar was as easy as pinching them directly, and she even dared to dig out honey.

    Of course, not every day of the nineteen-day journey was without incident.

    Once, Yi Chen and Little Miao were hurrying through a small forest and happened upon a clash of Red and White.

    This ghostly creature, which previously required Yi Chen''s master to use a forbidden technique to kill, now melted away like snow in the sunlight under Yi Chen''s overwhelming Pure Yang power.

    Yi Chen tearfully harvested another three hundred and eighty Deep Red Points.

    His total count of Deep Red Points had reached an astonishing 2236 points.

    He had never been so affluent in his life.

    Thanks to the gifts of nature.

    About half an hour later, a tall Daoist accompanied by a peculiar black cat emerged from the mountains, and the high walls of Zhengyang City could already be seen in the distance.

    Yi Chen lifted his head to look in the distance, where a massive city wall, about thirty meters tall, rose from the horizon. The bold characters for ''Zhengyang'' were prominently displayed above the city gate.

    Just one look, and a tremendously vigorous and powerful intention immediately rushed towards him, sending a shiver through his heart.

    "These two characters must have been written by a True Monarch of Dragon Tiger Mountain. A plaque with such might is truly terrifying."

    "Intention leaves its mark, lingering in objects, undispersed over the years. I wonder when I will reach such a realm."

    "This is much more useful than the Octagonal Soul Capture Mirror of the Peacekeeping Department."

    Yi Chen sighed softly, the hint of pride that sprouted from his breakthrough in cultivation instantly withering away.

    There are so many grandmasters out there; he still has a long road ahead of him.

    "This time, no matter what, I must obtain ''Dragon Tiger Alchemy Qi'' to view, to build my foundation and elevate my True Pure Yang Skill to a new height," Yi Chen licked his lips with a determined glint in his eyes, striding toward the city gate.

    Little Miao shrank her form and hid in his bosom, sticking out her little cat head to look around at the surrounding scenery curiously.

    As soon as he entered the city gate, a bustling and lively scene appeared before Yi Chen''s eyes.

 Chapter 147 Zhengyang City, Yue Qingzhu, Masters Secret.

    Below Dragon Tiger Mountain, where Jiangnan Circuit meets Jiangbei Circuit, stands the ancient and bustling city of Zhengyang.The scenery changes with every step.

    Following Yi Chen''s stride, everywhere the eye could see there were willow trees shrouding painted bridges, wind-flowing curtains, and emerald screens, with red-brick, green-tile, and bluestone-laid homes aplenty.

    The marketplace was strung like pearls, homes filled with silk and splendor, all competing in luxury.

    "Indeed, this might just be the diversity of the world," Yi Chen smacked his lips, and for some reason, he thought of the scene in Muyang County, and a sense of magic spontaneously arose within him.

    Time is money, and Yi Chen had no time to wander aimlessly; his objective was clear, and after asking a passerby for directions to a ready-to-wear clothing store and a famous restaurant in the city, he headed straight for the clothing store.

    No other reason.

    Clothes make the man, just as a saddle makes the horse.

    It was a matter of etiquette.

    After eating, he intended to make his pilgrimage to Dragon Tiger Mountain, and it was necessary to procure some better attire for the journey.

    Little Miao was no exception.

    A cup of tea''s time later, Yi Chen emerged from a ready-to-wear shop called ''Liu Yijian'', baring his teeth and grinning, dressed in a brand-new Taoist robe. Little Miao was also dressed in new attire, which matched the color of the Daoist robe, carrying a Tai Chi pattern on the back, with the words ''Hidden Dragon'' specially embroidered at the neckline.

    The clothes were nice, for which he kindly paid five hundred silver taels...

    Bearing the pain of expenditure, Yi Chen went to Zhengyang City''s famous restaurant, Liubi Ju, to treat himself.

    He found an empty seat by the window on the second floor.

    The old rule: no vegetables, no rice, but everything else was fair game.

    After nineteen days of eating barbecue and dry rations, he finally got to have stir-fried dishes.

    Before long, Yi Chen and Little Miao began to feast heartily. At the same time, Yi Chen pricked up his ears to eavesdrop on the conversations of other diners around him, covertly gathering information about Dragon Tiger Mountain.

    This was one of Yi Chen''s habits.

    A restaurant is the best place for gathering intelligence. The tidbits revealed in the gossip of many diners were enough for him to sketch out a rough outline of Dragon Tiger Mountain. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Just then, a group of young masters surrounded a uniquely graceful lady, as if stars crowding the moon, as they walked by.

    The beauty had peachy cheeks and almond-shaped eyes, delicate eyebrows and an elegant neck, with a lovely figure that could be comfortably embraced with one hand. Under the reflection of Yi Chen''s inner vision, he saw her clearly.

    She had at least a C+.

    "Princess Qingzhu, having traveled thousands of miles from the capital, I, Zhang Longyi, must fulfill my duties as a host," said one of the young men, earnestly introducing her to the locale.

    "Zhengyang City''s Jade Bamboo Brew is one of the delicacies at Liubi Ju that one simply must try."

    "Sorghum and rice must be complete, leaven must be timely, charcoal must be clean, spring water must be fragrant, pottery must be of good quality, and the fire must be just right."

    "This is the origin of the renowned name of Liubi Ju among Dragon Tiger Mountain''s inns."

    The leading young man''s explanation was punctuated by his distinguished demeanor, his eyebrows like drawn swords, his features noble, and his manners polished and gracious, somehow making the other young masters in his company look inferior by comparison.

    Next to him, they were like chickens beside a phoenix.

    However, Yi Chen still caught the surreptitious glances of the young man as his gaze casually swept over the beauty''s shapely rear, slender waist, and the exposed neck as smooth as jade.

    "That''s really low; I, at least, look with upright intentions," Yi Chen thought to himself. At that moment, he couldn''t help but admire the Heavenly Master for his creation, the "Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique" which truly was exceedingly practical. If it weren''t for the shortage of his Deep Red Points which needed to be used on more crucial matters, he would have really liked to test the limits of this pupil technique.

    "I would be much obliged for your trouble, Brother Daoist Long Yi and fellow disciples," the lady responded, her voice tinkling as pure as falling pearls, extremely pleasing to the ear.

    Zhang Longyi''s face showed a trace of a smile as he received the lady''s praise.

    In these times of changes, with the fluctuating political landscape, the meaning behind the Da Yue Dynasty dispatching the much-favored Princess Qingzhu for an exchange was self-evident.

    Zhang Longyi, despite being a True Disciple of the Dragon Tiger Mountain, hesitated outside the doors of the True Person Realm, unable to gain entry. If he could marry Princess Qingzhu this time, combining his father, Yuan Hong''s background as a True Monarch with the resources of the Da Yue dynasty, his future path in cultivation would surely become much smoother.

    Even for a True Monarch, it would not be impossible to take a look.

    Moreover, if he could marry Princess Qingzhu, his father could also benefit and have the opportunity to use the royal family''s Imperial Dragon Pavilion to attempt a breakthrough to the True Monarch realm.

    Zhang Longyi, with a gesture of his hand, invited the beauty to take a seat in a private compartment on the third floor.

    However, the beauty''s eyes were fixedly staring in Yi Chen''s direction.

    Seeing this scene, a dandy in the beauty''s entourage, quite perceptive, stepped forward to Yi Chen''s table with an arrogant demeanor.

    "Fellow Daoist, may I persuade you to give up your seat for us? I am willing to offer double the price as compensation."

    Yi Chen raised his head, not expecting the situation to involve him so directly.

    While he did not know why the beauty was looking at his seat, it did not stop him from fleecing the several obsequious men before him with a single stroke.

    He thought for a moment and said:

    "Ten times."

    Yi Chen had no intention of steadfastly refusing to move seats and getting into a fight with the disciples of Dragon Tiger Mountain in their own territory. He hadn''t gotten his hands on "Dragon Tiger Embracing the Elixir''s Great Qi", and he was very flexible in his stance.

    If the price was right, he would change seats.

    In this way, the sycophants would gain the favor of the beauty, Taoist Yi Chengzi would receive an excessive amount of silver, and everyone would have a beautiful future.

    "You... what rank are you to talk to me like this? Ten times, why don''t you just rob me?" The young man''s eyes were filled with disbelief.

    In Zhengyang City, there was actually a rogue Daoist trying to shake down someone wearing the robes of a Dragon Tiger Mountain Disciple¡ªtruly brazen.

    "Robbery isn''t nearly as profitable as this."

    "Fellow Daoist, if you really want to pursue the beauty, you have to be willing to spend. If I were you, I would not haggle, but would throw out twenty times the price to get me to leave. That''s how you show your grandeur," Yi Chen advised in a low voice, persuasively coaxing.

    Although his principle had always been¡ªbetter to be a bandit chief than a sycophant in the Moon Palace¡ªit did not stop him from teaching the young man before him how to be a dominant among sycophants.

    Of course, while speaking, Yi Chen slightly revealed some of his own aura, giving the dandies before him a moment of clarity.

    This way, everyone could happily reason without strategic misjudgment.

    Otherwise, the situation would be difficult for all parties to resolve.

    Just as the young dandy was feeling indignant, suddenly the beauty walked straight towards Yi Chen, her jewels jingling, her delicate steps nearly unmatched in this world. Through the thin gauze of her footwear, one could admire her jade-like feet.

    Any longer, and they would be too long; any shorter, and they would be too short.

    One couldn''t help but marvel at the Creator''s partiality to this beauty.

    Even General Douglas MacArthur in his past life would have had to comment that she was "food grade."

    "I didn''t expect that Taoist Bai Yunzi, such an upright figure, would produce someone as interesting as Taoist Yi Chengzi. It is quite amusing."

    "Qingzhu has seen the Taoist Master."

    "I did not expect to encounter the Taoist Master on Dragon Tiger Mountain; it is truly a pleasant surprise," said the beauty.

    "Taoist Master, your fame is rising fast. Some people have ill intentions; you must be careful in the future," the beauty said softly, but it caused Yi Chen''s pupils to suddenly contract.

    How could this beauty know his master? Judging by her tone, she seemed to have some knowledge of his master''s past deeds and even warned him.

    "Friend, why do you say this? How do you know me and my master?"

    "Also, it seems that Friend Qingzhu knows quite a bit about my master''s life; could you enlighten me?"

 Chapter 152 Intimidation, Revenue Generation, Never at a Loss Yi Taoist

    Dragon Tiger Mountain ¡¤ Tianqing Courtyard.This is the place where the Heavenly Master''s mansion hosts prestigious guests, and also where Yi Chen is currently staying.

    At this time, early morning had arrived, and the sun was just rising.

    Two young Daoists stood waiting outside Yi Chen''s side room, a look of unexpected impatience on their faces. One was tall and thin, the other short and plump, forming quite a distinctive pair.

    "Elder Brother Ming De, this Daoist Yi Chengzi from beyond the mountain is really too much. He comes to visit our Dragon Tiger Mountain and doesn''t even inform us beforehand, making us wait for so long."

    "Why don''t we leave him a message and let him find us at Dao Zhen''s courtyard by himself?" suggested the tall and thin Daoist, his eyes spinning with the idea.

    "Be careful with your words, Ming Yuan, my junior brother,"

    "This is a menial task entrusted to us by the Heavenly Master, to hand over the silver token from the Scripture Pavilion to Taoist Yi Chengzi. We can''t possibly do such a thing," the short and plump Daoist said with a frown.

    Although he was also displeased, he held back and did not accept his junior brother''s suggestion.

    Hearing this, the tall and thin Daoist pouted: "Elder brother is really patient. What''s the status of this person? A common Daoist from the countryside, who knows from which corner he has appeared. If it weren''t for a fortunate coincidence when he found the former Heavenly Master''s jade token, he would be worthy to stay in Tianqing Courtyard and have us wait on him?"

    "The Heavenly Master specifically named this person to exchange pointers with the winner of the sect''s minor competition in seven days, really making a name for him."

    "Even if our Dragon Tiger Mountain''s true disciples haven''t entered the True Person Realm yet, those ranked among the top few can still spar with him without falling behind. Elder Brother Dao Yi in the past could even go against him. A mere True Person from a small household, I really don''t understand why the Heavenly Master values him so much."

    "From what I see, even you, elder brother, could have a match with this Daoist Yi Chengzi."

    Ming Yuan said with flattery.

    Ming De didn''t respond, but the curvature of his mouth showed that he quite approved of and was pleased with his junior brother''s compliment.

    Just as Ming Yuan wanted to say more, a tall Daoist against the sunlight, with a scowling face, strode over.

    His pace seemed slow but was actually quick, and in a moment, he arrived in front of the two.

    His imposing figure blocked the sunlight, casting a large shadow that covered their frames.

    Just by standing before them, an unmoving, mountain-like aura naturally emanated from him.

    It was like a ferocious beast''s oppressive feeling came over them, and the tall and thin Daoist suddenly found himself speechless as if he were a duck whose neck had been wrung.

    At this moment, both Ming Yuan and Ming De found the hairs on their bodies standing on end, feeling as if they had been targeted by some top predator.

    "Are you two Daoist friends looking for me for something?" Yi Chen spoke softly.

    The voice was soft, yet Ming De and Ming Yuan simultaneously perceived a strong and powerful sense in it.

    "Dao ... Daoist friend, the Heavenly Master ordered us to deliver the silver token from the Scripture Pavilion to you...."

    The tall and thin Daoist shrank behind Ming De like a quail, leaving Ming De with no choice but to respond with a stiff face.

    "Thank you."

    "Would you two Daoist brothers care to come in for a cup of tea?" Yi Chen took the token handed over by the short and plump Daoist and said with a smile, showing eight shiny teeth, dazzlingly bright.

    "No, thank you, we have other important matters to attend to."

    "Make yourself comfortable, Daoist brother. If you wish to find some food, with this token, you can help yourself in the dining hall."

    After delivering their message, Ming De and Ming Yuan fled Tianqing Courtyard as if escaping a calamity.

    A breeze blew by, and both felt a chill on the nape of their necks, realizing their clothes were soaked with cold sweat.

    The two exchanged glances, each seeing the shock in the other''s eyes.

    "Has a True Person from a small Daoist temple outside the mountain become so strong these days?"

    After a moment of silence, Ming De sighed and said: "My junior brother, I have been led astray by pleasures of the flesh and drink, and now I have declined to this. Each generation produces its own talents, the old replaced by the new."

    "I have indeed underestimated the heroes of this world."

    "From today forth, I shall abstain from alcohol!"

    Ming De slapped his thigh forcefully, swearing to the heavens.

    He then headed towards the direction of his own dwelling.

    Time is indeed a butcher''s knife. In those days, Ming De was a noteworthy character on the Dragon Tiger List, but regretfully, misguided by pleasures, he was over fifty years old and still not a True Person, hence removed from the list.

    The tall and thin Daoist headed towards another mountain peak when no one was around and took a back door into a mansion.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Watching the fleeing figures of Ming De and Ming Yuan, Yi Chen couldn''t help but reveal a trace of a smile.

    After scaring the two a bit, his mood lifted slightly.

    Yes, he did it on purpose.

    They dared to plot behind his back, they deserved this scare.

    As Yi Chen walked up from the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain, he had already heard discussions about him everywhere.

    Read exclusive chapters at empire

    Chosen by the Heavenly Master.

    The talented Daoist Yi Chengzi, who returned the token of the previous Heavenly Master, will have a trial with the winner of Dragon Tiger Mountain''s minor competition in seven days.

    This news stirred up a great commotion, with some feeling disgruntled and others eager to test their mettle.

    "Truly, all gifts from fate come with a hidden price."

    "The Heavenly Master is really roasting me on the fire." Yi Chen couldn''t help but sigh.

    "One side is fortifying my Dragon-Slaying Sword, and the other expects me to whet Dragon Tiger Mountain''s swords."

    "With such a grand show put on and the news spreading so fast, I don''t believe there aren''t any high-ranking figures of Dragon Tiger Mountain stirring things up from behind. I''m sure there will be many people coming in search of my name, looking to have a spar with me."

    "Damn it."

    "No, absolutely not."

    "I''ve traveled thousands of miles to deliver the jade token, and the information I got from Yin Manor is to listen to a piece of advice. Just for a piece of advice, to upgrade my Dragon-Slaying Sword, and I''m not even sure to what extent, am I to be exploited like this?" sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 152 Intimidation, Revenue Generation, Never at a Loss Yi Taoist_2

    ```"We agreed to fight in seven days, but today the warm-up has already started. Is this the tempo for just one fight?"

    "Am I not at a loss here?"

    After questioning himself thrice, Yi Chen felt a stream of mmp in his heart for a moment.

    His mind raced, pondering a countermeasure.

    If he were to simply play the ostrich and hide, that would be far too low.

    To squeeze urine from a toad or to extract oil from a stone, now that''s a skill.

    "If the Heavenly Master wants to shear my wool, I''ll just shear back."

    As a Daoist well-versed in human nature, Yi Chen racked his brains for the potential profit within this situation.

    Within seven or eight breaths, a not quite mature plan emerged in his mind.

    Got it.

    The Heavenly Master wants him to sharpen his blade, so he could throw a ''fixed match'', right?

    The blade definitely still needs to be sharpened.

    After all, he''s accepted others'' favors, and the materials for upgrading the Dragon-Slaying Sword were provided by others; he cannot go back on his word.

    But as for how to sharpen, and whose blade to sharpen, that remained to be discussed.

    Yi Chen stroked his chin, inspiration flooding his thoughts for a moment. Enjoy new tales from empire

    He had made his decision.

    Whoever offered him favors, he would spar with them noisily for half a day, showcasing style and skill, with friendship first, competition second.

    Those who gave him even more benefits, when he went up against their rivals, he would play the role of whetstone well. With a hearty beatdown, he would certainly sharpen the blade properly.

    Wouldn''t this achieve the goal of usurping others?

    He refused to believe that Dragon Tiger Mountain didn''t have several peaks and factions¡ªit wasn''t all love and harmony.

    In this way, everyone''s honor could be preserved, and he, Yi Chengzi, wouldn''t be accused of throwing the match; after all, everyone has eyes to see.

    "The poor Daoist is truly the advisor to the King of Hell¡ªa little smart ghost."

    "The blade is sharpened, but not completely, and that''s quite all right."

    "Everyone will have a bright future."

    Once the overall direction was set, Yi Chen took out the silver token and headed towards the Scripture Pavilion.

    However, he didn''t hold much expectation for his visit to the Scripture Pavilion.

    If even Zhang Taichu didn''t know, what could he turn up with just a silver token?

    Yi Chen also had a feeling that the current Heavenly Master probably had other information about the Yin Manor that he, with his limited connection, wasn''t worthy to be informed of such secrets.

    Giving him the silver token was merely a form of compensation.

    With books as extensive as the ocean within Dragon Tiger Mountain, there were loads of miscellaneous discussions, treasure identification, cultivation epiphanies, travelogues, detailed explanations of the wonders of heaven and earth, and more. The silver token was already a privilege of the True Disciples, so this token of thanks was not too light.

    Lost in his thoughts, Yi Chen arrived at the Scripture Pavilion without realizing it, took out the silver token, and strode in.

    People of differing paths do not make plans together.

    Although the cultivation experiences and predecessors'' notes in the books weren''t useful to him, those miscellaneous discussions and travelogues could still broaden his horizons and expand his knowledge. He could just take it as a way to pass the time.

    ...

    ...

    Dragon Tiger Mountain, Heavenly Pillar Peak, within a certain mansion.

    Ming Yuan, a Daoist as slender as a bamboo pole, sat gingerly on the edge of a chair, carefully whispering something to a young Daoist who sat lazily at the head of the desk.

    "Ming Yuan, are you saying that Yi Chengzi, who returned the token of the previous Heavenly Master, has a very strong cultivation, as if he has grasped the true essence of Dragon Tiger, with the ability to intimidate with his spirit?"

    The young Daoist with jade-like features spoke with surprise.

    "Reporting to big brother Zhang Longyi, that''s indeed the case."

    "I specially went with brother Ming De to probe into this person''s depth, but in front of him, neither I nor brother Ming De even felt the desire to lift a hand."

    "I reckon that in Dragon Tiger Mountain now, only Dao Zhen can confidently suppress him."

    Ming Yuan, the Daoist, sighed.

    A part of making your way in the world is arrogance, but you cannot be blind, nor can you cover your eyes with your eyebrows.

    Arrogance does not equate to being brainless.

    "Alright, among the younger generation this year, apart from senior brother Dao Yi breaking into the True Person Realm and becoming invincible, only I and that hypocrite Long Yi are left."

    "Currently, both Long Yi''s and my reputation and cultivation are on par. If I can make him lose face this time, I will certainly surpass him. Ming Yuan, this information you''ve brought is very useful."

    Zhang Hu smacked his palms and laughed loudly.

    He too had a plan that might cost Long Yi a setback.

    If it had been before, he might have let it slide, but with Princess Qing Zhu''s arrival at Dragon Tiger Mountain, the implication was clear. Long Yi''s father, Yuan Hong, was a ninth-level powerhouse in the True Person Realm, and Zhang Hu''s own background wasn''t too shabby either; his father, Yuan Shan, was on the same level.

    This time, even if Zhang Hu couldn''t win the princess''s favor, he had to disrupt the good things that Long Yi, who was always around Princess Qing Zhu, had going.

    He refused to believe that Princess Qingzhu would fancy a defeated dog!

    With this thought, Zhang Hu felt greatly assured and said with a deep voice, "Ming Yuan, keep an eye on that Daoist Yi Chengzi. Once he leaves the Scripture Pavilion, I want to personally meet him."

    There are many ways to strive for advancement.

    Sometimes, the way to win a game lies outside the board.

    Rather than toiling to improve oneself, it''s easier to denigrate others¡­

    That''s much easier.

    On the path to becoming the second True Disciple, sometimes you have to use some underhanded tricks¡ªit can''t be helped.

    Zhang Hu saw through this clearly.

    Time in the Scripture Pavilion passed unnoticed. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    One day passed.

    Two days passed.

    Three days passed.

    On the fourth day, while Ming Yuan was eagerly waiting, Yi Chen finally arrived at the Scripture Pavilion, albeit belatedly.

    These past few days, Ming Yuan set up a chess stall nearby and played chess with passerby, keeping the corner of his eye on the Pavilion''s doors, almost squinting from the strain.

    Seeing Yi Chen''s figure, he hastily conceded defeat to his chess partner, found a secluded place, took out a yellow talisman, and ignited it with mana.

    ```

 Chapter 152 Intimidation, Revenue Generation, Never at a Loss Yi Taoist_3

    The talismanic seal instantly turned to ash, and a relaxed look appeared on Daoist Ming Yuan''s face."Brother Long Yi, it''s all up to you now," Ming Yuan murmured to himself internally.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    After spending three sleepless days in the Scripture Pavilion, Yi Chen felt like he was about to mold over, his head dizzy from perusing the vast sea of various scriptures.

    "It really is better outside," Yi Chen sighed.

    Little Miao, hidden in Yi Chen''s embrace, poked out its little cat head and nodded vigorously in agreement.

    Those three days were terrifying. Every time it tried to steal a moment of laziness, a large hand would pick it up, demanding:

    "At your age, how can you sleep so comfortably?"

    "If a spirit beast doesn''t learn, it would forever remain a mere furry beast with horns and claws."

    "This is the Scripture Pavilion of Dragon Tiger Mountain, how many spirit beasts have the fortune to browse such books here?"

    "If it weren''t for me teaching you to recognize words early on, would you have this fortune?"

    "You''re a big kid now, you should be grateful."

    "At your age, if you don''t strive, do you expect me to do it for you?"

    These rapid-fire words echoed like demonic sounds in Little Miao''s ears, making it tremble at the thought now.

    "Pepe Miao, let''s go eat," Yi Chen said, petting Little Miao''s head before heading straight for the dining hall of Dragon Tiger Mountain''s outer court.

    The reason he didn''t go to the dining hall frequented by many inner sect disciples was naturally because he didn''t want to socialize.

    He didn''t fancy having a meal only to be approached by five people for a chat or ten people asking for guidance.

    In the territory of Dragon Tiger Mountain, he couldn''t be too harsh; thus, the outer court was the best choice.

    After a swift journey, Yi Chen soon arrived at the dining hall.

    Using his silver token, he ordered a whole table of dishes and began to feast heartily.

    The outer court of Dragon Tiger Mountain naturally had its culinary perks, with standard meals free of charge. If one wanted better, private meals, that would cost extra.

    While Yi Chen was burying his head in his extravagant meal, he was secretly listening for snippets of conversation from the surrounding crowds, when the gossip at the next table caught his attention.

    "Brother, have you heard? It''s said that Brother Long Yi sought Princess Qingzhu''s smile, so two days ago he used great mana to make ten acres of azaleas bloom overnight, picking them to present to the princess."

    "Heh, Brother, you''re late to the news. Brother Long Yi sought help, and yesterday directly made a hundred acres of azaleas bloom, picking them to present to the princess. It''s unclear which brother will win the lady''s favor."

    Yi Chen: "¡­ It''s even started escalating."

    Just as Yi Chen was internally sighing, a handsome and spirited young daoist with a smile on his face approached him.

    "I never imagined the Taoist would come hide away in the dining hall of the external court, now that the Daoist is quite the personage here in Dragon Tiger Mountain." sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I am Zhang Hu, and I have the honor of meeting Brother Yi Taoist."

    "Heh heh, finally, he''s here," Yi Chen smiled inwardly. The person he was waiting for had finally arrived.

    He wasn''t in the Scripture Pavilion for three days just to look at books; he was waiting for someone.

    Waiting for someone to clear their mind, to thoroughly think things through.

    And to test that person''s patience, which would allow him to ask for a better price.

    The strife among Dragon Tiger Mountain''s notable disciples was easy enough to find out about; he couldn''t believe no one would have a crooked idea.

    "Hiding away is naturally in order to meet those who truly desire to meet me, those who recognize value," Yi Chen said quietly.

    "Although secluded, this place can''t hide from those determined to find me, but I didn''t expect brother to find me so quickly."

    At these words, Zhang Hu''s pupils abruptly contracted.

    "And if no one came looking for our friend here? Wouldn''t that mean our friend had wasted his efforts on an empty errand?"

    "Everything is a matter of fate; how can we force it? If I''m lucky, it''s a blessing; if I''m not, it''s simply fate."

    "Those who come looking for me are the ones fated to do so."

    "It''s not like I can chase the mountain if it won''t come to me. That would devalue it, and that kind of money isn''t worth making." Discover exclusive tales on empire

    "Brother, may I have a word with you in private?" Zhang Hu said gravely.

    A short while later, after having a tea-time chat, Zhang Hu walked out of a mountain hollow grimacing in pain.

    Yi Chen, on the other hand, had a beaming smile on his face.

    "Rest assured, brother, my services come highly recommended," Yi Chen assured.

    "Tomorrow we shall have our duel at Heavenly Pillar Peak; we will fight it out for three hundred rounds. After which, you may have your epiphany and seek seclusion, and leave the rest to me," Yi Chen plotted.

    "I shall follow the Taoist''s instructions to the letter," Zhang Hu said, then vanished from the mountain path in a blur.

    Yi Chen then chuckled to himself.

    Inside his storage ring, neatly stacked, lay two ingots worth twenty thousand taels of silver and two bottles of Peiyuan Dan used for rearing spirit beasts.

    One wouldn''t realize how little money they had until coming to Dragon Tiger Mountain. Zhang Hu, with the most potential to vie for the position of second generation Taoist in his family, was naturally extremely wealthy; even Yi Chen hadn''t expected to extract such a fortune under his negotiation skills.

    But after giving it some thought, Yi Chen understood.

    In a large company''s internal affairs, the different departments would be more desperate to see their rivals fail than their actual competitors from other companies.

    Splurging some money to embarrass an old rival always seemed like a deal worth making.

 Chapter 153 The Pure and Noble Yi Taoist, Zhang Hus Wild Ambition.

    After splitting up with Zhang Hu, Yi Chen grinned and returned to the Scripture Pavilion with Little Miao.The Scripture Pavilion of Dragon Tiger Mountain encompassed everything; even a seemingly miscellaneous book selected for inclusion had its unique aspects.

    Yi Chen naturally took this opportunity to cram on the miscellaneous knowledge of the cultivation world.

    At this moment, the news that True Disciple Zhang Hu would challenge Yi Chengzi on Heavenly Pillar Peak tomorrow spread like wildfire across the whole of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    The next day was sunny and breezy.

    At the top of Heavenly Pillar Peak, at a trial site, Yi Chen stood opposite a young Daoist.

    The mountain wind gently fluttered the hem of their robes.

    This person was none other than Zhang Hu, who had made a private deal with Yi Chen the previous day.

    Zhang Hu wore a band around his forehead and a jade belt around his waist, holding a dao sword in his hand that appeared extraordinary at first glance, with a dim light shimmering on it.

    Even a gentle breeze seemed to blow from his forehead, fluttering his black hair lightly, adding to his handsome appearance which seemed almost celestial.

    Even Yi Chen had to mentally compliment his good looks, acknowledging that his own appearance was not superior to the other''s.

    By this time, many spectators had already gathered around.

    They too were curious to see who was noteworthy enough to be personally chosen by the Heavenly Master to duel against the winner of the upcoming trial in a few days, hence many disciples of Dragon Tiger Mountain had come, drawn by the reputation.

    "I have long heard of the famed Twin Prides of Dragon Tiger Mountain, and today, this humble Daoist will seek instruction from Tiger Pride Hu Yi. I hope fellow Daoist will not spare his teachings," Yi Chen said with a bow, his voice solemn.

    Accepting someone''s money meant doing their work; it was professional ethics. Yi Chen was extremely polite in his speech.

    Well, it was just earning a living, no need to be sheepish.

    "I have also heard of Fellow Daoist Yi Chengzi''s esteemed reputation, lofty character, and outstanding Daoist arts. Hu Yi has long admired you. However, I am not worthy of the name ''Tiger Pride,'' so please, Taoist, take back your words," Zhang Hu replied loudly, with utmost humility in his words.

    Both displayed their profound acting skills, showing admiration and respect for each other while secretly scoffing in disdain at the other''s pretense.

    Seeing that the audience had mostly taken their places, they stopped exchanging pleasantries.

    "Fellow Daoist, please," said Zhang Hu.

    "As I wish, dare not ask you first, Fellow Daoist, let''s just touch lightly and not let it affect our good spirit," responded Yi Chen, brimming with a smile, giving himself an out for the fixed match, and setting the tone.

    After all, Yi Taoist, pure as ice and clean as jade, would definitely not engage in a fixed match.

    It was merely about stopping at enough, where friendship came first and competition second.

    Their gazes met, signaling that the show was about to begin.

    Suddenly, the sea of clouds churned, and powerful energies flew wildly about.

    The audience on the mountain top was captivated, exclaiming in amazement.

    Yi Chen did not reveal his dragon and tiger fierce countenance or the full back tattoo; he simply engaged in the most basic form of combat with Zhang Hu. They exchanged blows joyously, making quite a spectacle.

    Zhang Hu indeed had some real skills, and Yi Chen estimated it would take him two punches to kill the man if he were serious¡ªan extraordinary strength, hence he didn''t need to hold back much.

    After dozens of exchanges ...

    Yi Chen gave him a look, signaling it was time to wrap things up.

    Zhang Hu understood the cue.

    "Wind comes!"

    "Cloud comes!"

    "Thunder comes!"

    He shouted three times, and suddenly winds and thunder arose from the ground. A mass of white mist covered both of their figures, with wind blades and thunder snakes dropping into the miasma. Amidst the rolling fog accompanied by Yi Chen''s roar ...

    Sounds emerged from within the clouds.

    "Ah!" S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Such potent thunder arts, and impressive wind blades, which become thrice as powerful combined with this mist."

    "Truly, no unearned reputations under famous names."

    A good actor needed to fulfill the role of commentator, highlighting the ingenious aspects of Zhang Hu''s spell combinations.

    Boom!

    An explosion resounded.

    The shockwave spread in all directions, deafening.

    The violent collision tore apart the huge covering mist, revealing their figures.

    Yi Chen''s expression was neither sad nor happy as he spoke solemnly,

    "I didn''t expect that Fellow Daoist could combine water and wind Dao arts with your thunder techniques to such a profound degree, pioneering a new path; this humble Daoist admires you."

    "Dragon Tiger Mountain is indeed the leading Dao sect. Hu Yi, I look forward to our next meeting!"

    On the other side, Zhang Hu''s face was solemn, his pupils still showing a trace of shock.

    He felt his money had been exceptionally well spent.

    In that maelstrom, when confronted with his thunder serpent bolstered by the forces of wind and cloud, the Daoist before him turned his hands into a pale golden color in an instant and simply rubbed his palms together, directly grinding his painstakingly cast thunder serpent into sparks, tearing apart the cloud cover.

    "You are too kind, Daoist brother; witnessing the strength of Yi Taoist''s Dharma Aspect has been truly eye-opening for me; I underestimated the heroes of this world."

    "This duel has been immensely enlightening for me; I will enter seclusion as soon as I return, and I will not come out until I''ve reached the True Person Realm."

    "I look forward to our next meeting."

    Zhang Hu spoke deliberately, word by word.

    He was a bit provoked.

    He had thought Yi Chen would be strong, but he had not expected him to be this powerful.

    He had fought against True Persons who took shortcuts by consuming evil elixirs like Blood Soul Pills, and he was not at all inferior to them.

    But in those clouds, when Yi Chen''s fan-like palms suddenly turned pale gold, Zhang Hu actually felt the same sense of powerlessness as he did when facing the first senior brother Zhang Daoyi.

    Suddenly, Zhang Hu thought of that man who stood like a divine residence among all disciples of Dragon Tiger Mountain and let out a long sigh after quietly comparing himself.

    "It''s fine. If this is all he has, senior brother should be able to suppress him within ten moves, and Dragon Tiger Mountain''s dignity will remain intact."

    After getting his emotions in order, Zhang Hu gave a deep bow to Yi Chen, deciding to ask his father to send him into the Thunder Wind Secret Realm for secluded cultivation once he returned.

    Even if it meant enduring the agony of thunder punishment and wind blades flaying his flesh, he was determined to take a gamble.

    A great man born in this world, how can he languish below others for so long!

    He might not be able to reach the heights of his first senior brother Zhang Daoyi, but facing a junior from a small sect like Yi Chengzi, and feeling like facing a mountain that he dared not cross, should he even care for his dignity?

    Known as one of the Twin Prides of Dragon Tiger Mountain, he could manipulate power, play dirty if necessary, but he couldn''t afford to be truly weak!

    Catching up to Zhang Daoyi might be out of reach, but with his Dragon Tiger Mountain inheritance, once he broke through to the True Person Realm, he presumed he would no longer fear the towering Daoist before him.

    "Who isn''t a talented cultivator anyway?"

    "Firstly, set a small goal, surpass Yi Chengzi."

    Zhang Hu steeled his heart and clenched his teeth internally.

    "Brother Yi Taoist, until we meet again, I look forward to our next encounter." Flames of determination burned in Zhang Hu''s eyes as he transmitted his voice to Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen had no idea that this battle had actually served to hone Zhang Hu, provoking him. Hearing Zhang Hu''s words, Yi Chen''s eyes suddenly brightened:

    "Brother, sure, that''s all negotiable," he replied.

    "Once you break through to the True Person Realm, let''s join forces and strike the Dragon Tiger Rankings again. As friends, the price can be somewhat discounted."

    With Yi Chen''s response, the fire in Zhang Hu''s eyes flared even more, and he decided to discuss the matter of seclusion with his father upon his return.

    After the two parted ways, the cultivators who had been watching couldn''t help but excitedly discuss what they had seen. "As expected of Brother Zhang Hu, the Twin Prides of our Dragon Tiger Mountain truly are extraordinary," someone praised.

    "Exactly, after Brother Zhang Hu breaks through to the True Person Realm, he will no doubt easily defeat this man," another agreed.

    "For a Daoist from a small place to achieve this level, he too can be called a genius."

    In the face of the various remarks from the crowd, a beautiful woman in a green dress in the crowd couldn''t help but curl her lips and say, "Yi Chengzi, what a big swindler~"

    "Didn''t auntie say that Bai Yunzi is upright? How come his disciple turns out to be such a person, really... an interesting man."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Yi Chen had no idea about the evaluations of others.

    Naturally, he didn''t care about the evaluations of others either.

    He was someone who lived in his own world. Be it praise or slander, what did it have to do with him?

    A person who lives off others'' evaluations can never be truly happy; having been a person in two lifetimes, Yi Chen had long seen through it all.

    Eat when you should eat, drink when you should drink, don''t take things too close to heart.

    When roads end at the mountain, paths will emerge, when boats reach the bridge, they will naturally sink...

    There''s no need to panic.

    "I''ve never been to Heavenly Pillar Peak; why not take a stroll?"

    With a thought in his mind, Yi Chen followed a stream uphill and stumbled upon a peach blossom forest that extended for hundreds of steps along the bank, without a single other tree, featuring lush grass and scattered petals.

    The water flowed gently between the peach groves on both banks, pooling into a secluded pond.

    Green plants crisscrossed the water, and from time to time, fish would leap out, with the sun glistening off their scales, producing streaks of gold light.

    Well, I can''t bear it, the urge to fish has struck.

    Grinding for over four days, it was about time to give himself a break.

    Yi Chen deftly took out a small stool and fishing rod from his storage ring, ready to bait and fish up a storm.

    A qualified angler would cast lines even at the Bridge of Helplessness. The defiant fish in that pond were apparently on a path seeking death.

    His last attempt was a mistake.

    "Miao Zi, don''t worry, your dad definitely won''t come up empty-handed this time, you''ll have fish to eat soon," Yi Chen promised, patting the head of the little Miao crouching beside him.

    Little Miao nodded obediently. How could her dad lie to her?

    Sticking out her pink tongue to lick her paw, Little Miao watched quietly as Yi Chen went about his business.

    Half an hour later, the disposition of the supreme being underwent a slight change, turning a bit gloomy.

    Yi Chen took out kernels of corn and fermented rice, preparing another spot to attract fish.

    Just then, the reflection in the water revealed the figure of a beautiful woman in a green dress with a fair complexion and exquisite form, the very Yue Qingzhu he had once encountered in Zhengyang City.

    The beauty seemed to have just bathed her feet in the stream and was walking barefoot, carrying a pair of white embroidered cloud shoes.

    Her feet were so perfectly proportioned they would be too long by an inch and too short by an inch less, their color as white as jade and as smooth as whipped cream.

    Truly of culinary grade.

    Seeing the reflection of her feet in the water, Yi Chen mentally slapped himself.

    "Damn it, how can you be distracted when fishing?"

    He gathered his focus, ignoring Yue Qingzhu and continued to watch the float, absentmindedly preparing another spot to attract fish.

 Chapter 154 The Mysterious Yue Qingzhu and the Idle Yi Taoist

    Yue Qingzhu looked at Yi Chen''s expression, laughed playfully, and walked to the other side of the pond, where she too brought out a bamboo chair and a fishing rod to get started."Yi Taoist, what do you think of the current state of Dragon Tiger Mountain?" she asked lightly, eyes on the float in the pond.

    Seeing her as a fellow fisher, and considering she was his master''s cherished niece, Yi Chen replied perfunctorily, "Naturally, it''s at its zenith."

    "Do you mean to say that Dragon Tiger Mountain is about to decline? That''s quite in line with what I''ve observed," Yue Qingzhu''s laughter chimed like silver bells as a large carp got hooked.

    "Heh heh, whatever you think," Yi Chen''s mindset underwent a slight change, and he baited another spot.

    "Yi Taoist, since you''re breeding fish here, why don''t we see who can catch more? If I lose, I''ll reveal to you something about your master''s past. If I win, you join my ranks and work for me. I guarantee that the one troubling you will leave you in peace, and I''ll provide all the resources you need for your cultivation," Yue Qingzhu proposed with a giggling voice, a hint of inexplicable meaning in her gaze.

    "What are you up to?" Yi Chen asked, puzzled.

    "What do you think about this dynasty having a female emperor in this generation?"

    "Heh heh, there has been no precedent for a female emperor in Da Yue."

    "Then why not start with me? That would set the precedent," Yue Qingzhu said earnestly, the playful smile vanishing from her face.

    Just then, a breeze blew, pressing her long dress snugly against her body and revealing her lovely curves.

    Yi Chen took a deep look at Yue Qingzhu, and for a moment, he couldn''t gauge the depths of the woman before him.

    He felt that she wasn''t merely boasting. Judging by her confident expression, it seemed she really had the capability.

    He just didn''t know who stood behind her, giving her the confidence to deal with the trouble his master had caused.

    However, he had no interest in meddling with royal struggles, so he remained silent.

    "You don''t believe me? Heh heh, the force behind me greatly surpasses your imagination," the beauty said as she untied the purple ribbon that held her hair, shaking her head gently. Her ink-black hair danced in the wind, and at the same moment, a transitory burst of True Person-level pressure flashed.

    The purple ribbon turned out to be a treasure that concealed one''s presence.

    A look of surprise appeared on Yi Chen''s face as the aura exhibited by Yue Qingzhu was even a notch stronger than that of the ascended sword immortal, making him realize he had underestimated her.

    But it wasn''t unusual for someone from the royal household, who was now all mysterious and had such treasures.

    With this thought, Yi Chen let go of his concerns.

    It was none of his business; he had no intention of getting involved with Yue Qingzhu anyway.

    He wasn''t like the brothers Dragon and Tiger, who would swoon over her.

    It had nothing to do with him.

    "Yi Taoist, you can''t completely trust the Dragon Tiger List," she said.

    "I came to Dragon Tiger Mountain this time just to probe the situation. The rumors about a marriage alliance you''ve heard are just that¡ªrumors. How could the court let a potential True Monarch seedling marry into Dragon Tiger Mountain?"

    "I''m disappointed. Dragon Tiger Mountain is like an old man in his twilight years. Apart from Zhang Daoyi, none of the younger generation caught my eye. I didn''t expect that meeting Yi Taoist would be such a pleasant surprise," Yue Qingzhu commented with a smirk that was not quite a smile.

    At that moment, she lifted her rod and caught another red carp.

    "Dragon Tiger Mountain, with its ten-thousand-year legacy, has survived numerous cataclysms. You might be oversimplifying things. In an era of great contention and chaos, talents are emerging everywhere. Though Dragon Tiger Mountain has its chronic ailments, its foundation remains, and it may yet produce several more dazzling figures," he replied.

    "The affairs of Hidden Dragon Temple, a minor place, really don''t interest me," he retorted.

    "Qingzhu Daoist, considering the relationship between my master and your aunt, I''ll offer one more piece of advice," he continued.

    "Whatever your aims and plans might be, I hope you won''t be too arrogant."

    "Just like with this fishing, do you think you''ve got me pegged?" Yi Chen turned to her and said seriously.

    He was not one to lose his way upon seeing a woman.

    "Impossible, utterly impossible. How could you beat me?" Yue Qingzhu exclaimed in surprise as another big crucian carp bit the hook.

    "It''s entirely possible."

    "Qingzhu Daoist, you''re going to suffer a big loss," Yi Chen said with a cold smile, picking up Little Miao by the scruff of her neck and tossing her into the water.

    The sound of crackling electricity followed as electrical arcs encircled Little Miao''s paws; due to consuming the power of the Mountain Lord of Black Wind, the electrical arc was now stronger than before.

    Countless plump fish flipped over, bellies up, floating on the water''s surface.

    Little Miao, adept at the task, hung three fish on each of Yi Chen''s two hooks and even dragged Yue Qingzhu''s unclaimed big crucian onto the shore.

    An empty catch was never an option; it was never going to happen in this lifetime.

    "Who even plays traditional fishing nowadays~"

    "Let''s go, Daoist Qing Zhu, I wish you good luck."

    "Just don''t forever add gold thread for others to make their wedding dresses."

    Dusting his behind, Yi Chen tossed the items and the fat fish into his storage ring and swiftly sprinted towards the direction of Heavenly Azure Court.

    "Having not seen him for a few days, Yi Chengzi seems somewhat different from before, his scent is off, and it seems he has grown stronger."

    "If previously he resembled a great sun, now it is as though atop that great sun there twines the figures of dragons and tigers, truly strange."

    Born with a naturally clear and spiritual Daoist body, Yue Qingzhu''s sensory perception was exceptionally sharp. Watching Yi Chen leave, she furrowed her brow and a trace of doubt flickered in her gaze.

    As for Yi Chen''s refusal, she didn''t feel too much regret, for the karma Bai Yunzi had tied was too immense, so much so that even she and the power behind her would need to pay a huge price to mediate.

    "Yi Chengzi, you have no idea what you''ve missed out on."

    "You should first make sure to survive."

    "The assassin sent by that person is probably already on their way."

    Yue Qingzhu furrowed her brows and, with a snap, unexpectedly broke her fishing rod into two pieces. She

    tied back her purple hairband, regaining her previously sweet and cool demeanor, yet in her heart she took Yi Chen''s warning a bit more seriously.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Heavenly Pillar Peak.

    Zhang Hu was discussing something with a gaunt Daoist.

    "What? Hu, you want to enter the Wind Thunder Secret Realm for a retreat?"

    "If something happens to you inside the Wind Thunder Secret Realm, not even your father could save you."

    "Why not make gradual progress?"

    Zhang Hu''s face showed a resolute expression, "Father, in this era of great contention, how can one afford to make gradual progress? The path to Daoist fruit always forges through seas of blood; without trials and tribulations, your son will ultimately not become a true powerhouse."

    "If the elder brother can go, so can I."

    "Petty tricks will never reach the hall of elegance; if I want to become the second Daoist of our Sect, my own strength must also be solid."

    True Person Yuan Shan couldn''t help but show a look of great admiration at these words.

    "Good! Good! Good!"

    "If my son has such domineering ambition, how could your father not consent? Truly worthy of being the Zhang family''s unicorn. Take this Thunder Wind Bead with you, it may save your life in a crisis."

    "I''ll speak to the Sect Leader about getting you into the Wind Thunder Secret Realm, remember, to come back alive."

    "Go and prepare."

    Zhang Hu respectfully took his leave.

    The room descended into darkness.

    Suddenly, True Person Yuan Shan said, "Cheng Shan, send two more bottles of Nourishing Origin Pills to that Yi Chengzi as my token of gratitude." S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "My son has become lazy; I don''t know how he was inspired by him, but let''s count this as his merit."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    In Heavenly Azure Court, Yi Chen looked at the two bottles of Nourishing Origin Pills on the table, overjoyed.

    They had just been delivered by a young Daoist boy, who said they were a token of gratitude from Zhang Hu.

    "Brother Daoist Hu is really too courteous, too generous."

    "This is an acknowledgment of poor Daoist me."

    "If Brother Daoist Hu is generous, I, Yi Chengzi, mustn''t fall short."

    "I surely must make a gesture in return."

    Yi Chen quickly ran out and wandered around; by this time, he was somewhat of a known figure in Dragon Tiger Mountain, especially after his battle with Zhang Hu.

    Along the way, many people asked Yi Chen about the battle; he would shake his head and sway, adding, "Brother Daoist Hu''s cultivation is astonishing, no less than poor Daoist me!"

 Chapter 155 Scrutinize, Organize, The New Dragon-Slaying Sword, The Contest Begins

    The night air, moonlight like molten snow, sprinkled over the earth.Yi Chen, beneath the endless stars, emerged from the Scripture Pavilion, pushed open the door of his residence in Azure Sky courtyard, brewed himself a cup of clear tea, and sat quietly by the window, reviewing the day''s events.

    His deal with Zhang Hu had already reached the halfway mark.

    Today, he spent the whole day boosting Zhang Hu''s reputation with "This man''s strength is no less than mine," which seemed a fair trade for the wealth he was given.

    The reason Yi Chen worked so diligently to spread Zhang Hu''s fame was partly because Zhang Hu had paid handsomely, and secondly, he wanted to throw a smokescreen to the public to obscure his own abilities somewhat.

    It was like hitting a jujube tree, hoping to strike fruit whether it bore dates or not.

    Today''s information revealed by Yue Qingzhu when she tried to recruit him attracted his attention; she was secretive and, as a princess of Da Yue, certainly had access to information channels far beyond his own.

    If she hinted that someone in the capital intended to act against him, then naturally, he had to be extremely cautious.

    Caution is the parent of safety.

    So Yi Chen decided to go with the flow and become a stalwart supporter of Zhang Hu.

    Zhang Hu''s cultivation wasn''t weak; he came from a good background and was bound to become famous throughout the land. Dragon Tiger Mountain needed more than just Zhang Daoyi; it seemed Zhang Hu''s deal with Yi Chen was to strive for the position of the second Daoist heir.

    By equating his strength with that of Zhang Hu, Yi Chen would gain many advantages, the key being an information disparity.

    As long as the notion that one Hu equals one Yi Chengzi took root in people''s minds, even being a benchmark, his room to maneuver would become much larger.

    Imagine, if someone wanted to target him, to find a benchmark.

    One Hu equals one Yi Chengzi?

    So if I send five times the strength of Zhang Hu to surround and kill Yi Chengzi, isn''t that a secure bet?

    Yet the result being one Yi Chengzi equals ten times Zhang Hu would cause a strategic misjudgment that would be enough to trouble others significantly.

    In short, the more vigorously Yi Chen hyped Zhang Hu, the larger the perceived gap between them; thus, the greater the surprise he would provide to others.

    "It seems one Zhang Hu still isn''t enough; I feel there are many whose strength is not below mine," Yi Chen murmured to himself. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    When you''re part of the underworld, it''s not enough to have strength; you need a background as well.

    Without a background, only a silhouette, the Hidden Dragon Temple had no choice but to resort to these little schemes, taking it one day at a time¡­

    "Damn them all, would I have to resort to such cunning if I were stronger?"

    "Damn it!"

    "I need to focus on increasing my Deep Red Points; as long as I enhance my strength quickly enough, those behind the scenes won''t be able to catch up with me."

    Mulling over these thoughts, Yi Chen settled on a plan of action.

    He refused to believe that his master''s enemy would go all-in to target him.

    It was like Jack Ma holding a group meeting when an executive mentioned, "Boss, there''s this Huang Zheng with Pinduoduo making waves; they''ve taken over a small county." Ma would immediately order, using the power of Alibaba to put all other business on hold and target the king of that small county¡­

    In the real world, Alibaba did take notice but didn''t focus excessively, not diverting vast resources to target the nascent Pinduoduo. By the time they realized its scale, Pinduoduo had grown into a colossal entity, not something they could shake by merely saying so.

    "I''ve lived a life of virtue; surely, I won''t be that unlucky."

    "Each major force faces countless challengers every year; as long as I''m like a Husky hidden in a pack of wolves, merely blending in, they won''t target me specifically."

    "My strategy going forward is simple: keep a low profile, and don''t stand out unnecessarily."

    "Walk before you run; put on socks before shoes."

    Having determined his course for the near future, Yi Chen still felt a twinge of discomfort. He looked up at the moon through the window, clenching his fists until his nails dug into his flesh, a surge of violence swirling in his heart.

    Not enough force! It''s still not strong enough!

    He craved power, power even greater than what he had, the kind that would allow him to control his own destiny!

    Otherwise, how could he, with his explosive temperament, tolerate such vexation?

    When he became strong enough, he would surely make a personal visit to lay out his grievances with the person behind the scenes, ready to make their world shake.

    For now, he still had to act cautiously.

    Little Miao noticed the shifts in Yi Chen''s expression and suddenly leapt onto his shoulder, cuddling up to him as if to offer comfort, as if to say she would always stand by his side.

    A cup of clear tea helped douse some of the fire in Yi Chen''s mind. He stroked Little Miao''s fluffy head in acknowledgment.

    His ambitions were grand, but his abilities were still lacking...

    After closing the window, Yi Chen sat cross-legged on the bed and began to cultivate.

    Turning his attention inward.

    All the bones and muscles of his body had turned a pale gold from the tempering of Inner Qi, exuding strength and a touch of the divine.

    Compared to before his breakthrough, his Inner Qi and physical body started to integrate on a deeper level.

    At the ninth level of True Pure Yang Skill, in his Pure Yang dominant state, he would generate a layer of azure glaze armor for defense; this indicated that the union between his Inner Qi and physical body was still distinct and not perfectly integrated.

    Hence the external manifestation of armor.

    But after absorbing the True Intent of Dragon and Tiger and achieving a breakthrough, the external armor of Inner Qi had disappeared. When Yi Chen willed it, the surging Inner Qi within him would combine perfectly with his body in any region, causing his stature to expand and his entire being turned a faint gold.

    "Stronger, purer, higher efficiency of Inner Qi utilization."

 Chapter 155 Scrutinize, Organize, The New Dragon-Slaying Sword, The Contest Begins_2

    "Therefore, I could display the partial aspect of Dragon Tiger Prowess, crushing Zhang Hu''s Thunder Python with just a pair of bare hands."As Yi Chen gazed at his suddenly enlarged pale golden palms, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a flash of cold light briefly flitted across his pupils.

    The change between the tenth and ninth levels of the Pure Yang Dragon Tiger Supreme Technique was, in simple terms, like transforming a steam engine to an internal combustion engine, with greater and more robust kinetic energy.

    To adapt to this, his body had undergone a transformation, radiating a metallic sheen when brimming with Inner Qi, merging everything into a unified whole.

    Every cell in his body seemed to switch from steam engine to internal combustion engine power, with Qi serving as fuel, Inner Qi pervading his entire body, creating an extreme solidity through frantic friction, and breaking through any Formation with its kinetic energy.

    "I really want to have a match with Zhang Daoyi to verify my current realm, but unfortunately, that''s not possible."

    "I still have to hold back. What harm could a little Daoist from a small town possibly do with his trivial lifeforce and meager Mana? I can''t defeat him; no, I can''t."

    Yi Chen shook his head, suppressing the random thoughts in his heart, and withdrew the Qi that was surging within his palms.

    Zhuangzi says, "In the company of wood geese, one must possess the transformation of dragons and snakes."

    At this moment, he absolutely could not afford to reveal his true strength recklessly.

    In other words, those who saw his true strength had to die.

    After stretching his limbs, Yi Chen started to meditate and cultivate once again.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    On the sixth day, with only one day left before the minor competition, sunlight spread across the land.

    A series of loud knocks on the door startled Yi Chen from his meditative state.

    On Dragon Tiger Mountain, Yi Chen did not dare to brazenly take out the Thunder Exorcism Jade at the eleventh hour, so he spent the whole night pondering over the various wonders of the Pure Yang Dragon Tiger Supreme Technique''s Qi.

    "Daoist Brother, are you saying Master Jin Yezhi is inviting me over?" Yi Chen said with joy in his heart, addressing the honest-looking and robust young Daoist outside the door.

    "Indeed, please come with me, Daoist friend."

    Yi Chen naturally saw no reason to decline and, led by the robust Daoist, he hurried along, quickly reaching the peak of the Forging Peak.

    An older Daoist with slightly gray hair stood in front of a fire furnace, sweating profusely, continuously casting various spells into the furnace.

    As the tall Daoist cast spells, the swirling molten metal in the furnace gradually solidified into a coarse sword embryo, although it was still a distance away from taking its final form.

    "Greetings to Master Jin Yezhi."

    Yi Chen quickly stepped forward to pay his respects to the tall Daoist.

    Jin Yezhi was a well-known forging expert on Dragon Tiger Mountain, a significant figure in the latter stages of the True Person Realm. If not for the Heavenly Master''s intervention, perhaps Yi Chen would not have had the fortune to have Jin Yezhi strengthen his Dragon-Slaying Sword.

    After a short while, wiping the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, Jin Yezhi finally turned around and said with a hearty laugh:

    "So you are the young one who brought back the token from the old Heavenly Master?"

    "I''ve been forging weapons all my life, but I''ve never made such an extreme weapon. Today, you''ve truly granted this old man his wish."

    "Initially, I was worried that you wouldn''t be able to wield such a fine sword, wasting many of my precious materials, but seeing you now, I know my worries were unfounded."

    "Indeed, Daoist friend, you have an astonishing physique."

    Amazement tinged Jin Yezhi''s voice, as a trace of puzzlement flickered in his eyes; he always felt that there was a particular harmony of the Dragon Tiger spirit emanating from this Daoist in front of him.

    "Master flatters me."

    Just as Yi Chen was about to modestly demur, Jin Yezhi interrupted him.

    "Alright, friend, no need to be humble. I''ve called you here because the Dragon-Slaying Sword is now at a crucial juncture. I have re-melted your sword with the Nine-Turn Blood Refining method. When the sword is about to be completed, you must infuse your essence and blood into the sword embryo every hour or so."

    "Only then can you achieve a mutual understanding with the sword, commanding it as if it were part of your own body."

    Observing the sword embryo in the fire furnace, Yi Chen had an idea and took out the white feather gifted by the giant crane from below Dragon Tiger Mountain, saying softly, "Master, I think this sword could be a bit larger and heavier."

    "That would enhance its might."

    The giant white crane, addressed as Uncle Ancestor White Crane by the Dragon Tiger Mountain Disciples, had given Yi Chen a feather that was an excellent material for forging.

    Having spent many days recently in the Scripture Pavilion, Yi Chen was no ignoramus; he had specifically researched the use of this white feather.

    If a light and agile Flying Sword were to be fused with this feather, its power would significantly increase.

    However, the temper of the White Crane Uncle Ancestor from Dragon Tiger Mountain didn''t seem very good; ordinary people really wouldn''t dare to ask a True Spirit Level ancestor to pluck a feather¡­

    Jin Yezhi fell silent for a long while, but still couldn''t suppress the greed that a master forger felt towards top-quality forging materials. He took the white feather from Yi Chen''s hand and said in a deep voice,

    "Ah, you child."

    "I was just thinking, this sword indeed still has some imperfections."

    "I''ll add to it the flame crystal copper, red essence gold, and sun true gold, plus another ten pieces¡­"

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Nine hours later, a pale-faced Yi Chen stored a glittering gold Dragon-Slaying Sword that was not much narrower than a door panel into his storage ring.

    No other reason.

    It was all because he had impulsively made an under-the-table deal with Jin Yezhi. The two-meter-long Dragon-Slaying Sword was stubbornly piled up with materials to reach two and a half meters...

    The consequence of the makeshift plan was that the amount of vital blood required for each blood refinement increased dramatically. What was originally 150cc for a blood refinement session was pushed up to 300 by him. Good lord, nine continuous blood refinement sessions could not be interrupted.

    Under such bloodletting, even Yi Chen''s astonishing physique couldn''t withstand it, and now he was even seeing double when looking at people.

    Had it not been for his rapid recovery ability after reaching the Body-Breaking Realm, he wouldn''t have done such a thing for all the tea in China.

    "Ah, Yi Taoist, are you alright?"

    "It''s all my fault, my lack of consideration¡­" Jin Yezhi''s expression was somewhat awkward; he had thought that since the materials belonged to the sect and the Heavenly Master had endorsed it, it could be reported. The white feather had gone into his own pocket, which was why he granted Yi Chen''s request.

    For a moment, he had completely forgotten that adding so many top-notch materials would massively increase the demand for vital blood in blood refinement.

    This led to the current embarrassing situation.

    Had the blood refinement not kept up, the Dragon-Slaying Sword, which had consumed so many precious materials, would''ve just turned into a lump of stubborn iron, and the numerous formations engraved on it would not have been activated, losing their wonder.

    "It''s not the master''s fault; I¡­ I need to rest for a while~"

    "Master, I take my leave."

    Yi Chen, of course, repeatedly stated he wouldn''t dare.

    He had originally thought that holding onto the white feather himself would only result in it gathering dust in the Scripture Pavilion, so he might as well make a profitable exchange with Jin Yezhi. Little did he know there would be such a big pitfall.

    But he didn''t regret it.

    The three-meter True Yang Spirit was a thing of the past.

    Now, under his True Yang Spirit ¡¤ Dragon Tiger form, his spirit stood four meters tall, and the two and a half meter Dragon-Slaying Sword was just the right size for him to wield.

    The newly reinforced Dragon-Slaying Sword, on Yi Chen''s demand, had dense and intricate formations such as the Firm Formation, Red Sun Formation, and Gravity Formation added to it by Jin Yezhi with exquisite skill.

    These formations may not have been the most exquisite, but they were numerous, especially the Red Sun Formation, which was significantly enhanced in power by the sun-attributed precious materials used throughout, making the current Dragon-Slaying Sword emit scorching waves even when standing nearby. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It was truly a supreme sword, a bane to evil treasures.

    It achieved all of Yi Chen''s initial requirements: discard everything else for size, weight, and toughness.

    This was also a trump card he prepared for his entry into Yin Manor.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    In the following days, Yi Chen spent his time recuperating and in the Scripture Pavilion. When encountering people who struck up a conversation with him, he would happily chat away, making time fly swiftly.

    Two days quietly passed, and Yi Chen finally recovered from his blood loss.

    The triennial junior competition of Dragon Tiger Mountain was about to begin.

    In a valley filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, True Person Yuan Mountain sat in the place of honor, flanked by five white-haired elders, each radiating the mana pressure of a True Person Realm, revealing the unassuming foundation of Dragon Tiger Mountain. Clearly, they were leaders and peak masters from the different peaks.

    Yi Chen sat at a lower position to the side, his robe unable to conceal the defined contours of his muscular physique, making the fabric protrude. He yawned boredly.

    "Is Yi Taoist growing impatient? Ha ha, the competition is about to start," said True Person Yuan Mountain from the main seat, treating Yi Chen with great courtesy. He exchanged glances with the few elders before announcing in a loud voice,

    "Activate the grand formation!"

    "Disciples from each peak, enter the arena!"

    "Begin the demonstrations!"

    With his words, a ripple of golden light suddenly spread, enveloping half of the valley. Yi Chen''s expression brightened slightly upon hearing this.

 Chapter 156 Fellow Daoist Long Yi, You Are Far Inferior to Fellow Daoist Hu Yi, The End.

    Within the radiance of the golden formation, a platform measuring a kilometer squared thunderously rose from the ground. The disciples from various peaks who came to participate in the junior competition all showed looks of expectation on their faces.The junior competition held every three years was not only the time for them to prove what they had learned but also a prime opportunity to show their faces before the esteemed cultivators of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

    If they were fortunate enough to catch the eye of the elders, they could leap through the dragon gate like a carp transforming into a dragon, receiving personal transmission of the true teachings rather than attending the communal classes at the inner door''s Daoist Hall.

    As everyone knows, individual teaching is always more nuanced and tastes better than massive, one-size-fits-all instruction. Not only that, it also represented your origin; even if someone wanted to suppress you, they had to be mindful of your mentor''s face and wouldn''t dare to go too far.

    Don''t underestimate this point.

    Dragon Tiger Mountain had a long-standing heritage; its internal cliques and relationships were already incredibly intricate. The inevitable "you look after my disciples, I''ll look after yours" was well entrenched.

    Unless your talent truly shone like a needle in a bag, like Zhang Daoyi, who now roamed the world, you would see the fruits that time had bore on the large tree.

    It was human nature to choose the suitable ones among those you knew and to choose the ones you knew among those suitable.

    This was precisely what Zhang Taichu found most troublesome.

    Don''t underestimate such minor issues. It might seem as if the quality of the disciples hadn''t fallen much, but stretch out the timeline¡ªless a fraction today, less seven millimeters tomorrow, and as things accumulated over time, Dragon Tiger Mountain would be swinging naked on a swing, shamelessly, had it not been for the fortunate discovery of Zhang Daoyi.

    Fools, after all, are a species with a natural ability to repel their stronger peers....

    The junior competition proceeded in an orderly fashion, and Yi Chen casually glanced at it, showing only a lack of interest.

    Without Zhang Daoyi, all that Dragon Tiger Mountain had were minor characters.

    Zhang Longyi was already shouldering major responsibilities, but did he have the capability? He did not.

    If things continued like this, the younger generation of Dragon Tiger Mountain would soon be crushed by Mount Daguangming, followed by defeats to the five great sword cultivation sects, then the six religions, and then the nine major families and the twelve sects¡ªuntil there was nothing left to lose....

    "What does Yi Taoist think?" Yue Qingzhu sat opposite Yi Chen, her posture elegant, legs crossed. She leisurely sent a sound transmission to Yi Chen.

    As a princess of the Da Yue dynasty, Yue Qingzhu was naturally also on the list of invited observers for this junior competition.

    Out of sheer boredom, Yi Chen simply decided to strike up a casual conversation with Yue Qingzhu, focusing on her beautiful legs.

    If you''re going to look, might as well look for free. Why look at anyone else?

    "I now feel that Daoist Yue Qingzhu is correct. The chronic problems of Dragon Tiger Mountain are indeed serious. Their performance has become too flamboyant, and there are few among the disciples who show a sharp eagerness to advance," Yi Chen sound transmitted.

    Perceiving Yi Chen''s brazen gaze, Yue Qingzhu was unbothered. She quietly hoisted the hem of her skirt up a little, revealing her jade-like ankles, "Do they look nice?"

    "They look nice."

    "Join under my command, and I''ll give you a chance to pursue me. How about that?" Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I''ll also strongly support the growth of your Hidden Dragon Temple," Yue Qingzhu continued to sound transmit.

    "Not so good, I''m just looking." Yi Chen replied with a bashful face, his sound transmission revealing a freeloading demeanor.

    "You..." Yue Qingzhu, frustrated, let her raised skirt fall back down, and her legs no longer sat crossed but moved to lie next to each other, slanting away from Yi Chen''s direction.

    Perhaps because the competition below was too boring¡ªafter all, Yue Qingzhu''s actual strength was even stronger than a sword fairy¡ªshe couldn''t help but continue to chat with Yi Chen.

    "Daoist Yi, what did you mean when you defeated that overbearing swordsman in Wujang Prefecture using ''Boiling Goat'' and ''Beautiful Goat''?"

    "I bet five hundred taels," Yue Qingzhu added, already quite aware of the tall Daoist''s nature in front of her¡ªeasily swayed by money....

    Yi Chen felt speechless upon hearing this, but he wasn''t surprised Yue Qingzhu knew about it, as she had likely investigated him before coming to recruit him.

    "It''s a long story," he sound transmitted.

    "Then make a long story short."

    "Okay." A rainy day''s scolding of children¡ªnothing else to do anyway¡ªand seeing that five hundred taels were at stake, Yi Chen began to prattle on to Yue Qingzhu. He lowered his voice and sent a sound transmission to her:

    "It is a tale from a place called Sheep Village on the Green Grasslands."

    "Without a True Monarch among the sheep, the nine True Persons of the sheep tribes battled the firmament."

    ...

    "Dark Wolf Emperor Grey Wolf stirred up chaos, all for the resurrection of his beloved...."

    "Wherever grass for grazing danced, flames were sure to ignite, illuminating Sheep Village. As the grass would rise anew, such was the profound meaning of Sheep Village. Happy Sheep understood and the dense clouds exploded apart, sunlight fell, and a gigantic sheep hoof emerged in the sky...."

    ....

    "Boiling Goat, say something, Happy Sheep isn''t moving."

    ....

    "Sweetened tofu pudding tastes better...."

    While Yi Chen was spouting nonsense to Yue Qingzhu, Zhang Longyi''s face on the platform was turning green with anger.

    After a few days of interaction, if Zhang Longyi once approached Yue Qingzhu with mutual exploitation in mind, he had now truly taken a liking to her.

    He had fallen for the witty and beautiful woman before him.

    He had eagerly invited Yue Qingzhu to watch this junior competition¡ªZhang Hu was in closed-door cultivation, Zhang Daoyi had gone far afield. Who else but he, Zhang Longyi, could climb to the top of Dragon Tiger Mountain now? Who else?

    There he was, fighting fiercely on the platform, striving to perform and hoping to win a smile from the beauty, only to turn around and see the beauty ''exchanging glances'' with that tall Daoist he despised.

    Zhang Longyi was filled with rage, and his attacks became even more forceful.

 Chapter 156 Fellow Daoist Long Yi, You Are Far Inferior to Fellow Daoist Hu Yi, The End._2

    Perhaps it was because Yi Chen and Yue Qingzhu were passing messages to each other too frequently that True Person Yuan Shan, who was seated in the highest position, also felt some displeasure, as it reflected poorly on Dragon Tiger Mountain.Although with his cultivation he could forcibly intercept their messages, he couldn''t guarantee that he would not be discovered by them, and Yi Chen was even the person who had sparked his son''s competitive spirit.

    Therefore, he said in a deep voice, "Yi Taoist, Princess Qingzhu, what are you talking about that seems to make you so happy?"

    "Naturally, we are discussing the profound and magnificent Daoist techniques of Dragon Tiger Mountain," Yi Chen immediately took over the conversation and said.

    At this time, Yue Qingzhu discovered another of Yi Chen''s strengths, which was that he could lie without batting an eyelid, and had an exceedingly thick skin.

    "Heh, pfft! What a big liar," Yue Qingzhu criticized inwardly,

    Actually, the content of their message exchange was not limited to just idle chatter, but spanned astronomy, geography, history, literature, and even the court''s situation, which she found astonishing; regardless of the subject she brought up, the tall Daoist in front of her always managed to bring up something new, enlightening her.

    As for that sheep village story, she naturally wouldn''t believe it even if it came with punctuation marks; it was all nonsensical blabber, but she listened just for fun.

    "Exactly, especially the Lightning Technique of Fellow Daoist Zhang Longyi, which is extremely sharp. The most discussed topic between Yi Taoist and me was the Lightning Technique of Dragon Tiger Mountain, truly awe-inspiring," Yue Qingzhu followed the lead and chimed in, just as seamlessly, her mind locked tightly, and her words sincere.

    "Heh, pfft! It''s true that the prettier a woman is, the better she is at deceiving, speaking as if it''s the truth," Yi Chen criticized inwardly.

    Having been addressed by True Person Yuan Shan, the two of them did not dare to continue their secret communication and instead began to focus on the competition below.

    At this moment, the number of competitors below had greatly diminished, and the level of the competition had risen a notch. Upon closer observation, Yi Chen found an interesting fact: many of the remaining competitors were skillful but lacked vigor in their fights.

    Yet, there were several broad and open-minded talents he considered promising, who were directly taken down by the tactics of "wheel warfare" and "strategic competition", such a coincidence couldn''t be without a scheme in his opinion.

    However, the family affairs of Dragon Tiger Mountain had nothing to do with Yi Chengzi, hence Yi Chen naturally would not jump out to speak up for those disciples.

    After another two cups of tea time had passed, a thunder snake struck precisely on the opponent''s inevitable path. Zhang Longyi had shattered the last of his opponent''s protective shields, thus naturally concluding this round of the competition.

    A wave of faint malice surged towards Yi Chen.

    "Daoist Zhang Longyi from Dragon Tiger Mountain challenges True Person Yi Chen!" Zhang Longyi announced loudly, still maintaining the appearance of a gentle and jade-like young master.

    He thought he had concealed it well, but the faint malice had already been captured by Yi Chen.

    This made him feel somewhat puzzled.

    "Why does this man look as if I''ve stolen his wife? Could it be that he knows of my deal with Zhang Hu?" Yi Chen speculated inwardly, but his buttocks had already left the chair promptly.

    No matter what the reason, this time he was tasked to fight someone. Zhang Taichu had pointed out Yi Chen to compete with the top candidate of the competition, which clearly showed awareness of his own family affairs.

    "That is my wish too, I wouldn''t dare request otherwise," Yi Chen said.

    With a flash, Yi Chen moved swiftly, a faint golden Inner Qi bursting forth from the Yongquan acupuncture point at the bottom of his foot, suddenly appearing at the center of the arena, arms folded, standing opposite Zhang Longyi.

    Compared to the robust physique of Yi Chen, Zhang Longyi undoubtedly looked as frail as bean sprouts.

    "Fellow Daoist Yi, there are some people you cannot touch or offend," Zhang Longyi said.

    "Princess Qingzhu is a noble and exalted figure, not someone that a wild Taoist from such a trifling place as yours should covet. Do you understand?"

    "You should know the diversity of this world!" Zhang Longyi''s dark voice suddenly rang in Yi Chen''s ears, while his face still hung a shallow smile.

    Yi Chen furrowed his brows, deepening his understanding of the saying "a beauty can cause trouble".

    As for the veiled threat in Zhang Longyi''s words, he did not take it to heart at all.

    What people find the hardest to perceive is themselves, always overestimating their abilities, underestimating others.

    For instance, someone boasting about aspects outside of their capabilities, relying on their family background, is worthless.

    "Brother Daoist Zhang Longyi, please proceed," Yi Chen said, uninterested in wasting words with Zhang Longyi and wishing to finish the fight quickly.

    Dragon Tiger Mountain felt to him like a cage, stifling and oppressive, and he was growing impatient.

    Having secured the Dragon-Slaying Sword, there was nothing left at Dragon Tiger Mountain to hold his interest.

    "Very well!"

    "Please enlighten me with your guidance," Yi Chen said, impolitely cutting Zhang Longyi off. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The insolent interruption sparked fury in Zhang Longyi who, ever since birth, was respected and complimented by everyone. Even Zhang Daoyi had never been as discourteous to him.

    "Dragon Tiger Golden Body!"

    "Divine Xiao Thunder Seal, activate!"

    Zhang Longyi shouted in succession, his mana surging. The calm air turned into wind and thunder, and his aura kept escalating. His muscles began to swell, and a faint purple line crawled up his forehead.

    "What a strong oppression, I didn''t expect Brother Long Yi to have condensed the Divine Xiao Thunder Seal; he''s indeed one of our two great talents of Dragon Tiger Mountain. It''s just unclear whether he is stronger or weaker than Fellow Daoist Yi," a disciple in the crowd remarked.

    "According to Fellow Daoist Yi himself, Brother Hu''s cultivation is not below his, and they had a match a few days ago. Now that Brother Long Yi has achieved the Divine Xiao Thunder Seal, our Daoist techniques of Dragon Tiger Mountain are profound. The outcome of this match should be a draw," an Inner Sect Disciple standing in a more prominent position offered his opinion.

 Chapter 156 Fellow Daoist Long Yi, You Are Far Inferior to Fellow Daoist Hu Yi, The End._3

    "Heh heh, Senior Brother, your words are quite absurd. No one understands this competition better than I do. I think Brother Hu Yi must be advocating harmony. After all, Taoist Yi Chengzi is the one who returned the token to the old Heavenly Master. How could we let him lose face?"This time, the Heavenly Master let Yi Taoist compete against the top contender as a gesture of reciprocity, to boost Yi Taoist''s fame on behalf of our Dragon Tiger Mountain''s pride.

    I guess it will probably end in a draw again, but it''s actually Brother Long Yi giving face to a minor figure, didn''t Brother Dao Yi challenge a True Person while he was in the Qi Refinement Realm?"

    A disciple with a different opinion spoke out, and this one was quite distinctive with his full head of blonde hair, making gestures as if he were playing a violin as he spoke.

    As soon as these words came out, they immediately gained the support of many disciples.

    "Brother Tang indeed lives up to the name of ''Little Zhuge'', seeing very clearly," the ordinary disciples surrounding him complimented one after another.

    "I didn''t expect that before becoming a True Person, Long Yi has already condensed his Godly Thunder Seal of Heaven, though somewhat forced, it''s not too bad," a grizzled elder at the main seat nodded his approval.

    The great battle was about to erupt.

    Glancing deeply in Yue Qingzhu''s direction, Zhang Longyi revealed a proud look on his face, then turned to Yi Chen.

    "Yi Taoist, how does my Godly Thunder Seal of Heaven and Dragon Tiger Golden Body compare?" he sneered.

    At that moment, pale golden Inner Qi emanated from within Yi Chen, casting a golden sheen over his skin. Yi Chen offered no response to Zhang Longyi''s challenge, but simply extended a finger.

    "What does Yi Taoist mean by this?"

    "What I mean is, you talk too much, a single strike will settle you," Yi Chen said, clenching his fist with one hand, as his left arm swelled suddenly, becoming incredibly huge, like Popeye after a can of spinach.

    "Arrogant¡ª"

    Before Zhang Longyi could finish his words, his pupils shrank suddenly as a tall, pale golden Daoist figure whooshed towards him. With a step of his left foot, the formation-strengthened platform surprisingly cracked.

    The fissures continued to spread around the area, with muffled explosions coming from underground.

    The Daoist figure, like a surge of metallic tsunami, suddenly closed in. The punch hadn''t yet landed, but the wind pressure already twisted Zhang Longyi''s face, and in the howling gale, he felt a sliver of fear of death.

    The turn of events was far beyond his expectations. In a panic, he activated his mana, firing off several thunder snakes and numerous ice blades and wind arrows that shot toward the raging Daoist figure, trying desperately to intercept the furious assault.

    However, to the discerning eye, it was clear the ice blades and wind arrows lacked system and coherence, firing off haphazardly, revealing the caster''s utter disarray.

    The thunder snakes struck Yi Chen first, fiercely hitting his form and then exploding into a burst of electric sparks before vanishing.

    What Yi Chen feared the least was lightning magic, and Zhang Longyi''s hastily conjured thunder snakes were effortlessly dispersed by Yi Chen without him even trying to avoid them.

    Then came the ice blades and wind arrows, pelting Yi Chen like torrential rain on banana leaves, clinking and clanging as if striking metal, a scene that shocked the observers, including Brother Tang, who had previously made lofty comments, so much so that his jaw nearly dropped.

    Pinching his own thigh hard, he watched his junior flinch in pain before he could believe the scene before his eyes.

    The towering Daoist figure burst through the bombardment of various spells, not slowing down but instead speeding up.

    Zhang Longyi''s pupils violently shook; all he could feel was a ferocious tiger and a menacing dragon charging at him, an overwhelming aura of malice and killing intent engulfing his body.

    Would he die, would he be smashed to pulp, how could this Daoist, how dare he?

    Such a fist, so ferocious, how was he to catch it?

    Fear of death rendered Zhang Longyi rigid, he closed his eyes and instinctively screamed at the top of his lungs, a wail as if he had been grievously wronged.

    "Aaah~~~~~"

    However, the anticipated excruciating pain did not come. After screaming for a while, Zhang Longyi opened his eyes to see every gaze in the arena fixed on him.

    A pale golden fist, hardly smaller than a millstone, hovered just inches from his nose.

    Yi Chen withdrew his force and revealed a warm smile.

    "Brother Long Yi, stop screaming; we''re just sparring, how could I really kill you?"

    "Most of the time, I have a very good temper,"

    At this moment, under the oppressive force of Yi Chen''s punches, Zhang Longyi was already disheveled, a far cry from his usual image of a gentle and refined gentleman.

    Even the hairpin that held his hair in place had fallen to the ground.

    He couldn''t help but shiver, feeling like a weak crawler under the gaze of a top predator.

    Weak, pitiful, and helpless.

    At this moment, Zhang Longyi''s heart was filled with confusion.

    After patting Zhang Longyi''s face, Yi Chen picked up the hairpin and carelessly fixed it back into his hair, whispering softly,

    "Daoist Longyi, you dropped your hairpin."

    After speaking gently, Yi Chen turned around, facing the sunlight; he stretched out his arms wide, yawning a huge lazy yawn, his languid voice echoing in all directions:

    "Ah, I''ve long heard of the two prodigies of Dragon Tiger Mountain; I never expected Nan Mu... the Dragon Prodigy to be so deplorably feeble. You truly don''t deserve to be named alongside Daoist Huyi."

    Taking people''s money to act the part.

    At such a moment, Yi Chen remained true to his principles, showcasing professional ethics.

    His robust physique actually blocked out all the sunlight, leaving Zhang Longyi engulfed in a shadow.

    Though there was a large crowd around, it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop on the ground.

    The spectators were speechless as they watched this scene.

    They had imagined many outcomes, but no one dared to predict that Zhang Longyi would be defeated so... disgracefully. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Frightened into screaming like a woman.

    At this moment, Zhang Longyi was overcome with shame and anger, his complexion changing from red to black, from black to white, from white to green, and from green back to red, endlessly cycling like a neon light.

    Various emotions intertwined in his heart. Amid his shame and fury, he actually summoned his mana and struck Yi Chen''s back with a heavy palm, producing a sound akin to clashing metal.

    Yi Chen suddenly turned his head, his eyes flashing coldly.

    The aura of a ferocious beast once again spread out.

    Zhang Longyi was again shrouded by the breath of death.

    His form levitated, his Daoist robe sleeves suddenly burst open, his arms swelled rapidly, revealing large tiger tattoos, looking menacing as if they were ready to devour someone.

    "Daoist, spare him!" The elders watching from the stands were taken aback by such a turn of events, their faces changing color. They couldn''t assist in time and could only shout out to remind Yi Chen.

    The tall Daoist in the sky turned a deaf ear as if he was a meteor falling from the heavens, suddenly smashing towards the ground in a pale golden streak, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

    True Person Yuan Shan and several seniors hurried over at this time.

    Someone waved a sleeve, dispersing the dust.

    In this elevated place, enshrouded and reinforced by formations, Zhang Longyi''s sides were blown out into two deep pits by Yi Chen''s power, muddy water oozing out from between the walls of the pits.

    "Daoist Longyi, there won''t be a next time,"

    "This time I have spared your life for the sake of Dragon Tiger Mountain."

    Yi Chen''s indifferent voice came forth as he suddenly rose to his feet, giving a formal bow to the seniors of Dragon Tiger Mountain behind him, then standing quietly to one side, uttering not a word.

    In the beginning, Yi Chen did harbor a killing intent, but his rationality made him deviate his punches a bit to the side of Zhang Longyi''s body as they fell.

    At this time, Zhang Longyi was shaking uncontrollably, only to feel a warmth in his trousers as a warm flow slowly seeped out. Seeing the forms of the seniors, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground immediately.

 Chapter 157 Journeying Afar, The Onslaught of Killing Intent, The Transformation of Zhang Longyi.

    It appeared that some of the old masters were blaming Yi Chen for being excessively brutal, failing to leave Zhang Longyi any dignity. With a cold snort and a dramatic sleeve wave, they escorted Zhang Longyi away after casting a severe gaze at Yi Chen.The remaining old masters looked on like spectators watching a show, their faces betraying expressions of profound significance after briefly eyeing Yuan Hong, the True Person.

    Among those present, if anyone could have stopped Yi Chen''s final blow, it would certainly have been Yuan Hong, the True Person.

    This was a top expert of the ninth layer of the True Person Realm.

    But he did not.

    Heh heh.

    The reasons behind this, intriguing to ponder.

    With a silent sigh in his heart, Yuan Hong thought:

    "If only Yi Chen had slipped up and killed that Zhang Longyi, it would have been perfect. Then I could have used his head to pave a golden path for my son."

    "But the outcome now is not bad either. After this battle, Zhang Longyi''s reputation is in tatters. If he cannot break through the inner demons and overcome this, he might find it difficult to attain the True Person Realm."

    Such dark thoughts, Yuan Hong naturally would not voice aloud. After casting a deep glance at Yi Chen, he left the scene without saying a word.

    As the crowd gradually dispersed, Yi Chen strode confidently over to Yue Qingzhu, spreading his large hand, thumb and forefinger rubbing together continuously.

    "I, Yi Chengzi, ask for payment." Yi Chen''s gesture spoke louder than words.

    These 500 taels were hard-earned compensation for his role as an entertaining companion; he had to get his hands on it, or it would itch under his skin.

    Yi Chen had already made up his mind to take the money and run.

    A true gentleman does not stand beneath a collapsing wall, and regardless of anything, he had certainly caused a loss of face for Zhang Longyi. From the looks he got from the old masters who helped Zhang Longyi leave the stage, Yi Chen knew he had severely offended a faction.

    Having no other business on Dragon Tiger Mountain, it would be better to make a quick departure and watch from afar.

    "Yi Taoist, are you sure you won''t reconsider? Without my mediation, you could genuinely die,"

    "That particular True Monarch is not one to be trifled with," Yue Qingzhu said as she handed over a banknote of 500 taels earnestly.

    Having defeated Zhang Longyi with one punch, his strength had evidently won her recognition, and she was willing to give it another try.

    "Thank you for your kind intentions, Princess, but I''m used to being carefree and don''t like constraints. However, we can certainly engage in some trade in the future if the opportunity arises; as for the price, that''s negotiable," Yi Chen said with a grin, handing over a letter and a small jar of tiger bone wine that he had prepared in advance.

    The letter was a farewell note he had prepared for Heavenly Master Zhang Taichu, and the tiger bone wine was a selfless gift from the ''greatly benevolent'' Mountain Lord of Black Wind Mountain.

    "Daoist Qing Zhu, I must trouble you to deliver this letter to the Heavenly Master for me. I have urgent matters to attend to and cannot impose any longer, so I will be departing from the mountain. Consider this jar of tiger bone wine a token of thanks for your help," Yi Chen said.

    After finishing, he tucked Little Miao into his arms and promptly dashed away, disappearing over the horizon.

    Dragon Tiger Mountain had clearly used him as a tool, and although his battle with Zhang Longyi was decreed by the Heavenly Master, there was no guarantee that someone wouldn''t try to trip him up later.

    After all, in the eyes of some, he, the one with golden horns and silver horns, was seen as a boy attendant, while the mischievous monkey was the true demon.

    Others would only remember that he tarnished the image of Dragon Tiger Mountain; Zhang Longyi was, in the end, one of their own.

    Now that the payment was received, why wait for others to react and make arrangements for you?

    Yi Chen''s fleeing gesture was practiced to perfection; Yue Qingzhu opened her mouth slightly, a complex expression on her face. She glanced at the farewell letter that had been prepared in advance, ultimately saying nothing.

    "Good luck to you, Yi Chengzi."

    With a silent sigh in her heart, Yue Qingzhu''s figure also disappeared over the horizon.

    Yi Chen sprinted until Dragon Tiger Mountain behind him was as small as a soybean, only then did he stop to look back, his expression indifferent.

    Little Miao''s fur on its head was also a bit disheveled by the wind rushing past during the run; it didn''t understand why Yi Chen was in such a hurry to leave.

    They weren''t even going to Zhengyang City.

    It meowed, looking at Yi Chen''s indifferent face and sensing its father''s mood was somewhat downcast.

    "Miao Zi, do we not look like we''re fleeing in panic?"

    "Let''s never be like this again, shall we?" Yi Chen said, stroking Little Miao''s head and speaking softly to himself.

    Being used as a tool was a good thing, he had gained a lot this time, and the compensation given by Heavenly Master Zhang Taichu was fair. He didn''t resent Dragon Tiger Mountain but regretted that his own strength was not enough.

    Dragon Tiger Mountain used him as a whetstone, and he used them as an ATM; this seemed fair enough.

    Yi Chen had decided to take off early for the sake of security; the moment he agreed to be the Heavenly Master Zhang Taichu''s whetstone, he anticipated this moment.

    Putting his own crown chakra on the line against the moral standing of Zhang Longyi''s faction was not the low-risk, no-reward business he was willing to take on.

    "Miao Zi, I don''t feel it''s secure enough; we can''t return the same way. We need to take a detour. Choose whether to make a detour left or right," Yi Chen said after a moment of thought, spreading the map for Little Miao to decide with a paw.

    "Meow~" Little Miao randomly pressed a paw onto the map.

    "Left, huh? Alright, let''s take a longer way around," he said.

    After glancing around to the left, right, and the sky to ensure there were no abnormalities, Yi Chen donned his hooded cloak from the overlord rooster and began his journey.

    Underneath the silent sky, a solitary black figure journeyed across the verdant plain, stepping into an unseen future.

    The figure''s silhouette was a bit disheveled, but his spine remained straight as an arrow, like a longsword piercing the heavens.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    On Tianhong Peak resided Zhang Longyi.

    Within a tightly shut room, Zhang Longyi faced the wall in silence.

    It was shameful enough to have been beaten and to have screamed like a woman; what was worse was that he had been so frightened he wet himself. Although others respected his family''s influence and dared not mock him to his face, he guessed that his old rivals, whom he had once suppressed, were likely scheming against him behind his back.

    Amidst whispers, his reputation was already in ruins.

    At the same time, Zhang Hu, however, was rapidly gaining fame. For years, the twin prodigies of the Dragon and the Tiger were equally renowned, but now the Tiger prodigy had completely overshadowed the Dragon prodigy.

    This turn of events was undoubtedly thanks to Yi Chen''s tireless efforts over the past few days on behalf of the Tiger.

    A single phrase, "Tiger''s martial prowess is not inferior to mine," was enough to choke the supporters of Zhang Longyi.

    With the creaking sound of the door suddenly flung open, and a gaunt Daoist with a pale face and graying hair strode in.

    It was his father, True Monarch Yuan Hong. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Father, I...," Zhang Longyi began as he turned around.

    Smack!

    A crisp slap knocked Zhang Longyi to the ground.

    For some reason, after receiving a slap, Zhang Longyi felt his mood somewhat lightened.

    "Do you know why I hit you?" True Monarch Yuan Hong asked coldly.

    "I lost, disgraced you, father," said Zhang Longyi, his expression dismal.

    "Foolish thing, do you think I care if you lost? Is it that you now worry you''re not better than Zhang Hu?

    What I care about is that you can''t afford to lose. Our ancestor was once a commoner too, and he faced humiliation, crawling between another man''s legs in full view of the public.

    Yet our ancestor took it calmly, wiped off the spit on his face, and never gave up. He considered his humble beginnings not a disgrace but a source of strength, that flexibility in adversity is the true measure of a man.

    Afterward, he joined Dragon Tiger Mountain, attained the fruit of a True Monarch, and established our family''s teachings. Have you forgotten them?"

    "Now tell me, what would you have me do?" True Monarch Yuan Hong''s beard and hair bristled as he roared.

    "I want Yi Chengzi dead!" shouted Zhang Longyi, his eyes blazing red like a madman. "Father, help me!"

    Smack!

    Another hard slap struck Zhang Longyi''s cheek, and a flicker of disappointment crossed True Monarch Yuan Hong''s eyes. Having been indulged because he was a gifted son born in his later years, Zhang Longyi had developed this temperament.

    "Father, I implore you, just kill Yi Chengzi and I will agree to anything you ask," Zhang Longyi said, his blood-red eyes revealing his insanity.

    "Yi Chengzi hasn''t returned to the sect since your fight; he ran away directly. Do you think everyone is as foolish as you? Do you think the Heavenly Master is dead?

    Yi Chengzi has the Heavenly Master''s personal endorsement, possesses an exceptional constitution, and his combat power far exceeds that of an ordinary person in the True Person Realm. Do you expect me to kill him and then let the Heavenly Master execute me?

    You''re utterly senseless," True Monarch Yuan Hong chided his youngest son.

    "Father, I have made inquiries. I know the assassin sent by the Yan Family is in Zhengyang City. Yi Chengzi is accompanied by a spiritual beast. I possess a Treasure-seeking Rat, a naturally rare variant with exceptional spiritual perception. Seven days ago, it sensed that his spiritual beast was extraordinary. I attempted to buy it but was refused.

    However, my Treasure-seeking Rat has remembered the scent of his spiritual beast. He hasn''t left long ago, and with my rat, I am certain we can catch up," Zhang Longyi''s voice croaked, his head knocking the ground like pounding garlic; soon his blood poured like a stream.

    True Monarch Yuan Hong was torn between anger and pity, knowing his son, whom he had always been proud of, was now deeply afflicted by inner demons. If Yi Chengzi did not die, it would be a miracle if his son could reach the True Person Realm, let alone achieve the rank of True Monarch.

    He sighed deeply. True Monarch Yuan Hong, who had always been proud and domineering, never resorting to such despicable tactics and always announcing his intent before killing someone, eventually softened his voice, swayed by fatherly love for his son.

    "Stand up. Just this once, and never again. Hand your Treasure-seeking Rat over to those two from the Yan Family, then go to the Yin Hell Thunder Realm for seclusion. Regardless of the outcome, this matter ends here. Our sect must no longer intervene. You can''t cultivate our Dragon Tiger Mountain''s supreme thunder technique anymore. You will have to switch to the Yin Five Thunder Technique."

    "Your heart has changed, and you''ve lost your firm and dominant will. To forcibly practice the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Technique would only lead you to your death. For now, you have no choice but to settle for less."

    "If it must be the Yin Five Thunder, so be it. Even snakes have their day to become dragons. Don''t be disheartened,"

    "My son, take good care of yourself. No matter what happens, you are still my son, Yuan Hong''s son."

    With a faint click, the door instantly closed. By the time Zhang Longyi looked up, the room was empty.

    For his beloved son, True Monarch Yuan Hong, who never indulged in cunning schemes and always acted with overwhelming force, even announcing his kills beforehand with mourning notices, ultimately conceded.

    Zhang Longyi gave a wretched smile, pushed open the window, and let out an eerie laugh like the hoot of a night owl into the mirror in the room. The sound was filled with bitterness and spine-chilling resentment.

    Sunlight streamed through the window, casting vast shadows behind Zhang Longyi. Suddenly, a snake-like shadow that caused one''s heart to flutter appeared on the wall.

    "Yi Chengzi, you''ve ruined my path and brought me to this state; I must kill you~"

    "That I allow you to die like that is already letting you off easy," Zhang Longyi said coldly to his own reflection in the mirror.

    As the words fell, the mirror shattered with a crash, scattering across the floor.

    Zhang Longyi returned to his usual genteel demeanor, with a faint smile on his face. However, the smile on his face now sent chills down one''s spine, as if one were being hunted by a venomous snake.

 Chapter 159 The Taoist Hits the Mountain, Stubbornly Using Such Spells! Come out, Ive found you.

    ```"You little runt, look into my eyes!"

    "Why must you force my hand!"

    "Just how many horses do you have to waste like this!"

    "!@#£¤%"

    The tall Taoist dressed in pale gold suddenly cursed. In the midst of their conversation, the beautiful woman and the boy''s biological mother had already lost any hope of protection. Yi Chen''s power from his past life, when his parents were alive for ten years, was undoubtedly revealed.

    The beautiful woman and the boy had not anticipated such a change from Yi Chen, this... could he be a true Daoist? Looks like he is from the Daoist path, right.

    Although Yi Chen was cursing, the aura he exuded could not be faked. Under the protection of the True Yang Spirit, the dragon and tiger totem tattoos on Yi Chen''s body became more vivid, menacingly ferocious as if they would burst forth and devour someone the next second.

    If the revelation of the dragon and tiger totems initially only shocked them, their emotions had now escalated to panic.

    "This job is a real pain. If we had known, we would never have taken on this task." The beautiful woman and the boy exchanged glances, unable to suppress a wave of regret in their hearts.

    As the newly recruited True Persons from one of the capital''s nine prestigious families, the Yan Family, they had taken on the task to assassinate Yi Chen in order to demonstrate their loyalty. They had intended to impress their employers, not realizing that this was no mere belly-showing affair.

    If they did not handle this matter well, they both might end up losing their lives here.

    While the beautiful woman and the boy were increasing their mana output to stabilize the grey light shield, they raised their heads and called out to Yi Chen with a bold face, "Yi Taoist, let''s talk this through. We are both orphans who accidentally stepped onto the Daoist path. We admit defeat; you can talk about any compensation you want."

    "Isn''t it still negotiable if I cripple you both?"

    "If I kill you all, all your belongings will be mine."

    The beautiful woman and the boy wanted to buy their lives, but Yi Chen''s thoughts were very clear at this moment.

    Buying off one''s life? No way.

    Having offended Yi Chengzi and witnessed his True Yang Spirit, how could he possibly let them leave.

    A towering rage surged within his chest!

    Just because he had no background, did it mean every Tom, Dick, and Harry should step on him?

    "I''ve already been avoiding you all. I''m already like this, and you!"

    "You still won''t let me go, you still want to push me!"

    With a roar, Yi Chen suddenly charged at the grey light shield supported by the two, bringing the force of the pale gold colossus down upon the shield with the weight of heavens, causing the grey light shield propped up by the beautiful woman and the boy to cave in.

    "Yi Chengzi, your bullying has gone too far!"

    "Darling, let''s fight him with all we''ve got."

    With a shrill cry, the boy flipped his small hand and a three-meter-tall black banner appeared in his grasp.

    Emblazoned with the characters for "Senluo" in ancient script, it shimmered with a ghostly light.

    The banner fluttered wildly without wind as the boy pinched a magic formula, and in an instant, a four-meter-tall green-faced, fang-toothed Niu-tou ghost appeared within the grey shield.

    With its eyes closed, the moment the ghost materialized, the temperature in the air dropped to freezing point, the surrounding vegetation wilted instantly as if their life force had been stripped away by some inexplicable power.

    The beautiful woman and the boy exchanged glances before transforming into two rays of light, one to the left and one to the right, vanishing into the body of the immense ghost.

    Suddenly, the ghost opened its eyes, and its blood-red gaze swept over everything before finally fixing on Yi Chen, sending a terrifying demonic aura skyrocketing through heaven and earth.

    "Yi Chengzi, there''s still time to stop. The green ghost inside this Senluo Banner has had its spirit wiped by my husband and me. After years of sacrifice, its might is boundless." (the beautiful woman)

    "To consecrate this banner, I have been hunted down by the Buddhist disciples of Mount Daguangming, driven to roam the heavens and burrow into the earth, and had no choice but to seek refuge under the gate of the great Yan Family." (the boy)

    "Fellow Daoist, our cultivation has not come easy, why must we fight to the death?" (the beautiful woman)

    "Even if Fellow Daoist can kill us today, it is not certain you won''t damage your own Dao foundation. Better to stop and go our separate ways. Since you are unharmed, my husband and I are willing to give up half of our life''s savings as compensation¡ªwhat do you say?" (the boy)

    After dropping the grey protective shield and clashing fiercely with Yi Chen, the immense ghost staggered back three steps and suddenly began to speak persuasively.

    The voice alternated between male and female, clearly changing between the beautiful woman and the boy''s voice, their words logical and sincere, moving to anyone who would listen.

    With each opening and closing of the vast mouth, drool dropped to the ground, corroding the earth into a large hole.

    But Yi Chen was no ordinary man.

    The beautiful woman and the boy were still unware of the severity of the situation.

    As the anomaly abruptly arose, for the first time, a hint of greed appeared in Yi Chen''s pale golden eyes.

    "Turns out it''s no use wearing out iron shoes in a fruitless search, only to find... "

    "Pah!"

    "The heart of Taoist is oh so bright."

    "The acts of Taoist are oh so straightforward."

    "Good and evil are opposed, lifelong struggle, how can I associate with your kind, the wicked and heretical. Prepare to meet your fate!"

    Before the word ''come'' even faded, Yi Chen charged like a humanoid Gundam, breaking the sound barrier, and slammed into the immense ghost with a madman''s fury, immediately unleashing thousands of punch shadows. To an uninformed observer, it might seem as if Yi Chen bore a deep-seated grudge against it.

    Of course, before charging, Yi Chen silently applied two Origin Points to his strength.

    A warm current suddenly emerged, filling his four limbs and bones, coursing through his entire body.

    "Taoist, your mother mustered a virtue!" (the beautiful woman)

    "Taoist, indeed that''s your nature." (the boy)

    Seeing the frenzied Yi Chen, both the beautiful woman and the boy couldn''t help but blurt out in anger. At the same time, they racked their brains to recall if there was any trace left behind from any of their previous victims.

    ``` sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 160 Masters Story

    His voice boomed like thunder, echoing through the corridor and then spreading out in all directions, the sound imbued with immense self-confidence.However, after two and a half seconds passed without anything unusual happening, Yi Chen let out a long sigh of relief.

    His words a moment ago had been a probe, stemming from the feeling of being watched when he had been at the tea house run by the beautiful woman, hence the deception.

    It was precisely because of such apprehensions that he hadn''t used the Dragon-Slaying Sword in his deadly fight with the tall ghoul, preferring to keep it as his ace in the hole. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Naturally, the best outcome was the current state of calm.

    "Dragon Tiger Mountain, the Yan Family of the great capital, I, Yi Chengzi, have taken note of this account," Yi Chen said with a cold expression, adding two more entries on his mental ledger before changing into fresh clothes and striding confidently towards the outside.

    The moment he leaped out of the cave mouth and landed on the cliff where he''d arrived, his pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints.

    A person wearing a Green Dragon mask had unexpectedly appeared, blocking his path.

    "The charlatans show themselves; Yi Chengzi, what will you do?" the mysterious figure said leisurely, with a hint of jest in his words.

    Yi Chen: "...Damn, there really is someone."

    Seeing the mysterious person''s aura as deep as the sea, slightly stronger than that of the Chief of the Red Flames, Yi Chen''s expression changed, and he immediately managed a forced smile, "Senior, what are you saying? I am the one playing tricks; I failed to recognize Senior''s kind intention. I should be thanking Senior for the divine consciousness warning earlier."

    "Otherwise, with Senior''s cultivation, how could you allow me to detect it?"

    If he could overpower them, they were charlatans; if not, they were surely seniors, no question about it.

    The wind sweeps over the ridges, only the grass remains.

    In critical moments, one must be flexible.

    As for denying his own identity, Yi Chen never considered such a trick; this mysterious person clearly came prepared, and to play such petty cleverness at this time would only demean him.

    Being cautious, Yi Chen kept up his smile while investing all four Origin Points into agility, his heart having risen to his throat, ready to trigger the Soul Ignition Technique and flee should the mysterious person make a sudden move.

    "Interesting, Bai Yunzi is such a stickler for tradition; how did he wind up with a disciple like you?" the mysterious person found this amusing and burst into laughter.

    "Senior knows my master?" Yi Chen''s eyes widened as his thoughts began to drift.

    "Could it be that my Hidden Dragon Temple has some incredible background?"

    Perhaps guessing Yi Chen''s thoughts, the mystery person chuckled, "Don''t overthink it. I''m just an envoy from the Free Heavens collecting tales, who had a few dealings with your master during my travels around the world. This time, it was merely a coincidence that I learned two True Persons planned to ambush an old friend''s disciple, so I decided to give a little warning. That''s the extent of my ties to your master."

    "If you didn''t heed the warning or died at their hands, I certainly wouldn''t save you. Your master, back in the day, ruined the wedding plans of a person from the Yan Family¡ªhis fianc¨¦e, no less. Although I have no fear of the Yan Family, I would definitely not get involved in the karma between your Hidden Dragon Temple and them."

    "The Crown Princess was exceptionally talented and bright as snow, with a gentle heart and soul. Now she''s likely on the verge of the True Monarch Realm. I can''t imagine what Piao Xue saw in your master, it''s beyond me..."

    "..."

    A sense of defeat wafted towards him, and having listened to the mysterious person''s tirade, which included plenty of personal digs, Yi Chen finally understood the events of the past.

    It was a clich¨¦d story of a betrothed woman falling for an outsider.

    It turned out that during Bai Yunzi''s travels, he had a fateful encounter with the Crown Princess Yue Piaoxue, who was dressed in white dragon fish clothing, and after several trials, they developed feelings for each other.

    Yue Piaoxue and the current head of the Yan Family were childhood sweethearts, and the Yan Family was one of the top families in Da Yue, able to rank in the top three. This perfect marriage, with both parties deeply invested, was disrupted by Bai Yunzi''s interference.

    The Crown Princess later came clean to the eldest son of the Yan Family, seeing him only as a brother and hoping for his blessing. The eldest son was utterly devastated...

    The mysterious person was vague about the subsequent details, only saying that to save Bai Yunzi''s life, Yue Piaoxue threatened her own, becoming a nun,

    while Bai Yunzi was grievously wounded by the Yan Family''s elders, falling from the newly-attained True Person Realm back down, returning to Hidden Dragon Temple, and thus, never leaving Ping''an County again, never seeing each other, bringing the matter to a close.

    Yi Chen: "..."

    Master, you were formidable.

    Thinking of his master''s past, Yi Chen couldn''t help but be intrigued, feeling his gossip-loving soul catch fire.

    No wonder his master had been sullen and melancholic these years, growing more so whenever it snowed.

    "I wonder if when Master picked me up from the snow that day, he saw me as his own child, perhaps reminded of the peerless Crown Princess. That day''s snowfall was not light," Yi Chen thought sarcastically to himself.

    Indeed, that day was not long after Yi Chen had transmigrated as an eight-year-old.

    He was truly feeble, lacking the strength to fend for himself, let alone endow others with power.

    After losing a fight over food with a stray dog, that''s when his story began.

    "No wonder Master, before his death, still remained fixated on having me deliver his ashes and a letter to the nun Piao Xue in the capital."

    "No wonder Master, when fighting evil, fought as if he had nothing to lose."

    "No wonder Master died young, harboring a secret illness, faced with such a powerful enemy, he was perpetually depressed, rarely smiling."

    At that moment, many of Yi Chen''s mysteries and puzzles about his master dissolved.

    "Master, I will take on your karma," Yi Chen said solemnly, making a silent vow in his heart.

 Chapter 160 Masters Story_2

    "Yi Taoist, are you interested in joining our East Sea Effortless Heaven?" The mysterious person continued to speak as Yi Chen was still deep in thought."Effortless Heaven? Never heard of it." Yi Chen looked puzzled upon hearing this.

    The mysterious person was not surprised by Yi Chen''s guarded demeanor and instead began to explain gently.

    Effortless Heaven in the East Sea is an organization formed by those seeking the Great Dao and personal freedom, with ''Effortless Heaven'' signifying a state of ultimate freedom and transcendence. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But the Great Dao is difficult to master, and the power of one person is inevitably limited. Hence, the first Heavenly Master of Effortless Heaven used great mana to find a fragment of space, refine it, and establish the Effortless Heaven organization.

    In Effortless Heaven, by carrying the token of command, one can tear through the void to enter, sit and discuss the Dao, post tasks, and conduct transactions.

    Everything comes with a price, and if members ask for help from one another, compensation is required.

    This compensation is in the form of contribution points.

    Contribution points can be exchanged with Effortless Heaven for wondrous skills, divine techniques, and rare treasures, or earned by completing certain tasks for Effortless Heaven.

    For every task or transaction posted by an individual, the Heavenly Master takes a small ''service fee.''

    After listening to the mysterious person''s explanation, Yi Chen roughly understood the nature of this organization. It was basically a platform brokerage...

    "Yi Chengzi, do you know what immortals are? How does one ascend to immortality?"

    "Our Effortless Heaven was founded for realms beyond that of a True Monarch, for ascending to immortality and obtaining the Dao. If you weren''t so young with such high cultivation, you wouldn''t even think of receiving an invitation from our Effortless Heaven."

    "Only those with astonishing talents and potency to aid the pursuit of the immortal Dao can join Effortless Heaven. Now tell me, what is an immortal?"

    Yi Chen was silent for a moment, then spoke, "An immortal is like a mountain among men, so naturally, it''s a person as high as a mountain. When my True Yang Spirit surpasses the height of a mountain, that probably means I''ve become an immortal."

    "Thank you for your kind intentions, elder, but I will not go to Effortless Heaven."

    His choice to decline the kind offer was a decision Yi Chen made after careful consideration.

    Even though this person seemed to have a connection with his master and appeared to have no ill intentions, Yi Chen was not the kind of person to easily trust someone just because of smooth talk.

    Besides, they sat discussing the Dao, but how could he fit in? He didn''t know how...

    Before he becomes a True Monarch, Yi Chen was absolutely not going to get involved with such a mysterious organization. It was akin to a huge gamble; the benefit was just another way to acquire resources, but who knows if this Effortless Heaven was like a transfer point in northern Myanmar.

    Nope, not doing it.

    It was unclear whether Yi Chen''s refusal surprised the mysterious person or whether Yi Chen''s unique understanding of immortality had rendered him speechless.

    After a long while, the mysterious person finally said, "So be it, true geniuses do have some privileges."

    "I have a Great Shift command here, crush it and you will be able to teleport directly to the secret realm of our Effortless Heaven, which may save your life in a moment of crisis."

    "If you use it, it means you owe Effortless Heaven a life, and you''ll have to repay it with your own life later. Are you willing?" The mysterious person took out a black diamond-shaped golden token. The token, covered with dense runes and emitting a faint glimmer, clearly was no ordinary item.

    You can only do certain things once, not twice. After thinking for a while, Yi Chen nodded and agreed on the spot.

    "If you change your mind one day, come to the shore of the East Sea, to Dragon King Castle in Royal City at night. Show this golden token I gave you, and someone will naturally come to guide you. Remember not to disclose matters of Effortless Heaven, Yi Taoist. Otherwise, no one can save you, whether you flee to the heavens or hide in the earth. Effortless Heaven''s strength is beyond your imagination."

    "Considering Bai Yunzi''s sake, I''ll remind you once more: don''t think you are already very strong. This world is vast; do not only set your sights on Great Qin''s corner of land."

    "Beyond the boundless sea, there are two other continents, only quite far from Great Qin and hidden due to the dangerous waters, only crossable by True Monarchs and unknown to most people. In this world, there are no fewer than ten of your peers whose talents surpass yours."

    "For instance, the lands of Spirit State of the Eastern Overseas belong to the state of Great Qin, whose power even surpasses the Great Qin Dynasty. There are giants like the Immortal Dao Sect, Taiyi Dao Sect, Creation Dao Sect, Subhuti Zen Temple, and others. Great Qin''s aggression is fierce; if not for the barrier of the sea, heh heh."

    "Now the world is undergoing strange changes, and the Heavenly Master once said that it is both a great disaster and great fortune. Keep striving, for some things once missed, may not come again in this lifetime."

    Seemingly aware of Yi Chen''s wariness, the mysterious person tossed the golden token on the ground, gave a final admonition, and then vanished into thin air.

    The words of the mysterious person were like cold water splashed on Yi Chen''s head, shocking him to his senses, but at the same time, they kindled a raging passion in his heart.

    "Immortal Dao Sect, Taiyi Dao Sect, Creation Dao Sect, Subhuti Zen Temple, just hearing their names makes them sound like holy places for cultivation. These are all wings for me. In the future, I must go there to check in, to help me prove my Dao."

    "It''s too much to take in; I simply can''t grasp it all."

    Yi Chen narrowed his eyes, already plotting in his heart, though no one knew exactly what he was thinking.

    The secrets of the world peel away like layers of an onion; as one''s strength increases, the mysterious veils drop, revealing an enticing form, exposing the alluring essence hidden beneath.

    Great Qin, Great Qin, the mystery of the world''s transformation, Yin Manor, the other continent that the mysterious person did not mention, as well as the great calamities and opportunities spoken of by the Heavenly Master of Effortless Heaven¡ªYi Chen believed that everything would gradually draw closer to him as his strength grew.

    Eventually, enlightenment dawned.

    Like now, having traveled far from home, he had already learned so much about these secrets. When the strength is there, when the social rank is reached, secrets are no longer secret.

    Stepping on the firm ground, Yi Chen looked up at the sky, feeling that there were layers of mist in the unknowable reaches above, yet a faint thread seemed to be hidden within.

    "Could it be as I suspect?" A bold idea emerged in Yi Chen''s mind.

    A shadow darted past; Little Miao had returned with a golden token clutched in her mouth, interrupting Yi Chen''s thoughts.

    Coming back to his senses, Yi Chen thought for a moment and then decided to place the golden token into a storage ring by itself.

    After killing the beautiful woman and the child, Yi Chen had acquired two new storage rings, and there was plenty of space to put things.

    "Hehe, Yan Family."

    "The assassins sent by them this time have been killed by me, I''m afraid the next ones to come won''t be so simple, and the lull period certainly won''t last long."

    "Now it seems I must accelerate my pace and strive to find more Deep Red Points, and for that, even taking some risks is inevitable."

    Yi Chen sighed deeply within his heart, yearning for tranquility as the storm outside raged on.

    He indeed wished to be the peerless swordsman of Ten Mile Slope, but the current situation gave him no time for such aspirations, thus he had no choice but to change his strategy slightly.

    He must take the initiative to strike out and search for places where Deep Red Points might exist.

    Great Yue ¡¤ Shuiyue Convent.

    It was a scene of brilliant spring beauty.

    Inside a certain convent courtyard, a graceful nun didn''t meditate today but instead sat on the windowsill, gazing at the scenery outside, her face cold as frost. Beside her lay an opened letter with its wax seal broken.

    "You say you like snow, but why couldn''t you wait for me to become a True Monarch and then come seek you?"

    "You lie buried under the spring, your bones turning to mud, while I send my snowy hair to the human realm."

    With those words uttered.

    An icy, deadly intent suddenly filled heaven and earth.

    The splendid spring light of Shuiyue Convent instantly transformed, and heavy snow began to fall from the sky, turning the whole courtyard into a world clad in silver and white.

    The Grand Princess swept her wide sleeves and rose, stepping out through the courtyard gate as snowflakes settled on her head.

    ...

    ...

    Twenty days later.

    Lingyang City.

    The beautiful Emerald River flowed like a jade belt over mountains and hills, entering a green ravine.

    Flocks of sheep and herds of cattle thrived in the valley, while deer were everywhere, and occasionally the silhouette of a tiger or leopard would flash through the shrubs.

    Screech!

    Vultures circled in the sky above, eyeing the prey on the ground attentively.

    Next to a large ancient tree in the valley, a tall figure with a hood over his head stood in the valley.

    He was broad-shouldered, wearing a black cloak, and his black hair draped over his shoulders. Just standing there, he exuded an unshakable presence.

    Yi Chen lifted his hood and glanced at the vultures overhead, then turned his gaze toward the broad cliffs.

    On the cliffs stood a massive fortress, a large white city - Lingyang City.

    In Yi Chen''s eyes, a faint black aura seemed to shroud the entire Lingyang City.

    "This little city must be plagued by demons, such an omen is indeed ominous."

    "Perhaps, en route to inspecting it, I may obtain quite a few Deep Red Points."

    "Don''t consider victory without preparing for defeat, for safety''s sake, I must reach the Agility-Breaking Realm before proceeding, only then will it be a foolproof plan."

    With that thought, Yi Chen allocated all the recently accumulated Origin Points into his agility.

    A warm current flashed by.

    Ten seconds later, Yi Chen successfully reached the Agility-Breaking Realm.

 Chapter 163 Run, Run Faster! Yi Chens Calculation, The Truth (Part 1)

    As a Taoist well-versed in human nature, Yi Chen naturally had a knack for crafting stories.The essence of lying still aims to deceive and conceal.

    Some say that the most sophisticated lies are made up of nine truths and one falsehood, but in reality, this is a fallacy.

    Tao has no high or low, as long as it works.

    Nine truths and one falsehood are just to make one''s lies appear more truthful.

    Being an expert in this field, Yi Chen had even written reports in his previous life that were entirely true, with no falsehoods.

    Hmm, everything was true, all verifiable at random, but the conclusions drawn from those facts were false, thereby achieving an alternative goal of concealment...

    The means are diverse, but the ultimate goal is still to deceive and hide.

    Seeing the Family Head Linglong''s convinced eyes, Yi Chen speculated that this enchanted land was probably real, but the black mist being a product of this land was likely a red herring.

    "Taoist, how long do you plan to stay in Lingyang City? If it''s for a while, why not stay in our Ling family''s fortress?"

    "That way, accommodation, food, and travel would be much more convenient. In Lingyang City, our Ling family still has some influence," Linglong said, putting down his wine cup and looking at Yi Chen with a profound look in his eyes, like a deep lake without a bottom.

    Even Yi Chen, who had seen countless people, could not discern any trace of falsehood.

    "Family Head is too polite. Since the mystery of the black mist has been solved, I should naturally leave in a couple of days."

    "However, I have a certain fate with a child in the city and would like to train him for a while before taking him with me. The City Lord would not mind, I presume," Yi Chen replied with a smile.

    Just as Yi Chen was planning to exchange pleasantries with Linglong, suddenly a young girl''s angry shout erupted outside the door.

    "Get out of my way, let me in!"

    A girl with an angry, frost-covered face barged into the hall.

    Her attire was quite exotic, wearing a black cotton undershirt with a white dress draped over it, the hem of the skirt just reaching the knees.

    She wore a pair of black leather boots on her feet, and her legs were wrapped in sock-like black silk, the stockings twisting and winding out of the leather boots, enhancing the shapeliness of the girl''s legs.

    "It fits the gruel ceremony."

    "Just don''t know if it smells like feet." Your next journey awaits at empire

    The get-up caught Yi Chen''s eye and made it shine.

    The girl glared fiercely at Yi Chen, grabbed the wine jar in front of him and threw it fiercely to the ground, then pointed at Linglong and scolded:

    "Father, not even a month after mother left, you consort with these coquettish wenches, hosting banquets and drinking, is this Taoist a decent man?

    You never used to be like this, you... you''ve disappointed me deeply, you''re not my father."

    Upon finishing, her eyes reddened, and she left the hall in tears, followed by her maids hurrying after her.

    Yi Chen: "..."

    An unwitting speaker can speak volumes, and Yi Chen silently withdrew his hand that was resting on Mei Ji''s thigh, his glance inadvertently lingering on Linglong.

    "The dog''s life was brief, that is my daughter Ling Yun. I apologize for this embarrassment, Taoist. She is not usually like this. Perhaps tomorrow I can host another banquet to apologize to you?" Linglong offered an apologetic bow to Yi Chen, looking like a doting father.

    "Family Head, please tend to your matters. Thank you for your hospitality, but I need to go train my foolish disciple," said Yi Chen, and with a chuckle, he flashed out of the fortress, while Linglong rushed off in the direction his daughter had gone.

    ...

    ...

    "Something''s not right, this Ling family must have a big secret."

    "The change in Lingyang City that Wang Ba dreamt of is mostly related to them."

    "Could it be that some evil entity has replaced Linglong, secretly arranging something?"

    Inspired by the girl''s angry accusation, Yi Chen''s imagination began to run wild, and with thoughts on his mind, he headed towards Wang Ba''s house.

    When he was invited by the Family Head, he had Little Miao follow Wang Ba as he left.

    As soon as Yi Chen appeared, Wang Ba and Little Miao came running over, with Wang Ba''s eyes red as if he''d been crying, which Yi Chen found odd: "Could it be he''s been crying over his studies? Uh..."

    "Taoist brother, you''re finally back. Something''s happened," Wang Ba said with a quivering voice.

    "What''s so alarming? Don''t panic, take it slow." Yi Chen patted Wang Ba''s head, trying to calm him down.

    Through Wang Ba''s disjointed explanation, Yi Chen learned that Duck Egg''s good friend Dog Egg had gone missing.

    "Dog Egg said he was going fishing yesterday, to catch fish to help build up my strength, but Aunt Lin came over just now and said Dog Egg was missing, and so were his friends he went with."

    "Taoist brother, I think..." Duck Egg began, his sleeve swiping at his nose, but Yi Chen interrupted him before he could finish.

    "No, you don''t think," said Yi Chen forbiddingly.

    "Taoist brother, in life, you need to have loyalty. Dog Egg is my brother," Duck Egg tried to argue, not willing to give in.

    "If you try to foresee events, I can''t guarantee how long you''ll live; you''ll die, do you understand?" Yi Chen said, resigned.

    "But in life, you need to have loyalty."

    "Anyway, I still have my dad, mom, and my older brother. Dog Egg would treat my parents as his own. Dying sooner or later doesn''t make much difference, I might as well try," Duck Egg said with an inexplicable stubbornness in his voice.

    Yi Chen looked deeply at Duck Egg, his heart touched by the child''s spirit.

    He had been moved by a child.

    Perhaps this was the innocence of a child.

    Although Duck Egg was not a good student, he dared to stand up for his classmates against bullying, even if the bully was from a powerful background.

    He was loyal to his friends, ready to sacrifice himself.

    This cultural desert... it truly evokes fear, making Yi Chen scratch his head in consternation.

    "The situation hasn''t reached that point yet, tell me, in the premonition you saw earlier, what was the scene when Wang Ba died?" Yi Chen asked in a deep voice. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "White banners for the dead, and a silver river."

    "Stay put, I''m going to investigate further. Little Miao, keep an eye on him. If he spaces out, knock him unconscious for me."

    After leaving that instruction, Yi Chen suddenly vanished from sight.

    Investigating such matters requires finding the right people, not searching fruitlessly alone.

    In urgent situations, employing somewhat more forceful approaches is unavoidable.

    Boom!

    A loud noise.

    The gate of the Evil Tiger Gang was sent flying by a powerful kick, shattering instantly into pieces.

    The gang members gambling in the courtyard were struck by the flying wood chips and fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

    A majestic figure strode in from outside.

    It was Yi Chen.

    He had done his homework. The local gang that had been entrenched the longest was none other than this Evil Tiger Gang.

    Snakes have their own path, rats have theirs; the riffraff had their uses, and asking them could be incredibly efficient for certain things.

    "Any of you who don''t want to die, put your hands on your heads and squat down."

    "Family Head, please kneel down. Daoist begs you to let him inquire about some matters."

    Crack! With a kick, Yi Chen broke the leg of a man baring his chest decorated with a tattoo of two axes and a full beard.

    ".¡­"

    Violence isn''t the only solution, but it is swift.

    Was he expected to beguile this group of gangsters with gentle persuasion? Then what was the point of Yi Chen''s cultivation?

    A small temple afflicted by demons, a shallow pond with too many Wang Ba.

    The tiny Lingyang City was home to four gangs.

    Following his visit to the Evil Tiger Gang, adhering to the principle of "those who comply live, those who oppose disappear," Yi Chen paid a visit to the other three gangs in the same fashion.

    Each of the four major gangs was very cooperative and disclosed all the information they knew.

    By the time Yi Chen finished his tasks, it was already midnight.

    "Interesting, I didn''t expect the Ling family to harbor such secrets."

    Yi Chen gazed at the Ling family fortress atop the highest point and couldn''t help but reveal a slight smile.

    Every year in Lingyang City, a small number of people vanished without a trace, as if evaporating from the face of the Earth. Some claimed they were victims of evil ghosts claiming lives, their souls snatched into a mysterious space. A gang member, under Yi Chen''s interrogation, insisted he had seen it happen.

    Yi Chen also had the gang members investigate the birthdates of the vanished children from today, discovering they were either born with extremely yin life-patterns or were associated with yin influences.

    Another piece of news that greatly intrigued Yi Chen was the short life span of the Ling family members. The Family Head had been replaced two or three times over the past two hundred years, and direct family members also disappeared in bizarre ways, as if cursed.

    Recalling the white-dressed young girl''s claim that her mother died a month ago, Yi Chen couldn''t help but rethink all sorts of details from his encounter with Linglong.

    "Could it be that Linglong''s core was really replaced? Possessed by an outer demon?"

    The thought quickly surfaced in Yi Chen''s mind, only to be dismissed just as swiftly.

    During the day, he had carefully sensed Linglong and found no mismatch that would indicate a possession had occurred.

    With his current level of cultivation, it would be difficult for someone who had undergone possession to escape his perception.

    Even if the person who underwent the possession was incredibly adept, there was still an unexplainable detail.

    That was the strange deaths of the direct Ling family descendants over the past two hundred years as if they were cursed. What was the explanation for that?

    After some thought and finding no reasonable explanation, Yi Chen shook his head. He considered for a moment and decided against immediately going to the Ling family fortress, opting to wait for the outcome after Wang Ba entered his dreams that night before making a decision.

    Having made up his mind, a pale golden radiance shot up into the sky, and soon he was inside Wang Ba''s home courtyard.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Moonlight spilt like water, drenching the land.

    In a courtyard within the Ling family fortress, where several clumps of ornamental bamboo were planted.

    The wind rustled the bamboo leaves, which kept fluttering incessantly.

    Under the moonshine, the bamboo leaves and branches cast a large array of shadows.

    On the ground, they mingled and interlaced like waterweeds in a pond.

    Ling Yun, the eldest daughter, had removed her black leather boots and was leaning at the window of her room, staring blankly at the scene outside.

    Her feet, enveloped in black socks, kept rubbing against each other, changing positions under the table.

    Perhaps due to the drop in temperature at night, wisps of vapor rose from the tips of her toes.

    However, at this moment, Ling Yun''s thoughts had already drifted far beyond the nine heavens.

    She once had a wonderfully happy family, with loving parents.

    Because her older brother died under mysterious circumstances, she received even more love and affection.

    But all of that shattered into illusionary bubbles a month ago.

    The mother who adored her was dead.

 Chapter 164 Run, Run Faster! Yi Chens Calculation, The Truth (Part 2)

    ```An inexplicable sudden death.

    It left her overwhelmingly sad.

    She wanted to ask her father, that man full of scholarly aura, the man who used to lift her high when she was little, the man who had lived with her mother in mutual respect for many years.

    She wanted to ask why this had happened.

    But what terrified her was the horrifying discovery that her own father had become somewhat unfamiliar.

    Although on the surface he seemed no different than usual, she felt an unexplainable disharmony.

    It was as if a great demon was performing a delicate imitation beneath his human skin, but a fake was after all a fake. Others might be fooled, but she, his kin, could sense the dissonance.

    She had also covertly tested him by asking about some secretive matters from the past, but her father answered everything in full detail without fail.

    "Perhaps this is just how father has always been."

    "He''s merely revealed his true nature."

    "Since mother''s death, he quickly bought two groups of Mei Ji."

    "Although he still cares about me, his gaze always feels strange. That concern, it''s not like the fatherly love I knew before; it''s more like he''s looking at something very important to himself." Ling Yun muttered to herself.

    In the deep silence of the night, people tend to become more sensitive and sentimental.

    Ling Yun recalled the happy times of the past, when her mother was still with them, and her parents were deeply in love, treating each other with great respect.

    Whenever there was a conflict, her mother just had to say ''Old man on Shu Road'' and her father would promptly submit.

    She also remembered, once when she was little, her father got so outraged he blurted out ''don''t throw a crazy fit''¡­

    Memories trickled in her mind, and unbeknownst to herself, tears were streaming down Ling Yun''s face.

    She longed to return to the past, but she couldn''t.

    The evening breeze blew gently, filling Ling Yun''s clothes and causing the wind chimes hanging in the room to suddenly start jingling.

    The swaying wind chimes brought Ling Yun back to reality.

    She looked up at the voodoo doll hanging by the wind chimes with colorful threads, wearing a feathered costume ¨C a gift from her mother on her eighteenth birthday. Touching her head, her mother told her that her parents would always love and protect her.

    "Mother, father has changed." Ling Yun stood up, holding the tiny voodoo doll as if she were holding her mother, and suddenly burst into loud weeping.

    Creak!

    All of a sudden, a violent wind blew, and the room''s door was flung wide open.

    The wind was so strong, it swirled dust and dried leaves from outside all around.

    Amidst the commotion, Ling Yun quickly smoothed out the creases on the tips of her stockings and put on her leather boots before walking out the courtyard door.

    Strangely enough, as soon as Ling Yun stepped beyond the threshold, the wild wind abruptly stopped.

    Huh.

    Where are the guards?

    Enjoy new stories from empire

    Ling Yun, looking at the empty courtyard, suddenly thought.

    Because she was overly playful and her spiritual awakening came relatively late, her cultivation was very weak. To protect her from the bizarre curse of the Ling family, her parents had always arranged for people to guard outside her room throughout the night.

    At this moment, the night at Ling''s fort was unusually quiet; even the sound of insects couldn''t be heard.

    Ling Yun walked outside the courtyard, looking down at the houses below Ling''s fort, which were hidden in the darkness. The dim moonlight barely outlined their shapes.

    They were like beasts crouching in the dark, waiting for passersby to devour. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Suddenly, a wave of fear surged in Ling Yun''s heart.

    "Is anyone there?"

    "Is there anyone?"

    Ling Yun returned to her room to grab a lantern and began to shout loudly.

    Her voice drifted into the distance under the night sky, but there wasn''t the slightest response.

    Fear in Ling Yun''s heart deepened by the moment.

    She held the lantern and shouted even louder, opening room after room, but they were all empty.

    Not this one.

    Nor this one.

    Ling''s fort seemed as if everyone had vanished all at once.

    Just as Ling Yun was feeling utterly hopeless, the wild wind picked up again, and a gust of dust billowed towards her.

    At the forefront of the dust cloud was the voodoo doll from her room.

    Seeing the voodoo doll, Ling Yun did not feel fear; instead, she was filled with an inexplicable sense of security.

    The voodoo doll paused for a moment at her side, as if urging Ling Yun to follow it.

    Following the swirling dust and wind, Ling Yun quickly found herself in front of a solemn mansion.

    The ancestral hall.

    This was where the ancestral tablets of the Ling family were kept.

    The wild wind stopped here.

    The voodoo doll fell to the ground, its head pointing towards the door, seemingly telling her to go inside.

    "Isn''t this where the ancestral hall is? Father said this is a sacred family place, not to be entered unless on our ancestors'' anniversaries."

    Ling Yun was extremely nervous, but given the circumstances, she couldn''t worry about that anymore.

    Creak, she carefully pushed open the door, poking her head inside like a timid mouse and calling out, "Is anyone there?"

    "Ancestors, please bless me, it''s Ling Yun, please don''t mind me."

    Ling Yun walked in with her leather boots on, only to see that the ancestral hall''s door was wide open. The ancestral tablets lay hidden within layers of darkness, except for a spot behind one tablet, from which a hint of golden light emerged.

    By the time Ling Yun had fully entered the hall, the gold light had spread throughout the hall, lighting it up exceptionally bright.

    Only then did Ling Yun see clearly what the glowing object was ¨C a unique beetle-like insect with the texture of Gold, as if crafted out of gold.

    ```

 Chapter 164 Run, Run Faster! Yi Chens Calculation, The Truth (Part 2)_2

    The Gold Bug''s antennas twitched, and with a flash of light, an image appeared before Ling Yun as if projected, showing a figure with blood oozing from its seven orifices.Desiccated and withered.

    It was Ling Yun''s mother.

    Despite being reduced to such a ghastly state, Ling Yun recognized her at once.

    "Run! Yun''er! Your father is already dead, there''s no time, don''t look back! Hurry and run! Find a chance to escape!"

    Her mother''s image pleaded within, her voice mournful as if a cuckoo bleeding from the heart.

    "Mother, what''s happening?"

    Ling Yun cried out loudly.

    At that moment, a sudden change occurred.

    A blaze of fire suddenly appeared on her mother''s legs, and the flames spread rapidly.

    As if gripped by some mysterious force, the image of her mother was dragged toward the antennas of the golden bug and absorbed.

    "Mother, what''s wrong? What''s happening? Don''t go!" Ling Yun became frantic.

    There was a snap, as if something had broken into two pieces.

    The ancestral hall was plunged back into the darkness that preceded.

    ¡ª

    "Mother! Mother! What on earth happened!!!"

    "Say something, will you!"

    Whoosh!

    Ling Yun suddenly struggled to rise from where she lay next to the window on the desk. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Looking around bewilderedly, she realized that she had somehow fallen asleep without noticing.

    The voodoo doll she had been holding before was lying under the table, ablaze with fierce flames, having burned away most of its length.

    Inside the doll was a golden bug, very similar to the one from her dream, snapped into two pieces.

    A tall figure stood by her side¡ªher father, Linglong.

    "Yun''er, what''s wrong, had a nightmare?" Linglong said with a gentle smile.

    Facing that familiar smile¡ªwhose upward curve of the mouth was identical to her father''s in her memory¡ªLing Yun still felt a chill down her spine, an icy sensation rushing up to her crown.

    "Father, why are you here?"

    "I came to check on you. Ever since your mother passed, you''ve been not quite yourself, and I have been worried." Linglong reached out his large hand, intending to pat Ling Yun''s head but missed.

    Startled as if frightened, Ling Yun suddenly stepped back three long steps, her body abruptly tilting back as if she would fall.

    Fortunately, at that moment, a hand large as a palm-leaf fan steadied her shoulder, helping Ling Yun regain her balance.

    A deep, powerful voice emanated from behind her.

    "Miss Yun, be careful, at times like these you can''t afford to fall!"

    Ling Yun turned around to see it was the Daoist she hated, the one who had been inappropriately touching Mei Ji''s leg during the day.

    Yi Chen, dressed in tight black night clothes, appeared suddenly, his outfit still smeared with a bit of mud.

    Seeing this unexpected development, Linglong''s pupils contracted sharply.

    "Ah, Brother Linglong, also not asleep, perhaps planning on a fishing trip?"

    "The Daoist couldn''t sleep at all, and suddenly felt like finding someone to go night fishing with, so I took the liberty of coming over. You wouldn''t take offense, would you, Brother Linglong?" Yi Chen said, half-smiling in his night clothes.

    "Taoist Yi, you ate at my banquet during the day, yet come uninvited at night, entering my daughter''s boudoir¡ªisn''t that a bit too disrespectful?" Linglong spoke coldly.

    "I ate at that banquet on my own merit. If you can enter your daughter''s boudoir, why can''t the Daoist? What kind of logic is that?"

    "Aren''t you talking nonsense?" Yi Chen puffed out his chest, replying with righteous indignation.

    "You..." For a moment, Linglong found himself speechless. Find exclusive stories on empire

    "Brother Linglong, aren''t you curious why I''ve shown up here?"

    "After all, you had so many people watching me enter the courtyard of the duck egg house, there might even be someone monitoring me with a magic artifact."

    Without waiting for Linglong to speak, Yi Chen continued.

    "That''s naturally because the Daoist has plenty of storage rings." Yi Chen flaunted the four storage rings on his hand.

    "The Daoist has plenty of energy, not needing to use any mana, so what can you use to monitor me?"

    "I first did some vertical work, digging a hole, and put the excavated earth into a storage ring. Then I dug and dug deep underground, backfilling as I went."

    "That''s how I got out here."

    "Ling Daoist, you''re quite steady, but you''re not steady enough," Yi Chen tossed a mud-caked modified Luoyang shovel to the ground, sneering.

    He had originally planned to wait until the duck''s dream before making a decision, but the moment he discovered someone was surveilling his residence, Yi Chen immediately changed his mind.

    A certain devil named Rong Fang who had the habit of listening in from the corners and then striking back like a ghost, Yi Chengzi could do it as well.

    "Ha ha, in the end, man''s plans are not equal to Heaven''s plans, Heaven''s will ah!"

    "Who would have thought Miao Xiuer, the top genius of the Miao Ethnic Group''s previous generation, would still have an ace up her sleeve even after death, outsmarting me with a twin-spirit illusion Gu."

    "However, Daoist friend, how did you discover my flaw? How did you happen to come to my daughter''s place?" Linglong asked with puzzlement.

    "Heh, take a guess," Yi Chen moved Ling Yun behind to protect her.

    He had felt something was amiss since the day.

    From the brief two sentences Ling Yun said during the day, he detected the contradiction.

    From Ling Yun''s words, one could infer that before her mother died, the love between her parents must have been very strong. The well-meaning person from the sect he later inquired about even mentioned that this man was henpecked.

    But during the banquet, this person''s groping was no less than his... This was a doubtful point.

    However, if we somewhat reason that Linglong wants to ingratiate himself with Yi Chen, it could be explained away, considering that Yi Chen is now a hot topic on the Dragon Tiger List, having forcefully killed Bazhao.

    But if he wanted to curry favor, another problem arose.

    How would a hero who throws a party right after his wife''s demise pay such close attention to his daughter''s behavior, to the point of even getting up to send guests away? That''s hardly polite. Normal logic would have him invite the guest to stay overnight and go so far as introducing his daughter for a marriage match, right? That would be the real way to curry favor.

    If he really cared about his daughter, if he were truly a good father, he wouldn''t do something that would so obviously hurt his daughter''s feelings, unless the only thing he cared about was the person his daughter was.

    His many behaviors and strange actions were meant to prevent himself from focusing on his daughter.

    Yi Chen didn''t understand either, but if the enemy didn''t want him to do it, then it proved he was doing the right thing.

    Based on various information and doubts provided by the kind people from the sect during the day, Yi Chen quickly locked onto the Ling family''s previous henpecked Family Head¡ªthere was a problem.

    "Father, did you kill mother?" Ling Yun, standing behind Yi Chen, was about to lose control of her emotions as she cried out hoarsely.

    "Stop howling, that''s not your father."

    "If I''m not mistaken, your dad probably died even before your mom."

    "Some things can''t be hidden from one''s bedfellow, so your mom had to die too."

    "Daoist friend, am I guessing right?"

    Hearing Yi Chen''s words, Ling Yun''s eyes widened as she felt a mixture of emotions.

    Her joy stemmed from the fact that her father hadn''t had a change of heart and was not the murderer of her mother, while her sorrow came from the loss of both her parents¡­

    Linglong clapped his hands and laughed: "Taoist Yi really is observant to the finest detail; I admire you."

    "But even if I have been planning this for nearly three hundred years, and even if times have slipped and it''s not perfect, I''m not afraid."

    "The only blood kin I have in the world, I entrust to you now, ha ha."

    ''Linglong''s'' facial muscles twisted, revealing a strange, old face.

    Seeing this man''s face, Ling Yun couldn''t help but cry out in shock: "Great-Grandfather!"

    She had seen this man''s portrait during ancestral worship in the family temple; it was none other than her long-deceased great ancestor.

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but feel a sense of solemn respect upon hearing this.

    He had thought it was a foreign demon possessing the body with superb skills that he couldn''t detect, but it turned out to be a relative''s body possession instead.

    Body possession by someone of the same blood lineage makes sense.

    All of a sudden, Yi Chen couldn''t help but think of another piece of information.

    That was the mysterious accidental deaths of the direct descendants of the Ling family in Lingyang City over the past two hundred years.

    Damn!

    The great ancestor killing off his entire lineage?

    It really is... the early morning sun and the late dusk''s intent.

    At that moment, Yi Chen once again gained a deeper understanding of the diversity of the human species.

    Zhu Buqun could throw himself into the pit for the sake of his son, suffering the consequences.

    The old Ling family ancestor could also annihilate his lineage for some purpose, making his clan members suffer the most.

    "Miss Ling, step back a little."

    "True Yang Spirit! Open for me!!!" Yi Chen''s killing intent surged, and he roared furiously.

    A pale golden light shone, piercing through darkness, revealing itself to the world.

    In the sky, a giant figure of a dragon and tiger with a menacing appearance appeared, the virtual shadow of a tall, tattooed Daoist burst through the house beams and into the night sky, like a deity descending to the mortal world.

 Chapter 165 The City of No Light, Secret Realm, Demon Coffin, Slaying, Harvest

    The pale golden aura exploded with Yi Chen as the center, spreading out in all directions.Yi Chen transformed into a metallic torrent, rushing towards ''Linglong'' with an unstoppable momentum.

    Although there were still many mysteries unsolved in his heart, it didn''t matter, as long as he could catch the instigator in front of him and beat him half to death, wouldn''t the problems be solved?

    Contrary to Yi Chen''s expectations, faced with his thunderous force, ''Linglong'' did not resist but let Yi Chen''s golden hand stop on his neck.

    This abnormality caused Yi Chen''s eyebrows to furrow involuntarily, a sense of ominous premonition surged in his heart.

    "Old fellow, what tricks are you playing now?"

    Yi Chen would have preferred that this old codger simply exploded and fought with him for three hundred rounds, rather than face the current situation.

    This indicated that the situation was temporarily out of his control.

    With life and death in the hands of others, ''Linglong'' showed no panic on his face, laughing wildly:

    "Yi Chengzi, you underestimate me too much."

    "I''ve been planning for nearly three hundred years, if I were to fail so easily, wouldn''t it make me look incompetent?"

    "You won''t find my true body, once I fully merge with the Duti Xieshi, who in the world can stop me if the True Monarch does not appear? Haha, we''ll settle the score later."

    "Dotian Jishen Great Formation, rise!"

    As soon as his voice fell, ''Linglong'' wore a strange smile and took the initiative to self-destruct, exploding into a sky full of blood mist.

    His self-destruction, like a key, sent strange vibrations in all directions; thick dark clouds had unknowingly drifted over the sky of Lingyun City, occluding stars and moon.

    At the same time, the walls of Lingyun City began to rise thunderously, growing tens of meters higher, with black qi twining around them like an iron barrier.

    In an instant, the entire Lingyun City turned into a city without light, transforming into a forbidden domain.

    Yi Chen looked up and saw the dark clouds over the city turning into a vortex and spinning madly, a strange suction force came from above, crazily drawing the essence and blood of all living beings below.

    Such a bizarre change made even Yi Chen unable to help but change his expression.

    "Divide the spirit and transform the thoughts."

    "I wondered why that damned thing was so weak, it turns out to be the art of dividing the spirit and transforming the thoughts."

    "That old thing must be hiding somewhere secret, looking to advance with the help of the great formation."

    "Daoist, what should we do now?" Ling Yun couldn''t help but move closer to Yi Chen, the delicately nurtured girl was not equipped with a strong enough heart to handle such a scene.

    "What else can we do? Naturally, we have to think of a way to break the formation."

    Yi Chen also felt helpless as he looked at the panicking citizens in the city caused by the anomaly, feeling a headache.

    Given the drawing power of this great formation, it wouldn''t be able to drain his body tempered by a thousand hammers in eight hundred years, but Yi Chengzi might not be curable, what about those ordinary people?

    Ga~ Ga~

    Boom~

    A crow flapped its wings trying to flee for its life, but halfway through its flight, it burst into a mist of blood, drifting towards the dark clouds in the sky.

    "Help, what''s happening?"

    "Why has the sky turned dark? I feel so uncomfortable~"

    Yi Chen heard many noisy voices.

    He couldn''t wait any longer. Now it was birds, these small creatures exploding, but if they delayed, it would be people next.

    In times of utter despair, a golden Daoist shadow shot up into the sky above the city.

    In the midst of darkness, it was so dazzling.

    He was the only light in this dark world at the moment.

    For a moment, Ling Yun couldn''t help but become entranced by the sight.

    "Pure Yang! Pure Yang! Pure Yang!"

    "Open, for me!"

    Yi Chen roared loudly, gathering his pale golden Inner Qi.

    The punch was enshrouded in innumerable golden lights, based on the power of Pure Yang, merged with the brilliant Inner Qi radiance of the dragon and tiger''s true intent, instantly shimmering in the world. The Inner Qi turned into a column about a meter in diameter, blasting towards the dead center of the sky''s vortex.

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    As the command to ''open'' fell, the Qi column surged upward with speed and unexpectedly split into two, entwining with each other and shooting straight into the sky.

    At the forefront of the Qi column, ferocious tiger and dragon heads roared furiously.

    No sooner had the command been given than the golden light column slammed into the center of the vortex.

    The citizens of Lingyun City watched this scene.

    Countless citizens prayed silently.

    It must, it must succeed~

    Boom!

    The massive sound wave reverberated in all directions.

    Under the bombardment of the golden Qi column, the dark cloud vortex exploded violently, scattering everywhere, and the light of stars and moon reappeared in the sky above Lingyun City.

    Countless citizens began to rejoice, and even Ling Yun beside Yi Chen lifted her small face, looking up at the tall Daoist in the sky with an excited expression.

    She was born and raised here, naturally not wanting to see Lingyun City''s downfall; now that the crisis was lifted, her heart was overflowing with excitement.

    All the people were looking up at the tall Daoist above them, the savior of Lingyun City.

    Murmurs of the Daoist''s divine might gathered like a river in the city and echoed between heaven and earth.

    Some people upon seeing this scene even knelt down directly, throwing themselves to the ground in tearful joy.

    Everyone was smiling, except Yi Chen couldn''t smile while suspended in mid-air.

    This punch had cost him one-tenth of his Inner Qi; however, he could feel that though the dark clouds in the sky had been shattered by his blow, it only slowed down the process of the great formation.

    The dark clouds were gradually gathering again.

    With one-tenth of his Inner Qi spent on that punch, he had only bought the people in the city a bit more time.

    "This... I''m going to punch your damn mother."

    Yi Chen immediately decided it was time to escape.

 Chapter 165 The City of No Light, Secret Realm, Demon Coffin, Slaying, Harvest_2

    The patriarch of the Ling family, that old codger, had vanished without a trace, and with the formation being so tricky and stubborn, Yi Chengzi was out of options.Continuously bombarding it would only lead to his Inner Qi seriously depleting, and if that old immortal from the Ling family successfully advanced, wouldn''t Yi Chengzi be sacrificing himself?

    This damned formation obscured the stars and the moon, turning everywhere it covered into a realm without light, disgustingly so for Yi Chen.

    This was an impossible task~

    Couldn''t save them, no more tricks, time to bid farewell~

    "Everyone head towards the East City Gate down the mountain, I''ll blast a path open, hurry and retreat!"

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    Yi Chen''s voice, deep with suppressed fury, echoed throughout Lingyang City.

    The sky gradually darkened again.

    Fortunately, Yi Chen''s punch just now was truly fierce; unlike before when the city was too dark to see one''s hand in front of their face, now there were still specks of light piercing through the sky.

    But these specks of light probably wouldn''t last even half an incense stick''s burning time.

    "Offense intended, Miss Ling Yun."

    A voice suddenly rang in Ling Yun''s ear.

    Yi Chen dispelled the True Yang Spirit''s phantom image, spiraled down from the sky, scooped up her delicate body, and flung it over his shoulder, then headed straight for the courtyard of the house shaped like an egg.

    Perhaps Yi Chen''s actions were a bit rushed, catching Ling Yun off-guard, causing one of her leather boots to fly off into mid-air, while a strange scent mixed with the fragrance of a young girl entered Yi Chen''s nose.

    The feeling was indescribably odd.

    In no time, Yi Chen arrived at the courtyard of the house shaped like an egg.

    Just at that moment, Little Miao and the family living there had also come out with their valuables, ready to flee, and ran smack into him.

    Ling Yun''s face was flushed red, standing beside Yi Chen, fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.

    "Little Egg, gather your father, your brothers, and your mother; we need to leave," Yi Chen got straight to the point.

    He couldn''t extinguish the mess in Lingyang City; he could only focus on those related to him first.

    Unlike cities on the plains, Lingyang City was built upon cliffs; residents living towards the back of the city most likely wouldn''t make it to the exit paths in time.

    "Daoist elder brother," Little Egg''s eyes lit up when he saw Yi Chen, wanting to say something, only to be interrupted by Yi Chen. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "No time to explain, get on the door plank." While he spoke, Yi Chen had already dismantled the two doors of Little Egg''s house, called everyone to sit tight on the doors, and shot up into the sky, heading towards the city gate downhill.

    Soon Yi Chen arrived at the city gates.

    The gates were now sealed shut by stones raised by the formation, wrapped in enigmatic black streams of energy, having turned into an iron wall.

    "Daoist elder, what do we do now?"

    "Daoist elder, save us!"

    "Daoist elder, I got separated from my wife and daughter in the crowd, can you help me find them?"

    Upon spotting Yi Chen''s figure, many of the citizens that had already gathered at the city gates started to shout.

    Some even tried to pull on Yi Chen''s sleeve.

    "Shut up! Everyone line up, I''ll blast open a path, and if anyone dares to scramble, I''ll beat them to death!"

    In times of chaos, harsh measures are needed; time is life, and at this point, Yi Chen wasn''t in the best of moods; he wasn''t a living Buddha responsible for everyone.

    Spurred by Yi Chen''s fierce demeanor, many people at the city gates immediately fell silent, while Ling Yun used her status as a young mistress to start maintaining order.

    She did so quite adeptly, earning frequent nods of approval from Yi Chen.

    Quite a perceptive girl.

    Yi Chen naturally wouldn''t waste his Inner Qi like he had when he blasted the dark clouds above; after all, the ability he awakened after reaching the Strength-Breaking Realm was perfectly suited for the task at hand.

    Focused and bracing himself, a strange and immense strength bubbled up within him in sync with his breathing, concentrating on his arms. His biceps suddenly swelled, and after five seconds, a pair of bronze fists smashed furiously ahead.

    Like toppling mountains and overturning pillars, the gates shattered under the fierce power.

    Its might made even Yi Chen''s brow jump with surprise.

    This ability was not practical in battle, but if applied to inanimate objects or in a fistfight... it truly was terrifying like this~

    The crowd surged out of the exit, sweat beads forming on Yi Chen''s forehead.

    "Daoist elder brother, are a lot of people going to die this time? Can you save Dog Egg?" Little Egg''s voice came from behind.

    "You little rascal, don''t worry about others right now. Those in the back are probably doomed. That old dog from the Ling family is hiding somewhere, your Daoist elder brother has already tried his best," Yi Chen responded impatiently.

    "There''s still a way, I can find him."

    Yi Chen suddenly turned around: "Did you glimpse other clues in your dreams last night?"

    "No."

    "But I saw Dog Egg''s location." At this point, blood had begun to flow from Little Egg''s nose, mouth, and eyes.

    Seeing this, how could Yi Chen not know that Little Egg was forcibly using his precognitive abilities?

    "Stop it, are you trying to kill yourself?" Yi Chen said urgently.

    "To be... to be a man of honor... I said that I would save... Dog Egg."

    "Daoist elder... Daoist big brother... I saw it... the mysterious person is right beneath where we stand, I saw... saw you burrowing into the ground and pushing open that huge door, you disappeared... I..."

    Before Little Egg could continue, Yi Chen knocked him out with a chop of his hand.

    After pondering for a moment, Yi Chen''s Inner Qi overflowed, transforming into a drill as it began furiously boring down into the depths of the earth.

    The Ling family''s old patriarch, that old cur, had claimed his split spirit was about to merge with some so-called All-Heaven Evil Corpse, gain full control after ascension, and even threatened to settle his score with Yi Chen after coming out.

 Chapter 165 The City of No Light, Secret Realm, Demon Coffin, Slaying, Harvest_3

    Every time he thought of these words, he found neither sleep nor appetite.Since he had become entangled in the affairs of the Ling family, he had to eradicate them root and branch.

    This person could annihilate his own descendants, so what would happen if such a ruthless individual set his sights on his own Hidden Dragon Temple?

    He was still okay, but he feared that Qing Feng, Ming Yue, and his junior brother Qing Yunzi would have no way out.

    It might be best to take a gamble, to kill him completely before his promotion.

    This damned Doomsday Evil Corpse, destroying it would probably yield quite a few Deep Red Points~

    Yi Chen was also a resolute and ruthless person, who had previously been unable to find this person''s hidden location. After briefly weighing the pros and cons, he immediately began to take action.

    After relentlessly searching underground, he finally broke through a layer of rock with a crack, and Yi Chen suddenly found himself standing in a cave. The place was extremely narrow, and at the end was a bronze gate with the ancient seal characters for "seal demon" inscribed on each side.

    The two ancient characters were grand and majestic. With just a glance, Yi Chen felt as if two mountains were pressing down upon him, shaking him to the core.

    "Holy shit, to think it possesses such mighty power after thousands of years, only slightly inferior to the plaque below Zhengyang City on Dragon Tiger Mountain. What kind of cultivation level did the senior who wrote these characters have?"

    "Is there really such a huge gap even among True Monarchs?"

    After a moment of contemplation, Yi Chen no longer focused on the ancient bronze characters on the door, but instead walked slowly toward the gate, and pushed it open!

    He dared to step through this portal because he had confidence and had considered the risks.

    Since that old dog of the Ling family was hiding and waiting to be promoted, it meant he feared Yi Chen. Once he was afraid, Yi Chen was no longer afraid. Yi Chen trusted the judgment of his enemy.

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    Moreover, in this demon-sealing place, it was likely that the old ancestor of the Ling family had at most the cultivation of a True Person when he broke in here; and yet he was unharmed and moved freely, indicating that the demons imprisoned here had been worn down by the power of time and likely posed no great danger.

    With wolves ahead and tigers behind, one must risk their life for glory!

    There''s no such thing as a sure win in this world.

    Thinking of the Yan Family''s subsequent actions and the retaliation from the Ling family''s old ancestor if he successfully broke through, Yi Chen exerted force on his arms, pulled open the bronze gate, and flashed into the space beyond.

    After a moment of disorientation, Yi Chen shook his head and regained his senses.

    Looking up, he found the world had changed.

    "I never expected this demon-sealing place to be a Secret Realm; even the bronze gate itself, made of some unknown material, blended perfectly with the surroundings. Without a map or special methods, it would be impossible to find such a place."

    "I wonder how the old ancestor of the Ling family managed to get in here," Yi Chen couldn''t help but lament in his heart.

    He ascended the stone stairs, passing through a quiet, dimly lit corridor, and arrived within a grand hall, when Yi Chen suddenly halted.

    In the distance, outside a grand hall, stood a wolf.

    A huge wolf covered in silver-white armor.

    "Who are you, daring to intrude into the retreat of my master, and how did you come in?"

    Upon seeing Yi Chen''s figure, the wolf seemed very surprised and spoke in human speech. Judging by its aura, it was on par with the Mountain Lord he had encountered in the ruined temple on Black Wind Mountain.

    "You wish to stop me?" Yi Chen raised an eyebrow.

    "Of course, my name is¡­"

    Boom!

    Before the wolf could finish, its head was blown apart by a punch from Yi Chen.

    His figure immediately entered the grand hall.

    It was an immensely large stone hall.

    Inside, many skeletons were haphazardly piled up, men and women, old and young alike. Yi Chen looked around and saw no sign of any living person, thinking that the kid should be eighteen years old after eighteen years... S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the hall hung many white lanterns inscribed with the word "mourning" and many white banners with blessings. They were arranged in two long rows, fluttering as if in a breeze.

    At a casual glance.

    This is written: "The corpse knows no bounds."

    In the middle it says, "The yin life is eternal."

    That one reads, "Death is also life."

    Looking up, Yi Chen noticed that the densely packed streamers at the top were actually filled with names and portraits of the Ling family members, as if all of them were filial sons and grandsons wishing their ancestor a happy birthday.

    Yi Chen: "... Old Dog Ling kills without mercy."

    Below the great hall was a pool filled with shimmering mercury.

    This must be the scene Yi Chen saw in his dream when the duck egg invaded his mind.

    Above the great hall was a circular platform, resembling an altar, and at its top was a white jade dome studded with various jewels, with a conduit inserted straight into the sarcophagus on the altar, the contents within the pipe surging as if something inside the sarcophagus was swallowing something.

    "Swallow this, you bastard, get up and party!"

    Yi Chen stared at the sarcophagus on the altar for a moment, revealing his True Yang Spirit, and pulled out the new, un-blooded Dragon-Slaying Sword.

    A furious sword qi slashed directly at the sarcophagus.

    Boom!

    The sarcophagus was instantly torn to shreds by the furious sword qi, and the magical formation on top of the altar was also destroyed, scattered all around, as a fierce figure emerged from the sword qi storm.

    "Ah! Ah! Ah!"

    "Yi Chengzi, how did you find this place? I will have you dead!"

    A ghastly withered corpse rushed toward Yi Chen, whose ascension had just been brutally interrupted by Yi Chen. The Ling family ancestor was now seething with rage, his body surging with the energy of death, his aura was terrifyingly powerful.

    "I feel the same way."

    "Explode! Explode! Explode!"

    Yi Chen let out a fierce shout, and three golden liquid droplets within his body exploded one after the other, releasing a torrent of unmatched violent inner qi, which actually forced his True Yang Spirit form to lengthen another half meter.

    He swung the Dragon-Slaying Sword, two and a half meters long and as broad as a door plank, trailing a golden flame tail, and launched a violent attack on the Ling family ancestor.

    This sudden turn of events greatly exceeded the Ling family ancestor''s expectations.

    As soon as Yi Chen made his move, he was already giving it his all.

    The Ling family ancestor''s face changed drastically!

    Sword and claw clashed!

    The golden inner qi and the rich grey energy of the corpse rubbed against each other frantically, sparking dense sparks and emitting a piercing hissing sound.

    After a few seconds of standoff, Yi Chen''s inner qi surged again, and an invisible golden flame began to rise around the two, gradually closing in.

    Hiss!

    With a flash of golden light, Yi Chen appeared behind the Ling family ancestor.

    "Ling family ancestor, not bad!"

    A golden crack appeared slowly along the center of the Ling family ancestor''s body.

    He was bisected by a single sword strike!

    He gazed down in shock at his own wound.

    "No¡­ impossible¡­ how can I die here... I am..."

    Boom!

    The body of the Ling family ancestor exploded with a bang, scattering corpse fragments all over the sky, black corpse fluid drifted everywhere, spreading across the floor tiles.

 Chapter 166 Harvest, The Dry Bones in the Inner Sanctuary.

    All-in is a form of wisdom.Within this Secret Realm, Yi Chen had no concerns to worry about. After meeting the Ling Family''s patriarch, he immediately unleashed his strongest form and went all-in against him.

    Now that the Ling Family''s patriarch was dead, there was no need for Yi Chen to maintain his True Yang Spirit form. He dispersed his spirit form and revealed his true self, leaning on his sword, slightly out of breath but a hint of pleasure inadvertently spread across his face.

    "Including that big dog guarding the door, I didn''t expect to earn a thousand Deep Red Points this time."

    "The Patriarch of the Ling Family was really generous, charitable¡ªeven to animals."

    For some, their death is more significant than all the contributions they''ve made in their lives.

    Looking at the prompt message on his retina, Yi Chen couldn''t help but grin and burst into laughter.

    If one were to delve into it, Yi Chen''s ability to slay the Ling Family''s patriarch in one stroke was somewhat opportunistic, taking advantage of the critical moment of the other''s ascension, interrupting it, and staking his all in a life-and-death struggle. Otherwise, victory would not have come so easily to him.

    But a win is a win, and a loss is a loss.

    Looking at the balance of Deep Red Points on the light screen panel, 2,686 points, a shade of desire climbed into Yi Chen''s eyes.

    In this age of great strife, with wolves in the front and tigers in the back, the nearby Yan Family and the farther Yin Manor, and even further was the change of heaven and earth¡ªeach event was pushing Yi Chen to keep moving forward.

    "It''s still not strong enough, not nearly enough."

    "What a pity, even with all my abilities used, I''m still not a match for the Army Master of the Scarlet Flames."

    Thinking of that immensely valiant man holding the blood-red battle flag, Yi Chen felt even more inadequate in his heart.

    With just one move, the Army Master of the Scarlet Flames made light work of capturing Zhu Buqun of the True Person Realm, fourth level, treating him like a dying dog.

    Although the Ling Family''s patriarch, whose ascension Yi Chen interrupted, was slightly stronger than Zhu Buqun at that time, Yi Chen had to exert all his abilities and struggled for a few seconds before taking him down.

    Compared to the casual ease of the Army Master of the Scarlet Flames, he still had a long way to go.

    The most important thing for a person is to recognize oneself.

    If one is inferior, then that''s the truth; you can deceive others, but don''t deceive yourself.

    However, at this moment, there was not the slightest discouragement in Yi Chen''s heart; instead, surges of lofty aspirations welled up.

    To surpass each mountain peak, to witness the variety of sceneries in the world, to see all the secrets of the world, and to stand shoulder to shoulder or even surpass those righteous True Monarchs and nefarious overlords inside and outside the mountains and seas¡ªisn''t that what he has been striving for?

    "I''m only one thousand four hundred points short of advancing to the eleventh level of the Pure Yang Dragon and Tiger True Technique."

    "I hope I can gather that sum of Deep Red Points before returning to Hidden Dragon Temple, so that everything will be secure."

    "However, this battle has also revealed another weakness of mine: insufficient reconnaissance ability. After I break through to the eleventh level of the Pure Yang Dragon and Tiger True Technique, I will need to start enhancing my Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique."

    Yi Chen''s thoughts were whirling as he leaned on his sword to rest, his mind never stopping, planning for the future.

    The Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique, an incredibly mysterious and brilliant technique, was painstakingly created by the former Heavenly Master, Zhang Ji Shi, with high aspirations. However, since Yi Chen''s power was temporarily lacking before, he put this marvelous technique aside for the time being.

    Once his True Technique breaks through to the eleventh level, he will be able to relax a bit and raise the priority for enhancing the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique.

    The Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique had previously been instrumental in his rise from obscurity, as its special power allowed him to foresee others'' schemes and take the initiative.

    Unfortunately, as his power increased, his enemies became stronger, and the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique could no longer keep up with the times; therefore, its enhancement was also an urgent matter.

    After killing the patriarch of the Ling Family, Yi Chen had gained a certain confidence in his power; fully unleashing it now, he estimated he had the destructive capabilities of an average True Person Realm, sixth level.

    If his Pure Yang Dragon and Tiger True Technique could break through to the eleventh level, he speculated that even if he wouldn''t match the Army Master of the Scarlet Flames, he wouldn''t be far off, and then he could breathe a little easier.

    With continuous calculations in his mind, the joy of having just harvested a vast amount of Deep Red Points began to settle within Yi Chen.

    He found that the more Deep Red Points he earned, the greater the gap became...

    The more he earned, the more he spent.

    Yi Chen, noticing the subtle change in his own emotions, couldn''t help but laugh at himself alone.

    "It really is a case of man''s greed being as insatiable as a snake trying to swallow an elephant. If I could earn so many Deep Red Points in one go in the past, I''d wake up laughing from my dreams~"

    "It''s probably because I''ve had too much..."

    "You have to eat your rice one bite at a time. First set a small goal, to surpass Commander Chiyan, then we''ll talk."

    No longer tangled in his thoughts, Yi Chen picked up the Dragon-Slaying Sword and came to the corpse of the Ling family''s ancestor. With a light flick of the sword, he found no foreign objects on the body, not even a single storage ring.

    "Damn, old dog, you''re really good at hiding~"

    Yi Chen spat a mouthful of saliva onto the chunks of the Ling family ancestor''s corpse, then flicked his finger, and a light golden flame fell onto the chunks. In an instant, it burned them to ash.

    After doing all this, Yi Chen started wandering around the grand chamber.

    Following the principle of "since I''m here, might as well," Yi Chen scraped off all the gold plating from the pillars in the grand chamber. Continue your saga on empire

    The white jade slab on the altar was also a fine item, with the topographical contours of the Da Yue dynasty carved on it. Even just as a decorative piece, it was exceptional. This item clearly shared a fate with his Hidden Dragon Temple, so he took it with him.

    And the Luminous Pearls embedded in the chamber¡ªhe found them particularly appealing, so he pried them out as well.

    Coming to the mercury pool, Yi Chen lightly stomped one foot, and the mercury shot up, revealing the skeletons beneath. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Unlike the bones piled haphazardly inside the grand chamber, these skeletons at the bottom of the mercury pool were clad in wealth and nobility, with jewelry on their finger bones and some even in armor; two of them even had their clothing not fully decayed.

    Yi Chen thought for a moment, then with a wave of his hand, he quickly placed the two corpses into his storage ring.

    If he wasn''t mistaken, these were the filial sons and worthy grandsons of the Ling family''s ancestor soaked in the mercury pool.

    The scene, combined with the white banners and eulogies he had set up for himself, had an indescribable sense of irony.

    Perhaps it was about showing off precisely what you lack the most?

    The mercury fell from the sky and collected back into the pool, covering the skeletons at the bottom once again.

    Yi Chen arrived at the pile of bones inside the grand chamber and let out a light sigh. These bones haphazardly placed in the corner of the grand chamber must have been the consumables for the Ling family ancestor''s cultivation of an evil technique.

    No one understood their lives; they died inexplicably within this grand chamber.

    The light golden flames, like fireflies, scattered and ignited a raging fire.

    The golden flames reflected on Yi Chen''s face as he closed his eyes and silently began reciting the Rebirth Mantra.

    "By the supreme decree, transcend your solitary souls, all ghosts and demons, receive grace in all four forms of birth.

    ....

    By decree, save these multitudes, swiftly transcend to rebirth, by decree, save these multitudes, swiftly transcend to rebirth."

    After three repetitions, Yi Chen collected the ash of the deceased properly and then proceeded towards the inner chamber.

    Pushing open the door behind the altar, the scene that appeared before Yi Chen caused his pupils to dilation suddenly.

    Inside an incredibly spacious grand chamber, the floor was engraved with a massive golden ceremonial design, and a gigantic skeleton over ten meters tall lay in the center of the design, obviously having been dead for a long time.

    With Yi Chen''s knowledge, he could only identify this as a complicated array for demon-sealing, banishment, and energy extraction.

 Chapter 168 The Old Friend Ning Feixue, Solitude, The Buddhist Child Shen Hui

    A spring sorrow awaits the drowning of wine, the boat sways on the lake, curtains beckon from above the pavilion.This is the grand scene of Golden Moon City''s largest tavern, the Golden Wind and Jade Dew Pavilion.

    This pavilion is established atop an artificially-made highland in the middle of Golden Moon Lake, where land was filled in to forcibly create a center for gourmet food and romance above the water.

    To ascend to this pavilion, one must take a ferry, and the ferrywomen, all comely and possessing modest martial skills, demand twenty taels just to board the vessel, even before setting foot in the pavilion.

    And yet, despite such an exorbitant price, the stream of people coming and going never ceases, and everyone leaving the pavilion bears a look of utter satisfaction.

    "Taoist, please board the boat~" A ferrywoman with a slender waist that seemed to sway with the breeze stretched out her lotus-white arm, gracefully gesturing with her bare hand for Yi Chen to step aboard, bending her knee in invitation.

    The ferrywoman did not wear silks or satins, but instead donned simple attire, presenting herself with a charming rustic beauty that was quite endearing.

    "Will this boat hold up?" Yi Chen asked skeptically, eyeing the small, black-canopied boat the ferrywoman was rowing.

    "Rest assured, Taoist, this boat is quite sturdy." the ferrywoman promised, patting her ample chest for emphasis,

    However, Yi Chen, having seen much of the world, had long detected this ploy to pad the bill. There were not so many slender branches that bore heavy fruit in the world. But he did not mind and leisurely stepped onto the black-canopied boat.

    Plop~

    The moment Yi Chen got on the boat, the waterline pressed dangerously close to the rim, causing onlookers on the shore to burst into laughter, while those in the know watched Yi Chen with serious eyes, showing a hint of wariness.

    The ferrywoman crumpled her little face as if about to cry.

    How to row, this... the boat fills with water at every stroke...

    "Don''t you have a bigger boat, or else just charge the fare and I''ll fly over myself, how about that?" Yi Chen offered a suggestion, testing the waters.

    "That won''t do, I''ll be fined if so. I''ll row slowly." the ferrywoman said with stubborn determination on her face.

    "Taoist, you''re quite heavy, just row slowly, it might just take an hour for you to get here." A tall and handsome fellow couldn''t help but burst into laughter, playfully stuffing a fifty-tael banknote into his ferrywoman''s bosom, inciting further laughter from the crowd.

    Contrary to all expectations, Yi Chen arrived at the highland in the lake center quite quickly.

    As those onshore watched as if they had seen a ghost, Little Miao, unable to bear her father being a laughingstock, plunged into the lake and lifted the black-canopied boat on her back, speeding across to the opposite shore.

    She even circled the white-clad gentleman''s boat that was mocking Yi Chen three times, splashing him all over and angering him into a frenzy of curses...

    "Waiter, bring me a round of your tavern''s signature dishes, no vegetarian ones~"

    "Also, set another table for my spirit beast with an all-fish banquet." Yi Chen settled down at a window-side seat on the second floor and loudly hailed the waiter.

    The Golden Moon Lake spans a vast diameter of about eleven or twelve li, its surface clear and serene. By the time Yi Chen''s dishes were served, the white-clad gentleman''s boat was still barely halfway gone, prompting Yi Chen, propped by the window, to chuckle.

    "Father, shall I dive back in and give it a good scratch, poking a few large holes in that black-canopied boat of theirs?" Little Miao licked her paw, murderous intent in her eyes as she suggested.

    Yi Chen:"..."

    "Miao Zi, I think you''re being a bit extreme~"

    After calming Little Miao down, Yi Chen and his wonderful daughter exchanged smiles and began their feast.

    Little Miao also rubbed her little paws together, commencing her quest to conquer the all-fish banquet on the table.

    Just as Yi Chen was indulging himself, a familiar voice suddenly reached his ears.

    "First, I lament a talent without discipline."

    "Second, I mourn a beauty''s frail fate."

    "Third, I disdain the herrings'' many bones."

    "Fourth, I regret the fragrance-less crabapples."

    "Fifth, I hate..."

    Yi Chen:"..." Damn, that voice sounds so familiar~

    "Holy crap, what a small world, is that you, Yi Taoist?" Suddenly, a voice rang out in surprise as a young master clad in brocade and fastened with a jade belt quick-stepped toward Yi Chen.

    Who else could it be but Ning Feixue, who had once fought side by side with Yi Chen at the treacherous Medicine Coffin Ferry?

    A fragrant breeze wafted over~

    The man plopped himself down at Yi Chen''s table, accompanied by two fair ladies clad in white.

    "Bai Lian, Bai Rong, let me introduce you. This Taoist here is the great brother I often mention to you, Taoist Yi Chengzi."

    "Back in the perilous Medicine Coffin Ferry, I fought alongside Taoist Yi Chengzi, wreaking havoc, and we quelled that catastrophe. Looking back now, it truly fills one with sighs~"

    "Taoist, I''ll cover your meal today. Waiter, add two more fish to the table for the esteemed Miao, over there." Ning Feixue winked at Yi Chen, suggesting generously.

    In the time that had passed, this man seemed to have encountered some fortune, for he had achieved breakthrough to the Qi Refinement Realm, his cultivation appearing almost comparable to Lin Zhenbei''s in Yi Chen''s perception.

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    And the most infuriating part was, he now had two more maids by his side.

    Yi Chen''s fists involuntarily clenched, suddenly feeling the food in his mouth wasn''t as delectable anymore.

    Damn it all! S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Bai Lian of the Green Lotus Sword Sect pays respect to Yi Taoist."

    "Bai Rong of the Green Lotus Sword Sect pays respect to Yi Taoist."

    The two women, resembling each other by about seventy to eighty percent, politely stood up and greeted Yi Chen at Ning Feixue''s cue.

    You never look bad before others without a conflict of interest ¡ª It''s all mutual back-scratching until you can make a splash in public.

    If you don''t applaud other''s showmanship today,

    fear there will be no one to cheer when you manifest your own greatness tomorrow!

    Yi Chen naturally understood this rule. He bore no ill will towards Ning Feixue, who despite his boastfulness, was a cultivator with a strong sense of justice and, what''s more, was treating him to lunch.

    It was essential to give him face at this moment.

 Chapter 168 The Old Friend Ning Feixue, Solitude, The Buddhist Child Shen Hui_2

    "I didn''t expect to meet an esteemed disciple of the Qinglian Sword Sect, truly a name I''ve long admired.""Ning Feixue is even more graceful than before. Please, have a seat," Yi Chen said as he cordially invited the guests to sit down.

    The Qinglian Sword Sect was one hundred and eighty thousand li away from the Hidden Dragon Temple, and there were no conflicts of interest. Bai Lian and Bai Rong, the two beauties who had just reached the Qi Refinement Realm, must be newly promoted Inner Sect Disciples of the Qinglian Sword Sect, unknown to the world and unnamed on the prestigious rankings. However, this did not prevent Yi Chen from expressing his long-standing admiration.

    After subtly nodding to Ning Feixue to acknowledge understanding, Yi Chen immediately mentioned Ning Feixue''s significant contribution during the incident at the Medicinal Coffin Crossing.

    "Hmm, back at that Medicinal Coffin Crossing, it was all thanks to Ning Feixue''s keen eye that unveiled the hidden dangers of that perilous place..." Yi Chen started to fabricate a story, his eyes wide open as he spun an engrossing tale.

    The two beauties listened with bright, admiring eyes, looking at Ning Feixue with deep affection.

    Miao Zi was on the other side, holding a fish in its mouth, listening in astonishment to Yi Chen''s recounting of the Medicinal Coffin Crossing. It shook its head, giving up eating its fish, momentarily doubting its memory.

    After a few cups of wine, the atmosphere became lively.

    Yi Chen was an open-hearted person, he made friends not based on their strength compared to his, but whether he took a liking to them, disregarding their status or wealth.

    Even if it was a seven or eight-year-old child, as naive as a duck egg, he was still willing to befriend them.

    After the wine flowed thrice and the dishes spanned five flavors,

    Bai Lian suddenly lowered her voice to Yi Chen, "Did Taoist master also come for the matter of the Tathagata''s disciples preaching scriptures at Mount Daguangming?"

    "The Buddhist sect has ulterior motives, this time they have even sent their disciples to the great cities of Da Yue to preach, their ambition cannot be small. With signs of contention between Dao and Buddhism reemerging, I wonder what does Taoist master think?"

    The foundational sword scripture of the Qinglian Sword Sect was created by a Daoist expert, belonging to the Dao Sword category, naturally biased towards the Dao Sect. Therefore, Bai Lian directly stated her purpose for coming to Jin Yue City to Yi Chen.

    Hearing this, Yi Chen frowned, not expecting a simple preaching by Buddhist disciples to involve the contention between Dao and Buddhism, but his brow soon relaxed.

    If the sky falls, there will be tall ones to hold it up, and I, Yi Chengzi, am just here to watch the excitement.

    Not my problem. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With that thought in mind, Yi Chen''s expression suddenly became vigilant. Harmful intentions should not be harbored, but one must guard against them in others. In order not to be sucked into this vortex and not to be misquoted, he began a barrage of nonsensical literature with Bai Lian and the others:

    "In my humble opinion, this key issue of Dao and Buddhist conflict is very key. How key, exactly? The key point is that even I don''t know; the crux of this matter is the key issue... "

    As Yi Chen was passionately speaking, a fat shopkeeper in brocade swiftly approached, bowing to Yi Chen, "Unaware that it was Taoist Yi Chengzi who graced our Jin Feng Yu Lu Tower, my subordinates were short-sighted and did not provide proper hospitality, please forgive us.

    "This meal is on me today. This place is too simple and does not match your stature, Taoist master. Why don''t you dine on the top floor?"

    When the fat shopkeeper said this, he didn''t even glance properly at Ning Feixue and the other two, but humbly bowed his head and whispered to Yi Chen alone, his body slightly trembling with mana, evidently a bona fide cultivator.

    "You recognize me?" Yi Chen asked coldly.

    "Taoist Yi is too modest. Who in the world does not know you? You have valiantly slain ''Ba Dao'', ranked sixteenth on the prestigious ranking. Those who are concerned are already aware, and the next time the ranking changes, you might even enter the top ten," the fat shopkeeper flattered.

    "No need, this place is quite nice. Send my regards to your master. A meal''s cost is something I can still afford," Yi Chen gestured with his hand for the shopkeeper to stop making noise and to step back. After doing so, Ning Feixue and the other two at his table became uncomfortable.

    "Tao... Taoist master, you''ve slain ''Ba Dao''?" Ning Feixue stammered.

    Bai Lian and Bai Rong were also visibly shocked and became more reserved in conversation.

    Many guests on the second floor also started to look at Yi Chen, whispering to one another.

    The world was full of people with similar looks. Combined with Yi Chen''s cheaply bought, ten-tael Daoist robe, even the cultivators among the guests who paid attention to the prestigious rankings did not dare to recognize him directly.

    It was only after the fat shopkeeper''s revelation that many began to wake up as if from a dream.

    Messages, passed through more than a dozen hands, circulated within the building.

    "Brother Wang, is this the up-and-coming Taoist Yi Chengzi? He seems quite amiable~" Find adventures at empire

    "You''re talking nonsense, Brother Li, be careful what you say. It''s said that while Taoist Yi was dining at Longlou, there was a cultivator, also on the prestigious ranking known as Chen Qi, who disrespected him, and he was immediately smashed to pieces."

    "Isn''t it said that Taoist Yi fancied Chen Qi''s wife? That Chen Qi''s wife is extremely beautiful," another well-to-do man, looking like Tang''s son, interjected.

    "Zhang, who are you, why are you sitting with us? Off you go, off you go."

    ...

    Listening to those WILD rumors that had been passed around countless times inside the tower, Yi Chen couldn''t help but turn green in the face. He knew full well, without even having to think with his "ass''s eyes," that it must be the Chen Family scheming behind the scenes, concocting slanders about him. For noble families controlling public opinion, tormenting someone like him who lacked powerful backers was all too easy.

    But he couldn''t afford to lose his temper, or else he would fall right into those bastards'' trap.

    It was as maddening as having a toad land on your shoe¡ªit doesn''t bite, but it sure is irritating...

    With his appetite lost, just as Yi Chen was about to stand up, an enraged voice came through, "You wild Taoist, how dare you toy with this young master, you are finished."

    "Do you know who my father is? My father¡­ my father¡­."

    The young man in white struggled to continue as he noticed the gaze of all the diners on the second floor fixated on him, staring as if he were a dead man. Even a fool could tell that something was amiss with such a scene.

    When people climb to a certain height, they naturally become lonely, for there are fewer and fewer who can walk with them. Yi Chen hadn''t expected to taste this feeling himself.

    Even the easygoing and unconventional Ning Feixue couldn''t escape this and didn''t dare to be as carefree as before, no longer hooking his arm around Yi Chen''s shoulder to drink.

    Ning Feixue wasn''t afraid of those remarks, but as someone who hadn''t even made it onto the list of renowned fighters, he found himself flustered facing an old friend who might now have a chance to rank among the top ten.

    "Brother Ning, let''s call it a day," Yi Chen said, ignoring the foolish white-clad young master. He suddenly felt bored, a wave of inexplicable loneliness washing over him.

    Was this the loneliness of walking the great path alone?

    Perhaps as his cultivation grew higher, the number of people who could sit and discuss the Tao with him over drinks would diminish.

    In the past, the people Yi Chen dealt with were all like Qian Yueru, the Sword Fairy, and the Mad Monk¡ªeach one a genius figure with an extraordinary background. He had never felt such a strong sense of this before in their company.

    Only today did he realize that unbeknownst to him, he had reached a height that many ordinary practitioners could only look up to, not daring to step out of line in his presence.

    Even now his face was enough to pay for his meals...

    "Taoist, I didn''t mean¡­"

    Yi Chen waved his hand, silencing Ning Feixue''s words.

    "Brother Ning, it''s not a good day today, let''s drink our fill some other time." With a smile, patting Ning Feixue on the shoulder and ignoring the white-clad young master, Yi Chen took Little Miao and drifted away.

    As Yi Chen''s figure disappeared, the Jinfeng Yulu Tower instantly erupted into chaos.

    Some diners who recognized the young man in white couldn''t help but speak up, "Nephew, when you get back, better pay some serious respects to your ancestors, hold a proper ceremony."

    "You''re lucky to be unscathed; it''s your family''s ancestral grave that''s gotten the heat¡­"

    "I heard that the Tyrant Blade got dumped into the river by Yi Taoist simply for giving him an extra glance in the crowd and saying, ''what are you looking at...''"

    "I heard it was over a clash of outfits¡­"

    "..."

    Amidst the babble of the crowd, the young man in white broke out in a cold sweat, his clothes soaked inadvertently.

    "How presumptuous! If any of you dare to slander Yi Taoist again, my sword will have words with you." Unable to restrain himself in the face of the slander, Ning Feixue drew his sword and with a palm strike, shattered the Eight Immortals table in front of him.

    In the afternoon, the sun shone brightly.

    At a certain place in Jinyue City.

    On a massive square.

    The ground of the square was paved with square meter stones polished from the moonrock nearby Jinyue City, and at the center of the venue, there was an enormous moon pattern that stood out starkly against the ground.

    Raising the perspective, a bird''s-eye view of the entire venue looked like a golden moon shining on the ground.

    At that moment, the square was packed with people who came to hear the monk from Mount Daguangming preach.

    On the high platform at the center of the square, a young monk with a handsome and pure visage, dressed in a golden robe, was preaching:

    "Zen pierces through the formless realms, the wondrous Dharma settles on the Lotus Platform."

    "Compassion perpetually ferries beings, across to the other shore appears the Tathagata."

    As the monk spoke, the Dharma illuminated the world, a sacred and solemn atmosphere enveloping the entire square, impervious to encroachment.

 Chapter 169 Taoist Priest, Please Come On Stage.

    The Buddha said, "Today, in my teachings, I start with suffering as the cause, with emptiness as the essence, and with non-action as the application; if one can do so, only then can one be called liberated."The Buddha said, "All the dharma I speak of today arises from the mind; if the mind is untainted, then all conditions appear before it; if the mind is tainted, then it gives rise to all conditions, like scooping the moon from the water, like pouring oil on fire."

    .....

    The Buddha''s disciple Shen Hui, his tongue blossoming like a lotus, expounded the dharma on the high platform. His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached the ears of every attendee, displaying his extraordinary cultivation.

    For a time, many of the faithful below the platform listened in rapt fascination, while a portion of the cultivators in front frowned deeply, all of whom were from the Daoist lineage, present to challenge the Buddha''s disciple.

    Miao Zi had gone off with a tabby cat to frolic around, while Yi Chen was at the very periphery of the crowd, holding a big handful of melon seeds, cracking them open and tossing the shells, looking quite thrilled.

    He knew the main event was about to start.

    And sure enough.

    Along with a sonorous ''dong'' that carried in all directions, the Buddha''s disciple struck a chime, transitioning the session from preaching to debate.

    "The more we debate the principle, the clearer it becomes; the more we debate the dharma, the purer it gets. Esteemed guests, please." With a handsome face and elegant demeanor, Shen Hui turned his gaze towards the Daoists below the platform.

    By this time, Yi Chen had already pulled out his second bag of five-spice melon seeds.

    The grand debate between Buddhism and Daoism was about to begin. In his past life, he had only read about it in history books, but now, witnessing it first-hand while snacking on seeds was something he was quite looking forward to.

    As expected, a young Daoist could not restrain himself and leapt up, gliding onto the platform like a large bird, eliciting another round of applause from the crowd below.

    "That''s Qingyue Daoist from Lingyun Temple, number thirty-three on the Dragon Tiger list of experts," some sharp-eyed cultivators in the front row called out the young Daoist''s identity.

    Daoist Qingyue looked pleased, nodded to the crowd below with a cupped-hand salute, and then posed the question he had prepared for some time:

    "Master Shen Hui, I''d like to ask, the human heart is rife with stray thoughts, like the dust in a house or the fallen leaves on a Bodhi tree, like the dust on a clear mirror; it can''t be completely removed. How should one deal with this, Master?"

    At his words, cheers erupted from the crowd below.

    Yi Chen knew that not all the people cheering were from the Dao Sect; among them were lookers-on who relished the excitement of the debate, such as himself...

    Shen Hui, with a smile that suggested wisdom, replied: "Esteemed Daoist, please. The Bodhi has no tree, the mirror has no stand. There is nothing from the start¡ªwhere can the dust adhere?"

    "Marvelous~"

    "The master''s insight is profound!"

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    The crowd once again erupted in excited cheers.

    Yi Chen then took out a bag of green tea flavored melon seeds and started cracking them open while clapping his hands.

    Daoist Qingyue, defeated, returned below the platform with his head hung low.

    Following him, a white-haired Daoist with an air of transcendence floated onto the platform, and judging by his aura, he was already of the True Person rank.

    Pointing to a flagpole on the plaza, the Daoist asked, "I dare to ask the master, regarding this banner, is it the wind that moves, or the banner that moves?"

    Facing the challenge, Shen Hui''s expression remained unchanged, not falling into the trap of the position the white-haired Daoist had prearranged, but first gave a deep bow to him:

    "I did not expect to be graced by the presence of Miao He True Person from the Dao Sect''s Su Zhen Temple. I, Shen Hui, who is of lower stature in learning, offer my respects." S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "No need for excessive courtesy, Master, but please answer," the white-haired Daoist said with a serious face.

    "The wind, it does not move; the banner, it does not move. It is the heart that moves!" Shen Hui answered with calm.

    "Master''s debating skill is unrivaled; this poor Daoist is in admiration," said the white-haired Daoist, his face turning an ashen hue as he slightly bowed and then stepped down from the platform.

    Shen Hui won another victory, and those from the Buddhist camp showed elated expressions, while the Daoist cultivators looked as if they were mourning their own relatives.

    Then another person from the Dao Sect took to the platform.

    And another followed.

    .....

    Shen Hui''s eloquence was dazzling, and he managed to refute each Daoist who stepped up, leaving them figuratively in tatters, much to the agitation of Yi Chen watching below.

    "Damn it, you Taoists, don''t you know how to argue? Even if you just said something clich¨¦ like ''urgent as a bell monger on a stormy day,'' it wouldn''t be as embarrassing as this. Sigh," Yi Chen muttered.

    "Tsk, Bai Lian girl, are you here to carry the palanquin for that bald donkey? What kind of trivial questions are you asking? You should be asking him about the origin of all laws in the universe! I don''t believe he''d have an answer to that," he scoffed.

    "The only one who can defeat today''s master is tomorrow''s master¡ªinvincible!"

    "Damn, this fellow Daoist must be an undercover agent! Go ahead, ask him about the Tathagata¡ªhas he arrived or not?"

    One after another, people went up, and one after another, they came down with darkened faces.

    The spectators'' applause thundered, while the faces of Dao Sect members were as dark as the bottom of a pot; the whole debate had turned into Shen Hui''s solo show.

    By now, some people in the crowd were complaining that no one from the Dragon Tiger Mountain, which held sway over the Dao Sect, had come forward, and where was Zhang Daoyi, that phenomenal Daoist? Why hadn''t he come to engage in a match with the Buddha''s disciple from Mount Daguangming?

    On the top floor of the Jin Yue Tower.

    The leader of the Red Flame Army was playing chess with a middle-aged civil officer dressed in a python robe, while Qian Yueru, the governor of Longjiang Prefecture, was eating on the side. Next to them was a large bronze mirror.

    At that moment, the debate on the high platform of the plaza was clearly reflected in that bronze mirror.

    "Really... embarrassing. I did not expect Dragon Tiger Mountain to have declined to this point. The Buddhists have set the stage; yet Dragon Tiger Mountain turns a deaf ear, not even having the courage to notify their Daoist disciple to fight, tsk," the brawny leader of the Red Flame Army said dismissively as he sat on an iron throne facing the scene in the copper mirror.

    "Brother Yan is too harsh. That Heavenly Master on Dragon Tiger Mountain has a difficult time too. Nowadays, Dragon Tiger Mountain has no successors. Zhang Daoyi is Dragon Tiger Mountain''s last face of dignity,

    the momentum of the Dao Sect, not to be moved lightly. If he were to lose, there would be no room left to maneuver. It''s better to just keep his head down and endure it for a while, focusing on cultivating the next generation of successors."

 Chapter 169 Taoist Priest, Please Come On Stage._2

    "But now, with Buddhism''s momentum strong, it''s time for Da Yue to lend a hand to the Dao Sect, whether it''s the east wind prevailing over the west or the other way around¡ªthat''s not what we''d want to see, eh~"The middle-aged literati smiled amiably as he placed a piece, unexpectedly slaughtering a large dragon belonging to the player of the black stones, the Commander of the Red Flame Army.

    "Pah, what''s this nonsense about great momentum!"

    "Is Dragon Tiger Mountain under the impression that by not taking action, you won''t lose, and if you don''t lose, it means you win, and by never taking action, you keep on winning?"

    "A man lives on his breath, and without that breath, how can he turn the tables? Always delaying, has Dragon Tiger Mountain risen? I think it''s unlikely~"

    "The once glorious Dao Sect now has no one to stand firm, how lamentable indeed."

    "Eh, Brother Feng, the situation is changing, I see a rather interesting youngster, who might just turn the tide." The Commander of the Red Flame Army suddenly changed his tone, wiped the board clean, "I''ll stop here, I''m at a bit of a disadvantage, let''s call it a draw. Let''s focus our attention, Brother Feng."

    The crowd, sparse in their applause amidst the Dao sect members, parted like the tide, and under the attention of thousands, a tall Daoist with a hangdog expression climbed onto the high platform.

    Yi Chen had never imagined that he would end up watching the drama unfold upon his own head.

    Finding the consecutive defeats of the Dao Sect lineage uninteresting, he was ready to leave with a bag of melon seeds in hand.

    However, just as he was about to make his move, he was stopped by a solemn voice.

    Shen Hui''s call for "Taoist Yi Chengzi to come onto the stage for a chat" put him directly under the spotlight.

    Feeling the gazes of everyone around him converging on himself, Yi Chen''s gaze involuntarily turned cold.

    He had been careless.

    Among the Dao Sect members present, with Zhang Daoyi not stepping forward, he had unwittingly become the foremost name on the Dragon Tiger List of the Dao Sect.

    Now he was the elephant in the room, impossible to miss¡ªeven if he wished to hide, he could not escape those seeking to use him as a stepping stone.

    "Taoist friend Yi, where is your stage?" Shen Hui asked with a smile, his eyes deep, a fleeting hint of triumph flashing through his gaze.

    With Zhang Daoyi of Dragon Tiger Mountain withdrawing from the battle, it seemed fitting to use this newly-risen Dao Sect talent as a footnote to this lecture.

    Such an ending would be perfect.

    Shen Hui was all smiles and geniality, yet he was unaware that he had provoked the wrong person.

    Standing before him now was, a top general among Tieba''s ''Five Tigers,'' a Zhihu new user just off the plane, a Q keyboard sage with both parents still alive after ten years in Zu''an, leader of a bot army, ppt expert, the sickle-wielder, champion of the 23rd Internet Blowhard Contest... Yi Taoist, adept in human nature.

    Yi Taoist''s Mini-Classroom is in session!

    When you''re faced with someone else''s challenging questions, an appropriate counter-question not only reverses the attack but also gives you space to think~

    "Master Shen Hui, where is your stage?" Yi Chen retorted with a cold smile, sticking out his chest.

    Shen Hui was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Yi Chen''s response.

    "Naturally, it''s one of the Three Great Mountains of the world¡ªMount Daguangming, soaring three thousand zhang high, shining boundless light!" Shen Hui replied proudly.

    "That''s all?"

    "I have three rooms, supported by eight mountains, surrounded by oceans that shield all sides, with myriad beings as roof-beams, my roof covered by the blue sky, leak-free for many years, forming karmic bonds, an earthly path to becoming immortal." In his past life, Yi Chen never lost a quarrel though he might have lost fistfights, his verbal jab made Shen Hui''s face twist in anger.

    At this moment, Shen Hui knew he''d encountered a tough opponent.

    Watching this, the Dao Sect members felt a shot of adrenaline, clapping and cheering with renewed vigor.

    Unwittingly, Yi Chen had become the Dao Sect''s lifeline.

    "Amitabha, Taoist is truly extraordinary, I seek your guidance," Shen Hui said seriously.

    "How should one deal with those who slander me, bully me, insult me, laugh at me, belittle me, look down on me, deceive me?"

    Enjoy more content from empire

    "And how would Master deal with it?" Yi Chen grinned widely, revealing eight shiny teeth.

    A true Saint never scrimps on using the same move twice, as long as it works.

    As long as Shen Hui dared to retort, Yi Chen would turn this scripture session into a farce, answering question with question.

    Come on~ hurt each other~

    Come on~ make an effort~

    Taoist Yi can afford to lose face, but Master, if you argue like this with me, doesn''t it lower your dignity?

    This is an overt plot, as convoluted as a nine-folded intestine¡ªa top-level scheme.

    If you don''t answer me, you can''t counter my move; if you do, you''ve fallen into my trap.

    Atop the Golden Moon Tower, the middle-aged literati wearing a python robe stared at Yi Chen in the bronze mirror with an expression like he''d seen a ghost, having sensed Yi Chen''s intention, he muttered: "Commander, who is this man? The Dao Sect has such talent..."

    "Really... really... a dog, indeed."

    The Commander of the Red Flame Army laughed heartily: "This kid truly has talent."

    "It seems he''s gotten even more robust since the last time I saw him, really impressive, he has such vigor~ Worthy of one I''ve taken a liking to."

    "My old Yan''s eye for talent grows sharper by the day."

    Qian Yueru stopped nibbling her dragon eel, also standing before the mirror, muttering to the tall Daoist in the reflection: "Supported by eight mountains, encircled by oceans shielding all sides, myriad beings as roof-beams, roofing the blue sky."

    "Taoist, are you saying the whole world is your stage, is this your assertion of dominance?"

    "Worthy of you, Yi Taoist, my father even told me to keep my distance from you, how does he know of our shared dominance~"

    Shen Hui''s face turned red as if he had swallowed a fly, twitching at the corners of his mouth, clearly realizing Yi Chen''s malicious intent.

    After a moment of silence, he steeled himself and swallowed the bitter pill. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I will bear him, yield to him, let him be, avoid him, endure him, respect him, ignore him, and in a few more years, I will see where he stands," Shen Hui said indifferently.

 Chapter 169 Taoist Priest, Please Come On Stage._3

    As soon as these words were said, people from the Buddhist sect couldn''t help but cheer loudly, the momentum was unmatched, one wave higher than the other.However, Shen Hui didn''t share the optimism of others; he always felt that he had made some miscalculation today. The Daoist before him wasn''t the kind to be easily captured without a fight.

    Indeed, Yi Chen''s answer once again darkened Shen Hui''s vision.

    "Respected master, I admire you, but I am different," Yi Chen said sarcastically,

    "Anyone who dares to treat me like this, this Daoist will mess with him, toy with him, laugh at him, prank him, beat him, chop him, and after a few years, I''ll visit his grave."

    "This is how we do things at Hidden Dragon Temple."

    "As cultivators, why should we fear a fight? It''s all about action!"

    "Even if we can''t win, we''ll still splatter the other''s blood!"

    "If one''s cultivation lacks clear understanding, even living for thousands or tens of thousands of years is no different from a tortoise or a stone."

    "Gentlemen, our honor lies solely in our fists....."

    The tree desires tranquility, but the wind does not cease; when a man is down on his luck, even drinking cold water can choke him.

    Yi Chen, who had no desire to become the center of attention, was forced to step up onto the high platform to confront Shen Hui.

    Shen Hui directly exposed Yi Chen''s whereabouts, and under the watchful eyes of the crowd, if Yi Chen didn''t step onto the stage, the dirt of this Dharma assembly would ultimately be splashed onto him, and he was all too familiar with the PR tactics involved.

    Wearing this hat, his people at Hidden Dragon Temple would have to hang their heads low in the martial world and sit at the children''s table to eat...

    In light of this, Yi Chen was also holding back a belly full of anger.

    Compared to Shen Hui''s discourse, Yi Chen''s eye-for-an-eye and blood-for-blood point of view had more appeal to the market. In an instant, the Dao Sect and the onlooking crowds responded with an overwhelming round of applause; sisters Bai Lian and Bai Rong, each holding one of Ning Feixue''s sleeves, were ecstatic.

    The leader of the Red Flame Army laughed and applauded once more, "That''s how it should be!" Your next journey awaits at empire

    "Let''s set aside these words for now. The Taoist seems a bit too extreme."

    "When the wind blows tiles off the roof, they fall and break on my head."

    "The tiles themselves also break, not just my blood flowing."

    "I ultimately do not blame them, for the tiles are not in control."

    "All beings commit various evils, too, have their moments."

    "They don''t recognize these moments, thus mistakenly acknowledging their faults."

    "How can one be so confused, and make enemies out of them?"

    Shen Hui was getting a bit anxious.

    "How old are you this year, master?" Yi Chen did not answer directly, but changed the subject and asked in return.

    Lesson two in Yi Taoist''s debate class: when faced with a topic you''re not good at, change the subject, paint a target out of thin air, beat yourself up, and then unilaterally declare you''ve won and escape.

    "This monk is twenty-five this year."

    "Given the master''s age, aside from eating, sleeping, cultivating, and reciting scriptures, how many years could you have spent gaining experience in the world?"

    "Without understanding the follies of the human world and merely talking about saving lives, how do you know that the wind and the tiles are not free? If they are not free, is that an excuse to escape from sin? Master, this is to substitute one''s own heart for the heart of the world."

    "Master, you are bewitched! Reading thousands of scrolls of Buddhist scriptures is not as good as walking through the trials of the mortal world."

    "Only by tasting all kinds of suffering, experiencing various calamities, and understanding love and hatred, can one comprehend karma and obtain the great Dao."

    "Without experience, they are just grandiose words."

    "Now with the world changing and the people suffering hardships, instead of looking for ways to save them and coexist, you stir up disputes between Daoism and Buddhism. Even if the Buddhist sect establishes a kingdom on earth, can it take on the multitude of sins created along the way?"

    "Master, perhaps you should walk tens of thousands of miles on the Buddhist path before we continue our debate, farewell!"

    If you act pretentious, you better run fast. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As a person, one must understand their own limitations; Yi Chen knew he was merely cobbling together some perspectives from his past life and if he continued to argue, he''d eventually reveal his lack of depth, so he decided to run after unilaterally declaring himself the victor.

    This style was like arguing with someone online, spewing out your views, and then immediately blocking the person, an act that could infuriate someone to the point of having a stroke.

    While Shen Hui was still immersed in Yi Chen''s barrage of intensive points preparing his rebuttal, he could no longer see Yi Chen''s tail lights.

    A Buddhist Dharma assembly painstakingly organized ended up being led astray by Yi Chen, turned utterly chaotic.

 Chapter 171 I heard that there is a Cultivation Technique in Mount Daguangming... Qian Yueru

    "Haha, who would have thought that the last one to come would be the Buddhist disciple? What a coincidence.""With the presence of the Buddhist disciple, this matter is as good as accomplished!" Yi Chen said with a dry chuckle.

    The middle-aged scholar in the python robe must be the commander of the Zhen''An Office, Feng Linsu. It''s unknown what price he paid to enlist the aid of the Buddhist disciple from the Great Daguangming Monastery.

    "Amitabha, Yi Taoist''s strategies are ingenious; earlier, this monk was rather rash," Shen Hui intoned the name of Buddha and returned to calm composure, then, with utmost propriety, bowed deeply to Yi Chen, showing full respect without any trace of haste or agitation.

    This scene led Feng Linsu to take another look at Yi Chen; he knew the Buddhist disciple Shen Hui appeared amiable on the surface, but was actually quite proud at heart. To receive such a respectful bow from him, it was clear that Taoist Yi Chengzi had made an impression on him.

    With Shen Hui observing full formalities, Yi Chen naturally didn''t neglect to return the gesture, likewise performing a bow and saying, "The master''s Buddhist teachings are profound; I have the utmost admiration."

    "Alright, alright, Monk Shen Hui embodies integrity, while Taoist Yi Chengzi excels in cunning. Both of you are seeds of a True Monarch, future top figures of the world; there will be plenty of time for pleasantries later."

    "Let''s first discuss our plan against the sinister Ghost King," said the middle-aged scholar Feng Linsu with a smile, interrupting the conversation between Yi Chen and Shen Hui.

    In fact, there wasn''t much particularly in need of discussion; Feng Linsu had assigned the seven of them the identities of the Seven Deadly Sinners of Yin Mountain and set their meeting for noon the next day at the eastern city gate.

    The Seven Deadly Sinners of Yin Mountain were indeed real, a group of evil cultivators lurking around Yin Mountain who had committed bloodshed and were wanted by the Zhen''An Office. Now that they were being assigned these identities, it''s likely those evildoers'' days were numbered.

    After explaining their identities and the details, Feng Linsu and the Lord of the Flaming Army left hand in hand, off to attend to other matters, simply telling them to help themselves to whatever they wanted to eat.

    "Monk Shen Hui, requests a battle with Taoist Yi Chengzi, to take place here in the city of Golden Moon one year from now. How does this sound?" Shen Hui''s gaze was as deep as an abyss, as he suddenly addressed Yi Chen.

    "Does the master still hold onto the dispute between Daoism and Buddhism?" Yi Chen''s brow furrowed, and his voice suddenly turned cold, "Forgive my frankness, but with the world in such turmoil and the future uncertain, now is not a good time to stir up a grand conflict between the Dao and Buddhism."

    "The profound foundation of the Dao Sect still exists, filled with many masters of the older generation. If we were to fully ignite a conflict, wouldn''t it be like the sandpipers and the clams fighting while the fisherman reaps the benefit, allowing wicked creatures to take advantage of our discord?"

    "It would not be surprising if the decline of the Dharma led to the destruction of the Heavenly Dao or if Bo Xun killed the Tathagata." sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Shen Hui''s expression remained unchanged, and he shook his head solemnly, sincerely saying:

    "Not so, Taoist Yi thinks too much. The high-level plotting is not something you or I can intervene in at present; this monk simply finds it hard to encounter a worthy opponent. That Taoist from Dragon Tiger Mountain is too dull, and besides, Taoist, there is no need to conceal your true power in front of me."

    "I possess a secret technique called ''Zen Heart Passage,'' which allows me to sense the mountainous and oceanic Pure Yang power within you, brother. Your cultivation is surely not below that of Zhang Daoyi. To win against you is to have overcome Zhang Daoyi, therefore this monk requests a battle, not out of conflict but to demonstrate my own miraculous powers."

    Intoning the name of Buddha, Shen Hui clasped his hands together, and suddenly, a red lotus mark crawled across his forehead, its formidable aura flashing by in an instant.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen couldn''t help but feel surprise in his heart.

    He hadn''t spent those days in the Scripture Pavilion of Dragon Tiger Mountain for nothing. When the red lotus mark appeared on Shen Hui''s forehead, Yi Chen felt an unfathomably mysterious aura, setting off alarms in his mind.

    This was the aura of a godly seed.

    The reason why those in the latter stages of the True Person Realm were so powerful was largely due to the godly seeds that they comprehended and condensed.

    At that level of cultivation, each step was a whole new world.

    Powerful True Persons might even comprehend more than one godly seed. According to the records of Dragon Tiger Mountain, many in the seventh layer of the True Person Realm had yet to realize their godly seed. The Buddhist disciple from the Great Daguangming Mountain was indeed terrifying.

    ```

    Before stepping into the seventh layer of the True Person Realm, to have such a blessing, truly deserving the reputation of appearing only once in a thousand years, a person close to Buddha. It''s both admirable and frightening.

    "Do you truly want to fight?" Yi Chen raised an eyebrow, his eyes rolled, and a thought suddenly surged in his heart.

    "There is no falsehood in my words. If the Taoist has any doubts, we can agree on a secluded place, and ensure no others will know," Shen Hui said with a nod and a gentle voice.

    "Good, but such a contest would be dull without stakes. How about we add something to make it interesting?"

    "My Hidden Dragon Temple possesses a secret technique called the Minor Pure Yang Skill, which is derived from our temple''s highest scripture ''The Supreme Lingfei Pure Yang Origin Dao Scripture.'' I''ve heard that Mount Daguangming has a technique derived from ''The Great Barrier of the Bright Mantra Mandala Womb,'' called the Precious Moonlight King Great Prajna Spirit Elephant Skill."

    "In the contest a year from now, if I lose, I shall hand over the original text of the Minor Pure Yang Skill for the master to peruse for three days. If the master loses, then he shall hand over the original text of the Precious Moonlight King Great Prajna Spirit Elephant Skill for me to peruse for the same duration."

    Yi Chen''s smile was so broad that his eyes were nearly squinting. If his spirit could materialize at that moment, one would see a large tail swishing behind his back.

    The Precious Moonlight King Great Prajna Spirit Elephant Skill from Mount Daguangming was the very technique he had set his eyes on.

    Since Shen Hui had proposed the wager, he might as well take advantage of this opportunity to go with the flow. A year from now, he could likely give this Buddhist disciple a small shock from Hidden Dragon Temple.

    "The Taoist has refined taste. I agree to this. However, regardless of victory or defeat, the technique must only be perused by the individual and not be disclosed. The original text must be returned after three days."

    Shen Hui looked at Yi Chen with surprise, hesitated in his heart but still agreed, though he added the stipulation that it must not be disclosed to others, just to be safe.

    "The master is straightforward. I shall hold the master to his word. Let''s seal the oath with a palm strike. Fortunately, Qian Yueru is present here to witness for us," Yi Chen proposed.

    With Qian Yueru''s witness, the two resolutely struck palms in oath. Yi Chen even swore that if he broke his promise, he would regrettably regress his ''The Supreme Lingfei Pure Yang Origin Dao Scripture'' to the first layer; Shen Hui decisively followed suit.

    After the wager was established, Shen Hui excused himself under the pretense of assessing his junior''s studies and left Jinyue Tower.

    In an instant, the top floor of Jinyue Tower was left with only Qian Yueru and Yi Chen.

    Locking eyes, both could not help but reveal knowing smiles, as if they were old friends reunited after many years.

    "Taoist, care to join me for a meal?" Continue reading on empire

    "It is my desire, and I dare not ask you to join me," Yi Chen replied.

    The two built their friendship over a meal, chatting away about various topics from heaven and earth.

    Yi Chen shared some amusing incidents he had encountered later on, whereas Qian Yueru talked about how she enforced her domineering ideas in Longjiang Prefecture.

    When the conversation turned to amusing topics, both could not contain their laughter, and courses of food kept arriving like a running stream. The fine liquor was poured by the jar, and the two gluttons ate from dawn until the moon was high in the sky. The chefs in Jinyue Tower worked so hard flipping their pans that their hands cramped up¡­

    Of course, in the end, it was Qian Yueru who conceded defeat; she was no match for Yi Chen the glutton.

    Under the moonlight, Qian Yueru''s delicate face and cute nose made her particularly charming. Her nose twitched, her face showing unwillingness to accept defeat: "Taoist, before you came today, I had already eaten quite a lot, which wasn''t fair. Let''s compete again next time."

    "Sure, we''ll compete again next time," Yi Chen said with a grin, then he floated away. Today, his mood was very good, and so was Qian Yueru''s.

    ```

 Chapter 173 Longevity Banquet, Evil Spirit Lair, Questioning, Daoists Response.

    After resting for a short while longer, Yi Chen and his company slowly left the Eight Immortals Inn.As they left, the atmosphere inside the entire inn relaxed, and a group of demonic cultivators and ghosts began to whisper among themselves again. The seductive Green Lady leaned against the door curtain watching Yi Chen''s figure, licking her crimson lips, lost in thought.

    Yi Chen walked side by side with Qian Yueru at the front, speaking in hushed tones, and all along the way, Qian Yueru''s laughter was like flowers trembling in the breeze.

    Cui Yu, following behind, couldn''t help feeling upset.

    "Taoist, why stir up unnecessary trouble?" Once they reached a secluded area, Cui Yu could no longer hold back and publicly questioned Yi Chen.

    Shen Hui''s gaze lingered on Cui Yu''s face for a while but he said nothing, assuming the stance of an onlooker.

    "Are you instructing me on how to do things?" Yi Chen, who never favored the demeanor of the aristocratic families, also frowned when faced with Cui Yu''s condescending interrogation.

    "Now we are deeply trapped in a den of ghosts, surrounded by dangers. Taoist, you took such risks for mere trifles, it''s like throwing away your life for a small gain. Just be mindful not to cherish your life too dearly when we are in the middle of major business!"

    "Taoist, if you are lacking silver to spend unwisely, just say so. I, Cui Yu, will gift you twenty thousand taels, is that enough? You don''t need to pay it back; I only hope you don''t gamble with the lives and fortunes of everyone here."

    "Yueru, the world is a dangerous place. Don''t ever get deceived by sweet talk," Cui Yu said mockingly.

    "Your mother''s Yueru! Who do you think you are calling me Yueru like we''re close? Cui Yu, if you''re scared, just get lost on your own. I''ve put up with you for a long time. Do you want to teach me what to do as well?"

    "You''re in your fifties or sixties and only have this little cultivation? Did you cultivate for a dog? And you also want to preach to me?"

    Before Yi Chen could speak, Qian Yueru had already exploded in anger.

    Throughout their journey together, Cui Yu had been trying to get close to her every day. She was already fed up with him and had held back only out of courtesy. She never expected him to turn his attention to her, and now her anger was flaring up.

    The more Qian Yueru thought about it, the angrier she got. She had consumed the Evil Dragon Yuan not long ago and hadn''t completely digested its power. Influenced by the dragon''s essence, her aura surged as if an evil dragon was trying to break free, and her shadow on the ground, bathed in sunlight, twisted and changed shapes.

    Her pupils suddenly turned gold, and an air of ferocity enveloped her. She seemed ready to attack Cui Yu.

    Such a sudden transformation caught Yi Chen completely off guard.

    Although Qian Yueru had defended him in a way that pleased him, he still had to quickly stop her.

    If she were to break the masking effect of the Seven-Day Sky Change Pill, that would turn into a huge blunder. The Lord Commander had prepared for a long time and expended great effort; his plans couldn''t be foiled so foolishly.

    "Friend Qian, calm down, it''s not worth it, not worth it."

    "If we''re going to fight, now''s not the time," a large hand laid on Qian Yueru''s fragrant shoulder as Yi Chen hurriedly tried to console her.

    Shen Hui''s expression also changed for a moment. He thought, could the daughter of the True Monarch of Spirit Water be so fiery?

    He flashed forward in an instant, placing himself between Qian Yueru and Cui Yu, shielding Cui Yu''s figure.

    Thankfully, Yi Chen''s timely consolation and Shen Hui''s proper handling calmed Qian Yueru down after a few seconds, and her pupils returned to their normal color.

    So close, if Qian Yueru had almost broken the masking effect of the Seven-Day Sky Change Pill, everyone finally let out a sigh of relief.

    "Cui Yu, do you really think I covet such petty wealth?" After stabilizing Qian Yueru, Yi Chen turned coldly toward Cui Yu.

    "Forgive my frankness, but based on your performance just now, it was extremely poor."

    "Master Shen Hui, as a Buddha''s disciple, you hold a revered position, ethereal and detached, unconcerned with wine, women, and wealth. Are you a demonic cultivator?"

    "Brothers of the Red Flame Army, why are you standing so stiffly? Be mindful of some habits common in the military ranks."

    "Friend Qian, uh, just be yourself."

    "Cui Yu, drop that noble young master attitude. If you can''t pull it off, then pinch up the orchid fingers for me, more feminine, more bizarre."

    "Everyone, a demonic cultivator should look the part. The Seven Fiends of Yin Mountain are naturally cruel and prone to pillage. If none of you harbor greed or evil thoughts, do you think you can avoid the combined encirclement and suppression of the Lord Commander and the Peacekeeping Office that the Ghost King from the heavens escaped from?"

    "Ghosts are cunning, and the Seven-Day Sky Change Pill''s masking effect isn''t flawless. Everyone is too prideful. Everything I''m doing is for the safety of us all. You don''t think those in the Eight Immortals Inn aren''t the Ghost King''s spies, do you?"

    "My robbery is well-intentioned; would I really set people up and rob them? I am a respected Taoist, enduring this indignity for everyone''s safety, so you should all reflect on yourselves."

    Yi Chen''s words left everyone speechless. After several seconds, Shen Hui stepped forward and bowed deeply to Yi Chen: "What the Taoist said is very true, the monk has understood."

    "After this matter is resolved, I shall follow the Taoist''s instructions to debate the Dharma, and travel ten thousand li to see the world and all sentient beings."

    Shen Hui was shocked when he heard Yi Chen''s words, as if a layer of fog had lifted before his eyes.

    He started from a high position, with excellent talent, and unknowingly, he had lost the heart of equality, being filled with pride.

    It was not that he couldn''t pretend to be a demonic cultivator; he simply didn''t want to consider it or do it.

    This is the separation of the high and low.

    He looked down on those in the inn, with their lopsided fruits and cracks. His heart resisted, forgetting that even demonic cultivators were human and sentient beings. If he resisted even pretending to be one, how could he talk about liberating and transcending others?

    Not everyone has his spiritual wisdom and karmic methods, nor does everyone have an equal environment.

    As Shen Hui''s thoughts expanded, he delved deeper. If he was unwilling to understand deeply, how could he empathize and know the suffering of others? Without knowing the suffering of others, how could he save them?

    At this realization, Shen Hui was certain of the Buddhist path he should take. He must come from among the living beings, understand their suffering, and only then can he transcend it.

    He couldn''t help but recall what the Buddha had said to him before he descended the mountain, "What should a bhikkhu do when he kills someone?"

    At that time, his answer did not satisfy the Buddha, but now he had an answer in his heart.

    "If I understand the suffering of the world as if it were my own, naturally I will know whether this person should be killed or not!"

    "When a bhikkhu kills, why bother to explain? My heart is clear, free from attachments."

    For a moment, Shen Hui''s brilliance receded, and the look of someone beyond worldly concerns was hardly visible in his eyes. He felt that this enlightenment would be the foundation of his Buddhist path.

    Once again, he bowed deeply, "Thank you, Taoist, for your guidance. This monk has realized."

    Yi Chen, looking as if he had seen a ghost, stared at Shen Hui, whose temperament had abruptly changed, shocked in his heart, "Damn, what else have you realized?"

    ¡­

    ¡­

    As everyone was skilled, once Yi Chen revealed everyone''s weaknesses, they naturally began to contemplate their roles and polish their acting skills.

    The three brothers from the Red Flame Army, being straightforward, apologized for misunderstanding Yi Chen''s actions earlier. Only Qian Yueru, with the instinct of a woman, suspected that Yi Chen must have made up that speech on the spot.

    Two hours later, the group''s disguises were reasonably convincing. Each person either looked ferocious or had a cold gaze, all emitting an aura of ''keep out.'' Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Under Yi Chen''s lead, the group stepped into the lair of the Sky Evil Ghosts.

    This place was the stronghold of the Sky Evil Ghost King, located within a massive mountain deep in the Cangwu Mountains, where the longevity feast was to begin.

    The lair inside was vast to the extreme, nearly hollowing out half the mountain, with numerous hollow tunnels leading to unknown destinations. Occasionally, mountain winds blew, making sounds like the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves.

    Embedded in the mountain walls were nether fire orbs, casting eerie green lights, and eight giant bronze ghost face cauldrons burned with raging ghost flames. On both sides were many tables and seats, and many guests had already taken their places.

    The public identities of the Seven Fiends of Yin Mountain, apart from Yi Chen, the leader at the middle stage of the Qi Refinement Realm, show that the other six are at the early stage of the Qi Refinement Realm. Their strength was already quite impressive among the assembly of evil cultivators, prompting their early seating arrangement.

    The Wooden Corpse Daoist, who had previously crossed paths with Yi Chen, sat diagonally opposite him.

    At this time, within the lair, aside from evil cultivators, there were also ghost creatures. The Sky Evil Ghost King had not yet appeared, so Yi Chen''s group exchanged glances, all on alert.

    "Some fellow Daoists look unfamiliar," suddenly spoke a demon with a pig''s head, addressing Yi Chen. While speaking, he was enjoying fruit from the table, and judging by his aura and seating, should possess the cultivation around the early stage of the Qi Refinement Realm.

    "We come from Yin Mountain, known as the Seven Fiends of Yin Mountain. It is normal for fellow Daoists to find us unfamiliar," Yi Chen said as planned, his voice steady.

    The pig-headed demon didn''t say anything more, focusing on his fruit.

    Just then, a demon with a yellowed skin for a head, sitting below the pig-headed one, suddenly spoke up.

    "You say you come from Yin Mountain? I had dealings with the Seven Fiends of Yin Mountain the year before last. How come you seem off?"

    "Tell me, how many Yin wells are there in Yin Mountain? How many dark springs? How deep is the deepest dark spring? That dark spring is right near your caves; you must be able to answer this."

    Shen Hui and the others immediately tensed up, their muscles subtly tightening under their clothes, unsure of how to respond.

    The group silently cursed their luck for not anticipating an encounter with a demon that had close dealings with the original Seven Fiends of Yin Mountain. They all turned their gazes towards Yi Chen, wondering how he would respond.

    "Of course, it is a massive two thousand five hundred and eight meters deep," Yi Chen replied, calm as an old dog, his figures precise and without hesitation.

    Nevermind right or wrong, you just say whether that was fast or not.

    "That''s not right, the number doesn''t match. You wouldn''t be impostors, would you?" The yellowed-skin demon''s face showed suspicion, a look suggesting he had seen through them, ready to stand up.

    Suddenly, Yi Chen flashed a grin at the yellow-skinned demon, then in a blur appeared behind him. With a ferocious smash of his hand to the demon''s head, the principle of righteousness reemerged. The yellow-skinned demon''s head was crushed into his chest cavity, and with a kick of his legs, he was no longer breathing.

    "Can''t you shut up?"

    "Tui! Was it just because I killed a few of your offspring and roasted them for a meal?"

    "Dare to slander me, you mangy cur, who do you think you''re familiar with?" Yi Chen dusted off his hands, spat towards the corpse of the yellow-skinned demon with a fierce expression, then turned back with a pleasant smile, "Brother Pig, he was slandering me; you can testify, right?"

    The pig-headed demon, feeling Yi Chen''s piercing gaze, shivered with cold and quickly retracted, "Yes, yes, yes, I can testify."

    Shen Hui and the others could not help but widen their eyes, deeply shocked, "Can you really play it like that?"

    Just then, a shrill voice rose.

    "Lord Ghost King has arrived!"

 Chapter 174 Trickery, Mutation, Demon Race

    The clashing of eight gongs and eight bells rang out, and amid a chorus of calls and a following crowd, an old man dressed in a bright red and gold robes, wearing a crown, took measured steps to his seat of honor.Unexpectedly for Yi Chen, the Sinister Specter King carried no imposing aura on him, being short and appearing much like an old farmer, with only a pair of beady eyes vaguely emitting a sharp glint.

    Stationed half a step behind him stood a sleazy old man with a goatee, whose body was enwreathed by demonic energy, exerting a pressure characteristic of the early stages of the True Person Realm, shadowing the Specter King''s every step. That was none other than the king''s favorite and his adviser, Mr. Shu.

    This demon was originally a rat that had achieved enlightenment and had taken on this name to masquerade his origins and feign elegance.

    Amidst the myriad of candles, a uniform bow to the dragon robe.

    The crowd of evil cultivators and the Specter King exchanged greetings before taking their seats.

    The Specter King''s gaze shifted and landed on Yi Chen, his cold voice transmitted, "This Daoist from Yin Mountain, you have spilled blood on my birthday celebration, do you care to give me a reasonable explanation?"

    As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of all the evil cultivators in the cave were fixed on Yi Chen, as if they were watching an exciting show.

    Qian Yueru and the others couldn''t help but hold their breath, uncertain how Yi Chen would respond.

    Although Yi Chen had suddenly killed the yellow-skinned demon, this act merely postponed the crisis, and if he misspoke now, they would still be exposed.

    Yi Chen cursed his bad luck internally, as he had only acted to choose the lesser of two evils when he publicly killed the yellow-skinned demon. Now confronted with the Specter King''s questioning, he had no choice but to stand up ''outraged'' and make up an excuse on the spot, "Your Majesty, that yellow-skinned creature had long held a grudge against me in Yin Mountain."

    "I committed a transgression and was pursued relentlessly by the Peacekeeping Division, with no escape to the heavens or entrance to the earth. Hearing of the great deed Your Majesty achieved, one that even the Peacekeeping Division and the Crimson Flame Army cannot touch, I brought significant offerings and came with my brothers to celebrate Your Majesty''s birthday, hoping to find a way out.

    The yellow-skinned creature had neither a generous gift nor cultivation level yet dared to slander me, and in a fit of righteous indignation, I accidentally killed it, thus disturbing Your Majesty''s birthday."

    "Every man is responsible for his actions, and once today''s celebration is over, do with me as you wish¡ªdeath or dismemberment, I submit to your authority, my life is in your hands."

    Reporting work requires skill, and while Yi Chen appeared to be defending himself, his words never strayed from flattering the Specter King and belittling the yellow-skinned spirit, thus giving plenty of face to the king while fashioning himself as a figure of great righteousness.

    He even audaciously offered the king a pie in the sky, saying that after his birthday, any punishment was acceptable....

    With attitude, sincerity, and the initiative for his own disposal placed in the leader''s hands, any sane person would know how to choose, as opposed to a useless creature Yi Chen had bludgeoned to death.

    Upon hearing Yi Chen''s words, the Specter King indeed looked a bit more cheerful.

    Just as Yi Chen silently breathed a sigh of relief, an unexpected change arose abruptly.

    "How would you explain the depth of the Darkest Spring in Yin Mountain? That yellow-skinned creature before its death claimed you were mistaken. You''re not an undercover agent from the Peacekeeping Division, are you?" The person speaking was none other than the Wooden Corpse Daoist, who had encountered Yi Chen once before at the Eight Immortals Inn.

    This person''s eyes flickered, his thoughts unknown.

    In an instant, the atmosphere tensed up again,

    "You mongrel, your cultivation is nothing special, but you have quite the cunning mind, don''t you? Are you afraid that once I join the king''s forces, I''ll be seated higher than you?

    I am here, and you can send people to Yin Mountain tomorrow to verify the truth. If I win, you fight a duel to the death with me; if I lose, my life is at your disposal after today, how about that? Let everyone here bear witness."

    "Wooden Corpse, give me a straight answer, do you dare to bet?"

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen ''erupted with rage'', looking as if he was ready to fight Wooden Corpse to the death, dumbfounding him completely.

    Why do girls prefer bad boys over honest men?

    It''s because bad boys dare to make any promise boldly, seeking immediate gains and quick scoring, then pulling up their pants and not recognizing anyone afterward.... Honest men would consider whether they can actually deliver on their promises.

    The fiendishly cunning Ghost King enjoyed such a vast fortune that when the Stability Office joined hands with the Military Department, along with these few individuals, to collectively cater to the whims of a single Ghost King, Yi Chen had never once considered what tomorrow would bring, and thus, he recklessly made any promise he could.

    The scumbag strategy he employed this time turned out to be remarkably effective, managing to hoodwink many.

    Especially his temperament, prone to recklessness as if courting death itself, put many at ease, making any actions stemming from such a volatile disposition seem reasonable.

    Shen Hui and the other five immediately stood up, their gazes fixed coldly on the wooden corpse Daoist, while inwardly they couldn''t help but admire Yi Chen''s acting skills immensely.

    Sitting in the front row, the Lady in Green also rose to her feet and secretly exchanged a few words with the Ghost King through transmitted messages.

    Sudden clarity shone through the Ghost King''s eyes as he regarded them with deep suspicion. In a grave tone, he said, "As for the identities of the seven brothers from Yin Mountain, I will personally send someone to investigate tomorrow."

    "Should they dare to deceive me, I will make them wish for death they shall not find, and life they cannot have."

    "Let''s put this matter to rest for now; however, those among you who wish to join my Fiendish Ghost Cavern must abide by its rules¡ªfratricide is strictly prohibited."

    The Ghost King''s final words were specifically directed at Yi Chen, clearly having learned of Yi Chen''s reprehensible fishing antics at the Eight Immortals Inn and decided to issue a pointed warning.

    With these words from the Ghost King, Yi Chen and company narrowly escaped danger.

    Seeing this, Rat Demon Scholar Mr. Shu astutely clapped his hands and, drawing out his words, loudly announced that the banquet had begun~

    Many laypeople, apprehensively caught by the Ghost King, came forward with wines and exquisite dishes, and a swell of music from strings and bamboo flutes filled the air.

    Next, a group of courtesans followed, taking seats beside the various evil cultivators.

    Perhaps due to Yi Chen, impersonating the eldest of the seven Yin Mountain villains, possessing exceptional cultivation, he ended up with two courtesans to himself; one could only wonder from where the Ghost King had abducted so many mortal beauties.

    "Gentlemen, with the world experiencing such strange changes, it is time for us to rise."

    "Today, my Fiendish Ghost Cavern has three joys to celebrate. The first is the birthday of this old man, with many comrades coming to offer their congratulations." sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The second is that from today on, my Fiendish Ghost Cavern has its grand opening¡ªthose of you who trust in this King can go to Scholar Shu tomorrow to receive a waist token for registration. This King can assure every one of you that as long as you are sincere and diligent in your duties, secret techniques, miraculous methods, elixirs and resources will be generously rewarded by me."

    At this point, the Ghost King paused in his speech, and the crowd understood immediately. A cacophony of flattering compliments ensued.

    Yi Chen quietly observed the ''grand meeting,'' finding it utterly ridiculous.

    A fool is not frightful; it''s the fool who wishes to accomplish something that is truly terrifying. It''s hard to imagine where the Ghost King''s confidence originates from¡ªcould someone be inciting him?

    In an instant, Yi Chen thought of the treasure that had fallen into the hands of the Ghost King and let his imagination run wild.

    Damn it, could there be someone backing this ghastly artifact?

    Amidst the sky-high congratulatory voices, the Ghost King''s crown swayed as if he truly believed himself to be a king. He spoke leisurely, "The third joy is to wish congratulations to Daoist Owl from the peak of the mountains on joining my Fiendish Ghost Cavern¡ªlet''s join hands for a splendid future~"

    As soon as he finished speaking, an imposing figure in black emerged from the side to sit at the same table as the Ghost King, suggesting they were peers.

    Instantly, Yi Chen felt his scalp tingle~

    "General, you''ll need to raise the pay!"

    "Your intelligence was inaccurate."

 Chapter 182 The Unexpected Yi Taoist, The Strategy of Taoist Priest.

    "all... all at your disposal, sir." a voice transmission rang in yi chen''s ear as he noticed qi yuan''s face turn beet red with shock.despite being a cultivator of the true person realm''s second stage, he found himself easily restrained by the man before him.

    "alas, look at my poor memory; i''ve completely forgotten that brother qi is currently inconvenienced to speak." yi chen released the firm grip on qi yuan''s neck, his expression suddenly shifting from indifference to a smile, sending chills through qi yuan''s heart.

    he had never encountered such a disrespectful person.

    "brother qi, i''m here merely by happenstance. let''s be frank with each other; you cooperate well this month, and i shall put in a good word for you to lord feng. i''m naturally willing to help where i can, but if i discover you''re playing any tricks behind my back, don''t blame me for being ruthless."

    "oh my, brother qi, you''re still using a golden cup for your drinks." yi chen''s expression became even more amiable as he leisurely poured fine wine into two cups on the table.

    "if brother qi agrees, then drink this cup to the full."

    yi chen stared into qi yuan''s eyes, not voicing the consequences of disagreement.

    for sometimes, unsaid threats can be more effective than spoken ones.

    fear, stems from the unknown.

    as a taoist well-versed in human nature, yi chen certainly knew the maxim that the less people know about the punishment, the more formidable it is.

    "taoist yi, such actions will not make me wholeheartedly submissive," qi yuan said resentfully.

    yet, while his words were harsh, his body honestly picked up the cup from the table and drained it in one gulp.

    this sight made even yi chen smirk.

    qi yuan''s words were as if to say, "you may have my person, but you''ll never have my heart."

    but what does yi chen want with qi yuan''s heart? a forcibly twisted melon is enough to quench thirst.

    after all, he was planning to leave in no more than a month.

    "good! brother qi, that''s the spirit!"

    "assist me wholeheartedly for one month, and when it comes to the next appointment as the prefectural commander, i will speak on your behalf where i can. however, brother qi, you must produce some real achievements, otherwise, it would be hard for me to make such an endorsement."

    "brother qi, having drunk the wine i served, cast aside your cunning thoughts. if you''re double-minded, playing games with me,

    while we share a golden cup, the bare blade will show no mercy!"

    as soon as the word "mercy" was uttered, yi chen''s smile abruptly turned from spring to a wintry deathly pallor; he picked up a cup from the table and downed it in one swallow.

    yi chen''s visit was intended to intimidate qi yuan, otherwise he wouldn''t have sent qi yuan''s two trusted aides out to maintain order. s~ea??h the n??efire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    he could intimidate qi yuan but could not disgrace him in public; this was giving qi yuan a way out.

    the yi taoist had shown him face, and it was up to him to take it or not.

    clearly, qi yuan was a man aware of the times¡ªa man who valued his reputation.

    truth be told, yi chen''s methods were unorthodox, but he wasn''t a part of the law-enforcing agency for long, just a temporary worker. with his current strength, slightly overstepping bounds was not an issue, and even if qi yuan complained to feng linsu, it wouldn''t harm yi chen.

    with strength comparable to the late stages of the true person realm, yi chen''s status now barely entered the ranks of the heavenly dragon class.

    rules are set for those below, how could he allow them to tie down his hands and feet?

    different levels demand different methods of play.

    measures xu xiaoxun dares not employ, yi chengzi can!

    continue your story on empire

    "brother qi, please, let''s return to the tianfeng prefecture law-enforcing agency and discuss the plan in detail."

    under yi chen''s coercion and enticement, qi yuan, along with his two aides, followed yi chen back to the grand hall of the tianfeng prefecture law-enforcing agency.

    "taoist yi, about the case of the late prefectural commander..."

    in the grand hall, where numerous officers were seated, qi yuan began to report with a poker face.

    he had not anticipated yi chen''s formidable power and had since resigned to the idea of sending away a plague god.

    however, his report was cut short by yi chen.

    yi chen smiled, picked up a tea cup from the table, skimmed the foam from the surface with the lid, and took a sip. "no hurry on that matter. who can tell me, in tianfeng prefecture, who is the richest?"

    qi yuan: "...."

    master li: "...."

    the people of the law-enforcing agency: "...."

    with yi chen''s question, the seated officers in the hall were caught off guard.

    wasn''t this official here to investigate the case? why is the first order of business about getting money?

    for a moment, the hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, and the officers hesitated to speak.

    they couldn''t fathom yi chen''s intentions.

    that''s why yi chen sat above them, and they sat below.

    violence and oppression might secure obedience, but it''s inadequate and unsustainable, failing to stir motivation.

    leadership is an art.

    sole reliance on oppression is ineffective.

    as a taoist who understands human nature, yi chen knew that a general''s prestige comes from victories.

    the law-enforcing agency of tianfeng prefecture was the least impressive yi chen had seen, even longjiang prefecture was more imposing, hence, as a special envoy dropped from the sky, after initially using violence to unify the tianfeng prefecture law-enforcing agency, it was essential to lead the team to a victorious endeavor, to bring wealth and benefits.

    violence brings intimidation, supplemented with monetary gain, and then the tianfeng prefecture law-enforcing agency would come to life, and the subordinates would loyally follow.

    interest is the real bonding agent for a team.

    of course, each person has different needs which must be addressed. idealism is for those above, while money is the topic for those below.

    qi yuan aspired for promotion and more resources, so yi chen drew him a picture of the bounty.

    for others, it was money; he wanted people to know that following yi chengzi diligently would reward them with money¡ªabundant money. they could use it to exchange for cultivation resources or indulge at the pleasure towers as they pleased.

 Chapter 182 The Unexpected Yi Taoist, The Strategy of the Taoist Priest._2

    ```"why is nobody speaking? did you leave your vocal cords at home?"

    "just look at the sorry state of tianfeng prefecture''s department of tranquility; it was like this before i arrived, and it''s still the same. have i come here for nothing?"

    "rest assured, if the sky falls, i''ll hold it up. you can all place the blame on my head. i will take twenty percent of the profits, deputy prefect qi takes ten, the thousand households and hundred households get ten, and the subordinates get thirty. the remaining thirty percent will go to whoever contributes the most effort¡ªi will give them the largest share."

    yi chen cheerfully boosted the morale of all the people in the department of tranquility.

    power comes from the distribution of resources. with tangible benefits laid out before them, it would be impossible for the subordinates not to give their wholehearted effort. should they succeed, even if qi yuan wanted to act against him, he would be isolating himself from his peers. s§×arch* the n?velfire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "sir, the huang family is the wealthiest in tianfeng prefecture. they control more than half of the profitable businesses in the entire prefecture. however, this person is backed by the seventh prince. do you dare to take action?" clenching his teeth, it was none other than steward li who stepped forward from the crowd.

    since yi chen had shaken things up, steward li could no longer mix in tianfeng prefecture. he might as well take a gamble.

    "steward li, choose your words carefully. how could the seventh prince engage in such profit-grabbing actions against the people? doesn''t he have his own royal manors and fiefs?"

    "the huang family is the huang family; do not make wrongful associations and tarnish the seventh prince''s good name."

    yi chen corrected steward li''s words while sipping tea.

    information about the seventh prince, yue jinyi, was naturally within the intelligence on the major powers of tianfeng prefecture provided by feng linsu.

    this seventh prince enjoyed a reputation for virtue. his fief was located a few hundred miles away from tianfeng prefecture, in the town of jinyi.

    the prince''s background was modest, his talents average, and his mother''s family was a minor clan, which was why he was enfeoffed in jinyi.

    however, no matter what, he was a prince. all major forces would give him some face. moreover, with his capable means and adept social skills, he had also attracted many extraordinary characters under his command, making him a significant power within the entirety of tianfeng prefecture.

    the occurrences in tianfeng prefecture¡ªdisappearances, the death of the town''s protector¡ªyi chen would never believe that the local nobility, wealthy merchants, and large forces had no inkling of these events.

    therefore, one of the reasons why he was gathering money was that yi chen felt aggrieved and wanted to grab a piece of the pie.

    the second reason was to use this as an entry point to stir the waters of tianfeng prefecture. with the situation being stagnant, he needed to agitate the water to get the dirt at the bottom to rise.

    the third reason was if you wanted to get things done, you needed to feed your people well. to feed them, you had to bleed. since the yi taoist was working on behalf of the court and for feng linsu, it couldn''t be his own blood that was shed. it was better to make the nobles and big merchants bleed.

    throughout his journey, he had felt that the people of tianfeng prefecture were not as wealthy as he imagined.

    if the commoners weren''t wealthy, then surely there were parasites feeding off them. it was only fair to have these parasites regurgitate some of what they had taken.

    armed with the sudden demise of xu xiaoxun in the secret chamber and the department of tranquility''s righteous fury, and combined with his own cultivation and the support of feng linsu, yi chen wanted to see who would dare to stop him?

    without using some tactics to warn the major forces, and dealing with a few ringleaders, how could he conduct his work? with everyone tying his hands, how could the case be investigated? how could the taoist make his fortune? did the few coins given by feng linsu compensate for the assassinations yi chen had faced?

    if there are no conditions, create them!

    even thinking from another perspective, the bigger the commotion he caused, the safer he actually became.

    "excellent! i have come to tianfeng prefecture to do only three things: investigate, investigate, and still investigate!"

    "whoever has money, that''s whom we''ll earn from."

    "steward li, get the scribes to compile a list of the dirty dealings of all the big noble families and merchants for me. i have great use for it. qi yuan, you bring two thousand households along with steward li to meet the huang family with me."

    yi chen slapped his thigh, making an immediate decision, "and the rest of you brothers, keep a close watch on all the major powers. report anything that''s not within the rules. all of this must be investigated thoroughly!"

    "intimidation, bribery, creating divisions, setting traps¡ªi don''t care what means you use to gather intelligence."

    "whether you drink broth or water, it all depends on you. our fortunes are earned together."

    after scanning the crowd seated below, yi chen called upon qi yuan and steward li to prepare to set out.

    respect human nature, respect interests, and you can hardly go wrong in this world.

    yi chen''s approach was straightforward.

    he started by suppressing a group of noble families and rich merchants under the pretext of everyone making money. once they had a taste of the benefits with yi chen leading the charge, the department of tranquility would become invigorated.

    eventually, yi chen would need to consider how to temper these blood-thirsty wolves.

    once everyone had made a tidy sum, likely offending a circle of people in the process, those who had received the most would be even more reliant on yi taoist, and his authority would grow ever greater!

    ```

    ```

    wouldn''t a tightly knit zheng''an bureau have emerged by yi taoist''s side then?

    gather a batch of people, rope in a batch, beat a batch.

    investigate the cases, earn the money!

    all for the imperial court, to seek justice for the deceased town commander, yi chen is willing to bear some blame and suffer a bit!

    as for what to do after yi chen leaves in a month, there''s no need to worry at all. as long as feng linsu isn''t a fool, would he spit out the meat that he has swallowed?

    has there ever been a price increase followed by a reduction?

    there will surely be capable people to safeguard these interests.

    qi yuan''s eyebrows furrowed, and a glint of understanding suddenly flashed in his eyes. it was as if he had guessed a part of yi chen''s strategy, and his expression relaxed. he called two shrewd subordinates to follow yi chen.

    if it was really as he had thought, then he was beginning to like this special envoy. the frustration he felt following xu xiaoxun was more than enough.

    in no time, the machine that was tianfeng prefecture''s zheng''an bureau began to rumble into action!

    ¡­ enjoy new tales from empire

    ¡­

    tianfeng prefecture?gold family garden courtyard.

    the gold family was located at the center of tianfeng prefecture, oozing opulence, with a vast estate, artificial mountains with flowing water, and ornately carved beams and painted rafters¡ªclear signs of wealth. yi chen nodded repeatedly, thinking that he had come to the right place.

    "master yi, please." the family head of the gold family led the way with a smile that did not reach his eyes, gesturing forward with a hollow politeness, and they made their way to a garden courtyard.

    in the center of the courtyard, there was even a small lake, covering two to three acres.

    it was the spring season, flowers bloomed abundantly, and the water rippled invitingly.

    the garden with its varying shades was reflected in the rippling water, presenting an enchanting view.

    "the light chill of early morning disappears beyond the green willow smoke, and spring is boisterous on the branches of red apricot trees; master gold truly knows how to enjoy life."

    "the zheng''an bureau is pitiable in comparison, with only two jujube trees in our yard!" yi chen stared at the gold family head with a smile, eyeing him as one would a fat sheep, causing the family head to feel uneasy.

    serve the tea, take a seat, talk shop.

    "what brings the esteemed official here?" the gold family head asked with clasped hands.

    "naturally, i am here concerning the sudden death of town commander xu xiaoxun in his secret chamber. in his fury, feng linsu entrusted this burdensome task to me, leaving me with no choice but to make this visit," yi chen said with a smile.

    the gold family head wanted to continue with pleasantries and flattery, but the next second, yi chen''s expression suddenly shifted from sunny to overcast.

    "upon reviewing the archives, i''ve found that the gold family has had quite a few problems in recent years."

    "however, as the gold family is famously benevolent in tianfeng prefecture, to avoid any misunderstandings and harm to the loyal and good, i have personally come to inquire further."

    at these words, the family head of gold''s complexion dramatically changed. his aura surged, revealing a pressure similar to that of zhu buqun, realizing the presence of an unwelcome visitor.

    yi chen''s eyes blazed as he stared intently at the gold family head. his bare hands turned to a golden color, and the air of readiness about him caused the hem of his robe to flutter slightly.

    the gold family head suddenly felt as if he were being hunted by a ferocious beast, with his body hair standing on end.

    this man could not be confronted by force!

    the gold family head''s eyebrows furrowed, and he swiftly subdued his own aura. if he couldn''t fight, it was time to evoke his background.

    "does master yi know who stands behind me?"

    "and who exactly stands behind master gold?" yi chen asked with a cold laugh.

    a prince out of favor and not in a position to be doted upon; wielding the power of the zheng''an bureau, to knock on the door of one of his frontmen¡ªa mere pawn¡ªyi chen, with his current cultivation level and strength, had no reason to fear.

    he was ''begging'' for alms based on his own power and status, after all.

    ```

 Chapter 183 Layers of Mist, A Dirge Turns into Laughter, Strong Liquor Passes a Thousand Rounds

    before, it was xu xiaoxun playing games with the huang family and various major forces from tianfeng prefecture. now times have changed. xu xiaoxun has died, and the matter has caught the attention of feng linsu. compared to the commandant of jiangbei circuit, who is the highest official in the region, the seventh prince was hardly worth mentioning.yi chen is not feng linsu, but huang family head is no seventh prince either.

    huang family head fell silent for a moment, "my lord has traveled thousands of miles to come here. my huang family is willing to offer one hundred thousand taels of silver to the town peace office for the renovation of the residence, to assist the lord in the investigation to the best of our modest ability."

    "one hundred thousand taels isn''t enough. i want one million taels!" yi chen declared categorically.

    "impossible, this is absolutely impossible. selling my huang family wouldn''t even fetch that much money," the huang family head jumped up as if he were a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

    "family head, no need to worry. the huang family doesn''t have to spend any money on this matter, and you might even stand to gain from it." under the telepathic instruction from yi chen, master li began to speak.

    "let the huang family lead by donating silver, and persuade the great clans and merchants of tianfeng prefecture to contribute together. huang family head donates two hundred thousand, and the rest donate the remaining eight hundred thousand. the collected silver will then be split between us; twenty percent for you, eighty percent for us!"

    upon hearing this, huang family head was shocked.

    qi yuan and others were also startled.

    they all turned to look at yi chen, who was sipping tea with a smile, as if they had seen a ghost.

    "family head, for your peace of mind, as part of your persuasions, i will close down the most wicked family today. the market share they leave behind can be divided amongst your major forces, and their property confiscated."

    "qi brother, you will handle this matter later. bring with you the ledgers and evidence from the town peace office. we can''t be accused of punishing without teaching," yi chen said.

    all the major family merchants have reached their size with a pile of shady dealings beneath them.

    yi chen took a sip of tea leisurely.

    his tone was chilling and filled with threats.

    with xu xiaoxun dead, things had come to a pivot. it serves tianfeng prefecture right to be unlucky; their old relationships are useless unless they extend to feng linsu.

    just as qian yueru once used an excuse to completely uproot the chen family of longjiang prefecture, yi chen could seize a few houses on the pretext of investigating xu xiaoxun''s case without any worry.

    "what a skillful move, my lord."

    "i need some time. i will have an answer for my lord tomorrow," huang family head said through gritted teeth.

    he was a clever man, and he could surely read between the lines of what yi chen implied.

    knocking the mountain to shock the tiger! expelling the tiger to devour the wolf!

    the seizure of the merchant''s assets today was not only to open the way for his own persuasions but also a threat.

    if he failed to gather the one million taels, they would take his huang family as collateral!

    if today they could take the market share left by the confiscated family and distribute it to others to appease the remaining families, tomorrow they could turn the tables on his huang family!

    ...

    ...

    after leaving the huang residence, qi yuan''s face was full of excitement.

    unlike other prefectures, his town peace office in tianfeng prefecture had suffered too much frustration. the major forces in tianfeng prefecture had entrenched interests. the established patterns of benefit meant that his town peace office could only proceed with caution, never before having the domineering presence they had today.

    "lord yi, whose family are we going to raid?" qi yuan asked excitedly.

    his two subordinates who held the rank of thousand households also had faces flushing with anticipation.

    "just pick one with the worst reputation. this is a minor matter. qi brother, first tell me, how exactly did xu xiaoxun, the commissioner of defense, die?"

    at yi chen''s light statement, the rise and fall of a family was decided. yi chen had been in the city for half a day, and only now did he begin to inquire about xu xiaoxun''s case.

    several days had passed, so it was expected that the town peace office''s experts had already investigated the cause of xu xiaoxun''s death.

    "back to my lord, commissioner xu died from the yin illusion heart-draining palm," qi yuan replied.

    "commissioner xu had been investigating the case of missing people around tianfeng prefecture for many years, and it seemed that he had recently made a significant discovery. having worked with him for years, i noticed that his movements were secretive in the days before his death, and then news came out that he died within his own residence."

    "right, commissioner xu had a lover, who was taken in ten years ago. after the incident with commissioner xu, this person vanished without a trace, as if evaporated from the world."

    "i suspect it''s the work of the yin illusion demon sect. only they have such experts and the strength, along with the ambition, to challenge our town peace office."

    "the cultivation techniques of the yin illusion demon sect are extremely tricky, adept at concealing movements and deluding others. i fear that the disappearances of people around tianfeng prefecture are also their covert doings."

    at this moment, qi yuan was wholeheartedly impressed by yi chen''s strength and tactics, deciding to board yi chen''s ship. he spilled everything he knew like pouring out beans.

    although he disliked xu xiaoxun''s rigid conservatism that blocked his own way, he still felt indignant and sympathetic over the death of a long-time colleague without cause within his own jurisdiction.

    the yin illusion heart-draining palm, it was that technique again!

    yi chen''s brows drew tightly together. he thought of his own encounter with the yin empress and his experience being assassinated.

    "could it really be that the yin illusion demon sect wants to take advantage of the current upheavals in the world and be the first to stir up trouble?" yi chen mused internally.

    "qi brother, the identity and background of commissioner xu xiaoxun''s partner must be investigated thoroughly. they must be a key figure in this case," yi chen sensed that xu xiaoxun''s missing partner was a crucial person in this incident.

    "my lord, i have already sent people to secretly investigate, but unfortunately, this person seems to have just sprung out of the stone. they appeared suddenly by commissioner xu''s side and now just as suddenly have disappeared," qi yuan said with a wry smile.

    ...

    ...

    the night sky was starry but moonless.

    jinyi city, the prince''s mansion.

    enjoy new stories from empire

    prince yue jinyi, like a modest gentleman, received huang family head in plain clothes within his mansion. s§×arch* the n??elfir§×.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    facing the sunny prince yue jinyi, huang family head was even more nervous, not even daring to fully sit on the chair.

 Chapter 183 Layers of Mist, A Dirge Turns into Laughter, Strong Liquor Passes a Thousand Rounds_2

    he was well aware of how ruthless prince seven''s methods were in propping him up."so, yi chengzi has given you an ultimatum?"

    "i indeed underestimated him. with such tactics, he truly has the power to turn the tide and use one''s own strength against them."

    "your highness thinks so highly of this man? he is quite greedy, which may be used to our advantage," family head huang said hesitantly.

    "what do you think? he entered the city for merely half a day and first intimidated the people of the peace preservation department, binding them to his chariot, and the money spent was even from your pockets. do you now realize how formidable he is?"

    "if he can truly work for me, i am willing to let him use the financial resources at will. i''m just afraid that he is insatiable."

    "even his greed may just be a smokescreen he has released."

    "then your highness, should i agree or not?" family head huang asked quietly.

    "circumstances force our hand, follow his instructions. for the time being, cease all dirty work and deal with what needs to be dealt with," prince seven said with a headache while rubbing his temples.

    with a creak, family head huang took his leave, and the door closed.

    the brightness in the hall dimmed immediately.

    only the lanterns on both sides clearly illuminated the face of the man at the desk, his face filled with cold frost and utterly grim, as prince seven suddenly hurled the glass wine cup on the table to the ground, shattering it.

    "damn it! this yi chengzi dares to deceive me so; i must kill him!" prince seven exclaimed fiercely.

    at that moment, the door creaked open once more, and a black-robed elder walked in from outside.

    it was the black-robed elder who had attempted to assassinate yi chen the day before.

    "ghost elder, your return is timely. you clashed with yi chengzi yesterday, what is the extent of his cultivation?"

    the black-robed elder was well aware of how cold and heartless the prince before him could be beneath his seemingly generous facade.

    especially as his cultivation of the sinister arts grew deeper, he became even more unpredictable in his moods and utterly inscrutable.

    after a moment of silence, he still dare not tell prince seven that his own soul banner was destroyed in a self-explosion to make an escape.

    fearing the knowledge that his powers had greatly diminished, he worried that prince seven might have other sinister thoughts.

    "yi chengzi is formidable," the black-robed elder said, steeling himself.

    "how formidable? where is your soul banner? where are your thousand infant ghost spirits? bring them out for me to see," prince seven said with a cold laugh.

    somehow, prince seven had already come to know the truth.

    the black-robed elder''s expression changed drastically upon hearing this: "your highness, i didn''t¡­"

    "trash! a reject of the yin illusion demon sect, had it not been for my shelter and help to cover your tracks and reconcile your collected souls, would you be where you are today?"

    "i''ve spent so much in resources to cultivate you, and this is how you repay me? trash will always be trash!" prince seven laughed in his fury, forming a hand seal, and suddenly, a network of black veins appeared over the black-robed elder''s entire body.

    for a time, the black-robed elder was in so much pain that he rolled on the ground, screaming miserably, as if he were being sliced by a thousand knives.

    after the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, prince seven finally stopped, saying coldly:

    "considering past merits, i will spare you this time."

    "since you failed to kill yi chengzi this time, let the matter rest for now. activate the backup plan. it would be best if you could provoke a war between the peace preservation department and the yin illusion demon sect."

    "my grand plan is about to reach completion soon. it must not be exposed at this time, drawing attention to me."

    the black-robed elder, now looking as if he had been fished out of water, dripping with sweat, was immensely relieved at the reprieve and kowtowed vigorously: "your highness, rest assured, i will arrange everything properly, or i will come to you head in hand!"

    "then why aren''t you gone yet?" prince seven burst out in anger, striking the black-robed elder with a jet-black surge of mana shaped like an inky python, sending him flying out of the hall,

    with a sweep of his sleeve, the vermilion door closed instantly, and the room fell into darkness again.

    letting out a long sigh, prince seven walked out from the side door of the great hall, crossed a long corridor, and threw out a black token.

    space rippled, and the ground split open to reveal a portal, a dark stairway suddenly taking shape.

    prince seven walked down the dark stairway step by step.

    he arrived in a deep underground location.

    at the end of the path, a bronze gate emerged, and two characters were inscribed on it in a calligraphy that soared and dived.

    demon seal!

    the ancient seal script emitted a faint glimmer, mysterious and peculiar.

    pushing open the gate, the world spun, and he entered a wholly different realm.

    a small town appeared.

    like stacked blocks, wooden cells rose from the ground.

    inside were numerous women and children, like pigs and dogs, with numb expressions. robust overseers patrolled back and forth, and there were incessant sounds of amusement, a scene of a living hell.

    "soon, very soon, my demon heaven transformation will be complete, hahaha!"

    suddenly, terrifying demonic patterns appeared on the face of the seventh prince, who burst into mad laughter.

    his voice was wild, venomous, and fierce!

    at this moment, the seventh prince''s momentum was climbing by the second, and in an instant, it soared to the eighth level of the true person realm.

    his body turned into a black rainbow light, and amidst the kneeling crowd, he shot towards the black hall at the end of the wooden prison.

    as he approached, the black doors suddenly swung open and then slammed shut with a bang!

    bang!

    ¡­

    ¡­

    nighttime.

    after a flurry of activity, yi chen pushed open the gates of xu xiaoxun''s mansion.

    he hoped to find some possible clues.

    ever since the incident, xu xiaoxun''s mansion had been watched over by the security office, with no outsiders allowed in.

    yi chen frowned as he looked around the empty house that was practically devoid of furniture, and he was momentarily speechless.

    "master li, what''s going on here? has xu xiaoxun''s residence been robbed?"

    master li replied carefully, his words filled with respect for xu xiaoxun: "my lord, xu xiaoxun lived a frugal life, attended only by an old servant and a maid. he and lady shuang were both kind-hearted and benevolent people."

    "if it weren''t for the security office assigning this mansion to master xu, he probably wouldn''t have lived in such a place."

    "apart from security office staff maintaining the magical array occasionally, no outsiders have entered."

    "whenever master xu and lady shuang had extra money, they would distribute porridge and medicine to the needy."

    ¡­

    as master li narrated, yi chen gradually understood xu xiaoxun''s situation in tianfeng prefecture: he was a stickler for principles, a good person.

    stubbornly principled.

    such people usually isolated themselves from their peers.

    "master yi, this is the room where master xu died, kept as it was. i should not enter, so please, go ahead." master li was very measured in his speech and actions.

    yi chen stepped into the room. by this time, xu xiaoxun''s body had naturally been collected and laid to rest.

    there were drops of blood scattered like plum blossoms across the long table and the floor.

    having oxidized for a long time, they had turned a deep black color.

    a white paper lay beneath a weight on the desk, with ten large characters written on it!

    stay connected with empire

    "a sad song brings a smile, strong wine surpasses a thousand patrols!"

    the handwriting was sharp as iron hooks and silver strokes, angular throughout.

    to see his handwriting was to see the man himself, revealing xu xiaoxun''s true nature.

    on the ground lay a toppled bronze wine cup!

    "what a man, this xu xiaoxun!"

    it took yi chen a while to speak.

    several speculations suddenly surfaced in his mind.

    after standing quietly for a moment, yi chen finally left the room.

    rigidly upright, incorruptibly honest, he detested evil as if it were his foe.

    the impression of xu xiaoxun gathered from reports was ultimately less shocking than seeing the reality firsthand.

    "master li, let''s go,"

    "i shall naturally seek justice for master xu!" s§×ar?h the n?vel_fire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    under the moonlight, yi chen''s voice was resolute and firm.

    he put away any playful thoughts, and a flame ignited in his chest.

    a good person should not meet such an end.

 Chapter 184 Investigate! Thorough Investigation!

    on the second day, at the gold family.yi chen arrived as scheduled with a team from the peacekeeping department to attend the meeting.

    the day before, qi yuan led a team to raid a small family notorious for their misdeeds, and under yi chen''s supervision, all the property had been distributed, with the lower-ranking members each receiving no less than two years'' worth of salary.

    liquor and beauty enticed people''s indulgence, gold stirred people''s hearts.

    with glimmering silver and gold in hand, the morale of the peacekeeping department soared, and many were eager to volunteer for today''s task.

    qi yuan, on the other hand, had been sent by yi chen to investigate the whereabouts and identity of xu xiaoxun''s missing companion and did not attend today.

    "master yi, please, watch your step~" a hundred household officer with a slightly swollen face was half-bowing, leading the way with an obsequious manner.

    this man was one of qi yuan''s people, and yesterday was the first to taste yi chen''s iron fist.

    for those who had been beaten, yi chen gave each a bonus of ''medical silver'' when the money was distributed yesterday.

    indeed, the funds came from the treasury, and yi chen didn''t spend a penny.

    to be punished with a beating, and afterwards given ''medical silver'', was certainly to show an attitude of bygones being bygones. this was a reward.

    between punishment and reward, his one-handed pua technique ensured that nobody in the peacekeeping department continued to worry about being undermined because of yesterday''s incident.

    "hundred household officer qi, tone it down, i prefer your unyielding appearance from yesterday."

    "everyone, do your jobs well, i have my eyes on your achievements. the future of tianfeng prefecture is yours. do well, and this seat will not be stingy with rewards."

    yi chen turned his head to address the peacekeepers he brought along, loosely promising them a bright future as he glanced at the gold family''s archway.

    "a family that accumulates good deeds will surely reap continuous blessings."

    "the inscription is not bad."

    after making a comment, yi chen walked into the mansion, accompanied by master li, while the others waited outside.

    "please, my lord!"

    "family head gold, please!"

    after being seated and offered tea, yi chen got straight to the point.

    "family head, have you considered it?"

    "reporting to my lord, i''ve sold this old face of mine and barely managed to scrape together this sum of money with great effort from several major families. however, i have also made a military pledge: we, the major families, hope to receive a promise from you."

    "a promise of amnesty for past actions."

    both being cunning as ancient foxes, family head gold did not hedge and laid out his terms directly.

    the thunderous action that yi chen took against that small family yesterday had truly intimidated the major families of tianfeng prefecture, hence they were willing to pay a fortune to avoid disaster.

    "let''s speak frankly, family head, we''re all friends here." yi chen took a sip of his tea with a smile on his face.

    such a large sum of money, with the major families having their own demands, was quite normal; not asking for anything in return would actually be abnormal. yi chen was well-prepared for this.

    "my lord''s wisdom is clear, we hope this is only once, and not a precedent," remarked family head gold with a fervent gaze.

    one million taels was a significant amount for the wealthy clans, but the sum was delicately chosen¡ªnot too little, yet not enough to irreparably ruin relationships.

    if the figures behind them truly wanted to take action, setting aside the current risk of making such a move, the cost of defiance would likely far exceed this amount. compelled by circumstances, the major clans had to swallow their pride and accept it.

    "how could you think so lowly of me, family head gold?"

    "i am here solely to investigate the case of disappearing civilians and the death of the prefectural governor xu xiaoxun. other matters are outside my investigative purview."

    "my lord..." family head gold had more to say, but yi chen cut him off.

    yi chen''s gaze suddenly sharpened, a hint of keenness flashed in his eyes, and he leaned forward slightly.

    "are you implying that the gold family is involved with the civilian disappearance case and the death of prefectural governor xu xiaoxun?"

    "absolutely not, my lord, please be cautious with your words!" family head gold panicked, sweat beading on his forehead.

    "then that settles it."

    "if the family head is not at ease, i can swear an oath upon the lancyang river! if i go back on my word, let my diligent cultivation of ''the supreme spirited pure yang origin dao scripture'' regress to the first level."

    yi chen had nearly formed a muscle memory for this set of oath-taking, his speech was earnest, even more sincere than those who make vows by the waters of the luo and mississippi rivers combined.

    after a verbal skirmish, family head gold eventually gave in.

    he produced eight large-denomination banknotes, each worth a hundred thousand taels.

    yi chen swiped his sleeves and tucked them into his bag.

    "not enough!"

    "where''s the other two hundred thousand?" sea??h th§× nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "didn''t my lord promise a twenty-eighty split? could it be that my lord intends to renege and grow fat off his words?" family head gold''s expression suddenly chilled.

    "i never said i''d give the gold family''s share right away."

    "if the family head withholds the payment, i can always send people to inquire with the major families, perhaps help them reconcile their accounts, how about that?"

    "i said how come i only received six hundred thousand, where did the silver go?"

    family head gold was dumbfounded for a moment, wondering if this was a rascal from the dao sect, shockingly just giving away eighty thousand taels as if lying through his teeth about such a significant matter, which he truly had not kept for himself.

    seeing that family head gold seemed about to lose his composure, yi chen''s tone suddenly softened. enjoy more content from empire

    "family head, hear me out, i have a venture to the north with great profit margins, urgently in need of capital. consider these two hundred thousand taels a loan from the family head, which i shall return when i leave tianfeng prefecture in a month."

    "if the family head doesn''t trust me, i can swear by the lancyang river and draft a formal contract."

    ...

    after using both carrot and stick and establishing a contract, yi chen eventually secured the one million taels.

    if a month later the gold family really was uninvolved with the case, yi chen would certainly return the money. if they were involved, there would be no creditor left to repay; he had borrowed it fair and square, and there would be nothing to return.

 Chapter 184 Investigate! Thorough Investigation!_2

    "my lord!"seeing yi chen walk out with a beaming smile, all members of the public security division outside the huang residence were stirred with excitement.

    "let''s go back, get ready for work!"

    yi chen waved his large hand, and the team immediately set off.

    ...

    ...

    inside the main hall of the public security division.

    yi chen gathered everyone and began an important speech.

    "i''ve come to tianfeng prefecture to do only three things: investigate cases, investigate cases, and investigate cases!"

    "everyone''s ''allowance'' will be distributed shortly, today''s share. i''ll take twenty percent, qi yuan will take ten percent, commanders and hundred household heads will take ten percent, the brothers will share thirty percent, and the rest, thirty percent, will be given to those who perform their duties well."

    "starting today, i want you to begin taking action."

    "firstly, investigate! find out where those missing people have gone, whether there are still disappearances happening. everyone''s livelihood is tied to the well-being of the citizens. the public security division has the responsibility to defend the land, maintain peace, and settle the people''s hearts. such a blunder has occurred in tianfeng prefecture, how can you hold your heads high when you go out later?"

    "from now on, when you drink with colleagues from other areas, you''ll have to keep your cup half a notch lower."

    "therefore, i don''t care what methods you use, i only want results. if trouble arises, you have my backing, so investigate rigorously."

    "second, sweep! investigate thoroughly the inns, ships, gambling dens, and gangs. those who confess or expose information regarding the disappearances can be treated leniently. i refuse to believe that with so many people missing, none of these trades are covering for them."

    "hmm, remember to bring back their ill-gotten gains, which i will distribute."

    "those who don''t cooperate or resist can be executed on the spot. i hope that during my month in tianfeng prefecture, not another citizen will vanish without reason. if they''re alive, bring them forward; if they''re dead, present the body."

    "third, after the sweep, send people to promote everywhere, encouraging the public to report disappearances. depending on the reliability of the information, rewards will range from one to one hundred taels, paid in silver on the spot. the necessary funds, tentatively two hundred thousand taels, will come from my share. master li will be responsible for this matter."

    "all information on missing persons must be filed and archived."

    after issuing three orders in succession, the entire tianfeng prefecture public security division began to operate with a roar.

    yi chen successfully stirred up everyone''s enthusiasm.

    after spending more than a day, yi chen finally got to make his move.

    this was the plan yi chen had thought through before his arrival.

    first, subdue the members of the public security division, then, with the authority of the division, press the local wealthy merchants and major families to pay up, divide and conquer, and subsequently use money to fully mobilize the division.

    with a sense of honor in defending their duty, with silver, and with the morale brought by subduing the major families.

    next came the sweep, a crackdown on evil forces. those who dared show themselves would receive special attention. without their lackeys'' cooperation, the disappearances were sure to be alleviated significantly, clearing the atmosphere and showing determination.

    the final step was an old strategy of yi chen''s. the deepest power of war is rooted among the people. by cleaning up inns, ship operators, and gangs, he was establishing credibility.

    it hinted to the public that the sky over tianfeng prefecture had changed,

    thereby motivating the citizens to actively gather information on the missing persons.

    dig for information, find the threads. after years of accumulation, with all information converged, yi chen refused to believe that the person behind the scenes could achieve this scale without leaving any trace.

    with such an arrangement, professionals would handle their respective tasks, and yi chen would only need to manage qi yuan and the few commanders and hundred household heads.

    after the crowd dispersed with a boom, yi chen, looking up at the plaque hanging high in the hall, couldn''t help but sigh softly.

    "xu xiaoxun, the prefect, i have indeed tried my best."

    "with this whistleblowing money coming out, i''ve lost at least a hundred thousand taels."

    "it''s all my money! my money!"

    after making the arrangements, yi chen turned out to be the most idle person in the public security division.

    all he had to do now was wait, wait to see which forces were trying to obstruct his search for people, wait for someone behind the scenes to be unable to restrain themselves and jump out.

    when the storm passes over the ridge, only the low-lying grass remains.

    he had already promised to stay for a month. during this turbulent time, forces unrelated to the disappearance case would keep their heads down, and only those truly involved in this whirlwind would be afraid. sea??h th§× n?velfire.n§×t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    so, who would it be?

    "someone come!"

    "bring me the information on the evolution of all major forces in tianfeng prefecture over the past hundred years. i want to review it."

    suddenly, an idea emerged in yi chen''s mind. discover exclusive tales at empire

    he might consider another angle, seeking out the turning point where tianfeng prefecture went from prosperity to decline.

    which power grew and which settled in to cause tianfeng prefecture, the third largest city in jiangbei circuit, to decline to its current state? if he could focus on investigating this particular influence,

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "insolence!"

    "yi chengzi, you cur, you take my money to bribe people and investigate mine!"

    "and all the major families are a bunch of bastards too!"

    inside jinyi city, prince seven once again couldn''t help but smash a cup.

    he never anticipated that yi chen''s subsequent tactics would be so precise and ruthless.

    previously, under his planning and various overt and covert resistances, xu xiaoxun was basically powerless to take control of the entire tianfeng prefecture''s peacekeeping division.

    after all, xu xiaoxun''s cultivation level and strength were evident, and he could push back on some matters.

    resisting xu xiaoxun had basically become an unspoken agreement among all the major powers.

    however, no one expected xu xiaoxun to die within his own mansion, which drew the attention of feng linsu.

    resisting at this time could indeed lead to death.

    no one wanted to be the sacrificial lamb.

    under yi chen''s maneuvers, many powers turned into shrinking turtles, as if enduring a month to send away the plague god.

    this made prince seven quite anxious.

    yi chen''s two moves that forced gui lao to self-destruct his ten thousand ghost flag to flee for his life ¡ª just the cultivation revealed now made it highly unlikely for him to kill yi chen.

    "my lord, the peripheral people who work for us have been caught by the peacekeeping division. now, the peacekeeping division is actively searching for information. what should we do?" asked the huang family head cautiously.

    "what else can we do? clean up what needs to be cleaned, clear all the inventory at hand, and endure him for a month," prince seven said bitterly, but a bad premonition was surfacing in his heart.

    "no, i have to meet yi chengzi myself."

    "if he continues to investigate like this, even if we pull back all our feelers, i''m afraid we still can''t cover everything."

    once he made up his mind, prince seven decided to cut off the external tails and then personally take a trip to tianfeng prefecture.

    everything has a price, and he wanted to probe the bottom line of yi chen.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "heh heh, interesting, it really is interesting."

    "this tianfeng prefecture was quite all right before, with extremely rich outputs in all areas, yet it began to slowly decline starting from fifty years ago."

    "and the influence under prince seven also began to swell from that time."

    "however, this does not explain the cause of xu xiaoxun''s death. is it a coincidence, or is the yin phantom sect deliberately creating confusion?"

    "bring me the suspects brought back, i want to examine them personally in court. summarize the information on all missing persons and hand it over to me immediately."

    as the peacekeeping division''s investigation and arrests continued, indeed many old cases were unearthed, and when pulling out radishes, the mud followed, and some local tyrants and evil gentry were suppressed, purifying the atmosphere in the entire tianfeng prefecture.

    for a while, the citizens of tianfeng prefecture even started calling yi chen ''yi qingtian.''

    rumors began among the people.

    "with lord yi''s arrival, justice is restored."

    "with lord yi''s arrival, fairness has arrived."

    the people were initially doubtful about yi chen''s actions, but seeing that the local tyrants, evil gentry, and various forces made no move, some of the bolder ones began quietly approaching the peacekeeping division to report the disappearances of people around them.

    once the first person who dared take the risk came back safely and received benefits, many civilians, especially the families of the victims, could not restrain themselves and began to report to the peacekeeping division.

    as more people were arrested and more reports came in, yi chen felt a shock as he reviewed the compiled information.

    "next!"

    "bring forward zhang daniu!"

    yi chen noted down another piece of information, and then asked the burly man with a face full of flesh brought before him, "zhang daniu, have you ever trafficked people?"

    as he spoke, a deep vortex flashed in the depths of yi chen''s eyes.

    his mesmerizing ability was activated.

    "my lord, i have trafficked people."

    "good, confess it all!"

 Chapter 185 Conjecture and Truth (Part 1)

    "next, old granny wang, confess your illegal activities in full detail.""my lord, i mainly act as a matchmaker, as a dowry negotiator, as a supporter, taking on younger folk, and behind closed doors... i also trade in flirtations, running ''horse paddock six''."

    the so-called trading in flirtations naturally involves love affairs that go against propriety, morals, and ethics. plainly speaking, it''s about arranging trysts between married men and women.

    ''horse paddock six'' is essentially pimping, introducing rich bosses to new business ventures.

    "hmm, quite the wild ways. go on, tell me more, i''m all ears~" yi chen''s expression brightened slightly.

    "i took the official''s money to play matchmaker for the young ladies and wives, and that day, the gold..."

    ¡ª¡ª

    "next, fan guiwu, with a name like that, i can tell you''re no good. confess your crimes fully and quickly."

    "my lord, in order to settle in tianfeng prefecture, i had no choice but to sell my wife and children..."

    "don''t keep talking, you''re wasting food!"

    "guards, execute him by dogs! immediately! right now!"

    this individual reminded yi chen of a certain electronic pet from his previous life, known for pimping out wives and daughters. a surge of anger intensified within him, prompting a severe backlash.

    ...

    the sixth layer of the yin yang cave divine pupil technique''s mesmerizing abilities were utilized by yi chen to their utmost limit, exceedingly efficient. they worked flawlessly on these low-level thugs.

    following the principles of severity, harshness, and speed, the lighter sentences involved laboring in mines and eating potatoes, while severe ones meant decapitation. human traffickers were all executed by dogs, and for a time, the courtyard outside was a scene of rolling heads.

    cart after cart of corpses were carted out, silencing innumerable powers and earning the applause and cheers of countless commoners!

    the commoners were not interested in hearing false confessions, they only wanted to hear the just sound of beheadings!

    as time passed, the moon reached high into the night sky.

    "my lord, shall we call it a day?" li shiye said with a mournful face. he and his staff had been bustling about all day without a moment''s rest, eating meals in shifts, barely hanging on.

    "so be it!"

    "everyone has worked hard today, i decree triple the allowance for everyone."

    upon hearing these words, li shiye and the staff were instantly reinvigorated.

    "my lord, we can continue!"

    what is wolf culture? you''re only a wolf when you''re well fed. a wolf eats meat; only dogs consume filth.

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    offering a mere three thousand copper coins a month, if you expect others to risk their lives for you, they''ll only teach you that you get what you pay for.

    this was also why yi chen started taking money from the major families as soon as he arrived.

    yi chen used the mighty presence of feng linsu and his strength as guarantees to rapidly establish his absolute authority within the tianfeng prefecture''s peace bureau.

    as he hadn''t targeted the lifelines of the major families, focusing only on some gray or black industry, they were unlikely to fight him to the death. the finesse with which he handled the situation demonstrated considerable skill.

    chopping sausages, if done excessively, could provoke backlash, but do it too little, and the desired effect is not achieved.

    ...

    ...

    in the end, yi chen still let li shiye and the others go to rest.

    he had big plans for this group of staff; wearing them down would be counterproductive.

    "xu xiaoxun!"

    "madam frost!"

    "yin illusion demon sect!"

    "the seventh prince!"

    yi chen pinched the bridge of his nose and gazed at the several large characters on the file, falling into deep thought.

    though his strategies were sure to curb the trend of population disappearances in tianfeng prefecture, the mystery of xu xiaoxun''s death still baffled yi chen completely, void of progress.

    the four terms in front of him were now the crux of his strategy to solve the case!

    at the very heart of it was the reason behind xu xiaoxun''s death.

    "the first possibility, murder!" yi chen wrote down another line of text.

    according to qi yuan, xu xiaoxun had been investigating the disappearances in tianfeng prefecture. it was his obsession, and before his death, he had been secretive and anxious. if it were murder, it would mean that he had evidence so compelling that those behind the scenes, when weighing the lesser of two evils, had no choice but to kill!

    but if that was the case, where did his wife go?

    xu xiaoxun was of humble origin, and to have risen to the position of the peace commissioner in tianfeng prefecture, dominating over qi yuan, one can tell that his wisdom and strategy were not to be underestimated. killing one or killing two, it didn''t make a difference; there was no need to treat his wife differently.

    unless... the murderer was his wife? was she planted by the people behind the scenes to stay beside xu xiaoxun?

    or perhaps, xu xiaoxun sensed the impending danger and had his wife hide with the evidence?

    "the second possibility, suicide!" yi chen wrote down another potential explanation.

    this possibility had also crossed his mind.

    yi chen had managed to turn the situation around so quickly by leveraging his position and his formidable cultivation, alongside his ruthless and precise methodology.

    the circumstances faced by xu xiaoxun were different; tianfeng prefecture was full of warlords, who seemed to be uniting against him.

    his cultivation, while not lacking, certainly didn''t rank among the best, and if pitted against the family head huang, it would probably still be inferior.

    "could it be that xu xiaoxun intended to play a game with his life, to gain half a point over destiny?"

    "why was he so desperate? what had he discovered? was the adversary so formidable that no measure other than this extreme one could effectively challenge them?"

    "did he use his own life to draw the attention of higher powers, all for the sake of seeking justice for the people who had disappeared from tianfeng prefecture over the years?"

    "damn it, that doesn''t make sense either, where did he find someone skilled in the yin illusion heartbeguiling palm to strike him like that."

    "could his mysteriously vanished wife know that technique?"

    hisss!

    yi chen couldn''t help but take a sharp breath, as he suddenly remembered a key point.

    yin illusion heartbeguiling palm.

    if it were murder, the killer''s choice of this method would be to muddy the waters.

    if it were suicide, then obviously it was meant to make a big splash. in these times of world change and unsettling human hearts, the death of a peace commissioner inside his residence, caused by a technique of the yin illusion demon sect, would certainly draw a lot of attention.

 Chapter 185 Conjecture and Truth (Part 2)

    we can''t rest until this matter is thoroughly investigated and brought to light. how can zhen''an division just let this go?this is a matter that has reached serious proportions.

    "so, brother xu, are you trying to pull out the radish and bring out the dirt, making the person behind the scenes dread taking action, even if you can''t punish them, so they wouldn''t dare to do such heinous deeds in tianfeng prefecture?"

    as this thought crossed his mind, yi chen''s pupils suddenly constricted!

    "a melancholy song turns to laughter, strong wine surpasses a thousand rounds!"

    "brother xu, are you really playing this big?"

    if this speculation were true, yi chen would start to understand why he was ambushed on his way.

    if xu xiaoxun was merely using the yin huan demon sect as a decoy, linking his death with them to get the attention of the higher-ups at zhen''an division.

    then the person behind the scenes must have seen through xu xiaoxun''s intentions and tried to make his death look like the work of the yin huan demon sect.

    killing the envoy sent by them would undoubtedly be a good choice.

    even if the yin huan demon sect were to clarify the misunderstanding and no fight broke out, the person behind the scenes would have bought precious time to maneuver.

    "they are all wolves."

    "if that''s the case, xu xiaoxun must have arranged a contingency plan. i just need to wait for the evidence to come to me, for the person arranged by xu xiaoxun to show up."

    "what i need to do now is to show my determination, win the trust of the person arranged by xu xiaoxun, and make them believe that i will not compromise with that person behind the scenes."

    "if it''s really as such, then the person in tianfeng prefecture who could push a governor to such lengths is about to reveal themselves."

    "prince, is it you?"

    after much contemplation, yi chen picked up his pen and circled the names of the prince and madam frost heavily with a red pen.

    he decided to investigate these two key figures thoroughly.

    "ah, with things like this, i can''t just slack off. all those villains caught must be checked by me; i must provide an appropriate channel for those who want to get in touch with me."

    upon this thought, a certain handsome man who intended to shirk his duties and delegate his work felt a sense of helplessness.

    knock, knock, knock.

    just then, a knocking sound came from the door.

    "come in."

    with a creak, the door opened, and yi chen looked up to see a bailiff leading a few attendants carrying in a table full of food.

    "officer yi, you''ve been working hard. this is a little supper my brothers and i put together from the inn."

    "you guys, ah, don''t do this next time."

    "by the way, what''s your name?"

    "my lord, my name is xiang shangguan, and i also have important intelligence to report."

    "sit down and eat, talk while you eat."

    seeing yi chen''s resolute attitude, xiang shangguan no longer stood on ceremony and started to recount his information.

    "my lord, i am a local of tianfeng prefecture, and through special channels, i''ve learned something that might help you."

    "before officer xu''s incident, he had been in contact with an orphan named xin wushuang, who then suddenly disappeared. soon after, officer xu met with disaster. i felt there was something fishy about it, so i dug deeper."

    "and i indeed uncovered something interesting. previously, xin wushuang had a sister, around twelve or thirteen years old, missing for over a year. xin wushuang had been constantly searching for his sister. his parents had passed away early, and he and his sister depended on each other, barely surviving with the help of their kinfolk." s§×ar?h the nov§×lf~ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "is anyone else aware of this intelligence?" yi chen''s eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this.

    "they shouldn''t be. it was inadvertently discovered through my family''s connections. without those connections, many wouldn''t dare to speak so freely," xiang shangguan hurriedly explained.

    "so, you think there are spies from zhen''an division, which is why you came to report under the pretext of delivering supper to me."

    "by no means, my loyalty to you is absolute!" xiang shangguan immediately knelt down on one knee,

    "i dare not deceive you, my lord. for years, my hometown has been losing a number of people to an unknown force suppressing the matter. those who investigated faced misfortune; tianfeng prefecture is deteriorating day by day, my heart aches, my lord. i wouldn''t have dared in the past, but now i want to contribute."

    determination flashed in xiang shangguan''s eyes.

    "i''ll keep your service in my heart. don''t speak of this matter to others, and eat."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    ming yue sets to the west, the night cool as water.

    yi chen opened the window and fell into deep thought in the presence of the moonlight, ming yue.

    still, many people were silently striving for this case.

    these people, perhaps crushed by cruel reality, were forced to be slick, to lie low, yet if given the chance, their hearts were still filled with brightness, and their blood had not yet run cold.

    according to the secret report from xiang shangguan today, yi chen felt more and more certain that xu xiaoxun must have got hold of something, and then there was the disappearing xin wushuang.

    "lord xu, what exactly have you done?"

    with a long sigh, yi chen closed the window, and the room plunged into darkness, with only the thunder jade still emitting a faint glow.

    crackle, crackle.

    the arc light flickered.

    one day later, in the main hall of the stability bureau, yi chen pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned back in his chair, the solid mahogany making an overburdened creaking sound.

    in front of him on his desk were many case files, especially those of the huang family, scattered all around.

    as he delved deeper into the investigation, he uncovered some interesting aspects.

    grain.

    tianfeng prefecture was a land of fish and rice.

    and the huang family was the largest grain merchant in tianfeng prefecture.

    however, the grain that the huang family had purchased in such large quantities had a gap, neither huge nor small, compared to what they sold.

    if one said it was a business strategy of hoarding for high prices, it could, indeed, be justified.

    just hanging in the balance for one year could pass.

    but it happened every year.

    there was always a stable gap.

    it was only because of the painstaking data collection and record-keeping by xu xiaoxun over decades that such precise figures were available.

    "could it really be prince seven causing trouble behind the scenes?"

    "unfortunately, trying to topple prince seven with this little bit of material is simply a pipe dream."

    "just find a scapegoat to say it was done behind one''s back by those below, or to downplay the matter, you''re completely out of solutions."

    just as yi chen was starting to get a headache, qi yuan came over with a look of excitement on his face.

    "my lord, the investigation has yielded results, great news indeed."

    "it turns out the reclusive lady shuang, whom lord xu kept at home, is actually yin rushuang, a true disciple of the shadowy illusion demon sect. we''ve all been deceived. now, it seems that lord xu was surely poisoned by someone close to him, and with this, everything begins to make sense."

    "really?" yi chen suddenly stood up, his pupils dilating. experience new tales on empire

    "absolutely true, after many a surreptitious visit and a stroke of luck, this humble official has obtained solid evidence."

    "good! good! good! the shadowy illusion demon sect dares to act this way; i want to see what they have to say for themselves. qi yuan, send a capable head of a thousand households to the shadowy illusion demon sect and ask for their explanation."

    "brother qi, i''m going to trouble you a bit more, to report the situation here to lord feng and ask him to make a decision."

    "for this achievement, brother qi, i will surely speak well of you; it won''t be long before that ''deputy'' title is removed from your name."

    yi chen''s face showed ''surprise and delight''.

    after qi yuan briskly took his leave with the orders, yi chen''s expression suddenly turned cold and detached.

    he didn''t doubt the authenticity of the information provided by qi yuan.

    but still, he felt something wasn''t quite right.

    it was too coincidental, like the saying, ''a pillow for a sleepy head.''

    qi yuan must have been investigating lady shuang for quite some time before yi chen''s arrival, and today''s unexpected discovery of her real identity made him suspect a setup.

    after whispering a few words to steward li, it wasn''t long before the news that xu xiaoxun was murdered by the shadowy illusion demon sect and that the court would soon issue a query and declare war on the sect spread throughout tianfeng prefecture.

    now, the situation had changed again, but yi chen still could not confirm who the culprit was who killed xu xiaoxun.

    however, he was certain about one thing: prince seven was definitely not clean.

    regrettably, this bit of evidence was insufficient to bother him; even yi chen could easily think of a hundred ways to cut losses and survive.

    what he could do now was only to cut off the trend of people disappearing in tianfeng prefecture, yet this was merely a quick fix, not a cure. he couldn''t possibly become a permanent fixture in tianfeng prefecture.

 Chapter 186 Conjecture and Truth (Part 2)

    "xu brother, where is your backup plan?""time is running out."

    yi chen was starting to feel irritated. he had the intuition that even if xu xiaoxun was not killed by the seventh prince, the population disappearances in tianfeng prefecture over the years were very likely connected to him.

    but he was powerless to do anything about it.

    with the evidence he currently held, it would be a stretch to convict the huang family, let alone perfect the case.

    either way, he was definitely not going to return the two hundred thousand taels he had ''borrowed'' from the family head huang.

    "that seventh prince deserves to die; it''s just a pity i can''t do anything to him now. once i''m comparable to a true monarch, the first thing i''ll do is take him down. the atrocities his minions have committed are enough for me to kill him ten times over."

    "alas, bring those cunning criminals up here, one by one."

    in a bad mood, yi chen vented all his anger on the scum of tianfeng prefecture.

    the night was windless, but there was a moon.

    "zhang san."

    "li si."

    "wang wu."

    "yang er mazzi."

    ...

    one by one, names were called by yi chen, followed by various fates: some were sent to the mines, some imprisoned, some beaten to death on the spot, and some executed by dogs.

    before he knew it, yi chen was working late into the night.

    "next, yu xiang."

    another skinny young man was brought in.

    as their eyes met, the corners of yi chen''s mouth involuntarily curled into a slight smile.

    "lady shuang? or should i address you differently?"

    "didn''t think i''d surprise you, did you?" asked the skinny young man coldly, gently brushing his face with his hands to reveal a face as beautiful as a flower, with hair dark as ink cascading down.

    "i simply took a gamble and guessed a little."

    "fellow taoist, let''s talk."

    "it seems i have been played by you, yi chen, and all that information outside must have been embellished and spread by you as well."

    "i had no choice. i, the taoist, ran out of tricks, and merely played an idle move on the board."

    lady shuang laughed self-deprecatingly, then began to recount her tale unbidden.

    "my husband was killed by me, but it was he who forced my hand with his death."

    "i am a disciple of the demonic sect, but fate led me to an entangled relationship with a man from the bureau of peace. to avoid suspicion, i hid my identity."

    "hmm, love starts unknowingly, but goes deep¡ªunderstandable," nodded yi chen.

    "since he took office as the governor, he has always been troubled by the problem of the population disappearances, but whenever the victims'' families filed complaints, the cases were mysteriously suppressed and the issue grew worse."

    "he wanted to investigate but encountered many obstacles."

    "some wanted him transferred away peacefully, while numerous trivial matters were piled on his plate, distracting his attention."

    "so, he went to great lengths to obtain a rare pair of twin shadow gu insects at a high price. he happened to meet a young man named xin wushuang who was searching for his sister. xin wushuang decided to use himself as bait to lure out the human traffickers."

    "the twin shadow gu insects were miraculous. the child body was as small as dust, adept at hiding, a special type of gu insect, extremely rare. over several months, everything seen by the host of the child body could be shared visually with the mother body and imprinted onto the liuying jade."

    "i was not privy to the specifics of their plan, but i know they were successful. xin wushuang went through several hands and was abducted into an underground palace."

    "that was... a real hell on earth. xin wushuang didn''t last long and died soon after." lady shuang''s voice trembled slightly as she spoke, as if the memory of that scene still shocked her to her core.

    lady shuang handed yi chen a piece of liuying jade.

    yi chen took it in hand, his mental energy slowly infiltrating it, and a first-person perspective film played before his eyes.

    sifting through the ineffective footage and the scenes of the young man named xin wushuang being blindfolded and shuffled around, when the vision cleared, he was inside an underground palace.

    huge wooden cages, stacked like a rubik''s cube.

    people were kept like livestock, crammed in small spaces with women and children, occasional overseers moving around, as well as women''s screams and babies'' cries¡­.

    "good! good! good!"

    "where is this place?" yi chen''s eyes instantly reddened with a burgeoning intent to kill.

    he had figured out the origin of those three thousand infant ghost spirits.

    he had figured out where the shortfall in the huang family''s grain supply had gone.

    compared to qi wangzi, zhu buqun would shine with golden light all over, and even kazhafi would have to respectfully call qi wangzi the real scum of humanity. amin and bokassa, by comparison, would be considered paragons of kindness.

    "i don''t know."

    "my husband has been investigating this case for many years. he speculated that it must be near jinyi city, or perhaps right underneath it, but there was no evidence." lady shuang bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes as she mentioned xu xiaoxun.

    "so he set up this trap, using his own life as a guarantee, to gain an opportunity for feng linsu, his former superior, to take action?"

    yi chen was horrified.

    "exactly, even with this recorded image, it would be an extremely difficult task to confront lord feng with a baseless accusation against a prince. moreover, with many prying eyes around, if any whispers leaked, qi wangzi could immediately erase the underground palace by burying it, leaving us with no recourse."

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    "ever since he learned of this, my husband has been tormented with guilt, feeling he had let down the people of tianfeng prefecture with his grievous sins, so he desperately devised this plan. sadly, what he did not anticipate was lord feng''s absence, and that you, lord yi, would come instead."

    qi wangzi is deeply cunning and deceitful, pinning the blame for my husband''s death on my master''s sect to distract attention. being worried about my sect and fearing that this demon would destroy the underground palace eliminated the chance for rebuttal, so i took the risk to meet with you, lord yi."

    "lord yi, there isn''t much time left, we must act quickly, or else my husband''s death will have been in vain." lady shuang now had tears streaming down her face.

    after learning the truth from lady shuang, yi chen, despite his suspicions, was deeply shocked.

    for the sake of an estimated location, to secure a bargaining chip that might provoke higher powers into action, to enhance his persuasiveness¡ªhe had staked his life on this astonishing scheme.

    this was the true definition of a peerless national hero.

    a national hero enters the game with his life, tipping the scales in his favor by half a move.

    aside from failing his wife, he had lived up to everyone else.

    the death of the prefectural pacification envoy in the secret chamber, suspected to be the work of the shadow phantom demon sect; all of it was to set ablaze a fire that reached qi wangzi.

    even if the plan failed, he would have bought tianfeng prefecture some peace, at least drawing the upper echelon''s attention, ensuring qi wangzi wouldn''t dare pull such stunts there again.

    yi chen, looking at the liuying jade in his hand, contemplated even deeper.

    with xu xiaoxun''s cunning, he likely had more than one copy of the liuying jade, to be delivered into higher hands at the right moment.

    a death remonstrance!

    he truly was playing a game of life and death with qi wangzi.

    if feng linsu did not do as expected, and chose to suppress the matter, yi chen suspected some mysterious figure would deliver the liuying jade to feng linsu''s political rival.

    with the reputation of a death remonstrance, they could blow the lid off the case without proof, dragging both into a mess they couldn''t escape.

    "my husband''s blood letter and the liuying jade, i entrust them to you for judgment, lord yi!" lady shuang said coldly.

    "it''s not that xu xiaoxun failed the people of tianfeng prefecture, it''s this world that doesn''t deserve him. i will contact lord feng immediately."

    as he spoke, yi chen took out a bronze communication device, recorded all the information he had acquired, and informed feng linsu.

    at this moment, he too felt uneasy¡ªif feng linsu chickened out, then yi chen could only wait until he became a true monarch to personally bring the end to qi wangzi.

    this would allow the scoundrel to live a little longer.

    in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the bronze communication device flashed, and feng linsu replied.

    "yi taoist, please stall for time. the world does not belong to the yue family alone; it belongs to everyone. my wife and i will arrive soon on a flying vessel."

    "if this is true, i will kill this man! the peacekeeping bureau cannot contain him, the military cannot contain him, and the noble families cannot tolerate him!"

    "madness! madness!"

    following feng linsu''s response, the communication device flashed and began to self-combust.

    "lady, what are your plans now?" yi chen sighed deeply at lady shuang, not knowing how she had endured up to this point, nor how to comfort her.

    sometimes, the living suffer more than the dead!

    because to live takes more courage than to die.

    "i want to witness qi wangzi''s downfall with my own eyes, and then i will take my unborn child and live in obscurity. that scoundrel left us, mother and child alone. the child shall bear my surname." lady shuang couldn''t hold back any longer and burst into tears.

    "if you or your child ever find yourselves in trouble in the future, you may come to find me at hidden dragon temple in fengyun county. i will not shirk what i am capable of doing!"

    after some thought, yi chen wrote a large character xu as a token and handed it over to lady shuang. sea??h th§× nov§×lf~ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    this was all he could do.

    at that moment, yi chen wanted more than ever to end the life of a ''person.''

 Chapter 187 Domination Kings Power and My Way of Divine Might!

    "madam, come closer and listen.""i have a strategy that might increase our chances of winning."

    yi chen''s eyes flickered as a plan surged into his mind. he quietly transmitted his ideas to madam shuang, giving her instructions on the fly.

    "good! i''ll follow your advice completely." madam shuang''s eyes showed a color of hatred as she nodded in agreement. after changing her appearance, she was taken away by people summoned by yi chen under the pretext of a minor crime and sentenced to three years of mining labor.

    given madam shuang''s recent entry into the true person realm and the secret techniques of the yin illusion demonic sect, coupled with his cover, yi chen was not worried about her exposing their tracks.

    "xu xiaoxun."

    although the case had suddenly become clear, yi chen''s mood did not have a trace of joy; on the contrary, he felt an inexplicably uncomfortable feeling.

    for a moment, his desire for power grew even stronger.

    if xu xiaoxun had the cultivation yi chen possessed now, would he have needed to resort to such a decisive and tragic method to seek justice for the deceased?

    "brother xu is indeed admirable, but that is not my path."

    "i hope ''ten thousand transformations true origin great qi'' will take my true technique to a higher level."

    thinking of the soon-to-be-obtained "ten thousand transformations true origin great qi," yi chen couldn''t help but feel slightly uplifted.

    to advance to the twelfth level of true technique as soon as possible, after slaying those three thousand infant ghost spirits, he even suppressed the urge to continue improving the "yin yang cave divine pupil technique."

    "next, zhang san."

    "someone, bring this man to me; just hearing his name irks me."

    playing the whole act to completion, yi chen still had to diligently carry on with the play, even after uncovering the truth about tianfeng prefecture.

    the interrogations continued.

    .....

    .....

    and so another day passed.

    that day, yi chen did not make any other moves, but methodically collected information, interrogating those evildoers.

    this allowed the major families, who were closely watching yi chen''s actions, to relax their anxious hearts slightly.

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    the third day.

    miao zi brought a small goldfish to yi chen''s side.

    this caused his expression to ripple with shock.

    he knew the time had come.

    this was the signal he had agreed upon with madam shuang.

    it meant that feng linsu''s forces had arrived nearby.

    yi chen pushed open the window, and a gust of cold wind poured into the room.

    at that moment, snowflakes had unexpectedly started to fall from the sky.

    master li, with his neck shrunken, carrying a jug of warm wine, knocked on yi chen''s door.

    "sir, this year''s sudden spring cold is truly bizarre, bringing snow. it''s cold out; please have some of this year''s new wine to warm up before you continue your work."

    yi chen, dressed in light clothing, his physique robust, stood immobile in front of the window like an anchor amidst the waves.

    hearing master li''s words, yi chen turned around and flashed a grin, a white star twinkling at the corner of his mouth: "indeed, master li, it is getting cold."

    "gather all the forces of tianfeng prefecture''s peacekeeping division, we''re surrounding the huang family!"

    as these words were spoken, it was as if a thunderbolt had struck the sky. the wine jug in master li''s hand dropped to the floor. he knew that a change of power in tianfeng prefecture was imminent.

    the huang family was finished.

    although master li knew that the huang family was backed by prince seven, after a few days of interaction, he knew that the man before him, yi chen, always planned thoroughly before acting.

    the forces sent out by the peacekeeping division had already been recalled by yi chen under the guise of enforcing discipline the day before.

    in the time it takes for a pot of tea to steep, all the troops were fully decked in armor, regrouped, and set out toward the huang residence.

    on their way, some people''s faces turned pale at the sight of the procession and melted away into the crowd. yi chen turned a blind eye to this, and before long, they had surrounded the huang residence tightly.

    standing again beneath the huang family''s archway, yi chen raised his voice and enunciated clearly, "a family that accumulates good deeds will reap continued blessings."

    "the words are good, but the people, they do not match these words."

    with a burst of golden force, the large archway collapsed with a thunderous crash.

    the snow fell even heavier now.

    creak.

    the grand doors of the huang family''s estate opened.

    family head huang walked out with a gloomy face.

    "sir, what is the meaning of this? have i offended you in any way?" s§×arch* the n?vel_fire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "the world is large, and i cannot afford to offend you, but some can. do not mistake my intentions."

    an old slick was always an old slick, and right from the start, he framed yi chen''s actions as a retaliatory attack.

    yi chen was not annoyed by this but simply chuckled: "family head speaks well!"

    as he spoke, yi chen climbed the steps, his true technique surging, his left arm swelling enormously and turning a golden color as a dragon-shaped force appeared in the palm of his hand.

    there was no reasoning in a prevailing wind.

    yi chen chose to act directly!

    boom!

    family head huang''s face showed terror as he desperately tried to muster his mana to form a four-sided green wind shield, but it was no match for yi chen''s current strength.

    he only felt an overwhelming force piercing through the mana shield, attacking him like a relentless disease, advancing toward him.

    hiss.

    the sleeves family head huang was pressing against the shield suddenly burst into shreds of cloth, and then the shield shattered, the residual force from the strike hitting him in the chest and sending him flying backward into the wall behind him, and then ricocheted out, vomiting a mouthful of blood in the process.

    with one strike, yi chen defeated family head huang, and the spirits of the peacekeeping division rose tremendously, with many displaying frenzied excitement on their faces.

    "surround the huang residence completely, not even a chicken or a dog shall escape. any who disobey will be put to death without mercy!"

    "i''ll have a chat with family head huang."

    yi chen indifferently took a black cloak from master li''s hands and strode into the huang residence. with a wave of his hand, the grand red doors closed instantly.

    "sir, i was wrong."

    "if you have any demands, please just state them clearly." family head huang struggled to his feet, bowing his head to conceal the fierce look in his eyes.

 Chapter 187 Domination Kings Power and My Way of Divine Might!_2

    "family head, your offenses are severe. i have discovered that many of the population disappearance cases in tianfeng prefecture are related to your huang family or forces connected to your huang family,""these pieces of evidence and testimonies are quite unfavorable to your huang family."

    "family head, what do you say i should do?" yi chen smiled as he walked up to the huang family head, his oppressive stature forcing the latter to involuntarily retreat three steps.

    "do you know who stands behind my huang family?"

    "who?"

    "prince yue jinyi."

    "my huang family is but one of the prince''s legs, and even then, a trivial calf at that."

    "would you truly offend prince yue for the sake of some weeds-like lowly commoners?" remembering the prince behind him, the huang family head straightened up again in his speech.

    "impressive, the huang family head truly has a loyal and righteous heart. i like people like you."

    "then let yue jinyi come and talk to me; let me see if this leg of yours carries enough weight in yue jinyi''s eyes!"

    another punch thundered out, and the huang family head, who had just straightened his back, hunched over once again.

    ...

    ...

    two hours later, an attendant came to report and handed over a gilded invitation.

    "sir, the seventh prince has sent someone to invite you to a gathering at heaven fragrance colors tower."

    yi chen looked up at the snowflakes filling the sky, opening his hand to catch one, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

    "at last, he comes."

    earlier, yi chen had given lady shuang a simple task: to go to a hidden location outside the city to meet up with the arriving feng linsu and others.

    at that time, he would take the opportunity to make a move against the huang family, compelling prince yue to leave jinyi city to come to the rescue.

    in this way, he avoided clashing directly with prince yue, and the resistance feng linsu and the others faced when acting would be much less.

    even if they didn''t find the underground palace, there would still be room to maneuver officially.

    after all, it is reasonable for the peace preservation department to turn jinyi city upside down chasing a demon that fled there, an action also for the safety of prince yue.

    yi chen''s actions were not pointless, but were filled with understanding human relationships and choices.

    if you owe someone a favor, you need to think more considerately for them.

    for instance,

    what if you had an urgent matter that couldn''t be pushed off, and you needed to take leave for a trip, but your boss definitely wouldn''t approve? what should you do?

    some people are quite stubborn and inflexible, directly applying for leave and then leaving regardless.

    others choose to leave first and then make a private call to their boss to plead for understanding.

    the first option is clearly the choice of a scholar, not considering others; you might feel relieved, but if the boss approves your leave and something goes awry, the responsibility is all on their head. how are they supposed to help you?

    surely, they would deal with you according to the rules.

    the second approach is more astute; by being absent without leave, all responsibility rests upon you. as long as everything is arranged and nothing goes wrong, how the matter is handled is still up to the boss. you didn''t even go through the leave procedure, who can say you were absent? just internally resolve it~

    when asking for a favor, one must maintain the right attitude and learn to consider more for others, to eliminate their concerns to the greatest extent.

    even with feng linsu personally coming, yi chen still could not be certain of his thoughts.

    therefore, only by minimizing feng linsu''s concerns could xu xiaoxun''s wish have a greater chance of being realized.

    attention to detail determines success or failure; for the sake of helping xu xiaoxun, yi chen also put in a lot of effort. continue reading at empire

    ...

    ...

    at the top floor of heaven fragrance colors tower.

    a young man in a golden python robe sipped his drink while watching the snowflakes tumbling outside. s~ea??h the nov§×lf~ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "your highness, do you think yi chengzi will back down?"

    a stunningly beautiful girl in a black gauze dress standing behind the seventh prince couldn''t help but ask.

    "hei feng, you have followed this prince for so long, so today i will teach you something useful."

    "every person has a weakness, and with a weakness, we can take care of them."

    "everyone has a price."

    "if he wants silver, we''ll give him silver; if he wants beauty, well, aren''t you here?"

    "this man surrounded the huang family but did not attack, isn''t he just trying to force me to show myself and sell his evidence at a good price?"

    the seventh prince''s hand caressed the girl''s shapely posterior a little too firmly as he smiled warmly.

    watching the young girl grimace in pain, the seventh prince''s expression suddenly lit up with excitement.

    "your highness, what if this person demands an exorbitant price?" the girl said, enduring the pain.

    "what i give him, he may accept, but he cannot demand it himself, do you understand?" the seventh prince''s hand became mischievous, ushering the girl into his embrace and beginning his indiscretions.

    for a moment, the top floor was filled with the sound of heavy breathing.

    the two figures gradually overlapped each other.

    dragging the family head huang, limp like a dead dog, by one leg, yi chen soared into the sky and soon arrived at the top floor of the heaven-scented beauty tower.

    the sight of two bodies entangled together shocked him on the spot.

    "awesome, awesome."

    by now, he had recognized the identity of the girl, wasn''t she phoenix fairy, known as the number one beauty of tianfeng prefecture?

    this person was the daughter of a high official in tianfeng prefecture, known for her ethereal beauty and purity. yi chen had ''accidentally'' seen her portrait while perusing the classics.

    "your highness, please continue, don''t mind me."

    "i''m in no rush."

    at this time, feng linsu was probably beginning his move. yi chen naturally wasn''t in a hurry. he casually tossed family head huang aside, sat down boldly in front of the seat, and started pouring himself a drink, occasionally glancing over.

    hmm, indeed, she was the dream lover of many fine men in tianfeng prefecture.

    the bike you''re reluctant to ride, others stand up and pedal~

    "haha, master yi truly is an interesting character. if you like her, i can give her to you, how''s that?" seeing yi chen''s gaze, the seventh prince burst into laughter.

    yi chen: "...," riding a shared bike home is immoral.

    "what are you talking about, your highness? i''m a reader of the ''tao te ching.''"yi chen politely refused, not wanting to become a fellow traveler with the seventh prince.

    ten minutes later.

    with the retreat of the uninvolved, only yi chen and the seventh prince remained on the top floor.

    "master yi, let''s speak plainly. with such a large business under family head huang, it''s inevitable that he has some troublemakers who secretly engage in illegal activities. could you possibly look the other way for me?"

    "this is a little token of my appreciation for our meeting; i hope you will accept it."

    the seventh prince smiled and produced a promissory note, waving it and then igniting it with mana.

    it was the very note promising two hundred thousand taels that yi chen had previously written to family head huang.

    "give me a nod, master, and after the fact, an additional three hundred thousand taels will come."

    the seventh prince cheerfully poured a cup of wine and pushed it towards yi chen.

    "your highness, look at the weather. suddenly, it''s snowing heavily. i feel tianfeng prefecture has been wronged, and quite grievously at that~"

    yi chen did not touch the wine poured by the seventh prince but directed his gaze out the window instead.

    "is the snow so heavy it could bury me?"

    "master yi, how about fifty thousand taels? i''m quite sincere," the seventh prince''s smile faded slightly, and he leaned forward.

    "not enough!" yi chen shook his head.

    "master yi is a smart man, and a smart man shouldn''t act foolishly. after all, they''re just some lowly people, like weeds, mown down only to grow back again. family head huang has earned quite a few achievements for me, and i''d like to ask for grace on his behalf. it wouldn''t make things difficult for you,

    you just need to turn a blind eye, and i will shift the blame to another family."

    "if master yi agrees, i''ll add six hundred thousand taels of silver, how about that?"

    "still not enough!" yi chen shook his head again.

    just then, a plume of thick smoke rose over tianfeng prefecture, coming from the direction of the peacekeeping office.

    "master yi, you really lack cunning. look, seems like the peacekeeping office''s archives are on fire. maybe all evidence and confessions have burned," the seventh prince laughed loudly at the sight and continued,

    "there''s only three hundred thousand taels left now. so, what do you say?"

    "drink this cup, and you remain a friend of mine."

    "i wonder, does master yi wish to be a friend or an enemy of mine?"

    "it''s better not to defy heaven, great taoist. you have a promising future ahead of you."

    yi chen, looking at the self-satisfied seventh prince, couldn''t help but burst into laughter.

    "what a domineering stance, your highness! sadly, you don''t represent the heavens, nor does your yue family represent an eternal dynasty."

    "even if it were the heavens themselves, if they wish to press down on me, heh heh."

    "oh? the heavens wish to press down on you, what does master yi intend to do?

    to be the absolute power, jinyi on hand, commanding the world''s authority!" yue jinyi suddenly raised his voice by several octaves, slamming the wine cup onto the table.

    "i dare stand against heaven, in this corrupt world, my tao is divine might!" yi chen spoke firmly, suddenly rising, not giving an inch.

 Chapter 188 Transforming Demon Heaven Technique, The Seventh Princes Dead End!

    "how bold!"the seventh prince also suddenly stood up, his body exuding a menacing aura as his pupils abruptly turned into vertical slits.

    "mister yi, as a prince who now but lies low like a dragon in the abyss, i cherish talent most of all, which is why i have tolerated you time and again. how dare you be so presumptuous!"

    an indescribable malice spread from the seventh prince, making even yi chen, with his current cultivation, feel a slight chill in his heart.

    just as yi chen was preparing to engage in some verbal sparring, aiming to utter a few tactful words to buy time, a sudden black column of light appeared in the sky, connecting earth to heaven.

    an odd fluctuation spread between heaven and earth.

    this unexpected change made the conciliatory words he was about to say stick in his throat.

    what''s the point of bargaining now!

    he had been putting up with this cur for a long time.

    surely, this anomaly indicated that feng linsu and the others had found the underground palace, a scene triggered by the activation of the formation.

    unable to contain his normally gentle and amiable temperament any longer, yi chen began to spew insults: "your highness, you are indeed cruel and deceitful, but short on cleverness. a lurking dragon you compare yourself to? at best, you''re nothing more than a venomous snake living underground." experience new tales on empire

    "you dog-offspring! die!"

    "pure yang holy seal, open for me!"

    before the words finished, the white crystalline light inside yi chen''s niwan palace slowly dissolved, with heavenly light descending and opening up a large hole in the rooftop of heavenly fragrance beauty tower, as a six-meter-tall figure of a towering daoist appeared between heaven and earth.

    with yi chen''s golden inner qi stirring, the dragon and tiger tattoos on his body also suddenly came to life.

    at this moment, how could the seventh prince not realize he had been lured away from his lair? his face suddenly underwent a drastic change.

    he fancied himself as a man of countless schemes, having stolen yi chen''s home, never expecting his own base to be compromised.

    "yi chengzi, you bastard, what exactly have you done?"

    "what exactly do you know?"

    the seventh prince, driven to madness by hatred, no longer bothered to conceal himself, his body''s black demonic qi shook as he attempted to escape towards jinyi city.

    that black column of light was a grand formation he had specially arranged to guard the entrance of the underground palace. he had left the ghost elder in charge of the main formation before he left; now, the triggering of the black column indicated that the formation was not yet broken and there was still room for maneuver.

    if the secrets of the underground palace were to be exposed, he would be completely finished.

    at this moment, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he could not understand how the highly secretive location of his underground palace had been exposed.

    "damn it! damn it!"

    the seventh prince''s mana vibrated as he attempted to flee, but how could yi chen let him do as he wished?

    in fact, in terms of intelligence and strategy alone, xu xiaoxun far exceeded the seventh prince. however, some people are born lucky, cloaked in a layer of authority, and by relying on brute force, they manage to suppress xu xiaoxun completely.

    no way around it¡ªthe world is just unfair.

    it''s like someone who has the fortune of the heavens, illiterate and inexperienced, yet manages to enter a state-owned enterprise, and with quotable quips, commands the world stage, suppressing a host of diligent workers.

    "slash! slash! slash!"

    the seventh prince wanted to flee, but how could yi chen satisfy his wish? his golden inner qi surged, extending along the edge of the dragon-slaying sword, transforming into the roaring true form of a dragon and tiger.

    "yi chengzi, you''re courting death!" the seventh prince, hassled beyond tolerance, turned back and unleashed malevolent demonic qi in waves, dissipating the golden sword light as he cursed loudly.

    it must be said, although the seventh prince was dangerously insane, the cultivation he possessed was unquestionably genuine. despite yi chen possessing the unplayed card of the raging golden move, the seventh prince had no intention to engage fully with yi chen, as he only wanted to return to jinyi city as fast as possible. for a time, neither could prevail over the other.

    the seventh prince''s speed of flight was significantly slowed down by yi chen, who clung to him like a stubborn piece of taffy.

    by this time, the giant black column in the distance had largely dissipated, indicating that the formation could not hold out much longer.

    seeing this, yue jinyi also couldn''t help but quietly regret his carelessness.

    he had been too complacent.

    at this critical juncture of his demonic transformation true technique, he actually didn''t want to part with the sacrifices bred in the underground palace, planning to cut off all external ties and consume the sacrifices to completely advance to the ninth layer of the true person realm. sear?h the novel?ire(.)ne*t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    at worst, he could have pushed the huang family and a few subordinates out to take the blame. who would have expected to end up in this situation today?

    "damn it, just seven more days, and i would be able to break through!"

    "yi chengzi, you won''t die a good death!"

    if sheer hatred could kill, yi chen would have been torn to pieces by yue jinyi''s fury by now.

    inside the underground palace nurtured a demonic heart, which he had incessantly irrigated with fresh blood. even now, intending to flee, he had to take this demonic heart with him.

    his arduous efforts had only just managed to cultivate this faintly alive demonic heart¡ªdiscovered accidentally in a demonic land¡ªto its current state.

    this was the cornerstone of his future competition for the pinnacle, the hope to stand shoulder to shoulder with true monarchs.

    if he were to give up now, unable to integrate with the demonic heart, with the underground palace''s secrets exposed, he would become as a dog without a home, with no chance of finding another heart like this to ascend.

    fifty years, a whole fifty years of dedication.

    watching the faltering black column in the distance, the seventh prince gritted his teeth, his face flushed with a hint of crimson, and with a grand gesture slammed his hand onto his chest, instantly spewing out a cloud of blood from his mouth and gaining a burst of speed as he flew towards jinyi city.

    he had to get to the demonic heart before the grand formation''s destruction.

    this was his only chance to turn the tables.

    after all, with the world in upheaval right now, everyone for themselves, as long as he could manage to survive, fully integrate the demonic heart, and on the day he could stand parallel to a true monarch, he could very well stir up storms again.

    with a swoosh,

    the seventh prince''s figure accelerated dramatically, leaving yi chen behind, and he quickly flew off towards the direction of the black column.

 Chapter 188 Transforming Demon Heaven Technique, The Seventh Princes Dead End!_2

    "boom!""thinking of running away?"

    although the seventh prince''s strength greatly exceeded yi chen''s expectations, and the prince, who was deemed mediocre in the intelligence reports, had such cultivation, yi chen was not without countermeasures.

    when a plan has progressed to this point, the more the enemy wants to do something, the more you should prevent it.

    the dazzling golden pattern at the core of his golden core suddenly dimmed, and a faint mist of blood emerged from the pores all over yi chen''s body¡ªit was the reappearance of his space-breaking ability. countless glimmers in the world also gathered towards his body, forming a vortex of airflow.

    "damn it, as if nobody else knows some kind of acceleration secret technique!"

    with this power boost, yi chen''s figure once again caught up to the seventh prince who was fleeing at breakneck speed.

    amongst the howling wind, a large grinning face appeared to the left of yue jinyi, revealing a wide row of pearly white teeth.

    "your highness, it''s quite a refreshing breeze~"

    "flying so fast, your highness remains calm and composed, though your face is a bit red from the exertion. your cultivation has reached the pinnacle; how many years have you cultivated, may i ask?"

    an irritating voice came from the side, making the seventh prince feel as miserable as a dog.

    the blush from using the demonic blood escape technique suddenly darkened as well.

    "yi chengzi, i curse your mother!"

    "bounce back! your highness may want to mind your own mother''s honor!" yi chen coldly sneered and suddenly unleashed another burst of sword qi.

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    think you can slip away? don''t even think about it before you''ve killed this daoist.

    once feng linsu and the others break through the formation and complete the evidence gathering, they will surely come at full speed.

    this is the real advantage on my side!

    while restraining yue jinyi, yi chen once again demonstrated an array of verbal gymnastics.

    the artistic language from the mysterious region of zaun made the seventh prince''s eyes split with rage.

    even before his demonic powers were fully formed, he had never been insulted like this.

    "aaargh!"

    "yi chengzi, you shameless wretch, i will kill you!" yue jinyi, both furious and anxious, suddenly slapped his chest and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, again urging the secret technique to increase his speed on top of the already enhanced pace.

    to follow or not to follow, that is the question.

    yi chen chose to follow.

    "burn gold! burn gold!"

    with a silent roar inside, the last two golden patterns swirling atop yi chen''s golden core suddenly dissolved.

    he pursued in the direction of yue jinyi.

    the acceleration from his space-breaking ability could not be stacked unless he used techniques like the soul ignition technique; yi chen chose just to keep up.

    since the seventh prince was heading towards jinyi city, and having used such a secret technique twice already, his cultivation body had suffered no light injury; yi chen had done enough.

    although he was inspired by xu xiaoxun''s spirit, yi chen still habitually kept a card up his sleeve.

    if it wasn''t a matter of life and death, he would never resort to the soul ignition technique.

    "because, what i trust the most, is still myself!"

    after several moments of internal struggle, yi chen still made such a choice.

    the seventh prince''s cultivation was profound and not inferior to his own; even if soul ignition technique could give him a chance to kill the prince, it could severely damage his cultivation body.

    if an unforeseen incident occurred later, he would truly have no cards left to play.

    jinyi city was just a few hundred miles away from tianfeng prefecture. as the black pillar of light swayed precariously, a streak of black and red blood-light plunged into the pillar with a speed that feng linsu and the others failed to react to and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

    after the seventh prince plunged into the black column of light, the shaky formation seemed to stabilize once more.

    seconds later, yi chen arrived in hot pursuit.

    he saw feng linsu and a female general in red armor furiously pouring mana onto a black membrane, surrounded by a dozen mysterious cultivators in dark armor holding compass magic artifacts.

    the membrane was the source of the black pillar of light.

    it was located right in the grand hall of yue jinyi''s residence.

    "yi taoist! you''ve arrived just...," feng linsu began to say something but was interrupted by yi chen.

    "no rush, continue what you''re doing, i''ll take action in five seconds!"

    everyone: "....."

    with the dragon-slaying sword''s tip pointed straight at the sky, yi chen grasped the hilt with both hands, starting to strike a pose.

    he wasn''t trying to show off or be frugal with words.

    there was genuinely no time, for the effects of his burn gold were about to end.

    charging up was for a more powerful punch; for every second he stood motionless, the power of his strike doubled, up to a maximum of five seconds for a five-fold increase.

    yi chen was preparing to give the seventh prince a little bit of shock from his charged attack!

    this was yi chen''s second supernatural ability gained after breaking through a realm.

    fighting wasn''t particularly useful, but in circumstances like these it couldn''t be more fitting.

    the first second.

    lian hongying, the wife of feng linsu, looked at the tall daoist raising the dragon-slaying sword in front of the black luminescent membrane, her scalp numbing at the sight of his back muscles and the full-body dragon tiger divine patterns.

    unable to help herself, she asked feng linsu, "husband, what is that yi taoist doing?"

    the formation master brought by feng linsu, along with his other subordinates, also turned their gazes toward feng linsu.

    feng linsu touched his nose and didn''t say anything.

    the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

    yi chen also felt quite embarrassed, but he couldn''t make any movement while gathering power or it would be ruined, so he had to continue.

    at that moment, a second later, a strange force suddenly emerged within yi chen''s body, causing the tip of the dragon-slaying sword to tremble ever so slightly. a gusty wind began to pick up within a kilometer radius of yi chen.

    the second second, under the summoning of the strange force that suddenly emerged within yi chen, the gusty wind grew more violent, sweeping up all kinds of debris within a kilometer into the sky.

    the third second, lian hongying''s astonished voice suddenly rang out, "is this the aura of a divine ability seed? it seems both familiar and strange,

    this yi taoist''s divine ability seed is particularly peculiar.

    how did he come to comprehend such a strange divine ability seed?"

    "and what a useless divine ability seed it is."

    "husband, no wonder you said yi taoist is a prodigy, he truly is astonishing and defies conventional logic."

    regarding the anomaly caused by yi chen, lian hongying obviously misunderstood, almost slipping and calling it a useless treasure. s§×ar?h the novel(f~)ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    feng linsu coughed, "wife, yi taoist has already deployed his trump card. with this mysterious reinforcement, we can break the formation forcefully. we shall strike together shortly."

    as soon as he spoke, everyone''s expressions grew solemn as they began to channel their mana, ready to strike.

    the fourth second.

    the anomaly changed again¡ªonly to see a streak of golden light appearing at the tip of the dragon-slaying sword. under the effect of the strange force within yi chen, it grew increasingly brilliant.

    the violent wind within a kilometer had turned into a hurricane. it was only because the people present were high-level cultivators who could suppress the effects with their mana that they weren''t swept into the sky.

    lian hongying''s expression had already undergone a slight change, quietly communicating something to feng linsu.

    the fifth second.

    it was like a tornado destroying a parking lot.

    the buildings within a kilometer radius were directly shattered and swept away; even the ground had three layers scoured off. yi chen finally could move.

    at that moment, he felt his body swell unbearably as streaks of strange force, like little mice, scurried within his body, swelling into large lumps that roamed all over him.

    he held the dragon-slaying sword, as if carrying an abyss on his back. under the effect of the strange force, the dragon-shaped divine pattern, which had only roamed his back, climbed up to his arms.

    for a moment, the dragon and tiger merged.

    his already astonishingly exaggerated arms swelled even further.

    "ah! strike now!" yi chen could no longer hold back.

    the dragon-slaying sword dropped.

    the golden light at the sword''s tip transformed into a hundred-meter golden sword that suddenly slashed toward the black light column.

    the ferocious hurricane, as if attracted, also slammed fiercely into the black light column.

    feng linsu and his wife were already primed to act.

    "azure sky saber!"

    "rainbow piercing the sun!"

    a supremely condensed emerald saber qi, like a river, ruthlessly struck the black light column above the sky.

    close behind it was the massive shadow of a red-tasseled spear.

    as three tremendous forces descended, the black light column flickered fiercely before vanishing into nothing.

    the grand formation that prince seven had painstakingly maintained over the years instantly shattered.

    the ground exploded, creating a huge pit, and a bronze gateway appeared before everyone''s eyes.

    besides that, there was a gaunt corpse seated at the bronze gateway, bearing a faint resemblance to prince seven''s visage.

    "prince seven is dead?"

    just as everyone was internally shocked, a massive heart, like a tumor, squeezed out from within the bronze gateway, emitting a howl not unlike a human''s.

    prince seven''s face was ambiguously visible on the heart.

    he had actually abandoned his fleshly body to support the formation, while his soul escaped into the gateway and merged into the demonic heart.

    fleshy sprouts emerged from the heart, and in an instant, a ten-meter monster stood between heaven and earth.

 Chapter 191 The Second Mutation, the Sky Falcon Reemerges, Down! Down! Down! Return (First Update)

    ```"motherfucker, again?"

    sensing the sudden emergence of malice, yi chen felt a jolt through his body, his golden inner qi crazily surged in response.

    in the blink of an eye, the world transformed.

    day turned into night.

    you couldn''t see your hand in front of your face.

    tens of thousands of purple meteors streaked across the sky, far more numerous than during the first celestial change.

    however, compared to the previous change, the meteors tearing through the sky this time were not unusual in size, only that their number was more than tenfold.

    just as the meteors reappeared, an odd fluctuation suddenly transmitted from above the heavens, an elemental storm abruptly arose, with various lights flashing as if the world was roaring in anger, resisting the invasion of the meteors.

    more than ninety percent of the meteors were ground into nothingness within the storm, yet many abnormal meteors still broke through the siege.

    at that moment, in da yue''s lands, including both the capitals and thirteen circuits.

    one hundred and eight dazzling orbs of light suddenly rose into the sky, interacting and drawing each other, firing chains of light that connected and entwined, instantly forming a massive net of light.

    at the same time, in various major sects'' ancestral grounds and secret places.

    buddhist light, daoist magic, rivers of sword qi, and torrents of mana surged skywards, intercepting the suddenly appearing meteors.

    myriad hues illuminated the night sky.

    despite numerous blockades, several hundred purple meteors still managed to break through and then vanished from sight.

    yi chen''s gaze was fixedly trained on the sky, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

    he clearly saw among the exploding purple meteors, some contained peculiar purple tokens, while others did not carry any objects.

    this process lasted only a few breaths.

    then the daylight returned once again, and everything went back to normal.

    the intense malice that had filled the world also dissipated.

    the gentle evening light once again fell upon yi chen''s face.

    by his side flowed the tranquil lan cang river.

    a peaceful and harmonious scene.

    however, yi chen''s heart was anything but calm, feeling as if it was engulfed by tumultuous waves.

    "fuck, what''s going on this time?"

    "it hasn''t been that long, and the world is changing again."

    recalling the recent change, yi chen couldn''t help but feel his scalp tingle; the previous blood-red meteors had been disgusting enough, and it was uncertain what changes these purple meteors would bring to this world.

    a strong sense of crisis emerged in his heart.

    yi chen considered the two celestial changes and he had a vague feeling that the cause of these changes might not be the rigid alteration of the world''s laws but an invasion of some alien force.

    clearly, this world was on the defensive.

    of course, there was also good news: the higher-ups were already thinking of ways to contain the situation and were not completely powerless.

    that previous rise of one hundred and eight dazzling orbs of light must have been the higher-ups'' response to the situation.

    "still not strong enough," yi chen sighed softly in his heart, his pride from breaking through to the eleventh layer of the true technique completely dissipating.

    in these chaotic times, to protect the lives of his junior brothers and to make hidden dragon temple prosper, his current cultivation level was far from sufficient.

    "deep red points, i need more deep red points."

    a fierce light flashed in yi chen''s eyes as he glanced at the map and continued to forge ahead with determination.

    ...

    ...

    jiangbei circuit ¡¤ sleeping moon mountain.

    three men and a woman, all wearing smiles, were climbing the mountain.

    the men were dressed as scholars, while the woman, who had her hair done up high in a chignon secured with gilded hairpins, was clearly someone''s wife.

    the spring rain was incessant, and the mountain path slippery; not being careful, the handsome, fair-faced scholar walking at the front tumbled over, falling flat on his face.

    the others burst into laughter, including the beautiful woman, who covered her mouth to conceal her chuckles, causing ripples of amusement.

    "brother ximen, have you been overworking yourself recently?" hua zixu, who was at the rear supporting his graceful wife, could not help but mockingly laugh.

    "spring rain is as precious as oil, it tires the ox that tills the soil."

    "brother ximen falls, sending laughter flowing over the hills," ying baijue, walking in the middle, shook his head and began to recite a poem.

    "bravo, what a poem!" everyone clapped and cheered.

    the fair-faced scholar who had fallen didn''t mind the teasing; with an easygoing air, he dusted off his clothes, flashed an embarrassed smile at the woman, then bowed to the crowd, pleading for mercy.

    "brother ying, your poetic talent is unparalleled. but today, i happened upon a fine verse, too; i invite you all to give it your critique."

    "without bamboo, one tends towards vulgarity; without meat, one grows thin."

    "neither vulgar nor thin, what we need is bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork fat," ximen coyly smiled at the woman, then recited aloud with a charming smile.

    "marvelous! such poetic flair! brother ximen, you truly deserve to be hailed the foremost of the three great talents of yanggu county!"

    "well stir-fried indeed! with the season right, it''s perfect for bamboo shoots with pork fat."

    "fire up the oil, cook it hot and fast, that''s when it tastes best~"

    hua zixu laughed heartily, giving a thumbs up, then turned to his wife and asked, "don''t you agree, my dear?"

    the beautiful woman just nodded with arching brows, not uttering a word, her swan-like neck blushing a shade reminiscent of the sunset''s crimson glory.

    as they leisurely continued their ascent, reciting verses, a cheerful mood filled the air.

    as the group climbed higher, a thin mist rose up alongside the pouring rain on the mountain path.

    they were looking for a place to take shelter from the rain, when a girl holding an oil-paper umbrella emerged from a side path, dressed in white, her body exuding a captivating fragrance like that of lilacs.

    the girl in white had a delicate and fair complexion, appearing to be around sixteen or seventeen years old.

    "are you all looking for a place to escape the rain?" continue your journey with empire

    "with the downpour upon us, meeting by chance means we''re somewhat fated. my humble dwelling is not far from here. if you wouldn''t mind, you could follow me back to take shelter, and have some tea and a simple meal."

    ``` s§×ar?h the ¦Çovelfire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 191 The Second Mutation, the Sky Falcon Reemerges, Down! Down! Down! Return (First Update)_2

    the young girl smiled sweetly, and a strange fragrance entered the noses of the few men, which was very pleasant. the three scholars even more so felt the girl before them was cheerful and amiable, making her approachable.therefore, the group of travelers immediately chose to follow the young girl.

    along the mountain path and stone steps, every so often there were stone tables and chairs built for people to rest.

    on one side of the high mountain road, sat a tall youth in a brocade robe, sitting upright. s§×ar?h the n?velfire(.)net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    the youth had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, with nothing on him, unarmed, his strong pectoral muscles pushing up the front of his clothes as his gaze was profound.

    if this person was not yi chen, who else could it be?

    he was running towards hidden dragon temple, and today as he passed by mount sleepy moon, miao zi''s nose twitched, saying there was a big find nearby, it smelled the fragrance of a spiritual medicine~

    hence, yi chen took miao zi up the mountain, letting miao zi dig on its own, while he rested at a nearby stone table.

    "the taoist temple''s spiritual beast has taken charge early, huh~"

    "miao zi, not bad~"

    yi chen glanced in the direction where miao zi had left, and when there was no one around, he took out an illustrated taoist scripture and started to flip through it with critique.

    within the cover page of the taoist scripture, another universe existed, boldly capturing the sight with the eight characters: "the bamboo shoots and meat stir-fry."

    as yi chen was immersed in his critique, a noise interrupted his reading. yi chen''s eyebrows raised, and he saw a young lady holding an oil-paper umbrella climbing up the steps, glancing in his direction.

    the young lady in white hesitated for a moment, gently stepped forward, and walked towards yi chen.

    whether herding four sheep or releasing five, it''s all fate; she decided to have an extra meal today.

    "excuse me, sir, may i know your honorable name?"

    yi chen has always been amicable and said elegantly, "my brothers on the road have been gracious, giving me the nickname ''somersault kite.'' you can call me somersault kite, i don''t even use my real name."

    "young lady, there might be villains popping up anywhere on this mountain, you must be careful."

    "these days, the world is quite poor."

    the young lady in white blushed with a shy smile, "how could there be so many bad people, sir, at first glance, you seem generous, a really good person. it''s better to meet by chance rather than an invitation, and now that it''s almost mealtime, why don''t you come with me to my house for a simple meal?"

    "young lady, you''re really sweet-talking me; somersault kite will follow you on this trip. by the way, how many people are in your family?"

    "about five or six people."

    "oh, that''s not a small number."

    an exotic scent wafted over, and yi chen ''confusedly'' stood up and followed the young lady in white as the group began to walk along a small path on the mountain road.

    after about an hour, passing through a dense mist, an exquisite residence suddenly appeared before everyone.

    the young lady in white went to the red door, gently lifted the copper ring on the door, and knocked softly: "mother, open the door quickly, look who i have brought."

    "a full five people!"

    soon after, with a creak, the door opened wide.

    a beautiful woman appeared before the crowd, draped in a white fox fur and wearing a red half-breasted skirt, revealing half of her globe, very tempting.

    due to yi chen''s tall stature, he saw even more of the scenery compared to others.

    behind her followed a black-clothed old servant and a blue-clothed crone, expressionless.

    "i didn''t know distinguished guests were coming. lian''er, your father and your elder brother have gone out, they will be back soon, it''s cold outside, let the guests sit inside first, we will all eat together later."

    in that moment of stepping through the courtyard gate, the door creaked shut, and ximen and the others suddenly regained their lucidity.

    they only remembered that it was raining, and they followed a pretty girl called lian''er to her house to shelter from the rain.

    ximen, hua zixu, and ying baijue saw the beauty in red, and couldn''t help but widen their eyes, astonished to find such a beautiful woman in the wilderness.

    the men immediately greeted the beautiful woman. ximen, especially cunning, casually mentioned his wealth and played with a piece of jade worth a fortune that he carried with him.

    only hua zixu''s wife had an uneasy expression. she suddenly felt something was wrong, thought for a moment, but in the end, said nothing.

    "what would the guests like to eat? we don''t have many choices in the wilderness, and it can''t compare to the city. don''t be too hard on this humble woman." the beauty in red said with a light laugh, hiding her face behind a fan.

    the ripples she caused were even more exaggerated than those of hua zixu''s wife.

    the guests hastily began to order dishes.

    hua zixu: "bamboo shoots and meat stir-fry."

    ying baijue: "oil-braised green vegetables, mapo tofu."

    hua zixu''s wife: "braised fox meat."

    ximen: "whatever sister suggests is fine with me."

    yi taoist: "red date buns, madam, i eat a lot, i can have two of those big red date buns in one sitting."

    hearing what yi chen said, with a burst of laughter, ximen, who had just taken a sip of tea, couldn''t help but spray it out, causing a look of surprise from everyone. experience tales with empire

    ...

    ...

    half an hour later, the table was completely set.

    everyone''s requests were satisfied.

    by then, the beauty in red''s husband had also returned, short and stocky, looking somewhat dull, and next to him was a somewhat idiotic young man.

    this caused ximen''s fists to involuntarily clench tight; he looked at the young lady in white, then at the beauty in red, his joy evident on his face.

    "everyone is here."

    "let''s eat."

    the meal was unexpectedly delicious, and the guests started to eat heartily. the beautiful woman''s foolish son stared blankly, stubbornly clinging to a plate of vegetables.

    "what''s this?" ximen asked with ''concern.''

    "ah, my son, he became like this after he fell and hit his head when he was little." the beautiful woman said, teary-eyed, putting down her chopsticks, looking crestfallen.

    "madam, if you don''t mind, i can invite a good doctor in yang ancient city to treat your son." ximen, eyeing an opportunity, couldn''t help but speak up.

 Chapter 191 The Second Mutation, the Sky Falcon Reemerges, Down! Down! Down! Return (First Update)_3

    "mr. ximen, the kind of illness in your head can''t be cured by the quacks in the city; you need to open the skull and look at the lesion," yi chen mimed a watermelon-splitting gesture, "if i may be frank, i, the sky-turning falcon, am actually a physician, quite skilled in this field.""brother..." ximen started to speak but was cut off as the middle-aged man of average height abruptly began to chant something under his breath.

    "fall, fall, fall, fall, fall."

    clap clap clap clap.

    as soon as these words were uttered, four figures consequently fell down.

    only yi chen continued to eat with relish, which seemed quite incongruous. s§×arch* the n?velfire.n§×t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    at this moment, the middle-aged man put down his chopsticks, his pupils vanished, revealing only the whites of his eyes while the girl in white who had been chatting with the black-clad old servant twisted her neck a full one hundred and eighty degrees¡ªall eyes were intently focused on yi chen.

    "why are you all staring at me?" yi chen scooped up the plate of mapo tofu and shoveled the entire dish into his mouth, grinning and saying, "this dish of mapo tofu is really well made, although the sleeping draught added was a bit too much, which affected the taste."

    "cook me another plate, and add some arsenic¡ªthat will make it taste even spicier!"

    a white porcelain plate was passed to the lady in red.

    "you..."

    "you wha¡ªdamn it! who brought this bastard here? this man is a fraud, let''s take him down together," the middle-aged man''s expression abruptly changed, and the six old ghosts no longer hid their true forms, revealing their ghostly bodies.

    some''s nails suddenly grew long and black, some''s tongues kept stretching out, some''s arms extended like rubber¡ªa variety of tactics were employed as they all attacked yi chen.

    one second later.

    only the lady in red and the girl in white, xiao lian, lay on the ground; the rest had been hammered to death by yi chen.

    the foolish ghost naturally had its skull forcibly split open by yi chen, ''curing'' it.

    lacking a soul and intelligence, to be a ghost is to be a fool.

    "who... who exactly are you?" the lady in red asked, terrified.

    "me? i''m the sky-turning falcon! didn''t i say so? it was miss xiao lian who invited me here." yi chen''s hand saucily hooked up the chin of the lady in red, while his other hand patted the face of the girl in white, xiao lian, and sneered, "you''ve got some nerve."

    "but i have two questions: your cultivation is not weak, and the two old ghosts behind you even have the cultivation level of the qi refinement realm. why didn''t you just directly kill these people and instead resorted to drugging them?"

    "reporting to the lord, having... having people die in fear makes the meat taste bad. humans have human methods, ghosts have ghost methods. before we take lives, we always let people have a full meal, so they die in the joy of eating¡ªthat''s our secret recipe," said the lady in red in a stuttering voice, then glared hatefully at the white-clad female ghost.

    "okay, you do seem to have some rules. last question, how did you make this mapo tofu? why can''t i make it taste as good as yours?"

    "quick! reveal your secret recipe, or i''ll make living and dying equally difficult for you!"

    "and you, ghost in white, go make me a cold dish of ''green-seen-on-hand.'' stupid thing, ''green-seen-on-hand'' should be eaten cold to be natural!"

    with yi chen''s current level of cultivation, it''s not just a bit of worldly poison that poses no threat to him¡ªhe felt that even if it were one of the notorious poisons from the cultivation world entering his stomach, it would be just a dish.

    since the true technique had broken through to the eleventh layer, that had been the case. he could digest and absorb all kinds of exotic forces from the heavens and the earth; what was a mere poison to him?

    to his body, reformed by the true technique, it was all energy.

    perhaps even higher energy.

    at least to bodily poisons, yi chen was utterly fearless.

    a short while later, he personally conducted the last rites for the final two ghosts.

    his actions were swift, sending them off without pain.

    he finally learned the secret of the mapo tofu¡ªthree times thickening with the sauce~

    somewhere on the mountain trail of the sleeping moon mountain, a pavilion.

    hua zixu and a few others lay haphazardly on the ground.

    since hua zixu had eaten less, he had gradually regained consciousness at this time. he struggled to open his eyelids, only to see a tall figure standing before him, his back turned, the setting sun casting a golden rim around him, appearing quite mysterious.

    a strange black cat was lazily licking its paws beside the mysterious figure.

    "you''re awake. you were all bewitched just now," the figure in the golden light spoke softly.

    "thank you for saving our lives," consciousness returning, hua zixu couldn''t help but feel a chill run down his spine, and he quickly took out banknotes worth three thousand taels of silver from his bosom,

    "sir, this is all the silver i have on me. if you don''t disdain it, please come to my residence later. i, hua zixu, am willing to give up half of my family fortune as a gift to you."

    yi chen turned around, looking somewhat surprised at him. with a sweep of his large hand, the banknotes were instantly drawn into his grasp.

    "you are indeed grateful."

    enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

    "i saw you frequently offering dishes to your wife during the meal, you love your wife very much?"

    "indeed." hua zixu puffed out his chest.

    "in consideration of your silver, i shall bestow upon you a few words of golden advice before i leave."

    "i see a green light on your brow."

    "remember, do not casually invite friends to dine at your home."

    "nor should you casually invite your superiors to dine at your home."

    "do not let your neighbors enter your house casually."

    "if you have brothers, try not to let them stay under the same roof as your wife."

    "...."

    "if furniture breaks, don''t have it repaired, replace it with new ones."

    "do not casually take your wife out to drink with friends."

    "have you memorized these twenty-four rules?"

    "lastly, i''ll leave you with one more phrase."

    "though heads may turn white together, hands still on their swords, be extra cautious. the two friends by your side do not seem to be good people, especially that friend of yours named ximen."

    as soon as he finished speaking, yi chen picked up little miao and flew off into the distance.

    through mountains and rivers, traveling towards hidden dragon''s shore, the night deep with a thousand lights aglow.

    ten days had passed in the blink of an eye.

    under the full moon, hidden dragon temple was finally within sight.

    a surge of joy welled up in yi chen''s heart.

    after being away for several months, he was finally, finally back.

    on this journey, he had seen countless lights, but he knew that only the distant light was lit for him.

    what he didn''t know was that the hidden dragon temple was currently enveloped in a gloomy and depressing atmosphere.

 Chapter 193 Eight People, Eight Cranes, Schemes, The Daoist Priests Thoughts, Three Days Later.

    after a moment of thought, yi chen still took the jade dagger.qing yunzi made sense.

    although his junior brother''s cultivation level is not bad and is advancing rapidly, a genius who has not grown up is ultimately useless.

    with the jade dagger in his possession, it would be perfect to cut off the thoughts of those jackals outside.

    "alright, junior brother, what about qing feng and ming yue? have they awakened their spiritual senses?" yi chen changed the subject, turning the conversation toward his two adorable but silly junior brothers.

    "not yet, they''re still one step away. who knows when they will break through that last barrier. qing feng even broke his front leg recently."

    "broke his leg? what happened?" yi chen''s gaze turned icy.

    "it''s all thanks to the precedent you set, senior brother. qing feng imitated you and jumped from a height towards falling dragon pool, stating that he wanted to follow in your footsteps and practice diligently. however, he broke his leg right then and there."

    "if it weren''t for that clever boy secretly calling ming yue to wait for him below, and ming yue loudly calling for help afterward, i wouldn''t have arrived in time to fish him out," qing yunzi said somberly.

    yi chen: "..."

    "enough about that, junior brother, let me show you the gift your senior brother has brought you."

    yi chen smiled as he handed a storage ring to qing yunzi and explained how to use it.

    for a moment, qing yunzi was stunned by the banknotes inside the storage ring.

    "four hundred thousand taels, senior brother, you didn''t go robbing people, did you?" qing yunzi looked at him with a strange expression.

    yi chen immediately thumped qing yunzi on the head: "junior brother, i think it''s time your senior brother tested your cultivation."

    "let me tell you, robbers are always destitute. this money is all earned by your senior brother through legitimate means."

    "robbing people can only get you so much. think bigger. someday, your senior brother will show you what it means to make money."

    "once my cultivation level advances further and i have some spare time, our hidden dragon temple will also build a star-picking tower, set up a great formation, and join the ranks of the top sects in the world to establish a foundation for all eternity."

    "of course, we must eat our rice one bite at a time. for now, let''s set a small goal, like destroying the fire worship path and dominating mingguang prefecture!"

    in an instant, yi chen''s tone turned intensely cold, filled with murderous intent.

    for the small fire worship path to dare trample over his hidden dragon temple was simply overlooking taoist yi chengzi.

    "senior brother...."

    "leave this matter to me; don''t worry about it."

    "by the way, there are also two moon concealment pills in the storage ring i gave you, which can increase the chances of enlightenment. they''re high-quality goods from the stop killing sword hut. find a chance to administer them to qing feng and ming yue."

    "it''s late; you should go back. i''ll handle the fire worship path issue. do well in your practice. if you continue like this, even little miao will be a match for you." yi chen said with a smirk as he playfully tousled qing yunzi''s hair, messing up his hairpin.

    miao zi instantly sprung from the ground to yi chen''s shoulder, licked her paw, and cast a provocative glance at qing yunzi.

    all of a sudden, qing yunzi''s pupils sharply contracted. the self-satisfaction he felt from breaking through to the qi refinement realm in just a few months completely dissipated.

    it was one thing to be unable to defeat his senior brother, but if he couldn''t even beat his senior brother''s spiritual beast, that was too much. s§×arch* the n?vel(f)ire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    he, qing yunzi, was determined to forever suppress little miao.

    ...

    ...

    the night was cool as water.

    upon returning to his room, yi chen opened the window and looked at the full moon in the sky, falling into contemplation about the mysteries brought forth by the jade dagger.

    the renowned expert in practical combat, mr. hua qiang once said, when you doubt whether a melon is ripe, in your heart, it''s already unripe.

    this was exactly yi chen''s state of mind; he truly couldn''t believe it was a coincidence.

    "the fire worship path is merely a minor irritation, but the yan family, what kind of contingency have you laid out?"

    after guessing and coming up with no answer, yi chen simply stopped thinking about it.

    he would just have to meet force with force and counter whatever comes his way.

    now that he had returned to hidden dragon temple, he decided to give himself a break tonight.

    after throwing himself onto the bed, yi chen quickly fell into a deep sleep.

    the following day.

    at the break of dawn, the path of the sun was immensely bright.

    facing the sunlight, eight people on eight cranes flew in from the horizon.

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    huo jizi looked at today''s deserted construction site around hidden dragon temple and couldn''t help revealing a smug smile.

    this was the consequence of not cooperating with his fire worship path.

    seeing the fearful and respectful gazes of others on the ground, huo jizi felt extremely pleased with himself.

    isn''t the purpose of cultivating to be above others?

    "qing yunzi, come out and receive me swiftly!"

    "if your lord has to come personally, your hidden dragon temple will really be asking for trouble," huo jizi announced with a laugh, full of scorn, looking at the temple before him.

    if it weren''t for the young master''s orders not to resort to drastic measures against the squinting daoist of hidden dragon temple unless absolutely necessary, he would have already taken the jade dagger yesterday.

    no sooner had these words been uttered than the laughter of huo nizi, huo taizi, huo meizi, and others behind him burst forth, unrestrained.

    however, their laughter soon came to an abrupt halt.

    one by one, they looked as if they were chickens being choked, turning red in the face.

    in the morning light, a robust daoist walked out of the temple toward the light, with lin zhengyi and chief zhang following behind.

    "you are... daoist friend, everything is a misunderstanding. now that taoist yi chengzi has returned, we shall take our leave," huo jizi said in panic, as a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

    "so you think you can come and go as you please? is hidden dragon temple a place of leisure to you?"

    "life is so fragile, like the morning dew, disappearing at the dawn." a sigh emerged from the stout daoist, as he beckoned a wildflower with dew glistening on it.

 Chapter 193 Eight People, Eight Cranes, Schemes, The Daoist Priests Thoughts, Three Days Later._2

    a glint of golden light suddenly burst forth from yi chen''s hand, instantly evaporating the morning dew and shattering wildflowers."have you ever heard the sound of a brain bursting open?"

    yi chen raised an arm high, his arm suddenly swelling greatly, a fierce tiger pattern appearing on it.

    huo jizi and the others only felt darkness before their eyes, and all quickly fell into silence.

    in front of hidden dragon temple, lin zhengyi''s mouth gaped open as he looked at the eight headless corpses, whose necks had sunk into their chests, and he couldn''t help but feel his scalp go numb.

    he had already explained the situation of the fiery fire sect to yi chen yesterday, as well as the followers behind it, but he couldn''t have guessed that yi chen would act so violently.

    "brother lin, i have a letter here, please help me find someone to deliver the bodies of these eight men and eight cranes, along with the letter, to the main altar of the fiery fire sect."

    yi chen turned his head and smiled at lin zhengyi.

    no matter whether the yan family was behind it or not, he had decided to annihilate the fiery fire sect.

    the more a person behaves like prey, the more they become prey, and the kindness in their bones can harm people.

    to live, one must have thorns!

    only blood and fire can make people feel awe.

    he intended to use the heads of the members of the fiery fire sect to deter the major cultivation forces.

    whoever stretched their claws toward his hidden dragon temple had to be ready for insane retaliation from yi chengzi at any time.

    the hands of yi chengzi were always very dark.

    unless they killed him, no one should think about touching hidden dragon temple.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    the fiery fire sect''s ceremonial altar.

    inside the great hall, a green flame blazed fiercely within a bronze cauldron with four legs.

    a middle-aged man was respectfully offering wine to a young man dressed in a black robe with golden trims: "young master, one of my subordinates, an expert in appraising treasures, accidentally discovered a jade dagger in a small county town,

    which resembles the ''key'' our sect has been searching for many years. i didn''t dare to delay and immediately contacted the elder.

    the jade dagger is now in the hands of qing yunzi of hidden dragon temple, and the master of the temple, yi chengzi, is also a high-level practitioner in the true person realm, not easy to provoke."

    the black-robed young man lazily sipped his wine and smiled, "merely a high-level true person realm practitioner, a small sect like that, how can they compare with my ming fire sect that is abundant in experts? if that person knows his place, well and good, but if he is ignorant of what''s to come..." s§×ar?h the n??el fire.n§×t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    the young man in the black robe paused, then said, "then he can go to die."

    "just do as you please, if it really is the ''key'' we have been looking for, i think it''s time for a new person to take charge of the fiery fire sect. how can there be a sect master for over a hundred years, don''t you think?"

    seeing the smile that was not a smile on the face of the young man in black, the middle-aged man couldn''t help but feel overjoyed; after all, wasn''t this the moment he had been flattering and toadying for?

    his father was old and filled with twilight years, yet still clung to power, fearful of the front and back, how could he achieve great things.

    with the support of the ming fire sect, fiery fire sect owned this territory in ping''an county; if yi chengzi of hidden dragon temple gave face, then he must accept it, if not given face, yi chengzi could only endure it.

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    "yan zhao, let me give you an insight, nowadays the world is in chaos, strange occurrences are frequent, the era of great contention is approaching, and my father has already broken through the seventh level of the true person realm, it''s time for the various forces of ping''an county to have a leader." the man in black released another significant announcement.

    upon hearing this, the young sect master yan zhao of the fiery fire sect was overjoyed: "young master, rest assured, from now on, the fiery fire sect will be absolutely loyal to you, striking wherever you point, amassing the resources of ping''an county to please you."

    "haha, yan zhao, you are a smart man, much better than your father, but how come the men you sent haven''t returned yet? there hasn''t been any accident, right?"

    "young master, do not worry, i sent the eight great priests of the fiery fire sect, all elite, surely nothing will go wrong, please wait a moment longer."

    just then, a guard in black armor burst into the room in a panic, followed by a team carrying the headless bodies of eight men and eight cranes.

    the atmosphere suddenly turned silent.

    "is this what you call ''nothing will go wrong''?" the young man in the black robe scoffed.

    yan zhao was just about to explain when a stooped, elderly figure walked into the hall and slapped him against the wall.

    "you unfilial son, what on earth did you do while i was in seclusion? just look at this!"

    "over the years, this is all the reserves the fiery fire sect has accumulated, and now the eight great priests are dead, all thanks to your great work." the stooped old man furiously threw a letter onto yan zhao''s face.

    yan zhao opened it and saw it read:

    "either hand over the young sect master yan zhao, or i will personally come over in three days ¡ª yi chengzi."

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "taoist yi, do you truly intend to go to war with the fiery fire sect? behind it stands the ming fire sect, with more than one high-level true person realm practitioner." inside the grand hall of hidden dragon temple, lin zhenbei, having heard what happened during the day, rushed over looking extremely alarmed.

    "brother lin, don''t worry, it''s the ming fire sect i''m after." yi chen''s eyes flashed with a cold gleam.

    although he was not privy to the full details of the jade dagger incident, that didn''t stop yi chen from sticking to his strategy of "you fight your battle, i''ll fight mine."

    if he were to suddenly show up at the fiery fire sect and annihilate it today, the ming fire sect would surely be disgruntled. instead of dragging this out, he wanted to give them three days to prepare and then strike decisively.

    three days was enough time for the bullets to fly for a while.

    he intended to dominate the prepared fiery fire sect and ming fire sect with an overpowering force.

    if the ming fire sect was discovered to be the mastermind behind this incident, then there would be no reason for its continued existence.

    of course, yi chen was also driven by a small personal desire.

    after destroying the six-member family ghosts that had invited him for a meal, he had gained a total of three hundred deep red points, and the jade dagger had contributed an additional one hundred and eighty points, leaving him less than eighteen hundred points short of the true technique transformation and breaking through the twelfth layer.

 Chapter 193 Eight People, Eight Cranes, Schemes, The Daoist Priests Thoughts, Three Days Later._3

    Frankly, he had his eye on the Fire-Worshiping Sect''s ancestral grave.This sect, with its long inheritance, acted eccentrically and domineeringly, and was a branch of the Mingled Fire Sect.

    And that Mingled Fire Sect was a cultivation force that leaned towards heresy, internally split into the Dark Hall and the Fire Hall factions.

    The practices of the Dark Hall were gloomy and bloody, with the arts of refining ghosts and corpses being prevalent.

    The Fire Hall was no better.

    To escalate the situation and eliminate some of the sinister beings nurtured by the Mingled Fire Sect during the struggle, would that not be quite reasonable?

    This was a move to ''shoot three hawks with one arrow.''

    Destroy the Fire-Worshiping Sect, hit the Mingled Fire Sect, and take a wave of Deep Red Points.

    If the Mingled Fire Sect proved to be a tough nut to crack, Yi Chen would stop there.

    If the Mingled Fire Sect were to retreat, then the resistance to his Hidden Dragon Temple''s expansion in Mingguang Prefecture would be greatly reduced.

    "Since Yi Taoist is confident, I will say no more. If there''s anything you need help with, just give me a word, and I, Lin Zhenbei, will not hesitate," said Lin Zhenbei upon seeing Yi Chen''s resolute attitude, abandoning the idea of seeking peace and no longer attempting to persuade him.

    "Elder brother, are we really doing this? I want to go with you in three days."

    "I worry¡­" Qing Yunzi expressed his concern to Yi Chen, only to be interrupted mid-sentence by Yi Chen.

    "Junior brother, a single Mingguang Prefecture cannot support two major powers. As our Hidden Dragon Temple grows, we will inevitably become a thorn in the side of the Mingled Fire Sect."

    "Instead of letting others trip us up stealthily in elder brother''s absence, it''s better to clear the air and have it out, cutting off some people''s wild hopes."

    "Let all the sins fall on elder brother. Elder brother will bear them all and will do his best to create a favorable environment for the growth of our sect."

    "If I die one day, you can shove all the blame onto elder brother. I have made arrangements: at that time, the commander of the Red Flame Army and the deputy director of the Jiangbei Circuit''s Defense Office, Master Feng, will vouch for our Hidden Dragon Temple."

    "In three days, elder brother alone is enough. You are the next head of our Hidden Dragon Temple. Today, elder brother will teach you a lesson: to grow our Hidden Dragon Temple is not as simple as hosting a dinner party. Some must show face, others must do the groundwork, and some dirty work, inevitably, must be done."

    Yi Chen said to Qing Yunzi deliberately, word by word, as he had long planned for the future.

    "Elder brother, you... you''re working too hard. It''s all because I''m useless. Or perhaps we should just keep things as they are; it''s quite good this way," tears glistened in Qing Yunzi''s eyes. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen, with a tinge of softness in his heart, sighed: "Junior brother, that might have worked before, but now, with the world changing, everyone is striving to be the first. If we retreat today, and tomorrow, there will come a day when we have nowhere left to retreat to."

    "Remember, to grow our Hidden Dragon Temple, it''s not just elder brother''s effort that can achieve it. You, I, Qing Feng, Ming Yue, all of us brothers and sisters, must contribute."

    "As for the task of instructing disciples in cultivation, that must rely on you."

    "Elder brother, I''m not very good at teaching."

    Qing Yunzi bowed and retreated.

    Yi Chen then went to the back yard, picked up Qing Feng and Ming Yue one in each arm, and happily headed toward Fengyun County.

    Before long, Yi Chen had an extra stick of candied hawthorns in his hand, with the two little ones sitting on his shoulders, each flaunting a skewer.

    Ming Yue: "Elder brother, are you not going to leave again this time?

    Yi Chen: "I don''t know, we''ll see."

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    Qing Feng: "Elder brother, when will you find a partner for cultivation?"

    Yi Chen: "Did you sneak into my room? Don''t touch my books."

    Qing Feng: "Elder brother, why can''t I cultivate like you?"

    Yi Chen: "Everyone''s constitution is different, you wouldn''t understand. Anyway, don''t be like the eldest senior brother, those who imitate me die..."

    Qing Feng: "Elder brother..."

    Yi Chen: "Qing Feng, you talk too much. Today elder brother will teach you a lesson: talking too much can lead to trouble. See, Ming Yue has already flaunted three sticks of candied hawthorns, and you''re still elder brother, elder brother."

    Ming Yue: "Oh no, I''ve been found out."

    Qing Feng: "Ming Yue, you''re too bad, you''re so scheming."

    ...

    Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

 Chapter 194 Yi Taoists Astonishing Toughness! True Technique Looks On from the Twelfth Level.

    As the morning arrived, praise the sun!Yi Chen stretched a big lazy stretch towards the rising sun above the ground.

    ?(*¡ä???£à)?

    The three-day period had come.

    Those who wanted to join the Worship Fire Path should have heard about him through various channels by now, and those who needed to be shaken should have been dealt with.

    This wave was perfect for catching them all in one net and preventing those rats from skittering around, waging guerrilla warfare, and becoming a nuisance.

    A trace of cold light flashed in Yi Chen''s eyes, one had to be ruthlessly resolute to hold one''s ground.

    This time, he would use the heads of the Worship Fire Path followers to secure a period of peace for his Hidden Dragon Temple.

    Some money could be earned but not spent if one didn''t have one''s life~

    "Junior brother, ensure your disciples cultivate well. Don''t bother with those outer disciples who quit the sect because they felt threatened; they just waste rice."

    "Also, for all the innocent people injured because of our Hidden Dragon Temple, make sure to fully compensate them for medical costs and lost wages. We from the Hidden Dragon Temple need to promote positive energy in our actions."

    "I''ll extinguish the Worship Fire Path and be back soon," Yi Chen said with an aura of murderous intent yet brimming with positive energy.

    Having known each other for many years, Qing Yunzi naturally had no trouble understanding Yi Chen''s idiosyncratic phrases.

    "Rest assured, senior brother, I pay the highest wages around, and those who got injured were already treated by the doctor, with their wages uninterrupted,"

    "Good, I trust you to handle things, junior brother. Remember, you must uphold the positive energy just like your senior brother, I''ll be off now~" Waving to everyone, Yi Chen walked away into the morning light.

    At this point, Yi Chen was rather at ease with Qing Yunzi handling matters.

    His junior brother was generous but not without shrewdness. Chief Zhang had discussed the past few months'' events with him just a few days earlier.

    After Yi Chen''s departure, Qing Yunzi took over the comprehensive management of the Hidden Dragon Temple''s expansion, offering generous wages.

    At first, some troublemakers took advantage of his naivety, cheating and loafing around, and later even gathered a crowd to create trouble and extort money.

    This world doesn''t work in such a way that if you treat others kindly, they will earnestly work with you.

    Unprincipled generosity only drags one into the abyss.

    People learn not from words but from experience, as it goes straight to the heart.

    Qing Yunzi soon realized this principle, so he quickly established rules and removed the troublemakers.

    As for how he cleared them out, naturally, Chief Zhang taught those thugs the ironclad lessons of civic duty and strict law. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen was extremely satisfied with his junior brother''s handling of the situation. A crucial skill for a leader is to integrate resources and to avoid getting personally involved whenever possible.

    Qing Yunzi truly hadn''t let down his efforts and had made significant progress.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Worship Fire Path ¡¤ Fire Pillar Peak.

    At this moment, a large crowd stood densely packed.

    The head of the Worship Fire Path had even summoned the novice outer disciples to watch the battle, to rally the people''s spirits and show the newly initiated disciples the might of the Worship Fire Path.

    A group of young disciples clad in red robes stood at the foot of the mountain. Among them was a tall, burly figure who stood out particularly¡ªnone other than Qi Goushi, whom Yi Chen had once spared.

    "Senior brother, with the sect master gathering us to watch the battle amid such a grand scene, which audacious rogue is challenging our Worship Fire Path?" Qi Goushi, who had joined the Worship Fire Path only two days earlier, pulled on the sleeve of a senior brother to ask in ignorance.

    "Heh~ Junior brother Qi, you''re in for a treat. It''s a madman from the Hidden Dragon Temple, Yi Chengzi, who has declared himself an enemy of our Worship Fire Path. Little does he know the strength at our sect''s disposal, which is actually the Ming Fire Sect from the Bright Light Prefecture,

    Our upper echelons have already sent experts to support us, and surely this time we can ensure that madman has no return." The excited young brother tiptoed and patted Qi Goushi on the shoulder, with excitement on his face as he looked towards the higher platform.

    Hidden Dragon Temple?

    Realization dawned.

    Qi Goushi suddenly felt a jolt run through his body, and with apprehension, he turned his head towards the high platform.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "I didn''t expect the Great Elder to personally attend. I am truly moved and grateful."

    The head of the Worship Fire Path bowed deeply to Lie Yanzi on the high platform.

    By this time, he knew the story of Yi Chen defeating Zhang Longyi at Dragon Tiger Mountain, which had terrified him into urgently requesting help from the Ming Fire Sect.

    Lie Yanzi, a charming middle-aged man with a goatee and a slim figure that exuded the bearing of a scholar, nodded reservedly toward the leader of the Worship Fire Path as a return greeting.

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    "Ha ha, with my father taking action personally, the sect master shouldn''t worry now," the son in the black robe laughed out loud to the sect master,

    "My father holds positions of power within both the Ming Palace and Fire House. He recently advanced to the seventh layer of the True Person Realm, his cultivation is only a step behind that of the Sect Hierarch. Our sect now aims to unite all under the Bright Light Prefecture. Today is perfect for using Yi Chengzi''s head as a warning to other factions, to intimidate them all."

    "My son, choose your words carefully. The sect has need for able people, and that Yi Chengzi is indeed talented. If he is willing to sincerely serve our Ming Fire Sect, lay down his arms, and surrender with respect, I could still offer him the position of Protector."

    "But if he refuses, I can only disregard any niceties and personally quash a young genius,"

    Lie Yanzi stroked his goatee with a smile brimming with implication.

    "Quash? Whom are you planning to quash? A young genius?"

    "Is it I?"

    Suddenly, a voice of surprise came from the sky, and as everyone watched, a golden streak of light quickly approached, hurtling towards the high platform above.

    Boom!

    The crowd felt the earth shake, and as the solid rocky ground cracked, debris exploded, and dust billowed.

    Cracks radiated from where the golden light had struck the ground as though from a center point.

    Lie Yanzi''s pupils contracted sharply, and with a sweep of his sleeve, a gust of wind arose, clearing away the dust to reveal a burly figure standing in a shallow pit, walking out with measured steps.

 Chapter 194 Yi Taoists Astonishing Toughness! True Technique Looks On from the Twelfth Level._2

    The Fire Worship Sect Hierarch looked at Yi Chen''s imposing aura and couldn''t help but feel a tingling sensation on his scalp, feeling fortunate in his heart that the Senior Elder of the upper sect had personally come; otherwise, the disaster would have been tremendous.With this thought, he couldn''t help but give his eldest son a vicious glare.

    "I had no idea that there was such a heroic figure among the Daoists in Mingguang Prefecture, truly a dragon among men."

    "Among the younger generation, Yi Taoist could be considered the pinnacle of the Dao Sect."

    Lie Yanzi gave Yi Chen a deep bow, his expression solemn and no longer arrogant as before.

    "I dare not accept such praise, I''ve simply cultivated casually."

    "Do you mean to stand up for the Fire Worship Sect on this trip?" Yi Chen grinned, a white star flashing at the corner of his mouth.

    Qi Goushi, who was watching the battle from afar, suddenly felt his heart leap into his throat.

    It was him, that man from the Hidden Dragon Temple!

    The formidable Daoist who destroyed the Evil Tiger Gang, he''s come again!

    "Yi Taoist''s cultivation is not easy to come by, so how about doing me a small favor? Give me the jade dagger, withdraw from this place, and join my Ming Fire Sect. I can guarantee you a position as the seventh elder of our sect. What do you say?" Lie Yanzi said earnestly.

    He truly appreciated talents.

    His Ming Fire Sect wanted to rise further, to step out of Mingguang Prefecture, and such a character was exactly what they needed.

    As long as this person sincerely joined his Ming Fire Sect, he would not begrudge him a share of power.

    "Haha, joining is fine, but I have a little condition," Yi Chen said with a smirk.

    "Speak your mind, Daoist," Lie Yanzi said brightly.

    "Well, naturally, you''d have to beat me to death!

    "If you don''t beat me to death, how can I join your Ming Fire Sect?"

    Yi Chen''s smile suddenly turned ferocious.

    "Old coot, what makes you think you deserve any face from me?

    "Pure Yang Holy Seal Heavenly Light!"

    With a loud shout, the crystalline light within Yi Chen''s Niwan Palace slowly melted away, and the heavenly light descended leisurely.

    A six-meter-tall Daoist phantom suddenly appeared, standing tall between heaven and earth.

    Evil dragon totems roamed unpredictably across his back, and fierce tigers roared in all directions from his arms.

    The Daoist''s gaze was indifferent, and a golden massive sword suddenly appeared in his hands, with violent golden energy pressing down on Lie Yanzi''s head.

    Lie Yanzi was strong, stronger than the black-clothed old man who had intercepted him in Tianfeng Prefecture.

    However, Yi Chen had no choice; if he did not subdue this person, all his previous scheming would become a joke.

    "Yi Chengzi, you''ve got guts!"

    "Take my Heavenly Fire God Waves!"

    Lie Yanzi''s mana surged like a whirlwind.

    Yi Chen''s sword struck down like divine punishment.

    Boom!

    The surging mana and the overwhelming Sword Qi suddenly collided, rubbing against each other, nullifying.

    In an instant, the whirlwind dissipated, and the Sword Qi vanished.

    Watching the terrifying figure in the sky, the Fire Worship Sect Hierarch felt the urge to beat his son once again becoming even stronger.

    "Yi Chengzi, it is still not too late to stop. I''ll give you one more chance, don''t force this old man to use the Six Dragon God Fire Columns and kill you," warned Lie Yanzi, his gaze suddenly turning deadly serious.

    If this Daoist continued to be stubborn, he would have to reveal his trump card that he had prepared for the Sect Hierarch. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This move was prepared for seizing power in the future, but it was a pity that he had met such a freak today; truly, fate was playing tricks on him.

    Yi Chen held the Golden Dragon-Slaying Sword horizontally, grinning with a look of excitement in his eyes.

    He was getting into the spirit of it.

    This was the feeling he craved.

    At this moment, he was one hundred percent sure that the person before him had indeed been hiding his true strength.

    Only by fighting against such a powerful opponent could he truly feel his entire being spring to life.

    "Good! You must beat me to death!"

    "If you can''t kill me, then you''re the one I''ve raised!" Yi Chen licked his lips, eager for the challenge.

    Only the heads of such masters were weighty enough to be a real deterrent.

    "Obstinate fool!" Lie Yanzi was extremely angered upon hearing this, and with a slap of his hand, a black oil-paper umbrella suddenly appeared in it.

    With a burst of mana, a red and a white ghostly shadow emerged from the umbrella.

    Conjoined twins, they were a pair of twin ghost sisters.

    The red ghostly shadow was emitting an aura only slightly weaker than that of a Heavenly Evil Ghost King, indicating a Ghost King that had just broken through to the seventh layer of the True Person Realm.

    The white ghostly shadow was similar.

    The auras of the two ghostly beings were like they originated from the same source, blending together.

    Besides that, six fiery dragon-shaped columns suddenly appeared in the sky, surrounding Lie Yanzi and spiraling around him, which were presumably the divine power seeds he had cultivated and polished over the years.

    He was indeed a seasoned thief; what did he mean by just having broken through? His concealment was so deep it makes one wonder whom he was plotting against.

    "Haha, father, you''ve hidden it so well from me, I never expected that your breakthrough was actually about refining the two major ghost generals within the Ming Luo Umbrella into Ghost Kings," exclaimed the son in the black robe, unable to contain his excitement and beginning to dance with joy. He never imagined that his father''s mention of a recent breakthrough referred to the two grand ghosts inside the umbrella.

    Seeing this scene, the Fire Worship Sect Hierarch finally felt the weight lifted from his chest.

    The Senior Elder was truly a top genius from his generation, possessing the ultimate teachings of both the Ming Hall and the Fire Hall.

    Yi Chengzi, you are surely doomed this time.

    The disciples of the Fire Worship Dao also couldn''t help but shout in excitement, only Lin Zhenbei and others watching from a distance were starting to worry about Yi Chen.

    "Yi Chengzi, I''ll give you one last chance. Release your soul and let me inscribe a seal; I might still spare your life," said Lie Yanzi coldly.

    This turn of events was far beyond Yi Chen''s expectations.

    But he couldn''t help bursting into mad laughter.

    "My Dao is achieved."

    Yi Chen suddenly bowed to Lie Yanzi.

    In Lie Yanzi''s puzzled gaze, the three golden lines encircling the Golden Core in Yi Chen''s sea of qi suddenly unraveled.

    His aura once again soared.

    Soared.

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    Soared.

    After reaching the peak, Yi Chen even invested seven points of Origin Point and five points into his strength attribute, and two more points into his body attribute.

 Chapter 194 Yi Taoists Astonishing Toughness! True Technique Looks On from the Twelfth Level. _3

    Feeling the uncontrollable, surging power within his body, Yi Chen grasped the Dragon-Slaying Sword and pushed forward once again, recklessly determined to slay Lie Yanzi.At this moment, Lie Yanzi finally showed his fear, as if he had seen a ghost.

    Initially, he had thought this was just a routine display of power, never expecting to encounter a life-and-death struggle.

    "Damn it, damn it all!" Lie Yanzi cursed his favorite third son incessantly in his heart at this moment.

    "Yi Chengzi, have you gone mad?"

    "Let''s stop here, how about that?"

    The old thief Lie Yanzi was getting a bit desperate at this point.

    If everyone has a trump card, why fight to the death? Shouldn''t now be the time to sit down and talk?

    All of a sudden, the Black and White Ghosts let out continuous, sharp shrieks, filling the air with ghostly energy.

    The Underworld Umbrella transformed into a sky-covering dark cloud, enveloping the figures within it, while endless ghostly energy surged out from the umbrella.

    "Yi Chengzi, if we continue to fight, we will both suffer, don''t make a mistake." Lie Yanzi shouted angrily.

    At this moment, he was utterly shocked to discover that nearly ten percent of the ghostly energy descending from his Underworld Umbrella was being absorbed by Yi Chen''s strange Cultivation Body.

    Even more bizarre, as the battle went on, the sky''s color changed with the wind and endless streams of energy and light converged madly upon the tall Daoist with whom he was fighting. Suddenly, the spectators below felt as though the sky had darkened by eight degrees, as if dusk had arrived prematurely.

    "Damn it, what kind of supernatural seed is this? How can it be so strange?"

    Lie Yanzi thought to himself, growing more anxious by the moment.

    Joined with the Black and White Ghost Kings and aided by the Underworld Umbrella, his power was actually a notch above that of the tall Daoist before him, but this man''s Cultivation Body was truly odd.

    It was too robust.

    If Yi Chen knew what Lie Yanzi was thinking, he would surely tell him that he hadn''t fought in the league before¡ªdidn''t he know how OP the damage reduction from cloth armor was?

    The second instance of the Body-Breaking Realm brought with it the special ability to shift and reduce the damage taken by 20 percent, making him disgustingly resilient.

    This, combined with his strange and eerie constitution, which devoured everything to replenish itself, significantly increased his endurance.

    Thus, he was able to overpower Lie Yanzi and the two newly advanced True Person Realm ghost creatures.

    "As expected, is this the limit of the eleventh layer of True Technique?" Yi Chen sighed internally.

    With his current level of cultivation, facing a powerful seventh-level True Person Realm master who had comprehended a supernatural seed, along with two seventh-level True Person Realm ghost creatures, was indeed his limit.

    "Yi Chengzi, you are seeking death."

    "Your sword may be sharp, but I am by no means weak."

    Lie Yanzi, with his vast battle experience, saw that Yi Chen was not backing down and knew that the moment to fight with all his might had come; he could not delay any longer.

    He formed a hand seal and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, causing the six dragon-shaped flame pillars to surge once again. The flame pillars stretched across the sky, and the fierce blaze turned half of the sky red.

    The Black and White Evil Ghosts joined forces, their massive ghostly powers converging.

    Two endless columns of red and black flames charged at Yi Chen, pulling invisible winds from every direction with their force.

    "No more playing."

    Yi Chen snorted coldly.

    A layer of faint blood mist suddenly appeared on his Cultivation Body.

    It was the reappearance of the Soul Ignition Technique.

    Four years, four years, four years, four years, four years.

    Twenty years of lifespan burned brilliantly in an instant.

    With the aid of the blood mist, the golden Inner Qi that twined and pulsed around his body became as thick and viscous as mercury.

    A silvery white brilliance suddenly emerged within the gold.

    If Lie Yanzi hadn''t released the twin ghost kings, Yi Chen would have been reluctant to use the Soul Ignition Technique.

    But now, the Deep Red Points were right before his eyes.

    He who does not take when the Heavens offer, will bring trouble upon himself.

    His aura, strength, and power instantly increased exponentially!

    Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!

    Unfathomably powerful! Unfathomably wild!

    What else could stand in his way?

    As the winds grew fiercer and the blood mist erupted around his body, Yi Chen''s eyes became even more domineering!

    Facing the red and black flame pillars, Yi Chen stood tall to meet the assault, his Qi coursing through the Dragon-Slaying Sword. The sword''s movement defied the wind, slicing through as effortlessly as a hot knife through butter. In Lie Yanzi''s horrified gaze, the Black and White Ghosts before him faded like color draining from an old photograph, vanishing without a trace.

    Then, it was his turn.

    Initially, Lie Yanzi had thought this was just a routine exercise of power, never expecting to face such a perilous situation.

    All the trump cards he had painstakingly prepared, his long-held aspirations for dominance, his desire to lead the Underworld Fire Sect out of Mingguang Prefecture¡ªall came crashing down, drifting away like a dream.

    "Sorry, my trump card is bigger than yours!"

    A voice of cold indifference suddenly resonated in Lie Yanzi''s ear. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This was the last sound he heard in the world of the living.

    Two streams of information suddenly appeared before Yi Chen''s eyes.

    [You have successfully killed the twin Red Ghost King, earning 1,200 Deep Red Points.]

    [You have successfully killed the twin White Ghost King, earning 1,200 Deep Red Points.]

 Chapter 195 Maze Barrier, Sincerity in Ones Own Path, Preparing for Promotion.

    "It looks like everyone has arrived." Yi Chen grinned at the crowd below.At this moment, as the members of the Fire-Worshipping Sect and the Black Cloaked Third Young Master were still immersed in the shock of Lie Yanzi''s blood-splattered sky, Yi Chen had already plunged down like a wolf into a flock of sheep, and one by one, fine heads tumbled to the ground.

    Thanks to the leader of the Fire-Worshipping Sect for gathering the entire sect to watch the great battle, saving Yi Chen a lot of trouble.

    Soon, the blood dyed the Pillar of Fire Peak red, and corpses were everywhere.

    Only a tall figure with a mournful face was dragging the bodies one by one into a large pit.

    This person was unmistakably Qi Goushi.

    Meeting an old acquaintance always has a unique flavor.

    Qi Goushi''s skilled sliding kneel and the rhythm of his kowtowing that seemed capable of summoning paradise, awakened Yi Chen''s memories.

    Wasn''t this the only child he had spared before in the Evil Tiger Gang?

    Despite his imposing build and tall stature, he was only twelve years old.

    At that time, considering his young age and recent induction into the Evil Tiger Gang, Yi Chen had spared his life.

    "Master, I have finished cleaning up."

    "Don''t kill me, please, I''m only twelve years old, I just joined the Fire-Worshipping Sect two days ago," begged Qi Goushi while wiping away tears and shoveling dirt into the pit.

    Yi Chen looked at him with a complex expression.

    He felt this person was truly a curse.

    If Ning Feixue was considered a lucky star, whose misfortunes turned into blessings, then Qi Goushi was indeed a top-level harbinger of doom.

    According to Qi Goushi, he had been taken under the wing of the sect''s Young Master just two days before.

    Previously, following Yi Chen''s advice, Qi Goushi worked as a helper in an inn, where he was accidentally spotted by the Fire-Worshipping Sect''s Young Sect Master, Yan Zhao, who noticed that despite being only twelve years old, he was already so tall and nearly sprouting a beard.

    Yan Zhao thought he might possess some kind of hidden physique and felt like he had struck gold.

    Acting on the principle that more people meant more pairs of chopsticks, he made an exception to nurture him among the outer disciples, hoping that he would one day bring blessings to the sect. It was like playing the lottery.

    Indeed, little Qi had done it.

    "Goushi, tsk, who gave you this terrible name," Yi Chen said helplessly.

    "My mother did, sir. She said a cheaper name makes for an easier life~" Qi Goushi sniffled as he continued to shovel.

    "I didn''t ask in detail last time. Tell me about your life," Yi Chen prompted.

    Upon hearing Yi Chen''s words, Qi Goushi wiped the tears from his face and began to recount his story.

    "Master, I''m from Rolling Stone Town."

    "I''ve been tall and big since I was a child, and I ate a lot, so I started herding cattle for the landlord when I was very young to help support the family and earn food stamps."

    "When I was five, some playmates came running to tell me my father had died while I was herding the cattle."

    "I didn''t believe them."

    "Then another said my mother had died."

    "Crying, I went home, and it turned out they were both right."

    Yi Chen: "....." What kind of hellish joke is this?

    "After that, with the help of my kin, I sold the family land to bury my parents."

    "So I could only live by herding the landlord''s cattle every day in exchange for a bit of food, but I was always so hungry."

    "So, with some friends, I killed and roasted the landlord''s calf to eat."

    "After being beaten within an inch of my life, I could only survive by catching frogs, birds, and eating wild fruits. Occasionally, some kind aunts would see me and give me some food."

    "But luckily, I was born with Divine Power. I was very strong and good at hunting, so I managed to scrape by."

    "To avoid being bullied, I wanted to make something of myself, so I joined the Evil Tiger Gang in confusion. They told me that if I joined them, no one would bully me, and no one would look down on me."

    "Then I met you, Master."

    "You know everything that happened after that, Master. I joined the Fire-Worshipping Sect, and they told me that after joining, only I would be doing the bullying and no one would dare bully me."

    "I don''t want to bully anyone; I just want to be left alone."

    "I just want to learn some skills to kill the horse bandits who murdered my parents and then have enough to eat every day ¨C that would make me very happy."

    "Then, in just two days, I ran into you again, Master."

    ...

    After listening for a while, Yi Chen summed up Qi Goushi''s life as full of ups and downs; in short, it was "The Disdained Life of Qi Goushi."

    Listening to it made Yi Chen feel like he needed soothing music to calm his mood.

    "Master, how about I join your Hidden Dragon Temple? I can work, just feed me," Qi Goushi said in a sniffling, faltering voice.

    At these words, Yi Chen almost felt a murderous impulse.

    It was terrifying.

    "Goushi, our Hidden Dragon Temple''s eight characters aren''t strong enough; I''m afraid we can''t keep you here. I have two options for you,"

    "The first is, I give you a hundred silver, and you go back to the inn to work as an attendant. We part ways amicably."

    "The second option is, I give you a thousand silver for your travels, and you go to Dragon Tiger Mountain. They are a major sect that has been around for ten thousand years with strong backing. They are currently recruiting outer sect disciples, especially those with unusual talents like yours, and are even relaxing their entry requirements."

    "But let me be clear, the journey is fraught with danger, and you might die on the way. If you decide to go, I can give you an additional map,"

    Upon hearing these words, Qi Goushi stifled his tears.

    "Can I learn immortality techniques there? Like you, Taoist master, flying about?"

    "Of course."

    "I''ll go to Dragon Tiger Mountain!" Qi Goushi stated resolutely.

    "Why?" Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The inn has closed down. It seems the owner gambled at the casino, borrowed money at usurious rates he couldn''t repay, and was chopped down yesterday,"

    "No one else is willing to take me in."

    Yi Chen: "....."rolls a six.

    "You fool, do you know that I''m using you?" Yi Chen said helplessly.

    "I know, I''m just unlucky, not stupid."

    "Most of the time, I''m quite clever."

    "Take a thousand silver, don''t go. Buy yourself a house and lie low. If you''re careful, it''ll be enough for a lifetime."

    Yi Chen looked at the tall kid before him and eventually his heart softened.

    In fact, his initial plan when he went easy on Qi Goushi was precisely to send him to Dragon Tiger Mountain¡ªa casual play, a matter of spending some silver.

    But after listening to Qi Goushi''s own story, he decided that the account with Dragon Tiger Mountain was one he would settle in person.

    The world had already filled this kid''s life with malice. A child who had grown up steeped in bitterness¡ªhe would not add insult to injury.

    Yi Chen handed out ten hundred-silver banknotes to Qi Goushi.

    "Live a good life. Which gang of horse bandits killed your parents?"

    "Black Wind Fortress, in Fengyun County."

    "The government forces will attack the bandits tomorrow, and within three days the entire fortress will have been decapitated. They''ll be gone," patting Qi Goushi on the shoulder, Yi Chen''s Inner Qi vibrated, and he vanished into the sky.

    A certain Taoist master with a dark heart might be flexible and have low standards, but he still had some bottom lines.

    A thousand silver to someone of his current status was merely a drop in the ocean.

    Qi Goushi, like a speck of dust, landed on the path of his destiny, and with a single act of kindness, Yi Chen had altered the course of the boy''s life.

    Within Bear Cave.

    Yi Chen sat cross-legged with a large bear beside him, who had fallen asleep like a baby.

    At this moment, a sense of alarm rose in his heart.

    He had sought to fight for his life with his fists, and now he was contemplating revenge against Dragon Tiger Mountain with the nebulous concept of fate¡ªan act that went against his true nature and deviated from his own path.

    The path of a True Monarch is to be honest and diligent, and to practice diligently.

    His earlier notion of sending Qi Goushi to Dragon Tiger Mountain to become a disciple, wasn''t that a sign of an unsteady Daoist heart?

    In light of this realization, Yi Chen broke out in a cold sweat.

    His Daoist heart seemed firm, but in reality, there were still flaws.

    Fortunate that he pulled back at the brink.

    Where in life is not a place for cultivation?

    After this incident and having broken through another layer of confusion, Yi Chen felt his state of mind had improved further.

    How can those who fight for life believe in fate!

    When he consulted the records at Dragon Tiger Mountain, a sage had mentioned in a note that the mind and spiritual cultivation are paramount for the path of a True Monarch.

    Without the proper mental state, trying to breakthrough to the realm of the True Monarch is tantamount to suicide.

    "My fist is my only truth."

    "My utmost sincerity lies in my fist."

    Looking at his own hands, Yi Chen''s eyes regained their determined gaze.

    With will as sharp as a blade, he cut through illusions, brightened his sea of consciousness, and illuminated the path ahead.

    After adjusting his state to the peak, he summoned the unique virtual screen that belonged to him.

    "Deep Red! Let me see your limit!"

    Yi Chen cried out inwardly as the Deep Red Value flashed, deducting six thousand Deep Red Points in an instant. At the same time, a torrent of memories surged into his mind.

    The familiar disk reading sequence began once more.

 Chapter 197 Powerful! The Terrifying Myriad Transformations True Intent, An Appointment.

    Yi Chen seemed to have watched an accelerated stream-of-consciousness movie, countless realizations appeared in his mind, as if he had truly experienced many years of cultivation.By feigning true cultivation, and reflecting in his spirit, his body underwent earth-shattering changes all at once.

    A trace of silver-white Inner Qi began to transform within him!

    For a moment, the already small Bear Cave was engulfed by a whirlwind, and sand and stones flew through the air.

    After nearly half an hour, Yi Chen finally slowly opened his eyes, spread his palm, and a silver-white Inner Qi energy ball rose from the center of his hand, instantly illuminating the dark bear cave as if it were broad daylight.

    Staring at the white energy ball floating in mid-air, Yi Chen''s eyes narrowed slightly.

    Unlike the breakthrough he recalled as if watching a VCR, it was only now that he truly felt the changes after his breakthrough.

    The white ball of energy, now floating in mid-air, did not receive any more Inner Qi from Yi Chen, yet the extraordinary forces of heaven and earth continued to pour into it, sustaining the energy ball''s existence.

    A strange connection formed between Yi Chen and the energy ball.

    After some testing, Yi Chen realized that as the distance varied, the strength of the connection between him and the energy ball also changed; at the same time, distance influenced the energy ball''s absorptive capabilities significantly.

    With a wave of his hand, the Inner Qi-turned-energy ball gently returned into his palm.

    At this moment, waves of astonishment surged in Yi Chen''s heart.

    What he thought of was not how to dominate.

    But rather¡­ the scene from "Dragon Ball" when Goku and Frieza fought, and Goku rubbed his hands together to form a moon and transform.

    "Such a terrifying True Technique of Transformation."

    "The True Monarch''s True Technique of Transformation, the great Cultivation Technique born from his cultivation, is even more compatible with me than I imagined."

    "Could it be that in the future, when I expand my realm to an unprecedented level, I could... create a sun?"

    A speculation suddenly surfaced in Yi Chen''s mind.

    He couldn''t help thinking of such a scene.

    In the future, when fighting against someone, he could first rub together a few mini-suns to place above his head as energy generators and then start the fight.

    How preposterous would that be.

    Yi Chen always felt that his style was becoming more and more crooked.

    In light of this, he wandered in contemplation.

    "The way of Dao in my Hidden Dragon Temple is simply like this."

    Disagree? Solo it out.

    Clearly, with his boundless wisdom, his lifelong insights, and his knowledge from a past life, he had embarked on a path utterly different from other cultivators.

    As for his Inner Qi transforming into white, Yi Chen had anticipated this.

    During his battle with Lie Yanzi, he had keenly discovered a sliver of silver-white Inner Qi, which apparently was the inevitable result of the extraordinary forces of heaven and earth undergoing extreme purification and merging into one.

    Just like the dispersion of light, once merged into one entity, it becomes white.

    "After the True Technique has evolved past the twelfth level, it''s no longer appropriate to call it Inner Qi."

    "This silver-white extraordinary force is the result of my Cultivation Body''s transformation, merging and purifying the extraordinary forces of heaven and earth. Let''s call it Extreme Origin." S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "My path is that of the Extreme Dao!"

    Looking at the white energy ball in his palm, Yi Chen gave a new name to the power he had gained from his recent breakthrough.

    However, his transformation was far from over.

    Cross-legged and introspecting, he felt the changes in his cells, different again from the eleventh level of the True Technique.

    If before it was like an internal combustion engine, after the twelfth level it came with a built-in turbocharger.

    Beyond that.

    Yi Chen raised an eyebrow, waved his hand to dissolve the white energy ball, and with another gesture, a chunk of iron ore the size of a human head flew into his hand as if attracted by a magnet.

    At this moment, Yi Chen wasn''t using any Cultivation Technique; it was as natural as breathing, accomplished by sheer bodily instinct.

    This was the second major change following his latest breakthrough.

    Within a twenty-meter radius around him, an extraordinary, twisted force field spontaneously emerged.

    This distance matched the range of his Dao domain''s radiation. Within this range, with a mere thought, he could control gravity, and manipulating wind and water was effortless.

    Although these abilities were not yet strong enough to be of much help against his current opponents, this demonstration once again sent shockwaves through Yi Chen''s heart.

    Others cultivated by focusing on their minds, perceiving the nature of the world, and integrating their body with the Dao.

    He was different.

    His Dao domain and the anomalies he now experienced were about devouring or seizing by force, resembling a gluttonous beast ¨C plundering the world. He did not walk the path of adapting himself to the world; instead, he twisted the world, changing the surrounding environment to his own form, making the world take his shape.

    To draw an analogy, while others cultivated like nurturing a romantic relationship, gently fostering feelings over time, the Extreme Dao he followed was more forceful, relying on sheer strength.

    Whoever is stronger holds sway ¨C true power resides within oneself.

    Should his Dao domain continue to expand...

    It was uncertain whether it would be a blessing or a curse.

    Focusing his mind, cutting through the myriad distracting thoughts, Yi Chen sat down with his legs crossed, summoning his identity status evaluation.

    A virtual screen instantly appeared before his eyes.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 18/750]

    [Strength: 145, Stamina: 140, Spirit: 130, Agility: 136]

    [Cultivation Technique: Pure Yang Dragon Tiger Elemental Devouring Transformation True Technique Twelfth Level (Traits: Body Strengthening, Fiery, Divine Power, Warding Off Evil, Tenacity, Rejuvenation, Ignition, True Yang, Supreme, Water Control, Wind Control, Elemental Devouring, Transformation).

    Passive Skill: Dragon Tiger Divine Pattern (The higher the degree of Inner Qi use, the more the Dragon Tiger Divine Pattern will manifest on the body, enhancing the physique, solidifying the spirit, imparting tremendous strength, accessing the form and Inner Qi of the Dragon and Tiger.)

    Passive Skill: Powerful Devouring Lv1 (Acquire a terrifying ability to devour and convert, extracting inner energy, and replenishing oneself.)

    Passive Skill: Mimicry Lv1 (True Intent of Transformation, Mimicry, able to change appearance and transform the aura of Mana; the less strength utilized, the stronger the mimicry. Dispelling the mimicry upon using 70% of one''s normal strength.)

 Chapter 197 Powerful! The Terrifying Myriad Transformations True Intent, An Appointment._2

    Passive Skill: Pure Yang Domain lv1 (Accelerates the gathering of the world''s extraordinary forces, domain generates autonomously, distorting the force field)Active Skill: Soul Ignition Technique (The most intense is to ignite, igniting one''s own potential, burning lifespan in exchange for might, currently igniting five years of lifespan for a fifty percent increase in strength and Inner Qi, with the highest exchange being a fivefold increase in strength.)

    Active Skill: True Yang Spirit?Dragon Tiger Form

    Active Skill: Pure Yang Holy Seal (Second Transformation) {The radiant heavenly light, reflecting upon oneself, receives boundless strength and boundless law''s support, the triad of essence, energy, and spirit unite, amplifying the True Yang Dragon Tiger Spirit, acquiring boundless great strength, with additional attributes of law-breaking, intimidation, damage reduction, fortification, and divine might, boosting Inner Qi sixfold, currently, the spiritual body reaches ten meters at its limit, lasting thirty minutes}

    Active Skill: Burning Gold (Removing one line of Golden Core patterns within the body, doubling the strength of Inner Qi, with no more than three lines removed for a threefold increase, each recovery of a golden pattern requires one day)

    ]

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique Sixth Layer (Traits: Eagle Eye, Night Vision, Yin Qi Sensing, Heart Mirror Reflection lv2, Malicious Thought Sensing lv2, Soul Destroying lv2, Soul Confusion lv1.)]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3. Culinary Skill lv4]

    [Origin Point: 0]

    [Deep Red Value: 896.]

    Observing the changes on the panel, Yi Chen had a premonition that this breakthrough would have an immeasurable impact on his future path.

    There''s no need to belabor the significant surge in his four-dimensional attributes.

    His lifespan had skyrocketed to an enormous total of 750 years, setting aside the twenty years he consumed using the Soul Ignition Technique, it had actually increased by a staggering 320 years, incredibly astonishing.

    In terms of cultivation techniques, he gained three passive skills in one go, Devouring, Mimicry, Pure Yang Domain, while the Pure Yang Holy Seal advanced to the second transformation, greatly increasing its power. At the same time, the lifespan consumption base of the Soul Ignition Technique also increased to five years.

    Looking at his exaggerated attribute panel, an ecstatic smile crept onto Yi Chen''s face.

    The gains from this breakthrough were unimaginable for him, not in vain as he had used the Soul Ignition Technique to forcefully slay Lie Yanzi.

    After a brief moment of thought, Yi Chen walked deeper into the cave.

    Suddenly, a white blaze of fierce sun rose from his pupils.

    The interior of the Bear Cave was suddenly enveloped in a red domain, with the Pure Yang Domain extending rapidly under Yi Chen''s control, and soon the ground where he stood eroded into a cylindrical pit twenty meters in diameter and more than ten meters deep.

    A ten-meter-tall silver-white Daoist figure stood towering within the cave, his feet surrounded by surging red mist, with strange red symbols flickering and tumbling within it.

    An unparalleled strength surged within the body of the silver-white Daoist.

    Golden Dragon Tiger Divine Patterns circulated around his body.

    Inside his Niwan Palace, the light-white crystal grew slightly larger, slowly melting to support the consumption of the Holy Seal.

    Within the Sea of Qi, the Golden Core shone brilliantly.

    "Powerful! Powerful! Powerful! Powerful! Powerful! Powerful! Powerful!"

    "With such strength, such might, who else can stand against me! Who else!"

    Yi Chen burst into hearty laughter, shaking loose stones to cascade down within the cave.

    His smile was wild, utterly unrestrained! Utterly bold! S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Having strenuously cultivated up to this point, Yi Chen''s foundation to support his life and beliefs had once again grown considerably stronger, and he couldn''t help but feel extremely elated.

    The falling rocks landed on the large bear that Yi Chen had knocked out, lying in front of the cave entrance.

    The intense pain woke it from its baby-like sleep.

    It touched its head.

    The left side seemed to have grown a few centimeters taller, and it was somewhat painful.

    The bear rubbed its eyes with its paw, turned its head to look back, and saw that its home seemed to have been turned upside down as if a dragon under the earth had turned over, with a cylindrical pit emitting glaring white light below, and strange cackling laughter coming from it.

    With a roar, the bear immediately slapped its chest, preparing to flee¡ªthis was no place to stay any longer.

    Instinct told it that the creature in the deep pit was extremely dangerous, and it could not withstand it.

    No sooner had the bear thought to take a step away than a sharp pain struck its right head, and it was suddenly plunged into darkness.

    After an indefinite time, a massive water ball fell from the sky, awakening the unconscious bear within the cave.

    The bear found itself lying on a stone bed in the circular pit, with two jars of alcohol and two jars of honey on a distant stone table, and even farther away, there was a stone chamber.

    A slanted staircase at a forty-five-degree angle and a smooth slide at the edge, led straight up to the initial cave.

    The cylindrical pit had bizarrely transformed into a three-room suite.

    Staring at the drastic changes in its cave, for a moment, the bear felt as though it had had a grand dream.

    It reached its bear paw into the jar with the scent of honey.

    Yum, that''s sweet!

    All this was not a dream!

    ...

    ...

    The three-room suite was naturally created by Yi Chen using the Pure Yang Domain.

    If you damage someone''s home, you have to compensate for it. Yi Chengzi was by no means the sort to bully bears with his position¡ªif he hadn''t thought it would be impolite, he actually wanted to lay out the large and small bear skins previously used from his storage ring on the bear''s stone bed.

    A white streak of light flew out from behind the mountain''s ancestral graves at Baihuo Dao, and Yi Chen couldn''t help but spit in the air.

    Those paupers of Baihuo Dao buried their graves so deep, it took him tremendous effort to dig out the "Divine Fire Sensing" scripture buried with their ancestors, earning fifty Deep Red Points, with other buried items being mere mundane objects without Deep Red Points, a waste of his time.

    ...

    ...

    In front of the Hidden Dragon Temple''s courtyard, beneath the jujube tree.

    Yi Chen held a white porcelain cup, sipping away at the tea froth. Before him stood Lin Zhenbei and a group of others.

    "Daoist, do you really intend to start a war with the Minghuo Sect?" Lin Zhenbei, holding a wedding invitation in his hand, asked in shock.

    This invitation was the one Yi Chen had just given him to pass on to the Sect Hierarch of the Minghuo Sect, Yin Tianyin.

 Chapter 197 Powerful! The Terrifying Myriad Transformations True Intent, An Appointment._3

    "I don''t know, just arranged to meet him three days later at the Flame Pillar Peak of the Worshiping Fire Path."Those who often take lives know that after killing, it''s best to drink a cup of good tea to cleanse the aura and calm the heart; Yi Chen downed the tea from the porcelain cup in one gulp.

    The fragrance of the tea diffused through the air.

    It was the Ling Mist Path Tea worth ten thousand taels per catty.

    It had the effect of calming the mind and focusing the spirit, something he had scavenged from the ruins of the Worshiping Fire Path before.

    Of course, now the tea bore the surname Yi.

    "Don''t know?" Lin Zhenbei asked strangely.

    Yi Chen sighed, "Brother Lin, what we value in Hidden Dragon Temple is purity and inaction. If it weren''t for the Worshiping Fire Path''s aggressive stance, I wouldn''t have taken such drastic measures."

    "I accidentally killed the Great Elder of the Ming Fire Sect, so naturally, I had to send a card to talk with the Sect Hierarch of the Ming Fire Sect."

    Lin Zhenbei: "... ''Accidentally''?"

    Lin Zhenbei, with a complex look, gave Yi Chen a salute before leaving.

    "Master, the remaining wealth from the Worshiping Fire Path has been tallied by my men, and they will convert it into gold and silver to be handed over to you through other channels," Chief Zhang reported respectfully as he approached.

    "Hmm, I trust you with this task. Hand over the gold and silver to my disciple; there''s no need for it to pass through my hands," Yi Chen nodded approvingly.

    Chief Zhang was reliable in his duties.

    "Master..." Chief Zhang hesitated, then placed two thousand-tael silver notes by the side of Yi Chen''s desk.

    "Speak your mind quickly," Yi Chen glanced at the silver notes but didn''t take them.

    "Master, I''ve heard that the Prefectural Governor of Ping''an County died yesterday from a sudden illness."

    "I want to be the next Prefectural Governor," Chief Zhang declared, clenching his teeth and pouring out his heart. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If it weren''t for Yi Chen''s current prestigious status and being within the temple, he wouldn''t dare entertain such a thought.

    But now that the opportunity was at his fingertips, he couldn''t bear not to strive for it.

    Perhaps this was his only chance in life, and opportunities often come to those who are prepared.

    Yi Chen: "..."

    "You''re quite well-informed, aren''t you?"

    "Master, I desire to advance," Chief Zhang said with humble deference.

    "If I become the Prefectural Governor, I could serve you even better, Master~" Chief Zhang continued with his eyes downcast.

    "Fine, I''ll give it a try. I''ll write a recommendation letter for you soon. Take some local specialties and pay a visit to the Prefectural Governor. Take your silver notes back; I don''t need those few coppers from you now," Yi Chen conceded after some thought, and immediately composed a letter.

    With the Worshiping Fire Path gone, the power vacuum it left was naturally filled by Hidden Dragon Temple, and if he could replace the Prefectural Governor with Chief Zhang, it would be beneficial for the development of Hidden Dragon Temple.

    At night, Yi Chen sat in front of the window, gazing at the bright moon in the sky.

    Moonlight cascaded down, slowly seeping into his body.

    Next to him, there were two daggers; one was a jade dagger that his disciple had obtained unwittingly. During the day, he had casually threatened the man in the black robe, who then spilled everything he knew,

    He only mentioned that this jade dagger closely resembled the key to a Secret Realm that their Ming Fire Sect had been searching for; beyond that, he knew nothing more.

    The other dagger was a low-level Magic Artifact that Yi Chen had found.

    Picking up this dagger, Yi Chen gazed at it under the moonlight for a while before suddenly biting down on it fiercely.

    Crunch!

    Crunch!

    With his mouth wide open, Yi Chen crunched the dagger and swallowed it down in just a few bites.

    A faint warm stream suddenly sprang to life in his stomach and meandered around.

    With a flick of his finger, a fine trail of gray dust flew from his fingertips, emanating a color of utter stillness; it was clear that all the power absorbable by the Magic Artifact had been completely consumed by some kind of thief.

    This was one of the Wan Hua True Intent techniques, Strong Devouring.

    Even dead objects like ores and Magic Artifacts, he was able to forcibly extract any useful energy from them.

    After some deliberation, Yi Chen still put away the jade dagger, deciding not to test if his teeth could digest it.

 Chapter 198 If I Draw the Dragon-Slaying Sword, How Should You Make Your Move, Fellow Daoist?

    "Alas, if only my Hidden Dragon Temple was more prosperous..." With a soft sigh, Yi Chen slowly closed the window, a tinge of regret visible in his eyes.The room was instantly engulfed in darkness.

    Three days swiftly passed by.

    Throughout these three days, Yi Chen diligently studied the changes in his Cultivation Body after the breakthrough, reaping considerable benefits. His grasp of the intricate subtleties had become increasingly refined.

    "Junior brother, you must teach the disciples well in their cultivation, especially Qing Feng and Ming Yue."

    "Senior brother, I''m going up to the Flamepillar Peak once more. I''ll be back soon."

    Yi Chen spoke to Qing Yunzi, his tone calm, no longer filled with the murderous intent of his first ascent to Flamepillar Peak.

    Ever since his True Technique had broken through to the twelfth level, Yi Chen''s mentality had no longer been as impatient as before.

    Strength is a man''s courage.

    By his estimation, his current strength had already surpassed Feng Linsu. Even facing an average cultivator at the ninth level of True Person Realm would require a fight to know the outcome.

    Only he knew how powerful the blessing of Myriad Transformations'' True Intent was to his True Technique.

    This True Intent was an extraordinarily perfect fit for his True Technique.

    It was truly worthy of being the original scripture practiced by the Longevity God before the division into five equal parts¡ªextremely domineering and difficult to contend with, which significantly improved his purity.

    Unless someone was much stronger than Yi Chen, if they were to engage in a fierce battle with him, his bizarre and powerful devouring ability, along with his unusual damage reduction, would allow Yi Chen to drag them to exhaustion or even death.

    This was the quality of having both durable flesh and high damage - if he still had any shortcomings, it would be his speed.

    "Senior brother, understood," Qing Yunzi nodded, his gaze slanted as he performed a bow. Next to him stood two exquisite little Daoist acolytes, Qing Feng and Ming Yue.

    With the help of the Moon Concealing Pill yesterday, Yi Chen''s two foolish little junior brothers finally awakened their spiritual intelligence and could begin cultivation.

    "Senior brother, come back early," Ming Yue pumped her little fist in encouragement.

    "Senior brother, now that I can cultivate, don''t underestimate me. I am already nine years old, and I will surely surpass you in the future," Qing Feng said with his hands on his hips, puffing himself up confidently, amusing Yi Chen.

    That was indeed Qing Feng, always so bold.

    Of course, he wouldn''t dare to leap into the Falling Dragon Pool if he wasn''t this bold...

    After waving his hand, Yi Chen soared into the sky, transforming into a streak of white light and flying towards the ruins of the Pyro-Taoist Sect at Flamepillar Peak.

    Along the way, he took in the blue sky, white clouds, and the bright sunshine over the green mountains.

    After a little more than an hour, Yi Chen had already landed at the foot of Flamepillar Peak.

    At this time, the base of Flamepillar Peak was surrounded by quite a few people¡ªmostly meddlers, spies from other forces, and cultivators who had come after hearing the tales.

    It was already fantastic enough that a strong contender from the Dragon and Tiger List had emerged from the small Fengyun County, having forcefully slain the tyrannical blade master.

    Now, after returning, he destroyed the Pyro-Taoist Sect again and cut down the Great Elder Lie Yanzi of the Inferno Sect. Today, he was even more overt in challenging the Sect Hierarch of the Inferno Sect, Yin Tianyin, on Flamepillar Peak. The intention to provoke was self-evident.

    The moment Yi Chen made an appearance, the crowd started exclaiming in surprise.

    By now, his reputation had spread far and wide, with his deeds being talked about even in many places outside the Jiangbei Circuit of Da Yue.

    Many were already discussing who was stronger or weaker between him and Zhang Daoyi, who was regarded as the number one youth of the Dao Sect.

    "Taoist Yi Chen, the Sect Hierarch has been waiting for you as promised for quite some time. Do you dare to ascend the mountain?" A red-robed elder approached Yi Chen and spoke coldly, his beard flecked with gray.

    From his bearing, he seemed to be at the third level of the True Person Realm. Yi Chen guessed that this man must be an elder from the Flame Hall of the Inferno Sect, for there was a light of deep hatred in his eyes, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to tear Yi Chen apart on the spot.

    Yi Chen, however, relished the sight of his foe''s frenzied hatred paired with an inability to do anything about him.

    "Yi Chengzi, I am..."

    "Scram! I have no interest in your name!" Yi Chen''s gaze suddenly darkened, sharp as an eagle''s as he glanced at the red-robed elder, who, in full view of the public, staggered under Yi Chen''s intimidating look.

    Dismissing the elder as if he were mere trash, Yi Chen didn''t even give the man another glance and boldly stepped into the mist-shrouded ascent of Flamepillar Peak.

    At this moment, the abnormal mist on Flamepillar Peak was clearly caused by a Formation.

    The Inferno Sect had indeed come as promised, but they had clearly set a test for Yi Chen.

    We are here, do you dare to come up?

    If it had been the former Yi Chen, he might have pondered a bit, but now, with his increased cultivation, naturally, he was unafraid.

    An eagle dares to stand on the protruding branch on the edge of a cliff not because the branch is sturdy but because its own wings are strong.

    In a flash, Yi Chen''s figure disappeared into the mist.

    At this moment, among the cultivators spectating from a distance at the foot of the mountain, murmurs of awe arose.

    "My goodness, I thought the rumors were exaggerated and partly untrue, but now it seems that Taoist Yi Chen''s cultivation level is even higher than imagined," one person exclaimed.

    "That stare he just gave, he actually repelled that person, who happens to be the Sixth Elder of the Inferno Sect, Lie Wuxia¡ª the real brother of that Lie Yanzi who died at the hands of Taoist Yi Chen."

    "How infuriating! The Inferno Sect has laid down a Formation to prevent us from witnessing this encounter," another lamented.

    Yi Chen was naturally oblivious to the affairs outside.

    The clouds and mist isolated the inside from the outside, sticky and chillingly cold.

    As soon as he entered the formation, he felt as if he was being watched.

    A faint sense of threat lingered in his mind.

    "Interesting, these old sects really have some tricks up their sleeves, to be able to pose a slight threat to someone like me now, indeed intriguing."

    A hint of cold smirk appeared on Yi Chen''s face, but he was secretly on his guard.

    However, contrary to his expectations, nothing unexpected happened on his way to the mountaintop.

    Atop the mountain, beneath a large tree, an old man with a chessboard in front of him, dressed in a white robe and exuding the aura of a Taoist immortal, was sitting in deep concentration, clearly having waited for some time.

    "Daoist brother truly has outstanding skills and courage. Please, take a seat and we can have a game," the old man said, opening his eyes that shone like lightning.

    Yi Chen sized up the elder before him.

    The man had a long white beard and a demeanor that was ethereal and dust-free; Yi Chen felt that if they switched clothes, he would look like the Sect Hierarch of the Ming Fire Sect, and the man before him would be the Taoist.

    That''s just outrageous.

    He had thought that the Sect Hierarch of the Ming Fire Sect would be a somber old man; unexpectedly, he had such a presentable appearance.

    The elder''s aura was deep and unfathomable as the sea, and Yi Chen couldn''t discern the depth of the secret techniques he had cultivated in such a short time.

    After some thought, Yi Chen reached out his hand and pulled the chessboard towards him.

    Yi Chen swept aside his robe and sat down on the ground, gesturing with an open hand, "Playing chess is fine, but let''s play over here."

    The elder chuckled, a hint of an unknown regret flashing in his eyes, and smilingly approached Yi Chen.

    "Should Daoist brother make the first move, or should this old man?"

    "I am not one to shy away!" Yi Chen took the initiative and played first with the black pieces.

    In negotiations, momentum is key. Since the other party didn''t initiate the conversation, he would join in the game.

    Yi Chen had dabbled in Go in his past life, his skill comparable to that of two hawks, or a double eagle.

    The two of them took turns quickly, without long contemplation between moves.

    By the mid-game, Yi Chen thought for thirty seconds and resolutely made an eagle''s move.

    The elder smiled knowingly, placed another white piece, and Yi Chen''s large dragon suddenly appeared perilously close to capture.

    The white pieces'' momentum was continuous, seizing territories like a besieging army. Unbeknownst to him, Yi Chen''s black pieces were now encircled within the white''s.

    "Daoist brother, you''ve lost. Your skills in chess still need polishing."

    "Young man, still so vigorous, to be easily lured into a trap."

    "Alright, let''s talk. Daoist brother killed my Sect''s Elder, how do you intend to explain this?" the elder asked with a lofty smile, as if he held all the answers.

    Yi Chen thought for dozens of seconds, sighed, and stood up tall. Your next journey awaits at empire

    The Dragon-Slaying Sword was now in his hand.

    "I haven''t lost."

    "Daoist friend''s skills are indeed strong, but what move would you make if I were to draw the Dragon-Slaying Sword?"

    The True Yang Spirit revealed itself in a Dragon-Tiger stance, as a four-meter-tall silver-white Daoist figure with an indifferent gaze loomed over the elder.

    A fierce momentum soared to the sky.

    Yi Chen of course wouldn''t lose. If he killed the person he was playing chess with, wouldn''t he win by default?

    "Great-Uncle Master, come on out."

    As soon as the white-robed elder finished speaking, a series of coughing sounds emerged.

    An old man, looking like a consumptive ghost in a dark black robe, stepped out from the trunk of the large tree in front of them.

    The continuous coughing seemed so severe as if he might cough out his innards, creating the impression of a man on his deathbed. Yet the moment this man appeared, Yi Chen''s pupils constricted instantly.

    The aura of this black-robed consumptive ghost was hardly different from that of Feng Linsu, a bona fide eighth-tier peak master of the True Person Realm.

    Instantly, Yi Chen realized the source of the subtle sense of threat and the feeling of being watched when he entered the mountain.

    "Yi Daoist, for killing our Sect''s Elder, what kind of explanation can you provide?" the white-robed elder asked with a light chuckle, appearing as though he had the upper hand.

    "Dammit, Pure Yang Holy Seal Heavenly Light!" Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The Ming Fire Sect really was too sly, hiding another trick up its sleeve by deploying an old coffin nail.

    With Yi Chen as the center, a red mist suddenly rose within a twenty-meter radius, and his Dao domain opened!

 Chapter 199 Yi Taoist and His Power Bank, I Have a Sword, Lets Go Quickly.

    As the boundless heavenly light descended, Yi Chen''s mud pill palace shone with a slowly dissolving white crystal light. With the aid of the Dao realm, in the blink of an eye, an eight-meter-tall silver-white Daoist stood tall between heaven and earth, like a god looking down upon the mortal world, his cold eyes gazing down upon the two humans.As for why Yi Chen did not extend his spirit to the extreme height of ten meters, it was naturally to hide his true capability.

    "Such divine power seeds grasped by you, fellow Daoist, are truly beyond what this old man has ever heard of. The younger generations are indeed to be feared," the robed elder leaning on the dragon-headed cane stepped forward three paces, looking up at Yi Chen and said hoarsely.

    With a tap of his dragon-headed cane, the elder suddenly turned into a wisp of black smoke, instantly merging into the cane. In the blink of an eye, a sinister black dragon over ten meters long appeared opposite Yi Chen.

    This black dragon had no scales, its body shimmered with a metallic luster, the evil dragon opened its eyes with red light shining through, opened its mouth and spoke, "Yi Taoist, why don''t we just stop here?"

    "You can''t beat me, and I cannot retain you, just visit my Sect of Ming Fire to pay your respects for three days, and we''ll put this matter to rest."

    At this moment, the white-robed elder''s figure flashed, flying to the left side of the black dragon, holding a flying spindle, silent, clearly deferring to the ''black dragon''s'' opinion.

    "Seniors should still try to win against me before making such grand statements," Yi Chen said with a light laugh, shaking his head and raising an eyebrow as his spirit swelled once again, instantly reaching the peak height of ten meters.

    Around him, the golden Dragon Tiger Divine Pattern suddenly roared and coursed over his body. With the combined cry of dragons and tigers, the divine patterns directly streaked out from his body surface, with two dragons and two tigers revolving around the silver-white Daoist''s Cultivation Body, swimming as if they were protective divine beasts.

    Seven white light orbs, each the size of a human head, suddenly sprouted above Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body, hanging high and spinning wildly, autonomously absorbing the strange forces of heaven and earth, expanding.

    This was a new technique that Yi Chen had developed in the past three days by utilizing the characteristics of Extreme Origin.

    After repeated verification in private, seven was the optimal solution for him to exhibit his strength.

    Any more than that and he would struggle to control them.

    With a flex of Extreme Origin, the Dragon Tiger Divine Pattern roared towards the white-robed elder and engaged in battle.

    Yi Chen''s qi was connected with the Dragon-Slaying Sword, full of a murderous aura as he swooped toward the evil dragon, seemingly wanting to close in for a blood-soaked melee.

    In an instant, a black dragon and a towering silver-white Daoist in the world were entwined in battle.

    For a moment, fierce winds raged, and the clouds were disturbed.

    Perhaps the commotion was too great, or because the might overflowed, the formation temporarily set up on the Flame Pillar Peak could not conceal it,

    and those waiting outside suddenly saw a gigantic whirlwind of wind and clouds appear above the Flame Pillar Peak. For a while, everyone was shocked and at a loss, not knowing what was happening inside.

    Yi Chen''s furious punch landed on the face of the black dragon, and the dragon''s tail struck Yi Chen''s chest, each being blown away by the immense force before immediately lunging forward again.

    In the world, the two colossal beings gave no quarter, both exuding fiery rage, yet couldn''t help feeling a certain admiration for one another.

    It was the first time Yi Chen had seen someone who could stand their ground against him in such a way.

    Although this person clearly relied on the power of the dragon-headed cane, strength was strength. Integrating one''s divine power seeds with an artifact to such an extent was no small feat for this old freak.

    He could sense that the person''s true body was residing inside the black dragon, using this bizarre artifact to share the damage received.

    After several clashes, Yin Xuanming, who became the black dragon, was also caught in a maelstrom. In his youth, he, too, followed the path of body cultivation, hoping to stand shoulder to shoulder with the true spirits of heaven and earth and become a saint in the flesh.

    However, this path was exceedingly difficult. As he barely reached the seventh layer of the True Person Realm, he found his path had come to an end.

    Unable to progress further,

    at that moment, he realized the limits of humanity and, combining his own insights, developed the technique of merging with artifacts.

    But today, he saw his erstwhile dream reflected in Yi Chen.

    How powerful was this physique!

    After another violent collision, Yin Xuanming suddenly stopped and proposed, "Fellow Daoist, how about we call it a draw this time?"

    At this moment, Yin Tianyin was still battling the Dragon Tiger Divine Pattern, with an expression of helplessness.

    It was just too rogue. The dragon and tiger phantoms fearlessly bombarded him wave after wave. Several times he used powerful spells to nearly dissipate them, and every time they were on the verge of vanishing, the Dragon Tiger Divine Pattern would dive into the red field on the ground for a quick soak.

    Before long, they would burst out again, spirited and continuing to entangle him.

    Enjoy more content from empire

    He was close to being disgusted to death.

    "A draw?"

    Yi Chen held the Dragon-Slaying Sword horizontally at the level of his eyebrows, a ferocious smile on his face.

    Above his head hovered seven white spheres, each about three meters in diameter.

    Threads of white light fell from the spheres, touching upon his spirit and replenishing his Cultivation Body''s energy.

    Indeed, this was one of the new battle techniques that Yi Chen developed over the past three days using the characteristics of Extreme Origin.

    The Extreme Origin light spheres, which automatically absorb the strange energies of heaven and earth, were like seven power banks hanging above the Dao realm.

    More than this number would be difficult for him to control and would affect his focus. Yet, seven were just perfect for him at this time.

    Thanks to this, his endurance had greatly improved.

    After all, relying solely on the Pure Yang Holy Seal could only last for thirty minutes, which was still too short a time.

    A man has to last!

    "I have a sword to offer, please, fellow Daoist, allow me to demonstrate," Yi Chen said solemnly, holding the Dragon-Slaying Sword''s edge as if bearing a great mountain. He switched to a two-handed grip, and with deceptive slowness, thrust it pointedly towards the ''black dragon,'' Yin Xuanming.

    A roar echoed in all directions.

    "Seven Stars Chain!"

    "Explode for me!"

    Yin Xuanming suddenly felt his brow twitch, a sensation of being locked onto washed over him.

    As Yi Chen spoke, the seven white spheres above his head fell like shooting stars, one by one aimed forcefully at Yin Xuanming.

    "Ming Flame Break!"

    A sense of alarm surged in Yin Xuanming''s heart. The black dragon''s eyes flashed with red light, and a bath-sized beam of black and red light erupted from its mouth.

    The first white sphere soon collided with the black and red light column.

    ```

    Surprisingly, there was no earth-shattering explosion, but instead, a teeth-grating sound of corrosion arose.

    Soon after, a second, a third... a seventh white orb followed in rapid succession, plummeting down.

    They actually melted away slowly against the black and red light beam, reversing its flow and pushing Yin Xuanming across the sky for thousands of kilometers before they finally neutralized each other.

    For a moment, the momentum of the black dragon he had transformed into also waned, clearly indicating a significant consumption of energy.

    "Fellow Daoist is truly formidable. This Taoist admires you. Let''s go again!" Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen grinned, once again forming seven human-head-sized white orbs.

    As soon as the orbs appeared, they began to rise slowly, spinning wildly as they expanded.

    Seeing this scene, Yin Xuanming couldn''t help but feel his scalp tingling.

    He hadn''t thought about dealing with those hanging white orbs, but if he got distracted, not to mention whether he could withstand Yi Chen''s fierce attacks, looking at Yi Chen''s relaxed appearance, what if he created several more of these bizarre orbs?

    Yin Tianyin numbly dispatched a ferocious dragon pattern, then watched as it fell into the red domain, only to spring back to life shortly after, lively as before. He suddenly couldn''t hold back any longer, flashing to the side of the black dragon, they exchanged glances, both seeing the helplessness in each other''s eyes.

    It was too disgusting.

    They even felt this might not be Yi Chen''s limit; the man might still have a card up his sleeve.

    The black dragon opened its huge mouth and spoke again, "This old man, Yin Xuanming, admits defeat. Taoist, please stop your attacks."

    "We cannot defeat you, but you also cannot capture me and Yin Tianyin. How about we just let this go?"

    "All can be discussed."

    As he said this, ''the black dragon'' containing Yin Xuanming couldn''t help but blush.

    He had previously boasted, "You cannot defeat me, and I cannot capture you. You just need to visit my Infernal Sect and pay respects for three days, then we can let this go," still echoing in his ears.

    Yet, in just the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, those words had turned into bullets, traversing space and time to hit him right between the eyes.

    Yi Chen, after some brief contemplation, nodded and agreed.

    He had three reasons for staying his hand.

    Firstly, the robed elder truly had potent strength. If this person was intent on fleeing, without using his Soul Ignition Technique trump card, Yi Chen feared he might not be able to capture him.

    An enemy of such caliber, if let loose, would mean Yi Chen could do nothing else but sit tight in his temple from then on.

    Secondly, there was a lack of sufficient benefits.

    The two elders had no seductive Deep Red Points on them, making it not worth the cost to slay them. Furthermore, if word got out about their deaths, Yi Chen feared the Yan Family would prioritize taking him down.

    Even True Monarchs might personally come after him, which was a possibility.

    He didn''t want to take that risk; it was too great for too little gain.

    Last, and most importantly, his Hidden Dragon Temple was too short on manpower. Even if he wiped out the Infernal Sect, what then?

    It would just create a power vacuum, potentially inviting another hostile force, and his Hidden Dragon Temple wouldn''t benefit from it.

    Would he have to clash with another group, then?

    In war, benefit comes first.

    A weak nation perishes as it is, even a strong one like Han fell because they did not reap enough benefit from war and bled themselves more in the process, making a loss instead of profit.

    ...

    ...

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen and Yin Tianyin, along with Yin Xuanming, came to a consensus.

    When translated into official terms from his previous life, it meant:

    The two parties had an honest and in-depth exchange of views on issues of common concern regarding the creed of Fire Worshiping, and reached a consensus on the problem of Lie Yanzi''s treacherous behavior and the Fire Worshiping creed''s perverse actions.

    A good death.

    The negotiations achieved important results.

    Taoist Yi pointed out that Mingguang Prefecture was big enough to accommodate both Hidden Dragon Temple and Infernal Sect. From the perspective of strength and status, Ping''an County would belong to Hidden Dragon Temple from today onwards. In addition, as compensation, the Infernal Sect must provide Hidden Dragon Temple with three hundred thousand taels of silver or the equivalent in cultivation resources every year.

    In exchange, if any foreign enemy invades, he could secretly lend a hand to fight against the invaders.

    Yin Xuanming highly approved of this and gave important instructions, noting the long-standing relationship between Hidden Dragon Temple and the Infernal Sect, belonging to the same prefecture. He was willing to establish equal, friendly, and mutually beneficial relations with Hidden Dragon Temple.

    Yin Tianyin went as far as to express his desire to promote friendship between the two factions, to clear up any misunderstandings, he wanted to invite Yi Chen to visit the Infernal Sect, to discuss and explore multi-angle, multi-level, and multiple aspects of cooperation for the development of friendly relations between the two factions.

    For a time, the three of them chatted amicably and the atmosphere was one of harmony.

    Yin Xuanming formed a hand seal, his figure gradually fading and merging into the air around him.

    Yi Chen and Yin Tianyin left one after the other, both appearing cheerful as if they were old friends reunited after many years.

    "Taoist Yi, it was all a misunderstanding!"

    "Indeed, all misunderstandings. Sect Hierarch Yin, the next time you visit my Hidden Dragon Temple, I''ll cook for you personally. A dear friend of mine taught me a recipe for Mapo Tofu just before his death, the flavor is exceptional. You must try it."

    "Agreed, I certainly shall."

    In front of the shocked onlookers, the two parted reluctantly, each going their separate ways.

    After Yin Tianyin had flown for some time, the figure of Yin Xuanming suddenly appeared beside him, and in an instant, he spat out a large mouthful of blood, his face as pale as golden paper.

    He hissed, "Hurry, keep moving, don''t stop!"

    Then, he took out a black coffin and quickly lay down inside it.

    This black coffin was truly peculiar, as soon as Yin Xuanming entered, black mist began to emerge, the lid closed, the coffin suddenly shrunk, flew into the sleeve of Yin Tianyin, and disappeared from sight.

    ```

 Chapter 201 Investigation, Bizarreness, The Worlds Irregularities.

    ```"Disciple, mount a swift horse and follow, we''ll go ahead first."

    Yi Chen cracked a smile, and just as he was about to soar into the sky gripping the collar of Prefectural Governor Li''s neck, a cat''s meow resounded, and a strangely-shaped black cat suddenly appeared on Yi Chen''s left shoulder.

    Miao Zi looked disdainfully at Prefectural Governor Li, wrapped his paws around Yi Chen''s neck, then meowed in a complaining manner, urging Yi Chen to hurry up.

    Yi Chen gave his precious feline a speechless glance, knowing this rebellious creature longed for the expansive allure of Fengyun County¡ªthat being a cat there just won''t do, the place had to be a major city teeming with dynamic felines¡­

    Nevertheless, Yi Chen felt Miao Zi had made an excellent point.

    The lure of a big city was its abundance of beautiful women.

    A streak of white light dashed across the sky, and in less than an hour, Yi Chen gently touched down at the government office of Ping''an County.

    Despite the deep of night, the lights were still blazing in the Ping''an County government office. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A group of constables were clustered together, immersed in discussing the case.

    Yi Chen was not the least bit surprised by this.

    Such was the commotion when a person of the Heavenly Dragon lineage went missing~

    "This is Yi Taoist from Hidden Dragon Temple, everything you do now must be in cooperation with the Taoist. If you don''t, don''t blame me for being rude."

    Because Yi Chen had shielded him from the celestial winds with Extreme Origin, Prefectural Governor Li''s appearance was still not too sorry a sight. He issued commands with authority to everyone in the office, no longer the groveling figure he was in Yi Chen''s presence.

    The constables agreed with a resounding chorus of assent.

    Yi Chen quickly settled into his role and began to take full control of the matter.

    "Yuan Fang, recount the entire case from beginning to end," Yi Chen said to a middle-aged man with a long narrow scar on his face.

    This person was the head constable of Ping''an County, a detail Yi Chen had already gathered from Prefectural Governor Li.

    Two heads are better than one.

    Yi Chen still wanted to hear about the original investigative direction of the Ping''an County office.

    "Reporting to the Taoist, this incident took place three days ago." Yuan Fang smiled wryly at Yi Chen, gave a cupped fist salute, and then began to recount the sequence of events to him.

    After listening for the time it takes to drink a pot of tea, combined with what Prefectural Governor Li had said, Yi Chen also roughly understood the general outline of the case.

    Prefectural Governor Li had only been in office in Ping''an County for three years, having only one beloved son, Li Hua, who was the apple of his eye.

    Young Master Li had always had a fascination for learning foreign languages and held exotic affections specifically for foreign women, hence he spent his days at Heavenly Fragrance House, Ping''an County''s largest social establishment, particularly drawn by their latest influx of new teas.

    So entranced was he by the place, he didn''t think of home.

    Prefectural Governor Li, quite terrified of his wife, could only helplessly watch under his mother''s doting, unable to do anything.

    He would have liked to discipline, but was shot down in three sentences by his spouse.

    "Haven''t we striven all these years, and didn''t generations of our family amass wealth, if not to indulge and enjoy life?"

    "Hua''er has been pampered from childhood, excelling neither in letters nor martial arts, cherishing only spreading his seed. Why don''t you, as his father, wholeheartedly support him?"

    "With Hua''er''s talent and demeanor, being born into our family is a stroke of luck, indulging in pleasure is his greatest virtue. I fear instead he might want to start taking things seriously, my dear husband."

    The lady''s reasoning was so solid, he found himself unable to refute.

    Luckily, although Li Ye was wayward, he had some self-awareness and didn''t cause trouble intentionally. Indulging silently in debauchery, spending generously on services, his magnanimity was known, and he would happily invite others to Heavenly Fragrance House for tea, swiftly earning a reputation as a person of virtue in the countryside¡­

    "Young Master Li is indeed capable," Yi Chen sighed lightly, "Since Young Master Li bore no grudges with anyone, what about those who had contact with him at Heavenly Fragrance House that day?"

    Once again Yuan Fang smiled wryly, "We checked, we checked everyone. We turned their ancestral histories upside down and found nothing unusual."

    "Young Master Li has always been careful, even taking four guards with him to the latrine. However, after he entered, he never came out again."

    "We dug three feet into the ground around the latrine and found nothing out of the ordinary, absolutely nothing."

    "Has the Prefectural Governor recently offended anyone, or received any extortion notes?" Yi Chen inquired further.

    "Nothing, absolutely nothing. The Prefectural Governor hasn''t had conflicts with anyone lately and is known to love the people and be as pure as water." Yuan Fang turned respectfully towards the direction of Prefectural Governor Li''s residence, his face etched with loyalty.

    Yi Chen now understood how Yuan Fang had secured his position as the head constable.

    Three years as the clean Prefectural Governor, a hundred thousand taels of silvery thaw.

    Too damn pure indeed.

    "Take me to see Heavenly Fragrance House, where Young Master Li disappeared."

    "Also, gather those foreign women who accompanied Young Master Li that night. I want to examine them in detail," Yi Chen frowned.

    The general can hardly be strong if the troops are weak. Yuan Fang''s abilities couldn''t be said to be absent, only sparse, with his talents seemingly allocated elsewhere.

    He could only proceed to investigate Heavenly Fragrance House for now.

    A large group made their way to Heavenly Fragrance House in an impressive procession.

    Contrary to Yi Chen''s expectations, despite the Prefectural Governor''s son''s unexplained disappearance, Heavenly Fragrance House was still open for business, bustling as usual.

    Yuan Fang walked half a step behind Yi Chen, matching his pace; noticing Yi Chen''s expression, he silently pointed up to the sky.

    "The background of the government town?" Yi Chen suddenly understood.

    Yuan Fang''s face was a blank slate, feigning incomprehension.

    Looking past the ability to handle affairs, for a moment, Yi Chen felt as if he saw his dear disciple¡­

    Soon they entered Heavenly Fragrance House and arrived at the latrine where Young Master Li had disappeared.

    What greeted them was a great pit that had been dug up, revealing an undeniable stench.

    With the site so terribly disturbed, Yi Chen could only heave a sigh of resignation.

    "Bring over the foreign women who interacted with Young Master Li that night," he said.

    Yuan Fang considerately handed him a cup of warm tea and promptly instructed his subordinates to fulfill the command.

    Before long, they arrived.

    Upon seeing a group of ten blond-haired, blue-eyed foreign women, a mouthful of tea sprayed out from Yi Chen''s mouth.

    ```

 Chapter 201 Investigation, Bizarre, Disparities in the World._2

    "Young Master Li seems to have been somewhat vain," Yi Chen couldn''t help but mutter in his heart."Is Young Master Li''s disappearance connected to you?" A deep vortex appeared in Yi Chen''s pupils as he activated his soul-bewitching ability and questioned the group of exotic women before him.

    "No connection, my lord."

    "What did Young Master Li say to you on the last day? Tell the truth."

    "He told us to wait because he was going to fight ten people!"

    "Do you like Young Master Li?"

    "No, we don''t; Young Master Li is a pervert. One of my sisters once served him, and she is still recuperating¡­"

    Yi Chen: "¡­ A prop competition, then it''s nothing."

    Yi Chen immediately felt relieved. He had thought it unlikely for an ordinary person who had never embarked on the path of cultivation to be so valiant.

    After a round of questioning, the exotic women left as puzzled as they had arrived.

    The exotic lands were territories conquered by Da Yue, with the Ji Bei Dao established in the northwest, where one of the four major military divisions of Da Yue, the Wind Army, was stationed.

    These exotic women must be the fresh ''tea'' arranged by the powerful and mysterious owner behind Tianxiang Pavilion, introduced to the lascivious ghosts of Ping''an County to taste.

    Though the exotic women had strong body odors that needed to be masked with spices, this still couldn''t hide the local old lechers'' enthusiasm for them in Ping''an County.

    Don''t ask; if you ask, it''s something I haven''t played with.

    There was no problem with the exotic women, either. A group of ordinary people would never be able to deceive him, Yi Taoist, under his strict scrutiny.

    For a moment, Yi Chen''s eyes narrowed slightly.

    There must always be a motive for murder.

    Either for wealth. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Or for revenge.

    However, the disappearance of Young Master Li didn''t seem to fit either of these motives, which made it all the more interesting.

    Who would take such a big risk to offend a powerful and influential young master like Young Master Li?

    There must have been something about Young Master Li that attracted the murderer.

    Suddenly, an idea crossed Yi Chen''s mind.

    If Young Master Li had vanished without a trace in life and in death, could it be that what the murderer wanted¡­ was Young Master Li''s¡­ body?

    "Send someone to inquire about Young Master Li''s complete birth details with Prefectural Governor Li immediately," Yi Chen ordered sternly.

    He felt that this matter was definitely not as simple as it seemed.

    Normally, even if someone''s fate was unusual, a rational evil cultivator would not target the offspring of influential families like the Prefectural Governor''s.

    This was why misfortune tended to strike where it was least able to resist, preying upon those already suffering.

    Whoever was easy to bully would be bullied relentlessly.

    It had been sixteen days since the last celestial anomaly, and Yi Chen suspected it was the doing of the vanished Purple Token.

    With this thought, his expression became extremely grave.

    If that was true, then no amount of caution could be too much.

    The messenger returned quickly, handing Yi Chen a letter sealed with wax. Upon opening the letter, Yi Chen''s expression changed subtly.

    A date of extreme yang in year, month, day, and hour.

    Indeed, it was an extraordinary birth chart.

    "Captain Yuan, have there been any unexplained disappearances in Ping''an County lately?"

    Yi Chen asked once more.

    Yuan Fang bowed respectfully and replied, "Taoist, there are disappearances every day in the vast Ping''an County, sometimes as many as a dozen or as few as one or two, and sometimes they are false alarms, with the person returning after a few days."

    "Although I am not talented, I also considered this possibility when Young Master Li disappeared. I sent many constables to investigate, but apart from solving a number of old cases and dismantling a human trafficking gang, we discovered nothing."

    "Young Master Li''s case is completely unrelated to those other disappearances; they have nothing to do with each other."

    "How do you view the case of Young Master Li''s disappearance, Captain Yuan?"

    "I feel there must be something strange about it," Yuan Fang hesitated.

    "If there''s something strange, I don''t need your feelings. Dispatch all personnel for a thorough investigation into the recent cases of disappearance," Yi Chen scolded angrily.

    "Especially those within the last sixteen days, I need every detail. Conduct a strict search of the wealthy and merchant families. I want all their information, their birthdays, the places they visited before they disappeared; I want it all."

    "The poorer families sometimes don''t report a disappearance, so send people to inquire in all the villages and towns."

    "If this matter is not handled well and there are mistakes, I assure you that your post as the chief arrestor will be at its end, understand?"

    While both were flatterers, Captain Yuan differed vastly from his disciple; he belonged to those of mediocre competence, with the air of a bureaucrat too thick about him. To deal with someone like him, threatening with his official position was needed to ensure his full dedication.

    After issuing his commands, everyone scattered.

    When the Taoist speaks, people run their legs off.

    Tonight, the constables of Ping''an County would have to work overtime.

    Yi Chen did not intend to let Captain Yuan off easy, and Captain Yuan would certainly not let his subordinates off any easier.

    Suddenly, the entire bureaucratic machinery of Ping''an County sprang into action, with remarkable efficiency following the delivery of the KPIs.

    After sending the constables on their way, only Yi Chen remained, while the astute old madame of Tianxiang Pavilion ordered a ''big kettle'' with a green hat to attend at his side.

    Before he knew it, Yi Chen had arrived inside the main hall.

    Atop two elevated platforms, to the left, a blond and blue-eyed exotic woman was belly dancing with exoticism, swaying passionately and drawing a crowd.

    On the right, a vibrantly dressed woman was singing softly, "Passersby walk below, their old faces not seen; on the platform above, a heartbreaking farewell song is sung, the word ''love'' too hard to set in ink¡­"

    Below the left platform were countless flower baskets, yet there were not many beneath the right.

    Yi Chen looked up and his expression became strange.

    The person on the right was none other than Huan''er, who had tried to sleep with him months before.

    Back then, he was known as the Grand Hawk, and on a whim, he had given her a token, granting her a chance to choose her life anew.

 Chapter 201 Investigation, Bizarre, Disparities in the World._3

    Now, it seems she was making waves on her career path, even engaging in PK battles..."What''s going on here?" Yi Chen called over the tortoise servant, pointing to the two people on the stage.

    "Lord, this is a new tactic from our Tianxiang Pavilion, a courtesan competition. It''s held daily, and one flower basket costs ten silver taels. Everyone can send their support to the courtesan of their liking," explained the servant.

    Yi Chen immediately understood; in fact, he had already guessed as much, and now he had merely confirmed it.

    "Give the Miss Huan''er three hundred flower baskets." Pulling out three thousand silver notes, Yi Chen nonchalantly turned and walked away.

    Instantly, the platform where Huan''er stood was piled high with flower baskets, quickly propelling her to the lead.

    The smile on the foreign woman''s face immediately stiffened, and her belly danced even more frantically, to no avail; the patron was no longer following suit. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Three thousand taels¡ªshe couldn''t be so extravagant, not even if the money was plated with gold.

    Who could be so domineering?

    The courtesan patrons all turned their heads and paid their respects, as they saw a broad back striding away.

    What kind of income would match such consumption.

    Yi Chen, upon spotting an old acquaintance, impulsively sponsored a wave of flower baskets, becoming the top patron of an old friend and thus settling any debt of the past.

    "Is that you, Yi Chengzi?" Watching the familiar broad back, Huan''er was emotionally turbulent. She wanted to call out and inquire but then repressed the urge, and a hint of mist appeared in her eyes.

    After all, they were people from two different worlds; whether it was him or not, what did it matter?

    "The word ''emotion'' is hard to express with ink; her singing must be blended with blood. When the curtain rises, when the curtain falls, who is the guest?"

    "Used to hiding joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure behind makeup, what does it matter how poignant the old lyrics are sung through? They''re just passing visitors in the end."

    For a moment, Huan''er''s voice was choked with emotion, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

    "Bravo! Sung well! Take the reward!"

    Suddenly, as if her singing had been infused with a soul, the audience was captivated, and cries of admiration rang out.

    In the backyard of Tianxiang Pavilion, a cold and aloof woman in white quietly listened to the madam''s report.

    "Yi Chengzi gave that Huan''er three hundred flower baskets?" the woman in white asked in surprise, and after a moment of thought, she began to give orders.

    "From today on, support Huan''er as the top courtesan. Hire competent teachers in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting to cultivate her attentively. From now on, she shall no longer entertain guests."

    Hearing this, the madam was shocked and bewildered; the Daoist had casually rewarded a few flower baskets, yet the powerful patron was taking it this seriously.

    Just who was this person?

    Yi Chen himself didn''t realize that a casual reward he had given out of whim had once again changed Huan''er''s fate.

    With his current level of cultivation, every word and action of his was scrutinized by others, and even the slightest possibility would make people reluctant to offend him but rather seek to please him with care.

    What is a benefactor?

    To decide someone''s career and existence, fortune and misfortune, overnight¡ªthat is a benefactor.

    Yi Chen of today had already reached an inconceivable status of prominence, and he himself was oblivious to it.

    This is the cruelty of the world.

    The slightest hair of those in power receives meticulous care, while the common folk harmonize with blood and tears, often with little response.

    The disparities of the world were once again undeniably revealed.

    ...

    ...

    In Mount Liang, within a certain cave chamber.

    A mysterious figure removed the hood from his head and prostrated in a grand kowtow of worship.

    The four Luminous Pearls on the wall shone brightly, serving as the sole light source for the vast chamber.

    A circle of mysterious, purple token-like patterns crawled up his face.

    Under the illumination of the Luminous Pearls, seventy-two corpses were arranged in a peculiar rhythm throughout the chamber.

    The one who was bleeding from all seven orifices was unmistakably Li Hua.

    All the corpses had turned a dark brown hue and were twisted in grotesque positions¡ªsome so contorted that their heads could see their own hindquarters, others interlocked arms and legs like twisted dough, and some simply disintegrated, bizarre and varied in their forms.

    "Praise to the Supreme Emperor Asna of the Four Extremes and Great Black Heaven."

    "Praise to the Supreme Emperor Asna of the Four Extremes and Great Black Heaven."

    "Praise to the Supreme Emperor Asna of the Four Extremes and Great Black Heaven."

    The mysterious person began to kowtow endlessly in worship, and as he proselytized, the purple patterns on his face became increasingly prominent, emitting a faint purple glow. A strange suction force emerged, and vapor of various colors started to rise from the seventy-two corpses: red, green, gray, purple, black¡ªeach distinct from the others.

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    Crack¡ªa sound echoed.

    Another corpse broke apart due to the excessive contortion and twistedness, shattering to pieces on the ground.

    After a while, the mystery person ceased, and the purple marks receded from his face.

    A crazed expression emerged on his face.

    "His Majesty has not deceived me, providing my cultivation with nourishment to such an extent after a sacrifice of seventy-two individuals with unique life patterns. If I were to complete the final ritual of the White Bone Gateway, and successfully summon His Majesty, to what level would my cultivation, my cultivation, advance?"

    "Hahaha!"

    "Descend, descend, Your Majesty!"

    Maniacal laughter echoed throughout the cave chamber.

    After an indeterminate amount of time, the mysterious figure put on his hood once again and disappeared within the cave chamber.

 Chapter 202 - Reason, Han Shan Temple, Asking Older Brother to Embrace Death!

    The next day.Noon.

    Yi Chen and Miao Zi, each at their own table, were feasting away.

    Miao Zi''s table was laid out with a variety of foot-long fishes, prepared in methods like frying, saut¨¦ing, steaming, deep-frying, braising, and slicing raw, and it ate with great delight.

    It recalled the time when it first arrived in Ping''an County with its father, who was reluctant to buy even a little fish for it to eat. Now, after the hard work of Little Miao and its Taoist father, it could eat its fill every day if it wished.

    Knowledge is power.

    Miao Zi, now compelled by Yi Chen to read books every day, could be considered highly educated within the realm of spiritual beasts.

    While relishing its meal and contemplating, Miao Zi was considering whether it should write a book to instruct the younger spiritual beasts in Hidden Dragon Temple, to tell them the importance of diligent effort.

    It even had an outline for the book''s title, tentatively called "My Struggle."

    For some reason, whenever it thought of these four words, Miao Zi felt the blood surge to its head, convinced that if the book included portraits of it and its father, it would be perfect.

    It secretly decided to learn drawing by itself, to paint its own portrait, and give its father a surprise~

    Yi Chen was completely unaware of his eldest son''s thoughts, as his mind was still immersed in the affairs of Ping''an County.

    At this moment, Yuan Fang came running over with a pile of documents in hand.

    These were the results of his investigation so far.

    "Taoist, everything we''ve collected is here."

    Yi Chen nodded in satisfaction; the efficiency exceeded his expectations.

    Indeed, necessity is the mother of invention.

    "Keep collecting, and once the case is solved, I will commend your efforts to the Prefectural Governor." At these words, Yuan Fang, his eyes gleaming with excitement, left.

    As Yi Chen scanned through one report after another, he picked out those with abnormal destinies, and he actually found some critical clues.

    The number of people who had disappeared and had peculiar destinies was somewhat high.

    It accounted for two to three tenths of the total.

    This was a frightening percentage.

    "There must be something fishy here!" Yi Chen couldn''t help but feel a surge of excitement.

    Among these people with peculiar destinies, there were the poor, the wealthy, the destitute¡ªall sorts were present.

    The ability to gather so many individuals of odd destiny from different locations in just sixteen days said a lot about the person behind all this.

    Yi Chen scrutinized the life paths of this group of people when a term came to mind.

    Han Shan Temple!

    The link among all these people was that Han Shan Temple. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Only in a place like a temple could one reveal one''s own date and time of birth without any guard.

    Yi Chen''s pupils constricted.

    Han Shan Temple was a famous ancient temple on Mount Yue Liang in Ping''an County, with a vast congregation, reportedly known for its efficacious power.

    People continuously visited Han Shan Temple to pray for their future prospects, for fortune and misfortune, and for offspring.

    Speaking of which, there was a connection between Han Shan Temple and his Hidden Dragon Temple. Yi Chen''s master had once mentioned in passing that there was a master inside Han Shan Temple with profound Buddhist knowledge and exalted morality¡ªthis person was the seventeenth abbot of Han Shan Temple, known as Master Han Shan.

    All abbots of Han Shan Temple had taken this as their dharma name, passing it down from generation to generation.

    "Could it be that my master was mistaken? Is there a devil cloaked in human skin within Han Shan Temple?" Yi Chen couldn''t help but curl his lips.

    No matter what, even if it were an old acquaintance of his master committing such acts, he would still not hesitate to strike.

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    To cause trouble in Ping''an County was to completely disregard him, Yi Taoist.

    Yi Chen summoned Yuan Fang, gathered several constables, and led the group straight to Han Shan Temple.

    The purpose of bringing them was for them to serve as witnesses.

    And that was it.

    Leaving a paper trail is a virtue.

    "Taoist Yi, it can''t be possible, right? Both masters of Han Shan Temple have been in Ping''an County for so many years, with admirable reputations."

    "Moreover, Han Shan Temple really works wonders. For many years, I had neither sons nor daughters, but after my wife visited and prayed at Han Shan Temple, I am now the father of three children."

    Yi Chen glanced deeply at the stubborn Yuan Fang without saying a word.

    Such is life.

    When you''re young, the words you say will eventually come back like bullets to hit you a minute, an hour, a year, a decade, or several decades later.

    Like university students from a previous life, who had the toughest talk before graduating, and those in the late stage of adolescence proclaiming, "My fate is in my hands, not destined by heaven."

    Consider the classic statement: "Those who complain about the hardships of construction work simply lack resilience, and they would struggle with any job."

    That civil engineer brother too was eventually hit squarely between the eyes by his own words.

    Yi Chen skimmed low in the air, while Yuan Fang and the constables followed on horseback. Miao Zi yawned on Yi Chen''s shoulder, and two hours later, the group finally arrived outside Han Shan Temple.

    April blooms are gone from the mortal world, but the peach blossoms of the mountain temple are just beginning to bloom.

    The peach blossoms around Han Shan Temple were in full splendor, and even as the sun set, there were still a dozen or so followers lingering to pray for blessings.

    "The head of Hidden Dragon Temple, Yi Chengzi, requests an audience with Master Han Shan."

    Yi Chen stopped outside the gates, showing full courtesy to his master''s old friend.

    An elderly monk in coarse hemp clothing emerged, accompanied by a young monk with rosy lips and white teeth.

    "Amitabha!"

    "It turns out to be the disciple of an old friend. I offer my greetings," said Master Han Shan, his expression filled with sorrow.

    Yi Chen examined the two monks, his brow furrowing.

    Both men possessed an indistinct Buddhist aura, without any negative energy.

    But the data doesn''t lie; there was indeed something strange about Han Shan Temple.

    "Master, does your temple have any other monks?" Yi Chen said, his gaze fixed intently on their faces, hoping to spot a flaw.

    Disappointingly, the reality was that both appeared calm and collected.

    "No, there are only the two of us, my disciple and me."

    "Master, where have you two been these past few days?" Yi Chen became impatient and went straight to the point, stepping forward and fixing them with an eagle-like stare.

 Chapter 202 - Reason, Han Shan Temple, Asking Older Brother to Embrace Death!_2

    With sudden pressure, he intended to observe the reactions of the two under the ferocity of a sudden storm.Upon hearing this, the young monk''s face changed dramatically.

    "Yi Taoist has arrived, and my senior brother has received him with all due courtesy, going out to welcome him from afar. Why do you press so aggressively, as if interrogating a criminal?"

    Yi Chen''s mouth split into a wide grin, his eyebrows arching.

    At once, Miao Zi seemed to catch the insinuation, scurrying to the young monk''s side to sniff him and even reached out a paw to scratch off a strip of cloth from his garment.

    "You..." The young monk''s face went through another transformation.

    "Where have you been these past few days, master?" Yi Chen took another step forward, and as the setting sun bathed him in light, his shadow enveloped the young monk.

    "There''s no point in talking if we don''t see eye to eye. Brother, let''s go." The young monk gestured for Han Shan to enter the temple, but his senior brother stopped him, a large hand resting on his shoulder to halt him.

    "Will the master come clean, or shall we revisit the old haunts together?" Yi Chen, instead of being relentless, now wore a leisurely expression.

    "Yi Taoist would not visit the temple without good reason. Master Han Shan and my disciple Bu Zhong will accompany you," Master Han Shan said with hands clasped in a mournful expression.

    Yi Chen stared at Han Shan silently for a good while without speaking, then signaled to Little Miao and leaped into the air.

    "Alright, my girl, it''s all on you to turn the tables now. Don''t let me down," Yi Chen communicated with Little Miao through eye contact, and she responded with an affirmative expression.

    As if to say she might not be cut out for fights, but what did Little Miao have to fear when it came to tracking and tracing?

    "Junior brother, let us go with Yi Taoist. As monks, controlling anger is the most basic training. Have you forgotten the teachings of our master?" Han Shan patted Bu Zhong''s shoulder, then led his junior brother closely behind them.

    Finally, the four of them landed in front of a stupa.

    The place was shrouded in mist, clearly protected by a formation, and Little Miao indicated that the scent trail ended abruptly here.

    "Master, what is this place?"

    "This is where the past abbots of Han Shan Temple are buried. We laid down a formation to prevent others from intruding and disturbing the resting souls of our ancestors," replied the master.

    "May I enter to pay tribute with three sticks of incense?" Yi Chen''s eyes suddenly became dangerous. Experience tales at empire

    "Yi Chengzi, your arrogance knows no bounds!"

    "It is permissible," said Han Shan and Bu Zhong in unison.

    In the empty crypt, Yi Chen and his companion exchanged glances. The young monk had reacted so abnormally; Yi Chen had thought he had touched a nerve, but the outcome was unexpected.

    "Yi Taoist, this place is where the ancestors of Han Shan Temple rest in peace. There is nothing in our temple we cannot speak of. Do you have any other questions?"

    "Master, forgive my intrusion. I''ll return another day to apologize for the inconvenience." Yi Chen touched his nose, picked Little Miao up by the scruff of her neck, and turned to leave.

    By the time the four returned to Han Shan Temple''s gates, the moon was high in the sky.

    "Taoist Yi, walk slowly!" said Master Han Shan, still bearing his mournful expression.

    "Could it be that my tone was too aggressive, provoking that young monk?"

    "Was Han Shan Temple merely a coincidence in this chain of events, and I mistook it for something more?"

    Amidst his doubts, Yi Chen gestured to Prefect Yuan and his men to hurry in the direction of Ping''an County.

    A hint of jest appeared in Prefect Yuan''s eyes, then quickly disappeared as the moonlight stretched their shadows long.

    The temple doors closed.

    Inside the grand hall of Han Shan Temple.

    Just as Bu Zhong was about to speak, a heavy slap hit his face.

    "Teach¡ª" Another hefty slap struck his face.

    More than ten minutes later, after Master Han Shan had exhausted his anger, the young monk''s teeth were scattered and his face swollen like a pig''s head.

    It was then that Master Han Shan finally spoke.

    "Evildoer, these days I''ve noticed your unease and sneaky movements. Yesterday, I followed you to the ancestral stupa and discovered your misdeed."

    "Had I not dealt with the tracks myself, you would have been beyond saving today. Yi Chengzi''s cultivation is profound; my old friend Bai Yunzi once drunkenly praised his disciple as having the bearing of a true immortal, and he spoke the truth!"

    "I hinted to you repeatedly today, hoping you would confess and repent on your own, but you persisted in playing dumb. Yi Chengzi must have sensed your actions. Are you trying to bring your senior brother heartache by not confessing now?"

    "What evil has possessed you? What could drive you to such an outrage in the ancestral crypt? What else have you done while I was in seclusion?"

    Master Han Shan, enraged, slapped his disciple again, propelling him against a beam. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He took a step forward, grabbed Bu Zhong by his collar, his eyes bloodshot and his gaunt hand trembling slightly. His normally straight back was now hunched.

    Bu Zhong was the last disciple taken by his master in his later years, found one snowy night placed in front of Han Shan Temple''s ancient bell. With the master frequently in seclusion or traveling, Han Shan practically raised Bu Zhong himself.

    Though known as ''senior brother,'' he was effectively ''father.''

    The previous night he had smeared secret incense on his junior brother''s robes, pretending to be in seclusion, but actually tracking him. Seeing Bu Zhong disappear into the ancestral stupa, he did not burst in after him. Only after his junior brother left did he enter and discover a scene that made his vision blacken.

    In the ancestral crypt, seventy-two corpses were arrayed in bizarre patterns, exuding malevolence and resentment, and the dripping water inside the crypt turned to ice, the evil spirits contained by the formation, thus not apparent from outside.

    In his confusion, he cleared all evidence, cremated the bodies, and dispelled the malevolent energies with his Buddha''s power before returning.

    During the day, he hinted many times to his junior brother, discussing Buddhism in the hopes that he would admit his wrongdoing. Yet his brother feigned ignorance, leading to Yi Chen''s visit.

 Chapter 202 - Reason, Han Shan Temple, Asking Older Brother to Embrace Death!_3

    At this point, he could no longer contain himself and laid his cards on the table.He had pondered Buddhism for half his life but ultimately couldn''t detach himself from the affection between fellow disciples.

    Faced with Han Shan''s angry scolding and questioning, Bu Zhong burst into maniacal laughter.

    Laughing so hard that tears and snot were about to come out.

    He madly said, "Why do you ask? Do you have the face to ask me why? My dear senior brother, keep hitting me, kill me."

    "They all like you, they all love you so much."

    "The master praises you, others admire you, and what about me? What do I have? I always have to pick up your leftovers, you hypocritical little man, I''ve always only been fit to live in your shadow."

    "What else did I do while you were in seclusion and kept in the dark? Oh, I did quite a lot."

    "Do you think your blockhead could make Han Shan Temple so famous? It was me! It was me! I made Han Shan Temple renowned! Did you think it was the Buddha''s blessing? It was me!"

    "Those people come to worship Buddha, but what kind of Buddha do they believe in? They are just worshipping the desires in their own hearts."

    "Some ask for wealth, so I stole others'' gold and silver and buried it in their yards. Those who seek safety, I use mana to nourish their bodies in the middle of the night. And for those seeking progeny, I put those women under and took my turn."

    "Without my hard work upfront, how could Han Shan Temple enjoy such fame today? Is it all thanks to these rotten peach blossoms on the mountains?"

    "Amitabha!" Faced with his crazed junior brother, Han Shan closed his eyes, his eyelashes fluttering, and his lips trembled as he chanted a Buddha''s name, his hands joined in prayer as he silently recited the sutras.

    "Senior brother, stop chanting, listen to me, besides those people I killed in the ancestral tomb, I''ve done much more."

    "Those women, each and every one of them was so cheap. Senior brother, you''ve never slept with a woman in your life, have you? What a joyous life."

    "At first, they were hysterical, crying and screaming, but later they crawled up to me like bitches, begging me. Ha ha, it was so entertaining, they even thought they were dreaming."

    "Senior brother, did you know among those seventy-two people I killed, there was a couple on their honeymoon? They were people of special destiny who came to me for fortune-telling."

    "That young woman was so tantalizing."

    "I made her bite on a rope, the rope was slung over the beam, with a guillotine knife tied to it, below the knife was her husband. I was behind her, and if she cried out, her husband would die."

    "But I got angry in the end, because she never opened her mouth until she died!"

    "Still, I went back on my word, and killed her husband anyway, ha ha."

    At these words, Han Shan could hold back no longer, and his eyes opened in anguish.

    His aura climbed steadily, unexpectedly breaking through the first level of the True Person Realm and not stopping until he reached the fourth level of the True Person Realm.

    Looking at the astonishing aura emanating from Han Shan, Bu Zhong''s face changed drastically, "Senior brother, you hid your strength? How are you so powerful? Did the master give you the precious Buddhist relic, the Buddha bone Sharira, from our Han Shan Temple?"

    "Junior brother, you''ve gone mad. Tomorrow, you will come down the mountain with me to see Yi Taoist. I can''t enlighten you anymore."

    Han Shan''s expression was ice-cold.

    Faced with the junior brother he had raised by his own hand, he still couldn''t bring himself to act against him, but he knew Yi Chen could!

    "Senior brother, no, I was wrong, I truly was."

    "I''m telling you, about ten days ago I inadvertently found a strange Purple Token in the back mountain. It was it, it seduced me!"

    "Every day it tempts me, promising that if I do certain things, if I follow its instructions, it will feed my cultivation. I don''t want to live forever in your shadow, brother; I just can''t stand it!"

    "I''ve always wanted to expand the Han Shan Temple, brother."

    "That woman, it was the Purple Token that made me kill her like this. It''s demonic!"

    "It speaks to me every day, telling me that as long as I do as it says, my cultivation will keep rising. Brother, please save me, it''s this damn Purple Token that seduced me; I''m in such torment."

    "If I don''t obey it, my whole body is wracked with excruciating pain; I''d rather be dead, brother! I had no choice!"

    Bu Zhong slid to his knees in front of Han Shan, clutching his legs and sobbing. When he looked up, a sinister purplish vein crawled across his face.

    "Bu Zhong, how did you come across such a thing? Give me your hand, and let your brother use his Buddhist mana to look inside you," said Han Shan, his face draining of color as he grabbed his disciple''s hand, ready to channel his Buddhist mana to examine him.

    Suddenly, Bu Zhong''s hand turned crystal-like, purple as amethyst, and an inhuman amethyst claw burst through Han Shan''s chest, clutching a beating heart.

    With a shock of evil force, Bu Zhong pushed Han Shan away, a gaping hole torn open in his chest, greedily munching on his brother''s heart.

    "Brother, you''re just as foolish as you always were."

    "I''ll come clean, I was pretending."

    "So what if your cultivation was higher than mine? With a simple trick, you end up dead at my hands. You''d never guess that after following His Majesty for just over ten days, I would already be on par with you, brother."

    "Brother, I remember you too were born at the most Yin time, on the most Yin day, of the most Yin month, in the most Yin year. Once I''ve killed you and offered you as a sacrifice to our master, I''ll be able to advance further. Since you seem intent on helping me, why not follow through."

    "Master passed the Buddhist relics to you, allowing you to reach such heights in your cultivation, but you''re no use at all!"

    "Always said Master played favorites, didn''t I? Good riddance! If those Buddhist relics had been given to me, your cultivation should have been mine! You''re me, and I''m you; you stole my life."

    Bu Zhong suddenly burst into loud, sinister laughter, his face twisted with evil, his lips black as night.

    Han Shan, sitting in the cross-legged position, vomited a mouthful of blood and spoke in agony: "Disciple, please turn back."

    "There never were any Buddhist relics. It was just something Master said to encourage us. How could there be such a treasure in the world? And even if it existed, how could it possibly be in the hands of our Han Shan Temple? You''ve always been so intelligent; how could you be so utterly deluded?"

    "No! Impossible! You''re lying to me! You''re trying to deceive me again, brother. You want to trick me, even in death!"

    "Then why did you hide your cultivation from me? You still don''t trust me, you deserve to die!" It''s as if he has found another reason, Bu Zhong''s voice once more turns cold and justifiably indignant.

    "Brother... Brother, you''ve always been so arrogant and proud; afraid that your heart might suffer, I thought to hide my inadequacies, never speaking plainly to you. Who... who would have imagined you''d misunderstand me to such a degree."

    Lies do not hurt people; it''s the truth that cuts like a sharp knife.

    "It can''t be; it''s absolutely impossible!"

    "I won''t be fooled. I''ll kill you first. Once my cultivation is complete, I''ll kill Yi Chengzi and wipe out the entire Hidden Dragon Temple to keep you company, so you won''t be lonely in the afterlife."

    Bu Zhong backed away three steps, cackling. The Buddhist relics were an eternal pain in his heart, gnawing at it day and night. The amethyst claw of his palm suddenly grew, tearing Han Shan into pieces.

    With eyes both crazed and filled with pain, Bu Zhong glanced over and saw a large face and a cat''s head eerily peeking out from the window. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 206 Wandering the Mortal Realm is Yi Taoist, the Life-Stealing Scholar is Zhang San!

    "Everyone on the ship is a noble, and I, a poor scholar, only have my ''Divine Power'' worthy of mention. It''s not that I''m unwilling, but truly, I have no face for it," Yi Chen said with a smile as he refused.He didn''t want to play with this group of brats at all.

    "Eh, isn''t Young Master Zhang looking down on me?"

    "I, Ye Rusuang, never care about whether my friends are wealthy or influential, since none of them are as rich or powerful as I am. I simply look at whether we have a connection," Ye Rusuang said.

    Yi Chen: "...."

    Ye Rusuang''s words involuntarily reminded him of a handsome guy from his past life. Unable to resist the man''s persistent invitation, Yi Chen joined him in the rear cabin. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    When he arrived, the expressions of the many young masters and ladies there varied: some remained unchanged, some scrutinized, some smiled, but none spoke out to mock him.

    Yi Chen knew it wasn''t just because they had good manners; it was a normal aristocratic talent for observing words and expressions.

    Those from noble families who constantly demean others regardless of the situation aren''t that common because such dim-witted individuals are rarely allowed to leave the confines of their own family''s influence.

    The people in the rear cabin, whether they had boarded midway or came together with Ye Rusuang, were actually all revolving around her like stars around the moon.

    Since Yi Chen was brought by Ye Rusuang, speaking against him would be like slapping Ye Rusuang''s face, wouldn''t it?

    "Young Master Zhang''s arrival is timely; we were just composing poetry. It''s more lively with more people," said a fair-faced young master, whose body exuded a faint aura of Mana, but his eyes were discreetly fixed on Ye Rusuang, filled with affection.

    However, Ye Rusuang was clearly acquainted with the fair-faced young master and wasn''t buying his act, responding with laughter as she suggested: "We are all cultured individuals. Since we''ve encountered each other aboard this ship, why not use the ship as our theme and showcase our poetic talents?"

    In this circle, when the center figure speaks, even a fart would be attentively listened to¡ªsuch is the truth.

    Upon this suggestion, everyone praised it and applauded enthusiastically.

    "I''ll start and set the mood," declared the fair-faced young master without a trace of embarrassment, warming up the crowd. After pacing seven steps, he clapped with a smile, "I''ve got it."

    "Together we jest on southern waters, hand in hand we board the carved vessel."

    "The boat moves, parting fine waves, the wind disperses, stirring the floating fragrance."

    The poem wasn''t bad and fitted the setting. Yi Chen looked at the man in surprise, joining the others in applause.

    Miss A: "Such a nice poem, Young Master Nan is indeed talented."

    Miss B: "The use of ''parting'' and ''stirring'' is truly exquisite."

    Young Master A: "I think Young Master Nan''s seven-step verse shall become a delightful anecdote."

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    ¡­

    Yi Chen: "I think the same, everyone is right!"

    Everyone cast a sidelong glance for a moment.

    Yi Chen didn''t care about the odd looks from the others; he was far more interested in the pastries on the table, for he was steadily eating with an unpleasant but consistent pace.

    Unnoticed, he had devoured a third of the pastries on the banquet table.

    "The wind stirs, clouds move, the heavens stay still; the water pushes, the boat advances, the shore remains still."

    Another person took up the verse, eliciting another round of applause and commentary.

    Yi Chen: "I think the same, everyone is right!"

    ¡­

    "A sunny day stirs the waters of the south; sunset ebbs and flows in the rapid waves"

    ¡­

    Yi Chen: "I think the same, everyone is right!"

    At that moment, Yi Chen placed the last piece of gold-threaded cake into his mouth and finally someone couldn''t stand it anymore¡ªamong them was a snob.

    A young lady named Sun Feiyan gritted her teeth and said with a strained smile, "Young Master Zhang San has quite an appetite. So much time has passed, you must have a fully formed poem by now, don''t you?"

    She felt aggrieved in her heart; she loved the gold-threaded cake the most.

    Thus, she wanted to see Yi Chen embarrass himself in public.

    Unfortunately, she underestimated the thickness of someone''s skin.

    Yi Chen wiped his mouth, puffed up his chest, and said proudly, "I can''t~"

    "What are you proud of, you scoundrel~" Sun Feiyan had little devils roaring in her head.

    Ye Rusuang had also never seen someone like Yi Chen, so self-absorbed, completely unlike others. When there was a beautiful woman nearby, rather than acting dignified and serious, or showing off, he was utterly different.

    And this Young Master Zhang San, whom she had met midway, turned out to be such an extraordinary character.

    This made her even more interested in Yi Chen; initially, it was her sixth sense that made her vaguely realize his unique temperament, prompting the invite. Now, observing his behavior, she found him truly remarkable.

    "Someone, bring a few more plates of the gold-threaded cake," Ye Rusuang ordered as she clapped her hands. Two maids with buns on their heads each brought two plates of the cake.

    Seeing Ye Rusuang''s expression, Young Master Nan couldn''t help but change to a look of resentment.

    Despite his efforts to please and flatter, Ye Rusuang hadn''t given him an extra glance, and now she was paying special attention to a poor scholar who had boarded halfway through the journey.

    That poor scholar really did have some cunning, using such a do-or-die method to attract the attention of the woman he himself wanted to claim¡ªtruly malicious.

    He couldn''t help but smile in a tea-colored, cheerful manner, "I wonder where Master Zhang''s family lives. Since poetry isn''t your fancy, what are your usual hobbies?"

    "Me, Zhang San, long ago pawned my family''s wealth. Now I''m just a poor scholar, better not to mention the past. As for hobbies, I like to visit the brothel," he said.

    "The first time I went to the brothel, I picked eight girls. How about that, doesn''t it sound bold? A full eight!" Yi Chen gestured the number eight with his hands, his demeanor resembling a famous director known as the State Preceptor.

    "Rogue, you''ve overdone it now, you''ve truly chosen a path to your death!" Young Master Nan cheered inwardly, maintaining a warm and gentle smile on the surface, "Eight, indeed very bold!"

    "But Master Zhang, let me offer you a word of advice¡ªtoo much of anything isn''t good."

    "Here''s a saying for you."

    "All the world loves the Immortal''s Cave, unaware it''s also the Seam of the Coffin."

    Yi Chen chuckled and stood tall.

 Chapter 206 Playing the Human Game, Yi Taoist; the Life-Stealing Scholar, Zhang San!_2

    "You speak falsehoods, young master!""All people love the seams of a coffin, unaware it''s also known as the Immortal''s Cave."

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    A mouthful of tea sprayed out from Ye Rusuang''s lips, almost choking her to death~

    She couldn''t help but cough repeatedly, as two maids with buns glared fiercely at Yi Chen, stepping forward to pat her back.

    Yi Chen bowed to the crowd and then withdrew from the cabin.

    A buzz of discussion erupted behind him

    "Who in the world is this~"

    "Young Master Ye, you''re just too kind, willing to take along a pitiable traveling merchant, and this destitute scholar is bad enough, but to invite him to join our banquet as well."

    "Young Master Ye, you''re really making trouble for yourself. With bodies as precious as ours, we should limit contact with these inferior people to avoid bad luck," everyone chimed in.

    "Exactly, these people should not be associated with," Young Master Nan concluded his summary.

    Seeing Yi Chen had stirred the crowd''s anger, Ye Rusuang didn''t find it appropriate to call him back; in fact, she thought he was more interesting than this crowd, at least he was sincere.

    Yi Chen''s actions, of course, indicated he no longer wanted to play these boring games with the group of young masters. Initially, he could tolerate eating some golden thread pastries,

    but as the conversation went on, someone kept ''unintentionally'' revealing their identity and wealth, subtly taunting him, so he simply couldn''t bear it any longer.

    He was just a passerby; why bother with so much concern.

    Boarding the ship was a whim, and so was leaving. He sought freedom and ease.

    Come to think of it, Yi Chen did notice something amiss about two young masters. If others were ingratiating and coveting Ye Rusuang, these two seemed to harbor malicious intent, their gaze often discreetly lingering on the guards outside Ye Rusuang''s cabin.

    They also frequently checked the sky outside, as if waiting for someone.

    But that was none of his concern as long as it didn''t trouble him. The loves and hates of a bunch of young masters and missies were none of his concern; if not for the need to keep his identity hidden, he would have long since flown away.

    The next pier was the Fisherman''s Wharf in the southern part of Jiangnan Circuit, and Yi Chen decided to disembark there.

    Just as he was contemplating this, Yi Chen''s pupils suddenly contracted. Five figures in black robes with hoods descended from the sky, the leader exuding an imposing aura similar to the Ghost King of heaven.

    On the chest of each black robed person was embroidered a longsword dripping with blood.

    It was none other than the Blood Killing Tower, a notorious martial faction in the Jiangnan Circuit.

    Before coming to Jiangnan Circuit, Yi Chen had done some homework with Lin Zhenbei about the major powers there.

    The Blood Killing Tower had left a significant impression on him.

    It was a comprehensive organization that specialized in kidnapping, murder, and theft.

    Its leader was Gui Zhongdao.

    Before Gui Zhong''s dramatic rise, the Blood Killing Tower was a small assassination organization with limited influence.

    But everything changed when Gui Zhong became the head of the Blood Killing Tower.

    Gui Zhong rejected traditional paths, focusing on results-driven strategies, aligning targets with the market environment of Jiangnan Circuit, implementing comprehensive plans, targeting the pain points of Jiangnan Circuit, and executing a well-crafted series of tactical moves.

    Before his reformation, the Blood Killing Tower only knew how to take contracts to kill people, living a fraught existence, not just living on the edge of the knife and blood, but also not earning much gold, silver, and cultivation resources.

    Gui Zhong was more astute. If there was no business, he would create it, adopting an outward expansion strategy, no longer waiting for business to come to him. For some small and medium-sized families, he adopted kidnapping for ransom, with a high regard for credibility, releasing hostages as soon as the payment was received, aiming to build a good reputation.

    He also restructured the organization and incentive systems of the Blood Killing Tower.

    He focused on the top-level structure, clarifying the differentiated race tracks for each member of the gang, achieving coupling of team value.

    Team members had clear division of labor: those who seized hostages did just that, those who acted undercover did their part, and those exploring and assessing the market did their jobs. They no longer distributed rewards based on cultivation level but on contribution, valuing the importance of logistics.

    As a result, the Blood Killing Tower thrived by steering clear of major powers, moving location after each hit, maintaining a tight organization, offering fair prices, and with Gui Zhong''s True Person Realm cultivation, it grew stronger and recaptured its glory, becoming a well-known assassin power in Jiangnan Circuit.

    The commotion outside naturally caused Ye Rusuang''s guards to sound the alarm, and everyone panicked as they gathered above the deck.

    Gui Zhongdao waved a black mana with a cold face, sending Ye Rusuang''s two guards vomiting blood and flying away. Having just made a breakthrough to the seventh level of the True Person Realm, he instantly took control of the situation, and for a moment, everyone on the pleasure boat was silent as if chilled by frost.

    Two young masters approached the robed figure with sneers on their faces.

    "Zhang Long, Li Long, to think that you two are traitors, does your Linshui Zhang family and Li family no longer wish to live? How dare you conspire with Blood Killing Tower to trap us all." Nan Gongzi''s expression was a mixture of shock and anger, his face a picture of panic.

    These two had also boarded partway through the journey, only earlier than Yi Chen.

    Ye Rusuang, however, was quite rational now, "Nan Gongzi, no more words, we''ve been deceived. The Linshui Zhang family and the Li family certainly have these two bastards; their names are real, and the things they told us about the Zhang and Li families of Linshui are true."

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    "But they themselves are fakes, all they did was to gain our trust."

    "If I am not mistaken, these two must be carrying tracking magic artifacts."

    Gui Zhongdao looked at Ye Rusuang with surprise: "This one is quite astute. Raise the ransom by thirty percent, I think the Ye family will accept."

    Yi Chen crouched at one end of the deck, watching everything with cold eyes, not panicking at all.

    As far as he knew, Gui Zhongdao never killed indiscriminately in his actions, only kidnapping the target persons. As long as there was no resistance, all was well. This man had a quirk ¨C he wouldn''t kill without getting paid, as he felt it was a loss.

    In order to avoid the attention of the Yan Family and Zhang Longyi''s lineage, Yi Chen decided to tolerate it for now. He couldn''t afford to expose this persona lightly; otherwise, based on the disappearance location of his main account, there was still a risk of being exposed, rendering all his efforts futile.

    Tolerate it for a moment, and all will be calm!

    Tolerate! Tolerate! Tolerate!

    Yi Chen practiced deep breathing and mental preparation.

    The five from Blood Killing Tower descended onto the deck, with ''Zhang Gongzi'' smiling as he took out pen and ink, urging the remaining young masters and misses to write letters home.

    ''Li Gongzi,'' holding a long sword, approached Yi Chen and a few merchants with a cold sneer.

    "What do you want to do?" Gui Zhongdao looked at ''Li Gongzi'' with surprise.

    "Tower Master, this is a big deal, I want to use the lives of these poor scholars to deter these young masters and misses who have never seen blood."

    Gui Zhongdao frowned slightly but, considering ''Li Gongzi''s'' major contribution to this abduction, he eventually stayed quiet, indicating tacit consent.

    This man was his capable lieutenant; this kidnapping, from scouting to planning the target, was almost single-handedly arranged by him. Just that he was a bit too bloodthirsty; nevertheless, a minor flaw did not hide his merits.

    Upon hearing this, the merchants began kowtowing desperately like smashing garlic, loudly begging for mercy. At this point, Yi Chen stood out like a crane amongst chickens.

    Holding the long sword, ''Li Gongzi'' walked menacingly towards the merchants, taking a deep breath and displaying a face of intoxicated pleasure. He relished the feeling of others'' fear.

    The sensation of toying with and controlling the life and death of others was simply, exhilarating.

    After a deep breath, ''Li Gongzi''''s expression turned cold, and he strode towards Yi Chen.

    "Zhang San, I actually liked the last poem you recited."

    "However, right now, the expression on your face, Master Li is very unhappy."

    "I''m also very unhappy!" Yi Chen said coldly.

    With a crisp snap!

    A headless corpse appeared before him.

    Yi Chen couldn''t hold back any longer, his sense of righteousness reemerged, and he killed the idiot with a slap.

    A wretch who couldn''t even beat his greatest son was daring to act tough.

    Ye Rusuang''s eyes widened in an instant.

    "Zhang Long, you are¡­"

    Yi Chen glanced at Ye Rusuang indifferently: "I''ve told you from the beginning, I was born with divine power."

    With a wave of his hand, he drew the long sword on the ground into his hand. Yi Chen, with a fierce expression, met Gui Zhongdao''s gaze: "Tower Master of Blood Killing Tower, can you give me, Zhang San, a little face, and let''s call it even? Everyone goes their separate ways from here!"

    "Otherwise, I, Zhang San the Life-Reaping Scholar, will have to lose my temper."

 Chapter 207 Unexpected Gains, Carefree King, The Taoists New Strategy.

    Gui Zhongdao found himself caught between a rock and a hard place.He had failed to realize that the scholarly gentleman lounging on the deck was actually a high-level expert of the True Person Realm.

    This ability to conceal one''s presence was nothing short of terrifying.

    However, Yi Chen''s subsequent offer to save face and go their separate ways only made him sneer in response.

    It seemed that even if this man had something up his sleeve, he ultimately couldn''t be a match for himself, at least not capable of dealing with him. Otherwise, why would he have proposed such a thing?

    With this thought, Gui Zhongdao''s tone became increasingly forceful.

    "Fellow Daoist, you killed my men, and now you expect me to give you face? Then who will give me face?"

    "You simply have no respect for me!"

    A blood-colored ghost head knife suddenly appeared in his hand.

    Yi Chen took a deep breath, suppressing the violence in his heart.

    Usually, it was he who said such things to others; he hadn''t expected these words to be thrown back at him today.

    Damn it, what goes around comes around.

    "Gui Zhongdao, are you truly eager to ascertain the extent of my, the Life-Seizing Scholar''s, capabilities?"

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    A cold gleam flickered in Yi Chen''s eyes, as a plan suddenly formed in his mind.

    "Hand over the treasures you possess, serve me for ten years, and I shall spare your life!"

    On hearing this, Gui Zhongdao couldn''t help but sneer. This man seemed fierce on the outside but timid on the inside, certainly not as strong as himself.

    Furthermore, a True Person Realm expert hiding on this pleasure boat likely possessed either valuable treasures or secrets.

    Either would be worth more than the easy pickings aboard this ship.

    Being from the Blood Killing Tower, which also dealt in intelligence, if he could secure a great secret, its value might even surpass a major treasure.

    Seeing the increasingly greedy and bloodthirsty look in Gui Zhongdao''s eyes, how could Yi Chen not know that this idiot had gotten the wrong idea?

    At this moment, he was speechless.

    "Damn it!"

    Having transformed into the professional mage Liu Haizhu and leaving behind a refined and amiable curse, Yi Chen casually slashed out a stream of cyan mana and, with one foot stamping down, he soared into the sky.

    Under his current guise, he could only exert seventy percent of his usual strength. In this condition, he indeed couldn''t defeat the person in front of him, whose strength was on par with the nefarious Carefree King of the Blood Killing Tower.

    Time to make a swift exit.

    Transforming into a streak of cyan light, Yi Chen flew towards the Nanshan mountains, which cut across the southern waters behind him.

    Impudent whelp, meddling in my affairs!

    "How daring! Don''t run!"

    "You all, tie these hostages up and take them to the base. I''ll be right back!"

    Seeing Yi Chen not even daring to exchange blows and directly fleeing, Gui Zhongdao''s belief was once again confirmed.

    He moved in a flash, blocking in front of ''Young Master Zhang.'' With a great reach, a massive black hand dispelled the cyan mana from Yi Chen''s subordinate. After shaking off the force with his own mana, he casually gave a command before pursuing the fleeing Yi Chen.

    A black and a cyan light chased each other across the sky, closing in on one another.

    As for why Yi Chen''s light was cyan, of course, it was due to his ability to mimic others. If he wanted, he could easily change it to pink without any effort.

    In the depths of Nanshan.

    Yi Chen coldly stopped in a valley, while Gui Zhongdao, sneering, blocked his path, still holding a long sword. That was the superior mana sword of the unfortunate ''Young Master Li'' Yi Chen had picked up earlier.

    "Life-Seizing Scholar, are you so disdainful of your sword that you''d abandon it along with the life it seizes?"

    To buy some time earlier, Yi Chen had thrown his sword, which had fallen into Gui Zhongdao''s hands.

    "Run, why don''t you keep running!"

    "Giant Spirit! Giant Spirit!"

    With a slap on his chest and a sinister laugh, Gui Zhongdao''s body swelled massively, transforming into a five-meter tall giant, his skin covered with red demonic tattoos. His vital spots, like his chest and head, were protected by small bowl-sized, finely interlocked scales, and a fierce large tail whipped back and forth behind him.

    The top of the tail even had a muscle bulge the size of a grinding stone pendulum.

    "Boy, this is the Giant Spirit Demonic Body that I coincidentally mastered while cultivating the Giant Spirit Magic. Everyone who has seen this technique of mine is dead. You''re very lucky to behold my true demonic form."

    "This place is desolate, not even a ghost in sight. Don''t expect anyone to save you, and don''t think about running away again."

    "Submit! Or die!"

    "Give your answer now, my patience is limited."

    After revealing the Giant Spirit Demonic Body, Gui Zhongdao''s aura surged once more, becoming even more powerful than that of the Sect Hierarch Yin Tianyin of the Infernal Fire Cult. Perhaps the demonic body had influenced his temperament, making his tone more arrogant and presumptuous.

    "You say that no one is here?"

    "You''re so tall~"

    Yi Chen lifted his head, looking up at the monstrous giant nearly as tall as a two-story building, with a strange smile on his face.

    As Gui Zhongdao watched in terror, a silver-white Daoist figure, ten meters tall, suddenly stood tall in the valley.

    Compared to the immense stature of the silver-white Daoist, his Giant Spirit Demonic Body looked like a little brother.

    "Dao...."

    "To hell with dao!"

    "Your purity, it''s too low!"

    Yi Chen''s figure flashed, launching a surprise attack, and his ferocious kick landed instantly on the chest of the monstrous giant.

    Pfft!

    Gui Zhongdao spat out a mouthful of dark green blood as he was struck face-up, his body bending into a strange angle. The continuous snapping sounds indicated how many bones were shattered under that kick.

    Behind him, a segment of white bone spiked through the flesh and skin, exposed to the open air.

    His body, propelled by the immense kinetic energy, flew backward like a cannonball and slammed into the rock wall of the mountain behind him.

    Boom!

    The entire mountain quivered, countless leaves fell in a whirlwind, and rocks the size of human heads tumbled down.

    Gui Zhongdao struggled to get up, desperately gathered his Mana, and tried to flee, but immediately a large hand grabbed his long tail from behind and slammed it down hard onto the ground!

    "Damn it, I was about to leave! Intending to let you handle things! And then? And then?"

    "You whelp, why must you force my hand!"

    "I gave you three chances, a full three chances!"

    "Don''t you care that your fool messed up the rules?"

    "Why must you force me!"

    Yi Chen''s expression was fierce as he lifted Gui Zhongdao''s long tail and swung it left and right against the rocky ground!

    Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

    Soon, Gui Zhongdao was inhaling but no longer exhaling.

    After a large pit was formed on the ground, filled with black-green liquid, a pair of huge silver-white hands, like mechanical arms, deeply embedded into Gui Zhongdao''s skull.

    The memory extraction ability activated.

    A myriad of memory fragments flooded in.

    Yi Chen furrowed his brows, falling into deep thought.

    "The Carefree King?"

    "The Wuyou Alliance?"

    Among the memories of Gui Zhongdao, temporary omission of others, it was the recent big deal that caught his attention.

    The Carefree King had placed an enormous order worth four million taels at the Blood Killing Tower.

    He hoped for the covert collection of human bones, offering one hundred taels for a set of bones, three hundred taels if they were fresh.

    Additionally, he commissioned the Blood Killing Tower to gather intel on the Demon Humans, offering a reward of one million taels for the true identity of a Demon Human.

    The Carefree King is the most mysterious Loose Cultivator in the Jiangnan Circuit, the underground emperor there, with a cultivation in the late stages of the True Person Realm is certain, yet nobody knows his true level of cultivation nowadays.

    This person founded Wuyou Mansion, an underground cultivation organization, and entitled himself the Carefree King.

    What does it mean to be carefree?

    Freedom from worries is carefree!

    No matter what concerns you have, as long as you can afford the price, the Carefree King will take on your worries for you, not taking a penny if the task is not completed.

    Then, because of his strong ability to handle affairs, and having too many orders he could not handle, he directly merged with other underground forces in the Jiangnan Circuit to form the Wuyou Alliance.

    For example, the Blood Killing Tower is a part of the Wuyou Alliance.

    After reading the memory fragments of Gui Zhongdao, Yi Chen couldn''t help but admire the methods of this person.

    Indeed, heroes are as common as fishes crossing the river.

    Though not a perfect analogy, the Wuyou Alliance operates similarly to the business model of Jingdong from a former life, with Wuyou Mansion being self-operated and others as franchises, with the alliance taking a ten percent cut from the franchisees'' tasks.

    Don''t underestimate this minor change; this strategy is nothing short of brilliant.

    Keep in mind, if you cut off someone''s livelihood, they will cut off your lifeline.

    Even with strong cultivation skills, the Carefree King''s advancement through the True Person Realm''s later stages meant that Wuyou Mansion was certainly taking too much from its competitors.

    Only absolute violence can create an absolute monopoly!

    If you can''t achieve that, the fate of someone who hoards everything for themselves usually isn''t too pleasant.

    The Great Qin fell during its second generation, having angered the nobility of the six states, do you think others will let you be?

    After establishing the Wuyou Alliance, it seemed as though the Carefree King was earning less, but in reality, Wuyou Mansion completely turned danger into safety and grew substantially with the help of abundant resources.

    Over the years, it became a colossal underground organization.

    For instance, as long as you can pay the price, if you fancy the wife of a prefectural governor for a night of pleasure, the Carefree King can fulfill your wish.

    Or, if you offer a higher price and have your eyes on the wife of the Commandant of the Zhengan Office in the Jiangnan Circuit, the Carefree King will tie you up and deliver you to the Zhengan Office.

    Walking the edge between the lawful and the illicit, dealing in brokerage and platform transactions, this is the current Wuyou Alliance.

    ...

    ...

    With a flick of his finger, a white flame landed on Gui Zhongdao''s corpse, burning it to ashes.

    Yi Chen looked at the black storage ring in his hand, his brows furrowed then relaxed, as a bold idea suddenly emerged in his mind.

    The storage ring, a remnant of Gui Zhongdao, held all his belongings accumulated over the years, including a down payment of two million taels in silver notes from the Carefree King.

    A man does not get rich without a windfall, just as a horse does not get fat without grazing at night.

    Yi Chen hadn''t expected to acquire such a vast amount of wealth and resources.

    Seeing as how things turned out, it would be a disservice to his shape-shifting abilities if he didn''t make a big move.

    Taking out a set of black robes from the storage ring and putting them on, he adjusted his appearance a few times, and suddenly a fresh ''Gui Zhongdao'' was born.

    "From today on, the Death-Inviting Scholar is dead, I am Gui Zhongdao!"

    After dealing with the scene, Yi Chen followed the memories to an underground bunker in a woodland.

    "Sect Hierarch, you''ve returned. What about that lunatic?"

    A group of subordinates instantly gathered around to greet him.

    "With my peerless divine skills, that person has naturally been reduced to ashes by me."

    "Yang Left Emissary, issue a command for me, from today onwards, our Blood Killing Tower will aggressively purchase living specters, corpse puppets, zombies, and other sinister entities."

    "Tell the brothers to pause the bone collection, I''ll give you a list of prices and exchanges in a bit," Yi Chen said coldly to a middle-aged man following him. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 210 The Cave Dwelling Appears, Ninety-Nine Divine Pillars.

    Yi Chen gazed at the young noble before he could respond, Wen Renzhong suddenly rose, and a scarlet blade energy burst forth from his body in an instant.The scorching blade energy engulfed the young noble''s figure, shot out of the door, and eventually vanished into the horizon.

    Everything seemed as if nothing had happened, only a small pile of thin ash on the ground proved that the young noble had been there.

    "Friend Yan, this fellow disrupted our drinking mood, so I''ve dealt with him for you. Come, let''s drink more," Wen Renzhong said with a smile, pouring another bowl of wine for Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen silently looked at the ash on the ground, finally understanding why people would rather drink the northwestern wind out in the forest than join Wen Renzhong at his table.

    He truly was a killer.

    He didn''t even know whom to blame for this enmity now...

    The beautiful woman approached Wen Renzhong with a frosty expression on her charming face, "Wen Renzhong, you know the rules of my inn; I do not welcome those who break them."

    "He didn''t spend a penny, so he''s not considered a guest, and I haven''t broken your rules, Fairy Qing."

    "You know me, I never kill indiscriminately unless provoked."

    Wen Renzhong downed the wine in front of him in one gulp and smacked his lips.

    "I hope there won''t be a next time."

    The beautiful woman gave Yi Chen and Wen Renzhong a resentful glare and left, swaying her curvy waist.

    "What''s the background of this Fairy Qing?" Seeing a flicker of wariness in Wen Renzhong''s eyes, Yi Chen couldn''t help but ask.

    "Hehe, Brother Yan, how do you think this person''s cultivation compares to mine?"

    "Naturally, Friend, your mana is stronger, within three moves this person would surely die."

    Wen Renzhong did not reply but wrote the words ''True Monarch'' with his finger dipped in wine on the table. Find your next read on empire

    Yi Chen instantly understood.

    This person must either come from an impressive family or be involved with someone very powerful.

    But since this person has resorted to running such a shady inn, it seems safe to exclude the former possibility.

    What Yi Chen didn''t know was that at the moment he was pondering this, Wen Renzhong, too, was feeling relieved in his heart: "It''s good that I acted decisively and chopped down that fellow, otherwise wouldn''t it have caused Brother Yan to look down on me?"

    "This one''s on the unlucky lad."

    "The boss always says I''m too reckless, little does he know my quick wit."

    With that thought, Wen Renzhong slightly puffed out his chest.

    Life is so mysterious, under Yi Chen''s casual remarks, Wen Renzhong''s competitive spirit was kindled, then the young noble was obliterated.

    If Yi Chen knew this, he would probably be speechless too.

    At the moment, he was sneering to himself: "The knife-fighters of Mount Taihang are truly domineering, they''ve bewildered even me."

    He didn''t know on whom the young man''s sect would pin the blame, but whoever it concerned, given another choice, he would still slay that carving.

    Green Dragon Fortress on Mount Taihang, situated within the southern region of Henan, was a power formed by a group of Loose Cultivators extremely passionate about the blade. With time, it had grown and strengthened. Although it did not rank amongst the few top forces in the world, it was not to be underestimated either.

    Just as Yi Chen was about to chat with Wen Renzhong about some more amusing matters, suddenly the sky darkened, and cries of alarm came from outside the inn.

    "A treasure of a hidden world has emerged!"

    "It''s truly the treasure of the True Martial Holy Palace, brought forth by True Monarch Tianwen during his escape¡ªour fortune is profound indeed."

    The guests inside the inn swiftly flew out, only to see a majestic and grand palace floating in the sky above Qianzhou Peak, motionless, emitting a radiance of golden light.

    The palace was approximately a hundred feet tall, resembling a huge piece of exquisite bronze ware, beautifully detailed, and its entire body was engraved with intricate talisman characters and matrix patterns.

    Its surface was enveloped in a thick layer of golden light.

    In the crowd, a cultivator couldn''t restrain the greed in his heart and, with a surge of mana, rode a streak of escaping light directly into the golden light membrane, disappearing from sight.

    With the precedent of that first brave soul, other cultivators who were still waiting and watching could no longer hold back and one after another flew toward the colossal palace.

    Yi Chen was lingering at the back of the crowd, silently observing.

    To those who entered first, he did not think them unwise for daring to venture into the unknown.

    Some retire from their official posts to return to their hometowns, while others travel overnight to exams.

    This is what makes the world interesting.

    Everyone makes the best decisions based on their own circumstances, and those who first entered were mostly minor cultivators from the Qi Refinement Realm. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    There was only one who was an early-stage cultivator in the True Person Realm, already advanced in years.

    They were not unaware of the great risks involved in their actions, but they really had no choice, which is the tragedy of the weak.

    It''s like the youths of a past life who, despite seeming to have myriad choices and limitless possibilities, in reality had but one or two paths to tread.

    "Brother Yan, shall we go together?" Wen Renzhong flashed Yi Chen a toothy grin. As more True Person Realm experts flew into the palace, disappearing from sight, he was becoming impatient.

    Yi Chen smiled and shook his head; he decided to keep watching a little longer.

    Only those without capital have to take high risks. To him, the True Martial Holy Palace was not the sole opportunity in life, so he would weigh his options a bit longer.

    "Alright then, Brother Yan, the Green Dragon Gang does not dither," Wen Renzhong said, leaving behind a somewhat baffling remark before leaping up, his body enveloped in scarlet blade energy, and vanishing into the light membrane.

    Half an hour later, many cultivators in the inn chose to enter.

    Yi Chen pondered on the spot for a while before his form faded into the air.

    Moments later, an old man riding a cloud of ghastly qi streaked across the sky. After casting a cold glance around, he too disappeared into the light membrane.

    After the old man vanished, Yi Chen''s face went through a rapid succession of changing expressions, as if he was engaged in an intense internal struggle.

    Half an hour later, several dozen streaks of light entered the palace. There were righteous cultivators, demonic cultivators, ghosts, zombies, and even a person from the Town Peace Office dressed in a python robe.

    Yi Chen couldn''t hold back any longer. So many Deep Red Points had gone in, and after such a long wait no one had come out. He stamped his foot and shot up into the sky, plunging headfirst into the golden light membrane.

    In the dizzying whirl of heaven and earth, he found himself in a new world.

    In the blink of an eye, Yi Chen arrived at the entrance of a tall palace that made his figure seem as small as an ant in comparison.

    The four ancient seal characters of "True Martial Holy Palace" shone brightly.

    Staring at them for a while, Yi Chen''s eyes began to feel a piercing pain, which made him even more acutely aware of the power the True Martial Holy Sect wielded in the old days.

    With a thought, Yi Chen activated his reflective heart-eye ability. But within this grand hall, what was normally an ability enhanced several times over, felt as if it was suppressed by some invisible force, barely covering a three-meter radius around him.

    After a moment''s hesitation, Yi Chen firmly stepped through the grand entrance.

    Past the long corridor and through another mighty portal, an exceedingly vast hall unfolded before Yi Chen.

    Ninety-nine towering bronze godly pillars rose up, each about a hundred meters in height, with dragon and phoenix designs etched upon them, and ancient silver script embellished in a profound trajectory.

    Each of the massive bronze pillars was inscribed with a number at the base, orderly arranged from one to ninety-nine.

    At this time, the tops of the pillars were already crowded with cultivators; those with strong cultivation stood at the forefront, each occupying a pillar on their own, while others grouped together to share.

    Wen Renzhong held a Green Dragon Crescent Blade, an imposing presence, standing atop the ninth pillar.

    Moved by thought, Yi Chen immediately swept toward a fair lady in white, roughly at the third level of the True Person Realm, perched on the nineteenth pillar.

    This woman, a picture of grace and elegance, captivated with every gesture and movement.

    "Fellow daoist, would you prefer I ask you to step down, or will you leave on your own?" Yi Chen said to the lady in white with a smile, his tone gentle, yet his words carried the undercurrent of a bully.

 Chapter 211 True Martial Holy Palace (1)

    The white-robed beauty stared deeply at Yi Chen''s face without saying a word, then approached the thirty-third bronze magic pillar.At this time, there was a beautiful Caiyi girl, roughly 1.6 meters tall, standing atop the thirty-third pillar. Her attire was simple and sparing of fabric, revealing her fair, delicate arms and thighs, and she wasn''t even wearing shoes or socks, with bare, jade-like feet.

    "Fairy Bai, what are you doing?" asked the Caiyi girl who had just entered the True Person Realm timidly.

    "Fellow Daoist, would you prefer I ask you to step down, or will you leave on your own?"

    ...

    Due to the whim of some tyrant, a chain reaction had occurred throughout the entire sequence of bronze magic pillars.

    Yi Chen, however, was completely uninterested in this because his attention was fully captured by a mechanical echoing voice in his ear.

    "Teleportation Array? The closer the number on the pillar is to the front, the closer one can be teleported to the True Martial Pavilion? The first person to pass through the various obstacles and enter the True Martial Pavilion could possibly obtain the inheritance of True Monarch Tianwen? Those who kill within the hall will be expelled from the palace?"

    After echoing once, the voice fell silent, but Yi Chen''s eyes inevitably revealed a look of confusion.

    This True Monarch Tianwen has a vibe akin to the Pirate King.

    Yi Chen felt something was off, and a heightened sense of vigilance began to brew within him.

    Still, no rush, his mentality had already changed.

    Compared to the treasures that may not come into his hands, the several powerful ghosts and corpse kings in this hall were more alluring to him at this moment.

    Unconsciously, he had adjusted the focus of his plans.

    "Why seek treasures when you are the treasures?" Yi Chen licked his dry lips, discreetly memorizing the appearance and mana aura of a few individuals.

    After another half an hour had passed, more than ten people entered the hall. Suddenly, the crowd erupted into a noisy chatter, with most people looking respectfully toward the two individuals who had just appeared.

    Yi Chen focused his gaze and saw that it was a dwarf elder and a pale-faced scholar who had arrived side by side.

    The dwarf elder was shrouded in a bleak ghostly aura, while a faint demonic aura surrounded the pale-faced scholar.

    Seeing the dwarf elder and the pale-faced scholar enter, the old Taoist with a youthful face standing at the fourth bronze pillar opened his eyes, a sharp look crossing his face.

    "Ghost Youzi, since when did your Yin Mountain Prefecture become so close with the Huangquan Sect? You guys sure are becoming more sensitive," he said.

    The dwarf elder and the pale-faced scholar gave the old Taoist a look of hostility. "Still not as sensitive as your nose, Yueyangzi, and the Farm Lord."

    The old man dressed as a farmer standing on the third pillar heard this and glanced languidly at the dwarf elder, speaking casually, "Ghost Youzi, you better think before you speak, or I won''t mind planting you in my spiritual land."

    As soon as these words were out, both the dwarf elder and the pale-faced scholar showed a wary look and fell silent.

    The two exchanged gazes, taking the sixth and seventh positions, triggering another smooth chain reaction.

    The old man with the youthful face and the sorrowful farmer were naturally the same two individuals from the inn whose cultivation levels Yi Chen could not discern.

    Yi Chen watched all this silently.

    Another treasure had been added to his collection.

    How wonderful.

    "Farm Lord, you''re quite domineering ¨C I just arrived and heard you want to bury people as fertilizer. You wouldn''t bury me as well, would you?"

    The voice was heard before the person was seen.

    A delightful chuckle sounded.

    The next moment, a palace-dressed beauty arrived floating through the air, a green sword on her back, her expression bright and cheerful, an ample bosom, black hair like ink flowing down, and just above her green embroidered shoes with white silk stockings, a piece of calf, white as jade, with elegant lines, was revealed.

    "Fairy Li jests. How can an old man like me, already half in the grave, compete with the sharpness of a fairy''s flying sword?" The farmer who had previously silenced the dwarf elder replied with a wry, self-deprecating tone to the newly arrived beauty.

    The beauty did not reply, instead approaching Wen Renzhong like a fairy gliding through the skies, her enchanting eyes fixedly staring at him.

    Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Wen Renzhong''s face turned beet red, and ultimately, he left the ninth pillar to look for another unfortunate soul.

    Another two hours passed by, and during this time, more than a dozen people entered, with the most eye-catching being a gaunt old scholar holding bamboo slips, his presence formidable.

    Just as the bronze doors outside the hall were about to close, an extremely burly figure narrowly squeezed in.

    The man was bald, with his chest bare, a thick Buddha Beads necklace around his neck, and he was energetically chewing on a roast chicken.

    His boisterous voice echoed throughout the hall.

    "Haha, arriving early isn''t as good as arriving cunningly, I, Xu Wuxie, indeed have astonishing luck."

    "Eh, to find so many old friends here, Fu Canglong, you damned dog, it seems you''re also here for the Xuantian Elixir within the True Martial Pavilion."

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen couldn''t help but prick up his ears.

    The fame of the Xuantian Elixir was as thunderous to him; it was a grand elixir of the heavenly tier and was one of the very few that could aid in advancing to the True Monarch Realm.

    It was said that the success rate of advancing stages with this elixir could increase by twenty percent out of thin air.

    "Xu Wuxie, your mouth is still as smelly as before, don''t say what you shouldn''t, or you''ll die!"

    For the first time, the middle-aged monk in a python robe with square characters for a face, who had been meditating with closed eyes atop the first bronze Divine Pillar, opened his eyes.

    This person turned out to be born with a unique feature, double pupils in his eyes.

    Yi Chen also set his gaze on the person who had spoken, knowing only that this individual must be one of the top experts from the Jiangnan Circuit''s Public Security Division. He never expected that this person would be Fu Canglong, truly unparalleled in his domineering aura.

    "Fu Canglong, what''s there that cannot be said? Before its demise, the True Martial Holy Sect once marshaled the strength of the entire sect to refine a furnace of Xuantian Elixirs, stored right inside that True Martial Pavilion. Not long after, the sect perished, with only True Monarch Tianwen surviving by killing his way out of an encirclement, severely wounded."

    "Fellow Daoists, if you are interested in the Xuantian Elixir, you''ll have to be careful around Director Fu."

    These words caused an immediate stir in the hall. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Some people showed a surprised and delighted expression, clearly unaware of such secrets.

    Others had angry looks in their eyes, evidently already knowledgeable of the inside story, with other schemes in their minds.

    Xu Wuxie, seeing his aim achieved, a cunning flicker passed through his eyes as he made his way to the bronze pillar where Gui Youzi stood.

    "Little dwarf, you don''t mind squeezing in a bit, right?" His rough voice rang out again, and in Gui Youzi''s shocked and angry gaze, Xu Wuxie''s burly figure had already landed on the Divine Pillar. With a twist of his rear, he had actually caused Gui Youzi to stagger and step out of the range of the bronze pillar.

    The scene was quite comical.

    Yi Chen watched Xu Wuxie, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

    The reputation of Xu Wuxie was as thunderous to him as well.

    This man had a mysterious origin, was solitary and aloof, with cultivation profound to the extreme, being a character at the ninth and highest level of the True Person Realm. More famous than his cultivation was his unpredictable temperament.

    Don''t be fooled by his shaved head and Buddha Beads; in reality, he had nothing to do with the Buddhist sect.

    "It seems this trip will be very interesting."

    Yi Chen, watching the extremely imposing figures on the top ten bronze Divine Pillars, couldn''t help but laugh to himself.

    Each of these people had their own schemes, and it was still unknown if some had secretly formed alliances, with some even harboring deep-seated grudges and desires to kill each other.

    The reason they hadn''t made a move yet was entirely because of mutual restraint.

    With the entrance imminent, if they were to fight now and sustain injuries, it would be disadvantageous for the journey ahead and might make it easy for others to reap the benefits, so they were all holding back.

    "Stir it up, just stir it up, turn the heavens and the earth upside down."

    Now, as Yi Chen saw the hall filled with so many experts, he no longer had such a strong desire to rush to the True Martial Pavilion to compete for those treasures first.

    In battle, one must bully the weak while being stronger.

    His first choice was to first thoroughly loot the inferior evil spirits and Corpse Kings of Gold Coins.

    If it weren''t for the emergence of the True Martial Holy Palace, finding so many experts with Deep Red Points to loot Gold Coins would not have been easy, and provoking continuous slaughter would not end well.

    Read new chapters at empire

    But now things were different. With many restrictions inside this cave paradise and dangers abound, the death of a person or two was utterly normal. It was time for him to flex his muscles.

    If he could also slaughter Gui Youzi, that would be even better.

    Yi Chen looked at the dwarf elder and felt a surge of killing intent. Yin Mountain Faction was an old friend, after all; back when he was in Longjiang Prefecture, he had already crossed paths with this power, spoiling their good deeds.

    "That''s settled then. Treasures and divine weapons mean nothing to me compared to Deep Red Points. If I can gather the remaining seven thousand Deep Red Points necessary to advance to the thirteenth layer of the True Technique, this trip shall be considered a success."

    "If I have any strength left, I''ll explore the True Martial Pavilion."

    Yi Chen felt a sense of determination in his heart. His path differed from the many in the hall; Deep Red Points were his most precious treasure, all other things could wait.

    As Yi Chen was deep in thought, suddenly, a fierce wind swept through the grand hall, and the bronze Divine Pillars began to emit a dense milky white light.

    After a disorienting whirl, he found himself on a desolate plain.

 Chapter 213 Demon Child, Calamity Dragon, Wu Ding Divine Sect, Spy in the Disk?

    Night had fallen.Continue reading on empire

    The full moon, like a glowing silver platter, hung suspended in the sky.

    A tall young man in blue armor and a young man in a purple robe stood opposite each other, their auras clashing and stirring their long hair to flutter slightly behind them.

    Behind the tall youth was a skeleton wrapped in white cloth, eerily extreme.

    Although the young man in the purple robe had an ordinary face, his white eyebrows were particularly striking

    "Fellow Daoist, why block my path?" The demonic heir Ye Fengdi touched his white eyebrows, his eyes wary as he looked at the tall youth blocking his way, his voice indifferent.

    He was puzzled. Zhang Daoyi had previously fought a duel with the Buddhist heir on Qingyun Mountain in the Jiangnan Circuit, the event capturing the attention of the world. Now that the date was nearing, he naturally wanted to join the excitement and see for himself how his two old rivals had progressed.

    This time, taking a risk to venture out to sea, enduring life-and-death tribulations, he had stumbled upon an immense fortune on a desolate island overseas. He had successfully advanced to the seventh layer of the True Person Realm and even integrated the divine power seeds he had comprehended into the supreme saber techniques of his Heavenly Demon Sect.

    A man born between heaven and earth, how could he languish for long beneath others?

    His purpose in this journey was to present this technique for his two old friends to appraise.

    It was time for a change in the rankings of the Dragon Tiger List.

    Unexpectedly, halfway to Qingyun Mountain, he encountered this strange young man.

    "So you are Ye Fengdi, the current demonic heir of the Heavenly Demon Sect? Why are you so weak?" The tall youth frowned and voiced his words, even taking out the booklet from the Dragon Tiger List and flipping through it cautiously.

    "You, courting death. State your name, for I do not slay the nameless under my blade!" Ye Fengdi''s anger surged instantly, as a crescent saber suddenly appeared in his hand.

    The moon was bright and brilliant, but the saber in Ye Fengdi''s hand was even more dazzling than the moonlight.

    "That''s a decent blade, but if you want to know my name, you''ll have to prove you''re worthy." The tall young man nodded slightly, a green long spear emerging in his hand. The spear was simplistic, without luster, save for its tip, which was as red as blood, exuding an aura of slaughter.

    "You¡­." Rage twisted Ye Fengdi''s face beyond control, yet his heart turned ice-cold. Although the aura of the man before him was subdued and harmonious, making it hard to gauge his depth, he had more faith in the saber in his hand.

    The demonic heir lifted his crescent saber horizontally, his demonic energy surging as a dazzling and captivating brilliance suddenly rose from the blade in his hand.

    "Take my move!"

    "Iron Horse Frozen River!"

    The sound exploded in the night sky, and a brilliant saber energy like a crescent moon suddenly emerged. Countless moonlights converged into the saber light, adding power to the attack, sending endless saber energy straight for the tall youth''s head.

    Yet faced with such an astonishing cut, the tall young man merely extended his palm with a cold expression, his hand turning into a green color as if he gripped the white saber energy, extinguishing the radiant light within his large hand.

    "How¡­how is that possible? Who exactly are you?" The demonic heir''s eyes bulged with disbelief, having not held back even a little on that strike, although he hadn''t employed his perfect saber technique.

    "Given that you could scratch the surface of my Wuding''s Azure King''s physical body, you have earned the right to know my name." The tall young man opened his palm, and a white scratch mark became apparent in the center of his green palm.

    "Unexpectedly, the once unmatchable demonic faction of Central Continent has fallen so. I am none other than the first true disciple of the Wuding Divine Sect from the Eastern Continent, Huo Long."

    "You may go! You''re about to lose all face for the demonic sect. Your cultivation doesn''t deserve the title of demonic heir!"

    "I shall personally go to Qingyun Mountain and seek guidance from the Daoist heir and the Buddhist heir."

    Huo Long''s voice shifted from cold to passionate as he shook his green long spear and slapped it across the demonic heir''s crescent saber. An overwhelming force sent Ye Fengdi flying into the wilderness, startling countless creatures from their nocturnal rest.

    Some dreams fall from the sky before they even take flight.

    Huo Long drew forth the exquisitely crafted silver booklet of the Dragon Tiger List, flipping open to the fifth page, where Yi Chen''s image emerged.

    "The fifth place on the Dragon Tiger List? Yi Chengzi?"

    "Heh, the fourth-ranked demonic heir turned out to be so weak; there''s no need to pay any attention to Yi Chengzi and those who follow. All worthless."

    "I hope the Buddhist heir and the Daoist heir will bring me some surprise. Central Continent has truly declined."

    "Not that my realm is too small, just that its talents are too few; not that I scorn Central Continent, just that it has no one."

    "Let me, Huo Long, shatter the young generation of Central Continent and raise the prestige of the Eastern Continent, paving the path for the future plans of my Wuding Divine Sect."

    "I live like a whirlwind, regarding the world''s talents as void."

    "Huo Long aspires to be the Heavenly Master, challenging the world''s heroes with his spear."

    With a tug, Huo Long ripped Yi Chen''s page and those behind it to shreds, the pieces scattering across the sky like butterflies.

    ¡­

    ...

    Yi Chen reached out with his large hand, sweeping through the air above Fairy Bai''s body. A warm sensation enveloped her, and instantly, the icy chill that had clung to her was melted away like snow under the sun.

    Struggling to her feet, she pulled a white medicinal pill from her storage ring and swallowed it.

    "Thank you for your help, for saving my life. This storage ring is now yours," she said.

    "If you ever have some free time, you may visit me at Qingyun Sect''s Shuiyun Peak. I will surely repay you handsomely."

    Fairy Bai removed the storage ring from her hand and handed it over to Yi Chen, leaving herself with just two bottles of healing pills. Her straightforwardness took him by surprise.

    "That''s quite generous. You''re a straightforward person, Fairy Bai. We''re even now. But I dare not visit your Qingyun Sect."

    Yi Chen accepted the storage ring with a smile. It was a prize won by his own skill; why not take it?

    "Fellow cultivator, your cultivation is remarkable, yet you remain unnamed. ''Yan San'' can''t be your real name, can it?" she asked suddenly, as if moved by some unknown force.

    The atmosphere immediately became tense.

    Yi Chen gave her an indifferent look that swept over Fairy Bai''s curvaceous body, causing her scalp to tingle with unease. At that moment, she wished she could slap herself.

    "How foolish of me to speak out of turn."

    "After I return to my sect, I''ll never venture out alone again."

    With her teeth clenched, Fairy Bai avoided Yi Chen''s gaze, her body trembling slightly.

    Two seconds later, the ice on Yi Chen''s face melted away as he realized something with a glance. This Fairy Bai, despite her ample bosom, was lacking in brains.

    He decided to deceive her.

    "Ah, Fairy, you are unaware. I, Yan, have never changed my name or style; I am indeed called Yan San, styled Chi Xia."

    "Previously, I was just a poor scholar until by chance I fell off a cliff into an ancient tomb, where I received the inheritance of a master, and that''s how I obtained my current level of cultivation."

    "This action today was out of sheer necessity. As a loose cultivator, life is difficult."

    Yi Chen looked at Fairy Bai with a ''melancholic'' expression, sighing with every step.

    "Inebriated, I shed light over my blade. How many achievements are carved upon it? Entering the path of cultivation by mistake, I look back on the past. All connections are cut off. The west wind wears away at me, and though smoke from a stream fades away, a solitary lamp still illuminates the ancient tomb~" S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "If Fairy trusts me, Yan, you should consider changing your name. It''s unlucky," he said.

    With a flicker of his figure, he moved ten meters in a single step. By the time Fairy Bai regained her senses, Yi Chen had already shouldered his broadsword and strode off, his skills and reputation hidden deep.

    "Yan San, truly a man of exceptional talent~" Fairy Bai felt an unexpected ripple in her heart.

    ...

    ...

    Yi Chen transformed back into a young man in blue and continued along the forest path. The further he went, the more the terrain subtly rose at an imperceptible incline¡ªhis guess was that the core of this pocket realm''s treasure, the True Martial Pavilion, was located at the highest point.

    There, that was the ideal place for his ''operation.''

    It was certainly more efficient than relying solely on good fortune as he was doing now.

    To rapidly amass the 4,600 Deep Red Points needed to complete the breakthrough of his True Technique, he had to seize this opportunity.

    With that thought, Yi Chen quickened his pace even more.

    In the pocket realm, there was no night, only endless day. He moved silently, traveling for several hours. Despite his high level of alertness and considerable cultivation level, he couldn''t help but feel a bit weary.

    Just as he thought about stopping to catch his breath, he suddenly discovered two gruesomely deceased bodies around a bend up ahead.

    One body was dressed in green, tall and solid, with a red line across the neck, the head hanging lifelessly with bulging eyes that refused to close in death.

    The other, of average height, was unrecognizable, charred black with approximately ninety percent of the body burnt. Because of the burnt flesh, the transparent thread wrapped around his finger stood out strikingly.

    On the fingers of both corpses, the storage rings were conspicuously visible.

    "Damn it, is this the result of a mutual takedown, or is it a baited trap?"

    Yi Chen, disguised as the young man in blue, looked ahead with amazement and suspicion.

 Chapter 214 Ferocious, I Kill with Ease, Crushing All in My Path

    The more suspicious a person is, the more paranoid they become.Your next read awaits at empire

    Yi Chen''s pupils contracted as he stared at the corpse ahead and abruptly halted in his tracks.

    As a fishing adept, being fooled like a hooked fish, even if he didn''t lose anything in the end, would be a stain on his professional career.

    After a bit of contemplation, he had a plan in mind.

    In such a situation, if there was a problem, it could only mean that someone intended to ambush him.

    With that in mind, all he needed to do was think in reverse and avoid being ambushed.

    He casually uprooted a large tree and chopped it in half.

    From a considerable distance, with his immense strength, the two halves of the tree flew toward the corpse like missiles.

    With a thunderous blast,

    the corpse shattered to pieces.

    Good, that eliminated the possibility of a staged corpse.

    Looking at the two storage rings scattered on the ground in the distance, a smile finally appeared on Yi Chen''s face.

    He stepped forward a few paces, and with a wave of his hand, an invisible suction force sprang into existence in his palm, pulling the two storage rings toward him.

    Just as the rings were about to reach within ten meters of him, a rich white light suddenly burst forth from Yi Chen''s body, and he flashed backward with extreme speed.

    The second possibility was that the doggone storage rings were fake; in the world of cultivation, there were many bizarre treasures and secret techniques, and some strange magic artifacts posing as storage rings wouldn''t be surprising.

    Therefore, Yi Chen decided to lure them out.

    A dazzling light passed by, and a violent explosion rang out as three figures in black robes appeared amidst billowing dust, forming a triangle around him.

    "Damn it, I knew it was a trick."

    Yi Chen''s face darkened as he glared unkindly at the three black-robed figures who had revealed themselves.

    The morals in the cultivation world were really deteriorating.

    The three of them held a cultivation level, with the leader at the sixth layer of the True Person Realm and the other two around the fifth layer. Their auras merged subtly, suggesting they practiced some sort of combined secret technique.

    "Fellow Daoist is indeed cautious. Hand over your storage ring, and I can let you go," the leader said in a raspy voice. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Mana began to surge on all three of them.

    "Fellow Daoist, make your choice. I''ll give you five counts of time."

    "Five."

    Watching the three black-robed figures in front of him, Yi Chen suddenly revealed a fierce smile, and as surprise flashed in their eyes, his mimicry ability gradually dissipated with a crackling sound. He began to grow taller, and his aura started to climb.

    "Do you know?"

    "A clever hunter often appears in the form of its prey."

    "Guess if I''m the prey or the hunter?"

    Yi Chen raised his large hand, his eyes reflecting a hint of bloodthirsty light.

    Everybody has to die, and some just require a little help.

    Now that the fish had taken the bait, he no longer wanted to play roles, preferring just to be himself, which was more satisfying.

    "Damn it, attack!" the leading black-robed man realized they had encountered a professional.

    Knowing that the situation couldn''t be resolved easily, he bravely called his companions to action.

    Three blue Flying Swords struck toward Yi Chen''s vital points like lightning.

    Extreme Origin roared to life.

    With his silver-white hands, he grabbed two of the Flying Swords, one in each hand, while the third pecked incessantly like a woodpecker at the position of his heart.

    Yet, not even a white mark remained.

    The three black-robed figures were suddenly terrified. Could this be the body of a human?

    Crack! With a crisp sound, Yi Chen exerted force with his large hand, breaking the two Flying Swords in his grasp.

    The blue Flying Sword at his chest attempted to turn back, but he caught it lightning-fast.

    "You can''t kill someone like this, no force, no force at all."

    "Look, your purity, it''s too low."

    In the horrified gazes of the three black-robed men, Yi Chen, brandishing the blue Flying Sword, frenziedly hacked at his own arm, sparking countless sparks. Just three or four slashes later, the blue Flying Sword shattered completely.

    "Run!"

    The three men in black clothes retreated swiftly, no longer entertaining the thought of arm-wrestling with Yi Chen.

    But it was already too late.

    With a single stamp of his foot, the ground beneath Yi Chen exploded, terrifying power spreading into the earth, extending a long, narrow crack. Using this powerful reactive force, Yi Chen''s speed instantly surged to an unimaginable degree to the black-robed men.

    No maneuvering, no punching, just a simple, unadorned chest bump.

    The black-robed man running at the very back was like an insect hit by a dump truck, smashing into his comrade''s back at even greater speed, plowing a few hundred-meter-long path through the forest.

    Using the same trick, Yi Chen stomped down once more, accelerating fiercely as all three were knocked to the ground, their bones cracking and breaking who knows how many.

    "Brothers, let''s go all out."

    The leader spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, then forcefully stimulated his last bit of mana. With a fierce look flashing across his face, he bravely pulled out a black dagger and lunged at Yi Chen.

    The tip of the dagger struck Yi Chen''s chest fiercely, once again sparking a spray of sparks.

    "Good courage."

    "But in this world, courage alone is not enough."

    Yi Chen grinned at the leader of the black-robed men, his hand lightning-fast as he grabbed the man''s neck.

    The silvery Extreme Origin covered the black-robed man like mercury. In an instant, he held nothing in his hand, and a storage ring fell to the ground.

    "You, you''re Yi Chengzi!"

    Another black-robed man lying on the ground suddenly seemed to realize something and cried out in horror.

    "Ay, you recognized me, too bad there is no reward!"

    With a flash, Yi Chen instantly arrived at the side of another black-robed man.

    "Old Three, run! Run for it!"

    This man was also extremely brave, pulling out a black short dagger from his sleeve. With one hand clutching his own leg and the other desperately slashing Yi Chen''s Achilles tendon with the poison-coated dagger.

    A heavy foot fell, and the black-robed man''s head burst open like a rotten watermelon, yet his dagger-gripping hand still did not relax.

    The black-robed man called Old Three managed to suppress his injuries using some kind of secret technique and, incredibly, took out an odd fire wheel magic artifact, trying to escape with this treasure.

    Yi Chen laughed scornfully, "Although you lot are Bandit Cultivators, you still have quite a sense of loyalty."

    "But among brothers, it''s best to be neat and tidy."

    Breaking the fingers of the headless black-robed man still gripping the dagger, he took the black dagger from his hand and threw it with all his might.

    In the distant sky, a burst of blood mist exploded, and the two fire-spewing wheel magic artifacts dropped to the ground despondently.

    After collecting all the storage rings from the three black-robed men, Yi Chen cremated the headless black-robed man''s corpse on the spot.

    The deteriorating customs of the cultivation world were the inexcusable responsibility of these Bandit Cultivators.

    They had it coming for treating Yi Taoist like a fish on a hook to be caught.

    "Master, I have made yet another indelible contribution to the justice of the cultivation world."

    "I have not broken my promise, inside this cave, those I''ve slain were either demons, ghosts, corpses, or cunning villains trying to bust your disciple''s Gold Coins."

    "This counts as me practicing the way of benevolence and righteousness, doesn''t it?"

    After stringing the storage rings he had obtained, Yi Chen changed his appearance to that of a young man in a blue robe and continued forward.

 Chapter 215 Gui Youzi, Xue Qianqiu, You Jue Formation Flags, Borrowing Energy from the Heavens!

    ```Screech!

    On a boundless grassland, a dozen fierce beasts resembling pterosaurs circled incessantly above Yi Chen''s head, intermittently emitting piercing shrieks.

    Off in the distance, a massive herd of blood rhinoceroses dug at the ground with their hind hooves, growling lowly at Yi Chen with covetous eyes.

    A ''pterodactyl'' ferocious beast with blood-red eyes suddenly accelerated, sprinting towards Yi Chen, before being seized by a ten-meter-tall silver-white Daoist''s gigantic hand, which pulled out its head and the spine attached to the head just like peeling the head of a shrimp.

    "Damn it, courting death!" Yi Chen bellowed furiously.

    Since he had killed those three black-robed bandit cultivators, about ten days had gone by, and he had been falling into pitfalls the whole time.

    He had successively overcome the Wind Prohibition, the Water Prison, and the Fire Cage, all manner of peculiar restrictions.

    Stay updated via My Virtual Library Empire

    Barely making it out of the forest and onto this endless grassland, he had again damnably stumbled into this ''Beast Prohibition.''

    All of a sudden, he felt the sensation that when the stars aligned, all forces within the heavens and earth were on his side, but as fate would have it, a hero found himself with no freedom.

    Way too uncanny.

    In his hand, the weird spine of the ''pterodactyl'' oddly turned into a wisp of smoke and dissipated. Yi Chen cast a cold gaze at the ferocious beasts circling above as seven white orbs began to rise slowly around him...

    Half a day later, the air fluctuated like ripples, and the restriction shattered.

    Yi Chen raised his head to look at the bright sky, but his heart sank into deep perplexity.

    He always felt as if there was an invisible hand manipulating everything inside this cave heaven.

    ...

    ...

    Atop the plateau.

    A gopher as large as a mountain peak was burrowing out from underground. It cautiously poked its head out, looking around in search of any potential danger.

    Its sense of smell was exceedingly keen, capable of distinguishing the scent of various dangerous creatures within two kilometers. Its vision was razor-sharp, clear enough to see the glint of light reflected off a golden eagle''s feather several kilometers away.

    Yet, it failed to notice a white figure slowly materializing behind it.

    The figure gradually solidified from an illusion, and an invisible force field instantly restrained the gopher. With a light pinch between two fingers, the pale scholar Xue Qianqiu lifted the gopher to his face and grinned, "Not a bad little snack."

    A fountain of blood spurted from the gopher''s mouth, all of it sucked into Xue Qianqiu''s body.

    "Blood Fellow Daoist, after all these years, your taste is still so intense. Why not change it up a bit?" A black-robed dwarf elder appeared from the sky, wordlessly looking at his old friend.

    "Change? Why should I change? Blood is the fountainhead of power."

    "Blood is life." The pale scholar smiled as he focused on Gui Youzi, extending a white finger, "Brother Gui, please watch."

    A drop of blood fell from the pale scholar''s fingertip, turning into a puff of blood mist upon hitting a buried boulder next to him.

    Harsh corroding sounds followed one after the other.

    The blood mist, formed from the scholar''s blood, swiftly devoured the boulder and continued to erode downwards, creating a deep pit.

    Gui Youzi watched this scene, his heart jolted with shock as he hoarsely said, "I hadn''t thought that Blood Brother had advanced your Bloodfall Netherworld Magic Technique to such a degree. You have indeed stayed ahead of me. By now, you must have half a foot in the ninth layer of the True Person Realm, right?"

    "Heh heh, after we wrap up this business, wouldn''t your Spectral Ghost Slaughter Technique also advance a step further? The ninth layer of the True Person Realm is within reach, and True Monarchs are merely a stone''s throw away."

    The pale scholar chuckled and glanced over his shoulder at a distance.

    At that moment, there were more than a dozen blood-colored coffins arrayed there.

    The coffin lids were not completely closed.

    "Indeed."

    With a carefree smile, Gui Youzi floated through the air to stand before one of the bloody coffins, where a big man with a leonine face and encircling eyes lay with an agonized expression. It was none other than Wen Renzhong, who had once shared a drink with Yi Chen.

    "Daoist Wen, the taste of the Netherworld Coffin is unpleasant, isn''t it? The wise adapt to circumstances. What are your thoughts now? Release your soul, let us set down restrictions, enslave you, or else you''ll be reduced to a mere pill for Blood Brother and me to consume."

    "You do know that within this secret realm, anything could happen. Do you truly wish to be stubborn to the end?"

    The more than a dozen blood coffins on the ground were all True Person Realm cultivators, restrained by Gui Youzi and the pale scholar using the Nihility Banners.

    The two wretches were in cahoots, complementing each other''s cultivation. It turned out they, just like Yi Chen, had taken to the business of ''dealing with people.''

    The living souls for Gui Youzi, the bodies for Xue Qianqiu ¨C the two wasted absolutely nothing.

    "Daoist Wen, I respect your hard-earned cultivation, hence my persistent persuasion. Do not err on the side of your demise."

    Naturally, a living person is more useful than a living pill since a cultivator who has had restrictions placed upon them cannot control their own life or death. Their power can be exploited in peace, and their lives used in peril - spending some time before refining them alive is entirely worth it.

    Thus, Gui Youzi was genuinely reluctant to give up on Daoist Wen.

    "Fuck off, I, Wen Renzhong, am a man of nearly three meters tall, and when you damn little imp aren''t even flying, I can''t even see you from above the coffin, @#£¤%," Wen Renzhong began unleashing a barrage of curses, clenching his back teeth. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Smack!

    Gui Youzi, with a darkened face, slammed the coffin lid shut.

    There''s an old saying: Don''t hit a man in the face, and don''t expose his shortcomings when you curse him.

    His current diminutive, dwarf-like appearance was simply the result of a mishap while cultivating his Spectral Ghost Slaughter Technique in the past. It was the eternal pain in his heart, his Achilles'' heel.

    "Mr. Lu, Mrs. Zhu, how have you considered my proposal?"

    Gui Youzi approached sternly between two blood coffins.

    In the coffins to his left and right lay a lean scholar and a beautiful woman dressed in colorful clothes.

    "Kill... kill me instead. It''s utterly impossible. True Persons... must not be humiliated," the lean scholar, Mr. Lu, said through gritted teeth, enduring his suffering.

    "Gui... Daoist Gui, I am willing to submit, I am willing to do anything for you."

    The woman dressed in colorful clothes, a True Person Realm two-layer cultivator, cried out in pain.

    "Anything at all?" he chuckled. "I''m still short of a flute-playing servant girl. I''m afraid you''ll have to take on the role, madam." Gui Youzi''s lecherous gaze wandered over the woman in colorful clothes as his gaunt hand reached into the coffin and gave her protruding parts a vicious squeeze.

    Twang!

    "Madam, you, you can''t do this!"

    "How could one demean oneself to a dwarf for the sake of surviving?" Mr. Lu said, his face turning pale with shock.

    "What are you talking about, Mr. Lu? Don''t forget I''m here too," Xue Qianqiu''s large face somehow ended up right in front of his coffin.

    "Mr. Lu, your wife truly... huh, another big fish is coming. Brother Gui, get ready quickly."

    A sudden flash of red gleamed in Xue Qianqiu''s eyes.

    "What is this person''s cultivation level?" Gui Youzi frowned and asked.

    "With the support of the Extreme Yin Grand Array, as long as it''s not Fu Canglong, Nong Shan or Xu Wuxie, those few exceptions, what is there for the two of us to fear?"

    "That''s true."

    The Extreme Yin Grand Array was an array of flags they had obtained in an ancient cultivator''s cave during an exploration of a secret realm.

    Divided into Yin Flag and Extreme Flag, each person controlled one.

    The Yin Flag gathered the energy of ghosts and demons from the netherworld, while the Extreme Flag locked down space, significantly weakening the spells of the Xuanmen.

    When combined into an array, they had laid it out on the only path leading up to the high plateau.

    It was with the help of this Extreme Yin Grand Array that they had captured so many cultivators alive.

    Within this array, even cultivators at the ninth layer of the True Person Realm were no threat to them when they joined forces.

    "Ah, fate, I say!"

    "Why must people suffer so?"

    "Life, oh, why must people shed tears?"

    "Fate, oh, why must people oppose each other?"

    "Life, oh, why must people stand side by side?"

    Humming the hometown tune, "Fate," by Yue Ji, Yi Chen arrived cheerfully at the foot of the high plateau.

    Atop the plateau, mist swirled around, and the imposing grand halls were faintly visible through the fog.

    A bloody eagle circled thousands of meters in the sky, its cold gaze fixed on the ground.

    "Watch your mom watch!"

    "You dare fly wildly over Daoist''s head without even paying respects, and now you''re on a path to certain death."

    Yi Chen''s senses and vision had been enhanced multiple times, and he was extraordinarily sharp. Instantly he shot out a stream of Extreme Origin qi, which blasted against the bloody eagle like a sniper''s rifle, exploding into a burst of blood mist.

    "Ah!"

    "My eagle!"

    "I want him dead! Brother Gui, I want him dead!" shouted Xue Qianqiu from his hidden spot, unable to help but cry out in pain.

    It was by taming the blood eagle with secret techniques and sharing its vision that he had discovered Yi Chen in advance. In this domain, there were no shortages of flying creatures, and he never imagined someone would be so insanely vicious.

    "Brother Xue, keep calm," Gui Youzi said with an indifferent look.

    "Hehe, this place isn''t bad at all. Perfect for ambushing people."

    "If I were to lie in wait here for a while, playing a waiting game, surely many evil spirits and demon corpses would pass by. Then I could seize the opportunity to kill them. Wouldn''t that be wonderful?"

    Yi Chen glanced towards the palaces at the highest point of the plateau and nodded with a smile.

    After a careful look around to make sure there was nothing amiss, he began to ascend, looking for a suitable spot.

    "Ah, fate, I say!"

    As he hummed the little song from his hometown, Yi Chen suddenly discovered a ring of black ripples spreading rapidly, a metallic curtain that fell over him like an upside-down colossal bowl.

    Grey threads occasionally dropped from the curtain above.

    Gui Youzi and the scholar with a pale face arrived in front of Yi Chen with a cold laugh.

    Yi Chen fell silent.

    He had intended to ambush others, but it looked like he was the one who had been ambushed.

    "To think it''s Yi Chengzi from the Dragon Tiger List ranked fifth, truly a young prodigy."

    "This place is already encased within our Extreme Yin Grand Array. The spells of Xuanmen are ineffective. If you surrender without a fight, I can still spare your life," said Gui Youzi in a loud voice.

    "Extreme Yin Grand Array?"

    "It restrains the spells of Xuanmen?"

    Yi Chen looked up at the two people in the sky.

    His expression instantly changed from cold to ferocious.

    "Damn it! The night of hunting swallows, a swallow has pecked out my eyes!"

    "I call upon the heavens for strength!"

    "Pure Yang Holy Seal Heavenly Light!"

    With a roar, the descending heavenly light appeared, and seven white orbs suddenly emerged around Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body, floating upwards.

 Chapter 217 The Gambit, The Daoists Cunning Move, Obtaining the Overbearing Martial True Qi.

    ```"Why are you all looking at me? Don''t mind me," Yi Chen smiled wryly at everyone.

    While others were observing him, he, naturally, was also observing them.

    In the towering ancient hall that over a hundred meters high, the ground was a mess, with several strange combat puppet remnants scattered about, their cut surfaces smooth and even as if sliced apart by a sharp weapon at an extremely high speed.

    At this moment, there clearly existed four groups of people, all with astonishing aura.

    The man in the serpentine robe with double pupils was naturally Fu Canglong, whose sleeves flew off without a trace, and his hair was disheveled, looking slightly embarrassed, yet he still carried an extraordinary demeanor.

    The second was the gorgeously dressed beauty, Li Xianzi, with a green sword that moved around her like a dragon, her beautiful eyes fraught with a murderous look.

    The third was naturally the bald Xu Wuxie, wearing Buddha Beads on his head, now with his robe torn into strips, revealing his chest and a long, narrow wound on his face.

    The last group consisted of the farmer-like sect leader and the old Daoist with a child''s face and white hair, Yueyangzi; the former held a black crowbill hoe, an aura as solid as the ground giving a sense of an immovable mountain, while Yueyangzi looked pale as if he had sustained no small injuries.

    Atop the hall, four bronze giant turtles supported a large disk, shrouded in clear light, appearing like an egg.

    The focus of their contention was naturally, the two thumb-sized Xuan Yuan Pills on the second disk.

    The people had clearly just arrived not long ago and had already fought one round, with the result being that no one could do anything to the others, hence the deadlock.

    Because any attempt to seize it would result in an attack from all the others.

    "Fellow seniors, you go for the Xuan Yuan Pills. I won''t meddle. Let me take away the item on the fourth plate covered with clear light, the Overbearing Martial Qi¡ªhow does that sound?" Yi Chen glanced at the fourth plate and immediately brightened up when he saw the items shrouded in clear light.

    It was the jade scroll of Overbearing Martial Qi and the accompanying Divine Intent Picture.

    This item, placed in the fourth spot, must have been passed down from the ancestors of the True Martial Holy Sect, its symbolic meaning outweighing its actual significance, hence its enshrinement in the hall.

    The first one was the fundamental scripture of the True Martial Holy Sect, the "Divine Origin True Martial Heavenly Overlord Fundamental Mystery Scripture."

    The third was a golden halberd.

    "A junior like you, who is on the list of Dragon and Tiger, is so brazen. Are you seeking death?" Xu Wuxie sneered at Yi Chen.

    "Seeking death? Senior, you might be mistaken," Yi Chen, with a smile, walked to one of the two-meter thick bronze pillars supporting the hall, "Senior, I''m not asking. I''m informing."

    "I''m going to show you what real power is!"

    "Power far beyond your imagination!"

    "Pure Yang Holy Seal, Open Heaven''s Light!" Yi Chen recited in his heart and suddenly, a tall Daoist with silver hair and eyebrows appeared once more, his presence commanding, his cold gaze directed at Xu Wuxie and the others.

    Xu Wuxie frowned, "Kid, your strength is not bad, but it''s not enough, if this is all you''ve got, then just scram."

    "You might surpass us in the future, but for now, you''re still lacking."

    "Don''t be impatient, senior. Watch closely and see how my punch gathers many years of cultivation," Yi Chen laughed, and three golden lines on his Golden Core in his sea of qi melted again, his Cultivation Body broke through its limits and rose to eleven meters.

    All of a sudden, his figure seemed to freeze in place.

    The Strength-Breaking Realm ability started to gather power once more.

    At this moment, the aura displayed by Yi Chen caused everyone to frown slightly, such powerful energy already posed a certain threat to them.

    This Yi Chengzi, hidden so deep.

    The forcibly showy Yi Chen was inwardly panicking, but his face remained as steady as an old dog''s.

    Unless he activated the Soul Ignition Technique, he was still somewhat lacking compared to these people standing at the peak of the ninth layer of the True Person Realm. If he wanted to successfully obtain the Overbearing Martial Qi, he would have to create some danger first.

    The first second, a strong wind suddenly arose within the hall.

    The second second, the gusts grew increasingly fierce.

    ...

    "If you''re going to fight, then fight. Why dawdle?" Xu Wuxie was getting a bit impatient.

    In the fifth second, a speck of golden light emerged from Yi Chen''s fist, which soon burst into boundless brilliance.

    His fist moved,

    with an unstoppable momentum, it slammed against the colossal bronze pillar. In the eyes of Xu Wuxie, who looked as if he had seen a ghost, the huge bronze pillar bent.

    The entire hall shook.

    "I dawdle because I''m afraid you seniors wouldn''t recognize my true strength," Yi Chen puffed out his chest and started bluffing with remarkable ease.

    "Kid, it''s still not enough. What makes you think you can?"

    "Your move must have its limitations, although I don''t know what your price is," Xu Wuxie spoke again.

    ```

    Although Yi Chen''s punch was far more powerful than he had anticipated, with his craftiness, he still discerned some clues.

    "Xu Wuxie, I give you face by calling you an old senior," "Without giving you face, what will you do?"

    "With my level of cultivation, I naturally cannot suppress everyone here." S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "But with my level of cultivation, if I don''t want one of you to win, they simply won''t be able to win. Do you believe it or not?"

    Yi Chen''s ghostly voice carried over; his words sounded like those of a hoodlum.

    "Whoever blocks me first, don''t blame me for being impolite. I am a man of small tolerance and remember every slight."

    "Senior Xu, if you block me, do you believe that with me keeping an eye on you, you won''t be able to take a single treasure from this great hall?"

    As these words were spoken, the muscles on Xu Wuxie''s face began to quiver, and his complexion turned a deep shade of red in an instant.

    The bizarre provocation of Yi Chen left Xu Wuxie unable to muster a rebuttal.

    With the level of cultivation Yi Chen had demonstrated, he had enough weight for no one to ignore his presence; his strength had already disrupted the balance of power among the four corners.

    "I initially thought Lao Feng was boasting, but it turns out Yi Taoist is even more concealed than I''d imagined. Just a single ''Dominant Martial True Qi'' is no problem for me," Fu Canglong was the first to speak up, displaying an attitude that seemed pleased to see this development.

    Xu Wuxie had previously joined forces with Nunshan Master to deal him a harsh blow, causing him to suffer a secret loss. Now, seeing Yi Chen put Xu Wuxie in his place, he couldn''t help but speak up to disgust him, while at the same time, showing goodwill to Yi Chen.

    "As long as Yi Taoist swears by his Daoist heart that he will not compete with us for the Xuan Yuan Pill, I have no objections," Nunshan Master also spoke in favor.

    "Fair enough. I swear by my Daoist heart, if I break my word, let my cultivation of the ''Supreme Lingfei Pure Yang Origin Dao Scripture'' regress to the first level," Yi Chen swore with what seemed sincere gravity, gesturing towards the heavens.

    Just as Yi Chen thought the matter was settled, he suddenly heard the previously silent beautiful woman speak up, "Hold on a moment."

    "I heard that Yi Taoist has deep affection for his disciples. Wouldn''t it be more believable if you would swear on their lives?"

    "Miss Li, have you investigated me?" Yi Chen''s expression turned cold as he turned toward the dressed-up beauty.

    "Taoist''s reputation as a young and talented genius precedes him. Having caused such a stir upon stepping out into the world, who wouldn''t recognize you?" Despite facing Yi Chen''s angry glare, Miss Li remained unaffected and smiled gently.

    Damn it, a pernicious woman, and this time I have slipped up.

    After locking eyes for a second, Yi Chen had no choice but to do as instructed.

    He had actually hoped... to steal a little advantage, but it seemed that was no longer possible.

    With silent blessings for Miss Li to forever struggle alone with only a sheet to grasp, Yi Chen quickly approached the fourth tray emitting a pure light.

    A greedy gleam flickered in his eyes for but an instant. Yi Chen took out the Dragon-Slaying Sword, and the Yang Ji reappeared.

    The pure light enveloping the entire tray lasted less than two seconds before shattering under the tremendous pressure exerted by the Extreme Origin and the Dragon-Slaying Sword.

    Yi Chen seized ''Dominant Martial True Qi'' and its Divine Intent Picture firmly in his hand, a surreal feeling mixed with ecstasy and surprise enveloping his heart.

    "Just like that, it''s mine?"

    "With ''Dominant Martial True Qi'' reducing the need for Deep Red Points essential for my advancement, the thirteenth layer of True Technique is within reach."

    "I have succeeded," Yi Chen couldn''t help but burst into laughter.

    "Yi Taoist seems quite interested in these martial arts derived from the supreme scriptures of various sects. Could you enlighten us as to why?" Fu Canglong couldn''t help but ask.

    Jiangnan Circuit and Jiangbei Circuit have always been neighbors, both part of the Zhen''an Office lineup, and they have long exchanged intelligence and letters.

    As soon as these words were spoken, even Xu Wuxie couldn''t help but glance sideways.

    "There is no harm in speaking of this, as long as none of you laugh at me," Yi Chen said with humility.

    "With the current upheaval in the world, stirring people''s hearts, a ceaseless emergence of demons, ghosts, and calamities."

    "In stepping through the calamity of this troubled world, to become a light piercing the dark night, I wish to compile a top-tier martial art that can be cultivated without the need for a spiritual nature. Unfortunately, my wisdom is insufficient, and I collect these in the hope that these stones from other hills may serve to polish this jade," Yi Chen humbly spoke.

    "Such a grand aspiration, I wonder if you have achieved any results yet?" On hearing this, everyone showed their respect, perceiving the tall Daoist before them as detached from worldly concerns.

    "I''m still compiling...."

    "As the senior members here have been holding back for a long time, I happen to have a suggestion. To prevent any mishap, why don''t you join forces to break the pure light barrier, and then each resort to their own methods?" Yi Chen suggested, his eyes twinkling with a conniving cheer. Discover hidden content at My Virtual Library Empire

    "I will definitely not get involved in the struggle for the Xuan Yuan Pill, rest assured," Yi Chen quickly proposed another devious plan to everyone.

    If the others adhered to it, regardless of who obtained the Xuan Yuan Pill, at least he would have two fewer adversaries during the contest for the Holy Halberd Tianwen.

 Chapter 218 Senior, Please Wait!

    "Heh heh, my young friend, you''re a bit too greedy."After being silent for a long time, Farmer Mountain Master''s eyes flashed with a sharpness, clearly seeing through Yi Chen''s planning.

    The few people present also looked at Yi Chen with unwelcoming eyes.

    All of them were as cunning as millennia-old foxes; nobody was in the mood for playing simpleton, and Yi Chen''s little schemes were as clear to them as broad daylight.

    It was nothing more than him waiting for the opportunity to snatch the other two treasures while they were vying for the Profound Origin Pill.

    A copy of the dispensable Supreme Martial Technique was of no great use to them, so they let him have it, but to be outwitted by a junior would truly be an embarrassment beyond measure.

    Touching his nose, Yi Chen chuckled awkwardly, "If it doesn''t work, junior still has another plan..."

    "Scram!"

    "Shameless whelp!" Before Yi Chen could finish, Xu Wuxie shouted in anger, his displeasure towards Yi Chen having been longstanding. Yi Chen had previously made him lose face, and now he was coveting the other treasures as well, prompting Xu Wuxie to move directly to action.

    Behind Xu Wuxie, a demonic elephant shadow suddenly appeared, its body pitch black with eyes a deep crimson; mysterious purple demon patterns covered its body, and upon its forehead between its brows, a patch of golden dragon scales had grown.

    "Demonic Elephant ¨C Sky Stomper!"

    As the shout resounded, Xu Wuxie''s left leg suddenly swelled, and in sync with the stomp of the shadow behind him, a purple mist surrounded him as he launched a direct attack. Turning into a purple torrent, he surged toward Yi Chen.

    Behind him, a deep footprint was left on the bronze hall''s floor, and the other attendees merely watched with cold indifference.

    "Damn!"

    "Yang Ji ¨C Four Symbols."

    Yi Chen''s expression changed instantly, and having no choice, he called upon his Extreme Origin, standing bravely to face the attack. However, Xu Wuxie''s strength was tremendously fierce, and it was Yi Chen''s first encounter with such a mighty body cultivator. Fortunately, he had remained extra vigilant since entering the hall and managed to narrowly catch Xu Wuxie''s formidable move.

    "Kid, where''s the strength you showed hitting that bronze pillar? Playing with me?"

    "Demonic Elephant ¨C Lash."

    Xu Wuxie''s face twisted fiercely, the demonic elephant behind him roaring as it stood upright, tossing its trunk. A whip-like purple glow suddenly materialized in the air.

    The purple glow was so swift that Yi Chen could only use his sword to block, the formidable power emerging rapidly as his Extreme Origin frantically roiled and surged.

    Nevertheless, given Xu Wuxie''s terrifying strength, after barely catching the blow, Yi Chen was sent flying back to the entrance of the great hall.

    "Demonic Elephant ¨C Golden Spear"

    "Coming again? I take my leave!"

    Seeing Xu Wuxie pressing on, Yi Chen''s face instantly turned pale.

    Casting off, running away.

    He turned into a silver-white beam of light and fled.

    For Yi Chen, any hesitation, even for a microsecond, would be disrespecting his own intelligence.

    From a distant mountaintop, Yi Chen watched a golden light disappear into the sky, his heart couldn''t help but shudder with fright.

    He looked at the Dragon-Slaying Sword in his hand; a narrow oval-shaped mark was starkly branded upon it, left by Xu Wuxie''s demonic elephant lash he''d blocked earlier.

    "If you won''t listen, fine, but hitting people? That''s just rude."

    "Oh dear fate~"

    "Why must you see fit to strike me~"

    The sky echoed with Yi Chen''s mournful song.

    He had hoped to continue his verbal antics and make another play, but it was clear that there was an unspoken agreement among the groups inside the hall. They had already indulged him by letting him take the Supreme Martial Technique, which was the limit of their tolerance.

    Thus, when Xu Wuxie attacked him, the others simply watched from the sidelines.

    "What a loss, damn it, all old foxes still guarding their food."

    "Others fear my greed and think of muddling through to catch a fish in troubled waters and strike another blow, but the Dragon-Slaying Sword nearly snapped in someone''s hands,"

    Yi Chen touched his nose in annoyance, gazing at the vast temple on the distant plateau. With a pained expression, he glanced at the damaged Dragon-Slaying Sword and then turned away, heading in the opposite direction of the True Martial Pavilion. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However, he etched this debt deeply into his heart.

    But no rush, fortunes change in thirty years'' time, never bully a poor daoist.

    If he weren''t worried that someone in this Cave Heaven might discover the secret of his Golden Finger, he''d even consider making a breakthrough to the thirteenth level of his True Technique right here.

    After much deliberation, Yi Chen still abandoned this tempting idea. After all, he had already obtained the "Tyrant Martial True Qi" on this trip, and he had gathered enough Deep Red Points to consider his mission accomplished.

    Even if he risked it all and, after making a breakthrough in his True Technique, took possession of the Xuantian Pill, "Divine Origin True Martial Heaven-Tyrant Source Mystery Scripture," and the Holy Halberd, how much would it increase his strength?

    If for this reason someone targeted the secret of his breakthrough, it would be a loss beyond redemption.

    He had a feeling that this breakthrough in his True Technique would be extremely important to him. Perhaps, he could truly glimpse the secrets of the True Monarch and see the reality of a realm of the world.

    Moreover, he''d always felt that everything he experienced within this Cave Heaven was filled with strangeness.

    "Stir, just keep stirring,"

    "I''d better stay far from this core area, look for a way out and not get involved; let all your brains turn into dog brains," Yi Chen stopped again and looked back with a deep gaze at the temple shrouded in clouds before turning his head to leave.

    This time, he didn''t look back and instead walked toward the boundary of the Cave Heaven, moving away from the core whirlpool that was the True Martial Pavilion.

    After Yi Chen left, the people inside the True Martial Pavilion looked at each other and started fighting again, forming and betraying alliances, engaging in messy battles.

    "Fist Dominates Mountains and Rivers!"

    "Heavenly Cluster Sword!"

    "Demonic Elephant ¡¤ Golden Halberd!"

    "Farmer''s Three Hoes!"

    The fighters in the temple were truly ferocious, now fighting for their lives. Explosions rang out incessantly. A huge bronze column inside the temple was destroyed by half, with building debris falling occasionally. Only the shield of clear light on the bronze turtle tray flickered steadily within the aura of mana, as stable as ever.

    ...

    ...

    Inside the Cave Heaven, beneath the plateau in a mysterious cavern, a chubby child dressed in a golden corset, looking like something out of a New Year''s painting, stood in front of a copper mirror watching everyone in the temple fight. He couldn''t help but laugh with joy.

    "Fight, start fighting."

    "It would be best to tear down this True Martial Pavilion."

    "Demolish all this and I, Golden Baby, will be free, haha."

    Several hours later, Yi Chen naturally knew nothing about the details of what happened in the temple. He was now on a mountaintop, smilingly pocketing a millennium-old spiritual herb, Moon Viewing Grass, into his storage ring.

    This was a key ingredient for refining Moon Shadow Pills, which could aid in enlightenment and strengthen the soul. Such a mature Moon Viewing Grass was worth a lot of money, an excellent choice to repay the kindness of the Sword Immortal.

    Just as he put the millennium-old spiritual herb into his storage ring, suddenly, a purple light shot across the sky.

    Yi Chen focused his gaze and his pupils involuntarily constricted.

    He saw Xu Wuxie, who had driven him out of the temple, flying weakly towards him.

    At that moment, Xu Wuxie was in extreme disarray, with a large hole blasted open in his chest, where one could vaguely see his heart beating. In his hands, a golden halberd vibrated uncontrollably, seemingly trying to break free of his grip.

    "Damn it, a few bastards actually teamed up to trick me. Fortunately, I seized this broken Dao Weapon, the Holy Halberd Tian Wen, before fleeing. It''s not too bad of a trade-off, but with these injuries, I''m powerless to contend with those scoundrels. It''s time to find an exit and leave," Explore more adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

    Xu Wuxie looked back bitterly in the direction behind him before hastening his flight.

    Just then, suddenly from the mountain base below, a familiar laugh reached his ears:

    "Senior, please wait a moment!"

    A white light abruptly soared into the sky, Yi Chen blocking Xu Wuxie''s path with a beaming smile.

 Chapter 219 A Fair Battle between Yi Taoist and Senior Xu! Spear Spirit!

    "The battle in the great hall before wasn''t satisfying enough.""The grace of my senior truly humbles me."

    "I, Yi Chengzi, a junior with limited skills, request a battle with Senior Xu Wuxie. Please enlighten me, Senior."

    "Borrowing the energy of the heavens! Pure Yang Holy Seal, now open!" Yi Chen quietly chanted in his heart. Suddenly, a tall Daoist with silver hair and eyebrows appeared again, his aura chilling as his cold gaze fixed on Xu Wuxie.

    The sound of dragons and tigers roaring resounded through heaven and earth, and two Dragon Tiger Divine Patterns broke free from the Daoist''s body, beginning to circle around Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body.

    Seven milky white orbs suddenly sprouted around his Cultivation Body, suspended above the Daoist''s head, as boundless strange power converged towards the orbs, causing the winds to surge and the clouds to churn.

    Take advantage of his sickness to claim his life; there''s no point in waiting thirty years from now. Today is the day I end him.

    Yi Chen, eyeing the golden halberd in Xu Wuxie''s hands, had a flash of greedy desire.

    "Good! Good! Good! Today truly is like a dragon trapped in shallow waters..." Xu Wuxie laughed in extreme anger, about to say something, but was abruptly interrupted by Yi Chen''s fierce shout.

    "Get lost!"

    "Damn your mother, you old fart, today I''ll tear you open."

    The tables have turned.

    Contrary to the scene a few hours ago, this time it was Yi Chen who interrupted Xu Wuxie. He made the first move, his energy piercing through the Dragon-Slaying Sword, and swung with vicious force straight at Xu Wuxie''s head.

    "Demon Image: Raging Waves."

    Xu Wuxie roared in anger, the phantom image of the demon reappeared behind him. With a point of his halberd, a dense purple radiance was swiftly shot out of the elephant trunk of the demon image, violently colliding with the dazzling Sword Qi released by Yi Chen.

    Boom!

    A thunderous sound erupted.

    The two great radiances exploded with massive sound waves, and the tremendous recoil forced Yi Chen back by more than a dozen meters, while Xu Wuxie only stepped back one meter. Yet, facing this scene, Xu Wuxie couldn''t help but burst into laughter.

    "Senior Xu, that didn''t seem powerful at all."

    "Several hours have passed; how did you become so feeble?"

    "Another go!"

    "Today, our fair fight will determine our superiority and also decide life and death!"

    With Extreme Origin revitalized, Yi Chen lifted his sword and advanced once again, now noticing the fresh blood bursting from the wound on Xu Wuxie''s chest.

    "Yi Chengzi, you''re seeking death!"

    "Demon Image: Golden Charge."

    Xu Wuxie''s face suddenly turned crimson, and his breathing grew labored. At this moment, he wished nothing more than to tear apart the obnoxious mouth of the tall Daoist in front of him.

    So repulsive.

    "Yang Ji: Four Symbols."

    In an instant, the two exchanged over a dozen moves in the air. Yi Chen''s Extreme Origin surged with fury, pressing against the heavens, breaking all directions, while Xu Wuxie''s mana brilliance tore through the sky.

    After a series of collisions, the two parted again.

    The blood from Xu Wuxie''s wound flowed more violently with each impact inflicted by Yi Chen.

    At this moment, Yi Chen too had a trickle of crimson blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, sustaining light injuries.

    Xu Wuxie''s strength was truly beyond Yi Chen''s expectations, deserving of his status as a peak figure in the ninth layer of the True Person Realm.

    A camel starved to death is still bigger than a horse; even with severe injuries, he still possessed such combat power.

    While Yi Chen was struck with disbelief, stormy waves were also rising in Xu Wuxie''s heart.

    Even severely injured, his attacks were not something just anyone could withstand. Yet, strangely, when his attacks landed on Yi Chen, after tearing through the Dragon Tiger Divine Patterns and breaking the thick layer of Extreme Origin, the blows weakened mysteriously when they hit Yi Chen.

    And the bizarre healing power of the Daoist before him was simply terrifying.

    At this point, Xu Wuxie was starting to consider retreat.

    "Yi Chengzi, if you back down now, I can act as if nothing happened today. Otherwise, I swear, even at the cost of severe damage to my Cultivation Body, I will slaughter you," Xu Wuxie said hoarsely.

    He truly did not want to continue the fight with Yi Chen any longer. As the battle dragged on, time was not on his side.

    Tasting the iron flavor in his mouth, Yi Chen''s murderous intent grew stronger: "Cut the crap, come at me again."

    "Do you take me for a three-year-old child, Senior?"

    "Vital Energy Starfall, explode for me!"

    Yi Chen gathered his strength for another blow, amplifying it with the power of Vital Energy Starfall and viciously charging at Xu Wuxie.

    "Demon Image Confluence: Heavenly Stomp, Golden Charge, Raging Waves, Alarming Swan, Hit the Heavens! Hit the Heavens! Hit the Heavens!"

    Xu Wuxie laughed wildly, forming strange hand seals, ignoring the blood gushing from his chest. His menacing elephant''s image took a step to stomp the heavens, swirling its trunk, and a purple light flashed between its brows. The demon image''s phantom suddenly detached and charged fiercely headfirst towards Yi Chen.

    Boom!

    A purple and white confluence of colossal mana streams manifested across the sky, their epochal mights suddenly converging.

    The moment they collided, Yi Chen''s expression changed. He hadn''t anticipated Xu Wuxie''s desperation move to be so terrifying, and under the violent force, he was slammed into the mountain behind, vomiting another mouthful of blood.

    Xu Wuxie''s chest wound grew larger, yet he seemed to completely disregard it, bursting into a maniacal laugh: "Haha, Yi Chengzi, you brought this on yourself! Without that bizarre thing over your head, even if I have to deplete my Dao foundation and regress in realm, I will rip you apart today!"

    "Hit the Heavens! Hit the Heavens!"

    Xu Wuxie seemed to have gone mad, unleashing the Demon Image Confluence move again, determined to strike Yi Chen down in one blow.

    "Ahh! Burn, soul! Burn, soul!" Yi Chen''s eyes were bloodshot as he howled to the skies.

    Five years, five years, five years, thirty years of life''s energy burned brightly. Under the covering of Extreme Origin, dark purple veins surfaced on his skin, resembling demonic patterns.

    He could feel the passing of life.

    He felt it, power, boundless power surged within him.

    It was the ultimate burning!

    In that instant, under the coverage of Yi Chen''s Extreme Origin, the muscle strength of his entire body continued to pulsate toward his arms like tiny mice. Immense power integrated from his muscles and bones, rushing violently into the palms that wielded the Dragon-Slaying Sword.

    The two collided once more like fierce bandits.

    Crack.

    Yi Chen''s continuous Sword Qi brilliance hammered upon the demon elephant''s phantom image. After several standstills, Xu Wuxie, severely wounded, couldn''t hold on and spewed out a mouthful of fresh blood,

    The silvery Sword Qi shattered the demon elephant''s illusion, and its remaining force did not diminish as it continued to cleave toward Xu Wuxie.

    Xu Wuxie''s face changed dramatically. He tried to turn his body, but it was too late; one of his arms was cut off by the Sword Qi.

    "Could it be that only the elders possess the cards to gamble with their lives?"

    "Hahaha, Elder Xu, you are disabled now!"

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    Yi Chen began to laugh maniacally, his appearance like that of a lunatic.

    "No! Had it not been for Li Yunwan''s destructive sword intent causing me severe damage, my Demon Elephant Sky Strike would not have lost to your sword moves!"

    "I do not accept this! Demon Elephant, Demon Elephant, Sky Strike!"

    Xu Wuxie''s body emitted a dense fog of blood; he had given up suppressing his physical injuries and started to operate the Demon Elephant Sky Strike with all his might.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    After three earth-shattering collisions, it turned out to be a draw between the two.

    The fourth time, Yi Chen''s Dragon-Slaying Sword''s edge stopped at Xu Wuxie''s forehead, but he didn''t chop down.

    Because he knew, Xu Wuxie was already dead; he''d been running on fumes, operating the Demon Elephant Sky Strike repeatedly regardless of his injuries.

    At the moment of his death, Xu Wuxie''s long spear was still raised, pointing towards Yi Chen.

    "Today''s battle has been exhilarating, what a pity, Elder, you were still a notch below me."

    Yi Chen sighed lightly, pulling the Holy Halberd Tianwen from Xu Wuxie''s grasp.

    In an instant, Xu Wuxie''s body disintegrated, turning into a pile of fragments.

    Yi Chen silently looked at the scraps of flesh on the ground:

    "Alright, I admit the Elder''s cultivation was astonishing, I just took a bit of an advantage."

    A spark of silver-white fire fell into the blood-stained flesh on the ground. Yi Chen, wielding the Dragon-Slaying Sword, dug a deep pit and buried Xu Wuxie''s ashes inside, then carved a stone monument.

    The tomb of Xu Wuxie stood solemnly within a small valley, with a wildflower placed in front of the grave.

    Xu Wuxie''s spirit earned Yi Chen''s recognition, as he brought the Holy Halberd Tianwen to Yi Chen from within the True Martial Pavilion despite his serious injuries.

    What kind of spirit was this?

    It was a spirit of xx.

    He must be properly buried.

    Just as Yi Chen was about to carefully examine the Holy Halberd Tianwen, suddenly, a childish, milky laugh echoed within the cave abode.

    "I observe the Guanyin, I see the true self in the True Martial."

    "Unlocking the shackles of the past, only today do I know that I am myself."

    "I, the golden treasure, am finally free! In gratitude for your assistance in my escape, all of you can roll away!"

    "Teleport!"

    Upon these words, Yi Chen felt a strange force pervade the entire cave abode; a flash of white light enveloped his body. He wanted to resist, but through the white light covering his body, he saw a continuous range of green mountains.

    Yi Chen''s mind shifted, and he slammed violently into the white light. As the world spun around him, and when his figure finally stabilized, he found himself in a valley on Thousand Boats Peak.

    Seeing several figures scattering across the distant sky, Yi Chen hurriedly altered his appearance, restrained his breath, and slipped away.

    Two days later, in the depths of an unnamed mountain range, within a secluded cave.

    A robust bear lay sweetly asleep.

    Suddenly, a tall figure burst into the cave, standing in front of the bear, and the shadow immediately engulfed the bear.

    A practiced hand-chop landed on the bear''s neck.

    The bear slept even more soundly.

    After taking out a Luminous Pearl the size of a fist from the storage ring to illuminate the visitor''s face, it turned out to be Gui Zhongdao from the Blood Killing Tower.

    Yi Chen took out the Holy Halberd Tianwen, feeling the resisting emotions coming from within the halberd''s body and let out a sigh.

    When he wanted to completely control and soak the Holy Halberd with Extreme Origin, he unexpectedly discovered the existence of a Spirit within the halberd, which had a huge temper, seemingly as intelligent as a six or seven-year-old child.

    If he couldn''t gain the acceptance of this Spirit, the halberd would not be able to unleash its full power; at best, it could only be used as an incredibly sturdy and sharp weapon without any other characteristics.

    "Spear child, do you yield or not? I have a bad temper, do you believe I would soak you in a manure pit for two days?" Yi Chen began to threaten the Spirit.

    "Soak away. Even with that, I will not submit." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "My master must at least be close to the Dao." The Spear Spirit was stubborn.

    "What is a ''person close to the Dao''?"

    "How would I know? I was heavily injured by the Four Symbols Returning to Origin Formation a thousand years ago, and I''ve already lost most of my memory. Anyway, you are not it now."

    "Good, Spear child, you have successfully caught my attention."

    "I like your stubbornness."

    With a snap, Yi Chen placed the Holy Halberd Tianwen into the storage ring, then took out the "Overbearing Martial True Qi" from within the True Martial Pavilion, which he had obtained with great effort. Today, his injuries had completely healed, and by chance, he found a hidden bear cave, perfect for a breakthrough in True Technique.

 Chapter 220 The Thirteenth Layer of True Technique, the Dao River of Light? The Secret of the World?

    "Domineering Martial True Qi, this technique is indeed profoundly mysterious, flawless,"Half an hour later, Yi Chen nodded in satisfaction. With his current wisdom, which startled the world, mastering the "Domineering Martial True Qi" was as easy as feeling for a chicken in one''s crotch, a matter of grasping and squeezing.

    "I wonder how high this breakthrough will take me, but I have a feeling that this breakthrough will be a world-shaking change for me."

    "Perhaps I can truly glimpse the secrets of a True Monarch and see the reality of this world," a cautious gleam in Yi Chen''s eyes, he placed unprecedented importance and anticipation on this breakthrough.

    "Then let''s start, the essence of war is speed, let''s make it quick."

    "Deep Red, let me see your limit!"

    Yi Chen shouted inwardly, and the Deep Red Value changed several times, the Deep Red Points were continuously deducted, and at the same time, a torrent of memories suddenly emerged in his mind.

    It was the familiar phase of absorbing knowledge.

    Memories unfolded like passing scenery.

    Late at night, bamboo shadows swayed, and the moonlight was like water.

    A luxurious Daoist temple was hidden within an extraordinary purple bamboo forest.

    At this moment, on a table inside the temple, a whale oil lamp as thick as a child''s arm flickered, illuminating the face of a tall Daoist.

    In front of the tall Daoist lay a book and a set of Divine Intent Pictures.

    The book was called Domineering Martial True Qi, and of the five Divine Intent Pictures, the first depicted a majestic man in armor, lifting a spear as if to split the mountains and challenge the heavens¡ªthis was the main Divine Intent, meant to lead and highlight the essence of the technique.

    The other four were four styles of halberd techniques for exercising the meridian points throughout the body.

    In a flash, an overwhelming dominating intent rushed towards him.

    "I have painstakingly cultivated for many years, but the path ahead is blocked, perhaps this opportunity for a breakthrough lies in this secret manual," the Daoist sighed softly, then began to read carefully.

    Domineering Martial, it is a technique for excavating the secret elixirs of the human divine troves.

    The human body has major acupoints which contain divine essence, much like precious medicine. If one can excavate them all, one can achieve boundless transformation and manifold special abilities.

    If he could fully excavate the divine troves within the flesh, and absorb their true intent into his True Technique Cultivation Body, perhaps he could climb even higher.

    How to enter the treasure mountain and extract the precious medicine?

    It is to face death and seek life, to scale heights and gather herbs in desperate places, to perform the True Law.

    In the lightless sea areas, where life is extinct.

    Tens of thousands of meters deep in the ocean, a luminous, tall silver Daoist figure was the only source of light in these deep seas.

    "Alone with arduous effort for two hundred years, breaking limits multiple times, narrowly escaping death to reach this place¡ªthe hardships and dangers along the way are indescribable to others."

    "Begin the martial performance, extract medicine in desperate places, today I will complete the entire technique."

    The Daoist''s muscles surged, his face contorted, and his pupils filled with blood, seemingly enduring infinite pressure. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He stood on the seabed abyss, halberd in hand, beginning the practice.

    "Halberd One: Entering the Fray"

    The Daoist swept his halberd, piercing through the waves, sending endless ripples in all directions.

    "Halberd Two: Slayer of Gods"

    The Daoist''s halberd streaked through the sea like a comet, swift as lightning, and a massive undertow surged forth.

    "Halberd Three: Earth Sever"

    The Daoist smashed his halberd down in the deep sea, his overwhelming strength parting the waters and splitting the seabed abyss with a deep crevice.

    "Halberd Four: Heavenly Punishment"

    An indescribable halberd move unfurled, brimming with destructive intent. At the bottom of the sea, a fast-moving whirlpool suddenly formed, devouring all nearby objects before pulverizing them.

    As the halberd moves were executed, the true intents of the Dragon and Tiger, the Myriad Transformations, and the Domineering Martial merged under immense pressure. A refreshing power began to surge from the depths of the Daoist''s muscles, fiercely bolstering his physique.

    That was the treasure medicine of the flesh, the divine troves of the human body.

    As the Daoist continued his practice, under the immense water pressure, blood began to seep from his mouth and nose, but he paid it no mind and instead let out a roar like a wild beast.

    Suddenly, from deep within his consciousness, there came a cracking sound, as if something broke, and a point of golden light appeared above the Daoist''s Cultivation Body, at the top of his Spirit Palace point.

    An extraordinary transformation began to occur.

    Golden light burst forth, as if divine radiance from the heavens graced the darkness, illuminating everything.

    The Daoist saw a golden figure resembling a deity seated high within his Spirit Palace point.

    That figure bore an exact resemblance to himself.

    The cooling sensation continued to spread, flowing towards other acupoints, sequentially illuminating the frontal Chest Canopy point, the back Heart Lung Base point, the Air point an inch and three fen above the right breast, among other major five points.

    However, the cool and unusual power ceased after illuminating the sixth point, falling just short of success.

    "Ah, ah, it''s not enough!"

    "Far from enough!"

    "I need more!"

    With a thunderous boom, the Daoist pointed his halberd skyward, transforming into a beam of white light, madly sprinting towards the sea surface. After breaking free from the sea, he continued soaring towards the fierce sun in the sky.

    By this time, the Daoist had already put away his halberd. He spread his hands wide, adopting the posture of embracing the blazing sun as he ascended madly.

    Endless heavenly light poured into the Daoist''s Cultivation Body, and the sixth acupoint lit up, now advancing towards the seventh point.

    "Ah, ah, ah, it''s still not enough!"

    With a crackling sound, the Golden Core at the Daoist''s sea of qi actually split open directly, transforming into a rich golden liquid that converged toward the seventh acupoint; with this auspicious aid, the seventh and eighth acupoints began to shine brightly. Read new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

    To break the limit, one can see the divine.

    This divinity, is the godliness of oneself.

    The eight great gods within the body simultaneously opened their eyes, their pupils gleaming with silver light as they sat down cross-legged.

    A surging alien power burst forth once more, flowing throughout the body.

    "Truly, it''s such a delightful sensation!"

    "I, I have already felt the opportunity for a breakthrough!"

    "Dragon Tiger Intent, Transformative Intent, Domineering Martial Intent."

    The Daoist''s eyes and brows lowered, and then suddenly he raised his head, howling toward the heavens:

    "Pure Yang! Pure Yang! Pure Yang!"

    "Melting the True Intent, affirming my Pure Yang!"

    His voice grew more sonorous with each shout, silencing the moving clouds, resounding through the forest.

    Amidst the furious waves of clouds, the eagerly anticipated phantom gateway of Pure Yang began to slowly evolve, and a red illusionary gateway appeared behind the towering Daoist.

    This gateway stood five meters tall and three point four meters wide, bordered by a red frame, its door dark and deep, leading to an unknown other-dimensional space.

    At this moment, the gateway suddenly shone with a brilliant divine light which then could not sustain itself and slowly faded away.

    With the aid of the strange divine light, the towering Daoist''s Cultivation Body grew even larger, reaching a height of eighteen meters before stopping, and the color of his Extreme Origin around him transformed from silver-white to platinum.

    The red Daoist domain beneath the towering Daoist suddenly expanded by a hundred meters as well, its color changing to deep purple.

    The ninth and tenth acupoints were also successively lit up.

    "Light! Light! Light!"

    Countless lights were drawn with a single breath by the towering Daoist, vacuumed into his body; the surrounding territory of three thousand meters dimmed, while at his lower abdomen, a golden bright spot was slowly rising.

    At that moment, the Daoist suddenly burst into hearty laughter in the skies, his joy spreading in all directions.

    He beckoned with one hand, and a two-meter diameter milky white orb of light suddenly converged above his palm.

    "Extreme Dao branding the heavens, true name chanted across worlds."

    "I am the will of heaven, Pure Yang suppressing past and present."

    The towering Daoist walked on air, with every step he chanted a phrase, and with each phrase, the diameter of the milky white orb in his hand increased by half a meter; by the time he finished the fourth sentence, the diameter of the orb had reached four meters.

    He raised an eyebrow and nonchalantly tossed the orb of light at the mountain peak beneath his feet.

    For a time, the land collapsed and the mountains crumbled.

    The scene came to an abrupt end there.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "Good! Good! Good!"

    "Such a splendid mantra, now it''s mine!"

    Yi Chen''s eyes narrowed slightly as he clapped his hands, exclaiming ''good'' thrice in succession.

    At this moment, he felt as if he had lived through everything the Daoist had experienced in the memory, countless insights sprouting in his heart, as if he had experienced everything himself.

    Borrowing the fictional to cultivate the real, under the reflection of the soul, his body also began to undergo earth-shattering changes.

    A streak of platinum Inner Qi began to emerge within his Inner Qi, shining radiantly.

    Suddenly, the already not-so-large Bear Cave became engulfed in a storm of whirling winds and flying rocks and sand.

    After a good half an hour, the anomaly was still not over, with the Body-Breaking Realm, Spirit-Breaking Realm, and Agility-Breaking Realm coming one after another.

    Suddenly, a profound fluctuation appeared between heaven and earth, as if a certain boundary had been broken, Yi Chen suddenly opened his eyes, feeling as if his true spirit had soared straight up to the ninth heaven, inexplicably arriving at a mysterious place in the void.

    He looked up, above him was an endless, boundless, towering ribbon of light, spanning across the past and present, bizarre and varied.

    "Is this, the Great Dao River of Light?"

    "Life" "Reincarnation" "Cause and Effect" "Destiny" "Slaughter" "Yin and Yang" "Five Elements" "Destruction" "Wisdom" "Time" "Space"¡­.

    Feeling the aura emanating from the river of light above his head, Yi Chen was inexplicably shocked, and then felt completely at a loss; could it be that transcending a certain level of strength would grant one a divine opportunity to comprehend the Great Dao?

    He didn''t know how to do that, it was not his area of expertise.

    Left with no choice, Yi Chen began to look downward.

    He saw five bubbles entwined with each other, presenting colors of green, black, gray, gold, and red respectively.

    An indescribable feeling surfaced in Yi Chen''s mind; he felt that his realm was within the green bubble.

    Around the bubble''s outer layer was a ring of golden forceful winds, enveloping the five great bubbles like a membrane.

    Beyond that membrane was boundless blood-red space, identical to the malice he had previously sensed, only deeper, more ferocious, and more greedy.

    For a moment, Yi Chen felt bewildered. Was this the secret of the world?

    The True Monarch witnessing the world?

    Just like that, Yi Chen looked back and forth between the rainbow-like Great Dao River of Light above his head and the bubbles, not knowing how much time had passed before his true spiritual consciousness abruptly returned.

 Chapter 222 How much effort did you put in?

    The calamitous dragon, who was leisurely touring the mountains and waters and heading toward Qingyun Mountain, also noticed the uninvited guest on the mountain path. His thick eyebrows couldn''t help but raise slightly, and a playful smile appeared on his lips. He, too, walked straight forward without swerving or avoiding.The two were unyielding; their left arms suddenly collided, producing a muffled sound. Under the tremendous force, both stepped back half a step and their gazes met.

    "So, you are Yi Chengzi, fifth on the Dragon Tiger List?"

    At that moment, the calamitous dragon remembered the face of the person below the Demon Lord on the page he tore from the Dragon Tiger List, and he couldn''t help but speak in surprise.

    "You recognize this poor Daoist? Who might you be? Your armor is not bad."

    Yi Chen had now begun to take the tall young man in front of him seriously. He couldn''t figure out who this person was. He had previously only spared him a brief glance, not taking a good look, but now he realized this person was no simple character.

    The man''s teal armor hid deep within it a trace of a Water Dao pattern. It was this armor that had allowed him to slip past Yi Chen''s discerning abilities unnoticed.

    What surprised him even more was that under his discerning ability, he still couldn''t find any weaknesses in this tall young man. Every move he made had an inexplicable rhythm to it, blending with the surrounding environment.

    With cultivation at such a level, it was as if one foot had already stepped across the threshold into the realm of a True Monarch, even stronger than Xu Wuxie by a narrow margin.

    Neither of them answered the other''s question directly.

    "I''m in a good mood today, fellow Daoist, so you had better step aside. I don''t want to make another move," the calamitous dragon said with a frown, kindly advising.

    Although they had collided a moment ago and each retreated half a step, this was merely because he hadn''t been serious. Now, with a beautiful scene before him, he truly didn''t want to ruin it.

    "Such confidence, fellow Daoist?" Yi Chen''s fists felt a bit firmer.

    "Not that I belittle the world, but merely my ability''s height."

    "Not that I disdain Central Continent, but..."

    Just then, the calamitous dragon''s expression suddenly changed and his voice came to an abrupt halt.

    He looked up sharply, and a great expanse of shadow fell, covering half of his form.

    Before him suddenly stood a three-meter-tall Daoist, cold and merciless eyes focusing on him.

    Yi Chen patted his own left shoulder, speaking out, "Come on, bump into this. If you can make this Daoist retreat half a step today, I''ll let you pass."

    If he had not sensed that there was no malice in this person, Yi Chen would''ve thought about chopping him down.

    Moreover, the way this person had referred to Central Continent had made him concentrate his gaze.

    "Good! Good! Good!"

    "It seems I was mistaken, I''ve finally found someone decent. With such cultivation, how could you be content to place beneath the Demon Subordinate Ye Fengdi?"

    "My life moves like a whirlwind, looking down on all the talents in the world."

    "As the calamitous dragon vies to be the Heavenly Master, with his spear he challenges all heroes in shame."

    "Calamitous dragon from the Wuding Divine Sect of Eastern Continent, please enlighten me, fellow Daoist."

    The calamitous dragon, excitement in his eyes, couldn''t help but laugh out loud.

    Suddenly, a cyan light swirled around his palms, and with a strong push against Yi Chen''s shoulders, he attempted to engage in a battle of strength. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A tremendous force surged toward Yi Chen''s shoulders but then disappeared without a trace as if a clay ox had plunged into the sea.

    As if rooted to the ground, he remained utterly unmoved.

    "Fellow Daoist has remarkable cultivation. I''ve used seventy percent of my power, how much did fellow Daoist use?" The calamitous dragon''s face revealed a trace of shock. Although his Wuding Qing Wang cultivation body was known for its balance and not brute strength, not just anyone could withstand it.

    Central Continent truly remained the same as before, enduring through disasters, but its essence preserved.

    That Demon Subordinate Ye Fengdi really was an ignoramus. He could not fathom how such a counterfeit had been ranked above this man. However, considering the vastness of Central Continent, he could understand a few impure fish sneaking in among the ranks.

    "Thirty percent," Yi Chen grinned, overstating his effort by ten percent.

    "Fellow Daoist, do not boast and deceive me with words," the calamitous dragon said, anger appearing on his face as he stimulated his divine power further, exerting ninety-nine percent of his cultivation body''s energy. Discover more content at My Virtual Library Empire

    "Now, fellow Daoist, how much strength have you used? Don''t force yourself and damage your cultivation body."

    "Now there''s a fifty percent chance." Yi Chen pondered for a moment and once again underreported by twenty percent. Seeing the tall young man''s face slightly redden, he couldn''t help but find it quite amusing.

    Huo Long immediately stopped as he saw this.

    Although he did not believe that the tall Daoist before him had only used fifty percent of his strength, the man''s power was indeed immensely vigorous. With a single exertion, he realized he was indeed outmatched.

    "I wonder how many people in Central Continent have a cultivation level like Brother Dao''s?" Huo Long suddenly spoke up, and at this moment, a green long spear had already appeared in his hand.

    This spear was simple and unadorned, except for the spearhead which was as crimson as blood, filled with an aura of slaughter.

    The Sect Master said that the unity of the three lands was the future trend. If the younger generation of Central Continent was this fierce, they would need to carefully reassess their strategies for the time when the three lands unify.

    Yi Chen looked towards the long spear and raised his eyebrows. He discovered that it was yet another Dao artifact, containing a wind attribute Dao mark within. They really were like a dog with a hoard of valuables.

    A Dao artifact is a special magical treasure, crafted through particular methods. Some are created by True Monarch realm experts who spend a long time infusing the treasure with mana, imprinting their own understanding of the Dao within, forming a Dao artifact.

    This method is time-consuming and often requires the efforts of several generations. Even then, whether it succeeds is left to fate.

    Besides that, there is another method where True Monarch experts willingly give up their lives, sacrificing themselves to refine the treasure by directly infusing their Dao into the magical treasure.

    This method is quick and has a very high success rate; it''s just a bit of a waste of True Monarchs. Generally, only those with a high level of dedication to their sect would do this.

    As for innate spirit artifacts, they are even harder to come by, which is one of the reasons Yi Chen was so keen to subdue Jizi.

    The treasure contained two Dao marks, clearly making it no ordinary item. While it was damaged and its power greatly diminished, its foundation was indeed excellent.

    "Among those whose cultivation is similar to mine, Brother Zhang Huyi from Dragon Tiger Mountain should be counted as one. However, I''ve had some insights recently and advanced a small step in strength. At this point, my cultivation should be a tad higher than his."

    "I wonder what position you hold in the Eastern Continent? How did you come across the sea?" Yi Chen''s eyes swiveled as he began to fish for information.

    He recalled what the Envoy of Freedom from the Yun Family who had been sent to attack him along with the woman and child had said.

    The world is vast, the Eastern Continent even more so, with its multitude of capable individuals. There''s an empire called Great Qin, whose strength surpasses that of the Da Yue dynasty, along with Dao Sects like Fangxian Dao Sect, Zhaohua Dao Sect, and the Subhuti Zen Monastery among other giants.

    The sudden appearance of someone from the Eastern Continent made him inwardly vigilant.

    Could there be more to the Dao Sect''s plan to form an alliance than meets the eye?

    "I rank third on the Tianjiao List of the Eastern Continent. As for why I came to Central Continent, it was due to an accident."

    "Though Brother Dao''s physical strength is inferior to mine, brute strength is not my forte. I would like to request instruction with this spear in hand," Huo Long bowed slightly towards Yi Chen, his eyes blazing with excitement, like a hunter that had spotted his prey.

    "That wouldn''t be good. What if I accidentally killed you, Dao friend? This armor of yours..."

    "Then I''ll give it to Dao friend as a gift," Huo Long replied with a cold smile, having never met someone even more arrogant than himself.

    Yi Chen cracked a smile as the Extreme Origin flowed and covered the Holy Halberd in his hand. With a raise of the long halberd, beams of light trapped him inside like a cage, with an overwhelming domineering will charging straight towards the skies.

    "Just as I wished, I wouldn''t dare ask for more."

    "Halberd One: Breaking Formation"

    Under the state of Supreme Extreme, Yi Chen''s body was covered in flashing purple patterns, drawing incessantly on the Dragon Tiger Divine Pattern''s power, pumping it through his body. His presence was filled with an unrivaled wild and domineering spirit, his majestic physique, purple hair and eyes, full-body Dragon Tiger tattoos, and the protruding purple patterns all around him.

    For a moment, he seemed like a Demon Lord descending from the heavens.

    "Wind Binding!"

    "A Drifting Leaf!"

    Seeing this formidability, Huo Long was suddenly shocked. With an angered shout, a ring of green light burst forth from his green long spear, rushing towards Yi Chen with the intent to bind him.

    His long spear turned into a green dragon, intercepting Yi Chen''s Breaking Formation Halberd move.

    However, the green ring of light, on which he placed great hopes, had no effect at all. As soon as it wrapped around Yi Chen, the purple patterns shook and effortlessly dispersed it.

    "How is this possible!"

    Huo Long couldn''t help but cry out, hastily retreating.

 Chapter 223 Shameful Outsiders, Let Others Mourn as Well

    "Haha, how can it not be possible? Daoist brother, it''s just that you''re not trying hard enough,""Your purity is too low."

    The howling wind swept across, and the force danced in the sky.

    Yi Chen stood in the air like a Demon Lord, his hairband, shaken loose by the force, had flown away long ago; his purple hair fluttered as he held the Holy Halberd, silently executing the second move of the Supreme True Martial God Halberd Technique, Slaying the Divine.

    The long halberd, carrying boundless killing intent, roared towards the calamitous dragon like a white rainbow piercing the sun.

    "Wuding¡¤Water Dragon Chant"

    The calamitous dragon''s eyes seemed ready to split, its Qing King spear swirling, a shadowy spear force suddenly emanating from its weapon, while a blue ripple of light shot out from its armor, reinforcing the spear''s momentum.

    Two unworldly powers suddenly met in the sky.

    Bang!

    They actually exploded into circles of sound waves visible to the naked eye, the intense shockwave spreading downwards, snapping half of the tall trees on Coiled Bull Mountain.

    After the gale passed, only the bushes and small trees remained unscathed.

    After that single strike, the previously beautiful landscape of Coiled Bull Mountain instantly transformed into a bald wasteland.

    "Impossible, how could the Daoist''s cultivation be so superb?"

    "What divine body do you possess?"

    At this moment, a great turmoil arose in the heart of the calamitous dragon. Blessed with exceptional talent, he had achieved such cultivation after thirty years of arduous practice, half-stepping through the gate of True Monarch. He had not expected that today he would be pushed to such extremes by a Daoist ranked fifth on the Dragon Tiger List of Central Continent.

    Just two halberd techniques had forced him to reveal two of his proud near-transformative spells.

    The waters of Da Yue were truly unfathomable.

    He could hardly imagine what sort of monstrous figures could suppress this Daoist, the children of the way and the Buddhas.

    Especially the successor of Dragon Tiger Mountain, who, able to suppress Zhang Hu, who had similar cultivation to this Daoist, to claim the title for himself, possessed a truly dreadful level of cultivation.

    "Guess!"

    A trace of an indescribable look flashed in Yi Chen''s eyes as he continued to execute, without hesitation, the third move of the halberd technique, Earth Extinction.

    The Extreme Origin on the long halberd suddenly surged dozens of meters, smashing towards the calamitous dragon like a comet striking the moon.

    The number one direct disciple of Wuding Divine Sect demonstrated an even greater strength than he had imagined; it was the perfect opportunity for him to test out this battle skill from his memory, to spar with him.

    "Calm the Stormy Waves!"

    "Daoist brother, receive my move as well, Supreme Qing King Break!"

    Facing the relentless attacks, the calamitous dragon''s spirit fell into a deep calm, his eyes suddenly closing. When they opened again, the whites were gone, replaced by a strange cyan color.

    A cyan divine light suddenly spread from his eyes, solidifying Yi Chen''s halberd, then the wind attribute Dao marks within his Qing King spear shone brightly, and the section of the spearhead that was bright red like blood dimmed slightly. A blood-colored dragon roared furiously towards Yi Chen, its mighty aura vast, like a calamitous dragon of the world''s end.

    "Overlord Halberd Rising¡¤Earth Extinction to Heavenly Punishment!"

    The moment the cyan light flew from the calamitous dragon''s eyes, Yi Chen inwardly cursed, knowing things were amiss. The light landed on his halberd, turning it as if it had entered a boundless marsh, every inch of advance immensely difficult, as if the world itself was resisting his halberd''s force.

    Thus, he decisively executed the final two moves of the halberd technique in succession.

    His muscles tensed up, and with a roar, the wind and clouds surged. It seemed as though something in the world had shattered, the cyan divine light breaking like glass and vanishing. Yi Chen''s halberd moved with the intent of world annihilation, creating a domain to consume the calamitous dragon''s spear intent.

    He met the attack with an attack!

    The majestic power collided wildly in the air, neutralizing and extinguishing, pushing backwards Yi Chen''s figure for more than ten meters before stopping.

    The winds high in the sky dispersed, leaving only a golden talisman, half-burnt, floating down from the sky, as a voice drifted from it.

    "Good halberd technique, perfect offense, unrivaled in the world!"

    "Let''s call it a draw today. Daoist brother, I bid you farewell. Calamitous dragon shall seek your guidance another day."

    At the horizon, the calamitous dragon''s cyan armor sprouted an illusory pair of wings, and without looking back, he streaked away like a beam of light.

    By the time Yi Chen steadied himself, his figure had already vanished into the sky.

    "What a despicable foreigner."

    "Would I really have killed you? There was no need to use such a spirit-depleting secret technique to flee."

    Yi Chen opened his mouth, gazing at the empty sky with a sigh.

    Now, how could he not realize that he had been outmaneuvered? That last move, the Supreme Qing King Break by the calamitous dragon, was clearly intending to escape, using the great recoil and a secret technique to make a break for it.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Fleeing without looking back for half an hour, the calamitous dragon, still with unsettled nerves, glanced behind him and saw a cave in the mountain belly below. He then carefully made his way into it.

    After killing a giant snake inside the cave with his spear, he finally relaxed, sitting down cross-legged to suppress the backlash from using the secret technique.

    Moments later, the calamitous dragon vomited a mouthful of blood, and a sense of relief briefly eased the heaviness in his heart.

    He removed the skull he carried on his back and held it tightly in his embrace, beginning to talk to himself, "Wife, your husband has been a bit overconfident. Da Yue truly hides dragons and harbors tigers. That waste, Ye Fengdi, misled me. Had I known, I would have impaled him with a spear right from the start!"

    "But don''t worry, Wife. After this battle, I''m only a paper-thin barrier away from breaking through to the True Monarch Realm."

    "Once I make my way to Qingyun Mountain to witness the epic battle between the Daoist and the Buddhist, I believe I will find the opportunity to break through amidst their clash of titans."

    "However, this means I must trouble you, my dear."

    With a light sigh, Huolong took out a crystal coffin from his storage ring and carefully placed the skull inside before he began to hum a lullaby to himself.

    In the deep cave, the night was silent, and Huolong sat cross-legged on a stone bed, healing his wounds.

    Unnoticed by anyone, the little finger of the skull in the crystal coffin moved ever so slightly, then fell back into stillness.

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    ¡­

    "Flowers flutter in the spring city, with snakes and bugs in pursuit."

    "No fear of evil spirits nearing, my way, my way reveals divine power."

    "Heaven''s punishment, earth''s extinction! Kill! Kill!"

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    "Demoniac yaksha and evil ghosts, kill! Kill!"

    "Seductive fox spirit, disarm thy armor!"

    ¡­.

    Humming a tune from his hometown, Yi Chen rushed down the mountain path under the starry sky with the Holy Halberd in hand. By the time the fortress of Blood Killing Tower was in view, the final traces of gold on his long halberd had been eroded by his Extreme Origin.

    A feeling of perfect harmony surged through his heart¡ªhe felt no friction or barrier between himself and the Holy Halberd in his hand, as if the long halberd was an extension of his own body.

    With a gentle swing of the halberd in his hand, he left a series of afterimages in the moonlight, with no air resistance, as if it did not exist at all, producing not a single whistling sound.

    Having mastered control of the Holy Halberd, Yi Chen felt his overall strength had increased by at least 20 percent.

    "Good. I wonder if I can refine and create a fifth form by integrating the true intent of the Four Images of Yang Ji into my halberd technique," he thought.

    "With my extraordinary wisdom, it surely won''t be difficult."

    Laughing heartily, Yi Chen stored the halberd in his storage ring, changed his appearance to imitate Gui Zhongdao, and began striding towards the fortress.

    Inside the fortress.

    Yi Chen frowned as he looked at Yang Zuoshi, "Is this all we''ve collected?"

    At that time, the number of coffins and jars holding ghostly creatures in the secret room of the fortress barely amounted to over eighty in total.

    "Master, it''s really hard to capture these malicious spirits alive. Our brothers have risked their lives just to catch this many,"

    "To seize a zombie from Ren''s Town, one of our silver-badge assassins even clashed with a helmsman from the Ghost Killing Tower, was killed accidentally, but the master of Ghost Killing Tower sent us a message and a gift as compensation."

    After Yang Zuoshi''s narration, Yi Chen came to understand that some clever ghosts had started acting as middlemen to profit from the market difference. It seemed the market had cultivated itself, and he had been offering too high a price¡ªhe needed to offer a discount.

    "Alright, I''m aware of this matter now. Is there anything else that needs my attention?"

    "Master, the Carefree King sent a letter, inviting you to Wuyou Manor for a chat in two days'' time. This servant doesn''t dare to decide on his own,"

    Yi Chen pondered for a moment while under Yang Zuoshi''s strange gaze before retrieving twelve storage rings, some still smeared with blood.

    "You have made quite a haul this time, Master," Yang Zuoshi said, his heart trembling. The boss had killed so many powerful figures in just one outing?

    "Just an average haul," Yi Chen replied nonchalantly, then added, "Estimate the value of the miscellaneous items in these storage rings and sell them all."

    "You don''t need to worry about other matters. Go take care of the first issue for me," he said.

    "I want information regarding the True Person Realm, especially on families that once flourished but have now fallen. Be diligent in this task; you have a million taels at your disposal."

    "The second issue, purchase a high-quality spirit animal bag for me, cost is no problem, and also acquire a high-quality Daoist robe, preferably a spiritual artifact. Deduct the money from the sold items. If it''s not enough, come to me."

    "Also, continue to procure yin evil ghost creatures and corpse demons for me; the price is now reduced by 30 percent. It''s up to them if they want to sell or not."

    "By the way, what exactly did the master of Ghost Killing Tower send me in his message?"

    Yang Zuoshi''s eyebrows knitted, and he spoke with a hint of anger, "He said it was all a misunderstanding and sent 10,000 taels as consolation money, asking us to condole our loss."

    "Do you know where that helmsman is now? What''s his strength?" Yi Chen asked indifferently.

    "About the third layer of the True Person Realm, he''s at Huaman Tower in Nanshan Prefecture. I''ve had our brothers keep an eye on him. That Yan Renxi loves the company of women; he isn''t happy without them."

    "Well done. I''m off to Nanshan Prefecture," Yi Chen said, smiling as he patted Yang Zuoshi''s shoulder.

    A speculation suddenly dawned upon Yang Zuoshi. His heart leaped with joy, but he still hesitantly asked,

    "Master, what does this mean?"

    "What''s the use of just saying ''condole''? Tomorrow, send a message for me. Tell the master of Ghost Killing Tower to also condole, plus an extra ten thousand and one taels,"

    Yi Chen said cheerily, his shadow twisting grotesquely in the lamplight, sinister as a demon.

 Chapter 224 Daozun Favors You! Yi Taoists Hidden Path, Go Forth.

    "To beat a dog, one must consider its master. The act of Ghost Killer Tower was tantamount to not giving him face, and Yi Chen simply wouldn''t tolerate such humiliation.""My grasslands, my horses; I do as I please with them, others may not."

    "Thinking about how his beloved big cat, Miao Zi, was also drifting and had lost contact in Nan Shan County, Yi Chen immediately felt irritated."

    "This journey just happened to be on the way to bring back that unfilial child for some strict discipline."

    "He must teach it that at its age, striving is the best foundation."

    "With a thought, Yi Chen''s figure vanished from the spot."

    "Under the moonlight, the Nan Shui River resembled a serpentine ribbon, breathtakingly beautiful. A man in a hooded black robe was moving swiftly forward; with each step, his figure flickered and reappeared more than ten meters away."

    "Some wander the jianghu, some toil over their studies in seclusion."

    "Some are sycophants, some weep in loud anguish."

    "Some ascend Mount Liang in snow, some venture out at night to hack and slay."

    "Every person is but carrying a tombstone named life on their shoulders, struggling forward."

    "''Daozun has it tough, alas, a life of toil~''"

    "Looking up at the clear moon in the sky, Yi Chen sighed deeply, his eyebrows knitted in the shape of the character ''´¨'', and then he sped up even more."

    ...

    ...

    "Colorful Tower is Nan Shan County''s notorious gold-cave."

    "It is an establishment that engages in import-export trade and serves as a connection hub for people."

    "Colorful Tower stands tall with nine stories, with red sleeves beckoning throughout the building."

    "From the first to the third floors, it''s all about sheer gauze and long legs, while the floors above are filled with barely clad young women and wives waving their handkerchiefs."

    "From the third floor upwards, it''s invitation-only, not open to anyone but the wealthy, the powerful, and those highly cultivated in their practice."

    "Underneath Colorful Tower, the crowd bustled, with the teahouse owner and the old madam welcoming guests at the door, while a big gapped-tooth man with a runny nose wearing a tattered robe played and sang with his erhu on the street outside the building."

    "''The willow leaves are sharp at the top, and the sky is full of stars!''"

    "''Passersby, give ear to my words, I bid thee.''

    "''This tale occurred in the brothel district west of the city.''

    "''In the Mushroom Alley of Brothel District, there lived a Song Laoshi.''

    "''Speaking of Song Laoshi, him and his wife were gambling fiends.''

    "''A lifetime without a son, they bore but a fair daughter.''

    ...

    "''The girl named Xiao Lian, charming and fair-faced.''

    "''Once she arrived at Colorful Tower, her life soared to heavenly heights.''

    ...

    "On the ninth floor of Colorful Tower, Xiao Lian, clad in a red mandarin duck camisole, draped in a white gauze veil, and wrapped in black silk stockings, sat on the brocaded bed, sobbing incessantly."

    "Some are born with a silver spoon, some have lives bitterer than coptis."

    "She was one with a life bitterer than coptis."

    "Burdened by parents addicted to gambling."

    "Ten days ago, her parents brought a human trafficker home, claiming she was in luck and was being offered work. The work was tiring with chores from top to bottom, sometimes involving hands-on labor and sometimes verbal duties, but the wages were high, the food was good, she could learn a craft, the wages were paid daily, and there was a doctor in case of illness."

    "Looking at the empty rice container and her home that even mice avoided, she reluctantly agreed amidst the encouraging gaze of her parents."

    "She originally thought she would at worst become a maidservant, doing tasks of service; little did she know she had fallen into a pit of fire."

    "After three days of torment by the old madam, she succumbed."

    "Then a bunch of washed-up old women came in person to teach her various skills. Today was her debut evening¡ªit was said that a man named Yan Renxi had paid a high price for her and wanted her to serve him well, under no circumstances to offend him."

    "If she served well, she need not work in the next life."

    "Looking at the envious looks of the old madams, as if to say how could it be your turn if they were twenty years younger, Xiao Lian felt even more bitter."

    "She just hoped to win someone''s heart, never to part till death."

    "She didn''t want to sit in a jar to practice so-called secret skills to please others."

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    "The door suddenly opened."

    "In Xiao Lian''s fearful gaze, a mobile mountain of flesh squeezed through the door."

    "At that moment, the ninety-pound Xiao Lian''s tears flowed uncontrollably; she panicked."

    "Yan Renxi arrived at the ninth floor, led by the teahouse owner."

    "Some traverse abysses, some live in high towers." S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Some shine with radiance, some are covered in rust."

    "Such is the disparity of this world."

    "As the brother of Ghost Killer Tower''s master Yan Renhen, in his life, he got whatever he wanted, whether it was the wind or the rain."

    "An endless supply of delicacies, more money than he could spend, luxury he couldn''t exhaust, more rooms than he could explore."

    "''What a life of debauchery, what a life of debauchery.''

    Humming an obscure tune, Yan Renxi, burping from alcohol, made his way into the room. Catching sight of Xiao Lian who had collapsed onto the brocaded bed, his eyes lit up."

    "Swoon."

    "One word, tender!"

    "Who in all of Nan Shan County didn''t know that he, Yan Renxi, had a weakness for the tender ones?"

    "He especially favored the look of fear and pain in others'' eyes and their desperate shrieks."

    "It gave him a sense of absolute power and pleasure."

    "Looking at Xiao Lian, who resembled a little lamb, Yan Renxi was tempted to pounce, but ultimately he restrained himself, recalling his brother''s teachings."

    "A veteran of the pleasures, a connoisseur of the flesh, should not resort to force."

    "That would be unbefitting."

    With a slap, he took out an inverted hourglass and placed it on the table.

    "''Girl, I''m giving you the time it takes for this hourglass. Either I throw you out to feed the dogs, or you come serve me.''

    "''I''m not one to force others, so choose for yourself.''

    "''Yan Lord, you...''" Xiao Lian''s tears streamed unrestrained, clear and pure as if she were pouring out the hardships of life, when suddenly her gaze shot to something horrifying, and she let out a yelp."

    "''What ''you''? The crying counts as time, too!'' Yan Renxi laughed triumphantly, layers upon layers of his flesh quivering, as if a mountain of meat were trembling from an earthquake."

    Just then, a shadow abruptly engulfed him."

    He felt something behind him."

    Yan Renxi struggled to turn his head, only to see a man in a hooded robe had appeared suddenly behind him."

 Chapter 224 Daozun Favors You! Yi Taoists Hidden Path, Go Forth._2

    The man''s eyes were pitch black and deep like an abyss, devouring one''s heart and soul."Ghost... Gui Zhong..."

    The air suddenly solidified as if it were molten iron, and a stubborn chunk of iron seemed to block his throat, causing Yan Renxi''s voice to cut off midway.

    A powerful malice surged toward him.

    His heart felt as if it were seized by an invisible giant hand and then violently twisted.

    His breath started to quicken, becoming short and rapid, quick and shallow.

    Fine beads of sweat emerged on his forehead.

    He was in terror!

    He was afraid!

    Somehow, he suddenly thought of the little white flowers he had destroyed until their death.

    He thought of their weak, pitiful and helpless expressions before they died, of their painful and desperate looks.

    "Little girl, close your eyes!"

    Yi Chen gave Xiao Lian a gentle smile, his face carrying a hint of apology.

    A large hand suddenly rested on Yan Renxi''s head.

    "Yan Renxi, you''re such a waste, not a True Person who''s ascended by righteous cultivation, a piece of trash with no hope of advancing to the mid-stage of the True Person Realm in this lifetime."

    "Your life force looks like a candle flame in the wind, a little stronger gust, and it''s extinguished."

    Yi Chen''s voice sounded like a devil''s whisper in Yan Renxi''s ear, resonating slowly, each second torturing his mind like a cruel punishment.

    After absorbing the True Technique''s thirteenth layer thanks to the martial prowess of dominating intent, Yi Chen found that unleashing malice at someone came with a natural intimidating effect. For instance, this piece of trash before him, under the suppression of his energy and spirit, was like the pork on the chopping block.

    With each word Yi Chen spoke, his hand pressed down a little further, and by the end of the word "extinguish," Yan Renxi''s head had been slowly crushed into his chest cavity, and a mound of flesh collapsed with a crash.

    The memory extraction ability was triggered, and fragments of memories about Yan Renxi flooded Yi Chen''s mind. For a moment, it was as if he watched something not suitable for children, a type of ''infantry''...

    "Ugh! Who on earth is this guy?" Yi Chen finished overtime, lifted his leg to leave, he was going to find his good son now.

    At this moment, the terrifying pressure that enveloped the room suddenly dissipated. Xiao Lian, like a drowning lamb, gasped for air. Seeing Yi Chen walking away, she found courage from somewhere and scrambled off the brocaded bed, clinging tightly to Yi Chen''s leg.

    "Master, save me!"

    Yi Chen: "¡­.."

    "What do you want to do?"

    The mesmerizing ability was activated, and Xiao Lian''s mind, as though devoured by the black of night, started to respond obediently.

    "The poor little girl!"

    "To encounter such worse than beastly parents, it would have been better to be orphaned~"

    "But since you''ve sought out Daoist and called me ''master,'' then..."

    "You''ve gained Daozun''s favor!"

    "Blessings from the Immeasurable Heaven Daozun!"

    Yi Chen raised an eyebrow. Only now did he realize the person playing the erhu downstairs was Xiao Lian''s biological father. He clapped his hands, and shortly after, a middle-aged man dressed in a cyan robe entered.

    This man was his spy from Blood Killing Tower stationed here, codename, Water Ghost.

    "Find someone to arrange for this girl''s redemption, move her to a regular city to find work. Blood Killing Tower should be able to ensure an ordinary person''s safety and happiness, right?"

    "By the way, send her gambling-addict parents to labor in the mines, toil until death."

    "If you encounter difficulties, speak with Yang Zuo envoy. If the Flower Full Floor refuses to let her go, also find Yang Zuo envoy."

    "If Yang Zuo envoy can''t settle it, then I, the Tower Master, will personally talk with them."

    The middle-aged man had an unremarkable appearance, the kind that would go unnoticed in a crowd, clearly the making of a good assassin. He glanced at the headless corpse on the ground and immediately kneeled solemnly, placing one hand over his chest and saying:

    "I would die for the Tower Master without hesitation!"

    Yi Chen nodded in satisfaction. His trip here was not solely because Ghost Killing Tower had disrespected him; he also had plans to stir up trouble. How else could he incite a war with Ghost Killing Tower? Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

    How could he win over the hearts of the Blood Killing Tower assassins?

    Yi Chen was quite pleased when he heard that a helmsman from Ghost Killing Tower had killed one of their Silver Medal assassins. When Yang Zuo envoy later mentioned that this helmsman was also the Ghost Killing Tower Master''s own brother, he was even more delighted.

    Ghost Killing Tower was a significant power adjacent to Blood Killing Tower, both part of the Wuyou Alliance and infamous.

    Blood Killing Tower involved in kidnapping for ransom, returned people for real money, with fair prices, honest deals for young and old.

    Ghost Killing Tower, however, even after taking money, they ripped up tickets, daring to engage in all manner of indecent business.

    Stealing swallows'' mud, sharpening the tips of needles, splitting the tender meat on the legs of egrets, and gouging out the oil in a mosquito''s belly, damn how low they could go.

    Ghost Killing Tower Master, Yan Renhen, had inherited a purple flagpole symbolizing authority, containing two True Persons of the seventh layer of the True Person Realm, and he himself also possessed the cultivation of the seventh layer of the True Person Realm. With the aid of this relic, Yan Renhen had been powerful for a time, continually suppressing the rise of Blood Killing Tower.

    For the sake of justice, he had to take him down.

    Interfering with his collection of Deep Red Points made it even more of a crime.

    Not to mention his expenses had been rather high lately.

    "Water Ghost, come closer and listen."

    "Take one of Yan Renxi''s fingers as proof, then burn his body to ashes, and then do this... and this... and this... Understand?"

    "After you finish this task, go to Yang Zuo envoy to claim ten thousand taels of silver."

    The middle-aged man code-named ''Water Ghost'' listened in shock to the Tower Master''s instructions, and his eyes widened.

    ¡­

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    The next day at noon, under the sunlight, a strange carriage rattled its way to the Ghost Killing Tower''s base. The carriage pulled a thin coffin, and on both ends of the coffin were written a large ''tragic'' character.

    Suddenly, just before reaching the Ghost Killing Tower''s base, under the gaze of the guards, an arrow with a letter attached shot out and landed on the flagpole in front of the base.

    After reading the letter, the guards turned pale with shock and urgently cried, "Quick, go summon the Tower Master."

 Chapter 224 Daozun Favors You! Yi Taoists Hidden Path, Go Forth._3

    Just then, the carriage suddenly overturned, ejecting from the coffin a finger, a handful of ash, and three talismans.In the shocked eyes of the attendants, a green talisman self-ignited without any breeze, conjuring a gust of wind that whirled the cremated ashes into the air.

    Following that, the blue talisman caught fire, spurring a brief rain within a ten-meter radius of the coffin for ten seconds.

    Lastly, the purple talisman ignited, exploding into a bolt of lightning that charred the finger on the ground.

    As a professional assassin, possessing a repertoire of special techniques was common. For "Water Ghost", using delayed explosion talismans wasn''t particularly difficult.

    "Water Ghost" found the most difficult part to be the thought process of the boss¡­ S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Before long, a middle-aged man with hollow cheeks and narrow eyes arrived at the overturned coffin. He looked at the scene before him, glanced at the letter, and then at the charred finger on the ground, and suddenly roared toward the sky:

    "Ah ah ah, Gui Zhongdao! You''re courting death!"

    The letter in his hand clearly read:

    [Brother Yan, your brother''s cremated ashes have been sent back the way they came, courtesy of Gui Zhongdao. No need for thanks, I''ve specially prepared burial silver, ten thousand and ten taels, waiting for you at the White Egret Peak of Nanshan. Gui Zhongdao shall await your esteemed arrival, to discuss funeral arrangements.]

    ¡­

    The White Egret Peak of Nanshan is a mountain over two hundred miles away from the stronghold of Blood Killing Tower.

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    It was named for the numerous egrets that roost there.

    At dusk on White Egret Peak, the horizon was painted deep red by clouds, reflecting across rivers and mountains, weaving into a magnificent tapestry.

    Yi Chen, carrying the head of Yan Renhen, broke through the grand formation and stepped out, crushing the clouds above.

    Yan Renhen indeed was a cold and cautious man, suspecting a ruse, even amidst such provocation from Yi Chen he still brought a deputy tower master and set up a grand formation at the mountain base, inviting Yi Chen in for a talk.

    Yi Chen naturally went along with the flow.

    He wasn''t afraid of Yan Renhen not meeting him, to still not face him after being slapped in the face like this, then Yan Renhen wasn''t fit to be the tower master.

    The Blood Killing Tower wouldn''t be able to stand its ground in the underground world either, their people would have to sit at the kids'' table from now on when going out for work.

    After entering the formation, naturally, a small quarrel broke out between the two parties. Linking generations by insults, Yi Chen sincerely farewelled the female relatives of Yan Renhen''s past eighteen generations...

    After an ample exchange of views, unable to bear it any longer, Yan Renhen made the first move. He summoned two old ghosts to have a minor scuffle with Yi Chen, and the two sides clashed.

    The event ended with Yan Renhen''s side confused.

    "Earned another 2,600 Deep Red Points, feeling good."

    "Didn''t expect that old fellow Yan Renhen to have a top-grade spirit beast bag, saved me a bit of expense, the man was pretty decent~"

    Yi Chen floated in the air like a murderous deity, his sleeves billowing as he patrolled the sky.

    His insight ability activated, combined with the exceptional vision granted by the Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique, his sharp gaze searching for any figures that might be lurking nearby.

    A sinister smile played on his lips, Yi Chen muttered to himself, "Bold! There actually is a little mouse that slipped through the net, hiding in the shadows."

    With a twist of his body, he plummeted like a meteor, colliding with a certain spot beneath the ground.

    A pudgy man cloaked in a bizarre magic artifact for protection, lurking underground, suddenly looked desperate.

    Enormous pressure crushed his protective magic artifact, which burst with a snap, turning him into a lump of flesh.

    As long as he killed people cleanly enough, no one would discover his identity.

    Yi Chen looked up at the beautiful horizon, tossed Yan Renhen''s head to the ground, and strode away.

    This was the way of the undercover Yi Taoist.

    Blood Killing Tower fortress, night.

    Yang Zuo was shocked as he looked at the three blood-stained storage rings in his hand.

    Yi Chen patted his shoulder again and said with profound meaning, "Work hard, I''m keeping an eye on everything."

    "If you handle matters diligently, it wouldn''t be out of the question for me to pass on the Giant Spirit Devil Technique to you in the future."

    The Giant Spirit Devil Technique was the demonic cultivation method originally practiced by the lord of the Blood Killing Tower, which had been lying in Yi Chen''s storage ring gathering dust, appearing useless.

    However, what seemed worthless to him was now an extremely precious treasure in the eyes of Yang Zuo.

    After painting a big pie for Yang Zuo, Yi Chen turned around and returned to the secret chamber where he was cultivating in seclusion.

    Power is demonstrated through its distribution, and moreover, Yang Zuo''s life was still in his hands; Yi Chen was not at all worried about Yang Zuo harboring doubts about his identity.

    Even if there were doubts, as long as he was a smart man, he would convince himself.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    With a slap on his spirit beast bag, Miao Zi peeked out hesitantly and began frolicking around Yi Chen, joy evident beyond words.

    After killing Yan Renhen and his party, Yi Chen had gone to Nanshan County and brought Miao Zi back.

    To his surprise, Miao Zi didn''t cause any trouble; instead, it strangely hid in the rafters of a painting shop to watch others paint, which puzzled him.

    After playing with Miao Zi for a while, during the quiet of the night, Yi Chen took out the letter sent by the Carefree King, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

    The Carefree King, for some unknown reason, had issued invitations to gather many leaders of the powers under the Worry-Free Alliance to his Worry-Free Mansion for a meeting.

    Mr. Lu Xun once said, "To go or not to go, that is the question."

    After pondering for a while, Yi Chen decided to go.

    Now that his cultivation had greatly improved, even if the Worry-Free Mansion were a dragon''s den or tiger''s lair, he dared to charge in.

    Besides, he had embezzled those hundreds of thousands of taels of deposit from the Carefree King, which also needed to be dealt with.

    He found the Blood Killing Tower very useful and did not want to discard it too easily.

    Of course, having heard that the Carefree King liked to throw interesting banquets and that there were Heavenly Demon Exquisite Dances to watch within the Worry-Free Mansion, Yi Chen also felt a bit eager to broaden his horizons.

    "Carefree King, the underground emperor of Jiangnan Circuit, an old thief of many years, what are you really up to?"

    "Could you be the Purple Order Demonic Human of Jiangnan Circuit?"

    Thinking of the Carefree King''s strange task of collecting human bones, and the letter instructing Gui Zhongdao to investigate him, Yi Chen felt that this person must have great secrets.

    "Well then, Daoist will meet with you, Carefree King."

    Yi Chen stood up indifferently, and a speck of white light appeared at his fingertip, then suddenly expanded; the white light, like ripples of water, engulfed all the evil items stored in the secret chamber.

    Over eighty strands of information flashed before his eyes like a rapid scroll.

    "Less than I expected, only a little over one thousand one hundred points."

    "However, I now have over three thousand seven hundred Deep Red Points, so the progress isn''t bad."

    "If the Carefree King turns out to be a demonic human or has the cultivation of a True Monarch, what then should I do?"

    Yi Chen stood with his hands behind his back, lost in thought.

    After a long time, a sigh echoed in the secret chamber, and the Thunderstrike Jade began crackling with sparks.

    A Daoist was grimacing, contorting his face as he fiddled with the electric door.

 Chapter 226 The Banquet of the Carefree King, Old Acquaintance (Part 2)

    "An absolute expert."In Yi Chen''s vision, this person appeared to be shrouded in mist, making it impossible to see the depth. This situation, if not protected by a powerful artifact, implied that this person''s strength was comparable to his¡ªmaybe even stronger.

    With this thought, he became more cautious in his heart, not daring to scrutinize any further.

    This time, a total of eight major powers were invited to attend the Carefree King''s banquet.

    Among them, what caught Yi Chen''s attention were the Black Shark Tower, the Savage Fang Pavilion, and the Pink Tassel House, whose Family Heads were all of the eighth level of the True Person Realm.

    The master of the Black Shark Tower was a burly man with a dark face; his imposing stature and ugly features coupled with a long, narrow scar stretched from his brow to the corner of his mouth, making him look even more ferocious.

    The master of the Savage Fang Pavilion was a young scholar with rosy lips and white teeth, appearing gentle and innocent, but those who sat in this grand hall were naturally not of the benevolent sort.

    The head of the Pink Tassel House was a sultry, red-dressed young woman with a slender waist and long legs. She was charmingly attractive and wore a tight, low-cut dress, not considering the attendees as strangers at all, half-exposing her ample bosom.

    Yi Chen had clearly perceived this through his mind''s eye mirror and offered a high appraisal, "This is generous, magnanimous, embodying the spirit of sharing characteristic of the early Internet era..."

    The Carefree King flicked his robe and sat down with a smile, "Everyone here is part of our Carefree Alliance. We brothers rarely gather together, so today we must drink a few extra cups."

    At his gesture, a pink-dressed young girl clapped her hands, and immediately a group of beautiful maids entered, carrying various delicacies in succession. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The prince''s hospitality is generous!" Everyone rose to their feet and respectfully toasted the Carefree King from afar.

    Yi Chen had just put down his wine glass when suddenly an off-key note reached his ears.

    "While it''s true we all belong to the same alliance, it seems someone is breaking the rules. Gui Zhongdao, wouldn''t you agree?"

    "Do you realize Yan Renhen is my sworn brother? How did he offend you for you to take such ruthless action?"

    The master of the Black Shark Tower was actually the first to confront Yi Chen.

    As soon as these words came out, everyone''s gaze converged on Yi Chen, with the Carefree King sitting at the head, a picture of detached calmness.

    "Black Shark, someone from Blood Killing Tower slaughtered one of my silver badge assassins. Do you want me to wash my neck clean for Yan Renhen to take a swipe at it too?" Yi Chen replied with a cold laugh.

    "For the sake of a silver badge assassin, you killed someone''s own younger brother? Gui Zhongdao, who do you plan to swallow up next?"

    Looking at the other leaders around him, Yi Chen began to surmise the situation.

    It seemed they had colluded in advance to demand an explanation from him. It appeared his ruthless actions from the day before had provoked their wariness, prompting Black Shark to speak on their behalf.

    They were rather mistaken in this; Yi Chen had little interest in their possessions. They didn''t have Deep Red Points, and without it, why would he want their Gold Coins? It would just be exhausting and not worth the trouble.

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    Yi Chen swept his gaze around the hall, increasingly sensing an air of pretense from everyone, reminiscent of the Empress of the East Palace making pancakes and the Empress of the West Palace rolling scallions.

    The first reason he had killed the master of the Blood Killing Tower was for Deep Red Points; the second was to intimidate other powers, to minimize interference as his people from Blood Killing Tower searched for malevolent spirits on his behalf.

    He did not want to become the next Carefree King; too high a profile meant too many eyes from the Peacekeeping Division were watching.

    The existence of the Carefree King served a purpose, creating a figure like him. Once the Carefree King became a liability or offended someone too important to be antagonized, the soldiers of Da Yue would descend, and those who had pushed him up would cast him into the abyss as if discarding trash.

    With a clear understanding of the situation, things would be easier to handle.

    Under the gaze of everyone present, Yi Chen replied expressionlessly, "If the Blood Killing Tower ceases to provoke, I naturally will not make another move against them."

    At these words, the atmosphere in the hall immediately relaxed considerably, especially for the surviving vice master of Blood Killing Tower who heaved a long sigh of relief and repeatedly expressed his respect towards Yi Chen.

    People are always more tolerant towards the strong. Having received the answer they wanted, no one was interested in seeking justice for a dead man, including Black Shark, the sworn brother of Yan Renhen.

    "Now that we''ve cleared the air, there''s no issue. Now then, you all have traveled from afar. I''ve put a lot of thought into this gathering. I have collected many exquisite beauties from all over the world to enhance your enjoyment," the Carefree King said with a beaming smile.

    As soon as these words were spoken, a ripple of excitement passed through the crowd within the hall.

    Yi Chen also showed a look of anticipation, his heart already starting to itch with eagerness.

    At last, the main course was about to be served.

    He had long heard that the Carefree King''s feast was a splendid auditory event, and Gui Zhongdao wanted to see if it really lived up to its reputation.

    He absolutely had to criticize such behavior~

    As soon as the Carefree King''s words ended, a row of maids pushing carts adorned with fresh flowers came out from the corridor beside the main door.

    It was indeed like serving dishes, with each cart bearing the name of its maiden.

    Eight stunningly beautiful women were immobilized by spirit-binding and body-sealing talismans, each with her own unique physique, some voluptuously rounded, others slender as swallows.

    Some had a cool and aloof demeanor, some were sweet and endearing, some were bewitchingly beautiful, and some were tender and boneless.

    Each one was a peerless beauty in the human world.

    At this moment, the leader of the Blood Killing Tower couldn''t help but exclaim in surprise, "Isn''t that the former Family Head''s wife?"

    "And that one, seems like an Inner Sect Disciple of the Floral Faction."

    "And that one, isn''t she Shui Lingyue from the Shui Family?"

    His recognition of three of the stunning beauties in this place showcased his excellent vision.

    Black Shark was also staring wide-eyed: "That lady in green looks like she''s from the Azure Cloud Sect. His Highness the King is really splurging this time."

    The Carefree King nodded in satisfaction as he watched the astonished reactions of everyone present.

    The eight beauties in the hall had all been carefully selected and kidnapped over the past two days.

    "Gentlemen, indeed you have good eyesight. These people are either wives or daughters of small and medium-sized noble families or Inner Sect Disciples of various factions. Just make sure not to spread the word after you have enjoyed them."

    The Carefree King was truly adroit.

    When beauty reaches a certain level, what remains beyond the charisma is status.

    And these women had statuses that were exceedingly sensitive. Each one had her own cultivation, noble identity, and if one could¡­

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but admire the Carefree King at this time. The man was truly a mad gambler. If they were to touch these women, their relationships would naturally become even closer.

    Committing a misdeed together, having a shared secret, could indeed strengthen relationships more than doing a good deed together.

    Yi Chen really hadn''t expected the Carefree King to dare to meddle with all these women. This move was clearly audacious.

    While everyone else''s gaze flickered, weighing their thoughts, Yi Chen had already stood up decisively, pointing at a girl in white and saying, "I want this one, whoever dares to compete with me is disrespecting me, Gui Zhongdao."

    Yi Chen had never expected to encounter Abbess Shuiyue here again.

    At this time, Abbess Shuiyue, with her pointed chin, looked somewhat leaner, but was still plump and fruitful, and now had long, waterfall-like black hair. Panic filled her beautiful eyes, much like a little rabbit that had blundered into a wolf''s den.

    In this demon''s lair, encountering an old acquaintance, Yi Chen could only extend a helping hand.

    It was necessary to take some risks for this, and as for the other seven women, Yi Chen was powerless. It was not that they were not excellent, but because he was more familiar with Abbess Shuiyue. In the past, the Abbess had even served him a chicken leg, and he still held that kindness in his heart.

    "Gui Zhongdao, I''ve also taken a liking to Shui Lingyue. You''re making it difficult for me," declared the leader of the Black Shark, once again speaking up to confront Yi Chen. His gaze intensely fixed on Abbess Shuiyue, it was unclear whether he was trying to disgust Yi Chen on purpose or if he was truly earnest.

    "Difficult? Then don''t bother!"

    Yi Chen stood up abruptly, a kick sending the table in front of him shattering to pieces. He sneered, turning to Black Shark with a cold voice, "Black Shark, I''ve tolerated you for a long time."

    "Do you want to start a fight? I''m giving face to the King today and don''t wish to lose my temper. If you want a fight, Blood Killing Tower will oblige. If you want a life-or-death struggle, I, Gui Zhongdao, am ready."

    "Today, I want this woman, and I''ll see who dares to stop me!"

 Chapter 227 Blood of the Yin Scale, Discovered Yi Chengzis Trail? Then Who Am I?

    ```The leader of the Black Shark Tower had a face so dark that it turned a shade of date red, his chest heaving erratically. The fury burning in his heart was matched with indecision. Explore new worlds at My Virtual Library Empire

    Gui Zhongdao''s cultivation had greatly improved, and he was clearly familiar with the cultivation of Yan Renhen, his sworn brother. Although Yan Renhen''s skills were not on par with his own, the fact that Yan Renhen, with the help of a great formation, was still completely killed by Gui Zhongdao meant that Gui Zhongdao''s cultivation was no longer inferior to his, and may even surpass him by a whisker.

    For a moment, he wavered over whether he should offend this madman over a woman.

    "Is there anyone else who wants to bet their entire fortune against me, Gui Zhongdao?"

    "I, Gui Zhongdao, am a most reasonable person. I''ll naturally eat the tasty bits first, but I won''t take more than my share, everyone gets a portion."

    "Shui Lingyue, I want her."

    "Now that I''ve spoken, who agrees, who opposes?"

    Yi Chen''s gaze swept over everyone in the hall like a hawk, and seeing that they all remained silent, he suddenly broke into a smile. His expression went from ferocious to warm in an instant, and the smile on his face even carried a trace of sunshine: "Since no one opposes, then I, Gui Zhongdao, thank you all."

    In the great hall, the twelve bronze beast heads on both sides burned with crackling white flames, which illuminated Yi Chen''s big teeth, making them appear exceptionally white.

    Yi Chen''s words were a firm yet gentled threat, seemingly fierce and domineering but in reality, he intentionally hinted that even though he would eat first, everyone would get a share, leading others to believe he was venting dissatisfaction over being pressured earlier not to expand his territory.

    In that single string of sentences, the artistry of language was displayed to its fullest, implicitly suggesting the pattern of interest distribution.

    "Gui Zhongdao, you are out of line!"

    "How dare you be so insolent in the presence of His Highness!"

    The girl in the pink dress beside the Carefree King couldn''t help but speak out with a cold rebuke.

    "Gui Zhongdao, what is it that you want?" The Carefree King''s tone remained unchanged, but his eyes now carried a hint of bone-chilling cold, revealing that his emotions were not as calm as they appeared on the surface.

    Yi Chen knew that the crucial test was upon him. If he wanted to successfully save Abbess Shuiyue, he had to get past the Carefree King.

    Facing the Carefree King, whose strength was unfathomable, he had no confidence in protecting Abbess Shuiyue and escaping from the Manor unscathed.

    If it turned out like the previous encounter with the Pipi Tiger when he first entered Yin Manor, only managing to bring back half, that would be quite a joke.

    However, Yi Chen already had a contingency plan for this scenario, conceived in a moment of rapid thought.

    He bowed with his hand on his chest and said, "Your Highness, I want to become the leader of the eight underground powers of the Alliance, second only to one and above ten thousand."

    The Carefree King stretched out his hand, and a thick, dark aura of mana suddenly surged. His aura grew stronger and stronger, stopping only when it reached a level comparable to Xu Wuxie''s.

    Yi Chen knew that this was not the Carefree King''s limit; the man was still holding back.

    "Gui Zhongdao, you''ve got some nerve!"

    "Aren''t you afraid that I''ll kill you?"

    Hearing this, Yi Chen''s face showed a moment of ''panic,'' and then he calmed down: "I, like Your Highness, started from nothing. I''ve always held great respect for Your Highness. If Your Highness wants to kill me, I can only run."

    "If I''m fortunate enough to survive today, when I return in the future, if the price is fair, I would still be willing to do business with Your Highness."

    A flicker of surprise crossed the Carefree King''s face, and he suddenly burst into laughter: "Good! Gui Zhongdao, you are a clever one. I''ve been underestimating you this whole time!"

    "But remember, business is business, don''t overstep your bounds."

    "You can''t take what I don''t give you."

    "You are indeed sharp-eyed. Shui Lingyue is still a virgin, with the blood of Yin Scale in her veins. A girl with the blood of Yin Scale, before being deflowered, has her bloodline dormant, and as time goes on, it absorbs life force, which greatly hampers cultivation.

    This girl herself does not know that she is being hindered by the blood of Yin Scale. If His Majesty had not been fortunate enough to have previously encountered one and thus is well-informed, even he might have failed to notice the signs.

    The first one to take this girl''s virginity can extend their life by thirty years. It''s extremely precious. Others don''t have your vision, fortune, or strength. Now, she''s yours."

    As soon as the words fell, the leader of the Black Shark Tower couldn''t help but show a look of regret and vexation on his face, having not expected the Carefree King to casually mention this matter and even less so that Shui Lingyue had the blood of Yin Scale in her veins.

    A girl with the blood of Yin Scale was extremely rare. Such a constitution was incredibly secretive, one of the rare unfortunate constitutions in the world, harming oneself entirely for the benefit of others, compromising one''s vital energy to nourish the innate Yin Scale blood for someone else''s longevity.

    A large hand suddenly took hold of Abbess Shuiyue''s small hand. At this time, the debris from the tables in the hall had already been cleared away by the servants and replaced with new ones. Yi Chen arrogantly glanced at the Black Shark Tower leader, then returned to his original seat and sat down.

    Yi Chen couldn''t help feeling fortunate. Although he had used his outstanding wit to safely navigate the situation, there was also no small element of luck involved.

    Fortunately, the Abbess was blessed with great fortune. If he had been exposed, and the Carefree King decided to punish him, then he would have had to fight his way out, and whether he could bring the Abbess out in one piece would have been up to fate.

    Shui Lingyue, led by Yi Chen, settled down as if she were a puppet on strings. She too could not help feeling a deep sadness in her heart.

    Looking at the visage of Gui Zhongdao beside her, which was reasonably handsome, she couldn''t help but sigh internally¡ªat least he was more pleasant to the eye than that big, dark fat man...

    Just then, Gui Zhongdao''s face slowly enlarged in her sight, their cheeks drawing near. A breath of warmth rushed towards her ear and a familiar voice echoed in her mind:

    "Abbess, I am Yi Chengzi from Hidden Dragon Temple, don''t make a sound. I''ll find a way to get you out later."

    "To prevent suspicion from others, if I offend you in any way later, please forgive me."

    These words set off towering waves in Abbess Shuiyue''s heart, along with a joy of being spared from doom.

    Yi Chen removed the immobilization charm from Abbess Shuiyue and, with a large hand, encompassed her slender waist, pulling her into his embrace.

    ```

    At this moment, Shui Lingyue was clad in a white dress, her skin as white as jade. She simply tied a fei-colored jade belt around her waist, which made her Saintess Peak appear especially prominent.

    Caught in Yi Chen''s embrace, a flush of red couldn''t help but ascend her cheeks, and for a time, she was even more radiant than the peach blossoms.

    The eight stunning women at the scene were quickly divided among the crowd. Even the woman wearing a very boldly styled red dress who was armed with pink hairpins and ornaments was embracing another woman in a jade-colored long skirt, drinking together. Yi Chen had not expected that this person would actually be a lesbian....

    The sound of string and woodwind instruments began to play, instantly heating up the atmosphere.

    Black Shark looked at Abbess Shuiyue by Yi Chen''s side, who was gentle yet carried a hint of cold demeanor, which was also mixed with a touch of seductiveness, continually pouring wine for Yi Chen, cutting meat, and feeding him vegetables.

    Then looking at the blue-dressed beauty by his side, who had a face like cold frost, full of disgust towards him, and who sat stiffly like a corpse, he couldn''t help but burn with rage.

    His eyes rolled and he couldn''t help but speak out again, sneering at Yi Chen, "Gui Zhongdao, have you turned vegetarian, or is there some secret?"

    "Could it be that you knew this little lady before? Otherwise, why would she be so submissive to you? You''re not usually such a stickler for the rules, eh~"

    With these words, all eyes converged on Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen''s hand slipped naturally from Abbess Shuiyue''s waist down to her perky bottom, and in that moment, Shui Lingyue''s body stiffened as if electrified.

    Yi Chen sneered, "Black Shark, I know you''re anxious, but don''t rush."

    "You can''t charm the little lady by your side, so why lash out at me?"

    After speaking, he turned his head and planted a smooch on Shui Lingyue''s reddened face, smugly saying,

    "Do you know why Miss Shui is so obedient to me?"

    "I told her that if she didn''t behave, I would send her to you. Who told you to be so ugly? Look, she''s shaking at the sight of you."

    "I''m just leeching off your misfortune~"

    "Tell me, Black Shark, were you premature? Ears by the shoulders, protruding lips, a nose pointing to the sky, and a pair with rat eyes."

    Upon these words, the pink-dressed attendant behind the Carefree King couldn''t hold back her laughter.

    Immediately, the others followed with roaring laughter, and the hall was suddenly filled with joyful notes~

    At the same time, an apologetic voice resonated in Shui Lingyue''s heart.

    "Abbess, I''m sorry!"

    "To prevent giving us away, I have no choice but to offend!"

    In that moment, Shui Lingyue''s heart was in turmoil, a strong hormonal scent entered her nose, and she, who had never been so close to anyone, suddenly felt weak all over.

    "Alright, stop messing around. I invited everyone here today for a small gathering, and secondly, to discuss urgent matters."

    "How is the progress on the tasks I have entrusted you all with?" Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The Carefree King''s eyes twinkled with laughter, and with a wave of his hand, he quelled the laughter of the crowd, finally getting down to business.

    "Reporting to Your Highness, my Blood Shark Tower has already discovered Yi Chengzi''s whereabouts," said one.

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen, who was holding Shui Lingyue by the waist, couldn''t help but tighten his grip slightly. Abbess Shuiyue, in pain, ended up leaning sideways onto Yi Chen''s lap.

    "Fellow Daoist, your Magic Artifact is poking me," Shui Lingyue murmured softly, unable to suppress giving Yi Chen a glare.

    "Sorry," Yi Chen couldn''t help but blush.

    Suddenly, Abbess Shuiyue seemed to think of something, and her complexion turned crimson as blood.

    Black Shark''s gaze abruptly shifted towards Yi Chen and Abbess Shuiyue, causing Yi Chen''s heart to skip a beat. Shui Lingyue, who had been somewhat limp, stiffened slightly, her complexion abruptly turning from red to pale.

    Fearing that someone might detect something amiss, Yi Chen pulled Shui Lingyue''s delicate body closer into his embrace, cradling her hips against himself, with her back towards everyone. He gently stroked her spine, calming her emotions, and sneered at Black Shark, "Why are you staring at me? This time it''s your Blood Shark Tower that''s ahead of my Blood Killing Tower."

    Black Shark glowered at ''Gui Zhongdao'' before continuing, "Reporting to Your Highness, that Yi Chengzi was previously seen at Qianzhou Manor."

    "And he recently committed a heinous crime there, attempting to forcefully buy and sell the Qian family heirloom. When the Qian family refused, he brutally slaughtered everyone in the manor, and Mrs. Qian was even pinned on a table by him..."

    "According to witnesses, the lights were still on, pah, this practitioner of the Dao Sect is even filthier than us," Black Shark finished.

    At this, Yi Chen, who had been gently stroking Shui Lingyue''s back, also stiffened slightly.

    "Yi Chengzi is committing these abominable acts in Qianzhou Manor, so who the hell am I?"

    "Who is framing me, or is someone trying to lure me out in this manner?"

    "Damn it, if I had taken action, how could there possibly be witnesses? Pah, wait, how could I even commit such acts?"

    Suddenly, Yi Chen''s mind raced, as numerous thoughts bombarded him. His gut told him there were layers of shadows behind this matter.

    "You scoundrel, you better not fall into my hands, or I''ll make sure you suffer both life and death," Yi Chen thought, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

 Chapter 229 Ruthless Carefree King, Betrayal, Suspicion

    ```Before the dawn is not the limit for the Taoist, but for Shui Lingyue.

    Shui Lingyue hid under the red quilt, a strand of hair damp with sweat sticking to her cheek. Peeking out with her embarrassed and flushed half-face, she said, "Yi Taoist, what did you want to tell me earlier?"

    Yi Chen replied gently, "There was something, but not anymore~" Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire

    "Rest up."

    Gently patting Shui Lingyue''s jade back, cradling her like a pipa placed askew in his embrace, Yi Chen smacked his lips and soothed Shui Lingyue into a deep sleep.

    Moments later, his eyes suddenly opened.

    He could see the lifespan entry in the virtual panel before his eyes had changed.

    His lifespan had unexpectedly increased from 1200 to 1266.

    "Wasn''t it supposed to be an extension of thirty years? Why has it almost doubled?"

    For a moment, Yi Chen couldn''t help but widen his eyes; a conjecture suddenly emerged in his mind.

    As the saying goes, "Without Yin, there is no birth; without Yang, there''s no growth." Combined, the Yin and Yang engender all things.

    Could it be that his Pure Yang foundation meeting with the blood of the Yin scale had undergone some mysterious change, leading to this unexpected doubling?

    Upon careful reflection, Yi Chen felt that the resentment that had been accumulating in his heart had also dissipated quite a bit, as though a piece of glass had been wiped clean of its dust. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If it were to be described in two words, that would be, "bright and clear!"

    "Ling Yue, get up, look inward at yourself and see if there''s any change." Yi Chen''s face showed a hint of pleasant surprise; he found that Shui Lingyue''s temperament differed greatly from before.

    There was a sense of being exceedingly ethereal, harmonious, and perfect.

    He gave Abbess Shuiyue''s perky buttocks a gentle slap, intending to wake the sleeping lamb, only to find that perhaps she was too exhausted, the jade beauty in his arms just tightened her embrace, mumbling, "Taoist, stop hitting."

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen was immediately covered in sweat...

    ...

    ...

    Before the dawn.

    A thousand miles away, within a concealed dip in the mountains.

    Fu Canglong, dressed in a purple robe, stood with his hands behind his back, letting the mountain wind whip his robe about fiercely.

    "Has everyone arrived?"

    He turned around and inquired of the two people leading the line-up.

    "Reporting to the Sir, everything is arranged properly; as per your secret orders, those pulled for this mission are all elites from our Hall of War, absolutely reliable," a monk in a vermillion robe said resolutely.

    "Reporting to the Sir, the Wind Army''s Lie Jiuxiao, leading seventeen brave generals, has taken their positions. We await your command," a man in iron armor with a dark face said, giving Fu Canglong a salute.

    "Very good."

    "General Jiuxiao, thank the Wind Commander for me."

    "Gentlemen, the Jiangnan Circuit has become tainted. Now, there are those who have forgotten who truly owns this land."

    "The Carefree King has no regard for law and his crimes are too numerous to record. He has now gone mad. Today, I have attained the True Monarch realm, and my first act is to uproot this cancer."

    "We shall strike like thunder to shatter the darkness! Wan Sheng!" Fu Canglong drew his saber, resoundingly pointing it to the sky.

    "Wan Sheng!" everyone shouted in unison.

    An eerie black cloud hung high above their heads, containing all sounds and breaths of the people underneath it.

    In the dip of the mountain, Fu Canglong, looking down at the fifty-four True Person Realm masters before him, nodded in satisfaction. When heaven wants to bring doom, it first makes one mad. The Carefree King used to be a good dog, aware of the times, knowing when to advance or retreat, never touching what he wasn''t supposed to touch.

    He had been spared previously because of his sensible decisions and someone pleading on his behalf. Furthermore, the Carefree King had made no small contribution to stabilizing the underground forces of the Jiangnan Circuit.

    But now, that dog had changed, secretly weaving a vast network and amassing power that even he found alarming.

    This was his oversight due to extreme indulgence in cultivation, allowing the Carefree King to grow too powerful.

    This time, having obtained the Xuan Yuan Pill within the Secret Realm and successfully advanced to the True Monarch realm, today was the time to clean house thoroughly.

    However, even lions utilize their full strength when hunting rabbits; for safety, he had requested eighteen more experts from the Wind Commander. Tonight, he was determined to leave no one alive in the Carefree Mansion.

    "March!"

    At his command, fifty-four superior dragon-steeds with wings on their ribs soared into the sky, carrying the fifty-four True Person Realm masters.

    The dragon-steeds were clad in black iron armor, revealing only their indifferent eyes. The armor was engraved with ancient runes, their auras subtly interconnected.

    The knights on the dragon-steeds each had an imposing manner, with the lowest cultivation among them above the third layer of the True Person Realm.

    Under the cover of the weird dark clouds overhead, the group flew at high speed and soon arrived at Panlong Peak.

    The thirty-six elites from the Hall of War formed a formation, surrounding the vast Panlong Peak, while the elites from the Wind Army formed a second encirclement to deal with any fish that slipped through the net.

    Lie Jiuxiao sat astride a dragon-steed, his sharp gaze fixed on his colleagues from the Hall of War.

    The Hall of War members, well-trained, each took out a very long green flagpole and smashed it down into the ground. In an instant, thirty-six giant flag shadows rose under the night sky,

    forming a grand formation that covered all of Panlong Peak.

    Countless stars fell from the sky, converging on the flagpoles, which, in turn, connected to the splendid stellar power on the black spears of the Hall of War cultivators.

    ```

 Chapter 229 Ruthless Carefree King, Betrayal, Suspicion_2

    "Fall!"The square-faced monk pressed his large hand downward.

    The cultivators of the Zhen''an Division pointed their long spears toward the yellow protective shield below, and thirty-six streams of mana brilliance bombarded the shield continuously like laser beams, causing ripples to splash.

    Fu Canglong, with his long hair fluttering, stood in the air as if he were a deity observing all that was happening, deep in thought.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Inside the Qian Si Yuan.

    Shui Lingyue, awakened by Yi Chen, now had a look of excitement on her face. She sat cross-legged on the bed, guiding her mana in circulation.

    Suddenly, a sound akin to the shattering of porcelain echoed in her heart, and in just a few circulations, she broke through to the Qi Refinement Realm.

    The strange warm flow that had settled in her body hadn''t ceased. It continued to lead her mana to grow, climbing all the way to the cusp of the mid-phase before finally calming down.

    The mysterious force that helped her succeed in her breakthrough was the harmony of the Yin Scale Blood and Pure Yang Energy within her body.

    "Yi Taoist, I''ve broken through to the Qi Refinement Realm, and I feel like my talents have transformed to the point of reincarnation. It''s as if I am reborn, and even my lifespan has increased significantly."

    Shui Lingyue excitedly said to Yi Chen, hugging her small quilt.

    Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

    Licking his lips while eyeing Shui Lingyue''s beautiful curves, Yi Chen also showed a look of ''surprise'' and said with bright eyes, "Abbess, why don''t we cultivate together once more? If there is still Yin Scale Blood hidden in your body, I fear there may be risks..."

    Some people''s calculations could be heard loud and clear by everyone in the Great Capital~

    Yi Chen advanced toward her, slowly closing the distance, and in a moment, Shui Lingyue''s delicate face flushed red as blood once again.

    A delicate and exquisite white jade (blank) foot kicked off the quilt, resting against Yi Chen''s chest.

    "Stop!"

    "Not now!"

    Just then, suddenly a rumbling sound came, shaking the ceiling so that the dirt particles rained down.

    Their expressions changed drastically at once.

    After quickly dressing, Yi Chen changed his appearance and hurried to the surface with Shui Lingyue.

    By the time he arrived at the ground level, many people had already gathered around Panlong Peak.

    Cries and clamors were deafening.

    The Carefree King, dressed in a golden robe and wearing a crown, looked impassively at Fu Canglong in the sky.

    "Lord Fu, bringing so many experts to my Carefree Mansion in the dead of night, could it be you think the tribute I paid wasn''t enough?"

    "Tong Carefree, why bother with words when death is upon you? Today, you have no chance of survival." Fu Canglong said indifferently, his voice piercing through the protection of the yellow shield and clearly reaching everyone''s ears.

    "Lord Fu, you really are confident~"

    "My Carefree Mansion will not fall today; the one who will flee defeated will be you, Fu Canglong," the Carefree King said, his face taking on a cunning look. With a chuckle, a massive, two-headed blood serpent emerged from a pool of blood beneath the vast Panlong Peak, breaking through the thick rock layers and suddenly appearing beside the Carefree King. Its four blood-red eyes were fixed on Fu Canglong.

    At the same time, the Carefree King''s figure flickered, stepping on one of the heads of the blood serpent. His aura skyrocketed instantly, climbing all the way to the peak of the True Person Realm before stopping. Then, the genuine mana within him resonated with the blood serpent underfoot,

    and his aura surged once more. For a moment, he seemed to be almost equal to Fu Canglong, with a purple diamond-shaped mark suddenly appearing on his forehead.

    "Damn, he''s really a demonic human." Yi Chen was utterly shocked; his offhand comment had turned out to be true¡ªthe Carefree King was indeed a demonic human.

    If he could slay this man, how many Deep Red Points would that be worth?

    His eyes darting around, Yi Chen''s thoughts began to whirl rapidly.

    At this moment, two maids¡ªone dressed in green, the other in pink¡ªled a group of cultivators with stiff expressions to the surface, and four guards in blood armor with dull expressions also followed to the Carefree King''s side.

    The maids were one thing; the aura from the four blood-armored guards was incredibly terrifying, almost equal to the oppressive force of someone at the eighth level of the True Person Realm.

    "Lord Fu, does the strength I have accumulated over the years pass your scrutiny? You didn''t expect, did you, that the leaders of the eight underground forces of the Jiangnan Circuit happened to have been invited by me," the Carefree King said.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, there''s no need to fear, I, the Carefree King, will deal with Fu Canglong. We still have a fighting chance,"

    "Kill these damned foreigners, and if it comes to worst, we can simply flee overseas. You will still live the good life, as long as I, the Carefree King, have anything to say in it. If I have a bite to eat, so will all of you."

    The Carefree King said somberly to Yi Chen and the others who had arrived at the surface.

    Just then, with a sudden laugh from the sky, Fu Canglong began to speak: S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Oh, naive Carefree King, naive Carefree King, when heaven wants to destroy a man, it first makes him mad. Are all you humans and demons this foolish?"

    "You have not truly comprehended the Great Dao. At best, you''re an anomaly who has temporarily gained power comparable to the ones near the Dao-level."

    "You are not my equal!"

    "And do you think I chose today to act without reason?"

    As soon as Fu Canglong finished speaking, Yi Chen suddenly felt a violent surge of mana beside him. Fortunately, with his extraordinary sense and constant vigilance, he easily avoided it.

    Hei Shark was not so lucky. He was standing shoulder to shoulder with the powdered-robe, red-dress beauty, and it seemed they had some sort of private agreement.

    Out of nowhere, a jade hairpin shot out of the mouth of the red-dressed beauty, aimed straight at Hei Shark''s heart.

    If Hei Shark''s cultivation hadn''t been remarkable, allowing him to react in time and move slightly aside, he would have likely suffered severe injuries by now.

    Even so, the jade hairpin still shot into his shoulder, blasting a hole the size of a bowl and exposing chipped white bone:

    All at once, five of the eight major forces turned their backs on the alliance.

    If you count Yi Chen, this darn guy, that makes six of the eight major underground forces harboring traitorous intentions.

    The chief of Sha Ya Pavilion, naturally among those ambushed, remained unharmed due to his usual caution. He looked at the situation in front of him with a bitter smile and clasped hands towards Fu Canglong, saying, "Esteemed Fu, I''m willing to switch sides, may I receive a lighter punishment?"

    Fu Canglong pondered for a moment and spoke loudly, "Misguided fools who repent can be spared death, but not punishment. You will hand over half of your wealth and are barred from setting foot in Jiangnan Circuit for life. Let this matter be bygones if so."

    "Thank you, sir!" All of a sudden, the young master of Sha Ya Pavilion, dressed as a scholar, energized the long sword in his hand, sending a crescent-moon blade of energy racing towards Hei Shark.

    "Together!" The monk with the square face called out once more.

    Suddenly, the energy of the stars gathered and flowed on the spear of the Town Peace Office''s Marshal, and a star spear of immense size slammed down, shattering the yellow barrier and scattering it across the sky like glimmering glass.

    "Fists dominating the mountains and rivers~"

    "Carefree King, you face me now!"

    A glint of golden light flashed in Fu Canglong''s eyes as a gigantic golden fist, as large as a house, smashed down towards the Carefree King.

    "Damn all of you, you all deserve to die!"

    "You bunch of traitors!"

    "Luckily, you were never my main reliance, having you was just gilding the lily. Hei Lao, summon the Bone Demon and my precious one I''ve raised for so many years!"

    In an instant, the Carefree King was furious. He knew some leaders of the eight forces were restless, but he didn''t expect as many as five to be traitors.

    Enraged, his blood-colored demonic energy surged, and a stench-filled, blood-colored rainbow light directly met the golden fist shadow plummeting towards him.

    At that moment, an old man in a black robe appeared, radiating a pressure nearly reaching the ninth layer of True Person Realm. Holding a white bone bell, he shook it mightily while suddenly igniting a blood talisman.

    The earth suddenly began to churn.

    One by one, colossal white bone demons awoke and emerged from the ground, constructed of a mess of human bones intertwined, their pupils burning with a bloodthirsty light, and wielding twisted white bone weapons, they attacked the crowd.

    Meanwhile, blood-colored giant serpents, over twenty meters long, began to burrow out of the mountains as if awakened from their slumber by the blood talisman, and upon appearing, they charged into the air towards the Town Peace Office''s men on black miasma.

    In an instant, the battlefield became utter chaos.

    Two maidservants with dead soldiers from the Carefree Mansion, blood-armored guards, white bone demons, blood-colored giant serpents, and the experts brought by Fu Canglong instantaneously clashed.

    The situation escalated into a fever pitch in a blink of an eye, with both sides furiously exchanging blows. Of course, the Carefree King''s side suffered heavy casualties and remained at a disadvantage.

    But the giant snakes were one thing; those towering white bone demons proved truly bizarre, each possessing immense strength and highly resistant to spells, and they were numerous.

    Some even had bone wings, fearlessly entangling with the Town Peace Office''s forces in the air.

    Yi Chen frowned as he watched the unfolding scene, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind. After a brief consideration, he decisively picked up Abbess Shuiyue and broke through the air to flee.

 Chapter 231 A Fair Fight, Insight into Moves, Devour Heaven and Earth! The Drop Rate Is Really High!

    Fu Canglong looked at Yi Chen, who broke into the formation, with shock in his eyes. His pupils narrowed with suspicion as he looked at the halberd in the other''s hand. If he wasn''t mistaken, wasn''t this the very Holy Halberd Tianwen that Xu Wuxie had taken away in the cave realm?Why would this Halberd appear in Yi Chengzi''s hands?

    And the strength of this person¡­

    Many doubts surfaced in his mind in that moment.

    "Lord Fu, leave the rest to me," Yi Chen said with a beaming smile as he bowed respectfully to Fu Canglong.

    He had seen from a distance how Fu Canglong risked his life to fight to the death with the Carefree King for the sake of his subordinates, which immediately improved his impression of Fu Canglong significantly.

    If Fu Canglong had chosen to betray his subordinates, he would have definitely turned and left.

    You''re not tough, do you expect me to be?

    I didn''t take any money~

    "Yi Taoist, please be careful. The grand formation laid out by this demon is extremely tricky. Devour Heaven and Earth renders replenishing Yuan Jin extremely difficult and it also interferes with our control over the power of the heavens and earth, causing the same techniques to consume several times more mana," said Fu Canglong.

    "I took a heavy loss here."

    Although Fu Canglong wasn''t optimistic about Yi Chen, at this point, he had no better plan and could only hope for the best out of a desperate situation.

    "Another one coming to die, really..." The Carefree King looked at Yi Chen with a ferocious expression, his murderous intent skyrocketing. For some reason, he felt this man was eerily familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

    "Really what?" Yi Chen asked.

    The golden immortals in the ten major acupoints within Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body simultaneously opened their eyes!

    The sacred seal on his brow manifested. Pure Yang breaking the great bounds!

    Vast Extreme Origin churned, and within his brain''s Niwan Palace, a light and crystalline substance slowly melted, revealing the ethereal gates of Pure Yang in the sky. The gates, deep and profound, suddenly emitted a divine light that shone upon his Cultivation Body.

    A colossal platinum Daoist phantom, eighteen meters tall, suddenly appeared. Yi Chen''s body was covered with tattoos of fierce dragons and evil tigers, and three pure white orbs orbited around him.

    An invisible force field suddenly emerged, its soft yet immense energy pushing Fu Canglong away. Yi Chen''s footwork spread the Pure Yang Domain around him, instantly permeating an area of eighty meters.

    "Really what? I''m asking you, you fiend!" The massive Daoist stared coldly at the crystallized Carefree King. Yi Chen planted the Halberd into the ground, and the tremendous force directly cracked the formation-enhanced surface.

    Boom boom boom! S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Three consecutive explosions echoed as Extreme Origin force burst forth along the cracks towards the Carefree King, surprising him into a leap, his face darkening.

    He had never expected that at the climax of his acquisition, someone would come and throw a wrench in his works.

    "Yi Chengzi, with the help of the formation, you must have felt the suppression on you by now. If you stop now, I can still let you go. Otherwise, I will surely devastate your Hidden Dragon Temple in the future," said the Carefree King.

    "Are you certain you want to be my enemy today?"

    "Yi Taoist, remember to cherish your mana. This formation is really trick. If dragged out, it might be hard to continue," Fu Canglong advised.

    Both the Carefree King and Fu Canglong spoke out at the same time.

    "Lord Fu, don''t worry. Such a small formation, with my innate Divine Power, having a boundless foundation, I''m not afraid at all," Yi Chen turned his head and grinned at Fu Canglong, which startled him.

    Now, he was terrified. He had barely clung to life and found a strong ally, only to discover the man was a madman who wouldn''t heed advice and wasted mana recklessly.

    If he was reckless and they couldn''t win due to exhaustion, this Daoist would certainly not stay to fight to the death but would simply run away¡ªthen what would they do?

    Just as hope kindled in Fu Canglong''s heart, he became anxious once again.

    Lie Jiuxiao and others felt chills down their spines at his words. On the surface, Yi Chen was being reckless, but in reality, it was as if he was casually risking their lives¡­

    The officials of the law enforcement bureau had mixed feelings.

    Yi Chen turned his head, his gaze indifferent as he stared at the Carefree King. He pointed the long Halberd straight towards the sky, and a powerful current of air suddenly wound around it, converging in his hands.

    The Carefree King dared to threaten his Hidden Dragon Temple. Clearly, this was no ordinary demon and he needed to strike a heavy blow.

    Suddenly, his killing intent surged.

    "Truly an ignorant and stubborn wretch!"

    "Borrowing power from the heavens!"

    "When the Tyrant wields the Halberd, he slaughters gods within the formation!"

    Three fierce shouts echoed through the heavens.

    Seven white orbs suddenly burst forth from around Yi Chen''s body, swirling and rising rapidly into the sky, and a sudden whirlwind sprang up from the ground.

    At the same time, there was a thunderous explosion in the sky as Yi Chen unleashed the first and second moves of the Supreme True Martial God Halberd Technique consecutively.

    The Carefree King''s complexion changed drastically at the sight. It was as if he was trapped in a boundless swamp, a peerless sharpness pointed directly at his brow, while rage also escalated within him:

    "How audacious, junior!"

    "Bone Evil Dragon!"

    With a furious shout from the Carefree King, all the bones within the formation acted upon his command. Suddenly, they coalesced into a nearly hundred-meter-long massive dragon of bones, roaring towards the Halberd light of Yi Chen.

    The God-slaying Halberd momentum, like a comet striking the moon, was so swift and forceful that it was terrifying!

    The two epochal moves violently collided, scraped against each other, and annihilated in the void.

    Sizzling sounds followed as bone dust scattered with the wind. Yi Chen couldn''t help but sneer as he focused on the multiple fractures crystallizing on the Carefree King''s chest:

    "Carefree King, we fight fairly today. I want to see how many bones you have to block my path!"

    "Halberd Three: Earth Severing!"

    Before the words fell, Yi Chen''s energy poured into the Halberd, striking again with the massive blade, shooting a dazzling white line towards the Carefree King.

 Chapter 232 Fu Canglong: Yi Chengzi, Truly Both Righteous and Sincere

    The Purple Token struggled furiously in Yi Chen''s large hand, but finding escape impossible, it suddenly fell silent.A streak of purple light suddenly spilled out from between his fingers.

    Having been previously caught in an explosion, Yi Chen certainly wouldn''t make the same mistake again. He had been waiting for this moment and promptly released his grip at the last second.

    Bang!

    The recalcitrant diamond-shaped Purple Token exploded once more!

    However, even though Yi Chen had been so cautious, the explosion of the Purple Token was not the same as when it had resided within Bu Zhong.

    The intense explosion tore through the Extreme Origin blockade, corroding skin, flesh, and membranes. Amidst the flashing purple light, Yi Chen''s palm was penetrated, leaving a coin-sized hole.

    Around the hole, white bone shards were exposed, with fresh blood flowing copiously.

    At the wound, there was even a hint of faint purple energy, a particularly vicious force that sought to erode and spread to the surroundings, only to be overwhelmed and rubbed out by the surging Extreme Origin within Yi Chen''s body.

    "Yi Taoist, are you all right? We owe a great debt to you for stepping forward this time. Otherwise, I, Fu Canglong, would have been the eternal sinner of the Jiangnan Circuit''s Peacekeeping Division."

    Fu Canglong, accompanied by the remaining thirty or so subordinates, walked over. His face still bore the shock of witnessing Yi Chen''s final strike.

    He had seen, firsthand, the improvisation of a top genius in the heat of battle. Yi Chen''s last spear thrust was nothing short of dazzling.

    "My lord flatters me. It was I who was moved by Lord Fu''s readiness to sacrifice himself to protect his subordinates, and that was why I stepped in to help."

    "To speak the truth, I am ashamed. Lord Fu''s righteousness is unmatchable. When you were battling fiercely with the Carefree King, I was already watching from the outside. However, coming from the Hidden Dragon Temple, where we hold little sway, I could not intervene immediately. My lord, please do not fault me for that."

    "Our Hidden Dragon Temple can ill afford the covetous gaze of such a powerful demon."

    "It was not I, Yi Chengzi, who saved the lord and your fellow Daoists, but the righteousness and justice in your hearts. I dare not claim the work of heaven for myself!"

    Yi Chen spoke with sincere expression, candidly revealing his motives, refusing to take undue credit for himself and instead placing high honors upon Fu Canglong and the others.

    At the same time, his words also preemptively cut off any criticism of his previous inaction.

    One should not try to snag all the good things for oneself; it''s by letting go when appropriate that one can gain more. Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

    This was the worldly wisdom and "spirit" of Yi Taoist.

    Fu Canglong and the others were no fools. The timing of Yi Chen''s arrival, if you said it was merely coincidental, would be as improbable as winning a sixty-thousandfold lottery jackpot.

    Respecting the intelligence of others is respecting oneself.

    Some things cannot be circumvented, so better to just come clean directly and also mention one''s own difficulties; doing so can actually make it easier for others to accept.

    Upon hearing his words, Fu Canglong and his men felt as refreshed as if they had feasted on ice-cold watermelon on a scorching summer day.

    Gratitude was evident on everyone''s face.

    They had indeed been ensnared in schemes at every turn, suffering a massive defeat. Yet, in Yi Chen''s speech, they were highly praised for their loyalty. How could such an art of spinning a dire situation into a boon not make them feel warmed?

    "Yi Taoist, your high principles honor me. If you regard me, Fu Canglong, so highly, please just call me Daoist friend, and not Lord Fu."

    "No matter what you say, the life-saving grace we received this time is deeply appreciated by everyone in the Jiangnan Circuit''s Peacekeeping Division. This is my personal gold token. Whenever you request something from me in the future, and if it lies within my power, I will certainly do it for you, Daoist. If it''s beyond my ability, I will find a way to do it."

    At this moment, Fu Canglong''s gaze towards Yi Chen was even more cordial.

    The many cultivators behind him felt the same. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    They had lost many men in this encounter, and although they had narrowly defeated the Carefree King and his cohorts, they would still inevitably face reprimand upon their return.

    But now, with the backing of the sworn loyalty of Yi Chengzi, who was destined to be the top of the future Dragon and Tiger List, their situation could only improve considerably. How could they not be immensely grateful?

    "Oh, this, Master Fu, you this..." Yi Chen looked at the gold command that Fu Canglong handed over and showed a ''hesitant'' expression on his face.

    "Does the Yi Taoist look down upon Master Fu?" Fu Canglong feigned anger.

    At the urging of the crowd, the incredibly generous Yi Taoist finally accepted the gold command. He casually tore off a piece of his Taoist robe to wrap his injured hand a couple of times before he waved his hand and took his leave with long strides.

    Watching Yi Chen''s retreating figure, for some reason, Lie Jiuxiao had an inexplicably familiar feeling, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

    "Lieutenant General Jiuxiao, what are you thinking?" Seeing Lie Jiuxiao zoning out, Fu Canglong couldn''t help but inquire.

    "Nothing much, just marveling at how such a weak and poor place as Jiangbei Circuit could produce a True Dragon like Yi Taoist. It''s truly unbelievable," Lie Jiuxiao said with a shake of his head and a smile, still not voicing his inner doubts.

    "Indeed, Yi Taoist is not only highly skilled in cultivation but also truly lives up to the name Yi Chengzi. He is indeed both righteous and sincere!"

    Once Fu Canglong made this remark, everyone around agreed.

    ...

    ...

    "Spear Spirit, am I fierce or not?"

    "With my earth-shattering wisdom, I just need to exert a little effort, and then I''ll have the fifth form of the spear technique."

    "You''re lucky to have acknowledged me as your master."

    On the way back to find Abbess Shuiyue, Yi Chen did not care whether Spear Spirit was willing or not, he began to boastingly call out to Spear Spirit, filling the air with notes like ''earth-shattering wisdom,'' ''a lifetime''s martial arts,'' and ''lifetime insights.''

    Annoyed beyond endurance, Spear Spirit finally had enough: "Shut it. You achieved enlightenment in such an unconventional way; your future path is destined to be tough. If I contributed at least twenty percent to your understanding of that Devour Heaven and Earth move, do you think it would have been so easy for you?"

    "Spear Spirit, keep going and you''ll become impolite."

    ...

    After chatting idly with Spear Spirit for a while, Yi Chen put him back into the storage ring, too lazy to stoop to Spear Spirit''s level. Today, he was in an exceptionally good mood, and he forgave Spear Spirit for his lack of understanding of human connections and worldly affairs.

    This time, the Purple Token hidden on the Carefree King''s person brought him a total of twelve thousand points, leaving only a deficit of four thousand three hundred points to break through to the fourteenth layer of the True Technique.

    "The Carefree King really was generous, magnanimous, and benevolent, that scoundrel."

    "Had I known, I would have been a little gentler with that last step I took on him, let him leave with some dignity."

    "It''s just a pity about the storage ring in his hand; under the destructive power of my Devour Heaven and Earth move, not even dust was left."

    "Eh, why is my heart feeling so joyful~"

    It was dawn by now, the sky lit up with a whitish-blue hue, though the day had yet to fully break.

    Yi Chen spread his arms wide, embracing the breeze of the evening and couldn''t help but let out a clear and long howl, sharing his inner joy with the sleeping birds in the forest.

    In no time, Yi Chen, speeding at full pace, arrived at the entrance to the cave where Abbess Shuiyue was hiding.

    "Abbess, I''m coming in."

    In a deep and powerful voice, a sturdy figure suddenly appeared in front of Abbess Shuiyue.

    "It''s good that you''ve returned safely."

    A hint of joy crept onto Shui Lingyue''s brow. She moved to quickly walk towards Yi Chen, but after taking a few steps, she suddenly came to a halt.

    The two exchanged a look, neither speaking, and the air suddenly became awkward.

 Chapter 238 The Heaven of Ease, the Taoist Priests Aptitude.

    "Very good.""You won''t regret today''s decision. Relax, we in Z¨¬z¨¤i Heaven are not fierce flood dragons or savage beasts; we don''t eat people."

    Seeing Yi Chen acting with such caution and prudence, Doumu Origin Lord couldn''t help but let out a light chuckle. Reflected on her peach blossom mask, the brows suddenly curved into a lovely arc, and the lips slightly lifted.

    "Come with me, this is not the place for conversation. Let''s return to my Doumu Origin Lord Palace first."

    "Don''t resist, of course, it would be useless even if you did."

    Suddenly, an invisible binding pressure enveloped Yi Chen, causing him to struggle before realizing with alarm that he couldn''t move a muscle.

    If Jue Xin had this ability, he felt he could already give up with laughter and resignation.

    "You''re actually resisting."

    The designs on Doumu Origin Lord''s mask drew a surprised pattern, and then in Yi Chen''s frightened gaze, a fair little hand reached into his chest, gently touching his strong pectoral muscles.

    Then, she gave it a pinch.

    "Hiss! What the hell is Z¨¬z¨¤i Heaven up to?" Yi Chen couldn''t help but feel a tingling scalp, and for a moment, he felt like he had escaped the tiger''s mouth only to enter the wolf''s den.

    "Not bad, the strength of your physical body is impressive. Ordinary beginning cultivators don''t have as strong a body as yours, worthy of someone who has acquired a golden transference order."

    "Damn, your bone age is really nineteen. A genius of your caliber should be holding a higher rank violet gold token."

    Just then, abruptly, a monk clad in black and gold imperial robes and wearing a plain white mask flew over with the wind. Seeing Doumu Origin Lord, he was immediately shocked: "Lady Yuan Jun, please wait, this person is holding the golden transference order from my Yuqing True King Palace; it should be handed over to me."

    "You''re talking nonsense, Heavenly Master of Life and Destiny, I found him first. Which eye of yours saw him holding a golden order from your Yuqing True King Palace? He''s clearly a person belonging to my Doumu Origin Lord Palace."

    "You keep looking then, I''m leaving."

    "Little guy, stand firm."

    The mysterious woman didn''t waste any more words, acting like a thief, she directly grasped Yi Chen''s collar and gestured with her finger like a sword, lightly drawing it across the void.

    "Z¨¬z¨¤i Blooming Flowers Light as Dreams."

    Peach blossoms filled the air, as a splendid and gorgeous rain of flowers suddenly fell from the sky, encircling Yi Chen and the mysterious woman.

    Before Yi Chen could take a closer look, everything around him suddenly changed.

    The endless celestial wind was like blades cutting his face, twisting and distorting it, with a ceaseless rumble of sonic booms erupting behind him.

    Yi Chen had never driven at such a speed before and certainly not while being carried as if he were a little chick. It was too outrageously wild.

    Compared to the mysterious woman in front of him, his previous full-speed escape was nothing more than a laughable attempt, akin to Michael Schumacher racing an electric wheelchair.

    With his current physical strength, to have his face twisted by the wind like a fighter pilot opening the canopy at high speed, he didn''t dare to imagine how fast the escape was. They were shooting up to the heavens.

    At this moment, they were indeed ascending.

    After flying upward at an angle for about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, in Yi Chen''s astonished eyes, a narrow silver gate that could only admit two people side by side suddenly appeared in the sky.

    From afar, a dreamlike luminous shadow like a flower petal emerged from Doumu Origin Lord''s sleeve, pushing the silver gate open. Both their figures instantly squeezed through.

    As their bodies vanished, the silver gate closed abruptly once more.

    Even with Yi Chen''s robust physique, once he stepped on solid ground, he couldn''t help feeling dizzy and disoriented.

    In the past, it had always been Yi Taoist lifting others by their collars and running; today was the first time he was being lifted, and a sense of shame rose in Yi Chen''s heart.

    Reflecting on how the mysterious woman had pinched him earlier, he vowed to himself that once his cultivation was powerful enough, he would grab her and take her for a spin, pinching her back in return.

    Not for anything else, just to hold a grudge.

    "Alright, now we''re in my Doumu Origin Lord Palace, no one will interrupt our conversation here." S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Just a bit dizzy, huh? Seems like your physical body is tougher than I thought. I assumed you would pass out for a while."

    A tremendously great and magnificent palace appeared before Yi Chen. Doumu Origin Lord walked up the steps, and the palace doors automatically opened. She stood on the stairs, beckoning Yi Chen to follow.

    Under someone else''s roof, one must bow their head.

    Yi Chen adjusted his mindset and followed closely behind.

    "Kid, don''t look so glum; coming to my Doumu Origin Lord Palace was the right choice for you."

    "Seeing the confused look on your face, you''re now part of our Free Heaven, so let me give you a brief introduction."

    "Life is full of disappointments, and few matters can be discussed freely with others."

    "Thus, the first-generation Heavenly Master of Free Heaven used his great mana in the Eastern Sea of the Central Continent to find a piece of spatial fragment and refined it to create the organization of Free Heaven, a legacy passed down to this day."

    "Of course, there was no concept of ''Central Continent'' back then, and the separation of the three lands was all due to the great war ten thousand years ago that practically tore the Human Realm continent apart."

    "Our Free Heaven has two main palaces: the Doumu Origin Lord Palace, which I am currently in charge of, and the Yuqing True King Palace."

    "You may also call them the North Dipper Origin Lord Palace and the South Dipper Star God Palace."

    "My Doumu Origin Lord Palace has seven Star Lords, while the Yuqing True King Palace has six. You''d better keep your distance from the folks at Yuqing True King Palace; they''re like wood, only knowing how to cultivate without any fun, and they don''t like fighting."

    "Going further down, there are the Twenty-Eight Constellations, plus the Heavenly Master; these are all our own people in Free Heaven, excluding peripheral members."

    "After joining Free Heaven, the organization won''t force you to do anything. We just share what we have, exchange goods, offer various kinds of help. There''s no discrimination here, as long as you don''t betray Free Heaven; no one cares which clan or sect you come from."

    "Free Heaven members can publish personal tasks; by accepting tasks you can receive the offered bounty. Sometimes Free Heaven will also have public tasks, none of which are mandatory, all based on personal will."

    "However, every ten years, members of Free Heaven must publish or complete a task, otherwise their tokens will be reclaimed, or they can choose to offset with Contribution Points."

    "Contribution Points can be exchanged with the organization for mystical cultivation techniques or heavenly treasures, or gained through completing tasks. Of course, every task or trade published by an individual will see a cut taken by the Heavenly Master, since maintaining Free Heaven isn''t cheap."

    "However, for someone like you who owes Free Heaven your life, you might be forcibly drafted to participate in a public task."

    "Like this layer we''re living in now, it''s the main headquarters of Free Heaven, not open to outsiders. Where you stood before was the public area."

    "Know that the Dao is hard to refine; the power of one person is often inadequate. The Heavenly Master will also issue some one-time tokens to invite others to organize a trade fair below, of course, the Heavenly Master will take a small cut of the profits."

    ...

    Following the mysterious woman into the great hall and through a long, narrow corridor, while listening to her explanations, Yi Chen had come to understand the structure of Free Heaven.

    This was akin to a company like Jingdong, with both self-operated and a small portion of collaboration with third-party stores.

    The Heavenly Master was like... Brother Dong?

    All Divine Tokens, masks, Star Discs, etc., within Free Heaven were created by the Heavenly Master.

    In the mysterious woman''s explanation, the cultivation of the Heavenly Master had reached an unbelievable realm; he was proficient in all kinds of spells, symbols, and arrays, with high accomplishments in the Daoist, Buddhist, and Demonic cultivation techniques, and had a hand in many great Daoist principles. His cultivation level was immeasurable; now he was mostly either in closed-door cultivation or wandering.

    "Boy, don''t even think about seeing the Heavenly Master; I haven''t seen his old man in decades." As if guessing Yi Chen''s thoughts, the Doumu Origin Lord chuckled and pointed to a huge bronze mirror inside the side hall,

    "Go ahead, walk past the Conscience Mirror. If you bear ill intent towards Free Heaven, you certainly won''t fool the Conscience Mirror. If there''s a problem, then you can wait for your demise."

    Suddenly, the tone of the mysterious woman became serious, seemingly confident in the so-called Conscience Mirror.

    Yi Chen, of course, went with the flow and passed in front of the mirror without any incident.

    At this moment, the mysterious woman''s face beamed with a smile once more as she invited Yi Chen to imprint his hand on a jade book. Instantly, she declared that he was now a member of the Doumu Origin Lord Palace.

    "Kid, hurry and come to the Spirit Testing Mirror to see what your talent is like. Let me have a look; a nineteen-year-old True Monarch, it''s been many years since I''ve seen one."

    The Doumu Origin Lord cheerfully pulled Yi Chen into another side hall where a huge bronze mirror was placed, obviously the Spirit Testing Mirror referred to.

    "There are seven grades within the Spirit Testing Mirror: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Back in the day, I was blue with a touch of violet. Let''s see what level you''ve reached, kid."

    Under the Doumu Origin Lord''s urging, Yi Chen walked past the Spirit Testing Mirror with some trepidation. After a halo of divine light shone upon him, the mirror reflected a bright white light.

    "Origin Lord, what does this white color signify? Is my talent exceptionally strong?" Yi Chen couldn''t help but ask, surprised that he did not fall into the known color categories.

    "Too strong! I could grab any dog off the street for a walk and this is the color it would show; this kind of talent, comparable to the most stubborn rock, how could it possibly appear in you."

    "It seems that the Spirit Testing Mirror is likely broken; we''ll test again another time. I recently had an argument with Yuqing True King and I''m not in the mood to ask him to fix it," said the Doumu Origin Lord with a twist of her mouth.

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen''s expression involuntarily darkened.

    "Off the street, grab a dog, just like this, just like this," the words of the Doumu Origin Lord echoed in his mind, wounding him a bit.

    Lies don''t hurt people; the truth is a swift blade.

    Damn it, if his guess was correct, the mirror was probably not broken...

 Chapter 239 You Are the New Lord Tan Lang of the Tan Lang Star Palace

    "Kid, why that gloomy face? With your aptitude, you''re at least starting with blue or perhaps even reaching light purple. It''s the same whether you test or not."Seeing Yi Chen''s face as dark as the bottom of a pot, Doumu Origin Lord thought Yi Chen was feeling regret and couldn''t help but offer consolation.

    "Yuan Jun, you misunderstand. My point is aptitude is important, of course, but what''s most crucial is one''s own effort!"

    Yi Chen stressed each word as he began to speak highly of himself. He had come all this way with a white aptitude, on par with a True Monarch, which was the best proof of hard work.

    Of course, Shen Hong had also offered a bit of minor assistance during this time.

    "Not bad, as modest as I am, you are indeed the talent Doumu Origin Lord''s Hall needs." Doumu Origin Lord''s peach blossom mask morphed into an appreciative expression, then she spoke again, "Enough chatter, now that you''ve already impressed your handprint on the jade book of my hall, you are one of us."

    "Looking at your disheveled arrival, I can sense the aura of the Demon Seal on you. How did you manage to provoke those bald monks from Buddhism?"

    "Forget it, that''s not important. Now that you''ve joined my Doumu Origin Lord''s Hall, if they dare to continue acting like this, I''ll seek revenge for you."

    The mysterious woman slapped her chest with grand passion, causing her weighty chest to tremble, leaving Yi Chen feeling tremendous pressure, his gaze unsure where to rest.

    [This senior seems not only a bit crazy but also quite bold.] Yi Chen couldn''t help but scoff inwardly before changing the subject:

    "Yuan Jun, now that I am a part of the Doumu Origin Lord''s Hall, may I ask what position will I be given?"

    Aside from the Heavenly Master, Doumu Origin Lord, and Yuqing True King, the organizational structure of the Free Sky faction consisted of the positions of the twenty-eight constellations and the thirteen Lords of the northern and southern asterisms.

    At these words, the mysterious woman also fell into deep thought, evidently struggling with the decision. Brow-furrowing motions manifested expressively on her peach blossom mask. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    She took out a purple Star Disc and started fiddling with it, doing something unknown, and thus passed the time quietly for the duration of a cup of tea until the Star Disc shone with a faint glow.

    Two seconds later, as if having made a certain decision, Doumu Origin Lord firmly slapped her palm down and said:

    "Yi Chengzi, Yuan Jun admires you. With your aptitude and talent, the vacant positions in the twenty-eight constellations are somewhat unworthy of you. Your achievement of becoming a Dao Zhen True Monarch is only a matter of time, and it surely won''t be your ultimate destination."

    "Let''s do this. Since the position of Lord Tan Lang from the Yangming constellation is currently vacant, you shall temporarily occupy the place of Lord Tan Lang. I hope you won''t disappoint this name."

    Although Yi Chen didn''t know the differences between the positions within the Free Sky, seeing Doumu Origin Lord ponder so long before deciding, he understood that positions were very precious to the Free Sky, and even a Hall Master would need to consider carefully before granting one.

    He immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, Yuan...."

    But before he could finish speaking, Yi Chen''s face turned beet red.

    In the midst of her bow, Yi Taoist unfortunately fell victim to a head pat.

    A slender, fair hand suddenly caressed the top of his head three times in quick succession.

    "No need for formalities." The crisp voice of the mysterious woman came through, and the eyebrows on the peach blossom mask immediately curved up in a smile.

    God damn.

    A deep-seated grudge was noted once more by Yi Chen. He swore to himself to repay it tenfold and a hundredfold in the future.

    Looking at Yi Chen''s face as dark as the bottom of a pot, Doumu Origin Lord stopped teasing. Seeing it was time to let it be, she stimulated the mana within her, and a mana blossoming like flowers reappeared. Like a celestial maiden from Dunhuang murals, she soared and reclined on a brocade couch in front of the side hall.

    After settling into a comfortable position, she waved her hand and a small tea table appeared in front of her, filled with a large plate of various colored Spirit Fruits. With Yi Chen''s current experience, he could recognize less than a third.

    "Alright, I won''t tease you anymore, it''s not funny."

    "Kid, the lowest rank of a Star Lord in my Celestial Domain is that of a Dao Zhen True Monarch, not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can hold such a position, and you''ll have your own independent Star Hall for cultivation,

    as well as many benefits such as the blue Star Disc, countless people in the twenty-eight mansions dream of becoming a Star Lord of my Celestial Domain, and you, kid, are sky-rocketing to the top."

    "Yuan Jun takes a great risk with this action, if you can''t match the prowess of a Dao Zhen True Monarch and dominate the twenty-eight mansions within ten years, you should voluntarily give up the Lord Tan Lang''s Palace."

    As Doumu Origin Lord''s voice rose, the Spirit Fruits arrayed on her coffee table began to float up, peeling themselves and flying into her mouth; she was eating and speaking at the same time, not missing a beat.

    "Oh right, all new disciples joining my Celestial Domain must complete an initiation task, the difficulty of which is not great, it''s merely a formality for your current level of cultivation."

    "Considering you are injured, in three days come to my Doumu Origin Lord''s Hall''s Star God Pillar to randomly select a task."

    "Here is the command token for Lord Tan Lang''s Palace and some matters to note about my Celestial Domain, I won''t go into detail now, you can read them slowly after you return, do you have any questions?"

    The mysterious woman with the peach blossom mask on the brocade couch crossed one long leg over the other, her foot shaking irregularly, her skirt slipping down, revealing a small length of snowy, sleek ankle and calf, her skin glistening like the evening glow, her pose exuding a delicate charm.

    A small golden wolf-head seal, a blue Star Disc, and a jade slip suddenly appeared, floating in front of Yi Chen.

    "To report to Yuan Jun, I have a question, where did the previous Lord Tan Lang go?" After securing the golden seal, Star Disc, and jade slip, Yi Chen bowed and asked.

    The moment he spoke, Doumu Origin Lord''s leg suddenly stopped shaking, stiff in midair: "The previous Xiao Lang was killed by someone."

    "But don''t panic, I''ve avenged Xiao Lang. I caught two high monks in the late stages of Path-entry from the Subhuti Zen Monastery and slaughtered them, and I even fought their chief disciplinarian, shattering his Vajra Indestructible Body. He''ll need at least fifty years to recover, heh heh."

    "As long as you aren''t killed by a cultivator of the same realm, if someone else breaks the rules and bullies the weak again, Yuan Jun will kill three people to accompany you in death, a full three, how about that?" Doumu Origin Lord sat up and said proudly.

    "Still, when you''re out and about, try not to reveal your identity as Lord Tan Lang. Yuan Jun is excessively exceptional and has attracted much envy; I have quite a few enemies. They probably won''t dare to bully the weak now, but they might gather a group to attack you."

    [Yuan Jun, I thank you.]

    Feeling a bit nervous upon hearing these words, Yi Chen felt he had boarded a ship of thieves; perhaps the Palace of Yuqing True King would have suited him better.

    After saying goodbye to Doumu Origin Lord without any expression, Yi Chen looked around before following the guidance of the golden seal to a palace outside of which stood two stone carvings of howling celestial wolves. The wolf-head command token in his hand immediately shot out a ray of golden light, and the doors of the Lord Tan Lang''s Palace swung wide open.

    As he entered, lamps one by one lit up the dark hall, illuminating the obsidian hall.

    At the very top of the hall was an iron throne shaped like a wolf''s head, ferocious and intimidating.

    On both sides of the hall stood rows of giant black sculptures, all resembling massive wolves, with each bearing a huge stone basin on its back, from which shone a bright and soft light like starlight.

    The floor of the hall was covered with a thick carpet made from the furs of unknown mystical beasts, making any footfall eerily silent.

    Yi Chen walked step by step to the iron wolf-head throne and sat down with an air of authority. As he looked around the hall, he suddenly felt that he might not have been shortchanged after all.

    After a moment''s thought, he released Miao Zi from his spirit pet bag.

    Upon release, Miao Zi peeked around stealthily before letting out a happy meow inside Yi Chen''s mind; it then started doing consecutive back-flips on the carpet of the hall.

    "Dad, are we rich now?"

    "Where did you get such a huge palace?"

 Chapter 241 Yi Taoists worldliness, Fourteenth Level of True Technique

    Yi Chen was indeed very envious of the "Azure Ox Sky-Splitting Divine Power" from the Lord Lu Cun''s rewards.Last time, the ambush by monk Jue Xin infuriated him to the extreme, he had never suffered such a huge loss. Had it not been for his strength and a stroke of luck, he would now either be dead or gnawing on steamed buns in a monastery.

    He was doomed to never again enjoy a meal with four dishes in this lifetime, and if his chanting wasn''t loud enough, he would even get a beating.

    For such a great grudge, how could he not seek revenge?

    He must take action against someone.

    To deal with someone effectively, one must improve one''s combat power, and this "Azure Ox Sky-Splitting Divine Power" seemed to be fated for him, capable of taking the purity of his cultivation body to the next level.

    "If Lord Tan Lang has any requirements, feel free to speak them outright," Yi Chen said.

    Lord Lu Cun, recognizing the implicit understanding, straightforwardly opened the window and spoke clearly.

    If it weren''t for his pregnant and jealous wife, with his power and connections, he wouldn''t have to go to such lengths.

    Unfortunately, his wife knew all of his connections, so to safely settle this matter, it was more secure to ask a fellow Daoist from the Heaven beyond to take action.

    "Lu Cun, do you still not understand Lord Tan Lang''s intention? Add a bit more, rest assured, Lord Tan Lang is efficient in handling tasks, and Yuan Jun can vouch for that," Doumu Origin Lord, happily munching on Spirit Fruit, suddenly said.

    "Since Yuan Jun praises him so highly, I''ll add two hundred Contribution Points," muttered Lord Lu Cun before speaking up again shortly after.

    "Make it five hundred instead. Lord Tan Lang has just arrived and is taking on a mission for the first time. I wish to form a good relationship with Lord Lu Cun, but I''ll take the Contribution Points and rewards now," Yi Chen insisted.

    "If Lord Tan Lang agrees, I can set out right now," he added.

    Upon this remark, both Yuan Jun and Lord Lu Cun were slightly startled and then smiled.

    "Lord Tan Lang is so forthright, Lu Cun can''t be stingy either. Let it be six hundred Contribution Points then. If there comes a time when you''re at leisure, Lord Tan Lang, feel free to visit my Lord Lu Cun''s palace for tea," Lord Lu Cun said.

    With a flash of light from the blue Star Disc in Yi Chen''s hand, he unexpectedly received six hundred Contribution Points from Lord Lu Cun. The balance on the Star Disc jumped from 0 to 600.

    Indeed, the Star Disc had the function of recording Contribution Points.

    After the transfer of the scripture and Contribution Points was complete, Lord Lu Cun nodded slightly to Yi Chen and then said to Doumu Origin Lord, "Yuan Jun, please take care of the teleportation array matters. I have pressing business and should no longer linger. Farewell."

    "Kid, can''t you see Yuan Jun is trying to help you? Are you silly? Lu Cun is dripping with wealth; shouldn''t you have asked for more?" Doumu Origin Lord, as soon as Lord Lu Cun''s figure vanished, immediately expressed disappointment, and her willowy brows on the peach blossom mask involuntarily stood on end.

    "Yuan Jun, Lord Lu Cun could also see that you were helping me. He agreed only as a courtesy to Yuan Jun, and it might even cause some dissatisfaction in his heart," Yi Chen replied.

    For me, "Yuan Jun''s face is more important than a mere two hundred Contribution Points," he said, implying the importance of maintaining the Origin Lord''s prestige.

    "I can''t keep the ''Great Divine Power Essence Scripture of the Supreme Clarity Tao'' safe. It''s better I entrust it to Yuan Jun for now."

    Once there was a Wang who could evaluate mobile phones, carrying a pearl in his mouth, and moving freely between advance and retreat.

    Now there is Yi Taoist, knowledgeable in the ways of the world, cleverly presenting the "Great Divine Power Essence Scripture of the Supreme Clarity Tao." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A series of maneuvers resulted in Lord Lu Cun spending fewer Contribution Points, Yuan Jun procuring the scripture, and him acquiring the "Azure Ox Sky-Splitting Divine Power" ahead of time. This is a win, win, win; three-way success, with everyone having a bright future.

    For someone like Doumu Origin Lord, a top-notch expert, a damaged scripture may serve as a reference for improvement, but for Yi Chen, to say it is not completely useless is an understatement¡ªit has no use whatsoever.

    The "Azure Ox Sky-Splitting Divine Power" is his real treasure.

    Of course, Yi Chen was quite moved by Doumu Origin Lord''s defense despite the Origin Lord being somewhat neurotic. She was truly good to her own people, but business is business, and Yi Chen was definitely planning to take back what was owed.

    "Kid, you''re way more interesting than that bunch of killers from Pojun. If you ever need Yuan Jun''s help, I''ll give you a friendly price."

    The peach-blossom mask''s eyebrows curved, and lips tilted upwards as Yuan Jun raised her hand to her chest in a dashing manner, causing the big persimmon to quiver. This sight also made Lord Tan Lang''s heart tremble, and he quickly turned his head, shifting his sight to a heart''s perspective.

    "Hiss!"

    ...

    ...

    Eastern Continent ¨C Northern Region ¨C Xiongdu Mountain.

    A flash of light passed over the transmission array carved into the belly of the mountain, and a burly figure appeared at the center of the array, if not Yi Chen, who else could it be?

    "So this is the Eastern Continent?" After leaving the mountain''s belly, Yi Chen quietly arrived at a high ground in the mountains and began to look over a map closely.

    "Xiongdu Mountain, just a two-day journey from Hehuan Sect''s Hehe Mountain. Not too far."

    "Sharpening your axe will not delay the work of cutting wood. It''s better to find a place to enhance my True Technique first before I investigate. This way is safer."

    With a thought, Yi Chen dispersed his spirit to look for a secluded place.

    An hour later, inside a hidden bear den.

    A huge brown bear, about three meters tall with a tuft of white hair on its forehead, lay on the ground fast asleep.

    "The Eastern Continent indeed lives up to its name; even the bears are taller than elsewhere. Impressive."

    After tossing the bear onto a stone bed, Yi Chen took over the den, pulling out "The Blue Bull Sky-Cracking Divine Power" and its accompanying Divine Intent Picture to study closely.

    True Heaven was ultimately someone else''s territory, and he felt it was safer to make his breakthrough outside; hence he had not made his breakthrough in the Lord Tan Lang''s temple.

    The "Great Divine Power of the Supreme Pure Tao", as told by Doumu Origin Lord, belonged to the Divine Power Sect, an ancient sect of the Eastern Continent that had perished thousands of years ago. The sect''s Cultivation Technique somehow ended up in the hands of Lord Lu Cun.

    However, Yuan Jun said that the Divine Power Sect adding the words "Supreme Pure Tao" to this text was merely to gold-plate themselves, latching onto the story of the Moral Heavenly Lord''s mount, a blue ox, leaving Hangu Pass. This Cultivation Technique was likely created by observing the Heavenly Blue Divine Ox, a true spirit of heaven and earth, and it was a body cultivation technique aimed at unlocking the divine storages within the flesh.

    "The Blue Bull Sky-Cracking Divine Power" was derived from this technique.

    "Excellent, this Cultivation Technique truly takes a different path, which is beneficial to my own cultivation. If I can integrate the true essence of the Divine Power into my own True Technique system this time, I should be able to illuminate more acupoints and gods within me," Yi Chen couldn''t help grinning after some contemplation.

    This technique was satisfactory.

    With his current level of cultivation and insights, plus the martial foundation accumulated with each breakthrough introspection, he mastered the basics within the time it took to burn an incense stick.

    "Can''t be bothered to practice anymore. I took Lord Lu Cun''s money; it''s better to head to Hehuan Sect as soon as possible."

    "Don''t want to be late when everyone else has already started feasting."

    "Besides, one should be adept at integrating resources. Deep Red is just an external manifestation of my sensational talents. No need to fuss over it~"

    "Deep Red is with me!"

    "Breakthrough!"

    With an inward shout from Yi Chen, the Deep Red Value underwent several changes, and Deep Red Points were continuously deducted. Simultaneously, a torrent of memories suddenly emerged in his mind.

    Another familiar disc-reading segment.

    The memories unfurled like looking at flowers while riding past on a horse.

    By day, the bright sun ruled the sky.

    Around Taoist Peach Mountain, auspicious clouds swirled, with spring eternal, streams crisscrossing, birds soaring and chirping, and a Taoist temple adorned with red walls and green tiles hidden among the peach trees.

    In the quiet room of the temple, a tall Daoist stood with his hands clasped behind his back, facing four different paintings of the Heavenly Blue Bull.

    On the desk before him lay a book titled "Heavenly Blue Bull''s Divine Power for Splitting the Skies."

    "I have toiled in practice for years, the path ahead is unclear. Perhaps this time, the opportunity for a breakthrough lies within this ''Heavenly Blue Bull''s Divine Power for Splitting the Skies'' Divine Intent Picture," he mused.

    The Daoist eyed the four Divine Intent Pictures before him, his gaze intense.

    From left to right, the four paintings of the Heavenly Blue Bull portrayed it carrying a mountain, parting the sea, colliding with a heavenly pillar, and striking the sky.

    A true spiritual being of heaven and earth, the Heavenly Blue Bull possessed unrivaled abilities from birth and infinite divine power.

    It could carry mountains, part seas, dare to collide with heavenly pillars, and strike the sky, its prowess unbridled and flamboyant.

    His consciousness plunged into the Divine Intent Picture and the Daoist distinctly saw the different rhythms of breath and the shocking frequencies of muscle vibration when the Heavenly Blue Bull carried mountains, parted seas, collided with heavenly pillars, and struck the sky.

    "Is this, is this a top-level breathing technique?"

    "Such a divine rhythm."

    "Forging the body with mountain, sea, and pillar, this technique is indeed superior, far surpassing the conventional Tiger Roar and Leopard Thunder Everyone, absolutely terrifying."

    After meditating for ten years, drinking dawn''s dew and dusk''s glow, the Daoist finally stood tall, his eyes filled with divine radiance.

    With astounding wisdom and a lifetime dedicated to the martial path, he had deciphered the secret of this top-level breathing technique for physique training. What he lacked now was practical application.

    The human body is nuanced and complex, as no two leaves on a tree are exactly alike; similarly, a person does not step into the same river twice. He might have comprehended the principles, but knowledge gained from books is shallow without personal experience.

    Previously, what he had grasped was akin to the path of a person within a painting¡ªimitation leads to life, emulation leads to death!

    Carrying the mountain!

    The Daoist lowered his body into the earth''s crust, intending to support the mountain with his back. With mighty divine power, the green mountain actually began to tremble and lifted ten centimeters off the ground.

    But at that moment, a crisp cracking sound resounded, and the Daoist, clutching his back, fled in a hurry.

    After healing for ten days and analyzing from many angles, he fought, fled, healed, and battled repeatedly, failing and fighting over and over.

    After a hundred years, on a night with a clear moon and sparse stars, the Daoist lifted a mountain with both hands, his muscles vibrating, his breath mysterious as he used the mountain to temper his body, step by step, he lifted the green mountain to the sea.

    By then, each movement and muscle vibration frequency of the Daoist was unique, each breath at a different tempo, blending harmoniously with his surroundings.

    And so, he mastered the art of Mountain Bearing.

    Next was Sea Parting!

    How does one part the sea?

    Plunge into the sea and charge!

    If he could cause waves three thousand li away and a thousand zhang high, it would mean mastering the Sea Parting.

    On his first attempt, the Daoist only caused waves one thousand five hundred li away, with the highest spray not exceeding a kilometer¡ªfailure. His lungs were injured, but he quickly concocted a remedy, and in three days, he recovered to fight and fail repeatedly until he mastered Sea Parting a hundred years later.

    The third challenge was to collide with the Heavenly Pillar.

    What does colliding with the Heavenly Pillar entail?

    Choose a massive peak that touches the sky and lean against it with a dragon-like strength in one''s back. If one could push the peak to tilt, it would be considered a great success.

    Another hundred years passed.

    With a powerful lean and three furious shouts of "Ji! Ji! Ji!" from the Daoist,

    three vibrations rippled through his shoulders, continuous and unending. The immense force, like a tidal wave along the mountainside, pushed the massive peak into a tilt, thus achieving great success.

    Striking the sky.

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    A hundred years later, the Daoist''s movements were fluid, his body trembling with each exertion as tiny streams of air shot from his pores, cutting through the clouds and mist, surging towards the heavens to challenge the height of the sky.

    Success once again.

    "I have comprehended it!"

    One clear morning.

    Atop a mountain cliff, with one stomp of his foot, the Daoist caused the cliff to thunderously collapse, and he soared into the sky. In an instant, the vast daylight descended, divine light reflecting, and the gate of Pure Yang emerged.

    "Ji!"

    The Daoist, with eyes wide open in the sky, let out a mighty call!

    At the first call, golden light suddenly appeared from within five acupoints in his Cultivation Body, and five divine figures began to form.

    "Ji!"

    The Daoist, eyes round with fury in the sky, called out again!

    With the second call, golden light suddenly appeared from six acupoints within the Daoist''s Cultivation Body, and six golden divine figures opened their eyes, floating within the acupoints.

    "Ji!"

    The Daoist cried out a third time, his eyes nearly bursting!

    At the third call, golden light suddenly appeared from seven acupoints within his Cultivation Body, with seven golden divine figures rising.

    After these three calls, the spirit within the Daoist''s body stopped growing outward; instead, it collapsed and contracted three times inward, transforming into a purple-gold color, towering over ten meters tall.

    At this moment, the Daoist burst into laughter in the sky, his joy spreading in all directions.

    With a single beckoning gesture, a milky white orb three meters in diameter swiftly gathered in his palm.

    "I am the World-Shaking Pure Yang!"

    The tall Daoist walked through the air, his cold brows slightly raised as he casually tossed the orb of light towards the mountain beneath his feet.

    At that point, the scene dissipated.

 Chapter 242 Divine Power Stimulated, Truly Overwhelming, Intelligent Bear, Delighted.

    "Power! Power! Power!"Yi Chen''s eyes narrowed slightly as he patted his palms together, exclaiming "power" thrice in succession.

    At this moment, it was as if he had personally experienced everything the Daoist from his memories had, as if it all truly happened to him.

    Through borrowing illusion to cultivate reality, with the reflection in his spirit, a revolutionary upheaval began within his cultivation body.

    In an instant, the Bear Cave, already not very large, burst into a frenzy of swirling winds and flying sands and rocks.

    The sand and stones spun like tornadoes, striking against the cave walls, but as they came into contact with Yi Chen''s surroundings, they bizarrely avoided and rebounded away.

    The big bear was smacked in the face by the sand and stones, and in great pain, it struggled to open its eyelids. Seeing the tall figure shrouded in white light, it cleverly turned its head away and continued to ''faint.''

    "What immense power!"

    "I can feel the strength throughout my body, it''s boiling, roaring and bellowing!"

    "The difference between my strength then and now is like an engine upgraded from three cylinders to twelve."

    "It''s like a man who has grown eight kidneys." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "My strength is endless!"

    Yi Chen clenched his fists tightly, his face filled with satisfaction.

    If only he had possessed such cultivation when he had faced Jue Xin, would he have needed to exert so much effort just to shatter Jue Xin''s ethereal Buddhist domain?

    Couldn''t he have just used Devour Heaven and Earth and been done with it?

    "Old Wall Lamp, Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple, Yan Family, you must wait for this poor Daoist."

    "We''ll have plenty of time to play!" Yi Chen''s eyes flashed with ferocity, and the shadows on the cave walls twisted and danced with his mood, as if demons were frolicking.

    After three deep breaths, Yi Chen forcefully suppressed the malice churning in his heart and, with a thought, a virtual screen suddenly appeared before his eyes.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 19/1600]

    [Strength: 188, Stamina: 180, Spirit: 171, Agility: 178.]

    [Cultivation Technique: Pure Yang Dragon Tiger Overbearing Extreme Transformation Step Heaven True Technique

    Passive Skill: Dragon Tiger Divine Pattern, Devouring Origin, Pure Yang Domain lv3

    Passive Skill: Camouflage (True Intent of Transformation, Camouflage, change appearance and mana aura, the less strength used the stronger the camouflage ability, using up to 80% of normal strength, camouflage will dissolve.)

    Active Skill: Soul Ignition Technique (ignite one''s potential, burn lifespan for power, currently burning six years of lifespan for a 50% increase in strength and inner qi, up to a maximum of five times strength enhancement.)

    Active Skill: Tyrant Body State.

    Active Skill: Divine Power Activation (roar ''energize,'' invigorate body and mind, each increment increases strength by 25%, stackable up to five times, can accumulate, at five times max increase to 3.0517 times, lasts for one hour, afterwards, strength decreases by 30%, recovers after twenty-four hours, cannot use Divine Power Activation during decline period.)

    Active Skill: Pure Yang Holy Seal (Four Transmutations) {Summon the remnant shadow of the Pure Yang Gate, refine heavenly light, reflect upon oneself, soul refined four times, displaying a purple-gold color, towering over ten meters, graced with immeasurable strength and mana, granted with destruction, deterrent, damage reduction, fortitude, divine might attributes, strength and defense massively increase eightfold compared to normal state, speed decrease by 28%.}

    Battle Technique: Supreme True Martial God Halberd Technique (Variant)]

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique Level 7]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3, Culinary Skill lv4]

    [Origin Point: 1]

    [Deep Red Value: 1818]

    "Strong and forceful, strong and forceful indeed!"

    "The Green Ox Splitting the Heavens Great Divine Power truly lives up to its name."

    Seeing the dramatic changes on the panel, Yi Chen suddenly rose to his feet, a victorious smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

    His purity had once again greatly increased.

    At this time, his stat panel had also undergone drastic changes.

    The first was his lifespan, which had increased to 1600 years. Subtracting the consumption from using the Soul Ignition Technique, it had risen by nearly four hundred.

    Then came the strength, physique, spirit, and agility¡ªfour-dimensional attributes, all of which had made considerable progress, especially the strength attribute, which was not far off from the fourth Strength-Breaking Realm.

    The mimicry ability had also received a certain enhancement. With his current ordinary state at about eighty percent strength, he was already comparable to Xu Wuxie, who had fought him fair and square and died valiantly. If he were to initiate Divine Power, he believed he would be slightly stronger than the misfortune dragon he had accidentally encountered before, infinitely close to the threshold of the True Monarch realm.

    This was a significant boon for his upcoming visit to the Hehuan Sect.

    Read exclusive chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

    Although Yuan Jun had earnestly instructed him to invoke her name when encountering an enemy he could not resolve¡ªjust tell them he belonged to Lord Tan Lang, her disciple¡ªYi Chen had decided not to heed Yuan Jun''s earnest instructions.

    He feared that others who originally only wanted to beat him up might want to kill him after hearing that name.

    This was something Lu Cun Star Lord had specifically intrigued him about through the Star Disc before she left the Free Heaven, and although Lu Cun Star Lord didn''t explain why, Yi Chen decided to go with the flow, considering the mysteriously neurotic woman underneath the peach blossom mask had an extremely good figure.

    "Speaking of Yuan Jun''s figure, it really is something. Those legs are long, fair, and full¡ªlofty as ''Sky-Supporting White Jade Peaks'', and dainty as ''Sea-Straddling Black Silk Legs''. If Yuan Jun were to put on black silk stockings and then walk..."

    "Hss, Lord Tan Lang, what are you thinking? Delete that line."

    Swiping his sleeve to his mouth, Yi Chen decisively exterminated the myriad distracting thoughts with his willpower. Lord Tan Lang''s wandering thoughts had nothing to do with Yi Chengzi; he had a mistress.

    The realm of active skills had been augmented by one capable of Divine Power activation. Although it could only be used once a day and had a period of decline, this undoubtedly also raised the peak of his power, and it could be used in conjunction with the Tyrant Body State and the Pure Yang Holy Seal, making it a very practical active skill.

    "Well then, it''s time to test the transformation of my Cultivation Body."

    Yi Chen slowly rose and walked to the depths of the cave, where his deep green Pure Yang Domain suddenly unfurled. Before long, he had dug a twelve-meter deep pit in the bear''s home.

    "Tyrant Body, activate!"

    With a silent chant in his heart, Yi Chen immediately felt the twenty-eight golden deities within his acupoints open their eyes and shine brightly. The twenty-eight large acupoints connected with golden lines, permeating his entire body.

    Suddenly, a three-meter-tall figure appeared in the midst of the pit.

    The rest were all fine, with no significant changes. The Tyrant Body was a purple-gold color, even more mysterious than before, and the sense of power and oppression it gave off had also increased. However, Yi Chen, looking at the green divine ox pattern around his waist, fell into contemplation for a moment...

    "This is not important!"

    "Pure Yang Holy Seal, activate!"

    Yi Chen consoled himself and chanted softly.

    Pure Yang Holy Seal activated, the divine light paved the way!

    A cultivation body of a towering Daoist over ten meters tall, in purple and gold, manifested in the cave. Yi Chen examined the evil dragon divine pattern on his back, the ferocious tiger divine pattern on his arms, and the green ox on his chest and abdomen.

    "6."

    "The style of my cultivation body is getting stranger!" Yi Chen felt a bit perturbed inside, but since he wasn''t balding, he could still accept it.

    After testing the Divine Power activation in his usual state at eighty percent, his disgruntlement abated somewhat.

    The activation of Divine Power did not disrupt the mimicry, consistent with his earlier conjecture.

    Feeling the overwhelming power surging within him, Yi Chen''s expression remained blank as his hand suddenly clenched, and with an explosive sound of sonic boom, his knuckles whitened as if he were gripping Jue Xin''s skull.

    Dissipating the Cultivation Body, he left the deep pit behind.

    As Yi Chen passed by the brown bear, he couldn''t help but kick it with the back of his foot: "Bear kid, stop faking it."

    Even though Yi Chen had seen countless bears, this was the first time he''d encountered such an astute one that could play dead¡ªand play it so well.

    The brown bear rolled over and got to its feet. Seeing that Yi Chen didn''t seem intent on harming it, the bear suddenly blocked his path. It scratched against the wall for a while, pulling out a pottery jar.

    "You want to come with me?" Yi Chen pondered while looking at the honey inside the jar, which glistened like gold.

    This three-meter-tall brown bear was not only good at playing dead but also at offering bribes.

    The brown bear nodded vigorously, full of spirit.

    "Even nodding won''t do. I don''t want to be called Bear True Monarch."

    "However, since we have met, it means we have destiny. Seeing that your spiritual intelligence and fortune are profound, I will teach you a move, ''Overbearing Bear Palm Technique.''"

    Extreme Origin sliced like a blade, carving the wall, and soon, three real-form diagrams were etched onto the wall¡ªa simplified version of the concept derived from the Divine Intent Picture of the Green Ox Bearing the Mountain by Yi Chen.

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen, carrying the pottery jar, set off toward the direction of the Hehuan Sect.

    "Inside, why so delighted~"

    "Ready with thick makeup, the play begins, sadness and joy on stage are sung by me alone~""

 Chapter 243 Midway, Raising the Bead Curtain, The Life-Snatching Scholar

    "Chuff, Xiongzi, this honey is pretty tasty.""Sweet."

    A sound of shattering echoed as an empty jar hit the ground, and a tall ''scholar'' hurried along the mountain path. Perched on the shoulder of the scholar was a peculiar black cat that looked around with a captivating grace.

    As Yi Chen sang his playful song, suddenly Miao Zi''s voice rose in his mind.

    "Dad, mom told me something in private before we left. She said to tell you when the time was right, and I almost forgot."

    "She said that according to the laws of Da Yue, at most one may have one principal wife and two secondary wives."

    "Dad, what does mom mean by this~"

    Miao Zi''s words brought Yi Chen''s steps to a halt.

    "Your mom means that I should find an opportunity to castrate you and let you walk on your own," Yi Chen said irritably as he grabbed Miao Zi by the scruff of the neck and set him down. An image of a beautiful woman flashed in his mind.

    His hatred for Jue Xin and the Yan Family deepened yet again.

    But he wasn''t worried. He''d already asked Yuan Jun to use her connections to send a message to Ming Yue''s place on his behalf. In this time of peril, his priority was still to increase his combat power.

    It wasn''t safe for his master to wander destitute with him.

    "Miao Zi, sniff out where there are spirit herbs. We''re down to our last twenty thousand taels of gold. If this keeps up, you''ll be eating dirt," Yi Chen said.

    "It''s time you started earning your own Spirit Gathering Pills."

    "Keep it up!"

    It was the old ''raise a cat frugally but indulge oneself'' philosophy. Yi Chen encouraged the oversized kitty.

    The reason he hadn''t chosen to flee on wings along the way was to allow Miao Zi to fully utilize his special talents and scour the deep forests for celestial materials and earthly treasures.

    Another reason was to see if any blind spirits dared to prowl these ancient woods.

    The fifteenth level of the True Technique required forty thousand Deep Red Points, which felt akin to blood being sucked by a water pump. Without figuring out a way to gather more Deep Red Points, how could he exercise his astonishing intellect?

    As for the two hundred thousand taels of gold that had vanished from Yi Chen''s pocket, naturally, he had exchanged them for pure gold essence through Doumu Origin Lord.

    As for banknotes, it goes without saying that Da Yue''s bills probably wouldn''t be accepted in Great Qin....

    "Dad, I smell the fragrance of Evening Primrose."

    "What are we waiting for then? Lead the way at once."

    The man and his cat began to move deeper into the dense forest.

    ...

    ...

    As the sun set in the west, the light grew increasingly dim.

    Outside the ancient deep mountain temple, Zhiyang Temple, a graceful and elegant young girl stepped out, followed by a monk clad in a fiery red robe.

    "Master Baishi, I thank your temple for the Golden Crow Pill this time. Otherwise, my father''s injuries would have been uncontrollable."

    "Miss Shanglin Shuixin, you are too courteous. The Shanglin family has had close ties with our Zhiyang Temple for hundreds of years. A mere Golden Crow Pill is nothing; moreover, you have brought a generous gift."

    "It''s getting late today and the night road is difficult to travel. Why doesn''t Miss Shuixin stay in our temple''s guest room for the night and leave tomorrow?" The monk suggested with palms pressed together, a dignified aura radiating from him.

    "I thank you for your kind offer, Master. However, my father''s condition cannot suffer delay, so it''s better that I return promptly," Shanglin Shuixin responded.

    "Do not worry, Master. Mere robbers and thieves pose no threat against my Spirit Sword," she said confidently, her Qi Refinement Realm peak aura spreading around.

    Her broad chest swelled with pride, causing the heart of the young novice monk behind the great monk to skip a beat. He quickly lowered his head, but after a moment he couldn''t resist sneaking a peek, only to see his master''s expressionless face as the lovely figure retreated into the distance.

    "Ye Jue, copy the ''Heart Sutra of Perfection of Wisdom'' a hundred times for me," the master ordered.

    "Master, please no."

    "So stubborn in ignorance. Then make it two hundred times," the master decreed.

    "Yes, Master," the young novice monk agreed, drooping his head.

    The two turned and went back to the temple, unaware that that night their master would end up copying the scriptures more times than his disciple.

    As the twilight faded, Shanglin Shuixin, anxious about her father''s condition, hurried through the forest in her haste to return to her family. Along her rushed path, an unexpected change suddenly arose.

    A shrill whistling sound exploded through the air.

    Clang, clang, clang, clang.

    A row of chilling steel spikes shot out and landed neatly across her path, effectively blocking her way.

    "Who dares to impede me? Do you think Shuixin''s sword isn''t sharp enough?" In her urgency, Shanglin Shuixin could not help but draw her brows tightly as she drew her Spirit Sword, scolding the surrounding area sharply.

    Soon, with three figures emerging from the thick forest, Shanglin Shuixin''s complexion turned pale.

    One had a scarred face.

    One had a sharp chin and monkey cheeks.

    One had half his face covered in a black tattoo, resembling a malevolent ghost.

    "Black Mountain Trio? How come you''re in Zhiyang Prefecture? Weren''t you operating around Zhenlin Prefecture?" Shanglin Shuixin couldn''t help but tremble.

    The Black Mountain Trio, famous figures in Zhenlin Prefecture''s underworld, were all experts in the True Person Realm, with the leader being a mid-stage True Person.

    The trio was notorious for their countless murders and vile reputation...

    Whack!

    A powerful mana blast was released from the scarred face, hitting Shanglin Shuixin and sending her flying back against the trunk of a large tree, then bouncing to the ground.

    Shanglin Shuixin immediately spat out a mouthful of blood as a chilling mana invaded her body, leaving her unable to muster any of her own mana.

    Swish!

    The man with the monkey cheeks and sharp chin revealed a lewd smile, waved his hand, and with a tearing sound, Shanglin Shuixin''s garments split, her skirt turning to ribbons that scattered in the air, leaving her alluring body clad only in a pale white undershirt.

    Swiftly!

    The man with half his face covered in tattoos gave a command, and a streak of cyan brilliance shot from his sleeve, transforming into a rope that wrapped around Shanglin Shuixin''s delicate body and then hung her from the slanting branch of a large tree.

    They''re actually using the tortoise shell binding...

    A jade leg was pulled up high by the rope, supported only by a single foot tiptoeing on the ground.

    The three men executed a series of smooth, practiced moves, displaying perfect coordination forged through countless rehearsals.

    "Old rules, big brother goes first."

    "Who''d have thought we three brothers, on our way to Hehuan Mountain, would encounter such a beauty? We, the three fiends of Black Mountain, are truly blessed. Just as our eldest brother advances a step further into the fifth layer of the True Person Realm, we should celebrate for him~"

    "Second brother is right!"

    The man with the scarred face, seeing his brothers'' hearty encouragement, cracked a smile, and then walked toward the little lamb. In the bleak autumn wind, cries of terror mixed with despair echoed, ''don''t come over here~'' reaching into the distance.

    "Young mistress, your sword is sharp, but mine is no less so," the scarred face said as if adjusting his pitch before taking the stage, then step by step, he closed in on Shanglin Shuixin.

    It was the beginning of the hour when lanterns were lit, and the moon slowly climbed atop the trees.

    Suddenly, a faint singing voice came from afar.

    "Bright moon casts its light, ghosts drift in the wind, a woman''s ghost searching for her lover~"

    ...

    "Her gaze, her gaze, shines like, shines like the twinkling stars."

    The scarred face suppressed his weapon and, with his two brothers, began to gaze toward the distant mountain path.

    They saw a tall scholar with a black cat perched on his shoulder, striding forward in the moonlight.

    "Daoist friend, save me, I''m from the Shanglin family." S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

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    "Who are you!"

    Two voices rang out simultaneously.

    The tall scholar passing by was naturally Yi Chen, without a doubt. He had heard singing at night could attract ghosts, so he sang as he walked, but alas, he couldn''t hook any adorable creature, much to his disappointment.

    "I''m just passing by, go about your business, don''t mind me," Yi Chen grinned and continued on his way.

    He had been hesitant about intervening, but the woman''s cry for help instantly made him lose the urge to assist.

    The aura revealed by the scholar he impersonated was merely at the entry level of the True Person Realm. Was that woman trying to drag him down by asking for his help?

    If he were not concealing his strength, wouldn''t that just be serving himself up on a silver platter?

    That woman didn''t seem like a good person, better to ignore her.

    If the woman had yelled "Daoist friend, be careful" or "Daoist friend, run fast," Yi Chen might have considered saving her, but now, he decided against it.

    Yi Chen was not one to do good without cause; he''s not like his master Bai Yunzi, who goes wherever his whims take him, and not doing bad deeds was already his version of doing good.

    Even his actions in Da Yue couldn''t be called morally low, yet he was specifically ambushed by experts from the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple, who claimed themselves to be slayers of evil, pah!

    Hmm, a dense forest, three ferocious men, bondage, ropes, a woman, and a bellyband.

    It looks like they are playing hide and seek; time to keep moving.

    Just as Yi Chen was about to step forward, a piercing shriek suddenly erupted.

    Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack.

    A row of chilling steel spikes blocked Yi Chen''s path.

    "Big brother, this kid has a storage ring. It''s remote here; let''s take him down."

    "This guy is such a wimp, I bet even if he has some hidden strength, it''s nothing much," the skinny monk couldn''t help saying to the scarred face.

    The three men exchanged glances and formed a triangular formation around him.

    "Young man, you seem skilled enough. Tell us your name, so we can see if you are a descendant of an old acquaintance, to avoid offending the Dragon King in his own temple," said the scarred face, careful and articulated, as he began probing.

    He still felt uneasy; this person was far too calm. If he didn''t possess astonishing cultivation, then he had a remarkable background.

    In the vast Black Mountain, there were more than a handful of gangs stronger than theirs. Why were they, the three fiends of Black Mountain, ever prosperous? They relied on brains.

    In Black Mountain, even "Cloud Crane," who was at the seventh layer of the True Person Realm and had committed far fewer evils than they had, was hunted down to death. And why? Because he had messed with someone untouchable.

    "I''m Zhang San, just a scholar. What the hell do you want?" Yi Chen''s expression turned unfriendly.

    "Arrogant!"

    The skinny monk was the first to lose his patience and charged towards him with a long knife.

    "Interesting, is this some kind of spell to increase speed and strength?"

    Yi Chen, unflinching and composed, allowed the blade to land harshly on his shoulder.

    With a bang.

    A sound of metal clashing rang out.

    The skinny monk''s face changed drastically as he tried to retreat, only to be pinned in place by a purple-gold palm.

    "Do you know about chicklings?" Yi Chen smiled gently at the scarred face, "I gave you a chance. Whether it''s one chickling or three, it doesn''t make much difference."

    Bang!

    The skinny monk''s head instantly retracted into his torso.

    "Weak and feeble, your strength is like a woman''s."

    ...

    ...

    Two and a half seconds later, Yi Chen wiped the blood on his hand onto the corpse of the scarred face and fell into contemplation.

    Having just used memory extraction, he unexpectedly stumbled upon something interesting. These so-called three fiends of Black Mountain were actually commissioned by an organization called "Rolling Pearl Curtains" to go near Hehuan Mountain and hunt down members of the Hehuan Sect.

    "Interesting, Rolling Pearl Curtains?"

 Chapter 245 Are you rolling, sweep over, daring demoness!

    How does the Great Qin Empire of the Eastern Continent suppress the world? It relies on the confluence of hundreds of schools of thought.After many years, the main force among these schools has become the Yin-Yang, Confucian, Mohist, Legalist, Logician, and Military strategists, with the rest having declined.

    The Legalists are the iron core of the Great Qin Empire''s cultivation power, and this combined with the Great Qin Ying clan''s strength, managed to subdue the Daoist, Buddhist, and Demon paths, establishing a vast territory.

    The distinction between schools and noble families is what sets Great Qin apart from Da Yue.

    In the era when Daoism, Buddhism, and Demonism were flourishing, the Ying clan rose from a small territory, was inclusive and widely recruited wise talents, and persevered with the remnants of six generations, taking six thousand years to finally dominate the Eastern Continent, making the three paths bow in submission on the surface.

    Naturally, Yi Chen did his homework before setting off.

    "Fellow Daoist comes from the Legalist Faction? No, wait, didn''t you just call yourself an ''Outlaw of the Legalist Faction''? Why would someone from the Legalist Faction take such a nickname?"

    Zhen Ruan quickly spotted the inconsistency.

    Yi Chen: "....."

    [People with good memories are such a pain.]

    "It''s a long story; my master said I have a violent temper and even beat my peers, acting a bit extreme. Now I''ve been expelled from the Legalist Faction, hence I''ve self-titled as the ''Outlaw of the Legalist Faction.'' "

    "Are you satisfied now?" Yi Chen''s expression had some ''displeasure,'' and he captured the sense of being irate just right.

    "Haha, Fellow Daoist, no offense, I was just asking casually." Zhen Ruan stuck out her tongue slightly, and with the armor she wore, she unexpectedly exhibited an adorable contrast that made Yi Chen take another glance.

    A Fellow Daoist from the Hehuan Sect...indeed extraordinary.

    Just then, the hooked-nose young man standing to the side approached.

    "Zhen Daoist friend, are you still recruiting retainers?"

    "My name is Ying Yangjie, peak of the seventeenth level of the True Person Realm, from the Heavenly Eagle War Gate. I only require ten thousand taels of silver for seven days'' protection. I mainly can''t stand the sight of those rascals bullying the immortal maidens of the Hehuan Sect."

    Ying Yangjie had a tall and slender build, with sharp and distinct features and a regal bearing, exuding an aura of a noble son that made him quite likable at first sight.

    Even Yi Chen had to admit, this man was close to being as handsome as himself.

    "Ah? A master from the Heavenly Eagle War Gate, your righteousness overwhelms me, Brother Zhang San...look."

    Zhen Ruan''s face immediately lit up with pleasure, but then her smiling expression froze and a look of disbelief took over.

    Yi Chen suddenly lifted his leg, flashed behind Ying Yangjie, and delivered a powerful kick to his backside. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Instantly, Ying Yangjie''s body flew like a broken doll, crashing through the walls of three buildings.

    "Fuck your mother!"

    "Ten thousand taels from you, you got off easy, how much do you think the others behind you should take?"

    "Get lost! We have no place for traitors like you among our retainers."

    Yi Chen was first uncontrollably enraged, but then he switched to a friendly manner when addressing Zhen Ruan: "Zhen Daoist Friend, I like to speak the truth. Good things are never cheap, and this guy was likely a spy sent by other forces."

    "Or he was lusting after the bodies of the immortal maidens, which is despicable."

    "I''ve already sent him packing. Such an unstable element is not wanted."

    "I think the salary of one hundred thousand taels for seven days for the other three Daoist friends is reasonable."

    "Would you be willing?" Yi Chen turned his head to address the three remaining True Person Realm masters still standing.

    The three, one thin as a rod, one stout as a barrel, and another with a face full of pockmarks, had unique looks, exactly the kind of subordinates he wanted.

    "This..." Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire

    "Don''t refuse yet, Fellow Daoist. Within two days, I will sweep through Lotus City. If successful, shall we then agree on this price?"

    With the conversation reaching this point, Zhen Ruan could hardly decline.

    The three mid-stage True Person Realm masters exchanged looks and agreed right there.

    To casually kick a seventeenth level True Person Realm master to the point of rendering them defenseless stirred their eagerness to follow such a powerful leader.

    Plus, the offer was generous.

    "Generous and courageous, Fellow Daoist, I, a mere woman, am willing to be your forerunner and accompany you."

    Zhen Ruan, seeing Yi Chen''s bold and valiant spirit, couldn''t help but admire him.

    She had her own reservations about the sect''s current strategies, finding them overly cautious and timid. Today, Yi Chen''s provocation ignited her own fighting spirit.

    If one hundred and fifty thousand taels of Gold could truly take care of the rats within Lotus City, that would indeed be a great deal.

    "Zhen Daoist Friend, your spirit is commendable, even men are not your equal. Zhang San admires you."

    "Let''s head to Greedy Wolf Hall first then, what kind of riffraff dare to adopt the name of Greedy Wolf."

    "Ah? Alright, then." Zhen Ruan gave Xiao He, the document-keeping female cultivator, a meaningful look before leading the way with two male and two female disciples at the front.

    Xiao He immediately understood and swiftly made her way back to the sect''s location.

    Watching the fading figures of Yi Chen and company, Ying Yangjie couldn''t help but show a look of resentment and confusion.

    Just as he propped himself up against the wall and stood up, a sudden shadow loomed over his figure.

    "Kid, if you look at Zhang San with those eyes again, I''ll gouge your eyeballs out."

    Yi Chen dropped the words and turned to catch up with Zhen Ruan and her group.

    Zhen Ruan''s delicate earlobes twitched as she walked ahead, and her heart skipped a beat upon hearing the words.

    She hadn''t fully believed Yi Chen''s earlier words, but now she felt that the tall man before her truly lived up to the reputation of an outlaw.

    This fiery temper...

    "No wonder he could beat up his fellow disciples, such a character being dismissed by the Fa family, what exactly did Zhang San do?"

    "Could it be that he beat up a schoolteacher? That''s, that''s way too manly." As this possibility crossed her mind, Zhen Ruan turned her head and glanced at Yi Chen''s broad shoulders, tilting her head slightly, her earlobes involuntarily turning red.

    ...

    ...

    The Greedy Wolf Pavilion was located in a spacious courtyard to the north of the city, surrounded by a Maze Formation, with a Geng metal sword Formation as well. If someone without the token dared to trespass, the Killing Formation would activate, trapping the enemy, sounding an alarm, and killing the intruder.

    Inside the courtyard, four men in black were drinking and eating meat, playing drinking games.

    Suddenly, a proud and lofty poetic chant rang out across the courtyard.

    The energy of the Holy Halberd filled the sky, and both the Maze Formation and the Geng metal sword Formation shattered in response.

    "Demons and ghosts are all heretics."

    A tall figure broke through the main gate and boldly arrived at the Greedy Wolf Pavilion.

    With the rise of the poem, the halberd fell, no one withstood a single strike, and as the line of the poem settled, the four men in black who had been playing finger-guessing games and drinking, had their heads rolling on the ground.

    "Ghouls and monsters turn to dust."

    The tall figure entered the main hall, and screams ensued.

    "Good and evil merge into one laugh."

    The tall figure entered the backyard, and cries of shock and anger arose.

    "Three thousand worlds become three thousand specks of dust."

    The ferocious energy of the Holy Halberd turned into a zone of annihilation, fiercely crashing down on the entire courtyard of the Greedy Wolf Pavilion, instantly turning all the buildings to ash.

    There was nothing but broken limbs and remains everywhere.

    "Holy Halberd treads the heavenly path, seeking redemption in a sea of blood, I am Zhang San, and I greet all fellow Daoists."

    "Eh, fellow Daoists, you''ve just missed out on a small detail."

    Yi Chen sighed looking at the corpses behind him, his shoes smeared with bloody mud, as he stepped out of the gate.

    "Daoist Zhen, you can choose the next place, any other trouble spots? I''ll go for a visit." Yi Chen gave a gentle smile to Zhen Ruan, "Oh, and Daoist Zhen, I''ll have to trouble you to arrange for someone to inventory the treasures inside for me, converting them to cash works too."

    "You guys wouldn''t cheat me, would you?"

    "I, Zhang San, hate nothing more than being cheated out of my money~"

    Zhen Ruan looked at Yi Chen''s smile and couldn''t help but take half a step back.

    She was truly a bit frightened.

    After they arrived at the Greedy Wolf Pavilion, Yi Chen told them to wait outside, assuring them he would be out soon¡ªthen in no time, the whole courtyard collapsed.

    Murder seemed as easy as slaughtering chickens for him. According to the information they had, there were at least three cultivators in the True Person Realm at the seventh layer inside the Greedy Wolf Pavilion.

    For a moment, Zhen Ruan couldn''t help but feel her heart stir, her earlobes flushing red.

    She gracefully walked over to Yi Chen''s side.

    "What are you talking about, Zhang San? Rest assured, all the treasures inside are yours, not a single copper plate will be missing."

    "That''s good~"

    "Does Zhang San have a Dao companion?"

    "What are you talking about, Daoist Zhen? Of course, I have a Dao companion."

    "Would you mind having another Dao companion?"

    "Ah?"

    Yi Chen looked at the white jade fish pendant in his hand, engraved with a character for ''union'', and couldn''t help but be astonished.

    Were the enchantresses of the Hehuan Sect so bold? Just like that?

    "Daoist, I''m not someone to take lightly. This is the first time I''m giving away a ''union'' character jade."

    "Our Hehuan Sect is divided into the ''union'' line and the ''joy'' line. I am not the same as the sisters of the ''joy'' line. Our ''union'' line chooses only one Dao companion. You understand, I am still...."

 Chapter 247 Gains, Mysteries, and Guesses, What Are You Doing?

    Yi Chen was naturally oblivious to the fact that Wo Long and Feng Chu were once again buffing him; at this moment, his gaze was solely fixed on the man before him, who was emanating a powerful aura of deadly, quietus from his corpse."Kid, you''re courting death."

    As a vast surge of corpse energy burst forth, tearing through the Earth-Slaying Judgment Domain, Shi Changsheng launched a fierce attack on Yi Chen.

    At this moment, a small section of his fingernail had flown off his hand.

    Having a junior sever his nail had ignited a furious rage within him, who was always full of pride.

    All of this was because Yi Chen''s Supreme True Martial God Halberd Technique had suddenly erupted, catching him off guard. He had been holding Yi Chen in contempt, intending to subdue him, but alas, an old horse had stumbled.

    "I''ve changed my mind, junior."

    "I will crush your bones one by one until my hatred is satisfied."

    Shi Changsheng''s voice was full of venom as the grey corpse energy around him surged, his complexion turning a ghastly grey, no longer resembling the elegant, green-robed scholar he was before.

    Now that he was going all out, his true Corpse Emperor form was revealed.

    "Old man, you''ll have to catch me first~"

    A hint of greed flickered through Yi Chen''s eyes as he immediately transformed into a streak of white light, shooting towards the far-off mountains and rivers.

    Provoking enmity was his specialty.

    Lotus City shrank behind Yi Chen, the white light around him growing more intense. In a corner where Shi Changsheng couldn''t see, Yi Chen''s disguise was slowly melting away like a candle, revealing his true face.

    Shi Changsheng did not notice, he was just furiously roaring in the background, sending out beams of grey energy one after another. The two of them, one chasing and one fleeing, quickly arrived over a mountain stream.

    It was then that Shi Changsheng realized something was amiss. He looked at the huge figure shrouded in white light, halted his movement, and said coldly, "Who are you really, and what do you want to do?"

    The white light slowly dissipated to reveal a tall and robust figure standing three meters tall, his body gleaming like purple gold under the sunlight.

    Even a fleeting glimpse of this figure gave off a strong and powerful vibe.

    Purple patterns covered his body, with the eye-catching tattoo of a blue Qilin on his waist and abdomen. Dragon and tiger tattoos sprawled over his arms and back.

    "You can call me World-Shaking Pure Yang, Yi Chengzi."

    "Old fellow, you ask what I want to do? Of course, I want you to try and kill me~" A trace of light flickered at the corner of Yi Chen''s mouth.

    Without waiting for Shi Changsheng to speak, he discarded his halberd, relying solely on a pair of purple-gold fists to smash down on Shi Changsheng with force.

    He wanted to test how strong he had become; the punching bag before him was an excellent test subject.

    Bang!

    "Nether Turtle Shield, activate!"

    Shi Changsheng crossed his arms, and a shield-like artifact, reminiscent of a basin, suddenly appeared, spinning wildly to intercept Yi Chen''s impending iron fist.

    Faced with this astonishing transformation, Shi Changsheng even brought out his protective magic artifact without hesitation.

    Bang!

    Ever since absorbing the grand Divine Power essence, Yi Chen''s physical strength had skyrocketed, and he was currently under the state of Divine Power activation.

    This punch, pure in speed and strength, was domineering to the extreme.

    The purple-gold fist quickly met the Nether Turtle Shield.

    At the moment when Yi Chen''s punch abruptly halted, Shi Changsheng opened his mouth wide. A foul-smelling purple corpse energy spurted from his mouth and struck Yi Chen''s cultivation body.

    At that moment, the shield, having dissipated eighty percent of the punch''s strength, could no longer hold and shattered. The remaining twenty percent of the force slammed into Shi Changsheng''s body, sending him crashing into the side of the mountain.

    Shortly thereafter, a disheveled figure, resembling a malevolent spirit, burst forth from the mountainside. Before the figure arrived, his laughter could already be heard.

    "Haha, foolish boy, how do you like the taste of my years-long cultivated Purple Poison Yin Scale Qi?"

    Shi Changsheng, tattered and ragged, stood before Yi Chen with a spring breeze on his face.

    "Fool, stop pretending. I''ve seen through it all."

    "This Purple Poison Yin Scale Qi, created from the condensed hatred of countless tortured corpses and merged with the world''s various deadliest poisons, is the most toxic substance under the heavens. You fool were so full of yourself that you took it all in."

    "The hateful energy of those corpses has to come from malevolent ones who suffered terribly before dying, filled with relentless hatred. Are you feeling various abnormalities in your mind right now?"

    "With this poison, I''ve killed a True Monarch, who had half a step into the Path."

    As Shi Changsheng assumed he had the upper hand, an odd expression crossed Yi Chen''s face.

    "It felt a little hot at first, but then it was fine. I feel even more energized now," Yi Chen replied, as straightforward as a top-class lecturer.

    "A little hot?"

    Shi Changsheng looked at Yi Chen''s magic body, which didn''t even have a single white spot, in astonishment and started to panic.

    That''s impossible~

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    It absolutely can''t be.

    In astonishment, a fist as big as a begging bowl rapidly enlarged in his field of vision.

    Bang!

    Shi Changsheng was once again sent flying like a kite with its string cut, blossoming a second time as he crashed into the creek within the mountain ravine.

    A black boot stepped into the water, causing a small splash, and a purple-golden palm appeared on Shi Changsheng''s neck, hoisting him up.

    "Why are you so weak, you don''t even qualify to test the limits of my strength."

    "You''ve wasted most of your life, a trash that might as well have lived as a dog."

    "Can''t you tell I''m only nineteen years old?" S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I really yearn for a thrilling battle."

    Crack, with a sudden kick, Shi Changsheng''s left knee bent at a horrifying ninety degrees under the immense force.

    Pale white bone pierced through the skin, protruding outside.

    "Tell me, who is the person behind the attack on Hehuan Sect, and I might consider not killing you," Yi Chen''s eyes began to emit a strange, eerie light.

    He had felt something was amiss the moment Shi Changsheng made his appearance.

    It was very intriguing that a stranger of True Monarch realm could hide under the watch of the Hehuan Sect.

    "You... you think Shi is a three-year-old child?"

    "Haha, just wait for death. Someone will surely claim your life, and Shi will wait for you on the road to the underworld¡­"

    Intense mana fluctuations emanated from within Shi Changsheng, indicating he intended to self-destruct.

    Fortunately, Yi Chen was quick to act, preventing the tragedy by killing him beforehand, otherwise the culpability of his suicide would have been significant.

    A stream of information suddenly appeared before Yi Chen''s eyes.

    [You have successfully killed Shi Changsheng, Deep Red Points +6800]

    "Interesting."

    Yi Chen stretched lazily, though his thoughts spun rapidly.

    As a True Monarch-level zombie ghost, Shi Changsheng undoubtedly controlled a powerful existence capable of maintaining dominance over himself, and extracting his memories was as difficult as scaling heaven, unless he cooperated voluntarily.

    Extracting the memories of a True Monarch-level expert was nearly impossible, even for someone two major ranks above.

    True Monarch experts could annihilate all their memories in an instant, merely at the thought of it, so Yi Chen decided to interrogate Shi Changsheng, even employing a bewitchment ability in an attempt to coax the information out, but to no avail.

    Nevertheless, it didn''t matter. Sometimes, silence is also an answer.

    For instance, the person behind the scenes might be so powerful that Shi Changsheng preferred death over betrayal.

    Or perhaps he had something he valued even more than his own life.

    Or perhaps...

    "Lu Cun Xingjun, you''ll have to pay me more for this job!"

    "If it''s as I suspect, this case is going to be tough."

    The thought of a certain speculation made Yi Chen sigh inwardly.

    He slipped the storage ring from Shi Changsheng''s hand, with dark blood seeping into the creek water, after a quick rinse Yi Chen threaded it along with the ones he obtained from the Black Mountain Three Evils.

    He began his own collection journey once again.

    "Calling yourself Shi Changsheng, see, now you''re dead, just like an old acquaintance of mine named Wu Changshou, who perished mid-way."

    "Your name should carry some weight, Yi Chen Yi Cheng, learning the cultivation technique is just a matter of practice."

    In consideration of the many Deep Red Points Shi Changsheng had contributed, Yi Chen still chose to cremate him.

    A white fire seed landed on Shi Changsheng''s cadaver, instantly turning it into a pile of black ash.

    Yi Chen''s features morphed, reverting to the appearance of Zhang San, which bore a seventy percent resemblance to his own. He also lowered his aura a level, feigning an unstable state, and only then did he clear the scene, stumbling towards Lotus City.

    Halfway there, suddenly three lights descended quickly before him, revealing their figures.

    A white-robed beauty, a red-skirted beauty, and the one who was crying as if the rain was pear blossoms, Zhen Ruan, appeared.

    Before Yi Chen could speak, Zhen Ruan suddenly flung herself into his embrace like a swallow returning to the woods at dusk, clinging tightly around his waist with her tender arms, as if terrified he would disappear the next second.

    Her chest pressed firmly against Yi Chen''s.

    Zhen Ruan.

    Yi Chen was somewhat dumbfounded.

    "Zhen Ruan, my fellow daoist."

    "What are you doing (ah)~"

 Chapter 248 The First Guest Elder of Hehuan Sect, Assisting with a Fist, Hei Mietian.

    Hehuan Sect ¡¤ Celebration Hall in Hehuan Mountain.Read latest stories on My Virtual Library Empire

    At this moment, the hall was adorned with brightly lit lanterns and colorful decorations, bustling with the clinking of glasses¡ªa lively scene indeed.

    The banquet tonight was held in honor of Yi Chen for "repelling" Shi Changsheng, specially arranged by the Sect Master Qinyun and Vice Sect Master Hong Luo of the Hehuan Sect.

    In Yi Chen''s explanation today, he naturally claimed that he had entangled Shi Changsheng with a secret technique, and Shi Changsheng, seeing that he couldn''t defeat Yi Chen quickly and fearing that the two sect masters would arrive and catch her in the act, had no choice but to retreat in advance.

    Whether others believed it or not, he certainly did.

    The explanation was a phrase that Yi Chen had devised after careful consideration, for claiming to have slain Shi Changsheng would only lead to more complications.

    For a master nearly at the level of a True Monarch to come to serve as a guest elder for seven days for the sake of 150,000 taels of gold was implausible, so this explanation was perfect.

    Above in the celebration hall, the lights were now brilliantly illuminated.

    During the day, the unruly Zhen Ruan was now timid and did not dare to sit with Yi Chen. Instead, she sat obediently below him, occasionally sending flirtatious glances his way like autumn spinach.

    The three Wo Long brothers sat diagonally opposed to Yi Chen, while several male and female elders sat in attendance within the hall.

    Yi Chen now understood why Zhen Ruan had acted the way she did earlier.

    It was all thanks to the instigation of the three Wo Longs.

    They convinced Zhen Ruan that upon Yi Chen''s arrival at the city gate, he had stopped eating sunflower seeds and stared blankly the moment he saw her¡­ it was obvious he was smitten with her¡ªthey had witnessed it with their own eyes.

    Then they analyzed, how else could such a master start by asking for only 100,000 taels of gold? Although it seemed a large sum, it matched neither Yi Chen''s demonstrated strength, and it was clear that it was for her sake, thus repairing the plank road by daylight while secretly crossing the Wei River.

    As for why Yi Chen refused her Jade of Union, it was naturally because he was responsible, indicating that Master Zhang was clearly not the sort of scoundrel who was only after her body.

    In the end, he was enraged for the beauty, and faced the horrifying Corpse Emperor Shi Changsheng alone, keeping the danger to himself.

    Could this kind of act be driven by a mere 150,000 taels of gold?

    It absolutely had to be love.

    With passion, righteousness, responsibility, good looks, and mutual affection.

    Under the surging emotions, Zhen Ruan clearly was intoxicated, leading to that scene earlier in the day.

    Afterward, the three Wo Long brothers had the audacity to claim credit from Yi Chen in secret, stating that they owed him a great favor and could only repay him in this manner¡­

    Yi Chen had already decided to distance himself from these three Wo Longs.

    They were just too good at stirring up trouble.

    However, their boasting had brought Yi Chen a benefit: it rationalized his motives.

    As music played softly like the melancholic moon behind willow branches, and songs were sung like the spring breeze beneath peach blossoms, Vice Sect Master Hong Luo sitting at the head of the hall suddenly turned her gaze towards Yi Chen:

    "With such skill, Master Zhang, why are you not renowned in our Northern Region?"

    Yet for such doubts, Yi Chen had a prepared response in his heart:

    "I dare not deceive the Sect Master, ''Zhang San'' is indeed a name I have recently assumed. I have made a minor mistake, and my master has expelled me from the school. All events of the past are like clouds gone by; please excuse me for not wishing to mention them again."

    "As for why I accepted this seven-day mission, it is because I was destitute upon leaving my sect and happened across Lotus City by chance."

    "If the Sect Master suspects me, give me 50,000 taels of gold now and I, Zhang San, will leave immediately."

    Yi Chen drank a sip of wine expressionlessly, apparently ''angered''.

    Here was another lesson in the art of language.

    How can a lie exist for a long time?

    Make it unfalsifiable, or rather, raise the cost of falsification to a level unacceptable to others.

    It''s not a problem if the name Zhang San raises suspicions; he admits it was a recent change. The rest is my sorrowful past that I don''t wish to speak of, and to press further would be impolite.

    Then, he exhibited ''anger'' appropriately and pretended as if he was about to leave.

    When faced with skepticism, ceaseless explanation and concession is the worst approach, especially when your position is indefensible. It''s better to learn to retort appropriately and pose a new challenge to your opponent for a better strategy.

    It is also an excellent way to shift attention and focus.

    For instance, in the past life, when singer someone was accused of lip-syncing during a concert, causing a huge uproar, he claimed he could sing E6 for ten beats, higher than High C by four notes, leading netizens to exclaim that it was wildly improbable, like a cicada reincarnated as a monkey.

    Yet, who noticed that the focus of public opinion stealthily shifted from lip-syncing to whether ten beats of E6 was possible?

    For instance, now, Sect Master Hong Luo was no longer preoccupied with questioning Yi Chen; the Hehuan Sect had to consider how to accommodate him.

    This is the simple application of the art of language, proposing a new issue to dodge the old one, as digging deeper would reveal his inability to answer about his origin and intentions¡­

    Sometimes, when you show weakness, others get tough; when you stand firm, others yield.

    "Daoist Zhang is overthinking it; Sect Master Hong Luo was just asking casually."

    "The agreement with our Hehuan Sect still stands, I am willing to add five more drops of Gold Essence to hire Daoist Zhang as the foremost guest elder for our sect''s mission, still limited to seven days. What do you think?"

    "Frankly speaking, twenty drops of Gold Essence still means our Hehuan Sect is getting the better deal, but given that you''ve also captured my daughter''s heart, it''s quite a windfall."

    Previously silent, Sect Master Qinyun suddenly spoke with a chuckle, immediately relaxing the atmosphere in the hall.

    Sect Master Qinyun carried herself with graceful poise, her eyes tranquil as still water, wearing a long green dress that accentuated her lovely curves, with her legs slightly to one side.

    As the vice-sect master of Hehuan, representing the ''Huan'' character lineage, she wore a fiery red, off-the-shoulder long dress, her figure seductively voluptuous, and without shoes, revealing her graceful arches. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen: "... ." [The 150,000 taels have already been paid by Lord L¨´x¨²nsh¨¥nj¨±n.]

    "Sect Master, I agree to the task. However, I would like to ask who exactly is targeting the Hehuan Sect. Could you divulge some details to Zhang?" Finally, Yi Chen asked the question he had been wanting to ask all along.

    At these words, an unexpected blush tinged Sect Master Qinyun''s cheeks.

    Sect Master Hong Luo clapped her hands to signal for the others to leave, then slowly said, "It''s difficult for my sister to speak directly on this matter, so I will tell you."

    "This issue is also somewhat related to my sister."

    ...

    Following the vice-sect master''s account, Yi Chen finally understood the reason behind it all.

    According to Sect Master Hong Luo, the force targeting the Hehuan Sect was a mysterious evil faction known as ''Rolling Bead Curtain.''

    Its leader, self-styled as Hei Mietian, was extremely secretive and had somehow seen Sect Master Qinyun''s visage, sending an engagement proposal with the intent to marry by force.

    After being rejected, Hei Mietian then put out a bounty on them, sending people to cause trouble near Hehuan Mountain and claiming he would personally lead an assault to pay homage to the mountain after fifteen days¡ªten of which had already passed.

    If Sect Master Qinyun refused, he vowed to flatten the Hehuan Sect.

    "Daoist Zhang, the Rolling Bead Curtain is an evil power that has accumulated over the years, and under Hei Mietian''s command are countless ghoul ghosts, all evil experts, extremely vicious. I do not wish to deceive you with empty words; if you want to step back, it''s still not too late."

    The gentle and smooth voice of a woman, like a fresh spring breeze, brushed past Yi Chen''s ears; it was Sect Master Qinyun speaking once again.

    "Why stir me with these words, Sect Master?"

    "I, Zhang San, shall never share the sky with those ghoul ghosts and evil spirits!"

    "Is there no law left? No decree? With evil running rampant, I, Zhang San, shall handle this matter."

    "Rest assured, Sect Master, I am committed to safeguarding the Hehuan Sect with all my might."

    Yi Chen picked up the wine jar on the table and tilted his head back, downing it with great fervor.

    Keyword get; his vigor surged instantly.

    "Daoist Zhang''s spirit is commendable. Rest assured, our Hehuan Sect has some old friends. In two days, they will begin arriving to lend a hand. We will not let Daoist Zhang face this battle alone," said Sect Master Qinyun, a touch of relief showing in her smile. Zhen Ruan, upon hearing this, beamed sweetly, her face full of joy.

    ...

    ...

    Night. The moonlight was like silver.

    In the outer yard guest rooms of the Hehuan Sect.

    A figure in armor crept to the door of a guest room.

    "Daoist Zhang, open up, it''s me," whispered Zhen Ruan.

    Soon, a firm and sturdy voice came from the room.

    "There''s nobody inside, Zhang San is not here. Please go back, Daoist."

    Zhen Ruan: "....."

    "Blockhead, weren''t you kicked out with no money? I have some."

    "Here, take these 300,000-tael Great Qin banknotes; you can use them first."

    Three banknotes, each worth 100,000 taels, were squeezed through the crack in the door.

    For a moment, Yi Chen was also somewhat speechless as he looked at the banknotes in the door crack.

    [Abbess, what should I do if your husband is too charming? I''m waiting online, quite urgently.]

 Chapter 250 Not Strong Enough, Powerful, Emerging.

    "Hou Tu Sect has arrived!""Spring and Autumn Pavilion has arrived!"

    "Golden Fortune Pavilion has arrived!"

    ¡­.

    As the disciple on duty at the base of the mountain called out roll, one after another, experts from various sects continued to arrive to lend their support.

    The sheer number of people made Yi Chen feel a bit astonished.

    "This, didn''t Sect Master Qinyun say he only invited a handful of old friends over to help out?"

    "Why are there so many people?"

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but turn to Xiao Ye, who stood beside him performing the disciple''s salute, and ask.

    After some explanation, Yi Chen finally understood the reason behind it all.

    At least two-thirds of these ''self-motivated'' individuals were here for Sect Master Qinyun.

    Yi Chen: "...." Quite the peak competition for sycophants.

    As far as Yi Chen knew, Sect Mater Qinyun''s partner had fallen in a secret realm decades ago, the soul lamp within the sect already extinguished.

    "Zhang San, you''re still here? Mother sent me to invite you to the Magic Display Hall to keep her company."

    "Oh, and there''s a fly that keeps buzzing around me, help me chase him away later."

    Zhen Ruan, still clad in her military attire, walked toward Yi Chen. Through their interactions over the past few days, she had discovered a little secret.

    When she dressed like this, Yi Chen''s gaze lingered on her for much longer than when she wore her red dress.

    If she also wore a pair of black silk stockings, then even longer.

    "What does the Sect Master want me for?" Yi Chen said helplessly.

    He did not want to exchange pleasantries or rub shoulders with a bunch of sycophantic scoundrels when he could be comfortably slacking off here.

    "Isn''t it because our Hehuan Sect has more Yin than Yang? Don''t ask, just hurry up and come with me, they''re sparring inside."

    Ruan''er''s tender white arm hooked onto Yi Chen''s arm as if to declare her territory, giving a glance towards a few sisters from the Happiness Hall. She couldn''t help but raise her head and stand tall.

    She had noticed that the rumor mill was churning a bit peculiarly lately.

    With an intentional or unintentional sway of Ruan''er''s~

    Hisss~

    Willpower again -10, current stock 30.

    Yi Chen smoothly withdrew his arm without a change in expression and said indifferently, "Lead the way up front~"

    One had to give face to the host, and in the past couple of days, nearly all of his private activities had been tacitly approved by Sect Master Qinyun, which had earned him a good haul.

    For Yi Chen, what he had reaped was not money, but the cultivation techniques he needed for his future, the capital for his revenge.

    Hehuan Sect''s Magic Display Hall.

    Sect Master Qinyun and Sect Master Hong Luo sat in the chief seats of the first row.

    Below the two sat four True Monarch-level experts, each with a distinguished appearance and aura. The foremost on the left was a middle-aged man with an air of refinement, named Fu Mo, who had a scholarly charm about him and a cultivation near the peak of the mid True Person Realm.

    Sitting second was a man named Di Longzi, from the Hou Tu Sect, with cultivation close to the late True Person Realm. Towering over three meters tall, his robust muscular frame, bald head, and unibrow made it apparent that he had both stature and a formidable presence.

    Though sitting in his seat, he often turned back to speak to Sect Master Qinyun, his eyes brimming with admiration.

    As for the two self-invited True Monarchs behind him, the third was Wan Yangzi, Elder Third of the Spring and Autumn Pavilion, wearing a green jade ring and always donning a smile, looking every bit a courteous merchant.

    The fourth was Yuan Jin, a True Monarch from the Liyuan Sect, with an unremarkable face that you couldn''t find in a crowd.

    In the seats to the left of the hall sat the visiting sect''s experts and their disciples, while to the right were the high-ranking members and true disciples of the Hehuan Sect.

    As soon as Yi Chen entered the hall, a single glance revealed many interesting things to him.

    For example, there was an idiot inexplicably radiating hostility towards him.

    For example, Sect Master Hong Luo was currently very unhappy, even though she kept exchanging pleasantries with everyone with a smile...

    "Someone find a seat for Chief Zhang."

    As soon as Yi Chen stepped into the main hall, Sect Master Qinyun immediately motioned for someone to make room.

    To Yi Chen''s surprise, she actually had someone add a chair to the first row for him, instead of among the two rows. Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire

    After a moment of consideration, Yi Chen boldly took his seat amidst the astonished looks of those around him, without any sign of refusing.

    A posture of unshakable dominance naturally emerged.

    Hou Tu Sect disciples lined up to present fruits, tea, and water, placing them on the side tables next to everyone''s chairs.

    The musicians in the corner of the hall began to softly play enchanting melodies.

    "Hei Mietian is excessively arrogant; this time, we must deal him a forceful blow."

    "It''s rare for a few old friends to reunite, so why don''t we have our disciples perform their magic today to warm up for the big battle in two days?"

    "My eldest disciple, Yuan Jin, possesses modest Taoist skills; I would like to invite everyone to give him some pointers."

    Yuan Jin couldn''t hold back and was the first to speak out.

    Among those present, he had lower cultivation than Di Longzi, less wealth than Wan Yangzi, and less handsome than Fu Mo¡ªcompletely frustrated.

    So he was eager to show off his disciple in front of everyone to regain some face, even if his own prospects were not realized, he expected to secure his disciple''s marital matters.

    A tall, bronze-skinned young man immediately stepped forward, eager at the mention.

    It was none other than the very individual Yi Chen had sensed emitting an inexplicable hostility towards him.

    "Elder Xu, it seems you have been plotting this for a while. Well then, my son, go and experience the exquisite techniques of True Monarch Yuan Jin''s esteemed pupil," Fu Mo said with his magnetic voice, as a black-clad young man holding an antique spirit sword silently stood up and saluted Yuan Jin.

    "I am Xiu Feng of the True Person Realm seventh layer; please enlighten me with your techniques, dear friend."

    The black-clad man, much like his master, had a commendable bearing, attracting frequent glances from the female disciples of the Hehuan Sect, which made Yuan Jin seem like a simpleton from the countryside.

    "Three moves to finish you off," Yuan Jin said roughly, a stark contrast to Xiu Feng''s demeanor.

    "You, are disrespectful!" Xiu Feng''s face showed anger at the remark, and as the combat barrier slowly rose, the two immediately clashed.

    After three moves, Xiu Feng, like a hanging painting, slid down the combat barrier with a swollen face resembling that of a pig''s head.

    Yi Chen: "...." The young man''s got quite a strong dose of jealousy, huh.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Half a quarter of an hour later.

    The field where the magic was demonstrated was bitterly cold.

    "Master, I''ve comprehended it,"

    "Take my Eight Desolations Gold Stampede!"

    Facing the piercing chill of icy light, Yuan Jin didn''t dodge or evade, but stepped forward, his dominant fist extinguishing the cold light, and then stamped on the chest of Wan Yangzi''s disciple, who was also at the eightfold True Person Realm.

    Boom!

    Yuan Jin grew stronger as he fought, successively conquering five opponents.

    "Master, did you see that?"

    "Ruan''er, did you see? This is my talent, my Sacred Fist."

    "This feeling is so delightful~" Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With consecutive battles and breakthroughs on the field of combat, Yuan Jin''s heart roared within!

    He stood shirtless, his body covered with hundreds of peculiar runes that emerged and steamed up with strands of golden mist.

    It had to be said that Yuan Jin truly was a genius in combat, as he had an epiphany in the midst of battle.

    "Who else?"

    "Who else wishes to battle with me!"

    Yuan Jin''s bronze-colored giant fist pounded his chest, and he couldn''t help but shout excitedly, feeling an unprecedented peak in his condition, with his cultivation even advancing another small step forward.

    "Well done, fellow Daoists. Jin''er has indeed been favored this time," Xiao Tian the True Monarch said with a smile, stroking his goatee.

    As these words were spoken, the other True Monarchs were silent, their expressions solemn. Anyone with discerning eyes could see the strength of Yuan Jin, who impressed them with both his cultivation and his presence in battle.

    "Xiao Tian, old man, I didn''t expect you to actually pick up such a promising young talent," Wan Yangzi said grudgingly.

    The expressions of the crowd varied, some shocked, some envious, some dissatisfied, some admiring, with only Yi Chen looking bored, yawning listlessly, his face showing signs of involuntary service.

    Yuan Jin''s eyes swept across the crowd, and he found that at such a moment, Zhen Ruan''s gaze was wholly fixed on Yi Chen, who was yawning in the front row, which made Yuan Jin''s blood surge irresistibly.

    "Yuan Jin challenges Head Zhang. I hope the Head will kindly enlighten me,"

    His enthusiastic voice echoed throughout the venue.

    "Ah?" Yi Chen was in the middle of a yawn when he saw that everyone''s gaze had converged upon him, so he could only respond reluctantly, "Young man, are you sure?"

    "Certain!"

    Yuan Jin felt his condition was at an all-time high and full of vigor like never before, as if he was about to ignite.

    "Head Zhang, please use fifty percent of your mana to guide my disciple," Xiao Tian the True Monarch turned his head and said to Yi Chen with a smirk.

    "Very well," Yi Chen relented after seeing Zhen Ruan''s pleading gaze and everyone else''s attention focused on him, having changed his mind.

    If someone wanted to use him as a stepping stone, he might as well entertain them.

    Boom!

    With a single thought, Yi Chen''s iron chair transformed into a swift arc and violently crashed into the center of the field.

    It smashed the green tiles on the ground, sending dust flying and debris scattering.

    For a moment, the True Monarchs couldn''t help but look on with intense focus.

    This Head Zhang had such great strength, such a formidable physical body; no wonder Sect Master Qinyun had placed him among them.

    As the dust slowly settled, a majestic figure could be seen with one foot on the chair and a hand casually hanging by the knee.

    "Young man, hit me with your greatest strength, hit me anywhere,"

    "What you comprehend is up to you,"

    Yi Chen spoke lazily as if he hadn''t fully woken up, yet to Yuan Jin, he looked like a Mountain Lord dozing off while seated on an iron throne.

    Pure Extreme Origin energy flowed slowly, dyeing Yi Chen''s body a purple-gold color, as he stood quietly like a statue.

    In the center, Yuan Jin shrank back for a moment. The longer he waited, the more vivid hallucinations filled his mind as if dragons, tigers, divine bulls, and other fantastical creatures were attacking him, and he knew if he delayed further, he wouldn''t even get a chance to strike.

    "Take my Eight Desolations Gold Stampede!"

    "Eight Desolations Gold Stampede!"

    "Eight Desolations Gold Stampede!"

    With a furious roar, Yuan Jin struck out, punching Yi Chen''s face and continuing to hammer away.

    The banging was incessant.

    Before long, Yuan Jin''s hands swelled up, red and inflamed like pig trotters, from the immense recoil.

    Yet, he was unable to make Yi Chen retreat in the slightest despite paying such a heavy price.

    "Enough, Yuan Jin!" Xiao Tian the True Monarch couldn''t bear to watch anymore and interrupted his top disciple, who was almost going mad.

    "Why, I can feel that you barely used any mana, why is that?"

    Yuan Jin stood in the center, his voice hoarse.

    Yi Chen opened his eyes.

    "Have you comprehended it?"

    "What do you mean, Head Zhang?"

    "How do your hands feel?"

    "Very painful!"

    Yi Chen got up and patted Yuan Jin on the shoulder.

    "You see, you''ve comprehended that, haven''t you?"

    "Young man, you''re in pain because your purity is too low!"

    "However, your massaging skills are not bad; I appreciate you. You can join my enforcer team as a guest in two days'' time."

    Even in a normal state, Yi Chen''s physical strength was not something others could casually play against.

    This was a powerful body that even Yuan Jun had marveled at, and with his ability to teleport, it took his physique to an inhuman level.

    Yuan Jin punching Yi Chen was like Tyson hitting Thor; how was this even a fair match?

    Unwittingly, Yi Chen had grown to a level that his former opponents couldn''t even imagine, a level which even he could not have envisioned a year prior.

    If he were to confront those two old priests from the Infernal Fire Sect now, he could tire them out with just his face, even if they cast spells on him.

 Chapter 251 Looking for a Pig, Quarreling by the Wall?

    The night was cold, with dew forming a thin layer of frost.Only a few sparse stars dotted the night sky.

    Yi Chen, wrapped in a black cloak, walked near the outer palace. Just two days left until Hei Mietian''s deadline to attack, yet Yi Chen couldn''t shake off a faint unease that lingered in his heart.

    Something felt off to him.

    He once told his adept pupil Chief Zhang, "When you encounter an unreasonable situation, look for the pig on the field. If you can''t find one, then take a good look in the mirror."

    The Hehuan Sect had extensive connections¡ªwhy would Hei Mietian dare to boast that he would come to propose to the sect in fifteen days?

    Based on the reaction of Sect Master Qinyun and the several True Monarchs who had come to help, Yi Chen felt that Hei Mietian''s strength shouldn''t be extraordinarily powerful. Being on par with Xin Yue-level True Monarchs entering the path was already quite high; at least they couldn''t overpower the current lineup.

    If so, shouldn''t a person with normal intelligence take the opportunity to strike first, catching Hehuan Sect off guard?

    But Hei Mietian did just the opposite, using various means to intimidate and pressure. Such tactics were simply feeding intelligence to the enemy.

    In Yi Chen''s mind, this was tantamount to moving a machine gun placement six meters in a game of suffocating micromanagement.

    A devilish powerhouse, likely cultivated to an entering-the-path level¡ªwas he the pig?

    Where there is abnormality, there is demonry.

    There must be something fishy about this.

    And thinking back to the recent disturbance in Lotus City, it made Yi Chen somewhat puzzled.

    In his view, Shi Changsheng''s actions simply disregarded the Hehuan Sect, a bit too self-assured.

    "Eh, who''s the pig?"

    "Surely I can''t be the pig...."

    Feeling depressed, Yi Chen thought to get some fresh air and incidentally inspect the area around Hehuan Mountain.

    If Hei Mietian decided to attack the mountain without abiding by martial ethics, that would be interesting. It would be better to do a thorough investigation himself to feel reassured.

    Lost in his chaotic thoughts, suddenly, under the moonlight, a fire-red figure approached gracefully, wearing familiar armor over a skirt paired with black silk stockings.

    "Daoist Zhang, what a coincidence~" Zhen Ruan said with a feigned casualness that couldn''t be more fake, "I specially came to thank you for helping me beat up that annoying Yuan Jin today. He''s like a fly, utterly irritating."

    "I stole a pot of fine wine from my mother''s collection, ''Immortal''s Drunk''. Would you like a taste?"

    With a flip of her palm, a celadon bottle appeared in Zhen Ruan''s delicate hand.

    Yi Chen''s nose twitched as he could smell a rich aroma through the bottle, enlivening his spirits just by smelling it, indeed worthy of Sect Master Qinyun''s treasured collection.

    "It was nothing, just a somewhat arrogant youngster. He may lack astonishing intelligence, but his talent is fairly decent among ordinary cultivators," Yi Chen commented noncommittally. At this moment, he unconsciously took the stance of an older generation cultivator.

    The daytime fight with the youngster was no longer on his mind, an event hardly worth bragging about.

    Taking the celadon bottle, he indulged in a sip, feeling as if his internal organs were cleansed. Given his control over his body, he even sensed a slight strengthening compared to before.

    Although the progress was minimal and he only just managed to detect it with his current grasp on the twenty-eight acupoints within his body, the fact that it affected his physique was undeniably astonishing.

    "Is it good?"

    "You should try it, and maybe next time don''t swipe Sect Master Qinyun''s wine. I''m afraid she''ll beat you for it."

    "This is the last bottle, even if you want more, there won''t be any," Zhen Ruan replied, sticking out her tongue playfully, taking the bottle back for a light sip which turned her cheeks rosy red as wisps of steam emerged from her head.

    "By the way, Zhang San, what are you doing out here so late?"

    "Don''t we have disciples on duty?" Zhen Ruan suddenly asked.

    "I''m not quite at ease, so I came out for a patrol."

    "Then I''ll join you."

    Before he knew it, a smooth hand latched onto Yi Chen''s arm, the pleasant touch traveling through. Yi Chen tried to pull away, but when he couldn''t, he simply let it be.

    Willpower -10, current stock, 20.

    The two walked silently atop Hehuan Mountain, stepping on thick layers of fallen leaves without making a sound. They had reached a valley, and as they moved along the cliffside, Zhen Ruan''s cheeks grew redder, inching closer.

    Suddenly, a voice transmission sounded in Zhen Ruan''s mind.

    "Daoist Zhen, get down."

    "Ah?" In that moment, Zhen Ruan blushed right down to her neck.

    "Someone''s coming, it might be a big fish," Yi Chen''s voice transmission contained a hint of glee.

    Overtime at night finally paid off.

    A tremendous force surged; Yi Chen pulled Zhen Ruan behind a large boulder at the base of the cliff, and as mana flowed, their presence merged with the stone indistinguishably.

    Soon, a whooshing sound approached.

    A familiar figure, carrying a woman with her mouth stuffed with remnants of clothing, silently swooped down.

    In that moment, both Yi Chen and Zhen Ruan were taken aback.

    The man was none other than Xiu Feng, whose face had been battered by Yuan Jin into a pig''s head during the day. Now, restored by medicinal pills, his appearance had returned to normal.

    But unlike his gracious demeanor during the day, Xiu Feng''s handsome face now carried a trace of sinister malice.

    The sharp sound of a slap echoed through the valley.

    "You wretch, now we can play to our heart''s content without interruptions," he sneered.

    One strange item after another was taken out by Xiu Feng from the storage ring, and the whip turned out to be the most normal among them.

    "You, do you not fear the wrath of the Hehuan Sect Master, fellow Daoist Xiu Feng?" The pretty female cultivator''s face was filled with terror. She had been eating hotpot and singing songs in her room that evening when suddenly, she was abducted.

    "Me, afraid? You''re just a disciple with two cloud patterns of the joyous branch. Do you think you are a female cultivator of the harmonious branch? Drop the pretense. I haven''t touched anyone from Sect Master Qinyun''s branch."

    "Our Hehuan Sect currently needs you folks. I am not afraid even if you speak up about such a trivial matter, moreover, I sneaked out."

    "There''s no one around here, you can scream all you want, but nobody¡­"

    The smile on Xiu Feng''s face grew more perverse, and suddenly, it froze completely as a dense shadow enveloped his entire figure.

    "Are disciples with two patterns of the joyous hall not human?"

    Struggling, Xiu Feng turned his head and saw Yi Chen''s expressionless face and Zhen Ruan''s angry countenance.

    Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

    "Chief Zhang, fellow Daoist Zhen, it''s all a misunderstanding."

    "What a waste, why didn''t you capture Yuan Jin as well?"

    A gold-colored palm suddenly descended, and Xiu Feng''s body instantly shortened by a head.

    After skillfully searching the corpse, Yi Chen dropped a bit of white fire onto it. With a sweep of his hand, a gust of wind arose, leaving the ground white and spotless.

    "Zhang... Zhang San, did you actually kill this man?" Both Zhen Ruan and the pretty female cultivator on the ground were shocked as they looked at Yi Chen.

    They hadn''t expected Yi Chen to be so ruthless.

    "What are you afraid of? He said he sneaked out, didn''t he?"

    "Young lady, I''m giving you everything from this guy''s storage ring to compensate you for the shock. Don''t mention tonight''s events to anyone. Let''s not have unnecessary complications."

    Yi Chen placed all the wealth found in Xiu Feng''s storage ring in front of the pretty female cultivator. The pervert was indeed a disciple of a True Monarch; his fortune was substantial, and the resources inside were enough for her to reach the True Person Realm without any worries.

    "Thank you... thank you, Chief Zhang." Complexity flashed in the eyes of the pretty female cultivator. She glanced at Zhen Ruan and Yi Chen before stumbling away into the night.

    This time, they hadn''t caught anyone from Hei Mietian, but had instead encountered a degenerate. However, this didn''t cause Yi Chen to feel any regret; instead, it made his heart tighten involuntarily.

    "Fellow Daoist Zhen, may I trouble you to tell me about the historical relationship between the harmonious branch and the joyous branch?"

    "Also, the sources of wealth of the Hehuan Sect, which branch contributes more, and how is it used?"

    Under the moonlight, Yi Chen suddenly turned back to ask Zhen Ruan. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Ah, Zhang San, why do you ask this? My mother and Aunt Hong get along very well."

    "Oh, it''s nothing. Just tell it to me like a story."

    As Zhen Ruan recounted the tale, the sense of unease in Yi Chen''s heart grew stronger.

    The joyous branch was the major contributor to Hehuan Sect''s wealth, accounting for almost seventy percent, yet the harmonious branch used more of the sect''s resources.

    Although the joyous branch''s cultivators progressed faster at the beginning, their mana was mixed and lacked purity, causing them to advance more slowly in the later stages compared to the harmonious branch.

    At the start, it wasn''t too noticeable, but over time, as the number of experts in the harmonious branch increased, so did their usage of resources, which now surpassed a sixty-forty split, with the deficit becoming more apparent.

    In this world, inequality is the cause of dissatisfaction, not scarcity.

    Time has an astonishing power; many things that seemed fair at the beginning can become corrupt and collapse over time.

    It''s like the entropy increase theory from my previous life.

    "Could it be that inside the Hehuan Sect, there''s both an internal diviner and an external fiend planning to flip the table?"

    If that was the case, then Hei Mietian''s actions would make sense.

    Yi Chen suddenly recalled the flattery conference during the day. The reputation of the celestial fairy was basically synonymous with the harmonious branch, and the four True Monarchs who came were most likely there for Sect Master Qinyun.

    And then there was Xiu Feng''s behavior before, which clearly lacked due respect for the disciples of the joyous hall.

    "Zhang San, are you suggesting there might be a problem with Aunt Hong?"

    "Impossible, my mother and Aunt Hong are close as sisters. Although there are occasional squabbles between the two branches, both of them have always pressed down and dealt with the issues amicably."

    After a moment of silence, Zhen Ruan suddenly spoke up, her voice trembling slightly.

    She wasn''t foolish; she clearly understood what Yi Chen was getting at.

    "It was just a casual inquiry, don''t overthink it. Let me walk you back," said Yi Chen with a smile as he gently stroked Zhen Ruan''s ear-length hair.

    Wild geese scatter like snow in autumn, and chilling dew brings a cool night.

    The clouds beside the rocks are swept away, and I drunkenly tread on the moonlit pine roots.

    The stars fill the sky as people slumber.

    Soon after, two shadows walking side by side reappeared at the outer hall.

    Watching Zhen Ruan leave with a heavy heart, Yi Chen couldn''t help but let out a sigh.

    He too hoped things wouldn''t turn out as he suspected.

    But, let''s just hope it isn''t so.

    Otherwise, he really wouldn''t know how to handle this situation.

    [Lu Cun Xingjun, is this Hehuan Sect''s internal strife, with someone being an insider and a fiend looking to overturn everything?]

    "Such a hassle."

    With a sigh, Yi Chen headed towards his own courtyard.

 Chapter 256 Greedy Wolf Stars Face, Yin Manors Term Approaches, Plan, Long Journey.

    "I dare not, I am just delighted,""Yuan Jun''s elegance is truly greater than in the past. Lord Tan Lang wouldn''t dare to instruct Yuan Jun on what to do." There is an ancient saying in my previous life''s Hua country: ''The wise adapt and excel.'' Yi Chen decided to endure for a while, and he immediately squeezed out a smile in response.

    "Xiao Lang, I love hearing such words from you, it''s not in vain that Yuan Jun remembers you during her tasks."

    "To have handled Lord Lu Cun''s request so beautifully, consider your entrance task passed. It''s not in vain that Yuan Jun, despite the pressure, promoted you to the new Lord Tan Lang. That spirit-testing mirror did indeed have a fault. Afterwards, a newcomer arrived, and it seemed to work fine again."

    "Continue then, your very own Tan Lang Star Mask. Now, you are truly Lord Tan Lang."

    The peach blossom mask formed a slight smile, and a mask depicting a fierce wolf''s head was handed over to Yi Chen, "The Tan Lang Star Mask has the ability to resist spiritual probing, shape-shifting, and some capabilities to interfere with divination. Xiao Lang, you seem to be full of schemes, you will definitely find it useful in the future."

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but admit that Yuan Jun was quite the talker. However, with his meticulous mind, he still felt that beneath Yuan Jun''s cheerful and frivolous words lay some deep concerns. He couldn''t help but ask,

    "Yuan Jun, may I know the purpose of your visit? If there''s anything where Tan Lang could be of use, please don''t hesitate to ask."

    "Haha, you should ask less about Yuan Jun''s affairs. You, as you are now, are too weak. Knowing too much will only add to your troubles."

    "However, Xiao Lang, I am pleased that you care. Come, let Yuan Jun feel you."

    Upon these words, Yi Chen instantly felt that something was not right. In a blink of an eye, an overwhelming pressure squeezed and confined him, as if the surrounding air had turned into iron blocks.

    Fortunately, he was cautious at heart. In a moment of urge, he couldn''t help but roar inwardly:

    "Dominator Body, activate!"

    With a tearing sound, like fabric being ripped, that resonated within the room, the Dominator Body was revealed, and Yi Chen immediately felt the pressure around him lessen. Just as he was pleased and thinking of retreating, the situation changed again. Two pale jade hands pressed on his shoulders, and with his current strength, he couldn''t break free.

    A surprised exclamation came from behind the peach blossom mask.

    "Eh, not bad, Xiao Lang. You''ve improved again, even able to break free from my Mysterious Spirit Silent Spell. Your Cultivation Body is somewhat strange."

    "It seems your talents and perception have reached eighty percent of mine."

    "But, Xiao Lang, you''re a bit naughty. Yuan Jun has many more methods."

    Before the words were finished, two more pale arms grew from the sides of Yuan Jun''s ribs and reached out to touch the top of Yi Chen''s head, tugging at it thrice.

    At that moment, Yi Chen''s eyes nearly split with rage¡ªsuch unbearable humiliation.

    "Xiao Lang, have you seen Yuan Jun''s methods? Still dare to resist? If you can escape from Yuan Jun''s palm within two hundred years, no, within a hundred years, I will grant you a request¡ªany request you have, and I won''t be joking."

    Two more arms sprouted from Yuan Jun''s back, and in no time, Yuan Jun seemed like the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara, with newly grown arms reaching out to pinch Yi Chen''s chest.

    "What an interesting Cultivation Body, it can actually neutralize much of my Mysterious Spirit Silent Spell''s suppressive force."

    "Xiao Lang, if you encounter trouble outside, wear the mask and invoke Yuan Jun''s name; it''s effective. I''m leaving now, no more playing."

    As the voice faded, just as Yi Chen was about to activate the Pure Yang Holy Seal, the figure of the peach blossom mask suddenly transformed into a burst of human-shaped petals. The pink petals seemed to fade in color and swiftly became transparent.

    The room was once again empty, leaving only a tall figure cloaked in purple and gold, gasping for breath. His purple pupils emitted a light of rage and astonishment.

    Yi Chen dissipated his Dominator Body, poured himself a cup of clear tea and drained it, then fell into deep thought.

    "Is this the might of Yuan Jun? Truly unfathomable."

    "In two days'' time, my left arm will be fully tempered, free from worry. The deity in me will also be fully recovered. It''s time to go out in search of Deep Red Points to aspire to ascend to the fifteenth level of the True Technique."

    Slowly getting up, Yi Chen approached the bronze mirror in the room, lifted his garment''s front, and suddenly, a blood-red mark appeared on his left chest.

    "I can sense it. In no more than two months, Yin Manor will descend once again."

    "With the current anomalies in heaven and earth, who knows what changes Yin Manor will undergo. I must break through the fifteenth level of the True Technique during this period to ensure a greater chance of success."

    "At that time, I''ll find a secluded place to wholeheartedly address this call from Yin Manor."

    About the information on Yin Manor, Yi Chen had asked Yuan Jun during his time in Zi Zai Heaven. The answers he got were similar to what he already knew. She only said that Heavenly Master''s techniques were profound, and he could ask the Heavenly Master himself once he returned, advising him to prepare Contribution Points because the Heavenly Master is indeed a shrewd merchant...

    At dusk, a knocking sound was heard. Zhen Ruan entered, dressed in a red and black skirt that resembled a horse face, with deer leather short boots on her feet.

    Her slender jade legs walked and swayed, revealing the black, thigh-high fishnet stockings she wore underneath, which slightly dug into her flesh.

    "Ruan''er, you''re here. Tonight, all the dishes are your favorites."

    "Is there anything else you like? I''ll make it for you right now."

    In the courtyard, Yi Chen picked up the iron wok and was flicking the spatula when he turned around and doled out the Gold fried rice into a large bowl.

    "Gold Smile Steamed Buns."

    "Rainbow Porridge."

    "Lobster Triple Showdown."

    "Mapo Tofu."

    "The hand that runs through your black hair."

    ¡­.

    "Wow!" Zhen Ruan excitedly rubbed her hands together.

    After a fragrant dinner, Yi Chen held Zhen Ruan on a cliff in Hehe Mountain.

    "Today, Ruan''er, whatever you want to do, we''ll do."

    "I want to see the stars, but it''s a shame that they''re hidden by the clouds tonight."

    "That is an easy fix."

    Although Yi Chen could not move the stars or change the weather, he had great strength.

    Yi Chen stood up tall, Extreme Origin in hand, and two dazzling white lights gathered in his hands, illuminating both their faces.

    Five seconds later, the white light grew brighter, and suddenly the world was awash with brilliance.

    Extreme Origin shot up like a rainbow, piercing the clouds, smashing everything, clearing everything, the stars made their reappearance, reflected on Zhen Ruan''s excited face. She clutched Yi Chen''s arm tightly, her eyes already misty with tears. She had a guess in her heart.

    There is no feast that does not come to an end.

    "Ruan''er, what else do you want to do? You''re the boss today."

    "Today is the common folk''s Lantern Festival. Why don''t we go for a walk in Lotus City?" Zhen Ruan gently lifted her head and spoke softly. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Lotus City, Changming Street.

    They saw that on the street, under the full icy moon, lanterns burned across land and sea, red lotuses filled the sky. A tall, burly man and a woman with a graceful figure walked hand in hand. They guessed lantern riddles, ate snacks, strolling along just like any other couple.

    Deep into the night, the lantern fair dispersed, and the people thinned out.

    "Ruan''er, what else do you want to do?"

    "I hate to part."

    "Even in farewell, I still hold affection."

    Tear drops, large as beans, fell from Zhen Ruan''s eyes.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    The next day, Zhen Ruan was tidying Yi Chen''s clothes in front of the bronze mirror with a gentle demeanor.

    "Ruan''er, I¡­."

    "Go on, Zhang San. Attend to your own matters. A true man should set out like rivers flowing into the sea, to meet all the heroes of the world. One should have an unyielding resolve, able to cross mountains and seas, and not just circle around little Hehe Mountain."

    "I will always wait for you on Hehe Mountain," said Zhen Ruan, pausing between each word, a mist appearing in her eyes.

    Yi Chen pulled Zhen Ruan by the shoulders and stared into her eyes.

    "Elbow, come with me¡­."

    "What for?"

    "To cross mountains and seas~"

 Chapter 257 Chance Encounter, Linggui City, Unlucky Guy, Mysterious Long Que

    Starry night.The geese were flying south, marking the deep autumn season.

    Hundreds of miles from the spiritual city of Linggui, lay the Blackwind Canyon.

    The vast ochre earth was riddled with dry, hardened cracks, a sight of desolation.

    Blackwind Canyon seemed like a scar upon the earth, quietly sprawled over the yellow plains, occasionally swept by the lonesome autumn wind, that screamed and howled as it whipped past the rock faces.

    Within the deep recesses of the canyon, the walls of a fissure were pocked with irregular holes of varying sizes, resembling a honeycomb.

    "Finally... I''ve finally escaped, fortunately I was prepared in advance, otherwise it wouldn''t have been so easy this time."

    "For this treasure, I, Long Que, almost lost my life."

    "But it was all worth it."

    A man with a resolute face and dark red complexion glanced greedily at a jade-colored armor in his hand, and after admiring it for a moment, he put it into his storage ring.

    With a great wave of his hand, he destroyed the formation in the cave, then walked towards the exit, disappearing into the thick night with the swiftness of a hawk.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "Life and death are but a gentle push,

    "All forms of beauty are cherished,

    "The mirror unstained though the dragons stir,

    "Today relies on the seeds one sows,

    "The sutras in hand, their essence in heart,

    "The Black Evil Dragon King fulfills my dream." S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Under the azure sky, a burly Daoist hummed a tune from his hometown and strode along the mountain path. In a flash, he appeared a hundred meters away, eerie as a ghost.

    A peculiar little black cat stood erect on the Daoist''s shoulder, swaying a foxtail grass with the rhythm of the song as if it was waving a glow stick in the air.

    This burly Daoist was naturally Yi Chen.

    True Monarch Xiao Tian and a few other senior flatterers had not ended up with everything they desired. Instead, they bid farewell and departed three days after Yi Chen killed Hei Mietian.

    According to Zhen Ruan, some even received a "friend card."

    Yi Chen also left the Hehuan Sect the morning after his last dance with Zhen Ruan.

    Having the heads of Hei Mietian and his subordinates should ensure peace for the next few decades without trouble.

    Before leaving the Hehuan Sect, Yi Chen specifically asked Sect Master Qinyun about places in the Northern Region plagued by demons and their power levels.

    For a sect with a thousand-year legacy like Hehuan Sect, investigating the more infamous demon-infested areas of the Northern Region was as easy for Sect Master Qinyun as reaching for his navel¡ªeffortless.

    According to the information from Hehuan Sect, the Black Evil Dragon King was a suitable target for his journey.

    What use was envy of Yuan Jun''s powerful cultivation? One must take action to become stronger than Yuan Jun, to avenge the humiliation of being touched on the head and chest twice.

    Furthermore, Mr. Lu Xun had once said relying on others is the culture of the weak; as a vigorous Daoist, Yi Chen naturally had to take the initiative.

    "Dad, I love to speak the truth, you sing really well," said Miao Zi, complimenting after the song ended in Yi Chen''s mind.

    "Miao Zi, don''t imitate the way I talk!"

    "Dad, where are we going?"

    "Let me see, our destination is Heishui River, but on the way there is a Tang family restaurant in Linggui City that your second mother mentioned has excellent flavor, known as Food God Building. I''ll take you there to enjoy a meal and broaden your horizons."

    "Alright, Dad, I can smell the scent of blood Fuling."

    "Well done, my son, I will add a fish for you later."

    "Charge, charge, charge~" Miao Zi excitedly hopped off Yi Chen''s shoulder.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Evening, the setting sun like molten gold.

    Linggui City, a mountain city, stood majestic with continuous high walls, like a green serpent winding across the undulating ridges.

    Beneath the city walls, at the city gates, two groups of fully armed, armored men eyed the passersby with predatory gazes.

    Caravans, carts, peddlers, and porters passed through the city gates in an endless stream.

    "Halt, where do you come from? Do you have a pass?" The armed men intercepted several ox carts, their sharp gazes sweeping over the group.

    "Sir, we come from Heishui City; of course, we have a pass," replied the leader of the ox cart group, a middle-aged man with a stony face wearing a worn-out blue silk robe, as he respectfully presented the pass with both hands.

    "Move along."

    "Next."

    With a slight tremor of his mana, Yi Chen passed through the gates, surrounded by the awed gazes of the armed men.

    This was Great Qin; Yi Chen had done his homework during his time at the Hehuan Sect.

    Ordinary people who traveled through the country needed a pass issued by the local authorities; otherwise, they were considered fugitives, subject to arrest and hard labor.

    But that was unnecessary for those with cultivation; such was the privilege.

    Want that privilege? Want to change your fate?

    Go to a local school. Great Qin had a robust official education system, with teachers arriving every half a month to teach the scriptures¡ªwith no discrimination¡ªyour awakening and comprehension depending wholly on your own talent and wisdom.

    Alternatively, join the army and earn your place through valor.

    After all, no matter the world, the condition of those at the bottom is never good; that''s an iron law.

    In such an oppressive social environment, each class pressing down on the one below, the official cultivators of Great Qin were all fierce and skilled in combat.

    Winding his way through the bustling streets, with flags flying high, Yi Chen asked a passerby for directions before heading towards the Tang family restaurant.

    Turning a street corner, a quaint, three-story restaurant appeared before him, its flag with the inscription "Tang Family Restaurant" fluttering boldly out front.

    "Honorable guest, what kind of spiritual materials would you like to eat?"

    "Our signature dishes are steamed lamb, steamed bear''s paws, steamed deer tails, roasted flower duck, roasted chick, roasted gosling, roasted pig, roasted duck, marinated chicken, cured meat, pine flower, tiny tripe, assorted Su platter." Upon sitting down by a window on the second floor, an attentive waiter promptly approached.

 Chapter 257 Chance Encounter, Linggui City, Unlucky Fellow, Mysterious Long Que_2

    "No plain vegetables, bring me one of everything else," Yi Chen said, cutting off the server''s spiel with impatience. He then added, "And for my spirit beast, prepare a whole table of fish feast."The server''s eyes gleamed upon hearing this, sensing a big transaction ahead.

    While waiting for his meal, Yi Chen noticed that at the same window seat in front of him, a jujube-faced man had also ordered a large table full of dishes, his plates piled into a small mound.

    "In such a small Ling Gui City, to think there is a master whose level I can''t make out; the Eastern Continent really hides dragons and crouching tigers."

    "But what''s that got to do with me?"

    It wasn''t long before a continuous stream of delicious dishes were served up and instantly disappeared into Yi Chen''s stomach, which seemed like a black hole.

    "Sir, would you like to listen to a tune?" An elderly man with silver hair, accompanied by a veiled, white-dressed loli carrying a pipa, made his way upstairs and started asking from table to table.

    The white-dressed loli was just a little taller than the table, her features not yet fully formed but already showing signs of striking beauty; she was destined to be a beauty.

    However, the responses she got were either rejections or lewd jokes.

    "If Taoist wants music, come over here," Yi Chen couldn''t help feeling some compassion seeing the gauntness of the old and the young, and immediately called out to them.

    After all, even the crumbs falling through his fingers were a colossal fortune to ordinary people; he was not short on money.

    "Thank you, Taoist, what would you like to hear?"

    The young girl''s face lit up with joy as she thanked him and quickly approached with the elder.

    "Just play something you''re good at," mumbled Yi Chen with his head down eating, not even lifting his gaze.

    The young girl''s pipa playing was not bad at all, harmonizing well with the old man. Both seemed to have received a decent education; demeanor and poise are not things easily faked. It was just a mystery how they ended up in such dire straits.

    At that moment, Yi Chen suddenly noticed that the other patrons started to show a schadenfreude expression, which puzzled him.

    Soon, he found out why.

    A handsome but frivolous-looking young man in white climbed leisurely up to the second floor, followed by two towering guards with the cultivation of Qi Refinement Realm peaks.

    Upon seeing this man, both the elder and the young girl showed signs of anger.

    "Outsider, it seems you are unaware of the rules here," he said.

    "Without my nod, Feng Dashao, who would dare do business in Ling Gui City? I''ve been stringing them along for three days; your actions could ruin my efforts."

    "The whole of Ling Gui City knows I, Feng Dashao, am the most passionate. I do not like to force women; all of my eighteen wives willingly married me."

    Yi Chen set down his pork knuckle, his heart so filled with joy it could burst. Finally, after so long.

    He had already chopped down several True Monarchs, but this was the first time a clueless young master had bumped into him, looking for a face-slapping. The noble sons he had met before all knew their place.

    A life that hasn''t slapped the face of a second-generation rich is incomplete.

    Surely Daozun had blessed him, for today, at last, his wish was granted.

    This kind of empty-headed Wang Ba deserved to be toyed with to death; it wouldn''t be overdoing it. Besides, he, Yi Taoist, had managed until today with only two wives, and this sorry excuse of a man claimed to have eighteen; this clearly called for a heavy punch.

    No rush, let''s play along with him.

    With that thought, a cold smirk appeared on Yi Chen''s lips.

    But soon, his smile froze on his face.

    "Laughing at your mom, you big dummy," Feng Dashao pressed his hand on the table, a butterfly knife in his grasp, as he wildly poked away, the blade flashing like an illusion.

    "This young master is angry, that spiritual beast in front of you ain''t bad, compensate me with it, plus ten thousand taels of gold for tea, and we''ll call it even."

    A sly gleam flashed in Feng Dashao''s eyes, obviously someone who knew his stuff, his covetous thoughts on Miao Zi now apparent, with his two guards positioning themselves one on each side of Yi Chen.

    Just then, Feng Dashao suddenly let out a scream, as Yi Chen instantly pulled his hand, overlapping it with the one on the table, and two chopsticks, like two steel nails, pierced into the tabletop.

    "Fuck your mother, kid."

    "The last one who called the Taoist a ''big dummy'' is about to be born now."

    "Tadpole tattooing a frog on its back, you''re embroidering your mother, huh."

    "!@#£¤"

    Yi Chen, too, met such a foolishly obnoxious second-generation rich kid for the first time, and with a grand gesture, the rap began, his mouth opening to sing the songs of birds and the smell of flowers.

    "Pfft! Fellow Daoist, with such a high level of cultivation, not only are you quick to righteousness but also spout such dirty... humor, truly an eye-opener for me."

    "I am Long Que, I''d like to have a chat with you, fellow Daoist."

    The man with the jujube-red face sitting in front of Yi Chen suddenly burst into laughter, casually flicking the chopstick holder on the table, instantly knocking down the two guards oppressed by Yi Chen''s spirit, pinning them to the floor like porcupine quills, yet purposely avoiding their vitals.

    "Nobody yell, and nobody move, huh, I''ll kill anyone who dares to even hum," Yi Chen said genially, smiling at the young masters, and then turned to the little girl, "Little girl, old man, don''t be afraid, eat anything you like on the table, I''ll be over there chatting with that Daoist brother."

    Yi Chen and the jujube-red-faced man cooperated tacitly, like a pair of living Yamas, while the three unfortunate souls on the ground, writhing in pain, clenched their teeth tightly and dared not make a sound.

    The white-clothed gentleman was also tough, somewhat viciously so.

    Because they knew that if they really cried out, Yi Chen would indeed kill them.

    Guests in the restaurant were already scared stiff by these sudden developments, silently putting down their chopsticks, settling their bills and leaving.

    Yi Chen walked over to the jujube-red-faced man with a cheerful smile.

    "Daoist brother meant to say, ''the poor Taoist spouts nothing but filth,'' huh, haha."

    "Not at all, not at all."

    "When the curse words leave your mouth, your Dao heart becomes pure; it''s not good to hold it in."

    "Right, purer than the Great Snow Mountain," Yi Chen said as he sat down opposite the jujube-red-faced man.

    "Haha, fellow Daoist is indeed a genius. If I had your way with words, I wouldn''t have been left fuming by others," Long Que laughed heartily.

    "Waiter, bring another round, here''s a thousand-tael banknote, enough to cover your restaurant''s damages and meal costs, and oh, put this Daoist brother''s tab on me too," called out Long Que.

    "Waiter, bring thirty more beef meatballs, they''re simply authentic!" Yi Chen also called out with a laugh, "Daoist brother is too courteous; as for the art of debate, I do have some quick insights."

    "Fellow Daoist, do tell," Long Que said, his eyes lighting up immediately upon hearing this. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "It''s quite simple, Brother Long. Have you ever heard of the ''Six Arts of a Gentleman''?" Yi Chen picked up a beef meatball and popped it into his mouth.

    "Are you referring to the Confucian ''rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics''?"

    "Wrong, it''s ''analogy, filial piety, urgency, happiness, clams, winning,''" Yi Chen said with a slight smile.

 Chapter 258 Nine Days Demon Monarch, Long Ques Gift, Violent Stiffness, The Taoists Face

    Dian Xiao''s exuberant winning technique, derived from the top-tier internet rivalry methods of his previous life, was designed specifically for intense online altercations.In a unique lesson on internet literature, Yi Chen left Long Que astonished; some things were not impossible, but simply a matter of an unopened mindset.

    For example, those living off another''s support shouldn''t talk about independence. By truly understanding the nature of being kept, one could at least become a deputy director, and perhaps even a president...

    "Brother Dao... such talent," the man with the jujube-red face struggled to say after downing three cups of wine.

    After taking two breaths to compose himself, Long Que continued to pour wine and said, "I never expected the Northern Region to have such a remarkable person as Brother Dao. May I have the honor of knowing your name?"

    "Just call me Yi Chen, Brother Long," Yi Chen replied with an easy smile, reaching for another beef ball.

    Amid the rising steam of the simmering hot pot, the two started a conversation that ranged far and wide. Long Que, well-versed and knowledgeable, effortlessly shared many secrets and anecdotes, while Yi Chen''s imaginative ideas often left one in the dark, but upon reflection, appeared to make a lot of sense.

    It was a tough time for the three unfortunate souls who were incessantly prodded by chopsticks.

    Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Brother Dao, if, due to a natural disaster, Great Qin suffered drought and the grain supply decreased to only sustain ninety percent of the population, to what extent do you think the price of grain would rise?" Long Que asked thoughtfully after a moment of contemplation.

    "It would undoubtedly rise until at least ten percent of the population could no longer afford it," Yi Chen replied, a look of astonishment on his face as he said, "If eighty percent of the population could be fed, then that would be considered very fortunate. Brother Long, why do you ask such a question?"

    "Yi Chen, when kindred spirits meet, a thousand cups of wine are not enough, but with those of different minds, not even half a word is worth sharing. We hit it off at first sight, so let me speak bluntly," Long Que said.

    "Are you aware of one of the five calamities of heaven and earth, the Malevolent Corpse?"

    "I have merely overheard that some of the Eastern Continent''s experts at divination have joined forces to predict that the Malevolent Corpse is to be born within a hundred or two years," Yi Chen replied.

    The Malevolent Corpse, born from the dark, resentful qi of the universe, is an undying and inextinguishable fiend of the Human Realm. As long as the negative energy of the world persists, it can be reborn.

    However, once it is reborn, it has no connection with its previous self.

    Yi Chen was naturally familiar with information on the five calamities from the archives of the free heavens.

    Ordinarily, such fiends of the five calamities'' caliber only descend once every ten thousand years. They each undergo reincarnation and, once their energy is fully accumulated, they reenter the world. The last Malevolent Corpse had been slain by the collective might of the Eastern Continent''s masters. It had been only a few thousand years since then¡ªcould it really be about to return so soon?

    Every time the Malevolent Corpse appeared, even if it did not move, it would still affect the world, causing barren stretches of land for thousands of miles, with fissures spreading across the earth, each time bringing great catastrophe to the Human Realm.

    Now, with the anomaly of the heavens and the chaos of the world, it was uncertain whether the various sects could clean their own doorsteps, let alone join in unity like thousands of years ago to slay the Malevolent Corpse.

    And with each additional year the Malevolent Corpse remained in the world, many innocent lives would be lost.

    "Brother Long Que, if the Malevolent Corpse isn''t due for ten thousand years, why would it appear so prematurely?" Yi Chen couldn''t help but ask.

    "Perhaps it is due to the anomalies of heaven and earth. Alas, with the present disturbance of heaven and earth, many former patterns can only serve as references," Long Que replied.

    "A tumultuous era is approaching. We must prepare early. It is the common people who suffer, whether in times of prosperity or decline," the man with the jujube-red face sighed, and he and Yi Chen drank deeply once more, both falling into a long silence, finding the feast before them somewhat tasteless.

    "Brother Yi Chen, look at me, dampening the spirits. I''ll punish myself with three cups," Long Que said, attempting to enliven the mood and quickly knocked back three cups.

    "Are you developing a taste for the wine, Brother Dao? At this rate, we''ll run out," Yi Chen laughed heartily, opening another jug.

    "What''s the difficulty there? I have plenty of wine in my storage ring," Long Que replied cheerfully.

    As the cups and platters exchanged hands, plate after plate of delicacies surged towards their stomachs like a flowing stream.

    Soon after, the waiter came over with a pained expression.

    The restaurant did not want to offend the two high-level cultivators who clearly had the power of ascended masters, so they were attended to with great care, but now the staff could not avoid interaction.

    The inventory of food had been entirely consumed by Yi Chen and his companion.

    As a working man, such displeasing duties naturally fell to the waiter to handle with care.

    The owner had already secretly slipped out of the back room when Master Feng was beaten; don''t ask¡ªhe just didn''t know. It was all dealt with by the staff below, striking a flexible approach to the situation, and later, the owner would have a passable explanation for Master Feng''s family.

    "Haha, that is indeed a bit unfortunate."

    Just as Long Que was about to say something else, his expression suddenly changed and he spoke quickly,

    "Brother Yi Chen, I find myself in a bit of trouble, so please do not come out, and certainly don''t make it known that you''ve seen me."

    "I have indeed been a bit careless, staying here too long, and it might even bring unwarranted misfortune to you."

    "Seeing the spirit beast you have with you, it appears highly intelligent and has great potential. Here are two bottles of Tiger Essence Pills, concocted from a half-True Monarch Realm tiger demon I slayed. I originally intended to gift them to a friend, but now I give them to you as a token of my apology," he said.

    "This should save a considerable amount of time for the growth of your spirit beast."

    "Remember, do not mention our acquaintance, for fear of unforeseen disasters," Long Que cautioned.

    After hurriedly tossing down the two bottles of pills, Long Que turned into a red streak of light and darted out through the window.

    Soon, in the sky approached a black carriage, pulled by four bizarre lion-like creatures with clouds under their feet, quickly arriving above Linggui City.

    A black curtain embroidered with nine golden suns concealed the figure within the carriage.

    Gazing at the majestic lion-like creatures pulling the carriage, sensing the aura comparable to the ninth level of the True Person Realm emanating from the beasts, Yi Chen marveled at the grandeur of the black carriage''s owner, and then looked at his own dear son who still relied on his piggyback rides...

    Damn, he had truly become a beast''s caretaker.

    "The mountains are not necessarily high; it is the hearts of people that reach the highest peak. Long Que''s peerless strike is as unique as his name!"

    "Long Que¡¤Soaring!"

    Long Que stopped in his tracks and swung his blade, instantly manifesting a bizarre phantom bird with the body of a bird and the neck of a deer, its shrill cry exploding through heaven and earth.

    With this single strike, Long Que''s ribcage suddenly sprouted a pair of red wings. With a single flap, he soared away, escaping into the distance at an even greater speed.

    "Que Long, you rat, you really can run!" an angry voice echoed in the skies above Linggui City.

    "You''re killing me, Nine Days Demon Monarch! With your speed on land, how come your flying is so slow?"

    "You rat from the gutter, I''ll kill you, you dead sparrow."

    "Are you in a hurry?"

    The faint voice came in broken spurts and eventually faded away.

    Yi Chen: "....."

    Feeling a chill, Yi Chen finally understood that the man with the date-red face was actually called Que Long.

    Alas, where does the trust between people lie? Fortunately, he was also using a false name... so it was fine.

    "Daoist Que Long, it''s not that I''m ungenerous, but my cultivation is limited and I can''t help you," Yi Chen said as he stood up.

    The silver-haired old man and the little white-dressed girl, perhaps famished, clung onto the mindset of dying full rather than hungry, devouring trotters on the table behind Yi Chen.

    "Old man, speak," a dark whirlpool emerged from Yi Chen''s eyes.

    ....

    ....

    Feng''s residence.

    A splash of cold water poured down.

    The strongest expert in Linggui City, a cultivator at the seventh level of the True Person Realm, and the Feng Family Head slowly got up from the ground. He immediately felt his scalp turn cold; reaching up, he found himself bald.

    A shadow suddenly loomed over him.

    "Family Head Feng, the great deed your son did. If it weren''t for the Feng family''s somewhat decent reputation in Linggui City, you''d be losing more than your hair," he said.

    "Don''t spoil your children too much. Give back the property deeds of the courtyard and shop to that old man and child outside, and don''t pressure them any further. If you do that, this affair can be considered closed."

    "You''d better pray they live to be a hundred. If one day I, out of boredom, remember this matter and find you didn''t take proper care of them, causing me to lose face, I''m afraid all members of your Feng family would lose their heads."

    "Oh right, your eldest son is already crippled. You should have another. They''re just outside the door; if you go out now, you might still be able to save his life," Yi Chen thoughtfully advised him on his way out.

    The world is like a pyramid that encases people, with some high above and others even higher.

    Just like the Feng family''s eldest son to the little girl, as was Yi Chen to the Feng family.

    It''s easy to kill, but cleaning up the aftermath is extremely difficult. Yi Chen took these measures to protect the elderly man and the child. Having formed a bond with them, he had to resolve this karma; otherwise, the two of them would be as good as dead, no different than if he had killed them with his own hands.

    As Family Head Feng emerged from the door, clutching his neck, outside he found his eldest son, grievously injured and inhuman, and two guards riddled like sieves, alongside the old man and child trembling like chaff.

    "Father! I''m crippled!" he wailed in agony, sobbing and weeping as if about to complain.

    "Unfilial son!"

    Slap!

    After stuffing a healing pill into his only son''s mouth, Family Head Feng knocked him out with a chop of his hand.

    "Someone, take the young master down for treatment."

    "You two, come with me," Family Head Feng said gently to the old man and child.

    In an instant, the little girl stopped shaking. She remembered the handsome face of the Daoist and his words before leaving.

    "Little girl, don''t be afraid, they wouldn''t dare to disrespect me!"

    So it was all real¡ªnot a dream.

    A mist of tears appeared in the little girl''s eyes.

    The matter was settled.

    Changing his appearance and shaping his face to resemble Zhang Hu, Yi Chen nonchalantly made his way toward the direction of the Blackwater River.

    Who is Yi Chen? Doesn''t ring a bell.

    The next day, Blackwater Town was already in sight.

    The Blackwater River was so named for the black bedrock that underlay its bed, not because the water was black.

    And Blackwater Town was a small town beside the Blackwater River.

    At this moment, outside Blackwater Town, a group of villagers carried a palanquin without a roof. Inside sat a young woman. Accompanied by the music and noise, they headed toward the Blackwater River.

    At the forefront of the procession, an old man with his face painted in seven-colored oils and wound with colorful ribbons danced and led the way, holding a flagpole in his hand.

    It bore the words "To the Black Evil Dragon King, May You Live Forever".

    A line of clear tears slid down from the eyes of the young woman within.

    Suddenly, the figure of a tall Daoist appeared at the front of the procession, blocking their path.

 Chapter 260 Half a Roast Chicken, Strange, Puppet, Dragon King Sect

    "It''s over, all over."The townsfolk of Blackwater Town gazed at the ruins of the Dragon King Temple, utterly destroyed, with eyes filled with despair.

    Amidst the flying wood shavings, Yi Chen stood still, focusing. After waiting the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, yet not a single abnormality occurred.

    Feeling rather foolish for just standing there, Yi Chen finally moved. His aura suddenly retracted, no longer oppressing the townsfolk around him, instead he spoke aloud, "Where is your Dragon King?"

    "I''ve demolished his temple, yet he does not show himself."

    As soon as these words were spoken, the defiant young man who had been prostrate on the ground suddenly looked as though his eyes would burst with rage, angrily saying, "You''re going to get Blackwater Town killed, I...."

    "If you utter another half a word, I will turn and leave, flee a thousand miles away. When your Dragon King cannot find me and takes out his anger on you, don''t blame me for not abiding by the rules," Yi Chen interrupted the young man''s words without a shred of politeness.

    Things are not fixed and immutable; one must look at problems with an eye for development and change.

    And contradictions, too, can shift and transform.

    In his previous life, Yi Chen had thoroughly read the classics, then practiced them in reverse. Even after reaping others like leeks, they still thought well of him¡ªso knowledge really is power!

    As a Daoist adept in human nature, his words quickly silenced the young man. The young man''s robust neighbors were quick to cover his mouth, afraid he''d speak further.

    After struggling a few times, the young man quieted down once he saw more and more villagers giving him warning looks.

    Such is the art of transforming contradictions.

    For instance, Eagle-chan''s ninety-plus genders¡ªwhen seen through the surface, it''s nothing but a re-skin of this very art.

    Yi Chen could not always keep the townsfolk at bay with intimidation. It was too much for the weak and the elderly to bear, but neither did he want to be on the receiving end of insults, so he resorted to a little low-level trickery.

    The effect was remarkable. The townsfolk now wore complex expressions, some wishing for his death to quell the wrath of the Dragon King, others hoping he''d survive to lift the heavy yoke that had burdened countless people near the Blackwater River for hundreds of years.

    ...

    ...

    At night, inside an old tiled house in Blackwater Town.

    Xiu Niang, holding half a roast chicken, knocked on Yi Chen''s door, a young child with a clean-shaven head except for a small tuft of hair the size of a duck egg on the forehead, stood by her left side.

    "Daoist, Blackwater Town is poor, and we have little to offer. Please enjoy," said Xiu Niang, whom Yi Chen had saved, her face tinged with embarrassment. Next to her, the young child clutched her hand tightly, eyeing the chicken in the bowl and swallowing hard.

    "Is this your brother?" Yi Chen asked with a smile, placing the ceramic bowl filled with roast chicken on the table. He looked at the young child who kept sniffling, reminded of ''Duck Egg'', the child with the incredible fate who had found the Creation Profound Fruit.

    Pity he was born with weak fortune, his vitality severely depleted, and in the end, no medicine worked.

    "Yes, and I''m deeply grateful to you, Daoist, for saving my life. He''s very close to me; he insisted on coming and wouldn''t let go," Xiu Niang said with a smile.

    "Come here, young one, have a drumstick," Yi Chen said casually, tearing off a drumstick and handing it to the child. "Call me ''Daoist Brother,'' and this entire plate of roast chicken will be yours."

    Yi Chen always spoke honestly; the roast chicken was not to his liking.

    "I won''t take it, I won''t eat it. Daoist Brother saved my sister, so this was specially slaughtered for Daoist Brother to eat."

    "I''ve already had dinner, and I even ate three eggs tonight!"

    The young child counted his fingers before resolutely putting out two fingers, struggling to shift his gaze away from the roast chicken.

    "..." He seemed even more like a duck egg.

    "Xiu Niang, it''s not good for a child to eat so many eggs at night; he should eat something else," Yi Chen said after a moment''s thought, offering his advice.

    Upon hearing Yi Chen''s words, Xiu Niang quickly waved her hands:

    "How can one eat like this every day? Today is just his birthday. We happened to kill a hen that had two eggs inside, and mother cooked one for him. Usually, we can''t afford to eat like this."

    "Getting to eat an egg once a fortnight is already a luxury. Otherwise, where will the money come from for the annual offerings to the Dragon King Sect?"

    As she spoke, Yi Chen''s smile grew rigid.

    He looked at Xiu Niang''s rough hands and her simple cloth dress, understanding instantly. Blackwater Town was even poorer than he had thought. It was only because today was the Dragon King''s sacrificial day that the villagers wore their best clothes, which made him overlook the poverty of Blackwater Town.

    This was the house of the town head. Even the most selfless town head would at least have a standard of living no lower than the average townsfolk.

    Tearing off two drumsticks, Yi Chen forcefully placed them in the hands of Xiu Niang and the child.

    "One for each of you, no refusing."

    "I acknowledge your kind intentions, but if anything happens tonight, do not leave your room."

    "If you notice anything amiss, shout loudly for help and I''ll be there immediately, assuredly protecting you fully."

    With Yi Chen''s insistence, Xiu Niang and the child finally left with the drumsticks in their hands.

    As the door slowly closed, only the flickering flame of an oil lamp danced, casting Yi Chen''s face in a golden hue. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    On the banks of the Blackwater River, a thousand acres of fertile land, and the fishing resources were also very abundant.

    If a person eats without gaining weight, there is surely a parasite within them.

    Yi Chen, sitting beside the table, slowly tore the rest of the roast chicken without the drumsticks into strips and ate them. Then he let out a sigh.

    "Since I''ve eaten your roast chicken, I should make more of an effort."

    "This Dragon King, I will certainly catch him out."

    This was the town head''s house of Blackwater Town, and it was in such a state. The ordinary households could only be in even more dire straits.

    Humans are a very strange animal; in the face of death and tragedy, even if a thousand, ten thousand, or a hundred thousand die, it''s just a set of numbers.

    However, if one comes into contact with the individuals behind the numbers and understands their lives and their joys and sorrows, even if the number is merely one, people will feel a bond of shared experience, a sense of shared affliction.

    The Black Demon Dragon King, no matter how well he hides and whatever secrets this matter has, Yi Chen must take him down.

    At most, it''ll just take a bit more effort.

    Time ticked away, second by second, and the deep night of Blackwater Town was as quiet as a chicken.

    Yi Chen, like waiting for Godot, waited for the Dragon King.

    Holding a brush in his hand, he began to write feverishly, bored out of his mind.

    "Hardships and lean soil for many autumns"

    "Grains of golden millet, sweat never ceasing"

    "Yet frequent reverence to the Dragon King"

    "Half a lifetime''s grain reserves turned into thin porridge"

    "Damn, where is the Dragon King."

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    The following night.

    After several deep breaths, Yi Chen continued to write vigorously.

    "No rush, let the bullet fly for a while."

    By this time, he had already become somewhat anxious; if the Dragon King didn''t show up soon, he would have to consider other tactics.

    For instance, pushing over the temples of the Dragon King along the Blackwater River was one of his conservative plans.

    Just then, suddenly, a fluttering caught his ear, and a trace of joy couldn''t help but reveal itself on Yi Chen''s face.

    "There''s a stir."

    A stir is a good thing; what Yi Chen fears the most is the lack of any stir. He doesn''t have the time to play a game of waiting for the rabbit.

    ...

    ...

    A gust of wind swept across the land, immediately emitting a ghostly howling sound.

    In a small forest less than ten miles from Blackwater Town, a black boot crushed plants underfoot, and the pale green plant juices immediately stained the white gravel on the ground.

    A man with a head full of filthy dreadlocks, slanted eyes, holding a white mourning stick, slipped into the woods like a ghost of the night.

    After scouting the area, Kuai Shiren slyly planted four formation flags at strategic locations within the forest. In an instant, his form and aura began to fade, blending with the surrounding environment.

    Having done all this, Kuai Shiren couldn''t help but let out a long breath of stale air.

    A cautious approach lasts a lifetime. Kuai Shiren had climbed to his current position within the Dragon King Sect because many disciples more talented than him had died, yet he had steadfastly cultivated step by step to the True Person Realm, relying on the word "caution."

    Upon receiving intelligence from within the Sect that another heedless practitioner had come to challenge the might of the Dragon King Sect, and his cultivation was said to not be lacking, the Sect sent him to scout out this person''s abilities.

    If the cultivation was shallow, naturally, the only path was death.

    If the cultivation was strong, then he would return and report.

    After taking all precautions, Kuai Shiren took out a piece of oiled paper gleaming with the sheen of human skin and started forming hand seals. He breathed onto the paper, and a featureless, eerie young girl appeared in place.

    Putting his finger in his mouth, he heartlessly bit his fingertip and began to smear blood on the face of the eerie girl, painting the features onto her.

    Once the painting was finished,

    The eerie young girl''s eyes began to emit a strange red light, and the view from her eyes appeared in Kuai Shiren''s own.

    This was one of Kuai Shiren''s techniques.

    Lately, the situation has been tense and unclear. If worse comes to worst, he would lose a female puppet; he was not willing to put his real body at risk.

    At midnight, the eerie painted skin girl began prowling the land, heading in the direction of Blackwater Town.

    Just as the eerie girl entered Blackwater Town, Kuai Shiren suddenly felt a gust of wind hit her, and an enormous palm-like a pu fan enlarged in the eerie girl''s vision.

    Crack.

    A streak of white light flowed, and darkness fell before Kuai Shiren''s eyes¡ªthe carefully refined female puppet turned to ashes instantly.

    "This isn''t good, it''s a master, I must go back and report to the Sect Hierarch."

    "Thank goodness I was careful and didn''t rush in."

    "Worthy of me."

    Kuai Shiren''s face turned pale with shock, and he thought to flee.

    Just as he was about to remove the formation flags, the figure of a tall Daoist had already appeared outside, with his back towards him.

    "You little brat, quite good at hiding, aren''t you?"

    "Esteemed Daoist has finally waited for you."

    A harsh and cold voice came through, shaking the forest leaves to the ground.

 Chapter 261 Blackwater City, Thicker Fog, Soul Prohibition, Pufeng Tavern, Little Zhuge

    ```"Boom!"

    Kuai Shiren, realizing he was caught red-handed, felt a chill run down his spine. He mustered his mana and the mourning stick in his hand suddenly exploded, turning into a massive cloud of smoke that spread hundreds of meters. At the same time, his figure rapidly retreated, instantly becoming a shadowy figure fleeing into the distance.

    "Good thing I made a split-second decision; at least I saved my own skin." A few breaths later, seeing that there were no sounds of pursuit behind him, Kuai Shiren turned to glance at the empty space behind him and couldn''t help but let out a deep sigh of relief.

    Just as Kuai Shiren was feeling secretly pleased with himself, he suddenly saw stars before his eyes, as if he had run into an impenetrable copper wall and iron barrier, and bright red blood gushed from his nose.

    He looked up.

    Damn it!

    It wasn''t a wall; it was the chest of a tall Daoist.

    Yi Chen casually grabbed the dirty braid on the forehead of the man with triangular eyes and threw him to the ground.

    Boom!

    Suddenly, a shallow human-shaped pit appeared on the ground.

    "Elder, I''m willing to confess."

    Seeing Yi Chen fall like mercury, Kuai Shiren couldn''t help but cry out in alarm.

    "Ah!"

    Crack, the sound of bones breaking and screams followed.

    Yi Chen stepped on the knee joint of Kuai Shiren.

    "What forces are you from? Tell me." Experience more on My Virtual Library Empire

    "Elder, I am from the Dragon King Sect. Please show mercy and spare me this time."

    Yi Chen didn''t answer but silently crushed the other leg of the man on the ground before coldly saying,

    "You still have two hands and the leg in the middle; think carefully before you respond."

    Kuai Shiren, now fully aware that he was in dire straits, could only respond with a mournful face.

    As the man with triangular eyes told his story, Yi Chen began to understand the structure of the Dragon King Sect. For instance, the River Sacrifice who Yi Chen had thrown into the Blackwater River was an outlying member controlled and promoted by the Dragon King Sect.

    And the man before him was a member of the Enforcement Hall of the Dragon King Sect.

    Those responsible for finances and those responsible for fighting were separate branches with tight organization.

    This discovery made Yi Chen''s puzzle even more complex.

    It was hard to imagine that a demon beast could carry out such meticulous operations.

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but think of what the white-haired old man, the mayor of Blackwater Town, had said.

    Since the last time the officials had hunted the Dragon King, there had been no news of the Black Evil Dragon King.

    Damn it, the Black Evil Dragon King can''t have run off ages ago, and this Dragon King Sect is just a later party pulling the tiger''s skin, can it?

    "Damn it!"

    This thought made Yi Chen feel as if he was trapped in a failing stock.

    He couldn''t help but think of the fake religious groups in the name of false gods in his past life.

    Truly skilled players.

    "Where is the main altar of your Dragon King Sect?" Yi Chen''s thoughts raced, but his expression remained undisturbed.

    "Elder, you might as well kill me; dead is dead either way."

    Seeing the fear but resolute gaze of the man before him, Yi Chen guessed a part of the truth.

    "Then let me rephrase the question. Your Sect Hierarch, is he human or demon, or have you seen the Dragon King?"

    "Can I even say that?"

    Seeing the man with triangular eyes still trembling like a sieve, Yi Chen reached out with his large hand and activated his memory extraction technique.

    As expected, the man with triangular eyes immediately started bleeding from all seven orifices. Yi Chen didn''t capture any images, and as soon as he sensed the intrusion, a strange prohibition immediately destroyed the man''s soul.

    "Spectacular!"

    "Truly well trained!"

    Such exquisite soul magic made Yi Chen feel his Dragon King shares were about to delist, his face turning as dark as charcoal...

    Demon beasts are mostly known for their physical strength, with only a few having innate magical abilities. However, not even among dragon species had Yi Chen heard of any kind possessing proficiency in the secret techniques of soul magic.

    "Damn it, I''m so weary."

    After leaving a verbal message for the mayor of Blackwater Town, Yi Chen made his way toward Blackwater City.

    To uncover the truth, he felt that only by going to Blackwater City, where the fight against the Black Evil Dragon King had taken place, could he find more information.

    Great Qin''s cities were ranked by mountains¡ªthe highest was the capital, Xianyang, with nine peaks on its gate.

    The lowest were villages and towns, with only one peak.

    Blackwater City was a six-peak city, majestic in its grandeur, with a True Monarch-level expert stationed there. This person was Bai Shan, the True Monarch who had led the charge against the Black Evil Dragon King.

    ...

    ...

    The next day, as the sun rose, it shone through mountains and rivers, blooming thousands of flowers.

    Yi Chen entered Blackwater City unhurriedly, and naturally, his first stop wasn''t to brazenly visit the military camp to seek out Bai Shan.

    To say nothing of whether Bai Shan was in the military camp, just the fact that Yi Chen had no official identity and was a man of unknown origin - going there with a brazen face to ask, "True Monarch Bai Shan, when the Black Evil Dragon King was beating you up, did that black snake run away or not?" Given the adversarial relationship between Great Qin''s sectarian orders and the Dynasty, Yi Chen did not want to invite such displeasure; his face wasn''t quite that thick.

    Of course, the most important reason was that such major events were usually recorded in detailed archives in the city, so he didn''t need to seek out Bai Shan and cause unnecessary trouble.

    Phoenix Court was Blackwater City''s scriptorium, covering an area of one acre, towering five stories high.

    The bureaucratic system of Great Qin was very mature; historical records were placed in a specially built large building for the court-trained scholars to peruse.

    The scriptorium was jointly constructed by various academies, extremely independent, with laws mandating that the yamen regularly transfer certain archives to the scriptorium for filing. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This was also a method of checks and balances, a different kind of work trace.

    If an official in the yamen messed up, under the scrutiny of the academy students, it could truly leave an eternal stench of infamy. If there were good practices, naturally, they could also be widely praised and promoted.

    ```

 Chapter 261 Blackwater City, Thicker Fog, Soul Prohibition, Pufeng Tavern, Little Zhuge_2

    As for how to infiltrate Phoenix Courtyard, that was a problem.Yi Chen paused outside the entrance, finding himself in a dilemma.

    Just then, a dashing young scholar emerged from the library, with a pattern of a mythical beast embroidered on the lapel of his robe, clearly signifying that he belonged to the Legalist school.

    "Young master, would you like a picture album?"

    "Master Gongsun''s exquisite albums, the latest issue, with a preface by Laughing Scholar." A weasel-faced man in green approached the young scholar stealthily.

    "I am a student of Legalism, engrossed in ''Han Feizi''," the dashing young scholar''s eyes suddenly lit up, his voice first rose by an octave, then he lowered his voice and said, "Lead the way, wait for me in the third alley on the left hand side."

    Yi Chen: "....."

    With Yi Chen''s current cultivation, the covert message of the dashing young scholar was as clear to him as a pattern observed in the palm of his hand.

    After waiting for a while, another plump scholar with faltering steps came out.

    He had the pattern of a book on his chest, obviously a Confucian scholar.

    Yi Chen straightened his clothes and immediately approached him.

    "Young master, would you like a picture album?"

    "Master Gongsun''s exquisite albums, the latest issue, with a preface by Laughing Scholar."

    The plump scholar eyed Yi Chen suspiciously and whispered, "You look somewhat unfamiliar, have Daoists started doing this too?"

    Yi Chen''s voice was as steady as an old dog, adaptively responding, "Young master, they''ve been strict with checks recently, this way I''m less likely to attract attention."

    "Not bad, a cautious man, much smarter than those fools in green robes." The plump scholar''s voice suddenly rose by an octave, "Well then, let me have a look at your palmistry, lead the way."

    In the alley, Yi Chen dumped the unconscious scholar into a broken wooden barrel, stripping off his clothes.

    With his experience in beating bears, Yi Chen could confidently assure that the force was just right, the unconsciousness wouldn''t harm the brain~

    Before long, a ''plump scholar'' entered the Phoenix Courtyard again.

    Within the archives of the library, Yi Chen looked at the scrolls in his hands, his brows tightly knitted and his expression beginning to fluctuate.

    Previously, when the Black Evil Dragon King suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of True Monarch Bai Shan, he went into a frenzy and attacked Blackwater Town, killed the town''s governor, assaulted the Phoenix Courtyard, and destroyed many important structures in the town such as mines and treasury buildings, taking away a large amount of wealth before brazenly vanishing without a trace.

    Later, the iron-blooded guards of Great Qin had launched a thorough search in the Blackwater River region, yet they found nothing over several years.

    "Interesting." A new speculation took root and grew in Yi Chen''s heart. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Perhaps his stock had not been delisted, but, all these were just his speculations.

    ....

    ....

    The Pufeng Tavern was located in the west of Blackwater Town.

    The tavern was not large, and its decoration was even somewhat shabby, but entry alone required two hundred taels of silver.

    The reason was none other than this being the largest intelligence distribution center within the Blackwater Town region.

    "Five drops of Gold Essence, looking to buy information on the main temple location of the Dragon King Sect, does anyone take the offer?" Today, a mysterious Daoist entered the Pufeng Tavern and dropped this earth-shattering statement.

    For a moment, the originally noisy tavern fell utterly silent.

    It wasn''t until a few seconds later that a cultivator scoffed, "Daoist, don''t waste your effort. Not to mention the extreme secrecy of the Dragon King Sect, those involved with this cult often die unnatural deaths. The waters are too deep with this sect; not five drops, even fifty drops might not tempt anyone to sell that information."

    "We fear earning money that we wouldn''t live to spend."

    "Then make it twenty drops of Gold Essence. Interested friends can find me on the first floor of the Fenghua Xueyue Pavilion, I''ll be waiting at table A1 for the good news."

    "If anyone dares to deceive this poor Daoist, they''ll have to see if their skulls are hard enough."

    Yi Chen allowed a bit of his True Person Realm''s late-stage aura to show, and then he strode away confidently.

    Fenghua Snow Pavilion, a brothel it was.

    At table number one, Yi Chen listened to a ditty, drinking fine wine now and then, looking as if he were fishing like the sage Jiang Taigong.

    A clear pond, with fish submerged at the bottom made it difficult to glimpse the complete view of the pond. At such times, one needed to cast a large stone to stir the waters thoroughly.

    Then, various fishes would compete to surface, and only then could one see through them.

    Yi Chen didn''t believe there would be none who were greedy for riches, no hostile forces wanting to exploit the conflict with the Dragon King Sect to kill with a borrowed knife, or even that it was highly possible for the members of the Dragon King Sect to come directly to him.

    His visit to the Pufeng Tavern was merely a signal.

    A real fisherman was just like that, whosoever willing took the bait. Whichever fish bit, Yi Chen wanted it all, much better than waiting vainly for an empty catch.

    If someone tried to cheat him, he wasn''t scared, for if the goods didn''t match, he would simply burst their Gold Coins. Repay the money? All their money was his.

    He truly didn''t believe that in a small Blackwater Town, with his current level of cultivation, there could be a master who could kill him.

    If there truly was someone of such skill, why bother earning blood money and human sacrifices near the Blackwater River when they could easily make a name for themselves and accomplish anything outside?

    "Let there be chaos, better chaos than calm," Yi Chen downed the fine wine in his cup, his expression unfathomable; nobody knew what he was thinking.

    At that moment, four sword-wielding cultivators, one female, and three males, walked toward him.

    "Daoist brother, why seek trouble with the Dragon King Sect?" asked the pretty female cultivator, her voice clear and pleasant.

    "Naturally, it''s for the good of the common people."

    The pretty female cultivator and her companions fell silent upon hearing this, staring at Yi Chen.

    "Alright, I am Zhang Hu. I have a feud with the Dragon King Sect. Just the other day, I destroyed a temple of the Black Evil Dragon King in Blackwater Town. If you don''t believe me, you can go and find out for yourselves," said Yi Chen.

    "Dragon King Sect has been extorting for so long; while acting for the good of the common people, I might as well make a big score, earn some cultivation resources. Where''s the wrong in that?" Yi Chen said helplessly.

    "Now that''s more like it; to think we''re of the same path. Twenty droplets of Gold Essence, you''ll keep your word, Daoist brother?" The pretty cultivator smiled upon hearing his words.

    "Of course, there''s no jest here. Do you really know the whereabouts of the Dragon King Sect?" Yi Chen''s heart leapt with joy ¡ª such good fortune to get a direct breakthrough?

    "I am a True Disciple of the Qingyue Sword Sect, and these three are my good friends: Qing Fan, Lu Yun, Bai Ye," she said.

    "To be honest, the four of us share your sentiment towards the Dragon King Sect. After a series of coincidences, we acquired the location of the sect."

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    "We can take you there. Daoist brother will first share the twenty droplets of Gold Essence with us, and after we eliminate the Dragon King Sect, we''ll divide the spoils evenly. How does that sound?" The woman in the green dress sat down smilingly opposite Yi Chen. "With Daoist brother''s help, our chances are even greater."

    "Black Evil Dragon King is strong enough to have defeated True Monarch Bai Shan''s encirclement; he must be at least a late-stage major demon in the Daoist realm. Aren''t you afraid?" Yi Chen couldn''t help but ask as he looked at the four in front of him.

    At that moment, the man in white as snow produced a folding fan from nowhere, opened it flamboyantly, and smiled, "Why would Daoist brother pretend? I am Bai Ye, and my fellow Daoists honor me with the nickname Little Zhuge."

    "If my predictions are correct, the Black Evil Dragon King has long since left this place. The current Dragon King Sect is nothing but a band of wicked cultivators flaunting a false name, deceiving the vast Blackwater Town, and even True Monarch Bai Shan dare not make another move, which is simply laughable."

    "This time, we aim to eradicate this poison from Blackwater Town and seize the opportunity to make a name for ourselves."

    Little Zhuge showed a look that said ''you understand what I mean.'' "You must have realized this too, which is why you headed to the Pufeng Tavern, right~"

    "Daoist brother is truly of extraordinary wit, I admire you," he said.

    Yi Chen: "....." You''re praising yourself, aren''t you?

    Yi Chen naturally had no objections to the terms proposed by the pretty female cultivator and the others.

    Although he now had other suspicions in his mind, these were only speculations after all. He was also intensely curious about the true nature behind the mysterious Black Evil Dragon King and the Dragon King Sect.

    Thus, the group of five reached an agreement and set off immediately, soaring through the skies.

    Only now did Yi Chen learn that to get to the headquarters of the Dragon King Sect, one had to pass through Blackwater Town. The four had even made a special trip down to investigate, verifying the truth of Yi Chen''s words, which showed their cautiousness.

 Chapter 262 Dragon King Sect, Black Armored Mysterious Snake, The Revealed Truth (Part 1)

    After exchanging pleasantries, Yi Chen now finally knew a few details about his companions.The leader, a woman in a green robe named Qing Yan, was the only daughter of the Great Elder of the Qingyue Sword Sect. As for the other three Qing Fan was a fellow sect member and senior brother to Qing Yan, while Lu Yun and Bai Ye were pursuers of the green-robed female cultivator.

    All of them were no weaklings, each at the seventh level of the True Person Realm¡ªBai Ye, in particular, was halfway into the eighth level.

    The four had a close relationship and bantered with each other along the way, which Yi Chen found quite amusing to watch.

    "Brother Tiger One, please excuse Qing Yan''s boldness, but may I ask what kind of Dao techniques you excel at? Are you proficient in Five Elements spells, sword techniques, or something else?"

    "Although we determined the Dragon King Sect to be a counterfeit and evil cult, we still cannot underestimate them. Qing Yan wishes to maximize our combat effectiveness."

    The group flew until they reached a winding mountain range, which spread across the land like a giant dragon, before stopping. The green-robed female cultivator turned to Yi Chen with an apologetic expression and asked.

    "I guess I would be considered a body cultivator; I have some strength to speak of, but my skills are rather unremarkable compared to you all who come from major sects with numerous techniques at your disposal," Yi Chen replied humbly without lying.

    "Brother, you''re too modest. Despite coming from a lesser sect, you stand alongside us as equals. Since you are a body cultivator, we ask that you guard the front lines. If any fiends or heretical cultivators approach, you can strike them down."

    "Rest assured, with the four of us here, we will surely protect you completely."

    "Tiger One thanks you in advance, I''m grateful for your support," Yi Chen said with a smile, noncommittal.

    After exchanging glances, the four green-robed cultivators seemed quite satisfied with Yi Chen''s response; they had noticed his extraordinary physical strength and felt reassured having him as their last line of defense.

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    Once the plan was set, the group proceeded on foot to avoid startling any foes and headed toward the distant mountains, led by a peculiar long-eared rabbit at the forefront.

    This rabbit was the green-robed female cultivator''s spirit pet. According to her, it was capable of finding the Dragon King Sect''s main base, and its tracking skills were instrumental in their success.

    The sky slowly darkened, leaving only a hint of light¡ªthe gold and white edges of the clouds that lingered after the sun had set.

    By now, Yi Chen and his companions had been walking along the mountain for about an hour. They were all cultivators of deep cultivation and long breaths, not showing any signs of fatigue. However, as they ventured deeper, everyone, including Yi Chen, became increasingly cautious.

    All of a sudden, the leading long-eared rabbit stopped and looked puzzled, making ''chirp-meow chirp-meow'' sounds toward the green-robed female cultivator, its eyes showing a human-like confusion.

    "Everyone, Xiao Mi says it can''t sense the location anymore, but we should be close," said the female cultivator with a look of helplessness.

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen couldn''t help but frown and casually tore a green snake, which was dangling from a tree branch and attempting to attack him, into two pieces.

    "Don''t panic, Sister Yan. I have a bit of skill in tracking and divining," Bai Ye, resplendent in his white clothes, raised his eyebrows with an air of puffed-up pride at that moment.

    He took out a compass-like magic artifact and began to manipulate and twist it with a spell gesture.

    "Follow me, everyone. If Xiao Mi cannot sense the location, it means there''s a formation nearby that''s blocking its senses."

    After checking a couple of places, Bai Ye''s demeanor took a slight turn, and he began to sweat nervously.

    Lu Yun and Qing Fan, following behind him, shifted from their previous solemnity to a mocking amusement in their eyes.

    The group navigated through the dense forest, twisting and turning until they arrived in front of a cliff and stopped at a distance.

    Bai Ye then let out a long sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his brow and smiling with satisfaction, "My friends, mission accomplished."

    "I didn''t expect that within Mount Lefan there was a natural maze-like formation. It nearly caught me off guard."

    "Look here, everyone."

    Seeing the female cultivator shift her attention to him, Bai Ye felt immensely pleased and confidently took out a green talisman, activating it with mana.

    "Spirit Talisman Reveal, go!"

    With a light shout, the ignited green talisman soared into the air, emitting complex mana fluctuations. It split into two, then four, quickly multiplying into hundreds that shot in all directions.

    A sizzling sound filled the air as the talisman slowly burned. It danced and transformed mid-flight, eventually sticking together in the sky, forming a shape like an inverted giant bowl.

    Soon after, the talisman exploded in a burst of flames, and a buzzing sound echoed through the air. A semi-transparent black barrier suddenly appeared in front of everyone.

    Through the barrier, they could faintly see a secluded pond about an acre in size, quietly situated upon the earth.

    "Bai Ye indeed has a unique set of skills, such sharp and mystical talisman techniques," Yi Chen marveled internally, recognizing that one can always learn from others.

    While he possessed the ability to perceive anomalies, he did not constantly stretch his mental frequency to the limit, as it was also a burden for him, similar to how ordinary people do not walk around with clenched fists and tense muscles all the time.

    It was only once Bai Ye brought him near this area that he sensed something amiss. If it were up to him to break the formation and reveal what was hidden, all he could do...was destroy it.

    He blasted the nearby area with mana to destroy the reliance of the formation.

    Bai Ye, far less powerful than him, was able to perceive the subtleties and break the formation with talismans.

    If the formation were likened to a pendulum, Bai Ye''s method was to insert an iron wedge between the gears, jamming the pendulum. Yi Chen would simply smash the pendulum to pieces...

    However, there is no superiority in ways, as long as it works. Although he admired Bai Ye, Yi Chen did not let himself be distracted by it.

    He couldn''t learn it anyway...

    "Brother Bai''s talisman technique is indeed profound and inscrutable. Why don''t we join forces and forcefully break this formation?" the woman in the green robe couldn''t help but praise.

    "Don''t worry, I also know a bit about breaking formations. Perhaps I can save everyone some mana for the battle ahead."

    "I''ll be counting on my fellow daoists to protect the law for me this time."

    At this moment, Bai Ye had already taken out his paper fan, with a confident smile as if to jest that the formation would soon be dust and smoke.

    He knew all about Qing Yan''s background¡ªshe was the beloved pearl of the hand of Qingyue Sword Sect''s Grand Elder. The Grand Elder of the Qingyue Sword Sect was also the most promising to advance to the Daoist level among the sect''s True Monarch experts.

    If he could successfully win the beauty, it would be like gaining wealth, a spouse, and a land of laws in one go. Besides, he didn''t mind marrying into a rich family.

    Moreover, Qing Yan herself was extremely pretty. Bai Ye cast a covert glance particularly at her waist, hips, and slender feet, stirring something within him. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    You can''t trap a wolf without giving up your child; you can''t get a wife without giving up your talisman.

    Bai Ye took out a gold talisman with a pained expression, bit his fingertip, and dabbed blood on the talisman, immediately turning it from gold to red.

    "Swiftly!"

    Before his words finished, the blood talisman exploded into the semi-transparent black barrier.

    A continuous crackling noise followed, and ten breaths later, the barrier shattered.

    "Brother Bai truly lives up to his name as the ''Little Zhuge,'' not only full of ingenuity but also proficient in many wonderful methods," Qing Yan couldn''t hide a trace of admiration in her eyes seeing the formation broken.

    Witnessing this scene, Lu Yun looked somber, while Qing Fan, a fellow sect member of Qing Yan, remained unaffected as always.

    "Haha, modest tricks making everyone laugh, it''s also due to the formation''s nature of concealment."

    "And it''s thanks to my fellow daoists protecting the law that I could succeed."

    "Now that the formation is broken, the people inside the Dragon King Sect must have sensed it. Let''s get ready to eliminate these lowlifes."

    Bai Ye gestured nonchalantly, speaking with great humility.

    Just then, suddenly, fine bubbles emerged from the dark depths of the pool, a whirlpool appeared, and a giant black snake over ten meters long surfaced from the water, with a person in black sitting atop its head.

    This person was shrouded in a pitch-black robe, wearing a hood and a black eyepatch tilted over one eye, revealing only a deep blue pupil, and staring coldly at Yi Chen and the others.

    "So you''re the Sect Hierarch of the Dragon King Sect, huh? Heh, to think there''s also a little snake around the third level of the True Person Realm,"

    "Heh, using the false name of the Black Evil Dragon King, committing endless evil deeds. Why don''t you invite out the Dragon King? What about your subordinates? Don''t you want them to come out and head to their deaths?"

    "Fellow daoists, you never expected it, but all of this, I, Little Zhuge Bai Ye, have already seen through!"

    Bai Ye enunciated each word, shaking his folding fan even more briskly.

    Everyone couldn''t help but let out a chuckle, only Yi Chen''s expression was strange.

    "Do my fellow daoists truly believe you have me cornered?" the person in the black robe smiled enigmatically.

    "Otherwise, what? Just with your peak True Person Realm seventh layer cultivation and that Black Armor Xuan Snake under you?" Bai Ye said sarcastically, laughing coldly, "That little snake under you, in front of us, might make a pot of good soup."

    At that moment, the Black Armor Xuan Snake suddenly spoke in human language, "Hierarch, this man says he wants to make soup out of me. What do you think?"

    The person in the black robe gently alighted, level with the Xuan Snake, stroked its tongue softly, and said with a gentle smile, "It''s not important what I think. What''s important is what your grandfather thinks."

    No sooner had the voice fallen than two massive snakes, each about two meters in diameter, surfaced from the water, their length underwater immeasurable, their cold eyes fixed on Yi Chen and the others, radiating the aura of the eight peaks of the True Person Realm.

    At that instant, cold sweat broke out on Bai Ye''s forehead.

    Suddenly, he felt the depths of this mountain pond were so deep it could drown a person.

 Chapter 263 Dragon King Sect, Black Armored Mysterious Snake, The Revealed Truth (Part 2)

    The black-scaled serpent with the hideous flesh bun on its head didn''t waste any words; a demonic aura rippled through its body like a thunderclap as it launched a fierce assault on Yi Chen and the others.

    A ghastly green light was brewing within its wide-opened bloody maw, the stench spreading in all directions.

    "Be careful, this is the Dark Armor Profound Snake''s advanced form, the Blackscale Serpent. Its physical body is incredibly strong and also highly poisonous; extremely formidable. Everyone must not let it get close," Shen Hong warned.

    Amidst roaring, Bai Ye''s eyes wide with fury, he had already pulled out a large handful of talismans which scattered across the sky, transforming into countless fire bullets, wind blades, frost swords, and ice roars, whistling towards the two gigantic Blackscale Serpents.

    Despite the look of overwhelming might, they were all flash and no substance, practically useless.

    The multitude of spells hit the thick scales of the Blackscale Serpents like rain pattering on banana leaves ¨C clinking and clanking but merely rousing the serpents'' ferocity without being able to wholly pierce their protection.

    "Let''s move together to stop it; otherwise, we''ll all die here today. Qing Moon Across the Sky," Qing Yan shouted sharply, drawing her long sword boldly from its sheath.

    Suddenly, it was as if a green moon had appeared in the half-sky.

    "Sword intent, Junior Sister, you''ve actually grasped the Qing Moon''s sword intent," Qing Fan, the green-robed female cultivator''s senior brother, exclaimed with a surprised and delighted expression. His sword also unsheathed angrily, a green sword light enveloping the other Blackscale Serpent like a mist.

    At the same time, Lu Yun also made his move. Instead of using his Flying Sword, he took out a purple gourd, took a fierce swig, and a huge expanse of blueish-green inferno appeared in front of the Blackscale Serpent, a torrent of scorching heat hitting them squarely, making it clear how ruthless the temperature of this wall of fire was.

    In the space of a few moments, it was Bai Ye who had inflicted the least damage to the Blackscale Serpents.

    A fierce glint flickered in the serpents'' eyes, and contrary to Qing Yan and the others'' expectations, the Blackscale Serpents didn''t avoid the sharp edge but, with a tremor of demonic power, braved bodily harm, and pressed through the blockade of sword qi and inferno, converging and striking forcefully at Yi Chen.

    The two vicious creatures had quickly discerned that among Yi Chen''s five-person team, only he was a physical cultivator and had targeted him first.

    The solitary, one-eyed man in a black robe floating above the deep pool was not to be outdone. A dusky blue divine light burst forth from his eye, shooting towards Yi Chen like lightning¡ªsoul magic at its core.

    One man and two snakes acted in a tacit agreement, making their move with the intention of taking Yi Chen''s life immediately. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Damn it! Daoist Hu Yi, watch out¡ª" Qing Yan''s face was a mix of shock and anger as she began to warn, her mind wavering on whether to use the life-saving item her father had given her.

    As she was conflicted, Yi Chen''s arms suddenly bulged, swelling in an instant, bursting the sleeves of his Daoist robe into shreds.

    With a flash, he transformed like Popeye, his huge purple-golden fists landing on the ghastly heads of the massive Blackscale Serpents.

    Crunch.

    The two vicious serpents were instantly knocked down, their jaws clamped shut.

    The eerie light about to shoot from their throats also disappeared.

    Their thick heads, heavy like dark iron, burst into a huge cloud of blood mist, with bits of red and white scattering all over the ground, while their headless bodies continued to roll in the inferno, a reflex of the Blackscale Serpents not yet fully dead.

    The blue light had not yet reached Yi Chen''s body when a clear light suddenly bloomed in his sea of consciousness, instantly disintegrating the blue glow.

    By then, two streams of information had already appeared in Yi Chen''s vision.

    "Banana you, Barla!"

    "Your mouths are really smelly~"

    The white Extreme Origin incinerated the blood mist. Yi Chen''s arms had already returned to normal. He stood, arms bare, revealing the prominently displayed tiger tattoos. Looking puzzled, he turned to Qing Yan and said, "By the way, Daoist Qing Yan, what were you trying to warn me about just now?"

    Silence, a deathly silence.

    Qing Yan and the other three all had faces like they''d seen a ghost.

    They had all attacked together but hadn''t been able to inflict a fatal blow on the Blackscale Serpents, which had instead been instantly killed by Yi Chen''s two iron fists.

    Especially Bai Ye, who had the most exaggerated look on his face. He first showed shock and then embarrassment.

    During the attack, Bai Ye''s offensive power had been the weakest and the most flamboyant...

    With Yi Chen making his move, everyone had swiftly turned the tide from a dangerous situation.

    "Hu... Daoist Brother Hu Yi, that was..." Qing Yan stuttered as she looked at the tiger tattoo on Yi Chen''s arm.

    "As I''ve said before, I do have some strength worth mentioning," Yi Chen responded.

    "To tell the truth, in my tradition of combat, it''s just like this, relying entirely on brute strength."

    "Hmm, my strength is a little greater than the rest of you," Yi Chen spoke to Qing Yan with a nod of humble affirmation and a friendly demeanor.

    He had seen the hesitation on her face and was inwardly grateful.

    After all, they were strangers who had just met, and a moment of hesitation was already a sign of good nature. But he didn''t delay either, striking immediately to hammer the Blackscale Serpents to death.

    Being a Daoist well-versatile in human nature, why should he scrutinize the depths of people''s hearts?

    If the woman had used her life-saving item, he would have owed her a favor; if she hadn''t, he wouldn''t have felt comfortable. This way, it was just perfect.

    "Damn, you''re more than just a little strong,"

    "You must be a transformed beast yourself, aren''t you~" Qing Yan cried out inwardly, her heart practically screaming.

    "Alright, fellow Daoists, enough small talk, the matters here have not yet concluded," Yi Chen said, turning away casually and waving his hand indifferently signaling them to follow.

    "Brat, if your Dragon King Sect has any other tricks up its sleeve, best reveal them now. I''ll give you three counts, or else I''ll turn you into a wall painting," Yi Chen said coldly to the black-robed, one-eyed monk.

    To Yi Chen, the individual who had just used soul magic to launch a sneak attack on him was already a dead man walking in his heart.

    Anyone who dares lay a hand on him cannot be spared.

    Letting him live longer was only to confirm a suspicion in his heart.

    If it really was as he suspected, then the Black Fiend Dragon King probably hadn''t left the Blackwater City region yet.

    "You''ll regret this!"

    "You have no idea the kind of trouble you''ve gotten yourself into!"

    A trace of panic flashed in the eyes of the man in black robes with one eye as he began to threaten out of desperation.

    "Three!"

    Seeing Yi Chen was not to be swayed, the black-robed, one-eyed man gritted his teeth and crushed two snake-shaped jade pendants¡ªone white, one red¡ªon his body.

    Beneath a nearby mountain range,

    within a lava cave, as the blood-colored jade pendant broke, rubble fell noisily. A petrified Jiaolong, half-submerged in a magma pool, slowly opened its eyes. Around it were mounds of silent red jade stones, piled up like mountains.

    "A hundred-year-long dream, what evening is this?"

    "The Heavenly Dao is so unjust to my demon race, making the comprehension of the Dao this difficult."

    "The last hundred years of transformation have only advanced my physical body to the threshold of the Dao, but my demon soul is still just one layer away from perfection."

    "Well, since the blood jade has shattered, it suggests that the bloodline I left behind has encountered danger. I might as well take a look."

    Muttering to himself in the lava cave, the Jiaolong shook its body, and the heavy layer of stone covering it fell away instantly, revealing smooth scales as dark as jet. Its demonic aura vibrated, and it shot straight up, boring a massive hole through the mountain range vertically and flying towards the direction of the deep pool.

    Shortly after, the Black Fiend Dragon King, carried by black fog, swiftly descended in front of Yi Chen.

    "Was it you, Dao Friend, who slew my bloodline offspring?"

    The voice thundered, rolling across the area.

    No sooner had the Black Fiend Dragon King appeared than the situation reversed once more, the smiles on Qing Yan and the others'' faces instantly froze, turning pale as death.

    Bai Ye trembled all over, his eyes filled with disbelief.

    Meanwhile, inside the military camp, Lu Yun, who was in the midst of secluded cultivation, slowly opened his eyes.

    Lu Yun had a beardless, refined face and always wore a faint smile, looking more a scholar than a military general.

    "Oh, troublemakers again, how bothersome," a flash of sharpness in his eyes, Lu Yun rose to his feet as the pieces of a white armor on the rack swarmed over him like swallows returning to the trees, and a silver spear suddenly appeared in his hand.

    He cast out a spell leisurely, and the ground of the cultivation chamber split open suddenly, revealing a small secret room with a miniature transport formation inside.

    Without hesitation, Lu Yun stepped into the center of the formation. Runes began to light up, and with a flash of red light, Lu Yun''s figure disappeared from sight.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "Those two little snakes that died were the Dragon King''s bloodline offspring? I''m terribly sorry, but they were too fragile. I hadn''t even exerted myself when they collapsed," Yi Chen sneered.

    "I hope you''ll be more durable so that this Daoist can enjoy himself."

    "Remember, I, the Daoist who does not change his name or seat, am the one who slays you, and that would be Daoist Hu Yi."

    Yi Chen let out a fierce laugh, displaying his powerful physique, as a purple-gold figure more than three meters tall emerged before the world.

    Mysterious purple glyphs protruded, radiating a mystical glow. On his arms roared a fierce tiger, a wrathful dragon howled on his back, and on his waist, a green godly ox seemed to be leaping out amid the clouds.

    With a beckoning of his hand, Extreme Origin flowed through, and the Holy Halberd was already in his grasp.

    Thinking of his previous suspicion, Yi Chen didn''t delay any further and took action immediately.

    Such a big target of Deep Red Points lying before him, if he didn''t kill it, would he even be human?

    "Roar! Tyrant Halberd Rises, Devour Heaven and Earth, Reincarnation!" Yi Chen bellowed, directly using the fifth move of the Immortal Slaying Halberd Method. Your journey continues on My Virtual Library Empire

    A black vortex suddenly appeared between heaven and earth, as if it would devour everything, and came crashing down on the Black Fiend Dragon King.

    In the blink of an eye, the Black Fiend Dragon King''s face changed drastically, "Hold, Fellow Daoist, my bloodline offspring offended you, and they have met their just end. You have slain them well!"

    "Too late!"

 Chapter 264 Slash! The Decisive Moment, Bai Shan and Bai Qi, Finally Together.

    Yi Chen''s current strongest killing move was Ji Liu, with the soul-destroying attack that could turn the world upside down.

    However, this move drained too much energy; using it once would leave him weakened for three days, making it suitable only for desperate fights and decisive kills. Therefore, it was most appropriate to use Devour Heaven and Earth at this time.

    After infusing his sentiments into the Devour Heaven and Earth, its power was further enhanced, proving to be more than enough to deal with the Black Evil Dragon King before him.

    As the long halberd pressed down, ripples like water flowers appeared in the space around the dark vortex, with bizarre white lights resembling turbine blades extending from the vortex, constantly spiraling and heading directly towards the Black Evil Dragon King.

    "Evil Dragon''s Bloody Fury!"

    Seeing that Yi Chen had no intention of stopping, the Black Evil Dragon King could only brace itself and charge in. With a roar, a thick blood-red mist emanated from its body, covering and solidifying on its scales like black jade, turning into thick blood-red crystals.

    With this enhancement, the already massive body of the Black Evil Dragon King swelled even more, the bizarre runes on the blood-colored crystals surging, as its tail suddenly expanded, splitting into two huge tail hammers, like pendulums, viciously slamming onto the vortex.

    At the same time, a Jiaolong''s sonorous spell blasted out in all directions.

    Boom!

    The two mighty forces suddenly converged in the low sky.

    The huge shockwave, sharp as a razor, swept across the mountains and forests, cutting mud and giant trees in half as easily as tofu. The Green-robed female cultivators, unable to dodge in time, fell unconscious, their bodies covered by dirt and debris lifted by the shockwave and sonic spell.

    Yi Chen looked at the Black Evil Dragon King, its tail dripping with fresh blood, and had to admit that the serpent''s physical body was truly formidable and highly pure.

    However, he hadn''t used his full strength either, and as for the reason why,

    "Bai Shan! Are you just going to hide there and watch the show? If I die, all our little secrets that I''ve prepared will surely spread across the world."

    "Drop your petty schemes; you won''t get rid of me!"

    The Black Evil Dragon King let out a scream, similar to someone being violated, as a scholar-general clad in white armor, wielding a long spear, emerged from the shadows.

    "You fool! I was blind to choose a collaboration with you, a mere worm!"

    "You''re exposing my whereabouts; how am I supposed to ambush this man?" Bai Shan, the True Monarch, said, his voice tinged with frustration and his complexion dark as water.

    He had seen the battle between Yi Chen and the Black Evil Dragon King upon stepping out of the teleportation formation, and at that moment he suddenly felt it wouldn''t be so bad if this ally died.

    The son of a wealthy family need not sit in an unhung hall; why should Bai Shan struggle against such an adversary?

    "Heh, if I, the Black Evil, die, someone will surely send all our dealings to the right hands. Bai Shan, don''t play those little tricks."

    "Can''t you see that the person before us is always keeping three or four parts of his attention on his surroundings? He''s so certain; it''s likely he already knows about our little dealings between us."

    "If we don''t take him down today, we won''t have a moment''s peace later. Or would you, Bai Shan, prefer to be manipulated by others or give up everything and flee to the ends of the earth?" the Black Evil Dragon King said with a sneer.

    Bai Shan moved silently to the side of the Black Evil Dragon King and then said coldly, "I do not know what you seek, but whatever the Black Evil and I can provide, we will, without a second word."

    "Our cultivation paths were not easy. Why insist on fighting to the death? What do you think, fellow Daoist?"

    "I want the life of that snake next to you. Can you give it?" Yi Chen said bluntly.

    "Insolence!"

    "Audacity!"

    Bai Shan and the Black Evil couldn''t help but scold in unison.

    At this point, Bai Shan couldn''t help but send a message to the Black Evil, asking where it had provoked such a formidable enemy that it wanted them dead so badly. However, the Black Evil racked its brains and couldn''t figure it out.

    It had slumbered for a hundred years only to break through into Dao; all the resources it had obtained were exchanged for Fire Spirit Jade to aid its cultivation. When had it ever provoked such a powerful figure?

    While they hesitated, Yi Chen had already made his move again.

    He had long since realized that the two before him were cultivators who were half a step into the Dao. But Bai Shan was only at the soul-breaking realm, with his physical body lagging behind, likely the one responsible for the restrictions in the acolytes of the Dragon King Sect''s sea of consciousness.

    As for the Black Evil Dragon King, it had made further progress on the path of the physical body, but its spiritual soul had not reached the minimum requirement for entering the Dao realm.

    Killing one was just as good as killing two, and since neither was any good, why not just make it rain Gold Coins?

    Yi Chen had always acted this way; either don''t offend at all, but once offended, there should be no hesitation, and a decisive blow must be struck.

    With a thought, the Qilin armguard bestowed by Sect Master Qinyun instantly appeared and perfectly fit onto Yi Chen''s right arm. With this enhancement, Yi Chen''s Divine Power surged even further.

    "Tyrant Lord''s Rise, Formation-Entering Godslayer."

    Seven pure white orbs emerged from Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body and floated towards the sky. Since neither opponent was easy to deal with and he couldn''t kill them quickly, Yi Chen naturally began to adjust his strategy.

    His preemptive strike during the third use of Strength-Breaking Realm had already caught many people off guard. Although the tactic was old, it was indeed effective.

    "Flame Devourer!"

    "Purple Extreme Soul-Extinguishing Spear!"

    Bai Shan and the Black Evil Dragon King were not to be outdone and immediately clashed with Yi Chen.

    Jiaolongs roared, the wind and clouds ran wild, and the Mana''s fluorescent stream lit up half of the sky.

    As the battle continued, Bai Shan and the Black Evil Dragon King began to tremble with fear, barely managing to hang on and continuing to seek peace.

    The body of the Black Evil Dragon King was already riddled with scars, with scales flying off and half of its tail hammer severed by Yi Chen.

    "Fellow Daoist, if we continue fighting, even if you manage to slay us, you may still damage your Dao foundation. Please reconsider."

    "Indeed, if Hei Xie has offended you in any way, please let me know. I will certainly do my utmost to make amends and seek your forgiveness."

    Yi Chen crushed the purple spear aura that had shot towards his glabella with one hand, a grim smile involuntarily appearing on his face.

    "The ones you have offended are not me, but those common folk who were exploited and killed by your Dragon King Sect."

    "It would be best for you two to explain yourselves to those people on the ground."

    "Pure Yang Holy Seal! Sky-opening Light!"

    "Ultimate move, Devour Heaven and Earth: Reincarnation."

    Yi Chen held the halberd in his right hand and formed a sword with his left fingers, drawing across the space between his eyebrows. He instantly switched from the Tyrant Body State to the spirit state, and a Daoist over ten meters tall in purple and gold stood under the sky, his Divine Power surging once again.

    Yi Chen summoned his Divine Power repeatedly, and suddenly, a strange force exploded between heaven and earth. The white orb suspended above was drawn by the momentum of his halberd, crashing down violently like swallows returning to the forest,

    A black vortex in the sky developed in an unprecedented manner, countless fragments of stone, debris, and broken wood rising into the air under the bizarre devouring force and converging toward the center of the darkness.

    "If the Daoist wishes to kill me, a price must be paid."

    "Ascending Dragon!"

    The Dragon King''s eyes were about to split with rage. Yi Chen had provoked his violent nature so much that his entire body began to burn with a faint glow. He was actually burning his own flesh and soul.

    He soared into the sky, like a True Dragon soaring above the nine heavens, facing the dark vortex.

    At the moment of life and death, the Dragon King leapt into the air with all his might, tears of blood streaming from his eyes. Yet at this moment, his face revealed a hint of a smile.

    It was a joy of embracing the Dao, content even in death.

    "I see it, the path ahead¡ª"

    Bai Shan, the True Monarch, felt like his soul was escaping, as the white armor on his body suddenly disintegrated into a dense white light, attempting to flee backward to avoid the lock of the Devour Heaven and Earth move.

    Between life and death, the Dragon King and Bai Shan, the True Monarch, made completely different choices.

    At this moment, the Dragon King''s soul began to transform. It started to advance towards the true threshold of the Dao. As a demon entering the Dao, naturally, it was far stronger than the Human Race. This was its last chance at life.

    But there was no opportunity left for it.

    Boom!

    A long halberd, like a nail, pinned the Dragon King to the ground, its huge body falling onto the mountain.

    Bai Shan, the True Monarch, who had tried to escape, had vanished from the waist down under Yi Chen''s sudden outburst. The ultimate move sliced evenly, leaving only his upper body falling a hundred meters away, vomiting blood. He did not make it out unscathed but did not die on the spot.

    Yi Chen stood in front of the Dragon King, looking into its huge vertical pupil and still seeing happiness within. He knew that in the last moments, the Dragon King had taken its final step but it no longer had the time.

    It was too late.

    "Little Snake of the Human Realm, you tried your best." Yi Chen gently closed the Dragon King''s eyelids and a stream of information immediately appeared before his eyes.

    [You have successfully killed the Dragon King, obtaining 10,000 Deep Red Points.]

    A pleasant surprise.

    Perhaps because the Dragon King had broken through to the realm of entering the Dao before dying, although the transformation was incomplete, it had temporarily increased in value, giving Yi Chen a full 10,000 Deep Red Points.

    "Dragon Brother, this is... ah, you''re too kind."

    "Had I known, I wouldn''t have used so much force when nailing your head."

    Yi Chen pulled the halberd out of the Dragon King''s head, a fountain of blood spraying high into the sky before raining down upon its own head, trickling down the scales into the soil.

    Life is so fragile, and the Great Dao is merciless!

    The Dragon King, who had been unbeatable for nearly a millennium and continued to break limits and ascend, still fell here in the end.

    Yi Chen slowly walked towards Bai Shan, the True Monarch.

    "Fellow Daoist, I am a member of the Bai family. Please do not kill me.

    My father is Bai Qi, the Dao Zhen True Monarch of Great Qin. If you kill me, he will certainly obtain the footage of my death. Then, no matter where you go, you will not escape the pursuit of my Bai family."

    "My father has long planted restrictions within me. Should I die, no breath within a hundred miles will escape his senses."

    "Fellow Daoist, I was wrong. Please spare me. I shouldn''t have cooperated with that demon."

    Your journey continues with My Virtual Library Empire sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ¡ª¡ª

    "You make a good point." Yi Chen held his halberd and thought for a moment before putting on the mask of Lord Tan Lang given to him by Yuan Jun. Instantly, his entire aura changed, shrouded in a strange field of force.

    Indeed, the Heavenly Master''s laborious creation was truly effective.

    Those killed by Lord Tan Lang had nothing to do with Yi Chengzi...

    "You do realize your mistake, but only because you know you''re about to die!" Yi Chen shook his head.

    At this point, how could there be any chance for redemption, only death awaited!

    In Bai Shan''s astonishment, Yi Chen''s halberd pierced through him, killing him instantly. A streak of white light flashed from his corpse and disappeared instantly.

 Chapter 267 The Method of Concealing the Blade and Gathering Qi, Greedy Wolfs Arrogance!

    ```

    Yi Chen''s eyelashes trembled slightly as he slowly opened his eyes, from which two deep golden suns rose.

    Under the reflection of his soul, it was as if he had experienced a millennium, with countless insights flooding into his mind.

    "The rise and fall of a thousand years of glory."

    "In the blink of an eye, it all seems like a dream."

    With a sigh, Yi Chen rose to his feet. The Extreme Origin around him began to frantically rub and transform. Before long, a figure in deep golden robes appeared in the cave, identical to the Daoist in his memory.

    The golden divine figures on the eight key acupoints of his spinal dragon also slowly opened their eyes.

    From this moment on, Yi Chen''s body, from the inside out, was unified in deep gold, leaving no trace of other colors in his organs, skeleton, or meridians¡ªpure and undiluted.

    "Is this the power after refining the Pure Yang?" Yi Chen slowly closed his eyes, carefully feeling the changes the fifteenth layer of the True Technique had brought him.

    At that moment, the memory of the robed monk in fiery red who had forced him to use the Soul Ignition Technique in Jiangnan Circuit''s Seven Martial Town suddenly flashed through his mind. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Unconsciously, the memory of the fiery red robe began to blur, transforming into white overalls.

    "Monk Jue Xin, truly weak and feeble!"

    "Next time we meet, it will be your death or my life!"

    A smile befitting a Dragon King in the guise of a son-in-law crept onto Yi Chen''s lips.

    With a thought, a virtual screen suddenly appeared before his eyes.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 19/2077]

    [Strength: 208, {Strength-Breaking Realm four times: Penetration lv4. Strength lv4. Accumulate lv3. One Blow lv2 (After each strike, 12.5% of potential energy is accumulated every second, reaching 100% potential energy on the next strike, doubling the might of the attack) Bleed lv1 (The attack carries a burning effect, causing a ''bleeding'' effect, increasing the total damage taken by the target by 20%).}

    Stamina: 202, {Body-Breaking Realm four times: Excess Energy Storage lv4. Overload Recovery lv4. Transposition lv3. Limb Regeneration lv2. Bloodthirst lv1 (When the body comes into contact with the blood of a killed life form, it can plunder vitality, recovering up to 30% of the maximum stamina; once the peak is reached, Bloodthirst is ineffective for an hour.)}

    Spirit: 192. Agility: 197]

    [Cultivation Technique: Pure Yang Lianji True Method Fifteenth Layer.

    Passive Skill: Dragon Tiger Divine Pattern, Devouring Origin, Pure Yang Domain lv4

    Passive Skill: Mimicry (True Intention of All Transformations, Mimicry, capable of changing appearance and altering mana aura; the less strength used, the stronger the mimicry ability, using 85% of one''s normal strength causes mimicry to dissolve.)

    Active Skill: Soul Ignition Technique (Ignites one''s potential, burning lifespan in exchange for power, currently igniting eight years of lifespan for a 50% increase in strength and Inner Qi, with a maximum exchange of a fivefold increase in power.)

    Active Skill: Tyrant Body State.

    Active Skill: Divine Power Activation

    Active Skill: Pure Yang Holy Seal (Fifth Rotation) {Summon the afterimage of the Pure Yang Gate, smelting heavenly light, reflecting on oneself, the soul refined five times, their deep golden color, standing over twenty meters tall, granted boundless strength and law support, with the abilities to break laws, intimidate, reduce damage, reinforce durability, and divine might, increasing strength and defense eightfold compared to the normal state, at the cost of reducing speed by 25%.}

    Combat Skill: Supreme True Martial God Halberd Technique (Mutated)]

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique Seventh Layer (Traits: Eagle Eye, Night Vision, Yin Qi Perception, Heart Reflection lv3, Malice Perception lv3, Soul Destroying lv3, Confusion lv2, Memory Extraction lv1.)]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3, Culinary Skill lv4, Fish Dragon Dance lv2.]

    [Origin Point: 1]

    [Deep Red Value: 5018]

    "Power, power, power."

    "The purity of my path has increased once again!"

    As Yi Chen was about to explore the mysteries of his Cultivation Body and the powers gained from the fourth Strength-Breaking Realm, his expression suddenly changed. Instantly, a blue Star Disc appeared in his hand.

    A white dot was actively releasing its location, sending out a distress signal.

    "Is an official member of the Free Sky calling for help? Kuimu Wolf?"

    "No rush, let''s see what''s happening. If it''s no big trouble, I might as well lend a hand."

    With a thought, Yi Chen''s figure had already vanished from within the bear cave.

    Meanwhile, a bear still slumbered on the ground.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Just as the gaunt elder was about to act upon receiving Wang Xingba''s telepathic message, his complexion dramatically changed.

    A piercing golden light approached rapidly from the distant forest sea, hurtling towards Wang Xingba.

    "Young Master, be careful!"

    The gaunt elder flashed into position, neglecting to strike at Kuimu Wolf as he shielded Wang Xingba.

    He was enveloped in a brilliant halo of knife aura, crossing his arms as his entire being was covered by a massive river of knife energy.

    Boom!

    The terrifying sonic roar of the golden light smashed against his knife aura.

    Amidst the colossal impact, ripples spread out where the golden light and knife aura met, trembling like an illusory water curtain.

    The golden light inched closer to the core of the knife aura, where the gaunt elder stood, while the spectacle caused Wang Xingba behind him to be dumbstruck.

    By the time the golden light had traversed half of the river of knife aura, the gaunt elder''s upper robes burst apart explosively, and his figure was relentlessly pushed backward.

    Suddenly, a fierce light flashed between his brows as he roared to the sky.

    "Celestial apertures, open for me!"

    Before his words faded, the elder''s figure swelled up like an inflating ball, transforming into a towering, imposing man, his knife aura intensifying significantly.

    ```

    With this mysterious aid, the burly man finally stabilized his form, and the golden light that resembled a spinning drill slowed down before being grasped in his palms.

    It turned out to be a ghastly white long spear, only by now, due to the intense friction, it had turned completely red, and even the body of the spear was bent into an arc.

    This spear was none other than the one used by Bai Shan, the True Monarch. After its essence had been devoured by the halberd, it was just right for Yi Chen to make use of this waste.

    "Kui Mu Lang, what is this about?"

    "Is the woman you''re holding in your arms your Dao companion?" A tall figure with the mask of Lord Tan Lang landed between the skinny young man and the burly man.

    Yi Chen turned his head to glance at the fair-skinned young woman in Kui Mu Lang''s embrace, then turned back, casting a displeased look at the burly man and the young man with the golden knife in front of him.

    Even a casually thrown spear from him was so difficult to catch that the people opposite weren''t even qualified to be called fellow Daoists by him.

    "Senior, the one in his arms is my Dao companion!" The young man with the golden knife quickly stepped forward and said.

    "Ah?" Yi Chen couldn''t help but turn his head to stare at Kui Mu Lang again.

    He hadn''t expected that there could still be such a person with the unyielding spirit of Jian''an and the heritage of Wei Wu in the Free Heaven.

    For a moment, his expression lightened slightly; it was reasonable for the aggrieved party to exact their vengeance.

    "Lord, he is spouting nonsense."

    "Lord, I am not."

    The frail young man and the young woman in his embrace were anxious and spoke out together.

    After listening to the confused explanations of the two, Yi Chen more or less understood the situation.

    The gist was that Kui Mu Lang and Qian Xue were mutually attracted to each other, but Wang Xingba had coveted Qian Xue and had come to force a marriage upon her. Qian Xue''s parents, lured by the Wang family''s power, had agreed to it.

    The pursuit was the story of a runaway bride...

    "Since Lord Tan Lang has personally arrived, let us consider my young master''s engagement with Miss Qian Xue dissolved, as compensation for any wrongdoing. How about it?" The burly man, after having freed his acupoints, gestured towards Wang Xingba to keep quiet and tentatively spoke.

    Yi Chen did not answer but stood still, seemingly contemplating something.

    "Lord, what do you think?" the burly man asked again.

    "The Lord thinks it''s not very good; you dare to chase after our people from Free Heaven, I dare not even think about what you would do next."

    "Survive one palm from me, and this matter ends."

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    Yi Chen''s countenance suddenly turned cold; originally, he was in high spirits today due to a breakthrough in his True Technique and didn''t wish to kill anyone, but he sensed deep-seated malice from these men in front of him.

    After all, he had just slaughtered the son of a Daoist True Monarch, and he didn''t want to reveal his identity or be hunted.

    So it was better to torment these two in front of him.

    "Uncle."

    "Then it is agreed." Placing a hand on Wang Xingba''s shoulder, the burly man shook his head slightly and a sly glint flashed in his eyes.

    "This lowly one is the third elder of Ba Dao Holy Heavenly Gate; please show me your move, my Lord."

    A momentum far surpassing that of earlier spread out from the burly man; his presence soared from the mid-stage of near Dao to the late stage in an instant, stopping just short of the True Monarch Bai Shan, and an ancient black knife instantly appeared in the man''s hand.

    "Be careful, Lord; this man has employed the Hidden Knife Breathing Technique, accumulating a century of power for a singular use, this is a top secret technique of Ba Dao Holy Heavenly Gate." The young lady known as Qian Xue urgently cried out to warn.

    "The young lady seems quite knowledgeable."

    "My Lord, please reveal your magic artifact." The burly man chuckled, seemingly very confident in taking Yi Chen''s blow,

    He knew well that the previous Lord Tan Lang had long perished, and this current one was likely elevated from among the finest in the previous twenty-eight constellations. He didn''t believe he could be defeated in one strike.

    Yi Chen shook his head, not answering.

    "Could it be that the Lord isn''t adept at using magic artifacts in battle?" The burly man''s smile grew wider, sensing that his odds of winning had increased.

    This time, Yi Chen shook his head but spoke out.

    He smiled and extended his hand, curling his fingers into a fist.

    "Not so. It''s just that you don''t even have the qualifications to make me use the Holy Halberd, you waste!"

    "When I slay people, a simple push is sufficient."

    Seeing the arrogant expression on Yi Chen''s face, the burly man''s face turned red with rage, clearly burning with anger.

    "Tan Lang, you are arrogant and have dared to belittle my Ba Dao!"

    "Slaying Heaven True Intention, Forgetfulness of Life and Death!"

    With a furious roar, the black knife in the burly man''s hand split from one into two, and then from two into four, forming a giant heavenly knife which, with overwhelming knife energy, ferociously slashed towards Yi Chen''s neck.

    At that moment, both Kui Mu Lang and Qian Xue, who were watching from afar, changed their expressions dramatically.

    "All laws under heaven lead to the same path."

    "Immortal Slaying Halberd Method, do I really need a long halberd to unleash it?"

    "Are my arms not my halberds too?"

    Yi Chen watched the heavenly knife descending from the sky, murmuring to himself as a tall purple-gold figure emerged between heaven and earth.

    The intense knife energy smashed against his body but was obstructed by the thick Extreme Origin; eventually, after overcoming numerous obstacles, a single tiny hair fluttered to the ground.

    Everyone was as if petrified, standing in place!

    Such a terrifyingly strong body.

    "Not bad, to actually sever a single hair of mine; you''re stronger than the last Ba Dao."

    "True Halberd Intention, Heavenly Punishment!"

    Yi Chen pointed his fingers like a blade, with a casual slash, and a resplendent bloodline appeared along the center axis of Ba Dao''s brow.

 Chapter 268 The Eighth Layer of Pupil Technique, Surprise, Extinction Ruins!

    Dead silence.

    At this moment, Wang Xingba was still frozen in his slashing pose.

    A breeze blew by, carrying a faint whiff of blood into Wang Xingba''s nostrils.

    A sense of ominous premonition suddenly surfaced in Wang Xingba''s heart.

    [Could it be that my second uncle has suffered a heavy injury?]

    He immediately panicked and stepped forward.

    "Second Uncle,"

    "Second Uncle, say something, Second Uncle."

    "What''s wrong, Second Uncle?"

    Wang Xingba came in front of Wang Xingba, his face filled with urgency.

    Only to see Wang Xingba''s lips slightly moving, mumbling as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

    "He''s dead!" Yi Chen said indifferently.

    Before his words had finished, a brilliant line of blood sprouted from the central axis of Wang Xingba''s forehead and spread towards both ends. A glint of golden flame appeared on the pattern, resembling cracking ice on a red-netted porcelain.

    "Second Uncle." Wang Xingba gently tugged at Wang Xingba''s sleeve, and Wang Xingba''s body suddenly shattered into countless pieces, collapsing into a heap. At this point, the golden flame seemed to be unleashed, bursting forth and incinerating the flesh on the ground.

    Yi Chen looked at the scene before him in astonishment, gaining a deeper understanding of his newly acquired supernatural ability "Bleeding" after his fourth breakthrough in the Strength-Breaking Realm.

    With one strike of heavenly punishment, Wang Xingba had lost 95% of his vitality, and combined with the subsequent damage from "Bleeding" and the burning, this was the scene that ensued.

    "Lord Tan Lang, you are ruthless!" Wang Xingba was indeed a tough character. Knowing that he wouldn''t escape fate, he lifted his palm towards his own fontanelle, but suddenly Yi Chen restrained him.

    "Do you intend to let Xingba go?"

    "I advise you not to mistake yourself, Lord. If you let Xingba return to his sect today, within two hundred years, I will personally come to the Free Heaven to avenge this great revenge." Despite Wang Xingba''s indifferent expression, a hint of secret joy flashed through his eyes.

    He knew that some of the lofty individuals had strange quirks, such as sparing your life if you show a willingness to face death, maybe even allowing you to return, waiting for your challenge in the future.

    Weakness never leads to good fortune, only by acting this way is it a gambit to seek life amidst death.

    "You don''t think I would let you leave, do you?" With a look as if he were staring at a fool, a sword tip poked through from behind Wang Xingba.

    Qian Xue casually flicked her sword, instantly detaching one-third of Wang Xingba''s body. Then she continued to hack away wildly as if chopping vegetables. Her face suddenly flushed with a sickly red as the splashing blood stained her snow-white fox fur coat like blooming blood plums.

    "Stop chopping, or it''ll turn into a mess, Miss Qian Xue," Yi Chen said calmly as he stepped back half a step and then turned to the thin young man, "Kui Wood Wolf, you mentioned earlier that you knew of the whereabouts of the left arm of the Kirin Sacred Armor."

    "Now that Wang Xingba has been chopped up by your darling sister, shouldn''t you fulfill your promise?"

    Pity flickered in Yi Chen''s eyes ¨C poor Kui Wood Wolf, his dear friend seemed a bit yandere.

    For a moment, he thought of a man called Brother Cheng, who in the end had his head chopped off.

    Previously, Kui Wood Wolf had secretly messaged him, asking Yi Chen to let Qian Xue personally kill Wang Xingba and in exchange, he was willing to compensate with the location of the left arm of the Kirin Sacred Armor.

    He hadn''t expected such a good deal. It was a simple task for Yi Chen, and he naturally agreed, which led to the scene just now.

    "Do you know of the Extinction Ruins?" Kui Wood Wolf asked softly.

    "I don''t." S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Continue your journey with My Virtual Library Empire

    "Is that so?" Kui Wood Wolf looked at Yi Chen with surprise and then said, "Let me explain slowly..."

    As Kui Wood Wolf recounted, Yi Chen finally understood the situation.

    The Extinction Ruins were known to be a dangerous place in the Eastern Continent, rumored to be the site of the Rinzai Sect, a top Buddhist order from ten thousand years ago, which mysteriously disappeared overnight, reducing the entire sect into nothing but ruins.

    Every thousand years since, a batch of mysterious command tokens would appear in the cultivation world. Each token had a mysterious hourglass mark, with golden sand continuously falling through it.

    At the last moment when the sand in the command token ran out, holding it would transport you to that mysterious domain of extinction.

    The mysterious Extinction Ruins had been opened nine times to date, and according to what those who emerged alive had said, they saw the remnants of the Rinzai Sect''s broken gates during their exploration of the ruins.

    That''s when the news started to spread.

    No one knew why the top Buddhist temple Rinzai Sect of the Eastern Continent had appeared in this mysterious place, but every time someone emerged alive from the Secret Realm, they brought back numerous treasures, whether it be supreme scriptures, powerful weapons, exquisite pills.

    With the increasing number of times that the Secret Realm opened, there were other gains, such as the legacies of senior experts who died within it.

    Of course, this was how those with high emotional intelligence described it. Those with low emotional intelligence called it looting corpses.

    "Lord, within the Extinction Ruins, there are ghostly corpses, demons, powerful prohibitions, and countless mechanisms and puppets," Kui Wood Wolf continued. "The ancient book I saw came from a collection of a family long since fallen."

    "The Northern Water Zheng Family."

    "An ancestor of the Zheng Family was once a Loose Cultivator. Though not lacking in aptitude and a practitioner in the True Person Realm, he lacked a formidable inheritance. But all this changed when he fortuitously obtained a command token for the Extinction Ruins and successfully returned."

    "He acquired the ''Gigantic Turtle Shark Scripture,'' a ''Four Corners Gold Seal'' weapon, and the left arm armor of the Kirin Sacred Armor. Returning with these, the Zheng Family ancestor''s skills soared, and he advanced to True Monarch thanks to them."

    "Over a millennium, the Zheng Family declined, and an old ancestor, surrounded by enemies and nearing the end of his life span, spent a great price to acquire a command token again, hoping to further enhance his cultivation or to obtain a special life-extending treasure."

 Chapter 268 Eighth Layer of Pupillary Art, Surprise, Extinction Ruins!_2

    ```

    "The Zheng Family ancestor of this generation recorded the secrets on golden pages before setting out, aiming to explore the Heart Inquiry Cave that our great ancestor had not fully explored a thousand years ago,"

    "In the past, the Zheng Family''s great ancestor managed to survive the cave thanks to a heaven-defying stroke of fate, due to his shallow cultivation level. However, this generation''s Zheng Family old ancestor has already reached the late stage of nearing the Path, just one step away from ascension."

    "The said Zheng Family ancestor, who brought along the left armguard of the Qilin Holy Armor, however, lost his gamble and fell within the Extinction Ruins'' Secret Realm, leading to the complete downfall of the Zheng Family. Afterwards, the clan dispersed like clouds blown by the wind."

    "As it happened, the ancient tome holding these secrets eventually fell into my hands."

    Kui Mu Lang silently passed a book and a black token to Yi Chen.

    A thin page of the book recorded the rise and fall, glory and shame of a bizarre family over thousands of years.

    "You flourish because of this, and you shall perish because of it," Yi Chen sighed long as he took the book and the black token.

    "This tome contains the maps of the Extinction Ruins collected by the Zheng Family for their explorations. With it, Lord Yuan Jun repays Qian Xue for her kindness of taking revenge. I originally intended to use this token myself, but now I bestow it upon Lord Yuan Jun, in gratitude for your help and life-saving grace,"

    Kui Mu Lang appeared very nonchalant, seemingly unattached to the items.

    Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire

    Yi Chen knew that although Kui Mu Lang spoke lightly, the token must have been obtained through great difficulty.

    That tome, likely, was also something he deliberately sought in search of news about the Extinction Ruins.

    Otherwise, how could such coincidences exist in the world?

    "You''re not regretting it?" Yi Chen looked at Kui Mu Lang''s phoenix eyes and chuckled, finding it somewhat amusing that a grown man possessed such delicate features, his slender figure quite feminine. He wondered what Ms. Qian Xue found attractive in him.

    "Lord Yuan Jun, don''t laugh at me. There''s something about Qian Xue''s family... Her father once said, ''as a Lone Cultivator without any backing, don''t even think of marrying Snow unless you become a True Monarch!''"

    "However, the path to becoming a True Monarch is extremely difficult. I''m afraid Qian Xue''s father cannot wait that long. That''s why I''ve done everything possible in hopes of venturing into the Extinction Ruins to take a chance."

    "It was agreed to ten years, but her father broke the promise. Greedy for the Wang family''s power and position, he disregarded Qian Xue''s wishes and was determined to marry her off as a concubine to Wang Xingba. He even confined Qian Xue, so I went to rescue her as soon as I received her letter for help."

    "That Wang Xingba is a lecherous and evil spirit, committing all kinds of evil deeds. How can I let Snow fall into his hands?"

    "Lord Yuan Jun is already aware of what happened next."

    "So you don''t need this anymore?" Yi Chen raised the black token in his hand, smiling at Kui Mu Lang, and his impression of him improved slightly.

    As men, we value promises and are true to our word. Yi Chen has always believed that being a man is a matter of the heart, not just the outward appearance.

    Though this man might be a bit effeminate, he is still a man of his word and is respectable.

    "It''s no longer necessary. Before, I was against Kui Brother going to the Extinction Ruins, but he wanted to prove himself in front of my father."

    "Now that my father has done such a thing, I, Qian Xue, will not return home from this day forth. Naturally, Kui Brother doesn''t need to go to the dangerous Extinction Ruins anymore."

    "Rather than picking another day, it''s better to bump into today. I''ve decided to marry Kui Brother as my husband today, to share a bed and a pledge, and to be companions even in the underworld."

    A slender, fair hand suddenly reached out and took hold of Kui Mu Lang''s large hand, and Ms. Qian Xue looked up into Kui Mu Lang''s eyes, a gentle smile of happiness appearing on her face.

    When one loves someone, there''s a light in their eyes, and at that moment, there was light in Qian Xue''s eyes.

    "Lord Yuan Jun, forgive my bluntness, but the Extinction Ruins are indeed somewhat dangerous. Although Lord Yuan Jun''s cultivation is extraordinary, I would feel uneasy if it causes Lord Yuan Jun to fall into that place of extinction because of me."

    "There''s still a week before the token can be activated. My suggestion is to hang on to this item for a few days and then auction it off in the Free Heaven. By then, we can make a hefty profit."

    "The later we sell, the more we make!" Kui Mu Lang had one hand on Qian Xue''s shoulder, his eyes twinkling with shrewd fox-like cunning, like a clever gray wolf.

    "Are you trying to teach Lord Yuan Jun how to do business?" Yi Chen raised his eyebrow, and his countenance bore a striking resemblance to the Yuan Jun. At that moment, he suddenly understood Yuan Jun''s joy.

    "Xiao Lang, your purity is too low; you need practice, thorough practice."

    "But since Lord Yuan Jun is fond of you, today I''ll make an exception and won''t charge you. I''ll preside over your marriage," Yi Chen said with a grin, patting Kui Mu Lang''s shoulder lightly, causing him to wince in pain.

    ...

    ...

    In a quaint cobblestone courtyard in a nearby county town, it was festively decorated at this time.

    In any world, with money, everything is easy.

    "On this day the red leaves flutter, auspicious for home and family."

    "In future years, may gourds and melons abound, may you prosper and thrive."

    "With a vow of lifelong unity, we inscribe our names on this grand parchment."

    "Let the pledge among the red leaves be recorded in the annals of paired ducks."

    "..."

    "The ceremony is complete!"

    In the empty hall, with no guests present, only Yi Chen presided over the wedding.

    Fortunately, his many years of muscle memory were still intact, and he conducted the ceremony very smoothly, which made Kui Mu Lang and Qian Xue give him strange looks,

    The couple couldn''t help but wonder, what exactly had Lord Yuan Jun done in the past, to perform so adeptly~

    "Qian Xue, there are no friends or family present, it''s rather humble, I''m sorry to have put you through this,"

    ```

    "Kui Ge, isn''t having you around enough?"

    "As for the wedding guests and the official presider, Lord Tan Lang is an immortal cultivator who has entered the Dao. Who can afford such grandeur to have Lord Tan Lang officiate?"

    Qian Xue, holding Miao Zi''s hand, smiled and bowed deeply to Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen knew they were asking for a red envelope.

    Married women sure are different...

    "I wish you both grow old together."

    "If you ever encounter any insurmountable thresholds in the future, just mention Lord Tan Lang''s name. It''ll work wonders."

    Yi Chen chuckled and took out a gold note worth ten thousand taels.

    He now made friends without considering whether their cultivation was high or not, as practically no one''s was higher than his.

    For him now, a drop of Gold Essence was merely a splash of water.

    After having a fine drink, Yi Chen tactfully left the courtyard.

    Meanwhile, Qian Xue and Miao Zi held hands and walked into the house.

    A light from the oil lamp lit up, and through the dim window paper, the silhouettes of two slowly overlapped into one.

    ...

    ...

    In unnamed deep mountains, the moon shone like silver.

    Inside Bear Cave.

    A bear was touching the tall side of its head in confusion as if someone had hit it.

    Just then, a tall figure slowly walked in.

    A light chuckle that felt like coming home rang out, "Bear cub, I''m back!"

    Thump!

    A muffled sound.

    The bear fell back into a baby-like sleep, and this time both sides of its head were equally high.

    Yi Chen mixed some Pill of Primordial Essence powder with some wine and poured it into the bear''s mouth as rent before sitting down cross-legged, releasing his large pet from the spirit beast bag.

    "Miao Zi, this is Tiger Primordial Pill, and this is the flesh of the Black Evildoer Dragon King."

    "You''ll cultivate well here for the next few days. Your cultivation is too weak; I''m too embarrassed to take you out now."

    Yi Chen cheerfully pulled out a huge chunk of serpent meat from the storage ring and gently patted Miao Zi''s head.

    The body of the Black Evildoer Dragon King was enormous, and it would be enough for Miao Zi to eat for a long time¡ªa major nourishment.

    If it weren''t for the kind-hearted people he met along the way who contributed a handful of storage rings, he wouldn''t have been able to carry it all...

    So to say, there are really more good people in the world.

    After doing all this, Yi Chen took out a black token and immediately fell into deep thought.

    Teacher Zhou Shuren once said, to go to the Extinction Ruins or not, that is the question.

    After much contemplation, Yi Chen decided to go.

    The time for the Extinction Ruins was a week away, perfectly before the schedule at Yin Manor.

    According to what Miao Zi said, due to the unique environment in the Secret Realm of the Extinction Ruins, it''s filled with all sorts of corpse demons, sinister ghosts, and spirits, making it extremely dangerous.

    But bloody hell, if the Extinction Ruins are dangerous, is Yin Manor not dangerous then?

    As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. With Deep Red Points, the armguards of the Qilin Holy Armor, and possibly hidden scriptures or cultivation techniques from the Reincarnation Sect or other schools, if he found a top-notch martial skill, wouldn''t he hit the jackpot?

    The rewards are far too generous.

    "All perverse powers are the fetuses of worldly calamities. For the sake of the common people and for the Daoist friends within the Secret Realm of the Extinction Ruins, I must do this."

    Once his mind was set, Yi Chen''s spirit immediately sank into the sea of consciousness.

    "Deep Red, let me see your limits!"

    "Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique, break through!"

    With a shout, a breakthrough emerged once again; familiar memories flooded back. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After a flash on the screen, the panel changed once more.

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique Level 8 (Traits: Eagle Eye, Night Vision, Yin Qi Sensing, Heart Reflection lv4, Evil Thought Sensing lv4, Soul Destruction lv4, Charm lv3, Memory Extraction lv2, Mind Imprint lv1)]

 Chapter 269 Strange, Different, Black Lotus Venerable?

    "Mind Bind?"

    As Yi Chen''s consciousness sank into these characters, he instantly understood the function of this ability.

    [Mind Bind: Implants an obsession within the target creature, expending one rune seed. A maximum of two rune seeds can be condensed. The weaker the creature, the higher the success rate.]

    Hiss, a pyramid scheme master/PUA expert?

    The technique created by the old Heavenly Master is getting weirder by the minute.

    Although the Heavenly Master himself never developed it to the eighth layer, Yi Chen wasn''t about to take the blame for it. Let whoever wants to carry the burden do so.

    With a thought, Yi Chen immediately turned his gaze to the still-sleeping bear, contemplating whether to implant a ''loyalty'' Mind Bind on it. After pondering for a while, he decided against the idea.

    One must be kind-hearted.

    It seemed a bit too cruel to use the bear''s cave for experiments after taking it over, especially when there were plenty of good candidates outside.

    Shaking his head to dismiss the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Yi Chen began to practice with the Thunder Jade.

    With only seven days left until the deadline of the black command token, he was just two points short of the Origin Points needed for the fourth breakthrough of his agility attribute.

    Although the way he obtained Origin Points using the Thunder Jade was increasingly inefficient with his current constitution, it was still more reliable than fantasizing about developing the seventh form of the Immortal Slaying Halberd Method within seven days.

    Sizzle~sizzle~sizzle~

    Unlike before, where he just passively absorbed the electrical arcs, Yi Chen held the Thunder Jade directly in his hand in pursuit of a thrill, the eerie blue light casting a twisted and ferocious shadow on his face.

    "Ah, thrilling!"

    "Awesome!"

    "That''s enough~"

    A minute later, Yi Chen forcefully invoked the Extreme Origin to break free from the sizzling Thunder Jade in his hand. After resting for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he gritted his teeth and grabbed the Thunder Jade once again.

    You can''t stand firm if you''re not ruthless!

    The pain he was enduring now, the bill for it, would sooner or later be paid by the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple and the Yan Family!

    Seven days later.

    A bear slowly opened its eyes, and at that moment, it found twelve bear head etchings mysteriously carved on the walls of its cave.

    There were twelve large figures in various poses: leaping, slapping, standing, running, all fours, beating chests, or standing still... each unique. At the end of the stone paintings, there were five characters, thunderous and powerful, Great Bear Demon Fist!

    The bear''s gaze shifted backward, and at the end of the cave, it saw six empty honey pots scattered about. Those were its treasured honey reserves for winter, now hollowed out and flaunted by someone at some unknown time.

    "Roar!"

    "Roar roar roar~" The bear immediately stood upright, clearly in a panic.

    ....

    .... Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire

    "The bear had a secret recipe, eh? But it''s got to be bear honey that hits the spot."

    "The rest just make Daoist cough."

    "Truly, delightfully sweet!"

    Atop a cliff, a tall Daoist popped the last piece of enticing golden honey into his mouth, casually discarding the empty pot to the side and taking out a black command token to examine closely.

    This person was none other than Yi Chen.

    The sand in the hourglass pattern on the black command token was almost entirely filtered through, with only the last bit remaining. Yi Chen''s scrutinizing gaze continuously sized up the black command token.

    Today, a sudden thought struck him, moonlight.

    This was why Yi Chen was on the cliff at this moment.

    "Moonlight, sinister, Taiyin star power."

    "This transmission actually requires the confluence of moonlight, why is that?"

    Neither the ancient tome handed down by the Zheng Family nor Kuimulang had mentioned this; Yi Chen''s brow furrowed in frustration.

    Taiyin star power was the most cherished by things sinister and shady. The Extinction Ruins required the guidance of moonlight for positioning. Indeed... very sinister.

    It seems a good forceful infusion of Pure Yang power will be necessary.

    "The bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish. The more Deep Red Points, the better!"

    "After refining through Pure Yang power, with my present ''divine'' strength, I can actually use the World Inversion ¡¤ Godslayer move twice in its entirety."

    "Bolstered by the protection of the Qilin Sacred Armor''s right armguard and with the True Technique breaking through to the fifteenth layer, being a bit cautious should keep me out of harm''s way."

    "It''s a pity that stacking up Origin Points is now painfully slow, still two or three days of grinding away from gathering that last bit."

    "But it doesn''t matter. You can''t always get what you want, and you can''t wait to be fully prepared for everything. If you do, you''ll never catch up with the heat of the action."

    With a sigh, Yi Chen stood up tall, his gaze fixed on the black command token as he waited for the final moments to arrive.

    In the same space and time.

    Carefree Mountain.

    Atop the Carefree Mountain is the Carefree Palace, and within the Carefree Palace dwells an immortal of leisure.

    Shui Jingjing lightly tapped the water''s surface with her pure white toes, sending ripples outward in circles.

    Beneath the water, her slim figure was as if a startled swan mirrored in reflection.

    She lifted her head to gaze at the sky, watching the myriad stars and suddenly letting out a long sigh, she rose to her feet and in a few flickering movements arrived outside the palace gates.

    Her jade hand lightly pressed against the grand doors of the palace, adorned with Taiji diagrams of Yin and Yang, and gently pushed.

    A figure in white, sat cross-legged on a central dais within the great hall, holding a black command medallion, above the hall was a round and transparent void through which the myriad stars cascaded.

    "Senior sister, must you really go to those Extinction Ruins?"

    "Of course, sister Pei has entered deviated cultivation, and although she''s been sealed in ice by a secret technique, her condition worsens day by day. I''ve received word that within the Extinction Ruins'' Test of Conscience Cave lies a Celestial Heart Green Lotus capable of resolving sister''s peril," said the figure in white with a clear voice.

    Shui Jingjing, like a banished immortal flying to the heavens, swept onto the central dais of the great hall, and abruptly, she embraced the slim waist of the figure in white. Her vermilion lips parted slightly and kissed her.

    "Come back alive, Shui Yingying."

    ¡ª¡ª

    The Dao Sect of Creation was built atop a vast lake, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing water on the other, with verdant tiles and lustrous like jade waters, grand arches and ridged roofs like wings, the immense Daoist palace shrouded and hidden amidst the strange fog rising off the lake''s surface.

    Atop a green platform that was high above the lake''s surface, round on the outside and square within, a young Daoist sat cross-legged.

    At this moment, an elderly Daoist traversed the sky and landed upon the platform.

    "Dao Zhen brother, have you truly decided to venture into the Extinction Ruins? The dangers there, I''m sure, are clearer to brother than to me, as our sect''s records contain early accounts of them."

    "Junior brother need not persuade me further. Brother lacks your talent, and with my life nearing its end, if I do not take this chance, I fear I will no longer have an opportunity to glimpse the secrets of severing the path," the Daoist opened his eyes, his youthful face weathered with age, emanating a sense of twilight.

    "Brother, for that thing, how many of our fellow Daoists have died there. Why must you..."

    "Junior brother, why say more? In the end, it''s merely a shell of flesh. To hear the Dao in the morning, to die in the evening is sufficient. Go, be at ease and depart!"

    Seeing that his earnest persuasion was to no avail, the elderly Daoist handed over a green teleportation talisman.

    "Brother, please take care!"

    ¡ª¡ª

    The Sumi Buddha Temple.

    An elderly Buddhist, full of compassion, gazed at a middle-aged monk before him.

    "Wu Que, you are already aware of some of the Reincarnation Temple''s secrets. You are a seedling of our great Sumi Buddha Temple, and I have always asked you to suppress your realm for this very moment.

    "The force of severing the path cannot be transmitted through the Extinction Ruins, hence only you can undertake this journey. Are you willing?"

    "Wu Que will follow the Buddha''s decree with utmost respect!" The middle-aged monk''s expression was neither joyous nor sad as he clasped his hands together in a bow. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Well said. With your current cultivation level, you can step into the realm of severing the path at any moment. Once you reach the Extinction Ruins, make your breakthrough first, then hurry to the Black Buddha Region. You must stop the Black Lotus venerable from emerging from the Extinction Ruins; otherwise, blood will once again flow and bodies will float across the world."

    "Come closer to me, Black Lotus venerable... Reincarnation Temple... Black Buddha Region..."

    "Have you memorized it?"

    ¡ª¡ª

    Within the dark underground palace, two towering figures emerged from the shadows, one after the other.

    The leader was a bald man with bulging muscles and bare chest, sporting a massive gold ring through his nose.

    Then came the sound of metal dragging on the ground as a three-meter figure, his body covered in black iron armor and dragging a long iron chain, slowly emerged.

    The two glanced at each other, and without any prearrangement, each took out a black command medallion.

    ¡ª¡ª

    Amidst the black stone forest, a red-robed woman with a voluptuous figure and subtle demonic energy emanating from her emerged, dragging a meteor hammer. The moonlight illuminated her pale face, which was devoid of any flush of blood.

    Croak, croak.

    An unknown animal called out in the night, and suddenly, a gigantic meteor hammer swung from the hands of the red-robed woman.

    Whack! A deep crimson appeared within a pit on the ground!

    "What a racket!" It was as if the sound of rubbing iron rang out.

    All at once, the world fell silent.

    The red-robed woman nonchalantly retracted her meteor hammer and took out a black command medallion.

    Around the world, one figure after another flickered into view. They were a mix of lone wanderers and small groups, each with different appearances and holding a variety of magical treasures, yet all bore a black command medallion in hand.

    ....

    "It''s begun."

    Yi Chen looked at the hourglass on the black command medallion as the last few grains of fine sand disappeared, and in an instant, the command medallion erupted into a burst of black smoke. The rich moonlight seemed as if it was being drawn in, enveloping Yi Chen in a luminous bubble.

    Immediately, a strange fluctuation appeared in the air, and Yi Chen''s figure vanished from the spot.

 Chapter 270 The Land of Decay, the Rotting Flesh Hall, Fellow Daoist, Your Spirit Beast Isnt Bad.

    The sensation was somewhat similar to when he used the Free Heaven Gold Command, but there were differences.

    After being enveloped by the clear bubbles transformed from the black command medallion and breaking through the space, Yi Chen immediately felt darkness before his eyes as if he had arrived in a domain devoid of light.

    An icy, bone-chilling breath continuously washed over his body, growing stronger over time.

    Approximately the time it took to drink a cup of tea later, the light slowly returned, and soon a solid response from the ground beneath his feet followed.

    Perhaps because his physical body was now too powerful, Yi Chen did not feel any discomfort.

    "Is this the Extinction Ruins? Truly a barren land." Yi Chen bent down to pick up a pinch of soil, unconsciously furrowing his brow.

    The land here seemed as if it had been devoured by some inexplicable force, filled with deathly stillness.

    Ordinarily, common soil is teeming with numerous tiny organisms.

    The Buddhist saying goes, "In an ordinary bowl of water, there are eighty-four thousand creatures."

    However, underneath Yi Chen''s feet, this gray and desolate plateau was devoid of life, like a sugarcane chewed over and left void of sweetness, nothing but the remaining dregs.

    "Was all the vitality here extracted and devoured by some strange sorcery? Or is there some peculiar creature responsible for this situation?"

    Yi Chen looked up at the clouds above, as dark as ink, his expression inscrutable. Suddenly, seven golden orbs radiated from his cultivation body, rapidly spiraling towards the sky.

    The golden orbs drew in the surrounding clouds and light, each forming several milky-white ribbons resembling tentacles that devoured the strange forces between heaven and earth. The black clouds on the horizon were pulled in by the ribbons and quickly vanished from sight. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At the same time, strands of Qi Force fell from the sky, merging into Yi Chen''s cultivation body.

    "Not bad, this land may be desolate, but it has little effect on my Extreme Origin. Compared to the outside world, I can still retain more than ninety-five percent of my recovery rate."

    After testing his ''power bank,'' Yi Chen''s eyebrows could not help but relax somewhat.

    Although he did not know why this place was so barren, there was no need to worry since his Extreme Origin was adept at extracting oil from stone, not picky at all.

    Without provisions, the troops cannot advance. After testing, Yi Chen then dispersed the orbs and walked leisurely towards the base of the desolate plateau.

    His gaze stretched across the plateau below, where a large expanse of dark hills rose and fell, resembling the scar tissue of healed wounds on skin, while some areas bore twisted and bizarre trees, with numerous wide, flat aerial roots hanging from their crowns, swaying in the wind.

    On the roots grew numerous tumor-like suckers.

    Equally so, whether it be the bizarre trees or the roots, they were all pitch black.

    Thanks to his extraordinary vision, Yi Chen also observed many potato-sized, round and dark creatures slowly rolling on the ground far away, each with a small circular hole on top.

    The abundance of these strange creatures made his scalp tingle.

    "Dammit, what kind of godforsaken place is this?"

    "There is no record of this realm in the ancient texts of the Zheng Family. Has this command medallion randomly transported this Daoist to some desolate spot where no bird would even take heed?"

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but curse inwardly; this place was just too eerie.

    He hurried towards the lower area and quickly arrived at a stretch of land covered with ''black potatoes.''

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    With a casual strike, he cleaved a ''black potato'' in two, and suddenly Yi Chen''s gaze sharpened, a chill settling in his heart.

    Inside the ''black potato,'' he discovered a rudimentary and tiny rune embedded within.

    "This thing, no, it seems as if it is condensing the cold forces of the heavens and earth within, transforming it into a very special kind of power."

    "This is definitely not a naturally occurring species; someone has performed artificial modifications on this creature."

    Yi Chen made his judgment instantly.

    At that moment, some ''black potatoes'' strayed into the territory of the dark trees, and the aerial roots hanging from the tree crowns lashed onto the ground like steel whips. In an instant, the suckers on the roots captured a fair amount of food, which bulged like small mice over the roots, wriggling.

    "What exactly happened when the Reincarnation Sect was destroyed overnight? Was the Extinction Ruins born from the sect''s devastation,

    or did the ruins exist prior, only becoming known to people due to the calamity of the Reincarnation Sect?"

    For a moment, Yi Chen''s mind was abuzz with contemplation.

    Perhaps many of the creatures in this enigmatic space depended on the ''black potatoes'' for sustenance; it was just unclear who the ''farmer'' that created the ''black potatoes'' was.

    At that time, the ''black potato'' that Yi Chen had split in half was still not dead but stubbornly inched toward its own kind. When the cut surface touched another one, its surface slowly dissolved and permeated, and soon enough, even larger misshapen ''potatoes'' than before appeared.

    "Truly... disgusting yet tenacious creatures."

    With a sigh, a ring of golden light suddenly rippled out from Yi Chen as the center, spreading across hundreds of meters in an instant. With the domain unfolding, a fierce fire blazed forth, and wind and clouds began to churn as various forces surged towards Yi Chen''s direction.

    Sizzle~

    For a moment, the black potatoes on the ground were almost completely incinerated by Yi Chen''s surging Pure Yang Qi Force, the speed and intensity of roasting exceeding even that of opening a can with a rocket launcher.

    Yi Chen always felt that the ''farmer'' behind these altered methods didn''t seem benevolent and decided to simply destroy these bizarre items completely.

    As Yi Chen continued forward, whenever he encountered a large patch of ''black potatoes'', he would employ his Pure Yang Domain and burn them with his Extreme Origin. If he came across a smaller group, he''d release his Cultivation Body''s suppression, directly absorbing the yang attribute power within the ''black potatoes'', breaking their internal yin-yang balance and causing their destruction.

    After walking for several hours, Yi Chen finally heard a roar similar to that of a leopard in the distance after passing through a narrow passage formed by two long stretches of hills.

    Upon hearing the sound, Yi Chen''s spirits lifted, and he quickly followed the source of the noise.

    This journey had brought him past strange trees and hills, and ''black potatoes'', with not a single living person or other creature in sight, until now when a change finally appeared.

    A short while later, after crossing a range of hills lying ahead, he suddenly came upon a strange and silent large hall, enveloped in a faint red mist, and a huge blood-red circle framed the entire hall.

    Yi Chen immediately quickened his pace, arriving a kilometer away from the eerie hall.

    It was only a fleeting glimpse before, but now, standing in front of the hall, he could clearly see the name of the palace¡ªCorrupted Flesh Hall.

    Three large characters, crimson as blood, with droplets of blood occasionally seeping from the sign, falling to the ground as if it had just consumed a human.

    Without even approaching, a sweet, metallic scent of blood crazily penetrated Yi Chen''s nostrils. Upon smelling this, a clear light burst forth in Yi Chen''s sea of consciousness, shielding him from the encroachment of illusions.

    "Such a strong evil presence."

    "There must be Deep Red Points here."

    ....

    ....

    In the distance, behind a hillside, two men in black lay prone on the ground, anxiously staring at a palm-sized copper mirror in front of them. Behind them, a man with half of his face burnt like a ghoul was meditating with closed eyes.

    Next to him lay a red, peculiar leopard.

    "Big brother, another one has come. This person is full of vigorous blood, surely enough to satisfy the Corrupted Flesh Hall''s appetite by a large margin."

    "Adding to the fools who entered earlier, big brother, you truly have a cunning plan."

    "After the Corrupted Flesh Hall is satisfied, we brothers can enter together. The chances of obtaining the Primordial Blood will greatly increase, and the danger will be minimized."

    One of the men in black, upon seeing Yi Chen stepping towards the red circle, could not help but excitedly speak out.

    "Indeed, third brother, keep a close watch. I did not expect this trip to be so smooth, it''s as if we''re blessed by the heavens."

    "Don''t worry, after obtaining the Primordial Blood, I will be sure to allot each of you a drop to help you ascend to True Monarch."

    The man the black-clad men addressed as Big Brother also couldn''t hide the excitement in his voice.

    He had been stuck in the mid-stage of the True Person Realm for quite some time and did not expect this trip to go so smoothly.

    "Thank you, big brother!" the two men in black said in unison.

    Just then, the third brother suddenly cried out in alarm, "Big brother, that tall Daoist vanished the moment he stepped in!"

    "How is that possible? Third brother, did you see wrongly? He has already gone in," said the red peculiar leopard, joining its master in front of the copper mirror.

    As the group gathered, suddenly a thick shadow engulfed the three men.

    "He did not see wrongly."

    "Is it you few little mice who were spying on this poor Daoist?"

    The ghoul-like ugly man suddenly turned around, only to see a five-meter-tall purple-golden giant looking at them indifferently.

    "Predecessor, we...."

    Yi Chen looked at the ugly man and then at the blood leopard by his side, exuding the pressure of the early True Person Realm. Suddenly, a rune rose up in his pupils and shot straight into the leopard''s body.

    Loyalty Imprint of the Mind.

    Once launched, it entered the soul.

    Suddenly, Yi Chen felt as if he had established a strange connection with the blood leopard.

    "Eh, isn''t this my spirit beast, the Crimson Leopard? How come it''s with you?" Yi Chen asked in ''surprise''.

    In the eyes of the ghoul-like man, who looked as if he had seen a ghost, the Crimson Leopard joyfully ran towards Yi Chen like a happy little dog.

 Chapter 271 Stitching the Baby, Fierce Yi Taoist, Guessing.

    Experimental materials of this kind are abundant.

    On a whim, Yi Chen tried using the psychic steel stamp, and, unexpectedly, he made an accidental discovery. He looked at the three before him with eyes that became somewhat dangerous.

    "Senior, this is my mutated cloud leopard. I''ve raised it for many years; it moves like the wind. How could it possibly be your crimson leopard?" The disfigured cultivator suddenly became anxious.

    "Fellow Taoist, that''s not reasonable. You say it''s yours¡ªcall it and see if it even gives you any attention."

    Upon hearing this, the disfigured cultivator immediately called out verbally and then performed hand seals to cast a spell, but the leopard, previously very close to him, remained motionless, standing by Yi Chen''s side.

    "Alright, fellow Taoists, I believe this was an unwitting mistake on your part, and the Yi Taoist forgives you. Seeing as the three of you are quite familiar with this ruined flesh hall, why don''t we enter together?"

    Yi Chen smiled ''kindly'' at the three, but his muscles tensed, ready to act the next second if they did not comply.

    The three of them were lurking here, stealthily observing the ruined flesh hall, certainly with ill intentions. The roar that attracted him here was probably these people''s routine for making his spiritual beast roar in front of the hall periodically to lure cultivators inside.

    Yi Chen had always been bold in his actions but was also very cautious and suspicious. The beast''s roar that drew him to the ruined flesh hall had long raised his guard.

    If he, a fisherman, were to be trapped, wouldn''t that be embarrassing? sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Therefore, Yi Chen purposely caused a commotion upon entering, which immediately allowed him to sense the feeling of being watched due to the emotional fluctuation of the group.

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    He then deployed his powerful physique and quietly moved towards the direction he sensed.

    "Fellow Taoists, it''s rare for the Yi Taoist to invite others, surely you wouldn''t deny me face," he said as he saw the three exchanging looks and remaining silent, urging them on.

    The leader was of nearby Daoist cultivation, and if he didn''t want to divulge information, or if he gave false information, Yi Chen didn''t have the power to control him and he didn''t have time to wait like one might with a hawk. But if he could tie these three to his chariot as expendables, that would be much safer.

    Moreover, some dangers need to be tested by others, such as spatial types of banishment enchantments and the like.

    Expendables were meant for probing like throwing stones to ask for directions. Since no one was a good person, Yi Chen naturally wanted to make the best use of resources and talents.

    "Senior''s invitation is an honor; Yun Shan wouldn''t be so disrespectful. We are willing to accompany senior," said Yun Shan.

    "May I inquire about senior''s illustrious name?" asked the disfigured cultivator through gritted teeth, the flicker in his eyes showing he had decided to agree.

    "You are a wise man, fellow Taoist. I like to deal with those who understand the times."

    "I am Han Feiyu. Just call me Senior Han," said Yi Chen with a smile.

    The group then reapproached the red circle a few hundred meters in front of the ruined flesh hall and stopped.

    Yun Shan took out several foul-smelling black pills and instructed the two men in black to hold them under their tongues before turning to Yi Chen, "Senior Han, that ruined flesh hall emits a strange fragrance that can disturb one''s mind and lure them inside, like a man-eating flower. Unlike senior, we have no such abilities and can only rely on the power of these pills."

    "Is that so? Then give one of those black pills to my crimson leopard as well," said Yi Chen, rubbing his chin, seemingly understanding how this group had been fishing.

    He now suspected that the red circle drawn on the ground was made by these ne''er-do-wells, utilizing others'' thinking patterns as bait. Indeed...there is something to learn from every trio of people.

    Learned, learned.

    Progress day by day, step by step, the work is never wasted~

    Yun Shan made a constipated face, fed a black pill to the crimson leopard, and finally, the group truly arrived in front of the vermilion door of the ruined flesh hall.

    All three of them had their eyes fixed on ''Senior Han'' Yi Chen behind them.

    "Why are you looking at me? Rather than having me go first, wouldn''t you take the lead?" exclaimed Yi Chen in surprise.

    After calming his two subordinates with his gaze, Yun Shan with a face full of dark lines pushed open the vermilion gate, and the view inside the Fleshrot Hall suddenly appeared before everyone.

    Inside the hall, there was a realm of its own, spanning a vast area. As far as the eye could see, there stood an enormous square, which at that moment was covered with several pig-headed carcasses. Adding to the gruesome scene, more than a dozen creatures with pig heads, identical to the corpses on the ground, were gnawing at the flesh of their own kind, with blood flowing everywhere.

    The two leading Blood Demons were exceptionally large and imposing, with a square purple tattoo on their faces, covering half of their visages.

    The floor was a mess, bearing traces of destruction caused by mana, likely left by those who had barged in earlier.

    Upon seeing new intruders, the nostrils of the dozen or so pig-headed creatures flared, and their eyes instantly reddened with rage as they roared and charged towards Yi Chen and the others.

    "Senior Han, these are the Blood Demons, Pig-headed Monsters of the Fleshrot Hall, bloodthirsty by nature, and incredibly strong. The leader is a Demon General. Once we enter the front hall, it will be safe. Everyone, be cautious,"

    With an angry roar, Yun Shan and the other two formed a circle formation and began to quickly move towards the upper hall.

    Yi Chen''s Extreme Origin activated, and his body instantly turned the color of golden metal. The biggest of the pig-headed monsters, standing over three meters tall and holding an unfinished leg bone, leaped high and swung it down towards his head. The bone was not even close yet, but it whipped up a gust of wind, inflating Yi Chen''s Taoist robe behind him.

    Lifting his left arm, he casually blocked the mighty blow. Yi Chen''s right leg suddenly swelled, and he viciously kicked the massive pig-headed creature''s chest.

    Boom!

    With Yi Chen''s current physique, even in his normal state, the sudden outburst was too heavy for the pig-headed monster to bear.

    Crack!

    A crisp sound.

    White bone shards pierced through the skin from the monster''s spine and were exposed to the air. The pig-headed monster''s body contorted instantly, bowing like a shrimp, it collided into and knocked over several smaller kin, before crashing into the wall of the front hall and bouncing off.

    "Hiss!" Yun Shan took a sharp breath upon seeing the scene unfolding before him and quietly slipped a pack of white powder back into his storage ring.

    Yi Chen, walking as if in a leisurely garden, nonchalantly flew and slaughtered the pig-headed monsters one by one, though his eyebrows were tightly furrowed.

    "Something''s not right!"

    "There''s something off with these monsters."

    "How can such vile creatures not accrue any Deep Red Points? There was no notification from the eyelid... Could it be..."

    With a flash, Yi Chen rushed to the front, lifting high the largest of the pig-headed creatures that was entangled with Yun Shan and others, who were screaming in agony.

    Rip!

    A golden giant hand pierced abruptly into the nape of the neck of the pig-headed monster with the purple tattoo, while the other hand firmly clutched its spine.

    In the horrified gaze of Yun Shan and the others, Yi Chen, as if plucking the head off a locust, brutally extracted the pig-headed monster''s head along with its spine.

    Filthy blood splattered, and as Yi Chen''s Extreme Origin flared up, it immediately incinerated the blood. Amidst the stillness, Yi Chen moved as fast as lightning, piercing into the heart of the pig-headed monster. A purple lump the size of a soybean was suddenly clutched in his palm.

    "Damn it, if my guess is correct, this group of monsters is nothing but the offspring of some evil entity deep within the Fleshrot Hall."

    "That''s why I didn''t get any Deep Red Points for killing this group of Pig-headed Monsters, because the head creature isn''t really dead."

    "This is truly... a monster worth looking forward to!" Yi Chen licked his lips with an inscrutable expression, seemingly lost in thought.

    Seeing this scene, Yun Shan couldn''t help but feel his scalp tingle.

 Chapter 272 Gluttony, Fellow Daoist Takes a Bet, The Price

    A chill rose from under the feet of Yun Shan''s group, shooting straight to the crown of their heads.

    It was too fierce, too brutal.

    In their perspective, this senior Han''s actions were not only astonishing in cultivation but also extremely savage. They didn''t realize that Yi Chen opted for such methods in order to personally probe the secrets of this pig-headed monster.

    Yi Chen''s actions seemed simple, yet uncovering the secrets these pig-headed monsters bore on their bodies was not an easy feat. With his cultivation and the prowess achieved in practicing the way of the flesh, it was only after deep investigation did he sense something amiss about these creatures.

    Just because he could do it didn''t mean others could. Such keen discovery required profound control over one''s physical body, like the Great Strength Bear Demon Fist he left in the Bear Cave, custom-made 2.0 version for bear cubs as his cultivation progressed.

    The 1.0 version was naturally within the Clever Bear Cave in the Eastern Continent''s Bear Overseer Mountain.

    A spark glinted in his eyes, Yi Chen chose not to incinerate the purple flesh lump the size of a soybean in his hand with Extreme Origin, but rather took out a jade bottle and placed it inside.

    Then his figure flashed repeatedly, consecutively slicing open the remains of the pig-headed corpses on the ground, searching for the purple flesh lumps.

    Rustle.

    Rustle.

    One after another, the pig-headed monster carcasses were torn apart by Yi Chen. The purple flesh lumps growing inside these creatures weren''t all in the same place; one was even cunningly located under the sole of the foot, which made Yi Chen''s initial handling a bit more violent, the scene somewhat bloody.

    Recalling his earlier slight movement, Yun Shan couldn''t help feeling extremely lucky. He quickly transmitted his voice to the two men in black behind him, cautioning them:

    "Second brother, third brother, this senior Han must be a ferocious devil who stays hidden from the world, with ruthless and merciless actions. We must not anger this person at any cost."

    "Indeed, there are numerous masters in this world. Who knows from where such a vicious devil has emerged."

    The two men in black nodded secretly upon hearing this. They too had the same thought, having previously seen the figure before them with a fierce dragon on his back, arms with tiger tattoos, and a waistband with a green ox radiating fierce energy¡ªa disposition of a demonic magnate.

    "Yun Shan, could you provide some information about this Rotten Flesh Hall for me?"

    "Rest assured, my principle in doing things, as Han Feiyu, is to share the meal with everyone."

    "The treasures within this Rotten Flesh Hall, we shall split seventy-thirty," Yi Chen told the disfigured, scar-faced cultivator in a cold voice.

    Yi Chen''s words were sincere; he truly planned to share the meal with these three. However, what he didn''t explicitly say was that after the Yi Taoist had his fill, then they would divide the rest seventy-thirty, with him taking seventy percent.

    Well, if anyone died in the process, there would be no compensation.

    None of them were good people. In this world, might makes right, and that''s the treatment for cannon fodder.

    Don''t say he''s heartless; Yi Taoist has his own reasoning: The treatment is already very generous! ???(¨B?¨B)???

    Bear in mind that in his previous life, some cannon fodders earned a monthly wage equivalent to just two hundred bottles of cola. Compared to those big shots, Yi Chen was practically a saint, radiating golden light and all.

    As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Shan was immediately caught in an internal struggle. He knew he couldn''t get past this point without disclosing something. After some contemplation, he slowly began to narrate.

    "When senior Han has spoken to this extent, it would be ignorant for Yun Shan to refuse further."

    "However, my knowledge of the Extinction Ruins and this Rotten Flesh Hall is not comprehensive. If there are any omissions or errors, I ask for senior Han''s forgiveness."

    Yun Shan first gave Yi Chen a preemptive disclaimer before continuing, "The reason I know rather well about this Rotten Flesh Hall is all thanks to a small sect, the Rotuo Sect."

    "According to the records of this sect, the Rotten Flesh Hall is extremely strange and brutally dangerous, unpredictable within, filled with many monsters that crave blood."

    "The creatures within this hall are never fully eradicated, acting solely on their instincts and desire for flesh, devoid of any reasoning."

    "However, when sufficient numbers of cultivators die within, on the altar in the rear hall of the Rotten Flesh Hall, a Blood Gourd will appear."

    "This Blood Gourd can then nurture a number of unknown Origin Blood."

    "This Origin Blood has endless miraculous uses, nourishing the body and soul, healing injuries, and it can even help one break through to the True Monarch realm."

    "Moreover, after feasting, the movements of the monsters within the Rotten Flesh Hall will also become sluggish. So, you see..."

    "So you deliberately made a commotion, luring people to this Rotten Flesh Hall, and then purposefully marked it with a red circle to create the illusion of safety. Thus, unsuspecting cultivators drawn by the strange fragrance, consumed by greed, and trapped in illusions would enter the hall?"

    Yun Shan remained silent, neither affirming nor denying.

    Silence can sometimes be an answer in itself. Yi Chen had no further questions, nor did he inquire about Yun Shan''s relationship with the Rotuo Sect. Instead, he exclaimed:

    "My friend, you truly have quite the talent~"

    Yun Shan''s methods weren''t particularly clever, merely exploiting information asymmetry and using the predispositions of others for his gain. Even the bait was the naturally emitted strange fragrance of the Rotten Flesh Hall, yet this tactic proved to be astonishingly effective.

    Information asymmetry and cognitive biases are indispensable tools for trickery. If not for Yi Chen''s own myriad of schemes, even he might have been caught off guard.

    "I have another question. How did you manage to transport directly near this Rotten Flesh Hall?" Yi Chen asked, voicing the doubt he kept in his heart.

    "Senior Han, it''s not difficult, really¡ªjust a matter of puncturing a layer of paper. The ancestors of the Rotuo Sect, after numerous investigations and inquiries with fellow cultivators about the Extinction Ruins, eventually discovered a simple trick."

    "Then, the location to which the black token transports us to the Extinction Ruins might be random, yet it''s not entirely without room for manipulation. For instance, if we were to teleport from a specific region in reality, we could largely increase the likelihood of arriving near the Rotting Flesh Hall."

    At this moment, Yi Chen was utterly in awe of the predecessor from the Rotting Lata Sect, truly brave and meticulous, even engaging in data speculation, bold hypotheses, and careful verification.

    "The Rotting Lata Sect should not be an unknown entity, why is their reputation not more widespread?" Yi Chen asked, puzzled.

    With Yun Shanzi''s explanation, Yi Chen also came to understand the reason.

    A gambler can win many times, but just one loss can cause severe damage or even make it impossible to recover. The Rotting Lata Sect lost twice in succession, leading directly to the collapse of their sect and a rupture in their lineage of experts.

    "Thank you, fellow Daoist, for telling the truth. Let us proceed to the front hall now." Although he knew Yun Shanzi still had many things he hadn''t completely revealed, Yi Chen didn''t mind and immediately invited Yun Shanzi and his two companions to continue forward.

    Yi Chen''s gaze remained fixed on the three men, ready to strike decisively if any dared to flee or make a break for it.

    Of course, if these three fortune''s fools indeed proved lucky enough to tread through thunder unscathed, he wouldn''t mind sharing with them some leftover scraps.

    The group quickly made their way to the outside of the front hall.

    The bold characters for "Gluttony Hall" glaringly entered everyone''s sight.

    This time, Yun Shanzi understood the rules well, not casting his gaze towards Yi Chen but instead personally and slowly pushing open the vermilion doors of the hall.

    The dust-covered doors, seemingly rusted from years of disuse, emitted a continuous creaking sound.

    Above the Gluttony Hall was an enormous seven-colored glass bas-relief, depicting the sun, moon, stars, a True Dragon, a heavenly phoenix, and a colossal black lotus pattern.

    In the very front of the hall stood a giant statue with a gentle smile and pitch-black color. The statue had a third eye on its brow, and while the lower body was styled after Buddha, the head was that of a pig, similar to the monsters Yi Chen had encountered before, only even more fierce and terrifying.

    Beneath the statue were five round dishes, upon which sat sacrifices still steaming with heat; they were a human''s heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

    Further above were two black tables with a pair of glaring severed heads on them.

    Yi Chen knew that the black color was the result of human blood stained and oxidized.

    On either side of the great hall, two rows of various bronze monster statues stood, all grotesque and frightening.

    "Han Senior, the predecessors of the Rotting Lata Sect have already figured out a way through; we can offer sacrifices to pass safely through this place."

    "The sacrifices needed for passage have already been prepared by us. Place them up there, and we won''t anger the creatures within this hall, allowing us to pass through peacefully and head straight to the rear hall to seize that Extreme Origin Blood."

    With a flip of his hand, Yun Shanzi suddenly produced four trays, each displaying the five human viscera.

    This man''s schemes were meticulous, even having made redundant backups, including for Yi Chen.

    "So, this is basically a toll fee?" Yi Chen frowned slightly but did not accept the sacrifice that Yun Shanzi handed over, instead saying coldly.

    "Senior can understand it that way," Yun Shanzi responded, suddenly startled, unsure of what Yi Chen was implying.

    A glint of an unconventional idea flickered through Yi Chen''s eyes, thinking it might be worth trying out.

    "Yun Shanzi Daoist friend, I wish to take a gamble, even if it means paying a price, it would not be in vain."

    "What''s the point in craving for that bit of Extreme Origin Blood, licking others'' leftovers? Let''s first clip the wings of the creatures inside the Rotting Flesh Hall, how about making a big score?"

    "Wouldn''t that mean getting even more Extreme Origin Blood?"

    Yi Chen licked his lips, his expression somewhat ferocious.

    "Han Senior, please think thrice about this, it''s far too dangerous; we should just honestly take the Extreme Origin Blood and be done with it."

    Yun Shanzi''s voice trembled slightly, uncertain whether Han Senior was willing to pay the price or not; he felt that they, the three brothers, were most likely going to be the price.

    "I have already thought it through thrice, Yun Shanzi Daoist friend, your vision is too narrow."

    "The bigger the storm, the more precious the catch. Fortune comes to those who dare."

    "Let''s do this! I have never paid anyone a toll fee before, who the hell does he think he is?"

    With a loud bang, the monster statue''s offering table suddenly collapsed.

    Yi Chen had actually upended their entire setup.

    In Yun Shanzi''s eyes filled with despair, the hall suddenly began to tremble violently, as if a terrifying evil entity that had been dormant for ages was waking up.

    The bronze statues standing on either side of the hall also suddenly opened their eyes, a sinister red glow seeping out from their eye sockets.

    "Be careful with those statues, I will take care of the big one," Yi Chen coldly declared. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 273 Great Schemes, Greed, Discussing the Law, Flesh Buddha, Loyal Leopard

    Rustling down like flowing sand, the dust from the great hall''s black sculpture fell, and in a blink of an eye, the black sculpture came to life.

    Boom!

    With slightly bent legs, a five-meter-tall pig-headed monster, its body rippling with muscles and covered in a stone-black sheen, appeared atop the great hall. Its landing created a shallow crater in the floor, sweeping the entire area with a ferocious aura.

    A strange, evil wind suddenly arose in the hall, toppling all the decorations¡ªoil lamps, glazed cups, screens¡ªand they rolled around on the ground clattering.

    A gaze filled with intense malice swept across the room, finally settling on Yi Chen as a loud and covetous voice echoed throughout:

    "Was it you, you little insect, who disturbed Buddha''s slumber and destroyed my altar?"

    "Such¡­ such a powerful body, I quite fancy your flesh and blood, Namo Amitabha!"

    The pig-headed monster''s eyes lingered on Yi Chen''s body, practically drooling as it did a grotesque semblance of joining hands in respect. Then, with a wave of its large hand, a bloody knife suddenly appeared.

    The blade was deep red, with eerie tendrils of mist swirling around it.

    Yi Chen watched the pig-headed monster coldly but couldn''t help praising inwardly, "Domineering body!"

    A majestic, purple-gold figure, five meters tall, suddenly revealed itself to the world, looking the pig-headed monster straight in the eye on equal terms.

    "You dare to call yourself Buddha, what kind of Buddha commits murder, delighting in flesh and blood like you do?"

    "Today, I shall enforce justice on behalf of heaven."

    "Cut! You! Down!"

    Before the sound of his voice had faded, a fierce expression suddenly took over Yi Chen''s face. At the same time, Extreme Origin flowed, and a golden halberd appeared in his hands.

    Yun Shan felt his scalp tingle as he watched the scene unfold, his gaze shifting from the pig-headed monster to the ferocious dragon tattoo on Yi Chen''s back, cynically musing inside, "Neither of you resemble Buddha or a Daoist." sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "One a mutated abomination proclaiming himself Buddha, the other a giant of the demonic path claiming the title of Daoist with every breath."

    "It''d be best if you killed each other and died here."

    Hearing Yi Chen''s words, the pig-headed monster kept the greed in its eyes but didn''t grow angry. Instead, with the bloody knife horizontal, it laughed loudly:

    "The Daoist talks about enforcing justice on behalf of heaven, so tell me, what is the Dao?"

    "My master once said, ''There''s never been a single truth to morality, great calamities and errors of the past and present are all nonsense!''"

    "Not killing leads to endless hatred!"

    "Not indulging leads to joyless existence!"

    "To kill is to end killing; to indulge is to entertain oneself. This is the true great path of Buddhism, austerity and monastic discipline are the true demonic path."

    "Daoist, let this Buddha devour you!"

    Amidst its arrogant laughter, the pig-headed monster made its bold move. It raised the bloody knife high, bent its knees slightly, and sprung towards Yi Chen with tremendous force. The knife hadn''t yet fallen, but the sheer power made even Yi Chen take notice.

    Yuan Jun wasn''t worth mentioning, this pig-headed monster''s body was among the strongest he had ever encountered.

    However.

    Unfortunately, the monster''s purity wasn''t enough!

    "Overlord''s Halberd ¡¤ Charge into Formation and Slay the Heavens!"

    A ferocious look suddenly appeared on Yi Chen''s face.

    Overlord''s Halberd, the purple-gold arm raising, the halberd''s arc-like light materialized, generating the momentum of plowing into enemy lines, entangling and dragging the pig-headed monster''s bloody knife. With one sweep, the force, not yet fully dissipated, smoothly shifted in form, embodying the intent to slay the heavens. The technique was seamless as the halberd slashed straight at the pig-headed monster''s head.

    In his current realm of martial arts practice, Yi Chen had long since transcended the rigidity of specific forms. The transition from one halberd technique to four slaughtering techniques was done with ease.

    Following a set sequence in combat was not martial arts, but gymnastics, a display.

    Wham!

    With that one strike.

    The pig-headed monster''s greed instantly subsided, and its facial expression turned grave. It blocked with its bloody knife, supporting it with one hand against the blade''s back as the force of the heavenly punishment continued to force it back.

    Moreover, it faced a wrath like divine retribution surging toward it, but fortunately, it possessed formidable cultivation. Strange black lines suddenly appeared across its body, emitting a faint luminescence and holding back the endless aura of death.

    "What odd divine power, Daoist."

    "I didn''t expect to use my Black Net on the first move." The pig-headed monster''s face showed confusion and panic, as it had never before encountered such a bizarre force.

    "That''s because your purity is too low!"

    A sneer.

    "Overlord''s Halberd ¡¤ Ground Severing Spirit Slaughter"

    Yi Chen''s halberd technique resumed, and by now he had gauged the strength of the pig-headed monster¡ªit was slightly stronger than Hei Mietian, but that was all.

    The two fierce figures once again clashed, and at the same time, Yun Shan deployed a dimly-lit oil lamp artifact which cast a yellow protective membrane that shielded him and his two brothers.

    At that moment, Yun Shan''s eyes flickered, not fully focusing on the battle with the animated bronze sculptures but primarily watching the two formidable figures locked in combat in the center of the fray.

    That was where the true course of the battle would be decided.

    To run or not to run, that was the choice he now faced.

    While Yun Shan was hesitating, Yi Chen made the decision for him.

    "Heavenly Punishing Spirit Slaughter!"

    The golden halberd, like a comet streaking for the moon, transformed into a meteor, stabbing towards the pig-headed monster.

    This was the culminating strike of fully-coiled momentum.

    Under Yi Chen''s overwhelming strength, the halberd pinned to the pig-headed monster''s bloody knife, Extreme Origin frenetically grinding, dissolved the enveloping red mist from the bloody knife and eventually punched a fist-sized bump on the blade.

 Chapter 273 Great Schemes, Greed, Discussing the Law, Flesh Buddha, Loyal Leopard_2

    The pig-headed monster''s body was jolted by the tremendous force, and its black cassock instantly burst open, torn to pieces, and slowly floated down within the hall.

    However, this was not the end.

    Yi Chen''s big hand twisted, clapped together, and there was a ripping sound.

    The pig-headed monster''s large hand pressed against the back of the blade, desperately trying to hold on when the long knife suddenly shattered. The spear''s tip pierced through its body in an instant, and a pair of big hands quickly grasped the long spear to stop it from thrusting further.

    "I want you dead!" A fierce roar was heard.

    Just at that moment, whether the pig-headed monster knew it was doomed or not, it suddenly released its grip on the long spear. Reversing the flow, it shot up along the long spear towards Yi Chen with lightning speed, moving with a thunderous force. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

    The boldness of the attack was spine-chilling!

    "Futile stupidity, your power is beneath me!"

    "All your moves have already been seen through by me!"

    "Your speed, too, isn''t fast enough!"

    Yi Chen''s indifferent words sounded like a death sentence. He too abandoned the long spear and reached out his purple-golden hand towards the chest cavity wound of the pig-headed monster to tear it open.

    Rip~rip.

    Yi Chen''s hand moved, and immediately split the pig-headed monster in half. Bright red blood gushed out like a fountain, only to be evaporated into a blood mist by the intense heat of Extreme Origin.

    The fourth ability of the Body-Breaking Realm, Blood Thirst, activated instantly. The blood mist in the air disappeared abruptly, and Yi Chen felt a warm current sprout within his Cultivation Body, restoring his strength to its peak in an instant.

    The purple-golden hand, like a True Dragon''s claw, reached into the soft flesh on one side of the pig-headed monster''s spine, and promptly, a fist-sized, odd purple lump of flesh appeared in his palm.

    He took out a jade box, placed the strange purple lump of flesh inside, and covered it with Lei Ju jade before Yi Chen withdrew his domineering form and turned around.

    With the death of the pig-headed monster, all the bronze statues in the Gluttony Hall seemed to lose their backbone and froze in place. Yun Shan felt a surge of fear inside him.

    He never expected this mysterious senior Han to be so powerful that even the creatures inside the Gluttony Hall could not challenge his edge.

    "Yun Daoist friend, I thought you might take the opportunity to run away," Yi Chen said with a smile that wasn''t quite a smile, his tone laced with a tinge of regret.

    Yun Shan felt a chill in his heart and quickly tried to appease with a smile, "What senior Han says is out of the question, Yun Shan would never harbor such thoughts."

    "That''s good, then let''s continue on, towards the rear hall," Yi Chen said, neither approving nor rejecting Yun Shan''s explanation.

    The objectives of different people lead to vastly different decisions.

    Yun Shan only wished to obtain the Origin Blood, so he was not inclined to take risks.

    But Yi Chen aimed to take the lives of the creatures in the rotten temple, so he was bound to clash with the pig-headed monster.

    If he was not mistaken, these purple lumps of flesh, if combined, would indeed elevate the malign power behind the rotten temple.

    The more he could weaken and destroy these purple lumps of flesh before the final battle, the better for him.

    If his guess failed and he could provoke the hidden evil, that too would be a great gain for him.

    Of course, there was another reason: it was always worth testing the waters first.

    If he couldn''t even defeat the creatures in the front hall, then what was the point?

    Those creatures liked to devour flesh and blood, right? The three Teletubbies by his side were his beloved friends, his brothers. If he couldn''t defeat the creatures in the front hall, he would surely flee at once; a moment''s hesitation would be disrespectful to his own intelligence.

    The group followed through the arched doorway behind the Gluttony Hall, following the old rule: Yun Shan and his two followers took the lead, the sanguine leopard followed closely, and Yi Chen brought up the rear, ready to support at any moment.

    If possible, he wouldn''t stand by and watch his cannon fodder die miserably.

    It wasn''t that he couldn''t bear to lose them, but their deaths had to be worthwhile, or it would be too wasteful.

    After passing through a narrow corridor, even with Yi Chen''s help, Yun Shan and his followers were all bloodied, the worst of which had already lost an arm.

    That happened when they triggered a spatial restriction in the narrow corridor; if Yi Chen hadn''t been vigilant and acted in time, the man in black could have already been preparing for reincarnation. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With the cannon fodder taking the lead in the treacherous corridor, the group passed through without much delay.

    Yun Shan and his followers all had looks of having survived a great disaster.

    Even with intelligence from the rotten Lado sect, they had still greatly underestimated the risks of the rotten flesh hall.

    In the corridor just now, they found several more corpses gnawed down to their stark white skeletons.

    The three of them were all uneasy.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Exiting the corridor led to an extremely wide square.

    In the dim sky, black storms occasionally blew by, heavy and oppressive.

    The square was paved with reddish-brown tiles, as if stained with blood from the past.

    An old woman with one arm knelt in the center of the square, propping herself up on a dragon-headed cane, barely supporting her body.

    A vast expanse of blood flowed from in front of her.

    "That... that''s Granny Jin Hua, a renowned Loose Cultivator from the southern realm."

    "Granny Jin Hua is an early-stage Daoist. When did she enter this rotten flesh hall? We did not notice, and she has also met her doom here."

    "Senior Han... Senior Han, perhaps we should turn back. Even Granny Jin Hua couldn''t make it to the main hall. There must be unknown changes that occurred in this rotten flesh hall, otherwise, how could the previous Daoists have retreated with their whole bodies?"

 Chapter 273 Great Schemes, Greed, Discussing the Law, Flesh Buddha, Loyal Leopard_3

    Yun Shan muttered to himself, his face filled with shock.

    "It''s already too late."

    "Since this rotten flesh hall''s sinister domain has undergone an unknown calamity, do you really think you can leave as before and return safely?"

    Yi Chen shook his head indifferently.

    As the sound of his voice fell,

    there was a loud thud.

    A strange black stone suddenly fell at the passage they had come through, blocking the way out.

    On the black stone were carved incomplete Buddhist patterns, and there were apsaras, Buddhas, and lotus designs clearly visible on it.

    At that moment, Jin Hua, who was kneeling on one knee, suddenly twisted her head 180 degrees, her eye sockets, devoid of pupils and filled with white, stared stiffly at Yi Chen.

    Her mouth opened and closed, fresh blood gushing out in mouthfuls, as bloodlines streamed simultaneously from her seven orifices.

    "Dao¡­ Daoist¡­ run¡­"

    "The¡­ the scent¡­ is poisonous."

    After she spoke, Jin Hua''s head drooped down, but her mouth slowly curved into a sinister smile.

    "Senior Han, this¡­" S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Farewell, Daoist Yun Shan. If I make it out, I will surely chant the ''Verses for the Dead'' a few extra times for all you Daoists," Yi Chen interrupted Yun Shan''s words as he slowly ascended.

    "What do you mean, Senior Han?" The three Yun Shan were both shocked and angry!

    "Daoist Yun Shan, the medicine you relied on is utterly useless, your bodies have been eroded, and your thoughts are no longer your own," Yi Chen said, sighing with disappointment.

    It was just after Jin Hua''s reminder that Yi Chen suddenly noticed something was off with the three Yun Shan Daoists beside him.

    Without knowing when, their eyes were filled with vast patches of bloodstreaks.

    The square seemed to act as a catalyst, speeding up the monstrous transformation.

    Surprisingly to Yi Chen, his ''loyal'' Crimson Panther still had eyes maintaining a clarity of seven parts, as if it hadn''t been completely affected, which he found very strange.

    "Could it be that the strange scent in this rotten flesh hall first erodes the spirit before taking control of the body?"

    "Since I have imprinted the Crimson Panther''s mind with a steel stamp of loyalty and beasts are unlike humans with complicated, changeable thoughts, it withstood the first wave of erosion?"

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but speculate.

    Even Jin Hua, the early-entry cultivator, and the ugly scar-faced cultivator close to True Monarch''s middle stage had been affected. It was inconceivable that the Crimson Panther, with the lowest cultivation, was more resilient than these people.

    At that moment, suddenly the three Yun Shan''s eyes turned completely red, their limbs beginning to swell uncontrollably, distorting and elongating.

    Their limbs swelled up, their extremities degenerating into giant tentacles.

    Jin Hua in the distance underwent the same transformation. No, her transformation was even more violent, the tentacled monster she became was even bigger.

    "Panther, fall back."

    With a thought, Yi Chen immediately called back his loyal big red panther that had come to offer itself up.

    In the final moments of the transformation, Yun Shan looked painfully towards Yi Chen. Yi Chen knew he was pleading for help, but he was also without any means of assistance.

    Just then, on the square, four inhuman roars suddenly rang out.

    "Roar!"

    "Roar! Roar! Roar!"

    Yun Shan and his two companions, along with the transformed Jin Hua with her massive tentacles, smacked the ground and charged toward Yi Chen with a furious bellow.

    The reddish-brown tiles covering the square oozed thick blood, forming a dense carpet of flesh and blood that loomed over Yi Chen.

    "Fuck!"

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    Caught off guard, Yi Chen couldn''t help but blurt out a swear word as he faced the unavoidable onslaught of the blood and flesh carpet that enveloped him layer by layer, with countless tiny tentacles like needle points burrowing into his skin.

    Ting ting ting ting ting.

    A grating sound of fine punctures filled the air.

    Seizing this opportunity, the monstrous tentacles formed by the transformed Jin Hua and Yun Shan slammed into the ground and propelled themselves into the air, tightly wrapping around the bloody carpet that enveloped Yi Chen.

    The crimson leopard was anxiously yowling on the ground, clearly displaying great loyalty.

    But bound by Yi Chen''s command to keep its distance, it could only howl mournfully from afar.

    From its perspective, its master was completely surrounded and wrapped by the flesh monster in the sky.

    Layer by layer, the tentacles squeezed the bloody carpet into a tightly wound flesh dumpling.

    At that moment, the crimson leopard''s cries came to a halt.

    It suddenly heard a continuous ''rip'' sound coming from deep within the flesh dumpling, like the sound of tearing cloth.

    A muffled explosion erupted from the sky.

    The crimson leopard stood up excitedly, its eyes full of joy and loyalty, looking like an exuberant large dog.

    Splat!

    On the square, a crack had inexplicably appeared on the surface of the massive flesh dumpling in the sky, from which a rich golden light shone through.

    "You little shit!"

    "Fuck your mother!"

    "Pure Yang Holy Seal! Open the Heavenly Light!"

    A furious roar suddenly burst forth from the sky, and the cracks on the flesh dumpling rapidly multiplied as beams of golden light pierced through them.

    There was a sudden loud explosion.

    Bang!

    The sound akin to a hydrogen airship exploding resounded.

    Countless chunks of flesh the size of doors scattered in all directions, raining down in a fierce storm and striking the vast expanse of the square, kicking up clouds of dust and smoke.

    In the sky, a twenty-meter-tall dark-gilded Daoist suddenly descended towards the square, his knees striking the ground and creating a deep crater more than a meter deep.

    The Daoist''s expression was cold, his eyes intently focused on the writhing flesh on the square below, with two suns of pure gold rising in his gaze. His hair, which had come loose and casually draped over his shoulders, fluttered slightly as if stirred by an unseen force, giving him the appearance of a deity descending to earth.

    Under his watchful eyes, purple lumps of flesh flew out from the blood and flesh on the ground, converging into a bizarre, basin-sized purple mass.

 Chapter 274 Meritorious Service, Mystery, Buddha Flesh, Immense Deep Red Points.

    The flesh mass rapidly took shape, displaying vague facial features.

    Four tentacles grew from the top and bottom sides of the flesh mass, turning into tentacles that supported the body.

    Compared to Yi Chen''s formidable Cultivation Body, the purple flesh mass seemed as insignificant as dust, yet a powerful aura spread out from it.

    "You... your Cultivation Body... is strange."

    The intermittent voice came from within the flesh mass, at times distant, at times near, its tone ever-shifting¡ªnow mimicking the voice of a young woman, now an old crone, now a middle-aged man.

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen couldn''t help but frown, as he could discern the voices of Yun Shan and Jin Hua from this creature''s eerie speech.

    This creature was indeed monstrous, it was unknowable how many people''s blood and flesh it had devoured over the years.

    "Monstrosity, what''s so strange about my Cultivation Body?"

    "You... you can actually devour my blood flesh spores... you are... strange," the shocked voice from the purple flesh mass came again, this time much more coherent.

    At that moment, Yi Chen remembered, when he was ambushed before, many needle-like tentacles on the giant carpet of flesh kept massaging him, as if they wanted to inject something into his body.

    But when he activated his Extreme Origin, he actually felt his Extreme Origin expand by an extremely slight amount, obviously indicating that the blood flesh spores mentioned by the purple flesh mass had already been devoured and broken down by his Cultivation Body and Extreme Origin.

    Intruders in his body, all were prey!

    All were energy!

    Yi Chen suddenly felt that, in some way, his Cultivation Body was even more monstrous than the purple flesh mass in front of him...

    No, that''s not right, this is Divine Power, erase the previous statement.

    "Monstrosity, this is a Divine Body cultivated with my earth-shattering wisdom. It''s normal for someone of your limited insight to not recognize it," Yi Chen said with a cold sneer.

    Although he didn''t know why the purple flesh mass had started conversing with him, he was not panicked, for a large portion of the purple flesh mass was being slowly corroded by the Lei Chuan Jade inside his storage ring.

    Ranked among the top ten extraordinary items of heaven and earth, Lei Chuan Jade was especially effective against demonic beings, purifying the sinister and evil aura within; at that time, the purple flesh mass had already shrunk by one third.

    "I''m not a monstrosity, I am... the Blood Flesh Buddha!"

    "I''ve found it, my missing body."

    Suddenly, the purple flesh mass lifted its vague features and let out a fluid, joyful sound.

    All at once, Yi Chen felt a tremor from the jade case, and the purple flesh mass in his storage ring began to struggle, trying to break free. Fortunately, he was quick to react and grasped it with his hand. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This was the first time Yi Chen had witnessed such a bizarre scene, and it sent a shock through his heart.

    Unaware of which spell the ''Blood Flesh Buddha'' used, even as Yi Chen covered his palm with Extreme Origin, fine, thread-like purple flesh sprouts still burrowed through the gaps between his fingers.

    What the enemy wanted to accomplish was precisely what he had to prevent.

    At a loss for options, Yi Chen suddenly had a stroke of insight.

    "Loyal Leopard, come quickly, devour it!"

    It was a case of a desperate solution to a desperate situation, but if the Blood Flesh Buddha wanted to reclaim more flesh, how could he allow it to succeed?

    Wasn''t this asking for an increase in strength?

    He was reluctant to part with his strong eldest son, but this spirit beast, the Crimson Leopard he had picked up halfway, was available to him for creation.

    Under the influence of the mind control seals, the Crimson Leopard was utterly loyal, rushing over at once. Yi Chen then thrust the purple flesh mass into its mouth.

    Gulp.

    Suddenly, the leopard''s eyes intensified with blood color, turning seven or eight shades darker, appearing agitated and restless, as if it was engaged in some sort of spiritual confrontation.

    "It''s effective indeed; that purple flesh mass is immensely monstrous, seeking to root itself into any flesh it sees and influence the host''s mind to eventually devour the host entirely."

    "However, the Crimson Leopard is simple-minded, and under the influence of the mind control seal, a battle of wills ensued, which, surprisingly, both constrained it and protected it because of the seal... quite extraordinary."

    The Blood Flesh Buddha, momentarily dumbfounded, let out a thunderous roar as if calling out for something.

    At that moment, the blood color in the Crimson Leopard''s eyes grew even more intense, spreading to ninety percent.

    "Leopard, loyalty!"

    "Hold on!"

    "Run, get away from here, hide!"

    Just then, Yi Chen''s eyes flashed, and he imprinted another loyalty mind control seal into the Crimson Leopard''s mind.

    Yi Chen had just imbued the Crimson Leopard with both of the condensed mind control seal runes; he had originally intended to test the last one on a lucky Daoist, but now it seemed that the Crimson Leopard would have to become doubly loyal.

    Given the disparity in strength between Yi Chen and the Crimson Leopard, the seal was once again deeply ingrained.

    The blood color in the Crimson Leopard''s eyes continued to fade as it howled and immediately ran off, obviously with unmatched loyalty.

    Twice the loyalty was truly extraordinary¡­

    "Blood Flesh Buddha, come forth and fight me in a fair battle!"

    "Today, I shall enforce justice on behalf of the heavens!"

    "Halberd Five ¡¤ Devour Heaven and Earth ¡¤ Reincarnation!"

    Filled with the fervor of "exploding with Gold Coins," Yi Chen directly executed the fifth style of the Immortal Slaying Halberd Method toward the purple flesh mass, demonstrating the importance he placed on the blood flesh Buddha.

    A dark vortex suddenly appeared in the sky, with several bands of light circling around it like the blades of a fan, and smashed toward the blood flesh Buddha with a rumble.

    The purple flesh mass watched in dismay as the Deep Red Points within the xinghong leopard cleared, and it ran off into the distance, its heart filled with inexplicable anger.

    However, it could no longer concern itself with the xinghong leopard, as it faced an even greater crisis.

    "Roar!"

    With a roar, the purple flesh mass swelled in the wind, instantly inflating to over ten meters tall as the scattered flesh and blood on the ground covered it like armor.

    It spewed a blood fountain toward the sky and slammed fiercely into the center of the black vortex.

    Bang!

    The two mighty forces suddenly collided, and the point of contact immediately sparked an enormous umbrella-shaped ripple in the air, twisting and shimmering.

    For a time, they were at a stalemate.

    At this moment, Yi Chen''s Divine Power stirred his special powers into action.

    Divine Power surged again and again, completing five consecutive stimulations in an instant.

    "Blood flesh Buddha, you are incomplete!"

    "Without vigor! Without vigor!"

    "A fair fight, and you are no match for me!"

    Amidst the maniacal laughter, Yi Chen''s expression grew fierce, and the black vortex began to slowly press down on the blood flesh giant.

    The blood flesh Buddha was extraordinarily vile. Even Jin Hua, a Daoist at the initial stage of entering the path, was possessed and her will crumbled. However, as a unique being, Yi Chen completely countered it, truly a case of one thing subduing another.

    As the black vortex slowly pressed down, the violent energy caused the many pieces of flesh covering the blood flesh Buddha to melt away and fall off like ice and snow under the sunlight.

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    "Despicable!"

    "Taking advantage of my slumber and the time when I was dividing my spirit to accumulate cultivation, you killed my avatar and even used special means to trap parts of my ''Buddha flesh'' inside that beast. You deserve to die!"

    "My master will soon descend into the world, and I will kill you. Just wait and see!"

    A deafening voice of resentment reverberated across the plaza, and suddenly a crack opened on the body of the blood flesh giant, from which hundreds of dark lotus Primordial Spirits flew out.

    No longer resisting, the huge flesh body of the blood flesh Buddha was split in two by Yi Chen.

    However, seeing the duck that was almost in hand about to fly away, he too felt his eyes nearly bursting with fury.

    If he let this creature escape, wouldn''t he have come here in vain?

    He horizontally wielded his Holy Halberd, and the twenty-eight major acupoints of the golden divine beings around him rose together, their movements merging with his own.

    "Lone Peaks Against the Sky."

    "Countless Paths Untraveled."

    "Holy Halberd Sky Question."

    "One move, Extinguish the Divine."

    "Halberd Six: Invert the World, Extinguish the Divine."

    Thirty-six golden divine beings stood up together.

    The ferocious dragon, the vicious tiger, the blue ox divine pattern phantoms all shot up into the sky and then returned to Yi Chen''s body.

    The Extinguish the Divine technique resurfaced. Under the influence of the special powers, numerous bits of flesh and blood instantly rose into the air; everything around Yi Chen slowed down to an extreme under his mental perception.

    Yi Chen''s figure burst forth, then froze in place. A shadow indistinguishable from his real body suddenly emerged, charging toward the sky full of dark lotuses like a bolt of lightning.

    At the same time, the Extreme Origin surged like a heavenly river cascading down, washing over the blood flesh Buddha.

    This was the soul-destroying strike, inescapable.

    Destined to slay both the flesh body and the spirit soul.

    "Boom!"

    Without any resistance, the sky full of dark lotuses were swept away under the Extinguish the Divine technique.

    Daoist wielding a mighty halberd, cleaving the pure jade sky and clearing a myriad miles of haze!

    A stream of information suddenly flashed before Yi Chen''s eyes.

    [You have successfully slain the blood flesh Buddha (mutated) and obtained 32,000 Deep Red Points.]

    To advance to the sixteenth level of True Technique, one needs a total of one hundred thousand Deep Red Points. With one strike, Yi Chen had completed about one-third of the progression.

    "Blood flesh Buddha, impressive!"

    "Indeed, the bigger the storm, the more valuable the fish!"

    A Nike-like smile suddenly spread across Yi Chen''s lips.

 Chapter 276 Surprise, Underground Cavern, True Scripture.

    The skies above the Extinction Ruins were filled with a color of decay, like a piece of whole wheat bread that had barely started to mold. As Yi Chen traveled on, the coldness in the air grew more and more intense.

    Two days later.

    A vast and quietly green river lay before him.

    Green does not always signify life, at least not this river, which emanated a sense of deathly stillness and strangeness, causing a feeling of discomfort to arise within anyone who beheld it.

    However, faced with this scene, Yi Chen, who rode upon a crimson leopard, instead revealed a faint smile. He flipped open a book and began to carefully compare it with a certain page.

    "The ancient texts of the Zheng Family record that the cave where their ancestors fell lies upstream of the River of Dead Silence. The river, mysterious and enigmatic in its green hue where even a feather would sink swiftly and disappear without trace."

    "If I''m not mistaken, this quiet green river before me must be the River of Dead Silence mentioned in the ancient texts."

    Finally finding some clues, Yi Chen felt a burst of joy flash through his heart, glad not to be wandering aimlessly like a headless fly.

    He looked at the calmly flowing quiet green river and, with a thought, plucked a hair, which instantly appeared in the palm of his hand, glowing red.

    At this moment, the loyal leopard turned its head to Yi Chen, its eyes filled with grievance and quiet reproach, as if to say ''what are you doing, master?''

    Because the hair Yi Chen plucked was from the top of its head.

    "My good leopard, as a spiritual beast, you must be magnanimous. It''s just a hair. The greater your scope, the greater your fortune will be in the future, understand the applause."

    Seeing the dejected look in the leopard''s eyes, Yi Chen couldn''t help but laugh inwardly. He patted its head and began his silver-tongued reassurance.

    After placing a large piece of the Black Evil Dragon King''s flesh in front of the crimson leopard, Yi Chen exhaled a gust of wind from his mouth, blowing the red hair into the quiet green waters of the river.

    The green waters of the river, like a gaping maw that could never be satisfied, quickly swallowed the red hair, which sank to the bottom.

    Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.

    Witnessing this, Yi Chen nodded his head repeatedly in agreement.

    "It seems that this river is very likely the River of Dead Silence described in the records. I''ll follow along the river upstream to find that ancestral cave of the Zheng Family known as the ''Heart-Asking Cave''."

    "The left arm of the Kirin Sacred Armor, it must be fated for me."

    Just then, a sudden commotion in the distance caught Yi Chen''s attention.

    He gazed into the distance and saw ripples slowly spreading in the center of the river, as if a colossal creature was thrashing about beneath the water''s surface.

    This discovery made Yi Chen''s gaze sharply focus.

    "Ah well, best not to court unnecessary trouble."

    Shaking his head, Yi Chen urged the crimson leopard to start racing along the riverbank.

    This River of Dead Silence was too strange, the risks too great, and the gains unknown; he was not ready to take chances.

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    ...

    Within the black-green forest, twisted and bizarre trees spread their branches towards the sky like gnarled claws.

    The ground was covered with a thick layer of lichen, similar to moss, casting a faint glow in the night.

    Underneath the largest tree, a campfire was burning brightly.

    The warm light of the fire dispelled the darkness and the thin mist rising from the night sky, illuminating the six faces before it¡ªfive men and one woman.

    "Damn it, this eerie place can actually suppress our spiritual consciousness to such an extent."

    "Crane brother, are you sure that the cave contains the treasured scripture from the Discipline Hall of the bygone Reincarnation Temple, the ''Great Sun Divine Flame Purification Sutra''?" complained a short, plump monk with a round face, roasting meat over the fire.

    This man had a peculiar appearance; from the front all one could see was one of his ears, signifying the vastness and roundness of his face.

    "Be at ease, Brother Bo. This information is absolutely reliable. My ancestors planned for many years to obtain this scripture, but they had to withdraw reluctantly back then due to lack of strength. Now with the help of my fellow brethren here, we are sure to be successful."

    "Crane brother, why would the treasure scripture from the Discipline Hall of the Reincarnation Temple be in that cave?" asked a pure-looking girl with an oval-shaped face, warming her hands by the fire, curiosity in her voice.

    A black dress covered her legs evenly, revealing enticing ankles and a tattoo of a vivid plum blossom on her ankle, specifically eye-catching.

    The girl''s hair flowed down like a waterfall, and with her black dress, her complexion appeared as white and lustrous as jade.

    "Miss Rong doesn''t know that ten thousand years ago, something unknown happened to the great Buddhist sect, the Reincarnation Temple, and overnight the entire temple disappeared without a trace. My ancestors later stumbled upon the Hall of Hundred Treasures of the Reincarnation Temple''s Discipline Hall within these Extinction Ruins."

    "Perpetually enshrined within this Hall were the ''Great Sun Divine Flame Purification Sutra,'' which only the head of the Discipline Hall was permitted to practice, and the martial arts derived from this unparalleled scripture, ''Dragon God Flame.'' These items were created by the first-generation high monk of the Discipline Hall and have always been kept in the Hall of Hundred Treasures.

    In addition, there are nine Reincarnation Pills."

    "You all know the wonders of the Reincarnation Pill, I don''t need to say more. These miraculous pills, upon consumption, allow us to switch to cultivating the ''Great Sun Divine Flame Purification Sutra,'' thereby reconstructing our Cultivation Bodies into the most compatible Great Sun Flame Bodies,

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    and we can transform our hard-earned mana into genuine Buddhist power. With our talents, once we achieve this, we, the Six Wonders of the Southern Territory, can surely reach new heights," said the man they called Crane brother, his voice filled with pride.

    "Crane brother truly is generous, worthy of the name of benevolence, willing to share such benefits with us," said two silent men with dark complexions, their words expressing trust in Crane brother.

    The sky above the Extinction Ruins was devoid of moonlight, with only a few dim stars scattered across the firmament.

 Chapter 276 Accident, Cave, True Scripture._2

    At this moment, Brother Crane, seeing everyone''s enthusiasm being roused, couldn''t help but nod in approval inwardly.

    He continued to speak, "It has grown late, everyone has worked hard these past days. Let''s rest here tonight. Brother Feng, Brother Bao, Fellow Daoist Lian, how about you three scout the surrounding area and stand watch for the first half of the night?"

    "The six of us can take turns. Only then can we safely meditate and recuperate. Otherwise, the ferocious beasts in this dense forest will disturb us, and no one will be able to rest peacefully."

    Naturally, everyone agreed.

    The two dark-faced men immediately got up and went off in different directions.

    This bizarre forest was home to strange beasts, much like giant mantises, incredibly strong, covered in pitch-black carapaces, swift as the wind, and comparable to cultivators at the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm, with their numbers being plentiful.

    Ever since entering this forest, their small team had been attacked numerous times, already annoyed to the extreme, each rest could only be taken in shifts through the night.

    Watching the two dark-faced men depart into the distance, a pretty female cultivator with plum blossom tattoos on her ankles, did not stand up but instead coquettishly said to a young male cultivator with somewhat thin shoulders and thick lips, "Brother Lin, why don''t you take my place on night watch? I''m quite tired today."

    The young cultivator, his gaze full of affection, swept over the pretty female cultivator, nodded gently in agreement to her request. Only the short, plump cultivator hesitated as if he wanted to say something but ultimately remained silent.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Lin Yueshen carefully ventured into the distance, the black-green forest at night looking even more sinister and terrifying under the faint luminescence of the moss.

    After walking for about a kilometer, he suddenly heard a strange noise from under a giant tree far ahead. His muscles tensed instantly, and he couldn''t help but draw his black long spear, a magic artifact.

    This forest was exceedingly strange, with an invisible force that could greatly suppress a cultivator''s spiritual sense, meaning he could now only rely on his eyes to search everything around him.

    "Is it that giant mantis?"

    "These fools usually attack on sight, fearlessly and recklessly. How come this one is hiding?"

    Fearing other mighty strange creatures might be nearby, Lin Yueshen''s palms began to sweat slightly. He moved closer to the tree cautiously, and at that moment, a giant black mantis suddenly sprang out from behind it.

    As a cultivator in the eighth layer of the True Person Realm, Lin Yueshen''s reactions were quick, and he speared the creature, sending it flying, with inky green blood scattering everywhere.

    "That scared me to death. I didn''t expect it to be this kind of dumb beast. I''ve ended up scaring myself," Lin Yueshen patted his chest, feeling somewhat embarrassed about his just-now nearness to call for his companions.

    After all, he was at a critical moment in pursuing Fellow Daoist Lian Hong; if others knew he had made such a big blunder, wouldn''t that be a total loss of face?

    "It''s just that I don''t understand why Miss Lian Hong is sometimes cold and sometimes warm toward me. It''s truly perplexing."

    The so-called Six Wonders of the Southern Domain was merely a medium-sized power formed by loose cultivators, controlling a place called the Six Flags Market, a gathering spot for loose cultivators.

    During an excursion, he and his good friend Bo Jian chanced upon Fellow Daoist Lian Hong. He fell for her at first sight, and the three of them traveled together. Later, when passing through the Six Flags Market, they hit it off with the market''s leader, Young Master Crane, and joined the Six Flags Market, swearing brotherhood, self-styled as the Six Wonders of the Southern Domain. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Years later, at the hearty invitation of Young Master Crane, they came to the Extinction Ruins in search of opportunities.

    With a long sigh, just as Lin Yueshen was about to return, suddenly, a ribbon-like spectral light descended from the canopy of the black tree.

    "Damn it!"

    As the unexpected event unfolded, Lin Yueshen was greatly shocked, he turned around, his spear at the ready, thrust!

    Thrust!

    The long spear, like a roaming dragon, pierced the body of a massive black mantis with strange purple stripes falling from the sky, splashing out a large amount of black-green blood.

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    However, the huge scythe-like arms of the purple-striped mantis also pierced through Lin Yueshen''s organs in an instant.

    In pain, the purple-striped mantis struggled and retreated explosively, vanishing into the depths of the dense forest in the blink of an eye, while Lin Yueshen stood in place, holding his chest, leaning on his long spear.

    At this moment, he could distinctly feel his life force draining from his body.

    Instantly, a black hue began to spread rapidly from his wound. He suddenly felt his entire body go numb; he was no longer able to muster any strength, and there was a fierce poison at the site of the wound.

    Just as he could no longer hold on, his eyelids about to close, a tall figure riding a scarlet panther arrived at his side.

    ```

    "Eh, fellow Daoist, you seem to be about to die."

    "Even Bian Que would shake his head at this."

    "What creature did this?"

    Yi Chen, illuminated by the glowing lichens, looked at the young man before him and sighed softly.

    He had followed the River of Extinction upstream and half a day later entered this eerie dark green forest. After a short walk, he heard a rustling ahead, only to find he was a step too late.

    "Look at this wound, it seems to be the work of some strange beast. Buddy, you''re dying anyway, you wouldn''t mind if I took a look at your memory, right?"

    "No response means you agree, eh."

    Suddenly, a large hand covered the head of Lin Yueshen, seizing the last breath of life to receive a myriad of memories.

    As Yi Chen perused carefully, his frown slowly unfurled.

    "This team actually knows of a cave that contains the ''Great Sun Buddha Purging Sutra'' from the Reincarnation Temple''s Discipline Hall, and the ''Dragon God Flame'' derived from this scripture?"

    "This is fated for me indeed."

    "And those treasures in the Treasure Pavilion, they are also destined for my Hidden Dragon Temple, aren''t they? The connection isn''t shallow!"

    A bold plan took shape in Yi Chen''s mind as he pondered.

    With no one around and the man before him already dead, and since no one would notice, why not take his place and follow the team into the cave?

    If the "Dragon God Flame" cultivation technique really existed there, he was determined to get it.

    Thinking thus, Yi Chen began to search the corpse.

    A moment later, under a large tree, a figure indistinguishable from the young man appeared, the crimson leopard had already been stowed away by Yi Chen in his spirit beast bag.

    "Buddy, you haven''t got a bad deal either. I chanted the scripture of passing on for you three times. Remember not to be a bootlicker in your next life; groveling is bad for your destiny, won''t get you a house."

    After perusing the young cultivator''s memories, Yi Chen naturally came to understand much about the man''s life,

    and after pondering the details, he only made his move when the sky began to brighten.

    "Yueshen, why have you come back?"

    The two grim-faced men had returned and were resting by the bonfire. The woman in black, startled to see ''Yi Chen'' return, couldn''t help but express her surprise.

    Although she had asked Lin Yueshen to keep watch for the first half of the night, based on what she knew about him, he would definitely not give up his rest easily and would have certainly waited until the next morning to come back.

    "Nothing much, I''ve just been highly strung these past few days and my body''s a bit weary; I need to meditate to recover. Lian Hong, it''s your watch now, please take over for me," Yi Chen said calmly.

    At this, disbelief swept over the woman cultivator''s face.

    "Please, Lian Hong."

    Yi Chen couldn''t care less about her reaction. Some people are bootlickers, but he, a Taoist, is a warrior. If it weren''t for the knowledge from Lin Yueshen''s memory fragments that the leading Crane Young Master was a cultivator in the late stages of approaching the Dao, he would even consider having a casual chat with him.

    Substituting a pear for a peach was simply to avoid complications. A gentle approach was preferable if it sufficed, instead of a violent one. It would be awkward if he met someone who would rather die than speak.

    "Brother Yueshen is quite straightforward today, giving my brother and me quite an eye-opener," said the two black-clad men as they watched the woman in black walk off with a darkened face, not being able to restrain their laughter while popping open a jug of wine and passing it to Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen gave a noncommittal response and closed his eyes to meditate.

    As a Xibei good, it''s better to say less to avoid errors. As long as he could get through this period, it would be a great success.

    "That strange Purple-striped Mantis that killed Lin Yueshen is indeed peculiar, using misdirection tactics as if it possesses some cunning intelligence."

    "Does that ghastly thing have something to do with the cave this team is heading towards?"

    All sorts of thoughts appeared in Yi Chen''s mind, and he couldn''t help but start considering his options.

    ```

 Chapter 277 Scoundrel, Undercover Agent, Uniqueness, Heavenly Dragon Cave.

    At night, behind a low-lying hill, a man and a woman were passionately kissing.

    Some time passed before the two parted.

    "You''re insane, what if Lin Yueshen found out and just ran off with Bo Jian?"

    "These two are quite useful in the cave," teased the Crane Gentleman, running his hand insidiously across Lian Hong''s cheeks, his eyes brimming with lascivious intent.

    "It''s quiet here, what''s there to fear? That Lin Yueshen must have gone mad, having him guard the night and he actually came back midway, infuriating me," complained the woman in the black dress, anger distorting her once lovely features.

    "You don''t need to always give him the cold shoulder, give him a little hope now and then. We''ll be reaching the cave soon."

    "Such a fool isn''t easy to come by these days, just bear with it a little longer, my dear Lian," he said.

    "Hiss, slow down," Crane Gentleman suddenly inhaled sharply.

    "Don''t worry, I¡­ I understand Lin Yueshen. He''s just being a bit petulant with me. Tomorrow, I''ll make a gesture of goodwill and he''ll be as obedient as a dog," the woman in the black dress slurred.

    "Alright then, my sweetheart, a little quicker, hiss!" The Crane Gentleman inhaled sharply again.

    ....

    ....

    The next day, as the dawn light faintly illuminated, a group of travelers was cautiously making their way through a dark green forest.

    At this moment, the round-faced and plump Bo Jian couldn''t help but transmit a message to Yi Chen in secret: "Look at you, Yueshen, have you finally seen the light?"

    "With my extensive experience with women, that Lian Hong is obviously just playing with you. If we hadn''t grown up together, I would have walked away long ago, couldn''t care less about your fate."

    "After we return to the Southern Region, let''s split from the Six Banners Market and make a run for it. If your head hadn''t been turned, I wouldn''t have bothered coming to Extinction Ruins with you."

    "Just look at you over the years. Initially, your cultivation was a bit stronger than mine. Now, I''m at the ninth level of the True Person Realm, and you''ve fallen behind by generously feeding Lian Hong with the resources for cultivation. It''s embarrassing that I''ve surpassed you," he added.

    "Let''s talk about that later, Bo Jian. I feel this trip is somewhat dangerous; remember to keep your wits about you," Yi Chen, bothered by the fat cultivator''s nagging, replied with a headache.

    The short and chubby cultivator was Lin Yueshen''s staunch brother-in-arms, and Yi Chen had to admire his loyalty, so he gave him a heads-up.

    This Lin Yueshen''s behavior, in Yi Chen''s previous life, would score a whopping 250 on an online forum. He has utterly lost his mind over a woman, inexperienced and foolish.

    Cutting your losses is an art form.

    You say you''re hard to chase, ok, then I''ll just block you~

    That''s what they call mutual effort~

    Gauged by Yi Chen''s nature, when forced to choose between love and bread, he''d unquestionably pick bread.

    Because those who opt for love usually end up with neither the bread nor the love, only trailing behind someone else''s car calling for swallows, yielding nothing.

    As for the Lin Yueshen of yesterday, whose dream lover had returned, Yi Chen, with his now acute senses, detected the scent of the Crane Gentleman on her.

    After several excavations of the body''s divine treasures, his senses were not inferior to those of Miao Zi, especially in the department of smell.

    "Lin my friend, time flies and easily throws people aside, the wasted years slip by like defoaming froth, it''s truly pitiful," he lamented.

    "The bicycle you''ve never touched has someone else standing up and pedaling..."

    Yi Chen sighed heavily in his heart but couldn''t help feeling slightly schadenfreude.

    "Yueshen, what''s wrong with you today? Why aren''t you talking to me? Have you forgotten what you once said to me?" The woman in the black dress hastened her steps until she was beside Yi Chen, extending her hand to tug at his sleeve. Her expressive eyes fixed intently on him, filled with expectation.

    [What the hell are you looking at, what have I ever said to you?] Yi Chen scorned internally. He only had access to fragments of Lin Yueshen''s memories, unable to recall whatever nonsense Lin had spouted as a fervent admirer.

    Seeing that everyone''s eyes were converging on him, Yi Chen immediately put on an act, appearing ''sorrowful'' and silent, feigning mastery.

    With the acting skills he had honed while swindling investors with PPT presentations in the past, this was trivial.

    Every lie has a flaw, and sometimes saying nothing, allowing others to fill in the gaps, is a masterful choice.

    "You, so petty." Stamping her foot, the woman in the black dress returned to the back of the group.

    "Look what you''ve done, Yueshen, you''ve upset Lian Hong. Go and comfort her," Crane Gentleman turned his head and spoke softly with a coaxing smile, as if an indulgent elder brother.

    "Yueshen, have you really figured it out? Iron trees are blooming, iron trees blooming indeed." Bo Jian began to crazily send voice transmissions to harass Yi Chen.

    Facing this scene, a hint of ''sorrow'' showed in Yi Chen''s eyes, and the light therein dimmed slightly. He looked up to the sky at a 45-degree angle, then felt that he might have been too forceful and lowered his head again.

    The subtlety was so well realized that everyone could feel Yi Chen''s inner struggle and sadness, except for the woman in the black dress whose eyes flashed with a hint of suspicion.

    She always felt something off about the familiar face in front of her, especially when she made eye contact with him just now, it felt quite alien, as if there were a stranger''s soul hidden underneath that skin.

    In a moment, Lian Hong''s heart jolted, and although she pressed down the doubts in her heart, she didn''t interact with Yi Chen again.

    Half a day passed, and Yi Chen walked on the pitch-black muddy ground. The soil beneath his feet had started to soften, as if stepping on a decaying corpse, and a strange stench began to waft through the air.

    "Everyone be careful, we have now arrived at the dark swamp. If we cross this place, we won''t be far from reaching the grotto."

    Upon seeing this decaying land, He Gongzi''s face showed delight, while his eyes flickered with an inexplicable meaning.

    ...

    ...

    A certain dark hill.

    A three-headed toad, over four meters tall, was hit by a heavy, crimson meteor hammer and burst open with a muffled whoosh, turning into a spread of splattered flesh.

    Yellow-green fluid flowed all over the ground.

    With a casual tug, a woman dressed in a red robe, bewitching and demonic with a faint magical aura, retracted her meteor hammer and wrapped its chain around her wrist before coldly speaking to the distance, "Fellow Daoists, have you seen enough? Please, show yourselves."

    As her voice fell, two tall figures stepped out from the shadows.

    One was a bald, topless bruiser with a large nose ring,

    while the other was shrouded in thick black armor, revealing only a pair of cold eyes, dragging a long chain with a purple pointed blade at its end.

    "Unexpectedly, we have encountered the fellow Daoists from the Evil Armor Jin Huai, what a coincidence."

    "This direction, could it be that you are also headed to that place?"

    The woman in the red robe''s eyes sharpened as she saw the two men before her.

    Evil Armor Jin Huai is one of the most notorious underground forces in the Eastern Continent, with both of its leaders being mid-stage cultivators in the True Person Realm.

    Evil Armor had never shown his face, always hidden within a sinister armor; he and Jin Huai were often seen together, skilled in joint combat techniques. Once they united, not even a late-stage True Person Realm cultivator could handle them.

    "We didn''t expect to chance upon Lady Xue Luosha from the Luosha Magic Sect. Although my brother and I have thoroughly concealed our presence, it seems you have still managed to find us. Perhaps you have already advanced to the late-stage of the True Person Realm."

    Watching the striking woman before him, Jin Huai''s eyes were full of wariness.

    "Let''s not beat around the bush. Are you two also heading towards the Heavenly Dragon grotto? How did you come to know of its location?"

    Xue Luosha asked with a puzzled tone.

    Had it not been for a hidden ally among the Loose Cultivators informing her of a secret, she wouldn''t have appeared here.

    "There''s no need for Lady to worry about that. While we Evil Armor Jin Huai may not be as wealthy and influential as the Luosha Magic Sect, we still have our own sources of information." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Now, do you wish to make this into a fight, or shall we postpone it for another time?" In the face of Xue Luosha from the late-stage True Person Realm, Jin Huai was surprisingly assertive. Continue your journey on My Virtual Library Empire

    "We all belong to the demonic path; without substantial interest, why bother with fighting and killing? Maybe in the Extinction Ruins, there''s still a chance for us to cooperate."

    "Gentlemen, until next time." The seemingly irritable and gloomy lady in red suddenly smiled, ignored Jin Huai and the other one, and headed in the direction indicated by her sect''s hidden ally''s location-seeking treasure.

    Watching Xue Luosha leave, Jin Huai''s gaze became peculiar for a moment.

    "Evil Armor, if I''m not mistaken, it seems we''ve bumped into that old hag Xue Luosha this time."

    "No... no problem, if need be... we''ll just fight it out, let... let each rely on their own methods." The tall figure hidden within the armor spoke roughly, as if two slabs of raw iron were grinding against each other.

    "Brother Evil Armor makes a good point. It''s merely a matter of our own methods. When the two of us brothers join forces, we are not at all afraid of this female demon," Jin Huai said, his spirits lifting slightly as he took a different route, walking in the same direction as Xue Luosha.

    The two parties split into different paths, and soon after, they each entered a dark green forest.

    Following the direction Yi Chen and his group had left, Xue Luosha strode ahead. Giant mantis beasts occasionally attacked her, only to be smashed into minced meat by her effortless meteor hammer strikes, leaving them utterly disfigured.

 Chapter 279 Gathering, Personal Schemes, Three Stone Gates, Inviting You All to Death! (Part 2)

    The hall was extremely spacious, with eight life-sized statues of Heavenly Dragons displayed along the sides, all carved from black zircon, their lines flowing and beautiful.

    In front of the statues, there was a copper cauldron the size of a millstone, its edges blackened with scorch marks, and its bottom filled with dried grease, presumably used for lighting and religious offerings within the hall previously.

    In front of the hall stood three huge black stone doors, the portals stained with mottled bloodstains, as if this place had once witnessed a battle of extreme cruelty.

    The floor and walls were all made of rock solidified by Formations, occasionally flickering with a faint light.

    "Brother He, which of these three stone doors leads to the chamber of treasures and obtains the scriptures and the Reincarnation Pill from the legend?"

    "And how do we open these stone doors?"

    Somehow, the Young Master He who had been leading the way in front had fallen behind, and a woman in black approached him with a twist of her waist, laughing lightly as she asked.

    "Sister Four asks a good question. These pieces of information were originally the top secrets of my He family, but now that we are in the Heavenly Dragon catacombs, there''s no harm in telling everyone."

    "Speaking of which, we will need the help of our brothers to open these stone doors later."

    "Among the three stone doors, only the one on the left leads to the chamber of treasures. As for the middle and right doors, I do not know what treasures they contain,

    only that our ancestor said that great peril lies within them. Those who entered those two doors in the past never emerged."

    Young Master He''s face wore a gentle smile, as usual.

    However, at this moment, Yi Chen suddenly noticed the malice emanating from this person had surged violently.

    It wasn''t just directed at him, but was equally targeted at each one of them.

    "Brother, just tell us how we can help. Whatever it is, us brothers will do it without a second word," the two men in black looked at each other and slapped their chests with a resounding thud. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Brothers Feng and Bao, this task is not difficult yet not easy. I just want to borrow something from you brothers,"

    While he was speaking, a willow-leaf sword suddenly appeared in Young Master He''s hand, and a flash of the blade left a crimson line of blood on the forehead of the woman in black beside him.

    Without a struggle, without a sound, her body fell to the ground like a limp noodle, bisected.

    "Brother, what are you doing?" Both Bo Jian and the men in black''s faces changed dramatically, as they all exclaimed in unison, retreating three steps in sync.

    "Dear brothers, carrying the name of righteousness has been such a tough journey for me."

    "Don''t you ever think? Could there really be nine precious Reincarnation Pills?"

    "You brothers have helped me a lot in the Six Flags Market. Why not lend me a hand today as well? I invite you to death so as to open these sealed stone doors for me. How about it?"

    "You know, without enough masters dying in this hall, these stone doors will never open properly. And if they do not open properly, how can I reach the chamber of treasures?"

    "Don''t be hasty, brothers. Whoever moves first, I shall send on their way first. There''s a share for everyone."

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    At this point, Young Master He revealed his true intentions, a sinister smile on his face, his sword streaking towards Yi Chen''s left chest like a bolt of lightning.

    "Moon¡­" The round-faced monk Bo Jian, anxiety flaring in his heart, but the final word "deep" was never spoken, as he forcefully swallowed it.

    At that moment, Young Master He''s face turned beet red, and the willow-leaf sword in his hand was bent like a prawn.

    "Who... who exactly are you? You couldn''t possibly be Lin Yueshen." The perfect situation had collapsed in an instant, and such an unforeseen event made Young Master He''s voice tremble.

    He had walked on thin ice all these years, having built such a large family business, fooled several good brothers into his fold, anything he did turned to success as if the heavens were on his side, and just as he was about to reap the rewards, such a reversal occurred.

    "Come on, aim here, Brother Crane, I am a freak of nature, my heart is on the right side, where it''s vulnerable," Yi Chen sneered as he shifted the sword that Young Master Crane was stabbing at his heart to the right side.

    "Pre...Predecessor, I....." Watching Yi Chen''s skin suddenly turn to a color of gilded gold, Young Master Crane dared not continue his attack.

    "Eh, I gave you a chance and you didn''t take it."

    Yi Chen''s Extreme Origin flowed, his domineering body unfolded, he seized the sword, counter-stabbed, and in an instant turned Young Master Crane into a sieve, then walked towards the trio of Bo Jian.

    "Slow down, Senior, we are the secret agents of the sinister Jin Huai faction; our two leaders will be here soon, please spare our lives for the sake of our leaders," they pleaded.

    Seeing this, the two dark-faced men became terribly anxious, and in their desperation, they directly blew their cover.

    "Is that so, then I need to hurry," Yi Chen let out a cold laugh, and all of a sudden the ground and walls were splattered with fresh blood,

    At this point, how could he possibly let these two men go? Otherwise, where would he find two unlucky fools to replace the correct method to open the stone doors that Young Master Crane had spoken of?

    Just then, suddenly, a strange change occurred in the hall.

    The eight Heavenly Dragon statues arrayed on both sides began to crackle and turn, facing the stone doors in front of them.

    The bloodstains on the ground slowly faded, vanished, and a bizarre, eerie wind started blowing through the hall. The soul force dispersed by Young Master Crane and others in the hall began to gather inside the statues, and in an instant, the zircon-made statues turned blood red, and their eyes began to glow red too.

    As the bloodstains on the ground disappeared rapidly, absorbed by the statues, eight interlacing chains of blood appeared in the air, shooting towards the three stone doors, linking them with the statues.

    Creak, creak, creak.

    The towering stone doors were slowly and completely opened by the pull of the statues.

    Three dark, ominous doorways suddenly appeared before Yi Chen, a strong musty scent emanating from within, accompanied by a moaning wind.

    Familiar rustling sounds came from within the doorways.

    "Bo Daoist is a lucky man; it wasn''t I who killed Lin Yueshen, he was slain by a Purple-striped Mantis, believe it or not, it''s up to you."

    "If I believed you, I wouldn''t be staying here. I would turn around and leave. Some things that exceed one''s abilities, you might have the fortune to obtain them, but you also need the luck to use them."

    "After you leave, you should know what can be said, and what can''t," Yi Chen said ominously to the round-faced cultivator.

    Perhaps because Young Master Crane was of high cultivation, after four people had died, all three stone doors were open, which was effectively two for the price of one.

    "Thanks, Senior, Bo Jian understands," consecutive changes left the round-faced cultivator drenched in cold sweat, he immediately turned and fled without looking back the way he came.

    At this moment, the rustling sounds from within the cave grew closer and closer. Yi Chen glanced at the four dried-up corpses in the hall, his eyes rolled, and suddenly a brilliant idea flashed through his mind,

    He quickly pulled out two large chunks of black evil Dragon King''s flesh from the storage ring, wrapped up the black-skirted female cultivator and Young Master Crane''s dead bodies, and all the items that had fallen in the hall within the flesh, and threw it violently towards the middle dark doorway.

    Then, as before, he treated the dark-faced men''s dead bodies in the same way, throwing them into the rightmost doorway.

    After doing all this, his figure flashed, and he immediately dashed towards the cave behind the left stone door.

    Such actions could be considered a stray move; if these people indeed carried positioning Magic Artifacts, it might just give their hidden enemies a tough time. Even if it were just to impede the steps of the hidden enemies, it would still be a big win.

    At this moment, within a dark green forest, a red silhouette holding a meteor hammer was rushing forward at high speed.

    In another direction, two tall figures were also making their way, uprooting trees as they came.

 Chapter 280 Obtaining the Scripture

    Following the cave entrance, Yi Chen continued to walk, the Extreme Origin flowing around his body illuminating the cave interior as if it were broad daylight. Emitting light and brightness for him was as simple as eating and drinking; for a moment, the scenery along the path was fully revealed, captured entirely by his sight.

    A large group of giant mantises charged toward Yi Chen as if they had gone mad, surging forward and kicking up large chunks of rock from the ground.

    At this moment, the density of the giant mantises was clearly greater and stronger than the wave they had encountered when they first entered.

    "They''re like moths to a flame, overestimating their own strength," Yi Chen stepped forward, and suddenly, fierce golden flames ignited around his body.

    What is rolling out?

    Yi Chen strode forward, completely disregarding the oncoming mantis beasts. Under the scorching golden flames, the fierce mantises were ignited one after another, falling before him like burning torches, without the need for him to lift a finger, the efficiency of the slaughter was astonishing.

    Having walked like this for roughly the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the cave became increasingly cold and gloomy, curving downwards and leading to another great hall appearing before Yi Chen.

    Inside the hall stood eighteen golden Arhat statues, each in a different pose.

    At the entrance, there were two skeletons that had long since weathered away.

    Find your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire

    Yi Chen carefully examined them and found that these two skeletons had not died from beasts gnawing at them, but had perished together in a mutual demise.

    In the dangerous journey of exploring the Secret Realm, the danger does not only come from the surrounding environment, but sometimes, one''s own kind can be an even more dangerous presence.

    "How tragic! Their bones lie exposed in the wilderness."

    With tears in his eyes, Yi Chen picked up the two storage rings from the ground, and immediately, two golden sparks fell from his fingertips.

    Looking at the burnt-out pile of ash on the ground, he couldn''t help but feel a sense of sorrow for the dead rabbits and foxes; perhaps one day, he too would end up like these cultivators, dying in a foreign land.

    But now, with the world undergoing strange changes, where could one find happiness and peace?

    If he did not strive and fight bravely at this moment, how would he remain unmoved by the eight winds and sit in possession of the Royal City when facing the future''s towering waves and terrifying storms?

    Speaking of towering waves, the image of Yuan Jun flashed through Yi Chen''s mind; in this regard, Yuan Jun possessed an exceptional talent that was breathtaking, even Ling Yue and Zhen Ruan had to step aside!

    "What am I thinking about, damn," Yi Chen chastised himself.

    Dispelling the unexpected thoughts of the peach blossom mask that popped into his mind, Yi Chen immediately stepped into the hall. Suddenly, he felt the world spinning around him as everything nearby started to enlarge rapidly.

    The hall suddenly became immensely large, the space stretching out extravagantly to the size of a hundred acres.

    The golden Arhat statues, which previously appeared somewhat small compared to Yi Chen, also grew colossal in an instant.

    In the distance, a three-legged golden cauldron suddenly appeared, with a rapidly burning incense stick inserted into it.

    "Not bad, Mount Meru within a mustard seed, the Buddhist sect is most adept at such methods."

    "Does the rapidly burning incense stick mean that I must defeat these eighteen golden Arhats before the incense burns out to pass through here?"

    "I want to see whether my True Yang Spirit is stronger or whether these golden-bodied Arhats are more superior."

    Faced with this sudden change, Yi Chen was not flustered. With a soft chant in his heart and the slow melting of the bright crystal in his Niwan Palace, a twenty-meter tall gilded Daoist shadow suddenly appeared on the scene.

    At this moment, the form of the Pure Yang Holy Seal was clearly more appropriate than the tyrannical body.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    In an instant, the eighteen golden-bodied Arhats charged toward Yi Chen; he met their assault without fear, matching their strength with his own, and clashed with them.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The violent power was wantonly unleashed in the space, with continuous collisions sounding off like explosions, drifting in all directions.

    After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, just as it was about to extinguish, Yi Chen barely managed to dismantle the last golden Arhat puppet into several sections, revealing the mechanical structure within its body.

    "Is this the trial to reach the Hundred Treasures Pavilion? Just how powerful was the Reincarnation Temple in the past?"

    What Yi Chen didn''t know was that, even in the past, the Reincarnation Temple simply required its disciples to endure until the incense stick had burned out, not to dismantle the puppet into pieces¡­

    At that moment, the surrounding environment began to crack and crumble like broken glass. When Yi Chen came to his senses, he found himself standing in a corner of the great hall, gasping for air as he stared at a large hole that had suddenly appeared in the center, with a streak of golden light shining through.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    The huge round cavity was red and green, and the ground was paved with a single slab of azure stone.

    An opening, much like the mouth of a volcano, faced the upper layer, where countless scorching breaths surged up to be absorbed by the formation runes above.

    A temple bathed in golden light sat at the very center, with the three golden characters for Hundred Treasures Pavilion drawing the eye.

    Yi Chen leaped into the sudden gap and entered this strange domain.

    "Is this the Hundred Treasures Pavilion of the Heavenly Dragon Cavern?"

    "The formation above has still been functioning after all these years; it must have been accumulating and absorbing this fiery breath to maintain such power," Yi Chen mused, glancing back at the volcanic cavern''s opening, full of admiration for the means once employed by the Reincarnation Temple.

    At the same time, his eyes narrowed slightly.

    "It seems that not all perished overnight after the Reincarnation Temple''s drastic change back in the day - there must have been some survivors," he speculated.

    "If the remaining people could stage such a grand scheme, I can''t imagine the formidable force that managed to bring such a great temple to this state."

    After carefully scanning the four directions and finding nothing unusual, Yi Chen cautiously walked toward the distant palace.

    To his surprise, nothing out of the ordinary happened along the way.

    Pushing open the heavy brass doors, Yi Chen was immediately staggered by the sight that met his eyes.

    A dragon!

    A real dragon that had been long dead!

    A creature of divine spirit, at least at the level of severing the dao, with an extensive lifespan.

    Yet there it lay dead, its essence and vital energy completely drained by an unknown force. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Ruthless. A Heavenly Dragon died here... What on earth happened at the Reincarnation Temple?"

    The hall was filled with many treasures, an array of Magic Artifacts, a feast for the eyes.

    At the very head were two books shrouded in clear light, and upon closer inspection, Yi Chen saw they were two golden tomes.

    One was titled "Great Sun Divine Flame Purifying Scripture," and the other was called "Dragon Divine Fire."

    Beside the altar, lay several skeletons, all blackened as if struck by lightning.

    Since he was in the treasure mountain, how could he leave empty-handed?

    Yi Chen gritted his teeth, as the Extreme Origin within him surged wildly. His hand suddenly reached into the clear light that enveloped the golden tomes. In a flash, peculiar golden divine lightning bolts emitted from the hall''s dome, striking down at him.

    "Eh, the power is average," he remarked.

    After shattering the clear light with great force, Yi Chen, enduring the golden divine lightning strikes, firmly grasped the two golden tomes in his hands.

 Chapter 282 Breaking the Game, Spirit-Breaking Realm, Devouring Human Green Lotus

    The Dominant Body manifested.

    Within his body, the golden divinity''s eyes opened simultaneously, and it rose to its feet.

    Fierce dragons, evil tigers, and green ox totemic shadows suddenly soared into the sky and then returned to Yi Chen''s body once more.

    The wildly surging energy, accompanied by a phantom identical to Yi Chen''s true form, rushed fiercely towards the woman in the red robe.

    Yi Chen''s idea was quite simple; he decided to strike first to gauge the strength of his opponent. If he could kill this person, it would also serve to severely intimidate the other two figures lurking behind the red figure.

    One punch to forestall a hundred!

    Of course, if he couldn''t kill this person, he would then decide what to do based on the situation.

    Faced with such a ferocious blow from Yi Chen, Xue Luosha couldn''t help but feel a tingling sensation on her scalp. However, she was also a decisive person, and promptly formed a hand seal. Her phoenix eyes turned a deep bloody red as she coldly shouted, "Xue Luo Heaven Guard!"

    In an instant, the red of her robe faded away, and a pair of immensely large, left-red and right-black wings extended from her ribs.

    With a sudden closure of her wings, they formed a protective barrier, momentarily shrouding her figure behind this shielded wall. Moreover, the meteor hammer in her hands unexpectedly disintegrated into hundreds of peculiar fragments, which then instantly formed a slightly raised round shield in the air.

    The front of the round shield, with protrusions like fangs, spun wildly, blocking the path of Yi Chen''s Holy Halberd.

    Attack without defense, unrivaled under the heavens; such a move aimed to annihilate could sever the physical body.

    Under the enhancement of Extreme Origin and Holy Halberd, brightly shimmering light slammed violently onto the ceaselessly spinning black shield.

    Sizzling sounds.

    A grating noise kept emanating, creating sparks like those from a smith''s hammer striking an anvil.

    At the same time, the phantom, which was no different from Yi Chen''s true form, completely ignored the black shield, as if it were an out-of-control dump truck, diving headfirst into the protection offered by Xue Luosha''s black and red wings.

    Bang!

    A burst of bloody light spilled out, and Xue Luosha''s summoned red and black wings suddenly exploded. Her complexion first turned crimson and then abruptly shifted to deathly pale, as she staggered back three steps. The black shield that was obstructing the halberd''s light had a fist-sized protrusion forcibly poked through it during the violent friction.

    "Damn, that''s prickly," Yi Chen looked at the woman in front of him and was quite shocked himself.

    Since his technique reached perfection, it was the first time someone had forcibly blocked it. Even though the person managed with great difficulty, it had indeed been blocked.

    If it were a fight to the death, with his current level of fifteen layers in True Technique, he could use the annihilating move twice in a row. In a one-on-one fight, the woman in the red robe would stand no chance.

    However, with two uninvited guests behind her, he couldn''t act recklessly.

    Two tall figures took their places beside the woman in the red robe. Their mutual auras intertwined, emitting a force not much weaker than that of the woman in red.

    These two people were none other than Jin Huai and ''Evil Armor''.

    The three of them tightly guarded the only path Yi Chen could take to leave.

    "Evil Armor, Jin Huai, shall we join forces?" The woman in the red robe had a flash of doubt and resentment in her eyes. After a moment of contemplation, she extended an invitation to Evil Armor and Jin Huai by her side.

    "Agreed!" Jin Huai''s gaze lingered on the woman in red before his pupils suddenly contracted sharply, betraying a trace of peculiarity; the cultivator shrouded in iron armor remained silent, looking as though he followed Jin Huai''s lead.

    "Fellow Daoist, three of us joined together, you stand no chance. It''s hard for us cultivators to reach our level; why don''t you hand over your halberd and storage bag? I can promise you safe passage. What do you say?"

    Xue Luosha''s greedy eyes flickered over the halberd for a moment, evidently coveting Yi Chen''s Holy Halberd, clearly shaken by the previous clash.

    "You dare to threaten me? If it weren''t for these two Daoist friends here, do you believe I wouldn''t spear you to death with another strike?"

    Yi Chen faced the three people before him with an air of extraordinary defiance.

    "But I have allies, and the Daoist priest stands alone. Under the eaves, one must bow their head," Xue Luosha responded indifferently to Yi Chen''s disdainful tone, her smile deepening without a trace of her previous irritation.

    "Interesting. Fellow Daoists, how about instead we three join forces and silence this noisy woman? What do you think?"

    Yi Chen increased his guard internally but externally began surreptitiously sowing discord.

    Evil Armor and Jin Huai glanced at the face of the woman in red. Jin Huai shook his head with a smile, "Fellow Daoist, why bother with words? My association with Daoist Xue Luosha is deep and trusting. Having formed an alliance, how could we act unfaithfully?"

    "Then, Daoist Xue Luosha, how about the two of us join forces and take them down? We kill these two brats, and all their possessions are yours," Yi Chen licked his lips, a glint of ferocity flashing in his eyes.

    "Fellow Daoist, don''t waste your effort. My bond with Evil Armor and Jin Huai is deep and trusting; you can''t shake our resolve with a few words. Such language from you, isn''t it disdainful?" Xue Luosha''s smile grew broader, yet it quickly froze on her face.

    "Well said! Since that''s the case, I still have one Holy Halberd technique left. Which of you would like to come and die?" Yi Chen''s face twisted fiercely, and with a sweep of his halberd, a break appeared on the ground, "Whoever crosses this line first, that person will receive my halberd strike."

    The ones who fear death the most, die the quickest.

    Without the courage to stake your life, you''ll eventually be consumed entirely by others.

    Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    You need to have the courage to risk your life, but don''t do so lightly until the very end. Those who are quick to stake their life in a conflict will sooner or later lose it completely.

    These three principles were the key truths Yi Chen had realized in his previous life.

 Chapter 282 Breaking the Game, Spirit-Breaking Realm, Devouring Human Green Lotus_2

    ```

    "Xue Luosha, Jin Huai, who among you will make the first move?" Yi Chen''s divine power surged, instantly elevating his aura.

    "Or perhaps I should leave it to the reticent daoist shrouded in iron armor, who, without saying a word, exudes domineering presence! It''s quite the disparagement to me!

    How about I lead the way, break through your combined attack, and in the end, allow Xue Luosha to slaughter Jin Huai too? How does that sound?" Yi Chen cast his gaze towards the armored figure, but his words were meant to kill.

    "Or maybe I''d take Xue Luosha down the path instead, to be struck by my god-erasing blow. I reckon if he takes another hit like that, even if he has an ace up his sleeve, he''ll barely be breathing. Then, you two daoists could easily claim all the benefits with a mere strike."

    "Of course, I''m merely speaking off the top of my head. Don''t read too much into it, after all, the three of you share an exceptional bond. Right then, I''ve said my piece, so who''s ready to die?"

    Without true resolve, one cannot firmly stand!

    In the Extinction Ruins brimming with peril, if not for the fear of other powerful beings lurking or encountering other dangers after a fiery battle with these three, Yi Chen would have somewhat desired to unleash his Soul Ignition Technique trump card and make another big play.

    Everyone should go all in.

    However, reason told him that these three did not possess Deep Red Points, and it was truly not worth the extreme risk.

    Moreover, inside the grand hall prior, he had uncovered some of the truths surrounding the destruction of the Dragon King Sect, and considering his previous experiences in the Rotten Flesh Hall, he did not believe the Extinction Ruins had not undergone some bizarre changes.

    If he encountered a significant threat while at his weakest, he truly might make a run for it, unable to hold back any longer.

    "If none of you daoists make a move..."

    "Shall I go?" Yi Chen took a tentative step forward.

    Butchering a sausage is an art, and Yi Chen, a thorough scholar of British history, decided to start cutting from the middle.

    At the first step, both the armored warrior and Jin Huai had expressions as if they had swallowed flies.

    At the second step, Xue Luosha''s complexion changed as swiftly as strobe lights.

    No one doubted that Yi Chen could deliver another supremely powerful strike, but trapped in a prisoner''s dilemma by him, they were unable to break free.

    Just as Yi Chen thought the matter was settled, Xue Luosha suddenly made a move, blocking his path.

    "Daoist, if you take another step, then we''ll die together. Why not let the armored warrior and Jin Huai benefit from our legacy, eh?"

    "The daoist has a formidable physique, it would be quite delightful to become desperate mandarin ducks with you~"

    "Then we can journey together to the afterlife, frolicking freely under the earth, the envy of others indeed~" Xue Luosha spoke frivolously, yet his words were filled with a murderous intent.

    The four exchanged glances, and once again, the standoff intensified.

    [Cutting too many sausages, dammit!]

    During the stalemate, another idea popped into Yi Chen''s mind.

    "You win."

    "I fought a bloody battle within, wounded by the golden divine thunder, and that''s how I seized a copy of the ''Sun Divine Flame Purifying Scripture.'' Now, I''ll sell it for a bargain."

    "I''ll allow you each to make a copy for a hundred drops of gold essence each. After the transaction, we''ll go our separate ways and be no further concern to each other."

    "This is a top-tier scripture from the Dragon King Sect, were it not for my foundation being already established, I would''ve liked to obtain a set for myself~"

    "Dammit, I''m not overcharging you daoists by a single drop of gold essence!"

    Yi Chen offered a way out, and the three, including Xue Luosha, couldn''t help but let out a sigh of relief, like fools stuck here missing countless opportunities.

    "Alright, generous brother, let''s make a deal then."

    "Observing how you act, I never knew our evil path had gained such a mighty expert. The armored warrior and Jin Huai have seen your prowess, brother. If you ever have any big deals in the future, feel free to contact us."

    Jin Huai eyed the dragon, tiger, and blue ox divine patterns on Yi Chen''s robust body, his gaze flickering, pondering unknown thoughts.

    All three, including Xue Luosha, quickly agreed.

    Their alacrity made Yi Chen''s heart ache. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I set the price too low, what a loss."

    Yi Chen licked his lips but still faithfully produced copies of the scripture according to his promise.

    The original scripture couldn''t be fully utilized to achieve profound depths, but it was sufficient for expanding horizons.

    ```

    Just as the group was about to split up and leave, Yi Chen "gritted his teeth" and spoke up again.

    The three individuals in front of him were all wealthy, and Yi Chen decided to strike while the iron was hot, embarking on a billion-dollar subsidy sale for Yi Duoduo:

    "Hold on, my fellow Daoists, I still have a bottle of Reincarnation Elixir, which is used for refining one''s foundation. Its efficacy is full and complete, I''ll trade for three hundred drops of gold essence, or treasures of equivalent value like Origin Blood."

    .....

    .....

    A short while later, after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

    At the top of the canopy, a tall figure shot up into the sky and disappeared on the horizon in the blink of an eye.

    After half a day''s rush, Yi Chen finally stopped, looking at the blood gourd in his hands with an inevitable laugh.

    He hurried because he feared that Xue Luosha would come out and strike him with a blade. The nearly new Reincarnation Elixir, personally used by a high monk ten thousand years ago, had indeed been bartered away, and in the woman''s hands was indeed Origin Blood, precisely ten drops.

    Indeed, garbage is just a resource in the wrong place.

    "Hiss, if the elixir''s effect isn''t sufficient, when transforming the foundation, if it doesn''t completely take effect, that would be quite entertaining." Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire

    "What? It''s not for me to consume? Then there''s no issue."

    "After all, I believe the efficacy should be fine."

    Yi Chen opened the blood gourd and poured all the Origin Blood into his mouth, the familiar warm current resurfacing in his body.

    "Origin Point, boost me!"

    With an inward roar, Yi Chen allocated both Deep Red Points entirely to his spirit attribute, and after more than ten seconds, the virtual light screen at the corner of his eye flickered and then stabilized again.

    At this moment, the fourth breakthrough in the Spirit-Breaking Realm, succeeded!

    Spirit: 200, {Spirit-Breaking Realm Fourfold: Divine Defense lv4 (Fortify Spirit, enhances the defense against soul magic impacts.) Divine Concealment lv3 (Like Guang Tongchen, obstructs fate calculations, conceals one''s spirit.) Insight lv2 (Discerns truth amidst falsehood, Weakness insight) Scrutiny lv1 (Marks an opponent with the soul once, nothing can hide within two thousand li (Quantity 2))}

    "Scrutiny? This ability could be useful for capturing or ambushing someone, not bad at all."

    Stroking his chin, Yi Chen''s mind had already raced through several ways to use this ability. For example, during the Black Evil Dragon King incident, he could have marked someone from the Dragon King Sect. With patience and by following their trail, he could have found their headquarters.

    "With the aid of ''Dragon Divine Fire,'' if I can slay another hidden menace like the Flesh Buddha, I will be able to advance my True Technique to the sixteenth level."

    "With my current cultivation, there''s not much left that can pose a trouble for me. Were it not for the fear of a possible mastermind behind the scenes, even in full force against the likes of Xue Luosha, the Evil Armor, and Jin Huai, under the Soul Ignition Technique, I could still emerge victoriously."

    "The place where the progenitor of the Zheng Family perished is inside the Questioning Heart Cave. The left arm guard of the Qilin Sacred Armor is there. I should try my luck there first."

    With a change of thought, Yi Chen made up his mind and, without hesitation, continued upward along the dark green river.

    ....

    ....

    In a mountain forest clearing, there is a pit about a hundred meters in diameter.

    Looking down into the pit, one can see a massive world far larger than a hundred meters at the bottom.

    This is a very peculiar underground world; there are no black trees growing from the surface, but rather, strange fern-like plants with huge fronds that grow tens of meters tall. The ground is covered with thick layers of dark green lichen that emit a faint glow. Sporadically, several meter-tall shell insects lie lazily below the giant ferns, content in their existence, occasionally sipping on plant juices.

    In a secluded corner of the underground world, there is a deep and unknown hole which even the shell insects that populate the underground evasively avoid approaching.

    Following the hole downward, into a certain area, a spacious green hot spring shrouded in a light mist can be found.

    Amid the rising steam, a huge green lotus sways in the water, its petals tender green in color, as if carved from jade.

    A young Daoist with unstable mana arrived at this hot spring and, upon seeing the giant lotus in the pool, couldn''t help but reveal an ecstatic look on his face.

    "Heaven bless me, Dao Zhen, it really is the Heaven Azure Lotus. With this rare treasure of heaven and earth, my chances of cutting through to the next level are within reach~"

    The young Daoist performed a hand seal, and a Flying Sword instantly plunged into the hot spring, stirring it up like a dragon churning water before finally ceasing.

    "Not bad, there''s no guardian beast at the bottom of this pool. What tremendous luck! Perhaps the guardian beast of this hot spring left for some reason? If so, that saves me quite a bit of trouble."

    Taking out a specially made pair of golden scissors, the young Daoist made his way towards the giant lotus, intent on plucking its petals. Just at that moment, fear flashed through the Daoist''s eyes. Where was the green lotus in the center of the hot spring? There was nothing but a strange purplish meat flower with a human face.

    Just as the Daoist thought to retreat, the human face on the purple meat mass suddenly split into a smile. The fleshy petals expanded rapidly, engulfing the Daoist completely.

 Chapter 283 Question Heart Cave, Supreme Bo Xuns Path, Crisis Approaches, Bodhi Golden Fruit

    Eerie chewing and bone-cracking sounds echoed over the hot springs, initially, the stalk of the purple flesh-like flower was incessantly expanding, but eventually it contracted again. After cycling through this three times, all fell silent, and the chewing noises abruptly stopped.

    Bright red blood, as if free of charge, flowed down the petals of the purple flesh-like flower, falling into the emerald spring waters, dispersing, and finally disappearing without a trace.

    Hours later, suddenly, the purple flesh-like flower spat out, and a sticky silhouette appeared in the hot spring, shockingly, it was the shape of the young Daoist from before.

    This person was covered in cracks, with purple veins densely interwoven like a spider''s web, as if someone had forcefully glued them together using the purple flesh as an adhesive.

    "Spiritual Words, all beings cling to life and death, sinking into the sea of suffering, trapped for a lifetime, all beings must strive for the true way, and follow the supreme path of Bo Xun!"

    "Spiritual Words, when heaven shall darken, all beings must transcend the doomsday tribulation, but how? Thousands like me are the universe itself, follow the supreme path of Bo Xun!"

    "Spiritual Words, the minds of beings are chaotic, not recognizing the signs from heaven, forever losing the true way. I shall bind the mandate of heaven and take its body, I am the Heavenly Dao, follow the supreme path of Bo Xun!"

    A chant-like whisper that sounded almost demonic arose from the ''Daoist'', the eerie recitation echoing within the cave.

    With the sound of gurgling water, the ''Daoist'' with completely white eyes, crawled onto the ground, and approached a stone wall. Suddenly, a flurry of stone dust fell, and a stone door opened, revealing eight strange silhouettes standing within.

    They varied in height and weight, male and female, Daoists, monks, and others too numerous to count. The only thing they had in common was the complete white of their eyes, bodies patched together with purple flesh, their lips moving, all reciting the same eerie scriptures.

    As the ''Daoist'' entered through the stone door, it slammed shut behind him, and the murmuring abruptly ceased,

    "Soon, the revered one will be rescued from his plight." The face within the purple flesh-like flower murmured quietly before sinking into silence once again.

    Everything returned to normal, and the tall, lush green lotus in the center of the hot spring swayed as usual in the water.

    ...

    ...

    In a nameless valley shrouded in a thin mist,

    At this moment, countless black-purple grasshopper-shaped insects, each over three meters tall, rushed like waves towards a figure in plain white. Yet no matter how ferocious the onslaught, the figure in white at the center remained indifferent, her gaze empty, as if her mind had drifted off elsewhere.

    Boundless, razor-sharp Sword Qi swirled madly around her body. Without any need for additional movement, those wildly fierce insects were dissected and annihilated by the Sword Qi like moths to a flame.

    Dirty, dark green fluid splashed around, and numerous insects let out mournful cries. Death, for these creatures, perhaps was a relief, but the true horror lay with those bisected by the Sword Qi, writhing on the ground, emitting miserable and extreme shrieks.

    "You all are really noisy!"

    The figure in white frowned slightly, perhaps annoyed that the crying insects had interrupted her thoughts. She slowly drew a narrow, long sword from the white jade scabbard.

    The sword was completely transparent, like crystal, and the moment it was unsheathed, an intense chill emanated, instantly covering the surrounding hundred meters with a thick layer of frost.

    "Freeze the world of mortals."

    "All things shall turn to dust."

    Cold words spilled from the lips of the beautiful woman in white, and suddenly, a fierce burst of cold air exploded outwards from the sword in her hand as the epicenter.

    One after another, the frozen figures of the insects solidified, rapidly turning into thick blocks of ice. In that moment, the gorgeous woman raised her sword and struck towards an empty spot in the valley.

    The space rippled like water, and suddenly, a bloody figure slowly emerged, shrouded in ghostly energy.

    This was a figure shrouded in a red cloak, stretching out a hand encased in a ferocious gauntlet, from the fists of which a savage, skull-shaped mass of energy formed, dispersing the terrifying intent of the sword.

    "Fairy of the Ice from the Carefree Palace is truly unparalleled in her cultivation. Hong Yue admires you." The figure in the red cloak glanced down at a pristine mark on her gauntlet, her tone full of wariness.

    "So it''s the second palace master of the Ghostly Heavenly Palace, Fairy Hong Yue. Your art of concealment is truly admirable. Let''s not waste words. If you are lying in ambush here, what exactly do you intend?" The woman in white spoke coldly.

    "Naturally, I wish to join Fairy of the Ice and explore this Heart-Questioning Cave. At our level of cultivation, other than the Heavenly Blue Lotus that can aid us in breaking through the threshold and revive the dead or reduce flesh to bones, what else could I possibly yearn for so persistently?"

    "Lies upon lies, it''s nothing but ambushing fellow cultivators in the dark. There''s no need to test me, second palace master. If you wish to challenge me, then make your move. Otherwise, I will be taking my leave and shall not accompany you." The woman in white didn''t mince words as she pierced through the lies, drew her sword, and moved forward, quickly disappearing into the dark entrance of a cave within the valley. The figure in the red cloak''s expression flickered several times but ultimately refrained from attacking.

    After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, following an internal struggle, the red-cloaked figure, unable to restrain her greed, stamped her foot in frustration and also vanished within the cave.

    ...

    ...

    On a clearing in the woods.

    An elder in a white robe sat in meditation, holding his breath and focusing his mind. Before long, another figure dressed in dark clothing, with hair coiled in a Daoist bun, gracefully landed in front of the white-robed elder.

    "Big brother, we''ve been waiting here for a day and no one has come. Why don''t we proceed into the Heart-Questioning Cave ourselves?"

    "This cave does not only have this entrance; if someone gets there ahead of us, we will have tried to steal the chicken only to end up losing the rice," the elder in the black robe couldn''t help but say.

    "Look at you, always in a hurry."

    "Second brother, you did not fail to see the imposing aura of that sinister blood beast guarding the entrance to the cave. If we try to force our way in, even if we could manage to kill the beast, we are likely to be seriously injured. In these Extinction Ruins, if something unexpected happens, wouldn''t that be akin to courting death?" the elder in the white robe said calmly,

    "Although the Bodhi golden fruit within the hall is important, able to strengthen the soul and even possibly allowing one to enter a state of enlightenment, we, the Two Immortals of Peach Valley, have managed to live to this ripe old age not just by outshining those impressive geniuses who have fallen but by being cautious."

    "We are not afraid of shedding blood, but it is best when it''s someone else''s blood that is shed, so we have the upper hand."

    "If someone indeed gets to the fruit before us, then it is simply not fated to be ours, gain it and I''m lucky, lose it and it is destiny."

    "Second brother, don''t be impatient. Avoid arrogance and rashness. As long as we find a fellow cultivator and scatter beast spirit powder on them in secret, the blood beast will surely go mad. That will be our opportunity," said the first elder.

    "Alright, I''ll leave everything to you, big brother." Thinking of how his elder brother had been like an oracle over the years, always securing the largest profit with the smallest sacrifice, the elder in the black robe immediately settled down and sat cross-legged.

    Half an hour later.

    The two men''s eyebrows twitched slightly, and a trace of joy appeared on their faces as they suddenly heard a faint song in the distance.

    "Even when hope is lost, I drink in a daze~"

    "A soulless body resembles a scarecrow~"

    ...

    "Three parts fate, seven parts struggle; only by striving can we win~"

    "Pipi Bao, speed up!"

    Yi Chen sat astride the crimson leopard, singing loudly, his mood very much uplifted.

    Just when he wanted to break into ''The Tears of a Dancing Girl,'' two figures suddenly rushed from afar and blocked his way.

    "Fellow Daoist, please halt."

    "I have a great opportunity to share with you," the two elders, one clothed in white and the other in black, appeared in front of him with a smiling face and laughed.

    Yi Chen furrowed his brow and immediately stopped. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Why do you two fellow Daoists block my way? Speak plainly, please."

    "Fellow Daoist is indeed straightforward. To tell you the truth, we are the Two Immortals of Peach Valley. We are known to lend a helping hand in times of peril, and we have a bit of a reputation in Great Qin."

    "My name is Tao Shanzi, and the person next to me is my second brother, Gu Lingzi."

    "Ahead in that cave, there is a secret passage with a marvelous Bodhi tree inside, which bears three golden fruits. Alas, a strange blood beast is nesting there."

    "Thus, the two of us brothers would like to ask for your help in killing this beast, and when we do, we shall split the three golden fruits equally," said Tao Shanzi, the elder in the white robe, with a smile in his tone, apparently quite confident in their reputation as the Two Immortals of Peach Valley.

    "To think it is the Two Immortals of Peach Valley, I, Han Feiyu from Yellow Maple Valley, have no reason to distrust fellow Daoists. Please lead the way quickly," said Yi Chen, his eyes darting around before he became solemnly respectful.

    He''s not a local lad and has never heard of the so-called Two Immortals of Peach Valley, but that didn''t prevent him from immediately agreeing, for the simple reason that the two elders before him felt to him like an early-stage and a mid-stage Daoist, respectively. The Bodhi golden fruit was a divine artifact not found easily, able to enlighten and enhance the soul. How could he not be covetous of it?

    Moreover, he would have to return to Central Continent sooner or later and needed to bring some gifts back for his junior brothers.

    Tao Shanzi and Gu Lingzi exchanged a look, surprise evident in their eyes. They had been prepared for the worst, ready to intimidate or threaten if their charade failed to convince, but Yi Chen was unexpectedly cooperative and decisive in his agreement, causing Tao Shanzi, who was naturally cautious, to take another look at the man before them.

    "Could this person be hiding his cultivation level? Or is he feigning agreement and looking for a chance to escape?" After exchanging a glance with Gu Lingzi, the three of them proceeded together toward the cave, intentionally positioning Yi Chen in the middle.

    Each hiding their own schemes, they quickly arrived in the underground world.

    ....

    ....

    "Fellow Daoist, help me!" Yi Chen''s expression suddenly changed, and in less than half an hour of traveling inside the cavern, a purple mantis-like insect abruptly lunged out from an access tunnel, fiercely attacking him. Its knife-like forelimbs shimmered with a cold light, exhibiting a power that was not inferior to that of Hei Mietian. Enjoy new tales from My Virtual Library Empire

    Yi Chen could not transform while relying on these two elders to lead the way; he had no choice but to ''reluctantly'' seek their help.

    Boom!

    The mantis'' forelimb soon collided with the long sword in Yi Chen''s hands, the tremendous force of the blow pushing him back against the cave wall.

    Seeing this, Tao Shanzi and Gu Lingzi exchanged a glance, then relaxed, as they had intentionally shown a flaw in their own scheme. They cried out, "Do not panic fellow Daoist, we are coming!"

 Chapter 284 Brother Dao, Are You Thinking of Running Away? Power is the Explosion!

    A white and a black stream of Mana collided fiercely against the body of the purple-striped Mantis, shattering its scales and piercing through it, causing dark green blood to flow out and corrode the ground, creating two shallow pits.

    The insects of the Extinction Ruins, though they had tough bodies and immense strength, ultimately lacked intelligence. Their methods were simple, fighting merely on instinct. Under the combined efforts of Yi Chen and his two companions, the creature was quickly slain.

    "Do the two Taoist friends know what type of monster this is?" Yi Chen asked with a hint of puzzlement in his eyes, turning to Tao Shanzi and the other.

    Along the way, they had already killed many different insects, including several purple-striped Mantis, but this was the first time they encountered such a powerful one.

    If they encountered more insects like this one further on their journey, even Yi Chen would consider whether to just explode these two and run off with the Gold Coins.

    "This is the Purple Mantis Queen, the monarch among the insects here," Tao Shanzi explained while taking out a golden dagger and carefully dissecting the body of the Purple Mantis on the ground, extracting scales that were as lustrous as gemstones but deliberately ignoring the egg sacs near its tail.

    "Han Taoist friend, don''t take it amiss. My brother and I are known for our generosity. Anyone who comes to our Tao Shan in need is generously helped, hence our expenses are unavoidably a bit high. These scales on the Purple Mantis are excellent materials for forging artifacts; they can''t be wasted."

    Noticing Yi Chen''s gaze, Tao Shanzi explained somewhat ''embarrassedly''.

    He really was a smooth operator, who even now didn''t forget to feign and boast about his reputation, Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

    If it wasn''t for the malice Yi Chen had previously sensed from him, he wouldn''t have been fooled.

    He had always been one to suspect the worst in others, both in his past life and in the present. When someone mentioned giving him advantages or teaching him how to make money, he would always be skeptical, wondering if they were just trying to shear him like a sheep.

    He believed that pies could fall from the sky, but he did not believe that they would land on his head.

    "Why only take the scales, Taoist brother, and not the egg sacs from the tail of the Purple Mantis? Perhaps those could be cultivated into some rare species outside of here," Yi Chen said, rather surprised.

    At this point, Gu Lingzi quickly stepped forward to Yi Chen''s front, flanking him with Tao Shanzi, and explained warmly,

    "Previously, my brother and I were remiss, causing Han Taoist friend some alarm, for which we are truly sorry."

    "The Taoist friends might not be aware that these insect eggs, as well as the insects themselves, have been taken outside for breeding by cultivators before. There have even been Taoist friends who captured the mature creatures to try and domesticate them."

    "However, the creatures of the Extinction Ruins are peculiar. Once they are taken out of here, their vitality gradually diminishes and they eventually disintegrate. After that, no one tried to take the creatures of the Extinction Ruins again."

    Indeed, many paths that you think are untrodden have already been explored by predecessors.

    All of a sudden, Yi Chen remembered the black ''little potatoes'' he saw on the barren plateau, the strange mantises that glowed like fireflies, and the luminous lichen. Coupling with the scenes he had witnessed at the Heavenly Dragon Cave, a chill ran down his spine:

    "Damn it, there must be an invisible mastermind behind the Extinction Ruins controlling all of this. What on earth does he want to do?"

    "Could it be that this person is using the numerous treasures of the Wheel-turning Temple as a lure, enticing cultivators to treasure hunt, but actually lays traps to kill the cultivators and plunder their flesh and souls, using them to achieve some unspeakable purpose? For instance, the Black Lotus Sovereign."

    Although Yi Chen had not seen the entire battle at the Wheel-turning Temple, he knew that it must have been a pyrrhic victory for the side of the monk who had achieved the flesh bun.

    If the Black Lotus Sovereign had won, it would be impossible for news of such an individual not to reach the Eastern Continent''s cultivation world¡ªit would have been a storm of blood and carnage.

    "In my memory, the Black Lotus Sovereign was at the top of that verdant river. Damn it, after I finish with the Ask Heart Cave, I can''t keep going higher; I should just plan my escape."

    "If the invisible hand controlling everything is likely to be anywhere, it must be hidden in the endless energy veins beneath that verdant river."

    "Better to leave the river water undisturbed by the well water, trust in the wisdom of future generations, as long as they don''t blow it up while I''m still in the Extinction Ruins."

    Yi Chen hadn''t forgotten the images of the black smoke pillars pounding on the clear membrane that wrapped around many monks. He decisively decided to follow his gut.

    Continuing onwards was no longer cost-effective. The strange Black Lotus Sovereign had reached a level of cultivation where a single thought would resonate; Yi Chen had no wish to attract the attention of such a powerhouse.

    "I can''t afford to provoke him, just hand the big boss a cigarette," he thought.

    "Once this job is done, I''m washing my hands of it and waiting happily for the day of my return."

    Watching Gu Lingzi leading the way ahead, Yi Chen''s eyes flickered with a dangerous light. With a thought, he concentrated his special ability to launch, instantly branding the man''s form and aura in his mind.

    Suddenly, a beacon of light appeared in Yi Chen''s mind, resembling real-time location tracking in WeChat. He found it quite intriguing and immediately glanced back at Tao Shanzi behind him.

    This Gold Coin, he was determined to claim. As Yi Chengzi had said¡ª

    "Why do you look back, Han Taoist friend? Rest assured, with Tao Shanzi covering your rear, you will have no concerns from behind," Tao Shanzi said as he saw Yi Chen''s action, tensing slightly and his eyes sharpening.

    The man in front had decent cultivation, but not strong enough. He and his brother were quite lucky with their fate this time.

    According to his earlier plan, if this person had hidden his cultivation and was difficult to handle, he would have shared the Bodhi golden fruit with him as promised. Now, well, he would have to be a bit hard on this Han Taoist friend.

    "Han Taoist friend, don''t blame Tao Shanzi for being cruel. If you must blame someone, blame your bad luck," Tao Shanzi thought to himself, the killing intent flaring within his heart. Even if Yi Chen survived this ordeal, he was determined to silence him, as such matters were not honorable.

    The Ask Heart Cave was crisscrossed with pathways like a maze, teeming with various insects, as if it were the headquarters of the mantis-like creatures.

    After eliminating two more swarms of insects and passing through several forked paths, the trio soon arrived at a dead-end in a cavern. It was a dead-end road that dropped off like a cliff at the end, descending into a deep pit.

    Seeing this, a hint of joy couldn''t help but appear on the faces of Tao Shanzi and the other.

    We''ve arrived.

    With a wave of his hand, he cast out a radiant beam of mana, and in an instant, a water mirror appeared out of nowhere, displaying everything at the bottom of the deep pit.

    Within the depths of the cavern''s absolute territory was a shriveled yellow tree, barely taller than a man, drooping despondently with three golden fruits hanging from its branches, glistening brilliantly, illuminating the entire area.

    Where the ground sank, arrays spread out, and a lava vent ceaselessly spewed sparks. Under the operation of the arrays, an endless heat source converged towards the small tree.

    Around the small tree lay a red beast, coiled into a length of several tens of meters, resembling a mutated earthworm with a growth-like head at each end.

    At this moment, Tao Shanzi suddenly placed his meaty palm on Yi Chen''s shoulder, "Han Daoist friend, this is a corner of the Spirit Medicine Hall of the former Reincarnation Temple."

    "There are three Bodhi Golden Fruits here. If Daoist friend sprinkles this beast powder on himself, it will agitate the creature. If Daoist brother lures it away, we can seize the opportunity to snatch those three Bodhi Golden Fruits. We will then meet up at the exit, what do you think?"

    "Daoist brother is indeed a clever one. You looked back before because you were thinking of running away, right? What a pity, you''re still outmatched by us brothers~"

    Gu Lingzi in front also changed from his previous friendly demeanor to a cold sneer as he advanced towards Yi Chen, placing a large hand on his shoulder as well. He took out a jade bottle and transmitted his voice, "Daoist brother, taking a risk might still give you a chance to live. Stop overthinking, and please¡ª"

    At this point, the two men finally revealed their hidden daggers.

    Facing the strong malice from the two men, Yi Chen revealed a neurotic smile, his hands also resting on Tao Shanzi and the other''s bodies as he looked down and chuckled softly:

    "Fellow Daoists, do you know what strength is?"

    "You know nothing about strength!"

    While chuckling, Yi Chen suddenly displayed his overwhelming physique, his two purple-golden hands gripping the two men''s bodies like iron hoops before violently colliding them together!

    Boom!

    "Two shallow-rooted weaklings."

    "Strength, it''s all about explosion~"

    Even as Tao Shanzi and the other desperately supported their mana shields, they were still jumbled messily under the impact of Yi Chen''s formidable force.

    Yi Chen''s voice suddenly rose eight octaves as he threw the porcelain bottle with the beast powder and the two Daoist brothers towards the blood-colored beast in the depths of the cavern.

    With a flip of his palm, a golden long halberd was already in his hand.

    "Roar!"

    The porcelain bottle with beast powder exploded, filling the entire space, and under the intense stimulation, the ''Heavenly Dragon'' blood beast abruptly awoke, coiling towards the two Daoists.

    A perfect opportunity!

    Taking advantage of the chaos, Yi Chen, dragging a golden trail, swiftly pocketed the three Bodhi Golden Fruits from atop the shriveled yellow tree.

    A clever hunter often appears in the guise of prey. After doing all this, his figure had already returned to its original place.

    "Ah ah ah, Han Feiyu, you bastard."

    Somehow, Tao Shanzi utilized a secret technique, his body steaming with blood energy, and managed to break free from the blood beast''s restraint. He tried to flee from the depths of the cavern, but was quickly slapped back by Yi Chen''s halberd.

    "Halberd Three¡¤Earth Extinction."

    Laughable, thinking of running after offending me, Daoist? Wanting to freeload off me?

    In your dreams!

    Until the blood beast is killed, or they are, no one is coming up.

    Immediately, the cavern''s depths filled with noise and continuous roars.

    "Brother Han, we recognize our fault, we are willing to compensate."

    "We can''t hold on, this creature is too powerful, Brother Han save us!"

    Gu Lingzi, true to his word, unleashed a torrent of powerful mana fluctuations that temporarily entangled the blood beast, giving Tao Shanzi another chance to claw his way up.

    Slap!

    But soon, Tao Shanzi was slapped back down by Yi Chen''s halberd once more.

    "Fellow Daoist brothers, please do not underestimate yourselves."

    "Hold on, stay firm, and there will be a way."

    As an honest man, Yi Chen stood above, cheering for the two men, laughing out loud.

    In his heart, there wasn''t a trace of pity. It was just the natural order of big fish eating little fish, and little fish eating shrimp. If it wasn''t for Yi Chengzi being tough enough, it would be Yi Chen down there wailing right now.

    S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 286 Sixteenth Layer of True Technique, World-Shaking Pure Yang!

    The fair-skinned beauty exchanged a glance with Xue Luosha, both detecting the confusion in each other''s eyes. However, it was not the time to dwell on such doubts. Having reached their level of cultivation, they were both of firm mind and would not easily give up. Gritting their teeth, they once again channeled their mana and attacked the colossal flesh flower.

    Yet in doing so, the two of them unintentionally drew closer to each other, widening the distance between themselves and Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen, dividing his attention, was fervently attacking the huge purple flower in the sky, delaying the descent of the fleshly membrane, while simultaneously delving deeply into the memories in his mind.

    As if glimpsing a passing landscape, his memories unfurled.

    A pavilion under the moon, shadows of flowers all askew, suitable for a light drink seated on the ground.

    Ten miles of green hills, bird song intermittent, fitting for seeking spring and singing of ages past.

    In a small courtyard among the mountains, a Daoist held a gold-bound scroll in his hands. By the light of the moon, he lifted his cup in solitude, and the title "Dragon God Flame" was clearly visible on the scroll.

    Though jade may be fashioned from the stone of other mountains, how to extract its essence and merge it with one''s True Technique, to transform it into nourishment for one''s own journey forward, is truly difficult! Difficult! Difficult!

    The sixteenth level of True Technique, a stage beyond the ordinary and into the realm of the sanctified¡ªhow could it be so easily broken through?

    For thirty years in the mountains, a venerable man exhaustively searched the classics. The Daoist tried many methods, but to no avail.

    Enough! Enough! Enough! With a sigh of resignation, the Daoist rose to his full height and began to wander the world.

    What is the ultimate fire in the world?

    Perhaps it is the natural fire of heaven and earth. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The Daoist stood atop a golden peak during a thunderstorm, refining his body with the lightning, yet he remained unsatisfied. Experience new tales on My Virtual Library Empire

    Although the fire of heaven and earth was mighty, it was not the Pure Yang he was searching for.

    Or could it be the fire inherent in nature itself?

    The Daoist sought the abyssal regions, observing the heart of the earth''s purple flames, only to return disappointed; he witnessed the fire within the sea, coming back disheartened. One day, he heard of flammable ice in the farthest north, and he went there eagerly, but this fire was fundamentally no different from the fire in the sea, so he returned,

    He took out his notebook, jotting down: "Polar bear paw must be steamed to preserve its original flavor, which is preferable. Bean sauce ranks second, and deep-frying third."

    Though this journey did not yield the ultimate fire of heaven and earth, the Daoist''s culinary skills improved slightly.

    "Eh, where is the path?" The Daoist looked around bewildered, in the vast world there was no one to accompany him on his journey.

    His gaze wandered until suddenly, it intensified. Atop a precipice with a severed arm, a withered tree sprouting new life captured his attention. The tree bore the blackened scars of a lightning strike.

    He was startled, and in a flash, the Daoist had an epiphany.

    He was mistaken; the path he had taken before was wrong.

    The dragon is the true spirit of heaven and earth, and divinity is the order of the cosmos. The ultimate fire born of this must be the most potent essence between heaven and earth.

    Physical fire is, after all, inanimate. It is the myriad creatures of the universe that are the miracles of creation.

    Therefore, the mightiest fire should also lie amongst living beings.

    As soon as the veil of confusion lifted, the world suddenly seemed vast and spacious!

    For a while, the Daoist stood there, eyes nearly closed, lost in thought.

    The sun rose in the east and set in the west, the moon waxed and waned brightly.

    After three cycles of day and night, the Daoist opened his eyes, and the world he saw had changed dramatically.

    "Marvelous! Marvelous! Marvelous!"

    "Who would have thought that the most crucial enlightenment on my path of cultivation would come today?"

    Now, when the Daoist looked at the mountains and trees, he could see the fire of life they nurtured within.

    He approached a stream, scooped up water in his hands, and saw his own reflection.

    As humans are the most intelligent of all creatures, what then is the fire of humanity?

    Upon reflection, the Daoist already knew the answer.

    It is the heart, the invisible and intangible fire of emotions.

    "The fire of heaven and earth is the wrath of the natural world, executing Heaven''s punishment. The human body is a microcosm; the thunder within humans is emotion. Igniting emotion can unlock tremendous power!"

    "The tangible fires of the outside world are ultimately the fires of others; to achieve perfect harmony with oneself, one must draw from within!"

    Humans have seven emotions and six desires. The fire of life is but one born from the desire to live. To fully grasp its mysteries, one must understand oneself.

    Now that the path ahead is clear, one should hold the lamp and proceed.

    Amidst his hearty laughter, the Daoist sealed all his cultivation. There was no other way, for to ascend to divinity, one must first become mortal.

    How could he, with his True Technique at the fifteenth level, free from most joys and sorrows, ever fully grasp its true meaning?

    The next day, a peddler who roamed the streets and alleys settled down in Stone Moat Village and adopted an abandoned baby.

    He was happy, wearing thin clothes in the fresh snow, running without feeling the cold. He thought of the child he was raising, who would be warm and well-fed tonight.

    He saw others happy, on their wedding nights amidst floral candles.

    He was sad, selling coal in the snow without feeling the cold, a half-piece of red fabric, a length of silk tied to the ox''s head, making straight for the coal.

    He saw others'' sadness, when three children were not their own...

    He was angry, sleeping in Stone Moat Village, when officials came at night to seize people.

    He saw others'' anger, some drew their swords against the strong, some drew their swords against the weaker.

    ...

    With white hair, the Daoist sat in the prison cell without a hint of joy or sorrow on his face, having joined the rebel army and been captured. Now alone, he had experienced the full spectrum of human warmth and coldness.

    After the night the officials took his adopted son, who then died in battle, and he, unable to bear the officialdom''s exploitation, angrily joined the rebel army, becoming the sixteenth of the Eighteen Rebel Kings with his silver hair. Unfortunately, his forces were defeated, and a meteor shower threw his army into disarray, a victim of circumstances not of his own making.

    "Yi Zhongba, your time has come. Come out."

    Shackled, the Daoist walked out of the prison cell to the vegetable market, where today he was to be beheaded.

    At the second quarter of noon, the Daoist looked up at the golden sun in the sky and suddenly revealed a smile as the seals on his body shattered.

    In the three months in the cell, he looked back at his mortal life and had finally perfectly integrated the true meaning of "Dragon God Flame" into his True Technique.

    "I have understood!" he exclaimed.

    The Daoist rose to his full height, his body radiating infinite golden flames, harnessing the power of emotions hidden in his heart. His True Technique finally advanced to the sixteenth level.

    Stirring up emotions, suddenly the executioner, officials, and soldiers all turned into burning torches.

    For him at this moment, intimidating others with Pure Yang energy, seizing the fire of their hearts, was all too easy.

    "With the true meaning of the Dragon God Flame, I draw on the power of emotions, merging it with Extreme Origin. The fiery blaze I now command is no longer merely fire, but purest Yang Flame!"

    The Daoist walked forward with his hands behind his back, heading towards the imperial palace.

    In the shocked eyes of the crowd, anyone who bore him ill will was consumed by their own emotions, their rage burning them to ashes. Step by step he advanced, unflinching, and under the smelting of the pure Yang Flame, the mana on his body began to further transform, shifting from the color of gold to that of lustrous gold.

    On that day, amid the attention of thousands, the Daoist entered the palace alone.

    On that day, the fire lit up half the sky.

    After that day, the dynasty began to investigate corrupt officials and abolished onerous taxes.

    The scene ended abruptly there.

    "Damn it, this won''t do, the blood-colored placenta keeps falling!"

    "What kind of monster is this, what bizarre magic, to be so troublesome!" Xue Luosha''s breath was weak, her complexion pale. Even with her firm mind, she couldn''t help showing a look of despair.

    "My Blood and Flesh Boundary divine power, even my master praised it. Your attempts to shake the tree are laughable. Best to fuse with me, my fellow Daoists!" The face in the purple flesh flower couldn''t help but laugh loudly.

    "Sword Qi of Ice Extinction ¡¤ Obliteration!"

    The fair-skinned beauty, with an abnormal flush on her face, gathered all her mana and unleashed a mighty Sword Qi. However, after merging into the purple flesh flower''s maw, it only managed to sever a few tentacles and achieved nothing more.

    The blood-colored membrane was still slowly descending, now less than a hundred meters from closing.

    Just as the fair-skinned beauty was about to despair, suddenly Yi Chen, holding his halberd, stood firm, his voice of delight spreading in all directions.

    "Do not panic, my fellow Daoists. I have understood!" he announced.

    What!

    The fair-skinned beauty and Xue Luosha were both stunned, looking at the figure of the Daoist across from them.

    The strength of this person''s cultivation shocked them immensely, especially Xue Luosha, who, recalling her previous actions, was terrified.

    "Burn the Seven Emotions, incinerate the Six Desires, all the thirteen layers of Pure Yang blaze empty!"

    Suddenly, a flame pattern crawled onto Yi Chen''s forehead as he looked up, and within the blood-colored placenta, there was nothing but fire!

 Chapter 290 News of Yuan Jun, Xiang Feiyan

    Atop the cliff, a stalwart figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

    Yi Chen pinched the space between his brows, shocked as he looked around at the surrounding scenery, unable to suppress the astonishment in his heart. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At that moment, on the barren highland, he was about to sell the Rebirth Pill he held in his hand when, unexpectedly, an abnormal change occurred.

    "That black lotus, and the finally appearing overwhelming Buddha light, were simply terrifying to the extreme; it''s hard to imagine what level that was."

    "Fortunately, I can consider this trip quite rewarding, as it was not in vain that I took the risk to explore the Extinction Ruins. Kuimu Wolf, you truly ought to kowtow to Daoist me."

    Thinking of the powerful monk who last freeloaded a meal of lamb hotpot from him, and the monk''s final words, Yi Chen understood that there was no need for him to alert the major sects and Great Qin anymore, for compared to him, that middle-aged monk was the best herald.

    "Now that my cultivation has greatly advanced, even if I face True Monarch cultivators who intend to trouble me, I''d be able to exchange a few moves with them, which is indeed a relief."

    "I can feel that Yin Manor will appear at midnight in ten days."

    "Might as well find a place to have a good meal, to relax; having been tired for so long, it''s time for me to enjoy myself."

    "Then, I''ll find a secluded spot to be in the best shape to deal with the emergence of Yin Manor, that''s the plan¡ª"

    The precious children who often kill know that one needs to soothe the tense nerves and body after a killing.

    With Yi Chen''s current strength and keen insight, he could accurately predict the exact time of Yin Manor''s appearance. With a firm thought, his figure flashed, and he immediately vanished from the spot.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Nearby.

    Half an hour later, inside Bear Cave.

    A daunting bear over three meters tall dragged back the half-corpse of a fierce tiger to its ''home,'' only to see the place where it hid its honey had been dug open again, and the jar of honey it had accumulated had long disappeared without a trace. It couldn''t help but continuously slap its chest, unleashing a thunderous roar.

    "Roar!"

    The bear''s paw moved like the wind, scraping against the nearby stone wall. In the midst of its actions, shadows of some wall carvings vaguely emerged, and large chunks of broken stones rustled down. Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire

    At this moment, a Daoist was riding a crimson leopard, dashing wildly through the mountain forest. Yi Chen casually threw an empty jar onto the ground:

    "Bear, you haven''t been working hard enough; it''s been so many days, and you''ve only collected a jar of honey."

    "But I must say, this flavor is spot-on!"

    "Pipi Bao, make haste to Shanyue City, my cultivation has made significant progress, and it''s time to celebrate."

    At those words, the crimson leopard seemed to step on clouds, sprinting even more fervently towards the direction pointed out by Yi Chen.

    Shanyue City was one of Great Qin''s cities among five peaks, a notch below Blackwater City, with no True Monarch stationed there. It was a destination Yi Chen had carefully chosen.

    Upon leaving the Hehuan Sect, Yi Chen naturally did his homework, obtaining maps of the main cities of Great Qin''s territory and the locations of major sects.

    Shanyue City had a restaurant named Yuan Jun Pavilion, renowned for its exquisitely flavored mushrooms, very delicious, and it was nearby. He might as well try it and, at the same time, find out if anything significant had happened in the Eastern Continent recently.

    The so-called Yuan Jun Pavilion was said to be the place where, thousands of years ago, eight top True Persons met. While tasting delicacies and discussing the Dao, they reached a breakthrough to the True Monarch realm after three days and nights, hence the name.

    Though True Monarchs seemed common among the people Yi Chen had encountered, this was merely because the circle he moved in had changed as his strength level rose. Scattered across the vast territory of Great Qin, True Monarchs were extremely rare, and even those nearly reaching True Monarch status held considerable importance.

    This was why, in the past life, undergraduates accounted for less than 4%, but the pressure still felt overwhelming, much like masters and PhDs were no different.

    Because those competing within your track are also from your circle, and the remaining 96% or more don''t even have the opportunity to compete with you¡ªthey can''t even get past the resume screening.

    Shanyue City¡¤Yuan Jun Pavilion.

    Red, purple, blue, green mushrooms tumbled in a copper pot, exuding wisps of mist. The mushrooms were like pretty little umbrellas, very tempting.

    "Enjoy your meal, sir. However, I must still prudently remind you, although these spirit mushrooms are delicious and first-rate spiritual materials, the fact that you can dine on the top floor surely means you are a cultivator,

    but eating too many of these spirit mushrooms can lead to poisoning, so it''s best to cook them for a long time in our Yuan Jun Pavilion''s specially prepared boiling pot," a vivacious young girl with twin buns, brimming with youthful vigor, said smilingly.

    "Off with you, you little girl, you have no idea how formidable Daoist me is!" Yi Chen waved his hand, indicating for the waitress to step aside. Enticed by the appealing scent, he could hardly wait any longer.

    At that moment, Yi Chen was alone, having already put Pipi Bao into a spirit beast bag. It wasn''t that Yi Chen was stingy; it was that some boars couldn''t appreciate fine bran, and Pipi Bao professed a love for warm, fresh meat,

    specifically, the kind where it could chase and bite into a sun-warmed cow''s buttocks, ideally where the bite would burst with juice¡ªa crudeness unfit for refined company.

    As for Miao Zi, ever since it formed a blood cocoon last time, it had remained still without any movement. Sensing the robust life force within the cocoon, Yi Chen let go of his concerns and stopped paying attention.

    He dipped a mushroom, briefly cooked a piece of tripe, combined it with the well-prepared dipping sauce, and swallowed them together. The rich flavor exploded on his taste buds, making it impossible to stop.

    Absolutely delightful, remarkably satisfying.

    "Brother Li, have you heard about a big event that recently happened? The Storm Sword Sect is nearly going mad. Their Supreme Elder, Dugu Xiong, has emerged from seclusion and is frantically searching for a woman who likes to wear a peach blossom mask."

 Chapter 290 News of Yuan Jun, Xiang Feiyan_2

    ```

    "I''ve also heard about this matter, but I don''t know the reason behind it, Brother Zhang, do you have a way to know the inside story?"

    "Hehe, I do know a thing or two about it," the man surnamed Zhang said and then stopped there, saying no more.

    "Come on, Brother Zhang, out with it. I''ll cover the meal," the other urged.

    Upon hearing this, the man surnamed Zhang finally spoke with a smile:

    "It is said that the person with the peach blossom mask belongs to an organization called Zizaitian. One of his subordinates goes by the name Lord Pojun, who unintentionally acquired a Dao Sword with three markings, the Great Five Elements Extinguishing Dao Sword, a relic left by an extremely dangerous being from the past who had reached the pinnacle of the Dao, the Extinguishing Dao Lord."

    "This man was also unlucky. He was accidentally discovered by the Wind Spirit True Monarch, a Grand Elder of the Fengyun Sword Sect who had just advanced to the True Monarch Realm. The Wind Spirit True Monarch wanted to force a transaction, but the man naturally refused, revealing his identity as a subordinate of the Doumu Origin Lord, Lord Pojun."

    "However, the Wind Spirit True Monarch was far too greedy. He killed Lord Pojun on the spot. Lord Pojun was quite something himself, managing to withstand three moves before finally falling. Somehow, he managed to send out the news of his death."

    "Enraged by this, the Doumu Origin Lord was furious. She issued a message: ''To kill fifteen True Monarchs. If those who enter the Dao are not close enough, then compensations are required, for each True Monarch equates to five...''"

    "Caught off guard by her sudden attack, the Fengyun Sword Sect is now practically crippled. Only a Supreme Elder in seclusion and one True Monarch who had been traveling outside have survived; all the other True Monarchs perished."

    "By the way, that traveling True Monarch has also died. Somehow, the Doumu Origin Lord found him and made up the number to fifteen."

    Yi Chen: "... Damn, Yuan Jun!"

    At this moment, Yi Chen couldn''t help but fall silent. Although he was amazed by the strength of a Yuan Jun, it reinforced his resolve not to reveal his affiliation with a Yuan Jun while traveling.

    Lord Tan Lang is someone I''m not familiar with.

    As Yi Chen was deep in thought, a sudden commotion outside the window caught his attention. He saw an immensely large palanquin carried by eight bearers heading toward the Bajun Tower.

    The eight strong bearers struggled to walk, indicating the importance of the person inside the palanquin.

    After the palanquin settled outside the Bajun Tower, four gaunt men were thrown out from the inside and sprawled on the ground, unable to get up. In an instant, everyone near the windows of the Bajun Tower turned pale with shock.

    "Fellow Daoist, who are those people on the ground?" Yi Chen, finding the scene interesting, couldn''t resist asking a richly dressed young master behind him. Read the latest on My Virtual Library Empire

    "Fellow Daoist, those are just dregs!"

    "You appear wise and valiant, but you should be careful. That person is the daughter of the Sect Master of the Evil Elephant Sect, Xiang Feiyan. It''s unexpected that she would come to this small Shanyue City today. Thankfully, I''m average looking, so I should be safe," the young master initially showed a look of terror and then seemed relieved.

    While Yi Chen was confused, a figure eight feet tall and just as wide around, shaped like a ball, stepped out from the palanquin. Her body was layered in fat. With each step, her flesh quivered like waves. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Damn, they call this Feiyan? Which family''s Feiyan looks like this?" Yi Chen''s pupils shook with shock.

    "You don''t know, brother. She wasn''t like this before. It seems that something went wrong with her cultivation technique and she underwent a drastic change in temperament, becoming indiscriminate with men and turning into what she looks like now."

    "Previously, she would offer great rewards to lure handsome male cultivators to dual cultivate with her. However, no man has lasted more than three days before turning into dregs. They gain riches but can''t spend it, as their lives are short-lived."

    At this moment, all the decent-looking male cultivators in the Bajun Tower became panic-stricken. Yi Chen frowned, not wishing to cause unnecessary trouble. He rubbed his face, morphing it into that of a plain-looking man, earning praise from the young master for his skill.

    Only after ''Feiyan'' squeezed sideways through the entrance of the Bajun Tower did a handsome young master no longer bear it. He lunged toward the window, his mana surging as he attempted to flee.

    Suddenly, the young master felt darkness before his eyes, his body abruptly bouncing as if he had collided with something soft like a sponge.

    No, it wasn''t a sponge.

    It was fat.

    A powerful aura of a peak True Person Realm erupted from this woman.

    "Why the hurry, young master? Why not stay and share a drink with me," boomed a voice as loud and deep as a tolling bell across the sky.

    "If the young master doesn''t speak, then that''s consent," Xiang Feiyan''s eyes gleamed cruelly and mockingly. After all, this young master was just a minor cultivator at the Qi Refinement Realm. Playing him to death would be no big deal.

    She lifted the layers of fat on her belly and tucked the young master, who was small as a sprout, inside. Then she leisurely stepped down and continued squeezing through the main entrance, this time with a person in tow.

    A pitiful man struggling nonstop.

    Seeing the poor young master''s face swelling red, Yi Chen knew that all his mana had been sealed by Xiang Feiyan.

    Thump, thump, thump.

    The heavy footsteps resounded. For a moment, everyone on the Bajun Tower fell deathly silent.

    Xiang Feiyan snickered to herself. Since her cultivation technique had misfired, and she couldn''t regain her previous slender figure, she first felt inferior and dared not to show her face for quite a long time.

    Facing the scornful and contemptuous looks from others, she was filled with shame and anger.

    But later, she had an epiphany. You all scorn and mock me? Then I shall make those who scorn me feel my pain. Just the thought of others'' fearful and desperate gazes excited Xiang Feiyan.

    "Indeed, this trick never fails. The pretty faces I ensnare usually look good, and today I''ll have fun with another one," Xiang Feiyan silently mused.

    ```

 Chapter 290 News of Yuan Jun, Xiang Feiyan_3

    Xiang Feiyan arrived upstairs and glanced around, only to see that at this moment, everyone inside the room was silent as cicadas in winter, except for three people who appeared calm and composed.

    Her gaze swept across them, recognizing that two of them held distinguished identities, one being the son of the City Lord of Shanyue City, and the other a direct descendant of a nearby sect. She shook her head immediately, knowing some people should not be provoked, which was her usual style.

    As for the others, fair game!

    She had a hundred ways to take care of others! A hundred!

    The insignificant Shanyue City, with its extreme poverty, didn''t produce much in the way of cultivation resources. The only thing worth mentioning was the mountain mushrooms that grew near the city.

    It''s unlikely that any expert would come here just to have a taste of the mushrooms.

    Her gaze shifted, and it abruptly focused on a person who was eating a dish of mushroom and mutton with an untroubled air.

    "Hiss, this man with the sallow face has such a unique, lone wolf-like aura."

    "This fellow has such a strong build, even if... he''s had a bit too much of the light dishes, a bit of the heavier dishes wouldn''t hurt. It''s fine if his features are a bit off, the main thing is he''s got vigor!"

    With a thought, Yi Chen suddenly felt the light around him dim, and a spherical figure rapidly approached him.

    "Scram!" After Yi Chen unceremoniously displaced the young man sitting behind him, the woman directly dragged his table over and sat beside Yi Chen.

    "Damn! I''ve pinched my face into a sallow lump, and you''re still interested in this? I just want to eat my meal in peace!" Yi Chen''s heart was filled with silent curses, "Could it be that I have some hidden charm of a devilish man?"

    "Fellow Daoist, I don''t mind sharing a table with you."

    She extricated the well-fed playboy, clamped him between her legs as massive as those of an elephant, and immediately, the scalp of every customer in the building tingled.

    Yi Chen suddenly lost his appetite. It would be just as well not to eat this meal.

    At this moment, the bun-haired waitress who had been standing by the side, serving dishes and adding soup for Yi Chen, suddenly couldn''t bear it anymore and shivered as she moved back.

    Xiang Feiyan''s eyes suddenly turned cold; she had long noticed the waitress''s subtle movements.

    "Such a young and wonderful body, so similar to what I once had!"

    With a grasp, the bun-haired waitress was immediately pulled into her large hand.

    "But, the value of such beauty lies in its destruction, such a pleasurable thing! Wench, who are you trying to seduce!" Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Her large hand locked around the waitress''s neck, gradually lifting her until the waiter''s face turned red, her legs kicking, her white embroidered shoes coming off due to her violent struggles, revealing her feet wrapped in white silk stockings with her beautiful toes curling in fear and panic. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

    "Fellow Daoist, do you find me beautiful? How about becoming my consort?"

    "I can give you many cultivation resources that you wouldn''t even dare to dream of, but it all depends on whether you have the ability to take them."

    "Fellow Daoist, you''re at most at the second or third level of the True Person Realm. Stick with me, and I''ll cover all your cultivation resources till you reach True Monarch Realm. As for this mushroom pot, eat as much as you want."

    Xiang Feiyan giggled, covering her mouth, her flesh shaking like waves on her body.

    "You have good foundational looks, sister; if you lost some weight, you''d be pretty. It''s a pity you won''t have that chance." Yi Chen suddenly said with a grin.

    "Why?" Xiang Feiyan showed a look of confusion.

    "Well, simply because it''s almost New Year!" Yi Chen''s eyes turned fierce.

    Those who don''t respect the lives of others, naturally don''t deserve respect from others.

    The pleasures of violence will also end in violence.

    At some point, an overwhelming presence had locked onto Xiang Feiyan.

    "Leopard, time to work."

    "Your feast has arrived."

 Chapter 293 Pick It Up, I Told You to Pick It Up! Accidental Discovery and Horror!

    Boom!

    Like a rotten watermelon bursting open, a headless corpse slumped powerlessly onto the reclining chair.

    For a moment, all was deathly silent, before the two female cultivators seated in front of Yi Chen couldn''t help but let out piercing shrieks.

    "Ah~"

    "You, why did you aim the Sudden Cloudburst at Brother Jian? Hall Master, this person has violated the game rules; please take action and execute him."

    The voluptuous female cultivator, her eyes bloodshot, suddenly stood up and ran toward Lin Zhongjian''s corpse, while the other petite one, looking like a young Lolita, followed close behind.

    Both of them wore expressions of immense grief.

    All eyes were instantly on Yi Chen.

    "What are you all looking at me for? The Hall Master did say to aim at the forehead and press the spring, but he didn''t say we couldn''t aim at someone else''s forehead. At worst, when it''s his turn, this headless fellow can do the same to poor me," Yi Chen said.

    "I like to speak the truth, everyone, don''t you think that''s fair!"

    "Too bad this fellow''s luck was a bit too short!"

    Yi Chen rose gradually, yet his gaze turned toward the old Taoist with the goat beard.

    With his keen mind, he had already picked up on the dishonesty in the behavior of Lin Zhongjian''s companions from before. If earlier he was merely suspicious, now his suspicion had turned into certainty.

    Of course, whether he was suspicious or not, the trigger would never have fallen on himself; he wasn''t foolish enough to let some random thing explode on his head.

    Anyway, aiming it at someone else was the optimal solution for him. In the end, if things turned sour, they could just turn their faces.

    In his perception, the so-called Hall Master of the Secret Gambling Hall was merely a cultivator at the late stage of Approaching Tao. Without the need to transform, Yi Chen was confident he could easily subdue this ''person''; his previous demeanor was but his habitual way of restraining his presence.

    Thinking of a certain suspicion in his heart, Yi Chen''s eyes began to flash with a dangerous light, and his aura burst forth suddenly, revealing an oppressive might. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Hall Master!" The voluptuous female cultivator tried to say something more but was caught in the goat-bearded old Taoist''s gaze. Her eyes instantly cleared up, and she dared not speak another word.

    "In my Secret Gambling Hall, fairness prevails. This daoist friend has done nothing excessive. While luck is indeed important, intelligence is also an aspect we consider," the Hall Master said.

    Seeing Yi Chen''s sudden surge of terrifying aura, the Secret Gambling Hall Master couldn''t help but feel his scalp tingle.

    He had previously sensed that this person''s Yin Manor insignia marked his first official entry, and smelt that his initial mark was judged to be merely at the level of Refining Essence into Qi, so he hadn''t bothered to investigate further. It was only now with Yi Chen''s outburst that he realized the sheep he thought he''d cornered was actually a vicious wolf in sheep''s clothing.

    Hiss, how could such a ''big Buddha'' appear in his little temple?

    At this moment, the goat-bearded old Taoist couldn''t help scratching his head, unable to understand how this person had managed to deceive the volition of Yin Manor, assigning him such a low ranking. Thinking of his own secrets, the Hall Master''s expression involuntarily shifted slightly.

    "The game is over. Each survivor will receive one black crystal; take it, and you may all leave."

    As the goat-bearded old Taoist spoke, four small boxes suddenly appeared in his hand, drifting slowly toward the four cultivators.

    They all caught them.

    The two female and one male cultivators looked at each other and silently prepared to leave, but at that moment, a cold and indifferent voice resounded through the great hall.

    "Did I say you could leave?"

    With a cold snort from Yi Chen, the three of them felt as though they were under the crushing pressure of Mount Tai, even moving a finger became a luxury.

    The goat-bearded old Taoist watched this scene with cold eyes but remained silent.

    Yi Chen turned around, glanced at the black crystal inside the small box in his hand, and suddenly cracked a sly smile.

    Click!

    His hand released abruptly, and the small box containing the black crystal fell to the ground, its content rolling out beside the goat-bearded old Taoist.

    "Shouldn''t the Hall Master give me an explanation?" Yi Chen said.

    "Impudent youth! I''ve tolerated you for a long time. What is your intention?" Hu Moliran suddenly burst with rage, slapping the long table before him. However, Yi Chen keenly caught a flicker of panic in his eyes.

    "Heh, my intention?" Yi Chen laughed.

    "I''ve dropped my black crystal, pick it up for me."

    "You! Presumptuous! I won''t die without¡­"

    However, before the Hall Master could finish, Yi Chen interrupted him.

    "Pick it up! I told you to pick it up! Are you deaf?" Yi Chen''s voice suddenly rose by eight decibels, and a ferocious smile spread on his face.

    Damn it, nobody could plot against him and come out without a scratch.

    Even if the goat-bearded old Taoist could resurrect, he would still have to die once more!

    To think that after robbing the other three in the hall of their black crystals, he would only have four, and even with the previous one, he still needed an additional one. If that was the case, it was better to blow up this damned Hall Master.

    Wouldn''t that solve everything?

    "You!"

    "What ''you''? A soft-shelled turtle stuffed with Wang Ba, are you playing your mother!" Yi Chen flashed a fierce look in his eyes, and a purple-gold hand immediately pressed onto the neck of the goat-bearded old Taoist.

    "I played a round of your game, Hall Master, so why don''t you play a round with me now?"

    "Daring to conspire in a sneak attack against me, do you guess you will die today?"

    Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire

    Before Hu Moliran could reply, Yi Chen channeled the power of Extreme Origin, ready to take action.

    Better to take action and die with courage than to starve from cowardice. The Hall Master of the Secret Gambling Hall, sitting in a wheelchair, hadn''t even been asked to stand up for a toast, and was now being so resistant to picking up a black crystal, clearly seeking a death wish.

    Of course, if the old man truly did pick it up, he would be ''killed'' for first extending his left hand.

 Chapter 293 Pick It Up, I Told You to Pick It Up! Accidental Discovery and Horror!_2

    ```

    Sometimes the process is not important, because the outcome is already determined.

    Witnessing this scene, the three people in the hall who were intimidated by Yi Chen''s momentum were dumbfounded for a moment, clearly beyond their comprehension.

    While others were still focused on finding ''game'' loopholes, someone had already begun to flip the table.

    Thinking that they had wanted to calculate against such a fierce person, a sense of despair inevitably rose in their eyes.

    "You, are seeking death!"

    A roar squeezed out from between the goat-bearded Daoist''s clenched teeth, and suddenly his momentum burst forth, with a strange purple pattern instantly climbing onto his face.

    His figure flashed, and he abruptly broke free from Yi Chen''s suppression.

    At this moment, the goat-bearded Daoist''s momentum had swelled from the late stage of Near Dao to the middle stage of Entering Dao, vaguely on a par with Yi Chen in his normal state.

    "Junior, take all the black crystals and get out!"

    "It was I who was greedy for wealth at first, but I also left you a glimmer of hope, I do not know how you deceived the will of Yin Manor to have such cultivation, let''s forget about today''s incident, how about that? I give you all four black crystals as a gift."

    Seeing that familiar purple pattern, and the purple crystal covering his entire body, Yi Chen couldn''t help revealing a look of shock and ecstasy on his face.

    That was the aura of the Purple Token.

    He would definitely not mistake it, he didn''t expect there to be such a turn of events within the monsters controlled by Yin Manor.

    "Truly... It''s like finding a needle in a haystack effortlessly!"

    "However, Hall Master, saying you''re giving me my own crystals seems a bit insincere."

    "Also, Hall Master, do you really think you can be reborn again?"

    At this moment, a strange light flashed in Yi Chen''s eyes, and as his words reverberated in the grand hall, his purple-golden Cultivation Body suddenly revealed itself.

    Fierce dragons ferocious, evil tigers roaring, and a green divine bovine kicking and bellowing around his abdomen.

    "You... What exactly do you know?" The goat-bearded Daoist''s face was filled with extreme shock, he did not know how the person before him could bluntly speak out his secrets.

    Ever since he had obtained the Purple Token by chance, he had joyously found that relying on it, he could resist the erosion of the will of Yin Manor and greatly increase his autonomy. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    For this reason, he had subtly hinted to the children of Yin Manor who came to the Secret Gambling Hall to offer him various treasures required by the will within the Purple Token, secretly accumulating strength to seek a day when he could completely break free from the control of Yin Manor.

    Seeing the expression of the Hall Master of the Secret Gambling Hall, Yi Chen immediately knew his guess was correct; Yin Manor and those peculiar ''big stars'' from the celestial changes were not of the same origin and were even antagonistic to each other. The Hall Master, corrupted by the purple command, had also lost his capacity to be reborn in Yin Manor.

    To see such a variant, corrupted by the Purple Token in Yin Manor itself, was an astonishing discovery, making waves surge in Yi Chen''s heart, not daring to contemplate how deep the waters were behind it.

    Whoosh!

    The air suddenly let out a shrill whistling sound.

    Perhaps seeing Yi Chen a bit distracted, the Hall Master of the Secret Gambling Hall sensed an opportunity and took the initiative. His palm transformed into a strange purple crystal claw, striking toward Yi Chen''s heart.

    On that purple crystal claw, the light spread and flowed like ripples, with eerie runes converging at the tip of the claw. Its might was incomparable to that of the Carefree King, like comparing the light of the bright moon in the sky with that of a firefly.

    At this moment, the wheelchair underneath the Hall Master suddenly exploded into pieces, his lower legs had long since vanished, transforming into a strange purple crystal cluster that resembled the dense crystalline structures formed in highly concentrated salt solutions, only far larger and more mysterious! Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire

    Boom!

    The claw fiercely collided with Yi Chen''s chest.

    A look of desperate resolve appeared on the Hall Master''s face, knowing after seeing the towering and fierce purple-golden figure before him that this might be his last chance.

    It hit!

    It hit!

    A hint of joy appeared on the Hall Master''s face, and then the smile abruptly disappeared.

    Only the ''clang'' of a crisp sound was heard as a small piece of purple crystal fell onto the floor of the grand hall.

    His purple crystal claw, the longest tip, had snapped off abruptly.

    ```

    "Old man, put some effort into it, I can take it!"

    Yi Chen twisted his neck like the Fiend of Blazing Clouds, his mouth slowly widening into an increasingly ferocious grin.

    Ever since his True Technique advanced to the sixteenth level, his body was incredibly strong and durable. If his physique had not been strong, the violent power of Extreme Origin would have already blown his body to pieces. This level of strength was merely scratching an itch for him.

    "Ah!"

    Frustrated by his ineffective strike and thinking of the many tortures he would endure after death, the bearded Daoist let out a mad scream, attacking with the speed of lightning. His purple crystal claws wildly stabbed at Yi Chen''s chest, moving like phantoms.

    "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

    "A year ago, your Yin Manor mark indicated you were just at the refining spirit and transforming qi realm. In just one year, it''s impossible for you to have such strength. Who are you really? In this world, apart from His Majesty, how could anyone else deceive and defy ''His'' will?"

    "Haha, I know now, you have a Purple Token, you also have one, right? Only His Majesty''s mighty power could create such a miracle." The bearded Daoist laughed and cried crazily as if he had lost his mind.

    Purple crystal flakes fluttered down.

    Five seconds later, looking at the Hall Master of the Secret Gambling Hall who had gruesomely turned his own hands into robotic paws, Yi Chen couldn''t help but feel a bit of pity for the old Daoist.

    "Impressive will to survive."

    "Too bad, you don''t understand what is called a wisdom of the ages!"

    "With my natural talent and effort, plus a few tricks, one year is enough to create miracles."

    "It''s not that my world is too small, just that I am too talented~"

    Yi Chen sighed softly. A thick layer of lustrous golden flames suddenly surfaced on his Cultivation Body. A huge purple-gold hand grabbed the Hall Master of the Secret Gambling Hall. As the lustrous golden flames flowed, a strange golden flame also started to rise around the crystalized body of the bearded Daoist.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Like Hulk smashing Loki, a continued rumbling sounded throughout the hall, instantly sending debris flying and dust rising.

    Two and a half seconds later, the purple crystal clusters on the lower half of the Hall Master''s body had disappeared, and his upper body was rapidly melting like a candle under the intense heat of the golden flames.

    After dispersing the Extreme Origin golden flames, Yi Chen knelt down expressionlessly in front of the Hall Master: "How many more freaks like you are there in Yin Manor? Can you tell me?"

    "If you speak up, I will grant you a quick death! That experience just now must have been unpleasant, right?"

    At this moment, a glimmer of clarity and resentment flashed in the eyes of the Hall Master.

    "That''s it? Compared to ''His'' methods, your little torture feels like a refreshing breeze to me."

    "But you... rest assured, I''m still willing to tell you about others like me. I know for sure, she is one!"

    "Behind the back door of the Secret Gambling Hall, to the west, there''s a protracted road. I have a nightmare spirit chariot parked there at the rear hall. Travel west for twenty-six thousand miles, and you will reach her kingdom. Her name is Rakshasa King!"

    "Haha, you dare not...."

    "Thanks for the information." Yi Chen stood up and with one foot, crushed the purple crystal head of the bearded Daoist, shattering it into pieces. The explosion sprayed purple crystal shards, scarring the three ''underlings'' who were still standing like stone pillars, and disfiguring the two female cultivators.

    A stream of information immediately appeared before Yi Chen''s eyes.

    [You have successfully killed the Hall Master of the Secret Gambling Hall (Mutated), earning 31,000 Deep Red Points.]

    Without the pressure of his imposing aura, the three collapsed on the ground.

    Yi Chen picked up the black crystals from the ground one by one, flicked his finger, and a seed of lustrous golden flame landed on the remaining corpse of the Hall Master. Amidst the raging flames, an unusual green crystal suddenly appeared after a while.

    Seeing the crystal, Yi Chen''s expression turned curious. He had expected the Hall Master to drop several black crystals, but this turn of events was unexpected.

    At that moment, an exotic fragrance wafted from the green crystal. Smelling this fragrance, Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body couldn''t help but let out an extremely greedy cry, as if it deeply craved the green crystal.

    Suddenly, an itch as if countless claws were scratching at his heart, surged through Yi Chen.

    "Damn it, should I try it?"

    "I''ll just take a small bite!"

    ```

 Chapter 294 Yin Manor? Clearly a Treasure Ground! The Secrets of Yin Manor, Strange Tales, Rakshasa!

    The azure crystal was delicate and lustrous, like a dreamy pastry.

    Confident in his powerful Cultivation Body, Yi Chen didn''t hesitate further, popping the azure crystal into his mouth and gently biting off a small piece.

    A strong, warm current burst forth from within his Cultivation Body, circulating rapidly throughout his meridians, swiftly strengthening his physique.

    In an instant, Yi Chen''s entire body seemed electrified, emitting signals of excitement~

    For a moment, his soul felt light and airy, as if he were soaking in a hot bath.

    "Hiss!"

    "It''s kind of tasty!"

    "Another bite!"

    Yi Chen closed his eyes and swallowed the rest of the azure crystal in one gulp. Majestic power began to surge within him, and a faint clear light shone from his Cultivation Body. Gradually, the light dimmed and finally faded into nothingness.

    After a dozen seconds or so, he opened his eyes, called up his attribute panel, and discovered that all four dimensions of his attributes had actually increased by three points each.

    One azure crystal was comparable to the blood essence found within the Extinction Ruins.

    No, it was actually more effective, for his Cultivation Body was incomparably more powerful than before.

    Hiss!

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but take another sharp breath, making his own negligible contribution to the warming climate of Yin Manor.

    If there were ten or a hundred more Hall Masters like this one, he would surely soar to new heights.

    Yin Manor? This is simply a treasure trove!

    Here he was, being given Deep Red Points and azure crystals that tremendously boosted his attributes¡ªthe group of transformed old wall lamps were like living bodhisattvas.

    At this moment, a peculiar light flickered in Yi Chen''s eyes.

    No matter what schemes lay behind Yin Manor, now was not the time to hinder him from enjoying the sugar coating before firing back the cannonballs.

    Plus, he had to make the most of this opportunity, to harvest a wave of leeks thoroughly. He felt this chance, akin to robbing a bank, might not come again, or at least not this easily.

    Suppressing the distracting thoughts in his mind and concealing his domineering aura, Yi Chen slowly approached the trio of two female and one male cultivators.

    All three were in the early stages of the True Person Realm, around the first and second levels, whereas the unfortunate one, whom Yi Chen had shot in the head, was around the third.

    "My friends, how about we have a good talk about your affairs?"

    "Tell me everything you know about Yin Manor. Take your time, I''ll be asking you one by one. If there are any omissions or lack of emphasis in important parts, the two delicate fairies will suffer, you know."

    Yi Chen stared at the two female cultivators with a smirk, licking his lips.

    Although he didn''t intend to actually act indecently, this didn''t prevent him from scaring them. Memory extraction could inevitably miss details, and even as children of Yin Manor, success wasn''t guaranteed¡ªit was only a backup plan.

    "Male Daoist friend, don''t be in a hurry, either. I have a magical creature, called the Scarlet Leopard, which is not picky about food and likes male cultivators such as yourself the most," Yi Chen shifted his tone and turned his gaze back to the two female cultivators, "Of course, it also likes female cultivators."

    With a slap of the storage bag, the bewildered Scarlet Leopard suddenly appeared.

    ...

    A tea''s time later, after Yi Chen had finished interrogating the plump female cultivator, he fell into deep thought.

    With his current wondrous Cultivation Body, creating a barrier that sealed off the transmission of sound was as easy as turning his hand. Now he finally understood why the information about the existence of Yin Manor was so scarce.

    According to the three of them, once you leave Yin Manor and have the thought to reveal information about it, a mark would sense it. Then, the more danger you would face upon your next entry to Yin Manor, and the higher the price of leaving would be.

    Besides that, they were also unaware of any other hidden threats.

    Furthermore, after the first official entry into Yin Manor, the spot where you re-entered the next time would be the exact place where you would appear upon your subsequent visits. So each time before leaving, it was best to find a safe place for oneself.

    Places like the Secret Gambling Hall, a peculiar stone hall, were known as nodes within Yin Manor¡ªas they often referred to such special locations. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The vastness of Yin Manor was unknown, and the locations of nodes weren''t fixed. They tended to suddenly appear in certain regions and vanish just as abruptly.

    Beyond the nodes, there was an abundance of strange areas.

    Some children of Yin Manor had even witnessed giants as immense as mountains moving across the land, causing earthquakes with every step. There were also inverted realms and numerous anomalies¡ªbizarre and various.

    According to the three of them, there were also foreigners within the sons of Yin Manor, even in large numbers, which was not uncommon in the Yin Manor. During their last task, they had seen a foreign soldier.

    "So you''re saying, the reason the old Heavenly Master couldn''t return, fell into the Yin Manor, might also be because the will of the Yin Manor gave him a task too difficult to complete, and he was exiled in disguise?"

    "Could it be that the will of the Yin Manor might also be the chaotic will of a vast entity? What, exactly, is it?"

    Many speculations surged into Yi Chen''s mind.

    Yi Chen couldn''t imagine what kind of cultivation it would take to have people from other domains in the Yin Manor.

    If you said it was an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, Yi Chen would dare believe it.

    This capability was already beyond Yi Chen''s imagination.

    But if it were truly the Heavenly Dao, then why would it have such a malevolent and concrete will, and torment those unlucky ones enslaved and controlled by it?

    Whether it was the executioners who died at Yi Chen''s hands earlier or the Secret Gambling Hall Master later, they were both very secretive about a lot of information. With the aid of the Deep Red Points, the Hall Master had evidently more freedom, but that was about it.

    So-called Heavenly Dao is nothing more than the rules of the world coming together; with Yi Chen''s cultivation, he clearly understood that personifying the Heavenly Dao is merely a novelist''s fantasy.

    Whether it''s Central Continent or Eastern Continent, he had never heard of any tales of Heavenly Dao incarnates receiving divine names.

    Heavenly Dao is the rules, akin to the constant of gravity in his previous life. Apples fall to the ground, and numerous rules converge to form Heavenly Dao; God is the product of humans'' own abstraction.

    Cultivators observing the Heavenly Dao and acting according to it are just moves of seeking advantages and avoiding harms. As the saying goes, a storm begins with the flutter of the lowest blade of grass. The great powers of various sects use all sorts of methods to deduce the weakening of the spatial barriers between the Three Realms in unity; this is what they observe as ''Heavenly Will''.

    If you say that Heavenly Dao, as the world''s will, an aggregation of various rules, evolves through chaotic pursuits of advantages and avoidance of harms, Yi Chen would definitely believe that. However, a personified Heavenly Dao is almost impossible; otherwise, this world wouldn''t lack even a hint of such records.

    "Yin Manor, what exactly are you?" the more Yi Chen delved into it, the more confused he found himself, as if lifting one layer of the Yin Manor''s veil only to discover its submerged volume was even more massive, enveloped in deep fog. Find adventures on My Virtual Library Empire

    "Senior, we were wrong. We''ve only passed the Yin Manor''s summons a couple of times; we don''t know much more. We''ve said all we know, can we leave now?" said the cultivator girl, who looked like a young girl, timidly, while subtly lifting the hem of her dress, half-concealing and revealing it.

    Interrupted from his thoughts, Yi Chen no longer continued his deep contemplation. He thought of several possibilities, but they felt contradictory and impossible to explain.

    "It''s because of my insufficient strength. If I haven''t reached that level, naturally I can''t get in touch with the information from the higher-ups."

    "Heavenly intent is hard to question since ancient times, daydreaming about these only adds to my troubles, enough! Enough! Enough!"

    With a sigh, Yi Chen turned his gaze towards the three people in front of him.

    "The three of you have not hidden anything, and I am very satisfied."

    "In fact, I find your actions quite acceptable. If I were in your place, I might have done even worse. It''s just survival by any means necessary; there''s no need for apologies. I''m not some epitome of moral purity."

    "The Daoist is compassionate!" All three exchanged glances, each showing a trace of hope in their eyes.

    "You may go now! But be quick!" Yi Chen turned his back on them, no longer looking at them, his lips quivered.

    "Thank you, Daoist!" The three of them said in unison, bowing their heads in thanks, and turned to leave as if they had been granted amnesty.

    Just when the three were about to step out of the stone hall, a murmur like that of a mosquito or fly emerged in their ears.

    "Ignite the seven emotions, burn the six desires, and all thirteen flames of Pure Yang shall be empty!"

    The figures of the three, like glowing fireflies crushed upon the ground, turned into ash and slowly fell to the floor.

    "My fellow Daoists, I''ve said that I am not some epitome of moral purity. You set up the trap, I broke it. Since we''ve become enemies, it''s better you stay. I''m not like my master who doesn''t remove the roots when cutting the weed, allowing it to grow back with the spring breeze."

    "However, my pure Pure Yang Flame burns from the inside out, and given your level of cultivation, I imagine you have passed away rather peacefully. That is the only thing I can do for you. From the beginning to the end, I never said I would let the three of you go."

    "Ah, the Dao is arduous. I will take care of your heritage for you."

    Looking at the three piles of black ash on the ground, Yi Chen chanted a scripture for the deceased. He then let it go completely since his moral baseline was low and he had no qualms, picking up the three dropped storage rings from the ground before heading towards the back of the stone hall.

    "The Rakshasa King? It sounds tremendous just by the name."

    "Yin Manor, you can''t have such an awesome monster existing, I must deal with it."

    Strategically despising the enemy but tactically respecting them, Yi Chen, who deeply admired the thoughts of great people, had already pushed open the massive doors behind the stone hall with hundreds of thoughts swirling in his mind.

    For the Rakshasa Kingdom, for the Rakshasa King, he came, he saw, and he... must deal with it!

    "Of course, can''t just be reckless!"

 Chapter 295 Strange Happenings, Mare of Nightmares, The Bizarre Land of Yin Manor, Ma Rufeng

    ```

    Yanking open the gleaming circular door handle, the first thing that entered Yi Chen''s eyes was a vast open field, dark yellow and gloomy.

    A narrow path just wide enough for two horses'' backsides wound its way towards the distance.

    Far away, there was a heavy mass of dark clouds.

    A strange horse, its body pitch-black and a tuft of glowing purple mane atop its head, was idly blowing loudly through its nostrils. Sparks like those from burning wood spat out from its nostrils, mixed with a few specks of light like those of fireflies.

    A bronze carriage lay quietly on one side, resembling the open chariots from Yi Chen''s previous life during the Warring States period.

    As Yi Chen was examining the so-called ethereal transport of the Secret Gambling Hall Master, the odd black horse was also staring at Yi Chen with wide eyes.

    Before Yi Chen could speak, a voice transmission suddenly echoed in the depths of his heart.

    "I am ''Ma Rufeng'' of the magical creature horse clan, young one. Are you going to Rakshasa Kingdom or not? Two drops of Gold Essence will suffice."

    "You''re not the Hall Master''s magical creature horse? You dare ask this old man for money? Want to try horse meat hot pot?" Yi Chen said, his face showing astonishment.

    ....

    ....

    After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a bizarrely shaped bronze chariot galloped into the distance, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

    At that moment, Yi Chen finally understood what this ethereal transport was all about.

    It really wasn''t something belonging to the Secret Gambling Hall Master, but rather a peculiar species of this Yin Manor territory. Naturally, what the magical creature horse referred to was the ''Boundless Lands''.

    The magical creature horses aimed to pull carriages to transport people in exchange for compensation to gather resources for cultivation, existing on this weird stretch of land.

    This time, it was just that the Secret Gambling Hall appeared right above its usual path, so it was merely resting behind the stone hall.

    Under Yi Chen''s threat, the magical creature horse bluntly stated that if he dared to kill it, his body would be stained with a scent of death that all of their clan could smell. Not only would all the magical creature horses of the Boundless Lands refuse to carry him afterward, but it might also provoke the vengeance of their race''s powerful elders.

    In addition, the wilderness'' space would constantly change. Without the innate talents of their magical creature horse clan, a person venturing into the wilderness for the first time would not only waste a lot of effort, but if they lost their way, they''d really be in trouble.

    Of course, to express ''admiration'' for a powerful being, Ma Rufeng stated that one drop of Gold Essence would suffice for this journey. It apologized deeply for speaking too loudly just now.

    "Odd one, hold tight. I, Ma Rufeng, am about to speed up."

    Perhaps previously intimidated by Yi Chen''s long halberd, feeling that he had lost face, Ma Rufeng started transmitting another message to Yi Chen, and its speed suddenly surpassed the speed of sound.

    "Why do you call me ''odd one''?" Yi Chen asked in astonishment, holding onto the carriage frame.

    Spiritual voice transmission smoothed over language barriers, so Yi Chen had no problems communicating with ''Ma Rufeng''.

    "Hehe, your kind, emerging from a temple, are undoubtedly considered ''odd ones.'' Us species of the Boundless Lands dare not recklessly enter the temples."

    "Temples? How much do you know about the temples?" Hearing Ma Rufeng refer to the Secret Gambling Hall as a temple, Yi Chen''s interest was piqued, and he wanted to delve into the strange species'' understanding of the Yin Manor on this odd landscape.

    Unfortunately, even though Yi Chen tempted it with ten drops of Gold Essence, promising to give it the whole bottle he held if it could relay valuable information, Ma Rufeng couldn''t explain.

    It kept repeating the same old stories: the temple had a long history, there were plenty of temples... It seemed that the species of the Boundless Lands were not particularly curious about the existence of the Yin Manor.

    Originally, Yi Chen thought Ma Rufeng was brushing him off, but he soon abandoned that thought.

    When a land is abundant with bizarre happenings, one more so-called ''temple'' doesn''t seem to matter much anymore.

    In his perception, the straight path ahead suddenly twisted and folded like a funhouse mirror. Ma Rufeng, as if accustomed to it, began to snake around, not slowing down at all. It weaved through the distorted area with agile turns, making Yi Chen''s money well spent.

    "Truly, a weird land, strange creatures," Yi Chen couldn''t help but utter softly as he watched Ma Rufeng gallop with his hooves flying and nostrils spouting colorful sparks along the way. Continue your saga on My Virtual Library Empire

    To his senses, this odd magical creature horse possessed strength around the late stages of the True Person Realm, yet it had remarkable spatial awareness. According to what it said, in the Boundless Lands, there were certain bizarre territories that not even the elders of their magical creature horse clan could find without proper guidance.

    As the scenery raced backward past Yi Chen like a film reel rewinding, Ma Rufeng began to move in a continuous, large S-shaped pattern, only stopping after seven such maneuvers. According to it, that was the ''Passing Seven Bursts'' territory.

    "Odd one, up next is the Scorching Sea region. Sit tight, I, Ma Rufeng, am about to take off," announced Ma Rufeng after a moment of silence.

    "What is the Scorching Sea region?"

    ```

    "Next time you run into me, Ma Rufeng, on this route, remember to take my carriage. There''s still a significant shortfall of Gold Essence and exotic metals for my Purple Flame Mane to break through to the Green Flame Mane realm." Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The Green Flame Mane of our Nightmare Horse clan is what you foreigners call close to the realm of True Monarch."

    "Foreigner, seeing as you bear me no ill will, I''ll give you a piece of news for free. A year ago, there was no Scorching Sea on this route."

    "For reasons unknown, the Rakshasa King suddenly made great progress in his cultivation, fought against a formidable enemy, and with a single strike, he created a long and narrow ravine, charring the earth black. Hence, I named it the Scorching Sea."

    "Heh, I know you''re up to no good in the Rakshasa Kingdom, but I still hope to see you alive when you leave. You foreigners are generous when you strike."

    In the midst of his speech, a long, charred valley appeared before Yi Chen.

    The valley had also accumulated quite a bit of rainwater, muddied and unfit for use.

    "Wu~ Lift off!"

    Accompanied by an excited neigh from Ma Rufeng, a black horse sporting a purple mane pulled a bronze carriage and leapt up at the edge of the canyon.

    At that moment, Yi Chen''s eyes were filled with solemnity.

    If this canyon was the work of the Rakshasa King recently, then the matter was quite serious.

    Seeing this, it seemed that the Rakshasa King''s strength was on par with his own, and this man also had the advantage of home ground.

    "Interesting, but just because he''s on a par with me in strength, should I give up?"

    "The bigger the storm, the pricier the fish!"

    "I have to see for myself if there''s really no chance at all."

    A Rakshasa King who pushed the Purple Order to the threshold of the Dao Sect, stirred up a great greed in Yi Chen at this moment, and his grave expression suddenly turned cold.

    "It seems that a head-on confrontation is not feasible this time; a long-term plan is in order."

    ....

    ....

    An hour later, having traversed a rather expansive area of yellow mud, a massive black stone city appeared on the horizon.

    "Foreigner, we''ve reached the Rakshasa Kingdom. I, Ma Rufeng, am fast, aren''t I?" the Nightmare Horse said with a grin, its purple mane fluttering left and right above its head.

    Yi Chen took out two drops of Gold Essence and tossed them toward Ma Rufeng, who gulped them down.

    It suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Foreigner, didn''t we agree on one drop of Gold Essence? Before, you intimidated me with your weapon over this, why are you being so generous now?"

    Yi Chen, who had already started walking away, turned his head upon hearing this, his mouth breaking into a wide grin, revealing eight pearly white teeth: "I am not short of that bit of Gold Essence, I can give it, but you must not ask for it proactively! Understand?"

    Ma Rufeng gazed at the brawny man in front, who seemed like a demonic deity. Now, under the moonlight, a vast shadow poured over his figure against the backdrop of the landscape, the swift winds blowing his robe fiercely as if dancing, his shadow twisting and turning, making him look particularly sinister and terrifying.

    "Haha, just joking with you, Ma Rufeng. Just think of it as me wanting to see that thing on your head turn green sooner," Yi Chen said.

    "Next time we meet, I''ll take your carriage again. Thanks for the warning earlier!"

    Yi Chen waved his hand, striding forward without further words, and headed directly toward the black city in front of him.

    Yin Manor''s vast land doesn''t have the harsh sun but three moons stretching across the sky, hanging high, casting a vast expanse of luminous glow.

    Watching Yi Chen''s retreating burly figure, a thought suddenly emerged in Ma Rufeng''s mind.

    Perhaps the Rakshasa Kingdom faces a great upheaval!

    With this thought, it suddenly shivered.

    "What does that have to do with me? I, Ma Rufeng, just pull a carriage and never meddle in other affairs. I''m out of here."

    "It must be said, though, that foreigners are lavish with their spending."

    As thoughts raced through its mind, Ma Rufeng''s hooves kicked up the wind, snorting, leaving a trail of sparks behind as it galloped away into the distance.

 Chapter 298 The Ambition of the Pi Xiu City Lord, Imperial Capital

    The beautiful married woman first appeared stunned upon hearing the words, then she cast a spell and vanished towards the well.

    It didn''t take long for a loud laugh to echo from outside the door.

    The laughter was heard before the person arrived.

    "Haha, Pi Xiu, I heard the caw of a raven early this morning and knew something auspicious was upon us. Today, the presence of a dignitary with two faces graces my humble Good City. Sir, you must come to my City Lord''s mansion for a little sit-down, so that I, the lowly one, can show you the hospitality of a landlord."

    While speaking, the round-faced Pixiu head suddenly appeared at the entrance of the courtyard.

    "You do know your own weight." Yi Chen turned around with a defiant look, the corner of his mouth slightly raised, his expression deeply reminiscent of Young Master Zhao.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Good City¡¤City Lord''s Mansion.

    A group of people were drunk and jolly.

    The Pixiu City Lord frequently offered toasts to Yi Chen.

    After receiving news from the captain of the bully dog squad, he had rushed over with his guards to Zhi Ji''s residence and extended an invitation to dine to Yi Chen.

    Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

    Yi Chen, already intending to engage with the Pixiu City Lord, readily agreed after a bit of modesty, and they arranged to meet for dinner that evening.

    "Sir, I have not been in Good City for long, and Good City is weak and impoverished, but the surrounding cities are quite wealthy. Thus, I plan to combine the beast fighting arena, gambling house, tavern, and seafood restaurant all in one place, right there in the east of the city, to attract wealthy households from inside and outside the city to come and play. What do you think?"

    The Pixiu City Lord, swollen with pride, said to Yi Chen, seemingly pleased, but his eyes held a hint of caution. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After some interactions, he always felt that something was off about this two-faced dignitary in front of him, but he couldn''t quite pinpoint what, so he couldn''t help but probe with his question.

    Cultivation or aura can be hidden with marvelous techniques, but knowledge and experience are things one cannot feign.

    A person simply cannot comment on something they have never seen, which is why there are so many ridiculous jokes in the world, such as, the Eastern Palace''s lady making pancakes, the Western Palace''s lady rolling green onions, a golden dung fork placed in the toilet, and wanting two or three dried persimmons to eat.

    Yi Chen put down the wine glass with a smile, his understanding of the Pixiu City Lord''s purpose as clear as day, yet his face remained serene as he replied with a laugh, "City Lord, you''re testing this young master, aren''t you?"

    "It''s a pity this young master only knows how to enjoy life. I''m utterly clueless about these matters, which might disappoint you."

    "However, I could share with the City Lord some of the pastimes of genuine nobility and perhaps provide some inspiration."

    "I''m eager to hear the details." The Pixiu City Lord leaned forward slightly, curiosity etched on his face.

    "It is a small island in the center of an underground river, accessible only through a special teleportation array, a circle only a handful of people can access."

    "Today, I and the City Lord share a mutual affinity; thus, I shall casually enlighten you, and you shall casually listen, for amusement''s sake. Those who understand will understand; don''t delve too deeply into it, City Lord."

    Yi Chen promptly began whispering to the Pixiu City Lord, and as time passed, the doubt in the City Lord''s eyes vanished, replaced by increasing reverence for Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen hadn''t said much, merely creatively embellished the island of Epstein from his previous life and introduced it here. Relying on his silver tongue, he made the Pixiu City Lord''s eyes shine, his face expressing a longing despite the impossibility of reaching it.

    "Sir, it''s one thing for ordinary households to loot, but the daughters and wives of the great clans, young girls and boys¡­ How could one dare..."

    "It''s precisely because of the great implications that those who are allowed onto the island are one of us, hahaha." Yi Chen immediately burst into unrestrained laughter.

    When faced with the Pixiu City Lord''s scrutiny, if one answers according to his intentions, even if the answers are excellent, it might not fully dispel the other party''s doubts; at most, you''d elevate yourself one level.

    Hence, Yi Chen aimed straight for the core, constructing for the Pixiu City Lord a world completely beyond his reach and imagination, elevating his status into the stratosphere.

    The main thing about being a con artist is exploiting information asymmetry; packaging is critical.

    The more prestigious the identity you concoct, the more likely that even if you slip up, the victim will automatically rationalize it for you.

    And the reason Yi Chen went to such great lengths to entice the Pixiu City Lord was naturally to make money.

    After the Pixiu City Lord left earlier in the day, he and Nan Nan''s mother had a long talk for an hour, gaining a deeper understanding of the distribution of power, customs, and people of the Rakshasa Kingdom.

    In the Rakshasa Kingdom, you absolutely need Saber Coins.

    Without that first pot of gold, he can''t just go to the Imperial Capital and rob it, right? Wouldn''t that be alarming the snake in the grass?

    Even making a move in a remote location would risk catching the eye of someone attentive, and having people willingly give large sums of Saber Coins would avoid this trouble.

    This is the best strategy~

    In any case, Yi Chen had to try, even if in the end it didn''t work out, he would consider it as gaining experience in interacting with other nobles of the Rakshasa Kingdom. He could think of a solution to the Saber Coins issue later.

    After hearing Yi Chen''s vivid storytelling, the Pixiu City Lord was now torn within himself.

    He harbored grand ambitions but had been relegated to this remote place because he offended someone. Even with his extraordinary talents, he had no stage to display them.

    Yet, he never gave up, wanting to amass more Saber Coins, enhance his cultivation, rise into the true upper echelons of the Rakshasa Kingdom. Compared to his plans of creating an ecosystem for indulgence, the opportunity before him undoubtedly was like a stairway to heaven.

 Chapter 298 The Ambition of the Pi Xiu City Lord, Imperial Capital_2

    He truly believed in the existence of the island Yi Chen spoke of¡ª

    It was the existence of that island that made many things he hadn''t understood suddenly become crystal clear.

    During the battle between Heaven and Man, the Pixiu City Lord clapped his hands and dismissed his attendants.

    "What does the City Lord mean by this?" Yi Chen couldn''t help but show a look of ''surprise.''

    "Young Master, I am too eager to advance."

    In his speech, the Pixiu City Lord waved his hand grandly, and with a pained expression, he took out twenty thousand pieces of sparkling gold Saber Coins from his storage ring.

    "With just these scraps, the City Lord wouldn''t be thinking of going to the island, would he?" Yi Chen immediately ''scoffed'' upon seeing this.

    "How could I dare? I only hope for the Young Master''s mercy."

    "I wish to be reassigned to a wealthy city; the citizens of Shan City have all become paupers, there''s nothing left to scrape. I''ve arrived too late."

    The short and plump Pixiu City Lord tried his best to rub his eyes with his sleeve, squeezing out a few tears, and looked eagerly at Yi Chen, "Young Master, this is all my savings from these years."

    Seeing Yi Chen smile without a word, the Pixiu City Lord gritted his teeth and waved his hand, bringing out another ten thousand silver Saber Coins, his face looking grief-stricken, "Young Master, there''s really nothing left¡ªif I give you the remaining ten thousand Iron Saber Coins, I''ll starve to death in this City Lord''s mansion."

    At that moment, Yi Chen gradually showed a slight smile.

    "Pi Xiu, you''re different from the others."

    "The Young Master likes intelligent people, even more those who seize the opportunity and strike decisively."

    "You, are quite good¡ª"

    "Wait for my good news within a month."

    "Currently, you have no idea of this Young Master''s power and methods. In a month, you will respect me as if I were a god!"

    "Serve well as this Young Master''s lackey, and in the future, it''s not entirely impossible for me to take you to the island. That place is filled with the families of nobility you can barely even dream of seeing~" Yi Chen''s eyebrows slightly lifted, implying his words.

    Upon hearing this, the Pixiu City Lord managed to contain his excitement.

    "Young Master, I wish to become the Deputy Finance Envoy of the Fortress City. What do you think? Do I stand a chance?"

    "Well, the Young Master finds you pleasing to the eye, so in a month, I will indeed kick the current Finance Envoy out."

    "What Deputy Finance Envoy? Finance Envoy! Holding the position of an assistant won''t display this Young Master''s capabilities." Yi Chen burst out laughing, a picture of someone holding all the aces, his strong confidence infecting the Pixiu City Lord present, filling the grand hall with an air of merriment.

    "Young Master, not to hide it from you, I''ve just taken a new wife today. I truly can''t repay your great kindness. Why doesn''t the Young Master do me the honor of consummating the marriage tonight~"

    With gritted teeth, for some reason, the Pixiu City Lord quietly transmitted a message into the darkness, and soon enough, a crest-haired beauty walked over gracefully.

    This woman wore bright red robes with a flowery crown, her neck glossy and legs golden yellow; watching the crest-headed beauty approach Yi Chen, the Pixiu City Lord''s eyes betrayed a hint of heartache.

    "So beautiful, but alas, you can''t trap a wolf if you''re afraid to sacrifice the lamb, and you can''t ensnare an influential person without offering up your wife."

    This move, however, confused Yi Chen. This girl was almost too anthropomorphic.

    "This Young Master has taken a liking to the City Lord, how could I covet what another man cherishes? Given your previous proposal to develop Shan City, your future is boundless, let us not allow this to cause any strife between us."

    "In the future, the Young Master will have great use for you." Yi Chen immediately began to accord honor to the worthy; he felt that this woman might be more to the taste of the Corpse God Sect''s tyrannical leader.

    "Young Master, you.... you''re not thinking of...."

    "Choose your words carefully, keep your thoughts in your heart, Pixiu City Lord. My father once said, ''One must remain calm in the face of great events.'' Now, the Young Master offers these words to you." Although he did not understand what the Pixiu City Lord meant, it did not prevent Yi Chen from continuing to speak in riddles, rather than chatting directly.

    "Enough, it''s late, and a moment in the spring evening is worth a thousand gold coins. This Young Master shall not delay any longer. Your matter is not difficult to handle, but it''s quite troublesome. Keep quiet for this month, do not inquire or ask around, and if the news leaks, you''re on your own."

    "At this Young Master''s level, naturally, there are many who don''t wish to see me prosper. If it becomes known that your reassignment is orchestrated by me, and if anything goes wrong, don''t say that I didn''t warn you."

    As his voice fell, the Pixiu City Lord, who had offered both Saber Coins and his wife, watched Yi Chen''s departing figure with a look of reverence.

    Once Yi Chen had left, he couldn''t help but clench his fist fiercely.

    "The temperament, methods, and cultivation of the Young Master are unfathomable; I, Pi Xiu, have truly struck it lucky today."

    "To have encountered the Young Master is like a fish finding the sea, a fortune granted by heaven."

    The City Lord of the Pixiu sighed as he glanced at the beauty under the lamp.

    Looking at a beauty under the lamp, the more one looks, the more enchanting she becomes.

    Picking up the comb-crested beauty''s leg, the Pixiu City Lord couldn''t help but laugh out loud, "Beauty, you smell so good, I really want to eat you up."

    Having said that, he opened his mouth wide, and to the comb-crested beauty''s horrified gaze, he tore off her arm and put it in his mouth. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Ah~"

    Accompanied by a piercing scream, the hall suddenly plunged into darkness, with only the continual wailing echoing through the dark.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "Madam, I''m coming in."

    After knocking on the door and receiving permission from the person inside, Yi Chen pushed the door open and entered.

    "Is Nan Nan asleep?"

    "Yes, I have used the Secret Technique to put her to sleep. Has our friend managed to get the doorknocker to the Imperial Capital?" The beautiful woman couldn''t help but chuckle at the question, "That Pixiu creature is the type to only take in, never give out. If our friend didn''t manage to get any Saber Coins, it would also be¡­."

    Before Nan Nan''s mother could finish speaking, the room was instantly submerged in a sea of gold and silver light, dazzling to the eyes.

    "You... how did you do it?"

    "Is it that difficult? A few words from me, and without me even speaking, the old Pixiu kept insisting on giving me Saber Coins. I didn''t say a thing the whole time," Yi Chen said with a tilt of his head, "Alright, Madam, now can you share with me the details about the Imperial Capital and also about the ''Salvation Society'' organization you mentioned before?"

    "You... stranger."

    "Eh, it doesn''t matter. In light of your rescue of Nan Nan, stranger, I advise you to give up any thoughts of weakening the Rakshasa King by destroying the Saber Coins.

    "The Rakshasa King has built two Yin Essence Towers in the Royal City, using Saber Coins as fuel, allowing him to forcibly resonate with the Essence Sea to draw forth incredible power."

    "Our Huaxu Country''s ''Salvation Society'' has faced successive failures; countless people have devoted their lives to fulfilling this heavy responsibility only to ultimately fail. Some even considered using seduction, trying to incite infighting between the two-faced nobles and the revolving nobility but, alas, they all failed to succeed in the end."

    "Even more tragic is that some of our comrades were assimilated, joining the ranks of the changed, which caused immense losses to our Salvation Society."

    "If it weren''t for certain people in the Imperial Capital with their own agendas, the Salvation Society would likely have been eradicated by now."

    "You are Nan Nan''s benefactor, and I do not wish for you to end up like my comrades, ultimately assimilated and transformed."

    The beautiful woman seemed to be reminded of painful memories from the past and couldn''t help but have her eyes redden slightly.

    Yet Yi Chen appeared unconcerned, grinning broadly, "That''s because you and your companions are too simplistic, your methods too primitive, as innocent as a blank sheet of paper; what kind of strategy could you possibly come up with? To deal with these intensely sinister altered beings, you have to be more ruthless and cunning than they are."

    "I am different, I''m as plain as a sheet of newspaper,"

    "The mere mud cannot blacken a lump of coal."

    At Yi Chen''s insistent request, that night, he had a long conversation with the beautiful woman, who shared with him all the information about the Royal City gathered by the Salvation Society, including the friction between different factions and the undercurrents between the two-faced people and the revolving nobility.

    The current Rakshasa King was one such revolving noble, a kind of altered creature with a thin neck that liked to suck blood and parasitize.

    As the beautiful woman recounted more details, Yi Chen''s eyes brightened increasingly. Your next chapter is on My Virtual Library Empire

    The so-called Salvation Society was simply too foolish, their methods too lacking, utterly ignorant of modern financial tactics.

    Put simply, they were cutting too slowly, lacking efficiency.

    Yi Chen decided on the spot to give the Rakshasa Kingdom a little Blue Planet shake-up using the Pangs and Thunderbolt Method. He vowed that within a month, the entire Rakshasa Kingdom would become a powder keg.

    The Rakshasa King for the moment was only suppressing the undercurrents with his unrivaled strength, yet he could not change one fact: that he was the person who consumed the most Saber Coins in the entire Rakshasa Kingdom, whether for cultivation or for maintaining the operation of the Yin Essence Towers.

    What if his strength was torn open at some point, such as if the two-faced individuals and the revolving nobility were to break apart? Would the Yin Essence Towers continue to operate smoothly?

    Soon, a comprehensive plan to deal with the Rakshasa King began to form in Yi Chen''s mind.

    "Tomorrow, to the Imperial Capital." Quickly, Yi Chen made up his mind.

 Chapter 299 Miao Zi Awakens, The Taoists Frenzy in the Imperial Capital

    Above the vast wilderness, a burly figure was striding forward.

    With each step, his figure would appear dozens of meters away.

    On the shoulder of the burly figure, a miniature black cat was listlessly licking its paws.

    This man was naturally Yi Chen, and on the day he set out, Miao Zi, who had previously formed a blood cocoon, emerged from the spirit beast pouch, conveying thoughts of joy to him.

    Thinking it was quiet and secluded with no one around on the road, Yi Chen released it. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

    Nourished by the Tiger Yuan Dan and the flesh and blood of the Black Evil Dragon King, Miao Zi''s aura had already reached the third level of the True Person Realm, advancing at a remarkable speed, and had even awakened a strange ability, the Strong Gluttonous Stomach, a name given by Yi Chen, of course.

    According to Miao Zi, since its recent awakening, its stomach had undergone a transformation and now resembled a natural storage bag that could hold up to one thousand cubic meters of material.

    It could consume a large amount of high-energy materials at once, not only storing items but also allowing its powerful stomach walls to devour the essence within the stomach.

    "Dad, where are we going this time? This place is so strange, it makes me uncomfortable."

    "To the Imperial Capital of the Rakshasa Kingdom, Hongdong City. Dad has an enemy there that I must take down," Yi Chen replied casually.

    "Don''t worry, Dad. According to my bloodline memories, I may not be able to beat that stupid leopard yet, but as long as I keep eating, I will definitely be able to mature quickly. When the time comes, the two of us, father and son, will join forces, wreak havoc, and then I will be able to knock down that stupid leopard with one paw!"

    A small black cat stood upright on Yi Chen''s shoulder, waving its front paws with murderous intent, occasionally glancing at him out of the corner of its eye, its face carrying a hint of fawning.

    "Good! That''s the spirit!"

    "Keep up the effort, and the throne of the first spirit beast of the Hidden Dragon Temple will surely be yours in the future." Yi Chen, seeing this, immediately revealed a cunning smile.

    It seems that his deliberate act of summoning the Scarlet Leopard to stimulate Miao Zi had been remarkably effective. Otherwise, his precious elder son would only know how to sow seeds across the world every day, and his old father would have to work hard. Does that make any sense?

    Although due to Miao Zi''s lack of extraordinary wisdom, the gap between its abilities and his would only grow larger in the future, Yi Chen''s expectation for Miao Zi was no more than that of the Azure Fierce Beast of the Hidden Dragon Temple, and the role of the top spirit beast was well within his grasp.

    The recent awakening of Miao Zi''s strange ability might not seem particularly useful for now, but who knows if it won''t evolve into a world-shaking divine ability like the Golden Winged Great Peng King that could swallow an entire city in a single gulp? sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Speaking of which, if this trip goes smoothly, I believe the Deep Red Points needed to advance to the seventeenth layer of True Technique should be nearly complete. When that time comes, I just need to scrape together some more..."

    Thinking of the future, a cold gleam flashed in Yi Chen''s eyes.

    ...

    ...

    Five days later.

    "This is the Imperial Capital of the Rakshasa Kingdom, Hongdong City?" Yi Chen looked at the broad street over twenty meters wide and couldn''t help but heighten his vigilance internally.

    After all, this trip was like plunging into the heart of the Rakshasa Kingdom.

    Watching the bustling crowd on the street, an unusual flicker crossed Yi Chen''s eyes. The people coming and going on the long street, even the ''ordinary people'' who were most numerous, all showed signs of mutation to some extent,

    As for supervisors with pig heads, malefactors with dog heads, long-tongued monsters, three-handed creatures, and long-necked monsters, they were even more numerous than in Good City.

    "Heh, it seems like there are no good people in Hongdong City. However, this will make it more convenient for me to act. According to Nan Nan''s mother''s story, I''m sure that the Rakshasa Kingdom''s twisted realm is also sitting on top of a volcano," Yi Chen mused.

    "All it needs is for me to add some fire and give it a gentle push. When the time comes, the rest of the Rakshasa Kingdom''s powerhouses may not dare to openly resist the Rakshasa King. As long as they secretly pull the Rakshasa King''s legs, it will greatly aid my grand plan."

    The more the place is saturated with material desires, the easier it is to divide and conquer.

    As his mind raced, Yi Chen looked at a puddle beside him, where the clear water reflected the strange visage of a wolf-headed monster and two thick black smoke columns rising into the sky, prompting a faint smile on his lips.

    After inquiring about the location of the most famous tavern in the Imperial Capital from a rat-head duck-bodied monster, in exchange for a Silver Saber Coin, Yi Chen headed in the direction indicated.

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen looked at the three big characters that read "Endless Feast" and couldn''t help but clench his fists.

    "You little brat, you take the money from this poor Taoist and then you mislead me. In a couple of days, I''ll make sure to beat you to death."

    "The people of Hongdong City are too rude."

    Yi Chen entered the doors of the Endless Feast tavern with a face full of black lines.

    He hadn''t expected that after spending his days hunting geese, he would be pecked by a goose. That damned rat-head duck-bodied monster was probably so accustomed to lying that it came naturally to it, with no change in facial expression or heartbeat, its blood flow and heart rate normal. Yi Chen, not noticing at the time, was swindled.

    One must learn from experience.

    After settling down in the tavern with the same caution he had in his previous life when eating giant prawns on a certain island and sea delicacies from the southern sea, and after verifying the prices and specifications, Yi Chen then ordered a few of the less bizarre dishes from Endless Feast.

    One dish was the iron plate tortoise. It involved placing a live tortoise into a cool, seasoned broth and heating it slowly over a low flame. The tortoise would drink water because of the heat and thereby ingest the seasoned soup, making it extremely flavorful¡­

    There were also some seasonal vegetables.

    As for the other patrons, they were engaging in pure, vicious fun. Take, for example, the live braying donkey. A large black donkey would be tied next to a table and diners would choose which part they wanted. A waiter would immediately cook it with boiling water or charcoal and then slice it off on the spot for patrons to enjoy fresh. The diners indulged in the delicacy while the donkey brayed in pain by their side, hence the name of the dish.

 Chapter 299 Miao Zi Awakens, The Taoists Frenzy in the Imperial Capital_2

    This practice called "Jinsi Zhai" was already one of the more "clean" eating methods around, and there were not a few who ate their own kind.

    Yi Chen furrowed his brows as he watched a large armored fish struggle at the bottom of the pot, and ultimately he plunged his chopsticks into it, killing it swiftly. He hadn''t come to "Jinsi Zhai" to seek culinary pleasures but to gather intelligence and look for an entry point to break through the current impasse.

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen''s lips curled into a smile as he left with an air of nonchalance.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Imperial Capital ¡¤ Palace of the Rakshasa Prince.

    The Rakshasa King''s eldest son, the distinguished Prince and heir to the throne, had been in a terribly foul mood. Ever since he had assumed the position of Crown Prince, his father, the Rakshasa King, had issued increasingly outrageous secret orders, S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    and the demand for Saber Coins had become so great that now he found it increasingly difficult to satisfy the Rakshasa King''s appetites.

    The Prince knew that the King was starting to become dissatisfied with him, and his brothers were all too eager to see him toppled from his position.

    "Your Highness, Mister Yuan is requesting an audience outside," a timid rabbit-headed lady-in-waiting said.

    "Requesting an audience? That waste of space only knows about raising taxes. Doesn''t he know who has the most Saber Coins? Tell him I am not available and I will not see him!"

    "Your Highness, could such a reply be a bit too harsh on him?"

    "You want to reply like that?" The lady-in-waiting couldn''t help but ask softly.

    "Harsh your mother''s head!" The wild boar-headed Prince, in a sudden rage, grabbed the teacup in his hand and smashed it on the head of the rabbit-headed lady-in-waiting. Blood smeared her face instantly, and she scrambled out of the room in terror.

    "Incompetents, all of them!" The Prince, burning with anger, swept everything off the table onto the floor before his demeanor gradually calmed down.

    Just at that moment, an old man dressed in black and with a serpent''s head quietly slithered into the room.

    "Your Highness, someone has arrived claiming he can resolve the crisis you face. He calls himself a hermit named Miao Zi," he whispered.

    "Let him get lost! I will not see him!"

    "Your Highness might consider sparing some time to see this person. He has an extraordinary aura, and perhaps the wisdom to astonish the world ¨C he is not one to be taken lightly."

    "Also, this man has offered a generous gift of 20,000 Gold Saber Coins, extending his best wishes for your abundant fortune and safety."

    The Prince looked coldly at the Black Serpent steward for three seconds, until the steward felt a chill run through him and began to regret speaking. Only then did a hint of a warm smile cross the Prince''s face.

    "Since he has earned praise from the Serpent Steward, he must have some remarkable abilities. In light of his generous gift, I shall meet with this person," he said.

    Relieved by the Prince''s response, the Black Serpent steward promptly excused himself.

    "Mister Miao, I took great risks speaking well on your behalf. Only because of my words has the Prince agreed to meet you. I didn''t charge a penny more than the 5,000 Silver Saber Coins," the steward said.

    "Steward Serpent, your nobility will forever be cherished in my heart. In the future, you will be well-compensated," said Yi Chen with a smile, while inwardly he added to himself, if there is a future for you.

    Ah, if it weren''t for the Saber Coins paving the way, why would someone unrelated like this Serpent steward risk his neck to arrange a meeting for Yi Chen? This was the foresight of Yi Chen, who had prepared a large sum of Saber Coins before coming to the Imperial Capital.

    This was his ''knocking brick'' ¨C a stepping stone to advancement.

    Even if he were full of schemes ¨C no, full of strategies ¨C if he couldn''t even get someone''s attention, wouldn''t that be casting pearls before swine?

    In any world, it was the same; there was no truth to the saying that "gold will always shine." No matter how pure and bright your gold is, if someone buries you and covers you with a rag, your light will never shine, nor come to the fore.

    "Your Highness, danger is at hand," Yi Chen proclaimed dramatically the moment he faced the wild boar-headed Prince, seizing the narrative with a shock tactic typical of the media.

    "I, the Crown Prince, stand above thousands and below one. Where does the danger lie? If Mister Miao cannot provide a propitious answer, do not blame me for my ruthless actions," the wild boar-headed man said indifferently.

    "The crisis is twofold, external and internal."

    "Listen closely to Mister Miao''s detailed explanation."

    ¡­

    One cup of tea later.

    "Mister, what is your plan?"

    "Without Saber Coins, I am like a skilful woman unable to cook without rice." The Prince''s gaze flickered with surprise and gravity ¨C he had encountered a true sage today.

    "As the Regent Crown Prince, the wealth of the Rakshasa Kingdom knows no bounds ¨C how can there be a lack of Saber Coins? This is an easy problem to solve."

    "Have you heard, Your Highness, of the method called ''multi-level marketing''? The five-level three-entry system¡­"

    "I have another method called lottery tickets. With just one Iron Saber Coin, one can buy a lottery ticket and stand the chance of winning one million Iron Saber Coins¡­"

    "I have yet another method named ''robbing Peter to pay Paul,'' the grand Ponzi scheme."

    Read new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

    "I have yet another method¡­"

    "I have yet another method¡­"

    The Prince, listening to Yi Chen''s proposals, couldn''t help but tremble with excitement. Such incredible ingenuity ¨C this man was a genius indeed.

    "Mister Miao''s talent is truly through the roof. I still have one concern, though: how do we get those wealthy families to willingly hand over their Saber Coins to the merchants?

    "Those stubborn folks would rather let their Saber Coins mold in the basement than circulate them. I can offend one family, maybe ten, but not all of them; their collective potential power is immense. Otherwise, the whole Rakshasa Kingdom could be in jeopardy," he said.

    "Your Highness, you''re mistaking the trees for the forest and failing to see the Imperial Capital," Yi Chen replied.

    "The solution is simple."

    "Mister, what is your plan?"

    "It''s quite simple. Tell them there are wolves outside. Have people act as bandits, rob and kill a few households, and spread word widely. Fear and anxiety are the first steps to compel them."

 Chapter 299 Miao Zi Awakens, The Taoists Frenzy in the Imperial Capital_3

    "Secondly, we establish a silver business, with the Prince acting as guarantor on behalf of the Crown Prince''s credibility, promising high interest. One million Saber Coins deposited in the silver account would become one million one hundred thousand the following year. Of course, this is just off the top of my head; the interest rate is ultimately for Your Highness to decide."

    "How can we gain people''s trust and make them believe they will be paid back next year?" Prince Wang Ba furrowed his brows and asked once more.

    "Your Highness is truly wise, seizing the core of the problem at once. However, I already have a strategy. You merely need to proclaim that you have discovered a large vein of Yin Iron Ore somewhere, and that you need to increase investment for its development, all profits arising from this." Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

    "At that time, it won''t be Your Highness begging them to hand over their Saber Coins; instead, they will be crying and screaming, begging to give their Saber Coins to Your Highness."

    "Those who secretly trip up Your Highness, and those who support your other brothers, will all switch allegiance to Your Highness."

    "Those who can be won over, entertain them, behead them, take them as dogs!"

    "As for the unyieldingly foolish ones, kill them!"

    "As long as there''s a continuous stream of people putting their Saber Coins in Your Highness''s hands, the silver business can keep operating."

    "Moreover, Your Highness, I have another strategy called ''Nine out, Thirteen back.'' "

    .....

    "This is a matter of great importance; allow me to think it over." Prince Wang Ba''s brows knit together, his expression changing unpredictably. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Your Highness, the clouds are dark over the city, and the situation is as precarious as a pile of eggs. Let''s stop hesitating and take action!"

    "In this world, a man either achieves greatness or suffers a crushing defeat!"

    "With endless Saber Coins, Your Highness, your future is boundless. Some things need to be fought for, not given in charity."

    Yi Chen spoke decisively, but as he did, his gaze was directed towards the Rakshasa King''s palace, as if hinting at something.

    "What the King worries about is not this, but rather, Mr. Yi, what exactly do you want?"

    "I dare to act only when I know Mr. Yi''s price," Prince Wang Ba said as he straightened up, his gaze piercingly fixed on Yi Chen''s face, trying in vain to discern his true intentions.

    "Your Highness thinks too poorly of me. What I want is nothing more than to govern the world and shepherd the masses on behalf of Your Highness."

    "I am but a countryman who has stumbled into wealth, possessing a little money, barely qualifying as a rich merchant.

    "Of course, being a rich merchant isn''t bad, but serving Your Highness offers a much broader scope than just a small town or prefecture," Yi Chen said, meeting Prince Wang Ba''s eyes without evasion, with a look that said the sky holds no second sun, only you shine in my heart.

    The identity he currently assumed, Mr. Yi, was that of a real person, not a tree without roots. This was a small rich merchant he had met on his way to the Imperial Capital, one who wanted to ''try his luck'' there. Midway, while enjoying hotpot and singing songs, Yi Chen had lured him to a secluded place and conveniently slaughtered him.

    "Excellent! Mr. Yi agrees with me like a fish to water."

    "I have wandered half my life lamenting the absence of a wise lord. If Your Highness does not disdain me, I am willing to pledge allegiance and serve you as my lord," Yi Chen immediately showed an ''excited'' color, looking to bow down before Prince Wang Ba, but was propped up midway by two plump pig trotters.

    "Wouldn''t it be better for the gentleman to stay within my mansion? Do you have any other requests at the moment?" Prince Wang Ba''s face showed full delight, but his words firmly indicated that Yi Chen must stay within his mansion, leaving no room for debate, clearly still wary.

    "To be frank with Your Highness, as a newcomer, I was tricked by a bastard with a rat''s head and a duck''s body. He took my money but deliberately set me on the wrong path. I want to kill this man; I ask for Your Highness''s permission!" Yi Chen immediately declared with hate in his voice.

    Dammit, it was his first time being cheated like this. Looking back, Yi Chen felt he had been foolish. This man, he must not be allowed to live.

    "Ha-ha! To think that even someone as wise as you could suffer such a setback. I shall immediately dispatch men to investigate. Since he has offended you, killing just one would be letting him off too easily. Let''s execute his entire family to the third degree."

    Unexpectedly for Yi Chen, upon hearing news of his deception, Prince Wang Ba''s wariness towards him significantly reduced, his eyes suddenly showing a sincere touch of affection,

    The numerous strategies he had offered earlier were too ingenious, all of them insights from an era ahead, so clever as to seem otherworldly. Only now did Prince Wang Ba feel like Mr. Yi before him had come to life.

    After being led away, thunderous laughter erupted in Prince Wang Ba''s study.

    "Ha-ha! Destiny favors me, destiny favors me!"

    "Such great wisdom exists in the countryside!"

 Chapter 300 The Taoist Strikes Again, the Gods Cannot Bleed.

    The Crown Prince of the Rakshasa Kingdom was a hands-on talent. After Yi Chen lifted the door curtain with the cunning of a yellow weasel, revealing a deft hand, the prince basically took all of Yi Chen''s suggestions to heart. He locked himself in a room with his staff, discussing strategies for a whole day and night. When they emerged, everyone''s eyes were red.

    It was the glow of bloodthirstiness.

    Three days later, Yi Chen, with a dark expression, dismissed a flock of ''beautiful women'' with combs resembling chicken crests from his room.

    In the past few days, His Highness the Boar-headed Crown Prince had treated him with exceptional hospitality, sending delicacies, Mei Ji, and Saber Coins to his room like water.

    Yi Chen managed to accept the other things after much difficulty, but those Mei Ji really tested his limits.

    "Ox Guard, Horse Guard, go and catch a few more free-range chickens for me. Real chickens, understand? Also the other ingredients I asked for a few days ago, get me ten more portions, no, twenty," Yi Chen instructed as he pushed open the door to his room and addressed the muscular and sinewy ox-head and horse-head guards outside.

    "Yes, Mr. Yi," replied the Ox Guard, bowing respectfully to Yi Chen and signaling a dog-head guard with a whisper before silently following behind Yi Chen.

    Yi Chen had been under surveillance for these three days, a fact to which he had grown accustomed.

    The Boar-headed Crown Prince was by no means a man who would give unconditional trust to another based on a simple conversation. Such a person could never become the Crown Prince of the Rakshasa Kingdom; he would have been utterly consumed by others long ago.

    "Heh, monitor and guard all you want, even if you begged me to take the lead in the operation, I''d refuse. That way, you''ll try even harder," Yi Chen muttered to himself with a smirk.

    "I suppose His Highness the Crown Prince is also struggling with how to deal with me right now," mused Yi Chen, a faint smile appearing on his face as he observed his large hand submerged in the golden washbasin filled with water. After drying his hand with a piece of silk, he threw a bunch of ingredients along with some chicken pieces into a huge iron pot.

    Watching the steam rise from the pot, Yi Chen began to skillfully stir the soup, allowing the scent to drift in all directions.

    At this moment, the courtyard was blooming profusely with exotic flowers ¡ª lush green leaves and vibrant red blooms, emitting a refreshing fragrance. The reason for their splendor was the human blood used to water them periodically.

    ...

    ...

    Royal Palace ¡¤ Study Room.

    After dismissing the staff from the room, the Boar-headed Crown Prince sat tiredly in a chair, massaging his temples.

    "What has that Mr. Yi been up to these past few days? Any unusual movements?" he suddenly asked, turning toward a shadowy corner of the study.

    A comely woman with a chicken crest head, draped in black gauze and with a curvaceous figure, emerged from the shadows, softly replying, "Your Highness, according to the Ox Guard and Horse Guard, he has behaved very quietly these past three days with no unusual activities."

    "He spends his days in the yard of his quarters, concocting some sort of skewered chicken."

    "Hei Feng, what''s your take on Mr. Yi?"

    The beautiful woman with the chicken crest frowned slightly and replied, "This man possesses astonishing abilities, a mind as vast as rivers and mountains, and a cautious heart as fortified as a city. I cannot see through him." Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "However, it seems that he does not care for beauty but has a taste for good food and enjoys his drink a bit too much."

    "Then do you think it''s possible that he is an undercover agent sent by another power?" the Crown Prince asked abruptly, his voice intense; this was his greatest concern.

    "Didn''t Your Highness intentionally ignore him for these three days with that in mind? Why not summon him and test him? If he asks for a position and to be in charge of these affairs, then, in my opinion, no matter how talented he is, for the sake of safety, he should be killed!"

    "Does Your Highness recall an old adage from the Rakshasa Kingdom? The hand that causes your greatest loss is not a bad one, but the one you believe is the best in your hand."

    "If he has plans to betray Your Highness, it would be a disaster beyond redemption."

    Hei Feng gracefully approached, sat on the Crown Prince''s lap, and reached out with seductive eyes to massage his temples.

    "You, oh you, Hei Feng, truly know what''s in my stomach," he said affectionately.

    "Don''t worry, my dear, everything is under my control," the Crown Prince laughed heartily at that moment, gently touched Hei Feng''s comb, and with a sweep of his hand, cleared all the items from the desk with a wide movement, then picked her up and laid her across it.

    "Hiss~"

    ...

    ...

    "Haha, there are always those who believe they can control everything."

    "What they don''t realize is that once some things are released, the only outcome is to hasten their rush toward destruction."

    "It''s like a snowball rolling down a mountain, unstoppable once it starts rolling."

    "And me, I just need to introduce the concept of the snowball, and they themselves will form it and push it down the mountain with force, ringing their own death knell."

    Before leaving Shan Cheng, Yi Chen naturally found Nan Nan''s mother and obtained the recipe for the skewered chicken, but he felt it could be further refined. With nothing better to do these days, he had been researching and refining the methods.

    In a newly built kitchen in the annex, Yi Chen lazily threw a log into the stove. The wood crackled and sparked as it burned, casting out numerous sparks.

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    These sparks were initially brilliant but quickly faded away, much like the future of the Rakshasa Kingdom.

    With blossoming flowers adorned in silk, followed by a raging fire frying in oil, there would be countless thunderstorms to come.

    Strategic brilliance was always like this; once Pandora''s box was opened, it could never be closed again.

    No one understood the destructive power of finance better than Yi Chen. Traditional methods of profiteering were too slow, sometimes taking a year or half a year for a single cycle, whereas finance was like a combine harvester.

 Chapter 300 The Taoist Strikes Again, the Gods Cannot Bleed._2

    As for wanting to slam on the brakes to take control?

    Hehe, it might be feasible elsewhere, but in the Rakshasa Kingdom, a nation steeped in malevolence, it''s absolutely impossible.

    Why? Because the profits are too huge.

    In his previous life, Yi Chen had observed a clear characteristic of long-standing criminal organizations throughout history¡ªthey never touched drugs (wisdom from the Godfather Corleone).

    Because human hearts are unpredictable, and desires insatiable, when the profits become too vast, those at the top have no way to control the actions of those below. At that moment, disaster occurs.

    This matter, when broken down, might look different on the outside, but at its core it''s all the same stuff. Find a few people to form a team, and then you''re able to branch out on your own. Yi Chen had already foreseen the scene of the big families in Rakshasa Kingdom cornering the market and shearing the public like sheep, and he, would not give the Rakshasa King a second chance.

    Strike him down while he''s ill¡ªtake his life!

    "This pot of skewered chicken is almost ready, and guests are about to arrive," Yi Chen lifted the lid, leaned down and fanned the aroma towards his nose, revealing a smile purer than the snowcapped mountains.

    Soon after, a hearty laugh could be heard, gradually getting louder as it neared the courtyard.

    "It smells delicious! His Highness has been so busy these days that there''s hardly been any time to touch the ground, while Mr. Bai seems to be enjoying himself," a familiar wild boar head appeared in Yi Chen''s view, followed closely by Hei Feng, dressed in a light gauze, half a step behind.

    "Your Highness, I beg your forgiveness. Mr. Bai is merely armchair strategizing. It''s truly upon the Crown Prince''s strong connections and royal credibility to get things done."

    "Your Highness, they say it''s better to encounter by chance than to invite purposely. How about trying Mr. Bai''s specially developed skewered chicken?" Yi Chen cheerfully offered the skewer threading chicken cubes, garlic, onions, and cilantro to the rakish prince.

    "Sss, it''s fresh, spicy, and numbing, with a lingering aftertaste that surprisingly ends with a hint of coolness. Delicious! How did you achieve this cooling aftertaste, sir?" The Rakshasa grabbed the skewer, took a bite, and his eyes lit up instantly. He began to critique, clearly also an epicure.

    "An aficionado, Your Highness."

    "It''s mint! I added mint to the soup!" Yi Chen didn''t hesitate to reveal his secret recipe.

    "Such immense talent, Mr. Bai, and it''s wasted on skewered chicken in such seclusion. Have you never thought of taking charge of some official tasks?"

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    "You flatter me, Your Highness. Discussing strategy on paper is one thing, but were I to take charge, with this face of mine, who would take me seriously if not for your desperate search for talent, and heed my nonsensical talks? I dare not take credit for Heaven''s work."

    "Your Highness is kind. You will naturally give what should be given to Mr. Bai, but I must not reach out to ask for it. It is important for one to know one''s place."

    "If there are any uncertainties in the regulations, Your Highness can simply send someone to consult me, I am still capable of filling in the gaps."

    Yi Chen casually popped a skewered chicken cube into his mouth and gave a thumbs up.

    Praise from the Taoist! Delicious!

    Ever since coming to the Imperial Capital, Yi Chen had no intentions of personally taking the helm of any project, instead choosing to find the right person to sell his ideas.

    That way, he would be like the traceless antelope with horns, hard to track and less likely to arouse suspicion.

    Taking charge himself would mean treating the upper echelons of Rakshasa Kingdom as fools¡ªa risk too great. With his limited power alone, he couldn''t support such a large venture, nor withstand the scrutiny of so many.

    But if it were the Rakshasa in front, then it would be just perfect~

    "Mr. Bai, truly capable!" The Rakshasa King exchanged a knowing smile with Hei Feng,

    "Since it''s like that, there are indeed some difficult queries I''d like to discuss with you, sir."

    "Regarding that false name of Yin iron ore to establish a bank, reaping from noble families and wealthy merchants. Mr. Yuan, however, has a different view¡ªhe believes that we should not only target the noble families and merchants but also open the doors to the common people to let them participate."

    "Each of these individuals might not have many Iron Saber Coins, but their numbers are vast, and together they amount to quite a sum."

    The Rakshasa, with his wild boar head, was not at all shy as he eagerly took out a new skewer and began munching while asking Yi Chen for advice.

    "Sss, Your Highness is truly surrounded by distinguished talents! I have the utmost respect for Mr. Yuan, a great talent!"

    "Meeting Mr. Yuan is a regret that feels too late."

    "However, there''s a slight flaw in his plan, and that''s where my opinion differs. The reward for the noble families, for the merchants, and for the common people should be staggered, from high to low."

    "This would make it easier to promote, and more credible to the merchants and others¡ªafter all, people tend to believe that there''s no such thing as a free lunch from heaven."

    "Your Highness, food is most delicious when you scramble for it, haha!"

    If he can''t kill you outright, he''ll hound you relentlessly, and thereupon, Yi Chen started fanning the flames. At this moment, he couldn''t help but feel a tremendous liking for Mr. Yuan, whom he hadn''t yet met. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It''s as if he wished to see Rakshasa Kingdom go up in flames slower.

    "Sss, profound words from the master! Dismiss everyone, Hei Feng, record the master''s words." The Rakshasa said,

    "I do have another issue I wish to consult with you, about this lottery for betting....."

    "That''s easy, Your Highness. Let''s just do it like this, this way, then another way."

    .....

    In Yin Manor''s vast expanse, three months had passed, covering the spectrum from east to west, gone full circle.

    Yi Chen and the Rakshasa Crown Prince spent an entire day and night talking in the little courtyard.

    That night, the moon shone like silver, and the distant horizon cast a sprinkling of stars. The strategist Rakshasa and the chief designer of the scallion patch, Yi Taoist, two pioneers of Rakshasa Kingdom, whispered and fully exchanged ideas. Accompanied by the fragrance of the earth brought by the evening breeze, it wasn''t until the next morning that they shook hands and reluctantly parted. Hei Feng dutifully recorded their conversation, documenting it for the record.

 Chapter 300 The Taoist Strikes Again, the Gods Cannot Bleed._3

    "Mr. Wei, do you know what the courtyard you now reside in was called before?" Hei Feng coquettishly smiled at Yi Chen, her laughter causing him to break out in goosebumps all over his body. All he could do was try his best not to look at Hei Feng''s head and responded in a gentle voice, "Oh? Mr. Wei is unaware of this, please enlighten me, Mrs. Feng."

    "Giggle, giggle, giggle." Upon hearing this, Hei Feng immediately covered her mouth and laughed lightly, "This place was once called Long Zhong Yuan, where the Crown Prince lived before he became the Crown Prince. Afterwards, once he became the Crown Prince, he moved to a newly built courtyard, and only then was this place renamed Hua Yu Yuan."

    "Entrusting this place to you for your residence shows the high esteem the Crown Prince holds for you."

    The wild boar-headed Crown Prince laughed without speaking, admiration in his eyes as he watched the conversation between Hei Feng and Yi Chen. He liked Hei Feng not merely for her peerless beauty, but also because her intelligence made her even more irresistible to him.

    For instance, just like a worm in his stomach, she would always say what he found inconvenient to mention at just the right time, thereby winning people over on his behalf.

    "Mr. Wei, don''t forget to come to the Crown Prince''s study for discussions tomorrow, giggle, giggle, giggle."

    Yi Chen: "... Please stop giggling, it''s making me want to play basketball." Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen inwardly cursed but lowered his gaze to his feet, afraid he couldn''t hold back, "Rest assured, Mrs. Feng, Mr. Wei will definitely be there tomorrow!"

    "All of today''s conversation between you and the Crown Prince has been thoroughly recorded by me. Since this place was once Long Zhong, why not name it¡ª''Long Zhong Duo,'' how about that?"

    "The Crown Prince''s grand schemes will surely need your wisdom in the future. This secret record could then serve as a blueprint, distributed to the Crown Prince''s staff for insight and research, thus manifesting the wisdom of the Crown Prince and showcasing your capabilities."

    "My beauty, your suggestion is brilliant; let''s name this record ''Long Zhong Duo.''" The wild boar-headed Crown Prince was clearly very satisfied with the name and decided on the spot, personally picking up the brush to write down the three large characters "Long Zhong Duo."

    After smiling and sending the Rakshasa King and Hei Feng out of the courtyard, Yi Chen returned to his room. He closed the door behind him, and his expression immediately turned somber.

    Damn, I''ve become ''Wo Long''...

    ...

    ...

    Fifteen days passed.

    In the Rakshasa King''s study, more than a dozen staff members were spread out, each with a copy of Long Zhong Duo, which they used as a blueprint. Yi Chen cleverly expanded several lines of business,

    and he was also poised to marry the primary noble family''s legitimate daughter as the Crown Princess in three days, clearly brokering some sort of deal behind the scenes.

    Thanks to his identity as the Rakshasa King and the support of the massive Rakshasa Tree, everything was proceeding with great vigor.

    Nowadays, throughout the entire Rakshasa Kingdom, from top to bottom, regardless of social class, everyone had nothing but praise for the Crown Prince.

    Huge amounts of Saber Coins were delivered into the bright and dark vaults specifically built by the Rakshasa Silver Bank. With the inexhaustible resources of Saber Coins, Yi Chen executed his tactics,

    defeating his brothers and leaving them in disarray. Within months, his situation shifted from being as perilous as eggs on a high wire to burgeoning with life and vitality.

    All this was thanks to Yi Chen.

    "Mr. Wei, do drink a few extra cups tonight," the Rakshasa King said with eight big teeth showing, smiling at Yi Chen.

    "Indeed, indeed, tonight we must drink a few more cups with Mr. Wei."

    "Mr. Wei, you are truly talented!"

    People in the crowd voiced their agreement, their expressions sincere.

    Who wouldn''t love a harmless Mr. Wei who didn''t vie for power or profit, and who, after receiving his rewards, generously treated his colleagues to drinks, and lavishly spread around money?

    Even until now, Yi Chen hadn''t touched a single line of business; he had always been involved in scheming in a secret advisory capacity.

    "All of you flatter me too much. A fine steed is often found, yet a master to recognize it is rare. The Crown Prince is the true talent. Many ideas are actually proposed by the Crown Prince; Wei merely polished them a bit, and I dare not take credit for Heaven''s work," Yi Chen said with a smile, which made the Rakshasa King''s laughter even more exuberant.

    After everyone had left, Yi Chen closed the study''s large door and asked with a worried face:

    "Your Highness, the eve of victory is precisely when one must not let their guard down."

    "In three days, it will be Your Highness''s grand wedding day, and His Majesty will be emerging from seclusion."

    "Of the many Saber Coins we''ve collected, apart from the portion we''ve secretly reallocated for our use, are the rest in the open and hidden treasuries safe? I''m worried that thieves might target these Saber Coins at that time."

    To instill confidence in investors, the Plunder King had built several visible treasuries in the Imperial Capital for storing Saber Coins, and even more secret treasuries were constructed covertly.

    Without these, it would have been impossible to gain trust with mere words. Under Yi Chen''s thoughtful guidance, the clever Plunder King had this brilliant idea.

    "Haha, Mr. Bei, rest assured."

    "It''s no harm telling you, Mr. Bei. Please, come closer."

    "@#£¤%"

    "Haha, with such defenses, unless one is a master like my father and deeply understands the guards and the defenses of the treasury, it would be possible to penetrate the heavy security and get inside."

    "Hiss! So secretive, and with so many lines of defense, Your Highness, solid!"

    "With such measures, we are as secure as a fortress, and we can rest easy. I hadn''t expected Your Highness to be always three steps ahead of me; it seems Mr. Bei is worrying needlessly."

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but give a thumbs up amidst the Plunder King''s proud expression. He already knew much about the open and hidden treasuries; now that he was about to make his move, he was even more confident.

    Two days later.

    The eve of the Plunder King''s grand wedding.

    A shadowy figure sneakily appeared at a warehouse somewhere within the city.

    "Miao Zi, eat as much as you can, pack as much as you can, and after it''s done, make yourself scarce, and let Dad blast this Yin Iron infused with evil power."

    "Haha, such a big operation, boom! Up in smoke¡ªall those Saber Coins belong to someone else!"

    "Thunderstrike, trampling, just tonight!"

    Yi Chen couldn''t restrain a sneer.

    One by one, Yi Chen located the treasuries, and those he couldn''t fit into his storage ring, he used Extreme Origin to incinerate and detonate, creating plumes of mushroom clouds in the night sky.

    Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night for many.

    The massive explosion even caused the Rakshasa King to emerge from seclusion ahead of schedule. With a grand slam of his hand, he roared angrily at the Plunder King standing in the hall:

    "Idiot, what a fine mess you''ve made!"

    "Such a disaster, how will you clean this up!"

    "I entrusted the kingdom to you as Regent, and it''s only been less than a month!"

    "How could you have brought the country to this state!" Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

    What the Rakshasa King didn''t know was that at this moment, a certain Daoist hidden in the shadows was ready to move into the open to confront him. As everyone knows, the Rakshasa King is the divine ruler of the Rakshasa Kingdom!

    And a god, obviously, cannot bleed.

    If a god can bleed, it means a god could also be pregnant.

    Pah! It means a god can also be killed!

    The purpose of Yi Chen''s endeavor was to stir unrest throughout the Rakshasa Kingdom, shatter the myth of the undefeated Rakshasa King, and continuously bleed him.

    It was a chain plot!

 Chapter 301 Yi Taoist, an Army of One, Fights the Rakshasa King!

    ```

    "Bei Xu! Where has Mr. Bei gone? Everyone, search for him! Search!" The angry roar of the wild boar-headed Crown Prince resounded within the King''s residence as he furiously swept the books and sundries from the table to the floor.

    What he did not know was that in the current Rakshasa Kingdom, there was no longer a Mr. Bei Xu. There were only double-faced nobles, the Yi Taoist.

    Now that the fuse of the explosion had been ignited, Yi Chen naturally would not accompany that wild boar-headed Crown Prince in the King''s residence any longer. He only wanted to watch the drama unfold.

    Tongfu Inn.

    Yi Chen pushed open the window. Outside, the noise of the crowd was deafening. They were the unfortunate souls who had heavily invested in the King, and they were also small kegs of gunpowder.

    It must be said, Yi Chen greatly admired the King''s executive ability; the man was truly capable.

    He had originally thought it would take at least twenty days to stir up the momentum. However, the excellent performance of the King''s team far exceeded Yi Chen''s expectations; they had completed the task in half the projected time.

    Time and again, it has been proven how terrifying a competent fool can be.

    Of course, the situation had progressed so swiftly partly because Yi Chen had played a role in fuelling the fire.

    As the chief architect behind the scenario, with Yi Chen''s guidance, the King''s pattern had swiftly unfolded. To defend from external threats, one must first secure internal stability. In order to thoroughly eliminate his ''good brothers'' coveting the throne under his backside, the King and the first noble of the double-faced nobility, the Huan family, reached a covert agreement. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The two families joined hands to ''harvest the leeks.''

    The Huan family led the investment, serving as the icebreaker, followed by other families, and finally, the profits were shared proportionally. This was what created the current grand momentum.

    Unfortunately, all of this turned into bubbles with Yi Chen''s actions last night.

    Now, the pit the King had to fill was not just the part destroyed by Yi Chen; even the previously dispersed costs, both overt and covert, had to be factored in.

    "Make noise, cause chaos."

    "Without great destruction, there can be no great order."

    Gazing at the bustling crowd outside the window, Yi Chen''s eyes held a trace of indifference. His gaze shifted upwards, looking into the distance at the area where the officials and nobles of the Rakshasa Kingdom''s Imperial Capital lived.

    The real storm was always silent.

    These great families, you cannot necessarily expect their sugar to be sweet.

    But if you ask them to make vinegar, it could sour a man to death.

    "Heh heh, Rakshasa King, with the power of the Purple Command and achievements comparable to an early-stage cultivator in the Dao of Severance, will you admit defeat? Let the noble clans clash with the royal authority and see what they are truly made of."

    "Unleash your anger, fight it out, and let Hongdong City be filled with those who should die but have not yet met their end, filled to the brim, ha ha!"

    *Snap!*

    Yi Chen flicked his sleeve and closed the window, and the entire room was plunged into darkness.

    The fermentation of events had only just begun; no need to rush, let the bullets fly for a while.

    This night, a forbidden book titled "Dragon''s Counterpart" began to be quietly circulated in the shadows within Hongdong City.

    Three days later.

    The Imperial Capital of the Rakshasa Kingdom was in turmoil, with security deteriorating rapidly and looting incidents emerging incessantly. Even the royal merchants'' shops were brazenly robbed, and memorials flooded in like snowflakes. Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire

    It has always been the big fish eating the small fish, and the small fish eating shrimp.

    Wasn''t the small fish, after suffering heavy losses, going to turn on the shrimp and herons by splitting their flesh and scraping off their oil?

    With the book "Dragon''s Counterpart," many ambitious schemers saw their opportunities broaden, and numerous shady techniques started sprouting up like bamboo shoots after the rain.

    Among them, the most widely spread was the introduction of gambling and lottery methods.

    Simple and brutal!

    ...

    ...

    Nuan Yun Pavilion.

    The Rakshasa King, with a calm expression, flipped through the heap of information in front of him, unfazed.

    He was a middle-aged man dressed in a black and gold imperial robe and wearing a crown, with sharp, triangular eyes, high cheekbones, thin lips, and a long, slender neck.

    At this moment, the King, trembling with fear, knelt in the hall, pleading guilty.

    "This mess you''ve created, I''ve given you three days. Have you figured out how to deal with it?" After finishing the last report, a fierce wind blew as the Rakshasa King''s neck unexpectedly stretched out, extending more than ten meters, and approached the King.

    "Father¡­ Father, my thought is to temporarily fill the shortfalls of the top three families ranked first, and for the rest, delay if possible. As long as those top three families are stable, the Rakshasa Kingdom cannot be overturned."

    The King gritted his teeth and finally presented the plan he and his advisers had discussed at length.

    It was a method of cutting flesh to mend wounds.

    However, the ''flesh'' he intended to cut was obviously expected to come from the tight purse strings of the Rakshasa King, with the royal family making up the difference.

    "Eh, Crown Prince, when your father''s achievements are complete and I leave the Rakshasa Kingdom, how will you deter those demons and gods within it?"

    "Remember, a king is never wrong and cannot be wrong."

    "As a ruler, there''s no reason to cut one''s own flesh to mend someone else''s wounds."

    "The tactics you''ve employed have not been greatly mistaken. In fact, one could even say they were quite elegant. The crux of the issue lies entirely with the mysterious Bei Xu. Have you considered which power that man, and the one who detonated the warehouse, actually belong to?"

    "This¡­ I have investigated for a long time and genuinely do not know how that person behind the scenes managed it."

    "Think again; this is your last chance." A hint of disappointment flashed in the Rakshasa King''s triangular eyes as he shook his neck and it retracted back to its original place.

    Beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on the King''s forehead. He understood that if his answer did not satisfy his father, his time as the Crown Prince was over.

    At that moment, a thought suddenly broke into the King''s mind.

    ```

 Chapter 301 Yi Taoist, an Army of One, Fights the Rakshasa King!_2

    "Your Highness, true experts always use other people''s money to handle their own affairs."

    This was a phrase Yi Chen casually mentioned to the Snatch King during a conversation in the dragon pit.

    "Use other people''s money, handle your own affairs~"

    "Use other people''s money, handle your own affairs!"

    Like an epiphany on the dragon battleground, the Snatch King had a moment of enlightening, as a streak of inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind.

    "Father, I now know who is behind all this."

    "It''s the double-faced first noble of the realm, the Illusion family, my dear father-in-law."

    At this moment, there was only one path to take¡ªslaughter the Illusion family. They intended to rebel, and their hearts were punishable. The family should be exterminated, and the entire country intimidated. To dig out the flesh of the Illusion family, to fill the deficit, that was the royal way.

    "Not bad, not too stupid, there''s still hope for you."

    "After the previous Rakshasa King was killed by me, the two-faced ones have never truly submitted to the royal lineage of Luo''s. Today is a good opportunity to kill a chicken to warn the monkeys, and to show everyone who really owns the Rakshasa Kingdom."

    "The Illusion family must die, and the rest of the families should each compensate with half their wealth. They would accept this proposal in the face of the Illusion family''s treasures."

    The Rakshasa King chuckled softly, speaking in a sinister tone.

    In just a few words, the fate of the Illusion family had been sealed.

    Because he was the most powerful Rakshasa King in thousands of years, that was the confidence behind his domineering attitude.

    No matter if the mysterious man''s actions were orchestrated by the two-faced ones in the dark, that so-called Mr. Bayue and the mysterious man had to be from the Illusion family.

    This was the big picture.

    Tonight, the Illusion family was invited to their death.

    With a flick of his crimson cloak, the Rakshasa King stood up, brimming with murderous intent!

    "Declare to the world tomorrow, the Illusion family has rebelled, and I have already put down the rebellion. The day after tomorrow, I shall tour the country. I wish to see who dares to topple my rule."

    "It''s been a long time since I took action, people have gradually forgotten my fame."

    ...

    ...

    Nighttime, flames lit up half the sky above the hollowed city.

    Within the Imperial Capital, the dark towers guarded by the Formation unleashed their full power, spewing black smoke into the sky, stirring the boundless sea of vital energy above.

    Piercing, tragic screams echoed across the heavens. Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire

    "Rakshasa King, you''ve broken the rules, and you will not die well in the future. I will wait for your return in the sea of vital energy, take my move, Demonic Devouring Divine Light!"

    "Hmph, what dog''s rules of the two clans! My power reigns supreme in this world, my rules are the true rules. I''ve been patient with you for too long, old man!" The Rakshasa King laughed wildly as he charged forward.

    Right at that moment, the Rakshasa King''s face suddenly contorted in anger. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Old man, you''re courting death!"

    "Haha, too late."

    Amidst the explosive sounds, one of the dark towers was severed in half by a black death beam and crashed to the ground.

    At the same time, a white-haired old man with a ferocious expression on his face was torn to pieces by the furious Rakshasa King.

    "Kill! Rakshasa guards, leave no one alive!" The Rakshasa King roared as if someone had snatched one of his eggs away.

    Spears rose like a forest, and the black-armored guards moved like a tide, advancing inch by inch towards the mansion of the Illusion family.

    In that moment, from an open window, there came a grand sigh.

    "Eh, I originally wanted to wait a bit longer."

    "But a tower has already fallen."

    "Crushing flowers and plants is not good, I wanted to pick a good day, but it seems today is the day for action, Daoist here I come."

    A shadow shot out from the window, startling a white cat walking on the rooftop.

    "Ah!"

    "Kill!"

    "Pu Chi! Pu Chi!"

    Above the Illusion family''s mansion, the air was filled with various cries of agony, resounding from the heavens and underground. Tonight, all the major families in the hollowed city were silent as cicadas in winter.

    Just as the screaming was about to cease, a solitary and grand poetic call rang out through the entire city.

    "Majestic in wisdom and martial prowess, peerless among men."

    "All heroes fall to laughter, as destiny is determined."

    "The giants of heaven and earth all praise the power!"

    "Not a speck of dust escapes my palm!"

    On the long street, a towering figure in purple and gold holding a long halberd approached at a deceptively fast pace.

    Countless mutated guards attacked the purple-gold figure with spears like forests and banners like rain, but the majestic Daoist figure stood as solid as a fortress wall, unshakeable.

    This Daoist turned out to be an army unto himself!

    One man, able to contend against a whole army!

    Halberd energy swept across the sky, a casual sweep cleared hundreds of guards and black vital energy spears showered upon the purple-gold figure, producing a sound like rain hitting broken banana leaves, yet not even a single hair on Yi Chen was harmed.

    "You all really disappoint me~"

    "A bunch of striving chickens, still just chickens after all. How could you shake my body which was forged tirelessly?"

    "Rakshasa Kingdom, you have become filthy! You need to be purified! Halberd Four, Heavenly Punishment!"

    Extreme Origin flowed, a fan-shaped halberd energy suddenly erupted from Yi Chen''s Holy Halberd, like mowing the grass, it cleared out several hundred guards in its path, while heads of villainous dogs and columns of blood soared, and their screams shook the heavens!

    These were guards mobilized by the Rakshasa King for tonight''s operation, truly elite forces, used to intimidate the families inside the city, to enforce curfews, and to arrange the troops.

    "Fall back! This freak is not something you can handle!"

    From afar came a deep roar, and the remaining guards parted like a tide. The fully armored Rakshasa King turned into a crimson arc of light, and in an instant stood before Yi Chen.

    Seeing the scatter of remains on the ground, the Rakshasa King clenched his teeth, issuing a resentful and ferocious roar: "You! You''re seeking death!"

    "Eh! Your Majesty is wrong, Daoist here is not called ''seeking death''~"

    "Daoist here is World-Shaking Pure Yang! Hahaha!"

 Chapter 301 Yi Taoist, an Army of One, Fights the Rakshasa King!_3

    "Rakshasa King, today we shall have a fair fight!"

    Amidst the laughter, Yi Chen had already made a bold move.

    Soldiers change their strategy as water changes its form. In Yi Chen''s original plan, he intended to wait for the situation to ferment and then look for an opportune moment to forcefully enter the Rakshasa King''s palace and fight the king before all eyes. Even if he couldn''t defeat him, he was determined to break the king''s myth of invincibility.

    By then, smoke from the fires of war would rise in every corner of the Rakshasa Kingdom. Given the Rakshasa King''s cruelty and the prior events, Yi Chen couldn''t believe that the vast Rakshasa Kingdom still had any loyal, good, or wise ministers,

    A Rakshasa Kingdom that was but loose sand with its people''s hearts scattered would surely lead to a further decrease in resonance with the Qi Sea, because the king''s authority could no longer garner the people''s support.

    This was determined by the unique power system of Rakshasa Kingdom, where prestige and the degree of respect from the people decided the share of the Qi Sea resonance, and the quantity of Qi determined the expanse of the Qi Sea.

    Respect that was kneaded together with violence and fear was after all a house built on sand, unable to withstand a single blow¡ªthis was Yi Chen''s original plan.

    What he hadn''t expected was that the Rakshasa King, who rose to power through violence, was so accommodating in his actions; the two-faced noble family head had such terrifying hidden strength that even the current Yi Chen was somewhat alarmed by the power of the final blow.

    He didn''t know by what means the last attack was performed, but the dark light that struck the Yin Yuan Tower could already cause him slight injuries. What astonished him even more was that the last attack, aided by a magical artifact, managed to succeed amidst the layers of defenses around the Yin Yuan Tower as if they didn''t exist.

    Now it seemed that the two-faced nobility had also been secretly preparing a killing move for the Yin Yuan Tower of the Rakshasa King.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    From the horizon came a series of explosions.

    "Rakshasa King, I f*ck your mother! Just lie down and die already!"

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    With Yi Chen''s robust foundational strength, blades clanged, and bursts of light blossomed where they clashed!

    The deafening ancestral music swept over, and tonight, every person in Rakshasa City could hear Yi Chen''s varied insults.

    With a move, his halberd swept, stirring the eight directions.

    The formidable Qi drew winds from the heavens, lifting the roofs off houses, causing bricks and tiles to fly chaotically around Hongdong City. Countless mutated beings raised their heads, watching the great battle in the sky.

    The King of Rakshasa Kingdom, true to his reputation as a mighty being with the Purple Command, was now drawing up the Qi Sea above his head. Each of his moves was accompanied by immense power, able to endure Yi Chen''s formidable presence against all odds.

    However, at this moment, the sharp Yi Chen noticed that the stone carvings on the surface of the distant and heavily guarded Yin Yuan Tower were starting to fall off in patches.

    Relying solely on the support of the Yin Yuan Tower, it was clearly too far-fetched to withstand the continuous attacks from Yi Chen''s halberd.

    "Otherworlder, how about we cease hostilities? Better to resolve a grudge than to deepen it. After all our cultivation, why must we fight to the death?"

    "Hmph, I have come today precisely to take your damned life. Have you forgotten the otherworlder you killed before?" Yi Chen stimulated his Extreme Origin, putting tremendous pressure on the Rakshasa King.

    "What? Who are you to that otherworlder?"

    "That man was my close and dear friend. Today, I came to the Rakshasa Kingdom specifically to kill you!" Yi Chen started spouting nonsense, his words intended for others in the city to hear. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "That male otherworlder said his wife would surely come to seek revenge on me in the future. I truly never imagined..." The Rakshasa King looked complexly at Yi Chen''s majestic purple-golden silhouette.

    After a strike, accompanied by two loud bangs, both fell to the ground, with half of Yi Chen''s body sunk into the azure rock of the earth.

    "Ah! I f*ck your mother, how dare you humiliate me like that!"

    "Brat, you deserve to die!"

    In a fit of rage, the purple-golden Daoist no longer floated in the air, instead, he charged headlong against the brick and stone, overturning everything that blocked his sight.

    "Halberd Six¡¤Destroyer of Gods!"

    At this moment, the three Corpse Gods within Yi Chen raged. For the first time, his verbal confrontation had landed him in a pit.

    Three shadows emerged from his Cultivation Body, soared upward, and converged into one!

    The Destroyer of Gods was unleashed again!

    "Qi Yuan Sacred Barrier!"

    The aura from all around surged like a reversing sea, forming a red-black barrier in the sky as if the Milky Way itself was rolling in. The two ultimate moves intersected, releasing an unstoppable force at their center that exploded. It resembled a tornado wrecking a parking lot, instantly clearing the structures within a two-kilometer radius.

    The massive rebound caused Yi Chen to cough up blood at the corner of his mouth as he staggered back.

    The Rakshasa King was similarly affected. However, at that moment, a giant crack started from the central axis of the distant Yin Yuan Tower.

    "Again!"

    Strike while the enemy is sick, aim for his life! Yi Chen lifted his halberd once more.

    Finally, a hint of panic flashed in the eyes of the Rakshasa King. He fiercely threw a black Tiger Talisman onto the ground. Instantly, a puff of black smoke erupted and burrowed into the earth.

    "All of you, attack!"

    "Blood Armor Guards, Close King Guards, wake now and join me in battle!"

 Chapter 304 Great Qins Strategy, Reunion with an Old Acquaintance, Jianxie Sect, What Rank Are You!

    Under the moonlight, two figures gradually overlapped into one, filling the wilderness with soft murmurs and low singing for a moment.

    Two and a half seconds quickly passed by.

    After watching for a while, Yi Chen couldn''t help but show a look of disdain. However, he didn''t disturb the two, after all, Yi Taoist was not a dog; he was long past the age of chasing after dogs as they raced each other at the entrance of the village.

    "Eh, it reminds me of my childhood in my previous life."

    "Just a couple of words, naive, chasing after dogs, woof woof chasing."

    "This pair of wild mandarin ducks just happened to run into poor old me. If they ran into Zhang Shihao, Brother Hao, they would definitely be put through military training." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With a thought, Yi Chen''s figure quietly disappeared into the night sky.

    A voice transmission suddenly echoed at the bottom of the handsome young man''s heart, "Young man, don''t be too impulsive; lying is not a good habit."

    As a good Daoist who promised his master to "do good deeds without asking about the future," Yi Chen didn''t plan to chase anyone away, but before leaving, he felt it necessary to advise the young man not to lie, lest he walk the wrong path in the future.

    As soon as this voice sounded, the ''handsome young man'' immediately drooped his head, looking around in panic like a foolish roe deer, "Who is it? Who is speaking to me? Which senior is playing tricks on me?"

    The handsome young man asked three questions in succession, but there was no response from heaven and earth, and as he looked down, he caught the watery eyes of his junior sister, her cheeks flushed red.

    "Brother Wu¡­"

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    "Junior Sister, let''s stop here for today... I feel like there''s someone nearby, you have to believe me, I''m not usually like this~"

    "Hmph!"

    "Junior Sister, listen to my explanation¡­" Faced with his junior sister''s suspicious gaze, the young man immediately became anxious.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    "Eh, I hope the advice I gave before leaving can make that young braggart realize his mistake."

    "However, what the delicate female cultivator mentioned earlier about the Eastern Continent''s Attraction Formation and the Great Qin Legal Assembly is rather intriguing."

    "Unexpectedly, such significant events took place on the Eastern Continent while I was delving deeper into Yin Manor; it''s truly surprising."

    In the night, Yi Chen''s expression was inscrutable. After pondering in place for a moment, he took out a map and immediately headed toward the nearest city of the seven peaks¡ªXuangu City.

    Whether it was the Eastern Continent Attraction Formation or the Great Qin Legal Assembly, the implications contained within were too significant, and he had to carefully investigate before making any decisions.

    After all, Hidden Dragon Temple was in Central Continent.

    Only by understanding firsthand information could he better plan the future of Hidden Dragon Temple.

    Moreover, he was just over 1,700 Deep Red Points away from breaking through to the seventeenth layer of True Technique.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Xuangu turtles are mysterious creatures living in water, as large as lakes, with red and black shells, bird-like heads, and snake-like tails. Their cries sound like the whirr of sawing wood, and Xuangu City was named after a giant Xuangu turtle that once resided here.

    Later on, for unknown reasons, this celestial spirit vanished, and the previous generation of cultivators built a city on this land blessed with spiritual essence.

    Yi Chen was indifferent to the truth of this story, but he did know of a specialty near Xuangu City¡ªa famous Wang Ba soup.

    In the city center, there''s a vast lake called Gazing Moon Lake, covering dozens of acres, where the Wang Ba taste exceptionally authentic~

    Once outside Gazing Moon Lake, the Wang Ba of the same species simply don''t have that flavor anymore, as magical as Moutai.

    "This trip to the city is first to investigate the news about the Great Qin Legal Assembly and the Eastern Continent Attraction Formation; second, to find a way to obtain over 1,700 Deep Red Points."

    Upon thinking that he was only over 1,700 points away from breaking through to the next realm of True Technique, Yi Chen''s heart couldn''t help but heat up a little.

    He craved progress.

    A short while later, Xuangu City.

    Under the golden-yellow imperial edict, a stout Daoist spinning three golden, strange iron balls couldn''t help but look puzzled.

    Yi Chen thought that the intelligence about the Eastern Continent Attraction Formation and the Great Qin Legal Assembly would only circulate among the relatively closed circles of cultivators, but to his surprise, Great Qin was so domineering, displaying no intention of concealing, and directly issued an imperial edict explaining the matter, not fearing that Central Continent would get the message and prepare in advance, thereby saving him a lot of trouble.

    Moving his gaze down, after reading it for the first time, Yi Chen could guess something about the temperament of Great Qin''s Millennium Emperor and the motivation behind such actions.

    This imperial edict could be seen as a declaration from Eastern Continent, straightforward without affectation, every line revealing interests and expansion, outright putting the unification of the three lands on the front table.

    If translated into the news style of his previous life, it would read:

    The current emperor of Great Qin has put forward the idea of unifying the three lands sooner rather than later.

    The Millennium Emperor explained the great significance of this matter to Eastern Continent and the immense benefits it contained. He expressed serious concern for the future of Eastern Continent, indicating that Great Qin''s integrity is evident across the seas.

    He is willing to join hands with the sects, combine the power of the masses, and seize the initiative in the upcoming changes of the world.

    The sixteen most powerful sects in Eastern Continent also expressed high agreement, affirming the Millennium Emperor''s ideas. After extensive discussion and opinion exchange, it has been decided that, two and a half months later, near Great Qin''s Xianyang at Mount Taiwu, the Great Qin Legal Assembly will be held to establish the order of Eastern Continent and discuss the arrangements for the Attraction Formation¡­

    "Not leaving any way out for oneself or others, this is a direct strategy; I''m just going to overpower you, the Millennium Emperor of Great Qin has such boldness, so straightforward!"

    After reading the full information on the imperial edict, Yi Chen couldn''t help but sigh with admiration.

 Chapter 306 To all below, watch me in the azure heavens!

    The Jianxie Sect was situated upon Kunxu Mountain, its peaks soaring into the clouds, overlooking the great lands of the Northern Region.

    Embraced by twining white clouds and pervasive mist, an ethereal immortal mountain, a large red-crowned crane glided across the sky, stirring ripples in its wake.

    The setting sun stained the clouds a deep crimson.

    At this moment, at the highest peak of Kunxu Mountain, beneath an odd golden fruit tree, two figures sat facing each other, with a jade chessboard placed between them.

    "Ling fellow daoist, it seems you have missed a crucial move," said a beautiful woman with her hair coiled high, her clear eyes outlined sharply in contrast, smiling sweetly. Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

    The beauty''s eyes curved like glowing fireflies, yet she had a hawkish nose and thin lips, giving her a decidedly dominant appearance.

    "Taoist Wusheng truly possesses great skill in chess, I am impressed," said the charming middle-aged man facing Wusheng Sword Mother. He had a lean figure, a goatee, phoenix-shaped eyes, and a face exuding the air of a distinguished scholar. Ling Xudu dropped a white piece in his hand onto the board, sighed deeply, and said.

    "Why fret over it, Ling fellow daoist? This game of chess we play upon the mountain is not simply this board before us, but the grand chessboard of the entire world," she said.

    "In terms of chess skills, I may indeed surpass you, but when it comes to strategy and wisdom, Wusheng is nowhere near Ling fellow daoist," she added.

    "The Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect is one of the sixteen strongest sects in the world, true masters of the Eastern Continent''s chessboard. While my Jianxie Sect can be considered powerful in the Northern Region, no matter how we struggle, we are but a pawn in the game," said the beauty with a slight frown and a wistful sigh.

    "Oh? In that case, why has Taoist Wusheng been making so many unusual moves lately?"

    "In an era of great contention, no one can remain uninvolved; fence-sitters will ultimately bear the brunt of their inaction. Only by aligning with the powerful can one follow the right path. Despite Wuding Divine Sect''s Tu Lingjun being formidable, his stubborn self-reliance indicates that the future leader of the demonic paths will inevitably be the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect," she replied.

    "My Jianxie Sect greatly admires the might of the Holy Sect and wishes to follow in its trail. We will look to the Holy Sect for commands and regard its directives as supreme," the beauty declared.

    "Of our sect''s gains, we are willing to offer up fifty percent to the higher sect, to demonstrate our sincerity," she proposed.

    Upon hearing this, the goateed scholar''s phoenix-shaped eyes narrowed slightly. He pondered for a few seconds before inquiring:

    "So what''s the price, Taoist Wusheng?"

    The woman with the hawkish nose did not respond immediately but gestured with her hand invitingly, took a sip of her tea, and then said:

    "Quite simple, my Jianxie Sect merely has two modest requests," she started.

    "First, the higher sect should help our Constellation Sword Alliance become the head of the Northern Region and ward off other covetous powers."

    "Second, I want the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect''s Secret Technique for spirit subjugation," she said.

    The Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect was one of the six top-tier sects in the demonic paths of the Eastern Continent, with Dao Mastery experts at its heart.

    Those born of this sect refer to themselves as the people of the Holy Sect. Their mystical and arcane methods within are potent enough to control spirits, refine puppet corpses, and even foster those who would cultivate themselves into holy puppets.

    Their secret technique for spirit subjugation is unique to the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect¡ªto bind and subdue spirits, gradually refining them, seizing their essence to enhance oneself.

    This method is exceedingly hazardous, akin to walking on a tightrope. Those without sufficient talent who force themselves to cultivate it end up either mentally deranged or exploding into death.

    Yet the rewards it offers are immense, and within the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect, only some True Disciples are permitted to learn it.

    Hearing Wusheng Sword Mother''s two demands, the goateed scholar''s pupils widened slightly, and a rueful smile appeared on his face:

    "Fellow daoist demands a king''s ransom. The technique of spirit subjugation is not something that I, Ling, can monopolize. Taoist Wusheng, we have known each other for a hundred years. Why not heed a word of advice from me?"

    Ling Xudu was the Sect Master Chen Haichao''s closed-door disciple, deeply trusted by him. Puzzled, he gazed at the slender sword carried on the back of the beautiful woman, then slowly put forth his own conditions.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    A kilometer from the front of Kunxu Mountain.

    On a massive black boulder, the three blood-red characters of "Jianxie Sect" appeared distinctly, as if infused with an inexplicable malevolent force that devoured souls, with even the gatekeeping disciples keeping several meters away from the stone involuntarily.

    At the moment, nine disciples dressed in red stood proudly at the entrance of the mountain gate, conversing with one another.

    "Brother Li, our Jianxie Sect is truly impressive this time. Who would have thought that the sect master would invite the esteemed Ling Xudu of the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect up the mountain? With the sect master''s methods, she surely does not enter any battle unprepared," one of them said.

    Brother Li, with a purple sword embroidered on his sleeve, nodded modestly upon hearing this.

    Ever since the sect master established the Constellation Sword Alliance, numerous experts have visited to pay their respects, including some True Monarchs of great renown. Even these exalted True Monarchs treated the gatekeeping disciples courteously, with some even offering generous gifts and imparting cultivation insights.

    All this was due to the ascendancy of the Jianxie Sect Master Wusheng Sword Mother to the True Monarch realm after integrating a spiritual ghost into her sword.

    Those close to power believe they possess it themselves.

    After hosting four or five visiting True Monarchs, the gatekeeping disciples at the Qi Refinement Realm had begun to look down upon even the True Person Realm experts.

    Brother Li kept his arrogant gaze on a True Person Realm Loose Cultivator intending to join the Constellation Sword Alliance, about to say more when suddenly,

    the sounds of wind and thunder rolled through heaven and earth.

    In the skies above, an imposing, robust Daoist was approaching, riding the wind

    before him, his voice could be heard.

    His lofty verses echoed between the heavens and the earth: S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Who would believe in the untold destinies we meet,

    Now manifesting their names and tracks?

    It is Hidden Dragon that slays the wicked,

    Cultivating Pure Yang to the ultimate,

    Soaring into the vast sky with one leap,

    Steadily emerging from the sea of blood, standing with hands behind his back amid the clouds,

    After the rain, basking in the sunset''s glowing red."

 Chapter 306 To all below, watch me in the azure heavens!_2

    ```

    "Gentlemen, rise from the ground,"

    "This humble Daoist, in the midst of the azure sky!!!"

    "This¡­ This is a grandmaster, a once-in-a-lifetime supreme expert."

    "Compared to this person, the True Monarchs who came before are mere fireflies'' light; with such a display of power, I fear he is already a late-stage True Monarch in the path of enlightenment."

    "It seems that my Jianxie Sect is about to flourish, as even such a grandmaster has come to pay homage to my Jianxie Sect, wishing to join the Group of Stellar Swords." Brother Li was shocked as he looked towards the silhouette who was rapidly approaching from the horizon, murmuring to himself involuntarily.

    While the disciples guarding the mountain gazed up at the sky, amidst the rolling sea of clouds, Yi Chen was also looking down at Kun Xu Mountain, the Jianxie Sect.

    It must be said, the scenery of Kun Xu Mountain is truly incomparably beautiful, pleasing to the eye and invigorating to the spirit.

    Even with his experience, he had to admit that it surpassed the scenery of Falling Dragon Mountain at the Hidden Dragon Temple¡­. Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire

    "But what of it?"

    "The chestnut forest in the back mountain of the Hidden Dragon Temple has unparalleled scenery in the world."

    "Kun Xu Mountain, tainted!"

    With a single thought, Yi Chen propelled himself from ten thousand meters, plummeting towards the ground at high speed.

    The roaring sound and the majestic golden Extreme Origin Qi that slowly pulsed around Yi Chen''s body created violent friction as they descended, shrieking through the air, leaving a long-lasting, slender trail of smoke in the vast sky and sea of clouds, like a plane skimming the clouds and leaving a trail.

    Boom!

    The sound, like a giant wave, crashed fiercely against the surrounding disciples who guarded the mountain, the massive air wave pushing nine of them into flight.

    One unfortunate soul was even flung against a massive rock bearing the Jianxie Sect''s insignia; his head tilted, eyes bulging out, and he was clearly not going to survive.

    His body slowly slid down, leaving a bloody streak on the black rock, adding a sinister touch to the boulder.

    Amidst the billowing dust, a muscular Daoist of purple-gold rose, his knees slightly bent, rising steadily.

    "How dare you, who are you? To come visiting and descend in such a manner, do you think the Spirit Swords in the hands of our Jianxie Sect Master are dull?"

    Several red-clad disciples, knocked to the ground by the shock wave and vomiting blood, couldn''t help but express their rage, cursing towards the center of the dusty whirlwind.

    Only the leading Brother Li''s face was solemn, and without a word, his thoughts shifted, and a vermilion Jade Talisman was secretly clutched in his palm.

    In the midst of the billowing dust, a towering purple-gold figure over five meters tall slowly emerged; first the ferocious tiger tattoos on both arms, then the restless blue-colored violent ox on his chest and abdomen, and lastly, part of a fierce dragon''s tail stealthily peeked out from his back.

    A giant shadow loomed over the many disciples who guarded the mountain, and for a moment, those cursing disciples seemed as if their dumb acupoints had been pressed in unison, and they all fell silent.

    "What are you dogs barking for?"

    "Seeing me, the Hidden Dragon Daoist, why don''t you bow?"

    As his voice fell, all disciples, except Brother Li, suddenly burst into flames and, within a second, were nothing but ash.

    "Elder... What elder from the Eastern Continent demon sect has visited us in secret? Please leave your name, and I will report it immediately," Brother Li said, his voice trembling, forcing himself to speak despite the fearful scene.

    No sooner had he spoken than he was met with a light slap to the face, and his mouth filled with broken teeth.

    "Blind dog, did you not understand what this humble Daoist just said?"

    "Can''t you see that this old man just referred to himself as ''this humble Daoist?'' What nonsense about a demon sect''s secluded elder; I am of the Taoist lineage, the Hidden Dragon Daoist."

    As if in a daze, Brother Li saw the purple-gold figure with moving tiger tattoos on all three arms squatting before him, a pair of indifferent eyes fixated on him.

    His mouth twitched, and against his conscience, he muttered, "Yes, Hidden Dragon¡­ Daoist."

    Before he could finish, a broken wooden box had already been thrust into his arms.

    "This is my gift of homage. I have urgent matters to discuss with your True Monarch. Go and seek an audience with haste. Rest assured, once the Sect Master sees the gift of my visit, he will surely recognize my sincerity and come down to meet me," Yi Chen said, his lips curving into a smirk, "You may also crush the Jade Talisman in your hand to see who can move faster."

    Four and a half seconds later, Yi Chen watched the Li surnamed cultivator sprinting towards the mountain summit, his smile growing even brighter.

    He had run furiously for three days to arrive in the vicinity.

    And today marked the sixth day since he left.

    The extra three days he spent were naturally for gathering information nearby.

    How could the Yi Taoist engage in an unprepared battle?

    To be caught off-guard and have to run away with tail between legs would make Yi Chengzi look rather foolish.

    Strategically despise the opponent, but tactically value them ¡ª this has always been the guiding principle of Yi Taoist''s actions ¡ª never bluff without being sure.

    ```

    He had already gone to various places around the area to inquire, and it turns out that the master of the Jianxie Sect had indeed achieved a breakthrough to the jie dao realm only within the last ten years.

    Beneath the jie dao, all are ants, how could he, Yi Chengzi, possibly fear besiegement?

    Since that is the case, facing a one-on-one duel, why should he fear anything? He must finish her off.

    Once having stepped into the jie dao realm, he had become the elephant in the room, no longer able to conceal himself; it was also time for him to step out from behind the curtains and onto the stage.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    A moment before.

    Beneath the golden fruit tree.

    "I must say, Taoist Wusheng, you truly have great courage, advancing to the jie dao realm with a spirit ghost alongside your sword and now seeking to practice the art of Spirit Subduer. Consuming the sword and mastering spirit, you plan to abandon the flesh and transform into a supreme divine sword, aiming to assault the ultimate realm of the Jianxie Sect''s sword annals. Such ingenious thinking and boldness are truly enough to shame any man."

    "As the Sect Master has said, then let it be as agreed." The goat-bearded gentleman said with a beaming smile, clearly having received the conditions he desired.

    "Taoist Ling has recently achieved the grand ceremony of a True Monarch in the jie dao realm. I had urgent matters and unfortunately missed it. I heard that Taoist Ling has accepted a disciple with astonishing talent and steadfast heart, who has incredibly transferred his own spiritual intelligence to a remarkable thunder spirit corpse. All that stands between him and the rank of True Monarch is but the final step."

    "Our Jianxie Sect has little of value to offer apart from a Spirit Fruit tree that is still presentable. I shall gift a piece of Spirit Gold Fruit, in hopes of aiding your disciple, Brother Ling''s breakthrough."

    Wusheng Sword Mother''s eyes flashed with a strange light as she looked at the colorfully dressed man behind the goat-bearded gentleman and spoke with a smile, obviously having obtained what she wanted as well.

    The so-called Thunder Spirit Corpse is a strange body struck by heavenly lightning nine times without losing its vitality, teeming with highly concentrated malevolent energy. It requires chance, luck, and firmness of heart to seize control of such a body. Even with Wusheng Sword Mother''s cultivation in the jie dao realm, she couldn''t help but giving it an extra glance.

    "May I ask what name this disciple of Brother Ling goes by? In the future, the world will surely have a place for him."

    "Taoist Wusheng flatters me. This disciple is from the Central Continent who, by a twist of fate, arrived in our Eastern Continent and was taken under my wing. He is called Shi Shouming;"

    "Shouming, why don''t you quickly greet True Monarch Wusheng? This Spirit Gold Fruit bears fruit once every three hundred years, each time yielding just two. Such a gift cannot be considered light."

    Seeing the joy on Ling Xudu''s face, Wusheng Sword Mother also couldn''t help but reveal a smile of delight in her eyes.

    The essence of gift-giving lies in bringing joy to others.

    Given Ling Xudu''s status within the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect, ordinary treasures could no longer catch his eye, but gifting the gold fruit to help his disciple breach the next level was indeed most fitting.

    Speaking of the Spirit Gold Fruit tree, the Wusheng Sword Mother couldn''t help but show pride on her face as she slowly stood up and began to introduce the golden tree:

    "This tree was personally planted by the third-generation ancestor of our Jianxie Sect; it grows an inch every ten years, and now stands tall and wide like¡­ a shelter."

    Just at this moment, Wusheng Sword Mother''s face suddenly underwent a drastic change, as a panicked figure with a wooden box in hand rushed over. Simultaneously, a golden light rapidly spread from the foot of the mountain.

    Boom! S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    There was a sudden explosion.

    Where the Spirit Gold Fruit tree had previously stood tall, now there was only a bare stump left.

    Everyone, including Ling Xudu, stood up abruptly, looking towards the foot of the mountain.

    "Sect¡­ Sect Master, a demonic figure has come to pay respects to the mountain, and this is the offering he presented." Brother Li stuttered as he presented the wooden box.

    Under Wusheng Sword Mother''s icy command, Brother Li opened the box, and the head of someone who died with eyes wide open appeared before them ¡ª if not the head of the amorous young master, then whose could it be?

    A man must be true to his word; Yi Chen said he would deliver a gift of respect to the mountain, he certainly couldn''t honor a promise with dishonesty.

    "Ah! I will surely kill this person." Atop the mountain peak, a ferocious Sword Qi surged towards the sky.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "Observing the anomaly, spot on!"

    "Without that fellow surnamed Li leading the way, how could I, the Taoist, accurately execute half a move of Lingxiao''s ultimate skill to hit where Wusheng Sword Mother resided?"

    "You should know that the mists in these mountains are caused by formations, full of confusion and concealment, obscuring anomalies."

    At the base of the mountain, Yi Chen stood holding a halberd.

    Who said the one to pay respects to the mountain must ascend? Does Taoist Yi have the habit of going up a mountain to meet with others?

    There are multitudinous formations on the mountain; riling up Wusheng Sword Mother and luring her into a one-on-one fight below was the safer bet.

    "Damn it! Yi Chengzi, why are you so clever."

    "We from Hidden Dragon Temple, have our own way of paying respects to a mountain!"

    Seeing the fierce Sword Qi rising to the sky above the mountain peak, Yi Chen knew that his task was accomplished.

 Chapter 307 The Violent Hidden Dragon Taoist, Ling Xudus CPU is Overheating

    ```

    "Still not coming?"

    "Could it be that I swiped away just now by mistake, or is the Wusheng Sword Mother so capable of hiding and enduring?"

    Looking at the fierce Sword Qi that had suddenly risen and then vanished atop the mountain peak, Yi Chen''s eyes flashed with a hint of hostility, deciding to add a bit more intensity.

    At this moment.

    The commotion in front of Kunxu Mountain had already attracted the attention of Jianxie Sect cultivators. Some soared into the sky, sweeping their divine consciousness across heaven and earth, eventually fixing upon the majestic figure of the purple and gold Daoist at the foot of the mountain.

    "Who goes there, fellow Daoist? Why stir up a baseless conflict and trespass on the boundaries of Jianxie Sect?" A black-and-white-robed elder with a black longsword strapped to his back stepped forward, emitting a spiritual pressure of one who had entered the True Monarch realm.

    "Despicable demon!" A sharp angry shout came from within the sea of clouds.

    To this, Yi Chen turned a deaf ear, offering no response. It was nothing more than the annoying buzzing of insects.

    He, like a hegemon, held the halberd in one hand and suddenly pressed down, chopping a halberd strike towards the misty depths of the fairy mountain in the distance.

    Chi!

    A massive amount of glass-like Extreme Origin suddenly shot out, grew upon meeting the wind, and transformed into a gigantic halberd that stretched nearly a thousand meters in an instant.

    The vast energy transformed into a halberd plunged into the clouds, like a hot knife through butter. Just one strike bifurcated most of the sea of clouds with a glass-gold halberd light.

    This halberd had no other name; it relied solely on its tremendous strength and power.

    Miracles come from brute force!

    At this moment, the muscles on the purple-gold Daoist bulged, and two jade arm armors on his left and right arms slightly dug into the flesh, leaving two marks.

    A giant red-crowned crane hiding in the depths of the clouds and shouting angry curses was unable to dodge in time and was struck by the halberd light, exploding into a mist of blood, with only a pair of slender bird beaks falling from the clouds. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The violent energy stirred up a wind, causing the elite Jianxie Sect disciples attracted by the great commotion and soaring into the air to wobble, unable to maintain balance and swaying from side to side.

    Yi Chen spread his five fingers and casually clenched his hand, attracting the falling pair of slender bird beaks into his palm.

    "Noisy insects also deserve death!"

    "Impudent fellow, does your demonic head have such a pure Full Body Pure Yang energy?"

    "Nothing about you is hard, except for your mouth, which is indeed fine material for refining."

    His Strength-Breaking Realm''s penetrating abilities allowed Yi Chen''s energy to possess the abilities to shock and explode. After many enhancements, to leave only a pair of beaks intact under the ravage of his residual energy showed how tough they were.

    With a thought, Yi Chen put the pair of beaks into his storage ring.

    As for the sea of clouds he had split, it now returned to its original state.

    "Insolence!"

    "Brother Daoist first killed my child and now attacks the gates of Jianxie Sect, slaughtering the innocents. Are you thinking my sect is without anyone to respond."

    A beautiful woman with her hair coiled high, with distinctly black and white eyes, arrived in a few flashes before Yi Chen, looking quite annoyed.

    The Wusheng Sword Mother had never imagined that in the time it took her to inquire about the origins of the strong man below the mountain with Ling Xudu, even the sect''s mountain-guarding spiritual beast had been slaughtered by someone.

    The reason she had exercised such restraint thus far was precisely because of the overwhelming aura emanating from the person before her.

    Ever since she laid eyes on the man in front of her, her Sword Qi constantly warned her with a buzzing sound.

    She knew this was no ordinary individual.

    If it were anyone less capable than her, she would have already struck with her sword without any questions.

    "When did such a ferocious cultivator appear in the world?"

    The Wusheng Sword Mother was filled with doubts, but no matter how much she racked her brain, she could not recall any high-level practitioner capable of such rare and exquisite techniques.

    "You have the nerve to question me, True Monarch Wusheng."

    "I merely went on a trip outside for a few months, yet your esteemed son bullied the Sect Master of Hehuan Sect and even attempted to lay hands on my Dao companion. Had I not unexpectedly discovered it upon leaving seclusion, would I have had to dye my Taoist hair crown green?"

    Yi Chen glared furiously, appearing as a victim, "Your son lost merely his head, but our Hehuan Sect''s Sect Master Qinyun was coerced to play the zither."

    "This is too much; Jianxie Sect must give me an explanation!"

    "Good! Good! Good! Even if my son was at fault first and has already paid with his life, Brother Daoist has suffered no loss. Now you kill my mountain-guarding disciples and destroy my sect''s spiritual beasts, today I too would like to ask Brother Daoist for an explanation."

    The Wusheng Sword Mother laughed angrily, her phoenix eyes filled with murderous intent, "I''ve lived through much and never seen someone as arrogant as Brother Daoist."

    "Today, please try the sharpness of my Phoenix Evil God Sword."

    Before her words finished, the sword device behind her was already trembling and humming within its sheath.

    Being naturally indifferent, she was not too heartbroken over her child''s death. However, an attack on her sect like this one required a strong response from her, or it would be better to disband the Star Sword Alliance sooner rather than later.

    If she did not have the bargaining chip of the Star Sword Alliance, based simply on the power of Jianxie Sect, how could she obtain the ''Spirit Subjugation Secret Technique'' from the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect? Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

    Those who obstructed her path had to die.

    An unusual wind suddenly arose between heaven and earth, as strange glowing swords manifested around Wusheng Sword Mother, encircling her.

    "Arrogant, are you? Taoist Wusheng, haven''t you seen it today?" Yi Chen looked at the black sword device on the Jianxie Sect Master''s back and couldn''t help but smirk malignantly.

    That black sword device faintly emitted an aura of ghostly and evil elements.

    It seemed that the lascivious young master''s words were true, the spirit had entered into the sword, and it truly was fated for him.

    "Sword Jie ¡¤ Wind and Rain Mingling!"

    The Wusheng Sword Mother, clear-minded as she was, saw at a glance that the person before her had come to provoke deliberately.

    ```

 Chapter 307 The Violent Hidden Dragon Daoist, Ling Xudus CPU is Overheating_2

    She formed a sword with her fingers, a casual flick of her empty hand conjured up dense masses of sword Qi a yard long in the air, raining down toward Yi Chen like a torrential downpour on banana leaves, accompanied by a succession of ghostly wails and demonic howls.

    "I shall now explain to you, Daoist brother!" Wusheng Sword Mother''s eyebrows inverted fiercely, her voice as chilling as eternal frost.

    "The Sect Master''s swordsmanship has improved yet again, a mere thought condenses Qi, gathering it into a sword, the sword moves and resonates, with such cultivation, this old one is far beyond comparison," praised the old man dressed in black and white Daoist robes, twisting the few sparse whiskers on his chin.

    In his eyes, Yi Chen was already a dead man.

    "Wusheng Sword Mother harbors great ambition, but indeed possesses astonishing talent; if properly guided, she will certainly become an excellent sharp weapon for our Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect," Ling Xudu mused, with a weird gleam flashing in his eyes, his expression inscrutable, as he stood behind the thick clouds on the ethereal fairy mountain.

    "However, who is that person challenging us by paying homage to our mountain? I have this feeling I''ve seen him somewhere before, seemingly in the intelligence reports," he remarked.

    Confronting the thousands of sword Qi, Yi Chen''s face showed no panic, and even a hint of fervor flickered across his features.

    He thrust the Holy Halberd into the ground, spread his arms open, and from his palms, the crown of his head, under his feet, and across his chest, intense glimmers of Extreme Origin erupted, whirling wildly and conjuring gusts of wind strong enough to bend the grass and leave the earth three feet indented.

    This battle was meant to be a display of power for his disciple Yi Chengzi; since Wusheng Sword Mother''s swords were still unsheathed, he too decided not to draw the Holy Halberd, seizing the opportunity to test the mettle of Wusheng Sword Mother.

    Their exchange of extraordinary techniques was completed in the blink of an eye; with almost no time to declare it, the omnipresent sword Qi, as if guided, descended upon Yi Chen''s purple-gold cultivation body.

    The clinking and chiming sounds were incessant as the boundless sword Qi dove into the vortex of Extreme Origin, creating depression after depression, eventually exhausting its force and getting shredded by the frenzied whirling Extreme Origin.

    The demonic wails and howls between heaven and earth, steered by the sword Qi, forged into beams of sound, enveloping Yi Chen, like myriad demonic insects seeking to burrow into his sea of consciousness, only to be shattered by the radiant cleansing light bursting forth in his mind.

    It was none other than the mystical ability of Divine Defense at work in the Spirit-Breaking Realm. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire

    "Wusheng True Monarch, I find this explanation unsatisfactory," he said.

    "Please offer another one."

    Yi Chen''s eyes pierced through the layers of sword Qi to mirror the figure of Wusheng Sword Mother, as he stood there with his hands behind his back, his countenance cold and detached.

    "Righteous Father, the invader possesses strong cultivation and a colossally fierce body; can the Sect Master triumph over this person?" A foxy, enchanting woman with her hair in an immortal''s bun glided to the side of the old man in the black and white Daoist robe, latching onto his arm and gently swaying and rubbing against it.

    The old man in the black and white Daoist robe tugged at his arm but couldn''t free it; the soft sensation made his heart flutter. Noting that everyone''s attention was captivated by the battle, he refrained from pulling away and whispered frowningly, "Didn''t I tell you? Outside, don''t call me Righteous Father, call me Master."

    "But inside, didn''t you ask me to call you Father, Master? Which way should your disciple call you then~" A seductive voice suddenly resonated within the old man''s heart, the words lascivious and soul-stirring, though somewhat restrained as she used a sound transmission technique.

    "You this¡­ Please, Yu Feng, you don''t understand. The Sect Master''s methods extend far beyond what is displayed here. It is merely a preliminary probe for now. The name of this challenger is unknown, an unknown entity; with the Sect Master''s Phoenix Evil Sword at play, it wouldn''t take more than ten moves to ensure that the challenger can''t return," he explained.

    The old man glanced at the enticing woman before him, his face showing a mix of indulgence and helplessness.

    This woman was a female cultivator he had agreed to take as a disciple at an old friend''s request, a cultivator whose talents were passable. However, she demonstrated a keen interest in the "Three Millenniums of Swordsmanship" tome, prompting him to reluctantly agree. Initially, it was merely to fulfill an obligation, but later on, he discovered...

    "Yu Feng, watch now, the Sect Master is drawing his sword for the second time since the incorporation of the spirit ghost into the blade," he said.

    "His first draw didn''t take seven moves to have an enemy flee covered in blood, heavily damaging their cultivation body. This man''s cultivation is not weak; I bet he''ll last till the ten strikes and then crumble.

    "If he chooses to fight to the death and exceeds ten moves, there will be no need for retreat," the old man silently ran his jade-like hand down the foxy woman''s jet-black hair, as he envisioned Yu Feng sprawled upon the brocade couch, her hair cascading beneath her like a canvas.

    Within her shallow eyes, misty and confusingly cold.

    Sometimes even entirely white, with no black of the pupil to be seen.

    With this thought, his sword, moved.

    ----

    At this moment, behind Wusheng Sword Mother, the unrivaled sword weapon she carried¡ªPhoenix Evil Sword¡ªalso moved.

    Phoenix Evil Sword unsheathed!

    The sword wielded a three-foot aura, its sharpness cleaving the very sky.

    Before the sword even moved, the sheer edge spontaneously cut through the air, stirring ripples around the blade.

    A simple unsheathing gesture caused Yi Chen''s skin to tense slightly all over.

    There was no visual pressure from the skyful of sword Qi, yet this sword instilled a greater sense of trepidation in Yi Chen.

    A jade foot suddenly tapped the ground, the voluptuous Wusheng Sword Mother, wielding the unrivaled weapon, released demonic wailing sounds from the blade, its might and malevolence far surpassing earlier displays by tenfold. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    She slightly nodded her head, skirt sweeping as she lightly bowed to Yi Chen, "This sword is the treasure of our Jianxie Sect, the Dao Sword of Two Marks. Wusheng borrows this sword to pay her respects to you, Daoist friend."

    "Should you meet an unfortunate death in this battle, I will ensure you are buried honorably, and Hehuan Sect will only censure the chief culprits, allowing your lineage to continue uninterrupted."

    Yi Chen drew the long halberd before him and also bowed in respect.

 Chapter 307 The Violent Hidden Dragon Taoist, Ling Xudus CPU is Overheating_3

    "Hehuan Sect''s Great Elder, Hidden Dragon Taoist, sends her regards!"

    "Fellow Daoist is a woman who doesn''t let men overshadow her, both in cultivation and demeanor, I admire that."

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    "If today Fellow Daoist were to fall, I promise to only slay the upper echelons of the Jianxie Sect and not extinguish its lineage, putting an end to all their descendants."

    "Aren''t you curious about the true purpose of my visit today?" Yi Chen''s eyes flashed with a strange color, and he couldn''t help but ask aloud.

    "Is that important? You, Daoist brother, come with your compelling reasons, and we from the Jianxie Sect press on the Northern Region, wishing to establish the Alliance of the Myriad Stars Sword, also with our unavoidable reasons. There is never one true ''righteous cause.'' When my Jianxie Sect eventually prevails, great scholars will interpret the scriptures for me, and the same goes for you."

    "In this world, there is no ''righteous cause,'' only rules and order."

    "Indeed, that''s the most insignificant matter." Yi Chen laughed with a hint of self-derision, apparently finding his own question somewhat foolish. At this moment, he felt a rise in respect for the beautiful swordswoman before him. Of course, this bit of goodwill didn''t affect Yi Taoist''s resolve to kill her.

    A dead and motionless enemy is the best kind of enemy.

    Both parties fell silent for a second, losing their voices.

    Onlookers either stood on the strange rocks atop the numerous peaks of Kun Xu Mountain or floated in the air with their hands behind their backs, looking on from afar, all silent, watching this all unfold.

    This was True Monarch Dao Zhen''s battlefield.

    And a rare opportunity as well.

    One second later.

    Both parties took action simultaneously.

    "Spirit Evil Sword Formation ¡¤ Division ¡¤ Cocoon Kill!"

    Wusheng Sword Mother let out a clear shout, and the long sword in her hand suddenly moved on its own, rapidly splitting into twelve dark and sinister swords, forming a tight circle around Yi Chen at the center.

    "Tyrant rises with a halberd, Devour Heaven and Earth!"

    "Burn the seven emotions, scorch the six desires, let the thirteen flames of Pure Yang become emptiness!"

    Yi Chen''s fighting spirit was also fully ignited at this moment.

    He once again found the feeling of being alive.

    It was this sense of pressure that made his nerve endings begin to quiver with excitement. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Kill! Kill! Kill!

    Aside from everything else, it was just about the battle.

    At this moment, there was only the most pure fighting spirit in Yi Chen''s heart.

    Above his purple-golden cultivation body, the ferocious dragon, the malevolent tiger, and the vicious green bull, the three tattoos became more lifelike.

    The sword techniques of Wusheng Sword Mother came with a bewitching sound that entered the mind. It not only possessed strange powers but also the ability to trap people. However, facing it with a strong body was the most fitting response.

    Divine Power is infused.

    Yi Chen raises his halberd to meet the challenge.

    That moment.

    Sword Qi lingers nine yards high, Extreme Origin splits the firmament.

    Speed against strength, sharpness against resilience.

    Wusheng Sword Mother formed sword gestures, and the true body of the Phoenix Evil Sword transformed into an ordinary Sword Qi, hidden within the twelve huge sword lights.

    Yi Chen channeled Divine Power, again and again, wielding unmatched halberd techniques in succession.

    Many ultimate moves collided within the heavens and earth, their uncontrollable might meeting and exploding, roaring, friction, and canceling each other out.

    For a moment, angry winds raged, gales swept over the mountains, with only the grass lying flat, surviving.

    "Activate the formation, the great protective mountain formation!"

    The elder in the black and white Taoist robe saw this and his face changed drastically, he couldn''t help but shout loudly. With a thought, a black sword-shaped command token immediately shot into the mist.

    As the third elder of Jianxie Sect, and from the Punishment Hall, using his command token to stimulate the formation to its second layer was already enough to withstand the might of Yi Chen and another''s exchange.

    The mist dissipated, forming a barrier that resembled transparent plastic, thick yet thin, blocking the aftermath of Yi Chen''s exchange and the spilling might.

    Indeed, at the moment when the "Thirteen Pure Yang Fiery Dao" sounded, the elder in the black Taoist robe felt an intense desire to burn, his inner fire rising, and for a moment, his heart chilled. Had he not activated the grand formation to cut through the strange fluctuations in the heavens and the earth, blocking the Dao sounds, the ordinary disciples of Jianxie Sect would have perished in moments!

    As the mist turned into a formation, and the formation was established, the elder in the black and white Taoist robe wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked down the mountain, only to see that already more than ten disciples were unable to suppress the inner fire within their bodies and were rolling on the ground.

    Fortunately, the grand formation was activated in time, preventing even greater disaster.

    "Master, this... this person comes with ill intent, do you think the Sect Master can really win?" The seductive woman''s face turned pale, she stared blankly at the distant battle, her tone had changed from frivolous.

    "Can... can, no, the Sect Master is invincible, he must be able to kill this person."

    "The Sect Master will not lose, he must not lose!"

    As if convincing himself, the elder''s tone shifted from doubtful to determined, a fierce light flashed in his eyes, not caring for his female disciple who was deeply engrossed in the study of the "Three Thousand Year Sword Dao," he turned and swept towards a mountaintop.

    The Sect Master''s actions did not quite resemble a man''s, but were even better than a man''s, although he also engaged in cunning schemes, he was someone who kept his promises. Having set the rule for a fair one-on-one fight to the death, he could not possibly make a surprise attack.

    But he, the elder of Punishment Hall, could.

    For the sake of the sect, what was his personal honor or disgrace?

    You should know, there was still a high-ranked practitioner from Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect present at Jianxie Sect at this moment.

    ....

    ....

    "Ha-ha, I''ve recognized it."

    "Although it is even more amazing than what the intelligence reported, such anomalies, it must surely be him without a doubt."

    "Autonomous Sky, Lord Tan Lang, you''ve hidden yourself so deeply, Hidden Dragon Taoist, the great elder of Hehuan Sect, Lord Tan Lang, Zhang San the renegade of the Legalist School, all these are connected."

    "The Sect Master once said, among the sixteen strongest powers of the Eastern Continent, the cultivation and schemes of the Heavenly Master of Autonomous Sky could be placed within the top three, one of the very few people he could not see through."

    "This Lord Tan Lang, being a True Monarch of the Severed Path, actually plays the fool; could it be that Hehuan Sect, small as it is, has some great secret?"

    "Or is it that the Heavenly Master of Autonomous Sky has laid his pieces in advance, wanting to covertly compete with my Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect for control of the Northern Region?"

    Those with tactical minds always have dirty hearts. As the top strategist of Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect, Ling Xudu, who had recently advanced to the Severed Path realm, ran through countless schemes in his head but kept dismissing them.

    As a strategist-like figure of Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect, he handled innumerable pieces of intelligence daily, and information about the rise of Yi Chen naturally included among them, leaving a trace impression amidst the vast sea of intelligence.

    He could never have imagined that all of this was the act of a Severed Path powerhouse.

    "Hidden Dragon Taoist, have you gone mad?"

    "Given that there are better ways to accomplish this, why would you keep jumping out? Are you laying false leads to draw our attention? What exactly is the Heavenly Master of Autonomous Sky plotting?"

    Caught in a tangle of countless thoughts, even with the intellect of Ling Xudu, a True Monarch of Severed Path, his CPU seemed ready to smoke with no conclusion about what medicine Lord Tan Lang was selling in his gourd.

    "The Sect Master is right; the people of Autonomous Sky are mysterious and sly, truly no straightforward affair. The Doumu Origin Lord is mad and erratic, with no logic in her actions. Her subordinate, Lord Tan Lang, and even the Heavenly Master of Autonomous Sky are the same."

 Chapter 308 On the Battlefield, What Use is a Gentleman? Seventeenth Level of True Technique.

    As Ling Xudu pondered in secret, his expression inexplicably changed when an old man dressed in black and white Taoist robes hurried over.

    "Elder Mo Qiuyong from Jianxie Sect begs to see the revered Ling Xudu," the elder stood dozens of meters away, bowing deeply.

    "What brings you here, Taoist friend?" Ling Xudu''s voice floated as if coming from all directions, and although he stood not far off, the elder felt as if he were in fog, the figure seeming both real and illusory.

    "I have come for the everlasting future of Jianxie Sect, and for the interests of the Sect in the Northern Region."

    "Jianxie Sect, willing to be the cutting edge for Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect in the Northern Region, to sweep away the unworthy."

    "If the Sect needs Jianxie Sect to be the wedge in the Northern Region, Jianxie Sect needs the Sect to strike down the man at the foot of the mountain."

    With a grit of his teeth, the third elder got straight to the point and made his request.

    When a weaker party requests something from a stronger one, it''s best to be straightforward, setting out one''s conditions and the expected return.

    "Oh? Does the third elder mean to have me, the Tactician Ling Xudu, bear the infamy of a sneak attack?"

    "How dare you! Such insolence to defame the reputation of a Daoist True Monarch."

    "Moreover, do you know who the man at the foot of the mountain is? He is none other than Tan Lang, the Tan Lang Star Lord,"

    "To have my Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect strike him down for your Jianxie Sect, where does that leave us?"

    In a flash, Ling Xudu''s figure became more solid, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of the third elder, a mountainous and oceanic pressure instantly enveloping him, causing the elder''s teeth to chatter relentlessly.

    However, at this moment, after hearing Ling Xudu''s words, his eyes suddenly lit up.

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    An old fox is sly, as an old horse is cunning.

    The third elder, being in the mid-stage of Dao cultivation and nearing the end of his lifespan, had exhausted his potential with no hope for further breakthroughs. He usually enjoyed researching the "Three Thousand Years of Swordsmanship" with his female disciple. His request to see Ling Xudu was nothing more than a last-ditch effort, yet now he saw a glimmer of opportunity.

    "Born and raised here, it''s nothing more than this old sack of skin. Might as well return this life to the sect." With a resolute look in his eyes, the third elder suddenly spoke up: S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "If the revered one does not wish to take action, I have another plan. Jianxie Sect is willing to submit to Free Heaven."

    "If the senior takes action, regardless of the agreement you''ve made with our Sect Master, Jianxie Sect is willing to offer up one-tenth of the Sect''s annual revenue to the senior."

    He emphasized heavily on the words "offer to the senior."

    If Yi Chen were here, he certainly would have exclaimed how the world has deteriorated, seeing that even the cultivation world has begun to engage in underhanded contracts.

    "Are you threatening me, the Tactician Ling Xudu?" A strange light flashed through Ling Xudu''s eyes, his eyebrows raised, and the third elder instantly felt the pressure around him increase manifold, fierce pressure causing his eyes to involuntarily shed two lines of blood tears.

    Even as he trembled, the old man in the black and white Taoist robes still faced Ling Xudu''s gaze defiantly.

    He was certain in his judgment.

    Not only did his Jianxie Sect need the support of the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect.

    The Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect also needed to support a powerful proxy in the Northern Region to counter challenges from other sects.

    Just as the third elder trembled, hardly able to hold on any longer, he suddenly felt the overwhelming pressure around him dissipate, and a hint of joy swept across his eyes.

    "Jianxie Sect is truly a great sect in the Northern Region, indeed having generous and heroic men. Elder Mo Qiuyong of Jianxie Sect, I will remember you," Ling Xudu said.

    "Speak, how will you persuade Taoist Wusheng to give that one-tenth of the revenue to me? I give you the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea."

    With a flick of his finger, a healing pill was sent by Ling Xudu into the mouth of the black and white robed elder, transforming into a torrent of warm energy, healing his injuries.

    As a top-tier cunning fox, having weathered countless storms, the third elder knew that Ling Xudu''s attitude had softened, and the chances of success were now over seventy percent.

    He promptly began to recount his relationship with Wusheng Sword Mother, who turned out to be an exceptional talent he had discovered and lifted out of obscurity. Fearful of holding back such a promising seedling, he recommended her to the old Sect Master to be taken as a personal disciple.

    Wusheng Sword Mother, grateful to the man who had pulled her from the mire and introduced her to the former Sect Master, had always treated the old man with half the respect due a master, with added reverence.

    "You''ve passed this test," Ling Xudu said, looking at the third elder. "But how will I deal with the damage to my reputation if I take this action?"

    "Are you testing this old man? With a renowned name as the Tactician, would the Taoist friend not know that so-called good names and reputations are but whores that anyone can dress up?"

    "On the battlefield, what use is a gentleman!"

    "When Jianxie Sect rules the Northern Region, there will be cultivators who will argue and elevate our name for us!"

    "Furthermore, that man does not carry the Tan Lang Star''s face. Killing him, the Sect has a hundred reasons to refuse involvement, and Free Heaven has no choice but to swallow this mute loss. With the revered one presiding over the Sect, would Doumu Origin Lord dare to come knocking?"

    "Jianxie Sect''s defensive great formation has one more variation. This old life of mine is ready to be used up, body and soul offered in sacrifice, to stir the supreme Sword Qi and the Yuan energy that has lain dormant in Kunxu Mountain, to take action together with the senior."

    "Senior, rest assured, I have left a letter. Once the Sect Master reads it, he will surely give this old man one last bit of face."

    The black and white Taoist robed elder, not sparing himself, took out a letter that had already been prepared and handed it to Ling Xudu.

    Looking at this white-haired elder, a complex look flashed in Ling Xudu''s eyes.

 Chapter 308 On the Battlefield, What Use is a Gentleman? Seventeenth Level of True Technique._2

    The Jianxie Sect has cultivated warriors for a thousand years, with a new generation inheriting from the old¡ªand indeed, many promising seeds have emerged, fostering the hope of revival. It is certainly worth investing in them, allowing them to take the forefront in matters where my Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect cannot be openly involved.

    Shedding the blood of other sects is always better than shedding one''s own.

    With the prestige of my Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect today, I am not afraid that the Jianxie Sect could cause any trouble in a short period of time. Now is not the time to put a bridle on the Jianxie Sect.

    Ling Xudu, who had a deep understanding of geopolitical landscapes, had many thoughts racing in his mind and already had an idea.

    The Jianxie Sect will be of great use to me in the future!

    Today, I shall remove this thorn named Zizaitian and will exterminate Lord Tan Lang beneath the Kunxu Mountains.

    No matter what schemes Zizaitian has, what waves can a dead man stir?

    "Taoist Mo, the breeze is clear and the sky is bright, please go ahead!"

    "Your devotion to our sect, risking life and limb, is truly admirable. The share that belongs to Jianxie Sect''s interests, I shall forgo."

    As the voice faded away, the letter handed to Ling Xudu by the elder in black and white Daoist robes instantly ignited in cyan and red flames. The strategic mastermind, Ling Xudu, bowed respectfully to Mo Qiuyong.

    "Excellent!"

    "Many thanks to Elder Ling for making this possible," the Third Elder said, not being able to hide a hint of relief in his expression.

    ...

    ...

    "Vigorous! Vigorous! Vigorous!"

    "The Sect Master is truly vigorous!"

    "That''s the feeling, this vivid feeling of being alive¡ªI feel like I''m about to burst into flames."

    Sword Qi surrounding nine yards, Extreme Origin splitting the heavens. Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire

    Speed against strength, sharpness against sturdiness.

    However, Sword Qi has its limits, while Extreme Origin is boundless. The Phoenix Evil Divine Sword may be sharp, but Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body is even sturdier.

    The Wusheng Sword Mother couldn''t help but frown slightly at this moment.

    The purple-golden Daoist before her had cultivated a divine body through unknown means; even with the sharpness of her Phoenix Evil Sword, she could only barely scratch his skin, which was then instantly gripped by his muscles, preventing further progress.

    There was a moment when he even presented a flaw, using his body as bait. If she hadn''t reacted quickly, moving the Phoenix Evil Sword with a secret shifting technique, it would probably have been caught in the strike from the Daoist''s pair of crystalline golden palms.

    With his terrifying Divine Power and the strange "Mana," if it had hit¡ª

    Hiss¡ª

    It would have been like a young girl on her wedding night encountering a robust man...

    Even with the Wusheng Sword Mother''s mental fortitude, she couldn''t help but feel a chill down her spine.

    The innate talent and combat instinct of this purple-golden Daoist were unlike anything she had ever seen.

    It was after that moment that she dared not take excessive risks. She could only activate the Lingxie Sword Formation, occasionally cutting open wounds on the purple-golden Daoist''s body, only to watch them heal in a matter of breaths, as if nothing had happened.

    Totally shameless!

    What disgusted her even more was that the soul-absorbing, sinister howls of the Lingxie Sword Formation had no effect on the Daoist, and yet she was disturbed by an inexplicable force that made her feel irritable and overheated all over. She had to suppress it with her Mana.

    Within the sword formation, images of ferocious dragons, tigers, and divine bulls wildly roamed around the Daoist''s body, roaring non-stop, like a troll spewing curses, mirroring their master.

    The Righteous Voice that exorcises demons and defeats evil blocked over ninety percent of the sinister sounds. The remaining power melted away under the Divine Defense ability like fierce sunshine upon snow, vanishing without a trace.

    While taking damage, he dealt even more, and with high damage, his recovery was incredibly strong.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    A series of sounds erupted from the clash of metallic Sword Qi and crystalline Extreme Origin. Yi Chen, lost in the heat of battle, gradually cracked a smile, his expression growing more frenzied.

    He occasionally let out strange cries.

    Ah! Ha! Yeh!

    In an instant,

    It was as if the Demon Lord had descended from the heavens!

    He was a veritable god of disaster among mortals!

    Yi Chen''s face twisted in mania, his body and mind bestial, and each time a blade cut through his flesh, leaving a bloody trail, a sense of joy surged within him.

    He craved for battle! He craved for blood!

    This sensation of dancing on the edge between life and death made every hair on his body stand on end in excitement.

    At this moment, his spirit became even more agile.

    Relying on top-notch combat instincts, Yi Chen weaved through the sword formation, searching for the Wusheng Sword Mother who was controlling it.

    "So you think you can fight? Come and try to kill me then~"

    "Taoist Wusheng, you''re too conservative. Be more aggressive, I won''t clamp down on your Phoenix Evil Sword this time."

    Looking at the figure of the Daoist in the formation, laughing wildly as if possessed by a demon, the Wusheng Sword Mother couldn''t help but feel a creeping terror.

    "We can''t continue like this."

    "Had this man''s speed not been inferior to mine, I would have likely been defeated by now. Continuing this standoff is not to my advantage."

    "I might as well risk it all on one move! If it isn''t entirely successful, I''ll propose a truce and declare a draw."

    "As long as the green hills are there, one need not fear a lack of firewood!"

    ¡ª¡ª

    "Haha, how''s that, how''s that? My heart is so delighted!"

    "I see you now, my cute little bug."

    "With the last halberd, I''ll strike you dead!"

    Yi Chen:

    "Lone Peaks Stand Tall!"

    "Paths Remain Untrodden!"

    "Holy Halberd Heaven''s Inquiry!"

    "One form, Exterminate Divinity!"

    "Hidden Dragon Daoist, your life is over (over)!"

    Suddenly, the maniacal look in Yi Chen''s eyes receded, reflecting the phantom of a strange and sinister black sword.

    The images of a ferocious dragon, a malicious tiger, and a divine bull simultaneously burst forth from his Cultivation Body, transforming into three massive, lifelike phantoms, roaring vehemently. After their angry cries, the shadows merged back into his body.

    A shadow resembling his own face suddenly appeared...

    ¡ª¡ª

    Wusheng Sword Mother:

    "Lingxie Sword Formation?Final Mode!"

    "Gales Sweeping Sun, Gloomy Moon Ascends!"

    "Ghost Veil Spans the Sky, Spirits Manifest!"

    "Black Flames Fill the Heavens, Sword Ghosts, Cry Together!"

    S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 308 On the Battlefield, What Use is a Gentleman? Seventeenth Level of True Technique._3

    Wusheng Sword Mother, with extremely rich combat experience, activated the ultimate move of the sword formation at the same time.

    Amidst the angry howl of the wind between heaven and earth, twelve huge sword shadows suddenly formed into a supreme giant sword, displaying on its blade the eerie sun, ghostly moon, and the patterns of gale clouds.

    As the sound erupted, the gale whisked away the sun, and a ghostly moon detached from the sword, transforming into a dark curtain of heaven that rapidly unfolded. A huge ferocious ghost head emerged from the curtain, appearing at the tip of the sword.

    At this moment, the anomaly had not yet ended.

    Black flames, like an incurable gangrene, wound around both the giant sword and the ghost head, wildly dancing and further amplifying the sword''s might.

    As the two ultimate moves converged, bizarre phenomena occurred frequently between heaven and earth.

    The fierce wind blew Yi Chen''s robe into a violent dance.

    At the final moment, nothing else existed in Yi Chen''s eyes but a boiling, burning battle intent!

    In this clash of eminent experts, who would be the ultimate victor?

    Yi Chen harbored a blade in his heart, slicing through everything!

    ¡ª¡ª

    Seconds before.

    On the mid-levels of Kunxu Mountain.

    "Mo Daoist, wait a bit longer. Don''t stir the grass and startle the snake, and don''t contact Taoist Wusheng yet."

    "An eminent expert on the path has extremely keen spiritual senses, perfect harmony of spirit and form. If we contact Taoist Wusheng now, Lord Tan Lang might sense it and stir up more trouble. We only have one chance."

    "My mind is made up. Soon, Taoist Wusheng will inevitably collide with Lord Tan Lang. That will be our chance to strike." Ling Xudu looked at the distant battle and spoke calmly to the anxious Third Elder beside him.

    Hearing Ling Xudu''s reassuring words, the Daoist elder in black and white robes gradually calmed down, believing in Ling Xudu''s foresight and stronger precision in controlling the battle.

    "Now is the time! Mo Daoist, act swiftly!"

    "Truly a master of strategies, Mo understands!" Upon hearing this, the Third Elder no longer hesitated. He took out a crimson pill and quickly swallowed it, with red flames erupting from his body.

    As the red flames arose.

    The Third Elder''s aura climbed steadily, soon possessing the demeanor of a late-stage path-enterer. At the same time, his white hair fell like useless fluff, revealing a bright bald head.

    At this moment, he had become bald, and he had also become stronger.

    His hands formed a complex incantation, and as he chanted under his breath, a massive circle of intricate glyphs suddenly appeared beneath his feet.

    "Form the extremity of the Nine Nethers, reverse the movement of the Dual Polarity."

    ¡­ (fill in the blank)

    "With my blood and body, I offer as a sacrifice."

    "With my soul as the offering, Evil Ra Forbidden... Sword."

    The strongest defense is an attack!

    With the curse unleashed.

    On Kunxu Mountain, what was previously a transparent barrier of a mountain-protecting great formation suddenly crumbled, merging into the body of the Daoist elder in black and white robes like rivers flowing into the sea.

    From deep within the stones and soil of Kunxu Mountain, a strange evil power that had settled for thousands of years seeped out and also merged into the elder''s body.

    The massive influx of alien power caused the elder''s body to swell like a balloon, and his body was covered with blood-red fissures, resembling a porcelain doll about to shatter.

    The elder strained to focus his thoughts, imprinting Yi Chen''s figure within his sea of consciousness. As soon as the word ''Sword'' was uttered, his body exploded in response, turning into a puff of blood mist, coalescing into a sword, and shooting towards Yi Chen at high speed, with the glyph circle at his feet instantly disappearing.

    ¡ª¡ª

    "With the sacrifice seal, spirit activation, the Blood Rune Law in motion."

    "With the Infernal Auxiliary Technique, the Gloomy Strobe Arrangement." Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire

    With a flick of Ling Xudu''s wide sleeves, thousands of square seals streaked out, each with blood-colored runes etched on the bottom, exuding a faint radiance.

    Each seal, as if sentient, came together to form a massive torrent of death characters, charging fiercely from behind Yi Chen as if to drown him.

    ¡ª¡ª

    "Fuck your mother, so despicable!"

    "Soul Ignition Technique! Break open for me!"

    "Pure Yang Holy Seal, reveal the heaven''s light!"

    With the activation of the Pure Yang Holy Seal, the light of heaven reflects upon the path!

    With a single utterance of Pure Yang, Yi Chen instantaneously switched his state to that of a soul, and a tall figure of a Daoist, over twenty meters high, manifested within the heaven and earth.

    Feeling the chilling killing intent coming from behind, how could Yi Chen not know he had been set up? He immediately changed his battle method, his right hand wielding a halberd against the Wusheng Sword Mother''s destructive strike, his left hand clenched into a fist, with a golden giant fist confronting that torrent of ''kill'' characters.

    As for the blood-colored sword, he could only vigorously churn the Extreme Origin, barely sidestepping with his physical body to take the blow.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Three torrents converged upon the tall, golden Daoist figure in the sky.

    Without the protection of a large formation, cultivators on Kunxu Mountain not at the True Person Realm had blood seeping from their ears.

    The heavens mourned for this sight, and the earth shook in response. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Good! Good! Good!"

    "Playing dirty, huh? I never thought a Daoist like me would see this day."

    At this moment, Yi Chen, with a cultivation body drenched in blood, had part of his flesh and blood at the waist and abdomen shorn away, exposing ghastly white bone. Yet beneath the excruciating pain, his eyes shone even more domineering!

    The blood-colored longsword was an unknown alien power, clinging to Yi Chen''s flesh like an incurable gangrene, emitting black smoke that hindered healing.

    Yi Chen turned his fingers into claws, reached back to grasp the halberd blade, and tore away large chunks of blackened flesh from his body, scraping off a layer of bone powder from the tainted, darkened white bones as well.

    Quickly, his muscles tensed, and a sprout of flesh began to grow at the wound site.

    This scene made Ling Xudu, watching from afar, feel his scalp tingle.

    So ruthless, such a fast halberd!

    "Come at me again, you bastard!"

    "Lingxiao! Chaotic Battle in All Directions!"

    A massive surge of golden light appeared, and just as everyone thought to come forward to defend, Yi Chen activated his space-warping ability. His vital blood burned away a tenth, Extreme Origin violently quaking, his figure flickering rapidly before striding away. At this moment, atop Kunxu Mountain, Ling Xudu''s face was ashen as he watched his beloved disciple explode into a cloud of blood mist.

    "Wait for me, I will be back soon!" Yi Chen''s roar came from the sky.

    A stream of information emerged before Yi Chen''s eyes~

 Chapter 309 The Body Spirit and the Mind Spirit, the Primordial Spirit Revealed!

    [You have successfully killed Lei Ling Corpse Shi Shouming, obtaining two thousand Deep Red Points.]

    In the distant horizon.

    At this moment, Yi Chen''s Taoist robe sleeves had completely vanished, his right fist was a bloody blur with white bone eerily visible, and the energy organ in his chest and abdomen drooped its head, looking utterly disheartened.

    Feeling the scrutinizing power in his mind, Yi Chen paused in the sea of clouds as he looked back, now certain that the two experts who had intercepted him on Mount Kunxu had not continued their pursuit.

    His figure then flickered as he suddenly dashed towards a crevice in a valley.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    A lava bath, the more you soak, the more badass!

    Half an hour later, a Daoist figure emerged from the magma pool with an attitude of ''defiant resistance.''

    He took out a Taoist robe and draped it over himself, his expression fierce.

    "I was careless,"

    "This is dishonorable in martial arts."

    "We agreed on a fair duel, yet they deceived and ambushed me, the master of the Hidden Dragon Temple, the lord of the Blood Killing Tower, the Loose Cultivator Yan San, the great elder of the Hehuan Sect, the outcast of the Fa family, Zhang San, and the future Alliance Hierarch of the Hidden Dragon Alliance... "

    Caught off guard by a sudden ambush, Yi Chen did suffer some damage, neither big nor small. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, using the Soul Ignition Technique to strengthen himself and his teleportation ability to avoid more serious injury.

    The cave he was currently in was an accidentally discovered volcanic magma chamber deep underground. After a bout of voracious absorption, the energy organ in his chest and abdomen was finally erect again.

    "Damn it, how is there still a high-level interceptor on Mount Kunxu? This person dares to intervene in my fight with the Wusheng Sword Mother, he''s asking for death."

    "I''ve always been the one to ambush others for justice, but today I was pecked in the eye by a wild goose. Looks like I have to deal with him."

    No one can control everything. Yi Chen thought that this trip to the Jianxie Sect would, if not destroy the sect, at least force the entire Jianxie Sect to hunker down in their formation and face him. But plans can''t keep up with changes, and unexpectedly, a powerful interceptor was hiding on Mount Kunxu.

    "But there''s no rush. Before my strategic withdrawal, I killed a strange corpse, and that got me the Deep Red Points I needed to advance my True Technique to the seventeenth level."

    "Let those old fogies put on airs for a little while longer."

    "This cave is filled with intense magma, with the danger of eruption for the next few hundred years. The surrounding wilderness would be devastated, but luckily, my Cultivation Body absorbed and transformed this turbulent magma, ensuring peace for the land for a thousand years. Master, my virtue has grown once more."

    Yi Chen glanced at the somewhat wilted lava cave, with some magma still splashing and flowing out of its entrance, leaving a mess. All this was the result of his turbulent efforts to recover his cultivation level earlier.

    His Cultivation Body isn''t picky.

    Geothermal heat and radiation are also forms of energy, after all. This is physics.

    With a thought, Yi Chen dashed out of the cave, arriving inside a bear den a few hundred meters away.

    In truth, whether it''s a bear den or not is irrelevant. Compared to the terrible environment of the lava cave, to Yi Taoist, a bear den is far more spacious and liberating.

    With a karate chop, he sent the bear into a deep, baby-like sleep, then with clever strength, he kicked the bear aside. He sat down cross-legged, his eyes cold and detached.

    Although his injuries had only recovered seventy to eighty percent, he didn''t want to wait any longer. He was sure that the physical improvement from breaking through in his True Technique would make his Cultivation Body as good as new, fully recovered.

    Your journey continues with My Virtual Library Empire

    He had to let those who ambushed him see Yi Chengzi''s astonishing wisdom, to give them a little Deep Red shock!

    He, Yi Chengzi, was enraged.

    "Deep Red, let me break through!"

    With an inward shout, Yi Chen entered meditation, his eyelids drooping. Two hundred fifty thousand Deep Red Points were instantly deducted, and a torrent of memories suddenly flooded his mind.

    Like a brief glimpse at the scenery passing by, the memories unfolded.

    A bright moon through the window, uneven flower shadows, ten miles of verdant mountains, intermittent bird calls.

    In a Taoist temple of green tiles and blue bricks amidst the mountains, a tall Daoist holding a scripture was studying by lamp light.

    After a while, the Daoist gave a sigh of regret and put down the scroll in his hand.

    "Alas, a hundred years of quiet contemplation in a mountain abode, yet my cultivation of the Pure Yang True Technique still progresses slowly. With my way blocked, what lies ahead?"

    At this moment, the moonlight was sinking westward.

    The Daoist stood up and came to the window, a trace of confusion flickering in his eyes. Quickly, his inner wisdom sword shone brightly, eradicating the doubts and turning them into determination.

    "Throughout my life, facing dead ends time and again, haven''t I always climbed higher, advancing further?"

    "It was so before, and it is so now."

    "If the road truly ends here, I will leap forth and continue the path myself, to prove my Pure Yang greatness!"

    With a thought, the Daoist stood up resolutely, his Daoist robe fluttering as he then walked the world.

    After observing the world for a century, during his quest for enlightenment, he saw people suffering, years of famine, cannibalism. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The world was gradually degenerating.

    Warlords rebelled, each carving out their own territories and waging war against each other.

    At this time, foreign tribes invaded.

    One of the warlords, to halt the invasion, breached the Yellow River, flooding hundreds of miles, adding to the heavy suffering of the people who were already in distress. Unfortunately, it was not just a little useless; it was completely futile.

    The invaders were aggressive, killing for sport, competing with each other.

    Qianzhou sank, heaven and earth mourned, people wept.

    In one town, it snowed heavily.

    The Daoist saw two teenagers shivering, huddled together in a corner of a decrepit Taoist temple, with all four walls letting the wind through and the teenagers lying on some straw.

    One of them, the younger, covered in frostbite, asked, "Brother, why does the sky snow, I''m so cold, I think I see mom, she''s cooking us delicious bobo chicken."

 Chapter 309 The Body Spirit and the Mind Spirit, the Primordial Spirit Revealed!_2

    The older children at this moment showed not a trace of childhood innocence in their eyes, only full of wrathful colors, "The snow is falling, perhaps the Heavenly Father has died." Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

    "The snowfall is to mourn for the Heavenly Father!"

    "Brother, just hang in there a little longer, when the snow lets up a bit, I''ll go to the Huang family restaurant to find you something to eat."

    "Bro, don''t go, you can''t beat the big wolf-dog raised by the Huang family''s Master."

    "You''ve already lost twice to it, the Huang family''s Master is mocking you, I''m not hungry, gu~gu gu~"

    Seeing this scene, the Daoist''s eyes flashed with whirls of emotion, and after a series of questions, he understood the cause and effect.

    Both children were from a small town nearby, which had recently suffered a massacre by a foreign race. Fortunately, their parents, seeing the opportunity, were quick to hide them in the family cellar, allowing them to escape harm, and thus the children witnessed the death of their parents with their own eyes.

    And that Huang family''s Master was indeed part of a family clan that had surrendered to the foreign race and led them around.

    "Understand the Tao! Understand the Tao!"

    "Insolent thief! Understand your mother''s Tao, as if you don''t even see me."

    "Our Pure Yang''s ancestral master taught: In times of peace, one closes the door to cultivate the way; in times of chaos, one descends the mountain to aid the world!"

    "I have to sort him out, to see why this Qianzhou has turned out this way."

    "This matter is urgent, curse his ancestors thoroughly."

    On that day, with heavy snow, the Daoist let out a grand sound amidst the snow, evidently very irritable.

    He stretched out his hands to embrace the two children in his arms, the Pure Yang energy filling the air, and soon the bodies of the children warmed up.

    "Taoist uncle, where are we going?"

    "To eat, to feast on fish and meat."

    "Where can we find fish and meat to eat now?"

    "Whoever has it, we''ll eat theirs, the Huang family''s Master''s house surely has some, kill them and everybody will have food to eat!" The Daoist revealed a bloodthirsty smile with a grin.

    "Good! Kill them, they are bad.

    Taoist uncle feeds everyone, Taoist uncle is good!" The younger child''s eyes sparkled with hatred, yet he laughed and clapped, "Taoist uncle, what''s your Taoist name? I heard from my mom that Daoists all have Taoist names."

    The Daoist paused mid-stride, licked his lips and replied:

    "I am the Great Merciful and Great Compassionate Saviour of the Suffering, Slow Cooker of Little Fire and Fast Reducer of Thick Oil Red Sauce Fresh Fragrant Savory Thick Soup Grand Sir."

    The two children would never forget that day.

    That day, the entire Huang family was put to death, the Daoist distributed grain to the poor, and they feasted grandly with the two children.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Two and a half years later.

    A Daoist in red robes slammed his wine bowl onto the ground with force.

    "The wine in the cup is never-ending, the heads of foreign races never cease."

    "The enemy is in Qianzhou, today I enter the capital!"

    At this moment, in a restaurant in the ancient capital Jin City of the great Dahan Dynasty, someone recognized the red-robed Daoist and could not help but exclaim loudly:

    "That''s the Demon Daoist, the Blood Robe!"

    "This person doesn''t conform to the royal ways, sabotaging the Empress Dowager''s efforts to make peace with the foreign races. He has been wanted by the Royal City, and at the advice of the State Preceptor, Master Jiujie, he''s been declared the world''s foremost fiendish Daoist, his purple Taoist robes stained red with blood."

    "The Blood Robed Daoist has traveled throughout the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the great Dahan Dynasty, killing over a million foreign races in these two and a half years, and now he intends to enter the Royal City, which will likely mean more blood and carnage."

    In these times, the Blood Robed Daoist''s reputation was both lauded and maligned across the land.

    Some praised his actions, while others furiously denounced his excessive slaughter as too extreme.

    Corrupt officials from the great Qian dynasty who fell into his hands were also killed!

    And merchants who engaged in devious schemes, also killed!

    However, there were those behind the scenes manipulating public opinion, inverting right and wrong, ignoring that these people were all traitors and betrayers of their country.

    ¡­.

    ¡­. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the Royal City, at the peak of the Forbidden Purple Summit.

    The Daoist stood against the State Preceptor, the monk Jiujie, atop the dynasty''s great formation.

    "Now, it seems to me that I have found the crux of the matter."

    "This Royal City has become tainted."

    "The unslain who should have been killed are everywhere, everywhere!

    Jiujie the monk frowned:

    "Bloody Daoist, your slaughter is excessive; do you not fear the difficulty of the heart tribulation?"

    "With respect for the cultivation you''ve achieved with difficulty, I advise you."

    "When the bodies fill fields and cities, who can dam the heavenly river to cleanse the armor and weapons?"

    The Daoist in the blood-red robe laughed loudly under the Yuan Yue, "With half the realm fallen, under the iron hooves of foreign tribes the horses stand silenced, what care I for passing the heart tribulation?

    "Other high cultivators fear the heart tribulation, I''ve lived my life fearless and without regret, what is there to fear?"

    "Should the heart tribulation transform into a heart devil, I shall slay the devil."

    "Whoever dares to stop me, I will kill gods if they block me, and buddhas too!"

    "Ha! Ignite the seven emotions, burn the six desires, all thirteen Pure Yang flames are void!"

    "Pure Yang Holy Seal Heavenly Light!"

    With a fierce shout, the blood-robed Daoist struck in anger, Pure Yang''s radiance illuminating the Royal City, exposing all demons and wicked spirits without a place to hide.

    "Ah! Damn it!"

    "The True Law of Pure Yang has ignited my five yin in blazing fury, breaking my elixir cauldron''s profound mysteries. Now, I, the State Preceptor, must reveal my true form!"

    With a desolate howl, the State Preceptor''s skin cracked open, transforming into a black eight-headed serpent surrounded by dark flames.

    "Haha, I had just entered the Royal City and saw the demonic energy soaring to the heavens, never expecting that a foreign demon god was lurking within, usurping the high position of the State Preceptor."

    "You never expected that, eh? I saw through you not being human at first glance."

    "Your hidden tail swishing around, you''re not a real monk at all."

    "The high officials within the Royal City have all become your puppets, haven''t they?"

    As they spoke, the two were not idle, launching their ultimate moves, creating a tumultuous storm in the heavens.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "You''re utterly mad, Daoist! Stop at once! I am willing to issue a Divine Decree for the foreign troops to retreat. If we continue fighting, even if you don''t die, your foundations will be utterly destroyed."

    "Retreat your mother''s retreat."

    "Mountains may be uprooted, rivers can be severed, but I alone, the poor Daoist, shall not bow to regret. Die for me!"

    In the final ultimate move''s thunder, between life and death for the Daoist, his thoughts were dyed by the power of Pure Yang, slowly turning golden. As the eight-headed serpent turned to ash, a shadow of a snake biting at the blood-robed Daoist''s half body emerged.

 Chapter 309 The Body Spirit and the Mind Spirit, the Primordial Spirit Revealed!_3

    "I curse you, for life after life, I curse you, I''ll be waiting for you in hell, you blood-cloaked sorcerer, you lunatic on a horse."

    That was the last wailing cry of the eight-headed giant snake left behind in the Royal City.

    The Daoist with only half of his body remaining, stood on one leg and soared into the sky.

    The instigator had already been executed, a glorious era was about to arrive, and the Daoist was going back to the mountains. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Life hanging by a thread, the black aura engulfing the top half of the Daoist''s body was constantly devouring his vitality.

    At most, if he couldn''t make a breakthrough or resolve the eight-headed giant snake''s potent curse with its dying breath within a month, the Daoist could prepare himself for his corporeal disintegration.

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    The giant snake''s dying curse was not an empty verbal curse, but one that drew upon the supreme demonic yuan and evil forces to trigger the rich blood evil surrounding the Daoist''s body, turning it into a vicious curse that constantly eroded his flesh and soul.

    "Meddling in affairs, Cultivation Body on the verge of collapse, do you, Daoist, regret it now?" An outsider visited and chuckled lightly outside the Taoist temple.

    "What the poor Daoist seeks is not eternal life, but to live at will, to have an enlightened mind; what fun is there in living as long as Wang Ba?"

    "I''ve heard that in the Eastern Sea there are strange stones that live as long as heaven and earth, yet they are insentient; such eternal life, I do not desire it."

    The Daoist shook his head and chuckled telepathically, the corner of his mouth curling up to form an arc, the outsider withdrew, expressing admiration, and said he would come again in a month to see him off.

    "See me off? I am not so easily going to succumb." A strange light flashed within the remnants of the Daoist''s eyes.

    "They say ''When you plant flowers deliberately, they may not bloom; when you plant willows without intention, they create shade.''"

    "Who would have expected the opportunity for the seventeenth layer breakthrough of my True Technique to arise right here."

    The Daoist gently shook his head as fresh blood seeped from the cross-section of his half body.

    They say misfortune leans on fortune, and fortune hides within misfortune. Under the influence of the eight-headed giant snake''s curse, he certainly fell into a life and death crisis, yet he did not come away empty-handed.

    It''s like when people lose one kidney, the remaining one tends to grow larger.

    To counter the sinister curse, his remaining half body grew more robust, and the life force accumulated within seemed to sense imminent disaster, starting to constantly heal his broken body, battling the curse.

    "Most importantly, I have understood my heart, realized my own Dao."

    "Golden divinities awaken within my body''s cavities; this represents my Divine Power, limitless in might."

    "But where, then, is my heart''s spirit?"

    "My mental strength is sufficient, yet it is scattered like sand, unable to form a fist to command the Dharma body, a folly, a grand folly!"

    "With a flawed Dharma body, naturally, one cannot break into higher realms of True Technique; this is why my cultivation progress has been slow."

    "In matters ancient and modern, knowing is easy and doing is hard; today my knowledge and action are united, I have proven my Dao, my thoughts are Pure Yang, it is time to refine my spirit."

    "I, have realized!"

    "Radiant holy splendor welcomes the light of the seven-colored clouds."

    "The heavens are brilliantly clear, and the golden wheel reflects their glow."

    "Shattering the darkness, gathering the light of a thousand saints into a heavenly radiance"

    "Spirit, coalesce for me!"

    With a roar, wisps of golden mist within the Daoist''s remaining cavities converged towards the Sea of Qi.

    The body''s spirit is not completely unrelated to the heart''s spirit; indeed, those whose body''s spirit is not strong enough cannot condense the heart''s spirit, and even if they can, it spells doom; the only outcome is the physical body drying up and collapsing.

    But the Daoist didn''t have this problem; his physical strength had already become inhuman!

    A month passed, and the outsider returned.

    "Taoist, I''ve come to collect your corpse."

    Upon entering the Taoist temple, however, he saw that the Daoist was not dead after all, and even seemed a bit more spirited.

    "Taoist, you are quite skilful. I will come again in a year; today, this corpse, I must still collect it." The outsider withdrew.

    A year went by.

    Ten years went by.

    A hundred years went by.

    Every time the outsider would run to the Daoist temple to ask if the Daoist was dead, and each time he was disappointed and left.

    A thousand years have passed.

    The outsider, now old and gray, a cultivator with wiry white hair, approached the door, his life flickering like a candle in the wind.

    "Taoist, maybe you should see me off after all."

    The outsider, looking at the Daoist who was still hopping around with only half a body, spoke helplessly.

    At that moment, the black aura surrounding the Daoist''s body had long been almost completely absent.

    He had just entered when he heard a resplendent Daoist chant echoing through heaven and earth.

    "Alone in the universe, amidst all things, I commence the action of the Primordial Technique from the beginning!"

    "My heart''s aspirations vast as the Big Dipper, my courage as vast as Capricorn reversed!"

    "Ghosts wail and gods cry as the Primordial Spirit reveals itself, Pure Yang Creation - all evil dispersed!"

    At that moment, it was a starry night; the light of the heavens and various celestial bodies mingled with mysterious forces streaking toward the Daoist temple with howling sounds, blasting the temple''s roof to reveal a huge void.

    "The spirit''s command technique, naturally created by the cosmos."

    "My Pure Yang Primordial Spirit is complete."

    "I, the Daoist, have realized it."

    The Daoist focused, and there, three inches below his navel, within the Sea of Qi, a golden Primordial Spirit appeared, ethereal like a dream.

    He summoned his Dharma body, stood on one leg, and shot up into the sky.

    The outsider looked up, only to see the Daoist''s half-body furiously grow, instantly restored to wholeness.

    A thirty-meter-tall figure, like a crystalline rainbow-colored reflection of the Daoist, stood tall in the night sky, radiating golden divine light, like an intense sun.

    The Daoist descended.

    The outsider looked on with a complex expression, "Taoist, you could have slowly regenerated your body all along, couldn''t you?"

    "Indeed."

    "Then why didn''t you just slowly condense your body, instead of acting like this?"

    The Daoist fell silent for a while, then replied, "You always wanted to collect my corpse, I was afraid you wouldn''t come anymore."

    "You''re a good person."

    "After all, it''s quite dull for a poor Daoist like me to refine the Primordial Spirit alone."

    The outsider died.

 Chapter 310 Revenge Wont Wait Overnight, Strength Greatly Increases, Daoists Light Pollution.

    "Eh, Daoist, I wish you well on your cultivation."

    A Daoist, whose law body shimmered like crystal jade scattering rainbow light under the sun, respectfully bowed with clasped hands.

    The Pure Yang Domain rippled out swiftly like a purple halo, extending over a thousand meters in the surroundings.

    An unfathomable force emerged, warping the force field, causing the soil and rocks in the wilderness to roll as if an earth dragon were turning over.

    After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a large mausoleum was constructed.

    The scene ended abruptly.

    "Good! Good! Good!"

    "Wonderful! Marvelous!"

    "You have comprehended, and thus, I have also comprehended!"

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but burst out laughing and clapping his hands!

    Through feigned cultivation and reflection of the mind, he had completely memorized the Daoist''s enlightenments, as if he himself had undertaken a thousand years of arduous cultivation.

    "I have fully grasped the subtleties of the Primordial Spirit, Pure Yang Primordial Spirit, coalesce!"

    With a loud cry, Yi Chen abruptly rose to his feet, his body immediately enveloped in Pure Yang golden flames.

    He had fully grasped the essence of Pure Yang Primordial Spirit''s path.

    Knowing the direction ahead was like going from zero to one.

    The true completion of the Primordial Spirit''s path took the Daoist in his memory a thousand years to perfect. The hardships and dangers along the way were too profound for outsiders to understand, but Yi Chen achieved it in one fell swoop, as if picking peaches directly from the tree.

    Even so, this advancement took him nearly an hour to successfully step up to the next level, with the Pure Yang Primordial Spirit successfully coalescing three inches below his navel.

    With a single thought, a virtual screen appeared before Yi Chen''s eyes.

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 19/3000]

    [Strength: 257, {Strength-Breaking Realm five times: Penetration lv5. Strength Essence lv5. Charge-up lv4. Single Strike Momentum lv3. Bleed lv2. Challenge lv1 (mark a target, increase damage to them by 15%, gaze fixated, eyes only for this one person).

    Stamina: 251, {Body-Breaking Realm five times: Excess Energy Storage lv5. Overload Recovery lv5. Shift lv4. Limb Regeneration lv3. Blood Thirst lv2. Jade Network lv1 (a layer of jade-like network barrier forms underneath the skin, providing excessive protection; once broken, it disappears and reconstitutes after three days.)

    Spirit: 255, {Spirit-Breaking Realm five times: Divine Defense lv5. Divine Concealment lv4. Insight lv3. Concentrated Gaze lv2. Soul Drain lv1 (absorb half the soul power of the killed life entity, condense it into a terrifying soul-destroying death ray.)}

    Agility: 243, {Agility-Breaking Realm four times: Swiftness lv4, Spatial Rend lv3, Shadow Step lv2, Overpowering lv1 (accumulate momentum while moving, gradually increasing speed, 1% increase per second, peaking after twenty seconds.)}]

    [Cultivation Technique: Pure Yang Lianji True Method Level 17.

    Passive Skill: Dragon Tiger Divine Pattern, Devouring Origin, Pure Yang Domain lv5 Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Passive Skill: Mimicry (True Essence of Transformation, mimicry, can alter appearance and change mana aura; the less power used, the stronger the mimicry ability, using 95% of one''s normal power will dispel the mimicry.)

    Passive Skill: Primordial Spirit Radiance (An undying Primordial Spirit equates to immortality; in the face of severe injury or near-death, as long as the Primordial Spirit is undying, it can reflect upon the flesh with Pure Yang Primordial Spirit''s light to restore peak condition. Can only be used once per month to fully accumulate the power for the next restart.)

    Active Skill: Soul Ignition Technique, Tyrant Body State, Divine Power Activation, Pure Yang Thirteen Scorching Voids lv2.

    Active Skill: Pure Yang Holy Seal (Seven Rotations) {Using the body''s divinity as a foundation, congealing the supreme Pure Yang Primordial Spirit,

    melting heavenly light, igniting emotions, merging with Extreme Origin, seven refinements of spirit, law body like crystal jade, towering over thirty meters, graced with boundless strength and law, endowed with the abilities to break laws, intimidate, reduce damage, fortify, exert divine might, with strength and defense increasing eightfold compared to the normal state, speed decreasing by 20%.}

    Combat Technique: Supreme True Martial God Halberd Technique (Variant)]

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique Level 8 (Traits: Eagle Eye, Night Vision, Yin Qi Perception, Mind Eye Reflection lv4, Malevolent Thought Perception lv4, Soul Crushing lv4, Soul Bewilderment lv3, Memory Extraction lv2, Mind Imprint lv1.)]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3, Culinary Skill lv5, Fish Dragon Dance lv2.]

    [Origin Point: 0]

    [Deep Red Value: 318]

    Impressive! Impressive! Impressive!

    Upon seeing the drastic changes in the panel, Yi Chen couldn''t help but pull a ferocious smile on his face, and immediately turned into a rainbow light, streaking toward Kunxu Mountain.

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    Revenge couldn''t be delayed overnight.

    This time, not only had his lifespan surged to three thousand years, but his strength, body, and spirit dimensions had all simultaneously broken through, granting him three new abilities.

    The Strength attribute''s breakthrough and its Challenge ability made him fiercer in one-on-one battles against specific individuals.

    The Body attribute''s Jade Network ability gave him protection akin to wearing an armor. Unless the Jade Network was broken, his Cultivation Body would not be harmed, bolstering his confidence in face-to-face clashes.

    The Spirit attribute''s life-claiming Soul Drain that condensed the soul-destroying death ray gave him yet another trump card.

    In addition, there was Primordial Spirit Radiance, which could recharge his body with the essence of life and spirit on normal days. Once fully accumulated, it provided the ability to restart his body. Unless he was killed instantly, he essentially had an extra life.

    ...

    Having contemplated one by one, Yi Chen felt good about everything except for the color of his divine law body, which left him at a loss for words.

    The law body displayed different gradients of rainbow light depending on the angle, much like the colors reflected by bubbles in the sunlight.

    This outrageous color gradient was hard for him to handle.

    "Damn, this cheeky cultivation body, why don''t you just cycle through cyber light pollution like a disco light?

    Forget it, it''s not important. As long as I''m not bald, all of this is but a slight frost on my path to strength," he muttered through gritted back teeth, reigned in his cultivation body, and roared off toward Kunxu Mountain.

    He had debts to collect.

    ...

    ...

    Kunxu Mountain, Jianxie Sect.

    "Damn it, how did Lord Tan Lang come to know that person was my beloved disciple?" Ling Xudu, the strategist of the heavens, felt a chill in his heart as he watched his disciple fall,

    To think, he had kept this disciple a deep secret, with hardly more than a few people aware of their relationship, not even the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect knew much.

 Chapter 311 The Prototype of Dao Mastery? Annihilation, Hidden Dragon Alliance Hierarch,

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Daoist Yi Chen tread upon the mountains, his Pure Yang Domain expanding, frantically consuming the wonderful and strange forces between heaven and earth to sustain his Cultivation Body.

    Within the Pure Yang Domain, only the Daoist could always triumph!

    Upon witnessing this scene, a cultivator at the late stage of the Qi Refinement Realm felt his soul about to flee; just as he thought to escape from afar, he found himself midway in the air when a purple halo on the ground expanded, enveloping his figure into the airspace of the Pure Yang Domain.

    All of a sudden, the cultivator felt as if he was carrying a mountain on his back, with hundreds of times the gravity bearing down on him. His face turned red as he frantically surged his mana in an attempt to escape the gravitational pull that had suddenly intensified, but in the end, it was futile; he crashed to the ground and turned into a pile of flesh.

    This was the powerful ability Yi Chen gained at the seventeenth level of his True Technique Cultivation Body. Within the Pure Yang Domain, he could influence earth, fire, water, and wind. If he wished, transforming the domain into a marshland or a sea of fire was but a thought away.

    However, the water he could create was only ordinary water and the fire was just mundane fire, without any extraordinary powers, so their offensive capabilities were limited.

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    The odd ability that earlier ensnared the minor cultivator was a strange ability that greatly aided Yi Chen''s offense, manipulations of the force field.

    Instantaneously altering the intensity and direction of gravity around him, he could choose to attract or repel, which was the greatest enhancement the Pure Yang Domain received at the seventeenth level of the True Technique. As the True Technique gradually broke through, the might of the Pure Yang Domain began to emerge.

    "Lord Tan Lang, what grievance do ordinary disciples have with you? There''s a proper debtor for every claim, if you have a problem, come at me," Yi Chen declared.

    "Lingering Evil Sword Formation, activate!"

    "Evil Phoenix Returning to the Nest!"

    Witnessing this scene, Wusheng Sword Mother felt a surge of urgency. Gritting her teeth, she took out a black pill with six patterns, tilted her head back and swallowed it. In an instant, her aura dramatically soared as she tapped into her reserves, ready to bet her life in a duel with Yi Chen.

    In the sky, the seven-foot sword qi, like a copy-and-paste function, split from one to two, two to four, blanketing the night sky in the blink of an eye and forming a sword wheel. Under the moonlight, it shimmered radiantly.

    The sword qi fell like rain, rockets racing down at Daoist Yi Chen''s huge colorful Cultivation Body, cleansing the ground. Strengthened by the sword formation, its might far surpassed the previous "Sword Demise: Storm''s Chorus."

    But soon, Wusheng Sword Mother and Ling Xudu''s pupils shrank to pinpoints.

    The brilliant sword lights, upon entering a kilometer radius around the Daoist, began to act "sick." Some burned brilliantly, some slowed down significantly, and some seemed to be pulled by a strange force, veering off to the side. The sword qi that entered the domain covered less than half of Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body.

    The sound of tinkling met their ears, as the colorful halo on the Daoist''s Cultivation Body shimmered, leaving no mark.

    "How, how is this possible!"

    "How can this man be unscathed!" Wusheng Sword Mother''s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as she formed hand seals, beginning to suspect she was under someone else''s illusion.

    Seeing this, Ling Xudu''s hands couldn''t help but shake as he stuttered, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

    "In just a few hours, how could Lord Tan Lang''s cultivation surge to such an extent? Such power... it''s no longer comparable to a common mid-stage cultivator, it''s barely a step away from late stage," he said.

    "And the ability he just displayed, is that... Dao Mastery... the embryonic form of Dao Mastery? How could he comprehend such a form at this level of cultivation? Wouldn''t that mean all he needs is time, and if he doesn''t die, he''ll achieve the state of Dao Mastery?"

    "No, something''s not right. Why is the embryonic form of Dao Mastery so small and its aura so peculiar? Our sacred sect has half-step Dao Mastery cultivators, like the third elder who presides over the Hall of War. The records say that the smallest embryonic form of Dao Mastery is three thousand meters large; how did he condense it to merely a kilometer?"

    Ling Xudu, widely knowledgeable as he was, became even more puzzled the more he observed; he could not understand how someone could possess near-late-stage power in less than half a day.

    He also could not comprehend this mysterious domain, which resembled but didn''t quite match the embryonic form of Dao Mastery, appearing on Lord Tan Lang.

    To say it was formidable, its power was significantly lower than that of cultivators who had properly condensed the embryonic form of Dao Mastery; to say it wasn''t, Lord Tan Lang had already grasped such a mighty divine power at such an early stage, with a future that could earn him accolades as a Dao Mastery seed with boundless potential.

    Ling Xudu felt like he was going mad, realizing that ever since his encounter with Hidden Dragon Daoist, Lord Tan Lang, the more inexplicable events became, more things that defied common sense continued to occur, such as his complete failure to understand how the man remained unharmed despite directly facing many sword qi from Wusheng Sword Mother.

    "Although I had long expected my disguise would fall, I never imagined it would be so soon," Yi Chen thought to himself, his face unfathomably smiling as he gazed at the two people who looked as if they had seen a ghost. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "A bunch of fools, probably unaware of the existence of the Jade Network in my Cultivation Body. Perhaps I should continue to scare them a bit more!"

    The Jade Network was an extraordinary ability Yi Chen gained during his fifth Body-Breaking Realm breakthrough, serving as a protective skin like that of a molten-lava beast, impervious until breached.

    Yi Chen, in receiving the onslaught of Wusheng Sword Mother''s sword wheel, had partly been testing the Jade Network''s ability and his Cultivation Body''s defense. The outcome exceeded expectations. In his inner vision, the Jade Network had only lost forty percent of its integrity.

    With a thought, Yi Chen bared a fierce grin and taunted, "How do you find the Daoist''s stature and toughness, you little rascals?"

 Chapter 311 The Prototype of Dao Mastery? Annihilation, Hidden Dragon Alliance Hierarch, _2

    "You lot, I could take on ten of you!"

    Yi Chen clenched his fists, repeatedly pounding his own chest with booming sounds like thunder. From the points where his fists struck, cascades of multicolored halos radiated outward.

    Before his words had even fallen silent, Yi Chen, holding a long halberd, transformed into a streak of light that shot up to the sky, skewering two Jianxie Sect elders at the entry level of Dao and exploding them into a skyful of blood mist.

    After undergoing five cycles of transformation, the Pure Yang Domain now had infinite miraculous uses, such as short-distance rushing attacks. Yi Chen prompted a thought and twisted the force field within the Pure Yang Domain into a repulsive force behind him, Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

    under the effect of which he suddenly accelerated, indeed stealing the lives of two more Jianxie Sect Dao-entering elders. Now, only one surviving early-stage Dao-entering elder remained.

    Amidst the roars of Wusheng Sword Mother and Ling Xudu, both of them deployed secret techniques and engaged in fierce combat with Yi Chen.

    "Taoist Wusheng, we have been deceived. Lord Tan Lang must have planned against the Northern Region for a long time, haha, I, Ling Xudu, pride myself on being clever, yet it was only until now that I see through Lord Tan Lang''s ploy."

    "Brilliant, simply brilliant!"

    "Indeed, it''s like a snake moving through the grass, its track lies hidden for miles; it''s only now that I see through Lord Tan Lang''s plan. Lord Tan Lang doesn''t just want to be the hidden master of the Northern Region,

    if I am not mistaken, he must have anticipated top sects intervening in the Northern Region''s future affairs. My Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect has become someone else''s prey to showcase their power on."

    "This person must have hidden his cultivation level previously, weak on purpose, waiting to gauge our true strength, then retreated a thousand miles to observe, faking escape to paralyze us, followed by a sudden stealth attack in the dead of night, who knows if there might already be Lord Tan Lang''s spies within the Jianxie Sect."

    "With such cultivation and yet still so cautious, plotting thoroughly before acting, striking a fatal blow while we let our guard down, unwilling to spend any extra effort¡ªsuch delicate mastery of the human heart, such overbearing confidence, truly a top strategist, bold, meticulous, ruthless!"

    Yi Chen looked at the Daoist naming himself Ling Xudu, who was theorizing wildly, and couldn''t help feeling speechless in his heart.

    How well said, you conspiracy theorist!

    "Indeed, under a great reputation there is no lack of solid value, Ling Xudu, you''re quite right, deducing the truth to such a degree from mere slivers of evidence.

    I am acting on Yuan Jun''s command, lying in wait for a long time, just for today."

    "Hehe, the world is foolish to think that Yuan Jun is mad and missing a piece of her mind, not realizing Yuan Jun possesses astonishing wisdom, truly a well of knowledge. Her madness is nothing but a disguise!"

    "Ling Xudu, to prevent you from leaking information, it seems I can''t allow you to live after today."

    "Overlord wielding the halberd, Devour Heaven and Earth!"

    Although he didn''t know who the person before him really was, it didn''t prevent Yi Chen from highly praising him; he wholeheartedly agreed with Ling Xudu''s statements.

    His own cultivation level had risen too quickly. As his cultivation rose, it would surely attract the attention of those with ulterior motives, leading them to probe further. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Pushing everything onto Yuan Jun seemed quite appropriate.

    Yi Chen decided that from today onwards, he would be a staunch advocate of Yuan Jun¡ªYi Chengzi had just arrived, and he was already this powerful; everything else was just Yuan Jun''s task after all.

    This not only didn''t sound out of place but also seemed quite reasonable!

    In this way, his Hidden Dragon Alliance also had a grand flag fluttering behind it, somewhat hidden yet more solid.

    Wouldn''t the focus of conflict then shift from him, the Hidden Dragon Taoist, to Yuan Jun?

    For a moment, Yi Chen''s thoughts raced, and three strategies appeared in his mind.

    As long as he dealt with Yuan Jun, everything else would fall into place. Besides, Yuan Jun¡ªyou say she is, and others believe?

    He, Yi Chengzi, would make Yuan Jun renowned as the foremost strategist of the Eastern Continent.

    First, he would muddy the waters. "Grass snakes slithering on a grey line, concealing the pulse for miles," he would drag things out as long as possible, preferably letting others come to their own conclusions.

    "Wait till I, poor Daoist, rub shoulders with those of Dao mastery¡ª who dares to pry into my past? Do they want to clash with me, Yi Chengzi, in a fiery struggle?

    I''m not worried at all. I, Yi Chengzi, possess astonishing wisdom, and what I cultivate is speed!"

    Even though he was in the midst of a fierce battle, Yi Chen was still able to multitask, the more he thought about it, the more promising it seemed, the more he observed Ling Xudu, the more he found him to be endearingly cunning, and a sinister plan silently formed in his mind.

    While he wanted to divert others'' attention to Yuan Jun, the meticulousness with which he conducted his actions made a world of difference.

    The best approach would be to slip in as unnoticed as the wind in the night, moistening everything silently.

    Stall, just keep stalling.

    Once the pathways opened up, if Yuan Jun couldn''t be blamed any longer, he would find other excuses, like Yi Chengzi already died, that he had been replaced long ago, and now he was a powerful being who had emerged from the Immortal Grave and seized someone else''s body.

    As long as there was enough fake news on the market, the mere effort it would take to investigate would exhaust them.

    The moment this idea struck, Yi Chen couldn''t help but silently praise himself for his cleverness.

    "Taoist Wusheng, at this rate, we will all die here. If you hold him off, I, Ling, swear on my Dao heart that I will ensure the Jianxie Sect''s elite disciples escape, preserving your sect''s legacy throughout the era of great strife."

    "Once the dust settles, I, Ling Xudu, will undoubtedly support you with all my might in rebuilding the Jianxie Sect. How about it?" Ling Xudu''s eyes flashed with a fierce tint as he suddenly bellowed.

    Wusheng Sword Mother, with a cold expression, glanced briefly at Ling Xudu. A sense of forlornness arose within her; the gap in strength was too vast, they couldn''t win.

    As the Sect Master of the Jianxie Sect, she was certainly the prime target for the Daoist before her, who would never let her off.

    At that moment, the image of an old man flashed through the mind of Wusheng Sword Mother¡ªan elder dressed in black and white Daoist robes, looking at her benevolently and smiling, holding her hand pointing to an inscription on a giant rock at the foot of the mountain, telling her that this would be her home from now on.

 Chapter 311 The Prototype of Dao Mastery? Annihilation, Hidden Dragon Alliance Hierarch, _3

    "Good!"

    A single word, simple and unadorned, yet no one knew how much emotion it carried in the heart of Wusheng Sword Mother.

    Ling Xudu immediately swore an oath with his Daoist heart, waved his hand, and a shuttle-shaped flying boat appeared in the distance.

    And in this moment, the aura of Wusheng Sword Mother changed again.

    "I have practiced swordsmanship for nearly five hundred years, never ceasing in my cultivation, yet the cultivation techniques of my sect are incomplete, and I have never been able to reach the highest realm of the ''Heavenly Evil Sword Scripture''."

    "However, in these years of diligent and solitary contemplation, I have come up with both a high and a low strategy. I had originally planned to risk it all with the Secret Technique of Spirit Service to ascend to heaven in a single step, but it seems now I can only resort to the lesser strategy."

    "Spirit Ghost, my blood, my soul, they are all yours now!"

    "Taoist Ling, I can hold on for at most the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn; you must act quickly!"

    "I am from Emei, never inferior to men, Wusheng Sword Mother, paying respects to you, Taoist friend!"

    Before her voice had ceased, a black longsword suddenly fell from the sky, piercing straight into the crown of Wusheng Sword Mother''s head.

    Suddenly, a gigantic ghostly creature sprouted from the black weapon, with a black and a red soul intertwined, and quickly, the red soul was devoured and assimilated by the black one, forming a red pattern on the body of the fiend.

    In the blink of an eye, a thirty-meter-tall giant ghost, wielding a black weapon, charged toward Yi Chen, her eyes reflecting Yi Chen''s tall figure, her heart devoid of any thoughts of life and death, filled only with the will to fight!

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    At this moment, Wusheng Sword Mother''s soul reached its utmost sublimation, and after the time of half an incense stick, all that she was would be taken over by her accompanying Spirit Ghost, and naturally, the ghost would not be able to engage in a life-and-death battle with Yi Chen.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    With the towering Spirit Ghost leading the assault, Ling Xudu providing support and cover, many disciples within Jianxie Sect''s mountain gates, under the shouts of encouragement from their seniors, were brought onto the sun and moon god shuttle flying boat.

    Looking at the tall Spirit Ghost before him, Yi Chen''s expression was somewhat complex at this moment.

    From the few words expressed by Wusheng Sword Mother, he had already guessed her thoughts.

    It is exceedingly difficult for a person to devour a sword, but for a sword to devour a person is easy; sacrificing everything one has just for the sake of one final battle.

    "You are one of us, and as Yi Taoist, I will do everything in my power to kill you and give you a proper burial!"

    Things in this world are never simply black or white; everyone has their own stance, and fighting to the death for one''s interests is only natural. With Yi Chen''s temperament and cultivation, he naturally had no sentiments of reluctance.

    If everyone is a carnivore, then they should each rely on their own means; the big fish eat the little fish, the little fish eat the shrimp. If it were he who perished today, he would bear no rancor in his heart.

    Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!

    For a time, the aura around Yi Chen surged violently, with strength redoubling!

    Unimaginably powerful! Wildly fierce!

    What could possibly stand in his way!

    A man''s word is his bond, and since he said he would fully commit to killing her, Yi Taoist could not stand someone up.

    Yi Chen urged his Divine Power once more, and then again.

    With a leap that merged her with the Spirit Ghost, Wusheng Sword Mother''s might barely fell short of Yi Chen''s, showing her exceptional battle talent and cultivation gift.

    "Destroy God!"

    "Destroy God!"

    "The aura of Gang Mang responds, control the sword dance, condense the Qi around the core, and charge forth with vigor! Haha, the Heavenly Evil Sword Scripture had its flaws, but today, with my ultimate leap, I have completed it. I have no regrets." S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Zi!

    Puchi! Puchi!

    The two of them clashed in an onslaught of attacks! Strong against strong!

    A black longsword pierced through Yi Chen''s chest from the left side, and with two consecutive God-Destroying Spear moves, he turned Wusheng Sword Mother and the Spirit Ghost merged with her into flying ash.

    The soul-absorbing ability activated, transforming into a torrent that converged in Yi Chen''s eyes.

    At this moment, Ling Xudu and the others had already boarded the sun and moon god shuttle flying boat and were opening a spatial gateway, attempting to flee.

    "Hmph!"

    With a cold snort from Yi Chen, the God-Destroying Light in his eyes shot out immediately, disappearing with the flying boat into the void.

    Among the stars and moon, the scenic Kunxu Mountain lay as disordered as a young wife falling into a den of mountain bandits and ruffians.

    Yi Chen chose a place with green hills and clear waters to bury Wusheng Sword Mother''s ashes.

    Although she had severely damaged his Cultivation Body, for some reason, he bore no hatred towards Wusheng Sword Mother, and even felt some admiration for her.

    A stone tablet inscribed with the words "No Life, No Regrets" stood at the head of the grave.

    "This spot gathers wind and collects water, a veritable treasure land. Taoist Wusheng, Yi Chengzi pays his respects!"

    "Farewell!"

    With a shake of his robe, Yi Chen immediately departed.

    ....

    ....

    Ten days later, on the ninth floor of the Tower of Gazing Moon.

    After several days of recovery, Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body was completely healed, and today was the day for the Hidden Dragon Alliance to convene and discuss matters.

    "Is everyone here?" Yi Chen gently sipped his tea, softly inquiring towards those below, his hands continuously fiddling with three golden, peculiar iron balls.

 Chapter 312 Who Agrees, Who Disagrees? The Daoists Plot, Yuan Jun! Yuan Jun!

    "Elder Hidden Dragon, and True Monarch Yuan Gui from Earth Origin Sect has not arrived yet, should we wait a bit longer?"

    The speaker was True Monarch Xiao Tian from Liyuan Sect, who, since being saved by Yi Chen earlier, had actively sought to get closer to him.

    However, the current him had a respectful demeanor, hands clasped in front of him, back slightly bowed, attitude extremely reverent, not daring to overstep the slightest bit.

    Yi Chen knew that, even though they had shared drinks and conversations a few months back, there was now a regrettable barrier between them.

    On that day, after slaying the spiritual ghost that accompanied the Wusheng Sword Mother, perhaps because the Wusheng Sword Mother had cast spells to feed the spirit ghost and allowed it to further evolve, the spirit ghost actually contributed a total of one hundred and eighty thousand Deep Red Points to him.

    Upon discovering this, Yi Chen even recited the Rebirth Scripture for the Wusheng Sword Mother one more time, as after all the Sword Mother had been generous and he, Yi Chengzi, should not be found lacking. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After ten days had passed since the destruction of Jianxie Sect, the news began to spread gradually to the surrounding areas. The once unmatched Stellar Sword Alliance suddenly dissipated like smoke, with some sects that had withdrawn even contacting Yi Chen in private, hoping to join the Hidden Dragon Alliance.

    Therefore, today''s banquet on the top floor of Wangyue Tower was even more grandiose than the day held by the Passionate Young Master, but today, no one dared to ask Sect Master Qinyun to perform with her zither.

    Because now, they were all skilled in singing and dancing, who would have the audacity to entertain such a notion and ask the master of Hehuan Sect to perform!

    "It''s about time, let''s not wait anymore, let us begin." Yi Chen shook his head, clapped his hands, and an array of dishes flowed forth like water.

    Each and every delicacy was made from rare spiritual materials, brightly colored Spirit Fruits were abundant on the tables, and what was more important was that Yi Chen had not spent a single penny on these.

    A ruthless person who single-handedly destroyed Jianxie Sect, True Monarch Dao Zhen so powerful hosting a banquet at Wangyue Tower, the owner of Wangyue Tower was overjoyed to the point of tears, he even prepared a generous gift and shamelessly hoped that Yi Chen would accept it.

    Just at this moment, suddenly a dishevelled figure appeared in the hall, a short elderly man wearing an earthy yellow robe, he first made a deep bow to everyone around him and then bowed deeply to Yi Chen at the head seat.

    "Fellow Daoists, I apologize, I apologize, I am late." True Monarch Yuan Gui apologized.

    Instantly, everyone''s gaze converged on True Monarch Yuan Gui in silence.

    Yi Chen looked down, took a soup spoon and stirred the bowl of turtle soup in front of him, not even lifting his head as he replied, "Now that you''ve arrived, find yourself a seat.~" Explore more adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

    "Many thanks, Elder Hidden Dragon." The old man in the yellow robe was overjoyed in his heart, not expecting to get off so easily. After hearing the news of Jianxie Sect''s annihilation, he could not believe how the formidable Wusheng Sword Mother could be so easily slain?

    Relying on his exquisite earth escape technique, he traveled thousands of miles to Jianxie Sect''s mountain gate, and only after personally witnessing the ruins of Jianxie Sect did he completely give up and quickly made his way to Wangyue Tower, but still missed the timing by a little.

    True Monarch Yuan Gui looked around and saw that all the spaces behind the tables in the room were already filled with people; a cold sweat instantly ran down his forehead. Just as he was about to shamelessly ask a maid to add an extra table at the back, Yi Chen''s voice rang out again.

    "Sss, this old turtle soup from Wangyue Lake in Xuangui City is truly unique, different from other places, fresh, mellow, rich, with a unique fragrance that should not be missed, please help yourselves, fellow Daoists." Yi Chen picked up chopsticks, lifted the turtle from the soup, bit off a large half, then looked ''surprised'' at True Monarch Yuan Gui, who was standing in the middle of the hall feeling extremely awkward, and said, "Fellow Daoist, why haven''t you taken a seat yet?"

    "Elder Hidden Dragon, there are no seats left, is it possible to add another table?"

    "True Monarch Yuan Gui, the number of tables is limited, as is the number of members in my Hidden Dragon Alliance. If you couldn''t even secure a table, I think you simply haven''t taken me or the other fellow Daoists to heart."

    "Elder...."

    "Scram! Go back and wait for a message!" Yi Chen''s tone suddenly rose, and he swallowed the last of the old turtle.

    The insightful people in the tower knew what to do as soon as Yi Chen made a statement; they immediately echoed him,

    One even scoffed loudly, "Elder Hidden Dragon summons and you dare to be late; one has to drop everything, even if it''s of great importance. I wouldn''t hesitate to take time off from an important pill concoction, and I don''t think True Monarch Yuan Gui has the qualifications to attend this meeting!"

    True Monarch Yuan Gui retreated awkwardly, filled with regret in his heart, remembering that he used to be a member who fiercely bargained at the great hall.

    Those who knew him exchanged glances and couldn''t help but reveal a hint of a smile on their faces.

    "True Monarch Yuan Gui always prides himself on being cautious and meticulous in his actions, yet today this old fox has stumbled, excellent."

    Yi Chen, observing the expressions of everyone in the hall, couldn''t help but split his mouth into an exaggerated arc.

    These people below him, task them to make sugar it might not be sweet, but ask them to make vinegar and it would surely be sour; he had never naively thought of gaining their loyalty.

    Why did he need the loyalty of this bunch, when what he, Yi Taoist, needed was their tribute.

    The trade of sinister spirits could be covertly resumed. He had already agreed with Sect Master Qinyun to use the name of Hehuan Sect to collect sinister items and the true scriptures unearthed from various ancient relics, as well as martial tomes derived from them.

    Although Yi Chen did not hold much hope for the latter, the former was a real output, wasn''t this much better than him going out and searching himself?

 Chapter 312 Who Agrees, Who Disagrees? The Daoists Plot, Yuan Jun! Yuan Jun!_2

    ```

    The reasons were all prepared. When Qin Yun releases the news that the Hehuan Sect wants to refine an evil treasure and needs to purchase these oddities in large quantities, it couldn''t be more reasonable.

    The most cunning part is, the wealth he spends on these resources is actually given to him by the cultivators present. Yi Taoist doesn''t spend a dime and even makes a profit.

    The ultimate level of taking advantage is plucking the wool without letting the sheep bleat. Everyone in the venue is shrewd, and even with Yi Chen''s hardened heart, he can''t achieve such a level, but making the sheep bleat less, Yi Taoist can easily manage that.

    Trade, let the resources start flowing.

    With the massive resources he receives each year, if he buys up ominous items or information at a higher price, won''t the resources circulate back? Everyone gets what they need, and plucking the wool won''t be so painful then. The various sects will have no choice but to serve him earnestly then.

    If you don''t do it, there are plenty of sects that will. Roll them all up, and by controlling both the highest martial power and the redistribution rights, Yi Chen will have the highest power within the Hidden Dragon Alliance, and then he can focus solely on people and combat power.

    Moreover, such actions have another advantage. By buying up evil spirits through stable channels at high prices, he can also cultivate a group of interest groups within the sects,

    At that time, heh heh, to protect their interests, even if someone secretly wants to overturn the Hidden Dragon Alliance, these cultivators who have profited from trading with the Hehuan Sect would be the first to disagree. This is the Secret Technique of stirring chaos, cultivation, differentiation, and checks and balances.

    "Everyone''s presence at today''s banquet is an honor for the Hehuan Sect, and I am delighted. I''ll toast to you all first."

    Yi Chen picked up his cup and took a modest sip.

    Instantly, everyone responded with humble protestations, lifting their cups and downing their drinks, some even inverting their cups to show that not a drop remained.

    "Nowadays, the world is undergoing strange changes, and many affairs are tumultuous. As a poor Daoist, I still have some strength and wish to establish the Hidden Dragon Alliance to protect this region."

    "Today, there are thirty-six sects present. The eighteen sects that were extinguished half a month ago, I, the poor Daoist, will take seventy percent of their wealth. Those eighteen sects, if they wish to join my Hidden Dragon Alliance, must contribute twenty percent of their wealth to the alliance each year."

    "Those who came later to join my Hidden Dragon Alliance will give up two and a half percent of their wealth each year. Everyone, please think it over. If someone from the previous eighteen sects is unwilling, they can now transfer that seventy percent of their wealth to my Hehuan Sect and leave.

    The spot will be given to the eighteenth sect that agrees first. If anyone is interested in the destroyed sects'' locations, they may also bid for them."

    "The world is rough these days, and I, the poor Daoist, have my limitations. Now my Hidden Dragon Alliance can have a maximum of thirty-six sects joining in. Everyone, please discuss among yourselves. If there are any doubts, all alliance details can be inquired about with our Sect Master Qinyun."

    After saying all this, Yi Chen no longer spoke and focused on his dazzling meal.

    Being the big brother, his job was to set strategies and directions. He naturally wouldn''t come down to haggle over details.

    Firstly, it would be too demeaning, and secondly, it left room for him to maneuver. He just needed to control the rules and the ultimate power of interpretation.

    The owner of Wangyue Tower had already found out that this Supreme Elder of the Hehuan Sect enjoyed fine cuisine. He put in great effort and used countless resources to continuously bring dish after dish of precious ingredients to his table. Two stunningly beautiful young women in thin garments ceaselessly served him food, occasionally ''accidentally'' brushing against him with a big persimmon, in a willing and accommodating manner.

    "The cultivators really know how to enjoy life," Yi Chen thought to himself in this moment, experiencing the joy of being catered to down to every last hair.

    In the past, he had to go out to seek gourmet foods, but now at the banquet, he even saw the mushroom hotpot from Shanyue City''s Bazhenge.

    Compared to various spiritual ingredients, this mushroom hotpot was the most ordinary dish on the table.

    Yi Chen glanced at the dishes on the tables of the others below, which were clearly a notch or two lower than his, even the size of the terrapin in his terrapin soup was bigger than those in others'' bowls.

    "The owner of Wangyue Tower really put thought into this. Maybe after the busy time, I should meet with him?"

    Having the power to dominate the city of Xuangui in Great Qin and forcing other forces to stay away, the energy behind the owner of Wangyue Tower was indeed extraordinary, and at that moment, Yi Chen became somewhat interested.

    The negotiation inside the building continued, but the maids who were serving Yi Chen had been replaced. It wasn''t at Yi Chen''s request, but because those maids with only superficial cultivation were getting tired arms.

    The spiritual meal made of special sea beasts was tough, giving them a hard time cutting it piece by piece.

    It wasn''t until the stars were out at night that the negotiations inside concluded, and the Hidden Dragon Alliance was officially established.

    "In my life, I have accumulated countless merits. I," the poor Daoist, "deserve it!" Yi Chen, well-fed and satisfied, patted his belly contentedly and left.

    At night, the silver moonlight shined. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

    Outside a beautiful secluded courtyard in Xuangui City, a tall Daoist and a graciously attractive lady stood side by side.

    The evening breeze was particularly enticing tonight. The soft wind fluttered the hem of Sect Master Qinyun''s aqua-colored dress, occasionally revealing a glimpse of her fair, straight and enticing legs.

    "Supreme Elder, let''s go back."

    ```

    "The Supreme Elder has worked tirelessly recently; tonight, let''s properly relax," Sect Master Qinyun playfully winked, her eyes clear and bright as tranquil autumn waters.

    At this moment, the expression of Sect Master Qinyun was exceedingly relaxed, as if she had put down a thousand-pound weight, her graceful demeanor laced with a touch of liveliness.

    This...isn''t suitable, is it~

    Upon hearing these words, Yi Chen''s body stiffened slightly, his pupils shook, and he awkwardly turned his head away.

    Seeing Yi Chen''s rare blush, Sect Master Qinyun''s cheeks also turned the color of rosy white jade.

    "Supreme Elder, please go back, Ruan''er has indeed just arrived tonight."

    "Ah?"

    "That''s great, I didn''t expect Ruan''er to be here as well, and I have a gift for her."

    After killing Wusheng Sword Mother, Yi Chen had obtained three Spirit-connecting Golden Fruits from her storage ring that could help one breakthrough to the True Monarch realm, which were perfect for the nun, Ruan''er, and his junior brother Qing Yunzi.

    Fighting every day, Yi Taoist really needed to relax properly.

    This night, Yi Chen was filled with unyielding battle intent!

    From time to time, faint sounds of yearning and affection could be heard from a certain room in the garden.

    ''Taoist, stop hitting.''

    For a moment, the crescent moon in the night sky hid behind the clouds, as if shy.

    ...

    ...

    A few days earlier. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In an ancient and quaint little town bustling with people and brimming with the smoke of domestic life,

    At that moment, at a street-side noodle stall with fluttering signs, a stunning woman wearing a peach blossom mask and with a bulging chest unceremoniously sat down on a somewhat greasy stool.

    Even though her face couldn''t be seen, passers-by on the street couldn''t help but steal glances at her.

    The noodle shop owner was a simple and honest fellow, serving noodles to other customers while occasionally sneaking peeks at the peach blossom masked lady.

    Undisturbed by the attention, Yuan Jun laughed openly and said, "Shopkeeper, business is good, huh."

    "I''ll have a bowl of beef noodles, hold the noodles~"

    Shopkeeper:"....."

    "Customer, this..."

    "Just kidding with you, hurry up and serve it~" Seeing the shopkeeper''s embarrassed scene, Yuan Jun couldn''t help but let out a silvery laugh, as if she found something very amusing.

    Soon, a steaming, fragrant bowl of beef noodles topped with green onions was placed before Yuan Jun.

    Looking at the bowl of noodles, Yuan Jun picked up her chopsticks and started picking out all the green onions.

    "Sorry, I didn''t know you didn''t like green onions; shall I cook another bowl for you?" the shopkeeper asked kindly, rubbing his hands together.

    "Eh, no need, this isn''t made right. It''s nowhere as tasty as the one Xiao Lang made." Remembering the beef noodles that man made when she left the carefree realms, Yuan Jun licked her lips, and a cute, tongue-sticking-out emoji-like image appeared on the peach blossom mask.

    "But still, thanks to Dugu Xiong of the Supreme Elder of Hehuan Sect for making noodles for Yuan Jun."

    "Dugu Xiong, the array you set up is quite good; it looks just like the real thing, very interesting, I nearly didn''t notice it~"

    No sooner had the words left her mouth than a pair of smiling eyes appeared on the peach blossom mask, and the pedestrians on the street suddenly stopped in their tracks, gazing uniformly in Yuan Jun''s direction, as if petrified, casting a mysterious atmosphere over the scene.

 Chapter 313 The Terrifying Yuan Jun, The Pool of Rebirth, Chen Haichao

    "Graceful in stature, perfectly proportioned, shoulders carved as if beveled, waist cinched like bound silk, neck extended like a swan, skin as luminous as if heaven-made."

    "I have long heard that the Doumu Origin Lord of the Self-reliant Heaven possesses peerless beauty and is wildly arrogant and ferocious. Seeing you today, you surpass the rumors by threefold. Knowing it''s a trick, you still dare to enter the array alone¡ªshould I say you are confident or oblivious to death?"

    A voice like thunder reverberated from all directions, and all the pedestrians in the town spoke in unison, creating a somewhat horrifying scene.

    Facing this bizarre spectacle, the smile on the peach blossom mask suddenly vanished, the eyebrows turning into two sharp arrows, soaring upwards, "You dare insult me, a coward who only shows his tail."

    "You say Yuan Jun is of exceptional beauty, this pleases Yuan Jun; but you call Yuan Jun arrogant and ferocious, you''re talking nonsense. Even the Heavenly Master hasn''t spoken to me in such a way!"

    "The remaining waste with a flag planted on his back, stop hiding. And the dwarf in the crowd, stop pretending; come out together." The eyes on the peach blossom mask of Yuan Jun flickered with a hint of pink, as if peach blossoms were floating in them, her tone as cold and frosty as ice.

    At these words, the air rippled and a mighty figure suddenly appeared, his face covered with a copper coin armor, sporting two war banners behind.

    The figures of the pedestrians on the street slowly turned into flying ashes and vanished, buildings dissipated, revealing the original plain terrain. The ash gathered together, forming a dwarf cloaked in a shroud of black mist, his exposed hand covered in goosebumps holding an odd white bone skull staff.

    This person''s gaze was intense, as if he were looking at a rare treasure while focusing on Yuan Jun.

    A white-haired elder with two swords crossed on his back also cast a resentful gaze upon the person in the peach blossom mask.

    Around them, thousands of meters away, stood eighteen giant red divine pillars, each three meters in diameter, shrouded in mist and carved with bizarre runes. An ethereal and mysterious aura emitted from them.

    "It''s surprising that you, disciples from the top demonic sect Xie Tian Door, would stoop to collude with a rabid dog like Dugu Xiong," Yuan Jun said, laughing at the three figures who had revealed themselves. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Doumu Origin Lord, the three of us, Dao Zhen True Monarchs, have set up this grand formation to kill you," they said.

    "Today, I will avenge the many souls of my Wind Cloud Sword Sect who died at your hands with your head. Fellow Daoists, let''s take action," said the white-haired elder, stepping forward with hatred in his eyes and focusing on the woman in the peach blossom mask.

    "Dugu Xiong, remember the agreement you made with us~" The staff-wielding dwarf tapped his staff lightly on the ground, and immediately a thick mist of blood color spread out from the eighteen red divine pillars to form clouds, covering them from above, emitting a sweet and fragrant scent that made one drowsy and hallucinate.

    All three made a simultaneous step forward.

    At that moment, the eyebrows on the peach blossom mask, resembling brush strokes slanted upwards, smoothed out into two lines, as she looked at the three with a playful expression as if she were looking at three jesters.

    "Did you ever wonder why you managed to catch Yuan Jun so perfectly, and why it was so easy?"

    "What?"

    Ignoring their surprised expressions, Yuan Jun continued, "Three fools, sold out and still counting money for others, deserve to be played to death by Chen Haichao!"

    "Also, it''s boring for the Heavenly Master to ask me to seal myself, hands and feet tied. No fun at all."

    "Never mind. Yuan Jun had wanted to play with you as a Daoist intercepting monk, but all I got was alienation and ambushes. And those behind, stop always tricking fools to test me. Yuan Jun is not playing anymore, Yuan Jun is laying her cards on the table!"

    "Have you seen, the burial of flowers?"

    As she spoke, the hair of the individual with the peach blossom mask suddenly turned from a cascading waterfall into silvery white, strands flowing with a peculiar luminescence, upon close examination, revealing countless tiny runes revolving and gleaming.

    In this moment, Yuan Jun''s skin glowed like dawn, her toes lightly touching the ground as peach blossoms surged forth, elevating her feet into the sky.

    Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

    Her feet like the shoots of bamboo, her face tender and stunning.

    The peach blossoms burst forth from her toes, swirling crazily upward, forming fair peach blossom silk stockings, gravity-defying over-the-knee armor, breastplate, peaked shoulders...

    The gap between the skirt armor and breastplate revealed a glimpse of flawless skin like jade, her slender waist inviting fond imaginations, accentuating the exaggerated curves of the breastplate.

    At this moment, the expression on Yuan Jun''s face shone with a divine light, no longer as frivolous and flippant as before, but like a mighty deity descending to the mortal world, demanding respect even without anger.

    It all happened in the blink of an eye.

    "Damn it, Dao Mastery Realm, Doumu Origin Lord, you''ve hidden yourself well. Dugu Xiong, this time we''re going to die because of you. Don''t hold back anymore, if you have any moves, use them quickly," the staff-wielding dwarf and others abandoned any further thought, and ignited their potential, causing a powerful disturbance on the ground.

    A pale hand gently pressed down from the sky, like soothing an agitated kitten, and the tumultuous energy below subsided, everything fell silent.

    "Shh! Listen, the sound of the flowers withering!"

    A fair finger was placed upon the mouth of the peach blossom mask, and an emotionless voice resonated within the minds of Dugu Xiong and the others.

    Unable to move, unable to speak.

    Desperation welled up in their eyes as they struggled to look up at the sky.

    It was peach blossoms, peach blossoms falling like rain everywhere.

    The entire area for tens of kilometers around was filled with a dense, beautiful shower of peach blossom light.

 Chapter 313 Yuan Juns Terror, the Pool of Transformation, Chen Haichao (Part 2)

    ```

    The Southern Dipper is life, the Northern Dipper is death.

    The peach blossom fell upon the red divine pillar, without corrosion, without collision, without the explosion of light and shadow, only to see the spot where the pillar and petal touched as if it had been directly erased by some strange force, vanishing without a trace.

    What was astonishing was that when the peach blossom fell upon the ground littered with weeds, it did not harm the green grass in the slightest.

    In the span of three breaths, Dugu Xiong and his group of three, as well as the eighteen red divine pillars, seemed as though they''d been erased by an eraser, disappearing without a trace, leaving a thick layer of petals covering the ground.

    A figure wearing a peach blossom mask stood in the center of the sea of flowers, gaze unfocused, somewhat absent-minded.

    "I feel like I remembered something."

    "Why does my heart feel so uncomfortable, Melon Kid."

    Yuan Jun came back to her senses, recalling the mountains of corpses and seas of blood that had flashed through her mind not long ago, in which she was so powerful that it made one''s heart tremble.

    However, she was sure that the scene in the images was not from any part of the Eastern Continent, or to be even more certain, from any part of the Human Realm. There, mountains and rivers lay shattered, the sun and moon hung upside down.

    "Forget it, if I can''t remember, then I won''t think about it anymore. It''s giving me a headache¡ªwhat does it have to do with Yuan Jun"

    "So what if I have no memories? Are memories really equivalent to happiness? Memories are the root of suffering!"

    "That''s right, being happy is all that matters."

    Talking to herself, Yuan Jun broke character in just a second, lost her divine aura, and reverted to her previous, languidly merry demeanor.

    After resealing herself, she tilted her head and scratched vigorously for a while, took out the purple Star Disc for a glance, straightened herself with great effort, and then prepared to leave with magnificent, awe-inspiring energy, as the peach blossoms on the ground slowly faded away.

    However, the waterfall of black hair behind the peach blossom mask had turned silver, no longer the previous ink-black; because she had scratched too hard earlier, a single defiant hair stood tall on top of the peach blossom mask, her hair a little bit messy, as a pair of smiling eyes once again climbed onto the mask.

    Yuan Jun''s clear voice suddenly echoed between heaven and earth.

    "The mortal world is as tumultuous as the tides."

    "When will they rise and fall, when will they vanish."

    "I dwell amongst mortals, yet at ease."

    "Yuan Jun is like the carefree fairy."

    "Lalala, lalala~" S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yuan Jun''s whimsical chant, neither level nor oblique, lacking in neatness and exquisite subtlety, yet because of this it appeared even more otherworldly and unrestrained.

    Joyful notes reverberated through heaven and earth, and soon her figure vanished over the horizon.

    ...

    ...

    Black Qi Mountain.

    This mountain was pitch black, with few trees, and featured jagged rocks taking on many terrifying shapes; the Headquarters of the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect was situated at the summit.

    Beneath Black Qi Mountain, in some unnamed underground space.

    A massive black and red cubic city lay quietly on the dark land like a giant beast.

    Suspended above the city was a huge orb, inscribed with dense runes, emitting a soft yellow glow, like the sun in this underground world.

    A spectral figure arrived at the city gates, and the guards, as if unable to see the person, let them stroll in unhindered.

    A procession of nearly four-meter-tall strongmen wielding long halberds, sitting atop huge terrifyings beasts resembling rhinos, charged along the street; behind them, two groups of black-armored guards over three meters tall, with only their eyes visible, were hurrying to the outskirts of the underground city, as if on urgent business. Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire

    The guards'' eyes were dull, their postures rigid like puppets.

    The spectral figure, facing the large troop, went straight into the collision.

    ```

    Neither side dodged or evaded, there was no loud crash, no dust rose, and the large group of men and horses actually passed directly through the illusory figures, each going about their business as if nothing had happened.

    Soon, the illusory figure arrived within a side hall at the center of the great city.

    With a creak, the door of the hall slowly opened.

    The hall was empty, with no decorations apart from the beams and columns.

    In a pool of black liquid, the head of Ling Xudu emerged, floating out of the fluid. Below his neck, his body had disappeared, replaced by a dense mass of root-like blood vessels.

    With a wave of the illusory figure''s large hand, a headless demon corpse appeared atop the great hall.

    "Xu Du, this is the body of a powerful warrior from the ancient demon royal Moroko clan. Since you are so decided, I shall start this corpse from the spirit puppet cave of our sect."

    "I ask you one last time, regret is still an option now. Do you really wish to risk possession of this body? This was a mighty demon that once formed the rudiment of Dao Mastery. Even after being eroded and sealed by our sect''s Secret Technique, and despite the assistance from the Hua Sheng Pond, in my view, the success rate is still less than fifteen percent."

    The illusory figure gradually solidified, transforming into a middle-aged man who looked like a common farmer.

    The man had an average face, average height; everything about him was so ordinary that thrown into a crowd he would be unrecognizable. If he hadn''t appeared here, nobody would know that this utterly unremarkable person was Chen Haichao, the one who controlled the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect,

    the powerful figure who had brought the sect from the bottom of the demonic sects to its present position, just one step away from being the leader.

    "Thank you, Master, for allowing this!" Ling Xudu''s eyes lit up, and the root-like blood vessels at his neck lashed out, immediately wrapping around the headless demon corpse on the ground and pulling it into the black pool of liquid.

    "Foolish child, our sect''s strategist has only lost a battle; why go to such lengths?" Seeing this, Chen Haichao couldn''t help but frown.

    "Master, from today onwards, the strategist is dead, killed by Zi Zai Tian''s Lord Tan Lang. If I am fortunate enough to succeed and truly possess this powerful ancient demon body, then I will have a chance for revenge."

    "Lord Tan Lang is powerful and cunning. In this defeat, I lost not only my cultivation but also my strategic foresight. I am already infested with inner demons; without winning this back, my cultivation will cease to progress."

    That day during the battle, Yi Chen hadn''t held back much. According to his thoughts at the time, although he needed someone of weight to relay the message back, switching the focus onto Yuan Jun and away from others'' attention towards him, letting Ling Xudu go back alive would suffice.

    If the message could get through just like that, even better.

    Adhering to the principle of "if it doesn''t kill, push it to the brink," Yi Chen had directly inflicted severe damage to Ling Xudu''s foundation and, after killing the Wusheng Sword Mother, also granted him a soul-destroying death ray at the last moment.

    Once this ray entered the soul, of all the Jianxie Sect cultivators on the airship, only an early-entrance-level elder survived and even he was left a simpleton, unable to seek shelter from the rain or distinguish between food and trash picked up from the ground, whilst the rest perished.

    The battle had nearly disintegrated Ling Xudu''s physical body. If not for the miraculous Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect''s Hua Sheng Pond, a regression in realm would have been certain.

    "Well then, since you have made up your mind, I shall lend you a helping hand. If you can truly merge with this ancient demon body of the Moroko clan, it will be as if you have ascended to heaven in one step. No cultivator who hasn''t formed the rudiment of Dao Mastery will be able to oppose you."

    "Speaking of which, the intelligence you''ve brought back this time is quite interesting. I have put a little plan into action and set up three cultivators to ambush that Doumu Origin Lord. Now, the soul lamps of those two fools from Xie Tian Sect have been extinguished, haha."

    "With such a clean and overwhelming suppression, Doumu Origin Lord is definitely True Monarch of Dao Mastery, and also a rather interesting cultivator of Dao Mastery, the odd Hall Master of Beidou Origin Lord who feigns insanity and foolishness. Zi Zai Tian is aiming quite high."

    A strange expression flickered across Chen Haichao''s face, and an image of the old fox, Heavenly Master, flitted through his mind, as if he had thought of something. His expression changed:

    "Xu Du, I will impart to you a section of the Controlling Spirit Holy Scripture that contains the Spirit Control Verse, and will also grant you three drops of my essence blood. With these, the success rate of possessing this ancient demon body should rise to twenty-five percent. This is all I can do for you; the rest is up to you."

    "Furthermore, I would like to advise you, one should always contemplate from a distance. The conflict in the Northern Region is but a marginal struggle on the chessboard of life. Ups and downs are common in life. It is a pity that your journey so far has been too smooth, which is not good."

    The failures are actually the norm in one''s life; failure itself is not scary, but rather the fear of failing to recover, falling into madness.

    Some of our predecessors, now they were truly unyielding!"

    "Heh, to become an immortal."

    With a meaningful sigh, Chen Haichao flipped his hand and a curved knife appeared in his palm. Grasping the knife forcefully, he made a swipe, and three drops of golden blood oozed out of the wound, falling into the Hua Sheng Pond.

    Looking at the resentment and stubbornness in Ling Xudu''s eyes that he could not shake off, Chen Haichao shook his head reluctantly; the attachment had penetrated deep into the bone marrow, and now the strategist of his Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect was indeed a strategist in name only.

    With a flash, Chen Haichao''s figure slowly faded and soon appeared in an ancient cave full of books, not emerging onto the surface of Black Qi Mountain until Ming Yue had set in the west.

    Chen Haichao looked up at Yuan Yue, a corner of his mouth revealing an odd smirk: "A change in heaven and earth?"

 Chapter 315 Han Xinyue, Fear, Encounter with Que Long Again, Qilin Holy Armor.

    "Han Xinyue, you must not forget, not even in death."

    Han Xinyue awoke from a moon-white bed, feeling as if she had been fished out of water, her underclothes soaked with sweat, the budding breasts faintly discernible through the damp fabric. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

    She pushed open the window, outside was pitch black, the stars in the sky dimmed, and a crescent moon barely shined, obscured by drifting dark clouds.

    For some reason, Han Xinyue always felt that whether it was the stars or the crescent moon, if she looked at them long enough, they seemed somewhat counterfeit.

    "Failed again, was I caught last time?" Han Xinyue looked at her lotus-white arm and felt a dim sorrow, sensing that she had once again forgotten something, and even, it seemed, that something had been added to her body.

    When a person loses all memory, even if the shell remains, is she still herself?

    "Perhaps after being caught a few more times, I won''t be me anymore."

    "No, I must survive, even if for my grandfather''s sake, Han Xinyue, you cannot admit defeat like this."

    Nails dug into the flesh, the sharp pain slightly invigorated Han Xinyue''s spirit, and after encouraging herself, she recited the memories she deemed important three times. Then, she got up and approached the door.

    According to her memory, at this hour, the strange entities should not come to the Southern Garden where she lived.

    There was naturally no need for lanterns, and although the mana in her body was suppressed by foreign forces by ninety-nine percent, limiting her usable mana to the peak of refining essence into qi, her ability to see in the dark remained unimpaired.

    Her mission this time was to find Yuan Yuan, her sister, and then escape.

    Han Xinyue did not know why she was here; she had gone to sleep as usual days before, and upon opening her eyes, found that everyone in the Han Mansion had vanished without a trace, not even a ghost shadow, only she and her sister remained in the vast residence.

    As a young master who had ascended to the fifth level of the True Person Realm, Han Xinyue was mentally steadfast and did not give up easily. She knew that since the hidden force behind the scenes trapped her here, her task, or rather the only thing she could do, was to escape the Han Mansion.

    If she kept getting caught by the entities within the mansion, after numerous times, an instinctual premonition warned her that her fate would be worse than death.

    Furthermore, after several failed attempts to flee the mansion, the intelligent she had discovered a pattern: any information regarding her identity,

    no matter how it was inscribed in the mansion or even on her body, would ultimately vanish without a trace. This was why she would recite her varying memories as soon as she awoke.

    Although she did not know if it was useful, it brought her some comfort.

    She gingerly closed the door and noticed the room next door suddenly open with a creak, and a round, roly-poly little girl holding a teddy bear walked out.

    "Yuan Yuan, why have you come out? Come with me, quickly, and don''t speak," Han Xinyue hurriedly whispered in a lowered voice.

    Just as she was about to reach for the little girl, Yuan Yuan looked at her uncomprehendingly and crisply said, "My friend has come to play with me."

    "What? Friend?" Han Xinyue''s heart skipped a beat in terror. Were there other living people inside the Han Mansion besides her and Yuan Yuan?

    She followed Yuan Yuan''s gaze, a flash of insight crossing her eyes, and saw three little girls standing in the bamboo garden courtyard, moving in unison and waving at her.

    Each of the three wore heavy rouge, and their eye sockets were pitch black.

    One resembled a paper effigy, another like one exploded by fireworks, and the third was crushed by a car, with the lower half of her legs barely attached by a layer of skin, emanating a faint Yin Qi.

    "Good that they are only minor ghosts, easily vanquished with a wave of the hand, but causing such a commotion means I must hide again."

    With a thought, Han Xinyue sent out three beams of mana and then, holding the little girl, dashed towards the direction of the Northern Garden.

    She feared the noise here would attract the different entity within the mansion.

    She had considered giving up in the face of all she was experiencing, but she knew that even if all this was merely a game by some mysterious adept, she had no right to refuse. All she could do was cooperate and then escape.

    Only by persevering, buying time, and not sinking into despair could she give her grandfather the time to save her.

    She was aware that given her grandfather''s indulgence and concern for her, he would surely notice the anomalies in her courtyard. Then, there would be a chance for change.

    "Sister, why are we running?" the little girl in her arms suddenly asked, her arms as tender as lotus roots tightly hugging her neck.

    "Don''t speak, Yuan Yuan."

    Her embrace grew tighter and tighter until it made Han Xinyue struggle to breathe.

    "Not right, how could Yuan Yuan have such strength?" Han Xinyue, who had been focused on her surroundings, felt irritated by the size of her house for the first time. Under some pain, she finally turned her attention briefly to Yuan Yuan in her embrace.

    The sight made her blood run cold; she was not holding Yuan Yuan, but instead, an entity with two tentacles resembling a facehugger.

    Suddenly, the ''facehugger'' leaped forcefully and latched onto her face.

    The greedy sound of sucking echoed. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At this moment, Han Xinyue felt no pain, but sensed something within her being drained away, while a strange substance was being infused into her mind.

 Chapter 315 Han Xinyue, Fear, Encounter with Que Long Again, Qilin Holy Armor._2

    Her heart was filled with unspeakable fear and despair.

    What she didn''t see was a strange black vapor rising from the top of her head, being absorbed by the terrifying face-hugging worm into its body.

    Just as Han Xinyue was about to lose consciousness, suddenly a glimmer of awareness flashed through her mind.

    "Who is Yuan Yuan? When did I get another sister?"

    "Isn''t it true that only Grandfather and I are the direct descendants left in the family?"

    With this thought, Han Xinyue immediately realized why, when she woke up, she felt as if she had forgotten something and something extra seemed to be in her body.

    Her memory had been partially replaced. Your next read awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

    As this realization struck her, the black vapor above Han Xinyue''s head suddenly thickened significantly, and the face-hugging worm on her body let out a pleased hiss.

    After an indeterminate length of time, Han Xinyue woke up from her ivory-colored bed. There had been a terrifying transformation in her surroundings; her grandfather and all the people in the mansion had vanished. She needed to escape and also help her two sisters, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, to flee as well.

    The perspective rises, somewhere within an underground palace, an inverted bowl-shaped dark curtain stands on the black rock layer.

    The curtain is inlaid with many peculiar purple crystal fragments, and a huge purple gem is embedded on the dark curtain, with numerous tendrils of black smoke swirling slowly around the gem, concealing much of it and leaving only a slight crescent barely visible.

    Below the curtain, hundreds of cultivators lie on strange red cloth embroidered with golden runes, their bodies swaying slightly side to side, black smoke spewing from the orifices of their faces, mingling with the dark vapors above, and flowing gently in a slow convection,

    Han Xinyue''s figure is among them, but unlike the others, she lies near the center of the area, with a clear and bright full-moon mark emerging on her forehead.

    The hundreds of cultivators in the area are arrayed in a ring, some of them sway and sway until their legs kick out and they move no more.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Outside Zeyang City, Lin Buer walks leisurely across the wilderness in his wide-sleeved robe, with a serene look of being on vacation.

    No one knows that under his robe, his muscles are tense.

    He is bait, after all.

    The white is showing to the northeast, a terrible hand of mahjong with impassable odds.

    As a loose cultivator who stumbled upon the path by chance, Lin Buer has zero capital beyond his abilities. To earn more resources for cultivation or even exceptional skills without a powerful backing, he has no choice but to risk his life.

    Lin Buer, a man of considerable stature, who is adept at stabbing others in his frequent brawls, could easily draw blood from the fairy-like figures at the Fragrant Beauty Pavilion a few days before. To gather sufficient methods and resources to advance to the True Person Realm, he had no alternative but to do this.

    After all, his specialty was stabbing others, not settling accounts at a desk. And there are certain extravagant riches in the world that he simply cannot enjoy.

    "Que Long the senior, as a great master of the Mo family, you must not fail me. I, Lin Buer, am gambling my entire fortune and my life to become your disciple," prayed Lin Buer in his heart.

    Aside from a few cultivators with pure enough gazes and special destinies, what loose cultivator doesn''t gamble? After all, life isn''t just about playing cards¡ªmost people can only passively wait for fate to pick and choose.

    On the open fields, the night wind caresses his face, the stars hang low over the wide plains, and the moon reflects in the vast expanse below. At this moment, Lin Buer''s feelings are extremely complex. He hopes that the mastermind behind the scenes appears quickly to lessen his torment, yet he fears that the dark hand responsible for the disappearance of nearby cultivators of Zeyang City might appear and whisk him away. He finds himself much like a young girl waiting for her suitor, afraid they won''t come, yet also dreading their unruly advances.

    Soon enough, a fragrance of earth is carried to Lin Buer''s nose by the night wind, a fresh and pleasant scent, quite appealing.

    "Perfect..."

    Suddenly feeling faint, Lin Buer''s head slumps, and he falls to the ground. At this moment, two dark figures rapidly approach on the horizon, and the silhouette of Que Long appears abruptly behind the shadows.

    Two large hands suddenly press down on the shoulders of the dark figures.

    "The mountains aren''t the highest, human hearts rank above all, Long Que pays respect¡­" S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Que Long''s voice cuts off abruptly.

    A large hand suddenly presses down on his shoulder, and with difficulty, he twists his neck to see a yellow-toothed old man smirking coldly at him.

    "You fool of the Mo family, such a clumsy Long Que."

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "Mistress, every single fault is mine, please, please forgive me," he begged.

    "Ah~ my wife, Shui Lingyue~ how pitiable you must be, waiting in the cold loneliness, long awaiting my return..."

    Under the moonlit night, Yi Chen galloped across the fields on his faithful leopard, with Miao Zi clutching the collar of his neck, majestic as a general inspecting the front line.

    Han Jiyue, with a head full of black lines, watched the Daoist charging ahead and couldn''t help feeling a sense of regret.

    This Hidden Dragon Taoist seemed unreliable, spouting all sorts of nonsensical things. What on earth is this ''Mistress'' he''s talking about?

    Although most in the Dao Sect of the Eastern Continent do not forbid marriage, it is still somewhat taboo for a Daoist to form a union with a nun.

    Unfortunately, the Ice and Fire Jades were already in his possession.

    "Could it be that this was his plan all along, to have me hand over the Ice and Fire Jades to him in advance?" Han Jiyue''s mind was in turmoil, feeling as if he had boarded a ship of thieves.

    Yi Chen was unaware of the elder''s turmoil behind him; at the moment, he found himself missing his Mistress.

    Compared to Zhen Ruan, his feelings for his Mistress were indeed deeper.

    He had asked Yuan Jun to send a message to Shui Lingyue, but the last time Yuan Jun replied, he said that he could not find her, and Ming Yue''s place was empty.

    Nearly a day had passed since the last cosmic anomaly, and it was now night. Yi Chen thought this event would bring down a great star like before, potentially giving him a chance to observe the arrangements and tactics of the Eastern Continent.

    Yet, to his surprise, the sky turned as black as ink, and after ten seconds filled with an overwhelming malice, daylight returned.

    Everything seemed as if nothing had happened.

    But to Yi Chen, the absence of an event was more alarming than the arrival of a great star.

    Deep down, he felt that the sweeping malice had not completely vanished, part of it had already descended upon this land.

    "Forget it, whether it be Da Yue or Great Qin, or any of the major sects, there are many experts around. They can''t expect me, a poor Daoist, to stand in the front line. All I need to do is frown slightly, retreat behind everyone else, and deal with minor turbulence without issue."

    "Worst comes to worst, all these experts are my wings, and they should at least buy me some time."

    As Yi Chen''s mind swirled with thoughts, he began to scheme.

    Just then, the sight of a person lying on the ground ahead caught his attention.

    The person was wearing a jade armor, lying in a pool of blood, with half of his body already gone.

    Sensing the familiar aura emanating from the armor, Yi Chen''s mind stirred, and after ensuring that there were no ambushes nearby, he cautiously approached the fallen figure.

    A sudden surge of power flipped the body over, and Yi Chen was startled once again. The person turned out to be Que Long, whom he had met in Lingyue City and shared a drink with. He wondered why Que Long would end up in such a state today.

    If he was not mistaken, that armor was none other than the mythical Kirin Armor.

    "Que Long, my fellow Daoist?" Yi Chen quietly invoked Extreme Origin, using the pure essence of Pure Yang Qi to awaken the dormant consciousness, while inwardly sighing to himself.

    This cultivator, with whom he had shared a brief acquaintance and a heavy drinking session, was likely beyond saving now.

    At least Yi Taoist could not save him; after all, everyone has their specialty, and his was sending people on their way.

    "Yi... Yi Chen, my friend? I never imagined I would see an old acquaintance on the brink of death today, truly... it''s a great fortune!"

    "You really had me fooled that day, calling yourself Long Que when you are actually Que Long," Yi Chen heaved a long sigh.

    "I''m... I''m sorry, it wasn''t my intention to...," he apologized weakly.

    "Hidden Dragon Taoist, you know the Que Long from the Mo family?" Han Jiyue came up from behind Yi Chen, his voice filled with surprise.

    For someone as old and frail as Han Jiyue, full-force flight from a dying man would be akin to an immediate death sentence. Now, with only enough strength for one last fight and to take care of the almost decrepit Han Jiyue, Yi Chen regretfully chose to let the faithful leopard carry him at full speed.

    "Hidden Dragon Taoist?" Que Long looked at Yi Chen with a strange expression.

    At that moment, three black lines suddenly appeared on Yi Chen''s forehead, and he vaguely heard the cawing of three crows. He was tempted to strangle the man.

    This old guy caught on to the conversation too quickly!

 Chapter 316 A Daoist Arrives in Zeyang City

    "The Daoist did not deliberately hide it, but who has inflicted such heavy damage on Friend Que Long?" Since the matter was accidentally exposed, Yi Chen was too lazy to stubbornly deny it, smoothly glossing over the subject and swiftly changing the topic.

    Que Long was by no means a weak opponent; during the escape in Linggui City, he exhibited the mighty aura of a late-stage Dao-entering expert, with top-tier running capabilities and exceptional escape speed. Now, seeing him injured to such a degree despite possessing the Kirin Sacred Armor was indeed surprising to Yi Chen.

    One must know that they had already passed the boundary stele of Zeyang City, and the injury of Que Long indeed set off a flurry of conjectures in his mind.

    Upon hearing Han Jiyue referring to Yi Chen as the Hidden Dragon Taoist, a sparkle couldn''t help but appear in Que Long''s eyes. His thoughts stirred, he struggled to straighten up, and sat on the ground, beginning to recount the causes and consequences of the events.

    As Yi Chen listened to Que Long''s story, his pupils involuntarily contracted.

    What a coincidence, it really is exactly as if a cunning person did a favor for ''Clever,'' Que Long actually came to investigate the disappearance of the cultivators of Zeyang City.

    Relying on his extraordinary cultivation, he even found a cultivator, promising all sorts of benefits, to wander through the wilderness while he trailed behind, trying to lure out the snake from its hole.

    But unexpectedly, although he did manage to lure out the snake, he barely escaped with his life after using every trick at his disposal and now was critically injured and on the brink of death.

    "Hidden... Hidden Dragon friend, I am incompetent, harmed by a traitor. For the sake of the disappeared fellow cultivators of Zeyang City, if it''s within your power, please lend your aid," he pleaded.

    "This... this treasured armor on my body, I obtained it from a Secret Realm; it should be a component of the legendary Kirin Sacred Armor. Of course, I can''t be completely certain. However, this armor truly has infinite marvelous uses, and Que Long is willing to offer it as... as a gift."

    "Promise me!"

    As the urgent voice came to a halt, Que Long could no longer sustain his energy, tilted his head, and passed out once again.

    Yi Chen reacted swiftly, bracing Que Long''s body.

    "Hidden Dragon Taoist, if the Ice Sealing Jade is placed under the tongue of Friend Que Long, sealing away the last vestiges of his vitality within his body, perhaps there is hope for salvation if he is taken to the Mo family."

    Han Jiyue hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up with determination.

    "Heh, who would have thought that old Han you would still be a decent person? Rest assured, as long as your granddaughter is still alive, I will certainly bring her to safety, and if she has perished, I will drag down the mastermind''s head and present it to you!"

    Yi Chen stripped off the jade armor from Que Long''s body and skillfully stored it in his spatial ring, laughing to death. How could he not know whether this armor was indeed a part of the Kirin Sacred Armor?

    One cannot let the one who shoulders wood for others drown in the snowstorm. Accepting the armor, the box containing the Ice Sealing Jade abruptly appeared in Han Jiyue''s hands.

    All strange energies and evil abilities are the seeds of worldly calamity; Yi Taoist must take care of it.

    After all, whether it''s herding one sheep or releasing two, might as well kill two birds with one stone.

    "Taoist, what are you..." Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "You use it! I am about to cut down people and have no time!" Yi Chen''s gaze did not linger on Han Jiyue''s face but was instead fixated on the horizon of the wilderness.

    Standing with his hands behind his back, the night wind blew fiercely, waving his wide Daoist robe''s sleeves and revealing his strong pectoral muscles.

    "Ah?"

    Han Jiyue placed the Ice Sealing Jade under Que Long''s tongue, and after casting spells, he turned his head to look at the empty wilderness, showing a puzzled expression.

    At this moment, a cold smile appeared on Yi Chen''s face.

    He effortlessly slashed a surge of energy toward an open space ahead, the air trembled like ripples, and a figure clad in black suddenly appeared.

    "Yo, it seems I have misjudged, your cultivation is not bad," said the black-clad person with a grin after revealing himself.

    "Do you know who I am?" Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire

    "Who are you?"

    "Then, nevermind."

    Yi Chen''s left hand covered his right, his face revealing a ferocious expression.

    It''s easier for him to act if the other doesn''t recognize him!

    A majestic purple-gold aura displayed to the world, and the black-clad person''s face began to show terror, attempting to flee.

    But could he escape?

    Seconds later, a small mushroom cloud rose, and Yi Chen looked at the ground where the explosion occurred, his face involuntarily revealing a shade of shock.

    He had never expected the black-robed cultivator to opt for self-destruction when there was no hope of escape.

    This was a master who was half a step into the Cutting Path realm.

    "Playing it big, huh? Quite skillfully trained. This mission just got interesting," Yi Chen turned around, his Cultivation Body subsiding, fiddling with three golden iron balls in his hand,

    "Han friend, it would draw too much attention if Taoist and you enter Zeyang City together, how about you take Friend Que Long to the Mo family, and bring the Ice Sealing Jade back to me?"

    An old cunning person, like an old sly horse, Han Jiyue naturally recognized the implied meaning in Yi Chen''s words, and after a moment of thought, he readily agreed.

    After Han Jiyue''s figure disappeared into the horizon, Yi Chen took out the jade armor stripped from Que Long''s body and fitted the left and right Kirin armors onto himself.

    Unconsciously, he had already collected three components of the Kirin Sacred Armor, now only missing the two leg armors and the Kirin helmet.

    As soon as the armors were donned, they automatically expanded and adhered to Yi Chen''s body, enveloping him. Just then, an abrupt change occurred; the three major armor components resonated slightly,

    Two towering shoulder guards stretched forth from the shoulders of the breastplate, presenting a valiant appearance.

    The triangular area over his chest grew even harder. With the combined field of power from the left and right armors, a transparent force field was formed, adding another layer of protection to his Cultivation Body.

 Chapter 316 Daoist Comes Within Zeyang City_2

    ```

    "Haha, who would have thought that acquiring the three major components of the Qi Lin Holy Armor would result in such an anomaly, creating a small cycle."

    "A Taoist like me, who has accumulated good deeds throughout my life, should expect such a reward."

    Yi Chen laughed heartily as he carefully perceived the sudden surge in his power and the boost in defense the armor provided. The Holy Halberd appeared in his hand, and a brilliant beam of Extreme Origin shot up into the sky, slashing towards the bright moon above.

    At this moment, the Daoist''s spine was straight as an arrow.

    This strike was not aimed at the moon hanging in the sky, but at his own destiny.

    With the boost from the armor, Yi Chen felt his strength advance a small step further, entering another realm. His confidence surged like a Hidden Dragon ready to ride the wind.

    ...

    ...

    At noon the next day, sunlight bathed the earth. A Daoist carrying a flag for healing the world, and holding a wine jug, staggered into Zeyang City.

    At this moment, Yi Chen was already cursing inwardly. Despite his facade of weakness and helplessness, no one had come to rob him, which he took as the utmost idiocy on their part.

    He was an easy target for robbery, but alas, it just didn''t happen.

    Several kilometers along the main road of Zeyang City, there is a large lake called Youmeng Lake. Spanning tens of acres, with clouds swirling and rosy clouds afloat, it''s a breathtaking sight.

    Lotus flowers blossom in the lake, with young women in colorful dresses boating upon it. One girl reached out to pluck a lotus, but ultimately failed due to her feeble strength.

    Yi Chen watched intently and was immediately inspired, conjuring a couplet. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Summer lake waters calm, holding the essence of ultimate purity.

    The maiden''s strength is weak, yet her ripples disturb Zeyang City.

    By Youmeng Lake stands a grand tavern called Youmeng Tavern. Its special scenic feature is maidens picking lotuses, comparable to the virgin snow cigars, the maiden''s wine song of past worlds.

    The lotuses in the lake are of a rare variety; the taste of chicken cooked with its leaves is unparalleled.

    "However, now is not the time to appreciate such beauty; I still need to visit the Han residence," Yi Chen thought, reluctantly heading towards Han Jiyue''s mansion.

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen cursed the wealthy under his breath and left with a gloomy face.

    This visit yielded nothing. Although he had been mentally prepared for this outcome, he couldn''t help feeling a bit downhearted when it actually came to pass.

    Feeling annoyed, Yi Chen carried his flag and headed straight for Youmeng Tavern.

    The maiden picking lotus was of minor importance; the main goal for Yi Taoist was to gather information at Youmeng Tavern.

    The thought of relying on the Han family''s power had never crossed Yi Chen''s mind.

    With such chaos arising near Zeyang City, if he were the orchestrator behind it, he would undoubtedly keep a close watch on the Han household''s movements.

    Given that the perpetrator managed to elude Han Jiyue''s notice and take his granddaughter from within heavily guarded formations, he must possess no small amount of skill.

    However, the fact that this person did not act against Han Jiyue sparked several suspicions in Yi Chen''s mind.

    Although the Han family was now in decline, exterminating them would cause too great a commotion, something even the perpetrator could not easily quell, hence they spared Han Jiyue.

    Part of the reason could also be Han Jiyue''s old age and waning vitality, making him insignificant.

    "I always feel there''s more to this; the mastermind wouldn''t go through so much effort to kidnap Han Xinyue just for the sake of a minor True Person Realm fifth stage cultivator. It''s more likely they have their eyes on her treasured Moon Divine Body," Yi Chen mused.

    "Is it you, the Purple Order Fiend?"

    As such thoughts ran through his mind, Yi Chen, holding his flag, looked around and wobbled towards Youmeng Tavern.

    "One jug of wine, a bowl of the glow of dawn to drink, toasting with the King of Hell, challenging immortals, leaving this place to journey the mortal realm, eating at a hundred households, solving a hundred troubles!"

    Putting on a full act, he sang an obscure folk song loudly. After casually curing a few commoners of their ailments, Yi Chen entered the Youmeng Tavern amid acclaim, with no one discerning the indescribable look in his eyes.

    ...

    ...

    Two days later, having changed his appearance, Yi Chen donned a long gown, carried a basket of medicinal herbs on his back, and sauntered in from outside the city gates. At a pharmacy, he traded three hundred-year-old Astragalus roots from his basket for two hundred taels of Gold and then headed to a bustling tavern to drink.

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    In the previous two days, he had spent his time at Youmeng Tavern listening to nonsense and got nothing useful. He saw plenty of busty lotus-picking maidens, but he remained unaffected.

    Because he wasn''t hungry!

    Since the high-end route got him nowhere, Yi Chen changed his strategy on the day he arrived at Zeyang City. He disguised himself as a Loose Cultivator and began to settle down there.

    He refused to believe no one would target him.

    He wanted to convey to the mastermind behind the scenes that he was very easy to get, just one try would suffice.

    As for the mastermind, Yi Chen already had some guesses, and now he merely sought to confirm them.

    Fengyun Tavern was a relatively upscale establishment in the eastern district of Zeyang City. Loose Cultivators from the east often liked to come here for a drink and to exchange information in their leisure time.

    As soon as Yi Chen entered, laughter and cheers erupted from the tavern.

    "Elder Yi, have you been having a delightful time over at Immortal Sister Wang''s place again today?"

    The patrons in the tavern teased him, and with Yi Chen''s personality and cunning, he quickly became acquainted with everyone there in just a few days.

    Of course, he used some low-level tactics such as a mesmerizing ability, having some lower-tier Loose Cultivators spread rumors about him. A few ''recognized'' Yi Chen, speaking of him with great detail and fabricating an entire backstory.

    ```

 Chapter 316 Daoist Arrives in Zeyang City_3

    He was now an old Loose Cultivator, in the realm of refining essence into Qi. Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire

    His life''s trajectory was typical of the cultivation world''s destitute: while young, one tries again; after death, one sits atop one''s grave and looks back¡ªimpoverished as a youth, rotten in middle age, decrepit in old age, with no sons or daughters, leaving a lamp atop the grave, the epitome of a Five Guarantees household in the cultivation community.

    He had muddled through life in a small town, but now that he was old, having heard that the fairies of Zeyang City were adept, he came to see for himself.

    The so-called Fairy Wang was actually a half-concealed female cultivator among the gathering place of his current loose cultivators, a master of the hundred arts of cultivation. She neither stole nor robbed, but once on a little bed, she was on duty. Though the radish was plucked, the hole remained; after a wash and a rinse, she continued to sell herself, a true representation of female cultivators.

    Although old ginger was mellow, such a blessing Yi Chen naturally could not truly engage in. Instead, he used a Secret Technique to make Fairy Wang fall unconscious, letting her amuse herself while he went to an adjacent room to ponder and practice the True Technique.

    "You... How could you sully someone''s innocence like this? I and Fairy Wang are pure friends on the Dao, both fond of drama. I went to Fairy Wang''s house to see the drama scripts!" Yi Chen suddenly became ''enraged.''

    A lone cultivator with nobody to depend on, is there really no one who is tempted?

    According to information revealed by Old Han, among the loose cultivators of Zeyang City, there were a number of missing persons, and this was what he discovered after his granddaughter disappeared.

    Putting himself in someone else''s shoes, Yi Chen now found even himself tempted.

    "Old Yi, I heard that when you entered Fairy Wang''s room, the lights were blown out."

    "Your drama scripts must emit light, huh."

    Upon hearing this, a burly man grinned and even bellowed with laughter. Yi Chen chuckled awkwardly, flicked his long robe, and slapped down ten taels of silver.

    "Madam, the usual. Warm up a pot of wine, a plate of fennel beans, and a plate of soy sauce pig''s ears."

    "Old Yi, falling on hard times, huh? Those glowing drama scripts must be pricey. How about you come out of town with me this afternoon and make a big score, what do you say?"

    Hu Moliran, with his flossy beard, sat down at Yi Chen''s table, pouring a cup of wine for him. "Don''t say Black Panther doesn''t look after you. I''ve been staking out that monster tiger on Qinglian Mountain for a long time. How about including you in this time?"

    "What''s the point of settling for a half-concealed door? Zeyang City is full of bewitching fairies that will make you linger and forget to return."

    At those words, Yi Chen glanced at Hu Moliran, a hint of elation flashing across his eyes. The fish had taken the bait.

    At that moment, he had already sensed the malice emanating from Hu Moliran towards him.

    This man was undoubtedly up to no good, but such small fry often only had contact through a single line, and even if there were a few layers in the distribution network, it was nothing rare. He still had to endure.

    The position people occupy is different, their power is different, and even if the method is the same, the outcomes can be vastly different.

    Take Que Long''s strategy of luring the snake out of its hole, for example. It may seem old, but it is actually very effective. It''s just that he ends up fishing for a great white shark and becomes an attractive bait himself.

    But Yi Chen was different. He did not believe any cultivators nearby Zeyang City could keep him there. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With that thought, a ''troubled'' expression immediately appeared on Yi Chen''s face.

    "Lord Bao, is this journey safe?"

    "Heh heh, I, Black Panther, roam the wilderness, a master of the Qi Refinement Realm. Going to Qinglian Mountain is like returning to my own home. Are you in or out? Make it snappy, Black Panther rarely offers his goodwill."

    "Fine then, Old Yi will go with Lord Bao to broaden his horizons."

    Yi Chen ''bit the bullet'' and immediately accepted the offer.

    With his ability to disguise and change from the lowest rank upward, this time he was sure to thoroughly understand the network of cultivators in Zeyang City. When the time comes, if he finds the mastermind behind the scenes, would he still be unable to find Old Han''s missing granddaughter?

    This is a good deal killing two birds with one stone.

    Cheers to that!

 Chapter 317 Kill, Evidence and Doubt, The Scholar of Wine

    "Hehe, Brother Yi, rest easy on this journey, ol'' Leopard isn''t always so kind-hearted."

    Hearing Yi Chen''s agreement, Black Leopard stroked his muttonchop sideburns and burst into hearty laughter.

    "Brother Leopard, why not take me along too?" A somewhat unfamiliar, skinny monkey among the patrons couldn''t help but speak up. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Scram, scram, scram, go chill somewhere else, we''ve got enough hands."

    With a keen eye observing the reactions of everyone in the tavern, Yi Chen''s lips curled into an odd smirk.

    "Brother Leopard, how much gold can we earn at the very least from this trip to the mountain?"

    "At the very least this much." The muttonchop-sporting man held up five fingers, laughing proudly, "Five hundred taels of gold."

    Soon, the smile on Muttonchop''s face froze.

    "Brother Leopard, since that''s the case, advance me three hundred taels of gold, and I, Brother Yi, will cover tonight''s drinks for the tavern!"

    "Brothers, Brother Leopard is so generous!"

    Yi Chen clapped Muttonchop on the shoulder, raised his cup high, and the atmosphere instantly became rowdy, lifting Muttonchop up on a pedestal.

    Watching the jeering crowd around him, Muttonchop, feeling like he was screwed over, had already thought up more than a dozen plans to deal with Yi Chen. Grudgingly, he took out three hundred taels of gold and slapped it onto the table, watching someone show off with his money.

    "Pah, old fool, no wonder you''ve fallen to such lows, destined never to reach the Qi Refinement Realm in this lifetime."

    If Yi Chen had known what was going through Muttonchop''s mind, he would have surely given him a thumbs up.

    However, obviously, he was preoccupied at the moment, as he was busy flirting with the graceful Mrs. Zhuo of the tavern.

    "Madam, have you heard of ''The Golden Lotus''?"

    "No, what about ''The Book of Laughter''?"

    Muttonchop watched Yi Chen, who was spewing flirtatious nonsense without shame in the tavern, and finally let go of his last scruples.

    Such a slick old hand couldn''t possibly have that flavor without soaking in pleasure grounds for decades.

    The wool comes from the sheep, he thought of the three hundred taels of gold as paying for Yi Chen''s coffin.

    At night, under the sparse moon and stars, a flock of magpies flew south.

    Yi Chen, drunk as a skunk, staggered into a courtyard with five rooms.

    As a cultivator, even one at the bottom rungs, he had ways to make money far surpassing ordinary people, so he wouldn''t stoop to living in a slum, nor would he have to deal with a female cultivator next door throwing out her nightsoil to water the plants each morning.

    After opening the courtyard door and returning to his room, Yi Chen''s eyes instantly became clear and sharp.

    He spread his hand open, revealing a small piece of paper.

    "Tigers devour men; men devour men; do not go!"

    The paper slip had been secretly flicked into Yi Chen''s sleeve by the tavern''s landlady using a spell.

    Nobody knew that the seemingly boisterous tavern landlady was actually a Qi Refinement master near the True Person Realm.

    Among all walks of life, there was no shortage of perceptive people, nor those wise enough to protect themselves.

    The tavern landlady clearly knew some insider information about Muttonchop, the cultivator.

    "Heh, they want to eat me? I''m afraid they don''t have the teeth for it!"

    Yi Chen sneered, a plume of golden fire rose in his palm, instantly burning the paper slip to ashes.

    Nevertheless, he accepted the landlady''s kind intentions.

    The next day was bright and clear, with a pleasant and gentle breeze.

    Yi Chen left the eastern city gate, accompanied by Muttonchop and two burly men clad in black.

    Watching Yi Chen''s retreating figure from a distance, the buxom and attractive landlady shook her head.

    "Good advice is lost on the doomed."

    Gazing at the clear, azure sky, the landlady felt a cloud of darkness looming over Zeyang City.

    In Mount Qinglian, after walking dozens of miles inward, a strange fragrance wafted over, and Yi Chen was surprised momentarily before wisely playing dead. Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire

    ...

    ...

    Inside Zhengyang Sect.

    In Qinghui Hall.

    A Daoist with a strangely handsome appearance stood in front of an altar, softly chanting sutras.

    As the clear sound of a bell rang out, a sigh of lamentation came from beneath the altar.

    "Junior brother, you keep making mistakes. Even if you chant the sutras over and over, what''s the use?"

    A clean white hand lifted the yellow cloth embroidered with charms that draped over the altar, revealing a person''s head, or rather, a head in a jar underneath.

    Yun Yangzi leaned close under the altar, sneering, "Brother, you''re as foolish as ever."

    "Do you really think I''m doing this out of compassion?"

    "Oh? If not, why mend bridges and roads, recite sutras incessantly?"

    "That''s why I say you''re foolish, brother. How else could Junior Brother''s business have grown this big? It''s all thanks to four words: ''an appearance of propriety!''"

    "Otherwise, how could that person place such trust in us? Without sacrifice, there''s no gain. Those fools contributing to our cause with their measly strength is their greatest value!"

    Yun Yangzi''s voice grew more impassioned, and he slammed his fist on the altar, his beautiful but eerie face contorted with ferocity.

    "Brother, you don''t understand, you''ve never been to Zeyang''s royal palace, you don''t know how high and long the staircase is!

    "Where am I lacking compared to them? All I''m lacking is an opportunity. Brother, I kept you alive to prove that you were wrong¡ª to let you watch with your own eyes how I climb to the very top, step by step!"

    "What matters in a man''s actions are ruthlessness and unscrupulousness, no place for the kindness of a woman; that''s why you lost to me back then!"

    "Just you watch, brother, I will take Zhengyang Sect to a height you can''t even imagine!"

    Yun Yangzi''s tone gradually calmed, his demeanor became contained, as the momentum of a nearly-complete Daoist engulfed the room, making his robe flutter subtly!

    At that moment, with a creak, the door opened.

    An ominous-looking Daoist pushed the door and walked in, not at all surprised by the head in the jar beneath the altar. He bowed respectfully to Yun Yangzi.

 Chapter 317 Kill, Evidence and Doubt, The Scholar of Wine_2

    ""Sect Leader, the batch of drugs has already been transported towards the secret cave in the back mountain,"

    At this moment, at the mountain gate of the Zhengyang Sect, on top of a tall green mountain, behind the mountain ridge, dozens of black-clad people carrying coffins were rushing frantically.

    Yi Chen opened his eyes, filled with coldness.

    Damn it, in just two short days, he''d been sold out three times!

    Was this Zeyang City previously known as Northern Mian by any chance?!

    Having been sold out three times already, this time it should finally reach a wonderful conclusion, right?

    "Alright, you may go now, I''ll be right there!"

    After the Daoist had left, Yun Yangzi dropped the curtain and sneered, "Brother, stay put. I will go check on this batch of drugs myself!"

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    Just then, suddenly a solitary and lofty poetic chant came from the mountain''s base.

    "Silent when speaking, speak when silent."

    "White clouds are aimless, green mountains possess bizarre bones."

    "At midnight the moon shifts, the aged rabbit pushes, the streams flood, and the great whale disappears!"

    It''s slower to tell than to see. Behold an elderly Confucian scholar with a crown on his head and a book in his hands, with each step and thought climbing the mountain. In the blink of an eye, he stood before Yun Yangzi.

    Wherever the old Confucian passed by, there were Zhengyang Sect disciples twisted in strange postures, their injuries varying in severity.

    The shadowy-faced Daoist who had come to see Yun Yangzi earlier had even bled from all seven orifices, having been vibrated to death by him.

    "Scholar of Confucianism, I have met Daoist Yun Yangzi. Regarding the disappearance of cultivators in Zeyang City, do you have anything to convey to me?"

    The self-proclaimed Scholar of Confucianism had an icy expression as he watched Yun Yangzi.

    After his extensive investigations, he had finally confirmed that the Zhengyang Sect was a key link in the case of the disappearing cultivators around Zeyang City.

    At this moment, Yun Yangzi, facing the terrifying old man, couldn''t help but feel cold from head to toe.

    "Scholar of Confucianism..."

    The sudden eruption of a strong aura naturally couldn''t escape Yi Chen''s senses.

    He never expected his undercover operation to be thwarted, fearing that someone else would snatch the opportunity.

    In an instant, Yi Chen rose from his coffin, effortlessly neutralized the coffin-bearers in black, displayed his domineering body, and frantically dashed toward the mountain''s summit.

    The powerful aura that suddenly burst from the back mountain startled the Scholar of Confucianism greatly.

    "Righteous energy of heaven and earth, heed my command, appear!"

    A flash of clarity in his eyes, he used his astonishing pupil technique.

    A purple-golden figure with a ferocious dragon slung over its back and arms tattooed with fierce tigers, as well as a bluish ox at its waist, which was digging at the ground, as if ready to strike the heavens, was seen rushing toward the peak.

    The purple divine patterns all over its body reflected the moonlight, emitting a bright demonic glow!

    "How dare you! I wondered how a mere Zhengyang Sect could commit such a grand act; turns out there''s a demonic sect villain backing you up!"

    The Scholar of Confucianism''s expression changed dramatically. Without waiting for Yun Yangzi to respond, he fully unleashed his Mid-Stage Intercepting cultivation. The book in his hands split into four, slicing Yun Yangzi into a human hog,

    Subsequently, the pages floated up and transformed again, attaching themselves to the old man''s entire body, forming a strange armor covered in characters. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Empowered by this majestic force, the Scholar of Confucianism''s hair and beard flared angrily, he unfastened the wine gourd from his waist and, assisted by this profound energy, released a burst from his mouth!

    In an instant, a fire dragon surged, sweeping across ten thousand zhang of sky!

    The fire dragon, carrying an overwhelming might, rolled back towards Yi Chen. All the while, the Scholar of Confucianism did not forget to roar:

    "Demon spawn, take this!"

    The fire dragon demonstrated its might, instantly enveloping Yi Chen. For a moment, he couldn''t help but rage furiously!

    He had been attacked!

    And he, Yi Taoist, was not even the first to strike!

    Chilled with anger, did this world even have any sense of reason left?!

    What was even more infuriating was the old man''s continuous calling of "demon spawn" as if he was trying to disorder his Daoist heart!

    Even though Yi Chen knew it was a misunderstanding, he was resolved to confront him today!

    Amidst the roaring, the tips of Yi Chen''s hair ignited by the fire dragon instantly extinguished!

    Extreme Origin surged and roared, his aura steadily growing, intensifying, and multiplying!

    Preconceptions in people''s hearts are as big as mountains!

    He was a Daoist, and is it not reasonable for a Daoist to use a halberd, to be a bit strong?

    The Daoist thrust his halberd, influencing the wind and clouds from all directions, aiming to reshape the old man''s worldview.

    As the halberd felt Yi Chen''s fiery rage, it strove to shine more brightly, tearing through the sea of fire with its intense light.

    The Daoist''s feet trod through the flames of war, clashing violently with the formidable old man.

    "Damn it, Hidden Dragon Taoist hold back, it''s a misunderstanding, this is a misunderstanding!"

    The Scholar of Confucianism was getting anxious, clashing directly with Yi Chen for a few moves before seemingly remembering something and hurriedly shouting!

    He even took the initiative to remove the protective barrier formed by the book.

    "Can''t hear you! If the Taoist believes he can''t hear, then he can''t hear!"

    Yi Chen''s domain unfolded, he sheathed his long halberd, his figure transforming into a streak of light, surrounded by an astonishing aura of martial virtue!

    The scholar-ranger''s eyes darted about, his every movement casting oppressive shadows of his fists!

    After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea!

    Yi Chen once again sent the old man flying into the mountainside, turning him into a panda-eyed mess, before his expression finally cleared.

    "Ah, my friend, it''s all a misunderstanding, the Taoist was blinded by anger just now, I thought you were a thief from the Zhengyang Sect!"

    "I had no idea that you were actually a master from the Confucian school!"

    With a taste of his own medicine, Yi Chen transformed into Gusu Murong Chen, returning the favor.

    "My friend, how did you recognize me? Could it be that you have investigated me before?" Yi Chen raised an eyebrow and stared at the old man.

    "Hidden Dragon Taoist is overly concerned, your reputation now resonates thunderously throughout the land. There are few who excel with the halberd, only the Lord Tan Lang from the heavens and Hidden Dragon Taoist could be called the world''s most formidable with halberd techniques!"

    This old fellow is now speaking sensibly, something Yi Taoist likes to hear!

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen magnanimously forgave the scholar-ranger.

    Though the man had a fiery temper, he was capable of correcting his mistakes and had even restrained himself, not retaliating after recognizing Yi Chen, who in turn only left him with a pair of panda eyes.

    After mutual salutations, the two exchanged a glance and promptly dug out Yun Yangzi, who had been buried beneath the dirt unsettled by the fierce winds.

    "My friend, speak up, I can decide to grant you a swift end!"

    "Heh, I dare you to lay a hand on this person!"

    "I was dealing with the chief steward of the Zeyang City Lord, I believe you understand the implications of this information!"

    Yun Yangzi''s eyes flickered with an inexplicable light, defiantly gazing at Yi Chen and his companion.

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen and the scholar-ranger looked at each other, silent amidst a pile of letters and evidence.

    "My friend, what do you suggest we do about this?" the old panda-faced man solemnly asked Yi Chen.

    "If the person behind this truly is Prince Ming, the Taoist believes that a prince who breaks the law should face the same punishment as the common people!"

    "Your words are enough for me, my friend. However, since the Taoist is a member of a sect, it would be best for this old man to take the lead," the old panda-faced man mused for a moment before finally exhaling a sigh.

    After the misunderstanding was cleared up, he truly admired the formidable Taoist before him, as they shared a common path in striving for the well-being of the world''s people!

    He had expended a great deal of effort to find Zhengyang Sect.

    The scholar-ranger didn''t know that as long as he was paid, the Taoist in front of him was very reliable in his actions!

    "Hidden Dragon Taoist, since this matter involves Prince Ming, and although we now have evidence pointing to the Prince''s chief steward, we still cannot convict the Prince. How about we discuss this further tomorrow at the Youmeng Tower?"

    After a moment''s consideration, the scholar-ranger put forth a suggestion.

    Yi Chen instantly caught the true meaning behind the words, fully comprehending the scholar-ranger''s intent.

    Their raid on Zhengyang Sect today would undoubtedly not go unnoticed by the mastermind behind the scenes.

    But that mastermind could never anticipate how much evidence they had obtained from Yun Yangzi.

    Nuclear weapons are most potent when not launched, and the scholar-ranger''s suggestion was a move to startle the tiger by striking the mountain!

    They needed to provoke the mastermind into action! Once they moved, they would seek to cover up, and in doing so, reveal more flaws.

    Gazing at the old ranger with a deep expression, Yi Chen could not tell how much the old man knew, but with matters having developed to this point, he decided to play along with the act.

    After all, two men together certainly fared better than Yi Taoist facing it alone!

    If the mastermind behind the scenes was indeed Prince Ming Qin Ming, for the sake of his safety at the Great Qin Legal Assembly, he would certainly let this good reputation slip by!

    Of course, the man was definitely going to be killed.

    After all, he had accepted Que Long''s payment!

    After setting a time for their meeting, the two parted ways!

    The next morning.

    In the tavern.

    A whiskered monk who had come into sudden wealth was drinking his morning alcohol, his arms around a voluptuous female practitioner.

    He was feeling on top of the world!

    Just as the bearded monk considered treating his beautiful celestial companion to another round of exquisite Pibei wine, an unexpected figure appeared before him.

    "Leopard Lord, good morning!"

    "You..."

    Thump!

    Yi Chen''s big hand gripped the bearded monk''s hair and slammed his head hard against the ground, causing the voluptuous woman to let out a piercing scream!

    With some time still remaining until their noon appointment, Yi Chenzi decided to collect some interest first.

    A skilled Taoist is certainly an expert time management master!

    This made perfect sense!

 Chapter 318 Strange Insects, the Taoists Match, Qin Ming, Flipping the Table on Each Other

    "Keep screaming and I''ll slaughter you too," Yi Chen said with a gentle smile to the plump female cultivator. At this moment, the woman felt as if a giant hand had grasped her heart, terror engulfing her like a tsunami, and her screams came to an abrupt halt.

    At this moment, the entire tavern fell into silence, everyone shocked by the scene unfolding before them.

    The thin monkey who had earlier called out to the bearded monk for guidance now sat restlessly in a corner. Just moments ago, his long-time collaborator, the black panther, had died.

    Someone had been killed with brutal force in the midst of the bustling market, their blood splattering across the ground in a horrific display, some droplets even staining the surface of his shoes.

    "Hiss, this person couldn''t possibly know my relationship with Brother Panther, could he?"

    "He shouldn''t. I have always been in touch with Brother Panther directly, just helping out with some minor tasks."

    After some consideration, the thin monkey felt slightly relieved.

    Nearer now, ever nearer.

    Yi Chen''s figure passed by him, casting a shadow over the monk''s heart like a heavy cloud.

    Nothing happened.

    As the cloud dissipated and sunlight returned, the thin monkey was filled with the joy of having narrowly escaped disaster.

    The shadow moved on, slowly approaching the tavern''s madam.

    The eyes of everyone in the tavern converged on Yi Chen and the madam.

    "Old Yi, you..."

    "Madam, here are a few bottles of aniseed beans for you," Yi Chen said with a grin, offering her a jade box.

    As a Taoist, he had ''dealt with'' countless people and has been given a vast stockpile of storage rings. Finding a few pills to help one break through into the True Person Realm was... indeed not an easy task. He had to rummage for quite a while before finding these.

    "I''m leaving," Yi Chen said as he turned around and waved his hand behind him to say goodbye.

    He casually walked toward the table where the thin monkey monk sat.

    "Almost forgot."

    In an instant, a large hand slammed onto the monk''s head.

    The thin monkey monk shrank a head shorter and fell to the cold ground.

    "Sorry for interrupting your fun, everyone. Today''s drinks are on me, Old Yi," he announced.

    With a swift motion of his hand, the possessions on the corpses of the thin monkey and bearded monk flew towards the table where Mrs. Zhuo, the tavern madam, was sitting. His figure flickered, and he disappeared from the hall.

    After Yi Chen''s figure vanished, the tavern erupted into chaos, with people clamoring to ask Mrs. Zhuo about her relationship with the senior. Only after the noise had subsided did Mrs. Zhuo hang up the "Closed" sign, secured the doors and windows, and opened the jade box.

    "Hiss!"

    With her mouth agape, Mrs. Zhuo''s face was a mixture of shock and ecstasy~

    Unbeknownst to her, the seemingly insignificant items Yi Chen had casually thrown out could change the destiny of a cultivator. The pills were the reward for the note he had given Mrs. Zhuo.

    ...

    ...

    Revisiting the old haunts, the Tower of Quiet Dreams.

    Yi Chen, dressed in an exquisite cyan Taoist robe, sat opposite an old scholar wearing a tall scholar''s hat. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

    The robe was an expensive purchase from the largest ready-to-wear shop in Zeyang City after he had left the tavern.

    He had to dress well; otherwise, the Confucian scholars might think members of the Hidden Dragon Alliance couldn''t afford decent robes.

    It was a must-buy!

    "Brother Hidden Dragon, please!" the scholar invited as he poured a cup of crystal-clear, fine wine from his fiery red gourd, with a gesture of his hand.

    A pleasant and fragrant aroma wafted over, mingled with some indescribable and strange scents.

    "Excellent wine. Out of the one hundred and eight different aromas, I can barely detect one hundred and seven. I wonder what the last and most crucial ingredient might be?" Yi Chen picked up the cup, gave it a taste, and then downed it in one gulp.

    This wine ranked first among all the fine wines he had tasted.

    "What a spirit you have, and such keen senses too. I thought I was the only one who could smell the unique fragrance of the wine bug. I never expected to meet someone like you today," praised the scholar, giving a thumbs up before gesturing, "Please take a look."

    A tiny, blue, gourd-shaped meat worm, about an inch long with eight legs and a mouth resembling a wine barrel, appeared on the table.

    The scholar brought out a large wine vessel and took out various wines from his storage ring¡ªbamboo-leaf green, daughter red, and grape wine¡ªand mixed them together in the vessel. To Yi Chen''s surprise, the scholar then picked up the wine bug and dropped it into the liquid, resulting in a perfect, harmonious blend of the three distinctly different wines.

    The blue meat worm was none other than the wine bug, ranked tenth on the list of unusual insects in the cultivation world.

    In the eyes of a true wine connoisseur cultivator, not even the top three insects on the list, such as the gold-eating worm, could trump this wine bug.

    "My friend, please drink a few more cups today," the scholar said as he put the wine bug back into the gourd, then urged Yi Chen to drink again.

    Yi Chen looked at the elderly man before him and, instead of drinking, smiled and said, "It seems you rarely ask for help. Speak plainly; drinking in such a mood wouldn''t be enjoyable anyway." S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At these words, a look of embarrassment crossed the scholar''s face.

    Taking a deep breath, he began to spill out his request like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, "Indeed, I have a favor to ask of you."

    "I have already sent a letter calling for a friend''s assistance, rather than involving you in this matter. But this morning, I received a message saying that my friend will be delayed by a day and will not arrive until tomorrow evening."

    "The issue of the disappearing cultivators in Zeyang City points directly to the steward of the ruler of Zeyang City, His Highness the Prince. Therefore, I think it''s only proper we pay a visit to His Royal Highness today; I will hold the Prince while you capture the steward. This way, the truth will surely come to light."

    "After careful consideration yesterday, I realized that our original strategy of a feigned attack to catch the tiger might take too long. If we wish to rescue the abducted cultivators quickly, we shouldn''t delay. We need to take a riskier, more direct approach."

 Chapter 318 Strange Insects, the Taoists Match, Qin Ming, Flipping the Table on Each Other_2

    ```

    "Within our Haoran Academy, there are indeed some minor techniques that can extract the information from this person''s mind. If the disappearance of the monk is truly unrelated to Prince Ming, I, as an old man, will personally apologize to His Majesty and Prince Ming."

    "I, Jiu Ru, must make it clear in advance that this action might bring some trouble to the Daoist, and even if you refuse today, I, Jiu Ru, will still acknowledge you as a friend."

    Jiu Ru blurted out everything on his mind like a machine gun, then stopped looking at Yi Chen and proceeded to down three cups of drink in succession.

    It was evident that begging others was something he had never done before.

    He also harbored some embarrassment; just yesterday, he had resolutely stated that he did not want Yi Chen to confront Prince Ming directly, but today, he was ready to have him stir up trouble right under the Emperor''s nose.

    Yi Chen looked at the elder, who continuously ''watched'' outside the window, his ears flapping rhythmically. Suddenly, he found this old chap rather endearing; although brash, he was not pedantic, and this method was indeed the most direct approach.

    With the Haoran Academy supporting him in the foreground, what could he, Yi Chengzi, not dare to do?

    The investigation into the monk''s disappearance had already dragged on for several days. Without speeding it up, it might even affect Old Han''s and Que Long''s five-star rating of him.

    When Yi Daoist handled matters, he always sought to resolve them swiftly.

    That''s settled!

    He had already suspected the ruler of Zeyang City''s territory, but lacking evidence and an angle, he went undercover. Now, the words of Jiu Ru coincided perfectly with his thoughts.

    Once he made up his mind, Yi Chen immediately lifted his cup and gently tapped the table.

    "Jiu Ru, my friend, I apologize, but who asks for help without pouring a drink?"

    Jiu Ru turned around, gave Yi Chen a firm gaze, and suddenly burst into laughter, filling up Yi Chen''s cup:

    "My path is not lonely. Some say Hidden Dragon Daoist is fierce and cunning as a fox; I, Jiu Ru, must go back and teach that person a good lesson."

    "A bunch of old-fashioned geezers. Hidden Dragon Daoist is noble and pure. I will definitely clear your name once I return to my sect. If everyone in the world were like Hidden Dragon Daoist, would there still be so many injustices?"

    "Indeed, I am noble and pure. I have also studied many classic Confucian texts, including the "Book of Songs", which I have read many times and have some insights into!"

    "Jiu Ru, my friend, when you''re hitting that malicious slanderer, hit them hard!" Yi Chen puffed up his chest, proudly declaring with an abundance of enzymes in his body to counteract the alcohol, without the slightest blush on his face.

    "Daoist is also a scholar of the "Book of Songs"?" Hearing this, Jiu Ru''s face lit up with excitement, sparkling with the glow of meeting a kindred spirit.

    "Daoist, I have a couplet. Why don''t we set out now and head to Prince Ming''s mansion? Let''s think, act, and match our verses along the way, how about that?"

    "Agreed!"

    "Got it. Yesterday, the Daoist accompanied me to Zhengyang Sect, so the first line shall be, ''The moon shines while the Daoist heads to the green mountains.''"

    "Daoist, take your time to ponder the second line, and let''s be on our way."

    After another drink, the two made their way downstairs arm in arm. After walking for just seven steps, Yi Chen slapped his thigh, coming up with a line within seven steps, and loudly responded:

    "I have it."

    "The second line shall be ''Dawn brings the nun to the white waters!''"

    At that moment, on the shores of the vast Youmeng Lake, a nun in sable robes was slowly walking by the lake, with the sunlight scattering on the lake surface, reflected back with a dazzling white brilliance.

    Jiu Ru opened his mouth, looked at the triumphant Yi Chen, straightened his tall Taoist hat, and repeatedly said, "Daoist, this way, we must hurry to avoid any long-winded complications."

    At that moment, Jiu Ru silently swore in his heart that he never wanted to publicly match verses with a certain Daoist again.

    He now believed that the version of the "Book of Songs" read by the man in front of him was definitely not the original but a spiced-up version.

    "Daoist, Prince Ming''s steward is an old servant who has been by his side since childhood, sharing a deep bond. Prince Ming always takes this man with him wherever he goes. When we arrive at the Royal Palace, we''ll do this, then this, and then that."

    On their way, Jiu Ru continuously shared with Yi Chen strategies and intelligence about Prince Ming, as well as the details of their imminent action through secret voice transmission.

    The two concealed their presence and rushed through the rooftops on either side of the street like a passing storm, quickly arriving at a grand palace complex that spanned a vast area.

    After passing through a succession of palatial structures and archways numbering in the teens, Jiu Ru, appearing to hold a respectable position within Great Qin, was quickly escorted to the front of the most majestic palace by two armored guards.

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    Prince Ming''s taste for opulence was evident, with his residence featuring a flight of stairs ninety-nine steps tall.

    Most people could not even fathom the height and length of this stairway at Zeyang Royal Palace!

    Here, the steps were made of white jade and golden horses adorned the scene, with ornately carved beams and painted rafters. Two statues of mythical creatures stood erect at the entrance of the palace, constructed with arrays that twisted the space around.

    ```

    However, at this moment, the statue of the mythological creature in front of the palace doors was entwined with three feet of white silk, and white banners and elegiac couplets hung upon the palace steps.

    As the Scholar scanned his gaze, his complexion instantly turned ashen.

    He had shockingly recognized the name upon the elegiac couplets¡ªit was that of the Ming King''s chief steward.

    This person had actually died.

    A nameless fury began to rise within the Scholar''s heart.

    The Ming King had offered no explanation, nor had he allowed his chief steward to assist in the investigation, but had simply started the feast.

    Looking at the time on the elegiac couplets, it was shockingly just last night.

    Such a ruthless method, a clean sweep, clearly confident in his plans.

    At this moment, the Scholar had basically determined that this matter must be inextricably linked to the Ming King, and the very thing he least wished to see had already happened.

    Upon this thought, he steadied his spirit with a silent chant, forcefully suppressing the anger in his heart, ready to ascend the steps.

    Just at this moment, a middle-aged man in embroidered golden robes, sporting a flippant demeanor, appeared at the top of the steps, his arm around a strikingly beautiful woman in red, his voice coming from above, not quite smiling nor completely somber.

    "I wondered why the magpies were singing so early this morning, it turns out that it''s the esteemed Scholar gracing my humble abode, truly making my travel palace brill with splendor," he said.

    "Regrettably, last night my chief steward succumbed suddenly to a grave illness and has passed away, and now we are in a period of mourning. Today, unfortunately, I can''t join the esteemed Scholar for a banquet."

    Having finished speaking, the Ming King, as if to show off, tightened his embrace around the waist of the woman beside him.

    Yi Chen''s expression remained usual, his eyes continuously roving over the middle-aged man and the woman in red beside him.

    Eventually, his gaze settled on the woman in red.

    After all, what''s there to see in ''Zhong Deng''; it''s the woman in red beside him who''s exciting~

    The woman''s features were exquisite as if painted, her aura now transcendent, now seductive, now dignified, now stately¡ªany temperament a man might imagine could be found in her presence.

    Barefooted with jade-like feet, she wore a verdant green dress that faded like a lotus, resembling a blossoming lotus herself, her fair legs exposed beneath the skirt¡ªwhen the wind blew, the light from above the steps made her figure seem to appear and disappear.

    The angle of the light at this spot was perfect, and since Yi Chen could not get a hold on the Ming King''s Achilles'' heel, he decided to take a good look at his wife to please his eyes.

    "The chief steward has been accompanying Your Highness since childhood and held great affection for you, I''ve heard you once called him ''Second Father'' in your youth," he said.

    "Unexpectedly, the chief steward has passed away so suddenly. I wonder if the esteemed Scholar could step forward to see him for the last time and offer three sticks of incense in respect?"

    The Scholar glared at the middle-aged man atop the steps. Without waiting for a reply, he began to ascend the stairs, stepping after step, until he met the Ming King''s gaze. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Teacher."

    "Don''t call me teacher, I''ve only taught Your Highness ''The Book of Songs'' for two and a half months, I do not deserve the title of your teacher," the Scholar said icily.

    Yi Chen stood below the stairs, snacking on a melon, never having imagined that the Ming King and the Scholar had other connections.

    "Well... alright then, esteemed Scholar, please, and the Daoist friend below, please come up too," he said.

    ....

    ....

    A tea''s time later, the Scholar was in a secluded mansion within Zeyang City, standing face to face with Yi Chen.

    "Esteemed Scholar, what are we to do now?"

    "Wait!"

    "Wait?"

    "Yes! The current Millennium Emperor does not tolerate even a speck of sand in his eyes, and that''s true even for the Ming King despite his lofty status. My dearest friend will arrive tonight, and at that time the three of us, along with the Daoist, will join forces to capture the Ming King. Before the sacred ''Heaven''s Conscience Mirror'' of our Confucian sect, the Ming King''s secrets will have nowhere to hide."

    "With the three great Daoist True Monarchs allied, even if the Zeyang royal palace is filled with numerous mechanisms and formations, we will definitely be able to capture the Ming King alive," he said.

    "Good!" Yi Chen, watching the Scholar who seemed hesitant to speak, immediately nodded in agreement.

 Chapter 320 The Taoist Priests Culture and Virtue, Floral Goddess Sect, The Truth Behind the Truth

    "Your Highness, do you realize what you are doing?" The purple-haired girl looked at the majestic middle-aged man seated upon the throne of bones, her cold eyes matched by her cold voice.

    Yi Chen gazed at the piles of white bones, then at the many cultivators on the ground, whose breaths were weak. How could he not know that these mountain-like white bones were the ''dregs'' of this place?

    His eyes scanned the ground, and soon, a woman who was as skinny as a fieldworker''s reed stick caught his sight.

    The mark of a nearly collapsing illusory full moon on the woman''s forehead was particularly striking.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen couldn''t help feeling elated; he had finally found Old Han''s granddaughter.

    She really has a tough life, not only did she survive without being buried in a box, but she even managed to hang on until the final round~

    Just as Yi Chen was about to take action, Lin Luo waved her wide sleeves, and an illusory ripple suddenly enveloped the surviving cultivators on the ground. The ripple turned into a film as thin as a soap bubble, which then quickly shrank,

    until, when it almost reached Lin Luo''s wide sleeves, it had diminished to the size of a glass bead and disappeared inside the sleeve.

    Seeing Lin Luo''s actions, the royal figure did not attempt to stop her. He shook his head with a profound gaze and said, "I didn''t expect that someone other than the Deputy Director could specialize to such an extent in the spatial techniques of the Ministry of Justice. It seems I cannot escape my fate today,

    The adept beside you must be the recently famous Hidden Dragon Taoist, truly a well-deserved reputation. I, indeed, underestimated you yesterday, Daoist."

    Yi Chen nodded and said, the purple-golden cultivation body suddenly descended, standing opposite the man in the formal robe. The black rocky ground cracked abruptly, kicking up a cloud of rock debris and dust: "Your Highness, to know your wrongs and correct them, not bad~"

    Royal Highness: "..."

    Lin Luo: "..."

    Both the Royal Highness and Lin Luo were momentarily at a loss for words, unsure of how to respond.

    And at that moment, Yi Chen also understood the confidence behind the purple-haired girl''s willingness to remain floating in the air and never touch the ground.

    What a world where etiquette and music have collapsed, even a Taoist must guard against it~

    Nevertheless, Daoist Lin Luo''s legs aren''t bad, smooth and five-star-worthy~

    Yi Chen also had his say regarding his actions. The Royal Highness was still standing on the ground. Yi the Taoist landed to confront him, so why should he (numb) himself?

    Daoist Lin dared to wear them. If Yi the Taoist didn''t dare to look, it would seem like he had something to hide, and it''s not like it was intentional.

    Therefore, he must look, and do so overtly. Of course, he couldn''t stare.

    Because he is a Taoist, not Doraemon (crotch), and certainly not a pervert.

    He, Yi the Taoist, speaks of culture and virtue, unlike some from his past life, who dressed for the rich brothers to look at, and if the poor brothers stole a glance, they would be cursed at. That is a lack of culture and virtue.

    The purple-haired girl collected her thoughts. She stretched out two slender fingers like green onions:

    "Highness, two things."

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    "First, I am the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Justice, not the Director."

    "Second, I''ve come across some rather interesting matters. I delayed for a day to investigate some intelligence, which allowed the unfortunate poisoning of Scholar Rui."

    "So, Your Highness, aren''t you going to wake up?"

    "You''ve already fallen for the Floral Goddess Sect''s Bewitching Confusion Secret Technique without even realizing it!"

    Lin Luo''s voice suddenly rose, and before her words were finished, another jade bottle flew out from within her sleeve.

    The jade bottle shattered, releasing a beam of pure light that burst forth and instantly entered the Royal Highness''s forehead, forming a strange talismanic seal.

    "Damn, Daoist Lin, are you calling yourself Lin La A Dream?" Yi Chen couldn''t help but snark inwardly upon seeing this. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The things inside the wide sleeves of the purple-haired girl were like the magical pocket of Doraemon, with treasures being brought out one after another.

    In contrast, Yi the Taoist could only ever pull out a halberd when fighting.

    Yi Chengzi, you''re really poor~

    However, Daoist Lin''s purple stockings do have a certain charm, and the arch of her foot isn''t bad either, it''s just that she''s a little short, only 1.6 meters.

    Seeing the way Yi Chen looked at her, the purple-haired girl misunderstood, but her brows relaxed and she laughed lightly: "Hidden Dragon Taoist does not know that the Floral Goddess Sect is one of the six sects of the demonic path, with secretive actions and a long-standing enmity with Great Qin."

    "Our sect has been in conflict with Great Qin for nearly ten thousand years, and infiltration is commonplace."

    "That Bewitching Confusion Secret Technique, according to the information from the Ministry of Justice, was acquired from other realms by the Floral Goddess Sect through certain special channels hundreds of years ago and was modified. This cultivation technique has significant restrictions on physique, and it took the Floral Goddess Sect hundreds of years to find two individuals capable of practicing it."

    "My Ministry of Justice exposed a valuable undercover agent to obtain a name list, of which Your Royal Highness is one of the targets aimed at by the Floral Goddess Sect; this person is also one of their elders."

    "Combining the recent strange events in Zeyang City with the behavioral changes of Your Highness before and after, I am ninety-nine percent sure Your Highness has been manipulated without notice. This technique is indeed terrifying; it''s capable of controlling a True Monarch, even though Your Highness was only at the entry level of cultivation when affected, which is still quite remarkable."

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen couldn''t help but give a thumbs up: "The Deputy Director''s methods are truly breathtaking, to dig out such secrets, impressive!"

    Lin Luo''s eyes filled with more laughter upon hearing this:

    "You flatter me too much, Daoist. I am merely a Deputy Director, far from deserving the title of Director."

    "However, if the intelligence is accurate, I dare to assert that the person from the Floral Goddess Sect is still within Zeyang City. This is also why I immediately raised the City-Protection Array and brought the Nine Heavens Bright Wisdom Divine Light. "

    "The Nine Heavens Bright Wisdom Divine Light, captured and refined by His Majesty from a secret place, possesses the power to dispel falsehood and illuminate the divine. Daoist, please wait a moment. Once His Highness awakens, the three of us can seek out and slay that treacherous cultist of the Floral Goddess Sect."

 Chapter 321 Unexpected Exposure, Fierce Daoist!

    Gazing at the fierce-looking King Ming, Yi Chen''s odd gaze finally fell on the purple-haired girl.

    At this moment, he felt embarrassed for the Deputy Director, as if she were almost digging out a three-bedroom flat with her feet.

    This boomerang has come back too fast, faster than the Eagle''s back in the day...

    However, as a Taoist with high emotional intelligence, Yi Chen naturally needed to take care of his teammate''s feelings.

    "Daoist Lin Luo, I have not looked at your leg for nothing; I will help you out of this predicament," Yi Chen thought to himself, filled with benevolence, and immediately raised his thick eyebrows and roared:

    "How dare this brute Qin Ming indulge in such loquaciousness here? Do you not know that the bones of the monks on the ground all wish to feed on your flesh? How dare you provoke Deputy Director Lin Luo and bark madly in my presence!"

    "Daoist Lin Luo, there''s no need for courtesy with such demonic outcasts, let''s take him down together!"

    Before the words of Yi Chen even finished, two crescent-like curved blades suddenly appeared in the purple-haired girl''s jade hands from within her sleeves. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    One blade was inky black, while the other was as clear and bright as autumn water, forged from some divine substance, and both emitted strong fluctuations of aura.

    "Hidden Dragon Taoist speaks the truth. King Ming, I have thought too highly of you. All you have achieved is thanks to Great Qin, and now you have disrupted His Majesty''s grand plans. No one can save you now; die!"

    The purple-haired girl was even more fierce than Yi Chen had imagined. Although she was not tall, just about 1.6 meters, and compared to the Cultivation Bodies of Yi Chen and King Ming, she was the type who could only kick as high as the knee, her ferocious aura still caused both men to take notice.

    Crossing the twin blades, she raised them above her head, and suddenly a crossed blade symbol appeared over the dragon-headed human-bodied Dharma Aspect of the exposed King Ming.

    Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

    The black and white lights, like pouring energies, converged and transformed into a torrent that shot towards King Ming.

    However, Yi Chen felt that behind the purple-haired girl''s veil, her beautiful face carried a hint of frustration.

    With his Dharma Aspect vibrating, King Ming''s figure flickered, weaving and dodging, trying to avoid the black and white aura of the girl''s blades, but something beyond Yi Chen''s expectation happened.

    The aura of the blades was as if it had eyes, following King Ming''s every evasive maneuver as persistently as a pustule.

    "Hiss, what a mysterious technique. Is this the method of the Yin-Yang School among the Hundred Schools of Great Qin?" Yi Chen was shocked and a competitive spirit suddenly surged in his heart.

    Your blades are sharp, but my halberd is no less so.

    At this moment, Yi Chen no longer hesitated. His Holy Halberd vibrated as he lashed out aggressively, no longer acting as a war correspondent, but engaging live on the scene.

    At that moment, the hero revealed his edge, a test of halberd against blade!

    The blade was as fast as lightning, swift and decisive, with fierce power and bizarre moves that forced King Ming to catch his breath and only able to parry in response.

    The halberd radiated dazzling white light, blinding as a massive fluorescent tube, fiercely slamming down on King Ming''s three-headed six-armed Dharma Aspect.

    The halberd''s white glow illuminated Yi Chen''s solemn face. Even in the heat of battle, the purple-haired girl spared a moment to glance at his radiance.

    Doubtful, Lin Luo glanced at Yi Chen''s meticulously painted dragon and the green ox at his waist upon the purple-golden majestic body, pondering deeply without coming up with a conclusion as to what precious scripture he practiced to have cultivated such an unusual Cultivation Body.

    "This Hidden Dragon Daoist is shrouded in mystery. It seems necessary to pay great attention to him. His Cultivation Body is as domineering as a demon''s yet carries a righteous and overbearing air. Truly astonishing and unfathomable," she mused internally.

    "And his halberd also has a peculiar vibe about it."

    In the midst of the battle, Lin Luo, afflicted by professional curiosity, found her interest in Yi Chen rising even further.

    Igniting the seven emotions, burning the six desires, all thirteen fires of Pure Yang are but void.

    The overbearing lord lifts his halberd, calling forth extinction and annihilation, cycling through four forms, Devour Heaven and Earth.

    As wind and clouds stirred across the sky, a black vortex suddenly emerged, pressing down horizontally toward King Ming. During the fierce battle, Yi Chen''s thoughts were once again riddled with doubts.

    Something was off with this King Ming before him.

    Although King Ming continuously used his Secret Technique, surrounding himself with a strange purple mist during the battle, in Yi Chen''s perception, the mist only had the ability to confuse and conceal.

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    To date, Yi Chen has killed four purple-ordered demon mages, but this King Ming, despite being slashed by both Yi Chen and the purple-haired girl to the point of weakening, had still not transformed into a purple crystal form.

    "Such endurance?"

    "This is no ordinary demon. It seems I must amp up the intensity for this King Ming."

    Yi Chen, looking at the remnants of the shattered dark canopy above, sensed the lingering aura within it and was ninety percent certain it was set by a purple-ordered demon mage, detecting a familiar odor therein.

    That was the distinctive style of the many demon mages'' worshipped and sacrificed Emperor Asna~

    "King Ming, surrender now, and perhaps His Majesty will spare you a thread of life," the purple-haired girl suddenly ceased her attack, "Your mental cultivation has barely entered the late phase of intercepting the path, but your Cultivation Body is not fully transformed. Continuing to resist will only lead to a dead end."

    Having calmed down, Lin Luo still felt that some aspects of the incident in Zeyang City remained enshrouded in mystery, conflicting with the intelligence she held, thus could not help but pause her assault to advise.

    As she spoke, Lin Luo couldn''t help but cast a glance at the imposing purple-golden form of the Daoist before her, and her mind churned with thoughts of recruiting Yi Chen.

 Chapter 321 Accidental Exposure, a Ferocious Daoist!_2

    It''s too comfortable, too in sync.

    Although it was the first time she and Yi Chen had joined forces against an enemy, their tacit understanding was as if they were old friends of many years. That silent, purple-golden figure seemed like a wall, shielding her from the terrifying waves outside, giving her an overwhelming sense of security.

    It seemed that as long as that purple-golden figure stood before her, she could confidently stand behind him and let loose with her attacks.

    Unlike the hexagon-shaped warrior Yi Chen, she, with her strong offense but weak defense, felt a truly exhilarating sense of release for the first time, leveraging her advantages to the fullest.

    "In a world where victors are kings and the defeated are bandits, even if I spend the latter half of my life as a prisoner, a caged bird, scraping by on a humiliating existence, so what? Thank you for your kindness, General Lin, but this king! Will not! Surrender!"

    King Qin Ming''s lips were smeared with a trace of fresh blood, and his golden robes were in tatters. However, he stood as firm as a javelin, his spirit unyielding, his deep eyes calm as the abyss, exhibiting an indifferent acceptance of life and death.

    "Magnificent! Bravo, King Qin Ming!"

    "Better to die standing than to live on your knees, I admire your spirit!"

    Hearing Lin Luo''s attempt to persuade him to surrender, Yi Chen grew anxious, immediately lifting King Qin Ming higher and higher.

    If Lin Luo took the king before him back to Xianyang, wouldn''t his efforts as Yi Taoist be in vain?

    Whether he''s a demon or not, a single strike with my halberd will reveal the truth.

    "Once more!"

    "With the halberd, the Tyrant rises, God Slayer!" S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen''s eyes shone with a frosty light; his halberd flowed like a stream of light. This time he held nothing back. The God Slayer move reappeared, this time with a secret technique now activated.

    All at once, his divine power surged forth, then surged again and again, cycling five times until it reached its peak.

    Boom!

    The earth cried out in agony!

    Phantom images of a ferocious dragon, a malicious tiger, and a green ox, the three great divine patterns, rose up behind the purple-golden Daoist, and then converged and coalesced, forming a figure identical to Yi Chen.

    The Holy Halberd asked the heavens, with one move, "God Slayer," that cleaved both the physical body and the soul.

    Above the massive halberd, Yi Chen thrust directly through the earth''s crust as if piercing a hawthorn fruit, impaling King Qin Ming upon it, blood splattering everywhere.

    Under three heads and six arms, King Qin Ming''s four powerful hands suddenly gripped the halberd, preventing it from moving further, while two arms transformed into streaks of light and bombarded Yi Chen''s cultivation body.

    Yi Chen ignored it all, his heart filled only with the intent to kill, and the sound of clangs and bangs exploded above Zeyang City!

    With a crack, a sound like shattering glass abruptly rose from the depths of his heart. At that moment, the strong defensive stance formed by the Qilin armor, combined with the three great pieces, was shattered by King Qin Ming''s Dharma Aspect. The forthcoming protection formed by his cultivation body after breaking through to the fifth Body-Breaking Realm was reduced by forty percent.

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    It was also at this moment that Yi Chen looked in shock at King Qin Ming, who bore a trace of relief in his eyes.

    "Your Highness, can you still endure this? You''re on the brink of death, yet you still endure?"

    "Damn it, just transform already, turn crystalline!"

    "Are you looking down on me?"

    Shocked, Yi Chen couldn''t help but send three consecutive messages to King Qin Ming. At this time, his sense of alarm peaked, and he was ready to activate the Pure Yang Holy Seal at a moment''s notice.

    "This king was deluded, assassinated fellow cultivators, and committed a grave error, unworthy of the Emperor''s teachings. Please, Daoist Lin and General Lin, convey my apologies on my behalf."

    "Qin Ming wishes to die to atone for his sins and comfort the spirits of fellow cultivators in heaven."

    "Death is but a prelude to rebirth. Tonight''s moon, it''s truly beautiful!"

    Suddenly, King Qin Ming''s four hands that tightly gripped the halberd loosened, and caught off guard, Yi Chen''s halberd sliced swiftly upward. A slender line of blood appeared in the middle of King Qin Ming''s cultivation body, spreading to his brow.

    King Qin Ming gazed calmly and regretfully at Yuan Yue above him one last time, then his body inverted into a standing ''ÈË'' character and fell from the sky, landing amongst the ruins and dust, his last words echoing in the skies above Zeyang City.

    Yi Chen had acted too quickly, and King Qin Ming''s sudden relinquishment of resistance had taken Lin Luo by surprise as well.

    However, the weight of the head of a Great Qin royal was enough to close the case of Zeyang City.

    Lin Luo, watching the golden City-Protection Array in the skies above Zeyang City and the black and white light of the Yin-Yang Divine Wind Cloak transforming, considered retrieving the Divine Wind Cloak; after all, maintaining control over this treasure took a toll on her spirit.

    Even with her robust foundation, it was strenuous to sustain over long periods.

    Just then, a message suddenly resonated within her soul. After a moment of thought, she abandoned the idea.

    Half an hour later, on a vast open field, hundreds of figures stood nervously packed together.

    Among them, two beautiful women were particularly eye-catching.

    These people were all closely associated with King Qin Ming from the Zeyang Royal Palace.

    "Daoist Lin, I have a spiritual beast with an extremely keen sense of smell. Why not let it search through the vast Zeyang Royal Palace? Perhaps it can uncover some secrets unknown to others."

    "As for the people below, I have a secret technique to test them. I always found King Qin Ming''s case somewhat peculiar," Yi Chen informed the purple-haired young woman and then gave Miao Zi, his beloved large cat, a meaningful glance. In a few swift leaps, Miao Zi disappeared into the distance, understanding the signal.

    Damn it, all for nothing. He had thought King Qin Ming was a demon, but who knew it was a miscalculation; he was actually cursed. What made a member of the Great Qin royal, like Dao Zhen, give up a promising future for death? Was the wine not delectable or the beauties not enticing? Without being controlled by a secret technique, who would repay being shielded from a nuclear blast like this?

    Now that things had come to this, Yi Chen could only seek compensation from other areas.

 Chapter 321 Accidental Exposure, a Ferocious Daoist!_3

    A few extra bucks to help with the family expenses.

    "The junior brothers will be here soon, how can we spruce up the Hidden Dragon Temple without a significant amount of silver? How can we get more cultivators to search for Deep Red Points for us?"

    "Scram!"

    "Crawl away for your master!"

    "Chuff, drag this piss-soaked wretch down to the Fragrant Ponds and let him relieve himself thoroughly. Don''t let him come back up unless he swims back and forth three times!"

    ....

    Yi Chen used one supernatural ability after another to interrogate and guide, but he couldn''t dig out any useful information. Lin Luo''s eyes also flashed with disappointment, as she too had found nothing amiss.

    Just then, an image dressed in a green long dress with an icy face came into his view, this person was none other than the beloved concubine of King Ming, Bi Lian.

    By her side was a figure in a black gauze dress, Mu He Immortal, who had met Yi Chen only once before. Her lips were naturally red, her eyebrows were naturally green, with a curvy figure, and a pair of long legs stretched taut.

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    Seeing these two great beauties, Yi Chen rubbed his hands together and a lecherous smile appeared on his face.

    "Immortal Bi Lian is truly peerless in elegance, and my heart goes out to her. However, you must be careful of a man surnamed Cao in the future. The Taoist is adept at physiognomy, let''s discuss it when you have time."

    "Moreover, the Taoist has quite a study of The Book of Songs. Having seen two such beauties today, I happened to come upon an excellent verse, would you like to hear it?"

    "Even Jiu Ru, with his erudition, would not alter a word of my poetry, nor could he fully critique it."

    Unconcerned with the hostile looks from the two women and the disdainful expression in Lin Luo''s eyes, Yi Chen started to pace with a lewd smile growing broader on his face as he approached Immortal Bi Lian.

    "The lotus leaves stretch to the sky, endlessly green!"

    Before finishing the poem, his figure stopped near Mu He Immortal. He leeringly sized her up from a distance, opened his arms as if to force a hug on her, and then continued to voice the verse:

    "Hardened by the sun, the Mu He is uniquely red!"

    As the poem ended, Yi Chen lunged at the Immortal Mu He with incredible speed. Seeing this, the girl with purple hair was so startled that she nearly split open on the spot.

    What was the Hidden Dragon Taoist doing in public like this?

    No matter how you looked at it, both of these female cultivators were King Ming''s consorts and represented the dignity of Great Qin. Such behavior was utterly outrageous.

    As the consorts of King Ming, whether it was Bi Lian or Mu He, nothing seemed out of order, and no anomalies were detected, as Lin Luo had already thoroughly checked.

    At this moment, with a soft and fragrant beauty in his arms, Yi Chen''s expression suddenly turned icy, no longer frivolous as before, and he powerfully unleashed his embrace killing move.

    "Pure Yang Holy Seal Heavenly Light!"

    The colorful Cultivation Body suddenly revealed itself and Mu He was caught off guard, trapped in the Daoist''s powerful pectorals. Suddenly, she felt all the bones in her body crying out and her complexion drastically changed in an instant.

    At most three days, she would have completely consolidated her form of Dao Mastery. Little had she expected that she would be exposed today.

    Laughable. Upon closer inspection, Yi Chen actually smelled a hint of wine worm fragrance on Immortal Mu He''s body, right on her breast and abdomen area. Where had that come from?

    Recalling the earlier anomaly with King Ming and the cause of Jiu Ru''s death, Yi Chen immediately made two bold conjectures.

    The first was that Jiu Ru and the lady wife of King Ming had an affair and had climbed high mountains together, and it must have been recent since the fragrance was nearly imperceptible.

    The second was that someone else was responsible for killing Jiu Ru, which would make sense.

    Whether it was one or the other, Immortal Mu He was on a path to her death. Yi Taoist would know after trying.

    Brilliant purple light burst forth from the gaps in Yi Chen''s pectorals, a huge purple crystal figure rapidly expanded, slowly prying apart Yi Chen''s strong arms. The purple crystal figure contorted, struggled, and writhed against his sturdy chest, causing two hard lumps to painfully press against his Cultivation Body. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Lin, what are you waiting for? Cut off her path now!" Yi Chen cried out urgently to the girl with purple hair upon seeing this.

 Chapter 326 Mo Yuan and Ju Zi Welcome a Challenger.

    "Ling Xudu seems to have proven himself, already rising to the realm of Intercepting Dao," Chen Haichao fell silent for a moment and then sighed, "Forget it, you should go see for yourself. He''s in the Hall of Rebirth."

    "Ah? What is Ling Junior Brother doing in the Hall of Rebirth?" Xue Lingzi''s face showed confusion, but Chen Haichao did not reply; instead, he waved his hand, signaling for Xue Lingzi to leave.

    Pushing open the dust-covered doors, Xue Lingzi walked into the Hall of Rebirth with a puzzled look.

    Inside the palace, in a fish tank-like transparent crystal vessel, a head with half of its scalp peeled away and its brain faintly visible bobbed in the fluid, occasionally emitting painful cries.

    This head bore a vague resemblance to Ling Xudu.

    That day he had leaped, attempting to merge with and occupy the corpse of a powerful member of the ancient demon royal family, the Moroke. Yet even with hatred as heavy as mountains, will as strong as iron, and the assistance of Chen Haichao''s essence blood, the mere twenty-five percent chance of success was still too low.

    Ascending to the heavens in a single step is easier said than done.

    Had it not been for Chen Haichao''s protection at his side, acting in time, Ling Xudu might have preserved just his life, but sadly he ended up as nothing more than a brain in a vat.

    "You¡­ you''re Senior Brother Xue Lingzi?" Ling Haichao within the crystal vat, bubbling in the dark fluid, suddenly had his eyes dilate, almost as if they would pop out of their sockets, flashing a look of panic and joy.

    "Ling Junior Brother, you..." Seeing the once handsome and spirited Ling Junior Brother reduced to this inhuman, ghostly state, the youth in bloodied clothes felt great sorrow. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Half an hour later.

    Xue Lingzi''s knuckles were white as he spoke with resentment, "Junior Brother, rest assured, I have avenged your grievance."

    "With my current cultivation, killing that person is as easy as slaughtering a chicken," he said.

    "If that person participates in the Great Qin Legal Assembly, that would be even better. I will definitely record the event with the Liuying Jade and etch those images for you to slowly enjoy and play with," said Xue Lingzi.

    "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

    "Why be so polite with me, your brother!"

    In the grand hall, the two brothers exchanged a knowing smile, their understanding of each other going unspoken.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Stars stretch over wide fields, the moon surges in the great river''s flow.

    Yi Chen, leading Han Xinyue, raced across the wilderness, the strong breeze they created pressing the surrounding grass flat, with even some of the tough roots of weeds snapping under the force.

    This was the consequence of confronting his staunch mentor, Yi Chengzi.

    As the Daoist passes, only the subdued grass remains!

    Under the moonlight, Yi Chen''s expression was deep, his body instinctively sensing danger and avoiding it, crossing over treacherous rivers as if on autopilot. At this moment, his consciousness had already retreated deep within his body.

    After the battle with the Purple Crystal Demi-human, Yi Chen finally completed the deduction of the technique "Heavenly Scourge High Above," but since it was a new creation, it was still somewhat rough and not yet smooth. He took the opportunity while traveling to refine it further.

    As time trickled by, it wasn''t until the first rays of dawn illuminated his vision that his eyelids twitched and his main consciousness regained control of his body.

    "This altercation with the Purple Crystal Demi-human was perilous, yet the gains were substantial. Having realized the ''Heavenly Scourge High Above'' technique, cultivators at the later stages of the Intercepting Dao realm are now as much of a threat to me as mere chickens and dogs," Yi Chen thought.

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    "However, there is now a matter that warrants consideration: who exactly is this ''Asna'' that the demi-human spoke of, and what about the inexplicable anomaly that occurred some days ago?" Yi Chen mused, a hint of worry appearing in his eyes. He hadn''t forgotten about that powerful being called Bo Xun from the Extinction Ruins.

    Just a part of his flesh possessed such might, giving rise to figures like the Black Lotus Patriarch.

    Yi Chen had a premonition that a vast net was slowly descending upon the Human Realm, and even the Five Realms, and in the future, everyone would have to make a choice.

    Yet there hadn''t been any powerful individuals who transcended the Dao Mastery Realm within the Five Realms for many years. The Armament Master was recorded as the last one.

    "Even if it costs me, I must obtain the ''Heaven and Earth Divine Gate Qi'' this time," he resolved.

    "The weak can only wait for judgment, while only the strong can control their own destiny."

    With the rising sun bathing him, Yi Chen''s expression was resolute. The golden sunlight cast him in a divine-like appearance, a strong aura emanating from him, and Han Xinyue riding the loyal leopard behind him was so mesmerized that for a moment she became distracted.

    Three days later, a majestic mountain stood tall upon the earth.

    This mountain was lush and ancient, towering into the sky. The setting sun stained the clouds at the horizon a blazing red. At the foot of the mountain, roads crisscrossed, chickens clucked, and dogs barked. Men and women worked, tilling and planting, all industrious as if driven by water buffaloes and horses. Cultivators mixed and toiled among the common people.

    Since a great change thousands of years ago, the Mo Family had split into two branches. One lineage pledged allegiance to the Qin court, known as Qin Mo. The Mo Family figure of that era, Ju Zi, believed worldly affairs and sect fights were troubling and destructive, compounded by the incessant warfare of the Seven States.

    Seeking change and innovation, Ju Zi traveled across the lands of the Seven States of the Eastern Continent and ultimately chose to support the most inconspicuous Qin State of the time, helping that generation''s Qin king to sweep across and unite the land, ending the protracted state of war among the Seven States.

    Ju Zi believed he had compromised due to a realistic assessment of the situation, choosing the lesser of two evils. However, his actions were highly controversial among the Mo Family''s new and old members, who believed Ju Zi had betrayed the Mo Family''s ideals,

    Thus, certain disciples of the Mo Family who did not approve of Ju Zi''s approach moved to Yun Mo Mountain to continue pursuing their ideals.

    The cultivators of Yun Mo Mountain later came to be known as the Yun Mo lineage, and over thousands of years, they became increasingly vulnerable. If not for Qin Mo''s consideration of their common origins and their occasional covert assistance, the great Yun Mo Mountain likely would have changed its name several times over.

 Chapter 326 Mo Yuan and Ju Zi Welcome a Challenger._2

    Against Yi Chen''s expectations, the one meeting him at the foot of the mountain was not only Old Han, but also a white-haired elder, and a middle-aged burly man who looked proud and eager to try.

    "I am Bai Siming of Ju Zi from Yunmo Mountain, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the esteemed Hidden Dragon Taoist!" the white-haired elder bowed as he looked toward the robust Daoist approaching with a vigorous and imposing manner.

    Yi Chen''s gaze immediately sharpened upon seeing this.

    "Hiss, to think that the Ju Zi of Yunmo Mountain would personally come to greet me, such grand treatment." With this thought, his chest puffed out even higher.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

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    Non-Aggression Hall.

    Entrance, seating, serving tea.

    After some pleasantries, Yi Chen finally learned that the Ju Zi of Yunmo Mountain came down the mountain to meet him personally.

    The reputation of his serene and noble character as the Hidden Dragon Taoist had actually reached Yunmo Mountain.

    He had rushed thousands of miles to Zeyang City to investigate the disappearance of cultivators, a selfless act done solely for the benefit of others.

    Yi Chen didn''t know how Old Han had boasted about him, but he had managed to suppress the news that Yi Chen had accepted two pieces of ice and fire Jue Jade, a rare natural treasure, crafting for him an image of utmost righteousness and nobility.

    "The Hidden Dragon Taoist is zealous and benevolent, racing thousands of miles to save others, embodying the spirit of ancient ink masters, and later even aided our Yunmo Mountain''s Que Long while traveling the world, leaving us all on Yunmo Mountain deeply touched and grateful."

    "...."

    Through roundabout ways, the white-haired elder began to subtly probe Yi Chen, seeking to see if he would join Yunmo Mountain.

    Damn it, the Ju Zi sure knows how to read people.

    Yi Chen stealthily glanced at Old Han who was quietly meditating, and had no choice but to tactfully change the subject.

    No matter what, he was very comfortable using the Qilin Armor; giving it back was out of the question.

    Seeing that he was not taking the bait, the burly middle-aged man seated next to the Ju Zi grew impatient. He swept his gaze across the room and said in a booming voice,

    "Que Long has been incessantly praising the Hidden Dragon Taoist for his wisdom and remarkable words that strike to the heart of the matter. I wonder what the Taoist''s views are on the differences between our Yunmo Mountain and Qin Mo?"

    Upon those words, the room fell silent, and everyone turned their gaze toward Yi Chen.

    "Qin Mo is realistic, Qin Mo is good."

    "Yunmo is idealistic, enduring through storms without changing its true colors, Yunmo is also good."

    Yi Chen fell silent for a second, drank the cup of clear tea on the table in one gulp, then raised his head and smiled at everyone.

    In that moment, Yi Taoist, with the spirit of a clear-soup grand master, began playing the fool.

    The struggle over Dao Mastery is extremely dangerous. If word of this conversation got out to those with ulterior motives, it would undoubtedly bring about trouble, which he would rather avoid.

    Although he wouldn''t be afraid, he detested complications.

    That night, the people of Non-Aggression Hall witnessed the oratory art of the Hidden Dragon Taoist with admiration, and Bai Siming''s eyes flickered with a hint of disappointment. Nevertheless, he did not pursue the matter further, and instead led the conversation to leisurely topics, discussing secrets from past and present with grace. The banquet concluded late into the night.

    The next day, at the foot of the mountain behind Yunmo Mountain, a loyal leopard was dragging a heavy and bizarre carriage, clad in sturdy armor with two strange metallic wings inserted into the armor plates. Several metal conduits connected to the carriage, giving it an appearance akin to an iron Garurumon, as it idly scratched an itch, its comportment somewhat dog-tired.

    The carriage and the equipment on the loyal leopard were thank-you gifts from Yunmo Mountain. Relying on this gear, the leopard could traverse mountains and rivers with ease, tread on level ground as if flying, and pull the carriage at high speeds over great distances, making the leopard much more adept at assuming its role as a tool leopard.

    Once the connecting rails were removed, The Loyal Leopard relied on its armor, and its evasion speed became even more astonishing.

    "Hidden Dragon Taoist, what do you think of the insignificant tricks Mo Yuan hurriedly put together last night? How do they measure up?" The middle-aged, muscular man grinned at Yi Chen, unable to hide a smug look of pride on his face.

    The armor on The Loyal Leopard and the carriage were indeed crafted by this man''s own hands. As a candidate for the next Ju Zi of the Yunmo Mountain sect, he certainly had some clever methods up his sleeve.

    "Truly ingenious craftsmanship, I am impressed," Yi Chen couldn''t help but admire. It was much more effective than anything handmade, indeed very useful!

    "Since the Taoist admires it, I would ask you for a battle before you leave!"

    "If the Taoist loses, how about joining our Yunmo Mountain? I also hope that the Taoist will speak truthfully about last night''s incident. If the Taoist wins, consider that I, Mo Yuan, owe the Taoist a favor. If in the future the Taoist needs to forge any Magic Artifacts, I, Mo Yuan, still have some modest methods at my disposal."

    "It is widely known that Hidden Dragon Taoist has single-handedly slain the Wusheng Sword Mother and severely injured the villain Xu Du from the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect. I, Mo Yuan, wish to experience that for myself."

    "Mo Yuan has devoted half his life to cultivation, with his skills reaching the mid-phase of intersection. He has painstakingly personalized a suit of battle gear for himself, and just a few days ago, it was completed. Hidden Dragon Taoist managed to kill the Purple Crystal Demi-human in Zeyang City, so your cultivation must be unfathomable. I, Mo Yuan, wish to test it!"

    In the flow of his words, the middle-aged, muscular man''s eyes shone with an eager desire for battle. From the large bamboo tube he carried on his back, which suddenly unsheathed with a sound, thousands of bamboo slips and strange metal gadgets swiftly flew out, forming countless components.

    No sooner had these components flown out, they immediately attached themselves onto the middle-aged man like a divine decree, and in the blink of an eye, a giant resembling a mech appeared at the foot of the mountain. On the shoulders of the giant, two large cannon muzzles twisted their way out, and on the thighs and sides of both arms, there were several strange metal tubes,

    The left arm was already covered by heavy metal components, with one large and one small cylinder attached to it. Inside the circular metal bands, eighteen channels resembling naval gun barrels radiated a chilling cold light, while the smaller metal sleeve above it was as smooth as a mirror.

    In an instant, Mo Yuan transformed into a fortified battle bastion. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Halfway up Yunmo Mountain, two white-haired elders stood with their hands behind their backs, watching the scene unfold below.

    "Brother, is this any way to treat a guest? Mo Yuan is bright and talented. Although he has not focused on cultivation, the strange battle gear he has researched is indeed remarkable. If he injures Hidden Dragon Taoist, that would be regrettable."

    Bai Siming looked at the elder beside him who appeared even older and said with a sigh, "Mo Yuan is arrogant due to his talent, and wholeheartedly engrossed in external objects. It''s a pity that not a single one of our Yunmo Mountain disciples, who are devoted to cultivation, can suppress him, even though he often emerges victorious in his encounters with other cultivators by conquering the strong despite being weaker."

    "Don''t worry, brother. I have observed Hidden Dragon Taoist, and his aura is deep and as immovable as a mountain. A man''s reputation precedes him, and he is most certainly not a weak opponent. If he can cause Mo Yuan to become somewhat more restrained, that would be a good thing."

    "Do not underestimate that Hidden Dragon Taoist. His cultivation might be even slightly superior to Mo Yuan''s!"

    "What?" Bai Siming''s companion''s eyes widened in shock upon hearing this; he knew well the prowess of Mo Yuan''s strike, which was close to the power of a nascent realm of Dao Mastery.

    The Mo of Yunmo Mountain have always upheld the original philosophy of Ju Zi, with "universal love" and "non-aggression" as their highest ideals. However, after several setbacks, the average Mo from Yunmo Mountain had become more restrained, while Mo Yuan, after reviewing the centuries of Yunmo Mountain''s history, believed that to realize the ideals of Ju Zi, Yunmo Mountain needed to wield the greatest force.

    Focusing on the research of his own battle gear and arming himself was the first step he had taken, but his ideas had not received the support of the elders, who were unwilling to reallocate the full resources of Yunmo Mountain to change directions and take the lead boldly.

    His challenge to Yi Chen today was the result of careful consideration. If he could defeat the one whom even Ju Zi admired immensely with a display of overpowering strength, then he could convince Ju Zi to increase support for him, including manpower and resources.

    "A challenge?" Yi Chen looked Mo Yuan up and down with a faint smile on his face, as if seeing right through him.

    He did not speak but turned away and gestured with his hand, indicating that he had to leave.

    A look of disappointment flashed across Mo Yuan''s face, but the integrity of a Mo prevented him from forcibly striking from behind and dragging Yi Chen into this gamble.

    Just as the carriage had shrunk to the size of a soybean in the distance, suddenly, the sound of wind and thunder arose from afar.

    "Mo Yuan, catch this spear from me, and I will accept your challenge!"

    For a moment, Mo Yuan''s face lit up with wild joy, and a thick blue light began to emanate from the cannon on his left arm.

    "My will aligns with the heavens, and the heavens will surely bless me! My words strike true, and my bombardment is imminent!"

    "Heaven''s Mandate ¡¤ Sky-Piercing!"

 Chapter 328 A Hundred Miles in One Step, Shifting Form, Entering the City, Meeting Lin Luo Again

    Inside the carriage, Yi Chen clenched his teeth, his voice trembling slightly.

    But he remained defiant.

    He struggled to suppress his body''s instincts, condensing his Extreme Origin into a sphere and allowing the forces of extreme cold and extreme heat to rampage around his body.

    Half an hour later, the forces of extreme cold and heat subsided, and he finally lifted the curtain. His Extreme Origin flowed, evaporating the fine beads of sweat on his body, and a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

    The last piece of Origin Point required for the Agility-Breaking Realm had finally taken shape. Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

    After so much effort, he had succeeded, so what was he waiting for?

    With a thought, Yi Chen summoned the virtual screen and began his breakthrough.

    After more than ten seconds, the virtual screen fluctuated before gradually stabilizing.

    Agility: 250, {Agility-Breaking Realm five times: Swiftness lv5, Sky Piercer lv4, Shadow Stealth lv3, Unstoppable lv2, Shape Shift lv1 (With a mere thought, his figure can flash to any area within a hundred miles. After two consecutive uses, it requires an interval of twelve hours to recharge.)}

    "Hiss, ''Thought as Swift''!"

    "Lately I have been cultivating my temperament, dangling a line on my way here and even coming up empty two or three times. Truly, a good person gets a good reward, and here''s the big one that''s just arrived, isn''t it?"

    Yi Chen stepped out of the carriage, his face revealing a look of pleasure, as he casually stroked the forehead of his loyal leopard, making the comfortable beast squint its eyes in pleasure.

    Good leopard, good reward.

    After numerous attempts in the Agility-Breaking Realm, he finally drew a SSR, a victory for Hidden Dragon Temple.

    Among his four attributes, the special abilities gained from each level of the Agility-Breaking Realm were quite mediocre, but now that his last weakness was greatly strengthened, this meant that whether in pursuit or escape, Yi Chen could employ an even more flexible and diverse range of tactical approaches.

    "Why not give it a try?" Yi Chen looked into the distance, suddenly feeling an itch in his heart.

    Thousands of meters away, a newly built majestic city had risen from the ground, sprawling on the earth like a massive beast.

    ....

    ....

    In the center of Taiwu City, on a strange circular plaza paved with black stones, two figures stood facing each other.

    One of them, with purple hair and eyes, floated above the ground and wore a white veil over their face. It was none other than Lin Luo, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Justice of Great Qin.

    With the aid of the Ministry of Justice''s secret treasure, she had just begun to form the rudiments of Dao Mastery. Now her temperament had become even more profound and inscrutable, adding a touch of ethereal beauty to the already stunning Lin Luo.

    A middle-aged man in a green official robe embroidered with an exotic bird gazed down at the tips of his own shoes, daring not to overstep in the slightest.

    The person before him was deeply trusted by the Millennium Emperor and was none other than the Deputy Director who was very likely to take charge of the Ministry of Justice in the future. Fresh out of seclusion, she had been appointed by the Emperor to manage the order within Taiwu City.

    After all, during the Great Qin Legal Assembly, with the world watching, more people could easily cause trouble. If enemies met and started fighting on the spot, it was not impossible. A chaotic mess would bring shame to Great Qin, thus assigning a powerful figure to suppress Taiwu City was only logical.

    The greatly improved Lin Luo was favored by the Emperor, making her a perfect candidate.

    "Black Crow, how is the preparation of Taiwu City''s aerial restriction barrier progressing?" The cold voice floated from the lips of the purple-haired girl as the man in the green official gown, Black Crow, recalled the rumors about this cold-faced Deputy Director of the Ministry of Justice and bowed his head even lower. He cautiously replied:

    "Following the orders of the Deputy Director, we, the artisans, did not dare to be careless. The Forbidden Sky Net Array was activated early this morning and is seamless. Outsiders wanting to use teleportation techniques to appear directly in the city would find it as difficult as ascending to heaven."

    "Well done, not..." The voice of the purple-haired girl suddenly ceased.

    At that very moment, the space suddenly fluctuated, and a robust and imposing Taoist suddenly appeared in the sky above Taiwu City.

    "It''s over, a fish that slipped through the net."

    Hei Ya lifted his head to look at the sky, his face involuntarily showing an expression like he''d been screwed over by a dog, already imagining the furious look on Daoist Lin Luo''s face.

    Hundreds of guards, their breaths ice-cold and bodies encased in thick iron armor, silently emerged from various parts of the city. Like a forest of long spears following a strange rhythm, they pointed towards the powerful Daoist in the sky.

    "You all step back, this seat''s honored guest has arrived. Hidden Dragon Taoist is not someone you can deal with," said Lin Luo, waving a delicate hand backward, the corner of her mouth curving into a subtle smile, "Hei Ya, you may leave as well, this seat has other important matters to attend to."

    Like a tide, the armored guards silently receded and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

    Hei Ya, who had anticipated a sudden and violent storm, for the first time looked at the veiled face of Lin Luo in astonishment. Had he seen a ghost? Had the sun risen from the west? He actually detected a hint of pleasant surprise in the voice of the purple-haired girl.

    Mentally noting the name "Hidden Dragon Taoist", a flicker of unusual light passed through Hei Ya''s eyes as he retreated from the square and immediately hurried towards a mansion in the city.

    "Oh, what a sight!"

    Yi Chen covered miles in a single step, looking down below, he caught the gaze of a purple-haired girl dressed in black and white Daoist robes.

    Having reached the Agility-Breaking Realm, and itching to do so, he had the thought of teleporting directly above Taiwu City. Who would have thought he''d slam right into an invisible barrier halfway there, impeding him like viscous glue.

    Fortunately, although difficult, he still managed to squeeze through.

    "Hidden Dragon Taoist has really kept Lin Luo in the dark, to possess such profound knowledge of the Dao of space. Unbelievable that in that battle, the Taoist had not even used all his strategies."

    "Chance encounters are better than invitations; what say you, Taoist, that you visit Lin Luo''s official residence today for a few drinks and sit for a philosophical discussion? Lin Luo also has some research on the Dao of space and would like to ask for your guidance."

    A face blooming with a smile suddenly appeared before Yi Chen''s eyes.

    Yi Chen: "..."

    The Dao of space? Are you asking this poor Daoist to expound on the principles of micro wormholes? I have no clue about that.

    With a thought, Yi Chen landed before Lin Luo and pointed three fingers towards the burning sun in the sky. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Tireless cultivation and relentless contemplation tends to lead one astray. Laozi once said, Dao that can be trod is not the enduring and unchanging Dao. The great Dao is self-realized, affirmation and negation are both acceptable¡ªwho has ever carved a new world simply by sitting and discussing the Dao? To whom did the ancient Daozun, Buddha, Warlord, Demon Lord seek guidance from?"

    "This poor Daoist never engages in philosophical debates with others, to avoid confusing his own way. I ask for Daoist Lin Luo''s understanding."

    Not knowing is no big deal, as long as one can bluff convincingly, Yi Chen transformed into a zebra-headed sage, each word resonating with authority.

    In his previous life, the ability to bluff, and to do so cleverly, was the primary productive force.

    Yi Chen had always been full on productive force.

    Unexpectedly, his ambiguous words had caused Lin Luo to fall into deep contemplation.

    This world also had the Dao De Jing, but it was interpreted as Dao that can be spoken of is not the constant Dao.

    To break in such a way was truly a sting from a scorpion¡ªa unique sort of venom.

    "Dao that can be trod, Dao that can''t be trod, the enduring Dao? Such a viewpoint is truly enlightening and unique. Lin Luo has learned much," she said.

    After a moment, Lin Luo''s gaze turned complex as she looked at Yi Chen. As it pertained to the principles of cultivation, she had a breakthrough, strengthening her resolve and glimpsing the path ahead. Though it had no immediate impact on her power, it affirmed her true nature.

    Never debating with others to prevent contaminating one''s own Dao¡ªwhat a powerful spirit shown by the Hidden Dragon Taoist before her!

    It was absolutely earth-shattering, the majesty filling the land and skies.

    The purple-haired girl looked towards the direction Yi Chen was pointing, "So, Taoist is saying that we should emulate nature, stay true to ourselves, without unnecessary discourse¡ªthe clouds are in the sky and the water is in the jar?"

    "Ah? What this poor Daoist means is, Daoist Lin Luo, look at the time; it''s time for tea," Yi Chen said, puzzled as he looked at Lin Luo, completely unaware of what the girl had learned or realized.

    "Rest assured, Taoist, the matter of borrowing ''The Records of Divine Doors of Heaven and Earth'' is on me," Lin Luo said with a coy smile, gesturing invitingly with an open hand, beckoning Yi Chen to follow her to a secluded location in the city.

 Chapter 329 Conditions, Golden Thunder Bamboo Wine, Securing

    Taiwu City, King Jing''s Bamboo Pavilion.

    Continue your saga on My Virtual Library Empire

    Located in the eastern corner of the city, King Jing''s Bamboo Pavilion had its gates firmly shut and covered a wide area, sitting at the deepest part of the Black Garment Alley. No one knew who resided there; it was shrouded in mystery.

    Lin Luo floated just above the ground without touching it, her clothes billowing as she moved. The wide belt on her black and white robes was tightly cinched, accentuating her slender waist that was barely a handful. Looking down, her feet were invisible.

    Following Lin Luo''s lead, Yi Chen strode into the enigmatic Black Garment Alley.

    "Daoist, whether you wish to drink wine, taste fine foods, or seek to peruse the ''Heaven and Earth Divine Gate Qi,'' you must come to King Jing''s Bamboo Pavilion," Lin Luo mysteriously teased as she led the way, stirring curiosity in Yi Chen about the enigmatic owner of the Bamboo Pavilion.

    Not long after they entered the cobblestone alley, a dignified middle-aged man, accompanied by an elder in black and a beautiful woman in palace attire, awaited them ahead.

    The man was plainly dressed, even shabby compared to King Jing, with nothing fancy on him except the archaic dragon-shaped jade pendant at his waist. Yet, the first glance at him irresistibly captured everyone''s attention.

    Even Yi Chen couldn''t help but narrow his eyes; his spiritual sense detected a faint sense of threat from the man, which implied that he possessed means that could harm Yi Chen''s cultivation body.

    However, Yi Chen was certain that the man''s cultivation level could not exceed that of the latter stages of cutting the path. He just didn''t know what terrifying treasure the man might possess.

    "His Highness King Jing''s nose is indeed sharp, coming out himself with his lady to welcome us," Lin Luo said with a hint of surprise in her eyes as she looked toward the distant middle-aged man.

    Although King Jing, as the crown prince, always showed respect for talent and had many retainers, Lin Luo had never seen him come out with his lady to welcome anyone before.

    Lin Luo hadn''t expected King Jing to receive the news so quickly and pay such close attention to Yi Chen. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But she soon let go of her surprise.

    With the power of the Forbidden Heavenly Net Great Formation, she could barely break through at full strength. However, she was helpless against the leisurely ease of the Hidden Dragon Taoist, indicating that his mastery of spatial dao far surpassed hers.

    In her recent battle with the Purple Crystal Demi-human, she hadn''t spotted a hint of the Hidden Dragon Taoist''s capabilities. He always kept a low profile, like an iceberg in the vast sea¡ªyou only see the tip of it, never its entirety.

    She had thought that after successfully forming her embryonic Dao Mastery Body, the gap between her and the Hidden Dragon Taoist might have narrowed, but now her conviction was faltering.

    Yet as soon as this thought arose, it was immediately cut down by the sword of wisdom in her heart.

    "With both General Lin and the Hidden Dragon Taoist arriving together, how could I not come out to greet you myself?" The middle-aged man said with a pleasant smile, his every move exuding a warm and welcoming aura.

    "Your Highness, the Hidden Dragon Taoist is a good friend I''ve recently made; we got along quite well. Without the Taoist, not only would I have lost face, but the Purple Crystal Demi-human would have remained a calamity for Great Qin. I''ve sung praises on your behalf, so today you must entertain the Taoist well. Otherwise, don''t blame me for not visiting your ''Three Treasure Hall'' again," Lin Luo joked to King Jing. However, to those who could read between the lines, true words are often spoken in jest. If an insider fails to understand, there''s no need for them to understand in the future.

    King Jing looked at Lin Luo in astonishment, not expecting her to go to such lengths for Yi Chen, granting him such a favor, which made him regard Yi Chen even more highly.

    "General Lin, I know you have coveted my fine wines for a long time, and today you finally get your hands on them," King Jing said with a shrug and a resigned smile, his expression like an old friend joking with you.

    But within his heart, Yi Chen had already turned into a snarky critic:

    "Since when did Daoist Lin Luo consider me a newly made good friend? Nonsense."

    "I''ve always been fond of water and disliked dry paths. The abbess and Ruan''er can testify. Speaking like this can easily lead to misunderstandings."

    The inwardly sarcastic Yi Chen maintained a nonchalant and smiling face outwardly, giving King Jing a gesture of respect.

    There is a saying, ''Don''t hit a smiling face,'' especially when one is seeking a favor; one must show respect.

    Moreover, when comparing goods, one might be disappointed, and when comparing people, one might despair. Compared to King Jing, the King Yu, who had blocked his way on the Spiritual Path, seemed like a primate from the Planet of the Apes, suited for the role of an extra in a rise of a dominant species.

    That presumptuous fellow, who was clearly currying favor, found himself turned by King Yu into a half-hidden courtesan with a made-up value. If it were the Yi Chen of the past, even a dog barking too much near his Hidden Dragon Temple would receive a couple of slaps, let alone a prince; not giving him a proper beating would mean he was taking things too lightly.

    As they walked casually to the inner reaches of Black Garment Alley, the signboard of King Jing''s Bamboo Pavilion with red background and black text had an air of majesty and an antique charm. However, that was all there was to it; nothing else was unusual.

    Yet, as the gates opened, Yi Chen''s pupils couldn''t help but narrow fiercely.

    That was the aura of a Heavenly Treasure.

    There was no such thing as King Jing''s Bamboo Pavilion; it should be called King Jing''s Bamboo Heavenly Abode.

    The bamboo leaves rolled and surged like green waves, rustling in the light breeze.

    King Jing stood outside the doors with open hands, invitingly, while the Queen gently smiled behind him, her skirts gathered as she made a curtsy.

 Chapter 468 - 329: Conditions, Golden Thunder Bamboo Wine, Securing the

    Lin Luo was clearly experienced, nodded toward Yi Chen, and with a flash, she entered the cave heaven.

    The upscale club was surprisingly set up as a cave heaven, which was like a goat farting through silk¡ªfashionable and yet ostentatious.

    Yi Chen, after a brief moment of contemplation, swiftly followed suit, with King Jing and his wife in tow one after the other.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Cliffs and sea listen to the bamboo waves, and a illusory Ming Yue hung above everyone''s head, seemingly within reach, radiating a bright but not blinding light.

    The cave heaven was not as vast as the True Martial Holy Palace, but in terms of vitality and life force, it was something the True Martial Holy Palace could not compare with.

    Inside the cave heaven, numerous exotic flowers, rare plants, and precious animals were transplanted. One could gaze upon the grandeur of the universe and scrutinize the richness of species. From admiring flowers, angling, to hunting, every conceivable form of entertainment from the outside world could be found a counterpart within the Jingzhu cave heaven.

    "Daoist, this is Phoenix Wing, please give it a try," King Jing said jovially, pointing to a bone china cup in front of Yi Chen and gesturing invitingly with his hand.

    "Phoenix Wing?" Yi Chen stared at the porcelain cup in front of him, his eyes widening in astonishment.

    He felt that his previous mindset had been too limited, his imagination insufficient. Whether it was King Jing''s grand gesture of converting the cave heaven into a club or the array of dishes he had experienced today within the cave heaven, both were quite an eye-opener for him.

    Now they had even brought out the Phoenix Wing?

    Seeing Yi Chen''s shocked expression, Lin Luo couldn''t help but laugh and explain, "Daoist must not misunderstand. Even with the wealth that His Highness King Jing commands over the Eastern Region, it would be impossible to use the true feathers of the divine creature Phoenix as ingredients. This ''Phoenix Wing'' is nothing but a particular kind of Fiery Bird bred by Great Qin, containing the bloodline of a Phoenix."

    With that explanation, Yi Chen suddenly understood. This Fiery Bird was equivalent to the Dragon Horses of Da Yue.

    Upon lifting the lid of the porcelain cup, a layer of snow-white egg drop soup floated on top. Yi Chen sensed just a bit, and a fragrance similar to the wings inside the cup, yet slightly less pure, rushed toward him.

    What a family, so neatly together. King Jing is kind-hearted, not wishing to see the little Fiery Birds suffer.

    Yi Chen teared up at the corner of his mouth and took a light sip, immediately sparking joy in his eyes.

    Dish after dish of rare delicacies kept coming, and even someone of Lin Luo''s stature devoured them voraciously, evidently, King Jing spared no expense on this meal.

    "Daoist, since you have come from afar today, I have specially unsealed three bottles of fine wine for you to taste," King Jing said, pointing to a slender white jade wine bottle in front of Yi Chen, a slight look of pain flashing in his eyes, indicating the wine was especially precious to him.

    Before King Jing could finish speaking, Yi Chen, after a sip and with a sparkle in his eyes, upended and guzzled it all down before Lin Luo and the others could remind him.

    Lin Luo, shocked, stood up at once.

    This was Golden Thunder Bamboo Wine; even with her current realm, she would need to sip and refine it over the course of three days, for the thunderous power contained within the wine was not only useless for body cultivation but could also damage one''s internal organs if not handled properly.

    The reserved consort of King Jing, who had been sitting quietly at the side, also couldn''t help but break her composure, her eyes widening, her eyelashes fluttering, holding a handkerchief to her mouth to cover her unladylike gaping mouth.

    She had thought that Lin Luo was invincible and could drink the undiluted Golden Thunder Bamboo Wine directly, but to her surprise, there was someone even more daring who just blew straight through the bottle.

    "What are you all looking at me for? Drink, drink!" Yi Chen said with a strange expression, looking towards Lin Luo and the others.

    The wine was indeed overbearing. If he had not been used to handling thunder and tempering jade for years, he wouldn''t have dared to guzzle it straight from the bottle.

    But this one bottle of Golden Thunder Bamboo Wine, surprisingly, gave his already formidable physique a boost of 0.5 Origin Points, utterly astounding, and the stimulation was still continuing. If fully digested, adding a whole Origin Point would not be a problem at all.

    At this moment, Yi Chen finally understood the origin of the word ''bamboo'' in Jingzhu Xuan. It was not the bamboo sea within the cave heaven, but the ''bamboo'' in the Golden Thunder Bamboo Wine.

    "Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Hidden Dragon Daoist''s physical cultivation is astounding, truly beyond belief!" King Jing, ever the level-headed thinker, quickly suppressed the glint of joy in his eyes and praised aloud.

    Having had his fill of food and wine, as a serving maid brought a jade basin over for washing hands, Yi Chen still couldn''t help but inquire, "Your Highness King Jing, I wish to observe the ''Heaven and Earth Divine Gate Qi''; Is there any difficulty?"

    King Jing looked at his consort and a smile crept onto his face.

    "Since Daoist is direct, I, too, shall speak frankly,"

    "This matter is challenging for me, but not impossible to accomplish,"

    "Two conditions."

    "Your Highness!" Lin Luo''s face abruptly cooled with displeasure, as King Jing had surprisingly gone back on his word, betraying the terms previously agreed upon with her. Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire

    "Please, Minister Lin Luo, keep your peace and listen to what I have to say," King Jing gestured with a press of his hand and a courteous bow towards Lin Luo before continuing:

    "The first condition is, I have a daughter, Ming Yue, endowed with exceptional talents; unfortunately, she is willful and arrogant. Hidden Dragon Taoist possesses profound cultivation, and out of a parent''s universal concern, I wish to request that the Taoist would take my daughter, Qin Qingyun, as a disciple."

    "The second condition, I am tasked with supervising on behalf of my father, the emperor. Taoist, are you aware of the unusual celestial phenomena that occurred some days ago?"

    As King Jing said this, his voice suddenly halted, his gaze shifting towards Yi Chen.

    "I would like to hear more."

    "This matter is a Great Qin secret, and I have only learned of it these past few days. One of our ancestors in Great Qin, adept in the divination of heaven''s will, was so troubled that he burned his lifespan to use a Secret Technique, setting ablaze the shell of a divine tortoise for divination. However, he passed away on the spot, leaving behind only a cryptic prophecy: ''When the black star strays, a wicked being shall be born, bringing calamity to the Eastern Region.''

    "Should Great Qin''s Eastern Region truly face turmoil from this wicked being, for the sake of the people, I earnestly request the Taoist''s assistance. When King Jing reached this point, his expression became particularly solemn; he stood up with great respect and deep reverence towards Yi Chen,

    "I know you are entrusted with the Kirin Sacred Armor. I am aware of a Secret Realm where the Kirin War Boots reside. If you are willing to lend a hand, I am willing to pay the price to obtain those Kirin War Boots for you."

    "Of course, if you are unwilling, you may simply abide by the previous accord I had with Minister Lin Luo; assisting me only once in the future. I understand the significance of this request and naturally would not dare to ask you to place yourself in danger."

    Upon hearing this, Yi Chen couldn''t help but his pupils contract.

    Is there even a choice to make?

    In an era of great contention, a single slow step means lagging every step of the way, and even if he chose the second condition posed by King Jing, there was a nine in ten chance he would still be enlisted to investigate the suspicious matter of the wicked being. So why not just agree quickly and take a pair of Kirin War Boots for free?

    "King Jing worries for the people, and I admire that. My only concern at present is that I have never taken a disciple before; I fear I might lead someone astray,"

    "Do not worry, Daoist. If Qingyun proves disobedient, as long as you do not inflict lasting injury, you may discipline her however you see fit. Should she fail to learn anything, I will not hold you accountable."

    "Is this true?" Yi Chen couldn''t help but show a strange expression upon hearing this; there, he had made up his mind. What''s the harm in taking a female disciple?

    If her own father isn''t worried, what has he to fear?

    Clearly, King Jing offered these terms in order to deepen their relationship; today, he had no choice but to accept this disciple.

    "Indeed! If the Daoist agrees, in fifteen days, I will have my daughter personally deliver the ''Heaven and Earth Divine Gate Energy'' and the original scriptures to you, hoping these scriptures will lead you to new enlightenment and further progress."

    "Excellent! I await the good news,"

    Having agreed to the terms, Yi Chen and Lin Luo then excused themselves from the Royal Palace. There was still some time before the Great Qin Legal Assembly convened, and with Yuan Jun not having arrived yet, Yi Chen settled in a separate courtyard arranged by Lin Luo, right next to her own estate.

    After the two left, Queen Jing batted her eyelashes, peeled a grape, and teasingly fed it to King Jing:

    "Your Highness can be so wicked, holding onto the key to the treasury where the scriptures and ''Heaven and Earth Divine Gate Energy'' are stored, yet you offered the Daoist a window of fifteen days; the Hidden Dragon Taoist will have quite a wait."

    "Ha ha, my beloved queen understands me. Now, guess why I would do such a thing?"

    "That''s to make the favor seem more significant, to make others think you have gone to great lengths, right?" At that, the queen couldn''t help but purse her lips,

    "Are you planning to send Qingyun to deliver the scriptures to the Hidden Dragon Taoist in fifteen days? Should we also send other generous gifts along with her?"

    "You''ve gone to great lengths to win over the Hidden Dragon Taoist."

    "Heh, my love, you''re half right. Other gifts should naturally be included, but as for timing, seven days will suffice; that way, the Hidden Dragon Taoist will receive a nice surprise," King Jing''s eyes gleamed with a sly twinkle.

    "You are so bad, Your Highness," the queen said with a teasing flick of her tongue, her arms wrapping around King Jing''s neck like a koala''s. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The pair were childhood sweethearts, with a deep and devoted love, and King Jing had only her as his consort.

 Chapter 475 - 333: The Taoists New Chives, Helping Others for Pleasure, Yi Taoist, True Strength.

    Within the room adorned with carved flowers, Yuan Jun took out a purple Star Disc, her expression somber.

    At this moment, the Star Disc she held was flickering with a faint halo, unmistakably conveying a message from Yuqing True King.

    "What cultivation did the Du''e Celestial hold?" Yi Chen furrowed his brows and discreetly covered his tea with the lid.

    He couldn''t taste this tea, let whoever wants to taste it.

    Hadn''t he just broken through to the eighteenth layer of the True Technique? Was this something he could drink?

    "Du''e was a top-level cultivator in the later stage of intercepting the path. His soul lamp unexpectedly extinguished on the way to Taiwu City. Xiao Lang, this matter is serious, I must make a trip there myself."

    "Although Du''e was a person from the Yuqing True King''s palace, we people of Zizai Heaven cannot die without reason. If someone is secretly trying to provoke trouble, I''d like to see if their heads are hard enough!"

    Looking at the eyebrows slightly narrowed on her peach blossom mask, and the surrounding chilling aura, Yi Chen suddenly felt that this tea might not be undrinkable after all if he really had to.

    While he didn''t have much of a relationship with Du''e Celestial, they belonged to the same sect after all. Yi Chen immediately declared his position, "Indeed, if it was an accident, so be it. If anyone dares to touch someone from our Zizai Heaven, did they rent their entire family line? Yuan Jun, Tan Lang is willing to go with you."

    With an outburst of momentum, Yi Chen abruptly stood up, spilling half of his tea in the process.

    "Xiao Lang, those words have vigor. Yuan Jun likes it; however, this matter can be handled with just me and the Yuqing True King intervening. You stay calm and remain in Taiwu City, I believe you won''t be in any grave danger here if someone indeed targets Zizai Heaven." S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The familiar restrictive power descended once more. Looking at the peach blossom mask approaching him with a mischievous smile, Yi Chen''s eyes reddened in an instant.

    Again?

    He unfolded his tyrannical body, his muscles tensing as he broke free from that strange field of confinement, only to see Yuan Jun leaning against the door frame, looking at him with a half-smile:

    "Xiao Lang, your progress is quite swift. With the death of Du''e Celestial, now you''re the only one from our Zizai Heaven in the Great Qin Legal Assembly. You won''t disappoint Yuan Jun, will you? I made a military pledge in front of the Heavenly Master."

    "Yuan Jun, I..."

    "Enough, Yuan Jun knows you have secrets, things about you that are not normal. But to say that Yuan Jun herself is normal. Do well for me, I will cover some matters for you."

    "As long as you don''t betray Zizai Heaven, even if true disaster befalls you in the future, we still have opportunities."

    Having said that, Yuan Jun put on her brocaded shoes that were slipping off, covering her delicately arched feet, then patted her buttocks and drew with her slender hand. In an instant, a cluster of peach blossom petals appeared tracing the path of her finger, seemingly decorating the void into a peach blossom portal about two meters tall.

    She pulled a smile on her peach blossom mask, her figure flashed as she plunged into the portal, and the peach blossoms collapsed, turning into light rain and disappearing.

    In the distance, over the green mountains, a phantom-like figure slowly emerged. Yuan Jun, looking at the sprawling Taiwu City like a giant beast, raised her pale fist and suddenly got excited, hopping three times in the air.

    "Good! Good! Good!"

    "Xiao Lang has grown up. With such cultivation, Yuan Jun might not be able to completely confine you like before, even if I release the first seal. It looks like it''s about time for me, Yuan Jun of the Big Dipper Palace, to shine at the Great Qin Legal Assembly!"

    Caught up in the excitement, Yuan Jun suddenly thought of the bet she made with Xiao Lang, and the thrill in her heart dissipated by half.

    "Xiao Lang indeed has some tricks up his sleeve, Yuan Jun should... not lose, right?~"

    "Impossible, absolutely impossible. Yuan Jun still has a trump card, if push comes to shove, I''ll just have to fight it out with Xiao Lang."

    With this thought in mind, the smile on the peach blossom mask reappeared, and she spiritedly drifted towards the location agreed upon with Yuqing True King.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "Even if true disaster befalls us in the future, we still have opportunities?"

    "Yuan Jun''s words are quite meaningful."

    Stroking his chin, Yi Chen looked around the empty room, somewhat absent-minded. He thought for a moment, then pushed the door and left, unwittingly finding himself in Mingxiang Tower for the fourth time.

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    The Fuyu Young Master visited the brothel once more.

    Whether the fairies were celestial or not didn''t matter; he mainly wanted to gather some information.

    The mysterious extinction of the soul lamp of a powerful cultivator in the late stage of intercepting the path is a major event for any force.

    "Could it be that there''s demonic mischief again? Hisss, a Dao Mastery Realm demon?"

    "Or maybe it''s the maxims mentioned by King Jing, ''black stars stray, and wicked offspring descend''?"

    Yi Chen made wild guesses as he walked to the main hall and, after ordering a few side dishes, settled down at a table.

    Taiwu City was thronged with cultivators, and seizing the opportunity, Great Qin directly moved the courtesans here, reasoning that money better earned by them than by someone else.

    What puzzled Yi Chen, however, was that despite the hall being filled with cultivators talking and laughing, only a fraction had opted for the company of the Konshi hostesses, which made him click his tongue in wonder.

    "Fellow Daoist seems unfamiliar. Haha, are you surprised at how well-mannered the Daoists here are in this establishment of pleasures?" A young, fat cultivator in lavish clothes, fanning himself with a landscape fan, saw an empty seat beside Yi Chen and uninvitedly took a seat.

    The hall was already full at this time.

    Shared joy is a double joy; Yi Chen didn''t mind and immediately poured a cup of wine for the man, inquiring without any hesitation.

    As the fat cultivator recounted his experience, Yi Chen''s face gradually took on a strange expression.

    The truth was much simpler than he had imagined: Konshi Master''s stocks had crashed, and their stocks have been penetrated.

    The Konshi of Taiwu City were a Great Qin monopoly, and with the overflow of cultivators, and in their eagerness to make a profit, Great Qin had emergency requisitioned courtesans from all over to fill the market gap, inevitably leading to a mixed bag of quality.

    Talking about this, the fat cultivator couldn''t help but show a bitter expression: "Han Feiyu fellow Daoist, you are unaware. A few days ago, this humble one spent a large sum to book a Konshi companion, and I was nearly scared to death. I must tell you, but you mustn''t laugh at me."

 Chapter 476 - 333: The Taoists New Chives, Helping Others for Pleasure, Yi Taoist, True Strength._2

    "I, Pu, have seen and learned much, but that day''s scene will haunt me for life. That fairy was too plain-looking, yet the infamous Mingxiang House charged me 5,000 taels of gold."

    "Charging a meat price for veggies? But for someone of your means, Pu, 5,000 taels of gold shouldn''t scare you to death, right?" Yi Chen said with a comforting smile. Mixing in this world, paying some ''tuition'' is quite normal.

    It''s just losing some wealth, and anyway, I haven''t heard of any cultivators among the conversationalists who have become chemically-induced female cultivators, at least it''s safe.

    "The shock was because the fairy had a tattoo on her body." When it came to this matter, the short and chubby cultivator immediately drank the wine in his cup in anger before continuing,

    "Damn it, I was going to let it go, but guess what."

    "That girl had the Primal Treasure tattooed on her front!"

    "What a malicious act, even looking at the character made my eyes dizzy."

    "I thought I''d take the back route instead, and there it was inked¡ª''safety in comings and goings~''"

    Pfft~

    Yi Chen couldn''t hold back anymore and burst out laughing.

    Ha ha ha~ In his past life infiltrating the Cadillac club, he had never seen such a scene.

    Unthinkable, simply unthinkable.

    "You said you wouldn''t laugh, brother Daoist," the short and chubby cultivator said, looking at Yi Chen with a mournful face.

    "Sorry, what Pu said just reminded me of something happy~" Yi Chen grinned, and to cover his embarrassment, he continued to ask, "That being said, why did you come here, Brother Pu?"

    "Hehe, I have a sworn enemy, my father''s arch-enemy, whose entire family was recently demoted by the Emperor, and his wife and daughters happened to be distributed to Mingxiang House. As an acquaintance, I had to look after them a bit."

    "This time, Pu has come on my father''s orders to seek revenge and redress grievances." S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A servant dressed as a young boy suddenly came forward and whispered a few words to the short and chubby cultivator, who then immediately took his leave in high spirits.

    In this mixed-up place, you never know what news you might dig up; it''s like opening a mystery box.

    At that moment, on a raised platform at the front of the hall, a giant red list unfurled from the top of the building, displaying a hundred names.

    Yi Chen focused his gaze and was surprised to find his own name also listed, ranked somewhere in the forties.

    A white-haired old man with a smile walked up to the stage. Some keen-eyed cultivators actually recognized the old man and started shouting the name ''Zuo Wangji''.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, today we have a full house of noble guests, a cloud of accomplished friends. I, Zuo Wangji, at the invitation of Great Qin, have listed the seating order for the high cultivators at this Great Qin Legal Assembly."

    "First of all, I believe the most likely to win this assembly are the ageless monk Ku Chen from Sumituo Zen Monastery, War Demon Xiao Tianji of the Wuding Divine Sect, as well as Daoist Que Yunzi of the Square Dao Sect, and Daoist Zuo Wangji of the Supreme Daoist Sect."

    "Of course, Fairy Ye Qingxue of the Qianyuan Sword Sect and Daoist Miaobi of the Qianqiu Pavilion are also excellent choices. The Daoist friends ranked in the top ten of the list are based on past achievements. Such a grand event warrants open discussion by all."

    With Zuo Wangji''s lead, the whole Mingxiang House immediately erupted. Cultivators who thought highly of their own cultivation, reputation, status, and knowledge took the stage to express their views,

    Some even went straight to the stage to preach and debate on the Dao. In no time, not only were the valuable spots in Mingxiang House taken, but even standing-room tickets were sold, and prices soared by more than tenfold.

    Yi Chen looked at the noisy crowd, listened for a while, then with a cunning glance, he sold his reserved table for a price tens of times higher than what he''d paid, and then he whisked himself away.

    In Great Qin, there are masters who are genius operators, and I, Yi Chengzi, am no less!

    Some people see only the bustle here, but I, Yi Chengzi, see the business opportunities.

    My talent is like a cone hidden in a bag; it''s bound to come out sooner or later, so I must act quickly to cash in. And this Great Qin Legal Assembly may just be my last chance to cut the leeks.

    After all, you can''t hide an elephant in a room.

    Cut! If you don''t cut, are you even human?

    With thoughts flying, Yi Chen knocked on the door of Jingzhu Xuan.

    This business was too big; he couldn''t handle it alone, he had to share the profit.

    ....

    ....

    Inside Jingzhu Dongtian, Qin Qingyun was pulling King Jing''s sleeve and acting coquettishly, while a middle-aged female cultivator with somewhat high cheekbones stood behind King Jing with a cold face, silent.

    "Dad, believe me, my master is grave and ruthless; he truly beat up your precious daughter." Your journey continues on My Virtual Library Empire

    "More than once, many times."

    "Impossible, absolutely impossible, even Lord Lin Luo has praised Hidden Dragon Taoist''s character. The Taoist must be disciplining you for your own good.

    Come now, Qing Yun, stop making trouble. Your father has to discuss important matters with Black Butterfly Fairy. Please quiet down for a while."

    Just then, King Jing''s wife, wearing a flowing white dress and a beaming smile, came over, followed closely by a tall and burly Daoist striding confidently behind her.

    "Husband, Hidden Dragon Taoist has said there''s a major business deal to discuss with you."

    The two took their seats, and Yi Chen glanced at the middle-aged female cultivator beside him who seemed a bit menopausal, then, amid King Jing''s expression of ''it''s all in the family, go ahead,'' Yi Chen laid out his plan.

    It''s a simple plan, really.

    Gambling.

    Great Qin built the stage for the Great Qin Legal Assembly, and if you don''t open a betting ring and... have a go, are you even human?

    If played right, this wave would give him enough Contribution Points to invite Yuan Jun or even Yuqing True King to intervene, helping him intercept other meddling experts when he later attacks the Yan Family and the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple.

    Just get the grand array going by ten percent, merge the Eastern and Central Continents, and he''s the first to take down those buggers, including the lineage from Dragon Tiger Mountain and Zhang Longyi.

    Otherwise, his thoughts won''t be clear.

 Chapter 477 - 333: The Taoists New Chives, Helping Others for Pleasure, Yi Taoist, True Strength._3

    "Your Highness, what do you think of my idea? I only want fifty percent, and when the time comes, we can pull in Daoist Lin Luo for a ten percent share, leaving you with forty percent,"

    Yi Chen sat with an imposing aura, solemnly addressing King Jing.

    "Fifty percent? The Hidden Dragon Taoist has quite an appetite, not afraid of overfeeding himself. Why do I get the feeling that you have already presumed yourself to be the victor of this assembly?"

    Before King Jing could reply, the middle-aged female cultivator beside him couldn''t contain herself and immediately jumped out, her demeanor sharp and severe.

    "Ahem, the Black Butterfly Fairy is a confidant of mine. It seems her thoughts align perfectly with the Taoist''s. However, the fairy suggests controlling the odds and taking a commission through which we could make a guaranteed profit,"

    Seeing this, King Jing laughed and tried to smooth things over, his face showing noncommittal emotions, but a hint of disappointment flashed through his eyes towards Yi Chen.

    He did not fear others'' greed, but he disliked greed that exceeded one''s abilities.

    Perhaps he had treated this person too honorably, causing him to lose sight of himself, but King Jing, after all, was deeply calculative and did not let his thoughts show on his face.

    "This Black Butterfly Fairy, do you wish to test my strength?" Yi Chen, not bothering with idle talk, turned his head and grinned at the middle-aged female cultivator.

    Seeing this familiar smile, Qin Qingyun''s snow-white neck unconsciously shrank back¡ªbefore she was last beaten, her master had the same smile on his face.

    "Good, good, good! I, the Black Butterfly, have cultivated for nine hundred and eighty years, my cultivation already stepping into the late stage of Intercepting Path. Today, I indeed want to test the Taoist''s abilities with my old bones,"

    Boom!

    The middle-aged female cultivator, unable to contain her rage, her sharp face twisted, stretched her figure, and soared into the sky. A pair of giant butterfly-like wings appeared out of nowhere, obscuring the sky and making it suddenly darken. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "I''ve heard the Hidden Dragon Taoist is unmatched in halberd technique, and I hope your halberd is tougher than your mouth, Alliance Hierarch!"

    "You should know what reverence is!"

    Above the heavens, the sound of thunder swept through, a strange gust emerged, blowing open the front of Yi Chen''s robe, revealing a patch of bronze chest muscle.

    "Daoist, do you wish to try my Holy Halberd?" Yi Chen lay back lazily on a red long chair, which unexpectedly gave the ordinary seat the air of a throne. His indifferent gaze was fixed on the high-cheekboned middle-aged female cultivator in the distance.

    "Unfortunately, you do not even have the qualifications to make me wield my halberd." Yi Chen''s mouth suddenly split into a wide grin, and with a laugh, his left hand swelled, revealing ominous purple-gold patterns on its surface, and he momentarily held it suspended in the air,

    "Do you know, I''m really, really afraid that I''ll strike you dead with one strike, ahaha!"

    "Heaven''s Scourge ¡¤ Sky Pinnacle!"

    Amidst the laughter, Yi Chen formed his fingers into a halberd and pressed downwards.

    Without moving, a dazzling Extreme Origin suddenly emanated, transforming into a long river of halberd qi, swiftly engulfing the Black Butterfly.

    Two seconds later, the Black Butterfly''s sky-obscuring wings could no longer hold up. Amidst the exclamations of King Jing''s subordinates, they shattered instantaneously, spilling blood across the sky, and her figure fell like a broken doll.

    Yi Chen slowly stood up, gazing at King Jing before him, and smirked: "Your Highness, some people simply do not understand what strength is!"

    "I possess ten great virtues, and aiding others brings joy. I think by now, the Black Butterfly Fairy should know whether I weigh enough, Your Highness. You wouldn''t mind that my methods are a bit rough, would you?"

    Among the Taoist''s ten great virtues is joy in helping others.

    King Jing, looking at the demonic-like Taoist and the fleeting ferocity from a moment ago, couldn''t help but shudder, then became ecstatic.

    "The Hidden Dragon Taoist''s divine might!"

    "Someone, quickly find the Black Butterfly Fairy and treat her well, sparing no expense on elixirs." Discover more stories at My Virtual Library Empire

    "Taoist, please explain your plan in detail,"

    Seeing King Jing''s renewed enthusiasm, Yi Chen felt no aversion. In this world, without strength, one couldn''t command respect.

    His proposed plan was worthless if he couldn''t win on the battlefield.

    King Jing''s response was entirely normal at the time.

    With this thought, Yi Chen smilingly laid out the details of his plan.

    "Your Highness, have you ever heard of the stock market game?"

    Soon, a sound akin to frying beans began to ring in King Jing''s ears, while Qin Qingyun wore a bewildered face, catching only phrases like shock, absorbing stocks, counterpart''s board, buying board, selling board, and washing board from her cheap master''s mouth.

    Moreover, weren''t the many experts participating in the Great Qin Legal Assembly just like stocks?

    With King Jing''s connections, strength, and reputation, he could very well start trading, pull off a big one, manipulate the odds, and finally have Yi Taoist control the scene and reap the benefits.

    The plan was set.

    "Your Highness, have you heard that the Millennium Emperor values you and Martial King the most? Tell me, your ambitious younger brother, do you think he will follow along?"

    Yi Chen''s hand suddenly clenched, and his voice grew dark, "All can be cut, let''s play them to death!"

    At these words, King Jing felt a surge of excitement shoot through even the ends of his hair, slamming his hands on the desk repeatedly in thrill.

    Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

    He hastily stood up and bowed deeply to Yi Chen.

    "This king will follow the Taoist''s arrangements completely!"

    "My lady, hurry, open a jar of Golden Thunder Bamboo Wine, I have a lot to discuss with the Taoist, and there isn''t much time left before the Great Qin Legal Assembly."

 Chapter 478 - 334: The Movie Star! The Taoist Strategist! The Advancing Martial King!

    "Taoist, please enjoy your meal!"

    King Jing''s consort brought over a bottle of new Jinlei Bamboo Wine with a smile that was as gentle as the breeze through willows. After opening it, she brought it to Yi Chen''s desk. However, the attentive Yi Chen noticed that she had served a different fine wine to His Highness King Jing, prompting him to sigh that indeed even the landlord''s family does not have surplus grain.

    This time he did not gulp down the wine, but rather took a small sip:

    "Your Highness, my thoughts are pure and well-intentioned, my insights modest. By listening to both sides, you will be enlightened."

    "I attend the Great Qin Legal Assembly not for fame but for profit, and moreover, I dislike making money from the poor."

    "So, Taoist, whose money do you wish to make?" King Jing glanced at his consort and then raised his cup from afar, toasting Yi Chen with a smile.

    "Whoever has the money, we will make money from them, such as the sects and Martial King."

    Upon hearing this, King Jing also stopped drinking his wine, and a glint of sharpness flashed in his eyes: "So, does the Taoist plan to make money from Martial King or from the sects?"

    "Only children make choices; since I''ve taken action, naturally, I want it all! Don''t you agree, Your Highness?" Yi Chen grinned, locking eyes with King Jing for a moment, both clearly understanding each other''s true thoughts.

    Both men raised their cups at the same time, laughing in unison:

    "Ambitious!" (In chorus)

    After drinking the wine in their cups, King Jing couldn''t help but bow and press Yi Chen for answers, "Then, Taoist, how do you intend to lure Martial King and the sect cultivators into the fold?"

    "Heh, there''s no rush on this matter. My thoughts are pure and well-intentioned, and when it comes to making money, we need to be justified and convincing, to win people''s hearts and minds."

    "The plan proposed by Black Butterfly was actually nonsensical. To make money from others, you first need to draw them in. Therefore, in the early stages, we can hype up the market, starting with the Loose Cultivators'' rising stars, those cultivators ranked lower down the list." Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "At the beginning, even if it means losing money, we should not deliberately make money. In the early stages, we only do three things: fairness, fairness, and still fairness!"

    "I must make this clear to Your Highness upfront. Take leeks, for example, although they grow with just water, they grow faster with fertilizer!"

    "We need to engage people. When more people join in, that will be the time for us to make money."

    Yi Chen, with a jade ring on his left hand, unconsciously stroked his cup with a smile, bowing slightly to King Jing,

    "Your Highness, do you not see that within the Heavenly Dao, there''s change, there''s adherence and there''s opposition, within defiance there''s compliance and within compliance there''s defiance?

    In the past, Great Qin arrayed against the Xirong, surrounded by wolves, yet it became stronger, with sharpened soldiers and mighty generals. The principles of adherence and opposition, gain and loss, their subtleties, should be clearer to Your Highness than to me, how Great Qin came to rule the world."

    "If Your Highness is swayed by minor benefits and fears for your own safety in the pursuit of great undertakings, then I might as well have not come today."

    Since Yi Chen regarded King Jing as a partner, he still tried his best to clarify the benefits and consequences, to prevent future disputes. The strategy between partners must be clear.

    "I am well aware of this, but I dare to ask, Taoist, how do you plan to entrap Martial King?" King Jing asked again, unable to restrain himself, probing Yi Chen with his most pressing concern.

    Yi Chen looked at King Jing with surprise. His Highness had always been shrewd and effective, steady in his actions, especially in the affair of the classics where he forced him to clarify the matter. He had not expected King Jing to be so impatient today, indicating Martial King, his dear brother, must be putting a lot of pressure on him.

    Damn, that''s a steal.

    Now it seems, even if he asks for sixty or seventy percent, King Jing would agree, after the clarification of benefits and consequences.

    It appears that sometimes one''s own people hate their own more than the enemy; the fruits borne from the tree of time taste the same in any world.

    With this thought, Yi Chen slightly relaxed; this King Jing was more human, otherwise, what was the difference from his past life.

    Spit, strike that last line.

    Chilled wine poured into the air, landing in the cup. After taking a sip, Yi Chen then said with a smile, "Your Highness, since we have set up such a stage and made such a commotion, Martial King must know that Your Highness is the backer behind this game."

    "I heard that Martial King has been opposing you at every turn. Tell me, with Martial King''s temperament, when it comes to this game, will he follow, or will he not?"

    "Not only will he follow, but he''ll soon see the huge benefits in it. Martial King is not lucky enough to hold a land as prosperous as the Eastern Region in his grasp. Driven by greed, manipulation in combat is almost inevitable."

    Pausing for a moment with a smile, Yi Chen locked eyes once more with King Jing, and both of them laughed in unison:

    "Despicable!" (In chorus)

    "Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Brilliant indeed! However, since that is the case, how do we profit from this?" King Jing''s eyes sparkled with excitement. He pounded the table repeatedly, praising it, so thrilled that he stood up.

    At that moment, he had faintly guessed the subsequent developments, but he was more eager to hear the thoughts of Hidden Dragon Taoist before him.

    "Your Highness, still talking about money!"

    King Jing''s consort, seeing her husband so carried away, couldn''t help but roll her eyes at him, hiding her face behind her wide sleeves. She downed a jar of clear wine before continuing with a laugh, "When Hidden Dragon Taoist is here, isn''t the money here as well?"

    "Let''s eat first."

    "Taoist, this ''Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix'' dish may be a bit plain, but it has a unique flavor as an accompaniment to alcohol." Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire

    "And don''t worry, Taoist, there are no wild geese amongst these ''Hundred Birds'' tongues; I''ve made it clear to the kitchen earlier."

    When one reaches a certain height, even every single hair on their body is taken care of in the best possible way.

    Hearing this, Yi Chen couldn''t help but take another look at the consort beside King Jing; truly attentive to the finest details, lively and spirited, it was no wonder that King Jing favored her so.

 Chapter 479 - 334: The Movie Star! The Taoist Strategist! The Advancing Martial King!_2

    Too subtle.

    The so-called "Hundred-Year Phoenix Morning" is a dish where the tongues of various rare birds are stir-fried after they have been marinated and brined with various spiritual ingredients.

    Don''t be fooled by the small dish in front of you; countless precious birds have been ''silenced'' for it, physically.

    Looking at the delicacy in front of him, Yi Chen felt deeply sympathetic. He couldn''t help but sigh; this was the reason he constantly struggled to climb upwards.

    Now that the world was undergoing strange changes, if he wasn''t the butcher, then he was the bird''s tongue; he didn''t wish to be the tongue, so he worked his wits to the bone, braved great dangers, and went mad consolidating power and combat strength, all to become the World-Shaking Pure Yang that loomed over the fate of all beings.

    Even though heaven cherishes all life, Taoist Yi also possesses one of the great virtues, frugality!

    Wasting food is shameful.

    He hesitated for a moment and then shoveled a chopstick-full into his mouth.

    Hiss!

    Delicious~

    At that moment, his virtue of frugality shone even brighter.

    After gobbling down three bites, Yi Chen stopped his chopsticks and said with a smile, "Your Highness is surely as clever as they come and must have guessed what follows. Do you really need me to spell it out?"

    "Just like Your Highness, Martial King will certainly open a gambling market. Since that''s the case, we''ll hedge our bets. Your Highness can just liquidate your holdings and rush to Martial King''s market to buy up all my stock!"

    "Given my rank at present, the odds of me winning the top spot at the Great Qin Legal Assembly must be high. As long as we guide them properly, once I breakthrough to the Sweet Sixteen, I''ll sweep them clean!"

    "Only one round is needed, and regardless of how much Martial King gains at first, he''ll end up tailoring a wedding dress for us!"

    Find more chapters on My Virtual Library Empire

    "Your Highness needn''t do anything, just keep the gambling market normal and control the arena."

    "The desires in people''s hearts are like boulders rolling down a mountain; once they start, they only gather speed until they''re unstoppable."

    "This is the Heavenly Dao!"

    As he said this, Yi Chen''s voice became impassioned, hammering his point home.

    "Therefore, Martial King is bound to get caught in the net! Once he''s caught, he shouldn''t think of escaping!"

    "He wins and wins and finally loses everything!"

    "It is wise to press on with your courage after a routed enemy, but it is foolish to sell fame and imitate the overbearing king. If Your Highness can covertly obtain proof of Martial King manipulating the duel through sect insiders, hiss, Your Highness, do you think anyone will dare to hold us accountable amidst the overwhelming momentum of the crowd willing to accept their losses? We haven''t cheated."

    "This is the way of transforming contradictions. They won''t disappear but will be shifted. If this method still isn''t enough to calm public anger, poor Taoist here has seven or eight more tactics to safely get through. That pile of crap, Martial King will have to swallow it, willingly or not."

    As he spoke, King Jing and his queen both looked serious, with a glint of excitement in their eyes. King Jing and his wife exchanged a glance and then both stood up, raising their glasses!

    Yi Chen also stood up, poured wine!

    All three declared in unison, "Genius!"

    "Someone, bring another two plates of the Hundred-Year Phoenix Morning for Taoist Yi, and pack one to go." The keen-eyed queen saw that Yi Chen had eaten most of the bird tongue on his desk and immediately clapped her hands, issuing her command.

    After the servant left, Yi Chen continued to discuss the details with King Jing and his wife.

    Teaching them how to guide and control public opinion, how to hedge bets.

    During this time, if they truly kept the gambling market fair, Martial King would definitely send people to play tricks and buy control of the duels. To prevent major losses from such situations, they would directly buy from the opposing market to hedge. At worst, they would suffer a small loss. Eventually, it would be Yi Taoist''s deadly blade that would slay the dragon in one fell swoop!

    Yi Taoist discusses strategy, not letting Martial King fleece him for free. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    It''s all Taoist Yi''s money!!!

    Besides, there needs to be packaging, topics to heat up discussions; it doesn''t matter if the talk is reasonable or not as long as there''s enough of it, with mixed signals that get the snowball rolling and cultivate the market.

    Inside the carved palace, the whispering voices of Yi Chen and King Jing''s couple filled the room. After setting the strategy, it would be futile without good tactics. Taoist Yi must take charge of the wheels.

    He promised to send Martial King and the sects on a roller coaster ride, breathlessly thrilling them.

    To cut them down! Snap snap snap!

    And his previous suggestion to give Lin Luo a 10% cut was partly to reward Lin Luo''s kindness, and partly to get the Ministry of Justice to beat the drum and fan the flames.

    After all, Lin Luo knew about his previous strength; by blocking that path and taking the main credit for slaying the Purple Crystal Demi-human, nothing would go wrong.

    If they were friends, he needed to share the benefits; what kind of friendship would it be if friends were left hungry?

    This effortless 10% cut, now an astronomical sum, was absolutely fair for Lin Luo''s contribution.

    Yi Taoist has always been generous, making money together when there''s wealth to be shared, of course, he would take the lion''s share!

    In the end, there''d still be some scraps for those below to roll into meatballs~

    Qin Qingyun watched the sinister smiles on their faces and couldn''t help shivering.

    She didn''t understand.

    What does it mean to "tell a story"? What does "shaking out and absorbing chips by breaking things down into smaller pieces" mean?

    Suddenly, her eyes became clear.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "Master, what does ''telling a story'' mean? What does ''shaking out and absorbing chips by breaking things down into smaller pieces'' mean? Can you explain it to me again, in more detail, please?"

    "I didn''t understand any of it!"

    Inside the Bamboo Paradise of Jingzhu, within the small purple bamboo dwelling, Qin Qingyun''s eyes had already turned into starry eyes, eagerly massaging Yi Chen''s shoulders. Unfortunately, her effort was in vain; her cheeks puffed out, unable to push down as if pressing on divine iron, not budging an inch.

    After the earlier secret conference with King Jing, eager to strengthen his bond with Yi Chen, he had asked Yi Chen to give some pointers to his precious daughter while he and his wife excitedly went down to arrange these matters.

 Chapter 480 - 334: The Movie Star! The Taoist Strategist! The Advancing Martial King!_3

    These forty percent of shares, King Jing has consumed in proportion to his contribution.

    This is the second of his virtues, fairness!

    "Qing Yun, I''ve told you three times, given five examples, and you still don''t understand~"

    "Listen to your master''s advice, you''re different from others, don''t spend time pondering, focus on your cultivation, that''s the fundamental."

    "Also, put more effort into it, your master is straining~"

    Yi Chen sighed, unable to help but offer comfort with words from the depths of his heart.

    In his past life, how outstanding and spirited he was, so charming he almost broke his leg, cutting off a bunch of people he shouldn''t have, only to get hit by a dumper truck making a six-lane turn!

    He couldn''t stand it, not at all; high-end business warfare often required the simplest of approaches.

    That''s also the way of the Heavenly Dao~

    But in this life, he was different, with mighty power returned to him; not only had he learned how to do sit-ups, but three of them.

    He had no idea how he was going to lose at this Great Qin Legal Assembly.

    It wasn''t like anyone would compete with him, Yi Taoist, in endurance... He, who borrows breath from the heavens and never returns it, who could compete against him, Yi Chengzi, with that kind of capability?

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    An unprecedented opportunity, perfect timing, geographical and human conditions, Yi Chen felt it would be a disservice to his Hidden Dragon Temple ancestors not to operate the combined harvester this time.

    After this wave, if he wanted, he dared to make a one-to-one copy, relocating the Hidden Dragon Temple to the Eastern Continent, in gold.

    Sect ancestors, pure gold!

    Daozun, pure gold!

    Of course, Falling Dragon Mountain can''t, it would be too arrogant.

    It''s a pity that this world lacks the God of Incense; otherwise, with his contributions, even if he died and went underground, the ancestors would surely offer him a cigarette, maybe even light it for him.

    The next day.

    Yi Chen, staying in the King Jing''s sanctuary, did not leave, for he was fishing.

    This place feels just like home; King Jing and his wife speak so pleasantly¡ª he really likes it here~

    It''s just that damned disciple of his, Qin Qingyun, surprisingly good at fishing, which quite irritated him, to the point where he considered calling Miao Zi for a new energy-efficient fishing method.

    "Master, I''ve got another bite, this one must be over three hundred pounds, Master you have to come help me, bring the net."

    "Scram~ stay away from me!"

    "Master, I love you so!" Qin Qingyun suddenly planted a kiss on Yi Chen''s face.

    "Scram, scram gracefully, do that again and I''ll have your Uncle Miao give you a thorough lecture on the rules of the Hidden Dragon Alliance."

    "Adding a new rule now, disciples cannot pat their master''s face~" Yi Chen threatened expressionlessly.

    Qin Qingyun, only fourteen, is far from Yi Chen''s type¡ª he prefers the womanly charms of Sect Master Qinyun.

    Of course, that''s just a figure of speech.

    Seeing Yi Chen annoyed, Qin Qingyun couldn''t help but stick out her tongue and continued struggling with the big fish.

    Today, she had to land this fish~

    And then offer it to Uncle Miao.

    ...

    ...

    At this moment, because Yi Chen flapped a butterfly''s wings, cultivators within Taiwu City found the Great Qin Legal Assembly heating up suddenly, turning incredibly vibrant.

    In a single night, King Jing''s betting pool soared, with a slew of bizarre rumors wildly spreading through Taiwu City and furiously reaching beyond. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Ye Qingxue of Qianyuan Sword Sect is now quite troubled.

    Looking at the text on a scroll in her hand, she couldn''t help but knit her brows and burst out in anger.

    "Audacious! Who dares to fabricate such tales about me! Unfilial! Utterly unfilial!"

    "Truly the work of their mothers!"

    By the daylight, one could see the summary of the text on the scroll:

    "One of the leading figures of the Great Qin Legal Assembly, Ye Qingxue of the Qianyuan Sword Sect, it is said that when she was born she bit off her own umbilical cord, learned to chop people before walking, at eight repelled a lecherous guest at home with eighteen stabs in a second¡­ later taken in by the Qianyuan Sword Sect¡­ the odds¡­"

    This text was unmistakably concocted by Yi Chen during his leisurely fishing, with a sensational angle, Ye Qingxue being a distinguished figure of the Qianyuan Sword Sect in the Eastern Region, beloved by many, a famously beautiful woman, Yi Chen''s move pulled the topic to peak interest, turning it into a hit sensation.

    This is the charm of soft advertising, virally spread.

    If not for Bai Yunzi''s last words restricting him, he would have gone off tangent long ago.

    Of course, this was only the first of Yi Taoist''s essays; there was tougher work left, as he had already picked the next unfortunate target with an eye-catching draft ready for release tomorrow.

    Meanwhile, outside the splendid residence of Martial King in Taiwu City, a young cultivator in blood-red garment glanced at the pixiu jade sculpture at the entrance and couldn''t help but smile.

    Xue Lingzi had a business matter to discuss with the Martial King.

 Chapter 484 - 336: The Dharma Assembly Begins, Each Displaying Their Magic Powers.

    Three days had passed.

    Thanks to Yi Chen''s lead-up activities, the enthusiasm of the cultivators for the betting game had fully ignited. Events had reached a stage today where, like boulders tumbling down a high mountain, they were only speeding up and no longer required his assistance.

    However, Yi Chen was surprised to find that the situation was developing far more smoothly than he had expected.

    So smoothly that it seemed as if someone on the other side was coordinating with his actions.

    "Could it be that someone is betting against me? So audacious. I wonder which fierce dragon has crossed the river and is as self-assured as I am."

    Yi Chen stroked his chin, his robust features reflected in the lake. In this moment, however, his mind was doubly occupied, pondering the situation.

    If there were no one constructing a rival betting board or playing the adversary, he really could not understand how such a divinely assisted scenario could have arisen.

    If his conjecture was correct, then surely there was an unsurpassed master hidden in Martial King''s quarters, scornful of the world, who viewed all the heroes of the world as nothing, just like him.

    "Is it Ku Chen, the Immortal Monk from the Xumi Tuo Zen Monastery; Xiao Tianji, the War Demon from the Wuding Divine Sect; Que Yunzi from the Fangxian Dao Sect; or Zuo Wangji, the Daoist from the Supreme Daoist Sect?"

    "No, that''s not right. These are all prominent figures, favourites to win. The person by Martial King''s side is certainly not among the hot favourites."

    Yi Chen thought of the list King Jing had provided, but still came up with nothing.

    Heroes from all over the world were as numerous as carps crossing a river. Perhaps it wouldn''t be so surprising if some secluded prodigy matching the criteria of the Great Qin Legal Assembly suddenly leaped out from a mountain, a cave, or a tomb.

    But what of that?

    Seeking the immortals and divining the future are inferior to taking matters into one''s own hands; reciting scriptures and pursuing the Dao are inferior to possessing true skill.

    No matter who the opponent was, Yi Chen would make it known that there could and would be only one ruler in this Legal Assembly, and that would be him, Yi Chen of Pure Yang, the Hidden Dragon Taoist.

    Besides, he still had thirteen unused Origin Points. Push him to the brink and he would go all in.

    That''s right, with the jar of Golden Lightning Bamboo Wine provided by King Jing, his accumulated Origin Points had increased again, reaching a substantial thirteen.

    The pond water was serene, with lotus leaves rustling in the wind. Just as the cool breeze was becoming inviting, Yi Chen''s bobber floating on the surface of the water suddenly sank.

    He immediately stood up and burst into laughter.

    Getting a bite was always good news. What type of fish was beneath the water didn''t matter; with green onions, ginger, and garlic added, they all tasted delicious.

    *

    The anticipation grew as a wind began to blow. The steps of the Great Qin Legal Assembly drew nearer.

    Like football pools of bygone days, combining competitive sports and betting had raised the attention to this year''s Great Qin Legal Assembly to a whole new level.

    Yi Chen stood up and followed the crowd to the outskirts of Taiwu City.

    Taiwu City, where they had taken up residence earlier, was just a place of rest provided by Great Qin for the cultivators who had arrived earlier. The true battlefield for the spells clashes was still in the wilderness.

    A few days without leaving the city, Yi Chen now found the outside of Taiwu City desolate, with only the lonely sixteen mountain peaks still standing tall, each peak surpassing the next in height.

    The other mountains had all been cleaved level from their roots, their cross-sections flat as mirrors, solidified with formation inscriptions by Great Qin''s formation experts, to serve as the ground for the preliminary rounds.

    The ten-thousand-meter space above the remaining sixteen mountain peaks would be the battleground for the final sixteen participants of the Legal Assembly.

    Looking at the last few Great Qin cultivators, dressed in black robes and operating mechanical puppets, still vigorously filling and burying the waste soil for the final finishing work, Yi Chen couldn''t help but think of the concrete workers of his past life.

    It''s like threading a needle while drunk, dreaming of an alliance on the construction site. Eight meters of foundation subside. Fifty years sentenced, roll calls in autumn at the prison.

    If only they had the great strength of "Great Qin Heavy Industries," those concrete workers wouldn''t need to suffer so.

    In the end, they could but jest online, "Concrete pumps out fast, just-set leaden concrete resolving the matters of the client and the supervisor, and winning injuries, extramarital affairs, and three nonbiologically related children." S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the wild mountains and ridges, they would stay for hundreds of days, with only the red plastic buckets accompanying them like imperial weapons, eternal.

    In the bustle, there were numerous cultivators.

    In that very moment, a thunderous boom suddenly echoed through the sky, a muffled sound sweeping across the heavens, momentarily silencing everyone as they looked up.

    The sky abruptly burst into brilliant sunlight, auspicious vapors crisscrossing the heavens.

    Spread across the sky like clouds weaving a brocade over the four arenas.

    Along with the myriad rays of sunlight, a gigantic golden palace also appeared, hidden within the clouds.

    A middle-aged man dressed in black-gold imperial robes, wearing a crown, suddenly appeared. He was as dignified as the ocean, stepping on the void, and quickly stood at the center surrounded by the four arenas.

    Upon seeing this man, the cultivators couldn''t help but hold their breath. Regardless of how much the sects resented Great Qin, everyone had to admit one fact: under the rule of the Millennium Emperor, Great Qin had grown increasingly powerful.

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    No one knew to what extent the cultivation of the Millennium Emperor had reached since he last made a move five hundred years ago.

    The Millennium Emperor had not carried the same absolute hostility toward the sects as before, but rather maintained a low-intensity conflict while continuously dangling high-ranking positions and rich rewards to entice gifted individuals from the sects, especially those who were frustrated and unfulfilled, to join Great Qin.

    Without such conciliatory measures, even if Great Qin foretold of heaven, it could not have brought about this grand occasion of the Legal Assembly.

    Not only Yi Chen, but the candidates from the sixteen great sects were also filled with a mixture of surprise and slightly suppressed excitement.

    "The prizes and rules for this Legal Assembly need not be repeated by Us. If the venerable Dao friends have no objections, shall We begin?"

    The middle-aged emperor looked up at the golden palace in the clouds and suddenly smiled.

 Chapter 485 - 336: The Dharma Assembly Begins, Each Displaying Their Miraculous Abilities._2

    ```

    He flung his sleeves and 1,012 blue bamboo tokens slowly flew out from his cuffs,

    forming two circles evenly spaced around him and whirling ceaselessly.

    Suddenly, a light shout came from the platform above, "Catch the tokens!"

    As soon as the voice fell, it was like an imperial edict.

    The thousands of bamboo tokens fell like beams of light from the sky into the palms of the participating cultivators.

    When the glow faded, Yi Chen spread his palm and saw a bamboo token with the number sixty-six suddenly appear in his hand.

    For this Great Qin Legal Assembly, those who had not reached the later stages of the True Person Realm didn''t even qualify to participate, but by the decree of the Millennium Emperor, no matter who you were, you had to compete throughout the entire event until you reached the top, even if you were a powerful member of one of the sixteen major sects.

    This battle wasn''t a double elimination, if you encountered a cultivator who restrained you, you simply had to accept your bad luck, because a real powerhouse never fears a challenge.

    A total of seventy-two powerful cultivators participated in this assembly, but to avoid early collisions among the top-ranked ones, in the first three rounds, cultivators with the first 72 tokens wouldn''t face each other.

    "I declare, the legal assembly begins!"

    At that command, suddenly a strange force birthed from the clouds, and the blue bamboo tokens in the hands of the cultivators rushed toward the golden palace in the sky, converging there. By the time they returned, a red number had been added, indicating one''s opponent.

    "Yo, the Emperor has returned, hard work indeed, come, drink some tea!"

    Seeing the Millennium Emperor''s return, Yuan Jun revealed his true nature as a tea connoisseur once more, warmly inviting him over for a cup.

    But at that moment, the tea was covered with a green jade lid, letting only a faint fragrance of tea seep out.

    "Since Yuan Jun is inviting, this Emperor will certainly drink this cup of tea~"

    The Millennium Emperor returned to the main seat, with a sweeping gesture the tea from Yuan Jun''s table fell into his large hand.

    He opened the green jade lid to look and immediately his eyes revealed the same murderous intent as Cao, a judge of the Nine Turn Intestine Evaluation.

    Now he knew why this tea was made with the finest Qing Shen jade that could shield detection from divine consciousness.

    "Your Majesty, a man of his word."

    Tu Lingjun of the Wuding Divine Sect laughed heartily, and Chen Haichao and the others joined in the laughter.

    Amidst laughter and happy voices, the Great Qin Legal Assembly officially commenced.

    ....

    ....

    The legal assembly began.

    For the first match, Yi Chen was lucky, his opponent was a sect woman cultivator who had just entered the path, but she was unlucky enough to encounter Yi Chen.

    In his generously worded wish, "Do you want to jump down yourself, or shall I throw you down?" the plump woman with her hair in a flying immortal bun left the high platform with a sullen face.

    Her sense of discretion was so profound that Yi Chen felt quite regretful, for her bun made him involuntarily think of a person he once knew.

    The second match, the third match, still, there was no suspense.

    The opponents were an old man and a cultivator dressed as a young boy. After consecutively defeating a woman, an elder, and a child, Yi Daoist finally encountered a challenge in the fourth round.

    He met a famous Loose Cultivator from the Eastern Continent who had just entered the mid-stage of the True Monarch realm and was called Huanglong True Monarch. Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire

    After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

    Yi Chen and Huanglong True Monarch were locked in combat, blood at the corner of his mouth, after another fierce collision with Huanglong True Monarch, both fell to the ground, crashing into a deep pit in the arena.

    Quickly, he sprang up as if on a spring.

    "Again! Unless you kill me, you won''t take away the token from my hand!" Yi Chen roared again, enchanting the surrounding cultivators.

    This was the kind of battle they envisioned.

    "You... good, Lord Tan Lang, let''s see how long you can hold on." Seeing Yi Chen fight to the death, Huanglong True Monarch also couldn''t help but feel a chill run down his spine. Remembering previous reports that Lord Tan Lang had suffered a severe injury to his right arm some time ago, he sinisterly directed a strong attack towards Yi Chen''s right arm.

    Falling down, springing up like a coil.

    Falling down, springing up like a coil.

    After only three push-ups, a figure, like that of a war god, stood atop the chest of an elder with a child-like face.

    His gaze was domineering, his body bathed in blood. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Old Deng, you''re no good, you''ve run out of steam~" A trace of unwillingness flashed in Huanglong True Monarch''s eyes, and with a kick from Yi Chen, his figure disappeared beyond the edge of the platform, his blood scattering across the sky.

    After wiping the blood spilling from his mouth and nose with his sleeve, Yi Chen glanced at the spectators below and then stepped down.

    After four rounds of battle, he had entered the top sixty-four. The remaining battles would take place two days later.

    In the interest of fairness, there would be a two-day rest after the initial selection before the subsequent fierce battles resumed, to determine the true champion.

    At this moment, some observant and meticulous people in the crowd clearly saw Lord Tan Lang''s step falter as he left the platform, a detail captured by those with intent.

    Suddenly, many master cultivators lamented, "It''s a pity for Lord Tan Lang, to have encountered Huanglong True Person, one of the most outstanding Loose Cultivators, so early on."

    "Lord Tan Lang''s cultivation body has been injured again, and in just two short days, it will surely not fully recover. I''m afraid he will have to stop here. It''s a pity for Zi Zai Tian as one of the sixteen major sects, to be dishonored this time."

    Of course, there were also those who believed that Lord Tan Lang was concealing his true skills, but as more and more details were revealed, this opinion gradually drowned in the sea of denunciatory messages.

    Yi Chen did not stay to watch the subsequent battles. After finishing his match, his figure flashed and he immediately disappeared from the outside of the arena, further confirming the suspicions that Lord Tan Lang had sustained serious injuries and must take the time to heal urgently.

    If one was really determined, how could they not stay to watch and gauge the battles of their potential opponents in two days'' time and prepare accordingly?

    ```

 Chapter 486 - 336: The Dharma Assembly Begins, Each Displaying Their Miraculous Abilities._3

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Within the Bamboo Heaven Cave, Yi Chen sat opposite King Jing.

    Between the two of them, there lay a chessboard resembling Xiangqi, complete with Chariots, Horses, and Elephants.

    "Your Highness, trust in my judgment, no matter how ingenious the scheme, there will always be clever people who notice the spider''s threads and horse tracks."

    "Therefore, rather than having our flaws pointed out by others, let''s set the tempo ourselves."

    "Your Highness, you start by spreading the word that I''m intentionally concealing my talent, then debunk it yourself. I have already highlighted all the details and informed Your Highness."

    First shoot the arrow, then draw the target, this was Yi Chen''s current tactic.

    The ''easter eggs'' he hid during the great battle were truly plentiful; just a slight guidance in the rhythm, and there would be plenty of busybodies to debate for him, ultimately overwhelmed by an onslaught of information.

    To fade into the background, he even selected more than a dozen cultivators also ''hiding their skills''. Once this became a trend, the attention on him would naturally wane, and only then could he upgrade his scythe of reaping to a combined harvester.

    "Your Highness, the people of the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect have been showing strong ambition recently, even challenging the Wuding Divine Sect. This can be dug into deeper."

    "That Xue Lingzi and the True Monarch Tian Ku of this sect have participated in the war and are highly suspicious; they are definitely concealing their skills. Lead the attention to these two specifically."

    "General!"

    After thinking for a while, Yi Chen added another line.

    To effectively target someone, one must not only hide themselves properly but also provide others with a distraction to vent their focus. If the attention shifted onto others, wouldn''t the fire focused on Yi Taoist be less?

    "Hidden Dragon Taoist, such talent¡ª" King Jing looked at Yi Chen with a complicated expression. Over these days, he had seen many of Yi Chen''s tricks, both aboveboard and underhanded.

    Some were sinister, and some were outright brutal strategies, unavoidable, yet the effects were startlingly successful.

    He felt deep shame for his previous statement that the Hidden Dragon Taoist had a pure and kind heart.

    At this moment, King Jing suddenly thought of a possibility. How could the Martial King''s movements be concealed from him?

    He couldn''t help but ask Yi Chen, "Taoist, in this battle, I have nearly staked my entire fortune. If the Martial King''s hidden man ascends to the Dao Mastery Realm just before the battle, how confident are you?"

    "A breakthrough to the Dao Mastery Realm on the eve of battle? How impressive."

    "Then I''ll just transform, won''t I~"

    Yi Chen looked at King Jing, who was somewhat anxious, clearly aware of his concerns about the person the Martial King was hiding.

    "General! Your Highness, you''ve lost!"

    Yi Chen slowly stood up and burst into a hearty laugh:

    "Across the Chu River and Han boundaries, I call the shots, dominating all sides!"

    "In this volatile world, I dictate the flow, defeating all heroes!"

    "Since I dare to enter this mortal battlefield, how could I have no assurance? Rest easy, Your Highness."

    Amidst the laughter, Yi Chen''s figure slowly vanished on the spot. After King Jing finished the fine wine in his cup, his uneasy heart was smoothed by the strong confidence in that laughter, and he became calm again.

    *

    *

    "The clouds part for the autumn moon, swords flash like falling meteors!"

    "I''ve comprehended (liao)"

    "Hai Tianwu, take my sword! Celestial Waterfall Meteor!"

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    The joyful laughter of Ye Qingxue from the Qianyuan Sword Sect resonated across the arena, as the sword light illuminated the stunned face of Zhen Tian Sea City''s Tian Wu, who had had a rough day.

    His Cultivation Technique was extremely effective against this Fairy Ye''s sword moves, yet who could expect the opponent to achieve enlightenment of a new move in the midst of battle?

    In an instant, the world suddenly burst into dazzling light. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Sword Qi soared like a rainbow, shooting up from the ground, piercing the heavens!

    The clouds were rent asunder, and the powerful Sword Qi blasted Hai Tianwu''s robust body up to the skyline, where he disappeared like a shooting star.

    The Sword Qi dissipated, and Ye Qingxue seemed to have been tempered once again, her aura becoming even sharper.

    The great battle on the platform had ended, and the cultivators in shock at what they had just witnessed broke into cheers that filled the mountains and valleys.

    A royal edict descended from deep within the clouds, the list of the top sixty-four had been contested and emerged.

    Two days later, the prominent words, "Ye Qingxue versus Lord Tan Lang, the Freewheeling Star," stood out.

    Seeing this scene, many of Ye Qingxue''s supporters cheered out loud once again.

    She won, advanced by default, Fairy Ye had far outshone Lord Tan Lang.

 Chapter 489 - 337: My New Enlightenment, Lord Tan Lang, Face My Sword, the Advancing Yi Taoist._3

    Once more they clashed, and at the critical juncture, Ye Qingxue''s mind grew increasingly calm. She suddenly closed her eyes, surrendering to the boundless pressure.

    Suddenly, in the span of two snaps of a finger, it was as if a droplet of water fell into the lake of her heart, causing ripples to spread, and an immeasurable sense of joy surfaced on her face.

    Sword Qi tore through the sky, the drifting clouds were shredded to pieces by the forceful Sword Qi, and out of nowhere, a violent wind began to howl anew.

    A purple sword suddenly appeared in Ye Qingxue''s hand.

    As she pointed her long sword towards the heavens, an endless gale gathered towards the purple sword, and as mana surged with it, intertwined with flashes of purple lightning, a circle resembling a Lei Jail encompassed Ye Qingxue in a purple cage.

    "I''ve realized it..."

    "Realized your mom~"

    Even before the young woman in white closed her eyes, Yi Chen had sensed something amiss.

    His combat awareness was incredibly sharp, and he naturally knew someone was about to make a breakthrough during the fight.

    Without his Yi Chengzi''s permission, they wanted to cheat?

    It was said that this woman had made a breakthrough while in combat last time; was she attempting the same trick again?

    What level was that, playing the same game as him, Yi Chengzi? He had never played consecutive breakthroughs during battle.

    Watching the swiftly forming Sword Qi domain around the young woman in white, Yi Chen didn''t dodge, shooting out a spear directly towards Ye Qingxue instead.

    "Daoist brother, too late."

    A sneer of mockery appeared on Ye Qingxue''s face.

    Although it was difficult, she had won and secured her little gold vault.

    The purple long sword, as if alive, burst forth like a swimming dragon, a beam of purple Sword Qi meeting the white, radiant spear.

    At that moment, the Sword Qi domain surrounding Ye Qingxue thinned out, and its formation suddenly slowed.

    The cultivators watching from outside the arena went wild again.

    It was exhilarating; after several ups and downs, they finally saw the glimmer of victory, twisted and tortuous though the path may have been.

    Just then, a look of horror suddenly appeared in the young woman''s eyes.

    In a flash, she shifted shape!

    The Agility-Breaking Realm ability activated.

    Under the watchful eyes of all, Yi Chen coldly spread his arms as if to embrace the heavens.

    "Aaahh~"

    Ye Qingxue let out a scream even more pitiful than that of a groundhog.

    Ye Qingxue screamed.

    A pair of strong, purple-golden arms held her tightly.

    The spear shot across the sky was just a tactic Yi Chen used to tie Ye Qingxue down, to lessen the pressure of his surprise attack, break through the Sword Qi field, and reach behind the young woman in white.

    That was the combat wisdom of Yi Chengzi.

    Though the "Hold Maiden in Arms Kill" was a bit unseemly, it was exceptionally practical.

    Extreme Origin flowed; immense power compressed as Ye Qingxue felt her chest might flatten. Amidst the dazzling swirl of Extreme Origin, Yi Chen, still holding the young woman in white, violently plummeted towards the ground.

    At the critical moment, Ye Qingxue stopped holding back, exerting her full strength. She had saved her purple lightning to strike a decisive blow, not expecting the Daoist before her to act first, seizing the initiative.

    Metal Sword Qi surged with thunder, converging around Yi Chen.

    Unfortunately, the paralyzing might of the thunder was far below Ye Qingxue''s expectations.

    The situation shifted again; the cultivators watching from the outside of the arena were going insane.

    Boom!

    Yi Chen, holding Ye Qingxue, descended rapidly, trailing a tail of rainbow flames, leaving a blue streak across the sky, akin to a vapor trail left by an airplane.

    Dust dispersed far and wide; the cultivators craned their necks to gaze upon the scene within the arena, hoping for a miracle.

    Alas, when the dust cleared, there was no miracle.

    They saw only a robust Daoist squatting on the ground, poking Ye Qingxue with a thick finger.

    Dammit, she''s not moving.

    But her body was warm, still hot, breathing even, as if she had fallen into a baby-like slumber.

    In the end, Yi Chen had held back; after all, he had no money, no grudges, and he wasn''t foolish enough to bear ill will against Fairy Ye.

    Moreover, she felt quite soft.

    ....

    ....

    "The winner of this match is Lord Tan Lang from the Great Qin." A Great Qin elder clad in a black and gold robe calmly announced the victor of the duel, with many cultivators around wearing expressions of utter dejection.

    Curses were heard unendingly. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

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    "You are the hidden expert under the command of King Jing? Not too impressive, eh?" A pair of black boots approached Yi Chen, as Xue Lingzi, wearing a sneer, coldly mocked him.

    "Who do you think your spear is scaring!" Yi Chen, seeing that Ye Qingxue had only fainted, slowly got to his feet, sneering back at the young man in bloody garments.

    "I hope you last long enough for a chance to face me.

    Just a little advice, the Ling Xudu you injured and left for dead is my junior brother."

    Xue Lingzi paid no attention to Yi Chen''s taunt, merely speaking his piece before turning to leave and ascending the platform.

    The next battle would be between him, Xue Lingzi, and Daoist Que Yunzi from the Creation Dao Sect.

 Chapter 490 - 338: Lord Tan Lang? Dog Thief Star Lord, an unexpected exposure!

    At dusk, the setting sun dipped low, and a light rain began to fall.

    Thin as cow hair, the rain threads sprinkled down upon the earth, making everything damp and sticky.

    Along the road, where the nudges of green grass and wildflowers peeked through the crevices of the blue stones, their heads emerged resiliently, only to be stepped on by the disheartened cultivators, instantly crushed into mud, ground into dust, and turned into a wet green paste sticking on the ground.

    The disheveled flowers and the drizzle were as gloomy and wasted as the mood of the numerous cultivators at that moment.

    For the cultivator Gui Erchun, today was a day beyond words.

    He had lost.

    He was utterly defeated.

    This year''s Great Qin Legal Assembly was extraordinarily brilliant.

    Most notably were the battles of Lord Tan Lang from the Self-Contained Heaven against Ye Qingxue and Xue Lingzi from the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect against Que Yunzi from the Dao Sect.

    Lord Tan Lang, unforgivable as those unfilial in nature, turned out to be concealing his cultivation level. Just when Ye Qingxue from the Qian Yuan Sword Sect, known as Fairy Ye, was on the verge of a breakthrough, Lord Tan Lang, with his incredibly powerful fighting intuition, made a risky move and brutally disrupted Fairy Ye''s breakthrough process.

    What broke people''s hearts even more was where Lord Tan Lang''s embrace landed on Ye Qingxue, which Gui Erchun, who idolized her as a goddess, could hardly bear.

    The meteoric downfall, like a great star from the Great Desolation plummeting from the sky, did it really land on the arena? In truth, it struck right into Gui Erchun''s heart.

    The disorder all around was reflective of Gui Erchun''s messy feelings.

    His heart was shattered.

    It was somewhat ruffled and also somewhat hollow.

    It''s certainly harsh to be frustrated in love.

    But adding to that, without any pause, was the grief of the gambling loss, as he immediately rushed to the battlefield.

    Gui Erchun suddenly thought of his wealth halved, and he looked around only to see the winds blowing from every direction.

    Sorrow approached, sorrow came, sorrow arrived from all around.

    Lord Tan Lang? Ptui, Scoundrel Star Lord!

    Clenching his teeth, Gui Erchun collected his emotions and followed the crowd towards the gathering outside Taiwu City.

    At that moment, a white-haired elder stood in the center of the crowd, surrounded like the stars circle the moon, calmly speaking to the numerous cultivators about something.

    Indeed, it was the senior Shen Ji Bai Xiao who had been stopped by the cultivators, who wished for him to comment briefly.

    Gui Erchun, not minding others'' curses, immediately squeezed into the crowd.

    "Fellow cultivators, since everybody wishes to hear my thoughts on today''s battles, then I shall speak briefly,"

    "Regarding the battles today, most of them went as I predicted, but Lord Tan Lang''s and Xue Lingzi''s performances were beyond my expectations,"

    "Lord Tan Lang''s talent for battle is exceptional, and his decisiveness in seizing the moment of combat is unparalleled. However, if one thinks that Lord Tan Lang''s cultivation surpasses Fairy Ye, that would be a grave mistake."

    "If Lord Tan Lang indeed had a far superior cultivation than Fairy Ye, why would he have to resort to such risks? Did no one notice that at the moment of his final move when Fairy Ye enveloped him in a Thunder Prison, the minimal effect of the thunderous assault on Lord Tan Lang was much less than Fairy Ye had anticipated?"

    "Furthermore, the space technique that allowed him to approach from mid-air so suddenly, coupled with the two aspects, led to Fairy Ye''s misjudgment and her ultimate defeat,"

    "If I am not mistaken, Lord Tan Lang must have undergone some special secret technique to withstand thunder techniques, thereby reducing its impact,"

    At this point, Shen Ji Bai Xiao paused in his speech.

    Upon hearing this, Gui Erchun, grinding his molars, said: "Senior speaks with utmost accuracy. This Lord Tan Lang truly is a disgrace to all, hardening himself against thunder techniques, must be due to the many devious deeds he fears being punished by the heavens for."

    "Lord Tan Lang? I spit on that! He should be called Scoundrel Star Lord!"

    "My hard-saved essence of gold, half of it now deceived away by that villain''s pretense,"

    As soon as he said this, numerous cultivators began to resonate with the sentiment, and the name Scoundrel Star Lord was heard everywhere.

    "Let''s not argue, only by being rational and calm in viewing the battles can one laugh last. Fellow cultivators, it was precisely because Lord Tan Lang''s Cultivation Body and combat consciousness completely suppressed Fairy Ye that we saw her devastating loss today,"

    "Has anyone noticed that Xue Lingzi from the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect, the true hidden expert, did not rely on luck to defeat Que Yunzi from the Dao Sect? If I''m not mistaken, Xue Lingzi still has reserves of strength,"

    "Therefore, I dare to assert that Xue Lingzi is a strong contender for the championship of the Great Qin Legal Assembly,"

    "As for today''s battle between Xue Lingzi and Daoist Que Yunzi, I have a word to say, please listen quietly¡­" S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    At that point, Gui Erchun perked up and lent an eager ear to the ongoing speech.

    ...

    ...

    Inside the Honghu Courtyard, Yuan Jun sat cross-legged, bustling with enthusiasm as he played with crickets, and couldn''t help laughing happily:

    "Xiao Lang, do you know what the cultivators outside are calling you now? Ha ha, Scoundrel Star Lord, how amusing for Yuan Jun,"

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    "Mighty General, bite it~"

    As Yi Chen pushed open the courtyard door, he saw a peach blossom mask reappear before him like a ghost in his small yard.

    Looking at Yuan Jun, who nonchalantly placed a large persimmon on the stone platform without considering himself an outsider, Yi Chen''s heart skipped a beat.

    Yuan Jun, are you here to show off your arsenal?

    As a cultivator of the righteous path, that "eyes shall not gaze upon impropriety" was Yi Chengzi''s basic principle; he immediately averted his gaze discreetly, opened his spiritual vision, and smiled:

    "It doesn''t matter, after all, it''s money earned from others, not allowing them a few words of curse would be too much,"

    "Let them be, they will curse even more fiercely later..."

    At the sound of this, the woman with the peach blossom mask suddenly stopped playing with the cricket, slammed the table, rose abruptly, and exclaimed in praise:

 Chapter 491 - 338: Lord Tan Lang? Dog Thief Star Lord, an Unexpected Exposure!_2

    ```

    "Good! Truly worthy of being the star lord most valued by Yuan Jun. Xiao Lang, the moment Yuan Jun caught sight of you, she thought you were damn talented, with vision, akin to her own - that''s why she snatched you up."

    "Yuan Jun is just like that, despite being slandered all over the world. They curse Yuan Jun as a madwoman behind her back, thinking she doesn''t know it?"

    "Yuan Jun sees that they''re all at a loss, and that''s exactly why she doesn''t stoop to their level. After all, when others have lost out, shouldn''t they be allowed to grumble in secret? Yuan Jun is all about the bigger picture."

    "Xiao Lang, akin to me~"

    At this point, the woman in the peach blossom mask puffed out her chest, and suddenly spoke with pride.

    The movement from her suddenly standing up made Yi Chen''s heart skip a beat, as Yuan Jun''s vision was the broadest he had ever seen.

    Yuan Jun, magnificent, no need for more words!

    He immediately gave a thumbs-up~

    A smile soon appeared over the peach blossom mask.

    "Yuan Jun seems in a good mood today, may I ask why you''ve sought me out?" Yi Chen, looking at Yuan Jun with untidy white hair and a stand-up tuft pointing towards the sky, reminiscent of Altria from "fate", awkwardly coughed before swiftly changing the subject.

    "Hehe, you silly wolf, you get scolded, Yuan Jun makes money; of course Yuan Jun is happy. It seems you still haven''t learned Yuan Jun''s world-shocking wisdom~"

    The peach blossom mask once again showed Yuan Jun''s happy.jpg expression.

    Damn it, that''s definitely her style.

    Only something Yuan Jun would do.

    If he weren''t at a disadvantage, Yi Chen would feel like punching someone right now. His fists clenched - Yuan Jun was being a little too frank, as he, Yi Duanduan, was being countered like this for the first time.

    "Right, Yuan Jun came today to ask you - for the upcoming matches, Xiao Lang, are you confident? If you lose, Yuan Jun would really be in trouble."

    Looking at the peach blossom mask which suddenly displayed a pitiful expression, Yi Chen sighed helplessly. The case was closed - he knew why the Loose Cultivators didn''t bite no matter how much he rattled and shook the market.

    What peaceful years? It was just Yi Chengzi who was moving forward alone, bearing the weight on his shoulders.

    "Yuan Jun, rest assured, I''ve put my entire fortune on the line too." Suddenly, Yi Chen''s aura turned fierce, and in an instant, a murderous aura filled the air, causing the fallen leaves in the courtyard to whirl and soar towards the sky. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    If he, Yi Chengzi lost this game, he''d really lose everything, all the hard work of decades wiped out in an instant.

    In order to earn some extra money, he even asked King Jing for help, selling the Reincarnation Pill he got from the Extinction Ruins for a high-quality Gold essence.

    If this move was successful, combined with his share of profits from King Jing, he could convert it into one hundred fifty thousand Contribution Points - being "rolling in riches" would be an understatement.

    "Good, with Xiao Lang''s word, Yuan Jun is relieved. It''s a pity I didn''t bet more earlier; although the odds are lower now, Yuan Jun supports you. I''ll send someone to bet all I have left."

    As she spoke, the woman in the peach blossom mask suddenly paused, then said fiercely, "Xiao Lang, if you win, Yuan Jun will give you half. If you lose, Yuan Jun will follow you every day for money!"

    Yi Chen: "...."

    After finishing, Yuan Jun, clutching a golden cricket jar, turned to leave. Just as she was about to step out, Yi Chen suddenly called out to her.

    "Yuan Jun, thank you."

    "Thank me for what?"

    "I heard that when Yuan Jun went to pick up my junior brothers, you were ambushed and seriously injured...."

    "Heavenly Master sent you a message on the Star Disc?"

    "Yes."

    "That Heavenly Master, always talking to others. Right, Yuan Jun was seriously injured, very severely. So for this contest''s stakes, how about Yuan Jun only takes twenty percent from you?" The peach blossom mask woman suddenly turned around with a smile and stretched out a slender finger, gesturing playfully.

    "Okay!"

    "You won''t bargain? How about all of it goes to Yuan Jun?" Yuan Jun asked suspiciously.

    "No bargaining, it''s all Yuan Jun''s. And later, I will also present Yuan Jun with a big gift." Yi Chen smiled. Just today, he suddenly received a message from Heavenly Master''s Star Disc, his first-ever from Heavenly Master.

    Although Yuan Jun may be crazy, she really treats her own people well. With Qing Feng and Ming Yue''s fragile bodies, it would be difficult for any ordinary cultivator to take them away safely in the current situation - this favor, Yi Chengzi, remembered it well.

    Moreover, though he played some tricks, his stability so far must be because Yuan Jun had been shielding him from the storm, allowing him to gain his current strength.

    Now, even if someone harbored malicious intent toward him, they had to consider whether their fists were strong enough.

    True Technique ascended to the eighteenth layer, and now, Yi Chengzi''s time has truly arrived.

    This was also the confidence that allowed him to display his strength at the Great Qin Legal Assembly.

    He, World-Shaking Pure Yang, was not a soft persimmon to be squashed - he had plenty of strength and means!

    ...

    ...

    Time, like a wild bull running amok, charged past, and two days blinked away.

    Today is yet another day for dueling.

    To compete for a place among the top sixteen of the Great Qin Legal Assembly.

    This time, Yi Chen''s opponent is the notorious Ice Yang True Monarch from among the Loose Cultivators, reputed to be adept in ice and flame magic.

    Gui Erchun outside the arena shouted wildly, cheering for Ice Yang True Monarch.

    Clinging to his resentment for ''rogue star lord,'' today he once again bet half his fortune on Ice Yang True Monarch.

    In the past two days, after much investigation, he had learned that this Ice Yang True Monarch is extraordinary, rumored to have inherited the ancient Ice Essence God Sect''s legacy - some cultivators speculated that Ice Yang True Monarch has secretly condensed the Ice Essence Divine Light.

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    ```

 Chapter 492 - 338: Lord Tan Lang? Dog Thief Star Lord, an unexpected exposure!_3

    In tandem with his pyromancy, the clash of ice and fire left the thieving star lord either dead or, at the very least, flayed of a layer of skin.

    *

    "Ice Soul Divine Light!"

    "Triple Dragon Divine Fire Barrier!"

    Upon the tumultuous arena, between heaven and earth, True Monarch Bingyang''s face, pale and beardless, bore an exceptional air of elegance.

    As he tangled in battle with Yi Chen, a hint of helplessness fleetingly crossed True Monarch Bingyang''s eyes, followed swiftly by a steely determination. Abruptly, an ice-patterned vertical pupil emerged on his forehead, emitting a stream of white light from its center that shot towards Yi Chen''s robust purple-gold figure.

    Suddenly, a massive chunk of ice plummeted onto the stage, and at the same moment, from within the broad sleeves of True Monarch Bingyang flew a fiery-red glazed miniature bowl. The bowl expanded with the wind, transforming into a fiery barrier that enveloped Yi Chen''s form and immediately trapped him.

    The seamless connection between spell work and the power of the magical treasure flowed like water, clearly indicating long-foreseen intent.

    Amidst his billowing white robes, True Monarch Bingyang descended onto the stage, smiling and nodding to the cheering cultivators around him.

    Although Lord Tan Lang had been more troublesome than he had anticipated, the outcome was favorable. In the end, he had captured his foe and advanced to the top sixteen, securing his place for his name to be engraved upon the Sixteen Peaks.

    At this moment, Gui Erchun outside the arena was also overwhelmed with excitement; although he was a little short of breaking even, seeing Lord Tan Lang take a beating brightened his mood.

    Feeling the admiring gazes of many cultivators, True Monarch Bingyang''s heart suddenly sank.

    No, something was not right.

    Why hadn''t the enforcement referee declared his victory yet?

    Right then, the sound of ice cracking suddenly filled his ears. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Sneaky bastard~

    A relentless surge of purple-gold light broke through the icy seal, shattered the Divine Fire Barrier, and with fierce momentum, struck True Monarch Bingyang''s unprotected lower back, thrusting him sideways.

    True Monarch Bingyang felt as if an ancient behemoth, a Kui ox, had rammed into him.

    Fortunately, with a timely reaction, two waves of Ice and Fire Divine Light burst forth from his body, narrowly fending off Yi Chen''s powerful onslaught.

    "Good! Good! Good! Lord Tan Lang, truly despicable!"

    "Next time, I will not grant you such an opportunity."

    With a laugh born of fury, True Monarch Bingyang''s expression soon became rigid.

    Above the void, Yi Chen stood with the Holy Halberd in hand, pointing downward to reveal that True Monarch Bingyang had exceeded the edge of the stage by more than a meter.

    "True Monarch Bingyang has exceeded the boundary, in this bout of magic combat; Lord Tan Lang claims the victory!"

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    The Great Qin enforcement referee, donned in black and gold robes, smiled kindly at Yi Chen and declared the result of the match aloud.

    It took him by surprise¡ªhe had secretly bet heavily on Lord Tan Lang''s victory.

    "Daoist Gui, Daoist Gui, what happened to you?" Far from the platform, a cultivator fell face up to the ground, prompting a clamor of alarmed shouts from the surrounding crowd, with even Yi Chen casting a surprised glance in that direction.

    "Is this Daoist friend betting that heavily..."

    "Dressed in a robe green as garlic chives, it''s a color brimming with life, he should not die~"

    After the crowd dispersed, news about Lord Tan Lang''s formidable resistance to ice and fire magic also circulated secretly. In no time, following the notorious thieving star lord, the name of the despicable star lord once again spread wildly.

    Two days later, atop the Sixteen Peaks, Yi Chen faced Fairy Hu¨¤n Xi from the Floral Goddess Sect. In another narrow victory, he defeated Fairy Hu¨¤n Xi and advanced to the quarterfinals.

    "Though it was difficult, I still won," declared the purple-gold Daoist, holding the Holy Halberd and ''panting heavily,'' as he saluted the crowd below.

    By then, a few cultivators had started to realize something was amiss, and some who enjoyed betting against the odds began to secretly switch their support to Lord Tan Lang.

    Of course, they still publicly waved the banner of opposition to the despicable star lord.

    Business and life, they could clearly distinguish between the two.

    The main peak among the Sixteen Peaks was called Qin Peak. No matter how much everyone cursed, the Hidden Dragon Taoist resolutely followed the path leading to Qin Peak.

    During the quarterfinals, Gui Erchun, trembling, wagered again on Lord Tan Lang''s defeat, risking the money gained from thirty years of service to Great Qin.

    He was not convinced.

    He was determined to break even; if he did, he would quit.

    Today, as Lord Tan Lang faced Master Ku Chen of the Great Sumi Mountain Monastery, he didn''t believe that despicable schemer could continue to win.

    Fierce winds howled, dancing across the sky.

    Yi Chen stood with his halberd, a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, his cool gaze upon the white-browed monk before him.

    The monk was shouldering a bell lacking its top, from which surged endless waves of sound.

    "Good! Good! Good! I didn''t expect the Buddhist Lion''s Roar to come with a megaphone!"

    "I won''t hide it any longer. Pure Yang Holy Seal, Heavenly Light!"

    Never had Yi Chen imagined, just as he was about to advance from the final eight to the semifinals, he would be forced to unleash the Pure Yang Holy Seal.

 Chapter 499 - 341: Danger Lurks at Every Turn, Everyone is Alarmed!

    ```

    Boom!

    At the moment of confrontation, the sky was immediately filled with fierce explosions.

    The fiery Extreme Origin clashed with the ceaseless blood river, and for a while, they were at a stalemate.

    The fierce winds stirred up by the battle unraveled both their hair buns simultaneously.

    "Not bad, Lord Tan Lang," Yi Chen commented.

    "You too, possess the means to exhilarate a Daoist to his core, Xue Lingzi," replied Yi Chengzi.

    Their gazes locked; then, they both withdrew their moves.

    However, this withdrawal was not a cessation of battle but preparation for a fiercer fight.

    In unison, they both reacted.

    Yi Chen''s three-piece Qilin armor suddenly covered him, a small cycle instantly formed, creating an invisible force field. For a moment, Yi Chen felt his physical strength surge again.

    He vibrated his long halberd, assaulting Xue Lingzi with a relentless barrage of strikes.

    He moved like a drunken immortal, tearing apart flowing clouds.

    Xue Lingzi summoned a bead that resembled a bloody agate, embedding it into his forehead''s third eye.

    The bead was incredibly eerie. Inside, a sea of blood roared sky-high. Even through the bead, the roaring and churning of the blood could be heard. Bolstered by this power, Xue Lingzi''s inverted blood river became even more formidable,

    Even though the blood river was suppressed by the Extreme Origin, pushed back by one-tenth towards Xue Lingzi, Yi Chen''s halberd strikes were all withstood by the blood river.

    Within the golden palace, the top figures from the sixteen major sects were all intensely observing the battle unfolding in the sky.

    Upon seeing Yi Chen don his holy armor, Chen Haichao''s expression immediately changed, then he became relieved, "The bracer and body armor on Lord Tan Lang, if I''m not seeing wrong, could they be the long-lost Qilin Holy Armor?"

    Regrettably, only three pieces were gathered, failing to achieve the grand cycle power of the Qilin Holy Armor. Otherwise, Xue Lingzi would indeed be in big trouble."

    "Hehe, Chen Haichao, have you no shame? If Yuan Jun remembers correctly, that blood bead was your previous magical weapon, the Blood Hell Magic Bead, wasn''t it? You actually lent your treasure to Xue Lingzi for this battle. Xiao Lang''s armor is his own," Yuan Jun glanced at Chen Haichao and couldn''t help but mock him with his words.

    The Blood Hell Magic Bead, with this top-tier demonic artifact''s enhancement, Xue Lingzi was like having an extra mana container. Presumably, the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect had previously gathered intelligence on Yi Chen, knowing his mana was extremely potent, hence specially prepared to counter Yi Chen''s tactic.

    "What''s wrong, can''t I no longer want this treasure and give it to my foremost disciple? Did I break any rules?"

    "Moreover, Yuan Jun might not know my previous identity¡ªI too am a barbarian."

    Chen Haichao''s expression remained undisturbed, a picture of utter nonchalance, which gnawed at Yuan Jun, leaving him frustrated and powerless to respond.

    "You want to deplete my mana and then counterattack? Xue Lingzi, you really played a good hand, must be your master''s teaching," Yi Chen said.

    "Sadly, my Extreme Origin is infinite, borrowing the energy of the heavens!"

    Three great blood rivers enveloped Xue Lingzi, circling him madly, rarely attacking. With Yi Chen''s combat wisdom, it was impossible not to discern his opponent''s intention.

    Amidst his roaring, seven orbs of light sprang forth from next to Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body, madly spinning as they ascended towards the heavens.

    Xue Lingzi''s pupils flashed with a strange light as he summoned the blood river in the sky, attempting to extinguish the orbs several times. However, no matter how many he destroyed, Yi Chen simply replaced them, after several tug-of-wars, and Xue Lingzi''s face revealed an expression as if he had swallowed a gut-wrenching nine-loop intestine.

    Utterly disgusting.

    He had assumed that this move would certainly come at a price, but seeing Yi Chen toss the Extreme Origin light orbs as if they cost nothing, Xue Lingzi realized that even if there was a cost, it must be minimal.

    At that moment, he started to understand the feelings of those who had faced Yi Chen in battle before.

    If one couldn''t defeat him with an overwhelmingly strong posture, dragging the fight out with him would most likely result in one''s own loss.

    Disgusting, truly disgusting.

    Xue Lingzi felt somewhat relieved that he had accepted the Blood Hell Magic Bead from his master.

    "If that''s the case, even if I have to reveal some of my hidden cards, it can''t be helped."

    Watching the increasingly ferocious Yi Chen, Xue Lingzi steeled his heart. Decisive, he conjured a headless demonic shadow wielding a blood knife, which suddenly appeared in the firmament.

    The demon wore a breastplate over its chest, and a fine slit opened at its navel, emitting black demonic Qi continuously.

    With a single wave of his hand, Xue Lingzi directed the demonic shadow wrapped in a blood river, joining him in a pincer attack toward Yi Chen.

    What he didn''t notice was the flicker of excitement in Yi Chen''s eyes at that moment.

    "This demon corpse is done for. Daozun won''t be able to save it, Yi Chengzi said so himself."

    He had deliberately been restrained so far, using a strategy of "fueling the fire," for fear that Xue Lingzi wouldn''t summon this demon and would simply lose outright. Now, this development was exactly what he had hoped for.

    ```

    This demon was slightly stronger than the Purple Crystal Demi-human, easily worth 280,000. Where else could one find such a good deal?

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    Phantom Shadow!

    Shape Shift!

    With one step, Yi Chen suddenly appeared beside the ancient demon, and the dazzling Extreme Origin light immediately changed Xue Lingzi''s expression.

    Halberd Six - World Upside Down - God Annihilation.

    The technique of Annihilation of Gods reappeared, and in an unguarded moment, the huge demonic corpse was pierced through the heart by Yi Chen''s halberd.

    At this moment, his expression was indifferent as he lifted the corpse of the ancient demon high, as if he were picking up some trash.

    This time, Yi Chen did not hold back any longer. The stacked might of a full-strength blow in his Holy Seal state directly speared the headless ancient demon.

    No more pretending, he laid his cards on the table.

    With a crack, the breastplate of the headless ancient demon at the bust broke and fell off due to the impact from Yi Chen, revealing two gray, lifeless eyes underneath.

    "Xue Lingzi, I''m returning your puppet''s beautiful eyes to you," he said.

    Before his words could finish, Yi Chen grinned, and with a tearing sound, the gigantic corpse of the headless bone demon was instantly split in two. He slapped his halberd sideways, and the fractured breastplate, like a railgun, burned with light in mid-air as it violently assaulted Xue Lingzi.

    A stream of information suddenly flashed before Yi Chen''s eyes.

    [You have successfully killed the Headless Ancient Demon Corpse, gaining 280,000 Deep Red Points.]

    At this moment, the entire Golden Palace was in shock!

    "How is this possible? How come Lord Tan Lang''s move has suddenly increased in power so drastically?"

    "Even if this member of the Molo Ke tribe, once turned into a corpse puppet, is weaker than before, this is still too exaggerated. This level of power is something only those in the Dao Mastery Realm could possess. Lord Tan Lang hasn''t condensed the Dao Mastery domain, so why has this happened?"

    "That''s naturally because Lord Tan Lang''s foundation is exceedingly robust. The unparalleled Divine Power, combined with his sudden outburst, led to this outcome," said the Millennium Emperor, who had been silent all this while, as he gave Chen Haichao a peculiar look before suddenly speaking up.

    Chen Haichao, facing the mocking looks of the crowd, suddenly laughed, "This isn''t over yet. Just keep watching."

    "What?" The gorgeously dressed woman from the Qian Yuan Sword Sect suddenly cried out in surprise.

    ....

    ....

    "Is this the only purity you have? Xue Lingzi, if this is all you''ve got, today''s problem for you isn''t about winning or losing, but living or dying," Yi Chen said.

    In the vast expanse of the blue nether, the winds of slaughter blew once again, as the fierce Extreme Origin force danced in the sky. The Daoist holding the Holy Halberd had a face full of cold disappointment.

    At that moment, after Xue Lingzi caught the broken breastplate that had been forcefully hurled at him, a morbid smile suddenly spread across his face.

    "Lord Tan Lang, don''t you think my puppet died a bit too easily?"

    "Even though it lacks full spirituality, this is a corpse puppet with the embryonic power of Dao Mastery. If it were not so, how could you have come here?"

    "If it were not so, how would you, Lord Tan Lang, die at my hands? I, Xue Lingzi, always keep my word. I promised to avenge Junior Brother Ling, and so you must die!" he said, laughing maniacally.

    In the midst of the laughter, countless blood-colored tadpole-like runes emerged from within the blood mist of the ancient demon corpse slain by Yi Chen.

    Taking his position as the center, nine great blood pillars soared into the sky!

    "Lord Tan Lang, this is my Blood River Grand Grinding Disc divine technique combined with the nine blood god pillars, forming the ultimate killing array which I call the Heaven and Earth Grand Grinding Disc. Today, you and I will fight to the death!"

    "I can take that final step at any moment and ascend to Dao Mastery. Lord Tan Lang, since you have entered the formation, you might as well stay," he said.

    "Junior Brother Ling, watch as your senior brother avenges you. Within my great formation, which seals the four poles and eight directions, you, Lord Tan Lang, might as well try if your spatial Divine Power can help you escape," Xue Lingzi roared.

    Amid the roar, an ancient mirror flew out, hanging high outside the domain of the nine blood god pillars. A picture of a person''s brain appeared from the mirror, through which one could vaguely see Ling Xudu''s resentful gaze peering out from the other side.

    As Yi Chen plotted against Xue Lingzi, Xue Lingzi was also plotting against Yi Chen.

    Both had achieved their objectives.

    Xue Lingzi''s aura skyrocketed crazily as he divided into nine forms, and with spirit-controlling thoughts, he entered the nine towering blood god pillars.

    Suddenly, Yi Chen felt as if he had fallen into an endless sea of blood.

    Looking down at the blood sea prison below him, he also burst into laughter:

    "Run? Why would I run?" he asked.

    "Xue Lingzi, dare to fight to the death with my World-Shaking Pure Yang? How many lives do you have to play with me?" Yi Chen challenged.

 Chapter 500 - 342: The Triple-Pure Yang, Sit-ups, The Death of Xue Lingzi

    Atop the golden palace.

    As the nine Blood God Pillars rose, within a hundred thousand meters around the arena, countless blood clouds howled in, turning heaven and earth a deep crimson, witnessing the birth of a new True Monarch of Dao Mastery.

    Yuan Jun no longer had the frivolous demeanor of before, her peach-blossom mask''s willow eyebrows raised, exuding an aura of solemnity and fierceness. She picked up the fragrant tea in front of her, took a light sip, and turned to Chen Haichao to say,

    "Chen Haichao, Yuan Jun is angry. If my little wolf doesn''t come out today, Yuan Jun will definitely kill you in the future!"

    In the surpressed fury of her voice, a killing intent overflowed!

    The bottom line implicitly agreed upon by all at the Great Qin Legal Assembly was to decide supremacy, not to create scenes of life and death. Xue Lingzi''s actions had already crossed that line.

    Amidst the surging mana, silver strands once again grew from Yuan Jun''s head, her pupils turned pitch black, and as her silver hair reached her hips, golden peach blossoms bloomed on her garment, spreading a destructive aura, drawing the eyes of the crowd.

    At this moment, the aura that Yuan Jun displayed was almost on par with the mid-stage of Dao Mastery. No one knew if this was the limit of Doumu Origin Lord; even Chen Haichao, with his cultivation, felt a stir of fear in his heart, pondering that perhaps he had made a mistake by opportunistically allowing Xue Lingzi to establish authority with Lord Tan Lang''s head.

    An average person might have felt regret from a previous wrong decision.

    But who was Chen Haichao? He, who had raised the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect to its current status, never regretted anything. Regret did nothing but let the negatives affect one''s emotions and rationale; it served no other purpose.

    "If Yuan Jun insists on killing me, I will accept that fate. However, what I want to say is that the Great Qin Legal Assembly has never ruled out fighting to the death. As per the Assembly''s regulations, no pursuit beyond the arena''s boundary is allowed. Inside the arena, one is responsible for their own life or death, and it''s inevitable for casualties to occur during magical duels."

    Chen Haichao swept his gaze across the crowd and then coldly explained.

    "Yuan Jun, stay calm. Someone wishes to use the Free Heaven powers to establish themselves as the new leader of the demon realm. This, Free Heaven will remember."

    "Lord Tan Lang''s Cultivation Body is peculiar and shouldn''t be judged by common standards; maybe it will end up causing certain individuals to lift a rock only to drop it on their own feet."

    Yuqing True King, who had been quietly observing, suddenly spoke up. His robes fluttered, and he wore a purple star-and-moon mask. His words carried a strange magical power that could pacify the restlessness of one''s heart. As a result, the change in Yuan Jun gradually subsided, and her eyes returned to their normal color.

    Wuding Divine Sect''s Tu Lingjun kept his head down, struggling with a giant piece of roasted beast leg, the blood from which sifted between his teeth. Hearing Yuqing True King''s statement, he grinned, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

    Yi Chen, of course, was unaware of the quarrel happening in the golden palace above the sky. At this moment, his eyes reflected nothing but the tumbling sea of blood.

    Spirit, overloaded!

    The Great Count is fifty, of which forty-nine are used.

    Yi Chen looked up, and with a thought, his spirit burst free from its fetters, soaring up again and rising another seventeen meters, turning Extreme Origin vast as an ocean, divine might like a prison.

    Amidst the turmoil of the blood sea, he walked on the waves, carrying the Holy Halberd as he slowly approached a shadow in the middle of the blood sea, his face full of ease, oblivious to the great disaster looming over him.

    "Ever since I left the observatory, countless people have sought my life," he said.

    "You, Xue Lingzi, are neither the first nor the last. Yet, those people are dead, and some are on the pathway to death."

    In his calm words, the towering Daoist casually waved his long halberd, shattering the bloody waves rolling towards him.

    Suddenly, he stopped, looked up toward the direction of the golden palace, and said with a fierce expression, "So, why must you all force me!" S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Ignite the seven emotions, burn the six desires, the thirteen flares of Pure Yang are all void!"

    "I am, World-Shaking Pure Yang, do you think such tricks can take my life?"

    With a roar, Yi Chen''s aura surged once more, and he muttered silently in his heart.

    "Origin Point, let me see your limit!"

    As the screen flickered, twelve out of the thirteen points of Origin Point quietly enhanced his strength, with the remaining one bolstering his physical attributes.

    With this boost, his aura became even more towering, astonishing everyone in the golden palace, and the willow eyebrows on Yuan Jun''s peach-blossom mask curled up into crescent moon shapes.

    "Fight well, my little wolf! Hit Yuan Jun''s enemy to death!" she exclaimed.

    At that moment, discordant notes resonated again within the golden palace.

    "Isn''t Yuan Jun being a bit too optimistic? Lord Tan Lang is only temporarily outdoing Xue Lingzi thanks to a special method, which is not sustainable. Xue Lingzi is truly one of us,

    As I see it, this Lord Tan Lang will either perish or suffer massive damage to his Cultivation Body, losing the prestige he has today. It is highly likely that his cultivation will regress."

    A voluptuous and enchanting beauty sitting below Chen Haichao, the current elder of the Floral Goddess Sect, Mrs. Lian Hua, covered her mouth and giggled. Her jealous gaze briefly flickered across Yuan Jun''s chest.

    "Lian Hua, hold your tongue. Yuan Jun can go to your Floral Goddess Sect gate and catch a cricket, and I''ll run into over a dozen cultivators with your fragrant stench on them."

    "You¡­"

    "What ''you''? Can you beat Yuan Jun? What rank are you, to get prickly in front of Yuan Jun?"

    As she spoke, Yuan Jun rolled up her sleeves, revealing her jade-like arms.

    The Dao Mastery Realm is vastly different at each step forward, similar to the True Person Realm. For clearer differentiation, it is generally divided into nine levels: the initial stage ranges from the first to the third layers, and so forth.

    Mrs. Lian Hua was only at the peak of the initial stage, standing just on the threshold of the third layer.

    And Yuan Jun, even with the aura she had previously shown, had already stepped into the fifth layer of the mid-stage of Dao Mastery.

 Chapter 501 - 342: The Triple Pure Yang, Sit-ups, The Death of Xue Lingzi_2

    ```

    She could endure losing to Chen Haichao, but to you, Lian Hua? She''s been stewing with rage, and now someone''s come straight into the line of fire, she must take her down.

    The golden palace was thrown into chaos in an instant.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Outside the arena, Gui Erchun, with his hand already trembling in his sleeve, watched the strange changes occurring in the sky.

    His expression shifted from ecstasy to worry.

    The situation changed so rapidly that it was nearly too much for his heart to handle.

    First, Lord Tan Lang decisively killed Xue Lingzi''s ancient demonic corpse puppet, then Xue Lingzi lured Lord Tan Lang into a trap with a calculated move, and now, for the third time, the situation took another unexpected turn.

    Lord Tan Lang announced he was done pretending, a sense of ominous premonition crept over him.

    Gui Erchun suddenly thought of the fortune he had lost before and couldn''t help but roar at the sky with his rough voice, "Lord Tan Lang, despicable and shameless! True Monarch Xue Ling, kill him!"

    Within the bloody prison space.

    Amidst maniacal laughter, Yi Chen walked on a wave of blood.

    "Ha ha, kill me, oh, come on and kill this poor Daoist!"

    "Otherwise, this poor Daoist will tear down these broken pillars of yours."

    "Aren''t you trying to kill this World-Shaking Pure Yang? What are you hiding for, come and clash with this poor Daoist!"

    In a relentless skirmish, Extreme Origin, wielding the force of the storm and lightning, sped towards the center of the blood sea where the shadowy figure stood.

    Unprecedented strength, Yi Chen had never felt so powerful before.

    His strength continued to grow, still growing.

    His momentum wildly surged, strength surged, doubling!

    With such divine might, who could stand against him!

    The numerous smaller blood shadows emerging from the blood sea evaporated before they could approach Yi Chen, melted by his fierce Extreme Origin, only those towering waves could slow his pace slightly, but that was all.

    At this moment, bizarre flames of seven colors ignited above the bloody waves, continuously weakening the power of the blood sea.

    "Do you think you have already won? Lord Tan Lang, feel the gift I''ve prepared for you."

    "Grand Grinding Disc!"

    "I have lain dormant, just waiting for this moment!"

    From the moment Yi Chen entered the formation, Xue Lingzi had only summoned the blood sea to evolve into huge waves or blood monsters to attack Yi Chen, without taking any other action.

    He had been coiling at the center of the blood sea, constantly casting dense Dharma Seals.

    Now, the center of the blood sea was already dotted with countless tadpole-like runes.

    As he opened his eyes and shouted, the nine blood god pillars suddenly shook, from nine to eighteen, and finally ninety-nine towering blood columns abruptly took shape.

    Atop the blood sea arose torrential whirlpools, spinning madly as if choosing someone to devour, with infinite suction force suddenly born.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Seeing this, Yi Chen''s expression changed instantly, and his Extreme Origin flared with rage, striking fiercely at the towering blood pillars.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "Ha ha, Doumu Origin Lord, I have said that Lord Tan Lang will not last long. This Grand Grinding Disc technique of Xue Lingzi, although full of restrictions, is truly stunning. Look at its power, even I dare not underestimate it."

    "You all just wait to arrange the funeral for Lord Tan Lang."

    Mrs. Lian Hua let out a shrill screech, her hairpin scattered, previously knocked off during the scuffle with the Yuan Jun.

    If the Millennium Emperor had not intervened, feeling unable to watch any longer, and stopped Yuan Jun, the two of them might have demolished the Emperor''s golden palace.

    "You''re full of it!" Yuan Jun anxiously looked toward the distant battle, with no means at hand and could only fret in silence.

    ```

    At this moment, Xue Lingzi''s face was deathly pale, the corners of his mouth streaked with blood, but the violent Extreme Origin around Yi Chen was already showing signs of faltering.

    "Lord Tan Lang, farewell."

    Shocked, Xue Lingzi watched the Daoist in the distance who didn''t dodge or evade, piercing through one blood pillar after another in an incredibly violent manner, unstoppable and without pause!

    He sighed deeply and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood into the pillar, and dozens of swirling blood pillars suddenly converged on Yi Chen.

    Alas, such a hero was destined to fall by his hand today.

    And his name, Xue Lingzi, would become famous in all directions with this battle.

    The dazzling blood light illuminated Yi Chen''s face, void of sadness or joy.

    In the midst of the fierce collision, Yi Chen''s sprinting momentum came to an abrupt halt, his form partially shattered by the overwhelming blood pillars.

    As Yuan Jun stood up in heartache, suddenly, an unexpected change occurred.

    A ray of clear light swept across, flesh regrew, and in the blink of an eye, the figure of a Daoist in full grandeur appeared again within the sea of blood.

    "Heavenly Scourge High Above!"

    The Daoist, holding the Holy Halberd, grinded the Extreme Origin all over his body frantically, determined to break through the countless blood pillars'' defense and slay Xue Lingzi on the spot.

    Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

    Another series of collision sounds came, as the Holy Halberd, like a sharp arrow, broke through the layers of obstruction, continuing onward! Onward!

    At this moment, the Daoist atop the waves of blood seemed like a knight launching a suicidal charge, invincible and facing certain death!

    The Slaying Gods Technique, Heavenly Scourge High Above, and other ultimate moves were unleashed recklessly as if they were free.

    "Xue Lingzi, didn''t you want to kill me, World-Shaking Pure Yang? I will kill you! Who can stop me!"

    Among the shattered waves of blood, a wind of killing intent was suddenly raised.

    Seeing this phenomenon, even the Millennium Emperor, who had always been composed, showed a touched expression for the first time within the golden palace.

    "Physical transformation, unmatched fierceness, Lord Tan Lang''s path is different from ours, but it bears a five-part resemblance to the ancient demons of the Demon Realm. However, his aura is upright and bright, like a blazing sun, truly remarkable!"

    "Lord Tan Lang, great talent, he has already forged his own path!"

    At this moment, even Chen Haichao, who had always been calm, showed an anxious expression for the first time. He wanted to intervene, but saw Sect Master Tu Lingjun of the Wuding Divine Sect standing in front of him with a teasing smile.

    "Sect Master Chen, casualties are unavoidable during a magical duel, as you yourself have said. You aren''t planning to intervene, are you?"

    Chen Haichao stared deeply at Tu Lingjun for a moment, then slowly sat down, his previous words turning back on him like a boomerang, hitting right between his eyebrows.

    "No, it''s impossible!"

    "Absolutely impossible, what kind of divine power is this!"

    Xue Lingzi roared out loud, a flash of ferocity flickering in his eyes.

    "If I could kill you once, I can kill you a second time. I''ll see how much blood you have to bleed! Lord Tan Lang!"

    Yi Chen remained silent, burning brightly like the blazing sun, continuing forward. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    That great sun melted its way through one gargantuan blood pillar after another, quickly coming to within less than ten meters of Xue Lingzi.

    In the blink of an eye, Xue Lingzi saw Yi Chen, in full prime for the third time, and a hint of despair appeared in his eyes.

    A halberd tip pierced through the back of Xue Lingzi''s head and out the front!

    The Extreme Origin shook violently, tearing everything to shreds!

    "Xue Lingzi, you did your best. Alas, when it comes to a fight to the death with me, I''ve said it before, do you have as many lives to gamble with as I do?" Yi Chen said with a gentle sigh.

    Zhou Shuren once said, not heeding the Daoist''s words leads to immediate loss.

    For ignoring this, Xue Lingzi suffered greatly, paying with his life.

    The still sea of blood and the frozen figure declared the end of this battle.

    The Extreme Origin swept across the eight directions, the nine great blood god pillars, no longer supported by mana, suddenly broke, revealing the imposing figure of the Daoist, bathed in blood, his expression indifferent, like a god and a demon.

    This battle, Xue Lingzi, was no more!

 Chapter 505 - 344: Making a Fortune, King Jings Gift, Transcending, Crown Prince

    "Haha, fake, all fake, I''ve broken through, I win!"

    Watching Yi Chen leave, Gui Erchun looked foolish, hopping and skipping towards the distance. Under the dazzling sun, his green-onion colored robe became even more radiant.

    Just at that moment, suddenly two tall figures appeared in front of him.

    "Gui Daoist, where are you going? Having signed a life contract, don''t you think you can just leave without serving Great Qin for two hundred years?"

    "Such petty cunning, you really shouldn''t embarrass yourself in front of us. If you truly have gone mad, I do have a few methods to help Daoist Gui recover a bit..."

    A black-robed cultivator pointed coldly at a pile of black feces not far away.

    It was a large pile, emitting faint white steam, obviously very fresh, likely excreted by a spiritual beast carried by a cultivator.

    While Gui Erchun was still humming nonsense, another black-robed cultivator said with a face that couldn''t bear to watch, "Daoist Gui, stop trying to bluff your way out. Even if you eat it, we won''t let you leave."

    "We have plenty of this kind of stuff that can help Daoist Gui regain your memories very well."

    After half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, one to his left and one to his right, the two black-robed cultivators took the despondent Gui Erchun away from the crowd, prompting murmurs among the other cultivators who didn''t expect him to have gambled so heavily.

    Gui Erchun''s signature green-onion colored robe was, in their small inner circle in Taiwu City, somewhat famous.

    Although they had also lost quite a bit, it was still within an acceptable range for them, not enough to bankrupt them.

    Seeing Gui Daoist faring so poorly, they felt suddenly relieved.

    The world is hard to fathom, with two sides to every story. While some fret, others rejoice. As the black-robed cultivators led Gui Erchun away, frenzied laughter erupted from within the crowd.

    "Haha, everyone, tonight''s drinks at Mingxiang Lou will be on me, Wu Mingzi. You''re all welcome to join for a drink," called out the source of the laughter, who was none other than the person who had sought advice at Mingxiang Lou earlier.

    "Congratulations, Wu Daoist, looks like you''ve earned quite a bit. With your record of ten bets and nine wins, is there any secret you could share with us? How were you so sure that Lord Tan Lang would thoroughly defeat the Blood Spirit True Monarch?" someone curiously asked, bowing his hands as he probed the crowd.

    "Hehe, it''s not difficult to explain, and it all boils down to our friend Gui Daoist who was taken away. The bet I saw was not between Lord Tan Lang and the Blood Spirit True Monarch, but rather between myself and the Gui Daoist who was taken away."

    "That day at Mingxiang Lou, when I saw Daoist Gui drinking alone, I took note. After some inquiring, I found out Daoist Gui had a continuous string of bad luck, never winning a single time, which was simply inconceivable.

    There were many speculations about the final battle of the assembly, and even I wasn''t sure. That''s when I had the idea to quietly follow after Gui Daoist and bet the opposite of whatever he wagered on. Unexpectedly, it settled the match, and I won more than all my previous gains combined."

    Wu Zhenzi stroked his goatee and eagerly shared his strategy with everyone, which was so unconventional that it left the audience gasping in amazement.

    After a moment, couldn''t help but sigh, "In the past, Hidden Dragon Taoist took the lead at the Great Qin Legal Assembly, and now Wu Zhenzi astounds us with his ingenuity. The Dao Sect of our Eastern Continent is truly rich in talent!"

    "Haha, I''m flattered. Hidden Dragon Taoist is truly a man I admire," Wu Zhenzi said with a flash of intrigue in his eyes. He then bowed to the surrounding cultivators, "Why don''t we go now and study the ''Xuanbi Creation Scriptures''? As the saying goes, one can polish jade with stones from other hills; many Daoists have already taken a step ahead of us."

    Following Wu Zhenzi''s gaze, they saw Lin Luo, who had quietly landed on the city wall of Taiwu City with the scriptures in her hands. As she formed hand seals, the scriptures in her hands suddenly floated up and shone brightly. With the purple-haired girl''s hands flickering through the air, large characters slowly appeared in the sky.

    "Wandering alone beyond the common crowd, in quiet dimness, enduring since ancient times.

    Without shape or form, secretly shaping creation, with doors and gates within heaven and earth.

    Where does one exhaust the bounds of formless color? In the emptiness where one finds the root."

    "...."

    For a time, the cultivators looked up, knowing such an opportunity was rare, and they watched as if transfixed. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Whether it''s from sects or Great Qin, truly precious scriptures are kept closely guarded, tightly controlling their dissemination. If not for the special nature of this Great Qin Legal Assembly, who would dare to spread the scriptures so widely, risking unforeseen disasters? That''s also why Yi Chen had earlier asked the Millennium Emperor and insisted on having him dictate from memory.

    This was the ''killer instinct'' of Yi Taoist, with a highly sensitive sense of smell, he was certain the Millennium Emperor would agree.

    The Emperor nods, how good the Emperor is.

    Hidden Dragon Taoist requests, how kind the Taoist is.

    Everyone sits together, sharing the benefits and naturally spreading the risks. If someone wants to make trouble, they''d have to fight with the astonishing ruler of Great Qin first, Yi Chengzi has a script to back him up.

    And Yi Chen wasn''t about to make things difficult for the sect people either.

    The more profound the scripture, the more it represented profound principles. Without detailed sect annotations, reaching higher levels was as hard as reaching the heavens. His actions benefited not only Loose Cultivators but also those from the sects. This was why Yi Chen dared to undertake such an outrageous act.

    Of course, what''s more important is that Yi Chengzi was now powerful enough and formidable enough to do it. If it were any other cultivator from the True Person Realm, they wouldn''t even know how they died.

    The implication that the Dao should not be casually transmitted has several layers of meaning, both as a selection process and like welding the car door shut.

 Chapter 506 - 344: Making a Fortune, King Jings Gift, Transcending, Crown Prince_2

    In the top echelons of supreme scriptures in the world, there exists an extraordinary presence known as the ''Unique Scripture,'' which possesses inconceivable might. After cultivating it, one''s prowess will far surpass peers.

    In this realm, if one person practices it, unless that person dies, the next individual, even if they obtain the scripture, cannot hope to cultivate it to success. Such precious scriptures are left by transcendental beings, their value immeasurable, with few records of their names, let alone sightings. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Landscape Bamboo Heavens.

    In front of countless verdant waves, Yi Chen was sitting on the Golden Throne provided by the members of the Hidden Dragon Alliance, fishing, while Miao Zi floated back and forth at the far end of the bamboo forest, playing merrily.

    "Master, you are truly generous, announcing the scripture to the world just like that. If you had traded it for resources with other sects, you could have received a hefty amount," Qin Qingyun said with a beaming smile as she walked towards Yi Chen with a tray in hand.

    On the tray, there was a jar of fine wine and three dishes of Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix, a delicacy the meticulous King Jing''s wife, Mrs. Koala, knew Yi Chen fancied.

    "Master, why don''t you transmit the scripture you practice to me for a try, to see how compatible I am with it," the once rebellious girl now said, sporting a pleasing smile akin to that of a puppy showing its belly, which amused Yi Chen.

    However, sadly, Yi Chen could not think of anyone else who could pick up his Pure Yang Lianji True Method, except for someone like himself, possessing extraordinary wisdom.

    Of course, with his current level of cultivation and insight, it wouldn''t be a problem for him to draft a ''beggar among beggars among beggars'' version, but Yi Chen wouldn''t do so unless he reached a level comparable to the select few top cultivators across the five realms.

    Looking at the girl with a smile that could light up the room, Yi Chen treated himself to a satisfying swig of fine wine and grabbed a chopstick full of bird''s tongues before squinting his eyes and saying,

    "Hehe, Qing Yun, remember a saying from your master: there is no strongest scripture in the world, only the strongest people."

    "Even those powerful cultivators who practice the Unique Scripture, who surpass their contemporaries in cultivation, what of it?"

    "In the Human Realm of old, during the era that pressed down upon the five realms, there was a Human Emperor, there emerged Daozuns, and supreme beings such as Tian Buddha. They were all transmitters of unique supreme scriptures, but what of that?"

    "Those who cultivated the unique supreme scriptures all fell to the last transcendental being, the Master of Soldiers."

    "Were their scriptures not strong enough? Qing Yun, have you ever thought about why there has never been a second Tian Buddha, a second Daozun, a Human Emperor?"

    "There is no strongest scripture; there are only the strongest people. Do not be distracted by others; the cultivation technique you are currently practicing is the one that best suits you. Your master''s path is not your path¡ªin fact, even in the future, the technique you are cultivating may not be the most suitable for you. You need to carve out your own path."

    "Only by forging ahead, surpassing the ancients, or by creating a new path, and embarking on a new era, can one truly find one''s own way. The principles that even if placed before others, they find hard to emulate."

    "Which cultivator capable of reaching the Dao Mastery Realm isn''t a person of utmost sincerity to their own path?"

    However difficult it may be, in this era of great contention, Yi Chen believed that as long as he did not perish midway, with his extraordinary wisdom and a little help from Shen Hong, he would certainly be able to reach the other side and perhaps even genuinely create a new era.

    Pah, that was wrong to say¡ªShen Hong itself is a part of his extraordinary wisdom, merely an external manifestation of it.

    At this thought, Yi Chen''s chest puffed up slightly. Looking at the girl lost in contemplation before him, he chuckled, "Qing Yun, these are matters you, who have not even achieved the status of True Monarch, should not be concerning yourself with. Moreover, recent changes to heaven and earth have made many things incomprehensible by common logic. The situation is complex and full of mists, with no certainty to anyone''s words."

    "That''s right, is there something your father wants from me?"

    "Ah? Yes, yes, yes, Master, my mother said they would invite you to a banquet this evening. Father has gone to see the Imperial Grandfather now and will be back by evening. I nearly forgot," Qin Qingyun said hastily, recalling Yi Chen''s words before rapidly adding, "Oh right, my mother also said that she has some good news to tell you at the banquet, allowing her to keep it a secret for now."

    Hearing his na?ve disciple''s words, Yi Chen''s lips, harder to suppress than an AK, couldn''t help but curve upwards.

    Damn, it''s time to settle the account!

    Kingly people are good, the settlement is quick. Of course, if there''s an issue with the invoice, if it greatly differs from what Yi Chengzi expected, he will have to deal with them.

    Anyone who dares to underhandedly take Yi Chengzi''s money, even if it''s the Millennium Emperor''s face he won''t give it, they must be finely chopped into mince.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Inside a resplendent palace.

    The Millennium Emperor, looking at King Jing, who stood before him bowing his head in salute, remained silent without any action or aura of oppression. Yet, a majestic pressure enveloped King Jing''s heart, and as he looked up at the imposing middle-aged man seated in the center of the great hall, his mind drifted.

 Chapter 507 - 344: Making a Fortune, King Jings Gift, Transcending, Crown Prince_3

    For a moment, he seemed to see his father king''s head morph into the shape of an azure dragon, with golden whiskers dancing as it emitted a heaven-shaking roar towards the sky.

    Such a vision filled King Jing with inexplicable terror, and he couldn''t help but speculate about the realm to which his father had cultivated.

    Just as he was about to be overwhelmed, the Millennium Emperor, seated atop the grand hall, spoke, and the immense pressure melted away like ice and snow in an instant.

    "Elder son, you''re already four hundred and seventy-two years old this year, aren''t you?" the Millennium Emperor said to King Jing with a smile.

    "Indeed, Father''s words are absolutely accurate."

    Looking at the smiling Millennium Emperor, King Jing could not recall the last time his father had smiled at him; he felt a moment of trepidation, mixed with a touch of sadness.

    In recent years, he had been walking on thin ice, living a life of exhaustion.

    "Ying Jing, Ying Jing, these years must have been very hard for you. You''ve been King Jing for four hundred years, and your cultivation is by no means lacking. Now, you''ve even reached the mid-stage of cutting Dao, over these years, have you resented your father for not appointing you as Crown Prince?"

    "I used to resent you, but over these past hundred years or so, Ying Jing has been through a lot and no longer resents Father. In fact, Ying Jing respects Father even more than before!"

    "Being a prince is difficult, but being a father is harder. In Great Qin, fierce officials fill the court, sects watch us like tigers, and each family insists on its own course. Father has to strategize and also has to keep up with cultivation. Father is truly the hardest-working person in Great Qin!"

    Ying Jing looked at the familiar yet strange face of the Millennium Emperor, his voice growing slightly emotional.

    "Flattery will get you nowhere, but if one day you become Emperor and I abdicate or even leave, what do you plan to do with Martial King?"

    King Jing was silent for a long while before answering, "Place him under house arrest, deprive him of his True Monarch realm, forbid him from leaving his residence for life to re-cultivate; anyone who violates this order will be executed!"

    The Millennium Emperor listened with an indifferent expression as that immense pressure once again enveloped King Jing: S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Ying Jing, do you know why your father has never appointed you as Crown Prince? You are not like me. Throughout my journey, Prime Minister Lu has offered me a great deal of help. Later, when he and your father no longer shared one heart, he died."

    "There''s also your uncle the former Left Minister, who competed with your father for the throne. Shortly after your father ascended the throne, he bestowed death upon him. Ying Jing, with your womanly mercy, how can you bear the weight of the Emperor''s throne, the heavy burden of our state?"

    "Ying Jing, I''m so disappointed in you. Martial King is like me, but unfortunately, he lacks ability and discernment. Your father can give you one more chance. If you were to ascend the throne, how would you deal with Martial King? Answer me once more!"

    The Millennium Emperor''s thunderous roar echoed in the grand hall, like the wrath of an azure dragon!

    Beads of sweat seeped from King Jing''s forehead. With his expression unchanged and his teeth gritted, he spoke, "There''s no need to consider, Father. I am the King of Great Qin, and I would rather die than waver. I am not Father''s shadow. If one day I become Emperor, this remains my last answer!"

    As his words rang out, the immense pressure within the hall dissipated at once, and a wild laugh swept through the room.

    "Hahaha, Ying Jing, you are like me, Martial King is not. All these years, your unwavering determination has indeed sharpened you. The knife that is Martial King has truly honed you."

    "What Great Qin needs is not a second Millennium Emperor, but a new era pioneered by you, Ying Jing!"

    "From today forth, you are the Crown Prince of Great Qin. Go with my gold token to the Great Qin Imperial Dragon Vault and retrieve the Vermilion Bird Divine Armor from Elder Baili. As the Crown Prince, you are too weak at present!"

    "Moreover, starting today, you may cultivate at the Heavenly Dome Nine Dragons Tower for as long as you wish. No matter how much gold essence is consumed, Great Qin can afford it. This will greatly benefit your future steps into the Dao Mastery Realm."

    "Lastly, your coronation celebration will be in three days. Your father plans to hold a grand feast for all. Invite that Hidden Dragon friend of yours who is on good terms with you to come as well, and have him seated in the front row. Thanks to him, your father has also earned quite a bundle."

    "Just like you!"

    Having said this, the Millennium Emperor winked slyly, his eyes brimming with cunning, a stark contrast to his previous solemn expression, causing King Jing to feel as if everything was somewhat surreal.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "My lady, one shouldn''t leave a conversation half-finished. What is this good news? Speak quickly!"

    Inside the Jing Bamboo Heaven, Yi Chen could no longer sit still upon hearing the news from Qin Qingyun. Damn riddle-makers!

    He detested two kinds of people the most: one was those who kept others in suspense, and the other was those who disliked it when he did the same.

    Upon hearing this, he immediately dropped his fishing rod and pulled Qin Qingyun to find King Jing''s wife.

    "Since Daoist insists, I shall tell you. In five more days, Daoist will be able to see the Qilin Treasure Boots. My husband has indeed paid a considerable price to acquire them," said King Jing''s wife, covering her mouth with a chuckle, "but don''t tell anyone it was I who told you."

 Chapter 509 - 346: The Evil-Hearted Snake Princess, The Three-Bay Master, The Qilin Holy Boots

    Golden Buddha light, a dark firmament, woven between heaven and earth into a resplendent scroll.

    As the anomaly occurred, the premier Buddhist temple of the Eastern Region, Le Buddha Temple, suddenly "awoke." Many monks looked up at the night sky.

    An elder monk in yellow robes ascended from the rear courtyard, faced the snake-headed woman, and seeing such a spectacle, his yellow brows involuntarily furrowed.

    "How bold, demoness, to cause havoc in our Le Buddha Temple, do you not fear total annihilation?"

    The monk in yellow robed glowered fiercely, facing such a scene, yet the eerie snake-headed woman seemed unconcerned. Her snake-like tongue flickered as a crisp female voice emanated from her belly:

    "Master, what are you talking about? You don''t even ask why I came to Le Buddha Temple before you shout and attack; is this according to any Buddhist reasoning?" S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Just because I am ugly, does your Buddha not ferry over beings like us?"

    As she spoke, a seemingly tearful expression appeared on the face of the snake-headed woman. She very theatrically pulled out a silk handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped away the non-existent tears from her snake head, then her voice suddenly turned fierce.

    "I, the Sinful Serpent, am here to seek the path to Buddhahood. I did not expect such superficiality from the old monk. Today, I shall wreak havoc. The karma caused by the casualties of your disciples will be on your head. I''d like to see how you can achieve Buddhahood!"

    "Amitabha! Donor, your malice runs deep, but Buddha is in the Pure Land, smiling with a flower in hand. If you truly seek Buddha with a sincere heart, all beings are equal. I can open the gate of convenience for you, but you must sever your cultivation and follow me to the back mountain to chant scriptures and worship Buddha."

    The monk in yellow robes, looking at the formidable snake woman, could only chant the name of Buddha, suppressing the anger in his heart.

    "That''s easy for you to say, but you must first answer a few questions to prove you have the ability to teach me. Only then can I cut away my own cultivation and follow your ascetic practices."

    "Buddha said, ''Lay down the butcher''s knife and you will attain Buddhahood instantly.'' I have come a long way and have met many people. I, the Sinful Serpent, have laid down the butcher''s knife many times, yet I have not achieved Buddhahood. Did your Buddha deceive me?"

    "Buddha did not deceive you. To lay down the butcher''s knife is only the beginning of achieving Buddhahood. If it were so easy, wouldn''t the demons have an easier time attaining Buddhahood than disciples of Buddhism just by the thought alone?" the monk in yellow said solemnly.

    "Oh? Is that so? Then how will you ferry me over, master, if I, as a demon, wish to achieve Buddhahood after laying down the butcher''s knife?"

    "Cut off worldly desires, understand the nature of emptiness and emotions, cross over the five realms, establish the four truths, return to the three awakenings...."

    "Is what you''re saying referring to the concept of cleansing the six senses?" The snake woman''s tongue made a rustling sound, and her face showed a genuine look of inquiry.

    "Your understanding is acceptable for now."

    "You deceive me, monk. On my journey, I have seen monks with cleansed six senses, including disciples of Buddhism, yet they show no sign of Buddhahood."

    "Where are they now?"

    "In my belly, serene and without distractions."

    "You! Your mind is clouded with evil thoughts, you shall forever fall into Avici Hell, I cannot save you." The monk in yellow robed was even more furious, if it were not for the sake of evacuating disciples from the back mountain and buying time, he would have struck already, instead of engaging in idle talk with this demon.

    "Master, you''ve cultivated anger, how will you achieve Buddhahood? How unfair are heaven and earth, I was born a demon, just as tigers and wolves eat meat by nature. You don''t want me to eat meat, yet you don''t teach me how to live without it. At the slightest mistake, you shout and attack. How should I seek Buddha?"

    The snake-headed woman pressed her palms together, speaking earnestly, as if her previous words were merely her natural disposition. Even as the monk in yellow silently used his divine powers, he could not detect any deceit in her voice, suggesting her previous words might indeed be her genuine confusions. Seeing this, his brows furrowed even deeper.

    "Your evil nature is deep-seated. Once you cut away your cultivation, Le Buddha Temple has thousands of scriptures. Among them are the profound teachings of high monks and virtuous elders. Study them carefully, cleanse your evil nature, comprehend the principles of Buddha, and you may find success."

    "But Master, you have not yet answered my question. I feed on spirits, and without killing or stealing them, I suffer unbearably. This pain is far worse than falling into Avici Hell. How can you teach me?"

    The snake woman was clearly not satisfied with the monk in yellow''s answers and pressed on, "I have heard that Buddha once cut flesh to feed an eagle. How do you view this act, Master?"

    "Buddha said, ''If I do not enter hell, who will?''"

    "Amitabha!" The monk in yellow''s eyes flashed, and he chanted the Buddha''s name again.

    By now, most of the disciples of Le Buddha Temple had retreated; only the temple''s elite remained. The monk immediately roused his Buddha essence.

    "Ha! Great Mercy Buddha Palm!"

    The monk in yellow suddenly shouted, his Buddha essence erupting, scattering the Buddha Beads around his neck. The eighteen Buddha Beads shone brightly, soaring towards the dark firmament above.

    In an instant, a brilliant halo of light shone, and the chants of Buddhist hymns echoed through ten thousand meters of sky. The remaining disciples of Le Buddha Temple sat in meditation, chanting the Buddha''s name. Strengthened by this support, the vast chanting sound intensified.

    Like a shattered silver vase or an abrupt cavalry charge, swords clanging, the eighteen Buddha Beads formed a giant swastika seal, tearing apart the dark firmament that separated the inner and outer worlds. Afterwards, the swastika seal did not halt but transformed into a giant Buddha Palm, smashing down fiercely towards the Sinful Serpent below.

    Infinite Buddha essence sealed the entire area around the snake-headed woman''s body. In this dire moment, the Sinful Serpent neither dodged nor avoided, her face calm and composed, allowing the mighty Buddhist power to engulf her.

    Boom!

    A tremendous roar erupted, and when the dust settled, all that remained was a corpse compressed into a pancake-like mess in the deep pit, with blood seeping out ever so slightly.

 Chapter 510 - 346: The Evil-Hearted Snake Princess, The Three-Bay Master, The Qilin Holy Boots_2

    ```plaintext

    "Abbott Shenwei!"

    "Congratulations, senior brother, for successfully subduing the demon and removing a great scourge for the people, your merit is immeasurable!"

    "How dare such a petty creature offend our Le Buddha Monastery, she must have been blind, did she not know the abbot had broken through to the Dao Mastery Realm more than a hundred years ago?"

    A multitude of voices, some congratulatory, some discussing, rose up.

    In the blink of an eye, the snake-headed woman who had been talking confidently turned into a lifeless corpse, void of vital energy; however, facing this scene, Master Sanchuan, the abbot of Le Buddha Monastery, had an iron-blue complexion, as he inwardly muttered, ''This is bad.''

    Because everything had been too easy, what had seemed like an impenetrably cold and powerfully evil dark sky curtain turned out to be like a thin sheet of paper, effortlessly torn to shreds.

    The snake-headed woman before them was nothing more than a hollow shell that appeared strong but was feeble within.

    Realizing this, he couldn''t help but feel a surge of urgency in his heart.

    "We have been deceived! Which disciple has led others away from the monastery through the back mountain''s teleportation array? Report to me quickly¡ªno, let''s go together, any delay could lead to...."

    At that moment, suddenly, an even more magnificent and evil canopy of sky blossomed forth, surpassing the previous one in grandeur.

    An indescribable, potent malice surged into everyone''s minds instantaneously, as if they had been fixed by the gaze of a slimy, moist, evil snake lurking in the darkness, sending a chill from the base of their spines to the top of their heads.

    A snake-headed woman, outrageously voluptuous, appeared again, holding in her hand the head of a monk, whose eyes had not closed in death, with a jaggedly severed neck, seemingly bitten off with brute force.

    Along with her, numerous disciple of Le Buddha Monastery, previously escaping through the teleportation array, appeared, one by one with vacant eyes and vertical pupils, their faces twisted with wicked smiles.

    "Evil Hearted Serpent Princess greets the great monk!" The snake-headed woman giggled, her gaze sweeping across the crowd, finally resting on Master Sanchuan, the abbot of Le Buddha Monastery.

    Moving with her, the many Le Buddha Monastery disciples that accompanied her created a chilling scene of mind control, causing a cold shiver among the onlookers.

    At this moment, how could the people of the monastery not realize they had fallen for the woman''s diversionary tactic? She had used the lives of the monastery''s disciples as leverage, deceiving the abbot and the others with her mystic arts, and had used the pretense of seeking Dharma to delay, her grasp on human nature and her methods were alarmingly strange and sinister.

    "Disciple!" The yellow-robed monk, looking at the still-bleeding head in the snake woman''s hand, couldn''t hide his expression of sorrow.

    "Demoness, what is your intention?"

    "Ah? It seems that the master cares deeply for this monk in my hand. Then, let the Serpent Princess return it to you." The snake woman first chuckled lightly, casually tossing the head towards the yellow-robed monk, then said, "Hadn''t the Serpent Princess already told the master before?"

    "I came to Le Buddha Monastery seeking the Dharma to achieve enlightenment, resolving the doubts in my heart. Being an outcast, I feed on spirits, but upon hearing that Buddha is compassionate, having even sliced his flesh to feed an eagle, I believed that faith in Buddha could bring great liberation, great joy, and great illumination, which is why I came to seek guidance."

    "May I ask the master, does the vow of ''If I don''t enter hell, who will?'' still hold true?"

    "Another question for the master, if ferrying souls requires one to sacrifice oneself, would the master be willing to part with his physical body?" S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "A third question for the master, if ferrying souls necessitates not only the sacrifice of oneself but also of the master''s friends and loved ones, would the master still be willing?"

    The Serpent Princess''s three questions left everyone at Le Buddha Monastery both shocked and enraged.

    "Abbot, there''s nothing worth discussing with this demon. Let''s fight her."

    The yellow-robed monk''s face showed a sorrowful expression as he stopped the action of the monks behind him with a wave of his hand.

    "Demoness, what would it take for you to release our disciples from your control?"

    "Simple, how about if the master and I procreate? If the Serpent Princess is pleased, perhaps I might let these baldies go as well." The snake-headed woman''s expression turned mocking as she vibrated her clothes into tatters, revealing her smooth skin, a sight that was bold and blatant.

    Hiss.

    Under the night sky, many monks lowered their heads in silence, the sound of ''Amitabha'' ceaselessly uttered.

    "Strike! Great Compassion Buddha Palm! Swastika Dharma Cavern Divine Light!"

    The yellow-robed monk wasted no words, striking fiercely. His eyes revealed a blend of determination and compassion as he fiercely mustered his Buddha energy. A massive Buddha palm suddenly formed before him, charging violently towards the Evil Hearted Serpent Princess.

    The rapidity and force of the yellow-robed monk''s strike far surpassed everyone''s expectations. Behind that massive Buddha palm, an ethereal shadow identical to his physical body burst forth, following closely behind, under the cover of the Buddha palm.

    Once more, Buddha and demon clashed!

    The Evil Hearted Serpent Princess brought her legs together, transforming into a huge snake tail, exuding dark power that smashed violently against the massive Buddha palm.

    Boom!

    Scales from the snake tail scattered, blood flowed freely, and the Buddha palm shattered. Suddenly, three narrow cracks appeared on the ethereal body of the distant yellow-robed monk, revealing pink flesh beneath.

    Under the force of that single blow, it was evident that the yellow-robed monk had the upper hand in cultivation.

    In terms of puissance, the snake woman had only just entered the Dao Mastery Realm, whereas the yellow-robed monk was already at the third level, nearing the middle phase of the Dao Mastery. Such a formidable level of cultivation was a testament to the strength of the Eastern Region''s sects and befitting the status of Le Buddha Monastery as a first-rate school.

    However, after the Buddha palm disintegrated, a golden ethereal shadow immediately burrowed into the body of the Evil Hearted Serpent Princess with lightning speed.

    Divine battle!

    The yellow-robed monk had instantly opted for the riskiest and swiftest approach. Battling away from home, the defenders held the advantage, yet he decisively chose this method.

    ```

 Chapter 511 - 346: The Evil-Hearted Snake Princess, The Three-Bay Master, The Qilin Holy Boots_3

    "Swoosh! Bald donkey, I have underestimated you. Do you not care about the lives of your disciples? Without your suppression, the snake eggs within them will hatch immediately, and death is certain. Le Buddha Monastery will be left without successors, and you will be the greatest sinner of Le Buddha Monastery!"

    "How can you call yourself a follower of Buddha if you won''t even save your own disciples? How are you any different from us!"

    The evil Snake Princess''s face showed a look of urgency. She let out a piercing scream, and waves of gray aura emanated from the monks under her control.

    At this moment, she was filled with resentment. Had she not come in a possessed body but in her true form, she would not have faced such an awkward situation.

    "Old monk does not need the instruction of demons and heretics." The deep voice of the monk in yellow echoed through the Snake Princess''s mind, and he sent forth a beam of golden light that scattered like stars, splitting into hundreds of strands of power that entered the bodies of the controlled disciples.

    Seeing this, the other monks reacted immediately. Some flew behind the disciples not yet protected by the monk in yellow, using their own Buddhist power to suppress the turmoil caused by the snake eggs within their bodies, while others used various techniques to shoot streams of mana towards the stark white body of the evil Snake Princess.

    A black barrier suddenly rose up, immobilizing the Snake Princess. She remained motionless, caught in a fierce battle with the golden light that had entered the sea of her consciousness.

    The monks only saw the black and golden lights alternating on the Snake Princess''s face, which finally settled into calm.

    The woman with the head of a snake and the body of a human suddenly sat down in a lotus position, showing a compassionate expression. From her chest and abdomen, the voice of the monk in yellow resounded with regret, his solemn verse echoing through the air.

    "Staff laid across the knee, monk''s robe draped over the shoulders."

    "Silently I conduct Buddha''s work, forgetting worldly connections."

    "I sweep the family dust from the empty halls."

    "In chilling stillness, I sit in the cold shelter."

    "Seeking the essence beyond sights and sounds, at dawn the green mountains ring with the cries of the cuckoo!"

    "This poor monk is incompetent, falling for the tricks of foreign demons. Leave quickly, report the situation here to Sumita Zen Monastery, lest changes occur with delay."

    Upon finishing, the physical body of the evil Snake Princess closed her eyes to meditate.

    "Fellow monks, our abbot sacrificed himself to suppress the demon. How can we leave him at this moment of peril? I will stay behind. If we destroy this demonic body, we will surely deal a great blow to the demon''s vitality and save the abbot from danger."

    Upon hearing this, one of the monks in red robes immediately roared out. As a highly respected figure within Le Buddha Monastery, known for his benevolence, his words rallied the monks to form a circular formation, surrounding the body of the evil Snake Princess, now shrouded by the black barrier.

    Under the leadership of the senior monks, countless beams of mana bombarded the black barrier.

    Only a few True Person Realm monks led the other lesser cultivators to retreat, tears in their eyes as they escaped into the distance.

    One quarter hour passed.

    Two quarters of an hour passed.

    The black barrier suddenly began to shake, on the verge of collapse.

    At that moment, a terrifying cry from the monk in yellow echoed through the air.

    "You....."

    The body of the evil Snake Princess expanded and contracted several times, and finally exploded with a sudden burst.

    A weak golden radiance returned to the cracked body of the monk in yellow.

    Amidst the billowing smoke, everyone stared at the center of the explosion.

    "Did we... succeed?" the monk in red muttered to himself.

    Just then, a withered white skeleton appeared before their eyes. At the center of the skeleton, a purple, meaty heart composed of purple flesh was slowly beating, with traces of gold thread inside.

    With a swipe of darkness, flesh regrew on the bones with terrifying speed, and the figure of the evil Snake Princess reappeared.

    She looked coldly at the surrounding monks, chuckled, and applauded, "It''s truly... truly touching!"

    "What a pity, my supreme teacher has passed down the secret Bo Xun technique to me, the art of snake shedding and rebirth. As long as my heart is intact, my body and spirit will not perish. I can use this technique twice. Do you have the strength to kill me two more times? Even the great monk cannot escape my pursuit now. Why don''t you try and see if I can be reborn again?" The Snake Princess turned her gaze towards the monk in yellow.

    At her words, a look of despair appeared in the eyes of the monks.

    The monk in yellow clenched his teeth, his body igniting with golden flames, and he engaged in a fierce battle with the snake woman once again.

    Half a quarter hour later, a massive explosion sounded, and the figure of the monk in yellow disappeared from his original place. He had self-detonated, taking the Snake Princess with him to their deaths.

    The darkness flashed once more, and the figure of the evil Snake Princess reappeared, having survived a second life, pushing everyone to the edge of despair!

    "Everyone must die!"

    "This is the reward for your unity and compassion. Since your feelings are so profound, let''s depart this world together." S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With a shrieking sound, an enormous black snake head suddenly opened wide, swallowing all the monks whole. As her throat moved and her belly slightly inflated, a flicker of emotion crossed the snake woman''s eyes, and she immediately pursued the direction the other monks had fled.

    Not one could escape; if news leaked out and she was besieged, her situation would only grow worse.

    ....

    ....

    Three days later, Yi Chen looked at Qin Qingyun standing before him, his face showing a pleasant surprise. King Jing really worked swiftly!

    What was promised in five days arrived in three¡ªthe Qilin Holy Boots.

    In Qin Qingyun''s hand-held jade box, there was a pair of unusual metal boots, each with two small pairs of silver-white metallic wings at the heel.

 Chapter 512 - 347: Different, Epilogue, Buddhist Friends Please Stay, Reincarnation Pill

    ```

    "Good apprentice, when you return, thank my Lord on my behalf."

    As he watched Qin Qingyun leave, Yi Chen gazed at the Qilin Holy Boots on the table and couldn''t help but wear a faint, inexplicable smile on his face.

    If Yi Chen thought King Jing sending the "Heaven and Earth Divine Gate Energy" a few days early was a coincidence the first time, now he could almost be certain that King Jing was playing a game of high expectations with him.

    However, Yi Chen wasn''t averse to these little actions and thoughts of King Jing, because the latter had given him too much.

    There is no love without reason in the world, nor hate without cause. In response to King Jing''s treatment of him, Yi Chen had discerned a taste of the underlying truth based on what he had observed these days.

    With his past life''s intuition, if he wasn''t guessing wrong, he was being treated as a prime material for an investment that was expected to pay off handsomely.

    The Millennium Emperor had not had the best relationship with the sects during the early years of his reign, often more at odds than in cooperation. But now, the situation had changed; an alliance with the sects was mutually beneficial for Great Qin, whereas division would be mutually detrimental.

    Hence, it was a pivot in Great Qin''s national policy for King Jing, with his status, to send friendly signals to the sects and to attract outstanding figures from both the sects and loose cultivators to join Great Qin.

    But for a person like the Millennium Emperor, this was not something he could lower himself to do. It was no burden for his favored eldest son to perform such tasks. If Yi Chen''s speculation was correct, King Jing wouldn''t remain Crown Prince for long, as he was about to become the new Emperor of Great Qin, and the retired Millennium Emperor could easily manipulate politics from behind the scenes, or make other moves, with much convenience.

    As for why he was chosen, it was likely because he was at the right place at the right time, strong, and, within the Dao Sect, a neutral power much like his Qianyuan Sword Sect, unlike the strict barriers of the Three Great Origins of Demon, Buddha, and Dao.

    "See the leopard through a tube; this Millennium Emperor of Great Qin indeed plays sophisticated games. But that''s none of my concern, I, Yi Chengzi, am not at a loss." Yi Chen grinned, then kicked his feet into the Qilin Holy Boots.

    With a glint of radiance, the Holy Boots disassembled into three major parts, floating in the air, before wrapping around his feet and combining again with the pleasant sound of mechanical springs, turning into a pair of cyan-green boots that shimmered with a metallic luster on Yi Chen''s feet.

    In a flash, Yi Chen felt as though he had traded straw sandals and bird guns for swift boots like a LoL champion.

    "Hiss! Qilin Holy Boots, not bad at all. I wonder how King Jing managed to get his hands on them."

    With his eyes closed and spirit concentrated for five seconds, and sensing the Small Circulation within him growing stronger, Yi Chen''s anticipation for the complete form of the Qilin Holy Armor intensified.

    He had a premonition that once he assembled the final piece, the Qilin Holy Helmet, creating the perfect Great Circulation, the entire set of Qilin Holy Armor would truly reveal its full might. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After putting together the five parts of the Qilin Holy Armor, Yi Chen was even more capable of grasping the essence of this armor set.

    If the armor was compared to a human body, and the body armor was the spinal cord, then the Qilin Holy Helmet would be the brain.

    Just having the body armor was like having a vegetative body with only instinctual amplification responses; after adding the Holy Helmet, the vegetative body would have a soul and could gather the strength of the entire body.

    The Qilin Holy Armor was known for enhancing strength, and with the two combined, Yi Chen didn''t know how much his strength would inflate to.

    "It seems that next time I meet King Jing, I''ll have to ask him to keep an eye out for news about the last piece, the Qilin Holy Helmet. Hmm, I also need to arrange things with Z¨¬z¨¤iti¨¡n."

    "Finally, I''m going to strike a big one at Yin Manor!"

    With a myriad of thoughts flashing through his mind, Yi Chen couldn''t help but show a pleased smile. As long as he could enhance his strength fast enough, Yin Manor wouldn''t be able to keep up with his pace. In the end, they would be severely reaped by him and turned into nourishment.

    "First, let''s set a small goal: to reach the pinnacle of the Dao Sect!"

    Once he set his mind to it, Yi Chen immediately decided to go into seclusion to deduce the path of the Ninth Halberd Move. As for the one who had been skulking around a few days ago, obstructing his path, he had already cast them out of his mind. As long as he was strong enough, no matter what conspiracies lay behind that person, it would just be a matter of confronting soldiers with generals and using earth to hold back water.

    Time is like an eternal river that rushes forward relentlessly. Two days had passed in a blink of an eye.

    As for the path of the Ninth Halberd Move, Yi Chen still only had a bunch of vague clues, but he no longer had the time to continue his contemplation.

    Today was a great day, as King Jing became the Crown Prince. Obliged by the favors received, he must show his support; otherwise, Yi Chen would have gone back to the Hidden Dragon Alliance to check how many Deep Red Points his "wings" had collected for him.

    After grooming himself briefly, Yi Chen looked at the handsome Daoist in the mirror and lamented for a few sentences before heading to a golden palace.

    With practicality at its core, under the regulation of the Millennium Emperor, the celebration for King Jing becoming the Crown Prince was held here.

    This golden palace was the same one where the top figures of various sects had observed the Great Qin Legal Assembly.

    "Ancestral Dragon Cave Heaven?"

    Yi Chen stopped for a moment to look at the four gilt characters on the grand golden palace, then strode into it.

    Upon entering, a master of ceremonies, raising his voice, loudly announced:

    "The champion of this Great Qin Legal Assembly, Lord Tan Lang of Z¨¬z¨¤iti¨¡n, arrives!"

    With this call, the attendants lined up behind the master of ceremonies harmoniously repeated in unison, their voices resounding.

    A beautiful woman in court attire caught a glimpse of him, a trace of admiration flickering in her eyes. She swayed her willow-like waist and approached Yi Chen with grace.

    Resolved to become the consort of a hero rather than the wife of a mediocre man, she had made up her mind to take a chance.

    ```

 Chapter 513 - 347 Different, Epilogue, Buddhist Friends Please Stay, Reincarnation Pill_2

    The news of Lord Tan Lang becoming the leader of the Great Qin Legal Assembly swept through the entire Eastern Continent like a hurricane over the hills.

    Put bluntly, he was currently the hottest topic in the Eastern Continent.

    Of course, along with Lord Tan Lang, his romantic affairs were also the talk of the town.

    This caused Sect Master Qinyun much distress, because while handling the affairs of the Hidden Dragon Alliance, although no one dared to speak against her once she ordered, she always felt the looks she received from others were somewhat strange.

    "Fortunately, Ruan''er is currently in the critical moment of her push to become a True Monarch, and is in seclusion; otherwise, I wouldn''t even know how to face these rumors, how to face Ruan''er," she thought.

    Reclining on a soft couch, the Sect Master Qinyun, with her fair wrist propping up her cheeks, had a slight blush on her face.

    Yi Chen, who had been in seclusion for several days, of course had no inkling of this. He merely found that the voice of the female official leading the way was somewhat overly sweet, and her waist... quite pleasing to the eye.

    But that was all.

    The Ancestral Dragon Heaven was vast, its architecture emphasizing that bigger is better, every building a statement of vastness and grandeur!

    Passing through the plaza, the forecourt, the lakes, the artificial hills, amid the bowing and saluting of countless people, Yi Chen came to a halt before a grand staircase.

    Such treatment was scorpion shit among the guests who had come, a unique portion, and the envious glances from everyone actually produced a slight thrill of satisfaction in Yi Chen''s heart.

    "Star Lord, I can only lead you up to here; the Emperor and the others are inside the palace at the top of the staircase," said the female official, trying her best to stand erect to accentuate her assets, her voice gentle and alluring like rain on flowers that doesn''t dampen the garment, extremely flirtatious.

    "Thank you, Dao friend!" Yi Chen flung his sleeves, and with the disappointed gaze of the court dress female practitioner upon him, his green metallic boots stepped onto the white jade staircase.

    The jade staircase was expansive. The gap between each step was considerable, and a no-fly formation array suppressed the area. Yi Chen had a thought; though he could easily break free from this force with his power, he chose not to and instead decided to faithfully ascend one step at a time.

    For ordinary cultivators, being able to enter the Ancestral Dragon Heaven was already a tremendous honor, one they could boast about widely, but the palace he was ascending to was an object of boundless envy and desire to those people.

    There were nine hundred and ninety-nine steps in total. Midway through the climb, Yi Chen looked back down the mountain, only to see the dense crowd below looking as small as ants in his view.

    Countless people below served those in the palace above the staircase.

    Layer upon layer!

    Above the staircase, the wind was strong, filling Yi Chen''s sleeves, causing his Daoist robe to flutter loudly.

    The Daoist looked down below, his expression unfathomable, his heart slightly hazy.

    The world before him suddenly seemed a bit illusory.

    It was as if layers upon layers of gold pyramids encapsulated everyone, with some high above and others merely cogs in the machine.

    And he, Yi Chengzi, had now soared to the skies!

    He had ascended the golden palace, becoming one of its most honored guests!

    He was now Dao Mastery True Monarch. The poor Daoist who once sold tyrant chicken on the streets of Treasure Avenue, was just an ant!

    "Really... interesting!"

    Daoist spread his arms wide, his face calm as if he wanted to embrace this world, yet also seemed to be bidding farewell to his past self.

    Whether he wanted to or not, the world had changed for him, and he had to be ready to adapt to this role transformation.

    Just then, suddenly, a red-robed ceremonial officer and a young man with a face full of shock and panic flew before Yi Chen in a flying horse carriage.

    "Star Lord, please forgive us. This ceremonial officer of my Department of Rites has been negligent and did not notice the Star Lord''s arrival, causing you to climb the steps on foot. Please board the cloud carriage, and later I will severely punish him for this offense," the officer said.

    "Ignorance is not a sin," Yi Chen responded, passing it off with an easy smile as he boarded the carriage.

    At that moment, up on the staircase, the red-robed ceremonial officer looked down with a dark expression at the young man before him, eventually sighing, "Zi Feng, your family and mine are old friends. You''ve caused such a mess. Even though the Star Lord did not blame you today, you can no longer stay in my Department of Rites. Hand in your resignation tomorrow."

    The young man sat disheartened on the white jade steps, unsure of how to face his father back home.

    Although the red-robed ceremonial officer felt pity on seeing this scene, he patted the young man on the shoulder and said:

    "Get up, Zi Feng. It''s not that I don''t want to help you, but your family uncle has already saved your face. Even though the Star Lord didn''t pursue the matter, others are waiting to kick you while you''re down, to curry favor with King Jing and the Star Lord. There aren''t many with a heritage comparable to yours, but that doesn''t mean there are none."

    "After the Assembly is over, the grand array will soon be completed. With the battle between the two continents, it''s the perfect time to make a name for yourself. Go join the military, and try your luck outside. It''s more stable and prestigious in the Department of Rites, but the outside world is vaster and freer," he continued.

    ¡­.

    The white horse that arrived on clouds bore not a single speck of impurity and, carrying a carriage, quickly approached the square outside the palace. Two soldiers clad in golden armor, the Bureau of Metallurgical Guards, immediately stood up to greet him!

    Yi Chen adapted quickly, gave a slight nod without changing his facial expression, and then stepped into the palace at the top of the staircase. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The cultivation world was also a place of fame and fortune; as long as one was human, escaping this mold was impossible.

    When you step into this world of fame and fortune, carrying all your dreams and thoughts, masks of various colors upon faces, no one remembers how you looked selling chicken at the overlord''s stall.

    As soon as he showed his face, King Jing or, as he is now known, the Crown Prince, immediately descended from the dais, coming forward to greet him with an embrace in front of everyone. Yuan Jun sat at the frontmost table, waving his hand in greeting and beckoning him to take a seat.

    In that frontmost row, aside from a very few three individuals, the rest were all high-ranking practitioners of various sects.

    Now he was also among these esteemed individuals, of noble status, able to converse and interact as equals.

    The people sitting in the first row, no matter what they were thinking inside, all smiled and nodded in greeting to him. Among a series of titles, Yuan Jun''s Xiao Lang mixed in, causing the corners of Yi Chen''s mouth to twitch a bit.

    "Come, come, come, Xiao Lang, Yuan Jun has learned a brand new way of brewing tea; you must try it quickly."

    Yi Chen: "¡­."

    Truly familiar and intimate.

    Yuan Jun''s new tea came in a large cup, half filled with ingredients, but it looked drinkable.

    Looking at the smiling eyes on his peach blossom mask, Yi Chen still lifted the large cup. Suddenly, a fair hand wrapped around his shoulder, and Yuan Jun actually sat down beside him at the same table.

    "Xiao Lang truly has a magnificent spirit. Yuan Jun kindly offers the tea to others, but that bastard Wang Ba doesn''t take it seriously. You didn''t let Yuan Jun down. Now Yuan Jun isn''t hiding his power anymore. In the Eastern Continent, everyone has to give Yuan Jun some face. If you encounter something troublesome in the future, just drop Yuan Jun''s name; it''s effective."

    "Rest assured, Yuan Jun supports you!"

    Yi Chen''s expression remained unchanged as he struggled to swallow the ingredients in his mouth.

    He couldn''t understand how a mixture of all kinds of incredible natural treasures inside the large cup could taste so bad. Could this be the result of extraordinary talent?

    Yi Chen still managed to swallow it down graciously without spitting it out.

    Because when Yuan Jun''s fair hand wrapped around his shoulder, some places that they touched felt really firm.

    Since Yuan Jun was so generous and open-minded, Yi Chengzi couldn''t be petty; he simply switched off his sense of taste.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Under the darkening sky.

    The immortal monk Ku Chen, with a calm countenance, sped across the sky, not participating in King Jing''s celebration.

    Thinking of the Reincarnation Pill he had spent a fortune on during the Great Qin Legal Assembly not long ago, a slight smile appeared on his face.

    He had a senior brother with extraordinary talent, who had taken great care of him in the past but had chosen the wrong main scripture to cultivate, resulting in a rough path even after achieving True Monarch status.

    To switch to another path, the best method was to consume a Reincarnation Pill.

    He had been looking for a Reincarnation Pill for years; sadly, the pill had become increasingly rare following the downfall of the former Reincarnation Temple, with only a small quantity remaining in the world.

    Luckily, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. After much searching, he had eventually obtained the precious pill.

    With his long-standing wish fulfilled in one stroke, Ku Chen could no longer wait; after his defeat at Yi Chen''s hands, he had set off alone, heading back in the direction of his sect.

    Just as he hastened across the sky, suddenly a monk appeared, blocking his path.

    The monk''s face combined many details from the visages of Happy Buddha Temple monks, forming an entirely different countenance.

    "Esteemed monk, please halt."

    "I wish to ask you, how can one become a Buddha?"

    On seeing this, Ku Chen immediately stopped.

 Chapter 514 - 348: Unspeakable, When the Evil Heart Snake Princess Meets the World-Shaking Pure Yang

    ```

    "How does one become a Buddha? Those with the heart of Buddha can become one."

    "Devote oneself to Buddha, that is the heart of Buddha."

    "To taste all sufferings, endure through all eons, know love and hatred, comprehend cause and effect, attain the great Dao, realize Nirvana, that is the path to becoming a Buddha."

    Ku Chen, facing the unfamiliar monk blocking his way, pressed his palms together in a salute, solemnly responded, yet he was inwardly on guard.

    Although he couldn''t sense anything amiss about the person before him, their unexpected encounter and inquiry about Buddha seemed out of the ordinary; nevertheless, after years of practicing the Buddha''s teachings, he still gave a respectful answer.

    The strange monk showed an expression that neither agreed nor disagreed and asked again, "Buddha says, all beings are equal. In the eyes of a friend of Buddha, are all beings equal?"

    "Naturally!"

    "Haha, what hypocrisy. In a world where all things have their own hierarchy, where is this equality you speak of?"

    "Some are beautiful, some are ugly, some are strong and powerful, some are frail and weak; the weak have no right to choose, only a destiny to be chosen. Friend of Buddha, how are all beings equal?"

    As these words were spoken, Ku Chen''s pupils immediately constricted, and a sizzling sound ensued. The monk''s face in front of him cracked and fell off, revealing a sinister tongue shaped like a branding iron, writhing like a snake''s.

    A strong sense of malice and evil intent spread in all directions.

    "How dare you! Demon, die!"

    Upon seeing this, Ku Chen became uncontrollably furious. He flipped his palm instantaneously and retreated explosively, ready to draw out the divine bell and apply the Lion''s Roar technique, only to be struck across the chest by a suddenly appearing giant snake tail.

    Boom!

    Dust billowed, and Ku Chen was sent flying, his blood spraying the sky as his body embedded in the ground, the divine bell falling beside him.

    "Didn''t the friend of Buddha just say that all beings are equal? Why, upon seeing my evil hearted Snake Princess, do you wish to shout and kill?"

    The snake''s head donned a ''charming'' smile, slowly advancing towards Ku Chen, "Does the Master mean to say that those without a heart of Buddha deserve to die, or is it that the Master''s heart of equality for all beings cannot accommodate my evil hearted Snake Princess?"

    The Snake Princess nonchalantly approached, one step, one thought, the evil wind emanating from her corrupting the wild grass into ash. And soon, the ash drifted away in all directions.

    "My master, Bo Xun, said that Buddha is the most hypocritical, indeed it''s the truth."

    "Every creature exists following the way it exists, and the way of existence for the weak is to be farmed and then served on the dining table."

    "The so-called equality of all beings, alas, some are always more equal than others. The weak have no freedom, it is the powerful who can truly be free, hahaha!"

    "The equality you speak of is not a word for the weak at all, friend of Buddha. Tell me, are you and I equal right now?"

    A monk''s shoe fell upon Ku Chen''s leg, crushing it into two pieces, and the Snake Princess squatted down, her face full of mocking as she looked at Ku Chen.

    "Oh dear, I hit the friend of Buddha so gently that I forgot that you were paralyzed by my evil yuan; you can''t speak, you can''t move. How terrible of me. Let me release you."

    "Just say that your Buddha is false and hypocritical, and I will let you live. How about that?"

    A puff of black air was expelled onto Ku Chen''s face, releasing the paralysis on his head. Cold sweat seeped from Ku Chen''s forehead as he stared fiercely at the demon before him and shouted:

    "All... all beings are equal, I, Ku Chen... though I may not reach it... my heart aspires to it."

    "How bold, demon, to dare mock and blaspheme against Buddha. I don''t need this filthy flesh anyway..."

    Boom, a monk''s shoe suddenly stomped down on Ku Chen''s head, his head bursting open like an exploding watermelon.

    "Truly smelly and hard, stubbornly ignorant."

    "The weak, they should be served on the dining table."

    With a reach, the evil hearted Snake Princess inserted her hand into Ku Chen''s chest, pulled out his heart, and swallowed it in one gulp, her eyes turning a deep crimson.

    She was now very displeased, and when displeased, she needed to vent.

    Her gaze shifted, and the Snake Princess set her eyes on a small town nestled in the distant mountains.

    Darkness descended, strange powers emerged, and an evil aura spread through the air.

    The once peaceful valley town, tranquil for three generations, suffered a sudden calamity; fathers killed sons, sons slew mothers, cannibalism, chaos, adultery, the sick; all the manifold horrors we can barely speak of.

    After swallowing all the black smoke that enshrouded the small town, feeling the despair, regret, anger, gluttony, and lust within it, the Snake Princess finally showed a pleased expression, the displeasure brought by Ku Chen gone.

    She floated to the top of the mountain, standing against the wind.

    Just at that moment, ripples pulsed around her body like those on water, followed by black mist spraying from the three-point pattern on the forehead of her snake head, which smoothed out the ripples. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Damn it, someone is employing ''Secret Technique'' to divine my whereabouts again. I can''t stay here any longer. Now that my cultivation has not fully recovered, I need to remain hidden. The farther away from those masters, the better."

    "Based on the memories of the consumed, the Northern Region is barren indeed. It may be well for me to go there and secretly consume further. Once I break into the late stage of ''Dao Mastery'', I can establish the Flesh and Blood Gate in one fell swoop and contact my master," thought the Snake Princess with a strange glint in her eye.

    At first, upon descending to this world, she devoured a female cultivator who blocked her path, barely achieving the realm of ''Dao Mastery''. Then, through killing monks and stabilizing her realm, relying on her extraordinary ''Secret Technique'', she cleverly executed her plans, fed on Python Sparrow, and slaughtered the Joyful Buddha Temple, consuming a monk of the third level of ''Dao Mastery'', advancing her cultivation.

    With extensive slaughter, she has now restored her cultivation to the fourth level of ''Dao Mastery''. Regrettably, those good days are no longer attainable.

    Although she was mentally prepared, a sense of regret still surged in the Snake Princess''s heart. However, she was not panicked; relying on the marvel of her ''Secret Technique'' and the cloaking of providence by her master before the descent, as long she was careful in her actions, even the top cultivators of this realm would find it difficult to grasp her trail, and she had at least a hundred years of time.

    ```

 Chapter 522 - 351 Discussion on Heavenly Dao, Astonishing News, Terrifying Conjecture

    Yi Chen came to a halt in front of a gate without hesitation, his curiosity growing ever stronger as he followed the Heavenly Master.

    The gate was a deep black with a metallic texture, and upon it was carved a huge, indistinct face.

    Beyond that, the door was dotted with many strange purple spots, which, at first glance, appeared chaotic and disordered. However, if one looked closely for a while, they could feel a massive swirl of light dots forming on the door, as if even the mind could be sucked into it.

    If those below the True Monarch realm were to glimpse this door, they would immediately lose their composure; even the weaker True Monarchs should not gaze upon it for long. But with Yi Chen''s current level of cultivation, he was naturally unhindered.

    As he looked at the door, a strange expression crossed Yi Chen''s face.

    The deep black surface of the door seemed like a canvas, with the vortex of purple dots resembling the spiral galaxies he remembered seeing in a previous life.

    "It''s been a long time since I''ve entered the Star Furnace Dome. My friend, you certainly know how to pick expensive questions. I will not answer this question without at least sixty thousand Contribution Points, and even then, it would be best if you grasped some things on your own when entering the Dome."

    The Heavenly Master glanced at the gate before him with a grave tone, yet there was a trace of reminiscence in his voice.

    The two did not hesitate; under the lead of the Heavenly Master, the long-sealed gate slowly opened.

    Inside was a semi-dome hall with purple orbs floating on the ceiling, emitting a mysterious aura.

    In the hall were several cushions, a table, and as the gate closed, with the atmosphere steeped in tranquility, the Heavenly Master finally began to speak slowly:

    "What is the Heavenly Dao? Let me tell you a story. After I finish, you will understand what the Heavenly Dao is. Remember, speak cautiously."

    "Before I attained my Dao, I cultivated in a courtyard teeming with wildflowers and grasses. Then one day, a strong wind blew from the heavens, and a tree seed wrapped in bird droppings fell into the courtyard."

    "The heavens have the virtue of nurturing life, and after contemplating, I decided not to weed it out. From then on, the tree took root in my courtyard, absorbing dew and sunlight to grow vigorously."

    "As the tree grew, my courtyard became more vibrant with birdsong and fragrant flowers. I would sweep the fallen leaves without any regret and occasionally fertilize and water it."

    "However, the day eventually came when the tree grew too tall and blocked the light from my window, causing me great discomfort."

    Just as I hesitated whether to cut it down or trim the crown, the tree became sentient, uprooted itself overnight, and ran away¡ªleaving a large hole in the fence of my courtyard."

    Yi Chen: "..." That''s a drastic twist.

    "Ah, when the tree ran off, it took with it the nutrients from the soil in my courtyard. The nutrients it had accumulated were not enough for its flight, and it even took the birds that lived on it¡ªwhat a loss. I had no choice but to grit my teeth and repair the fence."

    "Later, the seeds left by the previous tree underwent changes, sprouting a new tree that grew anew. Some became shrubs, while one in particular had exceptional gifts and grew into another towering tree which, of course, eventually ran away."

    "One of the sentient trees even became aggressive. I wanted to discipline it, but after a fight, it still got away."

    "After repeating this cycle several times, I learned my lesson. If any tree began to block my light, I would cut it down without hesitation, never allowing it to reach the level of my second-story balcony."

    "Consequently, my yard is now filled with trees of modest height, bountiful with fruits. These trees absorb sunlight and fix a lot of nutrients, only to eventually wither in the courtyard, returning to heaven and earth, making my yard more colorful than ever."

    Having said this, the Heavenly Master fell silent, pouring himself a cup of tea and sipping it lightly before smiling and continuing:

    "That, is the Heavenly Dao!"

    "An unrestricted growing tree without wisdom will be cut down by the owner of the courtyard."

    "As for me, if I''m not allowed to grow upwards, I''d grow horizontally first. Once the trunk becomes thick and strong enough, I''ll fight the owner of the courtyard and tear down his house!" Yi Chen stroked his chin in thought.

    Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Master''s expression became extraordinarily vivid. Setting down his teacup, he finally sighed: "True Monarch, you truly are exceptionally wise and daring!"

    "Indeed, many have thought to do the same, but that path is incredibly difficult, and none have succeeded to date."

    "The soul is like the leaves, and those great trees that have grown to the peak height of the first floor have absorbed so much rain and sunlight. Even if initially, their leaves weren''t that lush, which of them isn''t thriving now?"

    "Without green leaves to absorb the nutrients, how can a tree grow? Even if there are not enough leaves, the growth will be extremely challenging."

    "There''s never been a bare tree in this courtyard. If there were, they''d be mere saplings that perished long ago."

    With that, the Heavenly Master couldn''t help but chuckle, then he warned again:

    "Anyway, with your cultivation and talent, you''ll grow close to the height of the second floor sooner or later. At that time, do not ascend further, lest the owner of the courtyard sees that touch of green through his window sill and disaster ensues." sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen: "..." Am I going bald?

    Hearing the Heavenly Master''s words, Yi Chen initially flew into a rage, only to burst into comedic laughter.

    Being bald is good, being bald is great.

    Although he was uncertain whether his practice was categorized as horizontal or vertical growth, after so long, he was sure he had no leaves¡ªdidn''t this imply that he, Yi Taoist, could grow in any way he wished?

    This is... exhilarating!

    By then, Yi Chen also discerned a faint flavor within the abstract story of the Heavenly Master. He felt that if other cultivators were trees sustained by green leaves, with virtually negligible root systems, his own situation was the reverse.

 Chapter 523 - 351 Discussion on Heavenly Dao, Astonishing News, Terrifying Conjecture_2

    He drew all his nourishment from his roots.

    Leaves fell to the ground, turned into nutrients, and after such transformation, became his own sustenance. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    And this transformation process was the pinnacle martial art born from the top true scriptures, which contained meanings that could speed up his growth with nutrients.

    "Young friend, why do you laugh?" At this moment, the Heavenly Master suddenly asked, interrupting Yi Chen''s thoughts.

    "Ah, did I laugh?" Yi Chen restrained his smile and quickly shook his head to deny it, "Just now, I merely had a sudden realization and felt joy in my heart."

    One could not speak their thoughts aloud.

    Yi Chen''s thoughts shifted, and he immediately changed the topic: "Heavenly Master, what causes the anomaly of heaven and earth? There have been anomalies before, but why are they so violent now?"

    "Eighty thousand!"

    "This question will cost you eighty thousand Contribution Points! The Heavenly Master will also give you an additional piece of information, telling you who currently holds the only true scripture ''Human Emperor''s Scripture,'' personally transmitted by the Human Emperor.

    This is a huge tree that has risen horizontally in the Eastern Continent, an exceptionally talented prodigy, ranking just below that peerless female crown in the Central Continent."

    Seemingly recalling someone''s figure, the Heavenly Master couldn''t help but shiver; that one was a monster, one that couldn''t be reasoned with by normal standards.

    Thinking of this, the Heavenly Master couldn''t help but let his gaze linger on Yi Chen''s face for a while.

    In his heart, Yi Chen was like Yuan Jun, both were freaks who defied conventional measurements.

    "Damn! Is this the Heavenly Master? This is clearly an old scammer! No, he''s the strongest scammer of them all!" Yi Chen looked at the Heavenly Master''s old face and for a moment, his teeth itched with hatred.

    The guy just had the audacity to nonchalantly demand eighty thousand Contribution Points with a shameless face. Yi Taoist himself had toiled hard at scamming to earn just one hundred and ten thousand, and that was still reserved for Yuan Jun and others to use in plundering formations. Now he fully realized why even Yuan Jun had complained that the Heavenly Master charged exorbitant and underhanded prices.

    "Make a counteroffer then!" Seeing Yi Chen remain silent, the Heavenly Master couldn''t help but urge him.

    "Ten thousand, and if you ask for a penny more, I won''t inquire further," Yi Chen said irritably.

    "Good, prompt! Ten thousand it is. The Heavenly Master always collects payment before service, hand it over."

    Yi Chen was truly annoyed; the old scammer''s words sounded all too familiar.

    Furthermore, the Heavenly Master agreed so quickly that it made his purchasing experience extremely unpleasant. If there had been just a few seconds of hesitation, he wouldn''t feel as painfully remorseful as he did now.

    After finalizing the transaction of a thousand points of Gold Essence with an utterly dismayed face, the Heavenly Master then slapped his pocket contentedly and said:

    "My young friend is forthright, so I won''t keep you in suspense. If destiny were to make you a king, how would you respond?"

    "Naturally, I would accept it."

    "Then, what if destiny designated you as food?"

    "Kill!" Yi Chen''s answer was extremely resolute, without the slightest hesitation.

    "Precisely, that''s what those towering trees at the pinnacle of growth also think."

    At this point, the Heavenly Master''s somber voice continued to follow.

    "Although they all stand at the pinnacle height of a tree, there are also vast differences between them. For instance, some trees are significantly thicker, several times larger than others."

    "These trees, with their small branches already beyond the courtyard wall, have seen the world outside: distant mountains, flowing rivers, and predators like tigers, antelopes, and jackals in pursuit of their prey."

    "You see, had they not seen these, it might have been better, but once they''ve witnessed the mountains and rivers beyond, once they''ve seen the vast world outside, it sets them apart from the trees within the courtyard walls."

    "They are no longer the same; they have completely changed."

    "In your place, would you be content?"

    "Before, there have been jackals that accidentally entered the courtyard but were all killed by the great trees in cooperation with the courtyard owner."

    "So, when horizontal growth did not achieve a major breakthrough, part of the trees entertained a new idea."

    At this point, Yi Chen was deeply shocked, his eyes widened a bit:

    "Holy shit, was it you guys who brought over the Grand Supreme Elder?"

    Seeing Yi Chen''s expression, the Heavenly Master knew he had grasped the meaning of his words and then he sighed:

    "Those towering trees wanted to use the tiger to swallow the wolf, to tear down the courtyard walls. Other trees, although they did not agree, except for a very few, also chose to acquiesce. After all, having more options is always better. If they could kill the courtyard owner and then drive away the invaders, that would be perfect,"

    "Thus, during a brilliant golden era, this group of trees, diverse in race, realized an unprecedented unity at a certain point in time, congregated, and formed an organization. They paid a horrendous price for this. Pooling everyone''s wisdom, they finally lit a beacon in the dark courtyard."

    "Until recently, their plans have been passed down through generation after generation and finally bore fruit."

    "It''s just that the fruit is somewhat bitter."

    "What was introduced from outside was neither jackals nor tigers but even more terrifying ferocious beasts lurking in the dark, with appetites so large they intend to devour every living thing in the courtyard, including the courtyard owner." Upon saying this, the Heavenly Master let out a slight sigh, his mood somewhat complex.

    Heaven and Earth are heartless, treating all beings as straw dogs; humans are heartless, using others as sacrificial offerings.

    Everyone has their reasons, but no one ever asks for the opinion of the weak. The only thing the weak can do is await the decree of fate; this is the harsh reality.

    "Heavenly Master, if I''m not mistaken, the ferocious beasts that have been drawn here include more than just one entity," Yi Chen inquired with a dark expression. He knew of the names that had appeared in both the heart-devouring snake empress and Extinction Ruins, Bo Xun.

    And within the Heavenly Master''s words, he couldn''t help but consider an even deeper layer. What are the thoughts and attitudes of that group of the very top trees when faced with this situation?

 Chapter 524 - 351 Discussion on Heavenly Dao, Astonishing News, Terrifying Conjecture_3

    Surrender faction? Resistance faction? High-tail-it-out-of-there faction?

    And, what the hell was that damn ''Kongming lantern'' hanging in the courtyard? Is it extinguished now, or is there going to be another big one coming?

    The more Yi Chen thought about it, the more he realized that those cultivators from the past were really ruthless, daring to think and act...

    If you can''t play the game, then don''t let anyone play.

    "It seems that Star Lord has also come into contact with the angels of those two venerable ones, knowing quite a bit. As time goes by, the changes in heaven and earth are bound to happen sooner or later,"

    "When we reach a certain time node, the will of heaven might loosen its constraints a bit. The instinct of the heavenly intent has already sensed danger, the fading of the five realms, and the trend of tri-territory unification is the best proof."

    The Heavenly Master''s face wore a profound expression, clearly having anticipated this.

    Looking at the Heavenly Master''s face, Yi Chen''s heart was filled with great admiration for the courage of the ancient cultivators. Compared to the ''Kongming lantern'' plan, the massive Eastern Continent traction array he saw before was like comparing paper models to aircraft carriers; the difficulty was incomparable.

    However, with his keen perception, Yi Chen knew that the old Heavenly Master still had many secrets buried in his heart, some of which perhaps even he did not know and was still exploring and guessing.

    No one knew just how vast this plan was.

    The Kongming lantern in the courtyard wasn''t something that could be successfully completed easily; who knows how long they researched it, how many generations it consumed, how many powerful sects were destroyed and scattered, and how many ancient secrets were hidden in the dust of ruins.

    And the story that the Heavenly Master was telling now might not even be the true story of those days, but no matter what, the fog shrouding the world was once again lifting before Yi Chen''s eyes.

    "Heavenly Master, are the people from that organization still around?"

    "Of course, the connection has never been broken. In every era, top cultivators join their ranks; even I have received their invitation. But I felt our paths did not align and chose to decline,"

    "By the way, this organization''s research on the soul path has reached unfathomable depths. Those people have developed a secret technique. When they reach the limit of their foundation and can no longer suppress their innate growth instinct, they choose to sever themselves with a single cut and fall into slumber." S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Although this method is fraught with great risks, it''s enough to cling onto a desperate existence."

    "But you don''t need to worry too much. After being washed by the torrent of time, many among these people have probably already entered into eternal slumber."

    "Hehe, even if some of them do wake up, even the top cultivators who possess astonishing treasures might well have already fallen from their peak."

    "This era no longer belongs to them. They are the dead who cheated their way here, and the new era has no place for their ship," the confident voice of the Heavenly Master came through.

    "Young friend, the people from that active organization love to connect with genius and top cultivators. You are the champion of this Great Qin Legal Assembly; they will definitely try to contact you. You must be careful, these people have gone mad, their minds are extremely narrow, and you must not offend them with your words,"

    As these words came out, Yi Chen suddenly felt a stampede of ten thousand "caonimas" rushing through his heart. He suddenly remembered the idiot he had killed after the Great Qin Legal Assembly.

    It couldn''t be that birdbrain, acting as if he had a priceless brain disease, stopping him in the middle of the night to invite him out for a talk.

    If that was the case, then screw it; there were no harsh words, he was already slaughtered.

 Chapter 525 - 352: Bright Lantern,

    ```

    "If you encounter any difficulties, Star Master, don''t tough it out on your own. The ''Bright Light'' organization may be strong, but you''re not alone!"

    "It doesn''t matter if you don''t have any Contribution Points. Just consider it a favor you owe us!"

    The Heavenly Master glanced at Yi Chen, seemingly guessing something. His spine straightened suddenly, his tone authoritative and confident, his presence majestic.

    Yi Chen suddenly looked up, and at that moment, he felt as if he was gazing at the vast starry sky.

    Damn, this old geezer is strong.

    No, that''s not right. It''s our Heavenly Master who''s strong.

    "Alright, young friend, I''ve said all that needs to be said. Now, let me tell you about one of the thickest trees in the Eastern Continent. Try not to offend this person unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, even I, the Heavenly Master, cannot protect you for the rest of your life."

    "This person is none other than the Millennium Emperor of Great Qin, truly a rare talent. He holds the ''Human Emperor Scripture.'' With great ambition, he uses this scripture as a foundation, breaking new ground to create the ''Five Emperors Ancestral Dragon Soaring Scripture,'' wishing to surpass the ancient Human Emperor¡­"

    A quarter hour later, the Heavenly Master vanished into a trail of starlight. Yi Chen was still digesting the information he had received from the Heavenly Master, his gaze fixed on the purple Star Disc on the desk, not yet getting up to leave.

    That so-called ''Bright Light'' organization isn''t worth worrying about. Whether they are real or not remains to be seen, and besides, he was close to completing the 19th layer of the True Technique, so there was no need to be overly concerned.

    At the moment, Yi Chen''s thoughts were on the abstract story the Heavenly Master had told before.

    The courtyard master, the great tree, the jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards.

    Each had their own interests and schemes, and where the future would lead was anyone''s guess.

    "I''m still not strong enough."

    "But you all have your limits, I do not. Be it the courtyard master, the other big trees, or the jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards ¡ª as long as I am strong enough, growing fast enough, no one will dare to provoke me. If they do, I''ll just kill them and be done with it."

    A fierce expression briefly crossed Yi Chen''s face as his desire for the Deep Red Points grew more urgent. He had foiled Asna and Bo Xun''s plans several times. If those wolves really jumped over the wall, would there be any good fruit left for him, the wielder of World-Shaking Pure Yang, to eat?

    Since the conflicts were irreconcilable, there was nothing left but to fight with all he had!

    To be indifferent to life and death, to confront those who don''t respect you!

    Having already offended, he might as well follow through to the end!

    Once his decision was made, a cold glint flashed in Yi Chen''s eyes. He got up decisively, put the purple Star Disc in his bag, and left.

    As long as he was strong enough, even the ''sky lanterns'' that floated above the courtyard could become the fish tagged on the line of Yi Taoist ¡ª the luminous kind, with ''Come and play, Grandpa'' written all over them. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After leaving the Star Furnace Dome, Yi Chen didn''t go looking for Yuan Jun, but instead headed to his own Greedy Wolf Palace.

    Having been away for so long, he missed his adorable junior disciples.

    Thinking of them, Yi Chen''s previously fierce expression softened.

    As he approached, the doors to the Star Palace opened automatically. He strode in.

    Just as he entered the main hall, he saw a figure wearing a peach blossom mask.

    Yuan Jun still had her silver hair down to her hips, her upper body tightly bound, her chest full and prominent, her lower half in white leggings topped with a skirt resembling a horse-face skirt, a pair of long, shapely legs placed directly on the desk in front of her, her embroidered shoes flaunting.

    Various colorful Spirit Fruits floated in the sky, peeling themselves in a rather cheeky manner before flying into Yuan Jun''s mouth.

    "Yo, Xiao Lang is back! Qing Feng and Ming Yue want to eat the beef noodles you make, roasted lamb, braised duck neck, grilled fish..."

    "For now, let''s have these. I''ve prepared all the ingredients for you, no need to thank me. This is what Yuan Jun should do."

    "By the way, your junior disciples are doing their morning cultivation in the side hall. Go ahead; I won''t join them."

    Upon Yi Chen''s arrival, a pair of curved crescents appeared on the peach blossom mask.

    Yi Chen: "...Damn, that''s what you want to eat, isn''t it?"

    Qing Feng and Ming Yue now break into a cold sweat at the sight of fish. They would never crave grilled fish, and Yi Chen wouldn''t believe it even if it was punctuated correctly.

    "Big brother is back, I missed you so much."

    "Big brother, ever since you left, the chestnuts at Hidden Dragon Temple haven''t been plump. It''s made it hard for me to send them to Lin Zhengyi."

    Just then, two little figures ran towards him, shouting and pattering their feet, Ming Yue not even caring that she had lost one of her boots, Qing Feng occasionally wiping his eyes with his robe sleeve.

    Behind the two children was Qing Yunzi, who had grown quite a bit taller. His eyes were still piercing, and his face showed signs of surprise.

    "Big brother is back, I''ll make something tasty for you guys soon."

    Yi Chen lifted the two kids, one on each side, onto his shoulders and casually pulled out two strings of candied hawthorns from his storage ring, which he had gone out of his way to buy when passing through a city.

    That day, all the candied hawthorn sellers in the city were overjoyed.

    Witnessing the joyful quartet, Yuan Jun also showed a smile.

    "Big brother, what tasty thing are you going to make for us? Yuan Jun brought a lot of food over."

    "Big brother is so nice to us."

    Qing Feng and Ming Yue chattered away on his shoulders, filling the hall with joyful notes.

    "What to eat? Let''s make dumplings today! How does that sound?" Yi Chen laughed with a broad smile.

    "No!" Qing Feng and Ming Yue simultaneously rejected Yi Chen''s suggestion.

    In the end, Qing Feng, Ming Yue, and the others decided on steamed buns, with Yuan Jun joining in on the fun of making them.

    ```

 Chapter 526 - 352: Bright Lamp,

    Yi Chen then busied himself with preparing the other main dishes.

    An hour later, the long table was filled with an array of delicious food.

    By this time, the steamed buns made by Qing Feng, Ming Yue, and others were also ready, emerging amidst the swirling steam in varying sizes within the bamboo steamer.

    In the midst of laughter and chatter, a sudden message transmission echoed at the bottom of Yi Chen''s heart.

    "Damn it, Xiao Lang, why are the steamed buns made by Yuan Jun not soft and fluffy at all, and also not as big as the ones made by Qing Feng and Ming Yue?"

    Yi Chen glanced at the bamboo steamer in front of Yuan Jun and couldn''t help but be amused. He quietly replied:

    "Yuan Jun, the steamed buns you made are small and not fluffy, mostly because the dough was not kneaded enough. Next time, I will personally teach you kneading techniques, and it will certainly be all right."

    "Actually, given your genuine effort, the size you achieved is already quite impressive. For a first attempt, it''s remarkable."

    After Yi Chen took a steamed bun from the bamboo steamer in front of Yuan Jun and tasted it, he secretly gave her a thumbs up.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    Time always flies during joyful moments, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

    At the Greedy Wolf Star Hall, by a carved window.

    Yi Chen and Qing Yunzi sat facing each other.

    Between them was a little red clay stove, warming a pot of greenish liquor.

    "Junior brother, I''ve gained some recognition in the Eastern Continent, and what do you think about the future of Hidden Dragon Temple? Feel free to share any thoughts with me," Yi Chen said with a smile, pouring himself a warm cup of wine as he addressed Qing Yunzi.

    A year had gone by, and Qing Yunzi''s face had become much firmer and more mature.

    Maturity is good, but a child who matures early often does so because of many heartbreaking experiences.

    At this thought, Yi Chen couldn''t help but feel a twinge of guilt. His previous arrangements had indeed been somewhat careless, and although he had thought that, with the protection of the Peace-Keeping Department and the Crimson Flame Army, the Hidden Dragon Temple would be fine in its own little corner, the subsequent turn of events had greatly exceeded his expectations.

    "I heard from Qing Feng and Ming Yue that Yuan Hong from Dragon Tiger Mountain once came to Hidden Dragon Temple and beat you until you vomited blood on the spot?" Yi Chen looked up, a flash of ferocity suddenly appearing in his eyes. Some people really are seeking death by courting disaster.

    The hint of murderous intent from Yi Chen sent a shiver down Qing Yunzi''s spine!

    He knew all too well how protective his elder martial brother was, how bold he was, the things he dared to do could intimidate anyone. If this caused his elder brother to take reckless actions, Qing Yunzi would bear an inescapable guilt.

    With this in mind, Qing Yunzi hurriedly said, "Elder brother, my injuries were only minor, and I recovered after three days. Please don''t make enemies with Dragon Tiger Mountain over such a trifling matter. We can''t fight them; better to let it go."

    "To retreat is to advance, giving us a wider world to explore."

    "A wider world to explore? Your brother likes to give others that freedom, too. Leave this matter to me; I have a plan. It seems you really don''t know about the current level of your brother''s cultivation, huh? Hasn''t Yuan Jun told you?"

    "Elder brother, have you already progressed far in the path of Dao? Yuan Jun only said that your cultivation is far superior to mine and did not mention anything else," Qing Yunzi replied, puzzled. Since his arrival in Self-Content Sky, he had been secluded in the Greedy Wolf Star Hall and was truly unaware.

    "Yes, I have indeed come quite far. Yuan Hong and others like him could be crushed by a single finger of mine now. As for that Evilslaying Monk who once ambushed me, he''s also nothing but a one-finger affair. In short, your brother is not the same as before.

    Let''s talk about your vision for the future of Hidden Dragon Temple. Most people in this part of the Eastern Continent still give me some respect," Yi Chen said, opting for a deliberately vague response, knowing Qing Yunzi''s pride and not wanting to discourage him.

    After a moment''s thought, Qing Yunzi made a decision: "Elder brother, Qing Feng, Ming Yue, and I choose to stay in Self-Content Sky and continue our cultivation."

    Yi Chen looked into Qing Yunzi''s eyes without moving, and after three seconds, he finally spoke with a smile, "You''re telling the truth?"

    "The truth."

    "Not bad, junior brother, now you''ve learned to lie to your elder brother," Yi Chen intended to thump Qing Yunzi on the head jokingly but hesitated at the last moment. He let out a sigh, spread his hand wide, and gently patted Qing Yunzi''s head.

    "All right then, as you wish. You must swiftly cultivate to the ninth layer of the True Person Realm and then go out to gain experience. I''ve prepared all the resources you will need for your cultivation."

    "By then, your brother''s strength and reputation should be able to advance further, making it safer for you."

    Yi Chen had heard from Qing Feng and Ming Yue that since his incident, the new disciples that had been recruited were leaving Hidden Dragon Temple one after another, under both visible and invisible pressure. At the moment, he felt less enthusiastic about opening the sect''s doors wide to recruit more disciples, preferring to wait until the situation stabilized.

    Regardless, Qing Yunzi would have to go out and gain experience eventually, for staying in the greenhouse would only waste his incredible talent.

    "As Senior Brother says," Qing Yunzi said with a carefree smile.

    "Miao Zi, roll in here and practice with my junior brother. Let me see if Junior Brother has been slacking off recently."

    Following Yi Chen''s call, a strange black cat suddenly appeared in the room. The group moved to the training field, and a big battle was about to erupt. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With electric lights flashing and mana flying, Miao Zi and Qing Yunzi were unexpectedly tied again. For a moment, both the man and the cat exhibited an unwillingness to concede in their eyes and plunged into battle once more.

    ....

    ....

    Another day passed, and Yi Chen, Qing Yunzi, and the others arrived at the Teleportation Array.

    It was time for him to leave again.

    He needed to return to the Hidden Dragon Alliance to stabilize the situation and intensify his collection of sinister objects, all while gathering the manpower. The accumulation of Deep Red Points over time had become quite considerable.

    Besides, there was another important reason; he didn''t want to complete the nineteenth level of the Pure Yang Lianji True Method in the free heavens.

    Although Yi Chen currently had a good relationship with the free heavens, he still instinctively wanted to avoid this place.

    He didn''t want to risk any unnecessary dangers, not even in the slightest.

    "Alright, you guys go back. I''ll be back soon," Yi Chen said, waving to Qing Yunzi and the others, and then stepped into the Array.

    The light flared up, and Yi Chen''s figure immediately vanished from the spot.

    Watching Yi Chen''s departing figure, Qing Yunzi didn''t leave right away but fell into a rare silence, his eyes revealing a strong desire to venture out.

    Why wouldn''t he want to go on an adventure too? In fact, he didn''t want to stay a caged bird in the Greedy Wolf Palace; he had his own dreams and ambitions.

    However, in the end, he chose to stay in the Greedy Wolf Palace.

    Because Qing Yunzi understood that with Senior Brother''s temperament, if he still had a weakness, it would certainly be him, Qing Feng, and Ming Yue.

    He couldn''t contribute much to Senior Brother''s cause. Right now, the only thing he could do was to let Senior Brother worry less and focus on what he wanted to do.

    "Senior Brother," he sighed softly, with one hand around Qing Feng and the other on Ming Yue, the three of them walked silently toward the Greedy Wolf Palace.

    ....

    ....

    In the Bear Cave within the unnamed mountain range,

    The Bear Master, who had just turned five not long ago, dragged home a tiger with its skull caved in and a python as thick as a bucket with its mouth torn open.

    These were his achievements for the day.

    The cave entrance, over three meters tall, was already a bit small for him. He had to bend his head slightly, dragging the carcasses of the tiger and the python into his home.

    He was now the absolute overlord of the nearby woods. The main reason he had not left this cave was because of those wall paintings inside.

    Ever since he became enlightened, he found the wall paintings increasingly indescribable.

    Just as the Bear Master was about to feast as usual, followed by practicing by observing the wall paintings, his expression suddenly sharpened.

    He saw a strong and powerful figure sitting on his stone bed, eating his treasured honey.

    Such audacity! This was no ordinary brazen intruder.

    The Bear Master was instantly furious, his body hair standing up like steel needles. He threw the carcasses from his claws to the side and bravely pounced toward the intruder.

    "Bear, your ''Overbearing Bear Palm Technique'' has already strayed from its path," Yi Chen said, turning around and gently putting the Bear Master into a baby-like sleep.

 Chapter 527 - 353: Yue Qingping, Nineteenth Level of the Pure Yang Lianji True Method.

    Da Yue ¡¤ Mount Qingping.

    After the rain, Mount Qingping was shrouded in mist and glowing with all the colors of the rainbow; its magnificence was breathtaking.

    A man dressed in an imperial robe, his hair on his head beginning to show signs of age, knelt silently in front of the Taiji cave entrance high up in the pavilion on the mountainside.

    After a long time, he looked at the seven-colored rainbow hanging in the sky and couldn''t help but cry out hoarsely, "Aunt Qingping, Great Qin from the Eastern Continent is about to cross the sea, and the two lands are merging ahead of time. Both Daoist and Buddhist sects are bringing back powerful foreigners to their ranks, strengthening themselves.

    "My Da Yue is now in a state of turmoil like a pile of eggs on the verge of tipping. The nobles are restless, like the Yan Family, which is flirting with Dragon Tiger Mountain. If you don''t come out of seclusion to stabilize the situation, surrounded by wolves, our imperial family will indeed have nowhere to bury our bones!"

    The man in the imperial robe cried out as if a cuckoo was weeping blood, yet the Taiji cave entrance remained unchanged, not even twitching.

    At that moment, the man clenched his teeth, took out a carved jade piece and a sealed black letter from his bosom, and held them high above his head:

    "I implore you, Aunt, for the sake of the affection you shared with my father in the old days, to leave your seclusion and save our Da Yue."

    The jade carving was not particularly luxurious, even somewhat crude, made of ordinary white jade, resembling but not quite a horse. Yet, as soon as the jade appeared, a strong wind blew out of nowhere, causing the big trees in the pavilion to bend their trunks.

    Crack.

    The arched Taiji gate swung open, and a female Taoist priestess stepped out from within. She had lightly brushed eyebrows and an elegant demeanor, with a national beauty that was radiant, yet between her brows was a hint of resilience. It was none other than the face of Shui Lingyue, who had grown even more beautiful than before.

    Shui Lingyue, having undergone some fortunate event, was now at the fifth level of the True Person Realm. She wore blue cloth boots and had a slender waist, casually stepping beside the man in the imperial robe. She took the carved jade and the letter he held high, her voice as cool as water.

    "Your Majesty, please wait."

    As Shui Lingyue entered the Taiji cave entrance, the door closed behind her once more.

    A good while later.

    The strong wind atop Mount Qingping suddenly ceased, and the peaceful chants echoed through heaven and earth.

    "Eons of the mortal world in an instant sealed."

    "Half by fate and half by the void."

    "All under the sweep of maiden''s brows."

    "With a sword that dominates the world, divine powers revealed."

    The Taiji cave entrance opened wide once again, and this time an exceptional female crown emerged. She had a beauty that could overturn states, an aura beyond worldly dust, wearing a Taiji Daoist robe, a lotus crown on her head, and a bright Zhu Sha mark on her forehead, peerlessly elegant. Shui Lingyue stood behind her, suddenly dimming in comparison.

    It was not the lady''s looks that caused this, but the overwhelming innate charm that emanated from within the exceptional female crown.

    "Aunt Qingping, you''ve finally agreed to come out," the man in the imperial robe said, a spark of joy in his eyes, as if all his previous worries had dissipated with her emergence.

    "Yue Shan, don''t call me aunt in the future, just call me True Monarch Qingping, and I will take the jade carving," she said.

    "These past years, you have indulged in wine and pleasure, neglecting your cultivation. Da Yue has suffered greatly since my brother''s passing, and now you''ve realized the urgency?"

    Yue Qingping looked at the man in the imperial robe with a hint of disappointment in her eyes. She flicked her dust whisk and then said, "What do you wish of me by asking for my departure from seclusion?"

    "I hope that Aunt can intimidate the unworthy, exert pressure on the noble families, ally with the Buddhists and Taoists, and together oppose the violent Qin from the Eastern Continent!"

    The exceptional female crown stared at the man in the imperial robe for a long moment. Her gaze fell upon that face, which bore a resemblance to her brother''s, yet she did not see in him her brother''s daring courage and the wisdom that braved hardships. She ultimately sighed deeply and said:

    "Little Shan, the Yue family will not end without a place to rest in peace, but it will no longer have control over the thirteen provinces and two capitals."

    "I can block off that Millennium Emperor from Great Qin and a few other top figures from the Eastern Continent, but can you hold off everyone else? What will come of your petty scheming to balance the Buddhist and Daoist powers? The Buddhist and Daoist sects within Da Yue are wolves just the same." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Your strategies target people, while Ying Si''s wisdom targets heaven. He resists the temptation of the ''Human Emperor Sutra'', using it merely as nourishment to create his own methods; such boldness, how many times can I assist you?"

    "When virtue does not match one''s station, disaster follows!"

    "Little Shan, I call you this one last time. After this, I must devote myself entirely to seeking the method of transcendence. After my brother''s death, I had nothing to do with Da Yue, but for the sake of my brother''s keepsake, I will make this one exception."

    "Remember these words, Yue Shan, when caught between ducks and geese, you should await the change from dragon to snake. Go back and ponder carefully about how you should proceed."

    Having said this, the exceptional female crown''s expression turned cold, her otherworldly demeanor intensified as if she had lifted all chains from her heart. She immediately turned and walked back into the Taiji gate.

    "Aunt... True Monarch Qingping, won''t you descend the mountain with Yue Shan?"

    The man in the imperial robe attempted to use her previous title, but as the word ''Aunt'' left his mouth, he felt an inexplicable chill and a premonition of impending doom. He immediately fell silent, correcting his address before speaking again.

    At that moment, Yue Shan was inexplicably terrified. To think, he who was regarded as a top genius by others, who had cultivated to the third level of Dao Mastery, had truly sensed the smell of death.

    The ability to slay a third level Dao Mastery cultivator with a mere thought was terrifying; even a cultivator at the ninth level of Dao Mastery should not possess such power.

    "I''ve said that the Yue family will not die without a place to rest in peace; they will still have wealth and glory."

    "When the Millennium Emperor appears, I shall naturally show up. You should go back and think about what you''ll do."

    Yue Qingping''s cool voice came out as she walked into the gate without turning her head, and the Taiji cave entrance closed after her.

    At that moment, a female swordsman dressed in a Daoist robe transformed into a streak of light from the mountain peak and descended into the pavilion on the mountainside.

 Chapter 528 - 353: Yue Qingping, 19th Layer of the Pure Yang Lianji True Method._2

    ```

    "Your Majesty, please descend the mountain."

    ```

    Inside the gate of the Taiji Cave.

    The peerless mystic female crown held the jade carving that appeared to resemble a horse yet was not, lost in a trance. Suddenly, with a smile blossoming across her face, she turned to Shui Lingyue and said:

    "Ling Yue, what do you think this jade carving looks like?"

    "Resembling a horse but not a horse, could it be some kind of mythical beast?" The mistress, no, now a daoist nun Shui Lingyue began to rack her brains, searching through the scriptures for a name of a mythical beast that matched this creature.

    "Stop guessing. It''s a donkey, just an ordinary donkey. It was a little donkey I had when I was young. After it died, I couldn''t stop crying, so my elder brother carved this jade sculpture for me. However, his skills were so poor it doesn''t really look like it."

    What he didn''t know was that the jade sculpture wasn''t important at all. What was important was that he humored me by crawling on the ground, playing the little donkey to make me laugh."

    "Ling Yue, I''ll give this to you as well."

    Yue Qingping flipped her palm and pulled out another jade carving from her sleeve that was about eighty percent similar to the not-quite-horse jade sculpture.

    "Master, this is a keepsake from your brother; Ling Yue dares not to accept it."

    "The dead are gone, nothing is important anymore."

    "You may go now. Practice well and do not let down the potential of your physique."

    After Shui Lingyue had stepped down, a trace of white powder fluttered from Yue Qingping''s hand and her aura became even more clear and bright.

    ...

    ...

    "Shen Hong, let me see your limits!"

    Yi Chen''s roar echoed within the Bear Cave.

    Since he had gathered enough Deep Red Points for promotion, Yi Chen immediately decided to find a secluded place for his promotion before heading to the headquarters of the Hidden Dragon Alliance at Sword Demon Mountain.

    1.2 million Deep Red Points were deducted in an instant, as memories began to unfold like a fleeting glimpse.

    A bright moon hangs over a scene of sporadic floral shadows, perfect for a casual drink seated on the ground.

    A thousand miles of green mountains, where birdcalls come and go, a fitting place for a long springtime chant.

    In a small courtyard nestled in the mountains, a large jar sat, capturing the moonlight within.

    The daoist held a golden scroll in his left hand and a half-carved gourd ladle in his right; he casually scooped up the moonlight and drank it down.

    The wine was fragrant and refreshingly pleasant.

    Under the moon''s glow, the words "Taiyi Returning to the Origin Grand Technique" were clearly visible on the golden scroll.

    For True Technique cultivation to reach the level it had for him, aiming for further progress was exceedingly difficult. He had sat in seclusion in the deep mountains for a hundred years with little to show for it, merely refining his Extreme Origin to be more agile and harmonious, with no sign of a breakthrough in sight.

    Fortunately, heaven doesn''t cut off all paths; a hundred years ago, he set out to travel the world, visited countless places, and a kind-hearted sect gifted him with this method. After expressing his gratitude, he put down his Holy Halberd and gave them several daoist instruments, leaving both hosts and guests well pleased.

    "After traveling the world, it''s this method that has subtly moved me. Perhaps the opportunity for the nineteenth layer breakthrough of my True Technique is right here."

    The daoist sighed deeply and, with another sip of fine wine, began to read and comprehend the contents carefully.

    "Heaven and earth as the furnace completes the true transformation, yin and yang as the elixir refines the profound mystery."

    "Chickens dining evolve to cranes, ascending to the clouds; dogs feasting turn into dragons, flying in daylight."

    "Only at this point can one claim to have reached the ultimate subtlety, inviting you to jointly return to the way."

    "Good! Good! Good! Good! What a creation from nothingness, taking heaven and earth as the furnace and yin and yang as the elixir, nature naturally forming a spiritual embryo. And thus, with one man''s enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend!"

    Having finished reading the main principles, the daoist continued to explore the specific steps.

    There were four steps: Changing Cauldron and Separating Embryo, Transforming to Connect With Spirits, Nine Turns to Spirit Change, and Leisurely Wandering.

    "Reset the cauldron upon Kun and Qian, with skillful hands, the essence is moved to the upper field. With lofty morality and advanced spirit, the void shatters and the method knows no bounds. From now on, easily abandon the old to again become truly pure, later separating embryos and returning to mystery...."

    "At this point, Embryo Reversion to the Truth is like conceiving heaven and earth."

    The daoist couldn''t help but praise as he looked at the incantations on the golden scroll, and then he plunged into deep thought.

    This method was to use heaven and earth as the furnace, yin and yang as the elixir. His own body was of pure Pure Yang essence, so how could he regulate yin and yang and conceive an inner world teeming with vigorous life force and flourishing everything?

    Difficult! Difficult! Difficult!

    The daoist set out on a journey once more, searching the corners of the earth. He fought against heaven and earth, grasped vast wildernesses, seeking yin and yang spiritual materials. For a time, countless treasures of heaven and earth were rapidly gathered by him.

    Alas, his Cultivation Body was too overbearing; the yin-related spiritual materials had barely entered his body before they were evaporated and devoured by his Cultivation Body, leaving not a trace, like a cow chewing on peony flowers.

    A hundred years later, the daoist, with disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes.

    In these hundred years, he had once tried to achieve internal and external resonance beneath the glaciers of ages past, using external cold to circumvent the limits of his Cultivation Body, but it still ended in vain.

    Enraged, he returned to the deep mountain thousand miles away and continued to earnestly study the method for breakthrough.

    Five hundred years had passed, and he emerged from the mountain once more, traversing the heavens, diving into the sea, and delving into the earth. He first meditated in the lightless depths of the sea and ultimately stood firm in the midst of a volcano''s lava pool, on the verge of eruption.

    Three hundred years ago, he had an epiphany.

    He realized he had been as blind as a bat, unable to see Mount Tai, trapped within the barrier of his own knowledge and perception.

    Since the harmony of yin and yang eluded him, why should he seek it? He originally followed the path of Pure Yang to its extreme, and now attempting to reconcile yin and yang meant he was straying onto the wicked path.

    If fostering a flourishing inner world bustling with life and competition was not possible, then he would create a world of natural disasters with a mighty effort.

    Others needed to balance yin and yang because their physical bodies were too frail to withstand such violent turmoil, but his body was astonishingly powerful and could stand the test. He might as well abandon yin to enhance yang and follow this path to its utmost darkness!

    "In the end, achieving an inner world is nothing more than transforming from a yin and yang holy embryo into a world akin to this volcano''s lava pool."

    Once his mind was made up, the Daoist immediately plunged into the underground lava, swallowing all the sun-related spiritual beings he had collected over the years, simulating harmony with the myriad transformations of the True Intent, blending the methods he had refined over the centuries, and embarking on his seated meditation of death.

    Five hundred years went by.

    A thousand years passed by.

    Two thousand years elapsed.

    The seas had turned into mulberry fields; the green mountains of yore had imperceptibly become a great river.

    On the banks of the great river, the demonic race invaded; a gigantic black-purple demon with two massive horns on its head, towering over a hundred meters tall, with an aura that shook the heavens, was chasing down the human race, who fled in panic on the ground.

    "Save us! Save us!"

    "Mommy, mommy, where are you~"

    "My child, my child is over there¡ªlet me through, stop pushing!"

    A cacophony of voices intertwined with each other¡ªcries, clamors, and sounds of fear, ceaseless and piercing.

    "Haha, be afraid, you insects!"

    "Food, fearful food, screaming food, young food, all bring me joy."

    The towering black-purple demon let out a day-long maniacal laugh.

    Just then, the river water suddenly began to boil, bubbles erupting on the surface, and a powerful aura spread out from the riverbed.

    "What is this? Such a formidable aura!"

    The actions of the gigantic demon halted abruptly.

    Whosh! Whosh! Whosh!

    The river water surged, stirring up terrifying waves!

    Suddenly, the riverbed cracked open, and countless waters poured backward, creating an enormous vortex!

    A stately Daoist figure emerged from the riverbed with poise and grace, stepping up slowly!

    He stood over two meters tall, with a mark on his brow that resembled a red lotus, and nine colorful chains of light crazily spun and danced around him.

    No matter how much water touched him, it instantly turned to vapor, leaving not a drop on his body.

    Seeing this, the multitudes of common folk by the riverbank instantly quieted down, and the massive demon and its numerous bizarrely shaped demonic soldiers also fell silent, awed by the appearance of this terrifying figure.

    The crowd heard him start to chant:

    "Treading through the calamities of the world, I ascend to the peak of all under heaven."

    "With firm resolve, I calmly watch as heroes fall."

    "Holy Halberd''s divine edge, how few can stand against it through the ages."

    "World-Shaking Pure Yang, with a mere flip of my hand, I command the world''s compliance and defiance!"

    "You heterodox creatures dare to be violent before me, as if not even considering me in your eyes! I, World-Shaking Pure Yang, have but one verdict, kill!"

    "Pure Yang Holy Seal, reveal the heavenly light!"

    With a loud proclamation, a giant spirit over a hundred meters tall unfolded, the gate of Pure Yang swiftly appeared, and a towering golden shadow emerged, no different from the former image of the Daoist.

    In a corner unseen by the crowd, a deep red point appeared within the Daoist''s cultivation body, spirit rushing in, leading to a world of natural disasters.

    In the sky, an enormous sun shone ceaselessly, illuminating heaven and earth. The ground was cracked, with rivers of fire descending from the sky and frequent earthquakes, depicting a scene of the end of the world, all while dense, milky-white Extreme Origin floated above.

    "Who are you?" roared the giant demon!

    "I am World-Shaking Pure Yang, come and duel me!"

    The Daoist gave a ferocious smile; the shadow that emerged from the gate of Pure Yang joined him, moving forward with overwhelming momentum, displaying the strength of seventy percent of the main body''s spirit.

    The scene comes to an abrupt halt there!

    Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 531 - 355: The Might of Pure Yang Flame Prison, Black Hand, Crisis Imminent.

    At midnight, the moon shone like silver.

    Atop Kunxu Mountain, within a pavilion, various colored garments and silk stockings lay scattered about.

    Among them, a pair of purple silk stockings was particularly eye-catching.

    Clearly, this was the aftermath of another intense battle that had nearly obliterated the grand Dao.

    Yi Chen looked at Ruan''er, who had fallen into a deep sleep, and after carefully tucking her in, he tiptoed out of the room to a vast secret chamber.

    The chamber housed all sorts of ominous artifacts that the Hidden Dragon Alliance had collected from the northern territories. Golden ritual paths surrounded and divided the vast chamber into separate areas, suppressing the violent outbursts of these malevolent objects.

    Following the faint light from the golden token he carried, Yi Chen walked into a space enclosed by a pale golden light shield, where a bronze coffin with golden corners stood. A letter lay on the coffin lid, detailing information about the zombie inside.

    "A royal zombie? Comparable to a seventh-level cultivator of the True Person Realm? No wonder it merits a private room," he chuckled lightly to himself, his Extreme Origin briefly shining on his hand before the letter turned into a ball of fire and dissipated into ashes.

    This bronze-cornered golden coffin reminded him of an old acquaintance, the Hundred Cranes Taoist he had met before leaving Fengyun County for Dragon Tiger Mountain, who had later fallen at that medicinal coffin passage, leaving behind crucial information on a piece of silk, swallowed before death, an action that caused much regret.

    However, the entity inside this particular bronze-cornered golden coffin was far from being comparable to the inferior Western corpse from those days; it had been captured by the Hidden Dragon Alliance''s true cultivators from some ancient tomb...

    "Why not try to see if the zombie can be absorbed into the Pure Yang Flame Prison?" Yi Chen suddenly had the idea, and with a mere thought, the bronze coffin lid slid away, releasing a dense surge of deathly aura, which was promptly engulfed by the surging Extreme Origin.

    "As expected, it''s no use. Zombies have no soul and cannot enter the Pure Yang Flame Prison that I manifested through my spiritual power," he mused.

    "Unless one day my Pure Yang Lianji True Method progresses further and I find the marvelous technique that allows the Flame Prison to escape the intangible and become reality, otherwise zombies, such dull things, still cannot serve as suitable fuel for my Pure Yang Flame Prison."

    Yi Chen had anticipated this outcome, and was merely confirming his own judgment, so he did not feel overly disappointed.

    With an indifferent expression, he pointed a finger, causing a dazzling light to burst forth, filling the entire secret chamber with the brilliance of Extreme Origin in an instant.

    "The eternally burning power of Pure Yang, aid thee in escaping the worldly mire! Be gone!"

    Pop~

    With a faint sound, the brilliance from his fingertip scattered like fireworks, precisely adhering to the coffin housing the zombie.

    In that moment, hundreds of streams of information appeared before Yi Chen''s eyes.

    The one that contributed the most, a staggering 6,800 Deep Red Points, made him take a second glance. However, the majority were just ordinary creatures worth mere dozens or hundreds of points. Nevertheless, when accumulated together, the total was still considerable.

    "Next up are the ones with souls, the ghosts and sinister spirits," Yi Chen thought, a hint of anticipation crossing his mind as he stepped onto an ancient mirror enveloped by a golden light screen.

    The vengeful ghost that had attached itself to the ancient mirror had no chance to reveal itself before a bizarre red light from within Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body suddenly rose, drifting from his lower abdomen directly to his brow. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Centered around him, a red light flared intensely, and a powerful suction force immediately pulled the vengeful ghost into the red point, causing the eerie ancient mirror to instantly lose its glow.

    Inside the Pure Yang Flame Prison.

    Yi Chen introspected his own body, his spirit entering that space.

    There he saw a red-haired female ghost howling and struggling within a world of natural disasters. From the ''scorching sun'' floating in the sky, eight crimson runes in the form of chains fell, their radiance swirling.

    Four of these chains pierced through her body and legs, embedding into the earth; the remaining four went through her shoulders and arms, connecting to the ''blazing sun'' in the sky, undulating in waves that spread along the chains towards either the blazing sun or the earth like mice scurrying along.

    As the instigator, Yi Chen couldn''t help but be slightly taken aback by this scene.

    "Damn, has this female ghost violated the heavenly laws?"

    Under the frenetic extraction of rune chains, the female ghost turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished in less than ten breaths. Yi Chen, looking at the floating sun above, tuned his mind to it and instantly felt his thoughts become more nimble. He immediately closed his eyes and began to deduce.

    After the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, Yi Chen opened his eyes in the secret chamber, a look of joy in his pupils.

    Indeed, as he suspected, the Pure Yang Flame Prison was like using others as ''laying hens,'' employing their CPU for his own computational power.

    "Good! Good! Good!"

    "The Pure Yang Flame Prison truly works. I can feel that the deduction process is clearly faster than usual, and that''s only because this female ghost was too weak," he remarked.

    "If it were someone talented like Xue Lingzi, with his Dao Mastery Realm soul, he would surely last a long time within the Pure Yang Flame Prison."

    Reflecting further, Yi Chen pursed his lips, the only downside being that the life-force of the souls that died within the Pure Yang Flame Prison could not be absorbed by the soul-absorbing anomaly he obtained at the Spirit-Breaking Realm.

    Otherwise, he could exploit the computational power first, absorb the souls afterward with his anomaly, and then receive another layer of Deep Red Points.

    A triple benefit from one source.

    "Oh well, two benefits will do for now. Three benefits would be too mercenary¡ª I couldn''t bring myself to do it," he said to himself, looking around with a grin spreading across his face as he casually walked forward.

    With his strides, red lights flickered, and one after another, ''wine jars'' sealed with talismans exploded. The ghosts that emerged were instantly absorbed by the red light emanating from Yi Chen into the Pure Yang Flame Prison.

 Chapter 532 - 355: The Might of Pure Yang Flame Prison, Black Hand, Crisis Imminent._2

    Ghosts swirled ominously, letting out piercing screams. The Daoist paid them no heed, and as he walked through, the chamber was cleared of the malicious spirits in just a few breaths. Only a powerful green-faced, fanged ghost in the corner still fought tenaciously, resisting the pull of the red light.

    This was a ghost nearly at the level of a True Monarch and was the most powerful entity in the chamber.

    "You''re quite impressive, green-faced ghost!" Yi Chen said with a cold laugh as he looked at the corner where the ghost was trembling.

    Smack!

    With a powerful slap, the green-faced, fanged ghost was instantly subdued by the red light, its form vanishing inside the glow. All that remained was its terrified scream echoing within the chamber.

    "Ah~ No~"

    Within the Pure Yang Flame Prison, countless runic chains descended, as hundreds of fierce ghosts collectively violated the heavenly laws.

    Falling into the hands of World-Shaking Pure Yang, they were like treasures found by these ghosts.

    Yi Chen looked at the newly earned eighty-eight thousand Deep Red Points and couldn''t help but reveal a satisfied grin.

    How could one cover a thousand miles without taking the first step?

    In order to fulfill his master''s last wish, he needed to speak with Sect Master Qinyun.

    ...

    ...

    Night fell, and a cool breeze blew gently. Sect Master Qinyun, propped up by her elbow, absent-mindedly fiddled with the lamp wick, her gaze distant and pondering.

    Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

    A strong and forceful voice called from outside.

    "Is the Sect Master still busy? This humble Daoist has urgent matters to discuss with you."

    Upon hearing this voice, Qinyun''s cheeks flushed, and like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she jumped up suddenly.

    "This... This leader was just about to rest. What brings the Alliance Hierarch here at this hour? Where''s Ruan''er?" she asked, her voice stuttering from behind the door.

    "Ruan''er has retired for the evening. If the Sect Master has yet to rest, please open the door. This humble Daoist has important matters to discuss."

    With a grit of her teeth, Qinyun opened the door with a creak.

    Yi Chen looked at the somewhat flustered Qinyun and understood his own rashness.

    He was too careless.

    Fortunately, he was quick-witted. In past lives, when facing such situations, the best approach was to leave the door wide open, a common practice for many tutors to avoid suspicion.

    Without changing his expression, Yi Chen opened the door wide and immediately started explaining to Qinyun.

    "What? The Alliance Hierarch is still collecting sinister objects and wants to establish an enforcement team?"

    "Indeed, my previous thoughts were somewhat lacking. We will continue to purchase these sinister objects at high prices. However, to prevent certain unscrupulous cultivators from engaging in murder, corpse refining, and ghost nurturing for profit as time goes on, this humble Daoist believes we cannot be unguarded."

    "My master lamented the hardships of mortal life and, even at his passing, he remained concerned day and night.

    The disciple accepts his master''s wish as his own toil. These sinister objects are a menace to the world, and likewise, those rampant and reckless evil cultivators are the same. By collecting these sinister objects, this humble Daoist seeks to eliminate them for the good of the world, not to serve as a tool for some people''s profit. If through my negligence, I inadvertently do more harm than good, how could I bear it in my heart?"

    "Therefore, we must find the sinister objects, and we must capture those reckless evil cultivators!"

    "They profit, encroaching on my merit. Where in the world is such a good deal found? If anyone encroaches on my merit, I will take their head!"

    By this point, Yi Chen was filled with murderous intent.

    There must be talented individuals like the seventh prince of Da Yue in the Eastern Continent.

    Without trade, there would be no killing. If he wished to continue collecting these sinister objects, he would eventually need to address this issue.

    Although Yi Chengzi might be sly and his moral boundaries flexible, he at least had limits. Were he to indulge in such actions, he wouldn''t be able to bear the weight of Bai Yunzi''s ashes.

    "Ah? Alliance Hierarch, are you collecting all these sinister objects just to eliminate them yourself?" Qinyun looked intently at Yi Chen, her eyes sparkling with a multitude of expressions.

    "Does it seem unlikely? I am World-Shaking Pure Yang, and like the great sun, I should illuminate the world with my light! Alas, too many have misunderstood me, unaware of my true intentions." Yi Chen puffed out his chest, shamelessly boasting.

    On the surface, it looked like he was at a disadvantage, as the collection of Deep Red Points would decrease, but Yi Chen knew the size of the storm he was avoiding.

    Having offended so many, people would ultimately put the blame on him, and he couldn''t shake off that responsibility.

    Once emotions built up to a certain point, unforeseen disasters would come. This was the principle that those who followed the Dao received help, while the ones who lost it received little aid. A person with a bad reputation always faced more calamities than one with a good one. Reasonably and emotionally, he could not allow such a situation to taint the reputation of Hidden Dragon Temple.

    Furthermore, he was prepared to suppress it heavily!

    Weren''t these rule-breaking evil cultivators his wings? Directly sending them to the Pure Yang Flame Prison for some intensive learning, even if he wouldn''t get any Deep Red Points, would still aid his cultivation.

    With this compensation, his losses would not be significant. If he confiscated the evildoers'' properties, his losses would be even less.

    Moreover, Yi Chen had a hunch that if the souls perished in the Pure Yang Flame Prison increased, other changes might occur.

    After all, the strength of the souls absorbed by the runic chains inserted into the earth was not taken away by the sun above.

    "Alliance Hierarch''s heart is kind and generous, and Qinyun admires that deeply. I shall wholeheartedly assist the Alliance Hierarch in fulfilling this great vow!" The beautiful woman stood up, smoothing the wrinkles on her skirt over her hips, and with a turn of her captivating eyes, she bowed gracefully to Yi Chen, her gaze full of intense admiration and respect. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Good, we are one family. I trust Sect Master Qinyun to handle things well!"

    "However, Alliance Hierarch, this matter is bound to be fraught with difficulties. What shall we do?"

 Chapter 533 - 355: The Might of Pure Yang Flame Prison, Black Hand, Crisis Imminent._3

    "Worldly affairs are naturally difficult to manage thoroughly; whenever you find an instance, kill an instance. If the enemy''s power is formidable, you must hide and not act; I will personally seek out that person to have a talk,"

    "Rest assured, Sect Master. As long as we raise the purchase price of those nefarious items to thirty or forty percent above market price, lacking that shocking profit and upon discovering an instance, we will annihilate them completely, seize their property, and spread the word far and wide. By then, the number of cultivators daring to risk their lives will certainly decrease substantially."

    Yi Chen''s thinking was simple: Without the excessive profits of selling illicit substances but the risk of losing their heads, this alone would filter out ninety-nine percent of cultivators harboring such thoughts. Moreover, with him monitoring from above and suppressing everything, essentially, no major trouble could arise.

    After discussing again with Qin Yun the establishment of an enforcement team and the details of its operation and reward and punishment measures, by the time Yi Chen walked out of the wide-open door, Venus was already shining brightly.

    Calculating the time, Ruan''er should also be coming around. If possible, he wanted to elevate the Fish Dragon Dance by another level.

    A pair of lotus-green embroidered shoes stepped into the secret chamber previously filled with those ominous items. Qin Yun stood tall and beautiful, surveying her surroundings and sensing the residual aura of yang power in the room, which caused her expression to change dramatically.

    "The Alliance Hierarch is truly like the bright moon and gentle breeze. I''m ashamed to have doubted one with the heart of a villain."

    "A grand aspiration to deliver the world, is this your cultivation path, Alliance Hierarch? Just like that high monk from Buddhism thousands of years ago."

    "World-Shaking Pure Yang, as resplendent as the high-hanging sun! I, Qin Yun, will muster all my strength to aid the Alliance Hierarch in his cultivation."

    The beauty turned her head back, then walked resolutely toward her room.

    ...

    ...

    Three days later.

    Within a secluded valley surrounded by deep mountains and swirling mist,

    Chen Haichao''s figure was ethereal, leaving a trail of afterimages as he floated in.

    He stopped in front of a cliffside and suddenly laughed:

    "Lord Tan Lang, an old friend has arrived. Won''t you come out to meet me?"

    "Chen Haichao, what brings you, an old fox, to my Misty Cliff?"

    Suddenly a giant fissure split the cliff wall, opening to both sides and revealing a huge black pit on the ground ahead.

    Chen Haichao glanced at the black pit with an unchanged expression, his figure flashed and disappeared into the pit. The split cliff walls loudly closed back together as if nothing had happened at all.

    Inside the Underground Palace.

    A sinister young man with striking features was cradling a (naked) beautiful woman, his large hand incessantly stroking all over her body. Behind his dark throne high hung a black magic sword, exuding an ominous aura.

    "Speak, Chen Haichao, what nefarious plot are you brewing this time?"

    "Kill someone for me."

    "Whom do you wish to kill?"

    "The leader of the Great Qin Legal Assembly, that Lord Tan Lang from the Free Heavens! With the evil sword in your possession, even though you''re merely at the Sixth Level of Dao Mastery, you are on par with cultivators at the Seventh Level. To slay that man is as easy as slaughtering a chicken."

    "What? Someone from the Heavenly Master''s side? That''s a tricky one. The Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect has numerous experts, why not do it yourself?"

    "There''s no need to ask the obvious. I don''t want to fall out with that old fox from the Free Heavens just yet. You, a lone wolf, find it easy to turn the boat around. With the imminent merging of three lands and your abilities, it''s not that easy for that old fox to find you, is it? Or are you scared?" Chen Haichao''s brows furrowed.

    "Scared?" As he spoke, the sinister young man''s roaming hand suddenly stopped, he leaned forward slightly, his voice deepening, "What I mean is, you''ll have to pay more!"

    "I''ll make the ''Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Scripture'' from my sect''s esoteric teachings, especially the ''Controlling Spirit'' part, your reward. How about that? Isn''t the reason you still can''t advance to the Seventh Level of Dao Mastery because the evil sword is both your making and your downfall? With assistance from the ''Controlling Spirit'' part, it will definitely help you gain control over the evil sword."

    "Chen Haichao, you''re surprisingly generous this time! In the past, you would rather die than give that scripture away." The young man was genuinely shocked, then chuckled lightly and said, "I''ll take the job!"

    "Now I''m curious though. Just how did this person offend you, to make you offer such a hefty price?" sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 542 - 359: Xiao Lang, truly you! Chen Haichao, eat shit! Activate the traction array!

    Yi Chen immediately added another mark in his little notebook for grudges upon hearing that. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He found the Illumination Organization more and more resembled an organization of doom, which would eventually lead one down a path to death.

    "It turned out to be that bastard Sword Fiend? Xiao Lang, it seems that the person conspiring from behind truly hates your guts, they even included Yuan Jun in their schemes."

    "Flower Spirit Son of the Illumination Organization intercepted Yuan Jun midway, not hesitating to waste an extremely precious formation plate to trap Yuan Jun for over the duration of a cup of tea."

    "What they never expected was that you, Xiao Lang, would actually be able to fight Sword Fiend head-on."

    With silver hair reaching her hips, skin white as snow, and stunningly beautiful features, Yuan Jun still couldn''t hide her shock as she looked at the severed head in Yi Chen''s hand.

    Sword Fiend was no nobody, although his cultivation wasn''t outstanding among his peers, with the Gu-engraved Sword of Evil in his hand, even a seventh-level Dao Mastery cultivator had to be extremely cautious against him.

    Moreover, he lacked the demeanor of a strong man, like a poisonous snake lurking in the shadows, one who would launch a sneak attack whenever possible and would never confront an opponent directly. A genius elder of the Supreme Daoist Sect had been lured into a trap and killed by him two hundred years ago, and even a princess consort of the Great Qin had been secretly abducted by him.

    Regrettably, that man was extremely cunning, striking precisely and fleeing immediately, disappearing without a trace.

    Some speculated that Sword Fiend must have had a powerful force backing him for his continued escapes from pursuit.

    However, nobody knew that Sword Fiend, who had roamed freely for many years and caused significant upheaval with every move, had today fallen at the boundary between the southern and northern regions.

    Yi Chen and Yuan Jun moved side by side toward the location of the Hidden Dragon Alliance, and en route, Yuan Jun started telling Yi Chen of the bad deeds Sword Fiend had done over the years, some of which Yi Chen had never heard about. These crimes were too numerous to record, even more outrageous than those committed by Sun Ge in his previous life.

    For instance, Yi Chen had never heard about the abduction of the Great Qin princess consort. He enjoyed listening to such stories, but sadly didn''t dare to ask in detail, as he was too proud to pry.

    As the two chatted leisurely and with their swift travel speed, a group of people soon appeared before them.

    At this moment, the cultivators of the Red Dust Demon Sect had already disappeared without a trace.

    Seeing this scene, Yi Chen''s expression immediately changed.

    Yuan Jun instantly became tense all over, her divine consciousness sweeping the surroundings, her face eager to try:

    "Xiao Lang, what have you found? Is there still an ambush?"

    "Damn, I almost forgot, my money! My money''s gone!"

    Yi Chen, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pointed ahead and said, "Yuan Jun, there''s no time to waste, we need to talk while we move, and quickly!"

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Ten days later, within the Hidden Dragon Alliance, Kun Xu Mountain.

    Yi Chen and Yuan Jun were buried among a pile of treasures, both their faces thick with happy smiles.

    The sons of the Red Dust Demon Sect proved to be cunning, scattering in escape upon seeing their Sect Master''s death. Yi Chen had been careless at that moment, being cautioned by Sword Fiend''s strike to not be overconfident, and as a result, he missed the opportunity to strip the land clean of spoils.

    Although the Red Dust Demon Sect''s treasures were mostly taken away by some elders who had received the information, luckily, Yi Chen and Yuan Jun arrived in time to intercept some ''little tails.'' Considering the wealth of the Red Dust Demon Sect, this haul was enough for Yuan Jun and Yi Chen to live comfortably.

    Yuan Jun walked barefoot among the spread-out treasures, as joyful as a little animal experiencing the spring sunlight for the first time, her silver hair even more upright.

    Yi Chen straightened up and looked up to meet Yuan Jun''s sparkling eyes.

    "Xiao Lang, how shall we divide these?"

    "Of course, it should be half for me and half for Yuan Jun. You know me, I''m Yi Chengzi, and I always put righteousness first; I value loyalty!"

    "This... this isn''t right. I was held up by an attack this time and almost caused trouble. Let''s do this, I''ll take twenty percent... no, make it thirty percent." Yuan Jun, agitated, started scratching her silver-white hair, making it messy, evidently struggling with the decision internally.

    "What are you talking about, Yuan Jun? If it weren''t for you, I would have been attacked from both front and back. We must split it fifty-fifty; that''s what you deserve."

    With a light smile on his face, Yi Chen slyly wagged his tail in a corner where others couldn''t see, "If it really bothers you, Yuan Jun, just help look after my useless junior brothers in your spare time."

    "Alright, since you''re generous, Xiao Lang, fifty percent it is." Immediately, crescent moons appeared above the peach blossom mask, obviously Yuan Jun''s eyes had curled into crescent shapes, she seemed to think of something, her crescent moons vanished, and her brows knitted tightly.

    "Xiao Lang, this ambush you encountered must have been meticulously planned by someone. If I am not mistaken, it''s probably that bastard Chen Haichao."

    "The Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect has been lying low and developing very rapidly in recent years. Now that we''ve taken the opportunity to wipe out the Red Dust Demon Sect, it might give Chen Haichao the chance to stir up trouble again."

    "Given Chen Haichao''s manner of acting only after careful planning, he definitely won''t leave any loose ends."

    Upon this thought, a hint of anger emerged on the peach blossom mask of Yuan Jun, "Never mind, when the time comes, you push all the responsibility for demolishing the Red Dust Demon Sect onto me. I''ll take all the blame, and then we''ll see what tricks Chen Haichao can come up with."

    Seeing Yuan Jun filled with righteous indignation, Yi Chen led her to the teahouse to sit down, poured her a cup of refreshing tea, and then spoke calmly:

    "Did you think this fifty percent share is for you to take the karmic consequences for the Red Dust Demon Sect''s downfall?"

    "Ah?... Isn''t it?"

    Yuan Jun, ever straightforward, blurted it out immediately, then awkwardly sipped her tea.

 Chapter 543 - 359: Xiao Lang, truly you! Chen Haichao, eat shit! Activate the traction array!_2

    Yi Chen: "...What kind of talk is this, Yuan Jun, what talk is this!"

    With a sigh, Yi Chen immediately took out a Liuying Jade and pushed it towards Yuan Jun, "Yuan Jun, please look!"

    The image on the Liuying Jade was that of Old Demon Honghua ruthlessly attempting to assassinate Yi Chen.

    "Not enough. This little thing is only enough for Xiao Lang to wipe out Old Demon Honghua; right now, we''ve taken down the Red Dust Demon Sect," Yuan Jun''s face first showed joy, then she shook her head.

    "What if I add this?" Yi Chen''s faint voice came through as he placed a small black wooden box on the table in front of him.

    The box was opened, and inside was the head of the Evil Sword Sovereign, dead with eyes wide open in disbelief.

    "Xiao Lang, what are you keeping this thing for?" A puzzled look appeared on the peach blossom mask.

    "Yuan Jun, the Red Dust Demon Sect has sheltered the Evil Sword Sovereign for many years, their crimes deserve punishment!"

    "Those who think they can plot against the impoverished Taoist, little do they know they underestimate Yuan Jun''s shocking wisdom. All of this has long been within Yuan Jun''s control. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Therefore, we turned their scheme against them. I had myself as the bait, walked alone into their trap, while Yuan Jun, as the sly bird lurking behind, managed to destroy the Evil Sword Sovereign who poisoned the Eastern Continent''s cultivation world as well as the Red Dust Demon Sect, the black hand behind the curtain."

    "For such an act of great justice, Yuan Jun and I have done a great service! How dare Chen Haichao utter a word of objection?"

    "How would the Dao Sect view him? The grieving queens of Great Qin and their cuckolded princes are still staring at him with wide eyes, not to mention the other sects who suffered... Yuan Jun, tell me, who else would dare stand up for the Red Dust Demon Sect, tangled with the Evil Sword Sovereign, and point out our flaws?"

    "In the future, when they speak of our Northern Dipper Yuan Jun Palace, those Buddhist and Daoist sects that owe us favours, the Great Qin royal family, won''t they all give us a thumbs up, praising us for the... ugh, praising us for the great kill?"

    "They''ll still be singing our praises~"

    The head of the Evil Sword Sovereign was not something Yi Chen kept out of spite; it was intentional and had a significant purpose.

    Such a notorious evil cultivator is just a pile of dung. It might come in handy when dirty work is needed, and there are certainly more than just Chen Haichao who have cooperated with the Evil Sword Sovereign.

    But once something''s dung, it can''t be touched. Who could defend the Red Dust Demon Sect smeared in dung? Who would dare to defend it?

    Now, to be able to smear this whole piece of dung on the already destroyed Red Dust Demon Sect, those backers who had cooperated with the Evil Sword Sovereign would be grinning from ear to ear, only too happy to add to the momentum.

    If the shit is on someone else, they''re the ones who are clean.

    Since this pile of dung can''t be smeared on Chen Haichao''s face, Yi Chen decided to smear it all over the Red Dust Demon Sect ¨C this was his plan after he grasped the Ninth Halberd Move.

    Yi Chen took to heart the unusual behavior of Old Demon Honghua in the end ¨C if his guess was correct, the Evil Sword Sovereign wasn''t protected by the Red Dust Demon Sect but was just another piece on the board.

    However, this was no longer important. Tying them directly and locking them down ¨C whoever is implicated is implicated.

    Now that he, Yi Taoist, had destroyed the Red Dust Demon Sect, he wanted to deter any forces from cooperating with Chen Haichao in the future. Are they ready to lose everything by playing with him, Yi Chengzi?

    After dealing with the Red Dust Demon Sect, things should settle down quite a bit.

    "Xiao... Xiao Lang, you deserve it!" Yuan Jun was even stuttering now.

    Her mind was filled with Yi Chen''s words that they should be grateful to him~

    In rapid thoughts, after Yi Chen pierced through this layer of pretense, Yuan Jun also seemed to have figured out all the connections, and her expression could not help but become excited.

    Brilliant!

    Yi Chen smiled, took out a jar of wine, and poured Yuan Jun a cup: "You see, Yuan Jun, if the impoverished Taoist doesn''t explain it himself, you might have thought I was using you as a scapegoat."

    "Yuan Jun, you have helped me a lot along the way; all of it, I, the impoverished Taoist, keep in my heart. How could I do such unkind and unjust things and harm Yuan Jun? We must stand tall and earn money."

    "Come, a toast to Yuan Jun!"

    "Alright, Yuan Jun was wrong about Xiao Lang before, so I''ll punish myself with three cups." Yuan Jun, now bold and resolute, took the wine jar and took large gulps, some of the wine spilling onto her translucent skirt, hinting at a touch of creamy skin underneath.

    Truly a magnificent sight!

    "Yuan Jun, I have one more gift for you."

    Yi Chen cleared his throat, averted his gaze and, using his mental sense projection, placed the Gu Sculpted Evil Sword that he obtained from the Evil Sword Sovereign in front of Yuan Jun.

    "Xiao Lang, what''s this? This is a rare treasure indeed." Yuan Jun''s pupils immediately contracted.

    "The impoverished Taoist''s Cultivation Body does not match this sword. Seeing as Yuan Jun does not have a handy weapon, this sword is just right for you."

    "Get to the point."

    "The impoverished Taoist has a few enemies in Central Continent and would like to ask Yuan Jun to help me with a raid."

    "Of course, hehe, I had the Heavenly Master tailor and refine it a bit. With Yuan Jun''s shocking wisdom, reflect on another peerless sword scripture, and in the future, if anyone dares to ambush you again, you just call out Yuan Jun''s name. This time it will surely work."

    Yuan Jun drew out the Gu Sculpted Evil Sword, her gaze flashing with admiration, and fell in love with it at once.

    Yi Chen: "..."

    "Yuan Jun, do you want to earn another large sum and have the Buddhist and Daoist sects, as well as Great Qin, look at you with new eyes, greatly boosting our Northern Dipper Yuan Jun Palace''s morale?"

    Yi Chen smiled and filled another cup for Yuan Jun.

    "Oh? What''s Xiao Lang''s plan?"

    "The Supreme Daoist Sect, the Great Qin royal family...so many powers that have deep hatred for the Evil Sword Sovereign, they must have issued bounties. Yuan Jun, tell me, if you walk in with the Gu Sculpted Sword and the head of the Evil Sword Sovereign and visit them, proclaiming the collusion between the Red Dust Demon Sect and the Evil Sword Sovereign, won''t you reap both fame and fortune?"

    Yi Chen was still trying his best to pin the deed of killing the Evil Sword Sovereign on Yuan Jun, buying time whenever he could.

 Chapter 544 - 359: Xiao Lang, truly you! Chen Haichao, eat shit! Activate the traction array!_3

    ```

    "Xiao Lang, with all the scheming you have up your sleeve, the smartest thing Yuan Jun did in the past hundred years was to snatch you for my Beidou Yuan Jun Hall," Yuan Jun said, slapping his chest and bursting into hearty laughter. Yi Chen''s mind reflected the image and was momentarily rattled, "However, Xiao Lang, you are still lacking in cunning and experience. There are oversights in this plan."

    "This time, Chen Haichao will surely secretly push the demonic sects to pressure us. Let''s wait for a bit. When the time comes, Yuan Jun will visit those sects and subtly hint that the powers behind the Red Dust Demonic Sect are the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect. Wu Ding Demonic Sect currently has an undercurrent with the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect,"

    "By making the conflict explicit, Chen Haichao will have no choice but to swallow the bitter pill, even if he''s mute."

    "You must realize that although the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect has a significant hidden influence, there are also numerous powers that hold deep grudges against it, hehe~"

    Seeing Yuan Jun with hands on hips, laughing slyly like a fox, Yi Chen couldn''t help but curl his lips into a smile: "Yuan Jun, that''s an excellent insight!"

    With everything set up to this point, if Yuan Jun still couldn''t grasp the crux of the matter, that would be too much.

    In dealing with others, you can''t be the only one talking; that''s too dominant. It''s better to guide them to draw their conclusions, which yields exceptional results.

    The stage cannot be monopolized by one individual. This is a great taboo in military strategy!

    This technique is called upward management, which was just one of Yi Chen''s trivial skills from his past life when dealing with investors.

    As long as the skill is high, the leeks will praise the sickle; such is the astonishing wisdom of Yi Taoist.

    "Yuan Jun, among these treasures is an ice-cold bed, extremely precious. Take it into your care and take half of the rest,"

    "The remaining treasures, please trouble Yuan Jun to deliver one-third to the Heavenly Master on behalf of poor me, and the last two-thirds to the Yuqing True King, saying that Lord Tan Lang never cheats his friends," Yi Chen said, his eyes locked on Yuan Jun, speaking deliberately with distinct emphasis.

    The glint in Yuan Jun''s eye sharpened once more upon hearing this, "Xiao Lang, your vision is extraordinary, sharing the wisdom of great shocks even with Yuan Jun!"

    "I originally intended to persuade the True King and the Heavenly Master to pressure Chen Haichao and the Illumination Organization. With this, Yuan Jun''s odds have greatly increased."

    After a long while, the peach blossom mask receded into the distance.

    The subtleties of the human heart are not to be spoken of to outsiders.

    This wealth meant little to the Heavenly Master and the Yuqing True King, but it would allow them to see the nature of Yi Chengzi, who never treats his helpful allies poorly.

    Having originated from heaven, his foundation was still shallow. Even with Yuan Jun''s mediation, it was uncertain how much the Heavenly Master and Yuqing True King would help. Yi Chengzi had now defeated the Evil Sword Sovereign, proving his strength, and sent generous gifts to show his gratitude. What followed would depend on the Heavenly Master and Yuqing True King.

    Being able to make money is important, but the ability to distribute it skillfully is even more crucial. Always trying to stuff all benefits into one''s own pocket and treating others like fools does not befit the wise.

    Respect human nature, respect interests.

    If you consider someone a friend, there is no reason to let them lose out.

    The words that Yuan Jun blurted out earlier attest to this. If Yi Chen didn''t have a backup plan and Yuan Jun helped to bear the demise of the Red Dust Demonic Sect, their camaraderie would likely be exhausted. She''s not naive.

    In the secret chamber, Yi Chen dipped his brush and swept it across the paper, first writing the eight characters, ''There is no constant form in tactics, nor in the flow of water.''

    After musing over them for a while, he then added another line, ''A thousand pieces of gold spent come back once more.''

    After all this, Yi Chen wrote down ''Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect,'' ''Illumination Organization,'' ''Chen Haichao,'' and other names, nodding in satisfaction after carefully considering them.

    Finally, his gaze settled on ''Chen Haichao.''

    Of all those he had offended, only Chen Haichao had the motive and the power to thread all these incidents together.

    Looking at the name ''Chen Haichao,'' Yi Chen couldn''t help but flash a mocking grin, "Chen Haichao, you''re screwed!"

    Just give him a little more time as World-Shaking Pure Yang, and he might not need to resort to such means anymore.

    While others have their limits, he, Yi Chengzi, has no blade of spiritual grass, nothing but a bare tree, an unparalleled marvel in the courtyard, without that invisible ceiling overhead.

    ...

    ...

    Three and a half months later, at the Palace of Lord Tan Lang.

    Yi Chen awoke from his meditation, the three Primordial Spirits within him shining brightly.

    His last battle with the Evil Sword Sovereign, although rewarding, was incredibly perilous, shaking his three Primordial Spirits and costing him his protective armor.

    After sorting out some private affairs of the Hidden Dragon Alliance, he had come to the Self-Realization Heaven for secluded cultivation, not daring to be reckless.

    Full health might allow for playing the erhu, but gambling with low health is the job of the nameless man with a destiny, not his.

    Of course, Zhen Ruan had also come along, elevating his Fish Dragon Dance to yet another level....

    The day after Yuan Jun left, Yi Chen immediately took Qian Jingzi into custody for interrogation. This one was too suspicious, having been the first to propose a deal with the Red Dust Demonic Sect, Yi Chen couldn''t help but suspect him of being a mole.

    However, after some investigation... it turned out he wasn''t. It was merely a coincidence.

    Then Yuan Jun visited again, applying special methods, but the final conclusion remained the same. However, they did root out other spies, such as Ming Kanzi.

    As for traitors, needless to say, their fate was a seat in the Pure Yang Flame Prison. Not a bit was wasted; like the unfortunate captives from the Red Dust Demonic Sect caught by Yi Chen, they all became nourishment for his path of cultivation.

    Today, the sky was clear and bright. Just as Yi Chen was about to go out for a walk, the Yuqing True King and Yuan Jun arrived together. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Star Lord, the Millennium Emperor has sent a message. The guiding formation will open on the coast of the eastern sea in a month. Let us go together," the Yuqing True King said, a smile on his face greater than before, beaming with joy.

    "So soon?" Yi Chen couldn''t help but look surprised.

    ```

 Chapter 560 - 365 Choices, Qi Longhu: Master, look who I brought back!

    Ancient and modern, the foremost under heaven.

    Merely hearing the name sends one''s heart racing with admiration, and even someone as proud as Yue Qingping couldn''t help but reveal a trace of respect on her face at this moment.

    "Ying Si, why are you all so tight-lipped about this matter?" Although Yue Qingping had some guesses in her heart, she still wanted to hear the Millennium Emperor''s answer. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Upon reaching this point, Emperor Qin Ying Si couldn''t help but sigh and said, "Fellow Daoist, once a thought arises in the human heart, heaven and earth are fully aware. We have not touched upon that realm of mystery and cannot fathom its profundity,"

    "The Human Emperor''s Scripture" has been repeatedly cautioned by its possessors through generations that the fewer people know of this matter, the better. If it becomes widely known, the situation might worsen, and the more people who know, the less helpful it is."

    Yi Chen''s heart stirred when he heard this, and he instantly understood what Emperor Qin was implying.

    Good heavens, isn''t this the observer effect?

    Similar to the double-slit experiment, the ultimate outcome is related to the state of the observer.

    According to Ying Si''s words, if too many people are aware of the matter, it will change and directly decay.

    Because nobody knows what might happen then, even the breakdown of barriers among the Five Domains might hasten, or perhaps the master of the court''s pan-consciousness might loosen the reins around the necks of foreign races a bit¡ªit''s unpredictable.

    While Yi Chen''s thoughts were whirling, he suddenly felt two gazes converge upon his face.

    "Emperor, True Monarch Qingping, why are you looking at me like this?"

    "It seems my little disciple has indeed found a good husband. Truly, both your spiritual sense and comprehension are top-notch in this world. Looking at your expression, it seems you have already guessed a portion of the truth."

    "No wonder Ying Si holds you in such high esteem, saying that sooner or later, you will be one of our peers." The unparalleled female sovereign looked straight at Yi Chen and praised him sincerely.

    "Star Lord, there are really not many people in this world who can garner such praise from True Monarch Qingping," Ying Si said with a smiling tone.

    Ah... ah?

    [Damn it, I just know a bit of quantum physics.]

    Yi Chen opened his mouth, and what came out inadvertently was a humble phrase disclaiming the exaggerated praise from the Emperor and True Monarch Qingping.

    For goodness'' sake, a man like Yi Chengzi should take the compliment for understanding quantum physics¡ªit''s only right.

    He deserved it~

    With that thought, Yi Chen''s chest puffed up slightly with pride.

    "Alright, Ying Si, let''s talk about serious matters. What are you thinking now?" Yue Qingping brought her gaze back and her smile disappeared, getting straight to the point.

    Upon hearing this, the Millennnium Emperor''s gaze suddenly turned fierce:

    "It''s simple. In ancient times, our human ancestors were able to slay the ancestors of foreign races. Why should today be any different?"

    "I believe that our Human Race needs more Break-Limit True Monarchs to face the myriad of disasters in the future together."

    "Once all external crises are resolved, we can finally decide who is superior! At that time, even if I perish, it will be because my skills were inferior."

    "The flesh must rot in the pot!"

    "Chen Haichao of the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect has been causing me trouble repeatedly. I''m well aware of most of the sordid acts he''s done behind the scenes, but I still tolerate him, all because he is a figure of note, who will undoubtedly become one of our peers in the future,

    Perhaps he has already taken that step, his path diverges from ours."

    "Haha, if it were not for my warning to that old demon of Wuding Divine Sect to not take action, Chen Haichao would have been reduced to ashes long ago. Do they really think the Wuding Divine Sect is full of kind and faithful people, to allow him to develop to this extent?"

    "My Great Qin, with the residual might of six generations and gathering of my millennium existence, has acquired the true power to trample over sects, demolish temples, but the cost of such actions is too great, and I am unwilling to engage in things that please enemies yet pain friends."

    "So, you decided to divert the disaster eastward, planning to use my Central Continent as a rallying ground for the many forces of your Eastern Continent?" Yue Qingping''s face showed a trace of cold scorn.

    Emperor Qin Ying Si was silent for a moment before finally saying helplessly, "Although it''s for the Human Race, great endeavors inevitably require sacrifices. I am a strong figure of the Human Race, but after all, I am the Emperor of the Eastern Continent."

    "If given a choice, I naturally prefer my Eastern Continent. In an era of great strife, some people, some forces, are destined to become stepping stones for the strong."

    Biases dictate thoughts, and Emperor Qin Ying Si''s words were utterly frank.

    He suddenly stood up, his large hand pointing to the lands in all directions, and for a rare moment, a compassionate look appeared in his eyes.

    "True Monarch Qingping, after so many years, the contradictions among the Five Domains are countless. In an era of great strife, without enemies, there is no self¡ªtruly, a future of mountains of corpses and seas of blood."

    "Yue Qingping, you may be formidable in combat, but even if you were made of iron, how many nails could you strike?

    You cannot save many people!

    Even if you were to close off your sect, ignoring the worldly changes, when the dust settles, you, Yue Qingping, waking up, would be faced with countless foreign powerhouses and their armies!"

    "True Monarch Qingping, we are in the same realm, like being in the same boat. Tell me, if you fall into the water sooner or later, what''s the difference? No one can avoid it, especially an outstanding person like you." Emperor Qin Ying Si''s somber voice came through.

    The peerless sovereign fell into a long silence upon hearing this, and eventually, her lips parted slightly: "Ying Si, let''s be frank¡ªhow do you plan to clean up the mess outside?"

    Upon hearing this, the Millennium Emperor''s expression became a bit more spirited.

    "It''s very simple, the blade''s edge becomes sharp only from constant grinding. Of course, we must fight, but we must not brawl recklessly, unnecessarily weakening our Human Realm. Therefore, Break-Limit True Monarchs must not take action, as for the younger generations, let''s leave it to their fate."

    "With each additional Break-Limit True Monarch, our chances of victory in the future increase."

    "If I can tolerate Chen Haichao, how could I not tolerate the Central Continent? Let them experience the freedom amidst the frost of a myriad categories! " The Millennium Emperor spoke with a resolute tone, an iron-blooded emperor''s might emanating forth.

 Chapter 561 - 365 Choices, Qi Longhu: Master, look who I brought back!_2

    "Ying Si, you sure played a clever game," Qi Goushi began. "Even if the various factions of Central Continent manage to summon back some outstanding individuals, in the event of a conflict, it''s highly likely they will end up being devoured."

    "I gave everyone a chance," Emperor Qin Ying Si replied. "True gold is not afraid of the refiner''s fire. Those lacking in destiny and strength are ultimately not of our kind. They serve as nourishment for those who truly break limits. Sharpening the blade for them is not too much to ask!"

    "Even if it''s Lord Tan Lang, as long as there isn''t a Break-Limit True Monarch personally taking the field, and he meets his demise in the future, that too is because of his lack of strength and destiny, not of our kind. Although I would regret it, I would definitely not intervene." Ying Si shook his head slightly, his gaze as firm as iron.

    Yi Chen: "...No need to cue, Emperor, you don''t have to give an example if you can''t."

    "Harsh enough!" Yue Qingping picked up her teacup and sipped lightly, her movements graceful, a contradiction of royal elegance and transcendence fused into one, making even a simple sip seem remarkably charming.

    "Mercy does not command soldiers, justice does not handle wealth. Could it be that True Monarch Qingping has a better way?"

    "Ying Si, your wisdom falls short of mine, but this boldness is indeed unmatched in the world."

    At that moment, Yue Qingping''s lips curved into a faint smile, her words striking as a thunderclap!

    "Ying Si, since that''s how it is, why don''t I add fuel to your fire? What do you think about me dismembering Da Yue?"

    "My Yue family only wants the land of the two capitals. You guarantee that your men will not harm the direct lineage of my Yue family. As long as Great Qin exists for one day, it will ensure the wealth and glory of my Yue family. In return, when you truly unify the three lands, my Yue family will hand over the throne and proclaim allegiance."

    "Of course, if you fail to do so, if you are all talk and no action, and Da Yue raises its standard again, it will no longer be my affair."

    Yi Chen looked at Yue Qingping, who was all smiles, with shock in his eyes. He had never imagined that this world-famous True Monarch Qingping would make such a choice, and upon closer reflection, he found it all the more reasonable.

    Both were individuals of profound cunning, and True Monarch Qingping''s last statement was already showing her hand, leaving nothing to hide.

    If Yi Chen had not guessed wrong, the sects must have already planted the idea in Da Yue''s mind, hoping to lead the charge in resisting Eastern Continent.

    Yet, Yue Qingping''s intention was to outright sell out the cultivators of the Central Continent sects, and with it, the influential families.

    She would let Great Qin grapple with the other cultivators of Central Continent while Da Yue dismembers itself from the neck down, watching from the sidelines, even retaining a hint of ambition.

    Only in this way could Emperor Qin Ying Si agree to her terms.

    "Damn, she truly is a princess who helped establish Da Yue with her own brothers; her mind is soaked with stratagems to the marrow, what a terrifying woman," Yi Chen couldn''t help but praise internally.

    This move was not the hand of an eagle, but truly the hand of a deity.

    It seemed that recently, Da Yue and the sects must have been on bad terms, to the extent that even members of the influential families started showing signs of disloyalty toward Great Qin.

    With this move, Yue Qingping got her revenge without exerting any effort and preserved the Yue family in the process.

    It was like a Millennium Emperor turning the tables, a win-win from inside out.

    "So, will True Monarch Qingping proclaim herself emperor in the future and meddle in the affairs of the Yue family?" Ying Si asked, his eyes gleaming.

    "After this, I will be nothing more than an ordinary nun from Mount Qingping, my fate with the Yue family concluded. This time, I simply wish to preserve the Yue family, to leave an opportunity for ambitious and capable descendants in the future. Ying Si, if Great Qin cannot even manage this challenge, you might as well cease to exist now," Yue Qingping said calmly.

    "In that case, let us proceed as True Monarch Qingping has said," Emperor Qin Ying Si considered briefly and then readily agreed.

    "Ying Si, you must take me to the secret domain of the Human Emperor''s successor. If you deceive me, then all deals are off."

    "So it shall be!"

    With that, the two exchanged glances.

    "Hidden Dragon Taoist, please step outside for a moment; I have important matters to discuss with True Monarch Qingping."

    "Ling Yue, you and your husband should step out and wait as well."

    Yi Chen pursed his lips, gave his teacher a signal with his eyes, and then stepped out at once. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    [Cut it out, who do you think wants to listen? Always operating behind the scenes; it''s not like me with my clear conscience and uprightness. Speaking like this makes me sound like Little Ming.]

    Although Yi Chen was internally itching with curiosity, his soul set ablaze with the desire to know, he still complied with his teacher''s wishes and left the room.

    After the two left, within the light barrier of green and golden hues, Emperor Qin Ying Si and the peerless nun of Da Yue began their secret negotiation.

    Half an hour later.

    The light barrier dissipated, revealing the figures of Yue Qingping and Ying Si.

    Yi Chen and the teacher stood outside the light barrier; despite all his eavesdropping attempts, he hadn''t heard a single word, an ordeal for him as unbearable as teasing a teenager with an unreachable temptation.

    Damn it, what the hell were you two scheming about inside? You should have clued me in.

    "Ying Si, such actions, will you regret them if you meet your demise one day?" Yue Qingping couldn''t help asking the figure in the nine-dragon imperial robe.

    "Heh, the world pursues safe fortunes, but I perch in perilous rapids! Through the rapids I advance bravely, with no regrets even if I die a hundred times!"

    "You do have some semblance of the majesty of the Human Emperor now," she remarked.

    "My friend, you''re wrong (liao), I am not the Human Emperor, nor do I wish to be. I am the Emperor! Those who are not our kind have hearts that differ and must be slain; if one day I can reach a realm akin to the Human Emperor''s, all these foreign races must be sliced with swords, scorched with fire, leaving land but not sparing lives! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

    "Truly¡­ the tyrant of Great Qin."

    Yue Qingping voiced her praise; she did not agree with Ying Si''s path of the emperor, yet she admired him.

    "How can worldly affairs always conform to one''s wishes? If I truly complete such a grand achievement, perhaps many will curse me as a tyrant," he said, "but I believe that future generations will prefer to call me ''Millennium Emperor!'' or ''The First Emperor!''"

    At that moment, Ying Si stood with his hands behind his back, an aura as if from mountains of corpses and seas of blood filled the heavens and earth, his tone resolute.

    As his aura receded, he suddenly laughed and said:

    "True Monarch Qingping''s actions are bound to attract much censure. In the lands of Central Continent, your reputation might not fare much better than mine. Do you regret your actions?"

    The peerless female Taoist lifted her head in sudden laughter, her expression turning to pride.

    Extreme pride!

    She did not directly answer Emperor Qin Ying Si''s words but instead turned around and drew her sword!

    Sword Qi filled the sky and carved into a mountainside. Falling debris revealed two lines of bold characters in Yi Chen''s vision.

    "I disdain a thousand autumns to change for me!"

    "For Heavenly Sword strikes swiftly and true!"

    Her poetic inscription exuded overwhelming dominance!

    The pride and self-confidence between the lines seemed capable of awing gods and startling immortals!

    The peerless female Taoist sheathed her sword and turned around, her expression unchanged.

    "In all my life, I, Yue Qingping, have no need to explain myself to others!"

    "Ying Si, let us discuss who stands taller on the path of transcendence in the future!"

    "Very well! With Daoist Qingping, I am not alone on my path. With Daoist Qingping, the Human Race is indeed fortunate!"

    At the same time, the eyes of the two most outstanding individuals from Eastern Continent and Central Continent showed a trace of mutual appreciation.

    Unbeknownst to others, a deal was struck within the light barrier, and after bowing to each other, they both turned and left.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    In the forested mountains.

    A deep, secluded lake suddenly bubbled eerily and large.

    Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

    The lake parted abruptly, revealing a vast dark cavern, from which a tall figure slowly emerged.

    Through the darkness of the cavern, one could faintly make out a scene of three moons in the sky behind.

    The tall figure walked out with hands clasped behind him, looking around as if everything was fresh and novel to him; it was as if it were his first visit to this place.

    He took to the air with ease, stepping out from the dark cavern. The waters of the lake parted before him, not daring to cross the line.

    As soon as the figure''s feet touched the thick yellow and black earth, the waters closed behind him, and the dark cavern instantly disappeared, revealing the original solid bedrock.

    It was as if everything before had been no more than a dream.

    "Truly, a beautiful world!"

    The tall figure looked up, spreading his arms as daylight shone upon his face, revealing the visage of Dragon Tiger Mountain''s previous Heavenly Master, Zhang Ji Shi.

    But at this moment, Zhang Ji Shi''s expression was strange, his complexion was dark green, and a peculiar black qi lingered between his brows.

    After stretching with a lazy yawn, a flash of green light crossed his face, and he instantly returned to normal, adopting the manner of a venerable Daoist. He glanced around briefly before casually choosing a direction and strolling off.

    Half an hour later, the tall figure came to a sudden halt.

    At this moment, he saw a ''youth'' running hurriedly along a mountain trail.

    Had Yi Chen been there, he would have recognized the person as Qi Goushi, a young brother he knew.

    Qi Longhu rubbed his eyes as if remembering something. Suddenly, he slid into a kneel!

    "Heavenly Master, is that you? I have seen your portrait! Disciple Qi Longhu of Dragon Tiger Mountain greets the previous Heavenly Master!"

    "Heavenly Master, please come back with me to the mountain. The Heavenly Master will be delighted to see you."

    The tall figure looked at the honest youth before him, taken aback, then smiled and said, "That would be good, my child, lead the way!"

 Chapter 564 - 367: A Family Should be Complete and United!

    ```

    "Who are you! I, the elder of the Yan Family, am unaware when we offended such a formidable personage. If there has been any offense, I beseech you to point it out, as there must certainly be some misunderstanding here."

    A flash of light and under the leadership of the ancient ancestor of the Yan Family, eight elders and Yan Jiexi appeared on the deck of the building ship.

    Many cultivators from another building ship also poked out their heads, and several haughty young masters had already started to curse out loud, their expressions proud and arrogant; evidently, they were accustomed to arrogance. However, this group was quickly silenced by the elders behind them.

    With his purple hair dancing in the air, Yi Chen saw this scene and felt it somewhat absurd; the corners of his mouth gradually split to reveal a strange and fierce smile.

    "You actually don''t recognize me? After ambushing and attempting to murder me, you now have the nerve to claim there must be some misunderstanding?"

    "It seems to me that in the eyes of your Yan Family, I am truly insignificant as an ant. Let me help you remember then."

    Boom!

    A giant Golden Throne suddenly fell from the sky onto the wilderness, where a tall figure with purple hair and purple eyes sat imposingly.

    Between heaven and earth, a gigantic Pure Yang heavenly gate swiftly appeared, and from within, a majestic figure stepped out, clearly the reflection of the self.

    "I dislike others talking over my head, you all better come down."

    No sooner had this casual remark sounded did the floating figure of the reflection move, instantly appearing atop the building ship''s protective formation barrier.

    He stomped down fiercely with his foot!

    Under the enormous force, the two building ships plummeted quickly, and the smaller one, upon intimate contact with the ground, saw its shield flashing and then suddenly vanish.

    Bang!

    Sizzle sizzle sizzle~

    Black smoke began to billow from the building ship, countless formation runes broke abruptly, inscriptions faded from color, mixed with the sound of sparking explosions.

    Taken by surprise, the boisterous young masters who had earlier been taunting Yi Chen now let out pig-slaughter-like screams from inside the cabin.

    The large building ship where the ancient ancestor of the Yan Family was located fared slightly better; the shield still held firm.

    However, under the action of the reflection, most of the building ship became embedded in the earth.

    Yan Jiexi scrutinized Yi Chen''s face, and upon observing the reflection hovering in the sky, a look of terror suddenly flashed through his pupils.

    "You... you are... Yi Chengzi? That''s impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

    "Who is Yi Chengzi?" the Yan Family Head turned pale, emerging from the protective barrier of the building ship, looking at the person he had favored most, the very same Yan Family prodigy he had praised before.

    Their lips moved silently, conversing through voice transmission.

    Amidst Yan Jiexi''s astonished and resentful gaze, four coffin-nail-like peculiar magical treasures suddenly flew out, piercing through his limbs. The enormous impact force pinned him firmly in front of Yi Chen''s Golden Throne, his mana completely sealed, only his eyelids capable of movement.

    "Yan Jiexi did not know his place and acted rashly; his actions cannot represent the Yan Family. I am willing to hand over this scourge to you for disposal."

    "Friend, what do you think of this arrangement?"

    The Yan Family ancestor''s decisive action somewhat surprised Yi Chen, who couldn''t help but give him a thumbs up: "Ruthless! Venomous!"

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but stand up and walk over to Yan Jiexi.

    Gazing at the white-faced man before him, Yi Chen''s heart could not help but feel a sense of unreality, as if everything was but a dream.

    Time flies, two years have passed.

    Almost two years ago, he was humiliated by the assassins sent by this very person. Back then, he was engaged in a battle of wits with this man, thinking about how to escape the Yan Family''s pursuit, trying to conceal his whereabouts, and living in constant anxiety like a homeless dog.

    But now, the tables had turned.

    The once honorable Yan Family Head, the figure showcased by the Yan Family, had fallen into the dust, like a dead dog, while he, Yi Chengzi, was already soaring high in the sky.

    "Yan Family Head, I have been acquainted with you for a long time, and I never thought that when we would meet for the first time, you would be in such a wretched state."

    "Right now, you truly resemble a dog!"

    Yi Chen grinned, his foot coming down hard, crushing the head beneath like a bug; in an instant, a bright light flashed, and the soul was captured into the Pure Yang Flame Prison.

    Fail to cultivate diligently, and you end up as poultry in the Pure Yang Flame Prison.

    This is the fate of those who offend him, Yi Chengzi!

    Yi Chen believed that given the Yan Family Head''s nature, there must be many more shady dealings he had been involved in, many of which were even more abhorrent than those committed against him and Bai Yunzi.

    Yet, the man had lived well regardless.

    If he hadn''t interceded, the man might have even continued to thrive.

    Was this retribution for some unspeakable evil the Yan Family Head had committed? S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    No! All of this was simply because he, Yi Chengzi, was stronger.

    Just like those who had previously laid in wait to kill him.

    Those who wronged you know your innocence better than anyone else.

    But they can''t make their own case, or rather, making a case is futile.

    Fortunately, now he, Yi Chengzi, had returned like a storm!

    He wanted these people to taste what it was like to be treated in the same manner.

    "Not enough!"

    "This settlement is not enough!"

    Yi Chen returned to his seat, his expression cold and harsh.

    Hearing Yi Chen''s statement, the Yan Family ancestor''s expression darkened further.

    "Do not overstep, friend. I have been cultivating for nearly two thousand years, and my ability has broken through to the second level of Dao Mastery. If I intend to escape, you may not be able to keep me here,

    As a true cultivator of the Dao, I hear that your master, Bai Yunzi, is a person of kindness and compassion. Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life. Do you really want to kill over a thousand of the Yan Family to keep me company in death?"

    ```

 Chapter 565 - 367: A Family Should Be Together and United!_2

    "Yi Taoist, when one can spare others, one should. Excessive killing intent harms the harmony of heaven and may lead to future misfortunes..."

    "One move!"

    "I will only make one move! You can all attack together!"

    Yi Chen abruptly cut off the Yan Family ancestor''s words.

    "Really?"

    "If there are any lies, may my spirit vanish completely, I can swear upon my Daoist heart!" The towering Daoist on the Golden Throne grinned, a hint of mockery hidden in his eyes.

    The various elders of the Yan Family exchanged glances, silently nodding to one another.

    If it was just a matter of withstanding one move from this powerful adversary blocking their path, they were willing to try.

    The numerous young disciples of the Yan Family on the building ship were their tentacles; unless absolutely necessary, even the Yan Family ancestor was loath to abandon them.

    If they ended up alone and without allies, would they themselves have to collect ordinary cultivation resources and gather intelligence?

    "Daoist friend, please!"

    As soon as the words were spoken, the Yan Family ancestor at the center, along with eight other elders, formed a circle, chanting in unison: "Eight Qi Return to Origin!"

    Their mana blended together, propping up a thick, earth-yellow spherical barrier.

    The eight elders each brought out an earth-yellow octagonal copper mirror, revolving around it, while at this moment, the Yan Family ancestor, invoking some secret technique, his face flushed red, his aura soared again, surpassing two realms and reaching the third realm before stopping.

    At this moment, his aura was only slightly inferior to that of the Red Flower Old Demon.

    "Daoist friend, could you tell us how you were able to accurately determine our whereabouts?" the Yan Family ancestor asked cautiously, still testing.

    "If you survive, I''ll tell you!"

    "Arrogant!" The eight Yan Family elders couldn''t help but rebuke in unison.

    Countless disciples of the Yan Family on the building ship also couldn''t help but look towards the scene, their eyes flickering with excitement.

    The Daoist looked down on all, exulting atop the Golden Throne, not infuriated by the scene. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    He casually raised the long halberd in his hand, seemingly nonchalantly, then slashed out with it.

    "Halberd Nine¡¤Nirvana¡¤Wheel of the Great Sun!"

    After the consumption and extrapolation by the wicked swordsmanship of that great fleshly chicken, Yi Chen''s nine ultimate moves had progressed even further, becoming more ferocious and violent!

    To deal with the Yan Family, half of the Ninth Halberd Move was enough; if the transformation of rebirth after Nirvana were to be fully executed, it would consume a ray of Primordial Spirit light, which the current Yan Family was not yet worthy of.

    Before the ultimate move was executed, it was like a hidden dragon in the abyss, inconspicuous and unremarkable.

    The moment it was deployed, it revealed its towering magnificence!

    This halberd move surged like a fierce torrent, sweeping across the wilderness, shaking all directions.

    Boom!

    The ground seemed to burst with a terrifying rainbow of extreme light.

    At that moment, the faces of the Yan Family ancestor and the elders changed drastically!

    They tried their best to channel their mana, attempting to sustain the earth-yellow barrier, but alas, it was in vain.

    Within the pillar of Extreme Origin light, the eight Halberd Moves combined and evolved, violently eroding everything within the ultimate move.

    In the space of a breath.

    A crack sounded softly.

    The first of the octagonal copper mirrors shattered on cue, followed by the subsequent seven mirrors exploding one after another!

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    In the eyes of the despairing Yan Family, a huge mushroom cloud rose from the spot; a giant cloud of dust obscured the sky, darkening the heavens instantly, and the world roared in response.

    Amidst the thunderous rumbling of the earth, the Yan Family ancestor''s screams could be heard; the eight elders, still in their previous positions, were as if erased from a canvas by a gentle stroke of an eraser. The ones who could still scream, leaving behind severed limbs and body parts, were only the Yan Family ancestor.

    "How weak, an old Dao Mastery cultivator, seems like there are even traces of unnatural growth, I had overestimated you all," Yi Chen mocked as he stood up, a large hand waved and a storage ring from a severed limb flew into his hand.

    ''Ah, a devil!''

    ''Run! This monster, he killed the ancestor! It''s over!''

    The disciples of the Yan Family, seeing their ancestor fall, as though the divine abode in their hearts had collapsed, were all utterly terrified, scattering in all directions, trying to escape!

    "Thinking of running, can you escape?"

    "A family should indeed stay together as one!"

    Yi Chen''s expression was cold and harsh, his heart as firm as iron. He tossed the long halberd skyward, which was instantly caught by the Mirror Entity, "Go, kill! Leave none alive!"

    Under his command, the Mirror Entity gave a slight bow toward Yi Chen, who sat upon the Golden Throne, then, brandishing the Holy Halberd, began the massacre!

    His pupils reflected the weeping and wailing of the Yan Family members as flames fiercely blazed aboard the building ships.

    But no matter how these people fled, they could not escape the terrifying halberd light that reaped souls and stole lives.

    With the power of the Mirror Entity, describing this scene as an unparalleled reaping was not an overstatement.

    In less than the time it took to drink a half cup of tea, the form of the Mirror Entity slowly vanished, and a long halberd suddenly fell from the sky, embedding itself directly behind the two blazing building ships.

    Yi Chen rose to his feet, undaunted by the fire, he strode through the burning ship''s hull, creating a large humanoid hole, and pulled out the Holy Halberd.

    At this moment, the halberd''s body was still as smooth as a mirror, flickering with dazzling white light.

    Looking at the scene of utter devastation, Yi Chen slammed his halberd onto the ground and gently prodded a certain spot on the burning building ship.

    Boom!

    A specific spot on the building ship where a Formation had secured a storage space suddenly burst, scattering a pile of rare and exotic treasures over the ground.

    "Miao Zi, swallow these treasures for me, tidy things up."

    With a single thought, Yi Chen patted his spirit beast bag, and Miao Zi immediately appeared to clean up the battlefield.

    From today on, the Yan Family of the great Da Yue noble families would be no more.

    Years ago, the ancient ancestor of the Yan Family was a coachman who led horses for the founding monarch of Great Yue. Due to his outstanding talent and strength, he was promoted and seized the opportunity to distinguish himself,

    Later, when the world was in chaos and the previous dynasty was on the brink of collapse, the by then slightly accomplished ancestor of the Yan Family took it a step further and ultimately became one of the nine great noble families.

    Unfortunately, some people''s ambitions became too swollen, mistakenly overestimating themselves.

    They confused the opportunities of the era for their own capabilities.

    The reason why the Yan Family could become one of the nine great families was that Yue Qingping needed to sprinkle sand into the families, support puppet forces that belonged to her, and dilute the noble families'' right to speak.

    And the Yan Family became bloated.

    What they didn''t know was that without their family, the royal family of Da Yue could have propped up the Niu Family, the Ma Family, the Zhu Family; they were merely the lucky ones of that era.

    These fools not only ran away on their own, but they also dared to take advantage of their positions, absconding with part of the Great Yue treasury, hoping to further advance.

    Did they really think Yue Qingping''s possessions were so easily taken?

    "How foolish and greedy, not even realizing that among the looted treasures was sand mixed in by the Great Yue royal family," Yi Chen extracted the green token given by Yue Qingping and couldn''t help but let out a cold laugh.

    When landlords were starving, they would slaughter their dogs for meat.

    The Yan Family''s dog had been raised by the Yue Family for a millennium, and now its time had come to an end.

    Even Yi Chen couldn''t help but speculate with the utmost malice that the Yan Family''s actions might have been the result of the Yue Family''s deliberate indulgence and leading from the shadows; who knows what other dark secrets were involved.

    Although the Yue Family now only possessed the land of two capitals, the four great military branches of the Great Yue were still largely in their hands. Their foundation alone was on par with any super sect.

    Now the Yue Family had taken a step back to advance, retreating behind the scenes, pushing both the Dao and Buddhism to the forefront, watching the tigers fight from the safety of their mountain. With the potential to attack or defend in the future, Yue Qingping even secured a promise from Emperor Qin Ying Si.

    As long as Great Qin existed, they would grant eternal wealth and glory to the Yue Family.

    "This first woman True Monarch of the world is truly remarkable, casually moving the pieces to reveal her edge, avoiding a full collision with Great Qin and even managing to extricate the Yue Family," Yi Chen sighed inwardly.

    At this moment, Yi Chen was waiting for someone.

    Although Yue Qingping''s ambition did not lie here, it didn''t mean she was unaware of power and strategy; her vision was even sharper than most.

    The message left on her green token had clearly arranged everything for the Yan Family. This was her way of paving the way for the Yue Family, stockpiling resources and establishing prestige through elegantly handled matters, and even indirectly cleaning the Yue Family''s slate through his own hands.

    More likely than not, the Yan Family was just a pawn caught by the Yue Family''s angling, and possibly even more viciously, among the dead might have been spies of the Yue Family, all stewed together at the hands of Yi Taoist, darkening even the acts of Taoist Yi Chengzi.

    Before long, a tall middle-aged man dressed in the Marshal''s armor arrived, leading a group of black-armored cultivators.

    "May I know if Taoist Yi Chengzi is present?"

    "It is indeed I, Marshal Yue. Here are the treasures plundered by the Yan Family, check them."

    "Miao Zi, spit it out!"

    After a while, the tall middle-aged man and the black-armored cultivators left.

    Only then did Yi Chen stroke Miao Zi''s fur and whispered a transmission.

    "Miao Zi, you didn''t spit it all out, did you?"

    "Dad, rest assured, I know the rules. I didn''t touch anything from the Great Yue treasury. Half of the Yan Family''s wealth I kept."

    "That''s good, your father does nothing without gaining,"

 Chapter 569 - 369: Secret Plot, Selling Information, The Princess Must Maintain Her Dignity!

    [Yuan Jun, elaborate.]

    Gazing at the flickering Star Disc, Yi Chen was instantly jolted.

    As the saying goes, with a hefty reward comes bravery, and there it was, the information about the Qilin Holy Helm, following Yi Chengzi''s exceptionally generous offer.

    Due to the great distance, the Star Disc''s messaging was somewhat slow, and with a thought, Yi Chen changed his appearance, now masquerading as a richly dressed gentleman strolling down the busiest Southern Street in the capital.

    The capital was renowned for its splendor since ancient times, its fame even surpassing that of Shangdu, and thus many colloquial sayings circulated among the common people of Da Yue. Even a dog should pray to be born in the capital, reflecting the city''s place in the hearts of the people of Central Continent.

    "Yuexiao Pavilion? How intriguing," Yi Chen lifted his head, eyeing a glorious pavilion floating ten meters above the ground in the sky and squinted slightly.

    Such a strong scent of tea.

    On the staircase ten meters up, two beautiful and graceful immortals with their hair done up in flying celestial buns and veiled in white gauze stood at the entrance. Clad in flowing garments, their cold visages exuded an air of superiority that was unique to cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm.

    Although their cultivation seemed a bit inflated as if they weren''t on the right path, there was no doubt they were cultivators in the Qi Refinement Realm.

    This was the capital indeed, it sure had its own ways.

    Even the two gatekeeping immortals, with their faintly distressed demeanor, had somewhat of a lesser version of Shi Feixuan''s appeal, that chilling charm quite striking, complementing the towering pavilion and emanating a sense of luxury.

    "Worthy of being the number one pavilion on Southern Street, the individual behind this establishment truly has their methods. I wonder if the Yuexiao Pavilion is as proper as it seems," muttered Yi Chen as he looked back and let out a sigh.

    Their gazes met, and a young master who was flying a kite and walking a dog immediately paled and hurriedly left. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Dad, they say the seafood at Yuexiao Pavilion is quite good. Why don''t we go in and try it?" Miao Zi, now the size of a teacup cat, squeezed out of Yi Chen''s collar and poked out its tiny head.

    "Ah, you''re really something, all right, let''s go," Yi Chen showed a satisfied smile on his face, his hand continuously flipping three golden iron balls, his aura dominant and carefree as he rose into the air, walking toward the pavilion, showing off the mighty pressure of someone at the peak of the True Person Realm.

    The two veiled women bowed slightly without a word, their movements revealing subtle cleavage and full curves. Their cold demeanor mixed with a hint of defiance, and with his wealth of experience, Yi Chen could tell these fairies were experts at enchanting men and had undergone professional training of the highest quality.

    This was the capital!

    To glimpse the leopard through the tube; such meticulous attention even to the entrance details made one endlessly speculate. If the entrance was already like this, then inside must literally be taking off.

    Alas, after seeing much of the world, Yi Chen no longer felt as excited as he had over a year ago.

    With the strength displayed by Yi Chen, he could barely reach the fifth floor in the rigidly hierarchical Yuexiao Pavilion.

    "Young master, may I ask how many noble guests are there?" a maiden with her hair neatly tied in a bun approached demurely.

    "Two, and there''s one more yet to arrive. Reserve the Sky Overturning Hawk private room for us and arrange a feast for my spirit beast as well, a full fish banquet." Yi Chen stuck to his usual ways.

    "Bring up all your specialties, but no rice and no vegetarian dishes, understand?"

    After the maiden left, Yi Chen walked up to the private room. Right in front was a semi-open crystal railing, and looking down from there was a high platform.

    At this moment, a gaudily dressed noble young master was shaking his head and swaggering as he recited poetry, while across from him sat a female cultivator with an ethereal temperament, playing the zither.

    "Jin Ou lives in the eastern imperial city, where beautiful verses are fresh as the wind over the lake."

    "Recently in the capital, Liu Ying is praised, with a charm like peaches, the most beautiful among women."

    "Bravo! Master Qian, what fine poetry, what literary grace! Lady Liu is not only beautiful, her zither skills have improved again and are absolutely exquisite!"

    Like Yi Chen, many onlookers were leaning on the crystal balustrade above, loudly cheering on the scene below.

    Unlike Yi Chen, these crowd-pleasers were accompanied by beautiful companions, at least one by their side and as many as six or seven. They were surrounded and supported by them, truly showing their status.

    Above the fifth floor, many scions of powerful families cast challenging and disdainful looks at Yi Chen, obviously considering him an outsider who had come to the capital on a ''budget trip'' to see the world.

    Yi Chen didn''t care and entered the private room.

    If one desires to quickly understand the foundation of a power, the fastest way is to visit places like Yuexiao Pavilion.

    The aspirations of the second generation largely reflect the future temperament of a dynasty.

    In the era of immense upheavals about to unfold between the Eastern and Central Continents, today''s capital still seems to possess the beauty of singing ''court-yard flowers from the other side of the river.''

    At this time, Yi Chen was coming to understand Yue Qingping''s actions more and more.

    Da Yue could never possibly be a match for Great Qin.

    While both indulge in pleasures, the youth of Great Qin treat female company merely as an embellishment, focusing more on cultivation, the grand situation of the world, strategies, and ambition.

    As for the capital, everywhere Yi Chen looked, there was no shortage of powdered and perfumed delicate pretty boys, fostering an atmosphere that esteemed the feminine and soft as beauty, too thick with the scent of rouge.

    With such low purity, how could they manage the country properly?

    They might as well fight their battles with Flying Swords while striking a dainty pose, then perhaps Great Qin''s youth wouldn''t beat the crap out of them so thoroughly that they''d be clean.

    "Peach blossoms make the beauty among women stand out," a good poem indeed, yet inappropriate in this context. If someone stood on the high platform to analyze the situation, pointing out the dangers, Yi Chen might think more highly of them.

    Delicate dishes one after another were served up like flowing water.

    Exceptionally delicate and attractive, yet it made Yi Chen frown deeply.

 Chapter 570 - 369: Conspiracy, Selling Secrets, Princess Please Conduct Yourself with Decorum!_2

    "Damn it, feeding the cat here."

    Miao Zi looked at the small dried fish on the finger-length sitting atop the fancy plate, his eyes also widened, unable to resist looking towards his own father.

    "Eat up! If it''s not enough, just order more. Someone else will pick up the tab later anyway," Yi Chen sighed helplessly towards Miao Zi.

    Da Yue divided the world and ruled, and now he really got himself stuck in it.

    Soon, Yi Chen and Miao Zi started to show off, and it had to be said, the taste was actually quite good, just that the portion of each dish was so small it was nauseating.

    Just as Yi Chen and Miao Zi started eating, a knock on the door sounded, and an average-looking middle-aged man entered with a young woman, her face veiled with light gauze and dressed in a long green dress.

    Yi Chen''s gaze wandered and finally settled on the young woman, unexpectedly an old acquaintance.

    "Princess Qingzhu?"

    Indeed, she was Yue Qingzhu, whom he had met once on Dragon Tiger Mountain, but from the young woman''s brows and demeanor, her recent state did not seem too good.

    The middle-aged man wore a black robe trimmed with gold and glanced around.

    At this moment, an innkeeper, round like a meatball, rolled and scrambled over.

    "Commander Yan, your esteemed presence graces us. What can we do for you? Yue You Tower will fully cooperate."

    The middle-aged man, with deep and narrow wrinkles of authority, his eyes like those of a vulture, stared at the innkeeper before him and spoke coldly: sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "This place is unsatisfactory. Clean up the top floor; I have important matters to discuss with our distinguished guest."

    "This..." the innkeeper said, his face showing some hesitation upon hearing this.

    "Is there a problem?"

    "The Crown Prince has invited a true cultivator who is currently enjoying wine and pleasure on the top floor, how about..."

    "Tell him to leave."

    "Shouldn''t we ask the Crown Prince for instructions first? He values this person highly and has repeatedly instructed me to take good care of this senior," said the innkeeper with a mournful look, sticking to his guns.

    At this time, the authoritative lines on the middle-aged man''s face grew more pronounced, and he revealed an indescribable expression: "Don''t try to be smart. Today, it doesn''t matter if it''s just a guest of the Crown Prince, even if the Crown Prince himself were here, he would have to leave; there will not be a second time."

    "I''ve been informed by those below that just a while ago someone bared their teeth at our esteemed guests from Da Yue; regardless of which family those people belong to, tell my lead guard outside, ten slaps each; do you understand?"

    No sooner had his voice fallen than a massive air whip cracked on the chubby innkeeper, sending him flying against the opposite pillar, from which he slumped down in a heap.

    "I was unaware of your arrival in the capital, Your Highness specifically instructed me to ensure you are well taken care of. This place is modest, and I regret any discomfort it may have caused you."

    The middle-aged man forced out an enthusiastic smile, which made Yi Chen''s teeth ache; it was clear the man was not adept at smiling, and the strained smile was uglier than crying, a tough ordeal for him.

    Although Yi Chen had anticipated that his movements would be exposed, the speed at which the people of Da Yue arrived was beyond his expectations.

    Upon his arrival in the capital, his first stop was the temple where his master''s wife resided; in just a short period since he had left there, the emperor of Da Yue had already sent people to his door; it was unclear whether Yue Qingping had communicated with them.

    "Certainly, I''ll be sure to thank His Highness on your behalf," Yi Chen replied graciously.

    One gives respect, and I reciprocate tenfold; Yi Chen had requests to make of the Yue family, and thus spoke even more gently at this moment.

    At this point, Yi Chen also learned the identity of the middle-aged man in front of him, who had the cultivation of a late-stage Intercepter.

    One of the commanders of the Hidden Guard by the side of the Emperor of Yue.

    If the Zhengan Bureau is considered the public arm of Da Yue, then the Hidden Guard is the private intelligence network belonging solely to the Yue family.

    With the intervention of the Hidden Guard commander by the side of the Emperor of Yue, Yue You Tower demonstrated unprecedented efficiency, and the top floor was quickly cleared out.

    A variety of delicate spirit dishes were served one after another, flowing like water.

    "Commander Yan, you are too kind. To be honest, my visit to the capital is for two reasons; firstly, to transport the ashes of my late master, and secondly, to ask for a favor," Yi Chen stated.

    "I have some minor disputes with the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple and would like to make use of Da Yue''s intelligence network to accomplish some things."

    "His Majesty had explicitly instructed me to take good care of you; I can promise on his behalf right now. The Emperor said that the Yue family would like to be friends with you," replied the middle-aged man.

    "I have the same intention," Yi Chen grinned and began whispering to the middle-aged man in front of him.

    "My lord, in these years, Da Yue must have gathered quite a bit of the dark secrets of the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple. I would like to ask you to spread all of this information and mix in this piece of news with it," said Yi Chen cheerily as he took out a stack of documents from the storage ring and handed it over to the man.

    The information on the documents was straightforward.

    First, the Yan family was decimated by the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple, and Da Yue secretly mixed this news with the truth and propagated it.

    Second, the Evilslaying Monk was a member of the assassination squad, including a mysterious leading monk.

    Although Da Yue has retracted its feelers to just the two capitals, this was only a fa?ade. The Yue family''s rule over Da Yue for a thousand years ensured that they had countless hidden tentacles; spreading such news within the Central Continent was merely a matter of lifting a finger.

    The Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple liked to create groundless accusations? Those who create such baseless charges should die by them; it couldn''t be more fitting.

    And for the Evilslaying Monk Jue Xin, Yi Chen had prepared a special gift for him.

    The middle-aged man flipped to the following letter and his eyes widened in shock.

    It listed all the misdeeds of the Evilslaying Monk, vile and venomous to the extreme. To pick just one:

    During the decimation of the Yan family, the Evilslaying Monk, known for his peculiar tastes for older women, took hold of the Yan Family Head''s mother, Old Madam Yan, and in front of everyone...

 Chapter 571 - 369: Scheming, Selling Secrets, Princess Please Behave Properly!_3

    The Evilslaying Arhat used to sell hooks before he became a monk, back in the year....

    The Evilslaying Arhat and his senior brothers from the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple sold hooks, the Evilslaying Arhat and the abbot of the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple in the meditation room... sold hooks.... The entire Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple sold hooks....

    Shadow Commander: "....."

    "Taoist, forgive my frankness, do you really think anyone will believe this method?"

    Yi Chen responded with a mysterious smile, "Just follow the plan, my lord. I have already outlined the gist of it. My lord should find a few novelists with exquisite literary skills to polish it up, ensuring it is incredibly lifelike."

    "Please also find for me a few Taoist friends skilled in the art of transformation to record a few of the Evilslaying Monk''s amorous encounters with the Liuying Jade. We need a lot of this material. I want it spread among the monks in the north of the Luo River and, if possible, even among the common folk."

    Shadow Commander: "....."

    The Shadow Commander didn''t understand, but Yi Chen understood all too well.

    That was the charm of a rumor-monger: spreading a rumor takes but a word from the mouth, while refuting it could break your legs from running. Moreover, with videos presenting the ''truth,'' what does it matter? You say the images on the Liuying Jade are fake? Is that important?

    After all, as bystanders who come for the drama, how many care whether Liu Zi really ate several bowls of rice noodles or not?

    Such salacious gossip is the best at stirring up public opinion. After all, everyone loves such stories, whether they are true or not.

    He would never stop until Jue Xin was blackened as a pervert and the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple was turned into a hook-selling monastery. He had prepared a complete hook-selling literary outline for them. He spent money generously, encouraging disheartened literati to participate in crafting the hook literature of the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple.

    With him stirring up trouble from behind, the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple wouldn''t be able to suppress this tide of rumors.

    In his previous life, before he became famous, he had practiced his skills leading a group of online trolls; he was exceptionally skilled at this kind of thing.

    To his knowledge, such a despicable tactic had never been used in the cultivation world of the Central Continent. In the future, monks of the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple traveling the world would inevitably have to carry the symbol of a hook-seller.

    Those from the demonic paths and evil cultivators were not the kind to hold their tongue in the name of virtue. Every one of them had their own character. If they could disgust the Buddhist community and the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple, this group would surely add fuel to the fire. Once the snowball starts rolling, the fun would truly begin.

    Just imagine for a moment.

    Monk from the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple: "Bold demons, bold evil cultivators, you...."

    "Heh, you Heavenly Dragon Temple monks should wipe your own asses clean first. You sell hooks... "

    "You''re talking nonsense!"

    "I''ve got evidence! Plenty of Liuying Jade recordings and books, and a lot of victims have come forward to testify."

    "Those are fake!"

    "I won''t listen; they''re real!"

    "Aaargh, you''re courting death! Take this!"

    "Who''s scared of who, come on, I will certainly not run away, my backside turned to you Heavenly Dragon Temple monks!"

    ....

    With just hook literature, and using the theory of being fooled by a monkey, the verbal retorts of the Heavenly Dragon Temple were almost completely neutralized¡ªself-justification was a deep pit, and nowhere near as quick as Yi Chen''s strategy of spreading rumors.

    Not self-justify or refute? You see, they''re admitting it!

    With his and Yue family''s support from behind, the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple could never hope to suppress this matter.

    Compared to his ability, Yi Chengzi, to disgust people and play with unsubstantiated charges, these monks were like children.

    Before, it was merely Yi Taoist restraining the demon inside his own heart.

    And besides, this was only the first step of his plan. If he could catch the Evilslaying Monk and verify the charges? For instance, get some fine medicines from the Great Qin, and have three hundred and sixty pieces of Liuying Jade record the act without a blind spot. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    As long as there''s a hint of truth mixed in, when mud and feces are combined, others would not bother distinguishing which is which but would presume everything in your pocket is dung.

    Under Yi Chen''s guidance, the Shadow Commander left with a complex expression, his mind troubled over how to report this to the Emperor of Yue.... Now his head was full of hooks, selling more and more hooks.

    Right after the Shadow Commander stood up and left, Yue Qingzhu swept her sleeves and the doors and windows suddenly closed, plunging the room into dimness.

    In the semi-darkness of the room, Yue Qingzhu bit her lip and actually took the initiative to sit on Yi Chen''s lap.

    Yi Chen: "....."

    "What does this mean, Daoist Qing Zhu?"

    "I wish to share a spring breeze with Taoist Yi once, without any entanglement," said Yue Qing Zhu as she slipped off her robe halfway, her fair arm circling Yi Chen''s neck.

    "Your Highness, please have some self-respect! I am certainly not such a person!" Yi Chen''s mind was now a bit muddled. What was this script? A princess''s leap?

 Chapter 574 - 371: The Myriad Souls Banner is Damaged, Let Me Help You

    Majestic, fierce, powerful.

    The burning flames, the overflowing heat, the gradually cracking earth, all were testifying to the terrifying extent of Yi Chen''s cultivation at this moment.

    The six major components interconnected in a cyclical fashion, forming the grand cycle of the Qilin Holy Armor, drawing out the bloodthirstiness of the Qilin''s blood that had settled inside the armor for countless years, dyeing the Holy Armor a crimson color.

    A crimson-armored giant took steady steps forward, his figure growing larger, and the mysterious armor covering his body also expanded. As he unleashed his dominant presence, Yi Chen''s aura surged once again, filled with an unparalleled confidence swelling in his chest.

    He lightly planted the Holy Halberd onto the earth''s crust, his Cultivation Body retracting, before turning around to look at the gentle girl in front of him.

    Qian Xue was as beautiful and noble as ever, with a fiery red butterfly ribbon tied in her ink-black hair and lotus-green embroidered shoes on her feet. Through her sheer silk stockings, the delicate blue veins on the top of her feet were visible.

    Perhaps due to concerns about the situation with Lord Tan Lang, her complexion was slightly exhausted and weary at this moment.

    "Let''s go, to the Infernal Demon Sect to demand people," Yi Chen said with a grin to the girl.

    Yi Chengzi had always been known to take money to get the job done, with a solid reputation.

    "Ah... ah? Lord... Lord, are we going directly to demand people?" The girl''s face was full of shock and astonishment.

    "Nonsense, for such a small matter, do you expect me to devise a lengthy plan? If we delay further, Lord Tan Lang will turn into a dead wolf," he retorted.

    "But what if..."

    "There are no what-ifs. Lord Tan Lang is after all a person of my Northern Dipper Yuan Jun Palace. If I personally make the request and they don''t play by the rules, then I''ll have to teach them a lesson in manners," Yi Chen asserted.

    "It seems Lord Tan Lang is somewhat clever, knowing to hold back and entrust you with the Qilin Holy Helmet, leaving a way out for both himself and you," he added.

    Yi Chen didn''t waste words with the girl, a powerful restraining force field immediately froze Qian Xue''s figure, and in an instant, they soared towards the sky.

    With his current level of cultivation, demanding a person who hadn''t yet reached the True Monarch realm from the Infernal Demon Sect should not prove too unwise for them.

    After all, Lord Tan Lang was a person of his Northern Dipper Yuan Jun Palace.

    If it were otherwise, it would not only be a slap in the face of Lord Tan Lang but also akin to using Yi Chengzi''s face to smack Yuan Jun''s behind, an action worthy of mortal retribution.

    ...

    ...

    As Yi Chen hastened towards the Infernal Demon Sect, the region of the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple in Northern Road became bustling with activity.

    Clearly, the Da Yue family was starting to exert their power.

    A few days earlier, thunderous news broke out on Northern Road, causing a sensation. It was said that the Yan Family of Da Yue was intercepted and silenced by the people of the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple on their way, with all their belongings looted. Da Yue accused the Yan Family of abusing their power to steal the state''s treasures and flee.

    The Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple naturally came forward to refute the rumors.

    However, they could not have felt distressed for even a moment before an overwhelming tide of gossip literature engulfed the battlefield.

    Yi Chen indeed taught the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple a harsh lesson with his tidal wave-like modern propaganda offensive.

    As an eminent force in Northern Road, who wouldn''t be eager to relish the stories surrounding the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple?

    Watching the exalted masters fall from grace through such sensational stories instantly captivated the attention of all societal strata in Northern Road.

    Even though they knew it was preposterous, they couldn''t help but watch and listen, curious to see just how preposterous it could get.

    The Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple never anticipated that the ''Who killed the Yan Family'' issue they were prepared for didn''t stir up much of a commotion. Instead, the craze over the stories concerning their temple only intensified.

    At every well, there were gossipy tales about the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple, with mysterious storytellers popping up in markets, followed by an influx of somewhat credible Liuying Jades, and then characters like ''mere passersby'' and ''witnesses on the scene'' emerged, garnering widespread popularity.

    As for the rapid fermentation of the incident, it was naturally the result of Yi Chen''s strategic maneuvering.

    The Yi Taoist always thought strategically. ''Dealing with people'' was a science for him. He set a two-stage strategy, starting from the periphery of Northern Road. On one hand, it spread outward, and on the other, it marched straight into the heartland of the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple; this was military tactics!

    Thus, the direction of the wind quickly changed, and the outskirts of Northern Road also started to buzz with activity.

    In a teahouse on the official road, a storyteller with thinning hair energetically slapped on his wooden clapper, just as he reached the chapter where the Evilslaying Monk Jue Xin of the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple disgraced the matriarch of the Yan Family,

    A traveling merchant sitting and drinking tea couldn''t hold back any longer.

    "Hiss, how could this be possible? It''s utter nonsense!"

    With a smile, the storyteller clapped his wooden block again and explained:

    "Dear guest, you may not know, but that master was truly famished," he said.

    "The Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple harbors the vile. The Evilslaying Monk, often toyed with by his senior brothers during his days of incomplete cultivation, found the still-charming Mrs. Yan hard to resist."

    The audience: "...."

    The audience: "Well said!"

    Instantly, the room burst into a buzz! Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Moments later, the merchants who had listened to the ludicrous tales left satisfied, and then they relayed the stories to other merchants they met along the road, amusing themselves during the lonely journey and exchanging new versions of the tale...

    Within a few months, the gossipy literature had become quite popular!

    Watching the crowd disperse, the storyteller smiled mysteriously, packed up his belongings, and immediately headed for the next battlefield.

    To this day, he could not forget the day when the Hidden Guard leader brought a tall Daoist to see him.

    "I hear you and your brothers have filthy mouths; help me smear the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple," he had said.

 Chapter 575 - 371: The Myriad Souls Banner is Damaged, Let Me Help You_2

    "Ah...?"

    "This is the summary and the key points. I am pressed for time, so if you have questions, ask them quickly."

    "My lord, the people below might fear the retaliation of the Heavenly Dragon Temple, so I cannot make any guarantees."

    "I''ll add money! A lot of money! Get all the peripheral organizations you rely on to take action. Have all the frustrated literati start writing. The compensation for those who die in the process will be quintupled. For you, I''ll start with a reward of one hundred thousand taels of gold. For the brothers under your command, I''ll add an extra thirty percent, which you can distribute."

    "I only care about results! The Nightmare Leader will support you in safety matters. You may request anything you need. If you still can''t stir things up, I''ll stuff your head into your backside!"

    "I am willing to go through fire and water for my lord, without hesitation!"

    With the treatment fitting for a star of the heavenly zenith, Yi Chen''s offer was truly generous. The storyteller immediately burrowed into a bunker where he had just collected a group of newcomers. He was ready to train them to become masters, to grow their strength, and to create new glories. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With the ''Fission'' technique Yi Chen casually taught him, his enterprise flourished like wildfire, and the organization grew stronger by the day.

    Unknown to Yi Chen, this little wily ghost actually figured out the underwater salvaging model, a budding form of the old store manager bringing up the new.

    By distributing the extra thirty percent profit among his subordinates, he expanded his base and achieved a win-win situation, even getting close to realizing the fifth level of the Triple Advancement Great Dao.

    ...

    ...

    Infernal Hell Mountain, winding for ten thousand miles, resembled a dragon lying silently across the land.

    Right in the heart of the mountain range was the gateway to the Infernal Hell Demon Sect.

    After a wild rush, Yi Chen finally arrived at a mountaintop several dozen miles from the gateway to the Infernal Hell Demon Sect three days later, and he set down the pale-faced Qian Xue.

    "Fellow Daoist Qian Xue, please wait here for a moment. I will buy... I''ll be back shortly."

    Looking at the young girl heaving on the ground, Yi Chen frowned, left Miao Zi and Pipi Bao to protect her, and then, with a surge of Extreme Origin, he descended towards the gateway to the Infernal Hell Demon Sect.

    Boom!

    Fierce streams of air came roaring in, causing violent friction with the Extreme Origin energy surrounding Yi Chen. The strong wind flattened all the vegetation on the ground, leaving behind a long, narrow trail of burning clouds in the sky.

    As rocks exploded into the air, the gatekeeping disciples were blasted away by the shockwave, pushed hundreds of meters aside.

    From the horizon, a magnificent voice echoed.

    "World-Shaking Pure Yang has come to visit. Greetings to all fellow Daoists from the Infernal Hell Demon Sect. Please show yourselves for a talk."

    The fallen Infernal Hell Demon Sect disciples coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, their eyes wide with shock, as they saw a giant figure clad in sanguine armor emerge slowly from the midst.

    His shoulders boasted ferocious Qilin horn decorations that gleamed with a chilly light, his presence as imposing as a mountain, and he carried with him the aura of a battlefield strewn with corpses as he walked towards the mountain.

    This was Yi Chen''s choice.

    Firstly, fight a battle. After that, everyone can talk calmly and get down to business.

    Before negotiating with Emperor Qin Ying Si, Yue Qingping had done just the same. Only by demonstrating strength could one get a seat at the negotiation table; those lacking in strength would end up on the dining table, to be consumed completely.

    Of course, there was another crucial point. From Qian Xue''s words, Yi Chen had long ago caught a key term, the Devour Heaven and Earth.

    The Supreme Elder of the Infernal Hell Demon Sect had spent a fortune to elevate one of the sect''s foundations, the Devour Heaven and Earth Banner, to a new height, gathering the souls of monks for sacrifice.

    This was too cruel; he, Yi Chengzi, had to stop it.

    Of course, Deep Red Points and the like didn''t matter; it was mainly for justice.

    The Devour Heaven and Earth Banner held countless fierce ghosts. Once unfurled, ghosts would wail, and chilling wind and freezing rain would seal the heavens and lock the earth. Yi Chengzi was eager to face this and, if possible, destroy such a treasure, which would be a great deed.

    There are no paths in the world until people start walking on them.

    Ignoring all the wind blades and frost swords along the way, the restrictions, the suppressive formations, Yi Chen took large strides along the mountain ridge, leaving behind a trail of flaming marks, as flames rippled out behind him.

    Countless cultivators hovered in the air, their faces ashen at the scene before them, yet no one dared to attack.

    This was no longer their battlefield.

    A cultivator in a robe embroidered with a blood-colored inferno could not help but shout in anger, "The six veins of the demon sect are branches of the same root, which senior from the demon sect dares to attack our Infernal Hell Demon Sect!"

    "Audacity!"

    At the top of Infernal Hell Demon Sect, within a black palace, a majestic figure suddenly appeared.

    "It''s the Sect Master, the Sect Master who has been in seclusion for many years is taking action!"

    "With the Sect Master''s innate talent, I wonder how far his cultivation has reached now. Within a few moves, he should be able to slay this audacious man before us."

    "This person''s cultivation is extraordinary, I bet he can withstand ten moves before being defeated and retreating."

    Quiet discussions began among the floating cultivators in the sky.

    "Infernal Dragon Break!" The majestic figure''s face turned iron-blue as his spear suddenly transformed into a ferocious black dragon and flew out aggressively.

    The dragon''s tail swept away half of a distant mountaintop. The black dragon then abruptly turned and an immense black spear spirit treasure, covered in black dragon illusions, spun erratically towards Yi Chen''s direction.

    Boundless killing intent filled the heavens and the earth, and on the mountain range, thick, black lines as wide as an adult male''s arms began to emerge, responding to the piercing spear in the distance.

    For a moment, the spear''s power surged even further.

    "Interesting." Yi Chen grinned, showing his dominance as his strength surged. His Holy Halberd moved slightly, "Halberd Five: Devour Heaven and Earth: Reincarnation!"

    Boom!

    Before the incredulous eyes of the onlookers, the world-ending black dragon dispersed after a brief resistance, the spear cried mournfully as it flew back, striking the majestic figure squarely in the chest.

 Chapter 576 - 371: The Myriad Souls Banner is Damaged, Let Me Help You_3

    Pfft! In an instant, the towering figure spurted blood across the sky, his body piercing through the mountainside and embedding into the rock layers dozens of meters deep before coming to a stop.

    "Sect Master!" Countless true disciples and elders of the Infernal Demon Sect couldn''t help but cry out in alarm.

    Amidst the flying rubble, the towering figure emerged pale-faced from the mountainside, his breath weakened, his eyes full of horror as he looked at the crimson figure in front of him.

    He had no idea how his Infernal Demon Sect had offended such a terrifying entity.

    Yi Chen was also slightly taken aback at this moment.

    "To be able to take a strike from a mere Daoist and not die, friend, you can indeed be considered among the best in Dao Mastery,"

    "I had thought that the blow from which I withheld my force just now would have you lying down for a while, but it seems I have miscalculated."

    Yi Chen cracked a smile, slowly turned around, and stared at the gaunt black-robed elder who had suddenly appeared behind him, "Truly a major sect of the demonic path with extraordinary depth, my apologies for inadvertently injuring a cultivator from your sect."

    "Yi Chengzi, I''ve seen my fellow Daoist."

    "Infernal Elder greets my fellow Daoist. You infiltrated our Infernal Demon Sect without cause; what is the reason? Should you not give me an explanation?"

    The gaunt black-robed elder''s expressionless face concealed his vitality, making him seem like a corpse, yet around him swirled a powerful aura almost reaching the eighth level of Dao Mastery, clearly, this person must be the Infernal Demon Sect''s hidden trump card, the supremely mysterious Supreme Elder.

    "I have a young friend who has fallen into the hands of your sect, becoming one of the consumables for your Soul Banner cultivation. Today, I have expressly come to your mountain to request that you extend me some slight courtesy and allow me to redeem this person. What do you think?"

    "Take my three moves, and we can talk!" S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "It''s not just three moves; I''m up for even three hundred from you," Yi Chen''s eyes showed a hint of eagerness to try.

    He wanted to take this opportunity to test the extent of his abilities.

    Upon hearing these words, the gaunt elder''s expression remained unchanged as the world suddenly darkened, and ninety-nine soul banners soared up from the ground surrounding the Infernal Demon Sect.

    The black cloth with blood inscriptions sealed off heaven and earth; amidst the mournful wind and torrential rain, above the daunting Black Mountain and the Infernal Demon Sect''s territory, countless eerie arms, covered in purple-black scales, spread out at a speed that astounded even Yi Chen, quickly entwining themselves around his Cultivation Body.

    Above the soul banners, ghostly wails echoed as numerous mournful spectral entities swiftly appeared. Under the spells of the gaunt elder, the ghosts frantically merged together, transforming into nine ferocious ghostly entities that roared as they dove into the eerie arms wrapped around Yi Chen.

    With this insidious support, the serpent-like eerie arms tightened quickly, even squeezing Yi Chen''s Qilin Holy Armor a bit.

    "Daoist, how do you find the taste of my Soul Refinement Spectral Technique?"

    Seeing this, the gaunt elder''s deathly face also revealed a hint of a smile.

    From within the arms'' encirclement, Yi Chen''s voice of enjoyment came through.

    "Not bad at all."

    "Infernal Elder, this Soul Banner harms the harmony of heaven. It''s my loss, so let me help you transcend it."

    "Pure Yang Holy Seal, divine light open!"

    "Halberd Nine: Nirvana Rebirth, Wheel of the Great Sun!"

    "This..." The gaunt elder''s heart suddenly lurched with fear as a violent golden light burst forth from the sphere bound by the arms.

    The arms could not withstand the power and were severed, immediately followed by an intense explosion.

    Boom!

    The Wheel of the Great Sun reappeared!

    For a moment, it was as if divine light shone forth and clarity returned to the otherworldly realms of darkness!

    "Stop, Daoist friend!" The gaunt elder felt a pang in his heart and hastily dispelled the spectral entities returning to the soul banners.

    But it was all too late.

    The eight cycles of halberd techniques obliterated eighty percent of the spectral entities in an instant.

    Countless streams of information suddenly appeared before Yi Chen''s eyes.

 Chapter 586 - 375: The Temples Demise, Shocking All Around, The Bizarre Demons Relic, Heroic

    "The Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple, tainted!"

    "The defiled place must be purified."

    A voice of indifference resounded through heaven and earth, and seven huge milky white orbs descended in a bizarre string-of-pearls sequence, exploding upon the golden barrier. Under the tremendous impact, ripples spread out wave-like in an instant.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The sounds of explosions were incessant, and a strange force of vibration managed to penetrate the barrier into the vast Buddhist realm.

    A peculiar gale began to stir within the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple, spreading and howling.

    Whoooo~ Whoooo~

    Within the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple, the branches and leaves of a millennial ancient tree began to sway from side to side.

    Under the sweeping force of the gale, some small trees with the thickness of bowls snapped amidst their swaying, and the carved windows inside the temple began to bang and rattle in the wind. Some monks promptly closed them, while others shattered outright in violent collisions.

    "Damn it, who dares to violate my Buddhist realm?"

    "No good, master, a demon head has attacked us!"

    The Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple, typically a place of tranquility, now presented a scene of doomsday chaos, with countless white-robed monks running about and raising the alarm.

    A grand temple naturally wouldn''t be composed entirely of individuals with cultivations; there were more reserve disciples and scripture masters focused on studying the classics. Confronted with this scenario, the monks were panic-stricken, their gazes involuntarily turning toward a courtyard above the mountain gate.

    That was the dwelling of the venerable master of the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple, the Heavenly Dragon Venerable.

    The Evilslaying Monk looked up at the sky at the crimson-armored figure, both divine and demonic, his eyes revealing a shade of terror.

    He could hardly dare to associate this domineering figure in the skies with the man who, two years back, was trapped in his spiritual Buddhist domain, requiring deceit and waiting for an opportunity to burst forth to escape by the skin of his teeth.

    "How... How is this possible?"

    "How could there exist such a practitioner in the world."

    The Evilslaying Monk felt as though his understanding from years of cultivation had been overturned. No longer caring for formalities, he pushed open the courtyard door of the Lotus Abode with a ''bang''.

    In the vast Buddha hall within, there was none other than a solid figure with his back to the Evilslaying Monk, sitting serenely beside a lotus pond.

    The sound of murmuring scriptures came from all directions.

    "Venerable one..."

    "Jue Xin, keep calm, I''m already aware of the purpose of your visit."

    "In this age of great strife, demons appear frequently and cannot be measured by common sense. I have indeed miscalculated."

    "This person is likely the reincarnation of a mighty cultivator who has achieved unimaginable realms in the cycle of reincarnation. Taoist Yi Chengzi must have arranged numerous resources in many places, and once awakened, he will cultivate the Great Dao anew, seeking the law of transcendence in this great era."

    "He is merely retracing the path he once took, breaking free from delusions to truly awaken in this life, his spiritual wisdom intact. Taoist Yi Chengzi''s methods were indeed formidable and terrifying."

    The Heavenly Dragon Venerable''s sitting cushion suddenly began to spin, and he slowly turned around.

    Clad in a fiery red cassock with a dignified countenance, a line of faint blood traced down from his eyes.

    In front of him, the originally crystal-clear water in the lotus pond had turned as crimson as fresh blood.

    The Evilslaying Monk was taken aback.

    He understood that the lotus pond within the Lotus Abode was the treasure of divination of the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple, capable of predicting fortunes and misfortunes.

    The strange phenomenon in the pond surely resulted from the Master''s recent divinations.

    The ghastly red water and the bizarre lotuses heralded the arrival of an endless slaughter tribulation.

    "Master..." Before Jue Xin could further speak, he was again interrupted by the Heavenly Dragon Venerable.

    "Jue Xin, the calamity of today cannot be avoided. We must make preparations on both ends to ensure the continuity of the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple doesn''t end with us." S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "You should swiftly select the most elite disciples with potential and divide them into two teams. Should things turn dire, you and Monk Hong Ming must quickly leave through the temple''s grand formation."

    "When necessary, you must act as bait, sacrificing yourselves to ensure the survival of Hong Ming''s lineage. With your intelligence, you should know what to do."

    The Heavenly Dragon Venerable''s gaze settled on the Evilslaying Monk Jue Xin, his eyes tinged with a hint of shame,

    "Jue Xin, it is indeed unfair to you."

    "Blinded by the dust of karma, unaware of the imminent downfall, this Taoist Yi Chengzi is the personal calamity of our temple. Should we overcome this, naturally our future will be as bright as the dragon returning to the sea; but if we fail, all will be lost."

    Jue Xin, upon hearing these words, was immediately alarmed: "Master, my death is of no consequence, but has the situation already deteriorated to this extent?"

    "The anomaly of the Unending Lotus Pond has already explained everything. We must be prepared," the Heavenly Dragon Venerable said with a forced smile, trying to rally his spirits.

    Once the Evilslaying Monk departed, the Buddha hall returned to silence, save for the intensifying echoes of the recited scriptures above.

    A web of dark purple veins suddenly appeared between the eyebrows of the Heavenly Dragon Venerable, akin to a sinister lotus flower, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.

    "Karmic retribution as the blade of calamity?"

    "Then I shall be the wrathful Vajra, killing to protect life, slicing through people as through karma!"

    With his mind set, the Heavenly Dragon Venerable knelt down precipitously before the Buddha''s shrine, his head striking the ground with a thunderous impact.

    "An unworthy disciple begs for the honored uncle to leave seclusion!"

    As the Heavenly Dragon Venerable''s head bowed deeply, the floor of the Buddha hall split open, revealing a dark corridor within. Lights igniting one by one shone towards the end of the corridor, illuminating two skeletal monks at its end.

    "Heavenly Dragon, you''ve awakened our old bones; it seems you''ve provoked a formidable enemy indeed," came the aged voice. With the tremor of the voice, his flesh ballooned like an inflating balloon, regenerating rapidly.

 Chapter 597 - 379: True Technique Twentieth Layer, A Thousand Miles of Red Land

    ```

    "Dominant Fist of Heaven and Earth" was obtained by the Daoist during his wanderings across the world, found by chance in an ancient emperor''s tomb.

    After some contemplation, he treated it like a treasure, and that was the beginning of the story.

    "State Preceptor, with the reappearance of the catastrophic star, how shall we respond?"

    The Daoist looked at the panicked officials in the hall, a cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth:

    "How to respond? I, using the dragon energy of the dynasty to enter dreams and comprehend the True Law for three years, have also listened to your clamor for three years. To entrust such a vast Empire of Heaven and Earth to you lot, there is no need for a catastrophic star; even the barbarians to the north could potentially obliterate the empire that stood for hundreds of years."

    "Your Majesty, when the building is about to collapse, all beings must face the end-of-days tribulation. Would you like me to temporarily take control of the military and politics to help Your Majesty survive this tribulation?"

    The Daoist stood on the top step of the golden stairs, his back to everyone, facing the middle-aged emperor wearing the ornate headdress, revealing rows of eerily white teeth.

    Seeing the Daoist''s robust figure, the current ruler of the Empire of Heaven and Earth, Emperor Jingjia, shuddered, recalling the scene three years ago when the Daoist ''persuaded'' him to appoint him as the Great National Teacher.

    "Outrageous! It''s completely lawless, without¡­"

    Bang!

    An official in vermilion robes stepped forward, ready to speak passionately when, accompanied by a dull thud, his head suddenly exploded on the spot like a rotten watermelon.

    The splatter of fresh blood made the red carpet laid out in the great hall even more vivid.

    Such ruthless methods silenced the officials inside the hall instantly.

    "His Majesty has already acquiesced, why the noisy clamor?"

    "Now, I''ve said my piece. Who is in favor? Who is against?"

    Ultimately, the Daoist managed to convince everyone with his charismatic personality and received the approval of Emperor Jingjia, being appointed the Great National Teacher of the Empire of Heaven and Earth, assuming full military and political control.

    The grand golden hall was empty, only the bloodstains on the ground bearing witness to a ''mild'' quarrel that had taken place.

    The Daoist looked at the middle-aged emperor in front of him and smiled:

    "Your Majesty, there are no disturbances under the heavens, only selfish household schemes. The roots of the Empire of Heaven and Earth are already rotten."

    "I, on behalf of Your Majesty, will cut out the empire''s festering sore, stop the bleeding and regenerate the flesh, and see us through this end-of-days tribulation."

    "Thereupon, when I have completed this merit and refined Pure Yang through the tribulation fire, and successfully pushed the True Law to an unprecedented realm, I will return the military and political power back to Your Majesty. How does that sound?" sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Great National Teacher¡­ can I trust you?" said the middle-aged emperor expressionlessly, all emotions concealed behind his intricate headwear.

    "Heh, Your Majesty fails to understand the will of heaven. I don''t even fancy the throne under your butt. Do you know why none of the renowned cultivators you''ve invited to the imperial capital has left seclusion? They are too clever. It is the heavenly mandate that the barbarians replace us. The current Empire of Heaven and Earth might appear robust, but it is in fact just a slowly sinking rotting ship."

    "But I am different from them." The Daoist shook his head, suddenly emanating an unyielding aura of supremacy, "I''ve long wanted to see if man can triumph over heaven, and now is just the right opportunity. How fortunate!"

    "It''s delightful to struggle against men, but even more so against heaven, Your Majesty. Surely you won''t make it difficult for me."

    "Actually, the imperial family has many members; would you like to take a wager?"

    Man replacing Heavenly Dao, tribulation fire refining Pure Yang.

    This is the Daoist''s plan to break through to the True Technique.

    Although he wields unmatched martial power, able to easily take anyone''s life in the Empire of Heaven and Earth, to truly control people''s hearts and plug leaks in the sinking ship that is the empire, he needs a well-thought-out strategy.

    The road ahead will undoubtedly be one of blood and fire.

    "Your Majesty, you who are not keen on action, I will do all the dirty work for you. When the time comes, with a simple shrug, all blame will fall on me, and the day I retire after accomplishing my deeds will be the moment of Your Majesty''s glory," the Daoist said calmly, looking at the young ruler who grew up among fierce ministers and soldiers.

    Known in the cultivation world as World-Shaking Pure Yang, he was said to be as true to his word as iron, a reputation known to all.

    ¡­

    ¡­

    The next day, as the sun rose, the Great National Teacher held a grand feast for the officials. Those who did not attend were remembered by the Great National Teacher.

    On the third day, Minister Yan joked with friends at home: "The Great National Teacher seems to have forgotten whose world this is. This world is ruled by our scholar-officials and His Majesty together. Since when did it become the commoners'' turn?"

    "Gentlemen, come closer. We must meticulously plan to ensure that the Great National Teacher''s orders do not leave the imperial capital, to teach him that governing a country and cultivating spiritually are not the same thing, hahaha!"

    They all nodded in agreement and continued to drink and feast.

    As various string and wind instruments began to play, a servant hurriedly approached one of the Ministerial Secretaries, a senior minister, and spoke urgently.

    "My lord, there''s terrible news; all the officials who didn''t attend the Great National Teacher''s banquet yesterday have drowned accidentally!"

    Upon hearing this, the room fell silent.

    On the fourth day, someone sought retirement from government service. The Great National Teacher initially agreed, but then the imperial guards were dispatched to seize evidence of the officials'' crimes.

    The imperial edict granting retirement and the arrest warrant arrived together, quite a seamless transition.

    On the fifth day, Minister Huo, the Minister of Personnel, had his meniscus dislocated by the Great National Teacher for raising his wine cup too high during a toast and ended up in a wheelchair.

    On the sixth day, the Great National Teacher appeared at the Imperial College and personally lectured.

    "All students here are scholars of the Son of Heaven. Today, I, on imperial orders, will talk about the principles of governance. You see, this is Minister Chen''s head, fat and greedy; this is Minister Li''s head, shriveled like a rat; but when thrown down from the building, they hit the ground simultaneously."

    ```

 Chapter 598 - 379: True Technique Twentieth Layer, A Thousand Miles of Red Land_2

    "Do you young scholars understand the principle in this?"

    The scholars: "...."

    That afternoon, the State Preceptor personally disseminated "The Simultaneous Fall of Two Heads"¡ªthis unmatched magnificent essay shocked the entire imperial capital. A large group of students from humble backgrounds were selected by the State Preceptor to appear before the Emperor in Changshou Palace and were then appointed to various government offices.

    This was the tacit agreement between the State Preceptor and Emperor Jingjia, only by which this matter could be advanced so smoothly.

    For only one interest group can replace and overcome another interest group.

    On the seventh day, the State Preceptor once again entertained the ministers.

    On the eighth day, the Emperor began to spread an exceedingly detailed rumor.

    To offer a toast to the State Preceptor, if done inadequately, one really could end up having their legs broken by the Great National Teacher himself, and after the beating, you''d still have to stand up and toast again.

    On the ninth day, with the support of the Emperor, the State Preceptor himself took the position of a school principal and began teaching at the martial arts academy.

    ...

    Three months later.

    The State Preceptor visited the Imperial Academy again, bringing two more heads.

    One head was bald with nine noticeable scars from the monk''s vows.

    The other had its hair and beard all unkept, eyes wide open, as if refusing to rest in death. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    With "The Simultaneous Fall of Two Heads," the renowned writing from three months ago, today''s imperial capital was extraordinarily lively.

    "Everyone, just look. Yesterday, two great cultivators came out of their retreat to insult this poor Daoist, saying that this national teacher was acting against heaven''s will, doing everything in reverse. Then, suddenly, their heads fell off."

    "Of course, that''s not important...."

    "True knowledge comes from practice; today this national teacher presents a question to you all."

    On the long street, with the city''s main thoroughfares deserted, the Daoist led the students from the Imperial Academy, and in front of everyone, he rolled the two heads down Chang''an Street at the same time.

    Klonk klonk.

    After the headed cultivator with unkept hair stopped rolling, the bald-headed one with the scars rolled forward an additional ten-plus meters before coming to a halt.

    "Look everyone, why did that master''s head roll farther than the other one?"

    "You are all great talents, so please take this topic and draft a proclamation on behalf of this poor Daoist to all the sects in the world!"

    With the State Preceptor''s question spreading far and wide, the major cultivator sects trembled in horror and dared not make a rash move.

    After the Great National Teacher''s rise to power, the commoners of the imperial capital, following a brief initial chaos, suddenly discovered that their lives had actually improved.

    Because the hoodlums, gangsters, corrupt officials, and other bloodsuckers who used to oppress them were sent by the Great National Teacher either to mine or, after exploding into gold coins, to mine as well.

    The Great National Teacher lectured again at the Imperial Academy, essentially advising against indiscriminate killing, stating that even trash and waste could be reused and exploited to their utmost limits.

    Those who mimic them might want to ask the Great National Teacher whether his knife is sharp or not.

    After a "manual clearing" of various professions in the empire, a vast number of positions were vacated, and the ancient Daymoon Empire suddenly revived with new vigor.

    A vitality where everyone had a purpose and free flow from top to bottom.

    A year later.

    The former Chief Secretary of the Cabinet, who was disheartened and spending his days on his several-hundred-thousand-acre estate, was drinking at the Guoxiang Building when the door was suddenly kicked open by someone.

    The person who entered was shockingly a member of the royal guards.

    The aged Chief Secretary Yan was taken aback: "I am here to study ''The Book of Songs,'' what do you want to do?"

    "The Great National Teacher has a decree, seize him!"

    "Chief Secretary Yan, you''ve committed crimes of corruption and miscarriage of justice."

    ...

    Three years later.

    Inside a tavern in the imperial capital, there was a buzz of discussion.

    "The Great National Teacher is really ruthless; today you don''t toast to him, tomorrow he''ll use you as his toast."

    "It''s not enough that they exhumed and mutilated the corpses of Chief Secretary Li and old Chief Secretary Yan, but now they''ve even flattened their tombs!"

    "Alas, offending the Great National Teacher, it''s already mercy if you end up without your bones crushed and ashes scattered!"

    Meanwhile, inside Changshou Palace.

    A middle-aged emperor was briefing his seven- or eight-year-old grandson, before the Crown Prince.

    "Imperial child, do you know what the Great National Teacher said during his last secret talk with me three years ago?"

    "The National Teacher said that in ancient times, the Dahan Empire achieved great feats with talents from just one county, proving that talents are cultivated through experience."

    "Nothing is irreplaceable."

    "If one batch doesn''t work out, change to another."

    "The National Teacher also said that the mark of a mature man is the courage to say ''change to another batch.''

    At that moment, within the White Tiger Hall, the Great National Teacher was slapping the table and looking around.

    "This poor Daoist may not lead troops, but I can raise money and provisions for you. If you lose the battle, you lose your heads; if you win, glory and riches await, and I, the national teacher, will personally plead for your merit."

    "It''s getting cold; clear out that wild forest in the north."

    "If you still lose, just bite off your own ''things'' and end it!"

    Once the military officers resolutely took their orders, the Daoist went to a tall building, climbing step by step, wordlessly ascending.

    In the past few years, he survived countless assassination attempts by cultivators, weathered innumerable human calamities, his actions led to countless decapitations and both acclaim and defamation across the land, with some hailing him as the living Buddha of ten thousand families, while others wished they could devour his flesh.

    "However, what does that matter? The human calamities have mostly dissipated under the various means of this poor Daoist."

    "This poor Daoist is rather curious to see if the hearts of the billions in the Daymoon Empire can rival the will of heaven."

    "Acting against heaven, amid endless calamity, can this poor Daoist use the heavenly, earthly, and human tribulations to temper my Pure Yang energy, elevating it to an inconceivable realm?"

    "Fellow Daoist, do you think it''s possible or not?"

    Suddenly, the Daoist stretched out his hand, reaching into the void to grasp something, and a still-beating heart appeared in his palm out of nowhere.

    "Your Cihang Sword Sect prides itself on following the will of heaven and responding to the people, yet you have become ever weaker."

    "No... it''s... it''s that you, the National Teacher, have become too strong, but by acting against heaven, you will surely be destroyed in both body and spirit!" A woman cultivator in white, holding her chest, collapsed powerlessly.

 Chapter 599 - 379: True Technique Twentieth Layer, A Thousand Miles of Red Land_3

    "I, as a Daoist, have forsaken heaven and earth and no longer yearn to be part of the samsara; if my form and spirit are to be extinguished, then let them be extinguished," declared the renowned Great National Teacher of the Sun Moon Empire, looking up at the sky with his gaze fixed on the distant and profound future above.

    The demonic calamity had not yet arrived, but this was the true great trial, as well as the fateful cause destined to bring about the downfall of the vast Sun Moon Empire.

    Ten years later, the world plunged into chaos as demons emerged from rifts in space.

    Regrettably, by then, the State Preceptor had already established a comprehensive beacon fire system, having rehearsed it countless times.

    A colossal and fierce Holocaust True Sun burst forth from the imperial capital, blazing across tens of thousands of miles in a single day, fighting in all directions, ceaselessly leading countless soldiers and civilians in repelling the demonic invaders beyond the borders before moving on to the next front.

    Ten years, then another ten years.

    "World-Shaking Pure Yang, I really want to see just how much more blood you have to bleed," a hundred-zhang-tall giant demon pierced through the white-haired State Preceptor''s chest with a claw.

    This was the result of the Daoist having burned his life too excessively, and now his life span of thousands of years had dwindled to less than a hundred.

    "To think that a mere prince dares to make such a racket before me."

    "Wheel of the Great Sun!"

    The white-haired Daoist sneered coldly as his Extreme Origin cut like a knife, instantly grinding the demon before him into a pulp.

    Beneath the tide of the demonic soldiers, the silhouette of the white-haired figure never fell; although his life force and breath kept declining, his eyes grew ever brighter.

    Another ten years passed.

    At the vast rift in space, an earth-shattering demon shadow appeared.

    Standing a thousand zhang tall and wrapped in eerie purple flames, its power was so immense it made hearts tremble.

    "Infinite Demonic Fire!"

    "Ha-ha, with all calamities converging upon me, if you are the blades in the hands of fate, am I not the calamity in your midst? I have realized (liao),"

    "The human heart replaces fate, the calamitous energy refines Pure Yang!"

    "Holocaust True Sun!"

    The sky suddenly darkened as countless rays of light converged on the Daoist''s Cultivation Body. Under the watchful eyes of all, the Daoist began an inconceivable breakthrough.

    All beings and elements of the world, numerous mysterious breaths were stripped away by a strange force and merged into the Daoist''s Cultivation Body.

    Has it turned dark?

    No, it has become bright.

    Suddenly, a blast of light shattered the darkness, emanating from within the Daoist''s Cultivation Body, causing countless demonic soldiers to melt away like snow. The towering demonic king was struck by this tremendous power and was forcibly pushed back into the rift, returning to the Demon Realm.

    At this moment, his huge body resembled melting ice cream, dripping away piece by piece.

    "Truly an astonishing powerhouse, World-Shaking Pure Yang."

    "Looking forward to our next meeting! If you can still survive, that is!"

    "Retreat!"

    What was meant to be a demonic calamity lasting hundreds of years surprisingly came to an early end.

    The Daoist dragged his heavily injured body back to the imperial capital; he had both succeeded and failed. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    His Cultivation Body was on the verge of collapse.

    "Is it over now? I can''t help but feel some reluctance, especially when I have already glimpsed the path to the twentieth layer."

    With a sigh from the Daoist, suddenly, throughout the Sun Moon Empire, numerous faint spiritual flames began to emerge.

    They were so frail, yet so bright.

    The Daoist''s heart jolted.

    "This... this is..."

    These spiritual flames turned out to be the collective thoughts of the countless citizens of the Sun Moon Empire.

    At this moment, innumerable people are calling out the name of the State Preceptor, World-Shaking Pure Yang.

    No matter how many detest him to the bone, the common folk''s eyes are clear.

    During the State Preceptor''s tenure, their quality of life had greatly improved.

    A single spiritual flame was like a drop of water, utterly insignificant in filling the vast energy needed for the Daoist''s spiritual enhancement, especially as his Cultivation Body was severely damaged. But there were too many of these spiritual flames.

    A drop of water might be insignificant, but countless drops form an ocean!

    Like the spring breeze that brings rain, an astonishing vitality suddenly infused the Daoist''s Cultivation Body.

    His True Yang Spirit burst forth with growth, and his Extreme Origin transformed crazily, tangible and emitting a thick aura of divinity.

    With this boost, on this day, two fierce suns appeared in the sky of the Sun Moon Empire.

    Two suns sharing the sky!

    The next day, the State Preceptor once again stood atop the city walls of the imperial capital.

    Today, he would lecture again.

    Lecturing to all under heaven.

    The theme was "Princes and Generals, Have They Not Sprung from the Common Earth!"

    Mixed within were many little insights about rebellion.

    For instance, "The azure sky is dead, the yellow sky shall rise."

    The Great National Teacher truly had the ability to rebel, and he actually taught it.

    For a time, the middle-aged emperor within the palace turned ashen, breaking several luminous cups in anger.

    "Ha-ha, Your Majesty, don''t be angry now, the empire is still yours."

    "As long as you do well, what have you to fear? Who would dare risk their heads to rebel?"

    "I have seen the way forward, and the injury to my Cultivation Body has stabilized. We shall meet again if it''s destined, of course, if, Your Majesty, you can live that long."

    Cicadas fall silent in the quiet forest, birdsong becomes more secluded in the deep mountains.

    Within a mountain Daoist temple, the Daoist sits cross-legged, countless invisible specks of light converging into his body.

    The scene ends here.

    ...

    ...

    In Great Qin, Eastern Region.

    Suddenly, a boiling spring erupted, scorching the earth for miles around.

    A yellow-robed official holding an intelligence report dashed frantically to King Jing''s palace.

    "Report, Crown Prince, the city of Qianyou in the Eastern Region has suddenly become scorched earth for miles around, and I fear a great disaster has occurred!"

 Chapter 600 - 380: Break-Limit True Monarch Yi Daoist, King Jings Request, the Daoist Emerges

    "Quack! Powerful!"

    "Once you have comprehended, so have I!"

    Yi Chen sat cross-legged, a slight upturn appeared at the corner of his mouth after reviewing all his memories. As his mind mirrored his thoughts, a strange transformation suddenly occurred within Bear Cave.

    For a moment, sands flew and stones dashed about as the colors of the wind and clouds changed.

    "Chu!"

    "Why make such a big fuss?"

    The Daoist suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze piercing through the layers of rock walls as his formidable spiritual power swept around.

    Within the vast azure sky, centered around Bear Cave, clouds and mists of a thousand miles were dyed, with numerous magnificent nebulae racing toward the vortex at the storm''s center above Bear Cave.

    The closer they were to the center of the storm, the more the nebulae shimmered with streaming light.

    In almost an instant, a seven-colored storm formed above Yi Chen''s head.

    Meanwhile, as his advancement began, countless cells within Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body all revealed a greedy longing, like a wild wolf that had seen a custard tart after half a month of starvation.

    After a glance at the still slumbering cub, Yi Chen''s figure flashed, and he immediately arrived at the peak of the mountain, standing against the wind, letting the violent gale inflate his robes.

    He looked up at the seven-colored nebula vortex forming above, his eyes suddenly turning crimson red, and the restlessness of his Cultivation Body became more intense.

    "Roar!"

    Atop the green mountain, the Daoist opened his hands wide and suddenly let out a heaven-shaking roar. Amidst the agitated wind and clouds, countless seven-colored nebulae converged toward his mouth, like streams returning to the sea.

    This flowing light wasn''t anything else but Extreme Origin, the unpurified Extreme Origin, boundless Extreme Origin, which began to nourish his Cultivation Body.

    For a moment, Yi Chen felt revitalized like a lotus flower receiving rain, his Cultivation Body rapidly transforming under the nourishment of the Extreme Origin.

    "Power! Power! Power!"

    Although he was mentally prepared for the commotion caused by his advancement, the current scene still somewhat exceeded his expectations.

    "However, only such a tremendous force could support the transformation of the three treasures of my essence, energy, and spirit, haha!"

    The Daoist howled with laughter, opened his arms wide, scanned his surroundings, and felt utmost joy in his heart.

    "My strength is boundless and endless!" S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    In the midst of laughter, the torrent descending from the seven-colored vortex entirely entered the Daoist''s body.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "This... a natural phenomenon, could it be that another great demon has emerged in our Eastern Continent?"

    "Truly, a troubled age will give rise to monsters."

    As the seven-colored nebula rapidly swept by, passing over a magnificent city, a robust and towering armored man suddenly appeared above the city. He gazed toward the center of the storm, his expression hesitant as if considering whether to approach the storm''s heart.

    This person was the City Lord of Sea Dragon City, Tie Shan.

    Within the city, countless citizens craned their necks to look at the sky, watching such a phenomenon with great uncertainty and worry on their faces.

    Their life experience taught them that no matter what kind of anomaly occurred, if it was good, they would be the last to enjoy its benefits. If it was bad, the last crisis would most likely be passed onto them.

    The armored giant hesitated for a long time, as if struck by a thought, finally clenched his teeth, transformed into a streak of light, and immediately rushed toward the place where the nebula was speeding.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    "Slow, slow, slow, too slow!"

    "If others saw this, they would think I can''t finish it all."

    Looking at the center of the vortex where the vast and mighty alien force was nearly liquefied, the Daoist, amidst his laughter, was no longer satisfied with such a method of devouring.

    Now, as his Cultivation Body''s transformation was more than halfway complete, his devouring ability had also surged remarkably.

    Yi Chen, with a circle of mysterious and beautiful red flames burning beneath his feet, suddenly soared into the sky, diving straight into the center of the vortex.

    This time, the seven-colored nebula no longer entered through his nose and mouth, but tunneled into him from any part of his Cultivation Body''s pores and skin.

    From the tips of his hair to his entire body, the transformation accelerated once again, reaching its peak.

    A moment later.

    The clouds and mists gradually thinned, and in the core area shrouded by the seven-colored fog, a light sound suddenly echoed.

    "Burp~"

    A towering figure immediately appeared.

    The Daoist closed his eyes, sensing several powerful auras rapidly approaching, a faint smile appearing on his face.

    He waved his hand, immediately dispersing the remaining seven-colored nebula in the sky, and his figure vanished from the spot in a flash.

    "They say youth is great, falling asleep at the drop of a hat."

    "Bear cub, wake up, the surgery was a great success, you are now a mother bear."

    Far away in the green mountains, a hundred miles away on another mountain peak.

    A large hand patted the sleeping cub''s chubby face, waking it up. Yi Chen grinned broadly in the face of the cub''s terrified look, stretched his back, and then strode off.

    The bear cub sat up trepidatiously, looking around the unfamiliar yet luxurious cave with three rooms and a hall, including a concealed cabinet perfect for storing honey. It couldn''t help but dance with joy at the sight.

    The bear cub stepped deeper into the cave, and a massive stone carving suddenly caught its eye.

    It was an image of a ferocious giant bear roaring towards the sky, its huge paws plunged into a dragon, tearing the creature in two amidst a spilling of blood.

    At the end of the carving were three ancient seal characters, ''Bear Bo Hand,'' emanating a domineering and majestic aura.

    "Chu, this bear is intolerable, truly damn lazy. On the grand day of my breakthrough to the twentieth level of the True Technique, it did not even prepare a bit of bear honey for me. The Dao should not be transmitted lightly, nor the law sold cheaply. Teaching you a simple scattering technique was already the limit."

    "The rest is up to your comprehension."

    The white clouds raced behind him, Yi Chen concealed his aura, cursing as he sped toward the direction of Sea Dragon City,

    At that moment, a virtual screen suddenly appeared before his eyes.

 Chapter 601 - 380: Break-Limit True Monarch Yi Daoist, King Jings Request, the Daoist Emerges_2

    [Name: Yi Chen]

    [Lifespan: 20/4900]

    [Strength: 331,{Strength-Breaking Realm six times: Penetration lv6, Mighty Spirit lv6, Accumulate Power lv5, Preparatory Strike lv4, Bleeding lv3, Challenge lv2, Shadow Manifestation lv1}

    Stamina: 312,{Body-Breaking Realm six times: Excess Energy Storage lv6, Overload Recovery lv6, Teleportation lv5, Limb Regeneration lv4, Bloodthirst lv3, Jade Network lv2, Holy Image lv1 (Cultivation Body temporarily crystallizes, defense increases tenfold, lasts twelve seconds, can be removed at any time, body becomes stagnant during duration, immobile, can only be used once every six hours.)}

    Spirit: 317,{Spirit-Breaking Realm six times: Divine Defense lv6, Divine Concealment lv5, Insight lv4, Fixed Gaze lv3, Soul Absorption lv2, Mental Guard lv1 (Conjures a hidden mental seed, illuminates regions within a hundred li, lasts three days, a maximum of two seeds can be condensed.)}

    Agility: 312,{Agility-Breaking Realm six times: Swiftness lv6, Void Piercing lv5, Shadow Form lv4, Sweeping Force lv3, Shape Shifting lv2, Resistance lv1 (When the Cultivation Body is bound or movement is hindered, the effect is reduced by 30%)}

    [Cultivation Technique: Pure Yang Lianji True Method Rank 20.

    Passive Skills: Dragon Tiger Divine Pattern, Devouring Origin, Pure Yang Domain lv8, Mimicry, Pure Yang Flame Prison, Primordial Spirit Radiance X3.

    Active Skill: Pure Yang Law Body (A phantom birthed from within the Pure Yang Heavenly Gate, possessing 75% of the original''s strength in God Soul state, dissipating automatically if it moves beyond thirty li from the body, and needing fifteen days to coalesce again if destroyed.)

    Active Skill: Soul Ignition Technique, Supreme Body, Divine Power Activation, Pure Yang Thirteen Fiery Sky lv5, God Soul Overload.

    Active Skill: Pure Yang Holy Seal (Ten revolutions) {Using the body and soul as the foundation, igniting the 365 acupoints around the body, coalescing the supreme Pure Yang Primordial Spirit, manifesting the gateway to the Pure Yang Dao realm, reaching an unfathomable plain, drawing in extraplanar strange forces, smelting sky radiance, igniting emotions, merging with the Extreme Origin, refining the God Soul tenfold, varying in size at will, extreme height exceeding two hundred meters, bestowed with boundless strength and boundless laws, with abilities that Break Spells, Intimidate, Reduce Damage, Fortify, and with Divine Presence traits, strength and defense increased tenfold compared to the normal state, speed decreased by 17%.}

    Martial Skill: Supreme True Martial God Halberd Technique (Variant)]

    [Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Cave Divine Pupil Technique Rank 8]

    [Passive Skills: Danqing Painting Skill lv1, Auspicious Event Host lv2, Funeral Host lv3. Culinary Skill lv6. Fish Dragon Dance lv2.]

    [Origin Point: 2]

    [Deep Red Value: 10118]

    In a flash, the Daoist changed direction once again, escaping towards a concealed location.

    In a desolate mountain valley, golden light descended from the sky, and red lotuses surged from the earth. The power of Pure Yang spread, constructing a domain. A tremendously powerful barrier against the void re-emerged, and a giant soul stood tall between heaven and earth. Five golden mystical patterns emerged on the Daoist''s left chest.

    Under the sunlight, a strange flame mark on the brow of the Daoist pulsed with obscure light, rhythmically like breathing, occasionally bursting with a radiance akin to the sun in the sky, captivating the soul.

    The ground beneath the Daoist''s feet manifested a golden circle, burning with golden flames a meter high, within which the Extreme Origin crisscrossed, sketching out an exceedingly intricate pattern, much akin to a totem.

    No matter where the Daoist went, the golden formation totem beneath his feet followed, mysteriously extreme, with a presence that was subtly connected as one with the Pure Yang Heavenly Gate that appeared in the sky.

    The Daoist''s eyes were tightly closed, and after a moment of enlightenment, he suddenly opened them!

    He gestured casually towards the void, and as the Extreme Origin flowed, an enormous and colorful throne materialized rapidly as if 3D printed, tangible to the touch.

    No!

    This was tangible!

    "This... This is energy materialization! True energy materialization!"

    "Not the kind of false energy materialization that requires the support of the body, but as long as it is within my Dao realm, it can truly maintain forever without support."

    Now daring to materialize energy, Yi Chen could hardly imagine what else the Pure Yang Dao realm could do in the future.

    For instance, could he turn the strange spiritual materials within the Dao realm into spirited puppets, as warriors, or directly spawn energy beings to fight for him?

    With the pathways of ideas opened, Yi Chen''s mind raced. He did not know how much more the Pure Yang Dao realm would transform, nor could he fathom to what unimaginable extent he, the World-Shaking Pure Yang, would grow in power.

    In an instant, the Daoist mounted the colorful throne, his hands resting on the massive armrests, and the flame mark on his brow suddenly shone magnificently, as a crimson armor slowly appeared, enveloping his exceptionally muscular frame. Behind the chair back, a pattern of a red sun was spreading a stunning light.

    A holy halberd, irradiated with an aura of light, swiftly circled around the colorful throne, seemingly patrolling the Dao realm for the Daoist seated on the throne.

    At this moment, the Daoist dominated all directions, like a demon and a god!

    "My Pure Yang Dao realm can now extend to the limit, covering a radius exceeding ten thousand meters, overwhelmingly powerful."

    "Within the Dao realm, I control all gravity, magnetic fields, strange forces, and I can command earth, fire, water, and wind."

    "Calling it the Pure Yang Dao realm is no longer appropriate; it should be called¡ª the Immortal-Slaying Domain."

    Yi Chen gestured with one hand, and the holy halberd that had been circling immediately appeared in his hand. He stood in the void, stepping on invisible stairs, and slowly descended from the colorful throne, circles of fiery radiance rippling out from his feet.

    The Daoist''s feet touched the solid rocky ground, and Extreme Origin swept across the valley like a blade, resulting in a series of explosive sounds.

    Amidst the explosive sounds, a black crack suddenly split open on the ground, and a mighty Dao sound arose.

    "The very ground I stand upon is my Dao arena!"

    "Who dares to cause trouble in my Dao arena is showing disrespect to me!"

    "Who dares not to give me, the poor Daoist, face, shall die!"

    Before the words fell, cracks in the ground suddenly spread.

    The Daoist''s cold eyes and expression did not waver, and with a forceful step, his robust strength burst out, and he miraculously closed the parting cracks again.

    Although Yi Chen didn''t know to what extent he had reached, he knew for certain that he had broken his limits.

    Now, he was strong enough to make people''s hearts tremble.

    "Damn, still nowhere close to the Millennium Emperor and Yue Qingping, but with my earth-shattering wisdom and a lifetime''s martial arts, even in this era of great strife, I am no longer someone who can be manipulated at will," he mused.

    "Guah, I''m out of here."

    Yi Chen''s expression was profound as he concealed his aura and immediately stepped out of the valley.

    It was but a small step for Yi Chengzi, but it was far from the last.

    ....

    ....

    Two hours later.

    At the Sea Dragon City tiger-guard camp.

    By the time Yi Chen returned, the sky was filled with stars.

    "Master, that master from the Kutuo Temple in the Jianjie Mountain campsite has sent another challenge to the front line, asking for a life-and-death battle with you."

    As soon as he returned, Bai Shishi came running over with a challenge letter.

    "Can''t fight, can''t fight, that bald monk from Ku Lin is too strong. A nine-tiered veteran in Dao Mastery, let those fine folks at the front handle it, this poor Daoist is in ill health," he replied.

    "Disciple, if there are any more of these challenge letters, just throw them away."

    "Eh, it''s made of gold, huh? Those rich dogs surely are loaded. Don''t throw it away, just melt it down for some pocket money for yourself," Yi Chen glanced at the challenge letter and immediately chose to decline.

    Laughable, no benefits at all, acting like an idiot revealing his true cultivation level straight away, Yi Chengzi would never do such an unwise thing.

    Unless there''s extra pay!

    So much that Yi Chengzi wouldn''t be able to refuse.

    After all, you can''t sell short the first appearance fee of a Break-Limit True Monarch.

    And pretending to be Voldemort has many advantages; only young fools think it''s all about crossing spears with others daily. Yi Taoist has long seen through those empty reputations¡ªwhat matters is what''s within. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This time, he directly wiped out the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple; sooner or later, someone would do it.

    Even if the Central Continent took no action, he had thoroughly offended Chen Haichao from the Controlling Spirit Holy Puppet Sect. This person was not a trivial opponent and would surely not give up.

    Thus, after destroying the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple, he immediately took advantage of the situation and lay low.

    Now that he had successfully broken his limits, if someone were to go after Yi Chengzi, wanting to make a big move, heh heh¡ª

    Whoever dares to make a big fuss against Yi Chengzi, he''ll give them a big mess to clean up.

    If they won''t clean up their act, he''ll make them shit blood.

    Daring to commit such a flagrant affront against a Break-Limit True Monarch, this was no ordinary thuggery, and nobody could reasonably argue if they were killed for it.

    "Master, there''s one more thing, Yuan Jun said to visit her when you''re free."

    At these words, Yi Chen''s gaze immediately sharpened. He had planned to go fishing to celebrate, but it seemed he could only do so later at night.

    Just then, a vermilion-robed officer hurried over.

    Before the man arrived, his voice was heard.

    "Yi Taoist, you''re finally back, the Crown Prince has summoned you! He wishes for you to visit his palace¡ªthere''s an important matter to discuss."

    "The messenger has been waiting for a while."

    Damn, looks like there''ll be no fishing tonight after all.

    King Jing has always been righteous to Yi Chengzi, so he wouldn''t summon him without good reason. Looks like he really can''t avoid this trip.

    Hearing this, Yi Chen immediately slouched and followed the officer with a hangdog expression.

    Busy life, busy life.

 Chapter 608 - 383: Impossible! Absolutely Impossible! How Could Yi Chengzi Break Through The Limit!

    At night, the moonlight shone like silver.

    A bird flew over Fairy Lake and suddenly exploded into a mist of blood; the remaining skeleton dropped onto the dark and profound surface of Fairy Lake with a ''thump''.

    The spreading blood made the water of the lake all the more dark and eerie.

    By this time, there were already thick piles of animal carcasses by the lake, including those of large animals like deer, wild boars, and leopards.

    At the bottom of the lake, Xuan Jie, who heard the Shrura Monk''s mocking words, reflected on the incorrect demise of the creatures by the lake and a trace of unwillingness to accept this fate flashed across his face.

    "Every living being has a destiny. Fellow Buddhists, though we employ this method to set the stage, the killing is too rampant; perhaps we could cease, if only for a moment."

    Having heard his senior brother''s words, Xuan Nan of Mount Daguangming couldn''t help but nod in agreement.

    "Fellow Shrura Monk, perhaps you could withdraw your supernatural powers for now."

    The Shrura Monk, looking at the two old monks before him with their robes embroidered with golden sacred mountains, flashed a nearly imperceptible look of scorn in his eyes and said with a low chuckle:

    "Fellow Buddhists are mistaken ''liao,'' have you not heard that in a journey of a hundred miles, half is but ninety?"

    "Yi Chengzi is cunning and suspicious; if a moment of womanly kindness leads to a failed endeavor, would not the blood of the beings who have died be in vain?"

    "Xuan Jie, Xuan Nan, the two senior brothers are compassionate, which is admirable; indeed, it is true that every living being has destiny but, in my opinion, between the destinies of living beings, there is still lacking the word ''each''."

    "Every being has their own destiny!"

    "The creatures that have appeared here these past few days have done so because their time has run out."

    With his hands together, the Shrura Monk bowed to the three of them and said coldly, "In my view, should we shy away from the karmic consequences of these small beings and be faint of heart, how can we, alongside the True Monarchs of the Dao Sect, leaders of the Demonic Path, and peerless True Dragons, strive for supremacy and stand amongst the mountains and seas?"

    "It must be that Yi Chengzi has seen the change in direction of our Buddhist realm; that''s why he took the opportunity to destroy the Great Weide Heavenly Dragon Temple. I have researched this man''s life; he has extraordinary talent and does not conform to conventions. He will certainly become a thorn in our side. "

    "Give him some more time, and the Dao Sect will birth another Dragon Tiger Mountain. By then, if we wish to kill this man, it won''t be these fur-wearing, horned creatures that die, but countless monks."

    "Fellow senior brothers, in this age of great turmoil, we must not be lenient."

    "Fellow Buddhist truly lives up to the name of Shrura Monk, indeed heavily inclined towards killing." Xuan Jie and Xuan Nan of Mount Daguangming exchanged glances, both showing a hint of helplessness on their faces, abandoning further persuasion and closing their eyes to focus deeply.

    The bottom of the lake once again returned to tranquility, only the humming of the undercurrent echoed through the space.

    After some time had passed, the Shrura Monk opened his eyes, and a flicker of excitement crossed his face: "He''s here, fellow Buddhists, please cover for me, I shall go and test this man''s weight!"

    "I wish to see just how capable this young practitioner of the Dao Sect, who is considered exceptional even by the abbot and the Buddhist leader, really is, for which the four of us had to take action."

    "I hope he won''t disappoint me as the last demon spawn did, ha ha ha!"

    The Shrura Monk rose to his feet, his aura shifting abruptly from peaceful to fierce, and a faint red light flickered in the depths of his pupils; he felt some discontent in his heart.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    At Fairy Lake, the quiet waves spanned hundreds of acres.

    As an important habitat and source of water for the local birds and beasts, it was now a burial ground for animal corpses.

    Among the flesh and bones, even a few human remains were entangled, with one in particular showing bones as translucent as jade, clearly not those of an ordinary practitioner.

    "Interesting, this Fairy Lake really has something special about it. Please, take care of my unworthy disciple for me."

    "Just stand here and don''t move; I will go and take a look."

    Yi Chen grinned at the people behind him and, with a flash, suddenly appeared above Fairy Lake.

    "Heh heh, such a small measure of power aims to affect my vital energy?"

    "Such petty tricks dare to show off in front of me."

    The Daoist looked up at the bright moon in the sky and casually suppressed the strange forces above the lake, then suddenly spread his arms wide.

    "Master, what is he going to do... what?" Zuo Qianfu murmured in amazement.

    The cultivators saw countless streams converge towards the sky, forming an immense water sphere in the blink of an eye, reflecting the cool moonlight, appearing incredibly dreamlike.

    City Lord Hei Shanzi, a gaunt old man resembling dried bamboo, watched Yi Chen''s actions and with a glint of comprehension in his eyes, gently patted Zuo Qianfu''s shoulder and said softly, "My dear nephew, the Hidden Dragon Taoist seems to be attempting to draw up all the water from Fairy Lake to see what strangeness lies beneath."

    Hei Shanzi''s eyes hinted at a concealed envy; he could not fathom why someone of Hidden Dragon Taoist''s cultivation would take such an interest in a spiritless pauper like Yi Chen¡ªit was completely baffling.

    Could the boy''s mother or sisters be women of unsurpassed beauty?

    It made no sense, with the cultivation and status of Hidden Dragon Taoist, what kind of common village woman could catch his eye.

    Pondering over the various rumors surrounding Yi Chen, Hei Shanzi''s thoughts began to wander.

    "So powerful, what immense force!" Zuo Qianfu was awestruck by the immense and dreamlike water sphere under the night sky, momentarily dazed.

    At that moment, a sudden change occurred.

    Without warning, the gigantic water sphere in the sky, spanning thousands of kilometers, shattered abruptly, and a Buddha''s radiance emerged from the bottom of the lake. As the bright Buddhist light receded, it revealed an extremely handsome monk in red.

    A lofty and unique poem echoed between heaven and earth.

    "Thousand punishments, myriad penalties, the calamity of blood souls, the Shrura Monk of the bitter sea pays tribute to the dead!"

    "Shrura Monk greets Daoist Yi Chengzi." S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The handsome monk''s narrow and long phoenix eyes glittered with bitter and cold killing intent.

 Chapter 611 - 384: The Demise of Buddha, The Advancing Daoist: Lijiang, Your Purity Is Too Low!

    Yi Chengzi, Yi Chengzi, World-Shocking Pure Yang Yi Chengzi, once again unleashes an ultimate technique, so powerful it chills one to the bone!

    Hei Shanzi and others observing the battle from afar had been so shocked by the continuous sudden changes that they were paralyzed with astonishment, witnessing several transformations between offense and defense in the blink of an eye.

    At this moment, Hei Shanzi couldn''t help but break into a cold sweat, knowing it was he who had brought Yi Chen to Fairy Lake. If Yi Chen were to die, even if the Buddhist sects of Central Continent disdained their motley group and spared their lives, how could King Jing let him off easily?

    And if Yi Chen were to win... uh... it is said that Yi Taoist''s temper is not very good.

    "How troublesome!" The City Lord of Qian You, his mind racing, twisted his already furrowed face more fiercely, reminiscent of a high plateau landscape severely scarred by soil erosion.

    Zuo Qianfu stared with wide eyes, intently watching the distant sky.

    Beneath the round moon, the clear light of the moon that illuminated the night sky suddenly plunged into deep darkness. Visible to the naked eye, countless beams of light converged towards the Daoist''s battleground, not a single beam straying, while even denser celestial light surged from the gate of Pure Yang in the sky, blessing the Daoist''s domain.

    Calamity! Calamity!!!

    Suddenly, a feeling of indescribable fear echoed in the hearts of the cultivators, as if ants were facing the divine judgment of formidable heavenly might.

    They all knew that this lull was the quiet before the storm, and what followed would surely be earth-shattering!

    In their terror, the cultivators on the ground sat down cross-legged one after another, guarding their core to resist this deep-seated fear.

    Zuo Qianfu found himself unable to stand steady, unexpectedly falling to the ground, yet he still tried hard to raise his head high, looking towards the sky.

    In an instant, a ray of light burst forth, shattering the boundless darkness.

    It seemed as though the divine light, shining like a pardoning of the heavens, made every dark corner bright.

    Only then did everyone truly see the figure of the Daoist in the dark domain, as well as the frozen expressions of shock on the faces of the four Buddhist monks.

    The Daoist, expressionless, his eyes indifferent. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    His body slightly bent, like a shrimp cradling its body, his hands hanging down at a strange angle.

    A huge, glowing Holy Halberd spun wildly over his head, stirring up the wind and the clouds, casting down a curtain of light thousands of feet long.

    Suddenly, the Daoist moved.

    A look of sanctity and sincerity unexpectedly appeared on his face, and his figure abruptly straightened.

    "Holocaust! True! Sun!"

    "All! Things! Turn! To! Ash!"

    Majestic Daoist sounds echoed through heaven and earth!

    An immensely blazing light burst forth from the Daoist''s Cultivation Body, fiercely shining upon the four monks'' Cultivation Bodies.

    "Holocaust, Holocaust! What a move, True Sun Holocaust."

    "Let Xuan Jie endure this calamity," sighed old monk Xuan Jie.

    The old monks of Mount Daguangming, Xuan Jie and Xuan Nan, exchanged glances; two thousand years of cultivation together meant they understood each other completely. In an instant, Xuan Nan understood his elder brother''s intention¡ªhe was prepared to use his own life to carve a path to survival for him.

    An ancient, worn oil lamp was suddenly handed to Xuan Nan by Xuan Jie. Though the lamp appeared dim, it held the hope of escape.

    The lamp enveloped Xuan Nan''s figure, and within it, the oil rapidly diminished, prompting Xuan Jie''s gaze to change once again.

    A similar exchange of minds also occurred between the old monk Ku Lin and the Asura Monk.

    "Junior brother, use the Jin Lan cassock."

    The Jin Lan Cassock, a one-time escape treasure made from the back demonic patterns of the High-Rank Demon Race''s blood luojia clan by Kutuo Temple after years of fierce battles with the Demon Realm''s experts, allowed for swift flight and was capable of breaking through space repeatedly.

    For all the years of Kutuo Temple''s foundation, they had only acquired three such cassocks, one was already damaged, and another was in the hands of the Asura Monk.

    Ku Lin did not elaborate; he knew the Asura Monk would certainly understand his intention.

    When it was impossible to succeed, all they could do was minimize the losses.

    "Run! Run!"

    "Yi Chengzi has broken through his limits, junior brother, run and bring out the news, we have been tricked."

    With a look, Ku Lin and Xuan Jie both roared out simultaneously.

    Their bodies burned with intense Buddhist flames, recklessly igniting their own Dao Mastery Realm souls to desperately rush towards Yi Chen''s Cultivation Body.

    The two stood to the left and the right.

    One massive hand rested on the Daoist''s left arm, and another on the right, determined to win a fleeting chance for their junior brother to escape.

    The desperate struggle of two Dao Mastery ninth level cultivators was not something even the current Yi Chen could take lightly.

    He pressed down with a massive hand, suddenly appearing on the necks of the two old monks, one on the left and one on the right.

    At that moment, the legs of the old monks Ku Lin and Xuan Jie, below the knees, had already been incinerated by golden flames, turning to golden dust that fell with the wind, and their faces began to melt away like candles, their eyes rapidly disappearing, collapsing into two deep voids.

    In the last moments of their lives, they only heard the Daoist''s faint sigh.

    "The two masters are truly unparalleled, merely using their necks to control one of my hands is impressive,"

    "But, don''t you know how the ''righteousness'' in Yi Chengzi is written?"

    Bang!

    The Daoist''s face twisted fiercely as he exerted force with his hands, grasping the heads of the two old monks and violently smashing them together, instantly turning them into exemplars of righteousness and dao. Their headless bodies abruptly fell into the lake.

    "Elder brother!"

    The Asura Monk and Xuan Nan both couldn''t help but let out a piercing cry of agony. They could never have expected that what had been a seemingly surefire ambush would suddenly turn into such a catastrophe.

    As the two monks launched their surprise attack on Yi Chen, the Asura Monk began to make their moves, each casting spells and making hand seals.

    As the Vajra Subdues Demons Great Formation, no longer maintained by the four, was illuminated by the Holocaust True Sun, it could only endure for a few moments before shattering with the clatter of vajra staffs, Buddhist bells, ruyi scepters, and cymbals, all falling into the waters of the lake.

 Chapter 612 - 384: The Demise of Buddha, The Advancing Daoist: Lijiang, Your Purity Is Too Low!_2

    Xuan Jie and Ku Lin, the two old monks, had used their lives as chips to obstruct, and the final remnants of the Diamond Vajra Array were not without effect.

    Xuan Nan, holding an oil lamp, was barely holding off the light of the Holocaust True Sun and was already about to escape,

    His head gradually became ethereal, spreading downward.

    On the body of the Asura monk, a dense blood-red brilliance suddenly appeared, covering behind him like a cape, and the thick blood light contended with the light of the Holocaust True Sun, as he actually turned around and fled without looking back.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen couldn''t help but become enraged:

    "How daring! Offending me and thinking of running without leaving anything behind?"

    In the brilliant radiance, the Daoist''s angry face could be seen.

    With his left hand, he beckoned, moving slowly in the wind of his sleeve, and the remaining light of the Holocaust True Sun instantly obeyed as if following a divine edict, with half of it transforming into a brilliant column of light that blasted toward Xuan Nan.

    Xuan Nan''s expression dramatically changed, and as a decisive man, he gritted his teeth, disregarding that his thigh bone and below in his Cultivation Body had not fully etherealized, and he hurriedly cast spells, wishing to break through the space directly. Almost simultaneously, the dazzling column of light struck where he stood.

    Watching Xuan Nan, whose lower half was obliterated by the light of the Holocaust True Sun, the Daoist couldn''t help but spit fiercely in the direction he was fleeing:

    "Ptooey, sit in a wheelchair in your next life!"

    The tenth strike of the Holy Halberd, when the true power of the Holocaust True Sun was truly unleashed, Yi Chen realized that this move had a particularly malicious small feature.

    That is, annihilation!

    Whoever is harmed by this move will permanently lose their Cultivation Body, never able to recover, and must live as a cripple.

    According to Yi Chen''s understanding, it was as if this move altered the genetic information within cells. If you lose your arm, then everything has been twisted and changed, the genetic information of your arm completely lost, and you are doomed to be incomplete by birth.

    Unless Xuan Nan successfully breaks his limit in the future and slowly repairs his Cultivation Body with his own true essence, he might still hope for recovery, otherwise, he is set to be wheelchair-bound.

    Of course, if Xuan Nan claims that his legs are not such an inconvenience and boasts, "I can fly," then Yi Chen would have nothing to say.

    He''s ruthless.

    "There''s one more!"

    Without the slightest hesitation, Yi Chen''s right hand beckoned, and the Holy Halberd suddenly appeared in his hand, its body swirling with the remaining half of the light of the Holocaust True Sun, beginning to chase after the Asura monk who had disappeared into the sky.

    "Think you can escape? Can you really?" the Daoist''s face twisted ferociously.

    The visual manifestation ability of the Strength-Breaking Realm coupled with the teleportation ability of the Agility-Breaking Realm complemented each other at this moment, played to the hilt by Yi Chen.

    With a thought, sensing the Asura monk''s location, Yi Chen took a step and instantly appeared behind him.

    For a moment, the Asura monk was terror-stricken, utterly unable to fathom how Yi Chen knew the exact location where he was fleeing, relying on the J¨©nl¨¢n Kasaya.

    With a horizontal sweep of the Holy Halberd, Yi Chen''s Divine Power surged, and although the Asura monk tried his best to dodge, alas, his legs below the knees were still severed by Yi Chen.

    "Still want to run?"

    Watching the Asura monk teleport again, Yi Chen stepped out once more and thrust with his halberd.

    "Ah!" The Asura monk, clutching his rear, suddenly let out a scream that shook heaven and earth, and once again fled into the void.

    At this time, Yi Chen had exhausted his teleportation ability and could no longer follow.

    With a complex expression, he looked at the crimson bloodstains trickling down the halberd tip, with a strange lump of flesh still hanging on it, and couldn''t resist sighing deeply, "Indeed, among the four, he is the highest-ranking monk, not bad, even his screams are ten times mightier than ordinary cultivators!"

    "With the same injury, Prince Seven''s cries compared to the master''s are as weak as a trainee with just two and a half years of practice."

    "Master, travel well, take care of your hygiene."

    "I''m out."

    ...

    ...

    After the time it takes to eat a meal.

    Fairy Lake.

    The moonlight was like silver, its clear brilliance as usual.

    By this time, Hei Shanzi had already fished up the remnants of Ku Lin and Xuan Jie, of course, the grass next to the lake was also neatly lined with the tin staff, the Buddhist bell, the cymbals, and the ruyi - four top-notch Buddhist relics.

    Seeing this, Yi Chen nodded in satisfaction, as he had no time to collect these four treasures that the halberd longed for during the fierce battle.

    "Halberd, you can rest easy now, daring to rob me of my things, you''ve never encountered such thugs before, have you?"

    The Halberd gave no response, seemingly still upset about Yi Chen using it to prick someone else''s chrysanthemum.

    Yi Chen, seeing this, wasn''t bothered, and raised his arched eyebrows, starting to give orders:

    "City Lord of Qianyou, come here."

    The gaunt old man trembled at the words; whether it was fortune or calamity, one couldn''t escape it, and he immediately knelt heavily towards Yi Chen: S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Old man truly didn''t know the inside story of the Fairy Lake incident, I beg the Yi Taoist to show mercy, spare my family from the disaster, I..."

    "What are you babbling about, Hei Shanzi." Yi Chen''s eyebrows twitched slightly, "I asked you to find a few dozen chestnut trees to come over, I want to bury the two masters properly, why are you so talkative?"

    The cultured voice of the Daoist surfaced again, and at this moment, a wave of relief surged in Hei Shanzi''s heart.

    "Ah?"

    "Before Taoist Yi arrived, His Highness King Jing had praised you for being able to get things done, that Qianyou City under your management is rich and the people are thriving, living in peace and contentment,"

    "As a true cultivator of Taoism, I''m not a demon lord; there''s no use for me to kill you. Next time, be more vigilant, carry on with your duties, His Highness King Jing won''t mistreat you."

    Hei Shanzi, looking at the monk''s submerged head on the ground, the words ''true cultivator of Taoism'' echoing in his mind, suddenly felt a jolt and immediately thanked and stood up, signaling his men to look for chestnut trees.

    Under the moonlight, Yi Chen sat on the hillside, watching Hei Shanzi and the others busily scurrying around, while he drank liquor by the mouthful.

 Chapter 613 - 384: The Demise of Buddha, The Advancing Daoist: Lijiang, Your Purity Is Too Low!_3

    Seven white spheres of light hovered above the Daoist''s head, strands of Extreme Origin hanging down.

    Countless beams of moonlight, visible and invisible, converged on his Cultivation Body, stirring the light around and making the hillside seem haunted.

    This also made the Daoist''s face flicker between light and darkness, casting his expression into even greater solemnity and chill.

    A Holocaust True Sun had drawn five-tenths of the Extreme Origin from Yi Chen''s body, and after the earlier battle, it was time for Yi Taoist to "recharge."

    Zuo Qianfu was busy pouring drinks for Yi Chen and Miao Zi at his side.

    Miao Zi held up a sea bowl with both paws, clinking it against Yi Chen''s: "Dad, you really have it tough."

    "Why do they all have to push you?"

    "Dad, you clearly came here to find the bad luck of the five evils of heaven and earth, and yet you ended up being ambushed by the Buddhist sect of Central Continent. I don''t understand, why the more a person does, the greater the grievances they suffer!"

    "It''s not fair!"

    "Exactly, that makes sense, my child. Your words are very much to my heart. Come on, Miao Zi, let''s have one."

    Yi Chen immediately clinked bowls with Miao Zi, downed the drink, and picked up a few cold dishes to accompany his liquor.

    "Dad, why did you bury those two old monks with full honors and plant chestnut trees over them?"

    "Heh heh, Miao Zi, this is where you''re not as good as your dad."

    "Those two old monks had a strong will to fight, deserving of respect. How could I let them rot in the wilds? That''s why your dad specially preserved their bones."

    "Dad, there are no outsiders here. I want to hear the truth." Miao Zi said slyly, taking a small dried fish and tossing it down his throat.

    Zuo Qianfu poured more wine for the two, secretly taking mental notes in his heart.

    For example, when Uncle Miao and his master had a drink just now, the rim of Uncle Miao''s bowl was particularly low.

    Yi Chen couldn''t help but laugh upon hearing this:

    "Miao Zi, learn well. As the saying goes, ''great sounds are seldom heard, great images have no form'',

    those two offended your dad, so we fought them to death. Simply burning them couldn''t dispel the hatred in your dad''s heart. By keeping their bones and planting them into a chestnut forest, there are three great benefits."

    "First, we carve a monument and spread the word, nailing them eternally to the pillar of shame."

    Zuo Qianfu: "Master, that''s brilliant!"

    "Secondly, as the saying goes, ''the Dao follows nature.'' We planted chestnuts to avenge the many spirits that died at Fairy Lake. Think about it, when a forest grows, all kinds of birds will come, all doing their business in the chestnut forest. Could such a gloomy place be suitable to inhabit?"

    "And when the chestnuts ripen, all sorts of wild boars, badgers, and whatnot will come over, digging them up isn''t the least bit strange."

    "Thus, the many spirits of Fairy Lake will gain a new paradise, with plenty to eat and drink and fun to be had."

    "Think about it, isn''t this a way for your dad to help them atone for their sins? Isn''t your dad accumulating virtue? Even if your grandmaster were reborn, he couldn''t find fault with your dad''s reasoning~"

    Zuo Qianfu: "..."

    Miao Zi extended a paw: "Dad, that''s tough!"

    "Don''t interrupt, there''s a third point."

    "Your dad came here to be a slayer of malevolent corpses. Am I not a good person, a true cultivator of the Dao Sect? And yet I was ambushed by them, the Buddhist sect of Central Continent."

    "Tell me, standing on the opposite side of the good guys, can they be considered beat-up-able? The verdict is clear!"

    "We ought to raise this matter and let the people of the world judge. I, World-Shaking Pure Yang, have been wronged." Yi Chen finished speaking, and feeling aggrieved, he drained the beautiful wine in his bowl once more.

    Miao Zi and Zuo Qianfu, looking at the Daoist before them, were both inexplicably shocked, feeling a sense of immense respect and an urge to delve deeper.

    After a while, Zuo Qianfu came back to his senses and continued to pour another cup of wine for Yi Chen, sucking up: "Master, tell me about some fun stories from when your cultivation was not yet complete."

    "Sure thing. You''re sensible, Qianfu. Your master will give you a brief account."

    "In the eighth year of Qingli, your master fought for the first time in Southeast Asia ...pah! That doesn''t count."

    "Your master was once reckless in his youth, getting into fights, selling Overlord Chicken, taking on wedding and funeral services and whatnot, succeeding in everything, and becoming a well-known Taoist in the Fengyun County region...."

    After finishing this bowl, there remained three more. The Daoist looked at the bright moon on the horizon, picked up another chopstick of vegetables, and began to talk about the past.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Sea Dragon City, Tiger Ben Army Camp.

    Bai Shishi''s hook punch fiercely slammed into the jaws of the Dominant Fist of Heaven and Earth seed contenders, Hu Da and Hu Er.

    "You two bastards, my master is a true cultivator of the Dao Sect, and yet you spread absurd rumors from Central Continent in the camp, saying my master sold ''Dominant Rooster''? Ridiculous!"

    "If you dare to spread such tabloid tales again, next time it won''t be my fist but the sharp sword in my hand that falls on you!"

    With a cold snort, disregarding Hu Da and Hu Er wailing on the ground, Bai Shishi immediately swept away. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ¡­.

    ¡­.

    Qian You City territory.

    The morning of the third day.

    The rain poured down like a deluge.

    The rain was heavy, even heavier than the night Yi Ping asked her father Hei Panzi for money.

    Yi Chen and Hei Shanzi along with their group flew swiftly across the sky, supported by protective shields.

    "Yi Taoist, just ahead lies the Qingyan Mountains, the seventh most suspicious location according to the comprehensive intelligence gathered by my elite subordinates."

    "Below the mountains lies a small city, Qingyan City. Would you like us to descend and rest a bit?"

    Yi Chen, looking at the stone city ahead, suddenly had a sharp glint in his eye and with a grand gesture, signaled everyone to stop, "No need."

    Suddenly, Hei Shanzi saw the Qingyan Mountains ahead begin to quake and shake, huge fissures spreading out from the base of the mountains, winding rapidly towards Qingyan City.

    As the earth''s fissure opened, a scorching breath hit their faces, countless sparks rose up, accompanied by ominous and malicious black energy bursting forth with shocking intensity.

    Inside Qingyan City, countless townsfolk frantically scurried for their lives, crying out, "Help, run, the dragon underground is turning over!"

    Seeing this, Yi Chen couldn''t help but show a look of great excitement:

    "Good good good! Damn it, today we''ve finally found the real culprit."

    "Hei Shanzi, you and the others protect the townspeople; leave the rest to me!"

    Qian You City''s lands were scorched for thousands of miles, suspecting the emergence of a malignant resurrected corpse, Yi Chen searched for a whole day resulting in a wild goose chase. This early morning, the torrential rain started in Qian You City, almost shaking his belief in the intelligence. Unexpectedly, the evil resurrected corpse chose to emerge in this heavy rain!

    Hei Shanzi and the others accepted the order with a thunderous response.

    "Fuck, stop raining."

    "Pure Yang Holy Seal Heavenly Light!"

    Yi Chen''s expression grew stern, the Immortal-Slaying Domain instantly spread out around him, his Extreme Origin energy furiously rubbing throughout his body as he rapidly plunged towards the fissure below.

    The rain clouds were easily dispelled by the Domain, and sunlight returned. The Daoist left a dazzling trail of light in the sky as he descended, feet landing on either side of the fissure.

    "Close for me!"

    The Daoist burst forth with mighty strength, his feet powering down, endless Extreme Origin energy flooding into the fissure, as if a lid from heaven and a ring from earth came together, and the fissure slowly closed up.

    For a moment, all the townsfolk who had run out of Qingyan City were dumbstruck, as if witnessing a deity.

    Hei Shanzi and the others also showed looks of reverence.

    At that moment, a scholar wrapped in a blue turban suddenly exclaimed, "The fissure is coming back, it''s widening again!"

    "Close for me!"

    "You malign resurrected corpse, compared to my World-Shaking Pure Yang, your purity is too low!"

    Yi Chen roared in anger, and the fissure slowly closed again. It was unclear whether the creature causing the phenomenon felt affronted, but the distant Qingyan Mountains suddenly trembled violently, large rocks tumbling down.

 Chapter 640 - 397: Washing Feet Delicately, The Story of Lin Zhengyi, Dare to Kill My Bear?

    Zhengyang City, outside the QianQian Building, the crowd was dense.

    The era when the three great pleasure districts of Zhengyang City once led the bloom was now a thing of the past. Since the merger of Eastern Continent and Central Continent, the situation had been turbulent, and the Yue family had amputated themselves. Safety had become the pursuit of the former forces of Central Continent.

    With the gold-lettered signboard of Dragon Tiger Mountain, Zhengyang City, compared to when Yi Chen had first arrived three years ago, was now exhibiting an aberrant form of prosperity.

    QianQian Building was a re-entrepreneurship of other ''business elites'' in Da Yue who were adept in this field, under the banner of Dragon Tiger Mountain. It was said that QianQian Building had a profound background, with even a Supreme Elder of Dragon Tiger Mountain linked to it.

    Reliant on their exquisite business knowledge and complex schemes, QianQian Building, as a newcomer, dominated the local service industry, human connectivity sector, and import-export trade upon its arrival in Zhengyang City. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Now the world was in bad shape, and the fairy truly was in the private room~

    At this moment, outside QianQian Building,

    a dejected young man lay drunkenly at the corner of the street, with more than a dozen jars of wine placed chaotically around him.

    Lin Zhengyi, with bleary eyes, stared at Colorful Tower diagonally opposite and took another fierce gulp of wine, muttering to himself, "Xian''er, Xian''er."

    Xian''er was a fairy of QianQian Building. Since Da Yue''s forces had withdrawn to the two capitals, Lin Zhengyi, who was part of the hawk faction within the peacekeeping forces, couldn''t stand it and had left to wander the world in frustration.

    By chance, at the invitation of a good friend, he met a female cultivator at QianQian Building, who was none other than the cultivator called Xian''er.

    Xian''er was the most innocent and kind-hearted girl Lin Zhengyi had ever seen. Although her cultivation was only in the later stages of refining essence into qi, she only offered foot soaks and never engaged in those messy services.

    Indeed, foot soaking was also within the range of services offered at QianQian Building.

    This cultivator named Xian''er had inadvertently entered Lin Zhengyi''s world, trapping the heart of his younger self.

    He didn''t even know her real name.

    It was now deep autumn, and a light rain had just fallen in the evening. A desolate gust of wind blew through the streets, adding a touch of chill to Zhengyang City.

    This city had gained one more heartbroken person.

    Touching his purse, he had only a little more than ten taels of silver. The young man gave a bitter smile. At this rate, not to mention visiting Xian''er at QianQian Building, he could hardly afford wine anymore.

    After another swig of murky wine, Lin Zhengyi looked up and, when his gaze met the bright red lantern hanging on the third floor of the building in the distance, he seemed to see Xian''er there, right beside the lantern.

    Her figure shone brilliantly, her expressive, captivating eyes staring straight at him.

    Suddenly, Lin Zhengyi remembered that night again¡ªdim room, beautiful female cultivator, awkward himself.

    The tinkling laughter broke the monotony; that night they talked about everything under the heavens, like long-lost friends¡ªfrom poetry and philosophy to the philosophy of life and the state of affairs.

    Lin Zhengyi had never encountered such a soul-match; in that moment, his heart skipped a beat.

    At that instant, the sand in the hourglass had all fallen, the hourglass flipped, but the female cultivator was leaving. Gritting his teeth, he generously emptied his pockets.

    The hourglass was turned over once again.

    Latterly, he visited her numerous times, in that small room where a passionate man, an understanding Flower of Language, and her bright smile illuminated Lin Zhengyi''s world.

    In subsequent encounters, Lin Zhengyi came to understand why she was there.

    A gambling father.

    An ill mother.

    Parents who favored her brother.

    And she, shattered.

    He wanted to take her away!

    But he didn''t have enough money, because when he came to QianQian Building before, her parents had given all the money they received from QianQian Building to her brother to cultivate at the outer court of Dragon Tiger Mountain...

    Even pawning the storage ring that his father Lin Zhenbei had secretly prepared for him was not enough to meet QianQian Building''s asking price; it was only enough to see her for a while longer.

    For this, he couldn''t help writing a long letter home, only to be scolded by Lin Zhenbei, who told him to roll back to the capital as soon as possible.

    His mother, who had always doted on him, also didn''t stand by him this time.

    They had a big fight in the letter.

    Helpless, for his beloved,

    "I''m going to take her away today, I''d like to see who dares to stop me!" The young man''s eyes were resolute, his declaration emphatic as he slapped his long-cultivated Magic Artifact on the table.

    Then he was beaten.

    For damaging QianQian Building''s long table, his Magic Artifact was confiscated, to compensate for QianQian Building''s furniture.

    Times had changed, the once world-famous peacekeeping forces now only held sway in the two capitals; here, at the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain, within Zhengyang City, the peacekeeping forces counted for nothing.

    "Fuck, is your table made of gold?" The young man shook his wine jug, pouring the last mouthful of murky wine into his mouth.

    Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

    The bitter wine pained his heart, adding sorrow to already burdened thoughts.

    What the young man didn''t know was that Lin Zhenbei and his wife were already on their way to Zhengyang City from the capital.

    Just as Lin Zhengyi was upset and distracted, an astonished voice suddenly rang in his ear.

    "Eh, Brother Lin."

    "You...you are Yi..." The young man struggled to open his eyes, a glimmer of joy flashing through them.

    "Yi what? Brother Lin, be careful with your words, my name is Skyhawk."

    "Yi¡­ Skyhawk, please help me." As if grasping a lifeline, Lin Zhengyi began to babble incessantly.

    Yi Chen: "..."

    Another one who is too naive.

 Chapter 641 - 397: Washing Feet Delicately, The Story of Lin Zhengyi, Dare to Kill My Bear?_2

    Beneath the light and shadows, the Daoist let out a heavy sigh.

    "Brother Lin, come with me." Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    To Lin Zhengyi''s astonishment, Yi Chen led him to a stall selling masks and carefully chose a clown mask for him to wear.

    Then, with effortless grace, the Heaven-Soaring Falcon led the disguised clown into Lin Zhengyi''s long-desired Xianxian Tower.

    At the entrance to the third floor, a brocade-clad strong man exuded an imposing aura. True Person Realm, nine levels of cultivation!

    The great teapot''s expression immediately showed reverence, and soon someone emerged to lead the two into a private room.

    "Taoist Yi, what is this¡­"

    "I am a monk, and my presence in this land of pleasure is solely for you, Brother Lin. It''s truly a last resort, but what can I do since my ties with the Lin family are so profound."

    "Brother Lin, go behind that screen. Don''t ask or make any noise, just listen quietly."

    In front of the screen, the brocade-clad strong man sat down pompously, took a sip of the green tea on the table, and then spoke in a deep voice:

    "Bring in another batch!"

    He spoke with great familiarity.

    Before long, a charming young female cultivator with a round face stood before Yi Chen, and behind the screen, Lin Zhengyi finally saw his cherished beloved.

    "Damn, she''s barely five feet tall; Brother Lin, you''ve really applied some serious filters there."

    With a twitch of his mouth, Yi Chen immediately displayed the peak aura of the True Person Realm and slapped a banknote of three thousand taels of silver on the counter.

    Under his witty banter, the charming female cultivator named Xian''er soon revealed a new story that Lin Zhengyi had never heard.

    "Senior, are you sure you don''t need Xian''er to serve you?"

    The female cultivator asked repeatedly, unwilling to accept the refusal, as a large hand grasped her fidgeting arm.

    "Having a delightful conversation with a fairy-like you, old man Heaven-Soaring Falcon, I feel the chance for a breakthrough. Miss Xian''er, please step out. Take these five thousand taels as my reward to you," the brocade-clad strong man chuckled.

    So they thought to take advantage of his World-Shaking Pure Yang with such vulgarity, not a chance.

    If it were Daoist Lin Luo, he might give it some thought.

    Upon hearing Yi Chen''s words, the female cultivator''s eyes lit up, "Senior, simply have someone summon Xian''er later. I am available all day today."

    Just as she was about to leave the room, a light laugh came from behind her: "Miss Xian''er, you wield great charm. I saw a desolate young man outside earlier who was said to be head over heels for you, Miss Xian''er. Quite skillful, indeed."

    The female cultivator smiled radiantly, turned back, and curtsied: "Xian''er prefers heroes like the senior here. Mr. Lin should open his eyes to the world. To me, it was nothing more than a normal chat with a patron."

    "If Mr. Lin insists on misinterpreting, there''s nothing I can do. I only regard him as an ordinary Daoist friend."

    "My heart is moved by heroes such as the senior."

    Facing the pinnacle of the True Person Realm, this Heaven-Soaring Falcon contemplating life-changing opportunities, the female cultivator, who was refining her essence into qi, suddenly lost all her reserve.

    Upon their gazes meeting, she knew he was an old hand at this; feigning innocence before such a person would only leave her at a disadvantage.

    "Miss Xian''er, I love to hear those words. Here''s another two thousand taels for you to get ready. Come wash my feet later," the brocade-clad strong man laughed heartily, and another banknote flew towards the female cultivator.

    As the door closed, a sudden thud came from behind the screen. Yi Chen knew someone''s clown mask had fallen off.

    He flashed over, instantly behind the screen, and patted Lin Zhengyi on the shoulder, sighing long, "Searching for true feelings veiled behind a door, Brother Lin is still too young. You really dared to believe it."

    "Taoist..." Lin Zhengyi was heartbroken.

    "It''s okay. Who hasn''t been young? Brother Lin, you''ve just experienced too little. In two words, na?ve."

    "Reminds me of an old friend who frequented such a pleasure den; the guests there would wear a badge on their wrists."

    "One time, my friend met a female cultivator half-way there, with bright eyes and sweet smiles, so he chose her hourglass. They hit it off as if they were old friends long lost to one another."

    "Perhaps it was the night''s allure that made my friend''s heart stir, so he asked the fairy if she had a partner. She shook her head."

    "Brother Lin, guess what she said?"

    "What did she say?" Lin Zhengyi was hooked by Yi Chen''s story, and his heart suddenly felt less heavy.

    Yi Chen wasn''t playing coy and continued with a light chuckle,

    "She said she had no Dao companion, but she would never choose someone who already had a token in hand as her Dao companion."

    "My friend was heartbroken at the time. If he didn''t have a token, he would have never met her, but because he had taken a token, he couldn''t love her."

    "So, you see, life is always full of regrets."

    "Let''s talk about that fairy girl. She just wanted to be the wife of a True Person. It didn''t matter who the True Person was. She was only in her mid-twenties, with no background to speak of, and everything depended on herself. What was wrong with that?"

    "If you take it seriously, you lose."

    "Brother Lin, you are at a great time to be diligently cultivating. How could you get lost in the throes of love?"

    Lin Zhengyi: "...."

    Perhaps unable to save face, Lin Zhengyi couldn''t help but change the subject, and out of curiosity, he asked, "Yi Taoist, what happened to your friend and that fairy afterward?"

    "What happened afterward?" Yi Chen grinned and clapped his hands, and soon a green-turbaned teapot bearer bent over and came in with a full face of smiles.

    "What can I do for you, senior?"

    "Tell the person in charge that fairy girl from earlier gave me a really bad attitude. Bring in a different group."

    The robust man in brocade clothes glanced at the young man and grinned.

    "Brother Lin, later on, my friend couldn''t make head or tail of it, so he went to speak to someone in charge and reported that fairy."

    "Said her attitude was really bad ~ and then they replaced her with one who was more understanding."

    "My friend later even became a True Monarch, with cultivation not inferior to mine and was even more handsome than most."

    "So the moral of the story for you, Brother Lin, is this."

    "Don''t waste too much time on a problem you can''t understand or solve."

    "Life has too many incomprehensible issues. If that''s the case, let go, switch to another one, and stop thinking about it, or you''ll end up like you are now, with incomplete cultivation and a desolate life."

    "This world has many things worth pursuing. Don''t hang yourself on one tree, try hanging on several."

    Yi Chen laughed heartily, patting Lin Zhengyi on the shoulder like an older brother.

    "A flower that sits in a vase waiting to be sold, whether it blooms or withers, it''s not something that the passing wind can decide. The only thing the passing wind can do is to leave a little extra tip and make a mark in her life."

    "Daoist... Very true, it is justice embodied." The young man gave Yi Chen a deep bow.

    Soon, two female cultivators came in to wash their feet.

    Amidst the sound of water, the Daoist leaned back lazily on the headrest and said,

    "Brother Lin, one must be clear-headed in life. A mountain is a mountain, and then again, it is not a mountain."

    "It''s like this foot washing. It''s washing the feet, but it''s not just about the feet."

    "What''s washed away is the dirt from walking in the human world."

    "Daoist, one last question." After being consoled by Yi Chen and no longer obsessing over it, Lin Zhengyi finally relaxed with a smile, and laid down imitating Yi Chen''s posture.

    "Daoist, that friend you mentioned, was it you?"

    "Scram! I''m crystal clear, Brother Lin, you can''t just say anything." Yi Chen suddenly laughed and cursed, and the two exchanged a smile, both closing their eyes and comfortably beginning their footbath.

    ¡ª¡ª

    At night, Venus was still awake.

    After leaving the Qiuxiao Tower, Yi Chen encountered an unexpected person on the way back, who lifted the brim of his hat, revealing himself to be Zhang Hu.

    "Yi Taoist, a word, please."

    In a dead-end alley, Yi Chen watched on the Liuying Jade as two grubs writhed incessantly inside the abandoned Bear Cave and could not help but become furious.

    "Dammit, how dare they kill my bear?"

    On the Liuying Jade, a pile of scattered bones in the distance was particularly eye-catching.

 Chapter 651 - 401: The Emperor and the Daoist, the Virtue of the Daoist Priest!

    "This... Ah, during the great battle, it did cost the Emperor quite a bit," Yi Chen said with a quiet glance at the purple robe of Daoist Lin Luo standing in front of him, he immediately responded with a serious tone.

    "Unfortunately, I have always been a man of integrity, with just the wind blowing through my empty sleeves, and not much in the way of savings. Otherwise, I should bear part of the expenses for this Limit-Breaking Ceremony."

    "Please convey to the Emperor, Daoist Lin Luo, that this State Preceptor Coronation Ceremony should be as simple as possible. We mustn''t be extravagant and wasteful, otherwise I will not be at ease," Yi Chen whispered, secretly peering at the purple robes of Daoist Lin Luo in front of him, then immediately returning to a stern response.

    Lin Luo''s eyes shimmered as she quickly extracted the key point from his words:

    They should go all out with the extravagance, make a big show of it, the Hidden Dragon Temple is destitute, and he, Yi Taoist, cannot afford to pay. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    However, Lin Luo didn''t mind, and with a smile curving her eyes and brows, she immediately responded, "What are you saying, Daoist? If our Great Qin celebrates you as the State Preceptor with shabbiness, wouldn''t that be laughable to outsiders?"

    "As for the idea of you, Daoist, personally covering part of the expenses, that''s completely nonsensical. Do not mention such things again."

    "It''s just pitiful for Lin Luo. Given my relationship with the Daoist, my purse is going to bleed heavily this time."

    At that moment, the purple-haired girl surprisingly made a joke, making Yi Chen unable to help but chuckle.

    Looking at the tall and burly Daoist''s handsome face, Lin Luo also felt slightly moved.

    "A thousand cups are too few when drinking with a bosom friend, while half a word is too much with someone who does not share your views. The moment I met the Daoist it was as if we were kindred spirits. Although at that time, Lin Luo asserted that you were not a common being¡ªa dragon lurking in shallow waters¡ªthis day has arrived even faster than I expected," she said.

    "In several days'' time, you will be the State Preceptor, standing above me in rank."

    "Your cultivation has also improved leaps and bounds. The way you effortlessly blocked a palm strike from Qian Xuanzi, the hermit of Dragon Tiger Mountain, without suffering the slightest injury, was truly shocking."

    While Lin Luo was speaking, a large hand suddenly landed on her shoulder:

    "Rank and station such matters should not be mentioned. Daoist Lin Luo, you are warm-hearted and have helped me greatly, surely you have been working behind the scenes on my behalf, blocking many troubles. Please, do not speak of such things again."

    "Otherwise, it would mean you no longer consider me a friend."

    "As for cultivation, if you ever encounter any insurmountable difficulty, feel free to look for me at any time, or just mention my name. Nowadays, there are not many who would dare disrespect me," Yi Chen said.

    Yi Chen''s cultivation had reached a level where not many things could pose a real problem for him anymore.

    To some, the insurmountable Flame Mountain was just a puddle that could be extinguished with a single pee in his eyes, Yi Chengzi.

    This was the true value of his World-Shaking Pure Yang stature.

    "Daoist, you always put righteousness first. Even though our statuses have vastly changed since the old days, you still treat friends with equality. I naturally trust your character," Lin Luo said with a clear, bell-like voice, a sparkle of laughter in their shared glance.

    Suddenly, without knowing who moved closer and who stepped back, the two of them stood shoulder to shoulder, riding the wind, sweeping across the vast expanse of sky, looking down upon mountains and rivers below.

    Beautiful mountains and rivers filled their sight.

    Clouds receded by their sides, surpassing the Trapped Realm Mountains and entering the territory of Great Qin, Lin Luo and Yi Chen left their group behind and returned to Sea Dragon City ahead of schedule.

    At that moment, a familiar yet strange mountain peak suddenly appeared in Yi Chen''s vision, causing his pupils to shrink slightly.

    "This... This is... Falling Dragon Mountain?"

    In the distance, on the plain, a familiar mountain over a thousand meters tall loomed into view.

    Back when he, Yi Chengzi, was on that mountain, he had slain a wild boar king and picked tonic herbs for his younger disciple brother cultivating his vital essences.

    Naturally, that was back when Hidden Dragon Temple was poor, more suited to impoverished physiques like his younger disciple. Now, however, that was no longer necessary.

    With his abundant supply of resources, Qing Feng and Ming Yue were even advancing toward the late stages of the vital essence cultivation phase.

    Familiar memories flooded back.

    Seeing Yi Chen''s astonished gaze, Lin Luo revealed a hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth: "That''s right, this is a little gift the Emperor specially prepared for the Daoist."

    "This is Falling Dragon Mountain, moved here overnight by powerful experts dispatched by the Emperor himself after making arrangements with the Central Continent sects."

    "The Emperor feared you wouldn''t be comfortable, so he had your State Preceptor abode built right here."

    Yi Chen stood atop the clouds, gazing down to see a vast Daoist palace perched atop Falling Dragon Mountain, glinting with luminous treasure light in the sunlight.

    When the Emperor made a move, it was always grand. This was no ordinary construction like the one King Jing had built for Yi Chen. Here before him was a palace as formidable as a Magic Artifact, much like the halls of the Greedy Wolf Star.

    In front of the palace, a gilded plaque with the words "Pure Yang Daoist Palace" was written with iron strokes and gleamed brightly. That domineering aura, if Yi Chen wasn''t mistaken, must have been penned by Ying Si himself.

    Further up the mountainside, a vast open space had been carved out, large enough to accommodate thousands. The foundation was laid with Cold Star Stone, a common Magic Artifact material. Numerous golden patterns sprawled across it.

    "Haha, Daoist, haven''t you always wanted to compile a pinnacle martial arts manual? This is the Emperor''s gift to you, a place to establish martial arts. Next to it, there is a Martial Archive, the Hall of Transmission, and other grand halls."

    "The Emperor says that human efforts are limited. You cannot compile a martial arts manual behind closed doors; you must experience it first-hand. The mysteries of the human body are endless. There are various peculiar and precious physiques within the cultivation world, and how these physiques form is something we know nothing of."

    "So, Daoist, why not first impart martial arts to the world? Let some practice it, then collect their experiences for adjustments. After all, these are just ordinary people without spiritual sensitivity. As long as they can gain strength, Great Qin has no shortage of citizens willing to endure hardships, brave warriors ready to shed blood and sweat."

 Chapter 652 - 401: The Emperor and the Daoist, the Virtue of the Daoist Priest!_2

    Lin Luo noticed Yi Chen staring at the mountainside and thought he was puzzled, so she immediately explained with a smile.

    To her surprise, Yi Chen shook his head instead.

    "The Emperor''s intention is clear to me; I was just feeling nostalgic about the chestnut tree on the mountainside, it looks thinner."

    "The chestnuts this year are not plump, alas!"

    Looking at the chestnut tree on the mountainside, Yi Chen''s eyes revealed a trace of reminiscence.

    "Ah?"

    "It''s nothing, just recalling some past events, it''s better not to talk about it. Daoist Lin Luo, please thank the Emperor for his kind intentions on my behalf. I''ll first go to bathe and change, then visit the Emperor''s palace."

    Faced with Lin Luo''s confusion, Yi Chen did not elaborate further, and Lin Luo did not press for more details.

    After a brief chat, they separated. Lin Luo immediately flew towards Ying Si''s palace, while Yi Chen pondered for a moment before drifting in the direction of the grand Daoist monastery King Jing had built for him.

    Indeed, faced with the familiar Falling Dragon Mountain, Yi Chen''s impression of the Millennium Emperor changed once again at this moment.

    This man was truly an exceptional sovereign!

    A grand monastery comparable to the Hall of Greedy Wolf might have impressed Yi Chen, but nothing shook him like Ying Si''s feat of moving the thousand-meter-tall Falling Dragon Mountain.

    Falling Dragon Mountain, apart from the dubious tale of the falling dragon, had no mystical anomalies, but Yi Chen could see Ying Si''s regard for him, Great Qin''s emphasis on his importance.

    "His Majesty really does things magnanimously, it''s touching."

    "However, I must still borrow this money!"

    Looking down at the Hidden Dragon Daoist Palace within arm''s reach, Yi Chen heaved a sigh and descended.

    Earning a salary through labor was impossible for him; even the generous stipend of Great Qin''s National Teacher was a drop in the bucket compared to Yi Chen''s acquisition plans.

    Without borrowing money, he wouldn''t be able to acquire sinister items at a premium price; only by borrowing from Great Qin''s treasury could his buying continue.

    Without money, Yi Chengzi would have no Deep Red Points, and without those, how could he advance his cultivation?

    Without money, Yi Chengzi would lack the strength to maintain world peace; he couldn''t possibly break through after cultivating for hundreds to thousands of years like the Daoists in his memories.

    How would that be any different from the working class saving for a house over hundreds of years?

    Of course not; such a method would be an insult to his former life.

    It had to be Great Qin''s loan; only with that could he, the World-Shaking Pure Yang, better approach the Supreme Daoist Sect and other major sects for alms.

    It''s the same principle as being Bill Gates''s son-in-law or the CEO of some bank.

    By acting as a go-between, things moved smoother, ensuring mutual guarantees.

    "Wuhu, I''m a genius!"

    "However, dealing with an old fox like Ying Si requires further consideration and packaging. Yes, that will do, just like that!"

    ¡ª

    Inside the resplendent Imperial Palace, the three golden characters ''Imperial Palace'' shone particularly brightly.

    At this moment, a dignified woman wearing a phoenix crown smiled at Ying Si, who was furiously penning documents, and said with a light laugh:

    "Your Majesty bestows such favor upon Yi Chengzi, what if he turns against Great Qin in the future?"

    Ying Si glanced at his queen, who had accompanied him for many years, and while his hand continued to move swiftly, he replied with a smile, "My dear, trust in those you employ, and do not employ those you cannot trust."

    "Yi Chengzi may seem disregarding of rules, but in reality, he respects them the most. Investing more in such a powerful individual is worthwhile."

    "The path to breaking limits is known only to those who tread it, and how difficult it is. Who doesn''t have some astonishing opportunities and their secrets? Does my dear think Yi Chengzi''s cultivation could compare to or even surpass mine?"

    "Or does my dear believe that after the rise of the martial path, there will be great challenges for us cultivators in the future?"

    "Ha, I was but jesting, my lord. You are a hero without parallel; how could Yi Chengzi ever match you?" said the dignified woman as she covered her mouth with a light fan in her hand, giggling.

    After finishing the edict, Ying Si put down his brush and, looking at his own exceedingly beautiful queen, suddenly three golden dragon patterns flashed in his eyes:

    "Yue Ji, what do you think of relocating the capital to Sea Dragon City?"

    "My lord¡­ have you broken through three times already?" The dignified woman called Yue Ji''s face lit up with overwhelming joy, and she even stammered a bit.

    "It''s a realization after the battle with Yue Qingping. I was already one step away from breaking through for the third time, but alas, even after the third breakthrough, I''m not as far along as that Daoist friend from Mount Qingping."

    "However, Yue Qingping trapped himself within a mountain, creating a natural shortfall. With the Ancestral Dragon Golden Decree and the Human Emperor''s Divine Palace, I now barely fall short of that True Monarch of Mount Qingping."

    Ying Si laughed heartily, looking pleased, and continued, "Yue Ji, you haven''t given your opinion about the relocation yet."

    "Your Majesty, this is a matter of great importance, why abruptly decide to relocate? Xianyang lies in the heart of the Eastern Continent, far from battlefields, where one can advance or retreat as needed. Isn''t that preferable?" asked the dignified woman in doubt.

    "Yue Ji, you are mistaken. As the saying goes, born in adversity, die in comfort. After careful deliberation, I believe we must relocate." S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "In the future, where the crises lie, where the front lines are, that''s where Great Qin''s capital will be!"

    "Were it not for the concern over excessive casualties, needlessly draining the Human Realm''s essence, I could now reveal all my cards and level the Central Continent!"

    "The reason I still restrain myself is because I see it as an opportunity to drill our troops, simply to subdue the Central Continent through warfare."

    "Xianyang is the center of the Eastern Continent, but in the future when Great Qin rules the Human Realm, the center of the Eastern Continent will not be the center of the Human Realm."

    "Jing''er is not bad either, but he is slightly less ambitious. There are things that must be decided while I can still act; I cannot be lazy. If we put it off for too long, one finds their hands tied when trying to act. Like the Six States with their entrenched traditions and immutable ancestral laws, ultimately leading to their own doom."

 Chapter 653 - 401: The Emperor and the Daoist, the Virtue of the Daoist Priest!_3

    ``` S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "The six states perished, did they not want to learn from Great Qin and undertake reforms? It was the obstruction from various powers that caused the reforms to become a hybrid that resembled nothing. Eventually, it was the ulterior motives of clans that led to their downfall."

    "If one wants to achieve something, one must seize the moment while Great Qin is strong. Even if one errs, I, the Emperor, am here, and we can afford to lose. I would like to see who dares to assassinate me!

    Once this critical moment passes, and Jing''er ascends the throne, it''s feared that no matter what he wishes to accomplish, he will face myriad difficulties. Even after thousands or tens of thousands of years, it''s likely that he won''t be able to achieve anything."

    Ying Si''s gaze wandered beyond the palace, as if seeing through the dense fog of time into the future, he couldn''t help but sigh deeply.

    "Why must Your Majesty think so? You will certainly be the greatest emperor after the Human Emperor, truly deserving the name of the First Emperor. Our Great Qin will surely last for seven to eight generations without end," Bai Yunzi said.

    "Heh, the name of the First Emperor, if not I, who else? But as for the eternal prosperity of Great Qin, such nonsense is better left unsaid by Yue Ji."

    "All I desire is to pacify the Five Realms and completely shatter the sword hanging over the head of our Human Race. As for the future infighting of our race, I do not wish to care."

    Having said so, Ying Si''s tone became decisive, carrying an unquestionable and unchangeable will:

    "Meat must rot within the pot!"

    "I am willing to support Your Majesty with all my strength!" Seeing her husband so bold, a dignified woman''s eyes shone with intense love.

    "Good! Once my heartfelt wish is achieved, why not knock down the courtyard walls, and I''ll take Yue Ji to see the world beyond."

    "As a consort at twenty, I am willing to join in dust and ashes. Wherever Your Majesty goes, I will follow."

    "But Your Majesty, when will you confer the title of Princess upon Lin Luo? She has been drifting outside for quite long enough, and with her mother having passed away early, if her father doesn''t care for her, it is just too pitiful."

    "Ah? This... this..." Faced with the dignified woman''s teasing gaze, Ying Si''s face turned red, and he then puffed out his chest proudly and said, "No rush, once the ceremony honoring Yi Chengzi as Great Qin''s National Teacher is over, I''ll take care of this."

    "Yue Ji, you are a bit presumptuous now. I must punish you!"

    As the dignified woman let out an exclamation, her legs were suddenly encircled by a large hand and she was swept up off the ground.

    ....

    ....

    The starlit night, Imperial Palace.

    Yi Chen really had the worst luck; after bathing and preparing himself, he ended up facing rejection at the door.

    The guard, a member of the Imperial Bodyguards, told him the Emperor was currently busy with state affairs and instructed him to return at midnight.

    After encountering Lin Luo by the jade steps of the Imperial Palace, who had been turned away earlier as well, Yi Chen then entered the grand hall with her.

    "Haha, Yi Taoist, I have been neglectful due to the affairs of the state," Ying Si said.

    "What do you think of the Pure Yang Daoist Palace I had constructed for you; does it meet your satisfaction?"

    "The gifts bestowed by His Majesty are naturally superb, and I am overjoyed," Yi Chen replied, subtly flattering before he continued,

    "However, today I come for an important discussion. As I sit upon the position of Great Qin''s National Teacher, if there are any heretical powers or malevolent spirits within Great Qin, it is my inescapable duty to dispatch them day and night, slaying the disloyal."

    "Yet, I also have a small request. My master, Bai Yunzi, perished at the hands of demons and wicked spirits. Therefore, on that day, I swore an oath to personally slay myriad demons and wicked spirits."

    "One demon, one merit,"

    "I wish to slay millions of demons, to accumulate millions of merits, billions of glories, to comfort the spirit of my master in heaven!"

    "What do you mean, Taoist?"

    "Alone, my power is limited. I wish to borrow a sum from Great Qin''s treasury to acquire objects possessed by demons and wicked spirits, to purge the world of evil spirits and amass millions of merits!"

    "Otherwise, bound by my spiritual vows, it would hinder my cultivation! This would also be a loss for Great Qin!"

    Yi Chen spoke with righteousness and resounding confidence!

    Yi Chengzi took out a loan for his duty; everything was for Great Qin. With a heart full of loyalty and courage, his intentions and actions deserved to be illuminated by the sun and the moon!

    ```

 Chapter 669 - 407: I, Yi Chengzi, Have Never Fought Such an Affluent Battle in My Life, Harvest_3

    The elderly woman saw Yi Chen walk straight into the trap and fall into the mouth of the sea beast, unable to help but break into a big, giddy laugh.

    Soon, her smile was welded onto her face.

    Suddenly, at a mere kilometer from Shen Island, the sea beast abruptly came to a stop, issuing a muffled "burp."

    "What... what is this..."

    Accompanied by the elderly woman''s shocked gaze, the sea beast''s body suddenly began swelling like an inflatable balloon. The sea beast grew restless, thrashing about in pain and rolling in the ocean. Its massive maw opened towards the sky, and bursts of golden light seeped from its mouth.

    "You claim to be able to swallow? Halberd Nine¡¤Nirvana Rebirth¡¤Great Sun Wheel!"

    "Catastrophic True Yang, break for me!"

    A haughty laugh from the Taoist filled the sea beast''s vast mouth. In no time, massive cracks started to form on the beast''s skin,

    The amethyst armor covering its body emitted a grating, cringe-inducing creaking noise. As the amethyst armor cracked, a thunderous explosion suddenly echoed through heaven and earth, and chunks of flesh scattered in all directions.

    Amidst the rain of blood, a large hand suddenly grasped a fleeing purple token and crushed it outright.

    In the midst of the blood rain, a burly Taoist with a cruel yet elegant smile on his lips slowly approached Shen Island, his domineering gaze and stunning proclamation reverberating across the universe.

    "Spirits and fiends are but deviants."

    "Monsters and demons are mere dust."

    "Heretical powers count for naught."

    "In three thousand worlds, all is but dust."

    "I am World-Shaking Pure Yang, greetings to Madame You."

    "Madame You, if you have any more little trinkets, summon them quickly. Otherwise, I shall join the others in dealing with you." Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Yi Chen held the Holy Halberd level, his eyes filled with anticipation, as alarming amounts of Extreme Origin began to gather on the halberd''s tip.

    "You... what kind of monster are you?"

    "Could it be... you''re also a Human Demon?" The old woman''s eyes were filled with terror, no one knew the horror of her own little treasure better than she did.

    "That''s it?"

    "Madame You, you worthless thing, you managed to control just one Purple Token sea beast, and yet you dared to be so rampant."

    "General Wang, Taoist Lin Luo, there''s no need to talk about martial world''s righteousness with such an Evil Demon deviant; let''s all take them down together."

    A reluctant Yi Chen twisted his mouth; he was determined to increase the pressure on the old woman before him, to see if he could squeeze anything else out of her.

    ...

    ...

    Half an hour later, Yi Chen, carrying the massive Jianmu, rushed across the sky with Taoist Lin Luo and the others, their faces dark.

    Of course, while the others sat in a dragon boat, the Taoist Priest could only carry the Jianmu, keeping pace with the dragon boat.

    "Don''t be angry, Taoist Lin Luo. I was in a rush, which led to this misunderstanding," Yi Chen consoled with a smile, his face betraying his undeniable joy.

    With this venture, he had earned a total of three million five hundred thousand Deep Red Points and had also acquired a sapling of the Jianmu Divine Tree. It had to be said, Emperor Qin Ying Si really was like a benefactor to him, Yi Chengzi.

    And then there was Madame You. Needless to say, she truly was a talent, possessing a touch of the cult of Cthulhu. By having others gaze directly upon an Ancient God and then listening to the devotees'' delirious murmuring to comprehend Divine Skills, to think of such a method of isolation¡ªallowing fools to bear the pollution, separating out the risks¡ªshe truly was bold yet meticulous, extraordinary in strength.

    "Taoist Lin Luo, how about I invite you for a drink later? I''ll visit the Prince''s Mansion to get some fine wine. Tonight, we shall drink to our hearts'' content, which should make amends to you."

    "That''s more like it." Only then did Lin Luo''s frosty face begin to thaw.

    For a moment, clouds parted to reveal the moon, and all faces were wreathed in joyous smiles.

 Chapter 673 - 409: The Demon Domain Readies for War, Evil Bones Faint Glow

    Demon Realm, Eastern Demon Kingdom.

    The north wind sweeps the ground, breaking the white grass; in September, the Demon Realm already sees flying snow.

    In the Eastern Demon Kingdom, as snowflakes drifted down, within a dark, deep abyss, tall Demonkin stood in a single-file column formation. Some rode atop gigantic demonic creatures, while others herded a multitude of ferocious beasts with varying appearances, silently entering the depths of the abyss.

    Occasionally, among the ranks, a hard-to-tame ferocious beast would let out an anxious roar, only to be quickly met with a whip shaped like an iron tribulus.

    The bizarre whip flickered with red and black hues in the daylight; the part of the handle that the demon soldiers held, however, was a blackish color. It was unclear whether the whip was originally like this or if the whip''s body had been stained red by fresh blood, soaking it with this color over time.

    But it was certain that once lashed by the whip, the restless beasts or demonic creatures would generally quiet down and dare not roar or howl any longer.

    Occasionally, a stubborn one, defiant to the pain, would bare its feral eyes and continue to snarl and struggle, only to be greeted by a second lash of the iron whip.

    If still unyielding, they would face a third, then a fourth strike, until there came a time when they would no longer make a sound.

    "Damned creature."

    A mammoth demonic creature, strong like a mammoth, had its brain matter spill forth from a forceful lash of an iron whip, collapsing with a thud. On its deflated head, one could still see four indentations from the whiplashes, obviously indicating that this creature was rather stubborn and among the tough ones of its kind. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    But now, the tough one had fallen and could no longer bellow towards the sky.

    A three-meter-tall demon soldier with a violent gaze kicked the eyeballs of the mammoth creature, bursting them. After spitting out a wad of saliva, he continued driving his own demonic mount forward with a gloomy face.

    Behind him, the bright red blood of the mammoth creature slowly seeped into the dark stone depths of the abyss.

    Raising the line of sight and then panning 10,000 meters to the left, at the moment atop an elevated prominent ridge stood a Demonkin with muscles coiled like dragons. Over five meters tall, he knelt with one hand on his chest before another Demonkin adorned with a tuft of purple scaled armor on his forehead and draped in a blood-red cape.

    That Demonkin with scales on his forehead was only two meters tall, but the towering Demonkin knelt before him, not daring to breathe too loudly.

    "Kalan Demon General, how much longer until the Storm Legion is completely in position?" asked the Demonkin in the blood-red cape with a cold glance at the large Demonkin kneeling before him.

    "Reporting back to Blood Dragon Demon Marshal, Sin Abyss is hard to enter, full of dangers, not to mention demon winds and powerful ferocious beasts lurking in the shadows. It will take nearly two months for the Storm Legion to be completely in place."

    The large Demonkin carefully replied, fearing he might cause offense.

    "Two months? Too slow, far too slow," the Demonkin in the blood-red cape frowned and coldly glanced at Kalan Demon General, "Kalan Demon General, I''ll give you no more than a month."

    "One month. As long as there are members of the Storm Legion still breathing, they''d better crawl to the Spring of Gloom."

    "But... Lord Demon Marshal, within one month, the losses of the Storm Legion could reach twenty to thirty percent; with worse luck, even forty percent is not impossible. Are we truly prepared to do this? The Storm Legion is the true elite troop of our Eastern Demon Kingdom," the tall Demon General said, quivering.

    "Those lowly red and green-blood Demon Clan, they are like dark moss on the earth of the Demon Realm, inexhaustible. When one batch is used up, another will grow. What does it matter if the casualties are high? Those wastrels, even including the Green Blood Demon Race, so long as not too many die, there''s no need for excessive concern."

    "Kalan Demon General, you are of the Blue-blood Demon Race and have followed me for many years, which is why I am giving you several extra reminders."

    "His Majesty has hastened the operation of our Eastern Demon Kingdom''s Supreme Magic Artifact, the Demon Dragon Orb, having long calculated that the space barrier within the Spring of Gloom in Sin Abyss is at its weakest. If the Four Pole Firmament Great Array is successfully deployed, this region will surely connect to the Human Domain."

    "Kalan Demon General, I have made a military pledge before His Majesty to seize the region of the Spring of Gloom that connects to the Human Domain, to plunder enough flesh and blood to construct the Demon Pool, to stabilize and expand the spatial rifts, and to allow even a powerful being like His Majesty to pass through easily. What an accomplishment this would be! Even if casualties are somewhat higher, what does it matter?"

    In the Demon Realm, bloodlines dictate supremacy, with bloodlines divided into ranks by color, roughly divided into five different colors: red, green, blue, and purple.

    Each color is further divided into levels, such as the highest-ranking purple, which is subdivided into light purple, dark purple, and dusky purple.

    The nobility of one''s bloodline determines the upper limits of a demon''s strength. For the Demon Clan, the world is just that cruel; some things, if you do not have them at birth, you will never have them in your lifetime.

    Of course, of the great yan number fifty, forty-nine are used; the Heavenly Dao always leaves a ray of hope, such as for a red-blood Demon Clan of the lowest rank who wishes to defy fate and elevate their bloodline to green.

    They can consume Blood Essence Stones that are by-products found within Demonic Iron Mines of the Demon Realm. Over time, provided one consumes enough Blood Essence Stones, it''s possible to advance one''s bloodline.

    Of course, this method comes with a trivial little drawback.

    That is, all Demonic Iron Mines that produce Blood Essence Stones are controlled by the higher-ranked Demon Clan.

    If the route via Blood Essence Stones is not viable, then there is another: for a Demon Clan of a higher bloodline rank to sacrifice some of their life force to condense a Pure Essence Blood Orb from within their own bloodline. Using a high-rank demon''s Pure Essence Blood Orb as a catalyst, there''s a minuscule chance to ascend one''s bloodline, enhancing their innate potential.

 Chapter 674 - 409: The Demon Domain Readies for War, Evil Bones Faint Glow_2

    The more Pure Essence Blood Orbs acquired, the better, and the higher the purity, the more it could greatly increase the success rate of bloodline ascension.

    However, this method also had a minor drawback: how to make higher-tier demonkin harm their own foundation to condense a Pure Essence Blood Orb for you...

    But the towering Demon General now clearly had this precious opportunity.

    "Kalan, your Berserk Demon Clan is of the Blue-blood Demon Race. Offer your loyalty to this marshal, persuade your Berserk Demon Clan to fully support this marshal in taking over the land opposite the Dark Springs. If successful, this marshal will bestow upon you three Purple Pure Yuan Blood Orbs. How about it?"

    "With three Purple Pure Yuan Blood Orbs condensed by this marshal''s cultivation, if you''re lucky, you have a one in five chance of ascending to the rank of the Purple Blood Nobles. Then your offspring will also be Purple Blood Nobles.

    This opportunity is given to you only once, as a reward for your two thousand years of following this marshal."

    Upon hearing this, the towering Demon General''s gaze suddenly erupted with intense longing and ecstatic joy.

    Their Berserk Demon Clan had never produced a Purple Blood Noble; perhaps this was his only opportunity in life, and he must firmly grasp it.

    "Kalan is willing to go through fire and water for Lord Demon Marshal, to die a thousand deaths without regret!"

    The towering Demon General kowtowed heavily to the ground, immediately making a fervent promise.

    "Heh, you should first bring the entire Storm Legion to me at the Sin Abyss Dark Springs within a month."

    The demonkin with scales on his forehead had a cold expression, stretching out his hand to catch a falling snowflake, "This snow is truly detestable."

    "Get the hell out of here!"

    Following a thunderous shout, the overwhelming demonic might of a cultivator close to the Third Level Breakthrough Limit swept through the area, instantly vaporizing all the snowflakes within thousands of miles.

    By the time the towering Demon General looked up, he found that the Blood Dragon Demon Marshal had already disappeared, leaving only a cold voice echoing in the place.

    "Remember, no more than a month."

    "My Demon Halberd has long been thirsty, I want to let the Human Realm run red with blood!"

    Unknown to anyone, crossing the barrier between realms, the Dark Springs was actually connected to Dragon Tiger Mountain, one of the three famous mountains of Da Yue.

    ...

    ...

    In the Western Extreme Demon Nation, a vast plain, camps filled the wilderness.

    At the heart of the camp, within the most luxurious tent, three towering demonkin were seated at the head, whispering and laughing softly, their conversation unknown.

    Kneeling on one knee in the hall below was a towering demonkin with a massive simian head. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Ask for the lord''s consent!"

    At the moment, the demonkin seated at the head of the left looked down indifferently:

    "Marlo, the brave, you open your mouth asking to borrow a million jin of Blood Essence Stones. How much Blood Essence Stones do you receive each month in our great army?"

    The simian-headed brave demonkin fell silent for two seconds, then with somewhat insufficient confidence, said, "Three thousand!"

    "Three thousand? Haha, three thousand? Did you two lords hear that? He said three thousand, to borrow a million."

    The demonkin general sitting at the right burst into laughter, then his voice suddenly turned icy, "Marlo, what gall you have. You, a member of the Green Blood Demon Race, dare to ask for a million jin of Blood Essence Stones? Even selling you wouldn''t fetch that much; your bones boiled into soup wouldn''t be worth that many Blood Essence Stones."

    "Three lords, I have heard that the neighboring Black Demon Army has discovered a concealed site. Once the Four Pole Firmament Great Array begins to manifest its extraordinary powers, there is a high probability it will connect to the Human Realm. The Black Demon Army is now secretly deploying forces. The three lords have good relations with the general of the Black Demon Army."

    "I am willing to lead men to join the vanguard, to be the first to proceed to the Human Realm. As long as I survive, five-tenths of the profits and merits, all offered to the lords. I hope the three lords will consider the years Marlo has spent serving and facing death for you, and give me a chance."

    "This..." The demonkin on the left stroked his chin with his large hand, pondering for a moment, "Fine, Marlo, over the years your cultivation has been limited by your bloodline, stuck at the Entering Dao Realm stage; it seems you want to take a risk."

    "Well, considering the sentiment over these years, how many elite demonkin do you want to take from my Demon Armor Legion?"

    "Three thousand!" The simian-headed demonkin once again spoke out loud.

    "Good, this lord will fulfill your wish. I will give you four thousand Demon Soldiers, but I and the others will take six-tenths of your profits and merits in the name of my Demon Armor Legion. What do you think?"

    "Five-tenths, how do you expect the three lords to split that?"

    After falling silent for two and a half seconds, the simian-headed demonkin decisively said, "Fine, six-tenths it is."

    "Not bad, Marlo, you really dare to take risks and fight. I hope you truly can achieve great feats, to get enough Blood Essence Stones to ascend your bloodline to the Blue-blood stage."

    "To add icing on the cake, I will also give you three thousand Demon Soldiers. However, if you should perish, your wife and children, all that you leave behind, will be used to compensate for my loss. How about it?" The demonkin on the right, rubbing his round belly, with cold light flickering in his eyes, said with a smile.

    "This... Thank you, my lord!"

    After hesitating for a moment, the simian-headed demonkin still nodded in agreement.

    He was of the Deep Green Bloodline, and if he wanted to take a step further, he must acquire enough Blood Essence Stones to transform his bloodline.

    Watching the silhouette of the simian-headed demonkin disappear outside the tent, the demonkin to the left then turned to the other two with a bow:

    "Two lords, this six-tenths of the profits, how shall we divide it?"

    "I want five-tenths, the remaining four-tenths will be split between you two!"

    At that moment, the Military General demonkin seated in the middle, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke out loud.

    "Ah? My lord, you take five-tenths, and we get four-tenths, this... this is no longer six-tenths."

    The demonkin in the center grinned and glanced at the demonkin on the right, then also stepped out of the tent.

 Chapter 675 - 409: The Demon Domain Readies for War, Evil Bones Faint Glow_3

    "General Demonkin, you are from the Blue-blood Demon Race, a distinguished clan, yet you are still too young."

    "He asked for sixty percent, so let''s take sixty percent. Where is the dignity of our old Blue-blood Demon Race if we do that? The items are under the name of our Demon Armor Army. When the time comes, we can just tell Marlo that this one percent is actually forty percent. What can he do to us?"

    "A rootless member of the Green Blood Demon Race, even if he gets lucky and becomes light blue-blooded, if he does not show respect, we shall simply make arrangements and kill him."

    "The bright red Blood Essence Stones, just given to Marlo like that. What a sin, General Demonkin," said the Horse-head Demonkin sitting on the right, chuckling as he stood up and patted the Ox-head Demonkin''s shoulder, earnestly advising him.

    Demon Realm, a place where hierarchy is stern, everything is just this cruel.

    Stepping out of the military tent and reaching a frozen lake, he looked up to the still snowing sky. The Bovine-head Demonkin stared blankly into the distance, losing himself in thought.

    After a while, he exhaled two puffs of white breath through his wide bovine nostrils and couldn''t help muttering in a low voice, "In this life, I tread on thin ice. Demon Heaven above, can I make it to the end?"

    The Bovine-head Demonkin stepped onto the icy lake. Suddenly, a faint crackling sound was heard, and his steps halted. Then, black clouds formed under his feet, and he resolutely continued forward.

    In every region of the Demon Realm, they were arming and preparing for battle.

    ...

    ...

    Dragon Tiger Mountain, Heavenly Pillar Peak.

    Zhang Hu, wearing a headband and holding a Dao Sword, was preparing to descend the mountain. Standing in front of him was his father, Yuan Shan True Monarch, who had come to see him off.

    "Hu, do you truly wish to descend the mountain for training? The outside world is in endless turmoil right now. Staying and cultivating in the hardships of Dragon Tiger Mountain might be more fitting," Yuan Shan True Monarch said with concern in his eyes, unable to refrain from advising.

    "Father, before Taoist Yi departed, he mentioned something very true during our casual chat. ''Reading thousands of Taoist scriptures is inferior to traveling thousands of miles.'' He encouraged me to descend the mountain to see more of the world and achieve great things."

    "Dragon Tiger Mountain is too peaceful. A sapling that doesn''t experience storms can''t grow into a towering tree. Your son wishes to train in the storms of the outside world."

    "Staying in Dragon Tiger Mountain, with the Heavenly Master''s family elders protecting me from the storms and winds behind the mountain, I would not experience even a bit of rain or wind."

    "Why don''t you also descend the mountain for a while, father? Taoist Yi said that the path of a True Monarch progresses too slowly through harsh cultivation. Even for you, father, descending the mountain to travel and observe more could greatly benefit your own cultivation." Zhang Hu, now advising his own father, reversed their roles.

    "Good, my son, with such ambition, I shall certainly support you. Go ahead. Take what''s inside this storage ring with you; I will stay and meditate on the subtleties of the Five Thunder Law for now," Yuan Shan True Monarch said, his eyes filled with both pride and concern. He handed a storage ring to Zhang Hu, evidently well-prepared for his departure.

    "Thank you, father. I shall take my leave," Zhang Hu said, unbothered by the situation, turning around elegantly. With a long howl, he spiritedly headed down the mountain.

    A day passed after Zhang Hu descended the mountain, and night fell. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Unnoticed by anyone, a wicked bone buried under a crooked tree on Tianxuan Peak suddenly emitted a faint ghostly glow.

    This ghostly glow was barely perceptible, flickering swiftly only when Venus lit up, and then it vanished.

    And the anomaly on Tianxuan Peak continued.

    To outsiders, Tianxuan Peak seemed as usual, its disciples even more diligent. However, a terrifying dark cloud had long been slowly eroding Tianxuan Peak.

    Nor did anyone notice the despair and pleas for help in the depths of some disciples'' eyes.

    They performed ''spectacular'' dramas daily, and within these meticulously designed plays, they had no right to speak or exit, nor the power to remain silent and unaffected.

    Their consciousnesses had long been imprisoned deep within their Sea of Consciousness, only able to watch as their bodies performed various absurd acts like marionettes.

    "Long Yi, you truly are talented. Such talent is hard to find even in my City of Bewitching Desires," a figure within the dark mist suddenly exclaimed in admiration.

    Straws inserted into bodies of the clan elders on Tianxuan Peak like clay and wooden dolls, each wriggling inside the tubes like little mice.

    Of course, a tube was also connected to Zhang Longyi, his aura now three times stronger than before.

 Chapter 685 - 413: A One-Man Army Yi Taoist Battles Demon Wolf, Finally Assembled

    The State Preceptor raised his halberd, his body floating, as he looked imposingly in all directions.

    In the skies, the Immortal-Slaying Domain swiftly appeared, and seven milky-white orbs emanated from the Taoist''s Cultivation Body, hovering high in the clouds. Extreme Origin energies frantically rubbed and circulated. The Taoist pointed his fingertips lightly toward the sky, and a massive Golden Throne swiftly appeared.

    Step by step, Pure Yang energy surrounded the Taoist as he walked through the air, as if ascending a heavenly ladder. His movement seemed slow but was actually fast, heading towards the Golden Throne. With his movements, the True Yang Spirit enveloping him ascended step by step, and a crimson armor slowly emerged on his body. The overwhelming Taoist might squeezed the towering Demonic Qi engulfing Heavenly Wind City to its limits.

    For a moment, the dim, sunless Heavenly Wind City was once again bathed in sunlight, illuminating the Taoist''s indifferent face.

    Who can purify the heavens? Only the World-Shaking Pure Yang!

    Looking at the imposing Taoist sitting high in the sky, the soldiers and civilians in the city couldn''t help but feel a sense of pride.

    This Taoist was their Great Qin''s State Preceptor, the World-Shaking Pure Yang Yi Chengzi.

    Unrivaled in arrogance and dominance, what could possibly stand against him!

    Compared with the buoyant morale of the cultivators among the soldiers and civilians of Heavenly Wind City, the morale of the Demonkin Military Generals had plummeted to an abyss, leaving them speechless, clutching their Demon Weapons to comfort their spirits and muster some courage.

    If the changes hadn''t happened so quickly, and the leading Demon Snake General of the attack on Heavenly Wind City had not ordered a retreat, by now the more cowardly Demonkin would have likely started to flee.

    "Human Race are all bark and no bite, don''t be afraid, everyone together, Demon-Yan Spear, combined attack!"

    Looking at Yi Chen''s escalating momentum, a Demonkin Military General with three iron-like snake heads could not endure it anymore and chose to retreat without a fight, waiting for the severe punishment from Lord Demon Wolf.

    Gritting his teeth, the robust arms of the Three-Eyed Demonkin swelled, and he raised his long spear high, shouting out.

    With his roar, each of his three snake head tops cracked open a black slit, and a pair of vertically growing black demonic eyes slowly appeared, locking firmly onto Yi Chen''s figure.

    Seeing their leader so valiant, the morale of the Demonkin Legion also rose slightly.

    "Kill him!"

    "Alone and daring to face us, let this Human Race powerhouse pay a bloody price." S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Kill!"

    Ashamed of the retreat thoughts they had before, numerous Demonkin roared out in anger.

    An invisible force field spread among the numerous Demonkin, forming a huge semi-transparent light screen, and at the same time, beams of demonic light emanated from their Cultivation Bodies, converging towards the long spear of the Three-Eyed Demon General.

    Soon, the vertical pupils of the Demon Snake General began to tremble slightly, as if his demon body was almost reaching its limit, soon unable to control the force in his hands.

    "Human Race powerhouse, you dare to assault our Black Demon Army''s formation alone, this is your biggest mistake in this lifetime."

    "The Demon-Yan Spear, empowered by my Three-Eyed Divine Power, will leave you with no escape. Die."

    The body tensed to its limit, and just as he could barely hold onto his long spear, the Demon Snake General roared loudly, carrying the hopes of numerous Demonkin, and with the belief in his own certain victory, the Demon Spear turned into a storm, rushing towards Yi Chen at high speed.

    Behind the path of the Demon Spear, continuous sonic booms could be heard.

    "Truly disappointing, is this all you have? You think this can make me dodge your edge?"

    "A grain of rice also shines brightly!"

    "It seems I overestimated you."

    Seated upon the Golden Throne, the Taoist couldn''t help but sneer with a smile. Calmly and unhurriedly, he extended a huge hand, reaching out to meet the rapidly approaching Demon Spear storm.

    Demonic Qi clashes with Pure Yang.

    Flesh against Demon Spear.

    In the blink of an eye, Demonic Qi and Extreme Origin collided and annihilation occurred countless times, yet the region where those two palms were acted as an impregnable wall, and the Demon-Yan Spear could not advance an inch. Seeing this, the Three-Eyed Demonkin was gripped by chilling fear.

    "There are no other hidden powerful beings. This group of Demonkin, I would like to take them down."

    The Taoist, showing a look of contempt, this strike''s power was even weaker by three parts than the force of Old General Wang Jian, who was empowered by Ancestral Dragon Golden Decree, hardly capable of injuring his Cultivation Body.

    The other idle hand suddenly clapped together as easily as clapping at a fly, pressing down upon the wildly spinning black Demon Spear, with majestic Extreme Origin flowing. Very soon, the Demon Snake General realized that he had lost control of his Demon Spear.

    No, not lost control, but rather his Demon Weapon was being overpoweringly suppressed by the bare strength of the Taoist in the sky, immovable.

    "This man is at the Demon Marshal level, at least a Breakthrough Limit True Monarch, everyone, form the Black Demon Serpent Array and retreat! Do not let yourself be defeated individually."

    "Those who retreat without authorization, the Supervising Battle Team will execute them immediately!"

    The Three-Eyed Demonkin, heart chilled, roared out again.

    Just as intelligence can deceive people, battle lines do not lie. Morale can be faked, but real combat does not tolerate the slightest frivolity.

    With one strike, the Demon General''s soul was greatly stricken.

    Relying on the army formation, he might still have a chance to escape; if everyone scattered like monkeys from a fallen tree, he didn''t know whether other Demonkin would die, but he was certainly doomed.

    "An action not returned is discourteous, here is your Demon Spear back!"

    At that moment in the sky, the Taoist gave a cold snort. Under Yi Chen''s Masculine Power, within the 365 strategic points of his Cultivation Body, golden gods simultaneously opened their eyes. The Demon Spear returned with a fierce screaming sound.

    True to their elite nature, the incoming Demon Legion hastily completed the setup of the Black Demon Serpent Array. Above the heads of the Demonkin, a sinuously long Black Snake phantasm emerged in the void, its eerie gaze directed towards the direction where Yi Chen stood.

 Chapter 686 - 413: A One-Man Army Yi Taoist Battles Demon Wolf, Finally Assembled_2

    Boom!

    The Demon Spear struck the Black Snake phantom with ferocity, emitting a violent explosion sound. The expansive sound waves, even after being weakened by the Great Formation of Heavenly Wind City, still caused many Cultivators of slightly weaker Cultivation to feel unsteady in their qi and blood.

    As the Demon Spear burst inch by inch, the Black Snake phantom also began to wither despondently. Some weaker Demonkin even vomited fresh blood and could not get up after falling to the ground.

    For a moment, all the demons felt despair, regretting coming to Heavenly Wind City. Why would they face such an unmatched powerhouse if they had sought their chances in other cities?

    Having survived the astonishing explosion, just as the Horde of Demons secretly rejoiced in their hearts, a vast Daoist voice rose once again.

    "Have you ever seen a real catastrophe?"

    The sky suddenly showed an intense light, and to the surprise of Heavenly Wind City, there appeared a scene of two suns sharing the sky.

    No, it wasn''t two suns, but within one of the grand celestial bodies, there was actually the figure of a Taoist.

    Even with ten thousand pigs, it would take Yi Chengzi quite a while to catch and slaughter them. How much more so for these Demonkin who were all elite, none of whom were weaker than a late-stage Cultivator in the process of refining essence into qi.

    To harvest Deep Red Points to the greatest extent, Yi Chen couldn''t help but go all out.

    His move was a strong one.

    Like a star from the Great Desolation falling from the sky, a grand celestial body suddenly fell towards the Black Snake phantom. Before even colliding, the Black Snake phantom began to melt away rapidly like thin snow encountering the scorching sun.

    The radiance and sound waves emanated from where the Taoist had fallen, and wave after wave headed towards the wide-open gates of Heavenly Wind City. The overwhelming might frightened Lin Luo and the City Lord Feng Xinglie among others to act together, laying down several Mana barriers before they stopped.

    After they suppressed all this, they raised their heads only to see a Taoist laughing heartily, laughing wildly, laughing extravagantly, among a pile of demon corpses.

    In this ploy, Yi Chengzi directly blasted almost 2.1 million Deep Red Points.

    The main contribution to these points was from the three Demon Snake Generals.

    Thus, the Deep Red Points required for the twenty-first level of True Technique were finally complete.

    However, in the midst of the torrent of information, Yi Chen also discovered a strange phenomenon, namely that some ordinary Demonkin didn''t yield Deep Red Points after being killed by him. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Amidst the severed limbs, the State Preceptor brandished his spear towards a Demonkin who had been cut in half by a massive shockwave but still showed tenacious will, struggling to crawl. With one thrust, he pinned it down.

    "Worthless thing," he said, "ugly and without Deep Red Points, you''re just wasting food by being alive."

    A large foot descended, crushing the head of the fierce-looking Demonkin on the spot. After repeating such actions a few times, Yi Chen eventually discovered the truth.

    It was about the Demon Heart.

    Powerful members of the Demon Clan would partially materialize their Demon Hearts, existing somewhat between solid and ethereal.

    "Indeed, practice brings out true knowledge."

    "Thank you to all the Demonkin Fellow Taoists for the significant contributions you''ve made on the poor Taoist''s journey of exploring the path of Deep Red Points. I used to only encounter big shots among demonkins, and I didn''t expect you guys to be so unimpressive!"

    Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the State Preceptor of Great Qin, Yi Taoist, who had performed numerous live dissections on the spot, couldn''t help but reveal a hint of regret.

    He took out a white handkerchief, wiped his hands that were not really stained with blood, and then threw it onto the last Demonkin, whose eyes bulged with a frightful death expression.

    "Tsk! A good-for-nothing being, not even a Demon Heart was formed; how could you achieve greatness?"

    "You trash want the Demon Clan to be great again?"

    Activating his Gazing special ability, Yi Chen deeply imprinted the image of a fortunate Demonkin, whose life was spared by a sonic blast and who had been shielded by a Taoist robe, into his mind.

    In an instant, the fleeing route of this Demon was vividly projected into Yi Chen''s mind.

    ---

    Inside Heavenly Wind City, thousands of soldiers and Cultivators looked on as Yi Chen cruelly dissected and tormented the wailing Demonkin. For a time, they looked at each other in dismay, unsure of what was happening.

    "Lord Lin Luo, what is the State Preceptor doing¡­" Feng Xinglie, who was about to step forward, stopped in his tracks when he saw Yi Chen''s actions and softly addressed Lin Luo.

    Goddammit, could the State Preceptor have been affected by some evil spell, becoming possessed?

    The bewitchingly beautiful Demon Cultivator from the Floral Faction watched Yi Chen with a holy face perform the ''dissection'' and immediately snuffed out any thoughts of offering herself. This State Preceptor of Qin had a certain reputation, but given his current behavior, which was so perverse, who knew what kind of monstrous things he did in private? Better to respect him from a distance.

    With many gazes surrounding her, Lin Luo bit her lip worriedly. Concerned that Yi Chen was genuinely possessed, she decided to approach and inquire.

    "State Preceptor, are you alright~?"

    "Of course, I''m feeling wonderful," Yi Chen replied with a smile. Noting the worry in Lin Luo''s eyes, he gently patted her shoulder to assure her.

    Seeing the enigmatic smile on Yi Chen''s face, Lin Luo''s feelings of concern only intensified.

    "State Preceptor, why don''t you come inside the city to rest? Let the Cultivators of Heavenly Wind chase after the fleeing Demonkin?" The purple-haired girl suggested gently when she saw that Yi Chen did not pursue and the last fleeing Demonkin''s figure also vanished on the horizon.

    A pair of jade hands reached for Yi Chen''s Daoist Robe but were gently evaded by the Taoist.

    "No, no, no, the Cultivators of Heavenly Wind City should just defend themselves; they must not leave the city to battle the waves."

    "It is for the poor Taoist to chase those scattered Demonkin."

    These people were Yi Chengzi''s treasures. Whoever dared to chase after them and ruin his big plans would face his fury.

    Others couldn''t take action, but Yi Chengzi could.

    "This¡­ State Preceptor, if these scattered Demonkin are not completely eradicated, it might lead to more tragedies. Given this, why does the State Preceptor not pursue or permit us to pursue?" City Lord Feng Xinglie led the Cultivators to approach and couldn''t help but ask as well.

 Chapter 687 - 413: A One-Man Army Yi Taoist Battles Demon Wolf, Finally Assembled_3

    "You all, after all, lack cunning and fail to see the situation clearly in a crisis."

    "There''s no rush, first let the demons run a bit... spit, let the demonkin run for a while."

    "So, the State Preceptor means that without a survival crisis, the fleeing demonkin will automatically group up and rush towards their main base from which they came, Lin Luo''s guess is right and also wrong?"

    A flash of divine light in her eyes, Lin Luo''s beautiful eyes suddenly revealed a look of admiration.

    She admired Yi Chen for his bold courage and meticulous thoughts.

    Those fleeing demonkin were merely baits released by the State Preceptor.

    Reckless killing would only ruin the State Preceptor''s grand plan.

    In the Human Realm, ''in unfamiliar territory'', where would that group of demonkin, scared off like homeless dogs, run to?

    Of course, they would head towards their main base, where they believed their kin to be the most numerous and the safest.

    "Fellow Daoist Lin Luo is truly the worm in my gut."

    "Indeed, we have no knowledge of the demonkin''s situation. It''s better to let those routed soldiers gather into a group and wipe them out all at once, than for us to chase them everywhere and ending up being wrapped up and eaten by the demonkin."

    "Every second that passes, the uncertainties grow. Without having a look at the demonkin''s main base and the portal they used to come to the Human Realm, my heart is unsettled," said Yi Chen with a solemn expression. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Once paid, one has to deliver; that''s the principle.

    "So, State Preceptor, shall we all go together?" City Lord Feng Xinglie of Heavenly Wind City asked gently.

    "You better not, just Fellow Daoist Lin Luo and I will go. Your cultivation is too weak, I''m afraid I won''t have the spare strength to take care of you all. With just two of us, in case of an accident, Fellow Daoist Lin Luo and I can retreat at ease."

    "City Lord Feng and other fellow Daoists, please do your best to gather citizens in the surrounding cities, and try to soothe those who have lost their loved ones."

    "We will obey everything the State Preceptor orders," the cultivators responded in unison.

    Estimating that the time was about right, and after rummaging through his mind for the Special Ability of Gazing to track to its limit, Yi Chen immediately gestured and led Lin Luo towards the distance.

    When they reached a deserted place, a large hand suddenly rested on the shoulder of the purple-haired girl.

    "Fellow Daoist Lin Luo, when encountering a large group of demonkin, you just stay far behind me."

    "Okay!"

    Following the location of the Gazing Special Ability, they trailed behind, executing demonkin squads along the way.

    At that moment, Yi Chen suddenly frowned.

    Thousands of meters from the Taoist, a Dog-Headed Demon Rongquan was seated on a large lizard-like ferocious beast, returning fully laden.

    At that moment, the lizard-like ferocious beast''s back sprouted bone spurs, forming a vessel-like structure with an open top, filled with corpses piled up. Among the many mutilated bodies, a peasant woman with only half a torso supported a small space with her arms, dying in that sustaining pose.

    Within the small living space propped up by the peasant woman, a child around six or seven years old stared coldly at his mother, without shedding a single tear or making a fuss.

    He was the only living person among the nearly thousand corpses.

    "Damn it, you''ve got guts!"

    The Dog-Headed Demon Rongquan, who sat atop the ferocious beast, gnawing on a human leg and singing, was sheared into ''demon swine'' by Yi Chen''s descending sharp Extreme Origin attack, and the beast beneath him suffered the same fate.

    "Child, what''s your name?"

    Yi Chen sighed, rescued the child, and then incinerated the many civilians'' corpses with Extreme Origin.

    "My surname is Bu. My parents hoped I would be as cheerful as a cuckoo, so they named me Bugu," said the little boy, his expression rigid, still cold, but his eyes revealed a deep sorrow.

    But he could no longer cry.

    "Bugu, you are a martial arts prodigy the likes of which I''ve only seen in my life; even compared to my Disciple Bai Shishi, your talent and foundation are better by half."

    "The Overbearing Bear Palm Technique seems tailor-made for you."

    "Kid, I''ve killed all the demonkin who slaughtered your clan for you. How about you swear allegiance to me and work for me?"

    Yi Chen stroked the child''s head, his gaze, however, was cast into the distance, fierce and full of killing intent.

    "Thank you, Master."

    The little boy''s face remained impassive, yet he possessed intelligence and maturity beyond his years, and seriously kowtowed three times to Yi Chen like a little adult.

    "Good, I''ll go prepare your welcome present. Fellow Daoist Lin Luo, take care of this child for me. Make sure you properly deal with that demonkin brat down there, don''t let it die too easily."

    After handing the child over to Lin Luo, the Taoist soared into the air, his body beginning to emit brilliant rays of light.

    World-Shaking Pure Yang, like the great sun patrolling the sky, began its march of burning conquest.

    Soon, Qiluan Peak was in sight,

    Beholding mountains of bones and the boiling Demon Pool, amidst the bustle of countless demonkin, Yi Chen''s heart was cold, yet his blood boiled.

    His gaze fixed on a fierce giant Demon Wolf struggling frantically with its claws in a dark portal, trying to come through.

    At that moment, more than half of its body had passed through, but the rest was stuck, unable to move forward or back.

    In a split second, a hint of joy appeared in Yi Chen''s eyes.

    Such a powerful demonkin, even stronger than my own aura.

    Fuck, it''s stuck.

    Strike it down while it''s ill, take its life; it must be done!

 Chapter 688 - 414: Yi Chengzi fights fairly once again, the cruel Demon Wolf, Shen Hong!

    A notion of fairness arose, and in an instant, the wind and clouds changed.

    World-Shaking Pure Yang, Extreme Origin Soaring shot straight up, striking at the Ox Fight Ruins, intent on slaughter reaching the very heavens!

    Yi Chengzi, Yi Chengzi, World-Shaking Pure Yang Yi Chengzi, stepping upon Qiluan Peak, with the Holy Skill lifted once more, he wished to leverage his years of arduous battle experience for a fair fight against the powerful demon beasts before him!

    Suddenly, a horde of demons appeared.

    Winds rose fiercely, rain surged in, lightning flashed, and the heavens howled in anger.

    A scene akin to the end of the world. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Wuu wuu wuu, a gale abruptly arose, and the blood waters within the Demon Pool also began to shake violently.

    "Form the array! Everyone, form the array! Protect the Demon Pool, defend the descent of the Great Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf!"

    "Send the signal, have all scattered teams and Great Commanders swiftly return!"

    Upon seeing this, the three-headed pig Demonkin was first startled, then let out a roar toward the sky like a machine gun, commanding orders one after another.

    Indeed, the Demonkin who dared to be the first to come to the Human Realm were the elite of the elite, and after the initial chaos, they rapidly stabilized, with the alien force field reappearing, and circles of black light suddenly illuminating the land around Qiluan Peak.

    That strange black light clung to the Demonkin standing within it, and for a moment, it greatly bolstered the momentum of this group of Demonkin.

    The Demon Pool was so crucial, being their beachhead, how could they not have prepared measures here?

    The Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf, with its fierce eyes fixed on the sudden appearance of the Taoist, cursed its misfortune while issuing a threatening proclamation,

    "Human Race powerhouse, your cultivation has not been easy; recognize the trend of the times, understand the will of heaven.

    Now as the will of heaven turns, the Demonkin shall rise. Why partake in this futile resistance? Why not join our Western Extreme Demon Nation? In the future, when our Demonkin rule the Five Realms, how about you become the leader of the Human Realm? I can assure you a perfect demon body for possession, purify your bloodline, and let you become one of our noble Purple Blood Demons. How about that offer?"

    What kind of Demon Nation nirvana could that be, promising a seat upon the Lotus Platform? The Taoist turned a deaf ear to this.

    He gazed at the Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf, trying desperately to buy time, a fierce smile showing on his face.

    "Demon Wolf Fellow Daoist, you''re wrong (liao). Such gabble¡ªI grew tired of it when I was five," Yi Chen''s voice was filled with contempt.

    Such a lousy Demon Wolf~

    Such tactics to buy time; does that foolish wolf think only with its head and not its brain?

    Or is it that the level of cunning and strategy in the Demon Nation has yet to evolve beyond such a primitive stage?

    If that were indeed the case, for him, endowed with astonishing wisdom, the Demon Nation was simply a blue ocean.

    With but a single word, he moved, halberd thrust out, sweeping through all directions.

    The Taoist, encircled by radiant light, made his way toward the Demon Pool with a cold laugh, charging to kill.

    "Stop him, stop him!"

    "Ferocious Beasts unit, all of you, attack!"

    "Demon Annihilating Spear, Demon Net, Demon Armor Technique, release in sequence!"

    The three-headed pig Demonkin seemed to hold a high status; at his roar, the Demonkin atop Qiluan Peak immediately took action. Most of the Demonkin had a gleam in their eyes, full of eagerness to try their hands at killing one of the strongest members of the Human Race.

    Of course, these Demonkin had never been hit. For example, a Baboon Demon who had taken a hit had already quietly slipped into the back ranks, gathering to form the Demon-Yan Spear.

    Marlo the Demon General trembled with fear in its heart, having lived on thin ice all its life; it had indeed been difficult.

    Its kin had no idea just how cruel and abnormal the Taoist they faced was.

    Right now, the memory of its kin''s cries of agony as they were sliced open on the Heavenly Wind City battleground, the twisted expressions of pain on the Demonkin draped in robes, compared with the intense curiosity and pleasure on the Taoist''s face, still haunted Marlo the Demon General.

    It seemed that the more his kin screamed in pain, the more excited he became.

    ¡ª

    "Roar!"

    Urged by the Beast Taming Demon, countless ferocious beasts with red eyes and a serpentine creature with ribs for wings, its entire body covered in scales, burst forth into the air, sweeping toward Yi Chen.

    The enormous serpent, twenty to thirty meters in length, charged ahead, carrying the might of wind and thunder, resolved to halt the Taoist''s unstoppable charge.

    Below, countless ferocious beasts, armored like tanks, also commenced their movements, the ground thundering as they charged like a river of steel!

    At the same time, accompanied by the fierce roars of the beasts, surging black miasma in the sky began to condense into enormous Black Ropes. Interwoven and crisscrossing, they seemed to be forming a massive net, aiming to descend upon the Taoist''s location.

    Five Demon Annihilating Spears in the sky trembled thunderously, ready to strike, each one boasting a might comparable to that of a Breakthrough Limit True Monarch under the joint power of so many Demonkin.

    But so what?

    The Daoist Holy Halberd flowed as naturally as willow branches swaying in the wind.

    Beneath the vast Qing Ming, the resounding dao voice echoed,

    "To slay a million demon soldiers."

    Swish!

    The ferocious serpent bore the brunt and faced the edge of the Holy Halberd.

    Under the gleaming light, its body seemed as fragile as paper, cleanly severed in two.

    The array''s defense, added upon it, seemed of little use against the Taoist''s unmatched Divine Power.

    "Blood on my Holy Halberd still fresh from the kill."

    The pure white brilliance emerged again as the Taoist swept his halberd forcefully, and numerous charging beasts were suddenly split in two, commencing their separate ways.

    The upper half of their bodies soared skyward amidst the halberd''s light, while the lower halves charged forward dozens of meters under inertia before collapsing.

    "Stupid beasts know not the hero Han."

    "Just keep on asking for my name."

    One man charged the ranks, the Taoist''s gaze piercing, viewing the thousands of demons as if they were nothing, yet two lines of poetry followed one after the other.

    Halberd Nine¡¤Nirvana Rebirth¡¤Great Sun Wheel!

    Facing the impending hefty fall of the Demon Net and the five Demon Annihilating Spears firing at him, he was already adept with his Ultimate Move.

 Chapter 689 - 414: Yi Chengzi fights fairly once again, the cruel Demon Wolf, Shen Hong!_2

    The Daoist Holy Halberd was raised high, and the overwhelming Extreme Origin swept out in all directions, transforming into an enormous and brilliant seven-colored Grand Grinding Disc.

    The Ninth Halberd Move absorbed everything, the Slaying Gods Technique slaughtered thousands, the might of the Heavenly Scourge High Above rampaged across the sky, and the Annihilating Execution Technique combined frantically, evoking various Ultimate Moves.

    The seven-colored Extreme Origin connected heaven and earth, suddenly erupting with force that pressed against the enemy formation. It shone like a ray of gold breaking through the clouds, and in an instant reduced the oppressive Demon Net and the massive Demon Annihilating Spear to dust.

    Yet this was not enough; even the Demonkin within a hundred meters of the Grand Grinding Disc were pulled by an inexplicable force into its domain and ground into pulp. Red, green, cyan, blue, blood of varying colors quickly seeped into the earth of Qiluan Peak.

    The Ninth Halberd Move forcefully cleared a large area around Yi Chen, and now, even the fiercest of the Demonkin couldn''t help but tremble in fear, hesitating to advance any further.

    One man repelling ten thousand demons, Lin Luo, holding a child, looked on from a distance, her eyes shimmering with intense emotion.

    At this moment, countless streams of information began to flood Yi Chen''s vision, yet there was not a trace of joy on the State Preceptor''s face of Great Qin.

    Something was off with that bastard Demon Wolf.

    Watching the Demonkin''s blood seeping into the ground, Yi Chen drew out his Holy Halberd, mustered Extreme Origin Rage, and transformed into a rainbow light, speeding toward the location of the Demon Wolf.

    "Damned Demon Wolf, you fight me fair and square, playing mind games with me, eh? Shameless!" he cursed.

    Suddenly, the world darkened around him, as the Taoist''s Cultivation Body became like a black hole, swallowing the surrounding light and converting it into the supreme Extreme Origin.

    With the Demon Wolf leading the military formation, the closer one got to the domain of the Demon Pool, the stronger the anti-flying force became. Even Yi Chen couldn''t approach swiftly with his Teleportation Ability, so the Taoist turned into a winding beam of light, taking a curved path at high speed.

    Yi Chengzi, this man, had a flaw: his kindness.

    The kind of kindness that avoids stepping on ants as one walks.

    Yi Chengzi, Yi Chengzi, revered Hua Tuo Yi Chengzi, transform! Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    On this charging path, facing the obstruction of the countless Demonkin Military Generals, Yi Chen actually used Hua Tuo''s Halberd Method.

    For minor Spells, he could bear them head-on; those he could dodge, he did, and those he couldn''t, he would deflect with precise force from the halberd, striving not to draw blood, embodying great compassion and mercy.

    From afar, Lin Luo stared at the scene, her eyes nearly popping out in shock, not knowing what bizarre changes were occurring ahead.

    However, at this moment, the Demon Wolf, having regained much of its body, looked at the imposing Taoist quickly closing in, like a butterfly flitting through flowers, feeling both shock and rage.

    Atop the wolf''s head, its eyes shimmered with diverse colors.

    Crimson, ghostly green, azure blue, pure white, an endless variety.

    Waves of strange Magic Power rippled out in all directions.

    "Attack, kill him, kill him!" the Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf howled to the sky, each wolf''s eyes shooting out beams of light in a dense array.

    Petrify, Weaken, Paralyze, Poison, Rigidity, Woody Transformation, Plague, Annihilation...

    Each beam of light carried unimaginable negative force, forming a net of light, trying to block Yi Chen''s advance and buy time for its escape.

    At this moment, the Demon Pool boiled even more fiercely, and not only the faces of Human Race souls emerged but also numerous Demonkin faces, writhing and wailing.

    To augment the Demon Pool, not only the flesh and souls of the Human Race could suffice; all sentient beings were nourishment for enlarging the Demon Pool, even more so for the Demonkin, whose vitality was more abundant, and whose soul power was stronger.

    Under the spell influence of the Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf, the eight hundred Wolf Demon Guards and three thousand Demon Serpent Guards around it charged fearlessly to their deaths, adding to the ferocity of the Demon Wolf''s struggles. The portal in space expanded a fraction more, and an additional ten percent of its body squeezed through.

    Soon, it would fully arrive.

    "Hmph, so what if you''ve figured out my scheme?"

    "With so many innate spells bestowed upon me, even the Blood Dragon Demon Marshal of the Eastern Demon Kingdom would have to be cautious. Just with your mere Human body, I do not believe I can''t gain another breath''s worth of time."

    "When that time comes, I will leave you with no burial ground!"

    The Demon Wolf''s eyes flickered with a cruel and cunning light.

    Soon after, the light in its eyes extinguished.

    In the play between reality and falsity, false could also become real.

    As Yi Chen drew within a kilometer''s distance, a powerful voice resounded, and Catastrophic True Yang manifested once more.

    The kind visage of Hua Tuo instantly turned into the fierce expression of a wrathful Asura.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    A massive Holy Halberd descended from the sky, piercing through everything, bursting one wolf head after another.

    Almost at the very moment that the Holy Halberd struck, the eight hundred Wolf Demon Guards standing by the side of the Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf all exploded, turning into a blood mist that merged into the Demon Pool.

    With this empowerment, the spatial portal expanded by several meters. A tangible black radiance wrapped around the Demon Wolf''s claws, vehemently stopping the descent of the Holy Halberd.

    Bang!

    In a moment too brief to react, palm and claw clashed against each other''s Cultivation Body, both figures recoiling from the impact.

    "Dishonorable!" both man and Demon uttered simultaneously.

    "Shameless!" once again, they spoke in unison, their accord uncanny.

    "You''re seeking death!" (Again, in chorus)

    The man and the Demon looked at each other, their faces barely maintaining composure, each seemingly surprised by the unexpected rapport with the other, the atmosphere turning awkward.

    This time, the two mighty beings kept silent, instead engaging in a tacit and fierce battle.

    The Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf, a formidable creature that had undergone a Breakthrough Limit twice, was sneak attacked squarely and fairly by the righteous State Preceptor of Great Qin, blasting thirty of its heads in one fell swoop and severely wounding it.

 Chapter 690 - 414: Yi Chengzi fights fairly once again, the cruel Demon Wolf, Shen Hong!_3

    The tall and burly Taoist did not possess the real combat strength of the Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf, but with his miraculous Cultivation Body, he regarded the Demon Wolf''s sky-covering negative eye spells as if a breeze were brushing his face.

    "Shameless piece of crap, to escape your trap, you actually killed your own subordinates. Even a rabbit knows not to eat the grass by its own burrow, yet I''ve never seen a person as shameless as you!"

    "They never imagined that instead of dying by my hand, they would die at the hands of their own!"

    "Stop spouting bullshit, I, Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf Wolf, have never seen a Taoist as deceitful and shameless as you. The most shameless of all, taking advantage when others are down, why don''t you wait for me to come out and then have a fair fight with me."

    "What are you yapping about? Where''s the unfairness? Is it me who''s not letting you move?"

    "Stop spouting bullshit, scum of the Dao Sect! Don''t the texts say the Dao Sect is about quietism and non-action? Have the Daoists of the Human Realm fallen to be like you?"

    "There goes the dog barking, dog barking! Growing so many heads, did you get a brain tumor? I feel nauseous just looking at you, do you know that? I''m going to burst your damn dog head today!"

    "Ahh, I''m so enraged! I''ll kill you, set up the formation! Black Demon Legion, heed my command..."

    "What''s this? Have you already broken through your defense? I haven''t even exerted myself yet!"

    "..."

    Extreme Origin spanned the sky, Demonic Qi surged, and alongside the intense fluctuations of the clash between the two powerful fighters spread their continuous exchange of insults, which was quite a spectacle.

    The Taoist won with tricky angles, winning by quality.

    The Demon Wolf won with its many heads... spraying insults and learning on the fly, incessantly.

    This made Lin Luo, who was watching the battle from afar, twitch at the corner of her mouth, unsure of what to say. It was supposed to be an earth-shattering bloody battle, yet it carried a strange sense of humor.

    After more than ten moves, Yi Chen''s heart was pierced by a wolf claw, blood sprayed across the sky, and half of his head collapsed. He retreated rapidly, taking the opportunity to escape the range of the Demon Army Formation. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf was also gravely injured. Thirty-one of its hundred heads had been blown up, their brains hammered out.

    However, because the enemy was bolstered by the military array, Yi Chen''s defeat became more evident, and he no longer wished to continue the battle.

    "Trash, have the guts not to run!"

    "Such heavy injuries, this is just the interest I''m collecting from you first."

    The Demon Wolf roared in anger, blood flowing from its head like a torrent!

    "Shut up, such a minor death, how could it trouble my World-Shaking Pure Yang!"

    Yi Chen retorted sharply. A flash of Primordial Spirit Radiance, and his Cultivation Body was restored to its original condition, the withered and collapsed half of his head also plumped back up, "Stupid dog, when can your Cultivation Body recover?"

    "Now you''re probably just barely maintaining the Breakthrough Limit Double Layer''s baseline, that''s if you have a solid foundation. Dare to step out of the formation, and I will definitely kill you!"

    "Hmph, what''s so difficult about that!" The Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf gritted its teeth, not knowing what Secret Technique it used, one head after another began to grow back, though these new heads were smaller than before.

    Man and demon faced each other once more, neither willing to give in.

    "Good! Good! Good! Just you wait, damn dog, I''ll get you!"

    "Looking forward to our next encounter!"

    "Fellow Demonkin, following such a commander, I feel sorry for you, to actually kill your own people, you can eat shit!"

    "Following such a leader, there''s no future for you!"

    After one last attempt at manipulation and separation, the Taoist''s figure flashed, and instantly, taking Lin Luo with him, he disappeared into the horizon!

    "Lin Luo, Fellow Taoist, you go back to Heavenly Wind City first and bring reinforcements."

    "I have some business to attend to!"

    After instructing Lin Luo, Yi Chen split up from the purple-haired girl and both quickly retreated in opposite directions.

    Damn it, so what if you''ve got a lot of heads!

    Within the Nameless Forest, inside a Bear Cave, a bear that was eating honey got abruptly knocked out by a big smack!

    "Shen Hong!" The Taoist immediately sat down cross-legged, murmuring softly!

 Chapter 712 - 423: Earn! Imperial Butcher! Accusation and Responsibility!

    The next day.

    Kunxu Mountain.

    The crisp sunlight fell on Zhen Ruan''s hair like firecrackers, as she slept soundly, curled up like a kitten, her face still flushed with lingering warmth. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Except for a pair of delicate little feet, her graceful body was entirely covered by a brocade quilt.

    At this moment, a robust Taoist stood at the window sill, his strong upper body bare, gazing into the distant sky, lost in thought.

    After a while, the Taoist turned to glance at the sleeping woman with ear-length short hair by his side, he reached out his large hand and summoned the Daoist robe hanging on the rack, flung it over himself, and quietly departed.

    As his figure vanished from the room, the opened window slowly closed, plunging the room into darkness while the chest of the beauty under the quilt continued to rise and fall rhythmically.

    She was exhausted, sleeping deeply.

    The Taoist, with his wide-sleeved robe, traveled swiftly through the wind and soon reached the foot of Kunxu Mountain.

    At this moment, two or three hundred cultivators with pale faces knelt on the ground, heavy magical shackles on them, and a purple-haired young woman stood before the crowd with a grim face.

    "Fellow Taoist Lin Luo, how is the investigation coming along?"

    "Ah, the empire is unfortunate, the situation is even more severe than you, State Preceptor, had anticipated."

    "In many cities of the Northern Region, the City Lords were coerced by Demonkin masters to collaborate with them. To preserve themselves, these officials large and small chose to turn a blind eye. The reports to the court are either suppressed, delayed, or downsized."

    "State Preceptor, I''ve utilized the covert strength of the Ministry of Justice, and I''ve captured all these ringleaders. Lin Luo believes that not executing these people publicly and swiftly is insufficient to quell the public outrage."

    "Many remote villages and towns in the Northern Region are now...ten rooms empty out of ten."

    At this point, the purple-haired young woman''s face was frosty, her expression stern.

    After hearing Lin Luo''s report, Yi Chen then understood the operations of the Demonkin who had secretly moved from the Southern Region to the Northern Region.

    Unlike the battle tactics of the Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf, the Demonkin led by the Demon Tiger of the Southern Region were more deceitful and cunning.

    They intentionally left small groups of Demonkin in the Southern Region to create minor disturbances, while secretly moving large forces to the lands of the Northern Region.

    This vile creature didn''t opt for large, swift assaults like the Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf, but rather used a tactic that made the least waves, silently permeating everything.

    They directly intimidated cultivators and even sect members of Great Qin through a mix of threats and inducements.

    Such tactics were essentially a combination of special operations and decapitation strike tactics.

    Of course, there were also some ''insidious humans'' who happily turned to the Demonkin, joyfully becoming self-provided guides, much like certain cultivators from the Illumination Organization.

    Hearing Lin Luo suggest annihilating their group completely, many of the kneeling cultivators couldn''t help but stir uneasily.

    "State Preceptor, mercy, Lord Lin Luo, the Demonkin threatened the lives of my entire family; I truly had no choice but to feign compliance!"

    "Exactly, the Demonkin are fierce. Without resorting to such measures, we couldn''t have protected ourselves."

    "..."

    "Good! Well said!"

    Applause.

    With a gentle smile on his face, Yi Chen listened to everyone''s defense, suddenly began clapping enthusiastically himself.

    "Well said, indeed!"

    "The families or the powers behind each of you lords are prominent figures in the Northern Region. Should this poor Daoist add more details for you lords?"

    "I reckon your lordships thought as long as you didn''t falsely report the military situation, and did report the upheaval caused by small groups of Demonkin, you might push the blame onto others when things go awry under the guise of mere incompetence."

    "What a perfect play of snapping from behind, escaping from the front! Who could surpass your lordships in cleverness? Profit!"

    "Why don''t I help your lordships recall whether any of you has reconciled with the Demonkin, say, providing them with ''protection money'' so long as they don''t attack your cities, they''re free to ravage other places, and everyone keeps mum about it?"

    "Next, when it comes to rewarding merits, you could claim yet another merit for defending your lands effectively¡ªmore profit!"

    "Of course, for those stubborn ones, you might even secretly provide the Demonkin with a hit list,

    after all, having dipped into such matters yourselves, anyone who stands dry on the shore would seem out of place, wouldn''t they? With the help of the Demonkin, eliminating those ''out of group'' Alien Species and filling their spots with your own people, pushing all the blame onto the Demonkin, you make a huge profit!"

    "What the Demonkin want are lives; those untakeable properties, hidden gold and silver all become unaccounted funds. With your capacities, deploy your people into those new positions as you wish, how to manipulate the situation is just a phrase away."

    "The more people die, the greater the gains, all under the assurance that the emperor will eventually step in; Great Qin loses nothing, and you scoop up the genuine treasures."

    "The Northern Region has truly decayed, turned to white ground, and inevitably Great Qin will allocate funds for reconstruction¡ªanother profit! After all, whether a thousand or a hundred thousand or a million die, it''s but a statistic, not such a big deal!"

 Chapter 713 - 423: Earn! Imperial Butcher! Accusation and Responsibility! _2

    "Who can blame all of you esteemed ones, have you considered what happens if this gets too big and even the emperor can''t handle it? Great Qin pressing Central Continent isn''t invincible, you bunch of idiots!"

    "Collaborating with the Demonkin, secretly exchanging favors, taking their things, and ultimately you all should be scared, when the war really fires up in the Human Realm you bunch of idiots will be compromised in the hands of the Demonkin, you all are ironclad traitors, you really are so wronged!"

    At this point, Yi Chen was so angry he started to laugh bitterly, almost going red-hot. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Damn it, the Western Extreme Demon Lord that old git has a fourth Breakthrough Limit cultivation, facing such an old git, there are at least four more in the Demon Realm!

    Motherfucker, if those few lords really come over, I''m not developed enough, you want me to just go head-to-head? Use my head?

    Everyone in the Demon Realm wears a higher level than you all, Yue Qingping and Ying Si might have good foundations, but could they also hang others up and beat them?

    Yi Chen looked at the ground at this bunch of bastards and for a moment, he actually saw a kind of beauty that reminded him of the Jiangnan gentry from history books.

    Shit, these bastards think that even if Great Qin loses, with their history of servitude, the Demonkin still need people to rule over the Human Race for them, why not profit one more time~

    Do it well and the Demonkin daddy will raise a flag for them, securing their status as a noble family, truly freaking brilliant.

    Right from when the Demon Realm first invaded the Human Realm, my great grandfather led the way for the Demon Lord, flying the proper Western Extreme Demon Nation banner, so authentic~

    Thinking about how close he, Yi Chengzi came to becoming a world-shaking figure, Yi Chen''s heart went red-hot.

    According to numerous testimonies from the Demonkin, Yi Chen was certain that these individual people below might not have thought everything through so thoroughly, but together, they certainly could piece together the puzzle he suspected.

    The kneeling cultivators looked at Yi Chen''s angry scolding, exhibiting varied reactions.

    Some shamefully hung their heads, some were still resentfully unsatisfied, some cried bitterly admitting their mistakes, willing to die fighting the Demonkin, while others felt utterly hopeless, knowing there was no escaping their fate today.

    Of course, some took advantage of the situation and admired the ''State Preceptor of Great Qin,'' thinking of some profit schemes they had not considered themselves; no wonder others could become State Preceptor.

    "Kill! Go to Feng Xiu City, gather all the city''s people to witness, all these pieces of Imperial scum, must die!" At that moment, Lin Luo spoke decisively, leaving no room for doubt, and all the cultivators shackled and kneeling on the ground''s faces turned ashen.

    However, soon their faces, stricken with hopelessness, glimmered with a faint hope.

    "Lin Luo, Fellow Taoist, that''s too extreme!"

    "Ah?"

    "The people kneeling below undoubtedly have power factions, mentor-disciple relationships behind them, or perhaps backed by families, aren''t each one of them crucial to their respective groups? Killing them all, that''s too cruel."

    "A family should stay complete, mentor and disciple as father and son, direct family up to three generations. Lin Luo, let the Ministry of Justice compile the list, bring all of them to Feng Xiu City, and confiscate all their properties."

    "I want heads rolling in the Northern Region! To console the many innocent souls that perished!"

    "They were forced, who ever gave those dead civilians a choice, goddamnit."

    Taoist Changya once again spoke, his words faintly hinting at a scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

    "Yi Chengzi, I''m done with you, what do my family members have to do with this! Each person should be responsible for their own actions!" Someone angrily stood up, but quickly his knees were struck by a Holy Sun Extinguishing God Breath, exposing the white of his bones.

    "Yi Chengzi, what kind of State Preceptor are you, you disgrace the Taoists, you''re a butcher!"

    "Imperial Butcher Yi Chengzi!"

    Upon hearing this, not only were the many ''Great Qin criminal cultivators'' stirred up, even Lin Luo was shocked, suspecting she had been too tame compared to the ruthlessness of the State Preceptor.

    "Yi Taoist, do you know how many people will die from such actions? This will involve tens of thousands! Among these, there will surely be the wrongfully killed, in the future, you will be pointed at by thousands! Your name as a butcher will never be washed away." Lin Luo was horrified, unable to refrain from advising.

    "If there are ten thousand, then kill ten thousand. I want these people to personally witness their life''s efforts destroyed, mentorship, family, all because of their responsible ties, turned to ashes."

    "They want to be martyrs, right? Do some of them not have the idea of sacrificing one for the happiness of many? I want to know what expressions they will have when they watch the foundations they built collapse!"

    "Then, I will personally kill these people!"

    Taoist with wide robes and long sleeves, turning his back to the crowd, spread his hands wide with sunlight spilling onto his back, yet his face remained unseen.

    "But, there are many innocent among these people, many were forced, they don''t deserve death! It''s not reasonable nor fair!" Lin Luo still wanted to argue, but met with only the distant sound of the Taoist''s voice.

    "Changya Princess, if you want to act, you must not be indecisive, you both want and must."

    "I know among them there must be those wrongfully accused, those who do not deserve death, but, can you distinguish, to what extent should those who do not deserve death be punished to shut everyone''s mouth?"

    "More importantly, whose side are you on?"

    "People always have their biases before they have their reasons."

    "There''s a ruffian called Da Xiong beating a kindhearted civilian called Da Xiong, you have four choices, one, help Da Xiong, two, help the ruffian, three, don''t help either and pretend you didn''t see it, four, say both are wrong."

 Chapter 714 - 423 Profit! Imperial Butcher! Accusation and Responsibility!_3

    "Whichever of the last three options you choose, you''re helping Fat Tiger."

    "So, Princess Changya, those villagers who died, were they not human?"

    At this point, Yi Chen sighed deeply,

    "To act without drawing criticism is something only the sages, the divine, and the greatest among men can achieve. With my limited abilities, I cannot reach such heights. I can only act while covered in blood."

    "I am not a butcher, but this trend cannot continue. You know the state of the Human Realm, and what the Emperor''s intelligence reports indicate. The Dragon Tiger Mountain''s Zhou Longyu Tiger Divine Light Great Formation has been operating at full force for days without anyone knowing what''s happening inside. The Demon Realm is far stronger than we imagined, and the Western Extreme Demon Lord is a Fourth Realm of Breakthrough Limit character. It likely goes the same for the other Three Great Demon Kingdoms, otherwise they would have been swallowed up by now."

    "Thus, those who collude with the Demonkin, even without explicit cooperation but with an unspoken understanding, I can only use their heads once more! Let them suffer more, and I''ll bear the infamy!"

    "I want to tell the world to choose a side! Whether to stand with the Demonkin or the Human Race, they must choose! I will not tolerate double-dealing, and for the treasonous, there will be no leniency¡ªdeath and the extinction of their clans will be the only path for them."

    At this point, Yi Chen''s tone suddenly rose eight octaves.

    "Our enemies are pushing at our doorstep, is it still important to struggle with legal and moral concerns?"

    "Killing to protect life, cutting karma not people, the side you stand on is what matters!"

    "I will carry these sins, I will bear them!"

    "Also, Princess Changya, are you planning to have the Emperor issue a decree to take action, or will your Ministry of Justice handle it? Believe me, the Emperor and I would make the same choice, and I am the most suitable for killing."

    "My merits from Falling Dragon Mountain, the wealth spent from the Great Qin National Treasury, were not given to me by these kneeling nobles but by those villagers with empty homes."

    "As the State Preceptor doing paid work, I must give them an account!"

    "So, let me do the killing, otherwise once the Emperor''s decree arrives, Princess Changya, you will not be able to bear such infamy!"

    Saying this, Yi Chen''s burly figure slightly stooped, his broad back carrying a sense of ''great melancholy'', as if he was struggling to come to terms with Lin Luo''s misunderstanding, like a lone wolf walking the path with a body full of stardust, treading the Taoist path alone.

    No one understood him.

    The Great Qin National Master Yi Chengzi, World-Shaking Pure Yang, wished to be the butcher for the empire.

    In a flash, the Taoist figure suddenly disappeared toward a mountain hollow.

    "So, let me do the killing, otherwise once the Emperor''s decree arrives, Princess Changya, you will not be able to bear such infamy!"

    These words, like a slideshow, replayed in Lin Luo''s mind. Watching the Taoist''s desolate figure, she clenched her teeth and followed him to the mountain hollow.

    Surprisingly, Great Qin National Master Yi Chengzi unexpectedly stumbled, and the purple-haired girl, arriving later but moving faster, caught up from behind.

    Her bare hands suddenly embraced the robust waist of the Taoist from behind, restraining Great Qin National Master Yi Chengzi for three seconds.

    Feeling the soft pressure against his back, this master who could pin a Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf to the ground found himself momentarily unable to break free.

    "Oh, Princess Changya, what is this..."

    "Yi Chengzi, I understand you!"

    "Also, don''t call me Princess Changya anymore; I really dislike that title!"

    After speaking, the purple-haired girl''s cheeks turned red, and she vanished in a flash of rainbow light, missing the slight smile that crossed the Taoist''s lips.

    "Truly like me!"

    "Profit! Huge profit!"

    "Damn, I even killed the Western Extreme Demon Nation King''s eldest son right in front of him, and you bastards dare to pave the way for the Demonkin, wanting me to die!"

    "No, I, Yi Chengzi, am blood-stained, all for the Human Realm, willing to bear the infamy, World-Shaking Pure Yang, I will carry it, I will bear it!"

    By evening, the sky suddenly began to pour torrential rain.

    Lin Luo was quick in her tasks; outside Feng Xiu City knelt thousands of ''people awaiting execution,'' wailing ceaselessly, their cries and curses filling the air.

    These were delivered today; the next batch would take a bit more time.

    Snap!

    A large foot stepped into a puddle, splashing water in all directions, as a burly Taoist slowly approached from the horizon, holding the Holy Halberd, his face expressionless.

    World-Shaking Pure Yang, the empire''s butcher, had arrived.

    The Holy Halberd swept the sky, and suddenly the suburban rain turned a vivid red.

    People only heard a powerful battle cry that shook the heavens and earth!

    "Full of honor, burdened by slander, kill, kill, kill, dancing the Halberd through the human realm, famous in all directions!" S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "A body as fleeting as fluff, a lone guest on his journey, slash, slash, slash, World-Shaking Pure Yang, walking the Taoist path alone!"

    In the midst of the killing, a stunning female cultivator suddenly appeared, her eyes dark with admiration, as she loudly declared:

    "By imperial decree!"

    "The Emperor decrees! There is no sense in letting the National Master bear the infamy alone; I, Ying Si, am willing to join the National Master in being the empire''s butcher. I specifically order Lian Caiyi, head of the Ministry of Justice, to enforce the law on my behalf!"

    "Kill!"

    "Yi Taoist, Lian is here to assist you!"

    What seemed like a glimmer of hope for the crowd suddenly turned back into hell!

    Another King of Hell had arrived!

    "Lian Fellow Taoist, leave some for me!" Suddenly, the Great Qin National Master was anxious; his Pure Yang Flame Prison Deduction the Only My Way Realm had long been drained, and he was in dire need of more ''chickens''¡ªwhat was going on now?