68: Chapter 68 Jiang Zu Slays Kuafu

Inside the Immortal Cave, it was deathly silent, with only the faint hum of circulating mana.

Not until a rat's squeak rang out did Shen Moyan show a look of joy.

"After multiple adjustments to the formation patterns, on the 42nd experiment, the Treasure-Seeking Rat finally crossed over alive."

"It wasn't easy."

After recording the data, Shen Moyan held the terrified-looking Treasure-Seeking Rat in his hand, his lips curling slightly.

"Alright, let's test the return teleportation array."

With that, he threw the Treasure-Seeking Rat back into the portal... Kongsang Prefecture, a private room in Juxian Pavilion.

Outside the window, the moonlight was hazy, while the building was brightly lit.

"Congratulations on your promotion, Fellow Daoist Jiang!" Shen Yi, Shen Moyan's paper figure Incarnation, raised a glass in toast.

This was a banquet that wasn't grand but was decent enough, celebrating Jiang Zhiqiu's formal appointment as the Langya Province Inspector.

Most of the attendees were Academy classmates and a few familiar young officials; the atmosphere was lively yet elegant.

Shen Moyan's paper figure Clone, currently using the alias "Ren Wuchang," was also seated at the table as a drinking buddy Jiang Zhiqiu had met.

He behaved appropriately, his conversation filled with wit and insight, socializing naturally with everyone.

After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere grew even more lively.

Someone clamored for Jiang Zhiqiu to talk about the way of officialdom. Though Jiang Zhiqiu looked slightly tipsy, his eyes remained clear. He raised his wine cup to everyone and said, half-seriously and half-jokingly:

"Fellow Daoists, you flatter me. Since I have entered this gate, maintaining a righteous heart is my duty."

"This position of Inspector is to inspect injustices everywhere and to examine the integrity of the administration. From now on, we shall conduct public business officially, and personal friendship is personal friendship, especially Brother Ren Wuchang!"

He smiled and raised his glass to "Ren Wuchang": "Since we work together in Kongsang Prefecture, we must remember to avoid forming cliques for personal gain and keep some distance to ensure a long-lasting relationship."

"Don't let me catch you one day, or this wine won't taste so good."

Everyone laughed upon hearing this. Some praised Inspector Jiang for his integrity, while others jokingly said they would have to act carefully in the future.

Shen Moyan also raised his glass in response, a faint smile on his lips: "Brother Jiang, rest assured. I, Ren Wuchang, act only to have a clear conscience and will never make things difficult for you."

His tone was frank, but his gaze seemingly inadvertently swept over an ancient-looking jade pendant Jiang Zhiqiu carried, which had mysterious patterns—a symbol of the Jiang Family's status.

Just then, someone at the table mentioned several major smuggling cases in Langya Province in recent years, which involved many people. They lamented that while the Holy Court's laws were strict, there were inevitably times of injustice.

Somehow, the topic shifted to legendary bestowed items like the "Cinnabar Writ Iron Certificate" and the "death exemption gold plaque."

Seeing the timing was right, Shen Moyan chimed in seemingly casually, turning his gaze toward Jiang Zhiqiu with just the right amount of inquiry and respect:

"Speaking of the death exemption gold plaque, I, Ren Wuchang, recall a rumor."

"I heard that Brother Jiang's ancestors were once personally bestowed one by the Xuanhuang Emperor Lord? I wonder if that is true? The Jiang Family's style is noble; to receive such an honor, they must have achieved unprecedented merit, right?"

He asked this cleverly, keeping his posture very low, filled with admiration for the Jiang Family's ancestors.

Jiang Zhiqiu's originally smiling expression turned slightly solemn, and a complex light flashed in his eyes, containing both pride and deep pain.

He set down his wine cup, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the jade pendant. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, his voice deepening with the pride of a Jiang Family member:

"Since Brother Ren Wuchang has asked, it is not something that cannot be spoken of. That was not some honor to boast about, but something our Jiang Family ancestors exchanged their blood and lives for."

He looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the building to see the very distant past.

"It was during the Wanbao Era, or even earlier... the ancient records are vague. Before the Nine Songs Immortal Lord attained the Dao, a terrifying existence that had been slumbering since the ancient Mountain and Sea awakened from the endless abyss beneath this ground."

"It wasn't an ordinary evil, but... a fallen giant of the Kuafu Clan."

"The Kuafu Clan?" someone at the table whispered, clearly having heard the legends of this ancient God Race.

"Correct." Jiang Zhiqiu nodded, his expression grave.

"But it was not an Innate Divine Being who chased the sun and drank from the river, but one corrupted by a mysterious power, its Divine Soul lost, transformed into a Demonic Fiend that knew only destruction!"

"Its body was comparable to mountains, its eyes red as blood moons. It could cross rivers in a single step, and wherever it passed, the land was parched for a thousand miles, and life was devastated... It came from the east, heading straight for the most densely populated area of Langya Province at the time."

"At that time, the Holy Court's power had not yet covered the four poles, and the cross-province teleportation arrays in Langya Province had not yet been established. Seeking help from other provinces took a full year or even several years."

"That Demonic Fiend's strength far exceeded an ordinary True Lord, and was even comparable to a law of tribulation grand Cultivator! The entire Langya Province was in peril." Jiang Zhiqiu's voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling. "The head of the Jiang Family at the time led all the clan's Cultivators, even lowering his head to unite with several Fellow Daoists from hidden orthodoxies to face that Demonic Fiend head-on."

"That battle..." He took a deep breath. "The ancestor's records state that the Demonic Fiend could shatter mountain peaks with a single roar, and the ground shook with its every move."

"With every breath, the infinite vast sea was gulped down."

Hearing this, Shen Moyan was deep in thought.

"Our Jiang Family Cultivators formed arrays and self-detonated their Flying Swords just to slow it down by one step, using their flesh and blood to withstand its trampling just to buy time for reinforcements from other provinces... Eight or nine out of ten clan Elders perished, and the direct descendants were almost completely wiped out."

"In the end, it was the clan head at the time, one of my grand-uncles, who burned his entire Divine Soul and Lifespan to trigger the clan's forbidden technique, transforming into an infinite green blade, barely managing to sever the Demonic Fiend's head."

"The head fell into the Nine Abysses Void Realm on the battlefield, and only then was it barely finished."

The private room fell into a silence so deep a needle could be heard dropping.

Beside him, Shen Moyan's Clone wore a look of contemplation.

"In that battle, hundreds of millions of the Human Race in Langya Province survived, but our Jiang Family's... Foundation was nearly broken."

Jiang Zhiqiu's tone was sorrowful: "Later, the Xuanhuang Emperor Lord, grateful for our Jiang Family's merit in sacrificing ourselves to protect all living beings, specially bestowed a gold plaque, stating that as long as the Jiang Family's descendants do not betray the Human Race or go against the Heavenly Dao, they can be exempted from the death penalty once."

"He even had the Three Lives Wangchuan Immortal Lord open a special passage on the Naihe Bridge for those who sacrificed themselves."

"With such high regard, how could our Jiang Family fail the Emperor Lord's grace?"

He looked at 'Ren Wuchang' and then at everyone at the table, his gaze regaining some of the Inspector's sharpness: "So, Brother Ren Wuchang, everyone, that gold plaque does not represent privilege, but responsibility."

"It is a reminder to the Jiang Family's descendants not to forget our ancestors' will and to take the protection of all living beings as our duty."

"Forming cliques for personal gain or perverting the law for personal feelings is something I, Jiang Zhiqiu, will never do, nor dare to do."

He stared at Shen Moyan, as if trying to see through him.

These words were spoken with powerful resonance.

The originally lively atmosphere in the room turned solemn, and when everyone looked at Jiang Zhiqiu again, their gazes couldn't help but hold a bit more respect.

Shen Moyan listened quietly, then raised his wine cup, toasting Jiang Zhiqiu and the Void Realm, his tone sincere:

"So that's how it is. Brother Jiang's ancestors served the country and the people, their merit lasting for generations; it is truly admirable."

"I, Ren Wuchang, was impetuous; I shall penalize myself with a drink."

With that, he drained the wine in his cup.

In Shen Moyan's heart, however, it was as clear as a mirror.

During the Wanbao Era, a fallen Demonic Fiend of the Kuafu Clan... the weight of this Jiang Family gold plaque was far heavier than imagined.

And the Karma involved in this might be far more than just a tragic sacrifice.

One must know that in his previous life, this gold plaque could even summon the Nine Songs Immortal Monarch Dharma Idol.

Also, where is that severed head of the Kuafu Clan Demonic Fiend now?

The banquet continued, but the topic shifted in other directions.