292: Hundreds of celestial gates gathered in Xuntian Palace!

The next day, the sky brightened, and snowflakes fluttered.

The world was a vast expanse of white. Inside and outside Jinguan City, only a boundless expanse remained, with snow falling for thousands of miles.

It was supposed to be summer, but snow fell in July. Such a magnificent and strange sight should have made the entire city lively, but at this moment, the city was almost completely quiet, with every household's doors and windows tightly shut, only the crisp sound of ice shards falling and shattering from the eaves.

In the distance, from time to time, one could hear horses neighing and shouts.

In the eastern part of the city, several alleys in Ping'an Ward were now filled with the cold gleam of iron armor, and large horses galloped through them.

The blood-stained armor contrasted sharply with the dazzling white snow. White streams of vapor spewed from the nostrils of the horses, and beneath the soft snow, the ground was muddy.

"Open the door!"

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Armored soldiers galloped through several alleys, mud mixed with snow water splashing onto the doorsteps of the common people's homes. Like wolves and tigers, they directly broke down the doors and then drove the people inside out.

In alley after alley, the people emerged in panic.

In one of the alleys, the common people saw rows of tall horses, with armored soldiers radiating Killing Intent, their armor still bearing blood-red ice shards. They were terrified, their expressions filled with fear.

"Military masters, military masters, what is this for?"

"We are all commoners; we have never done anything bad."

Someone spoke tremblingly, bowing their hands.

In the latter half of last night, the sounds of fighting from afar were terrifying. Soldiers and horses moved about, said to be apprehending rebels. The commotion was considerable, and screams rose one after another, continuing almost until dawn. The common people in these alleys were so frightened that they kept their doors and windows tightly shut and did not sleep for the latter half of the night.

Now, with soldiers and horses coming to their doors, they were naturally terrified.

Then, an armored soldier, riding a horse, took out a scroll of paper, flung it down, and shouted angrily,

"Who has seen this person?"

"This person is a major criminal of the Fushi. If anyone can provide specific clues about this person, the Fushi will offer a generous reward. If you conceal the information..."

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

Rows of armored soldiers successively drew their swords. The glint of the blades, reflected by the snow, made these common people's legs go soft with fear.

Everyone quickly looked at the portrait. On the portrait was a half-body image of an old man with white hair, eyebrows like sharp blades, dressed in a white robe, with a black hairpin inserted.

Only his facial features were somewhat uncoordinated, looking awkward, as if they were forcibly put together.

The common people in this alley looked at it, one by one, shaking their heads, as if they had no impression.

"Military master, we haven't seen him!"

Suddenly, an old woman in the crowd first excitedly brightened her eyes and clapped her hands, "I think I've seen him."

Then the old woman seemed to fall into a trance, murmuring in confusion, "No, I clearly remembered this person just now, but now I can't recall what he looks like. He doesn't seem to be like this portrait, but I still remember this hairpin."

As soon as she spoke, the leading armored soldier's expression immediately tightened. He moved his horse closer, his tone urgent.

"Where?"

The old woman, with straw tips peeking out from the patches on her clothes and her hands tucked into her sleeves, trembled under his gaze and took a step back. Then she pointed to an alley further inside,

"It's in the eighth house counting from the inside of the alley, in the Mao boy's house. That day, when I came back from working at the Wang Family, I saw the Mao Family's boy bring someone back, and that black hairpin on his head..."

She hadn't finished speaking when,

The leading armored soldier immediately turned his head and shouted:

"Inside, the eighth house!"

As soon as he spoke, the rumble of hooves sounded.

Then, these soldiers and horses immediately surged into the alley.

They found the eighth house inside.

It was a dilapidated courtyard surrounded by a bamboo fence.

"Be on guard!"

Then, in this narrow alley, the armored soldiers dismounted one after another, surrounded the small bamboo courtyard, and gripped the hilts of their swords.

Their faces were tense and vigilant!

This was a major criminal that This General had specifically ordered to find.

That meant he was very dangerous.

Just as this squad of soldiers held their breath and tightened their grip on their swords,

"Creak, creak!"

The gate of the bamboo courtyard suddenly opened.

The soft snow on top rustled down.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

This movement immediately startled the surrounding soldiers. Their tense nerves snapped, and the sound of swords being drawn rose all around, reflecting cold light in the snow.

At this moment, as the wooden door opened, a figure in silver armor, slightly bent, walked out from inside, creaking through the snow.

He frowned, his expression grim!

Upon seeing this figure, all the armored soldiers immediately knelt down in the snow with a rustle.

"Greetings, This General!"

The person who came out was Chen Yuan!

He was currently investigating the beginning and end of the Qian family's conspiracy.

The mastermind, the Qian family head, was captured alive by Liu Tianming and handed over to him for a decision after the battle at Five Treasures Mountain ended.

This Qian family head, falling into his hands, naturally underwent torture, but knowing he had no way out, he refused to speak. Finally, when he was tortured to the brink of death, Chen Yuan took advantage of his weakened will and directly performed the Dream Grafting Divine Ability on him, but an accident occurred.

He originally only wanted to find the origin of the Human Demon who had escaped from his grasp, but he didn't find the Human Demon. Instead, he found that there was another person behind this!

A Wu Zang who was hiding behind the scenes and had never shown his face!

But this person was extremely cunning. He couldn't spy on this person in the Qian family head's dream; the person's face was blurry, indicating that the person had been on guard at the time.

He could only make out the clothing and a rough outline!

Furthermore, when he probed into the crucial part, the Qian family head's Divine Soul seemed to have been subjected to some Restriction and suddenly disintegrated.

Thus, he perished!

And the final scene pointed to Ping'an Ward in the eastern part of the city, in a muddy courtyard, where the Qian family head met this person, and the scene abruptly ended there!

This was also the origin of what happened.

However, this place was already empty.

But Chen Yuan learned through Dream Grafting.

This person was paying attention to him, and had the Qian family inquire about him and the Ninth Mountain Army. At that time, he was severely wounded by the Wucang Great Demon at Weiyuan Pass and disappeared for a few days.

Secondly, the news that he possessed a Qi Luck Spiritual Root was very likely spread to the Qian family head by this person.

It seemed that this person had a considerable enmity towards him.

He hadn't found the Human Demon, and now there was an additional venomous snake hiding in the background. Although Chen Yuan had just won a major battle, his heart was filled with Killing Intent.

He glanced at his kneeling subordinates and ordered,

"Withdraw the troops!"

As he spoke, Chen Yuan's feet flickered, and he soared into the sky.

"Yes!"

Then, a whistle blew.

The armored soldiers in the several alleys also quickly moved, turned their horses around, and then stirred up gusts of snow dust, galloping thunderously out of the alley.

At this moment, high in the sky, Chen Yuan walked on air, moving through the snowflakes dancing between heaven and earth, shooting towards the Dao Fu Division in the city.

Heaven and earth had turned into a snowy country, but faintly visible, above Jinguan City, in the distance, black smoke was faintly rising.

And as he got closer to Yunding Mountain, the originally quiet world gradually and quickly became noisy and bustling.

The neighing of horses, the clatter of hooves, and human shouts intertwined.

Looking down.

One could see black lines on the main roads around Yunding Mountain, converging towards Yunding Mountain.

Those were teams of soldiers and horse-drawn carriages!

Returning from all directions!

Behind these soldiers were individual black dots, as small as ants, being escorted, and a winding procession of carriages several miles long, loaded with large boxes.

Those black dots, as small as ants, were figures tied with ropes!

After the great battle at Five Treasures Mountain ended in the first half of the night, almost all of the core members of the Qian family, except for those managing Family businesses outside, died on the mountain.

But Chen Yuan naturally wouldn't just pursue the Qian family. The six families involved in the conspiracy would naturally also be held accountable.

Except for Han Shan Sect and Fulong Temple, where Daoist Li interceded for his good friend, and he showed some leniency, for the other five families, in the latter half of the night, the Ninth Mountain Army split up and, along with the Heavenly Gates who came to assist each Family, went to settle accounts.

However, the battle of Five Treasures Mountain caused such a huge commotion that the remaining remnants of these families naturally received the news and scattered and fled in advance. But the city gates had already been sealed by the South City Guard Division from all directions, so in the latter half of the night, another game of cat and mouse began.

The killing continued all night long!

Thus, the war spread throughout the city, causing the doors and windows of every household to be tightly shut when the sky brightened today, and the common people dared not show their faces!

Chen Yuan's gaze fell upon the carriages behind the teams of soldiers again, and his grim expression finally eased considerably.

Immediately, his feet flickered, and he disappeared into the misty white, heavily forested Yunding Mountain, where the mountain snow scenery had a unique charm.

After a dozen breaths, Chen Yuan flew above Yunding Peak and saw a strange scene.

He saw a large group of people kneeling on the square in front of Xuntian Great Hall!

Moreover, these people were almost all Heavenly Gate experts, dressed in luxurious clothes, kneeling on the square, with a considerable layer of snow covering them.

There were twenty to thirty people!

Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly, then he turned into a stream of light, whistling through the wind and snow, and landed in front of Xuntian Great Hall!

At this moment, the two Recorders, Gao Yu and General Fan Chou, were guarding the front of the hall with heavy troops.

Their eyes blurred, and then seeing Chen Yuan appear, they immediately showed great joy, stepped forward, and bowed in salute.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!"

The soldiers behind them knelt down in a rustle.

And as this movement occurred, the kneeling Heavenly Gate figures below immediately raised their faces, which were either nervous, worried, or slightly panicked, and quickly shouted in unison.

"Greetings, Ninth Zhonglang!"

"Greetings..."

Chen Yuan's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but turn his head and ask the two Recorders guarding the Dao Fu Division,

"What's going on?"

General Fan Chou and Gao Yu had a hint of a smile on their faces as they bowed and reported:

"Your Excellency, these people are almost all the main persons in charge of the small families attached to the Qian, Wang, Zhao, and other six families."

"In the latter half of last night, these fellows successively ran to the Fushi. At first, they startled us, thinking these people were incredibly bold."

"It turns out these people came to confess their sins and beg for mercy."

"Some said they came to ask for punishment, bearing thorns on their backs."

"Others even tied themselves up and came, saying they were blind and misled by the treacherous people of the six families, and wanted to ask Your Excellency to punish them."

"Some, to prove their innocence, said they had no connection with a certain Family and voluntarily betrayed the direct descendants of the six families hiding in their homes, capturing them and bringing them here."

"Some even, fearing implication, sacrificed their own kin for righteousness, and voluntarily escorted Family members who had intermarried with the six families to the Dao Fu Division."

"..."

Gao Yu and General Fan Chou successively explained the intentions of these people.

Looking at these trembling, 'using all means' small Family heads on the field, as they spoke, both of them couldn't help but smile.

These fellows, indeed, used all sorts of methods to survive: self-inflicted pain, sacrificing kin for righteousness, severing ties with the six families, and voluntarily handing over people. To be honest, they both found it quite eye-opening.

However, they both knew that all this was because of the battle last night, which completely terrified these people!

"Your Excellency's Divine Might last night, with your Divine Ability unmatched, must have scared these people out of their wits!"

"First, congratulations, Your Excellency! I believe Your Excellency can now freely do what you need to do!"

Gao Yu, with the demeanor of a scholarly This General, bowed with a smile and offered his congratulations.

Your Excellency had told them that to deal with these families, they should send all these people to the front line to support Commander Pei and the others.

Now, they were only one step away from their goal!

Presumably, after yesterday's battle, the families in Jinguan City would be much more obedient.

Chen Yuan didn't speak, just nodded, then looked at the kneeling figures on the square, and couldn't help but laugh.

There were indeed people with thorny branches on their backs!

Even more bizarre, some even tied themselves up.

Chen Yuan's eyes curved. Before, he had to force these people to kneel; now, they knelt on their own initiative.

"Confessing sins is fine."

"Since they delivered themselves to my doorstep, this This General will save some trouble, so I won't have to invite them over later."

Chen Yuan said, turning his face slightly to the back, and instructed Gao Yu and General Fan Chou,

"Please have them stay in the separate courtyard for a night. Reassure them that this This General is always lenient towards those who abandon darkness for light."

"In addition, you two can start compiling an invitation list. This This General will issue a conscription order tomorrow. All forces with Heavenly Gate experts must participate!"

"First, target Jinguan City, then notify the Zhonglang Generals in the various prefectures on the Dao to transmit this conscription order downwards. The news here will probably take a while to spread."

After speaking, he looked up at the snowflakes dancing and swirling in the mountains, his tone leisurely,

"Preparations must be made. This heavy snow is the sign that the chaos in Shu Land has fully begun. Let's send these troubles away first!"

The next day, Jinguan City, which had been deserted yesterday, became lively again.

At noon, luxurious carriages drove from all directions in Jinguan City towards Yunding Mountain.

These carriages dared not fly in the air and could only stop at the foot of the mountain, from which streams of light then rushed out.

Streaks of Heavenly Gate Qi rushed to the top of Yunding Peak, then landed on Yunding Peak, on the square in front of Xuntian Hall.

Everyone exchanged glances, then, as if by prior agreement, formed two lines, followed the steps, and entered the Xuntian Great Hall, which was filled with armored soldiers and exuded majesty.

At this moment, over a hundred Heavenly Gate experts from Jinguan City gathered in Xuntian Hall.

At this time, at the head of the hall, a tall figure in shining silver armor and a black cloak sat grandly.

All the Heavenly Gate experts clearly felt the pressure from the top and dared not be presumptuous in the slightest. Regardless of whether you were from the Qi Family, or the Li Family, or any of the Four Sects and Eight Families, at this moment, they all bowed in unison.

"Greetings, Ninth Zhonglang!"

The sound echoed in Xuntian Great Hall, deafening.