353: Aren’t you afraid of Lord Chen?

As his consciousness returned, Chen Yuan's eyes slowly opened beneath his bamboo hat.

Lian Nishang, who had been standing silently beside him, looked over, her beautiful eyes filled with inquiry and concern.

Chen Yuan shook his head, his gaze sweeping upwards slightly, and he said indifferently, "That guy still refuses to talk."

"Then what should we do? From what my brother said, this Human Demon has grand ambitions."

"The city's common people have probably all been afflicted with Devil Gu. Does brother have a way to eliminate it?"

Lian Nishang frowned, her tone slightly hurried.

"There is a way, of course!"

Chen Yuan exhaled a puff of white Qi from his mouth and nose, his hands clasped within his sleeves, and his gaze shifted towards Lian Nishang. "This Gu is not difficult to eliminate; it just requires some time due to the large population in the city. However, delays can lead to unforeseen changes, and no one can guarantee what might happen during the process."

"But..."

Chen Yuan paused here, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "There is a simple way!"

"Under Heaven, all land belongs to the King. The Luck of the world converges, and a local guardian can, with a seal, issue decrees to their jurisdiction, commanding the region. Contracted Demons are one such method..."

"If there are demons and monsters in the jurisdiction, they can all be suppressed by mobilizing the power of Luck with the seal."

Upon hearing Chen Yuan's method, Lian Nishang gained some understanding. She flipped her hand, revealing a black token.

The Patrolling Mountain Commandant's Banshan Tiger Talisman!

However, she quickly became hesitant. "What brother said, Ni Chang roughly understands, but I am merely a Commandant, of low status. This Dao is too far from me, and besides, this Human Demon's cultivation..."

As she spoke, she realized something, and her beautiful eyes quickly sparkled with captivating light. Since her brother had said such words, it meant he must have a plan in mind. Moreover, she saw Chen Yuan's face was calm, as if he wasn't flustered at all.

"Brother seems to have a plan already?"

Chen Yuan nodded, his expression slowly becoming solemn. Then he stretched out a hand, revealing a palm-sized, half-foot square, jade-green imperial seal in his hand.

This seal's divine essence was restrained, made of bronze, with scattered spots of rust. Though small, it exuded an ancient and grand aura.

"Is this brother's great seal?"

With Lian Nishang's cultivation, she couldn't discern it, thinking it was Chen Yuan's Junior General seal.

Upon hearing her words, Chen Yuan's face twitched slightly, and he said earnestly, "This is the seal bestowed by the Dao Fu Division's Zhenmo General."

"Once this seal is pressed, it can mobilize the thirty-six Fu Gate armies of Jiannan Road. It gathers immense Luck, and using it to suppress Qingshan County is more than sufficient to suppress these Devil Gu; one could say it's overkill."

After speaking, Chen Yuan sneered.

This was the reason he was not flustered.

The General Qitian authorizing him to mobilize the armies of various Fu Gate was by no means a simple, casual statement.

The other party's identity represented the destiny of an entire Dao, and his every word and action influenced the direction of the entire situation.

It seemed he had only bestowed a small seal upon Chen Yuan, but it carried too much, encompassing numerous authorities.

This would allow Chen Yuan to act even more "recklessly" in the future!

Moreover, before he came to Qingshan County, he had already sent his demon subordinates to mobilize troops from the three Fu Gate. He had originally planned to go to the southeast defense line, but now it seemed they would be useful. Calculating the time, they should all be on their way.

At this moment, Lian Nishang's expression was shaken by his words, her long eyelashes above her beautiful eyes trembling slightly. She looked at the bronze seal, and seeing that her brother did not seem to be joking, her heart surged.

The Zhenmo General was too distant in her eyes; that was a true feudal official, capable of shaking the entire Jiannan Road with a stomp of his foot.

Her brother had unknowingly reached this step, able to exercise authority on behalf of the Great General, with the thirty-six Fu Gate obeying his command. Even though Lian Nishang was not a worldly person, she felt quite shaken at this moment, somewhat at a loss for words.

At this moment, Chen Yuan spoke, pulling the Young Miss's thoughts back.

"Ni Chang, have those people retreat a bit, seal off the intersections, and don't let anyone disturb us. I'm about to cast a spell!"

"Okay!" Lian Nishang's expression turned serious, then she turned and moved, arriving before the few yamen runners and White Pole soldiers, and gave her orders.

Those few people quickly ran to the surrounding intersections to guard them. Although there weren't many people in the early morning, they still prevented any idlers from carelessly intruding.

Soon, by the wellhead, Chen Yuan raised his hand, forming a sword-finger. Then he swept it across his brow, and the third eye between his brows slowly opened, golden light spilling out. Chen Yuan's sword-finger pinched the golden light and struck it one by one towards the ground around the wellhead.

The golden light, like nails, sank into the four directions. Then, invisible waves surged from underground, causing the surrounding wind and snow to swirl.

This process took three or four breaths of time.

Following the same routine, Chen Yuan first concealed his Qi.

Next, golden lacquer dots emanated from the tip of Chen Yuan's sword-finger. The sword-finger became a brush, forming a seal in the Void Realm before him, writing a proclamation to report to the three officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water. Then, with his other hand, he held the jade-green imperial seal and stamped it onto the proclamation.

This was a type of Imperial Seal!

Immediately, dense golden characters in the Void Realm vanished into the half-foot square bronze great seal, floating and sinking uncertainly.

The bronze great seal suddenly released a captivating and mysterious Qi, trembling continuously. The rust on it rolled and bubbled like boiling dust. Then, those tiny golden characters all sank into the great seal, as if deeply embedded.

This process lasted about half a cup of tea's time.

Nothing unexpected happened.

The process of issuing the decree went smoothly.

Finally, the bronze seal flew into the well and quickly disappeared.

Chen Yuan sensed that the great seal had entered the underground river and then sank to about a thousand meters deep beneath Qingshan County, where it then emitted a brilliant green light.

Soon, Chen Yuan stood on the ground and felt a slight tremor, lasting only about one breath. This movement quickly disappeared, as if it were an illusion.

Chen Yuan carefully sensed it, then used his Dharma Eye to scan the depths of the well, and looked at the Devil Gu again. In his vision, those firefly-like squirming nematodes at this moment looked like red-hot branding irons extinguished by water, turning black and coiling into a ball, falling into silence.

The effect was immediate!

Chen Yuan nodded, then thought about how to find and kill that Human Demon!

He pressed down on the bamboo hat on his head, brushed off the snowflakes on his shoulders, then put his hands behind his back and turned around.

Lian Nishang, who had been waiting a few feet away, stepped forward. "Brother."

"The Devil Gu has been suppressed. Next, we need to find that Human Demon. A group of Fang Family people have come to Qingshan County. You said that a Fang Family Old Ancestor was the first to discover the Devil Gu matter?" Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly, forming a subtle arc.

"Yes, after I received the news of Old Wu's disappearance, when I rushed back, I found Young Miss Qingzhu in front of brother's small courtyard. Young Miss Qingzhu informed me about the Devil Gu," Lian Nishang recounted the general situation again, this time in more detail, and also recounted the process of meeting that Fang Family Old Ancestor.

Chen Yuan listened thoughtfully, then pondered for a moment and said, "You went to see the Fang Family Old Ancestor, confirmed the Devil Gu matter, then sealed off all water sources in the city. Then came the Mountain God Temple incident; the other party seemed to know you would come early, which means they knew your every move."

"Let's go, come with me to meet that Fang Family Old Ancestor. Perhaps, this person has had contact with that Human Demon; let's see if we can find some clues."

"Moreover, that Human Demon still doesn't know I've appeared in Qingshan County. Yesterday, that Wu Zang was captured by me and lost contact, which must have alarmed that Human Demon. If this beast suspects, it's very likely to suspect these Fang Family people."

"But whether my speculation is correct or not, we have to go through with this!"

Chen Yuan's tone was calm as he made a series of predictions.

Regardless of whether his predictions were correct or not, only these few people had appeared in Qingshan County, and they were all unsettling elements, so he naturally had to seek them out.

Moreover, this so-called Fang Family was rumored to be looking for that night ferry, and the group of people Chen Yuan met on his way from Tianxiong Pass also had this as their goal.

There truly was an indescribable coincidence!

"Before Ni Chang met that Fang Family Old Ancestor, Young Miss Qingzhu said that her family's Old Ancestor's strength was unfathomable, having reached Wu Zang Peak many years ago, but failed in his death seclusion and sought an Opportunity. Brother should be careful," Lian Nishang reminded him at this point.

"Oh?"

And just as Chen Yuan used the bronze imperial seal to cast a decree, causing the Devil Gu in Qingshan County to fall into silence,

A few minutes ago, two hundred li northeast of Qingshan County, at Song Qiao Mountain, Mountain God Temple, a figure wearing a lotus crown walked out of the dilapidated Mountain God Temple, staring gloomily at a water pool outside with a diameter of several tens of meters.

It was half-filled with snowmelt!

Around the pool, there were cracks as thick as an arm, extending for hundreds of meters.

The traces of last night's battle had been almost completely washed away by the rain, but some remnants still remained.

Last night, Ren Tianxing, seeing that Li Boya, who had gone to kill someone, hadn't returned for a long time, sensed something was amiss. Logically, the other party killing a Patrolling Mountain Commandant and an old man shouldn't have caused any accidents.

He grew suspicious and began searching in the direction Li Boya had disappeared in the latter half of the night. After some effort, he appeared here.

The place was a mess; a great battle had occurred, but he found no useful clues, as if they had been deliberately erased.

Ren Tianxing's intuition told him that the Li familys Wu Zang had met with trouble!

To have a Wu Zang disappear, his eyes couldn't help but flash with gloom. Could it be that old monster from Qingshan County who made a move?

Just as Ren Tianxing's demonic eyes flickered gloomily, suddenly, his golden pupils abruptly contracted into golden lines, which then twisted wildly like worms.

His demonic eyes instantly felt as if pricked by needles, and a sharp pain surged, causing a muffled groan of agony to escape his throat. He couldn't help but close his eyes, and the next second, a streak of golden tears flowed from the Human Demon's eyes.

After a while, the Human Demon opened his eyes, and his eye sockets became incomparably terrifying.

His golden pupils were now the size of a pinprick.

"Who?"

Ren Tianxing let out an enraged hiss from his throat, and the pinprick-sized golden pupils shot out terrifying glints.

"Why can't my Gu Mother connect with Qingshan County?"

He realized that the Devil Gu he had planted in Qingshan County had met with trouble, which had caused his own mother Gu in his eyes to suffer a severe blow.

At the same time, it also made him feel surprised and suspicious.

According to the Gu Mother's reaction, most of the Gu insects he had planted should have met with trouble, but his Devil Gu was widely spread throughout Qingshan County. This shouldn't be the case; what on earth was it? This was definitely not something that could be achieved by ordinary means.

That Li familys Wu Zang disappeared last night, and now his Devil Gu also had problems. Ren Tianxing's heart was filled with anger and shock. Was it truly that dying old man from the Fang Family making a move?

Just because the two of them didn't heed the other party's warning?

"Seeking death!"

Ren Tianxing almost gnashed his teeth, his jagged fangs appearing, and a deep, inhuman growl escaped his throat. His terrifying pupils showed a look of madness.

He decided he didn't care anymore.

He had originally intended to use the people of Qingshan County as a sacrifice to avenge Five Treasures Mountain and open a passage. Now, it seemed he would have to pay a heavy price.

But what did that matter? They were all going to die anyway.

By then, the entire Shu region, and even the entire Jianghu, would know what he had done.

Thinking this, Ren Tianxing laughed maniacally.

Then, his figure slowly disappeared into the air, without a trace.

Only that chilling, spine-tingling laughter lingered in the wind and snow, shaking the mountains and forests.

"Who, who are you?"

"Why are you arresting us?"

"I am the Scholar of the North City. My relationship with County Magistrate Zhang Yuan is not shallow. What are you doing?"

"..."

At Qingshan Inn, in a guest room, more than a dozen people, men, women, old, and young, woke up one after another from the floor.

There were wealthy old masters in official robes, and ordinary common people in coarse cloth clothes.

After everyone woke up, they saw several mighty Hunters guarding the door, and in front of them was an Eight Immortals table.

At the table sat a woman in a pink dress, with a beautiful and captivating face!

"Make them all shut up!"

The woman looked at these unruly common people, her eyes filled with condescension and scrutiny, and she impatiently scolded them.

As soon as she spoke, a black-clad Hunter immediately flashed through the crowd.

Soon, several cries of pain were heard.

Several agitated common people, who had spoken up, went limp and were pressed directly to their knees on the ground, letting out painful cries.

This startled everyone.

Not knowing what had happened to them, they cowered, lowering their heads with fearful eyes, not daring to make a sound.

Seeing that it had quieted down, the woman nodded in satisfaction.

At this moment, the black-clad Hunter who had just acted came to the woman's side and bowed, saying, "Young Miss, these people are all selected targets from Qingshan County. I heard they all dreamed of that ship, and not just once or twice. Some of their dreams have astonishing overlaps, and it doesn't sound fake."

"Hmm, you did well! Go collect your reward later."

"I wouldn't dare, it's all to relieve the Old Ancestor's worries!" The black-clad Hunter quickly bowed.

The woman's face showed a smile and she said, "Not bad." Then she looked at the Qingshan County common people, some slumped, some kneeling, and her expression quickly turned cold.

"I heard that everyone in your Qingshan County once entered a ship, and later, after you woke up, you dreamed of it again?"

"If you can help find these locations, I will reward you handsomely. If you know something and don't report it, then I'm sorry."

At this moment, an old gentleman, who looked like a scholar, stood up straight and said, "Life is like a dream. How would anyone know if it's real or fake? This is Qingshan County, with its own laws. Aren't you afraid of reporting to the authorities? This is not a place where you can bully people for no reason!" (End of Chapter)