365: Sky-Patrolling Iron Cavalry

The wind outside Qingshan Town carried the fresh scent of greenery, causing Situ Jun's robes to flutter.

He stood on a mountain peak far outside the town, his fingertips pinching a Jade Slip shimmering with a faint blue light—the map of the Tianqi Dynasty's territory he had asked the waiter to get from the general store owner in exchange for something when he checked into the inn yesterday.

As his Divine Sense delved into the Jade Slip, a dense array of mountains, rivers, cities, and outposts spread out like stars on a chessboard. Lines traced by Spiritual Qi flowed through his Sea of Consciousness, finally settling on the coordinates of his current location.

"Hmm?"

Situ Jun's eyebrows twitched slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

The scale on the Jade Slip was clear. His current position was at the southern edge of the Tianqi territory, and the straight-line distance to Northern Border City was actually three thousand miles closer than to East Lin City.

The outline of Northern Border City became increasingly clear in his Sea of Consciousness. Su Yunniang's gentle smile, Nangong Xue's lively eyes, Xu Lian's considerate figure, and the child yet to be born—scene after scene intertwined in his mind, and a strong sense of longing suddenly welled up in his heart.

"I originally intended to return directly to East Lin City to reunite with Embroiderer and the others, but..."

Situ Jun rubbed the edge of the Jade Slip with his fingertips, pondering for a moment, his eyes already filled with determination.

With Luo Yu and Embroiderer overseeing East Lin City, there would be no worries in the short term. However, he hadn't seen the women in Northern Border City for a long time, especially the pregnant Su Yunniang, who weighed heavily on his mind.

"Very well, I'll go back to Northern Border first to see Yunniang and the others, then it won't be too late to return to East Lin City to pick up Xuan'er."

With his mind made up, he was about to take out a sound transmission talisman to inform the group in East Lin City of the change in plans, when a sudden, urgent flickering of spiritual light came from within his Storage Pouch.

It was Bai Yu's sound transmission jade talisman.

Situ Jun's brow furrowed slightly, and with a flick of his finger, he took out the Jade Talisman.

The moment spiritual power was poured into it, a somewhat hurried transmission entered his Sea of Consciousness; it was indeed Bai Yu's voice:

"Master! Urgent intelligence! Lord Nightingale just used a secret technique to send an emergency message—the matter of several Nascent Soul Cultivators forcibly breaking the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty's 'Star Seal Restriction' at Nether Crow Ridge has been detected by the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty's Qintian Division!

The Qintian Division has already issued orders to dispatch the 'Heaven-Patrolling Iron Cavalry' to the Southern Border for investigation! Lord Nightingale judges that since the Star Seal Restriction is the Foundation of the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty, this unsealing is equivalent to rebellion, and the Dynasty will never let it go! If this matter involves you, Master, she asks that you immediately decide on a strategy!"

The Jade Talisman continued to vibrate, and the subsequent words added even more gravity to the situation:

"Furthermore... Lord Nightingale also mentioned that the momentum of the Lightning Tribulation triggered by your previous Breakthrough was too immense, covering nearly ten thousand miles. It is feared that spies from the Qintian Division have already reported this to the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty. With these two matters combined, the situation is extremely critical!"

The spiritual light of the sound transmission talisman gradually dimmed, finally dissipating into a wisp of blue smoke.

Situ Jun stood still on the mountain peak. The mountain wind brushed his hair, but it could not disperse the solemnity between his brows.

Apart from those dead Nascent Soul Cultivators in the Secret Realm and the people he had subdued, like the Withered Bone Ascetic, only Bai Yu and Nightingale knew of his Breakthrough to the Soul Transformation Stage. Furthermore, before undergoing the tribulation, he had only vaguely mentioned undergoing a 'Nascent Soul Tribulation,' so Bai Yu and the others did not know he had already stepped into the Soul Transformation Stage, hence their worry.

As for the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty's Qintian Division, although he knew little about it, he had heard of its reputation—it was a top-tier organization directly under the Dynasty, overseeing the registration, monitoring, and punishment of all Cultivators within the territory, possessing immense power.

And the 'Heaven-Patrolling Iron Cavalry' was the sharp blade under the Qintian Division, specifically handling malicious incidents such as Cultivator rebellions and Seal disturbances. Its members were all elites among the Nascent Soul level, and it was rumored that Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators oversaw them. They acted ruthlessly, holding the power of life and death without any restraint.

"Qintian Division... Heaven-Patrolling Iron Cavalry..."

Situ Jun whispered these two names, his gaze instantly becoming as sharp as a hawk's. His previous romantic thoughts were completely suppressed, replaced by the calmness and rapid deliberation needed when facing a massive crisis.

He knew well that the 'Star Seal Restriction' was the cornerstone of the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty's rule. Forcing open the Seal was equivalent to rebellion, a taboo that the Dynasty would never allow to be touched!

The Qintian Division's 'Heaven-Patrolling Iron Cavalry' was even more notorious, specializing in such matters and possessing the power of life and death. Their strength was unfathomable; they were at least elites among the Nascent Soul level, and might even dispatch a Soul Transformation Stage existence to lead the team!

Although the ones who forced the Seal were the Yin Bone Old Ghost and Village Elder Gongsun, who had already died in the cave mansion, as well as the Withered Bone Ascetic and Mo Chenggui whom he had subdued, the Qintian Division wouldn't care about the specifics. They would only know that Nascent Soul Cultivators who defied the Dynasty's laws had appeared in the Southern Border of Tianqi, and they would inevitably conduct a thorough investigation.

More importantly, Bai Yu's final words had alerted him—his own Soul Transformation Stage Cultivation, along with the Lightning Tribulation triggered during his Breakthrough, had likely already attracted the attention of the Qintian Division.

A 'Nascent Soul Cultivator' who had never been recorded and was not recognized by the Dynasty appearing in a subordinate kingdom was a huge suspicion in itself. Coupled with the Seal incident at Nether Crow Ridge, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau would definitely search for the person who underwent the tribulation!

"The tree wants to be still, but the wind keeps blowing..."

Situ Jun snorted coldly, a sharp, icy glint flashing in his eyes.

He had originally wanted to Cultivate low-key, using Northern Border City as his Foundation to slowly build his power and live a peaceful life with the women, but he hadn't expected trouble to come so quickly.

Situ Jun looked deeply toward Wan Xiangyu's bedroom, a trace of reluctance flashing in his eyes, but it was immediately replaced by resolve.

He quickly took out two sound transmission talismans, his fingertips surging with spiritual power as he sent instructions to Bai Yu and Nightingale respectively.

To Bai Yu:

"Immediately order the Withered Bone Ascetic, Mo Chenggui, and Bai Qingtian to align their stories—say that a sudden Spatial Storm occurred within the Nether Crow Cave Mansion, and they encountered unknown dangers, forcing them to join hands to break the Star Seal Restriction to save themselves. All matters regarding the core area of the cave mansion, especially any information about me, are strictly forbidden to be leaked; violators will be directly eliminated! Additionally, order them to speed up the reconstruction of the Southern Border, restore production and life, and appease the surrounding Cultivators and Mortals, leaving no abnormal traces."

To Nightingale:

"Utilize your intelligence network in the Southern Border to investigate the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty's specific attitude toward this Seal anomaly and whether there are further troop deployments. Focus on finding out the movements of the Heaven-Patrolling Iron Cavalry, their personnel composition, Cultivation levels, and their time of arrival in the Southern Border. Closely monitor any subsequent orders from the Qintian Division and report any developments to me immediately!"

The two instructions were sent out, and the sound transmission talismans turned into streaks of light and disappeared into the horizon.

Situ Jun took a deep breath. He knew that these measures alone were not enough.

If the Qintian Division had means to investigate his Breakthrough in Cultivation, he would need to find a reasonable excuse to explain why he appeared in the Tianqi Dynasty and possessed Soul Transformation Cultivation.

Thinking of this, Situ Jun no longer hesitated.

Spatial Power rippled slowly around his body, and his figure began to become blurred and transparent.

Taking one last look at this small town that had brought him unexpected warmth and attachment, Situ Jun's figure completely merged into the Void Realm and vanished.

In the next moment, he appeared high in the sky thousands of miles away. After identifying the direction, he turned into a streak of light nearly invisible to the naked eye, racing toward Northern Border City, the mountains and rivers along the way retreating rapidly beneath his feet.