"Why are you looking at me?"
"Settle your own family affairs yourselves. What do they have to do with this humble Daoist?"
Jiang Sheng's expression remained unchanged. Whether Tian Ming'an stayed truly made no difference to him.
If he stayed, there would simply be someone else to talk to, bringing a little more life to the temple. If he did not, Jiang Sheng would simply continue cultivating in solitude. He was used to being alone anyway.
Tian Guofu looked at Jiang Sheng, then at his grandson, who knelt on the ground and refused even to lift his head. At last, he sighed. "They say a grown son is no longer his mother's to command. Now that my grandson has a mind of his own, what can his grandfather say? If you can persuade your parents when you return, then do as you please."
Tian Guofu cupped his hands toward Jiang Sheng again, his face full of shame. "I'm sorry you had to witness that, Daoist."
"No matter. As for repairing the temple, I must trouble you to oversee it, Mayor Tian," Jiang Sheng said.
Tian Guofu hurriedly replied, "Rest assured, Daoist. We promise to restore the temple to its original state."
Jiang Sheng nodded and turned toward the front courtyard. "In that case, I will leave the temple in your care for now, Mayor Tian. This humble Daoist must visit the county magistrate's office."
When he reached the front courtyard, the able-bodied men sweeping there hastily bowed upon seeing him. "Greetings, Daoist Jiang."
Jiang Sheng inclined his head slightly and swept his right hand. Spiritual power surged, and a fierce wind howled through, blowing away all the snow accumulated in the courtyard.
Only then did the men see how fierce the battle on the grounds they were cleaning had been.
Even setting aside the traces of magical combat, the hideous serpent's body, shattered into chunks, was enough to turn many of the men pale and set their legs trembling.
After all, this venomous serpent had possessed the strength of the Purple Mansion Realm after combining. Even scattered in pieces across the ground, its three-hundred-foot body still exuded a terrifying aura: a monstrous form, hooked scales, razor-sharp venomous fangs, and a head large enough to swallow the mountain gate.
Though it could not have been more thoroughly dead, the sight of such a colossal creature still robbed these ordinary mortals of even the slightest thought of resistance.
Jiang Sheng glanced at the corpses of the Eight Wolves of Dongjun. First, he gathered up every fragment of the serpent magic artifact, then drew the eight corpses over and bound them with ropes condensed from magical power. He sprang into the air, left the mountain, and headed straight for the county seat.
Only after a long while did the men recover their senses. Each panted in lingering fright, and some still felt their bodies trembling.
"Daoist Jiang truly belongs among the immortals. Even a demonic beast that terrifying fell to him!"
"Exactly! That beast must have been as big as a small mountain, yet it still died beneath his sword! Daoist Jiang truly deserves to be called the greatest in Qingshan County!"
"Who could disagree? Even dead and shattered into so many pieces, that beast frightened me so badly I could barely breathe. Imagine how powerful it was alive. To slay a beast like that—Daoist Jiang truly deserves to be a high adept of Penglai!"
The men kept talking, as though trying to drive the fear from their hearts. Who could have imagined that Daoist Jiang had fought such a terrifying beast last night?
And there were those eight corpses, too. They clearly had not belonged to decent people!
Did that not mean Daoist Jiang had fought eight evil cultivators and a terrifying demonic beast all by himself?
When they recalled the dragon's cry last night, their imaginations ran even further.
Before long, someone speculated that Jiang Sheng had summoned Heavenly Dragon to destroy the evil cultivators and the beast.
A little later, that speculation became a tale of Jiang Sheng transforming into Heavenly Dragon and tearing the beast apart.
Only Tian Guofu's return with Tian Ming'an put a stop to their discussion. Otherwise, who knew what the story might have become?
Meanwhile, Jiang Sheng carried the corpses of the Eight Wolves of Dongjun straight past Qingping Town toward the county seat. Along the way, the inhabitants of several towns saw a Daoist in azure robes fly overhead, carrying a string of corpses.
At noon, the gates of Qingshan County Seat stood wide open, and the guards inspected the identities of those entering one by one.
Over the past few days, evil cultivators had frequently caused trouble in the city and taken lives, leaving everyone on edge.
Although the cultivators whom the magistrate had called in for support were also helping patrol, they could not watch one place without leaving another exposed.
Worse still, some evil cultivators possessed formidable methods and had injured several rogue cultivators, leaving the city's gentry and wealthy merchants even more terrified.
Fortunately, Fairy Xu Xiao, a cultivator from the Moon-Embracing Sect, a renowned sect of Qing Province, had intervened. By slaying an evil cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm, she had cowed the others.
Yet many wondered how much longer Fairy Xu Xiao could keep them in check.
In truth, even Xu Xiao herself was struggling with the problem.
She had no idea how many evil cultivators had infiltrated Qingshan County. Even though she had killed one in the Foundation Establishment Realm, heaven only knew how many more of that realm lurked in the shadows.
After all, in this county seat of a hundred thousand people, she was the only cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.
The thought irritated Xu Xiao. Wenren Jie was absent, Qiao Xuan was absent, Young Master Kongxu was absent, and Jiang Sheng, that cultivator from Penglai, cared nothing about the matter at all!
The safety of the entire city rested on her shoulders. Even with a few other rogue cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Realm helping, how much assistance could those mediocre people really offer?
Qingshan County was now riddled with conflicts, with hidden currents surging beneath the surface. Without her fellow disciples to help, how long could she hold out alone?
As Xu Xiao fretted, she suddenly sensed a familiar fluctuation of spiritual power coming from outside the city.
At that moment, beneath the gates of Qingshan County Seat, everyone—the guards, the merchants and commoners passing through, the gentry and scholars—looked up in astonishment at the azure-robed Daoist openly flying toward the city with eight corpses in hand.
Jiang Sheng made no effort to conceal his spiritual power. Any cultivator could sense its vast, pure fluctuations, and a slight lift of the head was all it took to see him flying through the air.
Jiang Sheng flew straight above the county magistrate's office. Xu Xiao had already hurried out with Zhang Qingyun and Zhang Qing.
Not only they, but also the rogue cultivators scattered throughout the city looked toward the magistrate's office. The evil cultivators in hiding studied Jiang Sheng gravely as he released his aura without restraint.
"Daoist Jiang, you..." Xu Xiao had barely spoken before she noticed the eight corpses in his hand.
Though the wind and snow had frozen those corpses a bluish gray, though their blood and vitality had been drained until they became dried husks, she could still sense that they were the bodies of eight genuine Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators!
When she examined their clothing and then their faces, Xu Xiao's expression changed instantly. These seemed to be the corpses of those eight fiends!
Could it be...
A terrifying thought arose in Xu Xiao's mind, but she did not dare confirm it. If Jiang Sheng truly had slain those eight fiends, it would be utterly astonishing.
Those evil cultivators were notorious throughout Qing Province!
With an indifferent expression, Jiang Sheng casually hung the eight corpses he carried before the magistrate's office, then declared in a ringing voice, "This humble Daoist is Jiang Sheng, dwelling in seclusion at Qingxuan Temple on Qingping Mountain."
Jiang Sheng's voice echoed over Qingshan County Seat. Rogue cultivators, evil cultivators, and followers of the demonic path alike heard him clearly.
"Last night, these eight men entered the mountain through the snow, intending to ambush and kill me!"
"They called themselves the Eight Wolves of Dongjun. Not only did they disturb my secluded cultivation, they also destroyed my temple!"
"You have all seen their fate. Today, I hang their corpses before the magistrate's office to make their punishment public!"
"I know that many in this city harbor sinister intentions. But I care nothing for your aims, nor for what you intend to do."
"I leave you with just one warning: whoever dares enter the mountain again to disturb my secluded cultivation shall be slain!"
Jiang Sheng's final words carried a measure of sword intent.
That vast, chilling killing intent left many with crooked hearts drenched in sweat and trembling with fear.
The evil cultivators who still dreamed of killing people to practice their arts shuddered at his shout. It felt as though a sharp sword had already come within three inches of their brows, making their hair stand on end.
One declaration startled the entire city!
Xu Xiao hastily looked at the eight corpses hanging before the magistrate's office. After identifying them carefully, she was filled with disbelief. "They really are the Eight Wolves of Dongjun!"
Zhang Qing asked softly, "Were these eight very powerful?"
Xu Xiao explained, "The Eight Wolves of Dongjun were evil cultivators notorious throughout Qing Province. All eight brothers practiced evil arts. Who knows how many rogue cultivators they killed or how many cultivation lineages they destroyed? Their wicked deeds ranked among the five worst in Qing Province!"
"Their most famous feat was killing a True Disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect. That fellow Daoist was a prodigy who had achieved Earthly Foundation Establishment. His cultivation had already reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and he could open his Purple Mansion at any time. Few in all of Qing Province could rival him."
"Yet the Eight Wolves of Dongjun surrounded and killed that fellow Daoist, and even escaped from a Purple Mansion Realm elder of the Azure Cloud Sect."
"They supposedly each possessed a magic artifact. Once they joined forces, they could clash head-on with a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator!"
Zhang Qing could not help clicking her tongue in amazement. "Daoist Jiang killed all eight of them and looks completely unscathed. Doesn't that mean he has the strength of the Purple Mansion Realm?!"
Looking at the handsome young Daoist in azure robes and a jade crown in the sky, Xu Xiao suddenly felt ashamed of her own inadequacy. "I prided myself on being exceptionally clever. I reached the Foundation Establishment Realm at twenty, became a sect elder's disciple, and made my name throughout Qing Province."
"Even I thought myself extraordinary, with hopes of reaching the Golden Core Realm, certain that I would one day become famous throughout the world."
"But now, it seems I was merely a frog at the bottom of a well, gazing at the sky."
"At the same cultivation realm, I would have no chance of victory if I fought the Eight Wolves of Dongjun!"
"Yet Daoist Jiang not only defeated them, he emerged without a scratch. Strength like that leaves me unable even to feel jealous."
As she spoke, Xu Xiao sighed, utterly convinced of his superiority. "Daoist Jiang truly deserves to be a high adept of Penglai. He is extraordinary indeed!"
Here is today's second update~ Gentlemen, please bookmark, keep reading, recommend, send monthly votes, and invest. I'm asking for everything!
(End of chapter)
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