Patrol

Walking along the country road, Wang Chen glanced back.

They were already some distance from Guard Post Yi-10, yet he could still see the Radiant Pillar atop the watchtower emitting a faint white glow. Like a lighthouse in the darkness, it brought people the warm hope of light.

"Keep up."

Team Deputy Guo Ping said from behind, "Don't fall behind."

Tonight was the Fourth Night Patrol Team's first patrol. Team Leader Yao Mingjie led the way at the very front, with the seven new Night Watchmen, including Wang Chen, close behind him.

Guo Ping brought up the rear, holding the line.

"Yes."

Wang Chen withdrew his gaze and kept walking forward.

If the Yunyang Sect were considered a nation, then the War Hall would be its armed forces, while the Discipline Hall would be its judicial institution.

The Guard Hall, meanwhile, was akin to a police authority, responsible for security throughout the sect grounds.

As for guard posts, they were much like local police stations.

The Night Watchmen attached to a guard post were the equivalent of patrol officers.

They all held official positions.

Wang Chen and the others, who had been temporarily conscripted, could barely be considered auxiliary officers.

The rookies' first night patrol stirred different feelings in each of them.

Some were thrilled and excited, some uneasy and anxious, some cautious to the extreme...

Team Leader Yao Mingjie, however, had no concern for the rookies' moods.

He simply strode ahead. After covering a stretch of road, he would raise a hand and cast a Light Spell.

Spiritual Light soared into the air, illuminating a broad swath of the surroundings.

Guo Ping would then quicken his pace to catch up and explain that this was meant to scout out Evil Spirits and demon beasts lurking in the darkness.

Compared to the stone-faced, silent Yao Mingjie, this Team Deputy chattered on about many things along the way.

He seemed rather talkative.

In fact, most of what he said was recorded in Night Watchman's Talk.

Some team members grew impatient, letting his words go in one ear and out the other.

But Wang Chen committed them firmly to memory.

He treated it as review.

The greatest dangers Night Watchmen might encounter mainly fell into two categories—bandits and Evil Spirits!

First came the bandits.

The Outer Region wilderness was fraught with danger. Most Rogue Cultivators lived in hardship and poverty, their lives hanging by a thread from one day to the next.

Many Rogue Cultivators, in order to survive, became Bandits and Ruffians, breaking into homes, robbing travelers, and harassing the countryside.

These bandit cultivators did not dare cause trouble in the heavily defended immortal cities, so they secretly infiltrated the fringe areas of the sect grounds to plunder farming households.

Summer Harvest was fast approaching, and this was precisely the season when bandit cultivators began to stir.

Bandit cultivators were often fierce and battle-hungry, yet exceedingly cunning. They were truly troublesome enemies.

Although the Fourth Night Patrol Team had nine members, apart from Yao Mingjie and Guo Ping, everyone else severely lacked combat experience. If a fight broke out, the consequences would be impossible to predict.

Then came the Evil Spirits.

The Evil Spirits of the Mountain Sea Realm were mainly divided into four ranks: Wandering, Resentful, Fiendish, and Calamitous.

The most common were Wandering-rank Evil Spirits, equivalent to Qi Condensation cultivators.

But Evil Spirits came in every strange and bizarre form.

If handled improperly, it was perfectly normal for a single Wandering-rank Evil Spirit to wipe out an entire night patrol team.

There had been no shortage of such cases before.

Even more terrifyingly, Evil Spirits could raise their rank by devouring cultivators' Mana, essence blood, and souls.

To cultivators, Evil Spirits were undoubtedly the most terrifying enemies!

This place was far from Yunyang City. Though they could still hear the Dingyang Bell, its deterrent power had already become extremely weak.

Moreover, the Dingyang Bell only rang once every two hours.

Some Evil Spirits took advantage of this, slipping in and out of the sect grounds to wreak havoc!

These were the threats the night patrol teams and Night Watchmen needed to guard against most carefully.

Yao Mingjie walked and halted by turns, leading the team for dozens of li until they finally reached the boundary of the sect grounds.

The Yunyang Sect's mountain gate was divided into inner and outer sections.

The inner mountain gate was a core stronghold, protected by a vast mountain-guarding formation and overseen by Golden Core True Persons.

It was as impregnable as a fortress.

The Outer Mountain Gate covered an immense area, with hundreds of thousands of mu of Spirit Fields and woodland opened up for Outer Sect disciples to farm and raise livestock.

The long boundary connecting to the Outer Region was basically guarded by several dozen guard posts.

So it was simply impossible to completely prevent bandits and Evil Spirits from infiltrating.

When Wang Chen followed the others up the hill, a vast, boundless plain, forests, and a surging great river suddenly unfolded before his eyes.

Stars drooped over the vast plains; the moon surged with the great river's flow!

The sight before him instantly brought Du Fu's verse vividly to Wang Chen's mind.

Guo Ping sighed. "That is the Outer Region ahead."

The Outer Region!

To Wang Chen, the name was both familiar and unfamiliar.

It was clearly right before his eyes, yet it seemed impossibly distant.

The original owner had lived for seventeen years. From his birth until Wang Chen transmigrated into him, he had never left the mountain gate territory.

Nor had he ever seen the sights of the Outer Region.

If Wang Chen had not replaced his soul, then, barring any unexpected twists of fate, his future would probably have been to work as a spirit planter for the rest of his life.

He would barely have reached the Qi Refining sixth or seventh layer, married a hardworking and honest wife, had a child, and lived out the rest of his days scraping by.

"We're heading back."

Just as Wang Chen was somewhat lost in thought, Yao Mingjie suddenly spoke.

His eyes, fixed on the Outer Region, carried deep wariness.

The team retraced their path.

By the time they returned to Guard Post Yi-10, the sky was already faintly bright.

The Fourth Night Patrol Team had completed its first patrol mission, and the rookie Night Watchmen each went home.

Several young cultivators yawned, their expressions somewhat displeased.

They had run back and forth all night, yet had not even seen a rabbit, much less fought Evil Spirits or bandits.

They had been hoping to earn merit.

What a letdown!

Wang Chen, on the other hand, hoped every night would be like this. Nothing mattered more than staying safe and sound.

Over the following days, the Fourth Night Patrol Team patrolled back and forth through its assigned area, yet never encountered any trouble.

As a result, quite a few new members gradually grew lax, unable to muster any energy even while on patrol.

But Wang Chen did not lower his guard.

He did not know whether it was merely an illusion, but several times during the night patrols, Wang Chen felt someone watching him from the shadows.

Whenever he vigilantly searched for the source, however, he found nothing at all.

The Yunyang Sect's Outer Mountain Gate had been very quiet lately—so quiet it was like a pool of stagnant water, without the slightest ripple.

Yet Wang Chen's instincts told him that beneath this tranquil surface lurked undercurrents beyond his ability to perceive!

It was precisely this instinct that kept Wang Chen from relaxing. Instead, he seized the time to improve his strength.

He resumed cultivating the Heavenly Dragon Vajra Righteous Dharma, pushing both Vajra Fist and Spirit Light Shield Armor to the limits of the beginner level.

At the same time, he studied the Fire Crow Technique, striving to reach the beginner level as quickly as possible.

On the tenth day after being drafted into the Fourth Night Patrol Team, with the White Jade Rice in the Spirit Fields soon ready for harvest, Wang Chen followed the team out on patrol as usual that night.

In the dead of night, the team advanced in silence. Even Guo Ping, who usually enjoyed talking, had shut his mouth.

The unceasing nightly patrols of late had left many team members mentally exhausted.

Even their steps had become sluggish and lazy.

Yet accidents often struck when people were at their most relaxed.

It suddenly appeared!

Whoosh!

As the team was about to approach the boundary, a Crossbow Bolt gleaming with cold light suddenly tore through the air.

It instantly pierced through a young cultivator's neck!

"Enemy attack!"