Silver Spitting

"Lock up and suppress these men in black. Keep watch on the surroundings!" Yang He issued his orders, then took out a command arrow. "It seems we'll have to invite one of the Five Elders to stabilize the situation."

"Invite one of the Five Elders?" Ling Yuanbao looked slightly surprised. "Is that necessary?"

"Who knows whether the culprit who wielded divine fire just now will return?" Yang He shook his head, his expression grave.

Since the Ministry of Justice had already taken over, Wen Yifan and Monk Yunhai said nothing further. Instead, they turned their attention to the surroundings, cautiously keeping guard with their Divine Sense.

Liang Yue was more concerned with the corpse, studying it there for quite some time.

After only a few breaths of burning, the charred bones had become an exceptionally smooth skeleton, still carrying a faint purple gleam.

It looked profoundly eerie and terrifying.

Whoosh—

Yang He shot the command arrow into the sky. Accompanied by a piercing shriek, it exploded into an exceptionally conspicuous burst of red light.

Seeing that Ling Yuanbao seemed somewhat astonished, Liang Yue curiously asked, "Who are the Five Elders you mentioned?"

"They are the five old guardians who oversee the Ministry of Justice headquarters. Three of them possess Grandmaster Realm cultivation." Ling Yuanbao explained, "The Ministry of Justice often deals with vicious desperadoes. Without Grandmasters holding down the fort, it would not be enough to cow the world. The Five Elders hold exalted positions in the ministry, scarcely inferior to the two vice ministers, and answer only to the minister himself. In actual investigations, there are very few occasions when they need to be invited. I never expected Chief Yang to be so cautious."

Hearing this, Yang He turned his head and said, "Every division chief has one of these command arrows. Would I use it lightly if the situation were not severe? It is only that the cultivation of the person who summoned that divine fire..."

"Could he be a Grandmaster too?" Ling Yuanbao asked.

"Hard to say." Yang He said in a low voice, "But it is highly possible."

"Ah?" Ling Yuanbao said in surprise. "But if a Grandmaster expert were here, even all of us together would be no match for him. Why would he still hide his head and show his tail?"

Liang Yue answered from the side, "Perhaps he has already achieved his goal and does not wish to expose his tracks."

He did not say anything further.

This mysterious person had clearly arrived later. By the time he came, the Demon Tamer had already been subdued and the place had already been exposed. Other than silencing witnesses, there was nothing else he could do.

He had arrived so quickly. Perhaps he had received a message from the Demon Tamer—or perhaps... he had received information sent from within the Ministry of Justice itself.

Naturally, such speculation was not suitable to voice in front of the Ministry of Justice personnel.

"Exactly." Yang He nodded. "This man's purpose was very clear: kill to silence witnesses. If I am not mistaken, aside from this dead man, none of the others here know the identity of the mastermind behind this. Killing this one man was enough."

As he spoke, he glanced back at the two from the Evil Extermination Division. "Besides, there is nothing else he can do. Even if he is a Grandmaster, would he dare kill Mystic Sect Disciples?"

Ling Yuanbao revealed an expression of sudden realization.

Liang Yue, meanwhile, had learned something new. It seemed Miss Wen and the others had even more dependable backing than he had imagined.

Even Grandmaster Realm experts had to weigh whether they dared make a move against Mystic Sect Disciples.

After all, the Mystic Sect's foundation was there. Beat the young, and the old would emerge; beat the old, and immortals would emerge.

Screee—

Not long after the command arrow was sent out, a piercing bird cry came from midair. A massive hawk, iron-gray all over with feathers like arrows, glided down. It landed, swayed once, and transformed into an old man dressed in short gray garb.

Even the old man's brows and beard were half gray and half white, yet his eyes remained frighteningly bright. His body looked thin and shriveled, but seemed to contain volcano-like power.

"Heh heh, I saw you leave just moments ago, and now you've called this old man over. I thought there was going to be a hard battle." The old man chuckled twice. "What happened?"

"Eagle Elder." Yang He stepped forward and saluted, then pointed toward the skeleton in the distance. "Please take a look. Without a Grandmaster to hold the fort, I would not dare touch anything here lightly."

The old man called Eagle Elder had eyes that seemed to carry electric light. With the slightest turn, they immediately locked onto the skeleton. Then he sharply sucked in a breath. "Hiss."

After a pause, he said, "Your caution was correct. This is absolutely no ordinary divine fire. Back then, I saw the Fire Authority Sect's leader make a move. Any who touched the divine fire he released would never survive, and the bones of those burned by it all looked like this."

"Sixteen years ago, when I was in the army, I saw such a scene as well. That is why I did not dare act rashly," Yang He said.

"You've gone around in circles long enough. What fire is this exactly?" Ling Yuanbao was impatient by nature and could not stand suspense. She asked directly.

Eagle Elder slowly said, "Zhurong Fire."

No. 6 on the Immortal Object Ranking: Zhurong Seed.

It can give rise to divine fire, burn heaven and extinguish earth, and cannot be stopped. Its name is Zhurong Fire.

At Eagle Elder's words, the surroundings erupted into an uproar. Wen Yifan and Shang Yunhai also gathered around.

Shang Yunhai asked curiously, "The Fire Authority Sect still exists?"

"Back then, the Fire Authority Sect was the state religion of the Nanxiang Kingdom. When the Nanxiang Kingdom fell, it was entirely wiped out. Yet the sect's sacred object, the Zhurong Seed, was never found. At the time, the army guessed that remnants of the Fire Authority Sect still survived." Eagle Elder explained to everyone, "Judging from today's events, it is hard to say whether remnants of the Fire Authority Sect remain, but the Zhurong Seed has definitely returned to the world."

Liang Yue did not know much about the Fire Authority Sect, but he had heard recently that the Enlightenment Tree, ranked second on the Immortal Object Ranking, had been scorched by the Zhurong Seed's divine fire. That was why its trunk had been damaged and its tree soul had vanished.

Though this object ranked below the Enlightenment Tree, its killing power was clearly terrifying beyond measure.

He had never expected to witness it personally today, using murder to silence witnesses right before his eyes.

The master behind this underground bank...

Just who was he?

Eagle Elder added, "But there is no need to be frightened by the mere rustling of wind and cries of cranes. I can confirm that there are no Grandmaster Realm experts nearby now. You may search this place without worry."

"Yes!"

Only after receiving his assurance did Yang He dare lead the brothers of the Ministry of Justice's Blade Lifting Division in a thorough search of the cloth shop, top to bottom.

Eagle Elder, meanwhile, glanced at Shang Yunhai and said, "If this old man is not mistaken, you came from the Wild Beast Plains?"

Shang Yunhai immediately saluted respectfully. "That is correct. This junior comes from the Dragon Transformation Branch of the Mystic Sect. My master is Baili Qiongqi."

"Ah, Baili's disciple." Eagle Elder gave a knowing response. "I come from the Flying Eagle Gate of the Western Continent. Trace it back two generations, and we too belong to the Wild Beast Plains line. By seniority, you ought to call me senior brother."

Shang Yunhai chuckled twice. Looking at the other man's grizzled beard and hair, he ultimately could not bring himself to say it.

Of all cultivators under heaven, half came from the Mystic Sect.

Most Qi Refiner sects across the Nine Provinces had branched out from the Mystic Sect Eight Veins. Trace their origins upward, and they were all collateral lines of the Mystic Sect.

Such people often loved to draw close to the Mystic Sect, to prove that their roots were pure and their lineage true.

When Mystic Sect Disciples traveled outside, they always encountered people like this. They had grown accustomed to it.

Eagle Elder pointed again at the Silver Guardian Beast over there. "Do you have a way to make that thing spit out the silver?"

He was vastly experienced and naturally recognized the Silver Guardian Beast. "Demon beasts cannot pass through Dragon Abyss City's gates. It would be best to make it cough up the hidden silver, pack it into crates, and transport it back to the Ministry of Justice."

"I'll try." Shang Yunhai nodded gently.

Over there, the Silver Guardian Beast was lying obediently inside its little building. Even with the surrounding walls ruined and the iron chains broken, it did not flee.

It had witnessed that battle with its own eyes, and its master had abruptly died right before it. It was terrified now.

The creature's enormous head lay flat against the ground, its two thick fleshy paws covering its head. Every so often, it peered outside through the chubby gaps between its fingers with its round eyes.

The moment it noticed someone looking at it, it immediately lowered its head and played dead.

All it wanted was for no one to notice it.

Unfortunately, that was ultimately impossible.

Shang Yunhai walked over and gently placed his hand upon its head, then used the Mystic Sect's secret art to convey information to it.

The Dragon Transformation Branch of the Mystic Sect cultivated secret arts of transforming one's body into other beings. They comprehended the myriad beasts of heaven and earth to sense the Great Dao. Communicating with demon beasts was one of the secret arts they had cultivated since childhood.

"Wuu..."

Yet as he communicated with it, the Silver Guardian Beast buried its head even deeper, as if it was very unwilling to accept.

Shang Yunhai turned back around. "It seems unwilling to spit out the hidden silver."

Eagle Elder frowned. "Its master is already dead, and it still refuses to cough up the money?"

"It cultivates through the wealth aura of the hidden silver. If it spits it out, it may damage its cultivation," Shang Yunhai explained.

Eagle Elder muttered, "That really is difficult. This thing is quite rare nowadays. It would be a pity to kill it just for the silver. But if it refuses to spit out the silver, we really will have a hard time going back to report."

Liang Yue quietly suggested, "Brother Shang, this beast looks very timid. You could try being fiercer and scaring it a little."

"Fiercer?" Shang Yunhai's brows carried a trace of reluctance, and he seemed somewhat at a loss.

Seeing that he was clearly a modest gentleman who had no idea how to be fierce with anyone, Liang Yue added, "Try changing into that state you were in during the battle."

"Mmm..." Shang Yunhai nodded.

Then he activated his divine ability. His entire body suddenly shook, and in an instant, he transformed into a beast-bodied, human-shaped form. His frame swelled, and a savage aura blazed around him.

Roar— Once he transformed into a beast, Shang Yunhai instantly became wild. His claws viciously pounded his chest as he growled, "If you do not spit out all the hidden silver, then do not blame me!"

The Silver Guardian Beast had already been trembling with fear. Seeing him transform into such a savage appearance again, it immediately shot upright, pressed tightly against the pavilion wall and shivered. Its two fleshy claws repeatedly clasped together in begging gestures.

It looked truly pitiful.

Awooo! Shang Yunhai let out another furious roar.

The Silver Guardian Beast's already tiny courage suffered another blow, like frost upon snow. It no longer dared delay. Its belly immediately bulged, strange clattering sounds rose from its throat, and silver ingots poured out like a fountain!

Clatter, clatter—

It was as if silver ingots were raining from the sky, endlessly spilling from the Silver Guardian Beast's mouth to one side. Everyone around it was dumbfounded!

Liang Yue had thought he had already seen the world at Zhen Changzhi's home, where he had seen that Silver Wall. But compared to the silver here, that wall was nothing.

This was a mountain of silver!

Only when the little mountain had piled up nearly as high as the beast itself did the Silver Guardian Beast finally stop.

Its body seemed to have shrunk dramatically. It gave two weak whimpers, leaned against the corner of the wall, and lay sprawled there with its head tilted toward the sky, as if it had just endured some unbearable torment.

"Hoh." Even Eagle Elder could not help but marvel at the mountain of silver.

But the more the Silver Guardian Beast spewed out, the more wrong Eagle Elder's expression became. Only after the little mountain was complete did he walk forward and pick up a silver ingot to inspect.

His face immediately darkened like still water, as though a great disaster was about to descend.

Seeing the strange look on his face, Liang Yue secretly looked as well.

The silver ingots here were divided into two portions.

A small portion looked newer, with somewhat disorderly words stamped on the bottoms, such as "Northern Pasture," "Great Yin Treasury Silver," and "Prosperity Bank." These were silver ingots commonly circulated on the market. The words stamped beneath them had different meanings, but there was nothing unusual about any of them.

The larger portion looked very old, and the words stamped on their bottoms were the same two characters.

"Imperial Treasury."

Good morning.