Mr. One-Eye

The group decided to destroy the Zhang Family and immediately prepared to leave.

Seeing their benefactors about to depart, the villagers gathered around, wanting to kowtow and express their gratitude.

Yan Nu stopped them, "No kneeling!"

Shen Leling nodded, "That's right, absolutely do not kneel to him. Be careful, the Mortal World Fire could spread uncontrollably, and the Monster would easily devour you all."

Upon hearing this, the villagers refrained from kneeling. After all, there were monsters on Flag Mountain.

Thinking of monsters, they looked towards Flag Mountain and were astonished to see a faint pillar of fire reaching the sky.

What was going on? Was someone setting the mountain on fire? Wouldn't the monsters put it out?

Huang Banyun exclaimed excitedly, "You don't know yet! The Flag Mountain Dog Demon has been eliminated by them and turned to ashes! It can no longer harm people!"

The villagers' eyes widened. That mutated Wild Dog had been causing havoc in the region for sixteen years, and even longer if you counted from when Black Dragon was still a half-demon, making it thirty years.

Now that it was finally gone, not only did they no longer have to buy those Peachwood Talismans, but countless people had also had their revenge.

"The Dog Demon is finally gone. Please, heroes, leave your names," the farmer with the missing leg pleaded excitedly. His leg had been mauled by wolves.

Shen Leling smiled charmingly, "No need. This dog had a master, a highly skilled cultivator, who is probably looking for us for revenge..."

"Ah?" The villagers were shocked. This vicious dog, which had eaten countless people, actually had a powerful cultivator as its master, and he had the audacity to seek revenge?

They were simple villagers and didn't understand the ways of cultivators, but they understood basic principles... and this felt incredibly unreasonable to them.

Huang Banyun gasped, "That's right, the cultivator doesn't know who killed the Dog Demon yet. Please, everyone, keep it a secret."

"Don't worry, we won't say a word," the villagers said gratefully. Of course, they wouldn't tell.

Feng Junyou floated over and said calmly, "It doesn't matter if you tell or not. You don't even need to inquire about this matter."

"The Dog Demon must have sought its master's permission before coming. That cultivator can simply ask the Zhang Family to find out who their target was this time."

"Even if we go a step further and destroy the Zhang Family first, there's still one witness alive."

"Who?" Shen Leling asked.

"Including Zhang Quan, there were a total of six top Martial Artists for this operation. You only killed five. One was responsible for reporting to the Dog Demon and did not participate in the battle," Feng Junyou explained.

Shen Leling was startled, "The Dog Demon came alone. This messenger must be slow and still on the way?"

Mr. Feng shrugged, "Who knows? He might even be with that cultivator."

"Upon seeing the scene at Flag Mountain, they will naturally know who did it. We can't escape."

Yan Nu forcefully planted his spear on the ground, "Who cares about them! I'll destroy the Zhang Family first! Anyone who stands in my way, I'll kill!"

"Ah!" The villagers were shocked. Destroy the Zhang Family?

"Weren't you being pursued by the Zhang Family?" the villagers asked anxiously.

Yan Nu slung his spear over his shoulder and walked towards the village exit.

"Circumstances have changed!"

As the villagers watched them leave, heading towards Hua County, they realized Yan Nu was going to avenge them.

They wanted to dissuade him, but then they remembered how powerful these individuals were; they were either monsters or ghosts...

Their eyes welled up with tears, and they repeatedly bowed in thanks.

Three hours later, outside Hua County.

Yan Nu had been rushing to make up for lost time, and his cultivation speed had slowed. Over the past three hours, he had broken through and reformed twenty-four times.

His cultivation of 46,170 years caused his meridians and acupoints to shine brilliantly.

Of course, ordinary people couldn't see it; one would need to be at the Mystical Stage and possess spiritual perception to perceive it.

"Your cultivation is terrifying. In the eyes of cultivators, your 360 acupoints are like the brilliant stars in the heavens," Shen Leling said. With a slight tremor of her fingers, she cast a minor spell on Yan Nu, creating a layer of concealment.

She knew how to conceal her aura. If she hadn't been injured earlier, she wouldn't have left a Demonic Aura when escaping.

The Bronze Contract hung at Shen Leling's waist. Feng Junyou poked his head out from it, "Hmm, but I can still sense about seventy years of cultivation."

"How much?" Huang Banyun's eyes widened.

Shen Leling giggled, "It's fine. Come, change your clothes, and let's enter the city."

With a flick of her fingers, drops of Mysterious Water sprinkled over Yan Nu.

Instantly, his Vine Armor began to change color and shape, transforming into a form-fitting leather armor, red and white.

She then used a grass rope to tie up Yan Nu's long hair, pulling it into a high ponytail, making him look like an ordinary Wandering Knight.

"Whoosh!" After finishing, Shen Leling buried a few seeds in the ground.

She chanted a soft spell, and after about fifteen minutes, the seeds grew into beanpod-like shapes, reaching half a person's height.

Several large beanpods connected together. Shen Leling suddenly shouted, and the beanpods split open, shedding small branches and leaves to reveal a carriage.

She conjured a curtain on the carriage and sat inside.

He then scattered beans outwards, creating ten Vine Armor Soldiers. Eight of them, like Yan Nu, had their vine armor transform, mimicking the appearance of leather armor.

But two others were lying on the ground, having transformed into two horses…

"Get in the carriage!"

With a wooden horse pulling the carriage and eight armored soldiers as guards, Huang Banyun held the reins, sitting in the right driver's seat. Yan Nu, carrying his spear, sat in the left driver's seat.

They swaggered into the city just like that.

"Your transformation technique is incredibly lifelike, the rarest I've ever seen," Feng Junyou praised sincerely.

"Of course! Otherwise, how could I have survived in the martial world for twenty years?" Shen Leling had been told many times that her magic spells were weak and lacked power.

But in reality, her transformation and mimicry techniques were absolutely top-notch, as effortless for her as Feng Junyou's Stone Command Technique.

It could only be said that everyone had their own strengths.

"Giddy up!" The carriage drove straight into the city. The soldiers at the gate didn't even dare to ask any questions.

Didn't they see the extremely stern-faced rows of armored soldiers? Although the carriage was rather plain, any carriage with guards was automatically exempt from paying the city gate tax.

The carriage headed straight for the north of the city. Along the way, the city's scenery wasn't as desolate as they had imagined; on the contrary, it was quite lively.

There were always people with swords hanging at their waists, walking in groups of three to five.

These were all wandering knights who had come from various places or were passing through. The world was in chaos, with heroes rising everywhere. Those with some ability wanted to contribute.

Some of them came down from their sects, while others came from the south. Some were there to serve the country and kill traitors, while others simply wanted to make a name for themselves.

The arrival of these people, needing food and lodging, spending money everywhere to purchase supplies, consequently allowed the city's residents to make a living.

However, even so, there were still starving people by the roadside, looking sickly. They could be seen everywhere they went.

Some knelt by the roadside, offering their heads as a sign of surrender, some were curled up in alleyways, coughing incessantly, or some had already died by the roadside.

"Is there another disaster somewhere?" Yan Nu frowned.

Shen Leling said, "The common folk in the city often don't own land and rely on small businesses or working for others to make a living. If the times are tough, and there's any illness or disaster, their families won't be able to put food on the table."

"Coupled with the chaos of war, there are refugees fleeing from other places every year, and this is a sight I see wherever I travel across the land."

The carriage soon stopped at an inn closest to the Zhang Mansion. More wandering knights were gathered here, drinking wine and talking loudly, all vowing to make the Hu Barbarians pay.

Shen Leling took out silver and had Huang Banyun book two rooms.

Once inside the room, Feng Junyou finally flew out of the Bronze Contract completely. He looked out the window, using his qi-gazing ability to sense the surroundings.

According to the original plan, they were supposed to first determine the location and number of strong individuals and masters in the city.

However, upon looking now, he felt something was wrong. The entire city was shrouded in an aura of plague.

"There's a plague in the city," Feng Junyou observed at a glance. Many people were already afflicted with illness.

It was just that robust martial artists could resist it better, so they appeared fine on the surface. As for the weak starving people, they showed symptoms first.

Yan Nu was startled. A plague? Grandpa had also been seriously ill once and almost died.

"Then what should we do? Is there medicine to cure it?"

Feng Junyou continued to observe, raising an eyebrow. "It's not very severe, just that it spreads rapidly. It's everywhere in the city, and almost everyone in this inn is infected."

"But you have the Emperor Tai's White Jade Technique, so it doesn't matter if you get infected."

"I'm talking about them! How will they survive?" Yan Nu pointed at the starving people by the roadside.

Feng Junyou said, "Normally, if one contracts a plague, as long as they don't encounter a Plague Ghost... the body can resolve it on its own."

"Plague Ghost?" Yan Nu asked, "Aren't you a ghost? Are you saying that as long as demons and monsters like you don't kill them, they can survive?"

"No..." Feng Junyou said with a wry smile, quickly explaining, "I am human... no, I am a ghost cultivator. Plague Ghosts are another type of ghost blessed by the Heavenly Dao, specifically appearing in places where plagues are rampant to feed on the sick."

Yan Nu looked bewildered. Shen Leling pointed to another section of rooms in the inn. "Look, there's a Plague Ghost over there."

"Where?" Yan Nu looked, but couldn't even see a ghost's shadow.

"Mortals can't see them. Here, take this Bronze Contract. It's a powerful tool for subduing ghosts and can help you see spirits and gods."

Shen Leling gently raised her hand, and the Bronze Contract floated up, falling into Yan Nu's hand.

Yan Nu immediately felt his vision brighten. Five strange and ugly shadows floated into a thatched hut.

"I see them!" Yan Nu quickly followed.

The ghosts within the Blood Technique are just the most basic use of the Bronze Contract. It still depends on whether Feng Junyou is willing to cooperate.

The Bronze Contract itself is a magic artifact. In the hands of a cultivator, it possesses the power to subdue ghosts, and sensing ghosts is just one of its functions.

Feng Junyou was led by Yan Nu and quickly burrowed into the Bronze Contract, only sticking out his mouth to say, "This inn has gathered too many sick people, and the personnel are complex. It's exactly the kind of place Plague Ghosts like to frequent."

"There are five ghosts here."

Yan Nu saw five monsters. They had hands and feet, were humanoid in shape, but their bodies were completely bare, and their faces even lacked eyes.

No, one of them did have an eye, but it only had one eye.

Feng Junyou explained, "This is actually one Plague Ghost, composed of five 'ghost bodies' as 'one ghost'."

"These five are always inseparable. The one with the eye is called 'Mr. One-Eye.' The other four cannot act independently; everything must obey Mr. One-Eye's orders."

"And they also rely on this eye to see, hence the collective name 'Mr. One-Eye and Four Associates' for the five of them."

Yan Nu was surprised and followed him into the room. It was a dormitory-style room with eight people lying inside.

Some were meditating cross-legged, some were sleeping, and some were lying on collapse beds, breathing heavily, groaning and coughing.

Four monsters stood behind Mr. One-Eye, which reminded Yan Nu of himself queuing for bread.

When Mr. One-Eye fixed his gaze on one person, a monster approached the man sleeping soundly and inhaled lightly.

"These are our pilgrims, you're not allowed to eat them," Mr. One-Eye said, stopping it.

The monster retreated, and another monster approached the man meditating cross-legged.

"This is a bad person, you're not allowed to eat him."

Mr. One-Eye stopped it again.

The third monster approached the man breathing heavily and coughing frequently.

"This is a good person, you're not allowed to eat him."

After saying that, Mr. One-Eye pointed to the remaining five people: "These five are neither exceptionally good nor evil, just ordinary. It seems they are waiting for us to eat them."

The monsters then proceeded to inhale from the remaining five people in order. Each time a monster inhaled, the person became weaker, and their illness worsened.

Seeing someone's breathing weaken and about to perish, Yan Nu immediately charged in with his spear.

"Eat my spear!"

p.s: Sorry.