Another Immortal Cultivator

Qin Sang forced himself to his feet. He watched Yanwang emerge with Venerable Yuanjue's soul clenched between his teeth, then glanced at Yanwang, now far more solid than before. Seeing no sign that Yanwang intended to devour its master, he relaxed slightly and could not wait to interrogate Venerable Yuanjue's soul.

He was very curious about Xuanji Temple, the sacred land of the martial world. He also wanted to know whether Venerable Yuanjue had encountered any other immortal masters during his years of travel.

When Venerable Yuanjue's soul dissipated, a trace of surprise appeared on Qin Sang's face.

The souls of those Yanwang had killed before had all lingered for roughly the same amount of time. Yet Venerable Yuanjue's soul had lasted only half as long as the others. This was the first time Qin Sang had encountered such a thing.

Qin Sang could not puzzle it out no matter how hard he thought. He had not expected this to happen, and he still had many questions left unasked.

Even so, what he had learned from Venerable Yuanjue made Qin Sang feel that the dangerous encounter had not been in vain.

It turned out Venerable Yuanjue had recognized Qin Sang as an Immortal Cultivator at a glance because Xuanji Temple had once killed an Immortal Cultivator several decades ago!

At the time, two patriarchs of Xuanji Temple had joined forces to besiege that Immortal Cultivator. Both had been Xiantian Masters.

That Immortal Cultivator had used methods similar to Qin Sang's. He had held a bell in his hand, and with a light shake, one of Xuanji Temple's patriarchs had died for no reason at all. Like The Reckless Monk, he had not a wound on his body.

The other patriarch had been terrified beyond measure. In a desperate last gamble, he had not hesitated to use an evil art that drained his vital essence.

That Immortal Cultivator had never expected a mortal to possess such astonishing speed. His face filled with panic as he hastily pulled out a Talisman Paper from his robes and released a curtain of water. But he had been too slow, and the sword radiance pierced straight through his heart.

When Venerable Yuanjue saw The Reckless Monk's bizarre death, he immediately thought of that old incident. He had originally hesitated, but after hearing Qin Sang's bluffing words, he had decided to act at once.

Qin Sang could only blame his own shallow experience in the martial world for giving himself away.

After that battle, Xuanji Temple's only two Xiantian Masters had been left one dead and one injured. Their strength had been grievously damaged, and only after Venerable Yuanjue broke through to the Xiantian realm had the situation stabilized.

Yet Xuanji Temple's gains had been completely disproportionate to its losses.

The Immortal Cultivator had not possessed the cultivation methods they had expected. There had only been that purple bell, two Talisman Papers, and a bare Jade Slip, with nothing else besides.

They had tried pouring true qi into the bell and the Jade Slip, but neither had reacted in the slightest. They had even destroyed one of the two Talisman Papers.

After attaining the Xiantian realm, Venerable Yuanjue had traveled abroad, his foremost purpose being to find a way to unravel the purple bell and the Jade Slip.

When Great Sui underwent drastic upheaval, Venerable Yuanjue received word and returned to his sect, passing through Hening County along the way.

Qin Sang pondered for a moment, then bent down and grabbed Venerable Yuanjue's corpse. A wave of weakness washed over him. Though the escape and struggle just now had been brief, they had nearly drained all his strength.

He hurriedly circulated the Netherworld Scripture through one cycle to regain some strength, then turned back and picked up The Reckless Monk's corpse. He kicked open the inner residence's gates and, upon seeing the scene outside, could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

He had killed people with his own hands before, and more than one.

He had also stood on battlefields where vast armies clashed, witnessing the ghastly spectacle of Corpse Mountain and seas of blood, where blood flowed enough to float pestles.

But when he saw dozens of corpses scattered across the ground, without a single fatal wound on their bodies, some sprawled facedown and others lying flat, motionless as sculptures, he still felt a physical sense of revulsion.

Qin Sang picked up the Yanluo Banner for a look. Several holes in the banner had vanished, while Yanwang obediently remained to one side.

The Reckless Monk had governed his troops harshly, and Hening County's curfew was extremely strict. Even with such a great commotion, the surrounding residents kept their doors tightly shut, not daring to come out and watch the excitement.

Qin Sang looked around, then used his sword to stab each corpse in a vital spot. He piled the bodies beside the woodshed and tossed out a firestarter. Before long, the Zhu residence was ablaze, flames soaring into the sky.

So many corpses certainly could not be burned clean, but Qin Sang only wanted to conceal the Yanluo Banner. Burning them into charred corpses would be enough.

Qin Sang recited a scroll of scripture. Then, thinking of how his hands were already soaked in blood, he could not help giving a bitter smile. Such posturing was truly hypocritical. He was becoming colder and more ruthless by the day.

Clerk Ma wore only his outer robe as he gazed anxiously out the window. He had been drafting official documents when he discovered a fire outside.

Why had Magistrate Li not yet sent anyone to put it out?

Bang!

Clerk Ma was about to return inside to change into his official robes when two heads suddenly smashed onto the table, startling him into a scream. His hand jerked, flinging away the brush, and he toppled backward with his chair. The back of his head struck the floor, drawing another scream from him.

"Spare my life, brave sir!"

Though Clerk Ma was fifty years old, he moved swiftly. With a roll, he threw himself flat on the ground and, without even raising his head, kowtowed to the pair of feet before him.

"Brave sir, whatever you require, simply give the order. This old man will surely obey. I beg brave sir to spare this old man's life!"

They were the heads of Magistrate Li Ji and Zhu Dazhuang. Clerk Ma had nearly been frightened out of his wits.

The Reckless Monk, who had been hailed as one of the martial world's foremost experts, had died without rhyme or reason. Clerk Ma did not believe he had any ability to resist.

With another bang, the magistrate's official seal was thrown before him.

"Go out and pacify the people. At midnight tonight, take the official seal and open the city gates. If you delay the hour, watch out for the lives of your entire household!"

Keeping his head lowered, Clerk Ma swore, "Rest assured, brave sir. This old man will definitely handle the matter properly. Otherwise, there will be no need for brave sir to act—this old man will end himself!"

Qin Sang gave a chuckle. "You are not going to ask why I am having you open the city gates?"

Clerk Ma's eyes shifted, and he declared with righteous fervor, "Brave sir, you may not know this, but this old man has long awaited the royal army! The current False Emperor is licentious and without virtue, stirring Heaven's wrath and bringing down heavenly calamities. Across Great Sui's thirteen prefectures, white bones lie exposed in the wilds. It is enough to make both men and gods burn with indignation! Yet Li Ji and the other lackeys of the False Emperor remain stubbornly unenlightened, using their power to bully others. This old man only hates that he is aged and weak, lowly in station, and can do nothing but play along with these villains. Day and night, he prayed for an enlightened ruler to save all under heaven, his hot tears flowing back into his belly. Today, his wish has finally come true. He will surely give his all in service to brave sir and Prince..."

After Clerk Ma indignantly finished that long speech, he realized that the pair of feet before him had vanished at some point. He cautiously raised his head. There was no one there.

Hening County fell, and the rebels cast greedy eyes upon the prefectural city. Jiang Prefecture's powerful and noble figures panicked, issuing one foolish order after another. They forcibly commanded Duling County's defenders to return and reinforce the prefectural city, only for them to encounter an ambush along the way. Their defeat came crashing down like a mountain collapsing.

The day after the city fell, Qin Sang left Hening County. Later, he heard that Wang Liu had flown into a rage, but Qin Sang naturally did not care.

That year, the people of Jiang Prefecture spent the New Year amid the flames of war.

In less than three months, Jiang Prefecture's main city fell. After the army rested briefly in Jiang Prefecture, it split into two forces: one marched on North Ping Prefecture, the other on Hu Prefecture.

By then, Qin Sang had already spent over a month in Hunwu County, Jiang Prefecture.

He still had not broken through the third level of the Netherworld Scripture. Cultivating for an entire night now brought scarcely any progress. He was stuck at the bottleneck, and this situation had persisted for a full month.