"Hm?"
"How could this be?"
Chen Fan stared blankly at the notification on the Attribute Panel.
Willow Lord's remaining lifespan was zero—didn't that mean it had actually been dead all along?
Moreover, the Attribute Panel had only identified it as a willow tree demon, without displaying its realm. Didn't that mean it was merely a demon that had only just transformed, with no cultivation realm at all?
So all that fighting just now had been for nothing?
"Could it be because of this?"
Chen Fan walked up to the black, droplet-shaped crystal and picked it up. Suddenly, his entire body stiffened, as though an electric current had run through his brain. An image appeared out of thin air before his eyes.
Above the nine heavens.
A terrifying Demon Vine blotted out the sky and covered the earth. At times, the Demon Vine transformed into a nine-headed demonic dragon; at times, into an ink-jade qilin; or else into a killing machine covered from head to toe in weapons.
Several invincible figures whose pressure dominated the ten directions of heaven and earth appeared around the Demon Vine, seeking to kill it. The Demon Vine fought one against many, growing fiercer with every battle. The aftershocks of their clash shattered the void and smashed the firmament!
At that moment, the Demon Vine was wounded. Black blood rained down, and one droplet of it, carrying rolling heavenly thunder, fell from the skies onto an ordinary willow tree on Black Mountain!
From then on, the willow tree gradually turned black and gained intelligence, acquiring all manner of inconceivable abilities. Before long, it unified Black Mountain and was hailed by the demons as Willow Lord!
That was Willow Lord's origin!
A single droplet of black blood had created such a terrifying Willow Lord. Just how powerful, then, was the owner of that blood—the Demon Vine that reached from heaven to earth?
The several towering figures who had besieged the Demon Vine possessed boundless, terrifying might. Though Chen Fan had not seen their true faces, merely witnessing the memory fragment carried within this droplet of black blood made him shudder!
What realms had they reached? Were they Terrestrial Immortals, or the legendary Divine Saints of the Nine Heavens?
"In truth, when the heavenly thunder fell, that ordinary willow tree on Black Mountain had already been reduced to ashes. The only reason it could still exist, and even summon wind and rain across Black Mountain, was because of this droplet of black blood!"
Chen Fan gazed at the black blood in his hand, now solidified into a black droplet-shaped crystal, and spoke in a grave voice.
Originally, he had thought this black crystal was Willow Lord's demon core. But the strength Willow Lord had displayed was at most that of the Divine Aperture Realm.
What kind of demon in the Divine Aperture Realm could possess a demon core? At most, it would have a core pouch, much like the dantian of a human martial artist, used to store its own energy.
To nurture a demon core, a demon had to be among the very strongest and cultivate to an extremely high level. Even a peak Divine Aperture Realm demon likely could not condense a demon core, only a false core—a large lump of flesh. To turn it into a golden core would require cultivation over long years.
And Willow Lord's was a black crystal. If some demon could temper its demon core to such a degree, it could probably kill the current Chen Fan with a single glance!
Ping An County.
Lu Xuening's face grew increasingly pale, and a trace of blood hung from the corner of her lips.
This was the backlash from forcibly using Sword Qi to kill her enemies.
Yet those black willow branches continued to spread, their speed even growing faster and faster.
She could only drain herself again and again, shattering those black willow branches.
Now, the black willow branches spread toward them once more. Huang Chengyue and the others gripped their weapons and continuously hacked at the branches, but they could only temporarily slow their advance. Unlike Lu Xuening, they could not drive them back!
Those black willow branches seemed to understand military strategy. They advanced steadily, step by step, like a flood beast with its jaws wide open, ceaselessly devouring all of Ping An County.
"Did Chen Fan fail?"
Standing atop the county office roof, Lu Xuening used her longsword as a cane to support herself. She knew that she was everyone's pillar of hope now. She absolutely could not fall.
But she was truly exhausted, so sleepy, so weary. She wanted nothing more than to have a good sleep!
She blinked, drew a deep breath, and forced herself to gather a shred of spirit, intending to overdraw herself once again and drive back the black willow branches that had already spread to her feet.
But in an instant, those black willow branches turned into a pile of black powder and scattered throughout Ping An County. The sudden change made her think she was hallucinating.
She blinked hard and saw the forest sea woven from black willow branches collapse with a thunderous crash, turning into drifting ash!
It was real!
"Success!"
"Chen Fan succeeded!"
Lu Xuening murmured to herself. After speaking, she toppled headfirst onto the roof, then rolled off it and fell to the ground, completely unconscious.
Three days later.
Lu Xuening had been unconscious for a full three days before finally waking up.
Fortunately, she was already a Divine Aperture Realm martial artist. Going without food or water for three days posed no problem for her. Had an ordinary person been unconscious for three days and nights, the whole village would have already been feasting at their funeral.
Under Deputy County Magistrate Ye's administration, Ping An County had begun to return to normal. Evidence of Cao De's and the county magistrate's crimes had also been sent by carrier pigeon to Dragon Abyss Prefecture.
Without Willow Lord's obstruction this time, it should reach Dragon Abyss Prefecture soon. When that happened, both the Dragon Abyss Prefecture yamen and the Brocade Guard Thousand-Household Office would likely send people over.
Although Lu Xuening's overdrawn body had not fully recovered after she woke up, she was in exceptionally high spirits. Ping An County had survived its crisis, Chen Fan had returned safely from Black Mountain, and she had comprehended Swordheart Clarity, entered the Divine Aperture Realm, and opened thirty-six acupoints throughout her body. Compared with her senior brothers and sisters, she could be said to have overtaken them from behind.
That night.
On the roof of the county office.
Chen Fan and Lu Xuening each held a jar of wine, with several dishes to go with the drinks laid out beside them.
"Can you tell me your true identity now?"
Chen Fan took a drink and looked at Lu Xuening as he spoke.
"Looks like you suspected my identity long ago."
"Then let us formally get acquainted today. I am Lu Xuening, a member of the Brocade Guard's Dark Guard. My master is Zuo Qianqiu, Thousand-Household Commander of the Dragon Abyss Prefecture Brocade Guard Thousand-Household Office."
Lu Xuening clasped her fists and spoke.
"A Dark Guard member?"
"Then your being sent down from Dragon Abyss Prefecture to Ping An County was actually for the ten-year inspection assessment?"
Chen Fan asked with considerable interest.
The Brocade Guard's Dark Guard was an extremely special group. They had their own unique promotion system, divided into ordinary Dark Guard members, Bronze-Rank Inspectors, Silver-Rank Inspectors, Gold-Rank Inspectors, and the Dark Guard Chief.
These people were the sharp sword of the Brocade Guard. Internally, they were responsible for inspecting and assessing the Brocade Guard, purging its ranks.
Externally, they sought traces of demons, recorded demon territories, and pointed the Brocade Guard toward its path of slaying demons and eliminating evil.
Moreover, the Dark Guard Chief stood on equal footing with the Brocade Guard Chief. Both held Principal Third Rank and answered directly to the reigning Emperor!
"I actually have two identities. I am Zuo Qianqiu's disciple, a Chief Squad Leader in Dragon Abyss Prefecture, and also a Dark Guard member. This time, I came to Ping An County to investigate its situation."
"Dragon Abyss Prefecture had long known that someone in Ping An County might be colluding with demons and harming the people, so they deliberately sent me here as a Ninth-Rank Black-Robed Constable transferred down from Dragon Abyss Prefecture to thoroughly investigate the matter."
"This was both a task for me to complete my training and a test of whether I could be promoted to Brocade Guard Hundred-Household Commander."
"If I completed the task outstandingly, I could successfully finish my training and be promoted to Brocade Guard Hundred-Household Commander."
"But I never expected the waters of Ping An County to run so deep. Brocade Guard Hundred-Household Commander Cao De had colluded with demons, cultivated demonic arts, and had already stepped into the Divine Aperture Realm."
"The officials of the entire county office had been controlled by the Black Mountain demons. On the surface, Black Mountain had three great Divine Aperture Realm demons, but behind those three demons lurked something even more terrifying. It nearly devoured all the people of Ping An County as nourishment!"
"Fortunately, you were here. Otherwise, forget completing the mission—I probably would not even have kept my life!"
Lu Xuening spoke with deep emotion, laying out her background and the mission she had come to Ping An County to carry out in full.
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