Azure Blood Gold Talisman

As Zhou Gang was speaking, his mouth suddenly opened, and disbelief appeared in his eyes.

"Heh heh, Commander Zhou, take another look. Who am I..."

Under Zhou Gang's astonished and delighted gaze, Li Qingyun drew in the air with his fingers, forming six Thunder Seals to dispel any potential eavesdropping.

At the same time, his aura shifted, and his face transformed from the pale and weak visage of "Qin Qing" back to his own handsome, jade-like appearance.

This transformation was brief, displayed only for a moment before he reverted back to "Qin Qing."

He transmitted his voice secretly: "This humble Taoist is Li Qingyun, a disciple of Lingbao Temple. I just arrived in Yinshan Town today. Speaking of Jia Song, the Daoist priest, and the entire town, what exactly is going on?"

Li Qingyun didn't hold back, his tone even carrying a hint of anger.

The Commander Zhou before him was too unreliable. He had sent out pleas for help to various places, and righteous individuals had come to Yinshan Town only to fall into this treacherous pit and be on the verge of death.

"Alas, this is my fault for misjudging people..."

Zhou Gang, an old hand at this, immediately suppressed his surprise. As if nothing had happened, he glared at Qin Qing with the expected demeanor and spoke in a low voice.

"Starting last month, people in Yinshan Town began disappearing one after another, with no bodies found. Initially, one or two people went missing each night, but it became increasingly severe, with four or five people vanishing overnight!"

"I led the Youdao Division in an investigation. From the clues, we deduced that evil ghosts and demons from Great Yin Mountain were descending to abduct people. So, I sent Inspector Tu, who is from a mountain village, back to his village to ask the old shaman about the background of these evil ghosts..."

"Meanwhile, I was exhausted from running around and was already injured. One night, while pursuing an evil ghost, we both suffered injuries. Deputy Commander Jia Song kindly offered me medicine, and I took it without much thought. As a result, my injuries worsened, my cultivation was sealed, and I ended up in this state!"

"It was then that I discovered Jia Song was nearing the end of his lifespan. Unwilling to accept his fate, he had secretly colluded with the evil ghosts from Great Yin Mountain. He obtained an evil ancient technique from them, which allows one to become a half-human, half-ghost being, but it requires the blood sacrifice of thousands of people!"

"It's truly shameful. Besides me being ambushed, my colleagues, including the head officials of the Dao Division and the Inspectorate, had already been gradually controlled by Jia Song through his schemes..."

"Later, the righteous individuals and fellow Taoists who arrived were targeted by Jia Song and that ghostly creature because your vital energy and souls are far stronger than ordinary mortals. That's why they couldn't leave once they entered; otherwise, they would have surely met their demise..."

"..."

Li Qingyun was speechless.

This Commander Zhou was too careless. He had a great conspirator like Jia Song hiding by his side, and he had been sidelined for a long time without realizing any of it.

Truly, he deserved to die!

He couldn't help but mock lightly, "Then, for this current dire situation, does Commander have any brilliant plans to break free?"

Sensing Li Qingyun's sarcasm, Zhou Gang's face flashed with anger, then guilt, and he couldn't maintain his tough facade.

He said with shame, "The best and most direct way to break free is to capture and kill Jia Song with lightning speed, and then work together to eliminate that evil ghost! But unfortunately, you might not be a match for Jia Song, let alone suppress that ghostly creature!"

Li Qingyun chuckled lightly, "Commander, you've said nothing at all! The entire town's Taoist officials and armored soldiers are controlled by Jia Song. Not to mention his own cultivation at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, those hundreds of armored soldiers are enough to easily wipe us out!"

He paused, then said seriously, "At today's banquet, Jia Song proposed that we be allowed to leave freely in three days. This shows that time is of the essence. If Commander doesn't want your entire family to perish with you, you need to come up with a reliable plan!"

"You've been in charge of Yinshan Town for so long. Even if Jia Song controls most people, surely you have some confidantes or hidden assets among them!"

Besides, I also know about the Dao Division in the region. In extremely urgent situations, they can contact the Dao Division in the county town or even the prefecture. Commander, are you unwilling to burn your lifespan to use that item...

Hearing this, Zhou Gang looked thoughtful and gazed at Li Qingyun. "Your surname is Li. Could you be a descendant of the royal family living in exile? No wonder you know about that item. This is a top secret of the Daoist Affairs Bureau, something even Jia Song isn't very clear about!"

Li Qingyun looked at Zhou Gang calmly, offering no explanation.

The Marquis Qinghe's mansion had long been distanced from the imperial power center of You Capital. After more than ten generations, he could hardly be considered part of the Li imperial family.

His surname being "Li," and his knowledge of that secret Daoist item, exerted immense pressure on Zhou Gang.

Zhou Gang struggled internally for a moment before finally making a decision, sighing:

"I can sacrifice myself and light the signal, but I have one request: I hope Young Master Li can protect my family, especially my two children, after this. They both have the potential for cultivation..."

The Commander of Yinshan Town's Daoist Association had quietly changed his address, referring to Li Qingyun as "Young Master Li" with a hint of respect.

He assumed Li Qingyun was truly a royal disciple!

"Agreed! As long as I don't die, I will protect your family during the ensuing chaos!"

Li Qingyun felt a bit disgusted, but after thinking about it, he agreed.

As the Commander, Zhou Gang had failed to bring peace to the people internally and failed to suppress ghosts and demons externally. He was also arrogant and poor at judging people, which led to today's predicament!

Now, he was even trying to bargain while doing what he should have been doing as Commander.

However, Li Qingyun's heart softened when he thought of the innocent women and children in the Zhou household, and he still agreed to protect them.

"Good, Young Master is benevolent!"

Zhou Gang's face lit up with joy; he had finally made up his mind.

"Please, Young Master Li, move the third floor tile from the left under my bed and retrieve the Azure Blood Talisman!"

Li Qingyun crouched down, holding his bronze short sword, and tapped the ground to test it before prying open the floor tile. He took out a nanmu box.

The box was locked and sealed with a spell. He handed it to Zhou Gang, who was lying in bed.

Only Zhou Gang could open this item; otherwise, the seal would be triggered, and Li Qingyun's current cultivation wouldn't be able to withstand it.

"Alas, I entered the Daoist Academy at thirteen, reached the middle stage of Qi Refining at eighteen, and was assigned to govern a region at twenty-five. Originally... I never expected to have to use the Azure Blood Talisman one day!"

Zhou Gang examined the box in his hand, feeling a sense of melancholy, unwillingness, and struggle.

Activating this talisman meant the end of his career as Commander, and his life and cultivation would be utterly wasted!

The Daoist Academy he mentioned was an institution in You Capital for cultivating elite Taoist officials, much like the Imperial Academy in Li Qingyun's past life.

In the eyes of the common folk, who only half understood what it entailed, entering the Daoist Academy was far superior to being accepted into the Lingbao Temple. It was the lifelong dream of many.

However, the number of people who managed to get into the Daoist Academy each year was exceedingly small. The saying goes that one needs both a Dao Bone Spiritual Root and strong willpower and perseverance; lacking either means failure.

From this perspective, Zhou Gang could truly be considered a "dragon among men," starting from a very high point. As long as he didn't fall by the wayside, his future was bound to be bright.

Compared to Zhou Gang, the aptitude of Li Qingyun's current body was vastly inferior; the difference was like that between clouds and mud.

Li Qingyun stood calmly, simply watching, and did not urge him on.

The path of cultivation, life and death, future prospects, family...

When one is truly forced to make a choice, hesitation and indecision are only natural human reactions.

"Fine!"

After a moment, Zhou Gang bit his finger, drawing a bloody line with his fingertip as he decisively broke the seal!

As the box opened, a blinding golden light immediately assaulted their eyes. Inside lay a golden talisman, appearing as if it were crafted entirely from gold, looking exceptionally extraordinary!

In the You Kingdom, talismans were categorized into six grades: black, gold, silver, purple, blue, and yellow. Yellow talismans were the most common; things like the House Soothing Talismans that every household displayed were of this tier.

This "Azure Blood Talisman" from the box, however, was gold, indicating its rarity.