Illusory Changes Come and Go

"My art of soaring isn't very proficient; I'm relying entirely on mana to fly, so it looks a bit clumsy!"

Li Qingyun gave a faint smile and glided like a black eagle into a nearby courtyard.

This courtyard was home to over a dozen wandering swordsmen, all secretly drugged by Jia Song with soul-losing and illusion-inducing drugs. They were like puppets on strings, their actions and consciousness completely controlled by Jia Song.

If this state were to continue for another ten days or half a month, even if they recovered, their minds would be severely damaged, turning them into simpletons.

"Thunder Seal!"

"Wake up!"

"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for saving me..."

Li Qingyun had already mastered the Illusion Spirit Spell and understood these kinds of tricks. Combined with his Lightning Intent Shocking Soul Consciousness, he walked through the two courtyards and had already lifted the illusionary and soul-losing state from the swordsmen and several other Daoist priests.

Fortunately, their souls weren't "scattered" too severely, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to save them.

Even after being freed from the soul-losing state, their minds had already suffered significant trauma, and many couldn't even remember what had happened these past few days.

They would need to consume more pills to replenish spirit and energy in the future to slowly return to their original selves.

Chi Hui and Old Daoist Wang also had their own methods, either directly using spells to sneak in or using the excuse of visiting to gather everyone and inform them of the night's operations.

Jia Song had also said that as long as people stayed within the Dao Division and didn't run around outside, visiting each other was permissible.

After a period of busy work, Li Qingyun felt physically and mentally exhausted, with a significant drain on his mana.

He swallowed a few Minor Grass Pills and meditated to recover for a while.

At this moment, he looked towards the edge of town, where the dark sky was beginning to show a faint hint of dawn.

He was getting anxious. Without waiting for his mana to fully recover, he quickly left the Dao Division and flew towards the Yinshan Town city gates.

Fortunately, Jia Song's identity was very useful. He traveled swiftly, and no one dared to stop him.

However, in the next moment, Li Qingyun almost blew his cover!

As he was flying in a hurry, he unexpectedly encountered Inspector Tu, who was leading a patrol through the streets. Realizing the danger, he immediately changed direction.

"Where is Deputy Commander going?"

Tu Xiong called out from a distance.

Li Qingyun couldn't answer and pretended not to hear, accelerating his departure.

He feared that if he spoke, the flaw in his voice and breath modulation might be detected by Tu Xiong, who was at the fifth layer of Sha Refining, and arouse suspicion.

And if he stopped to talk, he would definitely be exposed!

Tu Xiong was undoubtedly very familiar with and understood Jia Song.

"Deputy Commander Jia's need for human blood is growing stronger. Didn't he just absorb over a dozen townspeople a moment ago..."

Tu Xiong watched Li Qingyun's hurried departing figure, a look of suspicion on his face. After standing for a while, he still felt something was not right.

"No, that person just looks very much like Deputy Commander Jia. He doesn't have the distinct stiff, cold, dead aura!"

The Inspector Tu, clad in armor and with strange markings on his face, immediately changed his expression upon realizing this and shouted at his small squad of subordinates:

"Quick, follow me to the north city gate!"

A layer of Blood Fiend Qi surged around him. He stomped his foot, and the stone slabs on the ground instantly cracked, his speed increasing dramatically as he pursued Li Qingyun.

Confident in his own strength, he didn't care if the armored soldiers behind him could keep up.

A Big Black Cat leaped nimbly over the civilian houses, quickly catching up to its owner.

"Meow..."

Yuanbao leaped down and meowed worriedly at the flying Li Qingyun.

"What, Tu Xiong is actually chasing me?"

Li Qingyun understood Yuanbao's meows instantly and was greatly alarmed.

He had to hurry!

He glanced back and saw the burly Tu Xiong pursuing him, enveloped in Blood Fiend Qi. He urged his mana and accelerated again.

His large sleeves fluttered, and he tightly clutched the golden Azure Blood Talisman in his hand.

"Just as Zhou Gang said, only outside the town can the Azure Blood Talisman's effect be fully released and transmit for a thousand miles!"

The dim, gray aura above the town blocked his senses. He could feel the power of formations obscuring and sealing the area.

"Who goes there! Stop at once, or you will be slain without mercy!"

Tu Xiong's threatening roar echoed from behind.

The roar startled the residents of the nearby houses. Some lit lamps and looked out, seeing Inspector Tu chasing Deputy Commander Jia, and were quite confused.

However, the townspeople looked at Tu Xiong and "Deputy Commander Jia" with deep fear and hatred!

Something happened in the town every night, and now over a dozen people disappeared overnight without reason. Yet these Daoist officials and inspectors did nothing, only resorting to strict suppression.

The entire Yinshan Town was a hell, where one could neither leave nor stay.

Li Qingyun ignored Tu Xiong's shouts and charged forward rapidly.

At this moment, he felt a pang of annoyance and regret. If only he had a more powerful movement technique!

Otherwise, how could a mere practitioner of the heretical path's Sha Refining be getting closer and closer?

The true methods of the Daoist path naturally held a crushing advantage over heretical paths.

Suddenly!

His movement halted, and Li Qingyun had arrived before the city gate.

A few armored soldiers, their faces pale from the cold, saw that it was "Deputy Commander Jia" and hastily moved to open the city gate.

"I am Tu Xiong! Stop that scoundrel for this inspector; he is not Deputy Commander Jia!"

Behind them, Tu Xiong charged forward like a bloody gale, roaring furiously.

The armored soldiers were suddenly greatly alarmed. They immediately drew their spears and raised their crossbows, aiming at Li Qingyun.

"Insolence! I am Jia Song!"

Li Qingyun's eyes, cold as lightning, shot out a fierce reprimand, carrying seven or eight parts of Jia Song's imposing presence!

The armored soldiers immediately hesitated, unsure who to obey.

"Listen to Inspector Tu! He is indeed not Deputy Commander Jia!"

At this moment, from atop the city wall, a Daoist priest from the Youdao Division, alerted by the commotion, looked down and urgently warned them.

The armored soldiers could only steel themselves, their arms trembling slightly, and raised their crossbows to fire at "Deputy Commander Jia."

But in the next instant, the soldiers felt a blur before their eyes as a chilling bronze sword light flashed like lightning!

Blood splattered, armor cracked, bones broke, and several crossbow-wielding arms were severed, falling onto the ground covered in a thin layer of frost!

"Ah!"

The pained screams of the injured armored soldiers finally rang out!

"Open for me!"

Li Qingyun roared. His figure swept past the armored soldiers. Mana flowed through him, and the bronze short sword in his hand unleashed sword energy several feet long, slashing fiercely at the thick city gate.

Boom!

Wood chips, talisman paper, and frost flew everywhere. The city gate was actually blasted open with a single sword strike!

"You're seeking death!"

"Stop him!"

From the high city wall, two young Daoist priests in the standard robes of the Youdao Division leaped down. With a flick of their fingers, they unleashed four or five fireball talismans, flying directly towards Li Qingyun's back.

From more than ten meters away, Tu Xiong's strong, burly body also leaped up. The long saber in his hand swept out a powerful blade light!

Crack!

A flash of lightning streaked down. As it struck the fireball talismans in front, it suddenly exploded, scattering into a lightning net that covered the city gate entrance.

As the lightning net spread, the four or five fireball talismans crashed into it one after another, scattering into raging air currents along with the lightning!

Li Qingyun's skillful manipulation of the Thunder Seal demonstrated a considerable level of mastery over Lightning Methods!

Yes, with the enhancement of the mysterious Daoist effigy in his mind, his attainments in Lightning Methods had improved significantly. It had already faintly surpassed the power variations of the Lingbao Temple's low-level spell, [Thunder Seal].

On the dark wall behind the mysterious Daoist effigy, as long as ripples and imprints of spells and divine abilities appeared, Li Qingyun could continuously observe and comprehend them. Currently, there was no upper limit to his techniques.

This was the power of the mysterious Daoist effigy!

Bang!

Without looking back, Li Qingyun swung his sword backward. The bronze sword energy collided with Tu Xiong's fierce blade light.

Instantly, he felt a slight sweetness in his throat, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

He was injured!

But the next moment, he used the force of the collision to flip and pass through the broken city gate.