Cultivating Martial Dao True Intent was extremely difficult. Mental power was something profoundly mysterious, and no matter how many martial artists wished to cultivate it, they could never find the right method and could only give up helplessly.
Take the trip to Changgan last time, for example. When Yan Nian of the True Qi Realm was attacked by the Half-step Blood Robe's illusion arts, his consciousness had been sluggish for two breaths. If he had not reacted quickly enough and used his sword to block the Half-step Blood Robe's follow-up attack in time, Yan Nian would certainly have suffered severe injuries then.
If Li Yuan, who had cultivated Martial Dao True Intent, had not intervened in time, there would inevitably have been even greater casualties.
Even an ordinary True Qi Realm martial artist found it so difficult to deal with just one Half-step Blood Robe. If it were a true Blood Robe Evil Ghost, it would be even more troublesome.
Several Blood Robe Evil Ghosts had suddenly appeared in Meishan County, causing heavy casualties. When Jiujiang Commandery received Meishan's request for aid, Zong Lin immediately thought of Li Yuan.
She had seen it clearly at the time. Under the Half-step Blood Robe's attacks, the other martial artists had either collapsed unconscious or fallen into illusions. Only Li Yuan had remained completely unaffected.
Li Yuan possessed some method of resisting illusion attacks!
Although Zong Lin did not know exactly what method Li Yuan used, that was unimportant. Li Yuan absolutely had to be brought along on this trip to Meishan!
When Li Yuan had still been in the Inner Force Realm, he had already possessed such ability. Now that he had broken through to the True Qi Realm, would he not be even stronger?
Therefore, Li Yuan was unquestionably the most suitable candidate for the trip to Meishan.
After Zong Lin and Chu Han reached an agreement, they finalized the personnel for the mission: the Nineteenth Squad, to which Li Yuan belonged, along with Zong Lin herself.
When he heard that the Special Capture Division had arranged for him to deal with the Blood Robe Evil Ghosts, Li Yuan said nothing, tacitly acknowledging that he could withstand the Blood Robe Evil Ghosts' illusion attacks.
Li Yuan did not explain his ability, and Zong Lin did not press him for details.
Inquiring rashly into someone else's trump card was no different from provoking them.
Zong Lin knew her bounds.
Both of them were speaking in riddles, yet both understood what the other meant.
A wordless understanding flowed between them.
The journey to Meishan was a long one. In some places, there was not even a proper road, only mountains, forests, and wilderness. Thus, the group did not ride horses. They all used qinggong footwork and raced toward Meishan.
Though they were not riding horses, martial artists were not slow. Even Mi Lan, the weakest among them at the Body Tempering Realm, could keep up.
Sometimes, when Mi Lan ran out of strength and could not continue, Li Yuan would grab her by the waist sash and carry her along in one hand. Even so, his speed was not affected in the slightest.
The six of them raced onward and finally reached Meishan County before nightfall.
As soon as they entered the city, they sensed an oppressive atmosphere. The county town's streets were sparsely populated, and even the passersby wore faint traces of panic on their faces.
During this period, Evil Warriors and Evil Creatures had attacked the city repeatedly, while martial artists and guards had suffered heavy casualties. The ground over a li beyond the city walls was strewn with blood.
The person responsible for guiding Li Yuan and the others in Meishan was a young martial artist. Walking ahead, he explained to them with a bitter smile, "Meishan has not been peaceful lately. Quite a lot has happened, one thing after another."
Zong Lin's expression turned solemn. "We can see that."
A trace of exhaustion showed on the guide's face. "You are the third group I've escorted today. So many people have come, one after another, but we still haven't managed to suppress those troublesome fellows."
It was obvious that this guide understood Meishan County's situation extremely well, so Zong Lin took the opportunity to ask for more details.
They walked and talked, and before long, they had gained a clear understanding of Meishan's current state.
Over the past few days, the daytime had been relatively stable. Evil Creatures could not move about under the sunlight, so they all hid themselves.
The Spirit Masters and martial artists of Meishan would seize the opportunity during the day to launch attacks. Fully armed, they continuously searched nearby caves, ditches, dense forests, and other places. Whenever they found an Evil Creature, they killed it on the spot.
The problem was that there were often more than just Evil Creatures around them. There were also large numbers of Evil Warriors, and Evil Warriors were not so easy to deal with.
Evil Warriors did not fear sunlight and could move about freely during the day. Moreover, they were exceedingly cunning and would set all manner of sinister traps.
They would even deliberately place some Evil Creatures in conspicuous caves, then lay layer upon layer of traps inside. They waited only for Meishan's people to enter and clear out the Evil Creatures before the Evil Warriors launched a sneak attack!
After several such operations, Meishan had suffered severe losses.
When night fell, however, the situation reversed.
Large numbers of Evil Creatures used the cover of darkness to launch attacks on towns throughout Meishan. The night before last, a small group of Evil Creatures and Evil Warriors had actually broken through the blockade at Meishan County's walls and entered the city!
If the martial artists inside the city had not fought to the death to slaughter them, the city might well have fallen and its people perished—a tragedy just like what had happened in Ping'an County back then!
Li Yuan swept his gaze around and saw blood and cracks on the nearby walls and paving stones. These traces had been left behind by the slaughter two nights ago.
After winding through several streets, the group arrived at a huge estate. Looking up, they saw the words "Meishan County Office" written on the signboard.
This estate was Meishan County's county government office.
Generally speaking, a Special Capture Division branch would not be established at the county level. The lowest level was the commandery.
At the county level, matters involving the supernatural were mainly handled by the county government. If the county government could not deal with them, it would report the matter to the Special Capture Division in the commandery city.
Meishan County's situation was critical at present, so the Special Capture Division of Yangxing Commandery, to which Meishan belonged, had sent a large number of personnel. Three True Qi Realm directors alone had come, along with two Spirit Masters.
Li Yuan and the others entered the county government office and soon saw the martial artists and Spirit Masters of the Yangxing Special Capture Division.
Dozens of people had gathered there. Some bore traces of blood, their breathing hurried, clearly injured. They were martial artists who had just returned from fighting outside.
"Zong Lin, it has been two years since we last met."
A middle-aged man with a long beard greeted Zong Lin with a smile.
He was Kong Zhuohua, a director of the Yangxing Special Capture Division. Among the directors of Yangxing Commandery, he was the strongest and most senior.
If the Young Commander of Yangxing Commandery were promoted, Kong Zhuohua would very likely take over as the new Young Commander.
After all, Kong Zhuohua's strength and seniority were sufficient, so the Young Commander of Yangxing Commandery had assigned him to Meishan County to oversee the overall situation.
Jiujiang Commandery and Yangxing Commandery had exchanged personnel several times in the past, and both sides knew each other. Seeing Kong Zhuohua greet her, Zong Lin smiled and replied, "Indeed. It has been two years since we last met."
Kong Zhuohua carefully looked Zong Lin up and down, a trace of surprise appearing on his face. "Your spiritual power has advanced considerably. As expected of the most talented Spirit Master in the Zong Family!"
"You flatter me, Brother Kong."
"May I ask who these people are?" Kong Zhuohua looked at the several people beside Zong Lin and realized that he did not recognize any of them.
Zong Lin promptly introduced them. "This is Li Yuan, captain of the Nineteenth Squad of my Jiujiang Special Capture Division. He is a True Qi Realm martial artist."
"True Qi Realm?"
"Such a young True Qi Realm martial artist?!"
"Jiujiang Commandery truly produces talented people generation after generation!"
A large number of martial artists and Spirit Masters had gathered here. Many of them were older than Li Yuan, yet Li Yuan was actually a True Qi Realm martial artist. His strength placed him among the strongest people present!
Several True Qi Realm martial artists and Spirit Masters from Yangxing Commandery also greeted Li Yuan. After introductions, both sides became familiar with one another.
After some idle conversation, they turned to business. Zong Lin said solemnly, "We have just arrived at your division. What exactly is the situation now?"
Kong Zhuohua's face showed a bitter smile. "To be honest, the situation this time is serious."
"Meishan has suffered attacks from Evil Creatures and Evil Warriors in several places. Behind all of this... we discovered traces of an Occult Arts Master."
"We suspect that this is the work of the Blood Shadow Hall."
Zong Lin's pupils instantly narrowed to pinpoints. "An Occult Arts Master? The Blood Shadow Hall?!"
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