Tacit Understanding

Cultivating Martial Dao True Intent is incredibly difficult. Mental power is an esoteric concept; many martial artists desire to cultivate it but find no proper method, ultimately giving up in frustration.

Take the trip to Changgan last time, for instance. True Qi Realm martial artist Yan Nian was attacked by a Half-step Blood Robe using illusions. His consciousness was delayed by two breaths. If he hadn't reacted quickly enough and blocked the Half-step Blood Robe's subsequent attack with his sword, Yan Nian would have been severely injured.

If Li Yuan, who had cultivated Martial Dao True Intent, hadn't intervened in time, there would have inevitably been even greater casualties.

Even a mere Half-step Blood Robe is incredibly difficult for ordinary True Qi Realm martial artists to handle. If it were a true Blood Robe Evil Ghost, it would be even more troublesome.

Several Blood Robe Evil Ghosts suddenly appeared in Meishan County, causing significant casualties. When Jiujiang Commandery received the plea for help from Meishan, Zong Lin immediately thought of Li Yuan.

She had seen it clearly at the time: under the Half-step Blood Robe's attack, other martial artists either collapsed unconscious or fell into illusions. Only Li Yuan was completely unaffected.

Li Yuan possessed some method to resist illusionary attacks!

Although Zong Lin didn't know the specific method Li Yuan used, it didn't matter. Li Yuan had to be brought along on this trip to Meishan!

Li Yuan already had such capabilities when he was in the Inner Force Realm. Now that he had broken through to the True Qi Realm, wouldn't he be even stronger?

Therefore, Li Yuan was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate for the trip to Meishan.

After Zong Lin and Chu Han discussed it, they finalized the personnel for this mission. Li Yuan's Nineteenth Squad, along with Zong Lin herself.

Upon hearing that the Special Capture Division had assigned him to deal with Blood Robe Evil Ghosts, Li Yuan remained silent, implicitly agreeing that he could handle the illusionary attacks of Blood Robe Evil Ghosts.

Li Yuan didn't explain his abilities, and Zong Lin didn't pry.

Rashly inquiring about someone's trump card was tantamount to provocation.

Zong Lin was very tactful.

They were both playing coy, but both understood each other's meaning.

A silent understanding flowed between them.

The journey to Meishan was long, and some areas lacked proper roads, consisting only of mountains and wilderness. Therefore, the group did not ride horses; they all employed their Qinggong footwork and sped towards Meishan.

Despite not riding horses, the martial artists' speed was not slow. Even Mi Lan, the weakest among them at the Body Tempering Realm, could keep up.

Sometimes, when Mi Lan's stamina faltered and she struggled to continue, Li Yuan would grab her by the belt and carry her, and even then, his speed was not affected in the slightest.

The six of them traveled at high speed and finally reached Meishan County before nightfall.

As soon as they entered the city, they sensed a stifling atmosphere. The streets were sparsely populated, and even the passersby had a hint of panic on their faces.

During this period, Evil Warriors and Evil Creatures had attacked the city multiple times, resulting in heavy casualties among martial artists and guards. The area for a mile outside the city walls was stained with blood everywhere.

The young martial artist responsible for guiding Li Yuan and the others in Meishan walked ahead, explaining with a wry smile, "Meishan hasn't been peaceful lately; many things have happened."

Zong Lin's expression was grave: "I can see that."

The guide's face showed a hint of exhaustion: "You are the third team I've received today. So many people have come, but we still haven't been able to suppress those troublesome fellows."

It was clear that this guide was very familiar with the situation in Meishan County, so Zong Lin took the opportunity to inquire about the details.

As they walked and talked, the group quickly gained a clear understanding of Meishan's current state.

During the day, things were relatively stable, as Evil Creatures could not operate in sunlight and remained hidden.

The Spirit Masters and martial artists in Meishan would seize the daytime to launch attacks. They were fully armed, constantly searching nearby caves, ditches, and dense forests. Once Evil Creatures were found, they were killed on the spot.

However, these Evil Creatures were often accompanied by numerous Evil Warriors, who were much harder to deal with.

Evil Warriors were not afraid of sunlight and could move freely during the day. Moreover, they were incredibly cunning and would set up all sorts of insidious traps.

They would even deliberately place some Evil Creatures in conspicuous caves and then set up heavy traps within them. Just as the people of Meishan entered the caves to clear out the Evil Creatures, the Evil Warriors would seize the opportunity to launch sneak attacks!

After several such encounters, Meishan suffered severe losses.

When night arrived, the situation reversed.

Large numbers of Evil Creatures, under the cover of darkness, launched attacks on various towns in Meishan. The night before last, a small group of Evil Creatures and Evil Warriors managed to break through the city wall's blockade and enter the city!

If not for the desperate efforts of the martial artists within the city, a tragic scenario of the city falling and its inhabitants perishing could have occurred, just like Ping'an County in the past!

Li Yuan scanned his surroundings, noticing the bloodstains and cracks on the nearby walls and ground tiles – remnants of the battle from the night before last.

The group meandered through several streets and arrived at a large mansion. Looking up, they saw the plaque read "Meishan County Office."

This mansion was the Meishan County yamen.

Generally, the Special Capture Division was not established at the county level; the lowest level was the commandery.

In county-level areas, the county yamen was primarily responsible for handling matters related to the uncanny. If the county yamen could not handle them, they would report to the commandery's Special Capture Division.

Given the critical situation in Meishan County, the Special Capture Division of Yangxing Commandery, to which Meishan belonged, had dispatched a large number of personnel. There were three Stewards at the True Qi Realm alone, as well as two Spirit Masters.

As Li Yuan and the others entered the county yamen, they quickly saw the martial artists and Spirit Masters from the Yangxing Special Capture Division.

Dozens of people were gathered there. Some of them had bloodstains and were breathing heavily, clearly injured; they were martial artists who had just returned from fighting outside.

"Zong Lin, it's been two years since we last met."

A middle-aged man with a long beard smiled and greeted Zong Lin.

He was Kong Zhuohua, a Steward of the Yangxing Special Capture Division, the strongest and most senior among the Stewards in Yangxing Commandery.

If the Young Commander of Yangxing Commandery were to be promoted, Kong Zhuohua would likely be the one to assume the position of the new Young Commander of Yangxing Commandery.

Because of Kong Zhuohua's strength and seniority, the Young Commander of Yangxing Commandery had assigned him to Meishan County to oversee the overall situation.

The Jiujiang Commandery and Yangxing Commandery had exchanged visits several times in the past, so they were familiar with each other. Seeing Kong Zhuohua greet her, Zong Lin smiled and replied, "Yes, it's been two years since we last met."

Kong Zhuohua carefully observed Zong Lin, a hint of surprise appearing on his face. "Your spiritual power has greatly improved. You truly are the most talented Spirit Master of the Zong family!"

"You flatter me, Brother Kong."

"And who are these people?" Kong Zhuohua's gaze shifted to the individuals beside Zong Lin, whom he didn't recognize.

Zong Lin took the opportunity to introduce them. "This is Li Yuan, the captain of the Jiujiang Special Capture Division's Nineteenth Squad. He's a True Qi Realm martial artist."

"True Qi Realm?"

"A True Qi Realm at such a young age?!"

"Jiujiang Commandery truly has an abundance of talent!"

A large number of martial artists and Spirit Masters had gathered here. Many of them were older than Li Yuan, yet he was a True Qi Realm martial artist, placing him among the strongest present!

Several True Qi Realm martial artists and Spirit Masters from Yangxing Commandery also greeted Li Yuan. After introductions, they all became acquainted with each other.

After some small talk, they got down to business. Zong Lin said with a serious expression, "We've just arrived at your division. What's the current situation?"

A wry smile appeared on Kong Zhuohua's face. "To be frank, the situation this time is dire."

"Meishan has suffered attacks from Evil Creatures and Evil Warriors in multiple locations. Behind all of this... we've discovered traces of Illusionists."

"We suspect this is the work of the Blood Shadow Hall."

Zong Lin's eyes narrowed to pinpricks. "Illusionists? The Blood Shadow Hall?!"