Blood Sacrifice of Everyone in Wuhe County Except Little Village!

Though those two Evil Cultivators were only at the Qi Refining Middle Stage, slaughtering more than two hundred mortals in a Blood Sacrifice would have been effortless for them.

Fortunately, he had chosen to leave at night. Otherwise, the fate of Little Village's villagers was easy to imagine.

Spirit Fire appeared in his hand and enveloped the Blood Spirit Bead.

In an instant, wisps of blackish-red qi emerged and were purified by the Spirit Fire.

Then he stepped out of the wooden hut and looked at the curling wisps of cooking smoke rising from the foot of the mountain.

"Iron Egg, I hope you possess a Spiritual Root. Farewell."

He had left Iron Egg a copy of the Qi Refining Art, along with several low-tier spells.

He had also left behind some Martial Arts Cultivation Methods.

He had not given these things to the other youths in the village.

It was not that he did not trust them, but that he could not.

After observing them for so many days, Zhang Tiedan might have been young, but he was very clever. He knew what should be said and what should not.

The other boys in the village did not possess this virtue.

After learning they had a chance to practice martial arts, they had gone around showing off before boys in the village who did not meet the age requirements.

More importantly, most of them were not cut out for martial arts.

Even becoming Second-Rank Martial Artists in the future would be exceedingly difficult for them.

There was selfishness involved, as well as other reasons.

Night fell, and a bright moon quietly rose, casting down silvery radiance.

Zhang Xuanchen had nothing much to pack. He placed the dried meat Aunt Lan had made for him into his Storage Bag, then left along the mountain path.

Traveling to the Royal City by mountain roads would save quite a bit of time.

Though he could not currently wield his full strength, with the Earth Vein Profound Sun Fire empowering him, cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Realm posed no threat to him at all.

Once he bought the Green Spirit Meridian Restoration Pill and repaired his Meridians, he would not fear even those at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

Besides, the spiritual qi in the surrounding mountains was thin. Whether there were even any demonic beasts around was another matter entirely.

Just as the sky began to pale with the first light of dawn, seven burly middle-aged men clad in armor and shrouded in Sha Qi arrived at Little Village.

Zhang Shuo, who had served in the army in his youth, recognized their identities the instant he saw their attire.

They were the Qing Kingdom's renowned White Tiger Army!

He had heard that the minimum requirement to enter the White Tiger Army was to be a Second-Rank Martial Artist.

Naturally, he did not dare be careless. He hurried forward and dropped to one knee.

"This commoner, Zhang Shuo, pays respects to the three lords!"

The leading middle-aged man showed no expression. He merely nodded slightly and said coldly:

"Village Chief, there is no need for such ceremony. I came to ask about a few matters."

"This commoner will surely answer everything he knows!"

"In the past three days, has anyone in Little Village died or disappeared without reason?"

Confusion appeared on Zhang Shuo's face at those words.

He could not understand why these military lords were asking such a question.

This did not seem to be within their jurisdiction.

Still, he answered honestly, "In reply to my lord, no one in Little Village has died or disappeared."

"In the past three days, have any strange people come to the village?"

"No."

The leading middle-aged man stared at Zhang Shuo for a moment. Then, with a complicated expression and a look of regret, he said:

"Other than your Little Village, Wuhe County and its thirty-four subordinate villages have all been wiped out by Evil Dao Demonic Beings. Not a single person survived.

"You... are very fortunate."

"What!"

Zhang Shuo was utterly shocked upon hearing this news!

He staggered and nearly fell.

Fortunately, one of the soldiers was quick-eyed and quick-handed enough to catch him.

"Village Chief, there is no need to worry. Those Evil Dao Demonic Beings killed hundreds of thousands in our Qing Kingdom this time. The ruler is enraged and has dispatched the White Tiger Army and Azure Dragon Army, the two great legions, to eliminate them. Even immortals have been called upon to act.

"You are safe and need not fear."

Hearing this, Zhang Shuo patted his chest and muttered, "Immortals are acting? Good, good."

"Since that is the case, we still need to report this to our superiors. Farewell!"

With that, he led his subordinates away from Little Village.

After they had left, Zhang Hao, who had been silent at the side, suddenly spoke. "Grandpa, could it be that Master was the one who protected our Little Village? He's so powerful. Those Evil Dao Demonic Beings definitely couldn't defeat him."

At those words, Zhang Shuo's heart trembled.

Come to think of it, that really was possible.

Perhaps Zhang Xuanchen was one of those legendary immortals!

At Li Lan's home.

Zhang Qingqing, whose eye sockets were somewhat red and swollen, entered her mother's room and woke Zhang Tiedan, who was sleeping.

"Qingqing, what happened to you?" Li Lan asked with concern as she looked at her daughter's face.

"Mother, Brother Chen... he's gone."

"Impossible! Master couldn't have left! He even promised yesterday that he'd teach me new martial arts! You're lying!"

Upon hearing that Zhang Xuanchen had left, Zhang Tiedan, who had been lying under the covers and rolling from side to side without wanting to get up, instantly sat bolt upright and shouted at Zhang Qingqing.

He refused to believe that Master would leave him behind.

But when he saw his sister's swollen, tear-stained cheeks, it felt as though needles had pierced his young heart.

He immediately burst into loud sobs.

"Big Sis, you're lying to me, right? Master won't leave!

"Waaah..."

With that, he leaped from the bed, wrapped his arms around his sister's leg, and kept sobbing.

Scenes of Master taking them to the sea to catch fish surfaced in his mind.

Li Lan had no idea what to do as she watched her daughter and son cry like this.

Even she herself was wiping away tears.

Though it had only been twenty short days, Zhang Xuanchen's influence on their family had been incomparably profound.

They had long since regarded him as family.

"Iron Egg, your Master really has left. Before he departed, he asked me to give you a letter.

"After reading it, do not tell anyone what it says. And do not say that you received anything. Do not tell even me or Mother, understand?"

Zhang Tiedan answered solemnly, "I understand. I promise I won't say anything!"

Zhang Qingqing nodded and handed the letter to her little brother, while she tucked the Brocade Pouch back into her clothes.

It was the last thing she had left to remember him by.

Then she took Li Lan by the hand and walked out of the room.

Zhang Tiedan swiftly opened the letter and began reading.

"Iron Egg, my disciple, by the time you see this letter, your master will have already left Little Village.

"There is something I must tell you. In truth, your master is an immortal. Well? Surprised? Hahaha!

"I can already see the astonishment in your little eyes."

When Zhang Tiedan read this, his tears turned to laughter. Zhang Xuanchen's teasing smile appeared in his mind.

"Your bones and natural endowment are exceptional, and you are quite intelligent as well. There is a strong chance that you possess the talent to cultivate immortality. Thus, beneath the stone slab under the bed in the wooden hut, your master has left several immortal cultivation methods and basic spells for you. Of course, there are also some mundane martial arts manuals.

"Remember: a tree that rises above the forest will surely be toppled by the wind!

"Before you possess strength, do not tell anyone.

"Remember! Remember! Remember!

"Lastly... do not worry, do not miss me, do not seek me.

"We have a long road ahead of us."

Upon reading this, tears streamed down Zhang Tiedan's face, dripping endlessly and soaking a patch of the earthen floor.

"Master, don't worry. Iron Egg knows what to do."

Zhang Tiedan stood up, lit a candle, and burned the letter.

Then he swiftly dressed and ran toward the wooden hut halfway up the mountain.

Li Lan wanted to stop him when she saw this, but Zhang Qingqing pulled her back.

"Don't worry, Mother. Brother Chen arranged everything. Nothing will happen to Iron Egg."

Before long, news that Zhang Xuanchen had left the previous night spread throughout Little Village.

Anyang Prefecture City.

Horizon Restaurant.

Zhao Wu and Hong Ming, both of whom had gotten thoroughly drunk the day before, came down to the first floor of the restaurant. Just as they were about to pay and leave, they heard people seated at a nearby table talking loudly over drinks.

"Have you heard? Everyone in that tiny place, Wuhe County, was sacrificed in a Blood Sacrifice by Evil Dao Demonic Beings! That scene... tsk tsk tsk, it was too tragic."

"What do you mean, everyone was sacrificed? Wasn't there one lucky little village that was unharmed? It seemed to be called Little Village."

"Tch. Only those two hundred-something people are left in all of Wuhe County. Is there anything wrong with saying everyone was sacrificed?"

"Sigh, who knows what's going on? Things like this have been happening often in our Qing Kingdom lately. Maybe one day, the same thing will happen to us."

"Pah! What nonsense about it happening to us! We have immortal Dao clans above us. How can we be compared to those mud-legged peasants?"

Hearing their conversation, Zhao Wu suddenly had a flash of insight.

He tossed spirit stones onto the counter and pulled Hong Ming into a corner.

"Junior Brother Hong Ming, I think I've found that guy's hiding place!"

"What?"

"Why do you think everyone in Wuhe County was sacrificed in a Blood Sacrifice, yet no one in Little Village came to harm?"

"You mean!"

"Let's go!"