The Demon Suppression Division's publicly available Heaven-tier martial arts only went as low as low-grade, and required a whopping ten thousand Contribution Points to redeem. From what Yan Shan had implied, there were other additional conditions, too.
"How did a Heaven-tier technique just appear out of nowhere?"
Su Ye murmured to himself. He tried asking the system, but received no response.
"I need to get out of here right away."
He shot off toward Chaiqiao Town. He had already sensed the strange celestial phenomenon from earlier. This place was only two or three hundred li from Yunzhou City, and given the Demon Suppression Division's capabilities, they would soon notice the disturbance.
Now that he thought about it, refraining from rashly merging with the divine artifact fragment had been a wise choice. There was no way such a spectacle could go unnoticed.
As he traveled, Su Ye kept studying the newly acquired Heaven-tier martial art. From its introduction, he learned that to use this "Blood Fiend Heaven Intercepting Palm,"
he first needed to transform the blood or true qi within his body into Blood Fiend power.
Although the Blood Fiend State could only last half an hour, it would bring a qualitative leap in his strength. He would still be at the sixth level of the Meridian Realm, but in terms of combat power alone, being able to match an Aperture Opening Realm expert was no pipe dream.
If he fully mastered this palm technique, then even if he could only use a move or two, he would still be able to fight to the death against a mid-stage Aperture Opening Realm opponent.
[Blood Fiend Heaven Intercepting Palm · mid-grade Heaven-tier] Beginner: 1000 Assistance Points
When the system prompt appeared, Su Ye's expression remained unchanged. It was only natural for a Heaven-tier technique to cost a lot, but he was far short of the required Assistance Points. He could only hope there would be more Mountain Ghosts in Chaiqiao Town this time, enough to help him master the palm technique.
He had almost forgotten about the reward for Linshan County. It still hadn't come through, but he should get some news when he returned. He was in dire need of Assistance Points now.
An incense stick after Su Ye left, a middle-aged man wearing a dark, black cloak suddenly appeared at the spot where Su Ye had been sitting.
The man hovered dozens of meters above the ground, his eyes scanning the surroundings. Then he strode through the air, searching the area for a long while before slowly descending onto a boulder.
"The phenomenon matches the reports..." The middle-aged man held a communication jade talisman, his expression grave. The Guardian Envoy was currently confronting the Howling Moon Demon King, while the Prefectural Commanders in each region also had to suppress the great demons in their jurisdictions.
Yet at this very moment, a phenomenon identical to the one that had appeared in Yunhuang Prefecture thirty years ago had emerged near Yunzhou City. It was impossible not to be concerned.
More than a hundred li away, Big Black asked, "Boss, when will you take me into Yunzhou City?"
"We can't rush it."
Then he added, "Let's deal with what's happening in Chaiqiao Town first. After two more incidents like this, we should have done enough."
He had asked Yan Shan about the rules for bringing a demon into the city. As long as a demon had acknowledged its master and passed the successive rounds of review, there was a chance it could be brought inside.
But there was a prerequisite: they needed a record of meritorious service. According to the Demon Suppression Division's rules, they had to complete ten Body Tempering Realm missions or deal with three demonic incidents involving demons at or above the Meridian Realm.
"Fine," Big Black replied, though he clearly didn't mean it.
Two days later, a man and a bird stood a hundred meters outside Chaiqiao Town and paused for a moment.
The sky was dim, but with Su Ye's current eyesight, he could still clearly make out what was happening inside the town. A crowd of commoners in old, tattered clothes had gathered together, bowing repeatedly before an altar in the center.
"Boss, what are they doing?"
Big Black hovered in the air. He suddenly smacked his forehead, then steadied himself and said, "This looks like a sacrifice to the Mountain God."
Su Ye had heard of sacrifices before, but had never witnessed one. As it happened, he had stumbled upon one today.
"Let's go take a look." As he spoke, Su Ye strode toward the town.
"Mountain God above, we humble folk have settled in Chaiqiao Town, at the foot of Mount Wu, and received your protection. We pray for favorable weather and abundant harvests year after year... Today, we gather... before your honored presence. We humbly offer these meager gifts to the Mountain God."
On the altar, a person with bound hands and feet was emaciated to the extreme. Drool trickled from the corners of his mouth as he shouted and yelled.
"Meat! I want meat! Second Uncle Zhang, give me some meat!"
From his appearance and speech, it was obvious that he was a simpleton.
"Alas, they really mean to wipe out the whole family. How can they not feel that they're committing a heinous crime?" an old man lamented.
The man beside him spoke in a low voice. "Father, stop talking. We were lucky just to save these two children. There's nothing else we can do."
Su Ye stood on a rooftop, quietly listening to the crowd whispering around him.
"The ceremony is complete!"
As the officiant finished speaking, a scream suddenly came from the distance, cutting off the crowd's discussion.
"Ah...!"
The sudden cry came from the south of town. It was filled with terror and despair, throwing the crowd into chaos. Some devout people even dropped to their knees and cried out,
"The messenger is here! The messenger is here!"
"It's all the Zhao family's fault! They actually dared to defy the Mountain God's command." The crowd shouted abuse without stopping.
"Because of them, we have to make another sacrifice this month."
"They deserve to have their whole family wiped out."
A man suddenly slapped his thigh. "That's right, that's right! I know why the Mountain God is displeased."
"How can a fool compare to the Zhao family's two children?"
"I said from the start that we should offer those two little brats to the Mountain God, but Old Qian, relying on his three sons to back him up, just had to interfere." A fat woman pointed at the white-haired old man in the crowd and cursed.
Seeing this, the old man hurriedly shielded the two children behind him. The boy looked about eight or nine, while the girl was only five or six.
Old Qian was named Qian Fugui. He had already resolved to protect the two children behind him, no matter what. Even if it cost his own family of five their lives, he would not hesitate.
He couldn't betray Zhao Yunhe. More than ten years ago, disaster had struck the town, and the fields had yielded almost nothing. During that time, the starving refugees had snatched up all the weeds and trees in and around town.
His three sons were on the verge of starving to death, and many ill-intentioned people often loitered outside his home.
He knew that those loiterers could no longer be called human. They were man-eating monsters, driven mad by hunger. Just when he had fallen into despair, it was an outsider named Zhao Yunhe who had given his family of five a chance to survive.
The fat woman's words immediately drew the crowd's attention to the boy and girl behind Old Qian.
"Old Qian, I advise you to stay out of this. This has nothing to do with your family. Hand over those two children!"
"That's right. Hurry up!"
"You pack of beasts! Don't you know how Zhao Yunhe died? Zhang Erya, you're worse than a beast! When you were crying and begging, who risked his life to save your son?"
Old Qian seemed to have thrown caution to the wind as he shouted back at the villagers.
"How many decent people in this town have you killed, all for the sake of that ridiculous rumor?"
Those who still had a conscience silently lowered their heads, but they were few and far between. The majority had already surrounded Old Qian.
His three sons could only try with all their might to hold them back. But there were too many people, and they were swept aside after only a brief struggle.
"Old Qian and his family brought this on themselves by being so blind. Don't blame us!"
"Right, don't blame us." The chaotic crowd was about to surge forward all at once when—
In the blink of an eye, a golden light burst through the night. The people standing in front of Su Ye were scattered in an instant. He landed on the ground with a heavy thud.
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