The Black Blood Fell from the Sky; Lord Willow's Origin!

"Hm?"

"How could this be?"

Chen Fan stared at the prompt on his attribute panel, utterly dumbfounded.

Lord Willow's remaining lifespan was zero. Didn't that mean it had already died long ago?

And the attribute panel had only identified it as a willow Tree Demon, without listing a realm. Didn't that mean it had only just become a demon and hadn't cultivated to any realm at all?

So had he just been fighting for nothing?

"Could it be because of this?"

Chen Fan walked up to the black, water-drop-shaped crystal and picked it up. Suddenly, his whole body stiffened. It was as if a current had surged through his brain, and an image appeared out of nowhere before his eyes.

Above the nine heavens.

A terrifying Demon Vine blotted out the sky. At times, it transformed into a Nine-Headed Demonic Dragon; at others, an Ink Jade Qilin, or a killing machine bristling with weapons.

Several mighty figures, whose pressure shook the heavens and all directions, appeared beside it, intent on slaying it. The Demon Vine fought them all alone, growing fiercer with every clash. The shockwaves of their battle shattered the void and rent the firmament!

Just then, the Demon Vine was wounded, and Black Blood spilled from it. One drop, trailing rumbling thunder, fell from the sky and landed on an ordinary willow tree atop Black Mountain!

From then on, the willow slowly turned black, gained sentience, and acquired all kinds of incredible abilities. Before long, it had united Black Mountain, and the Demonic Creatures there began calling it Lord Willow!

That was how Lord Willow came to be!

A single drop of Black Blood had created such a terrifying Lord Willow. Just how powerful was the owner of that blood—the Demon Vine that reached from heaven to earth?

And those towering figures who had surrounded the Demon Vine radiated boundless, terrifying power. Though Chen Fan couldn't see their faces, even the fragments of memory carried by that drop of Black Blood made him shudder!

What realms had they reached? Were they Earthly Immortals, or the legendary Divine Saints of the Nine Heavens?

"Actually, when the thunder struck, that ordinary willow tree on Black Mountain was reduced to ashes. The only reason it could still exist—and even command the wind and rain on Black Mountain—was this drop of Black Blood!"

Chen Fan gazed at the Black Blood in his hand, now solidified into a black, water-drop-shaped crystal, and spoke gravely.

He had originally thought the black crystal was Lord Willow's Demon Core, but Lord Willow's strength had only been at the Spirit Aperture Realm at most.

How could a Spirit Aperture Realm demon have a Demon Core? At most, it would have an Energy Sac, similar to the dantian of a Human Race Martial Artist, where it stored its own energy.

Only top-tier Demonic Creatures, cultivated to an extremely high level, could nurture a Demon Core. Even a demon at the peak of the Spirit Aperture Realm probably couldn't condense one. At most, it could form a false core, something like a big lump of flesh. Turning that into a Golden Core would take countless years of cultivation.

Besides, this one was a black crystal. If any demon could temper its Demon Core to such a degree, it could probably kill the Chen Fan of today with a single glance!

Ping'an County.

Lu Xuenning's face had grown paler and paler, and a trace of blood hung from the corner of her mouth.

She had suffered a backlash after forcefully using Sword Qi to kill her enemies.

But the Black Willow Branches were still spreading without pause, and they were moving faster and faster.

She could only keep wearing herself down, again and again, to shatter the Black Willow Branches.

Now they were spreading toward them once more. Huang Chengyue and the others were also hacking at them with their weapons, but they could only slow their advance for a while. They couldn't drive them back the way Lu Xuenning could!

The Black Willow Branches seemed to understand the art of war. They advanced step by step, securing their position as they went, like a ravenous flood beast with its jaws wide open, steadily devouring all of Ping'an County.

"Did Chen Fan fail?"

Lu Xuenning stood on the roof of the county yamen, using the longsword in her hand as a walking stick to keep herself upright. She knew she was everyone's pillar of strength. She absolutely couldn't fall.

But she was so tired, so sleepy, so exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to sleep soundly!

She blinked, drew a deep breath, and forced herself to gather a little strength, preparing to push herself past her limits once more and drive back the Black Willow Branches already creeping beneath her feet.

But in an instant, the Black Willow Branches turned into a heap of black powder, scattering across Ping'an County. The sudden change made her think she was hallucinating.

She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. The forest of interwoven Black Willow Branches before her had come crashing down, turning into a cloud of ash!

It was real!

"We did it!"

"Chen Fan did it!"

Lu Xuenning murmured to herself. Then she toppled onto the roof, rolled off it, and hit the ground, falling completely unconscious.

Three days later.

Lu Xuenning had been unconscious for three full days before she finally woke up.

Fortunately, she was already a Spirit Aperture Realm Martial Artist, so three days without food or water wouldn't harm her. An ordinary person unconscious for three days and nights would have long since been laid out for a funeral feast.

Under Ye's governance, Ping'an County had begun to settle back into peace. The evidence of Cao De, the County Magistrate, and the others' crimes had also been sent by carrier pigeon to Longyuan Prefecture.

Without Lord Willow to stop them this time, the message should reach Longyuan Prefecture soon. Then the Longyuan Prefecture Government Office and the Longyuan Prefecture Jinyiwei Commander's Office would surely send people over.

Though Lu Xuenning had yet to recover fully from pushing herself beyond her limits, she was in excellent spirits. Ping'an County had survived the crisis, Chen Fan had returned safely from Black Mountain, and she had comprehended Sword Heart Illuminates and entered the Spirit Aperture Realm. She had also opened the Thirty-Six Acupoints. Compared with her senior brothers and sisters, she could hold her own as a late bloomer who had caught up.

That night.

On the roof of the County Government Office.

Chen Fan and Lu Xuenning each held a jar of wine, with some snacks laid out beside them.

"Can you tell me your real identity now?"

Chen Fan took a sip of wine, looked at Lu Xuenning, and asked.

"Looks like you suspected my identity for a long time."

"Then let's properly introduce ourselves today. I'm Lu Xuenning, a member of the Jinyiwei Dark Guards. My master is Zuo Qianqiu, the Longyuan Prefecture Jinyiwei Commander."

Lu Xuenning clasped her fists and said.

"Jinyiwei Dark Guards?"

"So you were sent from Longyuan Prefecture to Ping'an County to carry out the Ten Year Inspection?"

Chen Fan asked with interest.

The Jinyiwei Dark Guards were a very special group, with their own unique path of advancement. They were divided into ordinary Dark Guard members, Bronze Medal Patrol Envoys, Silver Medal Patrol Envoys, Gold Medal Patrol Envoys, and the Dark Guard Leader.

They were the Jinyiwei's sharpest blade. Within the organization, they were responsible for inspections and assessments, cleaning house among the Jinyiwei. Outside it, they sought out signs of Demonic Creatures, recorded their territories, and showed the Jinyiwei where to hunt down demons and devils.

The Dark Guard Leader held the same rank as the Jinyiwei Leader. Both were Principal Third Rank officials, and answered directly to His Majesty!

"I actually have two identities. I'm Zuo Qianqiu's disciple, a Zongqi Officer in Longyuan Prefecture, and a member of the Dark Guards. I came to Ping'an County to investigate the situation."

"Longyuan Prefecture had known for a long time that someone in Ping'an County might be colluding with Demonic Creatures and harming the people. So they specifically sent me here to investigate the matter under the cover of a ninth-rank Black-Robed Head Catcher transferred from Longyuan Prefecture."

"This was a task to test me before I officially graduated from my master's tutelage. It was also an assessment of whether I was ready to become a Jinyiwei Baihu."

"If I completed the task well, I could graduate from my master's tutelage and be promoted to Jinyiwei Baihu."

"But I never expected the waters in Ping'an County to run so deep. Cao De, the Jinyiwei Baihu, was colluding with Demonic Creatures, practicing demonic arts, and had already entered the Spirit Aperture Realm."

"The entire county government was under the control of the Black Mountain Demonic Creatures. On the surface, there were three great demons at the Spirit Aperture Realm on Black Mountain. But it turned out there was an even more terrifying existence behind them, one that nearly devoured every person in Ping'an County as nourishment!"

"Thank goodness you were here. Otherwise, not only would I have failed the mission, I might not have made it out alive!"

Lu Xuenning spoke with deep feeling, laying out her background and the mission that had brought her to Ping'an County in full.