This Robe Can Be Stripped Off

Deep within the White Dragon River.

The Crystal Palace, shrouded by the Glazed Grand Formation, still radiated dazzling brilliance in the dark depths.

Ao Sheng walked alone through the towering Crystal Palace halls.

His somewhat gloomy vertical pupils were reflected in the smooth crystal walls.

He passed through one empty hall after another before stopping before a crystal gate a hundred zhang tall at the very deepest point.

Ao Sheng respectfully prostrated himself on the ground and spoke softly.

"Father King, King Zhenbei's Mansion has made its move. Your son had no choice but to withdraw for now."

It seemed as though a long time had passed, yet it also seemed like no more than an instant.

A deep, powerful voice came from behind the crystal gate.

"King Zhenbei came to see me personally. Let this matter end here."

Ao Sheng abruptly raised his head, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

"Father King, that Old Turtle knows far too much!"

"It does not matter. Even if Li Changsheng truly tells King Zhenbei of our plans, it will be of no consequence."

Hearing the movement from behind the crystal gate,

a sharp light lit up in Ao Sheng's vertical pupils.

"Father King, King Zhenbei, he..."

"Hehe, King Zhenbei is wildly ambitious, yet Dagan has kept him suppressed for two hundred years. He is nothing to fear!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Sheng respectfully bowed, rose to his feet, and left the Crystal Palace.

In the blink of an eye,

the Crystal Palace standing deep within the White Dragon River returned to its usual silence.

No one mentioned the dead Ao Yuan, as though he had been some insignificant Shrimp Soldier or Crab General.

Three days later.

The waters of the White Dragon River Tributary gradually stabilized.

Yet the ripples caused by this matter were far from over.

From that day onward, the likelihood of Demonic Beasts appearing in the waters along this tributary greatly increased.

In merely three days, dozens of Fishing Villages had suffered attacks from aquatic Demonic Beasts.

Several hundred commoners died as a result.

Fortunately, the Demon Suppressing Guards stationed along the river had not completely withdrawn. Otherwise, the death toll would have multiplied severalfold.

Screech!

A Demonic Beast that looked much like a Bighead Fish, its dead-fish eyes wide open, was beheaded in an instant.

Luo Chen sheathed his blade and stood still, his expression calm.

Only the information flashing through his mind from time to time brought him a measure of comfort.

[Lifespan: 17/2589.]

Over these three days, he alone had personally slain five Demonic Beasts, contributing nearly a thousand years of lifespan in total.

Looking at the ceaselessly rushing river before him,

Luo Chen gently wiped the Golden Scale in his hand.

"Boss, this is already the third Demonic Beast nearby."

Wang Yue and the others came from upstream. Behind them, two Demon Suppression Envoys dragged along another Demonic Beast.

These were all merits.

Luo Chen could not possibly deny the Demon Suppression Envoys under him even a sip of soup just for the sake of lifespan.

He was not lacking lifespan now. What he lacked was a Visualization Chart for the Divine Intent Realm.

They piled together the three Demonic Beast corpses from that day.

The group only removed several valuable materials from the Demonic Beasts. These materials counted as merits, and after the Demon Suppression Bureau finished recording them, everyone could sell the materials themselves.

That was no small income, either.

After handling the Demonic Beast corpses and gathering every valuable material from them, the group directly tossed a torch onto the bodies.

Everyone stood by the riverbank.

Luo Chen looked toward the river upstream, his eyes thoughtful.

"The frequency of these Demonic Beast appearances is far too high."

Wang Yue plopped down on the bank to rest, his tone grave.

Luo Chen nodded. "Dragon Palace's retreat this time carries no small amount of unwillingness."

"The White Dragon River is vast and boundless. The water monsters and Demonic Beasts within it that have cultivated sentience are too numerous to count. Driving some of them over here would be no problem."

"Hehe, Boss, this is a great merit!"

Cao Wu was counting the Demonic Beast materials to one side when he gave a chuckle.

"Now that Demonic Beasts are appearing one after another along this tributary, the Demon Suppression Bureau will surely send a Demon Suppression Captain to guard this place long-term and patrol it day and night."

"Isn't that a great opportunity?"

"The Demon Suppression Bureau has probably already begun selecting a captain for the patrol."

Wang Yue gently shook his head and sighed.

"It's just that the villages along the way won't know peace anymore."

"This trend of Demonic Beasts running rampant depends on Dragon Palace's attitude."

Luo Chen flipped a Silver Scale between his fingers as he played with it, his tone inscrutable.

"There's nothing we can influence during a time like this. Let's wait for the higher-ups to send someone to take over for us."

Shangguan Changyue certainly would not leave him here to deal with a few Lesser Demons.

That would be far too wasteful of his talents.

Luo Chen also understood clearly that the time was still too short.

In a few days, a Demon Suppression Captain would surely arrive with Demon Suppressing Guards under his command to take over this place.

Luo Chen sank his consciousness into his mind and sensed a space three meters in length and width.

This was the storage space contained within the Silver Scale in his hand.

Luo Chen had already bound it to himself over the past three days.

Aside from a few miscellaneous items, there were only three Mysterious Aperture Demon Cores of some value within.

There were also some gold, silver, jewelry, and the like, of course.

Even all of that put together was not as precious as a single Mysterious Aperture Demon Core. After all, they were treasures that assisted cultivation.

As for the cultivation techniques and secret manuals he had hoped for, there was not a single one.

That made Luo Chen secretly regretful for a while.

After resting for a moment.

The group scattered, spreading out among the nearby villages and silently standing guard.

Step by step, Luo Chen arrived atop the hill they occupied.

He took the palm-sized Green Turtle from the pocket of his sleeve.

"Huh! The shattered shell on its back is healing!"

Luo Chen found it remarkable and examined it closely.

Originally, the shattered shell on the Green Turtle's back had only remained attached by the flesh beneath it, preventing it from falling off.

Yet after just a few days, the shell had already fused into one whole.

It was like an intact turtle shell pieced back together, covered in dense cracks as though a single poke would shatter it to pieces.

But Luo Chen knew just how hard this seemingly ruined shell was.

When he and Ao Yuan fought fiercely, even the aftershocks that struck it had left it completely unharmed.

"Senior Li, Dragon Palace has retreated."

Luo Chen held the turtle in his palm and called softly.

After a long while, there was still no response.

Luo Chen gave a faint sigh and put the North Sea Profound Turtle back into his sleeve.

One day later.

Qingyuan City's Demon Suppression Bureau moved faster than they had imagined.

That day, a Messenger descended before Luo Chen.

The message was brief, merely telling them to gather at a certain place for the handover.

Luo Chen rose and led his five subordinates to a temporarily erected camp.

At that moment, Xiao Xiuzhu was already waiting before the camp.

When the two met, they each gave a slight nod in greeting.

Their gazes fell upon the group of Demon Suppressing Guards at the center of the camp.

A familiar figure approached the two of them with a smile.

Zhuge Yucheng wore a smiling expression.

"You two have worked hard. I will personally take over this stretch of river."

Behind him, Luo Chen's eyes flashed as he spotted several familiar figures.

They were the five Demon Suppression Envoys previously assigned beneath him.

At that moment, those five Demon Suppression Envoys also saw Luo Chen studying them.

They immediately puffed out their chests and followed behind Zhuge Yucheng, looking exactly like lackeys.

Wang Yue and the others behind Luo Chen were instantly furious.

You were nowhere to be seen when things were most dangerous, but now that the storm had settled, you came to pick peaches, only to stand behind someone else.

A ball of nameless fury also rose in the hearts of the Demon Suppression Envoys, who had gradually come to respect Luo Chen.

Yet they could only force down their anger, unwilling to cause Luo Chen trouble.

After all, Zhuge Yucheng was still a Deputy Director.

But would Luo Chen endure it?

"Deputy Director, these five disobeyed orders and refused discipline."

"This robe can be stripped off!"

Of course Luo Chen could not endure even a bit of it!