No Need to Bow Before Me

"Senior, won't you spend more time with your friend?"

The two flew up into the sky on their swords. Zhenke looked back at the palace below and couldn't help but ask a question.

She hadn't said anything earlier, mainly because she was worried that talking would take up too much of their time.

"No need, business is more important."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zelin shook his head and, together with the other party, swiftly sped towards Northern Liang.

"Judging from the clothes of those two fellow Daoists just now, they should be Daoists from Dinggui Mountain, right?"

Previous Historical Records of the Immortal Sects have mentioned immortal sects in other places to some extent.

The clothing of each immortal sect is somewhat different, so Fang Zelin recognized the two fellow Daoists by their clothes.

"A fellow Daoist from Dinggui Mountain, senior, are you going directly to Dinggui Mountain, or should you find that demon first?"

Zhenke recognized Dinggui Mountain's clothes and nodded in affirmation.

"Let's find the culprit first. The one who killed our two fellow cultivators might not necessarily be a demon. After all, we didn't witness it ourselves, so we can't make a decision just yet."

Fang Zelin shook his head and said something.

Since it happened right in front of our own house, we should investigate what exactly happened so that we can have an explanation when we take the body back.

Zhenke had no objection to this, but so far there seemed to be no other clues, and finding the cause would probably not be so simple.

The two flew out of Zhen'an Pass on their swords and flew towards the place where the dark clouds had disappeared for about a quarter of an hour. In the distance, they could see the border town appearing in front of them.

"Let's go, without alerting anyone else, let's go down and take a look."

As they spoke, Fang Zelin and Zhenke transformed into two barely perceptible streaks of light and instantly appeared on the ground.

After tidying their clothes a bit, Fang Zelin and his companion slowly walked towards the small border town ahead.

The road beneath his feet surprised Fang Zelin slightly; this Great Dao was actually quite similar to the roads in the Great Qian Dynasty.

Judging from this, it seems they learned something from the Great Qian Dynasty, or perhaps they asked the Great Qian Dynasty to help them build the roads?

The two had just landed and found a gap where no one was around when several carriages quickly came up behind them.

A quick glance revealed a carriage loaded with goods.

The carriage had just passed by when several more carriages came running up, creating a scene of bustling activity.

The two walked slowly forward, and after a few steps, the small border town came into view.

"After entering the city, we'll split up and investigate to see if we can get any information."

So far, the only useful information is that dark cloud.

This border town is the only town in the vicinity, and it has a considerable population.

Go inside and see if anyone has seen that dark cloud. If so, you can try to track it down.

If not, then I'll have to infiltrate the demons and monsters to see if I can find out any information.

"Okay, I'll listen to you, senior!"

Zhenke responded and followed Fang Zelin to the frontier town.

Looking at the crowds coming and going, the number of people seemed to be no less than that of the county seat.

After agreeing on a meeting place, the two entered the city and immediately parted ways, each going off to gather information.

"It seems to be a trade border area; it's quite prosperous here."

I pushed my way through the crowd, almost getting stuck in the throng.

After asking a roadside vendor where the City God was located, Fang Zelin quickly arrived at the City God.

"If you are wicked, burning incense will be of no use; if you are upright, why should I bow to you?"

Huh?

Fang Zelin stood in front of the City God and looked up to see a couplet, causing him to pause slightly.

After carefully examining it, I felt a pang in my heart.

As I slowly entered the City God, I saw that there were still many people burning offerings there.

Much of the incense smoke that rises is absorbed by the City God statue.

However, some incense sticks were seen rising gracefully, without the City God making a move.

Fang Zelin casually cast a spell to deceive the city god, then approached and struck the Yin Drum, saying, "Fang Zelin, a cultivator, is passing through this place and has something to ask for an audience. I hope the City God will appear and have a talk with me."

According to the rules of the Underworld Bureau, Fang Zelin struck the underworld drum to announce his purpose and then waited for the City God to appear.

Before long, a middle-aged man seemed to wake up from the stone statue, and then walked out of the statue and came to Fang Zelin.

Even before the City God arrived, one could feel an aura of righteousness emanating from him.

"May I ask what brings this venerable immortal here?"

The City God approached, cupped his hands in greeting to Fang Zelin, and after looking Fang Zelin up and down, asked with curiosity.

Judging from the appearance of this fellow Daoist in front of me, he doesn't seem to be a local.

The clothes of Northern Liang are slightly different from those of Great Qian.

"That's how it is. I'm from the Great Qian Dynasty. A while ago, two fellow Daoists perished on the border of the Great Qian Dynasty. The attackers were extremely cruel; they not only severed the hands and feet of the two Daoists, but also gouged out their eyes and cut out their tongues."

"Before their deaths, the two fellow cultivators sent out distress messages, but by the time the Great Qian cultivators arrived, they had already perished."

"This incident occurred on the border of the Great Qian, so it is naturally the responsibility of the cultivators of the Great Qian to investigate the cause of death of the two fellow Daoists. At present, all we know is that when the two fellow Daoists perished, a black cloud flew towards the Northern Liang, and judging from the direction, it should have arrived at this place."

"I wonder if Your Excellency is aware that dark clouds flew by a few days ago?"

Fang Zelin recounted the whole story in detail, then stood aside quietly waiting for the City God's reply.

Upon hearing this, the City God frowned, not expecting that Fang Zelin had come to him about such an important matter.

With such ruthlessness, it's no wonder that cultivators from the Great Qian came to Northern Liang to capture the culprit.

"I am unaware of this matter, but please allow me to inquire with the Day and Night Wandering God to see if they know anything about it."

Knowing that this was no small matter, the City God dared not be negligent. After responding, he summoned the Day Night Wandering God.

After the day and Night Wandering God appeared, the City God immediately asked if he had seen dark clouds drifting towards this place.

The Day Wandering God made no discoveries.

The Night Wandering God, upon hearing this, immediately replied, "Three days ago, the moon was bright and the stars were few. I did indeed see a dark cloud block the moonlight for a moment, and then it quickly flew away."

The moon was bright and clear, so bright that one could see the road without even needing a lantern.

Therefore, after the night sky darkened, it did attract the attention of the Night Wandering God, who then saw that rather strange black cloud.

After blocking the moonlight for a moment, it quickly flew away.

He could see the strangeness of the dark clouds at the time, but it was beyond his control, so the Night Wandering God ignored it.

Did you really see it?

Fang Zelin had already prepared himself for the possibility that he might return empty-handed, but he hadn't expected this.

The Night Wandering God actually saw it.