Chapter 550: Overwhelming Demonic Might (3)

Chapter 550 Majestic Demonic Might (3)

Yushan County was situated to the northeast of Guangxin Prefecture.

Its most renowned industry was the construction of all manner of Yellow Millet Dreams, a fame that extended even throughout the entire Great Ming Empire.

Whether it was high-quality customized dreams serving the wealthy or shoddy products churned out by small workshops, whether one wished to experience the life of princes and generals or roam the rivers and lakes as a martial hero, or even become a Buddha or a patriarch, all desires could be fulfilled here.

Even some Buddhist ranks who held particularly exacting standards for their own Yellow Millet Buddhist Realms would come here in secret, hiring skilled artisans to construct the details of their Buddhist lands.

Of course, the invitation methods of these bald-headed men generally did not cost money; instead, they invited the owner's head to change positions.

Thus, Yushan County could be considered one of Longhu Mountain's most important money pouches.

By now, night had fallen, and the vast majority of Yushan County's inhabitants had begun their nightlife, linking into Longhu Mountain's Yellow Millet Grotto-Heaven to cultivate Daoist arts.

On the empty streets, only squads of Yellow Turban Warriors patrolled back and forth, their steps perfectly uniform, the talismans embedded in their faces glowing red, carrying a chilling eeriness within their solemn killing intent.

In a patrol squad responsible for the northern city district, two Longhu Mountain Daoists controlling the Yellow Turban Warriors walked at the rear as overseers. One of them, a young Daoist named Yang Sen, let out a bored yawn.

As a member of the 'Zhe' Department among the Nine Departments of Longhu, he had thought that following his department's chief down the mountain this time would be a thrilling and dangerous demon-hunting journey. Even if he weren't qualified to participate in the kill, he could at least gaze upon the lofty and heroic bearing of the sect's immortals.

But unexpectedly, after arriving in Yushan County, they had taken up duties that once belonged to the prefectural garrison, patrolling the city day and night—boring to the extreme.

Every time he thought about this, Yang Sen was filled with complaints.

"Senior Brother Yang Huo, how much longer do we have to stay in Yushan City?"

The senior brother Yang Sen addressed was a middle-aged Daoist with a calm and steady temperament, also a Daoist of the 'Zhe' Department.

"When that demon is wiped out, that's when we naturally return to the mountain."

"But that Li Jun still hasn't shown his face yet, has he?" Yang Sen said discontentedly. "Could he have already fled Guangxin Prefecture?"

"Did you not hear the news of the attack on Yongfeng County not long ago?" The middle-aged Daoist glanced at him.

"Of course I did. I even specifically applied to view the floating light projection of that battle. But didn't the higher-ups say the attacker wasn't Li Jun, but a Martial practitioner named Shen Li?"

Yang Huo said calmly, "Who told you that the only demon we're to exterminate this time is Li Jun? Do you understand the concept of a gang? Those people are certainly still in Guangxin Prefecture. It's just that they've found some way to conceal their tracks, and our Celestial Track Stars cannot locate them for now."

"Isn't that all the fault of the Daoists from the other sects in the Jade Capital? If they hadn't taken advantage of the situation to make exorbitant demands, we would have long since mobilized higher-level Celestial Track Stars like the Big Dipper or Fiery Spark. Then we wouldn't have to fear not finding those skulking clowns!"

"Watch your words!"

Yang Huo lowered his voice in rebuke. "Are the immortal masters in the Jade Capital people we are allowed to discuss? You've been cultivating on the mountain for quite some years now; why are you still so undisciplined?"

"Senior Brother's lesson is well taken."

Yang Sen gave an embarrassed laugh and scratched his head. "But I speak out of righteous indignation. After all, we're all Daoists. At a time like this, not only do they refuse to help, they even hold us back. I really can't figure out what they're thinking!"

"It's a good thing that you, Junior Brother, have this heart that considers the sect."

Yang Huo sighed. "But artifacts like the Celestial Track Stars are special Dao Ancestor artifacts. They are not privately owned by any one mountain or family but belong to the jurisdiction of the Jade Capital and are the common property of all Daoists. If there were no set permission thresholds and usage limits, and everyone could mobilize them freely, they would likely be depleted before long, and then all Daoists would face considerable trouble."

"So that's how it is."

As fellow Longhu Mountain Daoists, Yang Sen had long known these things Yang Huo spoke of, but he still cooperatively put on an expression of sudden enlightenment.

Skilled at reading expressions, Yang Sen, seeing his senior brother's demeanor soften, ventured to ask, "Senior Brother, since there's nothing much to do right now, how about you tell me about the origins of this band of demons?"

"Still too young, not yet knowing how dangerous the situation you're in truly is."

The heavy-hearted Yang Huo thought to himself. Although he didn't want to say another word and just wanted to finish the patrol and return to the Daoist palace, this was after all his junior fellow apprentice, and they had been assigned to work together. Yang Huo felt it necessary to caution him, lest carelessness cause unnecessary trouble that might implicate him later.

With this thought, Yang Huo nodded and asked, "How much do you know about them?"

Yang Sen's spirits lifted as he quickly blurted out everything he knew: "I know the leader is called Li Jun, a lone Martial Rank Four who used to be a Brocade Guard in the Japanese territories. I've heard he also has a Mohist armor named Lord Ma Wangye. As for more detailed information, I don't yet have the clearance to view it."

"When you become a new-school cultivator, you cannot only rely on sect channels to learn about the enemy. You must also learn to search for the information you need from the Yellow Millet Grotto-Heaven, and when necessary, learn to disguise yourself as a Daoist from another sect to obtain it from others. Only then can you be considered a qualified member of the 'Zhe' Department."

Yang Huo gave another reprimand before slowly continuing, "As for Li Jun, his information first appeared in the Yellow Millet Grotto-Heaven because he killed a Qingcheng Mountain Daoist named Yu Kou. According to our analysis, Yu Kou intended to cultivate Li Jun into a vessel for possession, converting him into an old-school cultivator."

"I remember Qingcheng Mountain announced a long time ago that they had abandoned the old-school cultivators, didn't they? How could they still have someone wanting to take that path?" Yang Sen asked in confusion.

"No matter what anyone does, no matter how contrary to common sense, there must be a purpose behind it. If you want to understand Yu Kou's actions, you have to look at them in light of his identity and the situation he was in."

Yang Huo said, "Back when the world divided into martial factions, Qingcheng Mountain issued a series of reward rules to boost the morale of their disciples in battle. One of those rules was that the Yellow Millet permissions obtained could be inherited from father to son. So after the war, Qingcheng Mountain was no longer ruled solely by the sect leader; instead, several major surnames and many minor surnames checked and balanced each other. The Yu family, to which Yu Kou belonged, was one of the weaker minor surnames."

"Now, the most powerful cultivator family within Qingcheng Mountain is the Liang family, which holds the Celestial Immortal seat in the Jade Capital. To change this internal situation in Qingcheng Mountain, the Liang family has for years been trying every means to reclaim the scattered Yellow Millet permissions. But constrained by the original rules, they cannot afford to act too harshly in the open. However, even so, families like the Yu family still exist in a precarious state of emergency."

"But the advancement of new-school cultivators is inseparable from permissions, and the Yu family had no other way to obtain them. Yet if they did not advance, the permissions they currently held became a hot potato. So the Yu family had only two paths left: one was to sell their permissions at a good price to a more powerful family in exchange for their protection..."

"The other was to switch to being old-school cultivators and break through the seal to rank up using other methods!"

Yang Sen took over, then asked puzzledly, "But, Senior Brother, there's still something I don't understand. Longhu Mountain used to have old-school cultivators too. As far as I know, didn't they also need Yellow Millet permissions?"

"You don't need to know the specifics of that."

Yang Huo did not elaborate on that point and instead continued, "After killing Yu Kou, you've probably heard some of what Li Jun did next—a trail of blood and corpses. Disciples and followers of the 'Four Mountains and One Palace' almost all fell by his hand. He is truly a vicious and evil great demon."

"After he returned from the Japanese territories to the empire's heartland, he gathered a group of people around him. Among them..."

Yang Sen eagerly interjected, "I know! There's one called Yuan Mingfei, a Buddhist rank!"

"You know quite a bit." Yang Huo gave him a meaningful look.

Yang Sen grinned ingenuously. "I only know their names. I really don't know anything else."

Yang Huo did not blame him for showing off these petty clevernesses. He nodded and said, "Yuan Mingfei originated from the Dazhao Temple of the frontier Buddhist sect. She was once a lowly heavenly maiden who later stole back her consciousness from the Yellow Millet Buddhist Realm and fled into the old Two Capitals Thirteen Provinces. But by the time she appeared in the Japanese territories, she had already become one of the Buddhist Four Great Black Heavens. We have yet to investigate the reasons behind that."

Yang Sen asked excitedly, "And Zou Sijiu?"

"A nobody of little renown among the Yin-Yang ranks. Even their own Eastern Palace hadn't taken note of this person."

Yang Huo gave his assessment, then sighed with emotion, "But Zou Sijiu is very lucky. After following Li Jun, his fortune blazed like fire. His rank advancement broke through like splitting bamboo, and in a very short time he became a Yin-Yang Four Zhuangzi Butterfly. Now the Eastern Palace has certainly placed him under key scrutiny, and it's not impossible that some connection has already been established between them."

"Senior Brother, I've heard that the rituals of these big rats focus on permission backdoors and fate and fortune. The latter sounds especially ethereal. I've never really been able to understand what it means. Could you explain it to me?"

"Yang Sen, have you ever attained enlightenment?"

Yang Huo did not answer directly but asked in return.

"Senior Brother, you mean Grotto-Heaven reincarnation? Of course I have. I've accumulated eighty-four years of reincarnation experience, covering identities such as swordsman, general..."

Before Yang Sen could finish listing all the dream identities he had experienced, Yang Huo cut him off: "No, I'm talking about attaining enlightenment in the real world—a personal realization of heaven and earth, the Dao, and the self."

Yang Sen shook his head in bewilderment.

Born as a Daoist cultivation seed in Guangxin Prefecture, Yang Sen had grown up steeped in a thick Dao atmosphere. He was very familiar with every word his senior brother mentioned, but with the addition of the premise "in the real world," he suddenly felt he could no longer grasp their meaning.

Heaven, earth, the Dao, the self—these profound and mysterious matters—were they not all to be pursued within Yellow Millet Dreams? How could they be done in the real world?

"I've never experienced it either. I've only heard of the concept at the dharma assemblies of the Ten Thousand Laws Altar in the Heavenly Master's Mansion. But those in the Yin-Yang ranks can calculate their own fortune and fate, and realize their 'Dao' in the real world."

"Anyway, I don't fully understand it myself, so I won't mislead you here."

Yang Huo shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. With a flicker of his mind, he directed a squad of Yellow Turban Warriors to turn around and head back to the Daoist palace in the center of the county.

"There's also another person under Li Jun—one of our former fellow apprentices. But he's now gone mad with demonic qi and is no longer a Longhu Mountain Daoist."

"Senior Brother, Yang Xuan Chen Qisheng—why did he dare to betray the sect?"

Yang Sen said with a sarcastic tone, "After I heard about this, I went and looked into the history of the Dou Department. Their entire department has never made any decent contribution to Longhu Mountain; they've been entirely dependent on the sect's support! The chief Xuan Dou is also a useless man. Since he took charge of the Dou Department, the number of disciples has dwindled, almost all transferring to other departments, until in the end only he and Chen Qisheng remained. Yet it turned out one was a corrupt embezzler of sect resources, and the other is the biggest traitor in Longhu Mountain today. Truly a nest of 'heroes'!"

"The Dou Department has now been disbanded and reorganized. From now on, its members will also be new-school cultivators."

Yang Huo said in a deep voice, “But I’ll warn you: Yang Zong, the current head of the Battle Department, holds an unusual status—he also serves as the Superintendent of the Office of the Superintendent in the Heavenly Master Mansion. If you provoke him, even our own chief won’t be able to protect you!”

“Isn’t he just the Great Heavenly Master’s bait? What’s there to fear?” Yang Sen muttered under his breath.

Suppressing his anger, Yang Huo said, “He is bait now, but what if he survives after fishing? Won’t the Great Heavenly Master think highly of him and reward him?”

“Don’t worry, Senior Brother. This junior brother knows his limits.”

With a smirk, Yang Sen crossed his hands and tucked them into the wide sleeves of his Daoist robe. Gazing at the empty, deserted street ahead, he turned and suddenly asked, “Senior Brother, do you think the old Zhang Heavenly Master truly intends to establish an earthly Daoist kingdom in Guangxin Prefecture?”

“Why are you asking about that again?” Yang Huo frowned in return.

“I’m a local of Guangxin Prefecture. I still have many mortal relatives living there—some even reside in this very Yushan County.”

Yang Sen chuckled. “I’ve heard them say that the business of Yellow Millet Dreams, which now props up the entire Yushan County, has taken a considerable hit. Back when the Confucian Order was still present, their officials would find ways to organize black markets and build channels to export some highly profitable, low-quality Yellow Millet Dreams. But now that they’ve been driven out, those channels have naturally disappeared.”

“Not only that—rumor has it that the New Donglin Faction will soon launch a counterattack against us. The prefectures and counties under their rule will declare a complete blockade of the Dao Sequence. If we refuse their treasure notes, they’ll refuse our immortal essence, using the same tactics against us.”

“Enough.”

Yang Huo cut him off, his tone indifferent. “These matters are none of our concern. The heavenly masters of our sect will naturally find a way to deal with them.”

“I’m just worried these mundane affairs might interfere with our cultivation,” Yang Sen said with a sly grin.

“The Dragon Tiger Mountain lacks nothing for sustaining your Dao body, and the dream reincarnation cycles you need—the Confucian Order can’t control those either. Even if it comes to a complete fallout, you can just upload your family into the Grotto-Heaven. The ‘Array Department’ shouldn’t make things difficult for you over such a trifle.”

Yang Huo rubbed his brow wearily. “Our main task now is to maintain order in Yushan County. If anyone with an unstable Dao-heart tries to stir up trouble at this time, you know what to do, don’t you?”

Yang Sen replied, “Don’t worry, Senior Brother. This flying sword of mine hasn’t tasted blood since it was forged. If some blind fool dares to jump out now, I’ll gladly use them for the sword’s consecration!”

Though Yang Sen still seemed rash and restless, Yang Huo felt that his warning had at least partly sunk in.

Even if not enough, it didn’t matter—as long as he could get through this operation without causing any trouble.

Dragon Tiger Exorcism.

Such a thing had never happened within Dragon Tiger Mountain’s core territory, and to make matters worse, the target was actually of the Martial Sequence.

Could the world be heading for another division of the martial path? Or would this eruption bring about a division of the Dao itself?

The more Yang Huo thought, the more troubled he became. Though he was merely an ordinary Dao Sequence under the ‘Zhe Department,’ years of exposure to intelligence made him painfully aware of one truth: the moment conflict erupted, people like him were nothing but cannon fodder.

A life spent in bitter cultivation was only fit to become a number in a memorial presented to the Heavenly Master—perhaps even just a fraction of a number.

Perhaps only by abandoning his physical body and entering the Grotto-Heaven entirely to become a ‘Yin Spirit’ could he escape the fate of being expendable.

Lost in his thoughts, Yang Huo saw the Dao Temple of Yushan County looming in the distance.

But just then, the Yellow Turban Warrior walking ahead stopped without any warning.

“What, did you think you could disguise yourself as a Yellow Turban Warrior and sneak into my Dao Temple?”

“When did you find out?”

“When you entered the city.”

“The Celestial Track Stars?”

“The stench of your flesh and blood.”

“It seems I underestimated Dragon Tiger Mountain.”

“Quite so. Remember that clearly when you reincarnate in your next life.”

The dialogue drifting from ahead made Yang Huo’s eyes widen in terror. He instinctively commanded the Yellow Turban Warriors to spread out to the sides, and there—unbeknownst to him—stood a back as sharp and dazzling as a sword at the very front of the procession.

Further in the distance, beneath the eaves of the Dao Temple, stood a gaunt Daoist in a purple robe.

That aged face, steeped in the heavy twilight of death, was one Yang Huo naturally recognized. It was Zhang Xishou, the Sealed Heavenly Master of the Heavenly Master Mansion, stationed in Yushan City.

“Who are you?!”

A furious shout exploded in his ears, like a thunderclap rolling and rumbling through Yang Huo’s heart.

“You bastard! If you want to die, why drag me into it?!”

An boundless tide of rage surged up. Yang Huo turned his head and glared viciously at his companion, his face contorted as if he were about to devour someone alive.

A fan-shaped chill swept through.

In Yang Huo’s vision, Yang Sen’s huge head shot into the air, blood spurting from the severed neck for several feet.

Just as the elation of vengeance rose within him, Yang Huo found the scene before him suddenly lifting, swaying left and right as it darkened rapidly.

When everything was about to sink into chaotic silence, his dilating pupils reflected an ancient, majestic suit of dark-gold armor and a spear bright as lightning.

Before the Dao Temple, the splendid, solemn purple robe rustled without wind, while dense talismans and flying swords rose from all directions—their talisman lights like ghost fire, their trails like stars.

“Disciples, follow this Heavenly Lord in slaying the demon!”

Thump.

Yang Huo’s head fell to the ground, his lifeless face illuminated by a surging riot of brilliant colors.