Chapter 268: Demonic Qi, Killing Qi

Moonlight spilled gently, a few lanterns glimmering, the city of Qinghe peaceful and serene.

"Old Liu, what's going on with you? Did you take a new wife and twist your waist?"

A strange laugh rose from beneath the city gate.

Old Liu wasn't offended by the teasing; he smiled good-naturedly and said, "I'm old now, still hoping for a son."

The other guards stared at Old Liu with strange expressions.

Among them all, Old Liu was the oldest.

It was odd, but Old Liu wasn't infertile.

On the contrary, he was very fertile.

He married young too.

But his luck was terrible—he had seven daughters in a row, which drove him to despair; only recently, under pressure from his mother, did he take a concubine, all for the sake of bearing a son.

In Yu State, a household without a man was unthinkable—not even a modestly well-off family could survive; a household of only women would be devoured by relatives until not a single heir remained.

It was as if the ancestral bloodline had been severed; future Zhongyuan offerings would go unmade, and ancestors below would starve one by one—wouldn't they all blame Old Liu?

Old Liu's mood was naturally good.

He toiled day and night without pause, and finally, it bore fruit.

She was pregnant.

He was already old; in a few years, he planned to beg the Jail Warden for mercy, to be transferred to the Six Departments as a idle post.

Then his life would not have been in vain.

Just as the men were chatting warmly, their voices suddenly cut off.

The Assistant County Magistrate Zhong Zheng walked over, expressionless.

He said only one thing: "Open the gate."

Hearing this, the gate commander hesitated, then forced himself to ask, "Magistrate Zhong, it's nearly midnight—why open the gate now?"

Opening it now was too strange.

If the Inspector found out, it would be a capital offense.

Zhong Zheng stared coldly at the commander: "What, am I not the County Magistrate now? Do my orders mean nothing? I recall your position as commander was appointed by Magistrate Zhuang."

"Yes, yes."

The gate commander instantly broke into a cold sweat.

This had always been his nightmare—he was a man of the former County Magistrate Zhuang Renhe; otherwise, he wouldn't have been placed in such a critical post as guarding the gate—but now Zhuang Renhe was dead, and he would surely be purged.

Zhong Zheng could punish him for any trivial reason, and he'd be ruined.

He gritted his teeth and ordered his men:

"Open the city gate."

Then they watched as the gate slowly swung open, and Zhong Zheng rode out alone.

Moments later.

Zhong Zheng arrived at a stretch of desolate hills beyond the city.

Lady Jingluo and Yuan Gao stood not far away; as he approached, Zhong Zheng's eyes flickered with inner struggle, and he spoke in a dull voice: "The gate is open."

"Good."

Lady Jingluo's eyes glowed with strange purple light, as if mandalas bloomed within them.

"Since you've finished your task, you may die now."

A flash of cold light!

Zhong Zheng's pupils dilated instinctively; he stared wide-eyed at the woman before him.

Even in death, he never understood when he had fallen under the illusion.

Lady Jingluo didn't even glance at the corpse on the ground.

She merely looked at Yuan Gao and said coolly:

"Let's go. Capture them."

"So why did Magistrate Zhong leave so late?"

Several soldiers stared into the endless darkness at the gate, chatting.

Too strange.

Though Qinghe didn't enforce curfew, for a County Magistrate to leave alone at night looked deeply suspicious.

The gate commander also felt something was wrong.

But for his official cap, he had no choice.

Angering the current Qinghe County's righteous magistrate meant no good future—perhaps even family ruin and death.

He had worked so hard to reach this point.

He truly couldn't bear to lose this wealth and honor.

He forced down his unease: "Wait a little longer."

A full half-hour passed.

Just as the men began to think Magistrate Zhong Zheng wouldn't return, and wondered whether to close the gate,

Suddenly—

Old Liu, who had been silent, pointed toward the darkness ahead, his voice trembling:

"W-what is that?"

Hearing Old Liu's voice,

the others turned to follow his finger—and their pupils shrank to pinpricks in an instant.

Demonic beasts.

Demonic beasts stretching beyond sight.

The gate commander's blood turned icy in an instant; his mind went blank.

But Old Liu was the first to react, shouting frantically:

"Close the gate!"

"Quickly, close the gate!"

At the same time, he sprinted desperately toward the city wall.

"Son, I won't live to see you."

A thunderous roar, like rolling thunder, exploded through the night; standing atop the wall, he saw half the sky turned crimson.

"Demonic beasts!"

"It's demonic beasts!"

Night was ink-black; flames erupted from Qinghe's outer city, thatched roofs licked by fire, instantly becoming infernos; wind swept through, spreading the blaze uncontrollably.

"Fire! Quick, put it out!"

"What fire? Demonic beasts are here!"

Screams, wails, and cries intertwined—now it was like a living hell.

The gate remained open.

Demonic beasts surged into the outer city without resistance; one life after another was devoured.

Anning Guard.

"Attack?"

Li Rui opened his eyes, rolled over sharply; the urgent bell rang in his ears.

It was the alarm bell.

It only rang when enemies attacked the city—but this was Qinghe; how could enemies possibly assault it?

Absurd.

Yu State had been peaceful for centuries; such things had never happened.

He rose swiftly, threw on his clothes, slipped on his shoes, grabbed his long blade, and stepped out.

At that moment,

Wang Zhao and Yang Yong stumbled out of their room, even forgetting to put on their shoes.

"What's going on?"

Li Rui stared at the crimson half-sky in the distance, eyes half-lidded.

"Something big has happened."

"Follow me."

Li Rui took two quick steps, grabbed Wang Zhao and Yang Yong by the hand, dragged them into his room, and uncovered the tunnel.

"You two go in first."

Wang Zhao and Yang Yong stared at Li Rui in shock; seeing he had no intention of joining them, they panicked:

"Master, what about you?"

Li Rui said gravely: "Liang He is still outside—I must bring him back."

As a teacher, and one of the few strongest in the city, he couldn't just stand by.

After Qinghe built its new city, it was divided into inner and outer cities.

The inner city still had a surrounding wall.

Fortunately, the inner city had not yet fallen; those living inside were Qinghe's prominent nobles, while the outer city had been utterly overrun.

The Heaven and Earth Alliance is not one of the Eight Great Sects.

Even if you could afford it, you couldn't buy land in the inner city, so we're still where we were—east of the outer city.

A flicker of golden light shot through the head of a giant serpent, leaving a thin, long trail of blood.

The little girl, hidden behind the serpent's body, didn't even realize what had just happened.

Finger Snap Technique!

Li Rui needed no arrow—he killed the beast directly with his finger snap, immense in power, and without worrying about retrieving arrows.

'Save one if you can.'

He sighed softly in his heart.

Two corpses lay beside the girl—a man and a woman. Even if the serpent were slain, survival in such chaotic times was far from guaranteed.

In poverty, cultivate oneself; in prosperity, benefit all under heaven.

Li Rui was no sage, but neither was he heartless.

Now, with his fifth-rank realm, he was among the highest in Qinghe; a simple gesture might save a life—why not?

Though the number of attacking beasts was great,

their strength was mostly ordinary.

He could easily slay them with almost no exertion. 'So what exactly happened?'

Before leaving Anning Guard, he had gone to the Recruitment Office—only Huaqing Sect disciples remained; Jiang Lin was gone, and Jiang Yan was gone too.

Everything carried an odd, unsettling air.

Li Rui gazed at the mist in the void.

A sea of crimson.

Inside the county government office.

The chief elders of the Eight Great Sects within the city gathered in one hall.

'Where is Zhong Zheng?'

'Why was the city gate opened?'

'The Qinghe government must give us an explanation!'

Had the gate not been opened, the beasts would never have so easily rampaged through the city.

Please... Your Majesty... collect_(!)

They lived safely in the inner city, but many of their assets lay in the outer city—this they could not accept, hence their gathering to confront the government office.

The Registrar Liu Quan wore a bitter expression.

You ask me.

Who am I supposed to ask?

It's a damn ghost story—first the County Magistrate died, now even the Assistant Magistrate has vanished. At this critical moment, the biggest responsibility falls on me, the third-ranking Registrar.

Heaven.

'I'm just a lowly Registrar of the government office!'

'The situation is unclear, but Qinghe is in peril. We beg the eight elders to lend aid—the imperial court will remember this favor.'

Liu Quan quickly steadied his nerves.

To become a Registrar—even a seventh-rank Registrar of Qinghe—how could he be an ordinary man?

The blame? He wouldn't carry it.

But it wasn't yet time to openly break with the Eight Great Sects.

The beasts surrounded the city—they were all on the same rope. The Anning Guard hadn't arrived yet, clearly something had happened to them too. His only hope lay with these eight elders.

Zhou Ting, elder of Baizhan Gate, was already known for his fiery temper.

He snorted, the first to speak: 'A bunch of feathered vermin crawling out from nowhere—do they think they can shit on my head?'

Shi Zhou, elder of Shenbing Manor, sneered coldly:

'Of course the beasts must die—but we must find the mastermind!'

He thought deeper than Zhou Ting.

Today's beast incursion was no natural disaster—it was man-made.

Otherwise, how do you explain Qinghe's open city gate?

Someone deliberately opened it.

The other six elders remained silent, but their stance was clear.

Suppressing the beast chaos was mandatory.

They didn't merely represent themselves—they represented their sects. If their own disciples learned that a band of beasts had forced them to cower indoors, how could they ever face the martial world again?

Seeing all eight sect elders agree to act,

Registrar Liu Quan felt more energized than ever, his hands trembling slightly.

Sometimes, crisis means opportunity.

As a Registrar, with neither County Magistrate nor Assistant Magistrate, if he could quell this beast chaos, it would be a great merit—possibly even enough to become Prefect.

'A great fortune, a great blessing!'

Liu Quan already saw a golden path to promotion slowly unfolding before him.

His breathing grew rapid.

Suddenly—

Liu Quan's eyes turned to terror; his hands, no longer obeying him, slowly rose and clutched his head.

Crack.

After a sharp, crisp sound of bone breaking,

Liu Quan twisted his own head off.

Seeing this bizarre scene, the eight elders froze.

Zhou Ting leapt up first:

'Sorcerer! Stop your tricks here!'

His massive hammer swung like a storm toward the door.

Boom!

Zhou Ting's body flew backward instantly, bones snapping with a crackling sound.

If before, Liu Quan's death had angered them, now it filled them with dread.

Who was Zhou Ting?

He was a fifth-rank Minor Master!

Yet he was flung away in a single blow—the attacker clearly crushed him in raw strength.

Baizhan Gate trained in hardened body cultivation; few in the martial world could overpower them in physical force at the same realm.

So there was only one answer.

'Fourth-rank Primordial!'

The other seven elders felt their hearts sink. Bai Jing of Daoxuan Sect moved swiftly, using finesse to catch Zhou Ting, his gaze locked on the doorway.

'Since all the elders are here, I won't have to hunt you down one by one.'

A woman's voice rang out.

Lady Lingluo entered the room calmly.

She paid no mind to their stares, only glancing at Liu Quan's corpse: 'Registrar Liu, rest easy—the Assistant Magistrate and Jail Warden have already gone ahead to wait for you.'

Hearing this,

all eight elders felt their hearts plunge.

County Magistrate Zhuang Renhe was dead; this woman had just killed the Assistant Magistrate, the Registrar, and the Jail Warden—every official in the Qinghe government office was wiped out.

Shi Zhou glanced warily at the towering, iron-like man behind her, his lips curling in bitter resignation:

'So it's a Primordial.'

At Primordial realm, even all eight of them together might not defeat that giant.

At that moment,

Bai Jing of Daoxuan Sect suddenly spoke: 'Lady Lingluo?'

Seeing someone recognized her, Lady Lingluo smiled even more sweetly: 'Elder, do you know me?'

Seeing Lady Lingluo did not deny it,

the others' faces darkened instantly.

This woman was the Lord of Manggu City—today's siege clearly stemmed from her.

Utterly audacious!

What did she intend?

To declare war on Yu Kingdom?

Lady Lingluo sat cheerfully in Liu Quan's former seat: 'I've come today to make a deal with you elders?'

A deal?

The eight men exchanged glances, unsure what game she was playing.

And to make a deal with a Wu Kingdom rebel—wasn't that treason?

'We would never consort with a witch like you!'

A bearded middle-aged man was the first to object.

Madam Lingluo gave a signal to the burly man behind her.

BOOM!

A loud explosion.

The Beiyue Sect elder, the bearded middle-aged man, was punched straight out of the room, leaving behind a massive hole.

Seeing this, everyone fell silent.

This woman was indeed as ruthless as the rumors said.

Shi Zhou quickly spoke: "Madam Lingluo, please elaborate."

Madam Lingluo narrowed her beautiful phoenix eyes and smiled in satisfaction:

"Each of you return to your respective sects, restrain your disciples. In return, no one else will learn of what happened here. How does that sound?"

The men in the room exchanged glances.

They were uncertain what to do.

Shi Zhou was the first to speak: "Fine."

With the first one to agree, the rest followed easily—even Zhou Ting eventually nodded.

Seeing this,

Madam Lingluo stood up.

To capture Jiang Lin, Qinghe City must prevent the Eight Sects from interfering.

Jiang Lin will be dealt with by others.

She only needed to control the Eight Sects' representatives.

At that moment, a black-clad figure approached her, whispered a few words, and Madam Lingluo's expression changed drastically. She hurried out of the room and vanished into the crimson night.

Only the remaining men stared at each other in silence.

The bearded man, still being supported, spat: "How did your Divine Arms Mountain Villa raise such a coward, Shi? Don't ever say you drank with me again."

All were prominent elders of the Eight Sects and had personal ties.

The bearded man had drunk with Shi Zhou countless times at brothels.

He had always thought Shi Zhou was an oddity of Divine Arms Mountain Villa—lacking its boldness—but now he saw clearly: he was nothing but a spineless worm!

Shi Zhou glanced at the bearded man:

"Elder Hu, if I hadn't spoken up just now, you'd be dead already."

At that moment, Bai Lao from Daoxuan Sect chimed in: "Elder Hu, the situation was clearly against us. What Shi did was a delaying tactic—otherwise, none of us would've left this room alive tonight."

The bearded man was left speechless.

But he understood: Shi Zhou had just saved his life.

Zhou Ting suddenly spoke: "Forget that fool. They all seem to have left—what do we do now?"

Shi Zhou's lips curled slightly.

Madam Lingluo had clearly been flustered when she left. If even that woman was shaken, it must be something major.

Clearly, the situation had shifted.

He'd cultivated a calm demeanor over the years, but he was forged in iron—did they really think Shi the Great was made of clay?

Was a witch-country woman fit to ride atop them?

"Of course we strike back."

"No—we strike her!"

(End of Chapter)