Chapter 672: Bestowed the Title of Lord of Nanyang, Granted a Hundred Kalpas of Imperial Qi

"Well killed."

Three simple words fell.

Ye Lan let out a faint breath of relief, but the solemnity in the depths of her eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

Lord Yan, as one of the three great Generals Who Pacify the South, naturally spoke with absolute authority in Dananzhou, wielding tremendous prestige.

But as was said before, his temperament differed vastly from that of his two colleagues; pitted one against two, he was usually the one pushed aside to sulk.

Shen Yi's open defiance of orders from above, and his use of exposing the existence of the Zhan Yao Si to coerce a colleague — if one truly pressed the matter, it was not something General Yan could smooth over with a single word.

"..."

The Green-Qingmao Qingmao Yushizi also raised its head to look at its master, somewhat uncomprehending.

Though this was its first time dealing with this fellow in the ink-colored robe, from this incident alone one could tell that, despite his silent and taciturn exterior, this person was absolutely an unruly troublemaker.

Even if his temperament suited its master's tastes, he was not a suitable candidate to be cultivated.

Yan Lanting ignored the gazes of these two, walking slowly to stand before Shen Yi: "Venting your friend's anger certainly feels good, but before you killed him, did you think about the consequences?"

"It wasn't entirely about venting anger."

Shen Yi glanced sideways and replied calmly.

He had originally joined the Zhan Yao Si to seek a powerful backer.

That ape demon had struck savagely, bringing calamity to three prefectures, killing so many commoners and demon-slayers — if it could return safe and sound,

then this Divine Dynasty could hardly be called a backer.

Others joined the Zhan Yao Si for the imperial court's human qi, but Shen Yi had demon-demon lifespans as a substitute, so his need for such a thing was not great.

And now he also had the title of Master of Shanfeng.

Given that, there was really no need to go back.

"Sigh."

As if he had read Shen Yi's thoughts, Yan Lanting let out a long sigh.

Yang Mingli and Feng Xi were both clever people; both had seen the turbulence of the situation, but precisely because they saw it too clearly, they had grown fearful.

Those two were not unaware of the consequences.

Even the demon-slaying officials below had lost faith in the imperial court, let alone the masses of common folk.

Once a precedent like this was set, the harm to the Divine Dynasty would be beyond remedy.

They simply did not dare to act.

"When the Seven Treasures Bodhisattva was preaching, were you also present?" Yan Lanting suddenly changed the subject.

"Mm." Shen Yi nodded in reply.

"Actually, old fellows like us have probably all guessed a thing or two."

Yan Lanting raised his eyes to look into the distance and said lightly: "Ever since the imperial court established the Immortal Department, it has been recruiting talent widely, hoping to take into its own hands duties such as moving clouds and summoning rain."

"Don't forget, these tasks are all being done by the various immortal houses."

"Small skirmishes are fine, but if the Immortal Department grows into a force, where would that leave the Heavenly Court?"

Cultivators who had stepped into the fifth rank were figures of standing, both in the mortal world and in the heavens above.

Yet whether it was Ye Lan or the Green-Qingmao Qingmao Yushizi, upon hearing these words, both instinctively lowered their eyes.

Such an obvious truth — anyone could figure it out.

No one simply dared to bring it up.

When the Human Sovereign established the Immortal Department, he claimed it was to assist the Immortal Court, but his true intent was glaringly obvious.

In short — to vie for authority with Heaven and Earth.

Only, the immortal houses had governed this realm for who knew how many kalpas; in their eyes, the Divine Dynasty's moves were as laughable as children playing house.

Find a few wild dragons to carry water, a few loose cultivators to bring down thunder — and think that could replace the vast Immortal Court?

Absurd and ridiculous.

"The Puti Sect suddenly had scriptures stolen, and then a Bodhisattva preached — nothing more than wanting to spread the Dharma in the mortal world, making no distinction between good and evil, amplifying the greed in every being's heart."

"The Sanxian Sect's mount ran loose, bringing calamity to the four quarters, and then responded with a smiling apology, making it hard for the imperial court to tear off the veneer — boiling the frog in warm water, letting the common folk lose faith in the Divine Dynasty."

"The Immortal Court feigned blindness, sitting by and watching the chaos in the mortal world slowly rise."

Yan Lanting's expression grew colder; he turned his head to look at the young man beside him: "Do you know the reason?"

"..."

Shen Yi was silent for a moment, then raised his eyes to meet the other's gaze: "The Divine Dynasty is about to succeed."

Yan Lanting was stunned for a beat, then laughed helplessly: "Not bad."

Although he did not know what threat this seemingly playful Immortal Department could actually pose to the Heavenly Court, the reactions of these immortal houses and the Heavenly Court all proved one thing — this Human Sovereign of the imperial court had truly made those lofty existences all feel an unusual sense of urgency.

"That's why your Generals Who Pacify the South are afraid."

Yan Lanting slowly turned around: "After all, when we joined this place, the agreement was to check the three sects — never to rebel against this very sky."

It was true that the Immortal Court was composed of the three sects.

But matching wits with idle immortals and going directly up against the entire realm were two entirely different matters.

"Of course, these are all just this old man's guesses — they can't be taken as truth."

Yan Lanting waved his hand and changed his tone: "I'm telling you all this only to say — if this old man has luckily guessed a few things right, then from now on, what the Zhan Yao Si needs is no longer those well-behaved fellows who keep the peace, but real troublemakers."

At this point, he suddenly smiled: "Yes, troublemakers like you."

If one obeyed discipline, how would one dare to draw a sword against Heaven and Earth?

"How about following this old man?"

Yan Lanting extended his palm toward this side.

Shen Yi watched as his demon-slaying official's badge flew out from within his clothes — it did not fly toward the other man, but instead landed in his own palm.

Seeing this, Ye Lan and the green-maned jade lion both changed color slightly.

Having just joined Zhan Yao Si, he had leapt two full ranks from a Demon-Slayer and been granted a title — such a thing was likely the first of its kind across all of Dananzhou.

"…"

Shen Yi considered for a moment, then handed over the token in his hand.

From Ye Lan's attitude toward this old man, one could tell that the other party was at the very least a fourth-rank powerhouse, and might even be a third-rank giant on par with that Bodhisattva and the Great Luo Immortal Lord.

This was nothing like the empty reputation of Master Master Shenxu Mountain — it was a real, solid backer.

As for opposing the Heavenly Court… not to mention this was only the old man's guess, even if it were true, it was as if the Immortal Court had ever looked kindly on him.

Apart from the Zhengshen Sect he had never met, the other two sects, and the Immortal Court — he, Shen Mou, had a blood debt with all of them.

"Refreshingly straightforward."

Yan Lanting took the token and tucked it away with a flick of his wrist: "Go back. Leave the rest to this old man."

From the smile on his face, one could see that this General Who Pacifies the South had taken an ever greater liking to Shen Yi the more he looked.

Even the other two Generals Who Pacify the South had hesitated and dragged their feet when faced with such a momentous matter, yet this young man had not so much as changed his expression from start to finish.

Such extraordinary mental fortitude was rare in the world; cultivation was actually secondary.

……

Jianyang Prefecture.

After Shen Yi left, the residence actually became quite a bit livelier.

Under the tree, Meng Xiuwen stood with arms folded, looking rather distracted, while Ye Jing sat beside the stone table, propping her chin in thought.

The purple-bearded white dragon siblings had also brought over the East Dragon King's head, and along with them were those from Hongze who had yet to find a way out.

A single ape demon at the Taiyi Immortal realm had thrown half of Dananzhou into a panic.

Let alone the common folk, even the cultivators felt an inexplicable sense of crisis.

Even though the prefecture office had strictly forbidden discussion of the matter, the hushed whispers on every street corner had never stopped.

Just then, two figures walked in slowly.

Seeing who it was, Meng Xiuwen looked faintly surprised, then forced a smile and glanced over: "Back so soon? Didn't run into any trouble?"

He wasn't surprised by Ye Lan's departure.

Meng Xiuwen had long seen that there was definitely something going on between those two.

He just couldn't swallow the fact that the ape demon had returned safely to Elder Yu Chi's Immortal Sect.

To put it bluntly, he himself had only been injured; if Ye Jing hadn't left Jianyang Prefecture at the time, the list of fallen Demon-Slayers would very likely have included one more corpse.

"Went pretty smoothly."

Shen Yi nodded and likewise came to sit beside the stone table.

"That's good." Meng Xiuwen tugged at the corner of his mouth. Whatever the case, the two of them returning safe and sound was always a good thing; with Ye Lan along, they wouldn't have suffered any grievance over at Elder Yu Chi's Immortal Sect either.

Having said that, he turned his head — and froze.

For some reason, Meng Xiuwen saw no joy in the eyes of the white dragon siblings, only a faint trace of worry.

"Ahem."

Zi Yang cleared his throat softly and looked away.

Compared with this Lord Meng, they had been in contact with Shen Yi longer, and so understood him a little better.

In certain situations, the more normal the other's response, the more abnormal the situation actually was.

For instance, right now — the mood Shen Yi carried on his return was clearly entirely different from when he left.

"What's going on here?"

Meng Xiuwen raised an eyebrow, somewhat at a loss.

Before he could press further, he suddenly heard a rising clamor from outside the residence, growing ever louder until it soon echoed through most of Jianyang Prefecture.

Among those present, even the lowest cultivation was at the Dao Merging realm; their eyesight was far beyond that of ordinary people.

They all gazed into the distance together, and quickly made out the source of the commotion.

There, surrounded by a crowd of prefecture constables, atop a massive carriage, a head was displayed squarely upright — deliberately paraded down the main street with tremendous pomp!

That head had dark skin and three eyes, like some wild ape.

But now, the three eyes on the head all looked as if they had been scoured clean by something, leaving only dark-red hollows, making the expression look even more savage and despairing — a thoroughly wretched and terrifying sight.

When the carriage reached the city wall, someone picked up the ape demon's head, leapt up, and hung it high upon the wall!

Hung up along with it was a notice.

It recorded in detail the crimes this fiend had committed, and briefly described the outcome.

"Beheaded and displayed in public."

Those four crimson characters, reflected in the eyes of the crowd gathered below the wall like an ocean, sent the clamor instantly boiling over to its peak.

Common folk only knew the imperial court had captured a demon; only cultivators with some insight understood what those four characters truly meant.

This was no ordinary ape demon — it was a Taiyi Immortal, and one from the Sanxian Sect at that.

Even disciples of the three sects, if they committed crimes within the domain of the Divine Dynasty, would lose their lives!

"…"

Meng Xiuwen's mouth fell open; he dumbly withdrew his gaze.

He turned his eyes back to the two of them, Shen and Ye, and stammered: "This is what you call 'went pretty smoothly'?"

One had to remember — this was an order personally given by the General Who Pacifies the South, to send this fiend back to Elder Yu Chi's Immortal Sect. And Shen Yi had brazenly led that beast out, only to slaughter it outside?

Wait, that's not right…

If he had secretly slaughtered the ape demon, then why not only did he not find an excuse to cover it up, he actually got the prefecture office to send people and make such a grand, public display of it!

"What on earth happened?"

The ape demon was slain; Meng Xiuwen was naturally excited, finally venting his anger, but this abnormal situation indeed left him somewhat puzzled.

Ye Jing also stood up, filled with worry.

"Shut up." Ye Lan helplessly glanced at Meng Xiuwen, obviously somewhat unsettled.

Including her, everyone in this courtyard wished for this ape demon to die, but never imagined that someone would actually dare to do it.

Shen Yi proved with his actions... he dared, undoubtedly opening Ye Lan's eyes once again.

But this matter was clearly not over yet.

General Yan said he was responsible for this matter; is this how he takes responsibility?

Pushing a young man who had only recently joined the Demon-Slaying Bureau to the forefront of the storm?

Thinking of this, Ye Lan looked toward Shen Yi with slight apprehension, wanting to see the other's thoughts: "..."

Facing her gaze, Shen Yi seriously reminded her: "When they are done, remember to return that head to me."

This was his own trophy; at most, he had lent it to that old man for a few days.

"You—" Ye Jing was speechless. At a time like this, the other party was still thinking about that broken head; she felt both angry and amused.

Her expression, seen by everyone, caused the atmosphere to gradually grow tense.

Anyone with eyes could see that this matter was clearly not the imperial court's intention.

Shen Yi had once again displayed his old style of conduct.

The Jade Dragon Sect slew its own Sect Master and the spiritual beast under Master Qingmei; the White Cloud Cave, in front of an Immortal Official, raided and exterminated their entire family.

During the journey to Crane Mountain, he boldly slew two mounts holding Immortal Tokens.

In any case, whenever anything was handed to his care, it always developed in some inexplicable direction.

And this time, it seemed to have escalated greatly, so much so that even Ye Lan, a titled General, could only sit here worrying.

Meng Xiuwen and Ye Jing both fell silent.

As for the White Dragon siblings, they dared not make a sound.

Until a streak of light swept down from the horizon, landing in the courtyard, breaking this Tianyan Siji.

The newcomer was quite unfamiliar, a large, burly fat man; even Ye Jing did not recognize him.

Meng Xiuwen's heart tightened; he secretly looked toward Ye Lan.

A titled General suddenly visiting was certainly not a good sign.

However, Ye Lan did not pay him any attention, merely staring tightly at the newcomer.

The fat man, unmoved, walked slowly in front of Shen Yi under everyone's gaze, then took two items from his sleeve and gently placed them on the table.

A golden pill, and a plaque.

He did not introduce the two items; he merely clasped his hands with a complex expression: "Congratulations."

Shen Yi clasped his hands in return first, then picked up the plaque and examined it carefully.

In fact, it was the same one as before, except a simple yet grand pattern now appeared on the back.

It was half a sun slowly rising from the high mountains.

Beside it, two characters fell, their brushstrokes sharp.

Nanyang.

The moment they saw these two items, Meng Xiuwen and Ye Jing's expressions fell into a daze.

A titled token, granting Imperial Qi for a hundred calamities.

The trouble they thought they would face had instead turned into a new titled General of the Da Nanzhou Demon-Slaying Bureau.

The Demon-Slaying Bureau operates in the shadows; even promotions would not involve any grand spectacle.

But what was given was real, tangible benefits.

That golden pill could almost be regarded as a Dao Fruit.

"General Yang requests your presence."

The fat man stepped back half a pace, making a gesture of invitation.

Hearing this, Ye Lan stood up directly and came to Shen Yi's side.

Indeed, the so-called "courtesy first, force later."

The benefits were not lacking a single bit, but that did not mean the matter was over.

"Good."

Shen Yi slowly stood up, put the plaque into his chest, and followed the fat man out of the courtyard.

(End of this chapter)