Chapter 717

Jianyang Prefecture, Shen Zhai.

In the courtyard, besides General Wushan, there was another rare figure—Yang Mingli, the General Who Pacifies the South.

Observing him, eyes closed beneath the tree, though his body was unstained by dust, the thick layer of fallen leaves piled around him revealed that the General Who Pacifies the South had been lingering in the estate for a long time.

"Another three months!"

"Madam Feng has been back for so long—why hasn't General Nanyang returned?"

Wushan felt that if he were a mortal, he would surely have developed blisters all over his mouth from anxiety by now.

For cultivators, a few months barely suffice for a single meditation session.

But the problem is, General Nanyang went to the capital to receive rewards, holding such abundant imperial qi—logically, he should have returned immediately to the safest place to properly absorb this bounty.

There was absolutely no reason for him to remain outside.

"..."

Yang Mingli slowly opened his eyes; he had not been anxious because he knew Nanyang held a third-rank Demon-Slaying Edict.

With such power, as long as he wasn't deliberately seeking death, he could go anywhere under heaven.

Especially within the Divine Dynasty's territory.

Even if he encountered a Bodhisattva or a Great Luo Immortal, as long as he focused on fleeing, he would most likely survive.

Worst case, even if he truly suffered bad luck and met his end, he still shouldn't have left not a single trace behind.

But after waiting so long, there was still no word—Yang Mingli's mood had gradually grown uneasy.

Because it wasn't just Nanyang who vanished—Yan Lan, that young girl, was gone too.

Of the nine western prefectures, there were only three titled generals; now two were missing, and they were the two most closely linked. It was hard not to suspect that Yan Lan had encountered trouble, and Nanyang, upon hearing the news, had impulsively left the Divine Dynasty to aid her...

The world was vast, with countless giants.

Once outside, all bets were off—especially since he carried over thirty thousand calamity-laden imperial qi golden pills, a treasure sufficient in itself to draw a killing curse.

"I've already sent Lady Lady Feng Xi and the other titled generals to investigate. Wait a few more days."

Fortunately, the current situation had become so chaotic that even Yang Mingli couldn't understand it—outside the Divine Dynasty, wars raged, yet this very prize itself remained untouched by any would-be predator.

For nearly half a year, not a single demon disaster had occurred across all of Dananzhou...

It was even quieter and more peaceful than before the calamities began.

That was why the Demon-Slaying Office's officers could spare time to search for them.

"Sigh!"

Wushan let out a heavy sigh; if he weren't required to remain behind to guard the nine prefectures, he would have joined his colleagues in the search long ago.

For some reason, though he had once been accustomed to solitude, now that General Nanyang had vanished, even standing beside Lord Yang, he felt inexplicably unsafe.

What the hell.

Compared to this Great Luo Immortal beside him, Wushan had the odd illusion that General Nanyang alone had been protecting Dananzhou.

With no clues at all, he could only force himself to suppress his impatience and wait, squatting by the threshold.

As time passed, streams of light gradually arrived.

But without exception, no matter who arrived, they would bow to Yang Mingli, then raise their eyes and shake their heads helplessly.

From Dananzhou to the Divine Dynasty, along the imperial roads and countless Dacheng cities, not a single soul had seen General Nanyang's figure.

Until Lady Lady Feng Xi descended from the sky: "He left many days before me—he must have encountered some accident."

The beautiful woman now wore a face full of guilt; had she known, she never should have rushed—she should have let him travel with her.

"What accident?"

At that moment, a figure walked slowly in from outside.

Yan Lanting silently scanned the group, keenly noticing the two missing presences—his gaze instantly sharpened.

The violent shift in energy within Jianyang Prefecture had finally awakened this General Who Pacifies the South, who had been meditating to recover from his injuries.

The matter of the family split had already caused discord within Dananzhou's Demon-Slaying Office.

Now that he had emerged from seclusion, none of the others had vanished—only his two original titled generals were gone. How could he not suspect foul play?

"What's that look for?"

Yang Mingli frowned, turning to face him; his already restless heart flared with anger: "Do you think I'm betraying my comrades?"

"Given your sordid nature, you might well do it." Yan Lanting met his gaze without yielding.

Over the years, he knew his own temperament was poor, so he had always yielded to Yang—even when ostracized, he merely pretended disdain and kept to himself.

But now, with these two juniors involved, Yan Lanting's firm stance was barely short of screaming curses.

"Fine! Fine! Ungrateful old bastard!"

Yang Mingli thought of how he had foreseen trouble in the western nine prefectures, left Songfeng Prefecture proactively to assist, and upon learning of Nanyang's disappearance, worried that Wushan couldn't handle things alone—so he came to Jianyang Prefecture to hold the line.

Yan's eyes had shut tight, claiming to be recovering from injury, yet ignoring Dananzhou entirely—and now that he'd emerged, he was spouting accusations.

This was too much!

"Don't say I'm taking advantage of your injuries—today, if I don't beat you half-dead, my cultivation is all for nothing!"

Yang Mingli leapt to his feet, rolled up his wide sleeves, fingers already forming a spell.

"You? A brute who can't even pass the Three-Three Transformation?"

Yan Lanting sneered; usually quiet, he spoke straight to the heart.

For other cultivators, before completing the Transformation, even if they deliberately halted cultivation, they would never rashly cross the Three-Three threshold—once they grasped thirty-four strands of heavenly dao's primordial order, their path ahead was severed, with no hope of breaking through again.

But Lady Lady Feng Xi and Yang Mingli were different—they were General Who Pacifies the South, responsible for safeguarding all of Dananzhou, unlike idle hermits who had time to wait patiently; they couldn't afford to miss even the slightest improvement, or else when disaster struck, it would be the Li Min who suffered.

In other words, their Dao was severed for the sake of the Divine Dynasty's people.

Hearing this, Yang Mingli's face turned pale, then flushed crimson; his turbulent emotions instantly sent the surrounding spiritual energy into chaos.

"Enough!"

Although Lady Lady Feng Xi was also wounded by the words, seeing such internal strife, she still forced down the discomfort in her heart, stepped forward, and rebuked them in a low voice.

However, both Generals of the Southern Pacification had already ignited with anger; how could a single word from her stop them?

"..."

Yan Lanting stood with his hands hanging by his sides; the heavenly and earthly spiritual energy, already in turmoil, now faintly emitted a sound of explosion.

The standoff between Great Luo Immortal Venerables, merely from the radiating aura, was enough to suffocate the assembled Title-Holding Generals around them.

Seeing that they were about to fight magically for no reason, the others no longer had the thought of persuading them, and each began to mobilize calamity power, intending to withdraw first.

Just then, a slightly puzzled voice came from outside the courtyard.

"What is this?"

Shen Yi stood quietly outside the courtyard, looking at his own residence with confusion.

Inside the small courtyard, nearly all colleagues of the Da Nanzhou Zhan Yao Si had gathered.

"Where have you been?"

After a brief moment of surprise, Lady Lady Feng Xi's tense heart finally relaxed.

As long as the person is safe, that is all that matters.

As for the other two old men, let them fight however they want; it would be most satisfying if one of them died!

Day after day they do no proper business, only know how to quarrel, and are unbearably noisy!

"I encountered something on the road and was delayed for a while."

Shen Yi had no intention of explaining in detail; after all, the Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva was not like a true scripture, and the opponent had not outwardly committed acts harming the Divine Dynasty, so it might not earn merit... Moreover, the Divine Dynasty probably could not spare a few coins for now anyway, which would only affect his future plans.

"..."

Hearing this, Yan Lanting fell silent for an instant, realized he had misunderstood Yang Mingli, and somewhat embarrassedly released his hand seal.

But for a moment, he could not bring himself to apologize.

He pretended to glance casually at the opposite side; the next moment, a few traces of surprise appeared in Yan Lanting's eyes.

He saw that the one surnamed Yang had actually already withdrawn his aura, sat back down on the stone stool, closed his eyes to rest, as if nothing had happened just now.

When did this old fellow become so easy to talk to?

Seeing the tense atmosphere suddenly ease, the other Title-Holding Generals, though finding it somewhat incredible, quickly smoothed things over.

"Has the matter been resolved? Is there anything we can help with?" Lady Lady Feng Xi looked at Shen Yi.

"It's fine." Shen Yi lightly nodded his chin; although the risk taken was great, the ending was always good, one of the two chains on his body was finally removed, and the gains were not small.

"Then that is best."

Seeing this, Lady Lady Feng Xi turned her gaze back to the crowd: "Since you are all here, and I haven't had time to chat properly since returning, why not take this opportunity to each share your views."

Although eating the Divine Dynasty's salary and serving the Divine Dynasty is a matter of course.

But this situation is somewhat different.

The Human Emperor's actions could well be called deception... after all, guarding the Divine Dynasty and plotting treason against the Immortal Court are two completely different concepts.

To put it bluntly, these people joined the Zhan Yao Si, and each has, to some extent, become tainted by some kind of trouble.

But as long as one's strength is sufficient, the trouble will eventually be resolved, which counts as a hope.

But the Immortal Court above the sky has stood over the heads of all living beings since the beginning of heaven and earth.

Whether cultivators or mortals, they probably never imagined what the world would look like if the sky were empty from now on, without this Immortal Court.

"..."

Hearing this, the assembled Title-Holding Generals, who had just been smiling, suddenly fell silent together.

Someone lowered his eyes and silently took out an iron token from his person.

Although not like the Zhan Yao Ling of the Generals of the Southern Pacification, which looked like a whole piece of bright yellow jade.

But on the metal-textured token, there were also wisps of yellow mist swirling, and the most eye-catching thing was the "Immortal" character on it, which had quietly healed.

Zhan Yao became Zhan Xian.

And it was not a certain Immortal family, but that vast Immortal Court.

From now on, it would be truly going against heaven.

The True Gods born at the beginning of heaven and earth were born to guard the order of heaven and earth, while the Human Emperor's actions were nothing less than the greatest demon in the world.

Does a mad emperor really deserve to be followed?

Do not think that because the Title-Holding Generals are all here, the Zhan Yao Ren below have not already quietly disappeared in considerable numbers; the Zhan Yao Officials merely reported it but took no substantive pursuit action, obviously tacitly approving the matter.

If the people in the courtyard do not pay attention, the next batch to "disappear" will probably be the Zhan Yao Officials.

In other Dazhou, they would surely kill them outright as a warning to others.

But Dananzhou is different; the recent peace and quiet have not put the Zhan Yao Si under such immense pressure, leaving some room for those below to choose.

"Regardless, I am used to living here; I cannot just stand by and watch Nanzhou be invaded by demons."

To everyone's surprise, the first to speak was none other than General Wushan, known for his slickness.

This big, burly fat man gently rubbed his iron token, then quietly hung it at his waist.

Since meeting the Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva last time, his, General Wushan's, life was considered saved; every extra day lived is a profit, and being able to serve alongside General Nanyang makes the heart feel more secure.

After hanging the token, he looked up at Shen Yi and smiled.

"..."

Taking this scene into his eyes, Yan Lanting raised an eyebrow.

If he remembered correctly, this fat man whom he had forcibly transferred was very dissatisfied in his heart, even cursing his mother directly on a jade slip.

Even though being saved by General Nanyang last time had eased this dissatisfaction, after experiencing life and death personally, his naturally cautious personality should have become even more timid, shouldn't it?

What is this appearance of swearing loyal devotion until death?

Moreover, the object of his loyalty does not seem to be himself, the General of the Southern Pacification.

"There is indeed some truth to that."

As General Wushan spoke, several other titled generals pondered for a long time before offering a helpless smile.

Regardless of what motives they had for joining Zhan Yao Si, they had guarded these twenty-seven prefectures for many years.

Now, the intent of the heavens and earth to swallow Shenzhou could not be clearer.

Even if they left this place, could they truly keep their hearts like ancient wells, retreat into Shen Shan to hide from the world, and sit idly by while corpses littered the mortal realm?

If they were truly such heartless and desireless people, they would not have chosen to join in the first place.

Watching one by one, the titled generals hung up their plaques, no longer hiding in the shadows as before, but openly displaying their identities as agents of Zhan Yao Si.

Lady Lady Feng Xi smiled lightly and glanced sideways at Yang Mingli in the distance.

"Why are you looking at me?"

Yang Mingli raised his eyelids slightly and said casually, "What advice does General Nanyang have for me?"

The fact that the other party could receive advance news of the three great demons attacking Songfeng Prefecture, and could leave the Divine Dynasty and intercept the True Scripture before anyone else reacted,

all indicated that, setting aside strength, whether in channels of information or judgment, General Nanyang's control over the entire situation had long surpassed that of their group of old timers.

He did not know how much shock his words brought to Yan Lanting.

"..."

Old Master Yan sat seemingly calmly, but the hand resting on his knee had clenched and clenched again.

Back then, even if it meant splitting the family, this old rascal had clung tightly to control, fearing anyone would raise a different opinion.

But now, he had so easily released this power, handing it over to a junior to decide.

Could it be words spoken in anger?

Thinking of this, Yan Lanting silently looked at the others.

He saw that, including Lady Lady Feng Xi, nearly all his colleagues were looking seriously at Shen Yi, truly waiting for the other party's instructions?!

He pinched the space between his eyebrows hard, concealing his confusion.

How long had I been in seclusion? How has Dananzhou become like this?

(End of this chapter)