Chapter 135: The City-Protecting Array

Leaving this Ghost Domain, he returned to the Present World.

Li Heng did not stop to rest; relying on the Earth Dharma Image's sense for the Weird, he hunted down the Dead Remnant Weird hiding in their lairs and shivering in fear, gaining thirty Source Power.

Bei'an City at this moment could be called incomparably safe.

But he also knew that this so-called safety was only temporary. As long as the Yin Qi continued to thicken and the Ghost Domain kept drawing closer to the Present World, this was merely the calm before the storm.

After finishing this, he went straight back to the Demon Suppression Division, intending to report.

The Demon Suppression Division was brightly lit.

Li Heng arrived at Meng Lingyun's residence with great familiarity, only to find the doors wide open. From outside the door, he could see Meng Lingyun and Ma Suxuan sitting quietly in the courtyard, caught in a strange silence.

He was surprised in his heart; were these two having a cold war?

The iron curtain has been drawn, has it?

Li Heng could not help but shake his head, chuckled, and walked straight in.

The two were startled at the sight, and the atmosphere that had been so hard to solidify shattered instantly. "Why are you here so late? Is something the matter?" Meng Lingyun asked with a grave expression.

He had no mind for a cold war with Ma Suxuan at this moment, because he knew that given Li Heng's temperament, if Li Heng was disturbing him this late, it must be a major event.

"Naturally, there is."

Li Heng spoke calmly, omitting some important information as he recounted the specifics of what he had encountered in the West City Ghost Domain, and emphasized its severity.

What!? The Ghost Domain is drawing closer to the Present World?

Both of their expressions were shaken, especially Ma Suxuan, who stood up directly and walked forward. "Is this matter true? You aren't joking?" she asked with a grave expression.

"Naturally it is correct; you may go and observe for yourselves."

"Then please, little Heng, lead the way."

Ma Suxuan was even more anxious than Li Heng and intended to set off immediately. She had originally thought this crisis was at most the same level as the one twenty years ago—just a Ghost Tide in the Present World—but looking at it now, it was far more than that.

"Very well."

Li Heng nodded, not dragging his feet, and turned to leave. Meng Lingyun and Ma Suxuan followed closely behind, heading straight out of the Inner City.

They arrived at West City.

He visualized the Yin Qi, took a step forward, and entered the Ghost Domain.

Seeing this scene, Ma Suxuan and Meng Lingyun could not help but exchange a glance, their faces showing astonishment. This kid (little Heng) actually had such a method, being able to enter the Ghost Domain so easily?

But now was not the time for them to be surprised.

Ma Suxuan unleashed her Innate Power, sensing the location of the Weird, and directly broke open the node connecting the Ghost Domain to the Present World, while simultaneously pulling Meng Lingyun directly into the Ghost Domain.

It was still the long, narrow street, and the Yin moon in the sky.

Only, that Yin moon was slowly shrinking; looking up from this Ghost Domain, it was like a small mooncake, not at all the size of a normal moon. However, Li Heng knew this was not the moon getting smaller, but the Ghost Domain moving away, which was why it looked so tiny.

"Is this the Ghost Domain where the Yin Soldier Borrowing Path happened before?"

Meng Lingyun looked around; in reality, it was just a long, extended street. He felt a bit puzzled in his heart; although this street was spacious, it clearly shouldn't be able to accommodate an army of Yin soldiers.

He had seen armies at war when he was young.

That was a completely black, overwhelming mass, covering the mountains and plains.

Ma Suxuan frowned and said nothing; she was sensing this Ghost Domain with her Innate realm. But as her perception deepened, her brows furrowed tighter and her expression grew more somber, as if it could drip water.

"Little Heng was right, the Ghost Domain is truly drawing closer to the Present World!"

She spoke solemnly, feeling a headache coming on.

"It's that serious? Then what should we do?"

Meng Lingyun observed Ma Suxuan's expression and was startled. It was the first day he had ever seen Ma Suxuan show such a look.

"Of course, the top priority now is to destroy this Ghost Domain!"

"If this Ghost Domain is really allowed to draw close to the Present World and overlap with West City, given the density of the Yin Qi here, all ordinary people within the base will die, and they might even be infected by the Yin Qi, falling into becoming Weird and turning into one Resentful Soul after another!"

Meng Lingyun nodded, "I will look for where the core of this Ghost Domain is." He was about to open his eyes, wanting to circulate his Secret Technique and erupt with divine light to pierce through the core of the Ghost Domain here and shatter it.

"No need for such trouble."

Li Heng smiled lightly, stopping Meng Lingyun.

He visualized the Great Sun in his heart and directly erupted with the Great Sun Divine Intent. In an instant, this Ghost Domain shattered with a boom, just like the situation at the Zhang Mansion before, and everyone was ejected back into Reality.

Seeing this, the two could not help but be slightly astonished.

Meng Lingyun had heard Xiao Hua say before that Li Heng had shattered a Ghost Domain with his Godly Intent; he had been skeptical at the time, because Ghost Domains differ from one another and cannot be judged by the same standard.

Now, this Ghost Domain was clearly something naturally generated by the density of Yin Qi between Heaven and Earth, incomparably stable, and not centered on a specific Weird, which was why it could accommodate the Yin Soldier Borrowing Path.

Yet now, such a stubborn Ghost Domain...

... was still shattered so easily?

"Godly Intent shattering a Ghost Domain? Even I couldn't do it so easily. This talent is truly monstrous." Ma Suxuan sighed with great emotion, her eyes lighting up, and she felt Li Heng was more and more pleasing to the eye.

Li Heng smiled slightly, not taking it to heart.

He had left this Ghost Domain earlier without shattering it only because he felt it was necessary for Ma Suxuan and the others to see the situation here; otherwise, his words would be baseless, and it would be hard to persuade others.

"I must report this matter to the General Administration. Ling Yun, go notify the County Magistrate of Bei'an City now, tell him to activate the Array and protect Bei'an City; do not worry about any losses."

After sighing, Ma Suxuan instructed Meng Lingyun with a grave expression.

Meng Lingyun nodded, knowing the importance of this matter, and set off immediately, intending to return to the Inner City and drag that sleeping old fox out, hoping that old fox wouldn't lose his temper.

"Little Heng, this matter is of great importance; do not spread the word for now. It is best if you do not leave the city during this time, but be prepared to retreat at any moment."

Ma Suxuan instructed Li Heng again.

Li Heng nodded slightly, feeling a bit surprised in his heart.

Prepared to retreat at any moment—was this the plan to abandon Bei'an City? He thought about it and didn't find it strange. Given the Great Li imperial court's attitude of letting things rot, they could really do such a thing.

However, he couldn't say much about it.

If the situation was impossible to handle, then running away was the rational choice.

In troubled times, human life is as cheap as mustard.

The front of the Inner City government office is dilapidated and tattered, put on display for others to see; the back, however, is magnificent and luxurious, serving as the residence for that County Magistrate, where his eighteen concubines also live.

"Ren Hai, stop sleeping, come out quickly."

Meng Lingyun stood before the main gate and shouted directly.

This time, that Ren Hai, the Ren County Magistrate, was surprisingly efficient; in less than a minute, he appeared before them. He was wearing a sleeping robe, his appearance somewhat disheveled, and he looked at Meng Lingyun with a furrowed brow.

"What happened? Why are you in such a rush?"

Even though Ren Hai had a family background, how could someone who managed to become a County Magistrate be a fool? Seeing Meng Lingyun looking for him in such a hurry, he knew something major must have happened.

"You must activate the Array as soon as possible to protect the entire Bei'an City."

"Array? Meng Lingyun, have you lost your mind? Running that ghost Array burns money; this Ghost Place of Bei'an City is dirt poor, where would I get so much money?" Ren Hai said in astonishment.

"Bei'an City has no money, but you, the County Magistrate, have money. And if you aren't willing to spend the money, I'm afraid the entire Bei'an City will be finished; are you willing to lose your power base?"

Meng Lingyun smiled faintly and informed Ren Hai of the situation.

After listening, Ren Hai was stunned, his eyes widening. "What did you say? Those Ghost Domains are approaching the Present World? Are you, old man, trying to amuse yourself with me in the middle of the night? What could you possibly sense with your cultivation realm?"

"However, this is what Su Xuan said."

"Who is Su Xuan?"

"What do you think?"

Ren Hai fell silent upon hearing this; this matter had been confirmed by an Innate expert? After a long while, he raised his head and continued to stare at Meng Lingyun. "Fine, I will activate the Array, but if I later confirm that this matter is baseless, you must compensate me for the money consumed."

Meng Lingyun nodded and turned to leave.

Ren Hai took a deep breath and hurriedly returned to his house.

Four lamp stands were placed in the corners, and on the right side was a bookshelf; in its center was pasted a large character for 'Propriety', and beneath it was an Incense Burner, from which a refreshing fragrance slowly rose.

He stood in the room and furrowed his brows.

The Node opening once every twenty years, and such a major change is happening this time? And it's happening during his term? Damn it, what bad luck! He cursed inwardly and took out his Official Seal.

This was a seal made of White Jade Seal, with a white crane carved upon it, symbolizing his position as County Magistrate; inside it, one could see wisps of gas swirling.

The Official Seal possesses great power and can suppress a region, but once used, it consumes Luck and wealth. Luck cannot be moved lightly, for moving it brings misfortune, so only wealth can be consumed.

He sighed; all the silver he had saved!

Immediately, he hardened his heart and stamped it directly onto the floor; golden ripples spread from the center of the seal to the surroundings, and in an instant, they covered the entire Bei'an City.

Four golden light curtains rose instantly around Bei'an City, enclosing the entire city. In this World, cities are called cities because they truly possess defensive means.

These four light curtains were precisely the Protective Array of Bei'an City.

Of course, it could hardly be called protection; this Array can purify the Yin energy inside, returning it to a normal level so that it does not form a Ghost Domain due to increasingly dense Yin energy, which would then breed Weird entities.

If a Weird entity were to break in from the outside, it wouldn't be able to stop it at all.

In Ren Hai's eyes, this thing was something that tasted like nothing but was a pity to discard, and it was also incredibly expensive to run. What on earth was the imperial court thinking when the dynasty was founded? To actually build such an Array.

He felt his money draining away rapidly and his heart bled.

Li Heng stood on the main street, watching these four golden light curtains gradually connect and merge, forming a hemispherical protective shield that directly covered Bei'an City.

Is this the so-called Array? His expression was strange.

How should he put it? Having it is better than not having it.

At the very least, in his perception, the concentration of Yin energy was gradually returning to normal. Although, rather than this, it would be better to let his Great Sun Divine Intent spread directly over Bei'an City; that would actually be stronger.