Chapter 77: The Truth Comes to Light, Striking at the Heart of the Enemy!

"Who's there!"

Li Zhenguang's drunkenness vanished in an instant; he drew the saber at his waist and, staring into the darkness ahead as if facing a formidable enemy, barked:

"Get out here!"

Yet the next moment, that cold and ethereal voice sounded again with a hint of playfulness:

"You dare draw your blade on me?"

Clang!

A golden gleam tore through the darkness from the side in an instant and struck; before Li Zhenguang could even react, the fine steel saber in his hand suddenly rang out and snapped directly in half!

What was this!?

A hidden weapon or a hallucination!?

Having failed to see clearly what means had broken the fine steel saber in his hand, Li Zhenguang was terrified out of his wits, nearly jumping ten feet into the air on the spot.

As if thinking of something, he looked around with a horrified expression, feeling as though a terrifying monster were lurking in the night, and said with a trembling voice:

"Y-your Excellency, are you Qingyike?"

The voice in the darkness responded with a low chuckle:

"What do you think?"

Li Zhenguang's face turned deathly pale in a flash.

The eerie voice seemed to drift from every direction; despite being only twenty or thirty feet away, he could not see a single shadow.

Although the other party had not directly admitted it, who else could it be but Qingyike, given such strange and terrifying methods?

Feeling cold all over and his scalp tingling, Li Zhenguang gripped his broken blade tightly and said tremblingly:

"Y-your Excellency, I have no past grudges or recent enmity with you; why seek me out?"

"If this is about the pursuit and investigation, you are, after all, violating the law with martial force. I wear this uniform of the Jingwu Division, and it is my duty to act according to the orders of my superiors. Why bother a small fry like me?"

"In past cases, you have always been one to hate evil and act with chivalry; could it be that this time you intend to slaughter the innocent?"

Fearing for his own head, Li Zhenguang rattled off a long string of words, his fear evident in every syllable.

At this moment, even Lu Yuan, who was maintaining his Invisibility Technique and remaining hidden two or three zhang away, could not help but laugh silently.

He used his Dharma Power to vibrate his vocal cords, making his voice echo ethereally in the darkness, making it impossible to discern his location:

"No need to beg for mercy. Although you are greedy for wealth and lustful, you have captured many heinous bandits during your time at the Jingwu Division, which counts as some small merit. If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't even have the chance to speak. I only come to seek you out because there are some things I wish to ask; I hope you will answer truthfully."

Hearing that Qingyike had no murderous intent, Li Zhenguang was overjoyed and let out a sharp sigh of relief, hurriedly saying:

"So that is it. Please ask, Your Excellency; I will certainly tell you everything I know, and even if there is something I am unclear about, I will find a way to investigate it for you!"

Although these words sounded truly spineless.

But the person before him was a terrifying powerhouse who had slain a Fifth Realm expert; as a mere Duyuan, he had no room to refuse. If he wanted to survive, he had no choice but to cooperate.

"Very well."

Lu Yuan remained hidden in the darkness and spoke slowly:

"The Jingwu Division has the duty of surveillance; do you know if any Daoist Arts experts practicing Evil Methods have appeared in Fengyang Prefecture recently?"

"Daoist Arts experts practicing Evil Methods?"

Li Zhenguang was stunned upon hearing this:

"This... I have never heard of such a thing. Who is it that you are referring to, Your Excellency?"

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow: "There have been many missing persons cases in the city over the past two or three months; as a Duyuan, are you unaware of this?"

Li Zhenguang's heart skipped a beat, and he asked in surprise:

"I have heard rumors of this matter, but our Commander did not let us intervene. Does Your Excellency mean that these missing persons cases were committed by the Daoist Arts expert you mentioned?"

Seeing that Li Zhenguang knew nothing, Lu Yuan could not be bothered to waste more words; he raised his hand and flicked it, and a scroll of a portrait flew out from the darkness:

"This is a portrait of that Daoist Arts expert. It may not be their true appearance, but I want you to mobilize the channels and informants of the Jingwu Division to help me find this person as soon as possible."

Although Li Junxian had already said to gather information first, waiting passively had never been his style, so he decided to take the initiative.

Moreover, relying on himself or the subordinates of Xu Dahu to find the fortune-teller in the portrait would be like looking for a needle in a haystack; it was better to borrow the manpower and channels of the Jingwu Division, which would be more efficient.

The portrait flew out of the darkness out of thin air and landed at his feet; this strange method gave Li Zhenguang another shock.

He hurriedly stooped down to unfold the scroll, and then subconsciously took a look at it, after which his expression changed slightly:

"This person...?"

Lu Yuan immediately noticed the slight abnormality in the other party's expression, his gaze narrowing slightly:

"What, have you seen the person in the portrait before?"

Li Zhenguang's face was uncertain, but not daring to hide anything, he whispered:

"To tell you the truth, this person in the portrait does look a bit familiar. Our Commander, Lord Suo, invited three Daoist Arts experts from Youxian Temple to assist us a few months ago, and one of them looks sixty or seventy percent like this portrait, but..."

"Youxian Temple?"

Lu Yuan said coldly:

"Tell me in detail about this temple and those three experts!"

With his life at stake, Li Zhenguang did not hesitate to spill everything:

"... Youxian Temple is a Daoist temple officially recognized by the imperial court. It is located within this province, not too far from Fengyang Prefecture. While it is called a temple, it is actually a sect that possesses a heritage of Daoist Arts. Many years ago, this temple was also a major one with a long-standing tradition, but it gradually withered away and its reputation faded."

"Today, although there are only about a hundred people in Youxian Temple, the Temple Master, Chen Chuanying, is a high-level mage who has reached the Fifth Realm, and there are two Elders, Qin Zekun and Yu Ronghua, who are both Fourth Realm mages. Looking at this portrait, the features are quite similar to that Daoist Yu Ronghua, though I do not know if it is the same person..."

Fifth Realm and Fourth Realm Daoist Arts experts from Youxian Temple...

Combined with what Li Junxian had said earlier, these three perfectly fit the criteria and undoubtedly had great suspicion.

Lu Yuan's voice turned cold and stern as he said slowly:

"Do you know where these three are now?"

Li Zhenguang's face shifted as he said:

"They seem to be living in a residence on a street right next to the Jingwu Division now. That was arranged by our Commander, and we are not allowed to go and disturb them on ordinary days. Could it really be them secretly abducting people in the city to practice Evil Methods? But..."

As a Duyuan of the Jingwu Division, he naturally knew far more secrets than the average person.

At the beginning of the Jin Dynasty, the Jingwu Division was the main force for destroying mountains and temples, sweeping through the martial arts world, and even burning books and banning Martial Arts.

The secret archives in the division contain records of many evil methods that use the blood sacrifice of living people; most of them are based on Daoist Arts, either for cultivating secret techniques or for refining Dharma Artifacts.

Even now, among the internal wanted lists of the Jingwu Division, there are still some brutal evil-path experts roaming around committing crimes in various places, having committed numerous blood cases.

But he truly found it hard to imagine that the three people from Youxian Temple, summoned here by Suo Helie, would dare to commit such insane acts right under the nose of the Jingwu Division!

Unless...

Seeming to have thought of a certain possibility, Li Zhenguang felt his heart jump with fear.

"Whether it is or isn't, finding them will naturally reveal the truth!"

Lu Yuan, hidden in the darkness, spoke indifferently:

"I would like to see exactly what they have prepared to deal with me."

Meanwhile.

The Jingwu Division.

In the underground prison, inside the Criminal Chamber.

The jailers, guards, and other miscellaneous personnel had already been driven out. Commander Suo Helie stood proudly, toying with a black Bell no larger than a palm in his hand, and frowned:

"Is this the so-called Soul-Startling Bell?"

"Indeed."

Beside him, Chen Chuanying, dressed in cloth robes, still had a faint look of joy in his eyes:

"This Dharma Artifact was actually refined the day before yesterday, but it took some time for this humble Daoist to nourish and master its power, so I have come specifically to demonstrate it to you, my lord, today."

"This Bell does look extraordinary."

After holding it for only a moment, there was an indelible coldness and stinging sensation in his hand. Suo Helie tossed the Soul-Startling Bell back to the other party, signaling with his gaze:

"Then let me see the results of your three months of work."

He gestured, and the two personal guards at his side understood immediately, walking into the depths of the dungeon to drag out a prisoner who was covered in scars but muscular and fierce-looking, then hanging him on the rack in the Criminal Chamber.

The prisoner's hands and feet had already been broken, and he kept screaming and cursing throughout the process.

And after this person was tied up, Chen Chuanying merely raised his hand expressionlessly. The Soul-Startling Bell seemed to be controlled by an invisible force, suddenly flying in front of the other party and shaking abruptly:

Ding-ling!

The eerie sound of the Bell rang out abruptly in the Criminal Chamber. When the sound entered his ears, even a great expert like Suo Helie, at the Fifth Realm Blood Refining Peak, felt his heart jump violently.

"Ah—!"

The prisoner, directly enveloped by the sound of the Bell, suddenly screamed with a twisted face. At the same time, his bound hands and feet struggled violently, causing the chains to clatter as if the entire person were suffering the torture of a thousand cuts.

Subsequently.

Chen Chuanying formed a seal with his hands, and the Soul-Startling Bell hovering in front of the prisoner rang sharply once more. Moreover, the sound seemed to be extremely strangely concentrated within a certain range, without spreading outward.

And after this ring of the Bell, the prisoner on the rack suddenly had his eyes bulge out, his face becoming extremely ferocious and terrifying, and then scarlet blood-snakes wound their way out from his seven orifices, including his eyes and nostrils!

In an instant, the expression of extreme pain froze on his face, his head hung down abruptly, and there was no more sound.

Seeing such a result, even Suo Helie's expression could not help but change.

Because this prisoner on the rack was a fierce bandit caught just last month, who possessed the cultivation of the Bone Forging Realm; neither his Martial Arts nor his mental willpower could be considered weak.

Yet, such a prisoner, who could be called an expert among the common people, died just like that after being shaken by a Bell twice!

Such power could be called unimaginable.

At this moment, Chen Chuanying turned around and smiled:

"Lord Suo has already seen the power of the Soul-Startling Bell. This is only a part of its power. In addition to being able to directly attack a person's soul, the sound of this Bell also possesses the effects of awakening the spirit and startling the spirit.

If anyone nearby is under an Illusion Technique, a shake of this Bell can dispel it on the spot over a large area. As the controller of this Dharma Artifact, my own mental power will also be further amplified. Even if Qingyike is a genuine Sixth Realm high-ranking Daoist master, he won't be able to hide anything from me."

Staring at the Soul-Startling Bell in the other party's hand, a trace of strangeness and eagerness appeared in Suo Helie's eyes:

"In that case, this Soul-Startling Bell is truly extraordinary..."

The Daoist Yu said confidently: "That is natural; this is a heavy treasure of our Youxian Temple. With this item, our Temple Master will surely be able to assist you, my lord, in capturing and killing that Qingyike!"

The Elder Qin Zekun on the side laughed pointedly:

"It is only a pity that this item is not only difficult to refine, but also requires sufficient Daoist Arts cultivation and the secret methods of our Youxian Temple to control. Even if others obtain it, it would be difficult for them to exert much effect."

"Is that so?"

Upon hearing this, Suo Helie looked expressionlessly at the Soul-Startling Bell that had been put away by Chen Chuanying:

"As long as this item can deal with Qingyike in your hands, that is enough. Since the last time, that villain has not made a move for another month. I have already arranged for people to start setting a trap. You three should prepare as soon as possible. This time I will also participate personally. Once we make a move, it must succeed and cannot fail, otherwise..."

Chen Chuanying smiled slightly, and bowed indifferently:

"Lord Suo can rest assured. If we still cannot take down Qingyike this time, our Youxian Temple is willing to accept any punishment from the imperial court."

"Good."

Suo Helie said no more and waved his hand:

"Everyone, go back and recuperate first. Once my arrangements here are nearly complete, I will send someone to notify you."

"Good."

Chen Chuanying and the other two said no more, immediately bowed slightly, and took their leave.

After exiting the Jingwu Division, the three of them took a carriage in silence and soon returned to the residence where they had been hiding for three months.

After the carriage outside left and they returned to the main hall, Chen Chuanying looked at the two of them and sighed softly:

"Elder Qin, Junior Brother Yu, thank you both for your all-out help over these three months. Elder Qin assisted me in refining it day and night, and I don't know how much mental energy was exhausted. Junior Brother Yu risked exposure to show his face and seek out talent that met the requirements. If not for you, I don't know when this Bell would have been refined."

Qin Zekun coughed lightly:

"Why must the Temple Master be so polite? Youxian Temple is the place where I was born and raised. Now that Daoist Arts are in decline, our temple has also fallen due to various accidents. Furthermore, in this changing era, we urgently need such a heavy treasure to suppress our Qi Luck. For an old man like me to plan for the welfare of the younger generation, it can be considered making the best use of everything."

Daoist Yu also smiled and said:

"What are you saying, Senior Brother? Compared to you and Elder Qin, the things I have done are not arduous at all, aside from being time-consuming. Since the great task is complete, everything is worth it. By the way, the corpses of those materials are still buried in the backyard; should we process them again?"

"No need, just leave them there. Suo Helie will handle it himself."

Chen Chuanying shook his head and said:

"Even so, I must still thank you both. It is getting late, so you two should go back and rest."

"The Temple Master should also rest early."

Daoist Yu and Qin Zekun both stood up and returned to their respective rooms to rest.

After the two of them left.

Chen Chuanying also returned to his own room, but he had no heart for sleep; instead, he took out the Spirit-Startling Bell again to admire it, as if facing a lover.

Feeling the cold and active aura on the Dharma Artifact, he then sat cross-legged, and his soul power extended outward like invisible tentacles, wrapping around the bell to continue nourishing it.

The Spirit-Startling Bell had just been refined, so its power actually had great room for growth; for the time being, it could not yet be considered a heavy treasure capable of suppressing a sect. Only by continuously nourishing it day and night with his own soul power would it be possible to restore it to the level of that former Spirit-Startling Bell.

However.

Just as he had begun to nourish the Spirit-Startling Bell for not long.

"Ah—!"

Suddenly, an extremely shrill scream came from outside the room, giving Chen Chuanying a violent start, and he opened his eyes abruptly.

(End of this chapter)