Chapter 80: Aftermath, Dharma Artifacts, and Schemes

On the other side.

In the blink of an eye, the second day arrived.

Suo Helie, this Commandant of the True Martial Division, did not live until dawn.

Although Li Zhenguang had sent him back to the True Martial Division for treatment immediately, and the division had senior physicians with superb medical skills and no shortage of various life-saving herbs, even if Hua Tuo were alive today, he would have been powerless against such severe injuries.

Therefore, the twenty or thirty officers on duty at the True Martial Division that night, including Li Zhenguang, could only watch helplessly as Suo Helie, due to the vitality of his Blood Refining level physique, could neither find death nor escape life, groaning in agony.

No one dared to grant such a person a quick end; they simply waited until dawn, finally waiting for Suo Helie to breathe his last in the medical hall, dying with his eyes wide open in resentment.

With the highest-ranking official assassinated and dead in such a tragic state, the vast True Martial Division felt as if the sky had collapsed, and the alarm bell for the highest emergency state was rung.

Over two hundred officers, from top to bottom, rushed over upon receiving the news. After learning what had happened the previous night, it was like a bolt from the blue; everyone was terrified and felt insecure, their fear of Qingyike reaching its peak.

Since the Fengyang Prefecture True Martial Division was established, such a thing had never happened before.

As a top expert at the Five Realms Peak, Suo Helie had served as Commandant for five years, and many in the division were somewhat aware of his formidable Martial Arts.

Even when facing a Martial Arts Master of the Sixth Realm, such a person could retreat even if he could not win; who could have imagined he would die at the hands of Qingyike in such a tragic way?

Especially after learning the specific details from all the other witnesses, in the eyes of everyone in the True Martial Division, that Qingyike was no longer just some great bandit, but a true soul-snatching messenger; no one targeted by him could survive.

With the group leaderless and hearts in turmoil like this.

With the other Duyuan absent, Li Zhenguang, the turncoat, was the highest-ranking official in the division. He stepped out at the right moment to shoulder the burden and barely managed to stabilize the situation.

First, he sent someone to notify Qiwenhua, the Prefect of Fengyang Prefecture, and after the latter arrived in shock, he informed him of the specific situation.

Seeing Suo Helie, who had sworn to him just last month that he would definitely capture Qingyike, now looking as if he had been death-sliced, Qiwenhua felt as if struck by lightning, unable to believe it.

After hearing the entire process, he was too terrified to take another look and left with his men, trembling.

The Governor had personally questioned them before, and now the True Martial Division Commandant had also been assassinated; this matter had completely pierced the Heaven, and it was not something a Prefect could handle, so it could only be reported to the imperial court.

And after Qiwenhua left.

Li Zhenguang began to issue orders according to Lu Yuan's requirements, personally taking a large number of officers back to the scene of yesterday's fire.

At his command, he ordered everyone to search the ruins, and soon they dug out the charred corpses of Chen Chuanying and the other two.

It was still Yu Xianting; after examining the charred corpses, he reported with suspicion and shock:

"Sir, these three... they seem to be those three experts from Youxian Temple!"

Li Zhenguang put on a show of inspecting them and said solemnly:

"Indeed, it is those three. It seems that Qingyike found them here first and killed them, then deliberately set the fire to lure Commandant Suo, thereby succeeding in the assassination!"

Yu Xianting's eyelids twitched:

"But... Qingyike always has a reason for acting; why would he come to assassinate these three experts from Youxian Temple? And how did he know these three were here?"

Li Zhenguang feigned a look of deep confusion:

"What you say is reasonable. First, search this residence carefully and see if we can find any clues!"

Yu Xianting received the order and once again led a dozen officers back into the burned-out residence to begin searching.

Afterwards, under Li Zhenguang's seemingly 'unintentional' guidance, they soon discovered corpses one after another beneath the back garden.

"Sir, there are corpses buried underground here!"

"I found some here too!"

"And here!"

The soil in the back garden, which had been scorched to ash, was dug up layer by layer. Yu Xianting and his subordinates were horrified to dig up those corpses that had died in such miserable states due to the refining of a Dharma Artifact.

These corpses included men, women, the old, and the young, all wrapped only in straw mats. Some were already rotting and foul-smelling, while others were still largely intact, but all of them had their hands and feet nailed through, their ears and tongues cut off, and their eyes gouged out, their miserable and ferocious expressions like those of evil ghosts!

Even the officers of the True Martial Division were frightened during the digging and transport process, and some could not help but rush to the side to vomit violently.

Soon, all the corpses were dug out, and upon counting, there were as many as forty-nine.

All the corpses were lined up together, and a faint stench of decay permeated the air. Seeing this hellish scene, Yu Xianting seemed to understand something and gritted his teeth:

"Sir Li, now I understand why Qingyike took action. These three experts from Youxian Temple looked upright, but who would have thought they were actually human-faced, beast-hearted evil Daoists! I have heard that there are Evil Methods in the Daoist Arts that use living people for Blood Sacrifice; they must have secretly kidnapped the city's commoners to perform Blood Sacrifice!"

Although he already knew the situation through Qingyike, the miserable state of these corpses still exceeded expectations. Li Zhenguang's face twitched, and he was furious:

"To dare to commit such an unconscionable act... these three beasts truly deserved to die!"

Yu Xianting seemed to think of something, stepped forward, and whispered:

"Sir, this residence was arranged for these three by Commandant Suo, and with Qingyike deliberately luring Commandant Suo to assassinate him, what do you say about this matter?"

Although Li Zhenguang knew the full cause and effect, it was not convenient to reveal it, so he just said in a low voice:

"This matter must not be exposed to the public. Let's first transfer these corpses to the division, then post a notice for the families of the missing to come and claim them."

"Yes."

Knowing that such a major case had too great an impact, Yu Xianting responded and immediately directed the officers present to return to the division to find more manpower and tools, then transferred the corpses one by one.

At this moment, a large number of commoners were watching around the ruins, and seeing the corpses being carried out, they were immediately filled with horror:

"Oh my, it's terrifying; why are there so many corpses in this burned-down house?"

"Hiss, did you see? Those people's eyes were gouged out; how horrifying!"

"Wait, could these many people be the ones who went missing recently?"

Along the way, more and more commoners witnessed these corpses with their own eyes, and various discussions became rampant, spreading like wildfire.

And after the corpses were transferred to the True Martial Division, Li Zhenguang took it upon himself to issue orders, having his officers post notices at all the major vegetable markets, which soon caused a sensation throughout the city.

"Look quickly at the True Martial Division's notice; those people who went missing inexplicably over the past few months have been found!"

"... Three evil Daoists secretly kidnapped people to refine Evil Methods, and as a result, they were killed by Qingyike last night?"

"Hiss... no wonder it was always said a while ago that so-and-so's family members went missing inexplicably..."

"Hehe, Qingyike didn't just kill those three evil Daoists yesterday; there was also a heavyweight figure. Do you know who it was?"

"Who was it?"

"It will scare you to death to hear it: it was none other than the True Martial Division Commandant, Suo Helie!"

"What? How did you find out?"

"My second brother is a firefighter at the Fire Administration Bureau. He was putting out fires at the stronghold of those three evil Daoists last night and saw with his own eyes the Commandant of the Jingwu Division arrive, only to be executed by the Qingyike via slow slicing!"

"He also told me that the Qingyike is definitely no ordinary person, but an agent of Heaven's punishment invisible to the naked eye, and can even emit golden light out of thin air!"

"Is this true or false? Could such a thing really have happened?"

"My second brother saw it with his own eyes; how could this be fake?"

"But... why would the Qingyike kill this Commandant of the Jingwu Division?"

"Heh, are there few beasts who are sanctimonious on the surface but wolf-hearted and dog-lunged in private? Since Suo Helie was killed by the Qingyike, he must have deserved to die; perhaps it even has something to do with those three evil Daoists."

Just like that, as the notices were posted, the news swept through like a storm. Especially for those whose family members had gone missing, once they learned of it, the world turned upside down for them, and cries and wails filled the air.

Furthermore, under the deliberate indulgence of Li Zhenguang, the news that Commandant Suo Helie had also died at the hands of the Qingyike last night spread like wildfire, causing shock, horror, and a sensation, while also sparking massive speculation.

Various pieces of news swept through the entire city, and by the afternoon, they reached Boxiyuan.

After learning the news brought back by Xu Dahu, Li Junxian immediately notified Lian Shen and her husband, who were still waiting bitterly at home.

Upon hearing the news, the two were first in disbelief, then overcome with grief. They immediately rushed to the Jingwu Division, and as expected, they found the corpse of their son, Wang Zhu, in the mortuary shed outside.

After finding him, they held Wang Zhu's mutilated corpse and wept uncontrollably, their hearts torn apart. Besides them, dozens of other families who had rushed over also found their own missing relatives, and the sounds of heart-broken wailing rose one after another.

And seeing this situation.

Outside the crowd, Li Junxian, who had come along to check the situation, looked furious, his face ashen:

"These beasts, how dare they..."

Beside him, Xu Dahu was also gnashing his teeth:

"It really was as Master said; it was indeed the work of those in the evil path! But on the way here, everyone was saying that the Jingwu Division Commandant Suo Helie was also killed by the Qingyike last night. Could there be a connection between the two?"

Li Junxian said with a stern look in his eyes:

"The Qingyike never strikes without a target. The fact that the three evil Daoists mentioned in the notice could secretly abduct so many people without being discovered means the Jingwu Division clearly had a dereliction of duty. Besides, I remember that when your Martial Uncle and the others first fell into an ambush, they encountered three experts in Daoist Arts..."

Li Junxian pointed out the crux of the matter in a few words, while Lu Yuan echoed him from the side, playing along with the performance.

Although he knew the specific situation clearly, he obviously could not reveal it himself.

And for now, it seemed that the double agent Li Zhenguang was quite capable; he had basically completed all the requests made last night, though not completely exposing Suo Helie's deeds to ensure his infamy was a minor shortcoming.

However, given Li Zhenguang's position, he could only do so much for now. Lu Yuan could already feel the Qi Luck of the people surging and gathering toward him in the void after the Jingwu Division's notice was issued.

This level, while far from the scale of the last time, had still increased his Qi Luck by over twenty units in a short time.

Afterwards.

After comforting the heartbroken Lian Shen and her husband, the three master and disciples sighed and returned to Boxiyuan.

Out of doubt, Li Junxian also had Xu Dahu find ways to continue inquiring about the inside story, wanting to get to the bottom of the whole affair.

Lu Yuan returned to his room and took out the Spirit-Startling Bell and several Flying Star Needles he had hidden underground.

He examined these Dharma Artifacts one by one, lost in thought:

"I didn't expect that this world would actually have things like Dharma Artifacts; this is interesting..."

He carefully inspected the material of the artifacts. The steel needles were about five inches long; they looked like steel, but their entire bodies had faint blood-colored patterns, making them slightly eerie yet extremely hard.

With Lu Yuan's current physique, which possessed a strength of ten thousand catties, it would take his full effort to bend them with his bare hands; he did not know what material they were made of.

As for the other item, the Bell, it seemed to be cast from some more special metal. He did not know how it had been refined, but just by touching it with his hand, he could feel a cold chill spreading rapidly, as if vengeful ghosts were lurking within.

Although this Dharma Artifact had been broken by 【Generating Light】 last night, it still exerted unimaginable power. Lu Yuan picked it up with slight curiosity, then tentatively infused it with Dharma Power and gave it a light shake.

Ding-ling!

As the bell rang, a strange and terrifying ripple suddenly spread from the bell, as if several invisible vengeful ghosts had been released, making one feel as if their soul were suddenly being pricked, as if it were about to be snatched alive from their body!

"Good fellow!"

Lu Yuan immediately stopped, slightly surprised:

"It can actually be used by infusing it with Dharma Power, and the power is much stronger than that of Chen Chuanying from the Youxian Temple..."

On second thought, it seemed only natural.

Chen Chuanying was merely a practitioner of Daoist Arts, while he was a genuine cultivator of immortality. This thing in his hand was the lowest-grade evil Dharma Artifact, so it was reasonable for it to unleash greater power when activated with his Dharma Power.

However.

With so many Earthly Fiend Arts in hand, and 【Generating Light】 and 【Sword Technique】 for offense, this thing was completely useless to him and had no great value.

After thinking about it, Lu Yuan simply wrapped these Dharma Artifacts up and sank them into the ground.

Afterwards.

Practicing martial arts, cultivating, and waiting—another two days passed.

Xu Dahu was still trying to find out more information, and the news of the Qingyike reappearing to slay the evil ones while also killing Commandant Suo Helie was making a huge stir, with great momentum.

The finger of blame gradually pointed directly at Suo Helie; all kinds of suspicions and rumors were rampant, and the already dwindling prestige of the Jingwu Division plummeted.

And during this process.

Lu Yuan stayed safely in Boxiyuan, and the Qi Luck of the people he gained continued to grow slowly, only stopping on the third day.

Over the three days, his Qi Luck had only increased by fifty or sixty units in total. Added to the remaining amount from before, his Qi Luck had once again broken through the one-hundred-unit mark, allowing him to illuminate another Earthly Fiend Art.

This harvest of Qi Luck was far less than what he had gained from destroying the Money Gang and burning the opium last time, which also made Lu Yuan realize that the Qi Luck he could gain from the identity of the Qingyike in Fengyang Prefecture had basically reached its limit.

"Sure enough, you can't keep shearing the same sheep; the pond of Fengyang Prefecture is still too small."

He pondered secretly in his heart.

In the thirty-six provinces of the Great Jin, although Fengyang Prefecture was the capital of a province, it could only be ranked in the middle or lower tier in terms of population and development.

Cities like Jinjin, Nanjing, and Liangguang were all major hubs with populations over a million, prosperous and flourishing, not to mention the capital of the Great Jin, Tianjing, which anchored the world.

These places were all fertile fields waiting for him to develop.

Moreover, with his cultivation and Dharma Power increasing day by day, there were few things that could threaten him now. He was fully qualified to start finding ways to gradually build his own power to plot for great things and seize the Qi Luck of the world, no longer needing to be as cautious as when he first transmigrated.

Lu Yuan pondered in his heart, and a rough idea soon emerged.

However, there is still a considerable distance between an idea, a plan, and its implementation.

Moreover, his current cultivation of less than twenty strands of True Qi is still somewhat insufficient; his plan is to wait until the True Qi within his body breaks through one hundred strands before officially beginning to flex his muscles.

Thinking of this, Lu Yuan cast aside distracting thoughts and turned to consider the choice of his next Earthly Fiend Art.

(End of this chapter)