Chapter 122: Snatching Women and the Summoned Demon

Heng Xian's "death and rebirth" left Ma Bu Ying, Xu Wei and a few others amazed and chattering away, while everyone else fell silent.

The rest of the journey was wordless.

Until dusk on the third day, the boat‑shaped treasure flew over the Sang Guo border.

It arrived just in time; below, in the endless wilderness, two great armies were arranging their troops.

Flags fluttered, spears and halberds grew like a forest, a dense mass with no visible edge, while drums beat and a murderous aura surged into the heavens.

In the two formations, hundreds of generals from each side faced each other, ready to clash at the slightest disagreement.

Observing from his high perch, Heng Xian couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion; having watched it as a play in his previous life, now standing in the sky, the sensation of being present is truly indescribable.

Prince‑born Xu Wei suddenly said: "The jade slip from Uncle Ke Zhenhai mentions the Sang Guo royal family fighting another nation; it must refer to this place!"

There must be over three hundred thousand people below; for a small nation like Sang Guo, this counts as a whole‑nation war!

Ye Ling'er said, "Strangely, it's getting dark; are the two nations preparing for night combat? Can the soldiers endure it?"

Zhao Ying laughed, "If it concerns the survival of the nation, there's no need to worry about much; day or night, we fight and then speak."

Bai Ziqi, Ye Xiaoyao and a few others stared wide‑eyed, wanting to say something; honestly, their outlook was too narrow to compare with Prince‑born Xu Wei and the others.

Song Rufeng, who was ahead, suddenly said, "The mortal realm's slaughter is a game of the power‑hungry elites; when a nation rises, the people suffer, when it falls, the people also suffer. As cultivators, you should remain detached from the world."

Xu Wei and the others immediately clasped their fists in agreement.

Heng Xian couldn't help but look up at Song Rufeng; at least the remark "the people suffer in both rise and fall" is something ordinary folk wouldn't say.

The boat‑shaped treasure accelerated, quickly leaving the battlefield and heading southwest.

As night fell, Weiwu County arrived.

From his lofty view, the city indeed wasn't large.

Heng Xian roughly estimated it to be slightly smaller than Donglan City.

A group of people descended straight from the sky, making quite a commotion.

The city's residents poured out of their homes, observing cautiously.

Other members of cultivation families also emerged in groups, looking up.

Song Rufeng led Heng Xian and his party onto the main street of the city, then walked step by step toward the County Governor's Office.

Although they wore civilian clothes, their wide robes, large sleeves, silk garments, and monk‑like robes marked them as members of a great sect.

Their aura and bearing were, in a word, super‑noble!

The townsfolk watched silently, daring not to disturb.

Some members of cultivation families, led by their elders, stepped out of the mansion and bowed deeply: "May we ask which great sect has arrived?"

Bai Ziqi shouted, "Tianyuan Sect descends to handle affairs; the idle step aside!"

The cultivation families quickly retreated, their demeanor even more humble.

Tianyuan Sect is undeniably a super‑large sect, far beyond the petty Hehuan School.

It seems the County Governor's reinforcements have arrived!

At that moment, at the far end of the long street, a large group hurried forward; leading them was a rotund man in battle armor, somewhat comical, who from afar clasped his fists and called out, "Ah! So Brother Song has arrived in person! My heart rejoices!"

Song Rufeng also laughed, "After decades apart, Junior Brother Ke Zhenhai's bearing remains unchanged!"

The plump General Ke Zhenhai nearly wept, "Brother, stop teasing me; Junior Brother is suffering!"

As he spoke, he looked at Heng Xian, Lin Shuyu and their group, nodded, and said, "These sect juniors are each a dragon and phoenix among people, their talent is extraordinary!"

Lin Shuyu, Ma Bu Ying and others immediately stepped forward, bowing, "Uncle, your praise is mistaken!"

Heng Xian performed the bow as well, only to find that these people all had a strange pallor, as if their qi was deficient.

Ke Zhenhai patted his head, gesturing a "please", and said, "Please! Brother, fellow junior brothers, go to the County Governor's residence first; I'll welcome you and freshen you up!"

"Much obliged!" Song Rufeng nodded.

The group rushed together straight to the County Governor's residence.

The County Governor's residence was vast and magnificently built, even more grand than the original City Lord's Mansion of the Yè Jiā in Donglan City.

Ye Xiaoyao's expression turned a bit melancholy, perhaps recalling his home in Donglan City.

They arrived at the Governor's reception hall, where guests and hosts took their seats.

Song Rufeng got straight to the point, solemnly saying, "Just now I observed the city's aura; indeed there is a faint demonic energy spreading. You, in that helmet and armor, look like you're going to battle, right?"

"Tell me exactly what has happened in this city!"

Ke Zhenhai forced a wry smile, "The story begins three months ago."

In Weiwu County there are 700,000 civilians, with six cultivator families among them.

The largest is my Ke family, but the trouble was caused by the second‑strongest, the Zheng family.

The Zheng family has an heir named Zheng Lun, sixteen, at the Qi condensation stage, a genius, but he has an eccentric temper and a love for the fairer sex.

One day Zheng Lun went out, seized a handsome maiden, and that very night he ravaged her.

The next day, a strange group arrived, stormed the city, swiftly seized the Zheng family, not only reclaimed the maiden but also abducted a dozen of the Zheng daughters.

The County Governor's office and the other families were completely taken off guard!

It would have been fine if that were all, but those people that day did not capture Zheng Lun, demanding his surrender.

The Zheng family refused and appealed to me; as County Governor I could not stand idle, so I sent envoys to negotiate.

However, that group was overly domineering; nothing we said worked, and now they are opposing the entire Weiwu County.

They even abducted my youngest daughter.

The two sides fought a major battle every three days and a minor skirmish each day; neither could gain the upper hand, and the conflict dragged on, leaving the city heavily damaged.

We had just returned from a fight, and they withdrew.

Song Rufeng hesitated, "What are these people's attire and background? How strong are they really?"

Ke Zhenhai thought for a moment, "They wear tattered, ragged clothes like beggars; most are at the later stage of Qi condensation, some are at the Qi Hai Realm."

They call themselves the Righteous Aid Gang, but their leader hasn't made a move yet; exactly what cultivation level they are is hard to say.

Song Rufeng extended a finger and tapped the table: "So, what's the deal with these monsters?"

Ke Zhenhai glanced at the group of youths behind him, all elite disciples of the Ke family, among whom there were plenty with heroic bearing or decent talent, yet facing Heng Xian's group, they seemed several heads shorter.

"The cause is my niece Ke Qin; she went out last month, spent a night at Black Wind Mountain, and in the middle of the night encountered a plump youth and a woman dressed up gaudily."

Ke Zhenhai sighed, "The three of them talked all night, Ke Qin spouted nonsense, and then those two followed him to his residence as guests,"

I could tell at a glance they were monsters; I wanted to drive them off, but who knew inviting a deity is easy and sending it away is hard.

From then on, they came every few days; my niece grew increasingly weak and frail, confined to bed, and other family members also suffered some effects.

Song Rufeng exclaimed in surprise: "What nonsense did your granddaughter spout?"

Ke Zhenhai said embarrassedly: "They claim our family's residence was personally selected by an expert from the Tianyuan Sect, that beneath it lies a superior spirit stone mine, and that cultivating here for one year equals ten years outside!"

(End of chapter)