Volume One: The Miscellaneous Duties of Changshui County Chapter 103: The Ancient Relic Tower

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By that logic, the North Blade Sect should be the one hoarding the most rare treasures and precious materials. If we could raid the North Blade Sect, the haul would undoubtedly be substantial.

“Tsk tsk tsk, if only we could make a trip to the North Blade Sect and... steal—cough cough—liberate some treasures, how thrilling that would be,” the big black dog said with a mischievous grin. “Master Jiu, don’t say it like that; this deal could actually be done.”

“I advise you all to stop thinking about it,” came the caution. “The North Blade Sect is formidable. Even the Flame Gate once tried to annex us, but an elderly master from North Blade Sect appeared and with a single stroke severely wounded the previous leader of the Flame Gate.”

“After that, the Flame Gate stopped talking about absorbing our Li Sword Villa. A few years later, their previous leader passed away, crippled from the encounter.”

“Whoa...” the big black dog was taken aback. “Good thing you said that—safety first. I still want to live a few more years.”

As they walked, chatting along the way, they covered more than twenty miles. Within the ruins, there was no day or night; the sky remained perpetually gray, making the path visible yet indistinct.

Lu Jiuzhang advanced relying on his divine perception. Within several yards around him, he discerned everything with clarity far surpassing mere eyesight.

“About four or five miles ahead lies the border of Li Sword Villa, entering the Flame Gate’s territory. Everyone be careful then,” Feng Wanqing warned. “The Flame Gate’s people are quite domineering, treating the ruins as their private domain.”

“If things can’t be settled with words, they won’t hesitate to act.”

“Understood!” Zhong Zhengming nodded. “We’ll quicken our pace to break through the Flame Gate’s territory and head for the core area as soon as possible.”

Better to avoid trouble if possible.

In the outside world, the Demon-Slaying Division fears no one.

If the Demon-Slaying Division in Changxian County isn’t enough, there’s one in Anxi Prefecture.

If that’s insufficient, there’s the Demon-Slaying Division in Beilu County.

Above the Beilu County Division is the Demon-Slaying Headquarters in Jingzhao Prefecture.

Each level boasts increasingly powerful warriors, especially the Jingzhao Headquarters, which even houses martial artists of the fourth and third rank.

The chief of the Demon-Slaying Headquarters is said to possess second-rank martial cultivation.

In a world where the old clan patriarchs rarely produce first-rank masters, a second-rank martial artist is a true powerhouse, capable of sweeping away all opposition.

Because the Demon-Slaying Division answers directly to the Sovereign and is backed by a second-rank martial expert, it can act with impunity.

Those government agencies and organizations dare not provoke the Demon-Slaying Division lightly.

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This time’s pursuit of Zhong Zhengming was also instigated from within.

Outsiders generally keep their distance, avoiding involvement in the internal affairs of the Demon-Slaying Division.

But here, within the ruins, such distinctions mean nothing.

Even princes could be killed without hesitation.

So it’s best to tread carefully, avoid conflicts whenever possible, and proceed steadily.

After several more miles, the group reached the border of Li Sword Villa.

There stood a stone tablet inscribed with a few words: “Li Sword Villa disciples, upon seeing this stone, return at once.”

It was a warning to prevent members of Li Sword Villa from wandering beyond the border and encountering danger.

Passing the tablet, under Feng Wanqing’s lead, they pressed toward the core area.

The ancient tower, towering a thousand zhang high, stood within the core of the ruins, the tallest and only structure left standing.

Though dilapidated, Lu Jiuzhang still felt the immense weight of history emanating from it.

The archaic, ancient aura deeply moved everyone present.

“Shh... silence!” Suddenly, Zhong Zhengming halted and warned the group.

Not far off came the sound of footsteps.

Everyone quickly concealed themselves within the ruins of a nearby building.

After several minutes, two ninth-rank martial cultivators approached, chatting as they walked.

“Brother, it’s finally my rotation to guard. Haven’t been home for over a month. Has anything big happened to the Flame Gate recently? If so, you better fill me in; otherwise, I wouldn’t even know how to join the fun,” one said carelessly.

“Big event? There was one not long ago, and it nearly shook the heavens,” the other replied, startled. “You don’t know? Another group came from outside, entered our Flame Gate territory, and directly captured one seventh-rank and several eighth-rank martial masters.”

“Damn, that bold?”

“Exactly. The sect leader intervened, only to find the other side was no weaklings either. They had several skilled fighters. But none could match the sect leader. For the sake of his subordinates’ safety, the leader had no choice but to cooperate with them.”

“And then? What happened? Did the leader just let it go?”

“What else could he do? At this point, the North Blade Sect is rumored to have been wiped out. We’re planning to absorb the neighboring Li Sword Villa. If these outsiders kill our Flame Gate’s masters and defect to Li Sword Villa, it’ll be impossible to annex them.”

“No worries. Once Li Sword Villa is dealt with, knowing our leader, he’ll settle accounts with these outsiders.”

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“Exactly. To keep these people stable, the leader gave the head of that group a vice leader position. His subordinates got official posts too—a preliminary cooperation formed.”

“...”

The two continued chatting as they walked, soon disappearing from sight.

Once they were far enough away, Lu Jiuzhang and the others emerged from their hiding place.

Zhong Zhengming’s face darkened; these “outsiders” surely referred to Bian Yuan’s group.

Unexpectedly, they had formed an alliance with the Flame Gate.

The Flame Gate’s strength already surpassed Li Sword Villa; combined with Bian Yuan’s group, who were stronger than Zhong Zhengming, Lu Jiuzhang, and the others, the situation was dire.

“This matter must be reported to the manor master immediately.”

Hearing this, Feng Wanqing felt a chill; she hadn’t expected the other side to already prepare to swallow Li Sword Villa.

“Don’t worry, Miss Feng, the manor master is clever. He must be aware,” Lu Jiuzhang said. “Let’s press on to avoid wasting time.”

“...”

Feng Wanqing hesitated but found Lu Jiuzhang’s reasoning sound. The manor master was surely aware of the Flame Gate’s schemes.

Perhaps he was already devising a countermeasure.

Feng Wanqing decided not to return and disturb the manor master.

To avoid running into Flame Gate forces, the group changed routes and continued advancing toward the core.

They did not rest once.

The towering thousand-zhang high tower drew ever closer.

By all accounts, they had now stepped into the core area.

Lu Jiuzhang stayed close behind Feng Wanqing, moving cautiously.

Countless dangers lurked nearby; the fragmented formations here were once world-shaking arrays, each using rare and precious materials as their formation cores.

Even after so many years, these incomplete arrays still wielded terrifying power.