Chapter 146: The Crisis Averted, Huangfu Fengming

Ke Jijin had never encountered such a formidable Jinshi. Not only could this Jinshi inscribe The Peach Blossom Spring, deploy a domain, and unleash terrifying attacks with a mere wave of his hand, but within this micro-realm of The Peach Blossom Spring, he was practically the absolute master.

However, how on earth could a mere Jinshi master such an otherworldly domain? Furthermore, hasn't The Peach Blossom Spring been a secret art exclusive to the descendants of the Tao family since antiquity?

As of today, the most renowned living descendant of the Tao family was none only Tao Sheng, the Military Governor of the Southern Frontier.

He was the only one known to have ever invoked the otherworldly realm of The Peach Blossom Spring.

Then, who on earth was this fellow before him?

Ke Jijin's mind was filled with incomprehension and dread. Tao Fengming's methods had completely disrupted his plans, and had even reversed the tide of battle in an instant. Now, he was the one trapped in a passive and vulnerable position.

At this moment, Ke Jijin felt a deep sense of frustration. He had meticulously orchestrated everything, yet at the very final juncture, all his plans had broken loose like wild horses beyond his control.

The demonic beast on Mount Daying was one he had carefully scouted and selected after a long search. It had only barely completed its demonization just yesterday, and he was waiting to stir up chaos right here in Shaozhou Prefecture.

Yet, a party of travelers like these had suddenly arrived in Shaozhou Prefecture.

Not to mention, there were also the agents of the Heaven-Clearing Guard who had been trailing him all along.

He had acted with extreme caution in everything he did to prevent his scheme from failing. But this very morning, the petition delivered by the prefectural soldiers—written by this very Tao Fengming—actually exposed him directly, complete with fabricated evidence.

After much deliberation, Ke Jijin had ultimately decided to launch the attack ahead of schedule.

The initial assault had proceeded smoothly, largely thanks to his foresight in driving those people out of the city early. After all that turmoil, the soldiers of Shaozhou Prefecture were thrown into chaos, and the refugees were too exhausted to move. In due time, once they were all infected with demonic seeds, they would become powerful tools for the Demonic Cult.

Yet, these people had turned right back around and launched a counterattack.

He had thought he could handle them, never expecting to run into such a hard nut to crack!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The two clashed violently in mid-air once more before breaking apart. Ke Jijin’s hands and feet went numb. As he looked at the graceful and poised figure opposite him, he could not help but grind his teeth in hatred.

He could no longer stay here; he had to get away immediately!

Having reached this conclusion in his mind, Ke Jijin swiftly picked up the pace of his movements.

Wisps of black Qi condensed and manifested around his body, transforming into numerous shadowy figures that charged toward his opponent from all directions. Meanwhile, Ke Jijin began chanting a secret technique amidst the shroud of black Qi.

"You won't escape!"

The next moment, a furious roar rang out abruptly. Ke Jijin widened his eyes and looked back to see that Tao Fengming was completely ignoring the attacks of the black shadows, charging straight toward him!

At that moment, Tao Fengming was radiating a murderous intent so intense it chilled one's very soul.

Ke Jijin hurriedly catalyzed his demonic Qi, instantly transforming his entire body into a streak of bloody light to flee. But in the next instant, the full might of the domain unfurled.

This vast domain shrank to its absolute limit in a split second. It felt as though he had slammed into an invisible barrier before being violently dragged backward. In a flash, he reappeared directly in front of Tao Fengming!

Tao Fengming gazed calmly at Ke Jijin as before. His hand formed the shape of a sword tip, thrusting straight toward Ke Jijin.

"Who on earth are you?!"

Ke Jijin demanded in furious rage. A shield suddenly appeared in his hand, but the moment it came into contact with Tao Fengming's finger, it shattered into countless pieces.

Yet Tao Fengming’s finger continued its forward trajectory.

With nowhere left to run and seeing the fingertip inches from his face, Ke Jijin hardened his heart and viciously bit down on the tip of his tongue.

The next moment, the surging black Qi stopped billowing outward; instead, it rushed crazily back into Ke Jijin’s body. Beneath the skin of his entire body, the black Qi could be faintly seen slithering about.

With the black Qi forced back into his body, he used his very chest and abdomen to forcefully take Tao Fengming's attack head-on?!

Tao Fengming raised an eyebrow slightly. Ke Jijin, meanwhile, bared his teeth in agony as black Qi gushed madly from his mouth, his blood-red eyes glaring at Tao Fengming with unadulterated fury.

"One day, I will repay this blood debt."

Tao Fengming's expression hardened as he replied coldly, "Then I will have you die right here, today!"

With that, Tao Fengming curled his hands into claws and lashed out fiercely at his opponent, instantly gripping the man's right arm.

A jolt of panic shot through Ke Jijin, but he channeled the demonic Qi within him with even greater ferocity. He shot one last scarlet-eyed glare at Tao Fengming, and the next instant, Tao Fengming felt his grip suddenly turn empty.

Ke Jijin had vanished completely from before his eyes.

Right there in Tao Fengming's hand was simply the severed right arm of his adversary.

The man had actually cut off his own arm to ensure his survival!

The dense scent of blood belonging to Ke Jijin instantly permeated this small, confined space.

Tao Fengming calmly withdrew his hand, stood quietly for a moment in deep thought, and then raised his head. He tossed the severed arm aside, while the white scroll around them slowly unfurled, revealing that it had transformed into the very barrier of this spatial domain.

Down in the city of Shaozhou Prefecture, the bloody mist brought forth by the Hundred Flowers Execution Scroll had already been compressed to its absolute limit by the Great Confucian's literary essay. Many people had regained consciousness and, with the help of others, were fleeing toward the city gates.

Meanwhile, the local scholars and provincial graduates inside the city had finally launched a counter-offensive, continuously eradicating the demonic seeds and blood-colored flowers.

Song Mu had just finished writing a few more Qingming poems when he suddenly felt a stir in his heart and looked up toward the sky.

A figure had abruptly appeared in the firmament, looking quite disheveled.

"My Hundred Flowers Execution Scroll! Who did this?!"

The man let out a roar of rage as a streak of blood slowly shrank, finally landing in his palm, though it was now battered and tattered beyond recognition.

Yet, he no longer bothered to figure out who had shattered his otherworldly realm. Shortly after appearing, he fled once again, transforming into a shooting star that vanished without a trace.

Simultaneously, the giant eagle outside the city let out a piercing, desperate cry before launching into a frantic, suicidal attack.

Surrounding it were over a dozen provincial graduates launching simultaneous assaults, reducing the giant eagle to a cornered beast fighting its final desperate struggle.

The chaos within the city continued, but it was now limited to individuals infected by demonic seeds and ordinary fierce beasts; the imminent crisis could be considered pacified.

Song Mu gazed up at the fleeing figure, instantly realizing that it was none of other than the Demonic Cult's Jinshi, Ke Jijin. He turned his head back down, but Tao Fengming was nowhere to be seen in the sky.

This inevitably caused a pang of anxiety in Song Mu's heart. Dropping what was in his hands, he immediately swept his gaze across the sky.

Just as a burning sense of urgency gripped Song Mu, a calm voice sounded right beside him.

"This time, we of the Heaven-Clearing Guard truly owe you a debt of gratitude."

Song Mu turned his head to see Shen Long, the agent of the Heaven-Clearing Guard he had met yesterday, standing beside him. Shen Long looked rather battered, but he was currently dragging a captive up onto the city wall.

The elderly man surnamed Lü had already rushed forward. With a single glance, Song Mu's expression registered profound astonishment: the captive in Shen Long's grip was none other than Yu Changhua, the Prefect of Shaozhou Prefecture.

Song Mu exchanged a glance with Shen Long, who patted the dust from his hair and said to Song Mu, "I never expected that fellow to realize something was amiss so quickly, nor that he would launch his attack with such ruthless decisiveness."

"If it weren't for the fact that the One-Month Scattering Poison hadn't reached its full potency yet and its medicinal strength was greatly diminished, more than half of the officials in Shaozhou Prefecture would probably be dead by now."

Hearing this, Song Mu was startled and immediately asked Shen Long, "What about that man who ran away? Ke Jijin."

Shen Long gave a dejected nod, walked over to sit on a nearby stone step, and took a sip of water before speaking.

"That fellow absorbed the majority of Prefect Yu's literary power, leaping straight from a junior Jinshi to a first-rank Jinshi. His might grew exponentially; no one could do anything to him."

With that, Shen Long cast another glance at Song Mu, his expression carrying a hint of lingering astonishment.

"I just never expected to run into Huangfu Fengming here."

"Huangfu Fengming?"

Song Mu furrowed his brows and asked with considerable perplexity, "Are you talking about..."

"I'm talking about the Jinshi traveling with your party—Huangfu Fengming, the legendary figure of fifty years ago."

Shen Long said with a trace of reminiscent emotion, "Huangfu Fengming, courtesy name Lanxian, nicknamed the Pure Wind Gentleman. He became a child prodigy at ten, earned his Jinshi degree at twenty, reached the Hanlin Academy by forty, and stood just half a step away from University Scholar by fifty."

"Back in those days, who throughout the realm didn't know that the Wen Dynasty had given birth to a supreme talent?"

As Shen Long spoke, Song Mu listened, his eyes slowly widening in shock.