Wang Ping walked straight out of the secret chamber.
Yet he did not leave the county yamen. With a flicker of his form, he arrived directly atop the yamen's overhanging gable roof, gazing down calmly across the sprawling seat of Longxing County.
Now, Longxing County held no secrets from him.
He merely cast his spiritual sense high into the clouds and projected it downward, easily taking in every detail, great and small, within and without the city walls.
*Three places.*
Wang Ping surveyed the four directions, calculating in his mind:
*Outside the county walls, the Black Armor Battalion is confronting the Tabai Battalion to protect the common folk, though by the looks of it, they seem to be falling into a disadvantage.*
*Inside the walls, over a hundred fiends are running amok. Though they take no lives, they are stealing human lifespans and sending their plunder to the very same place... Youshen Temple. Unsurprising. It seems that Perfected Youshen is indeed the thaumaturge backing the Imperial Academy.*
At this thought, Wang Ping felt a faint chill in his heart.
He knew very well that since the Six Desires Heavenly Demon Flag had appeared in Longxing County at this precise moment, Daoist Nun You certainly had a hand in it.
The question was:
*What exactly is the relationship between Perfected Youshen and Daoist Nun You?*
Wang Ping had met Perfected Youshen before. The man was a young Daoist whom he had once regarded as unfathomably profound, yet looking back now, he was nothing extraordinary.
Furthermore, Perfected Youshen's primary technique back then had been manipulating a giant black serpent... Before, Wang Ping had known nothing of the ties between the immortal sects and Dashun, so he had not thought much of it. Now, however, that black serpent inevitably reminded him of the Six Desire Heavens Sovereign Accomplishment Method.
Among the six desire beasts cultivated by that method, one was indeed a snake.
Even more crucially, he recalled a conversation he had overheard by chance during his second journey into the immortal sect, when he had transmigrated as Daoist Nun You's attendant boy.
"I heard Senior Sister's attendant boy caused a huge disaster earlier, letting scoundrels sweep away all of Senior Sister's dharma coins for this quarter?"
"That attendant boy has already been refined by me."
At the time, he had paid it no heed.
Yet looking back now, was not the moment right before his second arrival in the immortal sect the exact time when Chen Haoyan and Shouchong had raided and looted Youshen Temple?
*Back then, that Perfected Youshen seemed utterly terrified... If he was Daoist Nun You's previous attendant boy, everything makes sense. Because he failed to guard Youshen Temple and was ambushed by Chen Haoyan and Shouchong, Daoist Nun You refined him, leaving an opening for me to take his place...*
The clues rapidly linked together.
Then came the question: after him, who had taken over as Perfected Youshen of Youshen Temple? Was it Daoist Nun You's third attendant boy?
*...No.*
Wang Ping recalled the decapitating sorcery he had suffered before his third entry into the immortal sect. That soul-striking curse technique aligned perfectly with the methods of the Master of Soul-Drooping Study.
*This is definitely no coincidence.*
Wang Ping considered the matter with cold clarity:
*The Soul-Drooping Study often peddles soul-drooping straw effigies, which are effectively weakened versions of its master's spells. The sorcery that decapitated me must have been one of them.*
At the same time, this reminded Wang Ping of why Ping Jiangzi had been dismissed from the Soul-Drooping Study.
It was said that a complaint had been filed claiming that a sold soul-drooping straw effigy had failed to curse a mortal target to death... Thinking back on it now, Wang Ping felt a stir of suspicion.
*Could that mortal have been me?*
*There are simply too many coincidences.*
Wang Ping felt a creeping chill. So many coincidences had ultimately converged to produce a specific outcome, which made him think of the fate he had once experienced firsthand.
*No, rather than fate, it is more like the influence of the Classic of Great Peace. After all, the world is vast, yet it specifically had me reincarnate in Longxing County and beside Daoist Nun You. The so-called random transmigration identities were utter nonsense—the Classic of Great Peace deliberately engineered my current circumstances.*
With that thought, Wang Ping sank his consciousness inward.
The next instant, he arrived within the space of the Classic of Great Peace. Looking toward the towering tome at the center, he asked bluntly, "What is your purpose?"
If all of this was done intentionally by you,
What do you want me to do?
Wang Ping did not expect an answer. After all, whether the answer was good or ill, he had no leeway to resist and could only accept the outcome.
Yet at that very moment,
As Wang Ping fixed his gaze upon it, the monumental tome suddenly blazed with light. The glow settled straight upon the fourth roll—an indication that it was ready for use.
*Roll Four: Courage of the Noble Gentleman.*
*Where righteousness lies, one bends not to power nor looks to profit. Though the entire state were offered in return, one would not waver in gaze. Holding death heavy yet cleaving to righteousness without faltering—such is the courage of the noble gentleman!*
"...Haha."
Looking at the words upon the scroll, Wang Ping suddenly chuckled, having realized a possibility: "You wouldn't happen to just want me to save people, would you?"
Naturally, the scroll gave no answer.
Yet Wang Ping no longer dwelled on it. His earlier hesitation vanished in an instant, and his consciousness returned to reality, replaced by resolve and decisiveness.
He knew full well that the lighting of Courage of the Noble Gentleman had nothing to do with his question. It was purely because what he intended to do next aligned with the principles of upholding righteousness. But as things stood, he might as well take this as the answer from the Classic of Great Peace.
After all, it was called the Classic of Great Peace.
"Let's start by bringing about a bit of peace."
Casting aside all misgivings, Wang Ping took a step forward. His figure instantly vanished from the yamen's overhanging roof, darting toward the outskirts of the county like a phantom.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the wilderness outside the city.
"We can't hold on much longer!"
Beneath the command tent, Wu Xintai wore an ugly expression. Outside, the once-unbroken Black Armor Battalion was steadily giving ground, barely able to maintain its battle formation.
"That madman Yan Weichuan actually dares collude with thaumaturges and use sorcery against his fellow soldiers! Treason! This is outright rebellion!" Wu Xintai cursed furiously while turning toward the two men beside him, frantic with anxiety. "My lords, think of something!"
"..."
Facing Wu Xintai's urging, Shen Monkey and Xu Dog gave no answer. With grim faces, they stared fixedly at the sky-obscuring spectacle outside the formation.
Filling their vision was a howling hurricane.
The fierce gale whipped up grit and stone, while amid the dark swirling dust, lines of soldiers and steeds galloped through, as if they themselves were the source of the tempest.
After a long silence, Shen Monkey finally spoke in a low voice:
"No mistake. It is talisman soldiers and paper horses."
Xu Dog murmured in awe:
"Talismans made soldiers to summon winds, paper made horses to call forth rains; when soldiers and steeds charge together, the heavens and earth lose their colors... Sorcery truly is beyond the reach of martial arts."
As imperial consecrated masters, though their ranks were not high, out in the wider world they were top-tier titled martial masters who could claim places among the top thirty-six of the Weapon Register, earning spots on the Earth Ranking. Yet even so, facing such overwhelming might of heaven and earth, they could only sigh in despair, utterly devoid of a countermeasure.
"Should we... use that?" Xu Dog suggested.
Shen Monkey shook his head. "With our divine intent, that can only be used once. It must be saved for the Longevity as Old as Heaven Gourd—nothing else."
"I understand the reasoning."
Xu Dog gritted his teeth. "But I'm afraid if we don't use it now, we won't have another chance."
"Not necessarily."
Shen Monkey was equally conflicted, but he ultimately said in a heavy voice, "Getting out unscathed is out of the question, but as long as we pay a small price, there is still a way."
"What price?"
"Battalion Commander Wu." Shen Monkey turned to Wu Xintai. "Abandon the common folk. There is no need to protect them anymore. Form an arrowhead formation and escort the two of us into the city."
At these words, Wu Xintai was stunned.
"You want me to abandon the people?"
"To abandon the common folk," Shen Monkey stressed. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. As for the common folk... this matter cannot be explained plainly, but rest assured, General, they will come to no real harm."
"Bullshit!"
Wu Xintai shook his head without hesitation. "You hold no imperial military tally, my lord. Your words cannot serve as military orders. Forgive the Black Armor Battalion, but we cannot obey."
"You..."
Shen Monkey opened his mouth, but seeing Wu Xintai's resolute expression and knowing the urgency of the situation allowed no hesitation—much less time to waste persuading him—he gave up.
At that thought, Shen Monkey wasted no more breath. He turned to Xu Dog and snapped, "Prepare to risk our lives! We join forces and charge into the county seat. If we stay trapped here any longer, it will be too late for everything, and I fear we'll follow in Hai Pig's footsteps, becoming nothing more than gossip for future generations!"
Hearing this, Xu Dog's expression also changed.
"...Let's go!"
The next instant, the two imperial consecrated masters summoned all their internal energy, burst out from the protection of the Black Armor Battalion's formation, and charged headlong into the roaring hurricane.
At the same time,
Deep within the hurricane, amid the ranks of the Tabai Battalion.
Yan Weichuan sat astride his horse with his blade resting across his saddle, still cursing under his breath:
"That slippery old bastard Lao Liu. His guts are smaller than an eyelet. To think he actually feared slaughtering the common folk and took off with his confidants. And he was supposed to be my deputy general...
"Does he have so little faith in my judgment?
"This time, we have thaumaturges backing us, and Lord Xu stands as guarantor on behalf of the Imperial Academy. What is there to fear? Once the deed is done, boundless wealth and glory are guaranteed!"
Thinking this, Yan Weichuan let out another cold snort. "Fine, let's just say he lacks the fortune for it. Besides, the monk may run, but the temple stays put. Once I'm promoted three ranks in the future, I'll drag him out from the army and punish him! Pass my order: press the formation forward, slaughter all those common folk as quickly as possible—"
Suddenly, Yan Weichuan froze.
For outside the ranks, amid the hurricane and swirling grit, he saw a slender figure walking toward him, a pair of golden pupils gleaming brightly through the sand and wind.
"Who goes there!"
Bolstered by the military formation, Yan Weichuan's divine intent was exceptionally sharp, and he instantly felt an overwhelming pressure surging from those golden pupils.
Yan Weichuan hurriedly drew his blade from its sheath.
*Clang!*
The next moment, he saw a headless corpse clutching a blade tumble from horseback. A fountain of blood sprayed into the wind, carrying a pungent stench of gore.
*Who is that... Why does it look a bit like me?*
His thoughts ended there.
Only then did the shockwave and sonic boom caused by Wang Ping's body crossing the formation in the blink of an eye arrive late, blasting billowing torrents of air around him.
*Thud!*
The headless corpse hit the ground with a dull thud. Wang Ping held Yan Weichuan's severed head by the hair, gazing indifferently at the surrounding soldiers of the Tabai Battalion.
"Who wants to be next?"
Chapter 71