Everyone Is Scheming

Outside Buyi Town, five Body Integration experts were locked in combat, a battle that had already raged for five days. The four ancient Body Integration cultivators maintained control over their domains, preventing the combat's shockwaves from leaking out, while Daoist Buyu expanded his own domain, launching ferocious attacks. "Damn it, how did we end up facing the most difficult type—a sword cultivator!" One of the Body Integration cultivators frowned. Throughout history, sword cultivators possessed the most formidable offensive power. In their very first encounter with a contemporary Body Integration cultivator, they had run into a sword cultivator. Their luck was atrocious. All four of them were in the late Body Integration stage or at peak Body Integration; their lineup could not be called anything less than formidable. They coordinated seamlessly, having never met a rival at the Body Integration stage. Yet against Daoist Buyu, they could not gain the slightest advantage. A single misstep could even cost them their lives. To be sure, this was partly because they had to maintain the rules of Buyi Town and had not yet completely awakened from their long slumber. Even so, it demonstrated how terrifying Daoist Buyu was. "Even in our era, a Body Integration sword cultivator didn't possess such skill!" Another Body Integration cultivator spat out a mouthful of essence blood, his aura fluctuating erratically. He had carelessly taken a sword strike just now and needed to concentrate on healing his wound. "Fortunately, there are four of us and only one of him. A protracted battle favors us. Drag it out for another ten days, and I refuse to believe he'll still be so full of vigor!" "Is everything fine inside Buyi Town? If someone exploits the rules and finds a legitimate way to leave Buyi Town, we'll suffer a backlash." Daoist Buyu's method of cleaving through the rules of Buyi Town with sword qi was obviously not within the scope of "legitimate." "What are you afraid of? Old Fifth is the town mayor. Even if it's via body seizure, he isn't someone two little brats can handle." "True." Remembering that Old Fifth was in Buyi Town, the four relaxed, taking their time to wear Daoist Buyu down. Overhearing this, Daoist Buyu felt a twinge of worry for Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou. *I told them to stay put and behave in Buyi Town. They should be obedient, right?* Thinking of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou in Buyi Town, Daoist Buyu figured they were well-behaved, obedient kids, so he took his time fighting the four. Xiaoyun certainly wouldn't rest easy letting him take Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou away; given enough time, she would come looking for him. "One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords!" Daoist Buyu roared, seemingly about to unleash his full power to end the fight swiftly, giving the four quite a scare. One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords had been illustrious even in the Ancient Era, so naturally they knew this technique. Daoist Buyu raised his sword high. Golden sword qi gleamed as dazzlingly as the sun. With a flick of the sharp blade, ten thousand avatar swords manifested, each one solid and indistinguishable from the real thing. The ten thousand swords bore down like a roaring mountain and a crashing tsunami; their might could well be imagined. "Be careful, he's making a desperate bid!" one of them warned. Daoist Buyu shifted his sword technique once more: "Man and Sword as One!" His figure vanished completely, merging seamlessly into a sword. There were a full ten thousand swords here. The four had no clue which sword Daoist Buyu had merged with, completely unable to find him. The four were so exasperated they wanted to vomit blood. They had never heard of stalling for time like this! "And you have the nerve to call yourself a sword cultivator!" ... [Buyi Town Yamen Runner Rules] [Rule 1: Those wearing black clothes are people of the yamen. Once put on, they cannot be taken off.] [Rule 2: You may call out to people at will. The neck of anyone you call will snap.] [Rule 3: There are only fifty yamen runners and one town mayor in the yamen. If you see anyone else, please ignore them.] [Rule 4: From the Hai hour to the Chen hour, you must remain in the yamen.] [Rule 5: Your only food is meat buns. Going three days without eating will result in death.] [Rule 6: The town mayor has only one head and two arms.] [Rule 7: If you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or grow black hair on your arms, and do not return to normal within one shichen, you may disregard Rule 4 and immediately proceed to the ancestral hall.] [Rule 8: You will not see the town mayor from the Hai hour to the Chen hour. If you do, firmly believe it is an illusion.] [Rule 9: If one hundred people have their necks snapped because of you, you may choose whether to leave or remain in Buyi Town. If you leave Buyi Town, you will lose all memories of it.] [Rule 10: Provided it does not violate the above rules, you must obey the town mayor's orders.] [Rule 11: In the center of town stands a three-hundred-year-old great locust tree. From the Hai hour to the Chen hour, the great locust tree turns into the ancestral hall.] "We finally know where the ancestral hall is," Meng Jingzhou said with a grin. The two had originally planned to stir up more trouble just to uncover the location, but now it was simple. This was an entirely unexpected boon. Lu Yang's focus was on another detail. After all, they had gone to great lengths to get their hands on the Buyi Town Yamen Runner Rules precisely to track the town mayor's movements. "This is a bit tricky. The rules say: [From the Hai hour to the Chen hour, you must remain in the yamen] and [You will not see the town mayor from the Hai hour to the Chen hour. If you do, firmly believe it is an illusion]. That means from the Hai hour to the Chen hour, the town mayor isn't at the yamen." Without knowing where the town mayor was, there was a risk of running into him on the way to the ancestral hall. "We can't confront the mayor recklessly. He probably has more than just one ability, and we have no idea how much power he has." "We have to avoid him as best we can." Suddenly, Lu Yang seemed to realize something. "Did you notice? From the Hai hour to the Chen hour, the town mayor isn't at the yamen, while during this period the thatched cottages and the inn are safe. That leaves only the streets as dangerous!" "And what's on the streets? Only the monster! It's very likely that the town mayor is the monster!" Meng Jingzhou frowned. "But look, the rules also say: [The town mayor has only one head and two arms]. Does the monster look like that?" Lu Yang nodded. "Do you remember the shadow outside the window we saw on the first night? It was two stories tall, and its upper body looked human. That doesn't conflict with the rule's description." "The rules don't describe what the lower body looks like!" Meng Jingzhou made up his mind. "We won't go back to the inn at the Hai hour. We'll wait right by the great locust tree. As soon as it turns into the ancestral hall, we charge inside, smash the Buddha statue, toss the jade pendants in, and then split up to rush back to the inn." By splitting up, even if one of them encountered the monster, the other would be safe. That would ensure at least one of them made it. "The monster might not even dare eat us. Our lives are bound to our soul lamps. The moment we die, the soul lamps will go out, and our sect will send people. These Body Integration cultivators will definitely die!" Lu Yang seemed to be telling Meng Jingzhou, but in truth, he was speaking for the omniscient town mayor to hear. The two arrived at the great locust tree at the center of town. Time ticked away second by second. "The Hai hour arrives—!" Accompanied by the night watchman's cries and the clanging of his gong, the space around the great locust tree warped, gradually transforming into an old wooden ancestral hall. Outside the ancestral hall were written the words: [Buyi Town Ancestral Hall Rules]. Tense to the extreme, both instinctively reached for the jade pendants at their waists, only for their expressions to change drastically. "The jade pendants are gone!" both shouted in unison. Just then, a muffled voice came from inside the ancestral hall. "Heh heh, two ignorant, impudent children. If you could take advantage of the chaos to find the paper inscribed with the [Buyi Town Yamen Runner Rules], couldn't I order the yamen runners to take advantage of the chaos and steal your jade pendants?" Buyi Town Yamen Runner Rules, Rule 10: [Provided it does not violate the above rules, you must obey the town mayor's orders.]