"Right, I'm with the Luoshui Guards now. I'm not a constable anymore."
"Oh, that explains it. It's not the imperial capital, so I was wondering why catching an ancient cultivator would fall under a constable's jurisdiction." Fifth Elder wasn't surprised—or rather, what he cared about right now was when they would catch up to that Great Yu cultivator.
"What are the Luoshui Guards?" Lu Yang asked, struggling to communicate with Meng Jingzhou through divine sense.
When it came to Great Xia's official posts, he knew far less than Meng Jingzhou.
Li Haoran and Qin Yanyan listened in curiously with their divine sense as well. Actually, Qin Yanyan had heard about it from her mother, but she still didn't know as much as Meng Jingzhou.
"The Luoshui Guards are a special organization established by the Great Xia Dynasty, dedicated specifically to apprehending cultivators who commit heinous deeds—demonic cultists, wicked cultivators who bully others, ancient cultivators who refuse to follow the rules, and so on.
"Do you still remember the strange tale of Buyi Town? After we fled with the Sect Master, we reported what happened in Buyi Town to the imperial court, and the court dispatched the Luoshui Guards to clean up the aftermath.
"After the Immortal Cult's headquarters was breached, the task of rooting out their various branch halls was also carried out by the Luoshui Guards.
"I've heard of this Constable Yu before. He used to be one of the four chief constables of the imperial capital. The court probably saw that his cultivation was high, his experience seasoned, and his methods shrewd, so they transferred him to the Luoshui Guards.
"The rulers within the Luoshui Guards are known as the Nine Palaces. Given his seniority and cultivation, he should be one of the Nine Palaces."
"That strong?!"
Qin Yanyan hadn't expected that the person who suddenly boarded the flying shuttle to ask Fifth Elder for help was such an important figure. Dedicated to hunting down wicked cultivators, he was naturally rich in combat experience and possessed top-tier cultivation even among the Body Integration stage.
"Oh, that's pretty impressive." Lu Yang, on the other hand, didn't feel much. He listened to the Immortal Fairy recount ancient dark history every single day, where the baseline was an immortal. A mere Body Integration stage didn't impress him.
Li Haoran didn't react as strongly as Qin Yanyan either. As a disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect, which of the elders he interacted with every day wasn't among the very best of the Body Integration stage?
The four of them stopped communicating via divine sense. The flying shuttle's speed had reached a point where any divine sense projected outward immediately dispersed, making communication impossible.
Fifth Elder and Yu Qian looked completely at ease, even having the leisure to chat.
Yu Qian wasn't in a hurry either; if even Fifth Elder couldn't catch up, no amount of effort on his part would do any good.
"By the way, once we catch up, no need to show any restraint. He committed murder."
"What guts!" Hearing this, Fifth Elder's temper flared. Stamping his foot hard, he burst with azure flames, and the flying shuttle's speed shot up another two notches.
The Great Yu cultivator suddenly sensed imminent disaster. Looking back, he saw a flying shuttle wreathed in azure flames hurtling straight toward him.
"What the hell is that?!" His expression changed drastically. This flying shuttle's speed was simply absurd; he would readily believe it if someone said a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator was chasing him.
The flying shuttle was flying too fast. He had no chance to react before its sharp tip slammed violently into his chest.
The flying shuttle was a flying treasure painstakingly forged by Fifth Elder—sturdy and near-indestructible. Flying at a speed approaching the Tribulation Transcendence stage, the destructive power it produced was easy to imagine.
*Boom—boom—boom—!*
After smashing clean through three large mountains, the flying shuttle finally pinned the Great Yu cultivator to the cliff face of a fourth peak, billowing dust and smoke filling the air.
Following behind, the Luoshui Guard Old Chu stared dumbfounded. "That's Zhou Xin's shuttle!"
Only now did he recognize where the shuttle had come from.
"Competing in speed with me?" Fifth Elder gave a cold snort and jumped down from the flying shuttle.
Fifth Elder had intentionally held back, avoiding crushing the Great Yu cultivator to death on impact.
The Great Yu cultivator's chest had been pierced by the tip of the shuttle, leaving a gaping hole. Spitting up mouthfuls of blood, he struggled to tap into the power of rules.
[I hereby establish the rule: Let the mountains here transform into mountain gods and serve at my command...]
Yu Qian sneered and knocked him unconscious with a single punch.
Using rule power right beneath his nose—did the fellow take him for good-for-nothing deadweight?
"So it's Elder Zhou Xin! No wonder Yu Qian said he was going to find help." Old Chu arrived on the scene and heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing the Great Yu cultivator already unconscious and bound in chains by Fifth Elder.
"Chu Dalong!" Fifth Elder had worked with the Luoshui Guards many times and recognized practically all of their Body Integration cultivators.
Old Chu's face darkened. "How many times do I have to tell you? I changed my name to Chu Long."
"This scoundrel seems to know a closely guarded secret of vital importance. Thank you so much this time. Capturing him is an enormous help! When we have time, I'll buy you some drinks!" Yu Qian cupped his fists in gratitude.
"Don't talk about thanks. It's rare that I get to speed legally," Fifth Elder said, thoroughly pleased with his joyride. "Next time you run into someone you can't catch, just call me. I guarantee I'll catch them!"
"These chains seal all his magical power. Consider them a gift from a righteous citizen."
The Luoshui Guards possessed similar tools, but their efficacy could hardly compare to something produced by a grandmaster craftsman like Fifth Elder.
Fifth Elder gave a kindly reminder: "By the way, just to be safe, since this man holds a closely guarded secret, you'd better bring a few more Body Integration cultivators to escort him back. It wouldn't do if someone ambushed you along the way and broke him out."
"All right, I'll call for backup right away." Yu Qian nodded and released a talisman into the sky. Before long, two more Body Integration cultivators flew over.
These two Body Integration cultivators clearly recognized Fifth Elder as well. After brief greetings, the four Luoshui Guards escorted the Great Yu cultivator back to court.
"Alright, let's head back. Matters involving ancient cultivators aren't something you can get involved with yet; it's too dangerous. Wait until you reach Soul Formation." Fifth Elder called to the four youngsters, telling them not to dwell on it.
Before they departed, several figures flew over from the distance. Employing earth-element spells, they set about repairing the mountains breached by the flying shuttle.
Rock and soil floated through the air, systematically filling the gaping holes in the mountains.
Next, they gathered the uprooted trees that had been blasted away. For those still alive, they used the *Tree Planting Art* to replant them; for those snapped in half, they planted new trees.
"Who are those people?" None of the four had ever seen such a thing.
Fifth Elder explained, "Oh, they're the imperial court's cleanup crew. Your cultivation isn't high enough yet, so you can't cause world-shattering destruction. Once your cultivation is higher, a few casual moves will punch holes through mountains, crack open the earth, and sever rivers.
"If left unattended, the landscape would change by the day, and within a few years, the map of Great Xia would have to be completely redrawn.
"To prevent this, the Great Xia Dynasty gathered a group of cultivators specialized in terrain restoration, all adept in earth- and wood-element spells.
"This arrest was official business, so I'm not held responsible for the shuttle damaging the mountains; the court cleans up after us. But if it were a private altercation, I would either have to repair the damaged terrain myself or spend spirit stones to hire people to fix it.
"So once your cultivation reaches a certain level, to avoid trouble, you either fight in an arena or take the battle into the sky.
"Of course, if you're fighting demonic cultivators, you aren't held liable for terrain damage.
"Actually, the rule requiring terrain restoration after battles originated from an incident twenty thousand years ago.
"The provincial governor who governed Qingzhou—the head of the province—found that a city in the neighboring province was extraordinarily prosperous, so he started pondering how to make Qingzhou just as bustling.
"It so happened that his cultivation was quite high—at the Tribulation Transcendence stage. So he came up with a brilliant idea and brought in a good friend, who was also at the Tribulation Transcendence stage.
"The two clashed with tremendous commotion, causing the landscape to shift. Under the guise of a battle, they literally shoved the bustling city from the neighboring province into Qingzhou's borders.
"When the imperial court learned of this, they found there wasn't a single law on the books regarding such a scenario, making it hard to penalize. Thus, they issued a regulation: whenever high-level cultivators fight, they must restore the terrain to its original state."
Lu Yang: "..."
*You high-level cultivators truly have endless tricks up your sleeves.*
Chapter 333