Fang Qingyun yawned out of sheer boredom. Less than an hour remained before the grand festivities of the Spring-Plucking Festival began. Fortunately, they had made preparations well in advance, and contingency plans for all kinds of emergencies were in place. So far, the festival had proceeded without any incidents.
During the day, Fang Qingyun had heard that an elephant fell into the water and then flew right back out. He sent men to issue a warning: flying was forbidden within the commandery without permission as it was far too dangerous; furthermore, bringing a demon beast into the city required registration, so the owner obediently took the elephant to register it.
Fang Qingyun had spent the entire day dealing with trivial matters just like this.
"I just hope nothing goes wrong tonight. No one lighting bonfires and setting the mountain forests ablaze, no stampedes from crowds jostling to watch street plays, no one getting jealous and brawling in the streets..."
Fang Qingyun muttered under his breath, listing accidents that had actually occurred in past years.
"Qingyun, I'm heading out first," Commandery Governor Li called out to Fang Qingyun before departing.
"Take care, sir." Fang Qingyun treated Commandery Governor Li with even greater deference than usual. He had heard that no official was being parachuted in from above this time, and that his ability to succeed Li as governor was thanks to Li's glowing recommendations.
A favor like that could not be forgotten.
By rights, Commandery Governor Li did not need to be present during the Spring-Plucking Festival, but showing up demonstrated his diligent dedication, which made for good publicity.
Li had always guarded his reputation jealously. He had long realized that speaking pleasant words made promotion far easier than actually doing real work.
Promotions also required a certain cultivation realm; this was an unspoken rule of officialdom.
*Soon. Once I break through to the Nascent Soul stage today, both my status as commandery governor and my position as branch master will transform.* At the thought, Li's footsteps grew noticeably lighter.
He ducked into a narrow alleyway. First he shifted his facial features, then donned a mask. That way, even if someone managed to strip off the mask, they would take the altered face for his true appearance, never suspecting his identity as Commandery Governor Li.
Straddling both the righteous and demonic paths, caution was essential.
With his innate talent, he never could have reached the late Golden Core stage in the first place. It was only by playing both sides that he gained access to resources far beyond ordinary imagination, making him what he was today. Over the past decade, however, he had hit a bottleneck. Normal methods would never bring him to the Nascent Soul stage. In order to advance both his status and his cultivation, he had turned his thoughts to the Reverse Lifespan Formation.
*Strange. The Inspecting Emissary should have arrived in Yanjiang Commandery before noon today. Why hasn't he shown up yet?*
Commandery Governor Li—or rather, Branch Master Chu once the mask was on—was rather dissatisfied with the Inspecting Emissary's lack of punctuality. He had specifically told the emissary to arrive before noon, promising a surprise.
The so-called surprise was activating the Reverse Lifespan Formation together with the emissary, advancing both of their realms simultaneously.
*Could something have happened? To think I waited until the crowds peaked just to activate the grand formation. Ah well, if he won't come, I'll advance my realm on my own.*
Mount Song was remote and choked with wild growth; its mountain paths were merely tracks beaten out by travelers over time. Those who had come to enjoy the Spring-Plucking Festival would never bore themselves by venturing out here.
Branch Master Chu concealed his aura and made his way toward Mount Song. The farther he went, the sparser the sightseers became, until at the mountain's foot, not a soul remained.
Eventually, he halted in a flat clearing. Talismans hung from the surrounding tree branches, slightly different from ordinary Reverse Lifespan Talismans, serving as the formation eye.
He sat down cross-legged and adjusted his state, quietly waiting for the moment the grand formation would ignite. He had already dispatched six deacons to carry out the essence blood sacrifice task. Counting the time, it should be right now!
"Reverse Lifespan Formation, rise!" Branch Master Chu lifted both palms toward the heavens, activating the array.
Centered on him, the silent power of the formation rippled outward—only to come to an abrupt halt at a certain point.
"Someone pulled up a pennant!" Branch Master Chu froze for a moment, but quickly realized what had happened.
This was no accidental removal of one or two pennants. The culprit definitely possessed knowledge of the Reverse Lifespan Formation; otherwise, they could never have struck with such pinpoint precision!
*Who was it?! Someone from the authorities? No, nothing within the local government could escape my eyes.*
*Some unknown visitor? Or could it be... Lu Yang, who has seen the Reverse Lifespan Formation before!*
Lu Yang was completely unorthodox in how he acted; he was fully capable of pulling off something like this!
Branch Master Chu's eyes turned icy. This was tantamount to cutting off his path forward—a torment worse than death!
"My, Branch Master Chu, is that really what you think of me?" Lu Yang's languid voice rang out nearby.
"Lu Yang!" The moment Branch Master Chu saw him, fury flared within him. "Don't think I can't kill you just because the Cult Master thinks highly of you! Demonic cultivators dying in accidents is an everyday occurrence. Give me one good reason why you did this!"
Lu Yang pondered for a moment, then replied earnestly, "Didn't you tell me to stir up trouble during the Spring-Plucking Festival? I figured the biggest trouble I could stir up was assassinating the commandery governor. And what do you know? What a coincidence! We stalked the governor for several days, only to discover that you are the governor.
"I figured a man ought to finish what he starts, so I might as well just bump you off. Besides, isn't insubordination a proud tradition of our demonic cult?" Lu Yang said with a chuckle.
"You're courting death!" Branch Master Chu erupted with rage.
"How could I be? I still want to live forever and never grow old."
"A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator dares to spout such insolence before me? Die!" Enraged, Branch Master Chu struck out with a palm. The horrifying gale from his palm was utterly destructive; any trees caught in its path were instantly pulverized to dust!
Lu Yang used Shrinking the Earth to escape into the distance, dodging the strike. Branch Master Chu stamped his right foot violently onto the ground. Like an earth dragon turning over, the entire ground surged upward, tossing Lu Yang out as well.
Lu Yang's heart skipped a beat. *So this is a late Golden Core cultivator; a single stomp tossed me right out.*
"Tsk, what a tough nut to crack."
Branch Master Chu moved like rushing thunder, closing in on Lu Yang in an instant. His hands formed a fist seal, the fist winds howling as he sought to crush Lu Yang into paste.
The Green Blade Sword horizontally blocked in front of Lu Yang, edge turned upward. If Branch Master Chu dared smash down, the sword would sever the bones of his fist!
Branch Master Chu immediately pulled back his fist and lashed out with a kick. Having anticipated this, Lu Yang kicked out as well. As their feet collided, Lu Yang rode the momentum and flew backward!
Branch Master Chu moved to strike again, only to find that his entire pool of spiritual energy seemed shackled—he couldn't muster even a shred of it.
"A Spirit-Restricting Array just like the ones in the dungeon! You truly do understand formations!" Branch Master Chu glared fixedly at Lu Yang. Even if he couldn't use spiritual energy, his physical defense was so immense that Lu Yang couldn't harm him in the slightest!
The Spirit-Restricting Array had been laid down beforehand by Lan Ting; Lu Yang's goal had been to lure Branch Master Chu right into it.
Lu Yang smiled and waved goodbye to Branch Master Chu.
Branch Master Chu surveyed his surroundings but found nothing amiss. He jerked his head up, only to see a flying boat suspended directly above him.
It was the flying boat Meng Jingzhou had just bought from the chamber of commerce.
It was night now, and Mount Song was so dark one could barely see human silhouettes. Otherwise, Branch Master Chu would have realized long ago that he was standing in a shadow.
Spiritual energy could not be used in the airspace above the Spirit-Restricting Array either. Deprived of power, the flying boat plummeted rapidly, and Meng Jingzhou leapt off with a parachute strapped to his back.
The flying boat was massive. Stripped of spiritual energy, Branch Master Chu's speed was restricted, leaving him unable to dodge. Lu Yang had calculated the distance in advance and retreated far away.
Like a meteorite, the flying boat plummeted from low altitude, crashing down toward Branch Master Chu!
Boom!
The flying boat smashed into the ground, kicking up endless clouds of dust and sand. The thunderous roar sent tremors shuddering through the whole of Mount Song.
The vessel seemed to be packed with explosives as well. The instant it hit, the explosives detonated, sending flames soaring into the sky with a deafening blast!
Lu Yang gave Meng Jingzhou a thumbs-up. "Being rich really is great. Buying a flying boat on a whim!"
Meng Jingzhou returned the thumbs-up. "If the merchants hadn't had only one flying boat in stock, I would've bought several more!"
No magic treasure in the entire chamber of commerce could match the raw destructive power of a flying boat hurled straight down from the sky.
Meanwhile, Fang Qingyun, who had just been basking in the peaceful tranquility of the night, watched a flying boat crash down and nearly suffered a heart attack.
"Are you messing with me?!"
Chapter 99