Chapter 230 (3): Dark Clouds Over the City

Chapter 230 (3): Dark Clouds Over the City

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"Terrible news!"

Standing atop the building on the city wall and observing the prefectural city, the old immortal suddenly exclaimed in astonishment. He turned to the confused General Ma and explained, "A huge problem has arisen in the city god hall. By the looks of it, a great demon has unleashed its power and directly obliterated the undecaying gold body of the city god. I need to personally head over to take a look. Otherwise, I won't feel at ease.

"The golden city god is intricately linked with the fortune of Blusher Prefecture, so the predicament of City God Shen Wen has a huge bearing on the future of the prefectural city. If his gold statue is comprehensively destroyed, then the vitality of Blusher Prefecture will be severely damaged even if it manages to overcome this perilous situation!"

The old immortal looked toward the city god pavilion with an anxious expression. He sighed and said with a cold chuckle, "So be it! I'll charge into the area today even if it's a dragon's nest or tiger's den! I might even have to sacrifice my cultivation to see whether I can rescue the severely wounded city god...

"Who would have thought that the troublemaking demons are so powerful? I initially thought that they were simply using a formation to trap the city god. However, to think that they're going as far as to viciously destroy an entire city... General Ma, there's no other option. I'll temporarily leave the east gate of the city to you."

"Elder Huang, should I send a dozen or so elite infantrymen to help you?" General Ma asked in a solemn voice. "There are still several dozen special arrows in the prefectural office, and these arrows are capable of killing demons and fiends."

The old immortal shook his hand and replied, "There's no time. It won't make much difference either."

General Ma was an experienced warrior, after all, so he didn't hesitate at all after hearing this. He cupped his fists and said, "I wish Elder Huang godspeed and victory!"

"Thank you for your well wishes, General Ma!" the old immortal replied with cupped fists. He smiled faintly before jumping down the city wall like a free bird. He fell dozens of meters and landed on the ridge of a house, and he gracefully stood up before dashing forward again. After a dozen or so graceful leaps, he eventually became nothing more than a small speck in the distance. He arrived outside the city god pavilion where the dust was just beginning to settle.

Elder Huang — also known as Immortal Colored Glaze by Old Demon Mi and the middle-aged husband and wife — didn't head inside the city god pavilion straight away. Instead, he went to the large square outside the tall walls in front of the great hall. He slowly walked forward.

He waved his large sleeves, causing a large stack of yellow paper talismans to flutter in mid-air. Smoke billowed from the yellow paper talismans, and they quickly transformed into a dozen or so sword-wielding young women in the blink of an eye. They were dressed in white, and their movements were light and nimble as their slender figures dashed toward the great hall that honored the general who had helped to found Colorful Garment Nation.

When the old immortal walked past the two severely damaged statues of the heavenly officials, the poisonous vermin that had been crawling over them had already disappeared without a trace. He walked inside the great hall. Most of the clay statues here remained largely intact, and Immortal Colored Glaze naturally knew the reason behind this.

There was no deity here, so these mighty-looking clay statues were, in fact, nothing more than just clay statues made by craftsmen. Thus, Old Demon Mi naturally wouldn't spend his time and effort tampering with them. After all, that would be a huge waste of his unique incense offerings.

The sword-wielding young women who had performed on the tall stage in the middle of the lake nimbly dashed to the small square between the god of wealth hall and the Tai Sui hall. One of them moved their mouth slightly, and it was as if they were quietly calling out to someone. However, there was no reply.

Immortal Colored Gaze stepped out the back door of the great hall and stood still. He looked around before frowning and saying, "There's no need to call for her anymore. Your colorful garment sister has already been beaten back to her original form. In fact, even I can't detect her remnant soul. The person who defeated her has a very high cultivation base."

The old immortal suddenly made a waving motion, causing the blood-red sword to instantly fly out from its hiding spot in the crown of the old cypress tree and appear in his hand. Immortal Colored Glaze lowered his head and sniffed the sword. He felt slightly at ease, and this was because he didn't detect any demonic qi on the sword. This was a good sign, as it meant that it wasn't Old Demon Mi who had discovered the abnormalities in this place. It wasn't he who had snatched away the iron essence official seal that appeared like a decorative piece.

He casually tossed the blood-red sword to a young woman in white who had a mole next to the corner of her mouth. He then slowly continued forward. Even though the situation hadn't reached the direst state yet, it wasn't much better than the direst state either. The city god hall had been destroyed, and City God Shen Wen had also been reduced to a pile of rubble. The martial god and the scholarly god had also suffered an identical fate. Meanwhile, the iron essence official seal was nowhere to be seen.

Immortal Colored Glaze's expression was dark, and he contemplated whether it was that mighty figure hiding far behind the scenes who had developed an interest in this seal, the Colorful Garment Nation Blusher Prefecture City God Protection Seal. Was it because of this that the mighty figure had kept things hidden from him and ordered someone to snatch the seal first?

However, the old man quickly rid himself of this thought. There was no need for the mighty figure to do this — most likely. To Qi refiners at the Middle Five Tiers, such a treasure was naturally a valuable item worth as much as a city. These Qi refiners would go as far as to fight with their lives on the line in order to obtain such a treasure.

To that old immortal genuinely standing at the peak of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, however, there was absolutely no need to do this. The seal was nowhere near valuable enough for him to go back on his word and act in such a forceful manner.

The scheme of that person was far, far too grand. He was looking to install chaos and incite a frenzied war between five nations, including Colorful Garment Nation and Ancient Elm Nation. He wanted to hear the drums of war beating in the central region of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and he wanted to see smoke and ashes spreading through the lands.

Immortal Colored Glaze, this heretical wandering cultivator, had a dark expression as he entered the ruins of the city god hall. In the end, he arrived beside a wall that had collapsed outward as a single piece.

Even though the wall was complete and without large cracks, there were a large number of small cracks and dents along its length. The old immortal carefully examined every last detail. There were eighty-one beautiful women dancing with large sleeves illustrated on the wall, but only thirty or so of them remained mostly intact. The old man stomped his feet and lamented, "What a terrible waste!"

After confirming that there was no one around, the old man still ordered the sword-wielding young women to stand guard in different locations. Only then did he squat down and retrieve a small and exquisite bowl with seven brilliant colors.

The bowl was dazzling and bright, and the old man carefully held it in his left hand after taking it out of his sleeve. The surroundings were instantly illuminated by several different colors. This was a spectacular sight.

Immortal Colored Gaze hurriedly waved his right sleeve, slightly suppressing the multi-colored glow illuminating the ground. He silently recited something, and the beautiful women on the wall mural started to slowly move around. They floated out of the wall one after another, funneling into the colored glaze bowl.

The young woman hurriedly leaned down and pulled the curtain back, saying in a happy voice, "Uncle Song, he's my friend, Liu Chicheng, and he's a traveling scholar from White Mountain Nation."

Another head stuck out from the carriage, and Liu Gaohua asked in puzzlement, "Liu Chicheng, didn't you leave the prefectural city long ago? How are you still here? Which young mistress were you teasing and flirting with?"

The old aide hesitated for a moment before deciding to stop the carriage.

If this was a blessing, then he couldn't decline it. If it was misfortune, then he couldn't avoid it.

He could only observe the situation and take action accordingly.

Liu Chicheng rolled his eyes upon hearing the teasing remark of Liu Gaohua, his future brother-in-law. He giddily jogged over. Even though he didn't know why the old monster had suddenly descended from the sky and temporarily returned his body to him, he couldn't be bothered mulling over these things either. In any case, the old monster had promised Liu Chicheng that he would deal with all of the troubles using a single finger as long as Liu Chicheng could convince this carriage to turn around and return to the prefectural city.

Liu Chicheng was in fact still wearing that pink Daoist robe right now, but the old monster had told him that Qi refiners under the 10th tier, including those bullshit Golden Core Tier immortals, wouldn't be able to see through the exquisite illusion technique that he had employed.

Liu Chicheng stood beside the carriage and panted heavily as he asked, "What's wrong? Are you guys fleeing as well? Liu Gaohua, you undutiful son, how can you bear to abandon your parents and leave them in perilous danger like this? There are so many demons causing trouble in the city, so as the son of the prefectural overseer, shouldn't you be leading the charge against them? Or at least raising your arms and calling for action? Shouldn't you be guarding the gate of the prefectural office and refusing to take a single backward step, even if it means death?

"See, I only walked a short distance from the prefectural city before thinking that it was wrong to leave just like this. Just think about it. I'm an outsider, but even I feel like I should sacrifice myself for the sake of righteousness. To be unflinching while dying for the sake of righteousness is the duty of scholars like us..."

The old aide gritted his teeth in anger, and he felt the urge to furiously slap this impoverished young scholar.

Liu Gaohua looked at Liu Chicheng as if he were looking at a retard.

Meanwhile, there was already an intoxicated look in his older sister's teary eyes. She held her hands on her heart, and she felt like Young Master Liu had definitely returned to see her.

Liu Gaohua rolled his eyes and said, "You can return by yourself if you insist. But my sister and I are going to hide somewhere safe."

Liu Chicheng couldn't help but grumble in his mind, Old geezer, what should I do? My brother-in-law isn't heroic or gallant at all. I'm essentially talking to a brick wall.

In the next instant, Liu Chicheng suddenly discovered that he couldn't control his own arms or legs. He "gently" stomped on the official road.

There was a huge boom.

Plumes of dust rose above the official road. Looking over from the city wall, it was as if a yellow flood dragon of several kilometers long had suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Liu Chicheng gulped and cleared his throat. He clasped his hands behind his back, and he tried his best to appear dignified and mighty as he announced, "Truth be told, I, Liu Chicheng, am actually a Golden Core Tier immortal!"

The old aide was shocked, and he was temporarily dazed and rendered speechless.

Perhaps only the most top-notch grandmaster in Colorful Garment Nation — that old sword god living in seclusion — could unleash such a powerful stomp, right?

Was the irresponsible and impoverished young scholar in front of them actually an immortal from the mountains messing around in the mortal world?

Liu Chicheng attempted to stand on his tippy-toes and directly fly onto the carriage. However, his body remained unmoving. In the end, he could only give up and dejectedly climb onto the carriage. After squeezing into the carriage, he sat cross-legged between the brother and sister who were exchanging a glance with each other. Liu Chicheng turned around to look at the excited young woman, and he said with a faint smile, "Miss Liu, sincerity leads to things coming true, am I correct?"

————

Chen Ping'an and Liu Gaoxin arrived on a roof ridge near the prefectural office. Chen Ping'an came to a stop, and the young girl was just about to ask him something. However, Chen Ping'an pointed at the walls and tall buildings of the prefectural office. The young girl looked over, and her heart immediately shuddered. There were numerous powerful bows specially crafted by Mohist cultivators, and all of the arrowheads were directly aimed at the two of them. The dozen or so powerful archers were all dressed in suits of armor from Colorful Garment Nation.

Liu Gaoxin frowned and said, "They look like guards left at the prefectural office by General Ma, so they might not recognize me. Should I shout and explain our identity? Everything will be fine as long as I explain the situation. However, I'm afraid that a lot of time might be wasted if the officials start to interrogate us."

Chen Ping'an looked up at the sky, and he hesitated for a brief moment before replying, "Let's part ways here. You don't need to charge inside too quickly, and you can explain the situation to them when they stop you. However, I need to find my friends as quickly as possible."

The young girl was also a resolute person, and she nodded and replied, "Understood! I'll listen to you, Old Immortal!"

Chen Ping'an took a deep breath before leaping up into the sky. An arrow viciously whizzed over, but Chen Ping'an suddenly rose even higher. He lightly stepped on the arrow and charged toward the prefectural office.