Chapter Thirty-Eight: Damage Received

  "Master Shu Zu, are you alright?!"

  After Fang Ming left, a figure emerged from the corner, supporting Yu Heng with a worried look on his face.

  As he walked towards the light, it was an old man, dressed as a Taoist priest, who turned out to be Bai He Lao Dao.

  "Let me help you back to your room to rest!" The old Taoist said with a respectful expression.

  Jian Yu Heng nodded, and Bai He only then supported Yu Heng to walk out of the garden, after just a few steps, they arrived at a side house, it turned out that this was actually the White Water Pavilion.

  "Hmm..." Yu Heng sat for a long time, then took out another pill from his bosom and swallowed it, and his complexion improved slightly.

  Turning to the white crane waiting on one side, he said: "This time, thanks a lot! Later, I'll still need your green bird to send a message inside..."

  In his heart, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. Although the land god's status was slightly lower than his own, he didn't expect that his magical powers would be as boundless as mountains and seas, making it difficult to resist. This time, he could be said to have suffered a crushing defeat, with his magical powers greatly depleted. He couldn't even use the Flying Crane Transmission Book, and had no choice but to ask for help from within the sect through his disciple.

  Fang Ming had gained a lot of secrets this time and tested his own skills, feeling very pleased with himself. He was just about to find a place to rest for the night and leave the city early in the morning.

  As I walked to a corner, I heard a voice as if from the ninth heaven:

  "Hehe! Young master, you heard everything I said earlier, right? Then come with sister!"

  A brilliant light flashed, and Fang Ming only felt an extremely strong suction force acting on himself, almost sucking away this divided spirit. In great surprise, the Golden Seal of the Earth floated out, emitting a red glow that burst forth to resist the suction force.

  "You're quite skilled at reverse calculation, unfortunately..." The voice was soft and sweet, but the tone was icy.

  Fang Ming suddenly saw a stream of green air, which seemed to be carrying a small seal, falling vertically and hitting his own golden seal.

  With a loud "crash", the golden seal shattered.

  The suction has surged again, and there is no other way out now that the situation has reached a critical juncture.

  Fang Ming's face turned stern as he shouted: "Disperse!"

  A flash of golden light, and Fang Ming's figure vanished into thin air, leaving behind a faint sound of astonished gasps.

  A white shadow flashed and appeared in Fang Ming's position, only to see a peasant lying on the ground, with a land god image falling from his arms, "pa" cracking sound, immediately turned into flying ash.

  The jade-like person's mouth corners rose with a hint of a smile: "Indeed, he is quite an interesting fellow!"

  At the same time, within the territory of the Land Law, Fang Ming's face turned pale and he spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood fell to the ground and dispersed immediately, carrying with it a faint red aura and a few white wisps.

  Fang Ming's body also shook violently for a moment, and his figure faintly dissipated, making his entire body look somewhat unstable.

  "This time, I've really suffered a great loss!" Fang Ming sighed bitterly. Seeing the urgent situation, he hastily dispersed the attached divine thought, resulting in a huge loss of divine power. Fortunately, it was only a thread of divine energy; if it were his divine soul that had been separated, he would either be in a deep sleep or suddenly go mad.

  "Is the difference between the various ranks of Qi Refiners really this great?"

  Fang Ming regained his composure and muttered to himself, comparing Yu Heng and Su Xia.

  This time, he divided his divine consciousness and brought an additional 5,000 strands of red divine power, stored within the Land God statue, to fully display his divine might and suppress Yu Hengdao.

  But afterwards, against Shang Susu, he seemed to have no power to fight back, although it was not the master himself who took action, and adding that the divine power had been consumed before, but at that time, there were still four thousand threads of divine power left in the land god image, unexpectedly still unable to do anything, and finally everything was scattered.

  The losses this time were as much as 600,000 strands of white divine power, making his heart bleed. This was the biggest loss he had suffered since becoming a god.

  Fang Ming's eyes twitched at the corner, and he suddenly remembered that green gas and the small seal inside. He couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Could it be... the Qi-operated treasure..."

  The sky is already bright.

  Su's convoy has left Anchang County.

  The little crane looked at the increasingly small outline of the county town and said: "Miss, are you just going to let that land god go like this?"

  Su Xia's mouth corners rose with a hint of a smile, she stretched languidly, revealing stunning curves that made Xiao He's face flush red.

  "Since I didn't succeed with one blow, it means that the land god is destined to be the pioneer of the king in this place. This is a great trend, and it cannot be changed. At this time, there is aura on my body, so I can return without any achievement. If I insist on seeking more, I'm afraid it will attract the attention of the heavenly way, which is not worth it! It's better to temporarily withdraw and wait for the opportunity to arise naturally when the trend passes!"

  Su Xia slowly spoke out her reasons, but in her heart, she was still thinking about last night's events.

  Moreover, last night when I wanted to raid its lair, the Taiping Seal unexpectedly let out a long warning cry, indicating that this trip is fraught with great danger. The Taiping Seal is a precious treasure, able to bring good fortune and avoid evil, since it warned me, I couldn't ignore it... These were just thoughts in my mind, not visible on the surface.

  "Miss, where are we going next?" Xiao He asked again.

  "Jingzhou, next is Shu..."

  "Ah? It's really far away..."

  As the master and servant talked, the carriage went further and further away.

  At this time, Fang Ming also received news of Su Xia's departure.

  But this news did not bring joy to Fang Ming.

  Fang Ming's Dharma eye saw that his own aura was moving northward, with a black energy condensing into a cloud-like shape, even taking on a ferocious form, like a fierce tiger coiling around a mountain, making a gesture as if about to pounce, yet hesitating and not attacking, seemingly having some reservations.

  "This dark energy, as if it's coming for me, I really have no power to fight back, and this feeling, is still related to Su Xia..." Fang Ming muttered to himself, his eyes gazing in the direction where Su Xia had left, lost in thought.

  "But for now, the most important thing is to raise one's own status. Whether it's Su Xia's Tao or the matter with Yu Heng last time, they all require crossing over with strength..."

  Thinking of Yu Heng and comparing him with Su Xia, Fang Ming had some ideas about the position and status of the Taoist sect.

  Yuè Héng is the core orthodox transmission, itself pure red.

  Su Xia is a half-step True Person, with a red and yellow body.

  That's really a gathering of aura, it must be the convergence of golden yellow energy, like a high-rise building that stands out. The only question is how much aura can be gathered, if it's just a thin layer, then it's not scary. But if there's a title to be had, and one can borrow the imperial court's aura, then it's terrifying.

  There is also the Bao Baiyun sword, which sounds like a treasure for attacking and defending. In terms of its lethal power, it's probably even stronger than Su Xia's Qing Yin. Although it's unlikely to be taken out of the mountain gate, precautions should still be taken.

  Fang Ming calculated the future changes, but only felt that the future was unpredictable and elusive. At this moment, he had a thousand threads of worry, his mind was in chaos, and he almost vomited blood.

  "This is not good, it's the aftermath of the great loss of divine power. I thought everything was fine, but it seems it still affects my mind. It looks like from now on, I need to be more careful and can't afford to lose focus!" Fang Ming was shocked, then he remembered the reason.

  For now, I can only retreat and repair the damage.

  The great hall fell silent for a moment.

  A few days later.

  On a desolate land, an invisible chase is unfolding before our eyes.

  A sturdy man with a big waist and round buttocks, with a fierce glint in his eyes. Although he was dressed as a farmer, he also had an intimidating aura that made ordinary people feel fearful at first glance.

  But at this time, the great Han was being chased and scurrying about in a fluster.

  "This great Han ran while shouting back: 'Everyone is a ghost, I just ate one person, why are you chasing me so tightly? Don't you know that when doing things, leave a thread, and meet again in the future?'"

  Behind him, a group of dark soldiers, all wearing leather armor and holding weapons, were closely pursuing.

  When he heard this, Wu Chang coldly sneered and said: "Who is in the same class as you? The military officer is a ghost soldier under the land, and he will execute you evil spirits on orders!"

  Dahan listened, his heart chilled. Since the expansion of the land god, the evil spirits in Anchang County had been having a harder and harder time. He had heard that many had already fled to neighboring counties, and he himself had considered doing so, but hadn't expected to be killed at his own doorstep after just a few days' delay.

  Since I knew there was no way out, being caught would be death, so I naturally ran even faster.

  Wu Chang saw him and let out a cold laugh. Seeing that the distance was sufficient, he pulled out a longbow from behind his back.

  He drew his bow and shot an arrow, saying: "Hit!"

  "Whoosh—slap!" The arrow hit the big Han, and he let out a miserable cry as he fell to the ground.

  The dark soldiers caught up and didn't ask about life or death, directly swung their knives and chopped down, preparing to behead with one knife.

  The big Han suddenly pounced and rushed towards the nearest dark soldier, like a mad demon.

  "Ah, I've been waiting for this move!" The dark soldier sneered. He allowed the large Han to pounce on him, striking his leather armor with a loud thud. But in an instant, the dark soldier's long knife had stabbed through the large Han, turning him into a cloud of grayish-black gas.

  When a ghost object dies, it will disperse into the air. Da Han was shot and fell to the ground earlier, but he pretended to be dead for one last blow. This can only deceive newcomers, but the yin soldiers have been through many battles and saw through it long ago.

  At this time, Wu Chang also came up and looked at the dark soldier, saying: "You're not bad, you can be considered a first-class beheading, and when you go back, you will have five big coins as a reward!"

  Yin Bing bowed and said: "This is still thanks to Captain Wu's sharp archery skills, which were able to subdue this man. I do not dare take credit for it!"

  "Haha......" Wu Chang laughed triumphantly, saying: "This bow and arrow, I've made quite a few contributions, the camp commander rewarded me with them, they're worth more than five coins, yours is yours, I won't be greedy for this little thing..."

  The brave warrior should be like this.

  One hundred and fifty people returned to the military camp in Fawu.

  Wu Chang went forward to accept the order, Xie Jin looked at it and said: "Not bad, this Yun Xiao Liu is not a fierce ghost, but also cunning. If you can kill him, it's also a merit, go and get your reward!"

  Wu Chang bowed and said: "I dare not, this is the credit of Colonel Qiao's planning!"

  Xie Jin smiled and waved his hand, letting Wu Chang retreat.

  Then there were officials who came forward, carefully recorded and handed out rewards.

  Fang Ming appointed Xie Jin as the Imperial Martial School Lieutenant, in charge of a battalion. Since then, Xie Jin recruited brave warriors and formed a full battalion, training day and night.

  Fang Ming also issued a military order, asking Xie Jin to surround and annihilate the evil spirits in Anchang County, as well as the mad ghosts. These mad ghosts were those that devoured ghostly souls excessively, becoming ferocious and frenzied evil spirits.

  This is a move to stabilize the Anchang Yin order, and also to let Xie Jin lead the troops to hone in, and to let new soldiers see blood and accumulate experience.

  By today, the evil spirits within Anchang County have been cleaned up more or less.

  Xie Jin finished writing the letter and came to the outside of Fang Ming's study. He said to a servant, "I request an audience with the master, you go and inform him!"

  The servant went into the study and soon came out saying: "The Landlord invites you in!"

  Xie Jin walked in with big strides and saw Fang Ming sitting upright behind the desk, carefully reading a classic book. There was tea and snacks on the table, and Zhen Zhu was waiting by his side.

  Xie Jin knelt down and said: "Your subordinate has seen the master!"

  Fang Ming smiled and put down his book, saying: "Xie Jin, you've come. What's the matter?"

  The pearl made a courtesy and retreated, also closing the door behind her. Fang Ming couldn't help but think to himself, "She's actually quite clever!"

  Xie Jin reported: "Following the military order of our lord, we have largely completed the extermination of the evil spirits today!" As he spoke, he presented a document. Fang Ming took a glance and said, "Very well, tell me more details!"

  "By the order of our lord, from five days ago, we started to execute the evil spirits. Every day, veteran soldiers were sent with new recruits in mixed teams, and all new recruits were dispatched until today. The new recruits have been trained, have discipline, and have gone through battles, no longer fearing fighting."

  "So far, I have hanged fifty-seven mad devils and over a hundred evil spirits. The Anchang region is now completely purified!"

  "Great!" Fang Ming naturally knew that the results were not small, because on top of his aura, another layer of golden light had been added. These human virtues and merits also played a significant role in his recovery and stabilization of his mind, otherwise he wouldn't have come out so quickly.

  "The reward will be verified and sent to those who have made contributions!"

  "This is the master's strict order, how dare you make a mistake!" The military clerk who followed the army, although he heard Xie Jin's military order, could directly report to the master, and Xie Jin couldn't even move his hands.

  "Well, now that this matter is settled, the military camp will reward you with a day of feasting and drinking. You'll receive five taels of silver, go ahead!" This reward wasn't small. Many of the soldiers had been saving up their money and didn't even dare to use it themselves. What Xie Jin received was almost equal to the total amount of rewards his subordinates would get for beheading enemies.

  "Thank you, sir!" Xie Jin bowed and withdrew.