Lord Lu’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he immediately shouted, "Master Xu, I am right here!"
Fang Chen turned around to look at the newcomers.
These people were all dressed in bright red tight-fitting martial uniforms, with long sabers at their waists and gauze caps about a foot tall on their heads. In the capital of Daxia, there was only one group of people who dressed like this—the Blade Guard.
The Blade Guard was not an office handed down from antiquity; rather, it was established ten years ago by the decree of the current emperor. Elite troops were handpicked from the military and various major martial sects to form a force deployed across every province and prefecture of Daxia.
The Blade Guard held an extraordinary status, answering only to the commands of their superior officers within the bureau. When facing high-ranking officials from other official departments, they were not required to obey their orders.
Consequently, the Blade Guard acted with extreme overbearance, paying no heed to reason whatsoever, which caused many to fear them like tigers and dare not easily offend them.
There were two Blade Guard bureaus in the Daxia Capital: one in the inner city, and one in the outer city.
After all, this was the capital. The Blade Guard in the inner city usually kept a relatively low profile, tending only to their proper duties without meddling in the affairs of other official departments, and they were not seen very often.
The outer city was a different story. The outer city Blade Guard patrolled the streets day and night, and practically all matters, big and small, fell under their jurisdiction. Their words carried more weight than anyone else's!
"So it is Master Xu."
Seeing who had come, Yuan Zhuang cupped his fists with a smile that did not reach his eyes.
The other party, however, cast a cold glance at Yuan Zhuang. "Yuan Zhuang, I remember telling you a few years ago that when you come to handle business in my outer city, you need to give our bureau a heads-up. I heard that you brought people here to beat up law-abiding citizens for no reason. Is this true?"
"Law-abiding citizens? Are you talking about this person?"
Yuan Zhuang pointed at Lord Lu on the ground. "If he is a law-abiding citizen, then I am a great benefactor of ten lifetimes."
"Spare me the nonsense. Since things can't be made clear here, you will all come back to the bureau with this official. Men, take them all away!"
Master Xu gave a grand wave of his hand.
The Blade Guard behind him immediately rushed forward, intending to take everyone back to the bureau together.
Seeing this, Xu Ge stepped in front of Fang Chen, staring coldly at the Blade Guard before him. "My Heir is going nowhere."
"Audacious!"
The Blade Guard drew their sabers in unison, their gazes chilling as they locked onto Xu Ge.
In an instant, the small courtyard was filled with murderous intent.
"Master Xu, this man is Wind and Cloud Sword Xu Ge. You must be careful; this subordinate was careless and fell victim to his tricks."
Lord Lu quickly spoke up.
"Wind and Cloud Sword Xu Ge?"
Master Xu furrowed his brow and looked at Xu Ge. "As a wanderer of the jianghu, you dare cause trouble in the capital? Could it be that you think your mere Qi Burst Peak cultivation allows you to stand against my Blade Guard?"
"Master Xu, judging by your waist badge, you are a Centurion of the bureau, aren't you?"
Fang Chen suddenly smiled.
Master Xu glanced at Fang Chen and suddenly felt that the person before him looked a bit familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
"A bureau Centurion holds the same rank as a Dahua Temple Investigator, but it seems you don't hold your peers in any regard. You come here and want to arrest a peer along with the rest?
You Blade Guard act far too overbearingly."
Fang Chen chuckled and shook his head.
"Whether the Blade Guard act overbearingly or not is not something you are qualified to judge."
Master Xu sneered. "Which aristocratic young master are you? If you have nothing to do, you should stay in the inner city. What's the point of hanging around with scum like Yuan Zhuang? As for this outer city, you had better not come here again."
"Master Xu, it seems you've stayed in the outer city for too long—you don't even recognize the Military God Fang. With eyesight like yours, this subordinate is rather worried about whether your official career ahead will be smooth sailing."
Yuan Zhuang put on a sarcastic sigh.
Military God Fang?!
At this, not only did Master Xu's expression change drastically, but even Lord Lu and his subordinates on the ground felt their bodies shake violently before they stared at Fang Chen in sheer disbelief.
Mother Wu, whose arm was still being held by Xu Ge, went weak in the knees and almost collapsed to the ground on the spot.
"Elder brother, I heard Father say that the Blade Guard were impeached by all the officials and lost their law enforcement rights in the inner city precisely because they used to be too overbearing. Now it seems that not only are they overbearing, but I'm afraid their hands aren't very clean either."
Fang Zhiuxue said to Fang Chen.
Elder brother?
Lord Lu and the others looked at Fang Zhiuxue, and after being stunned for a moment, their bodies couldn't help but tremble uncontrollably.
They had just flirted with the Military God Fang's younger sister?
"M-Military God Fang, this humble subordinate failed to recognize you just now. I beg the lord to forgive this offense."
Master Xu suddenly cupped his fists, bowed, and offered repeated apologies, his eyes flashing with a trace of lingering terror as he stared at the floor.
No wonder the other party looked so familiar—he was none other than the Military God Fang who had wiped out the Qingsong Kingdom martial artists clean as a whistle a short while ago!
You must know that even their Blade Guard had to give those Qingsong Kingdom martial artists a wide berth upon seeing them!
During this period, that incident had even become the talk of the town among the bureau's tea-drinking circles.
"Centurion Xu, is this Lord Lu one of your men?"
Fang Chen eyed him up and down.
Centurion Xu felt a slight jolt in his heart and quickly lowered his voice. "The Military God Fang misunderstands. This person merely deals with us frequently, and this subordinate is not well-acquainted with him."
Not well-acquainted?!
Lord Lu froze for a moment. Just last night they were drinking and making merry together, and today they were not well-acquainted?
"Do you know why I came here today?"
Fang Chen asked again.
As he spoke, he kept sizing up Centurion Xu, seemingly trying to read some clues from his expression.
Yuan Zhuang was also suspecting whether Centurion Xu was involved in this matter, staring at him without blinking.
"This subordinate does not know..."
A flash of blankness crossed Centurion Xu's eyes.
"Lord Yuan, fill him in."
Fang Chen said faintly.
Yuan Zhuang slowly recounted the events. By the time he had explained roughly what had happened, Centurion Xu's face had grown somewhat pale; he sensed that he had somehow been dragged into some incredible affair.
"As soon as we arrived here, this Lord Lu came forward to pick a fight and even flirted with my younger sister. Then, not long after, Centurion Xu arrived.
I wonder what relation Centurion Xu has with the missing brother and sister?"
Fang Chen said indifferently.
Centurion Xu's expression shifted repeatedly before he hastily lowered his voice. "Military God Fang, this subordinate merely received word that someone was brawling and causing trouble here, which is why I rushed over in a hurry. As for the rest of the matter, this subordinate truly knows nothing about it."
"Oh, since you merely interfered in this by accident, then tell me, how should this Lord Lu be dealt with for flirting with my sister and threatening the Dahua Temple bailiffs not to come to Kuilong Street, on pain of having both legs broken?"
Fang Chen said.
"Military God Fang, this petty one was blind and failed to recognize Mount Tai, offending the Military God Fang. I beg the Military God Fang to spare this petty one!"
Lord Lu flipped over and knelt on the ground, his voice trembling slightly.
Centurion Xu glanced at him, a flicker of viciousness crossing his eyes, and lowered his voice to Fang Chen. "This subordinate will drag him back to the bureau for a thorough interrogation, and will definitely give the Military God Fang a satisfactory account."
"Lord Lu, is it?"
Ignoring Centurion Xu, Fang Chen walked up to Lord Lu and said lightly, "You dropped your manners."
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. The Military God Fang can just call this humble one Little Lu."
Lord Lu trembled all over with fright.
"Who told you to come and find trouble with us, and who told you to threaten the Dahua Temple bailiffs?"
Fang Chen smiled. "Give me a name."
"..."
Lord Lu fell silent.
After a few breaths, he lowered his voice. "This petty one did indeed accept money. The person who gave the money told this petty one to keep an eye on Kuilong Street, and if anyone came to this courtyard, to issue a threat..."
With that, he described the person's appearance, but could not state the person's background.
Upon hearing this, Mother Wu quickly chimed in, "My lord, my lord, the one who gave old woman money was also this person."
The same person, then.
Fang Chen smiled. "Since you didn't give me a name, it seems this matter cannot be settled easily. Lord Yuan, take them all back to the Dahua Temple for a good interrogation. See if they've committed any other crimes, and deal with them all together."
"Understood!"
Yuan Zhuang's spirits lifted, and he immediately barked at the group, "All of you, get up!"
"Centurion Xu, I'll be leaving. No need to see me out."
Fang Chen smiled at Centurion Xu and led his people away.
As he was leaving, Yuan Zhuang glanced at Centurion Xu with a flash of triumph in his eyes. "Centurion Xu, I'm taking this lot back to the Dahua Temple to relieve some pressure off your bureau."
Centurion Xu forced a smile. "Have a safe trip, Lord Yuan."
He watched with his subordinates as Fang Chen and the others left. Only when their figures were completely out of sight did Centurion Xu's expression turn incomparably solemn. Seeing his subordinates whispering and chatting excitedly about Fang Chen, he couldn't help but cold-snort:
"You're all loud-mouthed on ordinary days, why didn't I see any of you make a peep just now?"
"My lord, that was the Military God Fang! How would we dare make a peep? Even the Qingsong Superior Guild was burned to the ground by a single fire of his."
A Blade Guard said with glowing spirit, "That matter was truly satisfying!"
"Yes, yes, so satisfying!"
"I once had the honor of serving in the army commanded by the Military God Fang, but unfortunately, I was later transferred to the Blade Guard. Otherwise, five years ago, I might have had the chance to campaign across the Three Realms Mountain alongside the Military God Fang."
"Then you might have buried your bones at the Three Realms Mountain."
Someone joked.
Centurion Xu wore a heavy expression. He never expected to run into Fang Chen on Kuilong Street today, and what was even more frightening was that, because of Lord Lu, he might have already offended this Military God Fang.
At this thought, Centurion Xu felt uneasy in his heart, always feeling that something was amiss. He hurriedly led his subordinates back to the bureau and reported today's events upward.
Upon hearing the report, the bureau Commander listened and simply nodded, telling him to withdraw.
Not long after, this Commander changed his attire, quietly entered the inner city, and finally stepped into a rather luxurious estate.
The Fang Estate.
Fang Chen didn't have to wait long before Tiedama appeared before him, saying softly, "Heir, Centurion Zhang Shuzhou of the outer city bureau has entered the Minister of Rites' estate."
"I know."
Fang Chen nodded lightly.
Once Tiedama withdrew, his spirit instantly left his body, arriving at the Minister of Rites' estate in the blink of an eye.
In the reception hall.
Fang Chen saw Centurion Zhang Shuzhou of the outer city bureau, and he also saw Qin Dong, the Minister of Rites.
"Minister Qin, you never said that this matter would implicate someone from the Fang family. Take this money back, and do not seek this official out ever again."
Zhang Shuzhou pulled out two bank notes and placed them on the table, speaking coldly.
The denomination of the bank notes was a thousand liang each; two of them made two thousand liang.
This was not a small sum of money.
Qin Dong's complexion turned somewhat pale. "How could it implicate the Military God Fang? What does he have to do with this?!"
"I don't know why a missing maid from your estate initially attracted the investigation of the Dahua Temple, and why, years later, it has now drawn the attention of that person from the Fang family.
This official doesn't care what Minister Qin is up to, but this official does not want to get mixed up in it. Farewell."
With that, Zhang Shuzhou stood up and walked away.
Qin Dong looked a bit absent-minded, a trace of panic flashing in his eyes.
"A dignified minister, yet the mere knowledge that Fang Chen is involved in this has frightened you out of your wits. How ridiculous."
A cold snort rang out as an old woman walked out from behind the screen, looking at Qin Dong with a mocking expression.
"You don't know what kind of person Fang Chen is? Now he has also developed suspicions about this matter. You did this, you should solve it for me!"
Qin Dong looked at the old woman, putting on a bold front.
"Cultivators... It seems there are still quite a few members of the Blood Spirit Cult in the capital."
Fang Chen gazed at the old woman, his expression gradually growing serious.
The aura on the old woman was strikingly similar to that of the Blood Spirit Cult cultivator who had died at the Fang Estate; she should also be at the Qi Refinement Level 4 realm.
Theoretically, this realm was equivalent to a Renxuan Realm Pill Qi Warrior, but in reality, their methods far surpassed those of Pill Qi Warriors. Perhaps only a Dixuan Realm martial artist could measure up to them.
In just a short time, Fang Chen had already discovered the presence of two cultivators in the Daxia Capital. Were there even more? Fang Chen had no way of knowing for the moment.
"What are you afraid of? Fang Chen has only recovered his pill qi cultivation; he is still just a martial artist. I'm afraid he will never understand in this lifetime that there exist people like me in this world."
The old woman sneered, her tone disdainful. "Minister Qin, standing with us means your rise to prominence in this life is predestined. Don't panic over trifles.
Taoist Xue has already gone to pursue Goddess Xiao. Once news of Goddess Xiao's death reaches Qingsong, the Third Prince is bound to die.
The Qingsong Kingdom will inevitably march its troops upon Daxia, and by then, there will be enough sufficient vital blood sent up to our superiors. It's killing two birds with one stone!"
Upon hearing these words, Fang Chen's pupils flared brightly!
Judging by the old woman's words, there was someone above them, and their purpose in Daxia was to gather enough human vital blood?
This Blood Spirit Cult was like a leech, attaching itself to Daxia and continuously draining vital blood to nourish itself?
Aside from this Minister Qin, which other dignitaries in the capital were colluding with the Blood Spirit Cult?
Fang Chen looked coldly at the old woman. He would root these people out one by one, and then eradicate the Blood Spirit Cult cultivators one by one!
"It's not that I'm overreacting. A few days ago, I saw with my own eyes in the palace as Fang Chen struck down a Qingsong Kingdom Qi Control Martial Artist with a single palm!"
Minister Qin's voice trembled. "That flash of thunder turned a living person into charcoal right before my eyes—what kind of method is that?!"
"No matter what, it's just the petty tricks of a martial artist. How can mere inner qi ever compare to spiritual power?"
The old woman sneered disdainfully. She lightly raised her palm, and spiritual power surged within her hand. A fireball abruptly appeared, and the surrounding temperature spiked instantly.
Frightened, Minister Qin quickly stepped back.
"Didn't you see it back then? Old woman's fireball spell can likewise burn a person to charcoal, or even melt iron and refine gold!"
The old woman smiled faintly.
"Taoist magic?"
Fang Chen’s eyes lit up slightly.
He could sense the terrifying power contained within that fireball; it was likely on par with the Violet Lightning Talismans he was currently making. These cultivators certainly were not simple.
It was a pity that what Senior Yunhe had imparted to him was only the introductory volume of the Three Thousand Dao Methods, which contained only the cultivation methods of the Qi Condensation Realm and four types of talismans, with no daoist magic.
That Taoist Xue who had died at his Fang Estate a few days ago seemed to only be versed in talismans and had never wielded such daoist magic, which was why there were no manuals on daoist magic on him.
"Minister Qin, do you think old woman's fireball spell can kill Fang Chen?"
The old woman looked at Qin Dong, a trace of arrogance showing in her eyes.
"It can, it can, it can!"
Qin Dong replied repeatedly, the terror in his heart gradually fading.
Seeing this, the old woman withdrew her daoist magic. "Therefore, you needn't worry about Fang Chen. We keep him around simply to make these waters even muddier.
Today, old woman is making a trip to Longji Market. Going and returning will take about seven days. During these seven days, try not to meet with Fang Chen."
Hearing this, Qin Dong hesitated. "Granny Jinhua, for the past eight years, this subordinate has cooperated with you and been utterly loyal. Exactly when will you impart the method of cultivation to me... If this subordinate had some means at my disposal, why would I need to fear Fang Chen?"
"One hundred thousand strands of vital blood condense into a single Blood Spirit Divine Pill. My task is to contribute ten Blood Spirit Divine Pills to our superiors. Once the task is completed, it will be the time for merits to be rewarded, and someone will bestow upon you the method of cultivation so you can become just like me."
The old woman chuckled softly and turned to leave.
"One hundred thousand strands of vital blood for one Blood Spirit Divine Pill. The battle at Three Realms Mountain gathered six, which leaves four..."
Qin Dong muttered to himself.
He did not know that Fang Chen, sitting right next to him, had turned an extremely grim shade of color.
Fang Chen suddenly realized that the battle at Three Realms Mountain had deep problems. Behind the sacrifice of six hundred thousand soldiers, it was not merely due to his arrogance and overweening pride.
This Blood Spirit Cult likely played some crucial role in it all, while he, a fool, had been kept completely in the dark.
If not for catching sight of the fairy in the scorching sun, which granted him the ability to have his soul leave his body; if not for Senior Yunhe imparting the method of cultivation to him—
Perhaps to this day, he would still only see the surface and remain blind to the truth.
The consequences... simply unthinkable!
"Right now, it looks like the enemy is in the light and I am in the dark, but in truth, they are in the light and I am in the dark. They know I've recovered my cultivation, but they don't know I've stepped onto the path of immortality, nor do they know of the existence of the Violet Lightning Talisman. Even Taoist Xue's death is unknown to them; they still think he is pursuing Goddess Xiao."
Fang Chen calculated silently in his heart.
This was his existing advantage.
How to utilize this advantage to expand it required careful consideration.
Longji Market.
Perhaps it was an opportunity.
Fang Chen's soul appeared in the sky, slowly following the old woman. Seeing her head toward the East City Gate, he had his soul return to his physical body.
Before long, an inconspicuous carriage drove out of the Fang Estate.
"Keep heading straight east."
Inside the carriage came Fang Chen's calm voice. Tiedama, who was driving, nodded slightly. Though he didn't know where Fang Chen was going, his only job was to drive.
"Old Huang, this carriage is a bit small. Bear with it."
Fang Chen smiled at Huang Sihai.
Huang Sihai’s tall and sturdy frame sat inside the carriage, practically occupying the entire space and making it feel cramped, but he smiled without a shred of care:
"Heir, I'm already quite satisfied just being able to come out for some fresh air, let alone traveling with the Heir?"
"Mm, those Might Talismans, Swiftness Talismans, and Vajra Talismans I gave you—if something happens, remember not to skimp. Use your inner qi to activate them and use them all at once."
Fang Chen smiled, nodded, and closed his eyes, his soul leaving his body once more.
Ten miles away from the carriage, the old woman moved like a vigorous steed, flying continuously toward the east. At her speed, she could cover at least sixteen hundred li a day!
A Pill Qi Warrior could probably achieve this as well, but not as effortlessly as her. This was the difference between spiritual qi and inner qi; the two were fundamentally different, with spiritual qi being much higher grade.
"Southwest."
"Take the left path ahead."
"Cross the river."
Every so often, Fang Chen would open his eyes and instruct Tiedama on the route.
Unwittingly, three days passed.
"Stop the carriage."
Fang Chen ordered.
Tiedama brought the carriage to a slow halt. Here in the barren mountains and wild ridges, there was nothing at all.
"Heir, we have already crossed the borders of Daxia..."
Tiedama looked around, his gaze rather vigilant.
"I know."
Fang Chen poked his head out of the carriage, handed a mask to Tiedama, and pointed in a direction: "Put it on, then walk in that direction. When you arrive, remember to hand this thing to the guards."
With that, he handed Tiedama another spirit stone.
The carriage quickly crossed a small ridge, and upon passing it, one was instantly greeted with the sensation of finding a new vistas after a dark willow-shaded path. Not far away, a bustling market town was nestled within a valley.
"A martial artist?"
There were a few guards at the entrance of the valley. One of them caught sight of Tiedama, and his gaze immediately darted toward the inside of the carriage before asking:
"Do you have a Longji Token?"