Chapter 1135: Displaying as an example

The grey shadow shrieked. He Lingchuan finally understood its curse this time: “How dare you attack me? My true form will never forgive you!”

He Lingchuan couldn’t help but laugh. “A mere evil spirit, yet you dare claim to be a Celestial Venerable?”

Even the nightmares created by ancient grand immortals had fallen into his hands. Why would he fear an evil spirit seeking revenge?

The grey shadow was incredibly frustrated, crying out, “Why was my spellcasting interrupted?”

If it could have delayed for just two more breaths, it would have been able to infuse all the blood essence of the Feathered Guards into Nangong Yan.

If it could have delayed for two more breaths, it could have transformed Nangong Yan into an incredibly powerful humanoid puppet. With precise control, it would surely have thrashed this so-called envoy from Mou State, making him scramble for his teeth.

If only…

But there were no more ‘ifs’. With a ‘whoosh,’ the grey shadow was sucked into the Divine Bone Necklace.

The Yin Dragon Vortex simultaneously vanished, and the spinning top on the ground reluctantly spun two more times before coming to a halt.

He Lingchuan picked up the spinning top, dusted it off, and then put it away.

Having consumed the grey shadow, the Divine Bone Necklace had at least satisfied its craving and was no longer hot.

Without the grey shadow’s control, the remaining Golden Feathered Guards seemed to awaken from a dream, standing stunned for a few moments. They first looked at Nangong Yan, who had been cut in half, then at He Lingchuan. Only two of them charged forward, shouting and fighting desperately, while the others turned and ran.

He Lingchuan stood up, drew his saber, and advanced to meet them, while simultaneously telling Dong Rui via the Eyeball Spider, “Three of them ran toward your position.”

The battle finally ended.

The setting sun, slanting from the west, pierced through the dim forest, revealing a field of corpses.

The ape beast returned from afar. Dong Rui jumped off its shoulder, clapped his hands, and said, “All cleared. Ugh, those guys in the back kept running around; it was a real pain to finish them off. Not like you, where the battle seemed so easy?”

“My battle was easy?” He Lingchuan twirled his saber, and Fusheng vanished. “How about we switch roles next time? You take the lead in killing?”

The grey shadow was just about to unleash a powerful move but was dispersed by him beforehand, remaining frustrated until its demise.

In truth, He Lingchuan was curious to see how powerful Nangong Yan would have become after consuming all the blood beads. He should have let him spar with the Ghost Ape.

Dong Rui asked, “What exactly was odd about Nangong Yan?”

“He worshiped an evil spirit as a Celestial Venerable,” He Lingchuan said, casually gesturing toward the bodies strewn across the ground. “He surrendered all his Feathered Guards to the evil spirit’s control, making them fearless in battle and hitting whatever they were directed to. No wonder they could run rampant in Bo State.”

The aggressive fear the stubborn, and the stubborn fear the reckless.

In a place like Bo State, an army that coordinates flawlessly and fears no injury or disability would naturally be unmatched.

“This method is certainly unique,” Dong Rui mused, stroking his chin. “If it worked, you wouldn’t have to drill your subordinates every day.”

The Yangshan army trains tirelessly through the harshest winter and summer, never skimping on provisions, all so they can fight as one, moving in perfect unison. But look at Nangong Yan; he achieved that in one fell swoop!

“Nonsense!” He Lingchuan shook his head. “Normal armies all possess primal energy; how could they allow evil spirits to control them?”

Only in a bizarre place like the Glimmering Gold Plain could such bizarre things occur.

“Moreover, this method of commanding an army isn’t a shortcut; it’s a dead end!” It was precisely because Bo State couldn’t unite its people or forge a consensus, and yet desperately sought a quick solution, that they turned to evil spirits.

Entrusting their own lives and the lives of their army to others would only lead to the same fate as Nangong Yan.

Just then, Lingguang also ran back from a distance. He Lingchuan pointed at Nangong Yan on the ground and said, “Don’t let him die.”

Nangong Yan was writhing and wailing.

He had been cut in half by He Lingchuan and wasn’t dead yet; the ground beneath him was stained red with blood. His eyes were still red, but this time they were bloodshot. “Kill me, please, just kill me! Put me out of my misery!”

He cried, tears and snot streaming down his face, reaching out to grasp He Lingchuan’s boots. There was no trace of the Grand Supervisor’s usual dignity.

“Don’t you enjoy bisecting people at the waist or knee the most?” He Lingchuan gave him a light kick, sending him sprawling on his back. “Taste it for yourself. How comfortable is it? Does it feel good?”

He Lingchuan had heard many rumors about Nangong Yan. This Grand Supervisor had a wide array of brutal methods for dealing with ‘offenders,’ rarely granting a quick death, always prolonging their torment. It was said that members of the Mai faction, arrested just days prior, had every bone in their bodies meticulously broken, piece by piece, and wailed for two full days and nights.

That’s why when He Lingchuan bisected Nangong Yan, he was especially careful, avoiding most of the vital internal organs.

“Careful, careful!” Lingguang was frantically trying to staunch the bleeding. This was a bisection at the waist; his master was truly testing him. “If you kick him again, he’ll actually die!”

Such heavy bleeding could easily lead to organ failure.

Another figure emerged from the woods:

Jin Bai also approached He Lingchuan, saber in hand, panting heavily, with blood still dripping from the blade’s tip.

He Lingchuan saw the unusual look on his face—a mix of ferocity and agitation—and understood much, but still asked, “What happened?”

Why was Jin Bai alone? Where were the other Shadowfang Guards?

“My subordinates were all—” Jin Bai pointed his saber at Nangong Yan on the ground, his face filled with grief and indignation. “They were ambushed and killed by him!”

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui exchanged a glance, both feigning surprise. “What?”

Indeed, the Bo State ruler and his ministers had gone mad, even trying to assassinate He Lingchuan, the Mou State envoy. Why would they spare the Shadowfang Guards?

Jin Bai directly pulled Nangong Yan from the ground and demanded, “What exactly happened?”

Nangong Yan was a cultivator, so being cut in half didn’t necessarily mean instant death. Since Lingguang hadn’t given him any painkillers, he was now writhing on the ground in agony. Every slight movement brought an overwhelming, endless surge of pain!

But with such unspeakable agony, he would have been better off dead!

He desperately clung to Jin Bai’s arm, the excruciating pain making him forget the other’s identity. “Please, please, kill me!”

“Why did you falsely accuse us of being rebels? Speak!”

“Someone reported… reported rebels at the Rulin Inn! The Feathered Guards investigated and found evidence!”

“What evidence?”

“Mai Liansheng’s books, and a few strings of ornaments,” Nangong Yan cried out. “The King ordered me to kill you all. Since the Shadowfang Guards were already mistakenly killed, why not eliminate all of you too? We could just say you took the Bright Lantern and were killed in the territory of the Carefree Sect! There would be no witnesses! I was just following orders! Spare me, kill me! Please!”

Seeing him covered in tears and snot, Jin Bai threw him to the ground. “Worthless!”

This man had killed countless people and tortured many brave souls, yet when it was his turn to suffer, he proved utterly pathetic.

He Lingchuan then asked him, “Who is this ‘Celestial Venerable’ you invited to possess you?”

“That’s the Lord of the Screaming Forest, it’s… it’s a clone that the King invited to possess me!” Nangong Yan’s mind was fractured, and he began to babble incoherently. “I am guilty of heinous crimes, I deserve to die a thousand deaths! Please, have mercy, grant me death!”

Jin Bai suppressed the urge to finish off Nangong Yan himself and said to He Lingchuan, “He’s your prey. What do you intend to do with him?”

This feud has escalated greatly.

The feud between Bo State and Mou State, and between King Bo and He Lingchuan.

He Lingchuan had originally just come to complete a mission and mediate, but King Bo wanted him dead.

He, for one, greatly valued reciprocity.

He Lingchuan looked at Nangong Yan, then gazed toward the border of Bo State.

“I have an idea.”

It was almost dark.

Wucheng, on the border of Bo State, typically opened its city gates just before dawn each day.

This morning, the city gate guard, keys in hand, yawned as he went to open the gates. But the moment he looked up, before his mouth could even fully open, he let out a terrified shriek:

A dead body hung from the city gate tower.

Strictly speaking, it was half a body, with a piece of cloth attached to it, bearing four large characters:

Blood for blood!

The city wall was stained red with blood; a few drops trickled down, nearly falling into his gaping mouth.

Soon, the body was taken down by the soldiers and placed on the ground.

Its face was smeared with blood, its hair disheveled, and for a moment, no one could recognize its features.

But the city gate guard held its chin, looked closely at it against the rising sun, then suddenly stumbled backward, scrambling a few steps away:

“G-g-g-grand!”

He stuttered “Grand” for a while before finally managing, “The Grand Supervisor!”

“Which Grand Supervisor?”

The gate officer pointed at the body, his finger trembling like a leaf in the wind, and finally managed to stammer, “It looks like the Feathered… Feathered Guard Grand Supervisor.”

A commotion arose among the crowd, but they didn’t believe him.

“What nonsense are you talking?”

“Dare to curse the Grand Supervisor? Watch your life, dog!”

The city gate guard leaned in for another look, then closed his eyes and turned his head away. “It still looks so much like him! The Grand Supervisor really did come yesterday, with such a grand entourage… He, his subordinates even told us to close the city gates!”

No matter what he said, no one else believed him.

Don’t be ridiculous! How could the Grand Supervisor be cut in half and hung upside down on the city gate?

Usually, it was the Grand Supervisor who hung others.

By then, the city gates were open, and several people rushed in, pointing outside and shouting, “There are over a hundred dead bodies in the valley! They died horribly, all wearing Feathered Guard armor.”

As soon as dawn broke, this explosive news grew wings and flew to the capital of Bo State.

By this time, He Lingchuan and his two companions were already on their way to the Carefree Sect.

Dong Rui quietly asked He Lingchuan, “You’re usually cautious, so why the sudden killing spree?”

The opposing force had over a hundred people, more than two hundred legs; ‘leaving no survivors’ was a highly difficult feat.

“We are in the Glimmering Gold Plain.”

“Right,” Dong Rui said. “So?”

“So, we must adapt to local customs,” He Lingchuan said calmly. “This is a lawless land where the victor reigns supreme. You must deal with them on their terms. Besides—”

“—shouldn’t a scoundrel like Nangong Yan be killed anyway?”

He had come to the Glimmering Gold Plain with an ulterior motive.

Now, he had seen what he wanted to see, and felt the lingering oppression and restlessness. His mindset had undergone a subtle change.

Why had this place become a quagmire? Why had everyone who tried to transform it failed?

He Lingchuan had been pondering this question, with fleeting ideas emerging, though none were coherent.

He needed more validation and synthesis.

He needed to simply try.

Perhaps in this chaotic, lawless land, he could act according to his true nature, without needing to be so overly cautious.

Ha, Dong Rui called him cautious, but He Lingchuan knew deep down: was he truly a cautious person?

No, he was an opportunist.

Navigating a storm requires boldness and meticulousness, coupled with a touch of luck.