Chapter 1262: Chen Hongguang

Bailuzhou is situated in the eastern part of the Dayan Dynasty. The Baihua River, the dynasty's second-largest river, flows through the entire region, alongside numerous other waterways. This extensive network makes water transportation highly developed, attracting a large volume of merchants and travelers annually, thus significantly boosting local commerce.

The White Oak Mountain Range, located in the northwest of Bailuzhou, gets its name from the abundant white oak trees growing within it.

A black streak of light appeared on the distant horizon, with a green light and a white light trailing behind it.

“Ghost Fiend Cultivator, you won't escape! Stay!”

An earth-shattering roar suddenly erupted, its sound piercing the clouds and causing dizziness and ringing in the ears. The void itself twisted and warped, clearly indicating the use of a secret technique.

The black streak of light abruptly decelerated, revealing a sinister-looking, black-robed old man. His face was pale, a chilling aura emanated from him, and his eyes were wide with terror.

At that moment, a dazzling white spiritual light suddenly flared in the void directly above, transforming into a white stone archway over a hundred zhang tall, its entire structure shimmering with fluctuating spiritual energy.

The white stone archway illuminated with countless profound runes, from which a vast expanse of white flames surged forth, descending with the overwhelming force of Mount Tai itself.

The black-robed old man let out a pained shriek, spat out a large mouthful of blood, and plummeted toward the ground.

A sharp bird cry rang out as an azure fire crane, over ten zhang in size, swooped in. Even before it drew near, an overwhelming wave of heat washed over them.

The black-robed old man flicked his sleeve, and a three-chi-long white bone sword flew out. The end of its hilt was carved with a ferocious skull, depicted in a man-eating pose.

Wailing ghost cries echoed loudly amidst chilling winds, as the white bone sword blurred and transformed into a giant, house-sized skull.

The giant skull opened its mouth and spewed forth a chilling Yin wind, which materialized into countless grey wind blades that slashed towards the azure fire crane.

An earth-shattering roar erupted as the azure fire crane was shattered by the dense grey wind blades, dissolving into countless azure flames that dispersed in all directions.

The azure flames that landed on the ground instantly blasted out a pit several zhang wide. Those that landed on the tall white oak trees caused the trees to vanish instantly.

The green light was an authoritative-looking old man in a green robe with a goatee, while the white light was a benevolent-looking old woman in a white robe. Both were Nascent Soul cultivators.

Seizing this opportunity, the black-robed old man's escape light intensified as he flew towards the rushing river below.

The river, nestled between two peaks ten thousand zhang high, wound its way for hundreds of miles.

This was the Baihua River, which had numerous tributaries.

“Oh no, he's trying to escape! Stop him!”

The green-robed old man's face darkened. Just as he was about to intercept the black-robed old man, a series of wailing ghost cries erupted, and a giant skull lunged toward him.

The giant skull opened its mouth and spewed out dense black threads that surged directly towards the green-robed old man and the white-robed old woman.

Just then, a lively zither melody suddenly filled the air, and a huge azure lotus abruptly emerged from around a bend. The entire azure lotus was enveloped in a shroud of azure spiritual light, clearly indicating it was no ordinary object.

A voluptuous middle-aged woman sat cross-legged on a futon, an antique-looking blue phoenix-tail zither placed before her. She was intently playing a melody.

The middle-aged woman wore a blue ruqun and a shimmering azure jade hairpin, the end of which was carved with an azure lotus pattern.

Beside her, a tall middle-aged man held an ancient scroll, engrossed in his reading. He wore a loose blue magic robe. Neither of them showed any trace of spiritual power fluctuations.

Next to the middle-aged man was a small, exquisite azure lotus censer from which wisps of white mist ascended. A gentle breeze caused the middle-aged man's blue magic robe to flap and the middle-aged woman's hair to dance, giving them an air of ethereal immortality.

The two appeared like an immortal couple, one engrossed in playing music, the other in reading.

These two were Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan, whose injuries had not yet fully healed.

As soon as they arrived in the Central Plains Cultivation World, they immediately resumed their true appearances and traveled openly.

Wang Qingling and Wang Qiuming had arrived in the Central Plains Cultivation World several years prior, publicly announcing that the Azure Lotus Immortal Couple had also come. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan intended to solidify this rumor and create a stir, making people mistakenly believe they had always been in the Central Plains Cultivation World, thereby adding a layer of protection for themselves.

If they couldn't win, they would flee; if they couldn't afford to provoke, they would pretend nothing happened.

To their great disappointment, the Dayan Dynasty recently held no large-scale celebrations or auctions specifically for Nascent Soul cultivators. They couldn't simply go out of their way to challenge other Nascent Soul cultivators, could they?

To avoid exposing their identities, they had always refrained from casually engaging in combat, as their previous battles were life-or-death struggles. Before forming their Nascent Souls, they were not widely known. However, after the Nine Underworld Sect encountered trouble, the Azure Lotus Immortal Couple frequently challenged other Nascent Soul cultivators in the Central Plains Cultivation World, making sure their deeds were known to all. This was entirely contrary to the Azure Lotus Immortal Couple's usual conduct and was akin to protesting too much.

To create a stir without appearing to do so deliberately presented no small challenge.

The Dayan Dynasty was aggressively apprehending demonic cultivators and conducting strict screenings. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan exploited this by specifically traveling to areas where demonic cultivators were rampant, feigning a leisurely journey. Whenever they encountered demonic cultivators, they would eliminate them, and their reputation naturally spread as a result.

They had previously sustained severe injuries, recovering quickly only thanks to the Taiyi Immortal Sect's unique secret medicine, the Three-Origin Heart Protection Pill. This time, however, they lacked such a pill. Thus, their goal was simply to make the outside world believe that the Azure Lotus Immortal Couple had consistently been traveling within the Central Plains Cultivation World.

“Oh, it's the Azure Lotus Immortal Couple!” the green-robed old man exclaimed softly, his face brightening. “I am Chen Hongguang, Deputy Commander of the Myriad Immortals Bureau. I implore you two fellow Daoists to lend us your aid and help us stop the Ghost Fiend Cultivator.”

The Azure Lotus Immortal Couple primarily operated in the South Sea, so the Myriad Immortals Bureau had not paid them much attention. However, with Wang Qingshan and Wang Qingling traveling to the Dayan Dynasty, and Wang Qingling consistently claiming that the Azure Lotus Immortal Couple had arrived in the Central Plains Cultivation World, the Myriad Immortals Bureau naturally dispatched people to collect their portraits.

As Deputy Commander of the Myriad Immortals Bureau, Chen Hongguang naturally recognized Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

“Azure Lotus Immortal Couple?” The Ghost Fiend Cultivator frowned, his expression turning grim. Having been in seclusion for many years, he had not heard of the Azure Lotus Immortal Couple. However, given Chen Hongguang's high regard for them, they were clearly not ordinary individuals.

Countless Yin Qi surged from his right hand as he clutched at the void. The wails of ghosts and howls of wolves erupted amidst chilling winds, and a giant, entirely black skull materialized out of thin air above Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

The giant skull emitted wailing ghost cries, opened its mouth, and spewed a stream of green flames towards Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

Wang Ruyan's expression turned cold. She hooked two fingers onto a zither string, then released them, a fervent zither melody sounding as a hazy blue sound wave shot forth.