Chapter 1556: Central Plains Chaos

The Central Plains, Great Yan Dynasty.

Lai Prefecture is located in the northwest of the Great Yan Dynasty. It boasts numerous rivers and lakes, as well as vast plains. With a large population and abundant resources, it is known as a land of fish and rice.

The Liao River, true to its name, is vast and boundless, spanning over a dozen prefectures. Starting from Qinglong Port in the Great Qin Dynasty, one can enter Lai Prefecture of the Great Yan Dynasty by following the waterway.

With civil strife in the Great Qin Dynasty, the Great Yan Dynasty and three other dynasties intervened, supporting factions they favored to seize power. This led to frequent conflicts. The warfare had lasted for decades with no sign of an end. Consequently, a large number of common people were displaced. To escape the fighting, many Great Qin citizens fled along the Liao River into the Great Yan Dynasty.

Taking advantage of the widespread chaos, some evil cultivators caused trouble everywhere. The Great Yan Dynasty had to both support puppet regimes and dispatch forces to suppress these evil cultivators, which resulted in depleted defenses in some areas.

Lai Prefecture is rich in resources, but this is relative to mortals. It has few cultivation resources, so the number of cultivators is naturally low, leading to incessant banditry.

Liu Erhe was originally a fisherman with a wife and three sons. He made a living by fishing, and their life was decent. He thought this peaceful existence would continue indefinitely. However, due to the civil unrest in the Great Qin Dynasty, many Great Qin citizens, including wealthy families, fled to Lai Prefecture. Notorious bandits targeted these rich individuals, gathering along the waterways of Lai Prefecture, which led to incessant banditry.

One day, Liu Erhe returned home to find his wife and children murdered and his house burned down. He reported it to the authorities, but they were slow to apprehend the culprits. Enraged, Liu Erhe gathered his own group. He began engaging in murder and robbery while simultaneously searching for the killers.

Within two years of becoming a river bandit, Liu Erhe found the murderers and killed them all. He continuously recruited more people, and his gang grew larger. Currently, Liu Erhe commands three thousand men and is a notorious river bandit in the area. The authorities had no resources to deal with him.

One day, Liu Erhe led over a thousand of his men, ambushing in the reeds. According to intelligence, a wealthy merchant with his family was expected to pass through that day.

"Boss, they're here! They're here!" a simple-faced young man exclaimed excitedly.

Liu Erhe felt a pang of emotion, thinking back. Once, he was just an honest fisherman. In two short years, he had transformed into the region's top river bandit, engaging in murder, robbery, and even raping others' wives and daughters.

He stopped dwelling on these thoughts. There was no turning back for him. Killing, robbing, feasting on meat, and enjoying women—this was his life now.

Liu Erhe narrowed his eyes and gazed into the distance.

Dozens of ships of varying sizes appeared on the river. A massive vessel, over thirty zhang long, caught Liu Erhe's attention. Based on his experience, the people on this ship must be the wealthy merchant's family. If they could seize this ship, the job would be complete.

Inside a cabin of the large ship, a robust young man in a blue robe and a graceful young woman in a blue dress were enjoying tea and chatting. A plump, fair-faced old man in a golden robe stood respectfully to the side.

"Master Wang, I have already sent someone to deliver the letter to the place you specified," the old man in the golden robe said cautiously, his face filled with respect.

If not for the two immortal masters' rescue, his entire family would have perished.

The young man in blue and the young woman in blue were, naturally, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan. This was their second visit to the Central Plains cultivation world. Their previous visit saw a prosperous and peaceful Central Plains cultivation world. This time, however, they witnessed vast numbers of displaced mortals and frequent conflicts among cultivators, a stark contrast to before.

The old man in the golden robe was Sun Guangzheng, from a merchant family, incredibly wealthy. An evil cultivator of the Foundation Establishment stage had intended to perform a blood sacrifice on the Sun family. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan happened to save the entire Sun family of over a hundred members. They traveled with the Sun family's fleet, and everywhere they passed, they saw countless displaced mortals. For a morsel of food, some sold their children, elders starved to death by the river, and young children cried while clutching corpses—a truly tragic sight.

Sun Guangzheng was also discerning; whenever Wang Changsheng saw particularly miserable mortals, Sun Guangzheng would send people to provide aid, giving them money and food.

"Oh, they're here," Wang Changsheng murmured softly, rising to go outside. Wang Ruyan followed closely, and Sun Guangzheng quickly hurried out after them.

Wang Xin stood on the deck, frowning.

A large expanse of gentle Buddhist light suddenly appeared on his right fist, which he slammed towards the river surface. With a flash of golden light, a golden fist-shadow, over ten zhang in size, shot out, striking the river and sending up colossal hundred-zhang waves, scattering spray everywhere.

Soon, the river water turned red, and numerous corpses surfaced. The bodies bore no external injuries but had expressions of disbelief, and all their clothes were embroidered with the character "二" (Er).

"No good, river bandits! This is Liu Ermazi's gang! Be careful!" exclaimed a Sun family guard. Liu Ermazi was a notoriously fierce and powerful river bandit in Lai Prefecture.

Liu Erhe was dumbfounded upon seeing the golden fist-shadow.

"Oh no, we've encountered immortals! Run!" he cried. Liu Erhe had witnessed cultivators fighting before and knew well that their powers were vast, far beyond what mortals could contend with.

Just then, dozens of streaks of light flew in from the distance. Leading them was a ruddy-faced, bamboo-pole thin old man in a blue robe, with sharp, bright eyes, clearly a Core Formation cultivator.

"No one moves! Anyone who dares to run, I will be the first to eliminate them!" the blue-robed elder roared. His voice echoed for a hundred li, causing Liu Erhe to feel his qi and blood churn, prompting him to vomit a mouthful of blood and pass out.

Dozens of cultivators descended from the sky, moving to apprehend the river bandits.

"It's the Myriad Immortals Bureau! Excellent!" someone exclaimed, recognizing the cultivators' origins. The official uniforms of the Myriad Immortals Bureau were distinctive and easy to identify.

A flicker of surprise crossed Sun Guangzheng's eyes. He didn't know Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan's cultivation levels. He had merely followed Wang Changsheng's instructions to send a letter bearing the names 'Qinglian Immortal Couple' to the magistrate's yamen in Lai Prefecture. The Myriad Immortals Bureau actually sent people to greet them. Could it be that they were high-ranking members of the Myriad Immortals Bureau?

Having been a merchant for generations, he did not know the significance of the 'Qinglian Immortal Couple' title.

The blue-robed elder leapt onto the deck. He bowed to Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan, respectfully stating, "Junior Chen Ping, Centurion of the Myriad Immortals Bureau, greets both seniors. Prince Huaiyang has been waiting for a long time at the magistrate's yamen." Upon learning that the Qinglian Immortal Couple were coming to Lai Prefecture, Prince Huaiyang, the local ruler of Lai Prefecture, immediately dispatched Chen Ping to greet them. Prince Huaiyang was a member of the Great Yan imperial family, not a prince of a different surname.

"Lead the way," Wang Changsheng commanded, his tone calm.

Chen Ping made a gesture for them to proceed. Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, and Wang Xin transformed into three streaks of light and flew towards the sky. Chen Ping followed closely behind. The other Myriad Immortals Bureau cultivators remained to guard the river bandits, who would be handed over to the authorities for disposal, as the Myriad Immortals Bureau only dealt with cultivators, not mortals.