Chapter 1204: The Position of the County Governor is Vacant Again

"How do I use this Suppressing Mountain Seal?" Lu Yang asked Nü Ba, weighing the seal in his hand.

"There's a chant that goes with it. As long as you know the chant, you can control me..." Nü Ba didn't dare to play tricks and honestly revealed the chant.

Lu Yang recited it once. Halfway through, he saw Nü Ba covering her head in pain.

"My lords, do you believe me now?" Nü Ba asked cautiously after the chant ended. She still couldn't understand why her human tribulation was so powerful.

Worried that Nü Ba was faking it, Lu Yang silently recited the chant again. Nü Ba still reacted, and only then did Lu Yang believe her.

"So anyone can control you with the chant and the Suppressing Mountain Seal?"

"Holding the Suppressing Mountain Seal and reciting the chant will only give me a headache; it won't truly control me. To genuinely control me, you need to establish a blood bond and form a contract with the Suppressing Mountain Seal."

Lu Yang and his companion nodded; it didn't sound like a lie.

"Let's go, take her to the Corpse Driving Sect."

"Why hasn't the sect master returned yet?" Zhao Po waited anxiously at the entrance of the Corpse Driving Sect.

The sect master hadn't returned all night, which was not a good sign.

Whether the sect master had fallen or the Drought Demon had escaped, it would cause a huge uproar.

Three small dots moving rapidly in the sky caught Zhao Po's attention.

Zhao Po squinted and strained his eyes, finally discerning who the three small dots were.

"Senior Brother Lu! Senior Brother Meng!" Zhao Po excitedly waved and shouted. He didn't recognize the shabbily dressed woman between them.

"Oh, it's Junior Brother Zhao." Lu Yang landed with a smile. The last time they came to Barren State, the first disciple of a major power they encountered was Zhao Po. Zhao Po had accompanied them all the way to the Corpse Driving Sect and even carried out a mission to eliminate water ghosts with them. It truly seemed like fate.

Back then, he and Old Meng were only at the Golden Core stage. So many years had passed in a flash.

"Why are you here? And may I ask this fellow Daoist's name... No, now's not the time for that! A Drought Demon has appeared, and disaster is upon us. The sect master went to deal with it and hasn't returned all night. Please, Senior Brothers, come and help!" Zhao Po said urgently; it wasn't the time for pleasantries.

Upon hearing this, Nü Ba became agitated: "Don't talk nonsense! The Drought Demon is perfectly safe!"

She couldn't help but be anxious. To save her life, she had revealed all the methods to control her. If this young man said a few more words and gave the two lords a bad impression of her, could she still survive?

"How could I be talking nonsense about such a big matter? I stayed up all night poring over ancient texts to understand the Drought Demon and consulted everyone I could!"

"How could I be talking nonsense about such a big matter? I *am* the Drought Demon!"

"Even if you are the Drought Demon... Wait, who did you say you are?"

Only then did Zhao Po notice that although Nü Ba's clothes were tattered, they were indeed from their Corpse Driving Sect.

"You... you're *that* Drought Demon?!"

Zhao Po stared wide-eyed at Lu Yang and his companion, seeking a reasonable explanation.

Lu Yang scratched his head, a bit troubled. "Well, it's quite simple, nothing much to explain," he said. "Uh, we just happened to run into her, and seeing her clothes were from the Corpse Driving Sect, we thought of handing her over to your sect to deal with."

"But we can't handle her," Zhao Po quickly said. Even the sect master, who was considered the strongest below the Tribulation Transcendence stage, had less than a 30% chance against Nü Ba. What if something went wrong after she was handed over to their Corpse Driving Sect?

"You don't have to worry about that; we have the Suppressing Mountain Seal," Lu Yang said, explaining how to use it. Only then did Zhao Po breathe a sigh of relief.

"So, we wait for the sect master to return and have him use the Suppressing Mountain Seal?"

"We have other things to do. How about you take the Suppressing Mountain Seal and form a blood bond with it? You're at the Void Refinement stage and lack life-saving abilities, so it's perfect for you."

Zhao Po couldn't resist Lu Yang's suggestion, so he was forced to accept Nü Ba and establish a blood bond with the Suppressing Mountain Seal.

To put Lu Yang and his companion at ease, Nü Ba even meekly called him "Master."

"Junior Brother Zhao, cultivate diligently. We'll talk again later." Lu Yang and his companion waved goodbye.

"Oh, by the way, isn't the Grand Elder quite interested in Drought Demons? We could write him a letter and ask him to come take a look."

Not long after Lu Yang and his companion left, the worried Lu Baqian flew back to the sect.

He had searched all night but found no trace of the Drought Demon.

"The Drought Demon is so patient; I'm afraid she'll be difficult to deal with."

There was also good news: he had coincidentally found the successor of the Divine Craftsman Wang Family. However, their cultivation was too low to forge the Suppressing Mountain Seal, which could pose a threat to the Drought Demon.

But he now had the blueprints for the Suppressing Mountain Seal, allowing Lu Baqian to unleash some of its power to catch the Drought Demon off guard.

In battles between high-level cultivators, one moment of carelessness could lead to complete defeat!

"Sect Master, you've returned safely!" Zhao Po, still waiting for Lu Baqian at the sect entrance, smiled broadly.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't find the Drought Demon's... Wait, the Drought Demon?!"

Lu Baqian noticed Nü Ba, standing obediently beside Zhao Po like a doll, and was greatly startled.

Seeing that the sect master was startled and about to act, Zhao Po quickly stepped forward to explain the situation.

Although he wasn't entirely clear on the full details himself.

"So, it was Senior Nephews Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou who took action."

"Wait, so you're Nü Ba's master now, and Nü Ba is controllable?"

"Come on, let's see who's stronger!" Lu Baqian said excitedly. He had spent all night thinking about how to deal with Nü Ba, and he didn't want his efforts to go to waste.

With Zhao Po's approval, Nü Ba gladly accepted Lu Baqian's suggestion.

The two half-step Tribulation Transcendence cultivators quickly began to fight. Entire mountain ranges were torn apart as easily as rice paper.

Without Lu Yang and his companion suppressing her, Nü Ba revealed her powerful and invincible side, putting Lu Baqian at a disadvantage for a time.

Nü Ba was even more excited than Lu Baqian. "Yes," she thought, "this is the human tribulation I'm supposed to face."

"She's indeed difficult to deal with..." Lu Baqian wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. Nü Ba released her death qi domain, forcing him to divert his attention to counter the death qi, leaving him overwhelmed by her continuous attacks.

"But it's not without a solution: Suppressing Mountain Seal!"

Lu Baqian unleashed the Suppressing Mountain Seal through a magical art. However, Nü Ba calmly countered with a seal art of her own, and the two seal arts exploded in the air.

"Why weren't you intimidated by the Suppressing Mountain Seal?" Lu Baqian asked, puzzled. This shouldn't be happening.

Nü Ba quietly replied, "Is there anything more terrifying than being blocked at your door by a Sword Cultivator at the Tribulation Transcendence stage and a Pure Yang Tribulation Transcendence cultivator the moment you emerge?"

An emergency meeting of Barren State's high-ranking officials.

"How could Zhang Tongheng be arrested by Man Gu right after we officially announced his promotion to prefect?" The high-ranking officials of Barren State didn't react much better than before when they heard this news; it took them several seconds to process it.

"This is outrageous! He's completely disregarding our decisions!" Lord Song angrily slammed the table. Having served in officialdom for centuries, he had never encountered such an absurd situation.

"That's rich. Zhang Tongheng couldn't control his own hands and insisted on taking bribes. Can you blame Man Gu?"

"If you ask me, we should thank Man Gu for rooting out the black sheep."

"Rooting out the black sheep? He's just audacious because he's a disciple of an immortal sect!"

Seeing the crowd divided into two factions, arguing more and more fiercely, Governor Lü frowned in displeasure: "Alright, let's set aside the matter of Man Gu for now. The position of Prefect of Zhongshan Commandery is vacant again. Who should take this post?"

"How about we select someone from the county magistrates under Zhongshan Commandery again?"

"That won't work. The remaining individuals lack sufficient qualifications and won't command public respect."

"Then what does Lord Lü suggest?"

Governor Lü stroked his chin, silently considering suitable candidates, and slowly said, "We could send a provincial official to Zhongshan Commandery to serve as prefect. I believe Zhou Hai, the Secretariat Supervisor, is sharp, perceptive, and skilled at utilizing talent. He is capable of holding this position."