"Fellow Daoist Duan?"
Chen Sanshi reminded him, "It's time to leave. Otherwise, more and more people will surround us."
"There are still people who haven't been rescued!"
Duan Silu spoke in the same slightly unhinged manner as before. "I just captured a live prisoner and learned that there are still several hundred virgin boys and girls being held beneath a brothel in Ronghua City. We plan to go rescue them."
This auction had only displayed a portion of the "cauldrons." The vast majority had been auctioned off merely by number and never shown in person.
Chen Sanshi pondered. "The matter has already blown up. Going now might not be appropriate, right?"
"No! Quite the opposite!"
Duan Silu said seriously, "I estimate that right now, the entire city is rushing over here. If we head back at this moment, it'll be darkest under the lamp. We'll definitely be able to slip into the city without much effort."
"I understand that."
Chen Sanshi warned, "But Ronghua City has a grand protective formation. Even if you find those people, it'll probably be very difficult to bring them out."
"There's no need to bring them out!"
Duan Silu explained, "I estimate this whole affair was done by that old Jiang Shang in collusion with the demonic sect. In the end, it's something that can't stand in the light.
"Moreover, there are so many people involved. As long as we bring them out of the brothel, it will certainly attract the attention of the Shengyun Sect.
"Although those sects aren't good people, they at least style themselves as 'orthodox and reputable sects.' They have a minimum bottom line and won't just ignore it.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao, you should withdraw first. The three of us are enough to handle this matter!"
As he spoke, the three of them had already stepped onto their flying swords and turned in a different direction.
"And what about you?"
Chen Sanshi looked at the three of them. He knew that the rescued boys and girls might survive—but the three of them would absolutely not be able to escape again. "If you go and never return, then what?"
"Then we go and never return!"
Duan Silu and the other two did not look back. They flew straight toward Ronghua City, continuously forming hand seals to accelerate, and soon disappeared from sight.
Chen Sanshi watched their departing figures, words forming on his lips but never spoken. He could not help recalling Sima Yao's evaluation of these people: lunatics.
"They really are a bit crazy."
No matter what, he had never imagined that on Heavenly Water Isle there would still be people willing to trade their own lives to save strangers who had nothing to do with them. If he asked himself honestly, he could not do it.
This was different from when they left Poyang and crossed Hongze. Back then, there had still been a sliver of hope, and the villagers had followed them all the way. It had been a desperate struggle shared together in the face of extinction. But now, although the "cauldrons" were indeed innocent, if it were him, he would only do his best—he would not exchange his own life for theirs.
"Let's wish them good luck."
Chen Sanshi murmured to himself. Then he had Little Zhu carry Wu Wei of the Demon-Suppression Division, and the two of them departed in grand fashion.
After flying more than 10 miles, Chen Sanshi woke the Demon-Suppression guard who had lost both arms aboard the flying boat.
"Demon heretic!"
Wu Wei's severed shoulders sent heart-rending pain through his body. He roared ferociously, "You've got some nerve! I'm a Silver Medallion Commander of the Demon-Suppression Division, and also one of the Eighth Prince's confidants. You dare capture me? The Great Song court won't let you off. The upper sect won't let you off… Aah!!!"
Before he could finish speaking, Dongfang Jingxing manipulated a flying blade to carve a chunk of flesh from his body. A sinister voice drilled into his ears. "From now on, whatever I ask, you answer."
"Eunuch, I—ah!"
Several more slices of flesh were shaved away, all in the manner of slow slicing. Bone was already visible, yet he could not die. He could only endure endless torment.
"This slicing technique originally totals 360 cuts. You're a martial artist with a strong physique—you should be able to withstand even more."
Dongfang Jingxing said coldly, "My technique is quite good. I guarantee you won't faint and can continue to enjoy it properly."
"Hahaha, a crippled man, not even as good as a mortal slave. Do as you—"
Wu Wei suddenly felt a chill below his waist. "Y-you… what are you doing? Don't, don't—don't! I'll talk, I'll say everything!"
Only then did Dongfang Jingxing slowly withdraw his blade and begin questioning him carefully.
Chen Sanshi, meanwhile, stood with sword in hand, remaining vigilant of the surroundings. He vaguely sensed something approaching, but his divine sense at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment was not sufficient to pinpoint it precisely. He frowned slightly.
"I'll ask you," Dongfang Jingxing said bluntly. "What's in the Bai family's Medicine Valley? And what are you plotting with the demonic sect? Is it related to the matter of the Medicine Valley?"
"M-Medicine Valley…"
Wu Wei hesitated, only willing to spit out a word when the blade approached him. "Inside the Medicine Valley there's that, that…"
Buzz—
A sudden buzzing sound rang in the ears of the three.
Only then did Chen Sanshi abruptly notice that at the edge of their flying boat, at some unknown time, a black dot had appeared. Focusing his gaze, he saw that it was a cicada.
Its pitch-black body was covered in strange patterns, and spiritual power coursed faintly across its vibrating wings. From its mouth extended a needle-like silver stinger, charging straight ahead.
The cicada was not particularly fast. Water currents coiled around the long sword in Chen Sanshi's hand as he struck with perfect precision, cleaving the insect cleanly in two.
However, just as the sword edge tore through its outer shell, an extremely dense black light burst forth from within the cicada.
"Not good!"
Chen Sanshi's heart sank. With one hand, he pulled Little Zhu behind him while forming hand seals with the other, casting a spell and summoning a Thick Earth shield in front of himself.
At the same time, from within the cicada's tiny body erupted a terrifying baleful aura utterly disproportionate to its size, exploding outward in all directions.
Boom—
Even with the Thick Earth shield blocking the blast, Chen Sanshi was still forced back dozens of meters through the air before he barely managed to steady himself.
Wu Wei, however, was not so fortunate. His entire body, along with the flying boat, was blown into fragments in the explosion, scattering in all directions as they fell toward the ground, completely devoid of life.
This black cicada could actually self-detonate, and the power it released was no weaker than the full-force strike of any middle stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Silencing to eliminate witnesses!
The sound of vibrating wings rang out again. Before and behind them, to their left and right, swarms of black cicadas appeared—at least dozens in number. If they all detonated together, the resulting power would surely be terrifying.
Chen Sanshi flicked his finger and hurled a golden-scaled flying blade, detonating one of them from afar. But these gu insects possessed a certain intelligence; they did not fly in tight formation, so the explosion did not affect the other black cicadas.
One after another, the black cicadas would fly close to a certain range, then beat their wings and hover. Cracks on the surface of their bodies glowed with spiritual light, and once the energy accumulated to its limit, a baleful explosion would erupt.
Thud, thud, thud!
The Thick Earth Art reached its limit and transformed into an earthen sphere carrying baleful force, smashing forward and crushing a black cicada that blocked their path. Chen Sanshi and Little Zhu thus "broke through the encirclement," plunging into the vast sea of clouds.
The black cicadas pursued from behind, but only a few could keep up. The rest were quickly shaken off and vanished from sight.
'These gu insects are truly formidable!'
Chen Sanshi was inwardly astonished.
Fortunately, everything in the world had its weaknesses. These black cicadas had limited flight speed. As long as a certain distance was maintained, it was difficult for them to detonate close enough to cause direct harm.
But perhaps he could compensate for that weakness.
With that thought, Chen Sanshi developed the idea of capturing a few to raise. From his waist, he took out a second-tier freezing talisman he had seized and scattered it forward.
Buzz!
Spiritual power fluctuated. After the yellow talisman paper shattered, it transformed into a mass of icy mist, sealing one black cicada within and turning it into a crystal of ice that fell into his hand.
Chen Sanshi repeated the trick and quickly captured 4 gu insects, tossing them into his storage bag. He then affixed shielding-type talismans to the outside of the storage bag to prevent anyone from tracking him through the gu insects.
After finishing this, his sharp gaze turned toward a distant stretch of forest, where he saw a cultivator in a black robe standing still.
The other party showed no intention of pursuing, and Chen Sanshi had no plan to charge over for revenge. He led Little Zhu and accelerated through the sky, swiftly leaving the area.
That person's realm was not weak, and he likely carried many crooked and sinister treasures. Setting aside who would win, it would certainly waste a great deal of time.
The longer they lingered, the greater the danger.
"Heh."
The demonic cultivator Qiu Yan flickered and disappeared.
After flying several hundred miles, Chen Sanshi and Little Zhu arrived at a cave in a desolate mountain. They casually killed the tiger residing within and temporarily settled there.
This battle had come to an end.
The vast majority of people had successfully escaped, and there were no longer any pursuers behind them.
This trial for the cultivators of Tianyong City could be considered fairly successful. The only regret was that they had failed to extract more intelligence from that Demon-Suppression guard.
Over the next few days, Chen Sanshi and Little Zhu remained in the cave, waiting for Shangguan Siheng and the others to arrive and rendezvous, so they could discuss subsequent arrangements.
During this time, he did not remain idle, instead organizing the spoils of this operation.
The vast majority of items from the entire auction had fallen into his hands—magic artifacts, pills, cultivation techniques, spiritual plants—everything one could imagine. There were not only orthodox items, but also demonic artifacts.
In addition, a large number of spirit stones had been seized from Young City Lord Jiang Li.
Overall, this could be considered a windfall. Even if used to supply the entire Tianyong City, it could sustain them for 2 years.
"Hiss…"
Thinking of this, Chen Sanshi suddenly felt it was meager—still far from enough to cover consumption, after all, Tianyong City had many people.
In the cultivation world, forces such as families and sects generally maintained their own industries to sustain operations. Only then could they last long-term.
This time, he had obtained some spiritual plant seedlings, including Mirror God Fruit. However, Tianyong City had no spiritual land.
After some consideration, Chen Sanshi took out one complete inheritance set each of Talisman Drawing, Formation, and Alchemy, and handed them to the eunuch.
"After you return, select suitable candidates on my behalf and have them attempt to cultivate these methods. The raw materials will be provided by the court."
"Yes."
Dongfang Jingxing listened attentively.
"Little Zhu did well this time. It was his first time entering battle, yet not only did he show no fear, he also acted decisively."
With a wave of Chen Sanshi's hand, a large number of magic artifacts and cultivation techniques floated in midair. "Choose any 3 items. I award them to you."
"This servant thanks Your Majesty."
Dongfang Jingxing did not stand on ceremony and began selecting items directly.
The first thing he chose was a set of Blood Shadow Sword Technique, seized from a martial cultivator of Ronghua City, who had cultivated the Shadow Breathing Method.
Next, he selected a second-tier weapon—the Blood-Drinking Sword—as well as a growth-type magic artifact, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
Dongfang Jingxing's martial and immortal cultivation aptitudes were both of upper grade, and he was about to formally begin practicing martial arts. In the future, he would most likely cultivate both martial and immortal paths.
"You brat."
Chen Sanshi teased, "Both of those items lean heavily toward slaughter. Are you certain you won't lose your mind in the future?"
"It should not happen."
Dongfang Jingxing said calmly, "Unlike the scattered cultivators of Heavenly Water Isle, when our Great Han wages war there in the future, slaughter will be unavoidable. The enemy armies may serve as fuel. This servant will never harm any innocent person."
"You've followed me since childhood. I believe you have the ability to suppress the baleful aura."
Chen Sanshi paused, then added, "Of course, I hope you do not disappoint me."
"Rest assured, Your Majesty."
Dongfang Jingxing cupped his hands. "If Little Zhu takes even half a wrong step, I will end my own life and bring my head to you."
"Very well. As you wish."
Chen Sanshi stored everything back into his storage bag.
He had little interest in such things. Cultivating crooked and sinister methods without being affected required immense effort, and he simply did not have the time.
As for the other spoils seized during the battle, he did not reclaim them. Unless under special circumstances, whoever risked their life to obtain something would keep it. The same arrangement would apply to the upcoming Nine Nether Forbidden Land.
Yet the same problem remained…
The court had no resources—or rather, the Great Han treasury had no resources.
These items had been earned through the soldiers' lives; they rightfully belonged to them. As time passed, if these soldiers failed to obtain better resources, it would be inevitable for other thoughts to arise in their hearts.
Such was human nature.
Moreover, Tianyong City had only recently been established, and these cultivators were not his old brothers from Poyang County.
Thinking back, the brothers from Poyang County who had fought life and death alongside him had been far less troublesome. Why had there been any need for such complications?
Setting aside these thoughts, Chen Sanshi took out the Yanluo Seal obtained from Changsun Miao. After activating it with mana, the seal emitted a faint green glow and rose into the air. The ferocious beasts engraved at its top began spewing out Yin Soul Netherfire forward.
Meanwhile, he formed hand seals with both hands and activated the Swallowing Fire Art, drawing the Yin Soul Netherfire into his body along the seal imprint.
The instant the flames burned him, his flesh, bones, and meridians were subjected to indescribable agony. It was not merely scorching heat; baleful energy raged through him like countless insects gnawing at his body.
Fortunately, the process did not last long. As time passed, within his dantian, inside the pool of fire, a new flame appeared.
On one side burned the orange-yellow Myriad Beast Fierce Flame; on the other flickered the faint green Yin Soul Netherfire. The two were clearly divided.
Chen Sanshi suddenly wondered: each time he swallowed flame, his body was ravaged and then restored. Could this also benefit the tempering of his physique?
He put away the Yanluo Seal and instead took out the storage bag containing his spirit beasts. Yet when his divine sense probed inside, he found it completely empty.
Chen Sanshi reached in with his hand and pulled out a snow-white spirit snake. At that moment, the snake was swallowing a black cicada whole.
Evidently, all the captured black cicadas had been eaten by it.
"You?!"
Chen Sanshi hurriedly searched again and finally found 1 survivor.
However, he had no way to raise it. He could clearly sense a mark on the black cicada's body—it was still under the control of the black-robed cultivator. Once it awoke, it would surely continue attacking him.
To raise gu insects, one needed to capture the Gu King.
"What a pity."
Chen Sanshi felt somewhat regretful.
He took out the Purple Thunder Bow and placed the gu insect upon the bowstring.
Rumble—
The bowstring snapped forward. The gu insect shot out violently, striking the cave wall and blasting open a massive hole.
The only flaw of these gu insects was their difficulty in landing a hit, but used as "arrows," that weakness was almost perfectly compensated.
He would wait for another opportunity.