Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

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Inserted into the ground were nine coffin nails, two meters in length and engraved with strange patterns. Yi Chen studied their positioning and realized that they were arranged such that one was in the skull, four in the limbs, and four in the torso.

In the face of time's great power, whether it was the giant, the magic array, or the strange coffin nails, all had lost their spirit and had turned into ordinary objects.

Looking around at the setup, a thought emerged in Yi Chen's mind.

"Could this be the 'Living Refinement' method mentioned in the Dragon Tiger Mountain's archives?"

"Slowly extracting the life essence of this demonic creature, refining it into a great pill, rendering it unable to live or die as it pleases."

"This place of sealing demons is essentially a farm to harvest the last bit of value from this demonic creature, wearing it down day and night until its death."

"It's unknown what great sins this demonic creature committed, to incite such wrath from the predecessor who laid this array."

At that thought, Yi Chen couldn't help but inhale sharply.

Suddenly, the unusual marks on the ground at the palm of the giant caught Yi Chen's attention.

He looked closely and saw they were filled with small seal-script characters the size of mosquitoes and flies.

Full of the character for 'kill', even after ten thousand years, this will still hovered above, never ceasing in solitary hatred.

There were also two scriptures, one named "All Heavens Spirit Movement Blood Divine Extract Technique," the other "All Heavens Spirit Seizing Heavenly Corpse Method," with the words 'My way is eternal, its poison flows through countless ages' written beside them in eight large characters. However, the main text had been violently erased.

Up to this point, Yi Chen had finally pieced together the truth of what had happened then.

If his guess was correct, it was likely the True Monarch who had set up this place had been discarded by his sect when they could no longer extract any value from this demonic creature.

The demonic creature's relentless resentment had persisted, and before dying, inscribed two malicious demonic cultivation manuals to tempt the cultivators who would later enter into practicing them.

And the ancestor of the Ling family was that fortunate soul who blundered into this place, and it was his greed that led to the subsequent story.

As for why he would massacre his own kin, Yi Chen speculated it had something to do with a secret technique recorded in the demonic manuals that refines one's own constitution and enhances cultivation, but with the texts erased and the ancestor of the Ling family executed, the real reason remained unknown.

"Indeed, greed can cloud the mind. Such malicious methods left by this demonic creature were probably with the intent of taking revenge on the human race and throwing the world into chaos. Who knows if there are any traps left within, that could cause even an experienced cultivator to lose their mind and turn into a killing demon."

"Such deviant and evil powers, harmful scriptures, it's better they were erased."

Yi Chen, being of Pure Yang Taoist foundation, naturally had no desire for these perverse demonic techniques. Should these scriptures truly be so formidable, it would be him lying defeated now.

However, the actions of the Ling family ancestor made Yi Chen think of the Sect of the Corpse God's True Monarch of Ten Thousand Transformations. This approach was quite similar, yet clearly, the methods of the True Monarch of Ten Thousand Transformations were more sophisticated and powerful.

It was unclear whether the previous battle had disturbed this demonic sealing secret realm, or if after ten thousand years, the existence of this secret realm had simply reached its limit, or perhaps it was a combination of both factors.

Just as he wanted to search for more plunder, suddenly the ground began to shake violently, and rocks started tumbling down from above. Yi Chen hastily made his escape.

...

...

Lingyang City.

After Yi Chen executed the instigator, the Ling family ancestor, the strange occurrences shrouding the entire Lingyang City came to an abrupt halt, dissipating like smoke.

Nevertheless, this disaster had still claimed the lives of many people.

But they weren't killed by the great array sucking out their essence; rather, they died trampled or crushed in the chaos.

Yi Chen made it known that the evil demon had been slain, and under Ling Yun's reassurance, many citizens returned to their homes, trembling with fear.

Within the household of the Duck Egg family.

"Taoist elder brother, does that mean you've rescued Dog Egg?" Duck Egg asked from his bed, sounding weak.

"Yes, but he was gravely injured, so I sent him to the infirmary," Yi Chen nodded like a pecking chicken. After thinking for a moment, he still didn't tell Duck Egg the truth, because Duck Egg wouldn't live more than three days.

"That's great! Everyone has survived." Duck Egg's pale face managed a forced smile, but he couldn't hold back the tears that fell from the corners of his eyes, and finally, he couldn't hold it in and burst into loud sobs.

Endowed with powers himself, he had already seen the fragment where Dog Egg was killed, and Yi Chen's lies couldn't deceive him.

Everyone hurried to comfort him, with Ling Yun especially non-stop soothing Duck Egg's back, her eyes filled with guilt.

After all, no matter what, the instigator was her great-grandfather.

Time waits for no one, and unknowingly, Venus had climbed up into the night sky. By the Emerald River bank, the evening breeze gently lifted the hem of Yi Chen's clothing.

Just now, he had buried the ashes of the innocent people who had died in the demonic sealing secret realm nearby and recited the Rebirth Mantra three times over them.

"Is Duck Egg not crying anymore?" Yi Chen tenderly said to Ling Yun, who was slowly walking towards him from a distance.

"Mhm, he's stopped crying. After a big cry, he fell asleep," she replied.

"Alright, I found something underground and after thinking it over, I decided it's better to hand it over to you, as you're an adult now," Yi Chen said.

In a swift motion, Yi Chen pulled out the two freshest corpses from the bottom of the mercury pool from his storage ring.

With a gasp, Ling Yun felt the world spin around her, and she threw her arms around Yi Chen, bursting into hysterical sobs, drenching him in her tears and mucus.

Yi Chen initially wanted to push her away, but seeing the young girl cry so heartbreakingly, he reconsidered and let her be.

After a while, Ling Yun sat by the riverbank, knees hugged to her chest, her shoulders still twitching, but her emotions had mostly stabilized. Beside her, two small urns had appeared.

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Only through trials and tribulations can a person grow, and sometimes maturity can happen in an instant.

"Taoist, thank you," Ling Yun turned her head to address Yi Chen with earnestness.

"It's nothing, just lifting a hand. But have you thought about what you will do in the future? Do you want to take over Ling Family Fort again?" Yi Chen gently waved his hand, indicating that she needn't worry about it.

"No, I'm too weak and powerless. Tomorrow I will write a letter to the Da Yue officials, asking them to send someone to take charge of Lingyang City. I will disperse the wealth I have at home, dismiss my servants, and, after settling their wages, I will go to the Miao village to join my grandmother," she answered.

"A wise choice. I wish you a smooth journey. However, given the current turmoil, it's best to find a caravan or an escort agency to travel with," Yi Chen suggested.

"Thank you."

Thinking of the unpredictable future, and how the delightful life of a month ago had vanished like bubbles in a dream, Ling Yun couldn't help but feel a sourness in her nose and once again burst into tears, soaking Yi Chen's newly changed Taoist robe.

Three days later, Lingyang City had returned to its former order.

The dead are gone; the living must go on. Life always continues.

Just yesterday, Ling Yun's grandmother had sent someone from the Miao village to pick her up, and, surprisingly, it was a True Person level master.

It seems that this was another move prepared by Ling Yun's deceased mother, arranged after noticing something odd about her husband.

Unfortunately, she was still poisoned by the hands of the old ancestor of the Ling Family.

The Miao village, deep within the vast mountains, has little contact with the outside world and is extremely secluded. It's really amazing that Ling Yun's father managed to marry her mother, who had the stature of a great king...

However, the path of witchcraft and gu has its merits, its strangeness being most extraordinary. Her mother was able to set up numerous safeguards against the old ancestor of the Ling Family, and even Yi Chen had to admire her ingenuity.

Little Miao died last night. Explore stories at empire

Yi Chen had spent two days playing with him, which was also a break for himself.

There aren't many people in the world who show such loyalty, and now there was one less.

At this moment, in the center of Lingyang City, a life-sized bronze statue of Little Miao had been erected. In the past few days, the people who came to visit Yi Chen were endless, thanking him for saving their lives.

Yi Chen told everyone that it was Little Miao who had sacrificed his life to calculate the hiding place of that demon. The one they should thank was Little Miao, so the people raised funds to erect a life-sized bronze statue for him.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The common folks also wanted to erect a statue for Yi Chen, but he felt he could live a few more years, so he declined, believing that erecting a statue of a living person was somewhat inauspicious.

Of course, Yi Chen would never voice such thoughts aloud; after all, how could it be a private thought if it's shared? Using the pretext that he, Yi Chengzi, did not wish to burden the people or squander their wealth, he proposed that the funds for the statue be donated to the families who lost their loved ones during the recent calamity, immediately raising the level of his gesture.

Unwilling to have a statue erected, Yi Taoist's fame soared overnight as word of his deeds spread far and wide...

"Little Miao, big brother Taoist is going to leave first."

"I wish you wealth and honor in your next life, and no need to work~"

Yi Chen took one last look at the life-sized bronze statue of Little Miao in front of him, then turned and called Little Miao to prepare to leave.

He had already delayed here long enough.

Little Miao's life-sized bronze statue, with a golden painted base, bore twelve large characters on the pedestal—He who gathers wood for the masses should not be forgotten.

The inscription was dictated by Yi Chen and crafted by artisans, shining brightly under the sunlight.

As Yi Chen traveled farther away, the distance between him and the bronze statue grew. The bronze statue of the child beamed with a smile, waving its left hand as if saying farewell to Yi Chen.

Have a smooth journey, big brother Taoist~

...

...

The wind blew softly.

The rain fell like cow hair from the sky.

Yi Chen and his cat had been traveling for three days, and now, having left the mountain trails, they came to a teahouse by the roadside for a short break and some tea.

Nothing out of the ordinary had happened in these three days. Even his good eldest son had managed to find him three wild ginseng roots over two or three hundred years old in the wild—a truly better companion than a dog...

This teahouse, named Youjian Teahouse, was situated by the main road, a hub of traffic. Merchants from the south and the north stopped here to rest, have tea, order some food, listen to spicy jokes, indulge in playful banter, or share various anecdotes and wonders from their travels.

The mundane world's lively atmosphere was rather entertaining to Yi Chen.

Just as Yi Chen was about to stand up and leave, the words of a businessman who had just taken a seat caught his attention.

"Boss Wang, did you know that the Buddhist monks from Mount Daguangming are going to preach and teach the Dharma in Jin Yue City?"

"Hey, Boss Xue, you're underestimating people here, aren't you? We merchants, one and all, aren't we all rushing with our goods to Jin Yue City to make a fortune? Hehe, it's said that this teaching session has attracted many cultivators. After all, that is the contemporary disciple of Mount Daguangming, said to be the embodiment of enlightenment, praised by the abbot of Mount Daguangming as a once-in-a-millennium, almost Buddha-like figure."

"Eh, isn't Jin Yue City not far from here? With my pace, I can get there in half a day. I haven't met Zhang Daoyi from Dragon Tiger Mountain, so I might as well take a look at the style of the Mount Daguangming disciple; it won't delay me by much time, anyway."

After hearing this, Yi Chen's interest was piqued. He pulled out a map, took a look, and immediately changed direction, heading towards Jin Yue City with big strides.