Patrol Captain

Three hundred miles outside Chengdu, a giant claw tore through the air with a terrifying strike.

Although the shockwave quickly subsided, many powerful figures within Chengdu still felt the terrifying fluctuations, sensing the intervention of an unparalleled expert, and were filled with astonishment and doubt.

Soon, a figure appeared in the sky above this area.

Dressed in a black robe, Helian Shan stepped out of the void, looking at the land sinking and dust billowing for dozens of miles around. The wrinkles etched by time twitched slightly, and his eyes flashed with annoyance.

Is it that old monster causing trouble again?
Thinking this, he took out a golden incense stick about the thickness of a finger from his sleeve, rubbed it between his fingers, lit it, and white smoke rose from the incense, turning into the shape of auspicious clouds. Helian Shan took a sniff, and the smoke entered his nose. At the same time, the incense stick quickly burned out.

The next second, Helian Shan spat out a cloud of mist like a waterfall, which swept across the surrounding void, creating a scene of flying clouds and flowing waterfalls both above and below the sky.

As the smoke billowed out, the landscape changed. The billowing yellow dust, like a whirlwind, quickly seeped into the ground. The shattered mountains and broken trees flew back and quickly returned to normal, and the entire sunken land rose up from the ground.

At the same time, a terrifying golden claw appeared in the void, retreated, and a black crack appeared in the sky, along with a pair of huge, rotating golden eyes.

Then, the black crack disappeared quickly, and the white smoke that filled the void swiftly retreated, as if it had been swallowed up by the spatial rift.

As the smoke dissipated, everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

It's just a method of void reversal!
Helian Shan reappeared, his brows furrowed.

With golden claws, a demonic body, and a strong, enduring Buddhist aura, it unleashed a heaven-shattering strike that transcended space.

Mount Sumeru? Which Dharma protector?

He suddenly remembered that Chen Yuan had come to him the night before, and for a moment he felt like he couldn't catch his breath.

Why does he feel like he's just a tool?

They know nothing, yet they're busy cleaning up after themselves, completely kept in the dark.

Helian Shan suddenly realized that Lord Chen's resignation and return to his hometown was definitely not out of spite!

Never mind, let's get in touch with this person first, no matter what.

After Helian Shan finished reciting, he walked a few steps in the void, and then his entire body disappeared into the void.

Not long after, Chen Yuan, who was thousands of miles away, received the news through Gongsun Yang.

That place was the very spot where he had discarded that golden feather!
The one who delivered that blow was none other than the Golden-Winged Roc King!
He looked at the Buddha's relic floating in front of him, radiating a hazy divine light, and sneered inwardly.

It seems that although the Golden-Winged Roc King said he didn't care much, in reality, once he activated the relic, the other party would sense it and prepare to launch a surprise attack to take back the item.

Fortunately, he didn't trust the other party at all, and the golden feather was hidden somewhere.

"Before this thing was activated, the other party shouldn't have been able to sense it; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to hide safely in my Pot Heaven Space for so long."

"After activating it, the other party could sense it, but perhaps due to limited distance or being blinded by the heavens, they couldn't sense the specific location, so the other party pretended to give me a feather."

"This stuff is good, but we have to be careful when using it."

"However, I guess this Golden-Winged Roc King probably won't be able to leave Mount Sumeru for the time being, otherwise, given his cultivation level, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths."

"Although I am not afraid, I do have some concerns, and I must be more cautious in my future actions."

Chen Yuan analyzed the matter at length, his gaze settling on the relic.

Just now, I activated the relic and used its true meaning to cleanse my Yang spirit. After several cleanses, my cultivation progress gradually increased.

Pro-test is effective.

He speculated that the relic was so effective because the transformation from physical to spiritual status involved a change at the level of the primordial spirit, and the powerful Buddha-nature contained within the relic could accelerate this transformation.

However, this thing is a double-edged sword. Every time it impacts the mind, it consumes a portion of the mind's energy. Otherwise, it will damage the source of one's essence, which would be counterproductive.

My message to Gongsun Yang has just interrupted me, so I'll leave it at that for today.

Thinking this, he flicked his ten fingers together, sending streams of light towards the Buddha's relic to seal it. After several layers of restrictions, he lifted his sleeve and sucked it in.

Then, Chen Yuan stood up and left the cave.

One day passed.

The next day, 700 li west of Chengdu, amidst rolling hills, troops were stationed.

Nestled among the hills in a valley, large camps, like lurking beasts, are embedded in the valley between two mountain ridges. The camps are arranged in rows, with soldiers patrolling the open ground in front of the tents, and daily military drills taking place on the drill ground. The Eagle's Beak Cliff behind the camps is as if it were cut by a knife and axe, and sentries can be seen all around the top of the cliff. Eagles can often be seen circling in the sky.

This is a temporary military camp, where troops are stationed to support the western front. Judging from the style of the armor, the troops in this support camp come from several different places: troops from Shu, troops from Beiliang, and troops from within the pass. They were all temporarily transferred here.

These troops can provide rapid support in case of trouble on the western front. At the same time, they themselves form a defensive line, protecting Chengdu along with other troops.

Such defensive lines were erected every few hundred miles to the west and south of Chengdu, totaling seven or eight, to protect the rear in the face of the current situation in Chengdu.

That's pretty much a tight guard!

As dusk fell, just as twilight enveloped the top of Eagle's Beak Cliff, a cry of an eagle rang out. A dark shadow circled three times above the cliff, its sharp cry like tearing silk, calling out three times in a broken, intermittent manner.

When the sentry on the cliff looked over, he saw that it was just a three-foot-long eagle and didn't pay any attention to it. Then the eagle circled down, its dark wings sweeping over the top of the camp tents, passing by a group of armored soldiers who were patrolling with torches, and finally arriving at a tent on the west side of the camp.

At the entrance, two armored warriors stood guard. Upon seeing this, one of them immediately raised his hand, and at that very moment, the eagle folded its wings and landed precisely on the warrior's left arm, which was covered by an iron wrist guard.

The moment the talons touched the armor, the eagle's head froze, the campfire reflected in its pupils suddenly dimmed, and the next second, its glossy wings quickly dried up and turned pale, and its hook-like beak transformed into a crescent-shaped beak.

The armored soldier flicked the eagle's back with his finger, and the entire eagle quickly faded, turning into the texture of paper, with only the tail feathers retaining their ink-black flight patterns.

In the blink of an eye, this mighty bird had shrunk to the size of a palm-sized paper cutout, and a wax pellet the size of a quail egg rolled out of its beak.

When the armored warrior saw the wax pellet, he held it in his hand, and then flames rose from his hand, wrapping the paper cutout in it. The paper quickly burned to ashes in the flames, and then scattered with a gust of wind.

Having done this, the man in blue armor quickly turned around, bowed towards the curtained area, and announced:
"Reporting to the Commander, there is a secret letter!"

A deep voice sounded from inside the curtained area. "Come in!"

Upon receiving the order, the armored soldier in blue armor lifted the curtain and went inside, carrying a wax pellet.

Inside the tent, a single bronze candlestick hung, its six tallow wicks crackling as they burned. The iron hooks on the tent ceiling swayed, casting shadows of varying lengths onto the map on the tent wall.

Inside the tent, the general, addressed as "Commander," sat at his desk wearing a light blue suit of armor. The dark patterns on the armor plates flickered in the swaying candlelight. To the left of the desk were three scrolls of bamboo slips, and to the right was a bronze tiger tally.

He lowered the wolf-hair brush between his fingers, letting it hang on the plain paper. Just as the ink droplet from the brush tip was about to fall, the curtain was lifted, startling the candlelight, which suddenly dimmed by half.

When the man in blue armor knelt on one knee, the crisp sound of his armor hitting the ground made the candlelight flicker.

At that moment, the general behind the desk raised his head, and the candlelight illuminated his face.

This person has high, prominent brow bones, with the tips of his eyebrows drooping downwards, giving him a somewhat sinister look. His eyes are long and narrow, with unfathomable black pupils. His complexion is a cold, pale white, as if he has never seen sunlight in years, but his cheekbones have a sickly red tinge.

This person was none other than Huo Zhen, the Northern Liang Demon Suppression General, who appeared at the tenth mountain of Yunding Mountain a few days ago!

His identity is Lu Jiang, the deputy commander of the Northern Liang Pacification Office, and his apparent cultivation level is the Heavenly Gate Dao Fruit Realm!
In reality
"grown ups!"

The armored warrior held the wax pellet high in both hands and presented it forward.

Lu Jiang raised his hand and gently beckoned, catching the wax pellet in his hand. A glint of light flashed in his eyes.
"You may leave. No one is needed to guard the door."

"Yes!" The armored soldier stood up, took a few steps back, and then left the tent as ordered.

After everyone left, Lu Jiang blew a breath onto the amber-colored wax ball between his fingers. In the blink of an eye, sparks flew off the wax ball, and the wax shell disappeared completely, revealing a crumpled piece of paper inside.

Just as it was about to unfold, a silvery laugh rang out from inside the tent.

"Judging from this, a letter has arrived from the Prince's residence."

As the laughter began, the candlelight suddenly contracted, and a stunningly beautiful woman emerged from the flickering black shadow of Commander Lu.

First, the hem of her red skirt, embroidered with lotus blossoms, was revealed, followed by half of her breasts. The gold thread on her silk bodice shone in the darkness, more dazzling than candlelight. A captivating face appeared, with eyebrows like distant mountains, curved at the ends, and a vermilion mole at the corner of her eye. Her smile was enchanting, utterly alluring.

The woman emerged from the shadows, graceful and elegant. She draped her slender arms over Commander Lu's shoulders, leaned her entire body against his back, and giggled sweetly in his ear.

"I would also like to see this secret letter."

The voice was so alluring that it made one want to kiss her, but as the woman appeared, the candlelight in the tent suddenly turned towards her, weaving a huge black shadow behind her, through which countless tiny hands could be vaguely seen.

Commander Lu felt a soft touch behind him, and after a brief moment of disorientation, his eyes were quickly filled with coldness and a hint of disgust.

Even with his cultivation and composure, he was still briefly deceived. If he had been fooled by the woman's appearance, he would have been devoured without a trace. He knew the woman's background very well.

"Holy Maiden, do not play with fire. I have already tolerated your presence in the military camp to the limit. To appear without prior notice, are you afraid that others will not see you?" Lu Jiang snorted coldly, his anger hidden.

She's not a saint; she's actually a witch!
Upon hearing this, the woman chuckled softly, her lithe and boneless body springing away.

"General, you really have no sense of romance!"

As she spoke, her tone changed, becoming languid. "I had no choice. The troops of the Ninth Mountain are still searching the mountains, eager to wipe out all our Holy Sect's disciples in Shu. And General Huo, who accepted my gift, hasn't sent a single word for days. I had no choice but to follow the general."

At this point, the Western Regions saintess narrowed her eyes, walked to the side of the table, and turned her head to the side.

"This General Huo doesn't seem as ambitious as you described, General."

Lu Jiang crumpled the paper and sneered at the Western Saintess, "I don't know what provoked you, Saintess, to think that dealing with a Martial Saint is so easy. If you're looking for death, don't drag me down with you."

But the Western Regions saintess, upon hearing the mockery, did not get angry but laughed instead.
"I'm not that stupid. I'll fight General Huo head-on. I'll fight fire with fire and tooth with tooth. I'll deal with his men!"

"If something happens to his men, this Chen Wusheng will surely be unhappy. As long as I can make him unhappy, I'll be happy, hehe."

The laughter was grating, with a slightly distorted quality.

Hearing this, Lu Jiang's expression darkened. He shouldn't have agreed to the witch's conditions in the first place, allowing her to possess his body to ask General Huo for help. After all, the Royal Palace and the Holy Sect had a significant connection. The witch initially told him to seek an audience with General Huo to find a way to transfer the Holy Sect members out of the blockade by the Ninth Mountain's troops. However, afterward, upon hearing that this Western Region witch was actually overestimating herself and launching a revenge attack on the Ninth Mountain, he was shocked and furious, and immediately sent a letter back to the Royal Palace to seek instructions.

The Western Regions witch also knew about this.

Thinking of this, he decided to see what the reply from the Prince's Mansion said.

Lu Jiang glanced sideways at the smiling witch beside him, then crumpled the paper in his hand, quickly scanning its contents.

His expression changed slightly.

Seeing his expression, the Western Region witch's playful smile faded somewhat, and her gaze shifted, sweeping over the note in his hand.
"General what's going on?"

Lu Jiang rubbed his hands together, and the paper burst into flames, leaving not even ashes. He turned his gaze to the witch, a powerful aura of Musashi emanating from him, and said in a deep voice, word by word:

"You're lucky!"

"The Prince's Palace has instructed me to cooperate with you."

Upon hearing this, the Western Regions Saintess's alluring eyes immediately shone brightly, her breasts trembled, and she giggled, "It seems that the King of Northern Liang and I share a common enemy."

But Lu Jiang just sneered, "Don't try to make yourself look good."

His expression then darkened. "It's just that one important person is interested!"

"A big shot? Not at the behest of your prince?" The Western Region Saintess stopped laughing, and this time it was her turn to be surprised and uncertain.

Seeing her reaction, Lu Jiang chuckled twice, "You should mind your own business; this is none of your concern."

While the two were talking in their tent, they were unaware that more than 700 miles away in Chengdu, at Yunding Mountain.

Before a bronze mirror suspended in mid-air, the Great Qian Imperial Preceptor's wrinkled eyelids lifted, his eyes snapped open, and a terrifying glint flashed in his cloudy eyes. (End of Chapter)