The immortal is beside me

Chapter 39: The Mystery of Peach Blossom, a Breakthrough Before the Battle! (Monthly Ticket Bonus)
At 4:55 p.m., all entrances and exits to the south of Liangzhou City were closed.

The electronic screen above the toll booth read "Highway under renovation, please take a detour." Uniformed police officers blocked the traffic flow. The passage was full of cars, and the drivers honked their horns and cursed in their seats.

60 kilometers southwest of this road, you can see huge craters with smoke billowing out of them exposed on the road surface. Shrapnel, sword marks, gunpowder debris and the iron shells of blown-up cars are scattered around them, large and small, intermittent, stretching for several miles away, like scars on the earth.

The further forward we went, the more numerous and dense the scars became, even the mountains on both sides were affected. The mountains and rivers that were originally covered with green shade seemed to have been cut by a sharp blade, revealing hideous stone teeth.

Until the intersection of a mountain and a highway, the long scar stopped, and was replaced by a huge crack that spanned the entire highway. A bright green barrier covered the entire road surface, like a huge soundproof wall, completely suppressing the noise of the artillery fire inside.

When Lu Zhenhai and his team arrived at the scene, the battle had already reached a white-hot stage. Hundreds of specialists surrounded the barrier, and gunfire and magic spells formed an impenetrable net, covering everything within a hundred meters.

"The prison van carrying the prisoners exploded 35 kilometers outside the city, allowing the prisoners to escape. Judging from their movements, they fled eastward along the highway."

"After receiving the escort team's call for assistance, nearby combat teams rushed over and intercepted the enemy 50 kilometers away. After a battle of several kilometers, they finally drove them into the isolation barrier."

While listening to the report from the captain of the on-site command team, Lu Zhenhai looked around at the situation.

Following the direction of the gunfire, one can see a white figure standing on the top of the mountain. The figure is dozens of meters tall, with a blurry and ethereal face, as if it is a Dharma body composed of pure spiritual power.

According to the report, this was the prisoner who escaped from the prison van. However, his aura was no longer the same as before. Even through the barrier, he could still feel the astonishing sense of oppression.

In front of the Dharma body, more than a dozen monks wearing Jiuli Sect Taoist robes were suspended in the air, with magic spells and spiritual weapons flying together, and together with many bullets, they hit the enemies in front of them, colliding with dazzling light.

Several spiritual powers collided with each other, and the aftermath hit the barriers on both sides, causing the entire barrier to shake violently. Several of the specialists controlling the barrier were immediately shocked and fell to the ground. Their teammates behind them helped them to the back, and then replaced them.

There was another loud noise and another collision. The Dharma body retreated dozens of steps, and the dozen or so cultivators in the air were also shaken away dozens of meters. They lowered their bodies and fell to the ground one by one.

Jiang Ruifeng, who was standing next to Lu Zhenhai, saw the group of people clearly, flew forward and called out the identity of the leader.

"Seventh Elder!"

As he said, these cultivators were the elite from the Jiuli Sect.

After learning about the Peach Blossom Spring, the Jiuli Sect sent several groups of elite reinforcements to the Environmental Sanitation Bureau, including even elder-level figures, which shows how much importance they attach to it.

During the Peach Blossom Spring crusade over the past week, this group of elites indeed played a significant role. Four of the five Peach Blossom Spring remnants captured alive were from the Jiuli, which shows the advantage of the cultivators.

An hour ago, news of the prison van explosion came, and the teams of the Environmental Sanitation Bureau immediately responded to provide support. The Jiuli monks distributed in the bureau also received the news.

The Seventh Elder of the Jiuli Sect immediately brought his most elite men and rushed over at full speed, intercepted the enemy halfway and engaged in a fight with them, which gave the people from the Environmental Sanitation Bureau time to set up an isolation barrier.

But since it is called a "fight", it shows that the Jiuli side did not gain much advantage in this battle.

Seeing the arrival of new reinforcements, the elder did not talk much with Jiang Ruifeng, but looked at Lu Zhenhai behind him.

"Manager Lu, there's something fishy going on with that guy inside."

The Seventh Elder's face was solemn. "When we first encountered it, its cultivation was still lower than mine. However, during this period of fighting, it unexpectedly broke through the realm, and its cultivation is still increasing. If this continues, the situation will get out of control. We must kill it quickly."

Lu Zhenhai, who was standing next to him, was slightly surprised when he heard this.

He knew that the dozen or so people in front of him were all elite Jindan cultivators on par with Jiang Ruifeng, and the elder who was speaking was even a Yuanying-level cultivator. If they joined forces, they would be able to fight against an armored company.

However, in the database of the Environmental Sanitation Bureau, the remnant of Peach Blossom Spring who was escorted was only in the Jindan stage. According to common sense, he would not be able to fight back against this lineup, but now the two sides are fighting on equal terms.

In just a few hours, his cultivation level increased dramatically.
He remembered what Jiang Ruifeng had said to him before about the speculation about "devouring", and considering the situation of other members of Peach Blossom Land having their souls sucked out, he secretly thought that something was wrong.

Combining various intelligence reports, the enemy is probably improving their cultivation by devouring the souls of their companions, and all the living forces of Peach Blossom Land in the entire city are gathering here.

Previously, everyone, including him, believed that as long as the Peach Blossom Spring members were escorted separately, nothing would happen. But now it seemed that the other party was still able to devour them even though they were a hundred miles apart!
This situation has never appeared in any historical records. Could it be that after thousands of years, the Peach Blossom Spring has evolved again?
"I will activate the Demon Suppression Formation here and kill the evil demon with one strike. While the formation is active."

The Seventh Elder said this, looking at Lu Zhenhai beside him. The latter immediately understood and said in a deep voice, "We will provide fire support."

The elder nodded slightly, turned to the elites beside him and said, "You all will help me to open the formation. Jiang Ruifeng, you come with us."

Including Jiang Ruifeng, all the Jiuli people present rose into the air at the same time. Several streams of spiritual power surged out and connected with each other, forming a large green light formation in the air that was more than ten meters wide. Amidst the shining halo, the surging spiritual power surged in the formation, flowing out like real ripples.

Under the formation, the sound of artillery fire arose.

The gun barrel on the armored vehicle spewed out smoke, and the shells flew towards the peach blossom figure with a hissing sound, exploding with huge flames and buzzing sounds, and raising clouds of dust.

The smoke cleared, and a smoking cave appeared on the mountain peak behind. A Dharma body, surrounded by peach blossoms, floated in the smoke, a white light shrouding it like a gentle breeze, completely dispelling the scorching impact.

The anti-aircraft shells could not cause any effective damage to him!
Although this was expected, witnessing it in person was still truly shocking. As the regional executive director, Lv Zhenhai had been a commissioner for over twenty years, but he had only encountered enemies of this level a handful of times.

It took him two seconds to regain his composure, raising the walkie-talkie to his mouth and quickly issuing a new round of orders.

Because the prison van explosion happened suddenly, all the teams came to support temporarily and the equipment they carried was not complete. In addition, the opponent's strength was unpredictable, making it difficult for everyone to form a complete and organized military formation.

Lu Zhenhai was well aware of this, and therefore abandoned the traditional encirclement and suppression formation, and instead divided the on-site specialists into several different groups with heavy weapons as the core, taking turns to provide firepower coverage.

Waves of artillery fire rang out, armored anti-aircraft guns and individual rocket-propelled grenades on the ground fired at the same time. Before the smoke from the previous wave had dissipated, the next wave of artillery shells had already arrived.

Although it couldn't effectively inflict any casualties, the immense kinetic energy still drove the Dharmakaya back, plowing a chasm several dozen meters across the ground until it was completely empty, its entire form forced into the crater created by the grenade. Almost instantly, a drone flew overhead, dropping a vial of spirit-extinguishing smoke into the crater. Thick smoke spread out, filling the entire pit. Combined with the continuous barrage, the figure was pinned firmly within the smoke.

If the strength shown in the previous data was true, this set of combined firepower punches would be enough to kill him ten times. However, on the spiritual power monitor, the spiritual power of the Dharma body only fluctuated slightly, and remained firmly locked on the screen.

This means the target is still alive.

Lü Zhenhai watched all this from afar. Within a dozen minutes, the Environmental Sanitation Bureau's weapons reserves had been largely expended, minimizing the enemy's spiritual power and space for maneuver.

after this
A strong green light swept across the entire road, and everyone present couldn't help but feel awe.

Looking up, a massive formation had already taken shape in the air. A dozen elite Jindan warriors stood at its sides, their bodies the centerpiece of the formation, guarding the central elder like stars surrounding the moon. He slowly extended a hand and swung it down with the majesty of judgment.

A sharp whistle erupted, and all the green light coalesced into one, descending with the force of a mountain towards the pit where the artillery fire had been located. Waves of might spread out, and the faces of the nearby commissioners turned pale, nearly suffocated by the power, and they instinctively retreated.

But at the same time, another force rose up.

A bluish-pink gust of wind rose from the bottom of the mountain, forming a huge eye that violently devoured everything around it. Invisible spiritual energy was condensed into the shape of peach petals in the air and gathered towards the center, causing the momentum of the hurricane to rise at an alarming speed, approaching the green light formation in the sky.

With a loud bang, a tornado surrounded by peach blossoms rose up, and the green light formation above fell at the same time. The two huge spiritual powers connected with each other, and the impact shook the earth. The rocky mountaintops on both sides were directly flattened, and even the earth shook.

The earth began to tremble, and the shattered rocks covered the sky. Many people outside subconsciously lay down to avoid it. Lu Zhenhai in the back barely managed to steady himself and raised the telescope to his eyes.

Through the lens, he saw the smoke in the tunnel being blown away by the strong wind. Through the flying sand and rocks, he could vaguely see a huge figure in the eye of the wind half-kneeling on the ground, and slowly stood up under the fierce green light above his head.

wrong!

Lu Zhenhai's pupils suddenly contracted. He threw down the binoculars, pressed the earphones and yelled.

"Increase the spiritual power output of the barrier! Adjust it to maximum output."

boom--

The huge explosion drowned out his roar, and the eye of the storm that had gathered to the extreme suddenly erupted, instantly breaking up the demon-suppressing formation in the air and bombarding the outer isolation barrier. With a teeth-grinding sound of cracking, the emerald green formation shattered on the spot like glass!
Spiritual light scattered and screams rang out. Amidst the shouts and the sounds of running, the aftermath of the strong wind swept across the surroundings, uprooting several trees on the ground that were as thick as a man. The trees were mixed with flying gun barrels and launchers, and the fragments were scattered like rain in the wind.

Liangzhou City, east of Beilin District.

Outside the antique market, the sky had begun to darken, and the market activities were nearing their end. People visiting the market were pouring out of the exit in twos and threes, many of them pushing carts and carrying bags, and it was obvious that they had achieved good results.

Zhou Qing blended into the crowd as he headed out. He hadn't bought anything that afternoon, simply wandering around the market, glancing at the old items and sorting through the fragments of his memories. That was all.

Memories are like wine: a little sip can soothe your spirits, but indulging in them can harm your health. He had long since passed the stage of his alcohol addiction.

When I walked to the entrance of the market, I heard a hawking voice with a Qinqiang accent.

"Selling sugar paintings~ Made and sold now~"

A tin pot was steaming hot, and beside it, an aproned vendor stirred the semi-solidified syrup with a spoon. Several prepared samples were stuck on the side of the pot: a flying dragon, a golden rooster, and a butterfly. They attracted many people's attention.

Zhou Qing also paused with interest. This sugar painting was a century-old artifact, incorporating techniques from shadow puppetry. Compared to simple antiques, this sugar painting was clearly much more practical—at least it was edible.

He now uses the worldly affairs to refine his mind and stabilize his spirit. The key point is to integrate into people's livelihood, and the desire for food is also an important part of people's livelihood.

"How much is this dragon's?"

"Five dollars, try it, it's delicious."

"Here comes one."

The chubby boss echoed the call and began to scoop syrup from the wooden bowl beside him. Zhou Qing watched from the side, then suddenly looked up, as if sensing something, and gazed towards the other end of the city.

There is a strong aura rising at a distance of about a hundred miles?
After sensing carefully, I found that the aura was fluctuating. It meant they were fighting with someone, probably the people from the Environmental Sanitation Bureau.

However, judging by the speed at which things are expanding, the Environmental Sanitation Bureau might not have gotten away with it. If they continue like this, not only will they suffer heavy losses, but the nearby counties will also be affected.

He had originally thought that these younger generations already had enough autonomy and didn't want to interfere too much with their actions. But seeing as things were going on, he still had to intervene a little.

"Boss, I have something to do. I need to go take care of it first." He thought for a moment, then turned to the sugar painting owner and said, "Make this sugar painting first. I'll come back to pick it up later."

"Okay, I'll keep it for you when I'm done."

The boss nodded politely, then reminded, "But you'd better come and get it quickly. This thing can't be kept for too long, otherwise the sugar will get stale and won't taste good."

"It's okay, it won't be long."

Zhou Qing smiled, turned around and walked in the opposite direction of the crowd.

When he turned a deserted intersection, he swayed slightly and his figure disappeared in an instant. Only the willow branches in front of him were blown by the wind, and the rustling sound startled the birds into flying away.

P.S. Friends, you guys are awesome! The single chapter I sent out asking for votes pushed me up from 19th to 7th place in one afternoon, and also gave me, a small loser, a taste of being on the front page. I'm so overwhelmed with tears, I don't know what to say. I can only send you a 4000-word chapter as a thank you!

(End of this chapter)