The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 52 Paying Homage to the Venerable God
Things took an abrupt turn. Zhou Yan was just about to use [Karmic Flame] to hit this guy and then roll away, but unexpectedly, the sword appeared beside him on its own.

Combat instincts and experience prompted Zhou Yan to act immediately.

He reached out and grabbed the sword.

Then a long, drawn-out sword cry rose and gradually subsided.

The sword still couldn't be drawn, but the gust of wind swirling around it suddenly contracted. Zhou Yan exhaled, spun around, and slashed. The wind swirling around the scabbard swirled for only a moment.

A crisp snapping sound.

The demon's most prized weapon, the claw that had broken Zhou Yan's Hungry Ghost Blade, was severed and thrown into the air.

Cutting off the monster's claws is no different than cutting tofu.

Without hesitation, Zhou Yan took half a step forward and slashed again, splitting the demonic energy in two. The sword in Zhou Yan's hand fell from its sheath, accompanied by the sound of blood splattering on the ground, and the monster in front of him was instantly killed.

The next moment, Zhou Yan felt the longsword whistling.

The wind flowing on the sword spread violently, detached from the blade, and transformed into a sword aura that swept forward!

They cleaved the monster in two, from head to tail, in an even split.

He fell to either side, blood gushing out, stinking to high heaven.

Zhou Yan exhaled, his muscles relaxed, and he pressed the sword, still sheathed, against the ground with his backhand. A gust of wind spread out, its howl almost like the cry of a crane, dispelling all the demonic energy within a ten-foot radius of Zhou Yan.

Instead, there was a refreshing atmosphere, like a gentle breeze.

And that monster.

Those lacking sufficient karma and spiritual cultivation cannot be included in Zhou Yan's Jade Register.

Shen Cangming spurred his horse forward. Hu Erniang asked Qingzhu and Lingxi to take care of the few people who had escaped. She also went over to take a look. The creature killed by Zhou Yan was a wolf-like monster, ferocious and terrifying.

Zhou Yan made a hand seal, and a gentle breeze rose around him, sweeping across the surroundings in an instant and fixing itself around the dead monster. The flowing wind masked the smell of blood, at least delaying the spread of the stench. Then he said, "Zichuan."

From the iron ring on the leather belt, a stream of light emerged from a porcelain bottle, transforming into the image of the scholar. He had been lazily about to stretch and yawn, but upon seeing others present, he immediately adopted a solemn expression, cupped his hands, and said:
"Lang Jun?"

Zhou Yan said, "Keep watch around and be careful."

Yin Zichuan said, "Alright, my lord, don't worry."

After Zhou Yan finished doing all this, he finally let out a breath and turned around. Shen Cangming watched Zhou Yan, from discovering the monster to being on alert, to the swift and decisive battle, and finally using Liu Feng's magic to conceal his presence and clean up the mess.

Everything conformed to the procedures of the Tang Dynasty's elite border troops' surprise attack.

This is completely different from the previous naive situation.

This is true transformation.

Shen Cangming's lips curled slightly, then he silently suppressed it, his hand gripping the knife loosening slightly. The man had many words of praise he wanted to say, but after a long pause, he only uttered three simple words, as he always had:
"well done."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "It's all thanks to Uncle Shen's excellent teaching."

"However, how could a monster appear in Ganquan Plain? This kind of thing can no longer be considered a demon."

Shen Cangming examined it and said slowly, "It is a demon beast that was created by using demonic energy. It has not yet been able to get rid of its own habits and is not very intelligent. I dealt with it on the battlefield back then. However, this will also make these demons more aggressive and unable to communicate."

"There must be other reasons why these people survived."

Qingzhu and the others questioned these people, but they were already somewhat shaken after escaping from Ganquanyuan, so it would be difficult to get any information from them. Qingzhu used the fox demon's illusion magic to calm their panic.

Zhou Yan, however, noticed something was wrong.

There was something about these people that was both familiar and unfamiliar to him. Zhou Yan walked over, and the group hurriedly stood up to thank him. Zhou Yan asked, "I wonder how you all managed to escape?"

A man in his thirties managed to compose himself. Zhou Yan had just drawn his sword to slay a demon, and he was grateful to the young swordsman who had saved him, so he began to recount his story.

In other words, after the war, everyone fled in all directions. Now that Chang'an has been pacified, the people were sent back. After returning to Ganquanyuan, they found that only three out of ten of their fellow villagers were still alive. Although they were heartbroken, life still had to go on.

But a month ago, for some reason, a gust of evil wind suddenly rose up.

First, some people heard voices in an empty house in the middle of the night. Then, smoke rose from a chimney in an empty courtyard. Some brave people pushed open the door and went in to find that the courtyard was empty, but the table was full of food.

The food is still warm.

But none of the people in these houses have come back.

The man stammered as he recounted this, saying, "Well, that person also heard someone in the yard say to him, saying..."

Suddenly a voice asked softly:
"You...you're back?" The man was stunned, and said, "Young hero, how did you know that was what you were going to say?!"

Then he saw Zhou Yan raise his sword and immediately realized that the words had come from behind him. He screamed and fell backward. Zhou Yan slashed his sword horizontally, and a gust of wind swept by, and the sound disappeared.

Zhou Yan saw the lights in the entire village changing in brightness.

When the wind blows, the white lanterns used when someone dies in a house sway violently, making rustling sounds that echo throughout the village, causing the villagers behind them to scream in terror.

Shen Cangming pressed his fingers against the knife, and a murderous aura emanated from him.

As the eerie wind slowly dissipated, Shen Cangming said, "It has discovered us."

Zhou Yan nodded.

This guy actually dares to come here?!

What kind of monster is this?
He saw a little boy next to him with a bit of spiritual light on his neck. This spiritual light was neither demonic nor the aura of a cultivator. Zhou Yan picked up the spiritual light from the child's neck.

It was a fallen leaf, somewhat withered and yellow.

Holding the fallen leaf in his hand, Zhou Yan felt a subtle, indescribable charm. Upon closer inspection, the words and the Mountain Lord's decree seemed somewhat familiar. As he pondered, his gaze followed the fallen leaf and fell upon an old tree at the entrance of the village.

The man followed Zhou Yan's gaze and stammered, "That's the oldest tree in our village. I heard that this old tree existed even before Ganquanyuan was built. The village was originally built around this tree, and the well beneath it was also built around it."

"Really? Thank you."

Zhou Yan walked up to the old tree, his mind wandering. Neither Qingzhu nor Hu Erniang understood what the young man was up to. Only Xiao Huiniang seemed to have come over from the beginning and was squatting under the old tree watching something.

Hu Erniang asked, "Young master?"

As Zhou Yan approached the large tree, the familiar spiritual aura became clearer. The earth beneath his feet, the trees before him, and the fallen leaves in his hand seemed to form a unique connection.

He reached out, curled his fingers, and gently tapped the trunk of the old tree, making a soft knocking sound, and said, "I was passing by when I saw this demon harming people, and I would like to inquire about it."

"Old man, please come out and meet me."

The old tree remained motionless, feigning death. Zhou Yan said:

“There are demons in the village. I want to find out what’s going on and how to deal with the situation here. Since you used your magic to save these people, why don’t you come out and meet us?”

The old tree was just swaying, and Hu Erniang asked in confusion, "Young hero?"

"This is……"

Neither the naked eye, nor demons, nor even the most powerful warriors could directly sense this faint spiritual energy. Zhou Yan looked at the village shrouded in demonic energy, and at the one who dared to come knocking, and said:

"excuse me."

He reached out his hand, and the jade book flipped open to the side about "Hungry Ghosts".

On Zhou Yan's palm, the karmic fire and hunger flames slowly rose, but he suppressed them. They only had a slight effect, but were not at the level of an attack. He gently pressed his palm against the tree trunk.

The boy spoke clearly, enunciating each word distinctly:
"Please come out and meet me."

The old tree began to shake violently.

The swaying motion was as if the wind was blowing, and leaves fell from the trees, landing on the boy's shoulders.

Suddenly a strong wind arose, and a puff of white mist emerged from the tree trunk. An old man appeared on the tree, clutching his stomach and groaning. The young swordsman, his right hand on his sword and his left hand picking up a fallen leaf from his shoulder, looked up at him and smiled:
"Sir, I'm sorry to offend you."

The old man clutched his stomach, his lips twitching.

He had seen enlightened masters and Buddhist Arhats, but he had never seen anyone call him because they were hungry. Helpless, he sighed in despair. Hu Erniang, who was around him, was stunned. Shen Cangming also saw this scene, and even the ordinary people saw the old man who had appeared.

The man stared blankly at the old man, recognizing him as identical to the statue in the ancestral hall. He stammered, unable to speak. The old man said irritably, "Pointing, pointing, pointing at what?! You're just like your ancestor, a coward."

"If it weren't for this old man's hard work, you would have been gone long ago."

Hu Erniang recognized the land deity and quickly apologized:
"Lord Earth God, this young hero was only trying to save someone, please don't be angry."

"Get angry? Heh..."

The old man sighed. He noticed a faint spiritual aura emanating from Zhou Yan, and under the incredulous gazes of the crowd, he flicked his sleeves and bowed respectfully to the sword-wielding youth, saying:
"This old man is the local earth god of Ganquanyuan. I have met the mountain god."

The gazes of everyone around froze for a moment.

They all landed on the boy.

(End of this chapter)