The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 94 Jinghe Dragon Lord
The locust trees are in full bloom, and the fragrance lingers throughout the village.

Zhou Yan and Shen Cangming did not disturb Yin Zichuan and Lian Niang's reunion. They dragged out Zhu Zicheng's demon corpse and used a trick to avoid alarming the people. After all, Zhu Zicheng's true form was a giant insect more than two meters long.

Having suffered considerable losses in the recent battle, Zhou Yan stood firmly on the ground, his magical power slowly recovering.

While Zhou Yan was still pondering how to deal with the creature, Shen Cangming had already taken out some kerosene and sprinkled it all over the giant insect. In a deep voice, he said, "Burn it."

“Rainbows, scales, fur, feathers, and insects.”

"The monsters transformed from furry beasts are merely powerful and physically strong, fearless of beacon fires; those with scales and armor can often control water currents; and bird-like monsters are extremely fast, adept at bursts of speed, and strike without exerting force."

"As for these insects, they are the most disgusting and troublesome."

"Even if you kill them, you have to be careful. It's hard to be sure if they used any methods like attaching insect eggs before they died. Once you get attached, you might be tracked down or even directly parasitized."

“I once saw a Xuan Guan with very high martial arts skills who was parasitized by insect eggs. Those insect eggs burrowed into his seven orifices, hatched in his abdomen, ate his flesh and blood, and finally pierced through his internal organs and crawled out from his stomach and genitals.”

"The man screamed in agony for three days and three nights before finally dying."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan felt a chill run down his spine.

Thinking of the section about Zhu Zicheng in the jade book, and the tragic Chen family case, I realized that in this world, without the protection of Xuan Guan (a type of martial arts master), one can easily be drawn into all sorts of strange and bizarre events.
"The Zerg fear fire and smoke, so they are best tempered with lightning."

Shen Cangming gestured for Zhou Yan to make his move. Zhou Yan sheathed his sword, gathered his strength, and then slashed out suddenly. As the blade slid out of the sheath, it emitted a low, chilling whistle. A layer of flames exploded, igniting the oil and engulfing Zhu Zicheng's true form.

The kerosene fueled the fire, and after Zhu Zicheng died, he was unable to use his magic to resist the flames and was quickly set ablaze. Accompanied by crackling sounds, Zhu Zicheng's true body first emitted a burnt smell, and then gradually emitted a fragrance, which quickly spread.

Shen Cangming instructed Zhou Yan to focus on the remaining head and the core of the body.

He severed the insect demon's heart and limb connections beforehand to prevent its soul from hiding. Finally, the raging flames turned the entire insect demon into ashes, leaving a burnt smell. Shen Cangming used his knife to rummage through the ashes and found that a few things remained.

A beetle with golden patterns.

The knife in Shen Cangming's hand touched the molted insect slightly, producing a crisp clanging sound. Shen Cangming picked it up. The Xuan Guan of the Fengsui lineage is mainly skilled in fire magic, which is extremely explosive, but its melting ability is average.

However, the fact that it could withstand the burning of Zhou Yanfeng's fire meant that it was undoubtedly one of the core elements of Zhu Zicheng's demonic power. So he threw it to Zhou Yan, who caught it and felt a slight burning sensation.

Shen Cangming said, "Insects are rare materials, belonging to the elements of metal and earth in the Five Elements. They are not afraid of ordinary fire and can be used to forge weapons. Weapons forged from this material are difficult for even a ninth-rank Xuan official's fire magic to melt."

"It can also withstand your Beacon Slash."

Zhou Yan looked at the horizontal sword in his hand and slashed and fought repeatedly, even guiding the fire energy to chop. The sword, which was already somewhat twisted during the process of slaying demons because it could not withstand the force, bent and twisted further.

Swords and sabers, which are weapons used for slashing and fighting, are worn out very quickly.

Fighting monsters is like a fast-moving consumer good.

Zhou Yan calculated the price of a knife and suddenly felt a strong longing for the eighth-rank Xuan Guan.

An eighth-rank Xuan official can have their battle blade absorb blood to regenerate during combat.

After being forged, the quality of the sword can be gradually improved through fighting and drinking blood.

Further enhance its sharpness.

The materials Zhou Yan currently possesses for refining eighth-grade artifacts are black iron sand refined with his blood and the remains of a seventh-grade Xuan Guan level demon. Zhou Yan looked at the golden cicada shell and thought about the records in the jade book.

Twisted monsters, and spells that turn people into cicadas.

Weaver Girl, Cicada Molting, Reclining Buddha Temple, Lantern Shadows.

The place called Wofo Temple is not right.

Something's definitely not right.

Zhou Yan thought for a moment, then sent the two little demons away and went to talk to Shen Cangming about the Reclining Buddha Temple.

He concealed the matter of the jade book, only claiming that he heard it mentioned by Zhu Zicheng during their fight, as well as the matter of Dengying'er, all of which were inextricably linked to the Wofo Temple. This Wofo Temple was probably no ordinary place either.

Shen Cangming had previously said that he had an old friend who was now in the Wofo Temple.

The materials that could help Zhou Yan break through to the eighth-rank Xuan Guan were in the hands of that old friend.

Shen Cangming's expression darkened slightly. Judging from the various things he had encountered along the way, the temple where his old friend was located seemed to have undergone tremendous changes during the time they had been apart.

The lamp oil gave birth to a rat demon, which then stole the Buddha's lamp.

Furthermore, evil practices such as the Golden Cicada and Jade Dew were spread.

It is also inextricably linked to the great demon Weaver Girl. Now it seems that either the place has become a demon's lair, or some monks there have become Weaver Girl's puppets, turning into monsters covered in golden cicada shells.

Shen Cangming let out a breath. He was indeed worried about whether his old friend had been harmed, but as a battle-hardened veteran, he was calm and composed enough that he would not act rashly out of worry. The horizontal sword in his hand rested calmly in its sheath.

Zhou Yan said, "Uncle Shen, your old friend."

Shen Cangming said, "...He is my comrade-in-arms."

"After the general's incident, I lived a life of leisure in the border army. He felt that the general who fought to the death for his country and made foreign enemies dare not invade was transferred and died suddenly just because of a few words from his close minister and the emperor's suspicion. He was disheartened and became a monk."

"The reason for choosing the Reclining Buddha Temple is because it is closer to Chang'an City."

Sharing life and death is a bond forged on the battlefield.

If Zhou Yan hadn't been there, Shen Cangming would have gone straight to the Wofo Temple with his sword drawn.

Zhou Yan was aware of this as well.

But there was another thing he was vaguely worried about.

Having killed Zhu Zicheng, the furnace vessel of the Weaver Girl, wouldn't a powerful demon like the Weaver Girl be aware of this? If she were to notice, she would likely retaliate. But this was clearly a powerful demon! She refined human skins to create magical artifacts for her demons.

They attacked themselves.

These things tangled together, like a spider web. Zhou Yan exhaled, feeling nothing but discontent. The more he tried to be himself in this world, the more troubled he felt by all sorts of things.

How do we know this? How do we prove it? It is through the clarity of our mind.

He heard from Bihen that the Weaver Girl planned to turn him into a furnace like Zhu Zicheng.

The Master of the Azure Netherworld has another conflict with me regarding the path of cultivation, and he has also spread rumors that his flesh can extend life by a hundred years and greatly increase magical power. So, no matter how careful I am, there will probably be no shortage of battles along the way.

Within the human court, there are still orders to kill him and Uncle Shen.

Strength, oh strength...

The world is in turmoil, and while things are gradually returning to normal, the waves in this extraordinary world seem to be raging.

The confusion and distress in his heart, the helplessness, were quickly abandoned by Zhou Yan. His thoughts cut through these layers of distractions like a sword.

The boy tapped his fingers on the hilt of the knife.

Whether the world is peaceful or not, the demons must be slain.

If there are immortals or gods, then ascend to their presence and inquire again about the way home.

But those are too far away.

Zhou Yan's attention instantly returned to the current losses. He started calculating on the abacus. In this battle, he had lost another battle sword, and Black Wind's spirit wine was only half left. This wine seemed to have been brewed with some vermilion fruit that wasn't aged enough.

It doesn't increase mana much, but it can restore mana consumed.

It can be considered a magical treasure.

During the battle, they shoveled down about half a pot of it.

In other words, they managed to get rid of Zhu Zicheng and even obtained a treasure for weapon crafting, which made the loss seem less than too great. The ashes left behind after Zhu Zicheng burned to ashes were dug into a hole by the bamboo pole and the short, fat man, who were grumbling and groaning, and buried the ashes.

Zhu Zicheng deserved to die, but these insects had once longed for the world of sunlight. The old earth god channeled the ashes of these demon corpses into the earth, thus compensating for the loss caused by the blooming of locust flowers in autumn.

"Alright, everything's taken care of. Now let's talk about you guys."

Shen Cangming raised his eyes, his fingers pressing on the hilt of the knife.

He calmly looked at the two fairies in front of him.

The murderous aura unique to the elite warriors spread slowly like the morning mist. It meant nothing to Zhou Yan, but it felt like fine needles pricking the two demons, making them tremble with fear.

The two demons knelt down with a thud, crying out, "Injustice! Injustice!"

These two monsters, one a bamboo pole spirit and the other a coal spirit, are both just monsters with some spiritual power. Relying on their own abilities, they are considered slightly stronger than ordinary martial artists.

Even when encountering a fierce and valiant person, it's difficult to gain the upper hand.

Even spirituality has a lifespan limit.

Having heard the news released by the Qingming Pavilion Master, they wanted to come and freeload some food, hoping to live a little longer. Shen Cangming raised his eyes, looked at Wugong Town, and said calmly, "Who?"

boom! ! !
A gust of evil wind swept in, engulfing the entire Wugong Town. Dark clouds rolled in the sky, an ominous sight. A loud laugh echoed in the wind, saying, "My two good-for-nothing little brothers have caused you trouble."

"I am but an ordinary spirit from the mountains and forests outside the Hedong Beach. My two little brothers, unaware of the rules, have come here and offended Your Excellency."

"If you have some free time, please come to my temple and have a cup of tea."

The demon laughed loudly, but rather arrogantly intended to take both demons away directly. Shen Cangming drew his sword and unleashed a fierce slash.

After colliding with the dark clouds in the sky, the monster let out a soft sigh, then laughed and said, "Impressive skill!" before transforming into a dark cloud and disappearing, saying, "Since you possess such abilities, next time, we should come to apologize."

“These two fools have caused trouble for you, sir. This is to atone for their mistake.”

"Farewell!"

The dark clouds still swept away the two little demons, leaving behind a pot of wine in the air. It also emitted a faint spiritual aura, similar to the wine of the Black Wind, and possessed the effect of restoring magical power.

Zhou Yan knew that if it weren't for Shen Cangming, this monster would never have been so easy to talk to.

Shen Cangming stroked the hilt of his sword, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "I'm going to the Reclining Buddha Temple."

One purpose was to visit a friend, and the other was to obtain the core of the eighth-rank Xuan official.

An ordinary eighth-rank official is fine, but what my friend has is the lineage established by Wang Zhongsi, the first divine general of the Tang Dynasty and the military governor of the four towns. There are very few of them left in the world.

Zhou Yan said, "I'll go too."

Shen Cangming looked at him intently and said, "First refine the weapon, then forge the sword."

Zhou Yan nodded solemnly.

Meanwhile, Ao Xuantao had also arrived at Wuyin Peak.

The Jing River's flow gradually increased near Misty Peak, and spiritual energy began to circulate.

The spirit of Misty Peak, which had once helped Zhou Yan and Shen Cangming, was originally dormant, but it was awakened from its light slumber by the gradual increase in the spiritual energy of its mountain range. Sensing the pure water elemental aura, it was surprised:

"This is... the Dragon King of the Jing River?!"

(End of this chapter)