Long River Eternity

"Do you still remember me?" Ye Tingxue asked in surprise.

"Of course I remember." Yu Shiqi's voice was weak and intermittent, as if every word struggled in her throat. "Honestly, I have you to thank. Ten years ago, your Heavenly Soul Body powerfully emerged and completely defeated my Red and Green Snakes. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have strengthened my soul training, and I'm afraid even you wouldn't have been able to save me this time."

Ye Tingxue noticed Yu Shiqi's weakness and felt a pang of anxiety. Since the source of the injury had been removed, she decided not to rush into inquiring about what had happened. "Rest well first. We'll talk again when you've recovered."

Yu Shiqi nodded slightly, looked at Ye Tingxue gratefully, then closed her eyes and began to regulate her breathing. Yang An and Ye Tingxue quietly left the room and walked into the yard.

"What exactly is that black energy?" Yang An frowned, his face full of confusion.

"I'm not quite sure, but I felt the breath of the soul from the black air. It was that black air that sealed Yu Shiqi's soul, making her like an empty shell." Ye Tingxue explained.

"Yu Shiqi is now a powerful cultivator in the late Heyuan Realm. Who on earth can seal her soul? Can you do it?" Yang An's voice was filled with uneasiness. If even Ye Tingxue with a Heavenly Soul Body couldn't seal her soul, then one could imagine how powerful the enemy was.

Ye Tingxue thought for a moment and shook her head: "It is indeed difficult to rely on the Heavenly Soul Body alone. But if there is a magic weapon to help, it is possible."

Yang An's eyes lit up: "Yes, a magical weapon! That person slaughtered so many villages, could it be that he was refining some kind of spiritual magical weapon?"

"It's very likely." Ye Tingxue nodded in agreement. "Soul-type magical instruments are extremely rare, and the refining conditions are harsh. In addition to requiring special materials to carry the soul's power, they also require high-quality or large quantities of souls as a medium."

"Let's wait until she recovers some strength before asking her. Now let's go and deal with the villagers' affairs first." After thinking for a moment, Yang An looked at the sky. It was almost an hour, so he decided to fulfill his promise to the villagers outside the door first.

Yang An and Ye Tingxue called the housekeeper and learned that the housekeeper's surname was Liu, so the three of them went outside together.

When the gate slowly opened, the villagers looked at them intently with anticipation and longing.

"The people from Dao Court are indeed trustworthy and do what they say!"

“Can they solve our dilemma?”

"It seems we are really saved!"

Yang An raised his hand to signal for silence, and said gently, "Everyone, listen to me first. The City Lord of Rain Master has already investigated the rampage of ferocious beasts in the surrounding area and has fought the perpetrator. Unfortunately, she was ambushed by that person and has been recovering from her injuries for the past few days, so she hasn't been able to come to see you in person."

As he spoke, Yang An took out a formation stone from his arms and showed it to everyone: "I think many people here should have seen this kind of stone. A mysterious man with a black mask gave it to you before, right?"

Hearing Yang An's question, a chorus of agreement came from the audience: "Yes, I have one at home. It was given to me by the man in the black mask."

"Yes, yes, my family has one too. Since several households in the village put these stones, the environment of the entire village has improved."

"What does the messenger mean by taking this out? Could it be that this stone attracted a ferocious beast?"

Some smart villagers have already guessed Yang An's intention of taking out the formation stone.

Seeing that most villages had placed formation stones, Yang An became more certain of his speculation and continued, "As you guessed, these stones are formation stones. They are scattered throughout the village, forming a formation specifically designed to lure ferocious beasts, which is why they attacked. Those villages that haven't been attacked by ferocious beasts, hurry back and have those who have these stones at home throw them away quickly. Only in this way will the ferocious beasts not be attracted here. Go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the people below exclaimed in surprise. After a brief discussion, about half of them turned around hurriedly and ran out of the city, eager to get rid of the formation stones in the village.

Yang An watched the departing villagers, his brow furrowed, his mind pondering. Then, he leaned closer to Ye Tingxue and whispered, "Tingxue, follow them and protect them from the shadows. I'm worried the person behind this will intercept them along the way. If that happens, those villages will still be vulnerable to the beasts' slaughter. I'll come find you after I've arranged for these villagers. Please be sure to stay safe."

Ye Tingxue nodded, quickly retreated to a hidden corner, and disappeared in a flash.

Yang An looked at the direction where Ye Tingxue disappeared in the sky, took a deep breath, turned around and said to the remaining villagers, "The City Lord of Rain Master feels deeply guilty about what happened to you. She believes she failed to protect the villagers. She will definitely find out who is behind this, avenge all the villagers who died, and bring justice to everyone."

"Those who survive will live well in the city from now on. The City Lord's Mansion will provide each survivor with funds to help you through this difficult time. At the same time, we will set up a resettlement site to provide everyone with temporary shelter. Next, please proceed to Butler Liu to register in an orderly manner."

When the villagers heard Yang An's plan, they cheered. After experiencing unforeseen disasters and days of displacement, they finally received justice. Grateful glances flooded toward Yang An, and many even cried with joy.

"Finally, I don't have to sleep on the streets anymore. That's great!"

"The Dao Court messengers are so efficient!"

"I told you that this time we can solve the problem!"

"Father, if you hold on for another day, we can have food to eat, woo woo woo."

However, most villagers didn't have much desire for revenge. They knew that their meager strength was no match for those powerful beings. For them, their greatest wish was to move to another place and live a stable life.

Seeing that the villagers had already lined up in front of Steward Liu, Yang An left to look for Ye Tingxue. Just as he was about to reach the city gate, a sudden "bang!" sounded from a kilometer outside the city gate, deafening.

Yang An's heart tightened, and he immediately disappeared from the spot and rushed to the scene.

Sure enough, when he arrived at the scene, he saw a man in a black robe and a black mask. Several villagers were so frightened by the sudden change that they collapsed on the ground in a trance.

Fortunately, Ye Tingxue was standing safely opposite the black-faced man, confronting him with a firm gaze.

Yang An rushed to Ye Tingxue and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

Ye Tingxue shook her head slightly, but her eyes were always fixed on the black-faced man.

"Yang An with the Chaos Body, Ye Tingxue with the Heavenly Soul Body, I have heard of your names for a long time. You are the most proud disciples of Fuxi and Nuwa. You have been famous and active in Pangu Continent in recent years. I didn't expect that you would come here today to ruin my plans!" The black-faced man sneered, his voice neutral and difficult to distinguish his gender.

"Who are you? Why do you want to control the ferocious beasts to cause chaos?" Yang An asked in a deep voice.

"You are so good, why don't you guess it yourself? I am unlucky to meet you. I am not interested in playing with you." After saying this, the black-faced man turned around and was about to leave.

"Now that you've shown up, you still want to leave?" Yang An flashed behind the black-faced man and stretched out his hand to grab him.

"Be careful!" Ye Tingxue reminded from behind.

"Hahaha!" Before Yang An's hand touched the black-faced man, his body began to twist, instantly turning into a ball of black gas and exploding with a loud bang.

The black air spread out like a tide, and most of it rushed towards Yang An.

Thanks to Ye Tingxue's warning, Yang An retracted his strength in time and quickly retreated, temporarily avoiding the invasion of the black energy. However, the black energy spread faster than his retreat speed and was about to touch him.

Just a wisp of black air can seal the soul of a master like Yu Shiqi. Now facing this situation, Yang An did not dare to touch it easily.

Just as he was about to release the Chaos Realm in an attempt to isolate the black air, a colorful light flashed behind him, and then a colorful light curtain enveloped Yang An and the villagers on the ground. As the scattered black air touched the light curtain, it disappeared instantly like ice and snow meeting fire.

Yang An let out a long sigh and turned to look at Ye Tingxue, a faint smile on his face. The colorful light curtain was the Azure Soul Domain that Ye Tingxue had cast, like a warm shelter, dispelling the darkness before his eyes.