Chapter 375: The Bare Body Sect’s Chief Shopkeeper! The Young Scholar, the Bearded Strongman! The Sealed Land!

The talisman in his hands was heating up, growing hotter by the second. Just then, a fierce, chilling wind whipped through the air!

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Gasp!

Everyone couldn’t help but inhale sharply.

“Head Constable Wang, this place feels... weird, kind of sinister,” a sword-bearing constable stammered.

Panic flashed across Head Constable Wang’s face, and in his heart he cursed himself for letting fear cloud his judgment.

“Everyone, pull yourselves together! Ghosts are nothing. If one comes, I’ll cut it down myself!” he shouted angrily, though inside he was terrified.

However, there was no response from anyone. A cold dread shot down his spine as he stiffly turned his head, only to find that his four junior officers had completely vanished!

“Where are you all? Where did you go?!”

A bone-chilling coldness surged up his spine.

Waaaaa waaaaaa waaaa!

A piercing, sorrowful wail echoed in his ears.

With a clang, Head Constable Wang drew his long sword, his blood surging through his veins.

Waaaaa waaaaaa waaaa!

The crying grew even more piercing, and he felt as if his blood were about to freeze solid.

Creak!

The door slowly opened, and a young woman, without makeup and in disheveled clothing, ran out in terror.

“Help! There’s a ghost in the room!” Xu Lishi’s face turned pale, and she threw herself into Head Constable Wang’s arms.

“Don’t be afraid... I’m here.” Before Head Constable Wang could speak, a searing, intense heat surged from the talisman on his chest.

Hiss!

He involuntarily pushed Xu Lishi away and pulled the talisman out from his chest, wincing in pain.

“It’s too damn hot!” Head Constable Wang shouted in shock.

Then, he suddenly realized something, and stared at Xu Lishi in astonishment.

“Head Constable Wang, why did you push me away? Aren’t you supposed to protect me?” Xu Lishi asked.

Head Constable Wang felt the talisman’s heat radiating in his hands and shivered as the hair on his body stood on end.

“You... are a ghost?!”

An eerie smile spread across Xu Lishi’s face. “You’ve always liked this little widow, haven’t you? Come on...”

Head Constable Wang instinctively stepped back, utterly shocked.

Suddenly, Xu Lishi vanished before his eyes. A chill swept past his ears, as if... someone was lying on his shoulder!

Goosebumps erupted across Head Constable Wang’s body. Luckily, the protective talisman on him glowed, scaring the figure away. He turned and saw a middle-aged man with a goat beard standing in the courtyard, eyes blazing with ferocity.

“Who... are you?!” Head Constable Wang exclaimed in disbelief.

Then, the middle-aged man shifted and became a long-sword-wielding constable, Head Constable Wang himself.

When he saw this, a cold dread rose in his heart. If not for the divine light from the talisman, he feared his blood would have frozen from the icy, ghostly aura.

“Hehehe!” The goat-bearded man let out a piercing ghostly screech and lunged at Head Constable Wang.

Immediately, Head Constable Wang felt as if he were sinking into quicksand, his movements sluggish.

The fierce wind carried a foul stench as the sinister face, identical to his own, was about to strike right before his eyes.

Boom!

A massive fist imprint slammed down from dozens of zhang away. It was pure yang dominance, and it shattered the fake constable instantly.

Crack!

A crisp sound rang out. The surroundings shifted, but it was still the courtyard of the inn.

However, Head Constable Wang was now at the edge of the octagonal well in the courtyard, one more step and he would have fallen in.

At this moment, the goat-bearded middle-aged man stared coldly at him.

Gasp!

Head Constable Wang drew in a deep breath, feeling his hands and feet grow icy as a wave of chill swept over his heart.

Suddenly, a young, handsome Daoist appeared before him, and Head Constable Wang’s face lit up with joy!

Li Yanchu’s expression was cold and sharp, his killing intent palpable.

“You young Daoist, get out of my way,” the goat-bearded man said coldly.

“It was you who killed the young lady of the Xu family, and everything that happened to the Xu family was your doing as well,” Li Yanchu said in a deep voice.

The goat-bearded man froze for a moment, then sneered, “Indeed. I am the Grand Steward of the Bare Body Sect. Toying with a few mortals is nothing.”

A layer of chilling yin qi surged around him, and bloodstained aura swirled around. When he saw this, Head Constable Wang instantly went pale, and the murderous pressure made his heart race.

A surge of killing intent rose in Li Yanchu’s mind.

He had heard the Old Celestial Master mention it: the Bare Body Sect hierarchy went from Sect Master, Heavenly King, Grand Steward, to Junior Steward.

“Since you’ve fallen into my hands, today I will temper your souls completely!” the middle-aged man claiming to be the Grand Steward of the Bare Body Sect spoke with a grim tone.

“Ha! A nobody like you?!” Li Yanchu sneered.

His entire body burned with blood and qi like a blazing furnace while radiating an oppressive aura.

Head Constable Wang was a living man, a martial warrior, yet he still felt that overwhelming vitality and involuntarily stepped back.

Instantly, the goat-bearded man’s yin aura seemed to evaporate with hissing white smoke rising. He writhed in agony, and pure fear reflected in his eyes as he retreated frantically backward. It was simply impossible to resist, so he chickened out!

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Li Yanchu draw his sword.

Clang!

The saber flashed, and the goat-bearded middle-aged man was instantly struck down. His soul shattered, and his essence dissipated!

Li Yanchu’s expression remained cold and calm, as if he had done something trivial.He had already killed three Heavenly Kings of the Bare Body Sect. What was one Grand Steward to him?

Li Yanchu’s eyes were like cold lightning as he pondered,

The remnants of the Bare Body Sect... Why are they still active in Wei City?

***

At Wei City, a woman in palace attire furrowed her brows slightly. On her shoulder perched an owl, its eyes glinting with light. In her hand, she held an ancient compass, its needle spinning continuously.

“Dead... The Old Celestial Master of Mount Longhu is not in Wei City, so who killed Yang Feng, the Grand Steward? Could it have been that young Daoist just now?”

She furrowed her brows. Gradually, she walked into the night, her figure disappearing.

“Enough. Since Yang Feng has appeared, those two must also be in Wei City. I must stop them.” The palace-dressed woman exuded righteous authority, her gaze resolute, like a justice-wielder walking among mortals.

Only the owl on her shoulder seemed out of place, giving her an odd, slightly eerie aura.

***

On a modest little hill at Huangfeng Ridge in Wei City...

Inside a cave on the hill, a young Confucian scholar and a hirsute, muscular man sat facing each other.

Crack!

A jade pendant, reflecting a ghostly face, shattered. Its sound rang sharply in the deep cave.

“Yang Feng is dead?!” the hirsute man exclaimed in shock.

The young scholar sneered, “That lecherous fool will die at the hands of a woman sooner or later.”

The hirsute man frowned and said, “Zhang Jian, what are you saying! Everyone has been scheming in Wei City to break the Sect Master’s seal. Yang Feng went into the city to scout, also for the Sect Master’s grand plan!”

The young Confucian scholar let out a derisive laugh. “I’ve said it before, there’s a Daoist master stationed in Wei City. Yang Feng, that fool, shouldn’t have gone there, he’d only cause trouble. All he needed to do was kill and refine souls in the surrounding villages. You didn’t listen, something went wrong, and now you blame me?”

The young scholar snorted coldly.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the cave. A graceful and beautiful woman stepped in, her movements light and poised like a lotus.

“What are you two still arguing about over this? I know who killed Daoist Yang,” the woman said slowly.

“Huh?”

“Who is it?!”

Both the hirsute man and the young scholar turned to look at her.

“There’s a Qingyun Temple in Wei City. The temple is not only guarded by a Celestial Master from Mount Longhu, but also houses a young Daoist. This matter must be his doing,” the woman said solemnly.

“Is he a disciple of Mount Longhu?” the young scholar frowned.

The beautiful woman shook her head. “He is a Daoist from the local Qingyun Temple in Wei City. The Mount Longhu Celestial Master is only temporarily residing there.”

The young scholar breathed a sigh of relief, as did the hirsute man.