Chapter 404: A Friendly Sparring Match! The Fastest Wangba Punch in History! The Ministry of Justice’s Secret Division, A String of Missing Women!

In the world of immortals, love between humans and demons was nothing unusual. Many cultivators even took pride in it; fox spirits were alluring, rabbit spirits were charming, and, well... cat spirits weren’t bad either. No one really cared, especially when it came to those high-level demons capable of taking perfect human form.

Still, Li Yanchu couldn’t tell whether the orange cat’s father was human or demon. Perhaps he was a great demon traveling the mortal world, using a false name.

The man and cat fell silent after that. Then, Li Yanchu simply led her back to his room.

This latest exorcism trip had been anything but ordinary. After all, he’d stumbled upon a mysterious demon force that was actually trying to establish a demon kingdom in the human world.

Since there’s a being called the Wrath Lord... could it be that they’re arranged according to the seven emotions: joy, wrath, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire? If there’s one called the Love Lord... wouldn’t that sound ridiculously pretentious?

Li Yanchu thought to himself.

And besides that, there was still the matter of Daoist Moyun’s backers, a force powerful enough to make a renowned Daoist willingly fall into demonic cultivation. The benefits they offered must have been enormous.

How many other experts, stuck at the pinnacle of the Yin God realm, would be unable to resist such temptation and end up joining them as well?

The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed.

Li Yanchu grew increasingly uneasy. The world was becoming more chaotic by the day, so raising his cultivation was now a matter of urgency!

He couldn’t keep relying on “cheat moments“ to crush his enemies forever. That would be...

too easy.

This time, with the help of the Five-Lightning Talisman, he had severely wounded that strange woman from Fengdu, and she had dropped a piece of ancient jade when she perished.

That jade contained immense, pure spiritual energy, as vast and solid as a mountain. It was of pure yang nature, which was odd, considering it came from a creature of the underworld. Why would such a forbidden being from the underworld carry an item of pure yang power?

In any case, it was extremely beneficial for cultivation.

He had given it to the innkeeper, intending to help her strengthen her own power, because the world was only getting more dangerous, and no one knew what might happen next.

The jade’s effects were somewhat similar to his Clearheart Pendant, so it wouldn’t hinder his own practice.

“Time to focus on my cultivation,” Li Yanchu murmured to himself. “If I can grasp the techniques recorded in the

Yellow Court Classic

soon, all the better.”

Recently, the spiritual energy in Wei City had become unstable, ebbing and flowing like tides, sometimes abundant, sometimes extremely thin.

As he sat cross-legged to meditate, Li Yanchu’s brow furrowed slightly. At his current level of spiritual awareness, he could clearly sense this fluctuation.

“Could this aura tide mean that another Blissful Land is about to appear?” he wondered aloud.

What was it about Wei City that made it so special, and why were so many Blissful Land entrances manifesting here?

He couldn’t help but feel curious. What would the

next

Blissful Land look like?

Returning to the Qingyun Temple finally gave him a rare sense of calm. His mind settled, and his spiritual state faintly broke through to a new level.

His primordial spirit cultivation had advanced, and that surprised him. He had always believed cultivation to be a step-by-step process, but now he realized that the saying

“haste makes waste”

applied even to spiritual practice.

When a cultivator’s heart and mind advanced, their realm followed naturally.

***

It was April 18th, the second day after Li Yanchu’s return to Qingyun Temple. It was a breezy day, and the weather had turned warm, which was perfect for outings.

But recently, there had been far fewer pleasure boats[1] drifting along the Wei River.

It was because the Wei City authorities had posted a public notice that a band of river bandits led by Zheng Ziyi had entered the Wei City region, and merchants and travelers were warned to stay vigilant.

Zheng Ziyi had once been a pirate lord from Feiyun Prefecture, a coastal region with thriving ports and bustling trade, and, naturally, rampant piracy. Great and small powers were tangled together here, with many even backed by high-ranking nobles of the court.

This Zheng Ziyi was once part of such a force, and he was originally a subordinate of Madam Sun San, who was skilled in curse arts.

After Madam Sun San’s death, her followers fell into infighting and split into several groups. Zheng Ziyi, their leader, then disappeared without a trace. No one expected him to resurface in Wei City’s territory, and as a bandit no less.

This clue only came to light because the kolonok from White Marsh Demon Kingdom, wanting to keep its hands clean, hired a band of river pirates to ambush that poor pair of newlyweds. Tracing back the lead revealed everything.

The Kingdom of Qian’s navy was not especially strong, but more than sufficient to deal with such roaming bandits. Magistrate Xu has already petitioned the prefectural city, requesting imperial troops to wipe them out. It was precisely because of his steady hand that Magistrate Xu had managed to remain unshaken in perilous Wei City.

That morning, Li Yanchu was practicing boxing and Daoist arts at the temple. His Divine Astral Hands had now been refined into three great moves: Crushing Fist, Cleaving Fist, and Cannon Fist.

Among them, the intent of the Cannon Fist was the most explosive. With his body full of pure yang qi, Li Yanchu’s strike truly seemed untouchable by gods or ghosts.

Cuihua, watching from the side, was left dumbfounded.

“Want to spar a bit?” Li Yanchu teased.

With the fastest Wangba Boxing in history, the orange cat Cuihua naturally would never refuse such a challenge.

And so, in the rear courtyard of Qingyun Temple, man and cat clashed in a flurry of blows. Their movements were impossible to follow; only afterimages flashed across the courtyard.

Blackie lounged in the shed, lazily munching on lush grass, occasionally curling his lips into a devilish grin, as if to say,

Hah, what a bunch of scrubs.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!

The duel raged, fast as lightning. Cuihua, now the size of an ordinary tiger, fought with a body less powerful than her peak form, yet still far stronger than when she had first crossed hands with Li Yanchu.

Back then, she had been injured by the innate divine powers of the Hongshan lion spirit, her strength greatly diminished. What surprised her now was that Li Yanchu was gradually able to keep up with her speed. Even though both sides were holding back their strength, Cuihua could feel his progress.

This young Daoist truly has a gift for martial arts,

she thought.

Despite spending much time recently cultivating Daoist spells and divine arts, he had not neglected martial practice. After taking Bodhi Pills, the sacred relics of Buddhism, his body had steadily grown stronger.

Mount Jinting jujubes and Body-Tempering Pills were all treasures for strengthening the flesh. And with peerless martial skills refined through imperial decree, such progress was nothing surprising.

Only when footsteps sounded ahead did man and cat finally stop.

“Well? Don’t I hit harder now?” Li Yanchu grinned.

Cuihua lifted her head at a forty-five degree angle, speaking haughtily, “So-so. Without that talismanic armor boosting you, you’re no match for me.”

Li Yanchu couldn’t help but laugh wryly.

He didn’t bother arguing with this orange cat, who, even after being pummeled, still managed to maintain her poise and proud temper. Instead, he steadied his breath and strode quickly toward the front of the Daoist temple.

A tall young man in yamen attire came hurrying up to meet him.

“Daoist Master Yanchu!”

“It’s you? What happened?” Li Yanchu raised a brow. He remembered this constable well.

He was Zuo Qian, a young man trained in martial arts.

“Daoist Master Yanchu, to tell the truth, I am not actually a constable of Wei City. I serve under the Prefectural Tribunal of Beifeng Prefecture. I came to Wei City to investigate a case of missing persons.”

“Oh?” Li Yanchu’s brow furrowed slightly.

“In the prefectural city, more than a dozen cases of missing young women have occurred in succession. The prefect was furious and sent us to investigate. I have recently found a place suspected of hiding some of the missing women. I came here specifically to ask for your aid.” Zuo Qian laid out the matter in detail.

1. 花舫 (huā fǎng) and 画舫 (huà fǎng) are often used interchangeably in classical Chinese. It refers to an ornate boat used for leisure, often elaborately decorated and associated with lakes or rivers in ancient China. ☜