I Can Extract Divine Power-Chapter 114 - 93: Fire Poison, Weirdness (2)

"Sir, I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Please, stop torturing me."

Village Chief Feng pleaded, "It was the Upper Evil Sect! They gave me the Cultivation Method and said it was a Sacrificial Technique—a Cultivation Technique for a Priest. They said it would ensure the village’s land remained fertile."

"I didn’t mean any harm. I just wanted a better life for the village."

"Those babies... they were all just newborns. They couldn’t even talk, and their minds weren’t developed. They were basically no different from animals."

"Everything I did, it was all for the village!"

Shen Bai narrowed his eyes. "One last question. You answer it, and I won’t kill you."

Village Chief Feng quickly said, "Sir, I’ll tell you everything I know, holding nothing back."

Shen Bai asked, "Where is the real sacrificial site?"

Village Chief Feng pointed toward the withered tree. "The tree has long been dead and is completely hollow inside. You can get underground through the opening in the middle. We carved out a special sacrificial site down there. It’s very large, built according to that book."

Shen Bai nodded. "Kill him."

Village Chief Feng froze for a moment, then it dawned on him. "You said you wouldn’t kill me!"

"Keep my word with someone like you?" Shen Bai scoffed.

The fear in Village Chief Feng’s eyes skyrocketed. "I’m still a village chief! I have the right to due process! You can’t—"

Before he could finish, Kong Fang, who was standing beside him, threw a punch. Village Chief Feng’s head exploded, splattering a yellow-and-white mess all over the ground.

"The Observatory acts on imperial authority. We execute first and report later," Kong Fang said with a vicious grin.

Shen Bai pinched his nose. "Brother Kong, killing someone with your bare fists is a bit disgusting."

The expression on Kong Fang’s face stiffened. "Brother Shen, you’ve got some nerve. Your methods aren’t exactly kind, you know."

Huang Guang’s mouth twitched. "Alright, you two, enough joking. What do we do with these people?"

On the ground, the groans of wounded villagers filled the air.

Shen Bai said, "Send a carrier pigeon to the Government Office. Let their people handle this. The nearest County Magistrate’s Office isn’t far; they can be here in the time it takes two incense sticks to burn. Once they arrive, we’ll go investigate the withered tree."

It was best to leave these trivial matters to the Government Office.

As for these villagers, under the laws of the Great Zhou, not a single one of them would get off easy.

What Shen Bai hadn’t expected was that those bastards from the Upper Evil Sect were still out there causing trouble.

’When I get the chance, I’ll slaughter them all,’ Shen Bai thought.

Kong Fang took a carrier pigeon from his robes and released it into the air.

After waiting for about the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, a large group of constables arrived at the Sealed Village.

"Greetings, my lords!"

The one in the lead was the Chief Constable from the nearest County Magistrate’s Office. He was extremely respectful toward Shen Bai and the other two.

Although the rank of State Governor was the lowest in the Observatory, officials from other departments avoided them like the plague.

After Shen Bai explained what had happened, the Chief Constable’s eyes filled with anger, and he ordered his constables to take all the villagers into custody.

"Lord Shen, I will take my leave now," the Chief Constable said, cupping his hands.

Their job was just to clean up the mess. Now that it was done, they had no reason to linger.

Only after the Chief Constable had left with the constables did Shen Bai and the other two turn their attention to the withered tree.

"Let’s go. This business needs a proper conclusion."

Shen Bai gripped the Longsword at his waist. "Let’s go see what this ’aberration’ really is."

He wanted to finish the mission quickly so he could get back to grinding his Skill Level.

Huang Guang and Kong Fang nodded and followed behind Shen Bai. The three of them walked toward the withered tree in a triangular formation.

The two of them had unconsciously started to treat Shen Bai as their center, even walking behind him now.

Soon, the three of them vanished from sight.

...

The Withered Tree.

The dark sky was like a sun-blotting curtain drawn over the village.

Beneath this curtain, the withered tree stood like a skeletal old man, blazing forth the last vestiges of its life.

A sinister, cold aura still emanated unceasingly from the tree.

"Huh? Wait, why isn’t the tree a Deceitful Object anymore?" Kong Fang was stunned when he saw the withered tree again.

Huang Guang was also astonished. After all, in just one night, the tree had ceased to be a Deceitful Object as if by magic. It was truly bizarre.

Shen Bai said, "The world is full of strange things. Don’t worry about it. Our target is the aberration."

He casually made an excuse and changed the subject.

He had already appraised the tree and confirmed it had become an ordinary withered tree, so of course, Shen Bai didn’t want to bring it up again.

Arriving in front of the withered tree, Shen Bai reached out and knocked on its trunk.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

A hollow sound, followed by a faint, dull echo, came from within the dry trunk.

’It really is hollow. Hollowing out this much must have taken a lot of effort,’ Shen Bai thought.

Kong Fang scrambled up the tree in a few movements and peered inside. "These villagers were meticulous. The ritual outside was a fake; the real one is in here."

Shen Bai and Huang Guang didn’t answer. With a single leap, they jumped up as well.

Looking down from the top, the center of the tree had been completely hollowed out.

A wailing wind echoed up from the hollow trunk, giving it an unsettling feel.

Huang Guang took out a flint from his robes, blew it aflame, and dropped it down.

The flint fell, illuminating the situation inside.

Below was a passageway leading to some unknown place.

Shen Bai said, "Let’s go down and see."

Without hesitation, they warily made their way down.

The tree was very tall, but for Cultivators, it posed no difficulty whatsoever.

A glow emanated from Shen Bai’s Bright Jade Evil Body as he descended. In no time, he reached the very bottom.

"Hiss... Brother Shen, don’t tell me that’s a type of Swordsmanship too." Huang Guang sucked in a sharp breath when he saw it.