"Upper Envoys, your long journey here brings great honor to our humble Qinghe County."

Magistrate Zhang looked with a fawning expression at the man and woman from the Divine Mansion Sect before him. Although he was the highest authority in the county, he still had to tread carefully when dealing with the Divine Mansion Sect.

The Divine Mansion Sect wouldn’t kill him directly, but if they filed a complaint against him with the Huanglong Prefecture Magistrate’s Office, life would certainly become difficult.

It is said that even a mighty dragon can’t crush a local snake, but this great dragon, the Divine Mansion Sect, was simply too ferocious.

The man and woman before him were both disciples of the Divine Mansion Sect, and both were Strong Internal Martial Masters.

’Tsk, tsk. Even their disciples are at the Strong Organ Pass. Truly terrifying.’

The fierce-looking man was named Xiongshan, and the short, pretty woman was named You Shengnan.

Xiongshan spoke in a booming, resonant voice:

"You’re the County Magistrate here?"

Magistrate Zhang hastily bowed. "I am."

’Thankfully, the bailiff on duty today had the sense not to stop these two grand masters, instead politely welcoming them into a side hall. Otherwise, the roof of the Qinghe County Magistrate’s Office might have been torn off.’

The woman, You Shengnan, said in a soft, delicate voice, "Since you are the County Magistrate, this will be much simpler."

Magistrate Zhang’s heart skipped a beat. With his many years as an official, he could tell the two had come specifically for the County Magistrate’s Office. This was clearly not good news.

"Whatever the two Upper Envoys command, the Qinghe County Magistrate’s Office will do its utmost to cooperate."

His words seemed firm, but he was actually trying to distance himself from the matter. No matter how powerful the Divine Mansion Sect was, they still had to give some face to the Xuan Yang Court.

You Shengnan snorted coldly. She naturally understood the hidden meaning in the County Magistrate’s words.

’Sly old fox...’

she cursed inwardly.

"Magistrate Zhang, the Divine Mansion Sect requires you to contact all relevant parties to jointly exterminate the Soul-Chasing Tower."

You Shengnan gave Magistrate Zhang no chance to refuse, playing her trump card right from the start.

Magistrate Zhang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’The Divine Mansion Sect wants to move against the Soul-Chasing Tower!’

Having been in charge of Qinghe County for many years, he knew well that the most dangerous force in Qinghe wasn’t the Iron Saber Gang or Flying Eagle Castle, but the Soul-Chasing Tower, hidden deep beneath the surface.

"This is a matter of great importance. This subordinate requires an order from the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office before I dare to act."

Magistrate Zhang clenched his teeth. He would rather risk offending the Divine Mansion Sect to get some assurance. The Divine Mansion Sect was powerful, but he was ultimately a man of the Xuan Yang Court. If the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office didn’t issue an order, he would not move.

A dangerous smile played on You Shengnan’s lips, a stark contrast to her petite appearance. It was as if she had already anticipated Magistrate Zhang’s words.

The moment Magistrate Zhang finished speaking, You Shengnan tossed out a Crimson Gold Token.

It was a mobilization order from the Huanglong Prefecture Magistrate’s Office!

"Magistrate Zhang, is there anything else you require?"

You Shengnan’s expression turned cold, her tone growing severe.

Seeing the Crimson Gold Token, Magistrate Zhang took a deep breath and cupped his fists.

"This subordinate accepts the order!"

After today, Qinghe County would know no more peace.

Watching Magistrate Zhang leave, You Shengnan finally tilted her head up to look at her senior brother, Xiongshan. Her willow-like eyebrows furrowed slightly. ’What on earth did Senior Brother eat to grow so tall?’

"Any news of Master?"

"I heard the old man just wiped out three entire families in the neighboring county. It’ll probably be a while longer."

"Then we’d better speed things up."

You Shengnan pouted.

The recent rebellion within the Divine Mansion Sect was instigated by the Soul-Chasing Tower. They had courted their own destruction.

’They deserve to die!’

「...」

「Iron Saber Gang, Golden Saber Hall.」

The experts of the Golden Saber Hall had all gathered. Not only were all five Vice Gang Leaders present, but even the Gang Leader, Tie Tu, who had not been seen for a long time, had made an appearance.

The reason all these masters had assembled was, naturally, the news from the County Magistrate’s Office.

The Divine Mansion Sect was going to move against the Soul-Chasing Tower!

Or rather, the Xuan Yang Dynasty had finally decided to pull out the poisonous thorn that was the Soul-Chasing Tower.

Besides the numerous experts of the Iron Saber Gang, You Shengnan and Xiongshan stood in the center of the Golden Saber Hall.

Although there were only two of them, their presence completely dominated the hall full of heroes.

You Shengnan slowly began to speak, "The Soul-Chasing Tower’s crimes are heinous. It is everyone’s duty to see them eliminated."

A silence fell over the hall.

The Soul-Chasing Tower was the undisputed underground overlord of the entire Xuan Yang. Even with the Divine Mansion Sect backing them, the Iron Saber Gang did not dare to easily declare their stance.

Seeing everyone remain silent, Xiongshan’s fiery temper began to rise. Just as he was about to draw his saber, You Shengnan stopped him.

"Master will be arriving in Qinghe soon. I hope Iron Master will make a decision quickly."

Tie Tu, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke:

"And who might your esteemed Master be?"

"Dong Wanjun."

You Shengnan’s voice rose a few notches.

Hearing the name Dong Wanjun, Tie Tu’s pupils contracted sharply.

The Thousand-Handed Butcher, Dong Wanjun!

’The big shot in charge of Qinghe County this time is actually the Thousand-Handed Butcher!’

Those three words weighed down on Tie Tu like a great mountain, making it impossible for him to breathe.

The Iron Saber Gang had connections in the Divine Mansion Sect, but compared to the Thousand-Handed Butcher, they were nothing!

"The Iron Saber Gang will follow your orders."

Tie Tu took a deep breath.

Seeing Tie Tu was so sensible, You Shengnan nodded slightly.

"That’s more like it."

She shot a look at Xiongshan beside her, intending to leave. Besides the Iron Saber Gang, they still had to visit the Liu Family and Flying Eagle Castle.

Just as the two of them turned to leave—

Han Tie suddenly spoke up, "Upper Envoys, the Divine Mansion Sect traitor, Peng Lianbao, died in the mountains, and his Cultivation Technique has been lost. About this matter..."

You Shengnan waved her hand dismissively.

"My master will decide on that matter when he arrives. You just need to worry about the task at hand."

「...」

「The outskirts of Qinghe County.」

HISS~

The Little Cyan Snake flicked its tongue. It had already fully digested the human essence it had absorbed before. It was now a foot long, and its spirits were much higher; it no longer needed to sleep all day.

And before it stood a massive yellow ox.

Xiaoqing’s body writhed in the grass, blending perfectly with its surroundings.

Suddenly, it shot forward!

Its sharp fangs sank into the ox’s thigh.

The ox didn’t even have time to let out a pained bellow. With a BOOM, it fell stiffly to the ground. Astonishingly, the ox’s corpse began to dissolve into a pool of blood at a visible rate, and even the surrounding grass started to wither and turn yellow from the potent venom.

Bai Yuan’s mouth fell open in shock at the sight.

’The venom of a Three-Metamorphosis Snake Demon is terrifying indeed!’

’A single drop would probably dissolve an ordinary Martial Artist on the spot, leaving not even bones behind.’

Xiaoqing slithered back into Bai Yuan’s sleeve, affectionately rubbing its head against his wrist, looking completely harmless.

Bai Yuan patted Xiaoqing with satisfaction.

The effects of his beast-taming were finally starting to show.

Perhaps because Xiaoqing’s intelligence hadn’t fully recovered after its metamorphosis, taming it had been exceptionally easy, and the progress was much faster than he had imagined.

Although Xiaoqing’s combat power was low in its current state, the venom of a Three-Metamorphosis Snake Demon was still present. It would have a surprisingly devastating effect against enemies.

A single bite from Xiaoqing would be enough to take down even a Strong Internal Martial Master.

Of course, what pleased Bai Yuan the most were the enhancement points added to his status panel.

The enhancement points gained from Xiaoqing’s poison killing the ox were all credited to him. Once Xiaoqing recovered its full strength, it would be like having a Three-Metamorphosis Snake Demon farming mobs for him. The speed of his power progression would surely increase by a huge margin.

It was just a pity that there had been no movement from the Iron Saber Gang.

Little did he know, the appearance of the duo from the Divine Mansion Sect had indirectly stopped the Iron Saber Gang’s assassination attempt on him.