"Any who defy, kill!"
"Any who harm others, behead!"
"Bestow upon me True Intent, go."
As the words fell, Chen Yuan’s eyes shot forth silver light, and suddenly, the sea of clouds churned violently.
A dozen Contracted Demons felt their bodies plummet as they fell from the sky.
The next second, they woke up from various places in Langdang Mountain.
At that time, in the stretch of forest, a cunning demon wolf was suspiciously watching the pig demon collapsed among the fallen trees.
Between the ferocious glints in its eyes, its jaws opened wide, and a streak of green light condensed in its mouth, then forcefully expelled.
"Ji"
The sound of the air ripping reverberated.
The green light slashed forth, trees exploded, and wood chips flew in all directions.
At this moment, the mountain pig opened its eyes, a flash of golden light on its body surface, and the green light shattered abruptly.
Immediately following, a white line sparked from the tip of the mountain pig’s fangs, generating a piercing sonic boom, and slashed toward the demon wolf.
The demon wolf, sensing an indescribable aura of lethal intent, howled and transformed into a green afterimage, trying to flee.
But in an instant, the white line shot forth and passed directly through the midsection of its wolf body.
Continuing without losing momentum, it blasted over a hundred meters, pulverizing rocks and trees along the path.
The demon wolf, without a word, continued running until half of its body veered left, half right, with flesh and blood collapsing apart.
"Huff puff"
"Huff puff"
The mountain pig climbed up from the ground, seeing the terrifying destructive force, it couldn’t help but let out two snorts from its throat in fear.
"Great... huff... Master’s... treasure... is really awesome!" It panted and puffed, then with its simple eyes, it looked toward the west, its fan-sized ears flapped, and immediately dashed in a certain direction into the forest.
At this time, the other Contracted Demons were also in action.
Some roared through the forest, using the abilities granted by Imperial Decree, barking out an order, and nearby birds and beasts within several miles, as if receiving a command, gathered in great numbers, then scattered with a cacophony of chirping and twittering, as if receiving some sort of instruction.
Some directly blasted open the entrances to the dens of some formidable beings hidden deep in the forest.
For example, one hundred and sixty miles west of Qingshan County, in a secluded valley shielded by thick foliage.
A mass of grey fog quickly spread over from afar to this place.
Following closely behind, a Black Bear Spirit appeared from the mist.
The Black Bear Spirit lifted a huge stone over two fathoms long and hurled it directly into a deep cave in the valley.
After probably a few seconds, a muffled "rumble" emanated from inside.
Following that, a roaring cry came out from the cave.
At this moment, in the dense valley forest, there arose a dense cacophony of "oho" noises.
Long-haired monkeys appeared from the surrounding woods of the valley, standing on branches, showing their teeth and grimacing at the Black Bear Spirit, constantly hurling objects at it.
With a bear’s roar, the Black Bear Spirit scared the monkeys into emitting sharp "ah ah" shrieks.
And just then, the valley resounded with the sound of "splash" as rocks tumbled.
The very next second, with a boom of air being torn, a white figure vigorously shot up from the cave entrance, "thump" landing in front of the Black Bear Spirit.
It was indeed a Giant Ape almost three zhang tall, with its white fur and crimson face, extraordinarily long and robust arms that seemed capable of charging horses, its aura was unmistakably that of a Profound Body Demon.
The White Ape’s fierce red eyes and black pupils looked menacingly down at the Black Bear Spirit, who stood over one zhang tall. Speaking human language, its tone was unmistakably hostile.
"Black Bear, such audacity, when you trespassed in my territory last time, I taught you a lesson. Now you dare disturb my cultivation, watch me tear you apart!"
Saying so, the giant hand thumped its chest like beating a war drum, mouth revealing sharp fangs, as it raised its hand, its robust arm suddenly extending several zhang, transforming into a hand one zhang large, viciously snatching toward the Black Bear Spirit.
The air pierced with a screech, as the violent wind pressure advanced first,
Beneath the Black Bear Spirit’s feet, the soil in a twenty-meter radius suddenly collapsed, splintering into countless fissures.
The next second,
With a clang.
The ape’s palm landed on the Black Bear Spirit’s head, producing a sound like metal striking metal.
The Black Bear Spirit brought his palms together, embodying a sacred figure, its whole body pulsated with a layer of golden light.
Then, separating his hands, a spinning shadow of a small mountain emerged, swiftly followed by a toss onto its head.
In a breath, the shadow expanded into a small mountain.
A tremendous aura emanated, like a fierce wind surging up, instantly enveloping the entire valley.
In the valley, a group of monkeys shrieked in terror, panicking and restless.
White Ape looked up and its black pupils suddenly contracted,
"What’s this!"
It thought of the previous night, a hundred miles west, where the earth had shaken, and the commotion was great, prompting it to investigate.
From afar, it witnessed a horrifying scene.
A Great Sun toured the sky, and under this sun, mountains rose from the ground, engaging in fierce battle with a Demon Dragon.
It did not see the end, as the sheer aura made its heart pound with fear, unbearable for it, and it fled from afar.
And this aura, unmistakably, was from the same origin as the Human Clan who had fought with that Demon Dragon.
"My lord has ordered, the conscription of the Eight Hundred Miles Langdang Mountain; those who dare defy shall be beheaded!"
The Black Bear Spirit spoke, thinking it was conveying the lord’s command, its voice becoming magisterial.
White Ape’s fierce eyes flickered rapidly, and then, with a flash of ferocity, it withdrew decisively.
Thus, the Contracted Demons under Chen Yuan, after receiving the Imperial Decree of the Tiger Talisman, began to exert their power, scouring all corners.
Either they gathered beasts to communicate information, or they went directly to each "mountaintop," using the True Intent bestowed by Chen Yuan to forcibly conscript those places, swiftly arranging their network throughout Eight Hundred Miles Langdang Mountain.
It was imperative to spread the lord’s orders to every corner of Langdang Mountain.
At this moment, a thousand miles away, there was a large ship sailing on the Nu River, moving upstream, heading south.
This was a vessel from the Four Seas Gang of the Prefecture, a gang that had a stronghold on the grain transportation system of the Nu River. As the Demon Cult ran rampant outside the border counties, their power grew even stronger.
Rumors had it that the gang was related to the Demon Cult, which is why they could travel in and out.
Indeed, on the ship, several closely allied forces had borrowed the path of the Four Seas Gang to leave the Prefecture.
Usually hiding and watching the chaos, they wished that the situation grew more chaotic to muddy the waters for their benefit. Upon receiving the news, they set out to scout Qingshan County.
"Hey, what do you think actually happened in Qingshan County?"
"In the lands outside the border, dozens of counties have been ravaged by the Demon Cult. You’ve seen it too; refugees are everywhere along the way."
"Qingshan is just a remote small county, and it’s said that the Demon Cult suffered a loss there, huh, curious."
"Why bother so much, eat and drink as we should; the life and death of others have nothing to do with us."
Discussions arose on the ship.
At that moment, the door to one of the cabins was suddenly pushed open.
A man clad in silver scale armor came in, facing a middle-aged monk in a yellow robe sitting cross-legged on a futon, twirling Buddha Beads in his hands, lips barely moving, a majestic and sacred figure, he clasped his fists and smiled gently,
"Master Yuanzhen, I trust you’ve been well."
"Unexpectedly, Feilong Temple, such an otherworldly place, would send Master to meddle in these worldly troubles."
The monk on the futon opened his eyes, and it seemed like a flash of gold passed by in his eyes.
"Amitabha Buddha."
"The secular world is full of turmoil; one must engage before they can let go. Change happens too fast outside, and our Feilong Temple cannot always stay aloof."
The monk raised a palm in salute, chanted the Buddha’s name, and then looked deeply at the armored man who entered without invitation.
"I wonder, what business does Master Sima from Langya Mountain have with this monk?"
The man in silver armor smiled and narrowed his eyes:
"I’m here to inquire if Junior Brother Liu and Junior Sister Nie from our sect have met with Master Yuanzhen before they went missing?"

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