Chapter 213 – Third-Realm Righteous Qi Gu, Carrying Heaven's Mandate, Patrolling for Heaven

Outside the Jade Bamboo Forest.

“Luo Heng, are you certain that the foreign evil demon vanished into this Jade Bamboo Forest?”

Hearing the words of the Demon Suppression Division’s Patrol Envoy, Cui Chengyun, Luo Heng, the Clan Chief of the Luo Family, nodded earnestly.

The Patrol Envoy of the Demon Suppression Division was already considered one of the top-tier forces within the entire Great Ying Dynasty. This was because Patrol Envoys answered to no one but the emperor of the Great Ying Dynasty. Moreover, each Patrol Envoy held a status comparable to that of a second-rank official in the Imperial Court. Their position was so elevated that it was simply beyond the reach of a mere Clan Chief of the Luo Family.

Under normal circumstances, an ordinary second-realm Gu Cultivator like Luo Heng would never have been able to summon a figure of Cui Chengyun’s stature. After all, a third-realm Patrol Envoy could already be considered a regional governor.

What had truly drawn Cui Chengyun here was the appearance of the “Sky Demons.” In fact, Cui Chengyun had even used the Demon Suppression Division’s teleportation array to arrive here immediately.

In response to Cui Chengyun’s inquiry, Luo Heng declared resolutely, “In reply, Your Excellency, this humble one is absolutely certain that the foreign evil demon entered this Jade Bamboo Forest in the end. However, those evil demons seem to possess some skill; not only did they detect the Thousand-Mile Gu I left in that demon’s body, but they also managed to destroy it in a short time. Therefore, at present, I do not know their exact location, only their general direction.”

Hearing this, Cui Chengyun did not doubt him. He could sense that Luo Heng’s originally Yellow-grade innate Gu had now reached the Mysterious-grade. Such an advancement would have been impossible unless Luo Heng had encountered foreign evil demons and refined them. Without a doubt, Luo Heng had indeed encountered Sky Demons and had successfully killed at least one of them.

Thinking of this, Cui Chengyun could not help but smile and say, “Your luck is quite good. These Sky Demons tend to act recklessly only when they first arrive in our Great Ying. Once these evil demons spend some time familiarizing themselves with our dynasty’s situation, it will no longer be so easy for you to kill them. In fact, by then, even your innate Gu might be seized by them, becoming a tool to help them disguise their identities.”

Hearing this, Luo Heng smiled and said, “Your Excellency speaks truly. This humble one has indeed been fortunate since childhood.”

Just as Luo Heng was about to say more, several Gu Cultivators from the Demon Suppression Division returned from within the bamboo forest. Seeing them, Cui Chengyun, who carried himself with the demeanor of a scholar, fan in hand and headscarf tied, immediately asked, “Well? Have you found any traces of those evil demons?”

The Gu Cultivators from the Demon Suppression Division nodded and said, “Yes, Your Excellency. We did find many clues, and we even encountered some of the evil demons. However, we kept Your Excellency’s instructions in mind and did not wish to alert the enemy, so we refrained from disturbing them for now. It’s just that, for some reason, these evil demons are not acting together. We wonder, Your Excellency…”

“No matter. Let us first surround the outskirts of this bamboo forest to prevent them from escaping,” Cui Chengyun said as he took a step forward.

Then, he produced a jade tablet from his hand. In mortal dynasties, such tablets were merely tools used by officials to record the emperor’s decrees during audiences.However, within the Great Abundance Dynasty, this ceremonial tablet was a special type of Gu artifact.

It was crafted using unique Gu insects combined with rare materials.

Its effects were similar to the magical artifacts and treasures wielded by cultivators.

As the “White Jade Patrol Order” came into his hand, Cui Chengyun immediately closed his eyes.

The next moment, his official robes began to flutter without wind, and a faint white light emerged between his eyebrows.

Shortly after, Cui Chengyun abruptly opened his eyes and declared: “By decree: This place forbids evil demons and Gu cultivators from leaving.”

As his words fell, a vast “Righteous Qi” erupted from his body.

This Righteous Qi transformed into streams of written characters that flew to the perimeter of the bamboo forest.

Soon, an invisible barrier enveloped the outer edges of the bamboo forest.

Completely sealing off the area from both inside and out.

Witnessing this scene, Luo Heng, standing nearby, revealed an envious look in his eyes.

The ‘Righteous Qi Gu’ was one of the rare Heaven-Grade Gu insects within the entire Great Ying Dynasty.

Its effect was straightforward: it enabled Gu cultivators to absorb and wield Righteous Qi.

Paired with the ‘Patrol Order’ in Cui Chengyun’s hand, he could execute a special divine ability known as ‘Mouth Contains Heavenly Decree,’ acting as heaven’s representative on patrol.

This was similar to the power of “words becoming law.”

However, the potency of this word-law ability depended not only on the Gu cultivator’s own strength but also on the effect of the uttered ‘Heavenly Decree.’

Taking Cui Chengyun’s current decree as an example:

He only prohibited Gu cultivators and foreign evil demons from leaving, without restricting any other beings.

This elevated the decree’s power by one level.

Furthermore, he applied the decree’s range to both enemies and himself.

Effectively imposing a restriction upon himself.

Thus, the decree’s power was elevated yet another level.

With Cui Chengyun’s Early Stage Third Realm cultivation, combined with his Heaven-Grade Gu insect—the Righteous Qi Gu—

Currently, if any Gu cultivator or evil demon attempted to leave this place, they would need at least Peak Third Realm strength, or even higher.

But Cui Chengyun was absolutely confident that none of those evil demons possessed cultivation beyond the Third Realm.

Perhaps not even any among them had reached Third Realm cultivation.

After all, this was information recorded by the Demon Suppression Division over thousands of years.

Every ‘foreign invasion’ had involved Second Realm evil demons.

With this decree in place, Cui Chengyun was absolutely certain that the evil demons within the bamboo forest had nowhere to escape.

Thinking of this, Cui Chengyun’s eyes gradually grew excited.

While Sky Demons posed a great crisis to the Great Ying Dynasty,

They also contained great Opportunities.

A legend in the Great Ying Dynasty stated that if Gu cultivators wished to break the shackles of the Third Realm and ascend to the ‘Upper Realm,’

The key was to refine a ‘Heaven-Defying Grade’ Life Gu.

Yet to refine a Heaven-Defying Grade Life Gu, one needed ‘Demon Seeds’ smelted from the bodies of Sky Demons.

Therefore, for most Gu cultivators, the Third Realm was the peak they could achieve.

Throughout the Great Ying Dynasty, only within the ‘Palace of Heavenly Inquiry’ were there individuals who had reached the Fourth Realm and visited the Upper Realm.

The method to break through to the Fourth Realm also originated from the Palace of Heavenly Inquiry.

Thus, for Gu cultivators, Sky Demons were not only enemies that must be eradicated but also great Opportunities capable of defying heaven and changing fate.Thinking that he might very well qualify for ‘Stable Four Realms’ after today, Cui Chengyun’s mood instantly became excited.

He looked at the bamboo forest before him and immediately waved his hand grandly.

“Go, find all the extraterrestrial fiends hiding here.”

“Yes!”

In an instant, hundreds of Gu Cultivators from the Demon Suppression Division, along with numerous Gu Cultivators from the cultivation families of Jade Bamboo Town, rushed into the bamboo forest.

The originally quiet bamboo forest instantly became noisy.

Watching the backs of his subordinates, Cui Chengyun’s gaze gradually turned cold.

The Jade Bamboo Forest had now become a massive arena.

Neither he nor the extraterrestrial fiends could leave this place.

To break this, the only option for those extraterrestrial fiends was to kill him.

But as a Three Realms Gu Cultivator with the Heaven-Grade Gu Insect – Righteous Qi Gu, Cui Chengyun felt that dealing with a group of extraterrestrial fiends only comparable to Second Revolution Gu Cultivators would be effortless for him.

Just as Patrol Envoy Cui Chengyun of the Demon Suppression Division activated the ‘Mouth Contains Heavenly Decree’ restriction…

Lu Chen was also the first to sense the change in the surrounding heavenly and earthly forces.

Although the other party was still quite some distance away, Lu Chen could clearly feel an invisible shackle descending from the sky, locking onto his Divine Soul.

And Lu Chen wasn’t the only one who sensed this change.

“Fellow Daoist Lu, you feel it too, don’t you?”

Shangguan Yunmeng looked at Lu Chen, her expression becoming unprecedentedly serious.

In response, Lu Chen nodded.

On the other side, the Immortal Fiends from several schools, including Meow King and Giant Spirit Gate, also felt the sudden restriction imposed on their Divine Souls.

In the depths of their consciousness, they all understood the meaning of that shackle.

It prevented them from freely leaving this bamboo forest.

“It shouldn’t be Ancient Moon Immortal’s doing.”

Lu Chen looked at everyone and stated decisively.

Upon hearing this, everyone only needed a moment’s thought to understand.

If Ancient Moon Immortal truly wanted to restrict their movement range, he could have done so long ago; there was no need to wait until now.

Therefore, this mysterious Heavenly Dao chain must have come from those Gu Cultivators of the Great Ying Dynasty.

Unlike Shangguan Yunmeng and the others who had never encountered Heavenly Dao Oaths before,

Lu Chen sensed from this Heavenly Dao chain a power similar to the vow force when he made a contract with Truth Listener before.

He surmised that someone had used an ability similar to a Heavenly Dao Oath to confine them within this bamboo forest.

Although Lu Chen was certain that the activation conditions for such a contract must be extremely stringent and there must be certain limitations within it,

this power still made Lu Chen raise his guard against Gu Cultivators by another level.

After all, even he couldn’t forcibly make enemies sign some kind of contract.

Fortunately, due to his cautious nature, while having people investigate the surroundings, he also had the accompanying Formation Master and Talisman Cultivator set up formations in advance.

Although the Ancient Moon Grotto could only use Talismans and Elixirs up to the Golden Core Stage at most,

aside from some Rogue Cultivators and minor school cultivators, most of those who could enter the True Immortal Trial were Direct Lineage Disciples from major schools.

Without exception, these people all carried a bunch of valuable items with them.

Therefore, the formations and traps Lu Chen had them set up now could give even Golden Core Stage cultivators a hard time.Moreover, Lu Chen possessed four Sword Domains at the Harmony Realm.

Although he currently couldn’t fuse these four Sword Domains to form the Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation,

even individual Sword Formations posed a significant threat to Golden Core Stage cultivators.

Therefore, as long as he lured enemies into his Sword Formation, Lu Chen was confident he could eliminate even Golden Core Stage cultivators.

He just didn’t know how many Golden Core Stage cultivators were among the Gu Cultivators coming this time.

Thinking this, Lu Chen immediately looked toward Jade Bamboo Town and calmly said, “Proceed according to plan.”

“Yes.”

By this point, the group’s trust in Lu Chen had reached its peak.

This wasn’t just due to Lu Chen’s formidable strength,

but also his judgment of the situation.

If not for Lu Chen’s initial warning against contacting this world’s cultivators, many of them might have met the same fate as the three East Sea Gate cultivators earlier.

Furthermore, Lu Chen had long anticipated the danger and had them set up numerous Formations and Talismans in the bamboo forest beforehand.

Thus, what should have been an away battle had turned the entire bamboo forest into their home turf.

Even without Lu Chen’s assistance now, they were confident they could hold their own against Golden Core Stage cultivators.

At this moment, the originally scattered group of over thirty people had fully united.

Yes, over thirty—some cultivators who had initially wanted to act alone

had mostly returned.

The cultivators divided into four teams, directly occupying the east, south, west, and north directions.

Their goal was simple: while engaging the enemy in combat, they would quietly lure them into Lu Chen’s Sword Formation.

What Patrol Envoy Cui Chengyun of the Demon Suppression Division didn’t know

was that while he thought of himself as the hunter and Lu Chen’s group as the prey,

in Lu Chen’s eyes, those who delivered themselves to his doorstep… were the real prey.

East side of Jade Bamboo Forest.

“Everyone stay alert. Although these demons lack immortal seeds, their methods are no less formidable than us cultivators. A single misstep could lead to disaster.”

The squad leader of the Demon Suppression Division, Zeng Jue, looked at the quiet bamboo forest and couldn’t help but warn his team members.

One of the team members laughed in response, “Don’t worry, Boss Zeng. It’s not like we’ve never dealt with Demonic Heresy before.”

“When the Patrol Envoy first brought us here, didn’t we capture a demon too?”

“That demon had some skills, but in the end, our Demon Suppression Division easily suppressed them.”

“These demons should be similar, and besides, the Patrol Envoy is personally leading us this time. These demons won’t cause any trouble.”

Considering his subordinate’s confidence, Zeng Jue thought for a moment and still cautioned, “Better safe than sorry. Our mission is to locate the demons’ stronghold, not to fight them to the death.”

“Your wife just became pregnant recently, right? You’re about to become a father—act more steadily.”

Faced with Zeng Jue’s admonishment, the Gu Cultivator from the Demon Suppression Division just smiled and rubbed his head, clearly letting the words go in one ear and out the other.

After all, the Patrol Envoy’s presence had made them overconfident.

They couldn’t imagine how a mere group of demons comparable to Second Realm cultivators could possibly deal with a Third Realm Patrol Envoy.In their own words, this time they were just following the Patrol Envoy to collect merits, with absolutely no danger involved.

“Captain, do you think…”

Just as that Demon Suppression Division Gu Cultivator was about to say something, a black shadow suddenly descended from the sky.

Squelch!

Amidst a spray of blood and Qi.

The Gu Cultivator from the Demon Suppression Division who had just been speaking with Zeng Jue was instantly smashed into a pulp of flesh and blood.

Zeng Jue stared blankly at the scene, his mind completely blank.

He didn’t even have time to wipe the blood splattered on his face.

Hong Hua of the Giant Spirit Gate’s Immortal Fiends stood atop the Gu Cultivator’s mangled corpse. His over two-meter-tall frame allowed him to look down condescendingly at the stunned Zeng Jue before him, as he said with a laugh: “So you’re the Gu Cultivators?”

“Aside from your bugs being somewhat peculiar, your strength… is even weaker than I imagined.”

Only after hearing these words did Zeng Jue snap back to reality.

Then his expression grew increasingly ferocious, and the look he directed at Hong Hua became increasingly terrifying.

Finally, Zeng Jue let out a furious roar: “Kill them all!”

(End of Chapter)