Star Martial Era: The Way of Star Light Cultivation

56: Chapter 52: Return to the City and Blood Slaughter Mobilizes

56 -52: Return to the City and Blood Slaughter Mobilizes

Jinshan County City, Tianyang Branch, Scripture Hall.

Seeing the Flag Master Zhong Da rushing over, Mountain Master Zhou Qingzhu had already lost his usual composure.

In the past, he would calmly await Zhong Da’s report.

But at this moment, Zhou Qingzhu could no longer wait.

He directly asked, “How is it, has Ji Bochang agreed to take action?”

“Mountain Master, the latest news is that this morning, under the deliberate cooperation of Governor Huang Yunshu from Huang Yun Tree, Flag Master Ji Bochang and Cui Tianqi of Jinshan Taoist Institute were able to leave the search party for the evil demon and then act separately.

Ji Bochang received a Star Pigeon from Yue Chong’s team, saying that Yue Chong’s team has failed, and he will soon annihilate Heshui County’s team, then turn to exterminate Jinsha County’s team.

He further stated that he would follow and observe the teams from Heshui, Jinsha, and North River counties.

If the teams we arranged failed, he would intervene as reinforcements to annihilate them.

Please rest assured, Mountain Master, he will find a way to keep in touch,” Zhong Da reported.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingzhu let out a sigh of relief.

“To think that Yue Chong, a Refining Star Second Layer, has also failed.”

“Indeed, Dong Zhao had his backup plans ready, but even in his dreams, he could not have imagined that I would have planted a mole who held a high position and had earned their trust over the past decade or more.

This has paid off,” Zhou Qingzhu said.

“Mountain Master is wise,” Zhong Da timely delivered a compliment.

“I didn’t choose the wrong person.

At the time, I noticed that Ji Bochang was very dutiful and concluded that he was loyal.

Unexpectedly, he truly proved useful at the critical moment.

With only him acting, it’s as if ten men are at work!” Zhou Qingzhu was quite pleased with himself.

“Mountain Master has discerning eyes,”

Zhong Da offered a perfectly flattering compliment, greatly pleasing Zhou Qingzhu, “Send someone out of the city who can carry a Star Pigeon, try to meet Ji Bochang on the essential route and tell Ji Bochang that if the troops from the three northwestern counties are taken care of, he should hurry to the east side of the county city.

If there are any who slip through the net, it will be most convenient for him to strike.

Afterward, I will arrange for him to enter the Tianyang Sub-Hall.”

“Understood.”

“By the way, have the two Fire Cloud Emblems been delivered to the east side?” The power of the eastern Taoist Institute was not weak, with Luo Kexing at the front and Cui Tianqi at the back, so Zhou Qingzhu simply gave away two Fire Cloud Emblems that he had put much effort into creating personally.

If used well, they were enough to kill these two men in one stroke.

“Mountain Master, they have already been sent,”

“Good, report back immediately if there is any news.”

Zhong Da took the order and left, also feeling a bit relieved.

This was what people found most reassuring about their Mountain Master: he basically never mistreated those who gave their lives for him.

At Jinshan Taoist Institute, Mountain Master Dong Zhao looked at the latest message from the Star Pigeon and also exhaled in relief.

Ji Bochang, Cui Tianqi, Luo Kexing, these three Flag Masters had gone to support various teams, plus the Life-saving Emblems that they had previously given to each small team, most of the teams should be able to return safely, right?

******

Below Pear Blossom Ridge, even though Ji Bochang appeared to have already breathed his last, Xu Jin and Niu Gui were not in a hurry to approach.

Who knows if the other party is still holding on to their last breath?

If they approach and he explodes all at once, he could definitely take one or two of them with him.

No rush.

“Let’s divide these spoils first, Ji Bochang’s share will be discussed separately,” Niu Gui said.

The disciples had barely recovered from it all, the events that had just unfolded felt like a dream.

It felt like a legendary experience had actually happened to them.

4560 taels of silver, Xu Jin and Niu Gui each took 910 taels, the other eleven people got about 250 taels each.

Xu Jin and Niu Gui got a bit more from the silver notes, Xu Jin took three Rejuvenation Pills, and did not take Star Refilling Pills, which were distributed among the others.

It wasn’t from a lack of need, but compared to Rejuvenation Pills, the cost-performance ratio of Star Refilling Pills after Nourishment was much worse.

By now, Xu Jin had amassed twelve Rejuvenation Pills.

And in terms of silver, last night he acquired 780 taels in Heshui County, today after deducting the Rejuvenation Pills was 820 taels, plus the previous remainder of over two hundred taels, Xu Jin now had over 1800 taels of silver in hand.

He could be considered somewhat well-off.

Xu Jin planned to return and layout his plans well, to terminate his sister’s employment contract, then let his sister Star Point, and he could also move his father to the county city.

He hadn’t inquired about the house prices in the county city, but with so much silver, renting a house would definitely be easy.

In this life, he couldn’t become a slave to homeownership.

The rest would be used to plan for speeding up his cultivation.

It was still imperative to enhance his own strength.

Emblems, although powerful, were too uncertain in use.

Today, using the Vortex Blade Emblem twice, he frankly admitted that without Niu Gui’s cooperation, the hit rate might have decreased.

That would have been a waste.

But despite thinking so, Xu Jin still placed one of the two Dawn Emblems he had with him under the Star Lamp for Nourishment.

Who would be the second victim of the power produced by an Emblem Nourished by the Star Lamp?

….

For a full fifteen minutes, they made sure that Ji Bochang was truly dead, and only then did Xu Jin and Niu Gui dare to approach his body.

During this time, the party wasn’t idle, having already banded together to move the giant boulders blocking the road.

Looking at Ji Bochang’s corpse, Niu Gui stopped Qian Xiaohu, who had grown accustomed to searching the dead, “Gentlemen, I ask you to do me a favor.

After all, Ji Bochang was a flag master of Jinshan Taoist Institute, with a special identity.

I need to take his body back and hand it over to the Governor for handling.”

Naturally, there were no objections.

It was only because Niu Gui was present; otherwise, killing a flag master and then claiming he was a traitor would have surely required some explanation.

While talking, Niu Gui picked up the Star Weapon Longsword that Ji Bochang used, and after a moment’s thought, handed it over to Xu Jin, “The higher the tier of the Emblem, the more precious it is.

Your Vortex Blade Emblem has tremendous power; you killed Ji Bochang, and we all owe you a favor for this.

Take this Star Weapon Longsword and handle it as you see fit; consider it a means to make up for your losses.”

Xu Jin initially wanted to decline, wanting to say that the Vortex Blade Emblem was also given to him by Instructor Ning.

But why did Instructor Ning give it to him and not someone else?

These ties of cause and effect, as well as the obligations of human feelings, were all things that needed to be repaid by him, Xu Jin, in the future.

Thus, Xu Jin boldly accepted it.

Subsequently, Niu Gui placed Ji Bochang’s half-corpse on a horse, packed up the other remaining fragments of the body in cloth, and the group set off again.

Along the way, everyone was on edge, fearing that another ambush might occur.

It wasn’t until the towering city of Jinshan County faintly came into view that they finally felt a bit relieved.

Yet the battles on the official roads of the other counties continued.

There were those in pursuit and those in flight, as well as reinforcements.

For example, the team led by Luo Geng, who initially managed to defeat the ambush with the Emblem given by his uncle, but soon afterwards, they encountered Lin Lang, a flag master from Tianyang Branch.

Fortunately, Luo Kexing arrived in time.

In terms of strength, Luo Kexing and Lin Lang were evenly matched, but Luo Kexing was at a disadvantage due to fighting with injuries, and soon began to falter.

Luo Kexing could only take out the Life-saving Emblems he had, some given by the Mountain Master, others by the Governor.

But just as Luo Kexing unleashed the Life-saving Emblems, Lin Lang also released a blaze of fire, and in an instant, Hai Yun engulfed Luo Kexing, lifting him up on the spot.

Lin Lang was severely injured, while Luo Kexing was as if roasted, falling unconscious on the spot.

Fortunately, Luo Geng was ruthless enough to use all the Life-saving Emblems given to him by his uncle, Luo Kexing, hurling them at the severely injured Lin Lang, and also scavenged more Emblems from Luo Kexing’s possession, managing to scare away the injured Lin Lang.

In another direction, Cui Tianqi clashed with Jin Chi, and the two fought fiercely.

In the final moments, Jin Chi also used the Fire Cloud Emblem bestowed by the Mountain Master.

Regrettably for him, Cui Tianqi was prepared and avoided it at the last second, not severely injured.

Cui Tianqi, with his full beard and tough, bold appearance, was in fact meticulous.

If the Mountain Master had given him Life-saving Emblems to use, then did Jin Chi have them too?

The odds were that he did!

The battle ended with both Cui Tianqi and Jin Chi suffering mutual injuries, but during the melee, several disciples were also caught in the crossfire.

In the end, only eight people followed Cui Tianqi back.

As the golden crow sank in the west, Xu Jin led the first team back to the city of Jinshan County.

Not only had they all returned alive, but they also brought the criminals back alive.

In an instant, Wang Qiang, the Superintendent of Tianyang Sub-Hall who was confronting and restraining Ning Yuchan, realized that something was terribly wrong.

Bringing back the criminals alive was completely different from just bringing back a written confession.

Almost as soon as he saw Xu Jin’s team returning to the city, Superintendent Wang Qiang quickly turned around with his subordinates and hurried back to Tianyang Sub-Hall.

This matter had to be reported to the Mountain Master immediately.

At the very moment he saw Xu Jin returning to the city, and Xu Jin’s well-intact team along with living prisoners tied on horseback, Ning Yuchan’s Star Power surged, and the iron crutch in her hand immediately transformed into a Starlight Iron Hammer.

Boom, boom, boom!

The Star Power exploded, and Ning Yuchan, as if welcoming or venting, slammed her Starlight Iron Hammer on the ground three times.

This moment coincided with Superintendent Wang Qiang’s departure from Tianyang Sub-Hall.

At the same instant, within the Jinshan Taoist Institute, Mountain Master Dong Zhao, who was continuously activating the Locking Star Ring, suddenly sensed a tremendous fluctuation of Star Power.

A line of Starlight dropped down, landing on Ning Yuchan, as he sensed changes in Ning Yuchan’s aura.

“So it’s the news from Yuchan, the people are here.

Three bangs – it seems the mission of the first team to return has been perfectly accomplished!”

The next moment, Mountain Master Dong Zhao once again spurred the Locking Star Ring.

A line of Starlight dropped from the void and vibrated violently three times.

This stream of Starlight from the void was linked to Governor Tian Zhang of Jinshan Taoist Institute.

The formidable Tian Zhang, the Blood Slaughter, was at that moment sitting cross-legged in a small civilian house.

Suddenly, Starlight descended, vibrating thrice.

“Is it finally time to wrap things up?”

The next instant, having received the signal, Tian Zhang stood up, stepped out of the door, turned into a streak of blood-light, and directly leaped into a nearby compound.