Chapter 25: Great Zhou Imperial Court!
“Damn it!”
Within the ruins of the Yang Residence, the surviving cultivator’s face was ashen. He glared at Lu Qingyang with hatred.
“Will you speak now? Or shall I torture you a while first?”
Lu Qingyang’s face was indifferent, his tone icy.
“Talk! Where have you taken my family?!”
Yang Yu summoned his Dharma Artifact, his face a mask of frantic rage.
“Hmph!”
The cultivator let out a cold laugh and said nothing, merely keeping his guard up against the black shuttle hovering nearby.
Lu Qingyang stood on the emerald Dharma Ship, gazing down at the man, coldness rising in his eyes.
He had already given the other party a chance. Unfortunately, he was unwilling to cherish it.
Given that, he could not blame Lu Qingyang for showing no courtesy!
Lu Qingyang raised his palm. Within it, a ball of fire rose, radiating a searing heat!
“Go!”
He flicked his finger, and the fireball shot straight toward the black-robed cultivator.
“Sss!”
Feeling the scorching wave crash against his face, the cultivator did not dare be careless. He hurriedly formed hand seals.
He called forth a technique to block it, but unfortunately, what ordinary cultivators knew were almost all first-tier, elementary techniques.
Casting took time, leaving him no time to respond.
“Boom!”
The fireball slammed into the other’s still-unformed technique and exploded.
“Ah!”
A miserable scream rang out as the man tumbled to the ground.
“Pfft!”
“Pfft!”
To be safe, Lu Qingyang did not grow careless. He then commanded the Nightshade Shuttles to pierce through the man’s four limbs, nailing him to the ground so he could not escape.
“Spare me, spare me! I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything!”
The black-robed cultivator looked at Lu Qingyang in terror, begging for mercy.
“Hmph.”
Lu Qingyang steadied the Nightshade Shuttle and put away the Dharma Ship.
On the other side, Yang Yu charged forward in fury.
He grabbed the man by the collar and roared, “Talk! Where have you taken my father, my mother, and my little sister?!”
“They… they were already taken away by the Commandant…”
“Commandant? You’re the Imperial Court’s people!”
Yang Yu’s pupils constricted, his face filled with rage.
He had never imagined that the ones harming his fellow villagers were actually from the Great Zhou Imperial Court!
“The Imperial Court?”
Lu Qingyang frowned slightly.
“Senior Brother, they’re from the Great Zhou’s Bureau of Celestial Observation!”
“Only Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Bureau of Celestial Observation are called Commandants!”
Yang Yu turned back to look at Lu Qingyang, at a loss for a moment.
“Why would the Imperial Court arrest these villagers? And why were you two lurking here?”
Lu Qingyang went straight to the crux of the matter. He had also heard a little about the Great Zhou’s Bureau of Celestial Observation.
It was said that the Bureau of Celestial Observation was the Great Zhou’s specialized institution for monitoring all cultivators under heaven, tasked with apprehending any cultivator who broke the law or disrupted order.
There were even rumors that the Chaotian Sect’s Law Enforcement Bureau had been founded in imitation of the Great Zhou’s Bureau of Celestial Observation…
“We were ordered by the Commandant to pin the disaster here on passing bandits and refugees!”
“But instead of refugees, we got you…”
The black-robed cultivator looked at Lu Qingyang, his face bitter.
“Then why is the Imperial Court arresting these villagers? Are you deliberately avoiding that question?”
Lu Qingyang gazed at him darkly.
“This… this…”
An expression of difficulty appeared on the black-robed cultivator’s face, as if he were hesitating over whether to reveal the truth.
“I advise you to answer honestly and spare yourself the pain.”
A flash of coldness crossed Lu Qingyang’s face.
The Nightshade Shuttle piercing the man quivered slightly. The cultivator grimaced in agony, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
“Fine, fine, I’ll talk…”
The cultivator gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind.
“The Commandant was also following the Bureau’s orders… to come refine Human Pills.”
“Human Pills?”
Lu Qingyang’s brow furrowed slightly.
“That’s right, Human Pills.”
“This pill requires mortal essence and blood to refine. It’s said that once completed, it not only boosts one’s cultivation but also extends one’s lifespan!”
Hearing this, Yang Yu could not help but freeze.
He seemed unable to believe his own ears.
Then fury, grief, and despair surged through his mind.
“Why! Why arrest these mortals! Is the law of the Great Zhou just you doing whatever you please?!”
“You demonic cultivators, demonic cultivators!”
Yang Yu roared, looking half-deranged.
Lu Qingyang’s face turned frosty as well.
He had not expected the Great Zhou Imperial Court to treat human lives as grass.
“Speak, when did that Commandant leave? Where is he now?”
“Probably this morning. By now, he’s likely already entered the commandery city…”
The black-robed cultivator recalled.
“Junior Brother, let’s go. To Yun Commandery city!”
Lu Qingyang waved his hand, pulling up a Nightshade Shuttle and piercing it through the black-robed cultivator in one strike.
Then, without looking back, he turned to Yang Yu.
He could not care less whether he had promised not to kill the man.
In his eyes, such filth was worse than pigs or dogs.
“Sen… Senior Brother, why don’t you go back and report to the sect in my place? That Bureau of Celestial Observation Commandant is a Foundation Establishment cultivator.”
“There’s no need for you to take this risk with me…”
Yang Yu, however, stood there, head lowered, murmuring.
Lu Qingyang’s brow furrowed tightly at his words.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator — that was indeed troublesome.
But if he waited to return and report to the sect, he feared it would all go cold.
So Lu Qingyang did not hesitate for long.
“We are brothers. There’s no such thing as whether it’s worth the risk.”
“If I die on this journey, then I deserve my short life and my lack of Dao.”
“But if I don’t go, my conscience will never be at ease.”
Yang Yu trembled from head to toe at these words, tears sliding down the corners of his eyes.
“Enough, don’t act like a little girl. Life and death are fated, wealth and honor are in heaven’s hands! Get on quickly!”
Lu Qingyang clapped Yang Yu on the shoulder, released the Dharma Ship, and gestured for him to board.
“Thank you, Senior Brother…”
Yang Yu took a deep breath and leaped onto the Dharma Ship.
Lu Qingyang steered the Dharma Ship and tore through the air.
He had to reach Yun Commandery city as fast as possible.
If he was late, Yang Yu’s family might already have been…
Yang Yu sat on the Dharma Ship, eyes blank, saying nothing.
His heart was in chaos, but he had already decided.
No matter the outcome of this journey, no matter the danger, he would stand in front of Lu Qingyang!
At the same time, on the other side, a squad of black-robed cultivators slowly entered Yun Commandery city.
This group all wore uniform attire, exuding a sinister aura.
Behind them followed a line of black carriages shrouded in black cloth!
As for the leader, he wore a suit of black armor, his face cold, his eyes gloomy.
This person was precisely the Commandant of the Yun Commandery Law Enforcement Bureau — Li Wenyuan!
“Commandant, the Yun Commandery Governor has set a banquet tonight and invites you to attend. Would you care to…”
A cultivator bowed and asked.
“No. My Bureau of Celestial Observation must not have excessive dealings with local dignitaries!”
“Such trivial matters are best avoided when possible.”
Li Wenyuan gave the order coldly.
“Yes!”
The cultivator acknowledged.
“Hoo… once I finish refining this batch, this year’s merits should be enough…”
After the cultivator withdrew, Li Wenyuan glanced at the long convoy behind him and let out a long breath.
There seemed to be a hint of exhaustion in his eyes…