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Chapter 669: Chapter 675: The Eccentric
Li Chengsheng’s two Spirit Beasts were only at the mid-stage of the third rank, similar to the several third-rank ghosts they faced tonight. Although their attributes were restraining, they were not capable of taking on many at once.
"No worries, there were five third-rank ghost spirits tonight; all we need to do is join forces and take down four more," someone said.
The Chaoyang Crow was now full of confidence and said, "A mere four are definitely not a match for us."
The Li Fire Sparrow thought for a moment and then said, "Let’s take the time to recover our Mana. According to Cheng Sheng, the ghost waves are going to continue for several days."
Soon, dawn broke and sunlight slowly scattered across the land from a single point.
"Sanhe County has suffered tremendous losses! The number of commoners has decreased by a full sixty percent! White cloth hangs in every household; some families have been completely obliterated, their bodies left uncollected..."
"The city itself has also witnessed extensive damage, with several Formation foundations completely destroyed, needing a large amount of Spiritual Objects, as well as Array Masters."
...
The many busy Cultivators finally had a moment to gather together; each person talked about their responsibilities. In general, there was not a single piece of good news!
As the elder Cultivator listened to these reports, his already wrinkled face now resembled tree bark, with a thousand grooves and crevices.
"The biggest problem in Sanhe County now lies in the unmasked hatred in the commoners’ eyes when they look at us!"
Living in the same county city as the Cultivators, and with many households having Cultivators of their own, the commoners were very clear on certain knowledge through exposure.
The sudden disappearance of the Formation could not possibly have been the work of the ghosts; there was only one possibility left! The Cultivators had deactivated the Formation themselves!
If the Formation had not been deactivated, the ghosts would not have been able to rush into the city and massacre the commoners, and their family and friends would not have died in this disaster.
The source of all this lay with the Cultivators!
They did not know who was responsible, but that was not important. What they needed now was a target to vent their resentment on, even though this target was previously the respected ’Immortal Master.’
"This..."
The elder Cultivator had not expected the situation to be so serious and said with an ugly expression, "The number of commoners in the city has sharply declined. If the remaining people do not cooperate, even if the county city sends Array Masters, it will be impossible to construct a complete Yang Energy Array."
This Array was founded on the Sun-Spirit Preservation Method, drawing the energy of the sun and the Yang Qi of humans to set up the Formation.
Both elements were indispensable; otherwise, the power would be greatly diminished.
And the familiar yet strange Yang Qi that Li Chengsheng had felt before was indeed this human Yang Qi.
From the name, it was clear that it was extracted from the human body. If the commoners were unwilling to cooperate, they certainly couldn’t force them, could they?
If they dared to do that, after the ghost waves passed, it might just spell their own demise!
"Dump all the blame on Qing Fan and Qing Rong, saying that they betrayed the human race for the sake of their cultivation, to lessen the commoners’ hostility towards us," suggested the elder Taoist with resignation.
"At the same time, help the commoners with work, and try to leave them with a good impression."
That was the only somewhat useful method he could think of.
There were actually other methods, such as using Spells of Forgetting, but they were merely at Foundation Establishment, with scarce Mana. Even if they had learned such Spells, it would not be possible to use them on all commoners.
As they were mending relations with the commoners, the Cultivators sent for support from the county city finally arrived!
Seeing the dark smoke filling the sky, and hearing the wails and cries that echoed throughout the city, they had braced themselves on the way there, but the reality was far more severe than what they had anticipated!
Immediately, their expressions turned extremely grim.
"We greet the three seniors!" The elder Cultivator hurried forward and bowed deeply.
"How exactly was the formation broken?" the Array Master asked anxiously.
The senior cultivator found it somewhat strange, for he had mentioned these matters in the sound transmission talisman he sent back, but since the senior asked, he could only quickly recount the events once more.
"Damn Qing Fan and Qing Rong, it wouldn’t matter if they died, but they actually sabotaged the cultivators during the battle amidst the ghost tide. Just for this alone, their crimes could be determined," the muscular man cursed furiously, looking extremely agitated.
"Alright, we don’t have much time left, let’s set up the formation first and chat later," the young cultivator chimed in.
The muscular man had intended to visit Li Chengsheng but upon hearing these words, he reluctantly set that idea aside for the time being.
With the concerted effort of everyone, the formation was successfully reestablished, and they even absorbed quite a bit of Yang Energy in preparation for use tonight.
"My task here is done, now it’s up to your abilities," said the Array Master.
"Take me to visit that Taoist Huang," he requested.
The senior cultivator’s expression stiffened as he said, "I beg Immortal Master’s pardon, but it seems that our senior has been seriously injured and is currently in seclusion for healing."
"Well, if he can’t be seen, then so be it," the Array Master shook his head and left, casually choosing an unoccupied room to settle in.
Soon, night fell.
The ghost tide returned, even more ferocious than the day before.
"Cough cough."
The tightly shut doors of Qing Song Courtyard opened with a bout of coughing.
Li Chengsheng came out this time to deal with the remaining four third-tier ghosts for his trial mission; however, he wasn’t the main attacker. The Chaoyang Crow and Li Fire Sparrow would help to take care of them; he only needed to make a move.
As for the thousand low-tier ghosts required for the mission, they had already been taken care of by yesterday’s fires.
"Senior! Have your injuries healed?" asked the senior cultivator, who was the first to spot Li Chengsheng and quickly inquired.
The beings that survived within the city owed their first thanks to him, their lifesaver.
The other cultivators in the middle of rotating shifts also spoke up.
"It’s nothing serious," Li Chengsheng smiled and responded to everyone, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the muscular man and the young one. He instantly understood that these two must be the Golden Core cultivators sent from the county seat for support.
After a brief greeting with the two, he focused on confronting the third-tier ghosts before him.
"Yang, Li, make it quick!"
"Got it!"
Two streaks of fire burst forth; the ghost didn’t even have time to react before it was engulfed by the two domineering types of Spiritual Fire. In an instant, it turned into a wisp of green smoke and dissipated with the wind.
"Such a domineering Yang-attribute Spirit Beast!" the muscular man who had been keeping an eye on Li Chengsheng couldn’t help but marvel to himself. Did this kind of Spirit Beast even exist in this world?
At the same time, he noticed Li Chengsheng’s weakness and knew that he was strong on the outside but dry within.
This only deepened his puzzlement and curiosity. With injuries like that, instead of properly healing in seclusion, why would he come out to face the battle?
Moreover, if the main forces were those two Spirit Beasts and his own attack power was mediocre, unable to cause much damage, what was the point in coming out at all?
What if something went wrong and his injuries were aggravated? That would be so not worth it!
’A strange man!’ This was the muscular man’s opinion of Li Chengsheng at that moment.
