Chapter 952: Chapter 286: Remnants
"I say, One-eyed Dragon."
The young man, while nonchalantly leading the way, persuaded, "I toil all year, planting some grains is not easy. Now it’s freezing cold; if you rob us, how will we survive?"
"Cut the chatter!"
The One-eyed Dragon said in a deep voice, "Lead the way honestly, and I’ll spare your life later."
"Or maybe let’s just forget it?"
The young man looked at the fork in the road ahead, and calmly said, "If you surrender to the government now, by autumn you’ll still be well-fed and clothed, without having to roam tirelessly every day."
One-eyed Dragon sneered, "Kid, what nonsense are you talking about? I’ll cut out your tongu..."
"Roar—"
A beast’s roar that shook the heart suddenly resounded, as from the woods on the left, a fearsome beast, snow-white and tiger-like with golden horns on its forehead, shrouded in spirit light, launched its attack.
Golden Beast!
One-eyed Dragon was taken aback and hurriedly dismounted from his horse.
The sharp claws of the white-furred Golden Beast tore the warhorse into pieces in an instant, as if its claws were blades.
"Where did this demon beast come from?!"
One-eyed Dragon got up with the support of his sword.
"Kill them all."
Chen Duhe signaled with a wave of his hand.
"Roar—"
The Golden Beast roared and charged into the crowd.
"What is this?"
Chen Duhe intended to find a place to sit and watch leisurely, but the scene unfolding before him dispelled his lazy demeanor completely.
He saw that several leaders of these mountain bandits, in their struggle against the Golden Beast, had purple energy rising from their bodies, unleashing extraordinary power.
"Incense Fire Divine Dao?"
Two years ago, Chen Duhe had noticed this magic skill while casually flipping through books in the Book Collection Pavilion, never imagining he’d encounter it here.
The Golden Beast, a spiritual beast at the late stage of the Spirit Aperture Realm, easily handled these second-rate Incense Fire Divine Dao cultivators. In less than half a cup of tea’s time, it slaughtered the bandits until only a few remnants remained. Just as it was about to annihilate them completely, a more powerful aura erupted from the southeast direction.
"Raising spiritual beasts?"
"Kid!"
"You’re the offspring of Chen the Hunter, aren’t you!"
A black-robed cultivator appeared atop the treetop, overlooking the young man on the ground with a sinister smile, "I initially only intended to sacrifice a few commoners to help me break through my cultivation. I didn’t expect to run into the thief Chen’s offspring. It’s a blessing without effort. Today, I’ll use your blood to honor the spirit of the late emperor in heaven!"
"Chen the Hunter? Are you talking about my father?"
Chen Duhe, realizing, quickly said, "Are you out of your mind? If you have a grudge against him, go kill him. What does that have to do with me?!"
"Prepare to die!"
The black-robed cultivator, without listening, activated the Incense Fire Divine Power; his hands were wrapped in purple energy, turning into ferocious devil claws descending from the sky.
"Golden Horn!"
Chen Duhe shouted.
The Golden Beast immediately returned, its golden horn on the forehead burst with spiritual power, and it collided head-on with the devil claws, stirring up waves of snow.
The Golden Beast was at the late Spirit Aperture Realm, while the black-robed cultivator was at the first realm of Incense Fire Divine Dao, late Summoning stage; one person and one beast were evenly matched, unable to determine the victor.
"You beast!"
The black-robed cultivator, at his wit’s end, could only command his subordinates, "You lot, go sacrifice the people in the village up ahead first!"
"Yes!"
The few surviving members of the Incense Fire Divine Sect rushed forward.
Chen Duhe had no way to retreat; he grabbed a sword at random to confront them.
But he hadn’t formally trained in martial arts to temper his Qi and blood, and was no match for these people. In just two or three exchanges, he was kicked in the chest.
"Kid! Quickly, which way to the village?!"
The cultist snarled, "Speak up!!!"
The village ahead was populated, but its geographical location was concealed. In the icy landscape, without guidance, it would take several days to find it.
Clearly, they didn’t have that time.
"How would I know, I’m not from the village."
Chen Duhe sat on the ground, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, "Unless you let me go, I’ll go find out for you."
"Bang!"
The cultist pressed one of his arms into the snow nest, "If you won’t talk, I’ll chop off one of your hands first!"
"Brother Dahe!"
In the dried woods dozens of steps away, a few youths of similar age appeared at some point, watching the bloody scene before them with terror on their faces.
"Quickly, run! Bandits are coming!"
Chen Duhe nearly cursed. The situation was already critical, and now these village kids running around only added chaos.
"Brother Dahe!"
After a moment of panic, the youngsters fearlessly picked up sticks and stones, trying to save others.
The followers of the Incense Fire Divine Sect raised their knives, ready to kill.
"Stop!"
Chen Duhe shouted hastily, "I’ll take you into the village!"
"Hah, you should’ve done this from the start!"
The followers ordered their men to tightly restrain all the youngsters.
"I say..."
While being pushed forward, Chen Duhe said, "Our village doesn’t have much food or people. What’s the point?"
"Let me recommend a place to you. Plenty of people, more food, countless treasures; a single raid could set you for life. How about it?"
"Oh?"
The follower asked, "Where is this place?"
The youngster replied, "Sky Wall City."
"Damn it, you’re still playing tricks! Do you take me for a fool?!"
The follower erupted in anger.
But at that moment, he showed a flaw, and Chen Duhe suddenly flipped, thrusting several silver needles into his neck.
The venom from the spiritual beast entered his body, deadly upon contact, and the follower convulsed a few times in the snow before dying.
"You little brat, you’re as devious as your father!"
On the other side, a black-robed cultivator injured the Golden Beast, gliding over the snow without a trace, aiming for the youngster’s life.
"Whoosh—"
In the blink of an eye, an arrow shot through the air, disrupting the black-robed cultivator’s attack, making him gaze with a frown.
From all directions, Jinyi Guards swarmed in.
"Pei Tiannan?!"
Leading them were the Commander Zhao Kang and Dragon Lake General Wang Li, the latter having already advanced to the Martial Saint Realm.
Recognizing the black-robed cultivator before them, they were slightly surprised.
"Heh!"
Pei Tiannan squinted his eyes, glaring viciously at the two: "When I was an inspector, you two were mere Hundred Captains, and now you’re both wearing such uniforms. It truly is one climbs the ranks, and all benefit!"
"Remnants of the previous dynasty, face your end!"
Wang Li drew his blade against him.
Sky Arrow flew wildly, rallying the local troops.
Besieged, Pei Tiannan dared not linger, sneered coldly, and vanished into the air within a few breaths.
"Greetings, Prince Yu!"
Zhao Kang, Wang Li, and the Jinyi Guards all bowed in unison: "We arrived late to rescue, please forgive us, Your Highness!"
"Prince Yu?"
The village children looked on in astonishment.
"Hiss~ I’m alright, really."
Chen Duhe coughed through severe pain: "What’s up with these people?"
"It’s the Incense Fire Divine Sect."
Wang Li reported: "After the fall of the previous dynasty, Pei Tiannan, a fugitive, joined the Incense Fire Divine Sect. For the past few years, they’ve been quite active. The Jinyi Guard has been searching for them all over, but who would expect them to dare come near the Capital City? It’s our failure."
The New Dynasty established for ten years was indeed stable, but some remnants from the previous dynasty still existed.
"Incense Fire Divine Dao."
Chen Duhe picked up a parchment scroll from where Pei Tiannan had been, glanced at it, and tucked it into his chest.
Then he looked at the people before him: "Why have you come here?"
"Responding to Your Highness."
Zhao Kang answered truthfully: "The Majesty has returned.
"The Majesty decreed that starting today, Your Highness need not stay in the wilderness and can return to the Capital City to reside."
"The old man finally decided to teach me."
Despite his injuries, Chen Duhe was helped onto a flight carriage crafted by Shu Lake: "What are you waiting for, let’s go."
"Yes!"
Under the coachmen’s whip, Shu Lake spread its wings in flight, carrying the carriage up to Cloud Peak.