In the Liangzhou capital, within a cave in Yuelin County, a rustling sound arose.

Dim yellow mist spread, emitting a faint yellow light that illuminated the shadows of insects within the cave.

Above, below, to the left, and to the right, the rock walls were covered with locusts. As the dim yellow mist surged, the locusts flapped their wings and took flight amidst a dense buzzing sound, circling around a Dharma Platform at the center.

On that Dharma Platform, a person in a black robe sat cross-legged. In front of them, a long banner adorned with the pattern of exotic locusts stood erected.

At this moment, as locusts danced and the banner fluttered, the exotic locusts on the banner seemed to come alive, their mouthparts opening and closing, issuing a hoarse sound.

"The locust god is dead, from today onwards, you are the new locust god."

Upon hearing these words, the shadowy figure silently stood up and reached out to grab the long banner.

Almost instantly, the dim yellow mist began to pour into his body. A shadowy figure with a locust's head projected from the banner merged into the black-robed person's face. The sound of flesh, bones, and muscles rubbing against each other was incessant, as swarms of locusts flew wildly like a storm.

About a quarter of an hour later, the commotion inside the cave subsided, and the man in the black robe now exuded the same mysterious Qi Mechanism as the locust god. Holding the long banner, surrounded by dense clusters of locusts, he walked out of the cave.

At that time, the sky outside began to show a light radiance, and the setting sun's light, shining through the gradually dispersing dark clouds, was reflected in the slowly receding floodwaters in a deep, bloodlike crimson.

The flood was retreating, and the dark clouds would soon disperse, leaving behind swollen corpses bloated from the water—human and animal alike.

Upon seeing this, the new locust god let out a hoarse laugh, "Great plagues follow great disasters. What a good time this is, and furthermore..."

He looked into the distance from atop the cliff, seeing a long stream of people wading through mountains and waters, struggling on their journey. Their destination was undoubtedly one—the capital of Liangzhou, Yuelin City.

"The water has receded! It's receded!"

At this moment, on the walls of Yuelin City, the soldiers were shouting. A colonel hurriedly ran to the tower, exclaiming excitedly, "Sir, the water has receded."

Xiao Xiyue, who had once met Jiang Li at the Shu Royal Mansion in Liangzhou, heard the news and stepped forward to the ramparts. Seeing the muddy yellow silt left by the receding waters, he too showed a look of joy.

Although he had rushed back to Yuelin City at the outset of the flooding, using his Dao Fruit Ability to accumulate soil and rocks, coupled with the city's own high terrain that spared it from the disaster, if the flooding continued indefinitely, Yuelin City would sooner or later not be able to hold out.

Not to mention the issue of food, the increasingly bold Devil Cultivators alone were enough to cause great distress.

Moreover, as the Liangzhou Governor, Xiao Xiyue was responsible for all the prefectures under his jurisdiction, and if he did not address the other areas' issues, the court would hold him accountable, and he might face disaster.

Now, however, with the floodwaters retreating and because they had not persisted for too long, the situations in other areas should not be too dire.

As everyone on the city walls rejoiced, suddenly, someone with sharp eyes spotted a distant flow of people and several large banners among them.

On the banner, two large characters reading "Taiping" fluttered in the wind, bordered by dragon patterns.

"Battle flags!" cried the colonel immediately, "To arms!"

Military flags, unlike ordinary banners, were strictly regulated and immediately recognizable. While the Taiping Sect was just a sectarian power and had no right to fly military flags, they now approached bearing one. Their rebellious intent was not just evident but plainly obvious.

The once joyous ramparts turned cold and solemn, with soldiers scurrying about, setting bows and drawing arrows, preparing defenses at the fastest possible speed, ready to unleash a barrage of arrows as soon as the people of the Taiping Sect got within range.

However, as that group of people approached, the solemn atmosphere on the walls quickly began to crumble.

Elderly people, women and children, and even pregnant women were at the forefront, a massive number of refugees counted by the tens of thousands, forming a tidal wave of humanity with no end in sight.

Behind these refugees, Yellow Turban Warriors of the Taiping Sect carried large banners and led the way. Their giant-like figures stood out conspicuously among the crowd, clearly visible to all, made even more apparent by the presence of the banners.

The Taiping Sect came openly to rebel and seize the city, not even trying to disguise their intentions. To confront the Taiping Sect, however, they first had to deal with the refugees in front.

"This..."

The colonel felt a tingling in his scalp, his eyes almost bursting with blood, "Utterly shameless."

With a flood of over a hundred thousand refugees bearing down on them, though unarmed and powerless, they exerted an intangible pressure that shook the soldiers to their cores, making them hesitant to take action.

The colonel's eyes bloodshot, he breathed heavily, and as the throng of refugees neared firing range, he could no longer hold back and growled lowly, "Sir, the situation is critical, please return to the government office and take command from there."

His voice carried a resolute undertone and a touch of madness.

If they did not take action soon, once the flood of refugees reached the city, they would be at a disadvantage and would have to make a decision.

As for the request to Xiao Xiyue to return to the government office, it was merely to absolve him from any responsibility.

Xiao Xiyue was the strongest person in the city, a fifth-rank and an Earth Deity. Within the Earth God Domain, even a fourth-rank might find it challenging to kill him. No matter how dire the crisis, he would be the last to die.

But the reply he gave the colonel was a deep, "Open the gates."

Upon hearing this, the colonel immediately protested, "No, Sir! If we open the gates, the people within the city will also become captives, then..."

Before he could finish, Xiao Xiyue placed his hand on the back of the colonel's neck and gently squeezed, causing the colonel to faint.

"I have no choice," the Liangzhou Governor slowly shook his head.

He was an Earth Deity with the duty to protect the land. Killing refugees would only bring resentment and risk rejection and backlash from his Dao Fruit.

In the past, such matters were resolved by the Yin Law Department. Local officials only needed to deal with rebels. But now, the situation was different, and local officials also had to face difficult choices.

Moreover, a colonel could not bear such responsibility. In the end, if the court sought accountability, it would fall upon the Governor. The slaughter of over a hundred thousand refugees, even if it were seen as a service, would have dire consequences.

And the city might not even be defensible.

Once the city fell, the Taiping Sect would definitely not hesitate to strike down this Inspector.

Success led to death, failure also led to death; all paths led to death, with an eternal stench of shame attached. Rather than this, it would be better to open the city gates and let people in.

"Open the city gates."

Xiao Xiyue reiterated the order again.

The surrounding soldiers were already headless with fear, and upon hearing the Inspector's command, they immediately and subconsciously carried out the order.

Thus, the great gates of Yuelin City slowly opened.

Liangzhou Capital had fallen.

***

Above the azure sky, thunderbolts hurtled rapidly, with the ferocity of thousands of troops galloping, sweeping across Liangzhou and straight into Yu State.

Amidst the thunder light, the silhouettes of Sect Master and Guan Yushan could be seen, both riding thunder clouds from day into night, chasing from Liangzhou to Yu State, yet they had still not caught even a glimpse of Jiang Li.

Sect Master's frown deepened with every moment that passed, until he could no longer bear it and pressed down the thunder cloud, descending to the official road below, and took out a golden seal, barking, "The local Prefectural Governor, with the Divine Travel Grand Protector, come to see me."

The voice, propagated by the golden seal, radiated throughout the county, and before long, a puff of white smoke rose from the ground not far ahead, with two figures becoming visible within.

Sect Master paid no mind to the Prefectural Governor and directly asked the other, clad in a tight outfit, "Have you found any trace of Jiang Li?"

"Reporting to my lord, there is no trace of Young Master of Jiang," the Divine Travel Grand Protector immediately replied.

From Liangzhou to Dinghu Sect, there were Divine Travel Grand Protectors scattered along the way, searching for Jiang Li's tracks and providing timely information. But without Xiang Huaiyi's Sharp-Hearing Ear, finding Jiang Li was no easy task.

Even with a widespread dragnet and Jiang Li showing no inclination to take any detours, if Jiang Li did not wish to be found, how could these Divine Travel Grand Protectors possibly locate him?

Sect Master had also come to realize this; a "Sichuan" character wrinkle formed abruptly between his brows.

With Jiang Li's own Qi Shu being so strong and few could match him, and with the Divine Farmer's Cauldron suppressing Qi Shu, finding him would have to be done by more mundane methods. But the Sharp-Hearing Ear had already been slaughtered, and the cultivators capable of possessing the "thousand-mile eye," though also part of the Southern Heavenly Department, were confidants of the Princess and would not be subject to orders.

Even the movements of the Divine Travel Grand Protector were being concealed from the Princess.

Although Princess Ji Lingguang held great power, she was ultimately unable to fully control all factions within the court. With the Sect Master's skills and power, carrying out some degree of covert action wasn't too difficult.

The thunder light flashing around Sect Master faintly exuded an aura of boundless and fierce power, evidently, his mood was far from good.

But at times like these, rage only highlighted impotence.

He suppressed his Heart Fire and continued to inquire, "What about Dinghu Sect?"

"We have already sent word to Dinghu Sect's Supreme Elder, who is in seclusion, and the Yin Law Department has already made arrangements in the vicinity of Dinghu. Additionally, Mr. Hui'an from Jingzhou, carrying the Observation Bow, is on his way."

The Divine Travel Grand Protector relayed the overall situation with concise words, which utterly shocked Guan Yushan standing by at the gravity of the response mobilized.

Informing the Dinghu Sect's elder was evidently to prepare Dinghu Sect's internal members, the arrangement of the Yin Law Department was obviously not a small matter, and then there was Mr. Hui'an, head of the Zhu Family of Yangzhou, a former Five Classical Doctor of the Imperial College, known as the most likely successor to the title of highest ranking Sacrificial Officer after Ji Lingguang.

This was defense on multiple levels, determined to lead Jiang Li to failure.

They, themselves, could only be considered as makeshift front runners who may also serve the role of a probing piece.

"Very well."

Sect Master's expression cleared somewhat before he further delayed no longer, once more riding the thunder clouds, taking Guan Yushan with him towards Dinghu Sect.

Since defenses had already been prepared ahead, what he needed to do was intercept from this end, exert force from both directions, and vow to capture Jiang Li.

This child of the Jiang family could not be allowed to grow any further.

However, as they drew ever nearer to Dinghu Sect, Sect Master was still unable to detect any trace of Jiang Li, and as the distance closed, no messages came from the direction of Dinghu either.

If Jiang Li had been intercepted at Dinghu, the Divine Travel Grand Protector would definitely have sent a message this way.

'Maybe Jiang Li has not yet arrived.'

Sect Master comforted himself with this thought, stabilizing his uneasy heart.

He would under no circumstances believe that Jiang Li had crossed the defensive line and already returned to Dinghu Sect.

But this unease, as the distance shortened, only grew deeper.

Just as Sect Master was growing increasingly restless, he suddenly detected a formidable Qi Mechanism ahead.

"Innate Qi!"

Sect Master was overjoyed, descending with the wind and thunder to the place where the Qi Mechanism had appeared.

A river, curved like a serpent, half-encircled the wilderness; it must've recently snowed, as a layer of white snow still blanketed the wild fields and rocks along the bank, brimming with a chilling coldness, yet also revealing the unique beauty of a winter snowscape.

This river, named "East River," led directly to Dinghu; from this point, Dinghu Sect was not far.

Yet Jiang Li, impossibly, had chosen to stop right here.

On a large rock by the riverbank, his white garments fluttering in the wind, Jiang Li stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky. His eyes revealed twinkling stars, branches, and divination symbols rotating in mysterious trajectories, unveiling endless secrets.

He gazed at the thunder clouds, his eyes falling directly on Sect Master, and said, "You've finally arrived."

On the final stretch of the journey, Jiang Li had stopped in his tracks, for he waited for his pursuers to come. He intended to return to the Sect with their heads.

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