Chapter 213: Thousand Faces

“Ye San” stubbornly said, “At worst, we’ll hide at the headquarters for a while. My decision is final; there’s no need to say more.”

An knew that the “Evil God” was bizarre and powerful. With her strength, she had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation, so she did not insist: “Fine, I’ll leave first with Chenxiang and the Zishang Sword.”

The swordsman was sitting cross-legged beside them, meditating, with Zishang resting across his knees.

“No, without him and Zishang, I won’t have the chance to eliminate the old ghosts of the Ye family all at once. Time is pressing now; I have to abandon the treasure weapon. Once I pass this trial and become a true deity, I won’t have to worry about lacking treasure weapons.” “Ye San” firmly insisted on keeping the Zishang Sword.

An pursed her lips, clearly dissatisfied with Qianmian’s decision, but she also knew that Qianmian was always eager for quick success, seizing every opportunity to enhance himself, as if chased by floods or ferocious beasts, never daring to relax or slack off even slightly.

Among the many disciples scattered outside their sect, Qianmian had once been the most ordinary and hopeless. Yet no one knew where he had learned the method of “cultivating an Evil God,” allowing him to defeat one opponent after another, survive, and become an elite disciple. Because he frequently changed his physical bodies, his appearance changed accordingly, thus earning him the name “Qianmian.”

“Even if your Evil God breaks through the bottleneck, it’s only equivalent to the strength of a half-step external realm cultivator. How can that compare to a real treasure weapon?” An was still reluctant to part with Zishang. Even though she herself did not use swords, returning it to the headquarters would earn both her and Qianmian an exceptionally generous reward. After all, treasure weapons cannot simply be crafted by piling up materials; they can only be formed by integrating the artistic concept of an external realm expert and being nurtured by him day and night.

“Ye San” shook his head: “Even if we obtained a treasure weapon now, we could only unleash the power of a half-step external realm cultivator, and during battle, we could only activate it once or twice. If I break through the bottleneck, every movement will naturally exude similar effects.”

An gritted her teeth: “I hope you succeed. I’ll wait for you at our old meeting place.”

Ye San’s resurrection had distance limitations, so they had long prepared a temporary hiding place.

“Fine.” Ye San said no more, awakened the swordsman, and returned to the Ye household.

He knew that this time, their plan had been interrupted, and the originally ninety percent certainty of breakthrough was now almost impossible. However, at least after sacrificing the Ye family, he would be closer to breaking through. Next time, he wouldn’t need to take such risks and might easily succeed.

Watching Ye San’s back disappear, An snorted and, clutching Chenxiang, vanished into the darkness.

If it weren’t for the uncertainty of whether Qianmian had other hidden vessels for resurrection, she would have loved to kill Chenxiang before Qianmian’s revival and seize the treasure and secret manuals—since Qianmian always carried valuable items on his vessels, as his physical body was like clothing, easily replaced, while his yin soul could transfer with the Evil God’s protection, material objects could not.

…

As soon as Meng Qi and Tang Ren exited the alley, they encountered Qi Zhengyan, who was approaching with a sword on his back.

“…Ye San died long ago, and his body was taken over by the Evil God cultivator who sowed discord among the families,” Meng Qi briefly explained the previous events. He didn’t need to go into details; Qi Zhengyan, with their shared experiences, understood immediately.

Qi Zhengyan still had his usual expressionless face: “Cultivating an Evil God? We must notify the Six Ministries to seal off the city.”

Seeing this, Tang Ren felt slightly emotional. Indeed, a disciple from a major sect like this could immediately understand what cultivating an Evil God meant, while he, having lived for sixty or seventy years, only learned about it after obtaining the Canglan Blade and interacting more with the Six Ministries.

Speaking of which, it was truly fortunate for Xiao’er to have such rich experiences while traveling, even knowing about the Evil God cultivation!

The three of them did not speak further but rushed toward the Six Ministries, passing many martial artists who had gathered to watch the commotion caused by the Shangshui Pavilion.

Meng Qi, proficient in the Phantom Demon Body Technique and the Wind God Leg Technique, moved with the swiftness of the wind, leaving behind afterimages as he dashed forward. Qi Zhengyan of the Huanhua Sword Sect employed an elegant and graceful lightness skill, his robes fluttering gracefully with a poised demeanor. Running side by side, the two made Tang Ren, who could barely keep up with his Nine Apertures strength, appear like a rustic old man.

The young are indeed admirable; why didn’t I ever have a chance encounter in my youth… Thinking this, Tang Ren kept up closely. Suddenly, he called out: “Chief Huang, are you heading to the Shangshui Pavilion?”

The middle-aged man leading several officers slowed his pace, stroking his five-beard mustache with a smile: “Master Ren, do you have any advice for me?”

This chief officer was none other than Huang Zhique, the head official of Yicheng, responsible for overseeing local military affairs. He was a Nine-Aperture expert with the potential to advance to the Half-Step External Realm. If one were to ask which faction in the world possessed the most Nine-Aperture experts, the answer would undoubtedly be the imperial court of the Jin Dynasty. Through generous rewards and prestigious titles, they had recruited numerous formidable individuals, boasting more External Realm and Open-Aperture experts than any martial arts sect or noble family below the level of Grandmasters.

Indeed, for wandering martial artists, serving the imperial court was more beneficial than joining aristocratic families or sects, as it provided not only resources and wealth but also the rights and status of managing martial affairs. They were not treated as guests but as full members, without the barriers of bloodline and inheritance. Advancement through merit could even lead to the imperial family providing corresponding secret manuals.

Moreover, the court had the Wu Jinshi system, which offered a bright path for talented individuals across the land, preventing them from having to rely solely on sects and aristocratic families. If it weren’t for the limited resources of the court and the preference of many experts for the relatively unrestrained life of a wandering martial artist, the Six Ministries and the imperial guards would have already gathered all redeemable wandering experts.

Of course, sects and aristocratic families would not stand idly by and applied significant pressure in this regard, keeping the strength of the Six Ministries within acceptable limits for all parties. Additionally, sects and aristocratic families were also infiltrating the Six Ministries and the imperial court. For example, the names of disciples from the Zhenwu Temple’s secular branch and the Cui family’s branch were often found on the Wu Jinshi list every three years.

Within the Six Ministries, one city constituted a district, including nearby villages, and was assigned one chief officer, two assistant officers, ten senior officers, and ten squads of constables. Prefecture cities had a silver-insignia officer and a green-insignia deputy in charge of local matters, as well as elite Hu Bao (Tiger and Leopard) officers. Provincial cities had gold-insignia officers and purple-insignia deputies, while the capital had the Six Ministries headquarters, with the Eight Divine Captains and the Chief Officer, who held the rank of marquis.

“Six Ministries Chief Officer”—these six words, without any additional description, were enough to instill fear in many martial experts across the land. Though he did not place himself on the Earth List, he was generally recognized as having top ten Earth List strength.

“The recent battle was between Canglan and Zishang,” Tang Ren stated directly.

“What?” Huang Zhique exclaimed. Could it be infighting among the four families?

Tang Ren said, “Ye Xiaosan is dead, his body taken over by an Evil God, inciting conflict between the families and the Huanhua Sword Sect.”

“Cultivating an Evil God?” Huang Zhique’s expression turned grave. This was far more serious than internal family conflicts. At least the families knew how to restrain themselves, exercise caution, and respect the court’s authority. However, Evil God cultivators were ruthless, fond of blood sacrifices, and if an Evil God went out of control, it could lead to the massacre of an entire city.

Tang Ren briefly recounted their recent encounter, while Meng Qi added details about An’s fighting style and the tall man’s palm techniques.

The more Huang Zhique listened, the more serious he became: “Judging from the man’s physical features and palm techniques, he should be Tie Shou Ren Mo, one of the nineteen demons of the Heaven-destroying Sect.”

Meng Qi was startled. Tie Shou Ren Mo?

He was not only surprised by the Six Ministries’ thorough intelligence gathering and the officer’s deep knowledge of martial artists, which allowed him to identify the person based on a description, but also shocked by the name Tie Shou Ren Mo itself!

Was the one he had just killed Tie Shou Ren Mo? And who was the person he encountered on the boat?

Could it be that Shan Xiumei had hired someone to stage a “hero rescuing a beauty” scenario to attract a wealthy husband?

Huang Zhique noticed his surprise and briefly explained: “Tie Shou Ren Mo and Huan Xi Ren Mo have long been active in Huanzhou, which is why I am familiar with them. If it were a martial expert from another province, I would have to go back and review the records. Indeed, it seems that An must be Huan Xi Ren Mo, and the one possessing Ye Sanshao’s body should be Qian Mian Ren Mo. No wonder Qian Mian Ren Mo is the most mysterious of the nineteen demons, changing appearances so frequently—it must be due to his path of cultivating an Evil God!”

His voice grew louder as he gave orders to the senior officers accompanying him:

“You three go separately to the Tang, Wan, and Ling families and inform their elders of the situation. Be sure to kill the Evil God’s vessels to deny him the chance of resurrection. Also, ask the elders of the Wan and Ling families to bring the Liao Yuan Spear and Fan Yun Blade to the Ye family residence for a meeting.”

“You return to the Six Ministries, activate the city protection formation, deploy all the constables, block the key roads, and search one by one to prevent the Evil God’s vessels from hiding.”

“You go to the Zhushui Academy and invite Wang Zai, Young Master Wang, to the Ye family residence. This matter concerns the Wang family, and the Haoran righteous energy can suppress the Evil God. We must request his assistance.”

After the officers departed, Huang Zhique looked at Meng Qi and the others: “Master Qi, Young Master Tang, Master Ren, I would be grateful if you would accompany me to the Ye family residence to locate the Evil God and deal with the Ye family.”

“Fine!” Meng Qi replied decisively. He was quite wary of enemies capable of resurrection and urgently wanted to resolve the matter once and for all, leaving no future threats.

Qi Zhengyan, his face still expressionless, nodded slightly. Whether or not Qian Mian Ren Mo was the same person he had encountered during factional conflicts, the Evil God cultivator had to be eliminated, as they were too unpredictable and posed a serious threat to stability.

…

Outside the Ye residence, Meng Qi revisited the place, but this time with a different identity and a different mood.

The guards who should have been at the gate at all times were nowhere to be seen. The entire Ye estate was silent, unnervingly quiet, as if something extremely sinister and horrifying was brewing inside.

“Be careful!” Huang Zhique, as the chief officer, had never encountered such a situation before, but he had heard about it.

“There is a surge of resentment reaching the heavens, and a spread of blood qi,” Wang Zai arrived, sword in hand, and said solemnly. “It must be a sacrificial ritual. We must stop it immediately!”

His square face was calm and solemn, but his eyes held a hint of resentment. He had been manipulated by Ye San, or rather “Qian Mian Ren Mo,” and was somewhat embarrassed and angry.

Everyone thought of the scene inside and became heavy-hearted. They knew they had to act quickly, like saving someone from a fire, and rushed into the Ye estate.

Wang Zai led the way, with Meng Qi and the others following closely. Along the way, they did not see a single servant or footman. The roadside was littered with the corpses of rats and insects, making their hearts race with unease.

When they reached the outer hall of the Ye family, they saw rows of neatly arranged corpses. The skin was deathly pale, as if all the blood had been drained, and there was not a drop of blood on the ground.

Wang Zai slightly slowed his pace and stepped into the hall. Inside, the corpses were piled like a mountain. In the center stood a figure surrounded by dark qi. The last layer of blood around him violently trembled and then completely absorbed into his body.

Zishang floated in front of him, wrapped in bloodstains, unable to sense the family’s crisis and activate on its own.

“Have you come to worship the True God?”

The “Qian Mian Ren Mo,” still wearing Ye San’s face, shouted in a voice that was both solemn and frenzied, shaking the roof and causing a shower of dust to fall.