Chapter 206
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
Chapter 206: The Rise of Evil Spirits
[In the third year of Jinghong, in late July, the tofu shop owner from Chen’s family in Taide County became possessed, killed his wife and child to grind blood tofu for sale, and then killed several constables to escape, disappearing without a trace.]
[In the fourth year of Jinghong, in early March, Chen’s Village in Sanhe County was suspected to be plagued by Evil Spirits, resulting in all 325 villagers being drained of their vital blood and perishing. The Exorcism Hall sent officials to investigate, but to no avail.]
[In the sixth year of Jinghong, in early October, a thick fog appeared on the official road outside Taide County, causing a merchant caravan to vanish without a trace, suspected to have encountered Evil Spirits.]
[In the eighth year of Jinghong, in late February, a large number of cattle and sheep went missing in Datong County, after which countless bones appeared in the graveyard outside the city.]
[In the ninth year of Jinghong, in mid-May, the county office of Datong County was attacked by Evil Spirits, leading to the deaths of the county magistrate, the clerk, and seven bailiffs.]
[In the tenth year of Jinghong…]
At the Star Observation Pavilion in the Celestial Guardians’ residences, in a hidden chamber office, Wang Chen perused the case files transferred from the Exorcism Hall.
These files detailed all the cases involving Evil Spirits that occurred within South Shao County over the past ten years.
One by one, the cases numbered in the hundreds, leaving one feeling shocked beyond description!
Most of these cases of Evil Spirits causing chaos had turned into unsolved mysteries.
Only a few Evil Spirits had been dealt with by the Exorcism Hall and martial experts from the rivers and lakes.
Before fleeing to Da Qian, Wang Chen already knew that the Mortal Realm occasionally faced havoc from Evil Spirits, harming living beings and wreaking havoc on the world.
They could be considered a great enemy of mortals!
But he did not expect the situation of Evil Spirits running rampant to be so severe.
Wang Chen noticed that in the last three years, incidents involving Evil Spirits had appeared particularly frequently.
Apart from South Shao County, which had been relatively stable due to the protection of the Exorcism Hall and county guards, the four counties under the county government had faced varying degrees of calamity.
Many villages were abandoned, and a large number of common people fled to the county capital or nearby to escape disaster.
Rebellions had once broken out!
Faced with such a situation, the county government was at a loss.
For three years, the Celestial Guardians’ residences had been without a leader, the Exorcism Hall was weak, and threats from mountain hunters, wild men, and bandits loomed over the region.
Managing to ensure the peace of South Shao County was already quite an achievement.
In fact, Evil Spirits also occasionally emerged within the county capital, but they had mostly been suppressed.
Otherwise, what Wang Chen saw would not be the current situation.
As he read through these files, he had an unsettling feeling that "the nation stands on the brink, with Evil Spirits abounding."
In addition to the content related to Evil Spirits, Wang Chen also reviewed the records of South Shao County and inquired with people from the Exorcism Hall, discovering that this place was not large, but the water element ran quite deep.
His predecessor had mostly stayed inside the Celestial Guardians’ residences during his tenure, rarely going out.
Whenever incidents involving Evil Spirits occurred in the county, the county government would report them, and he would assign the Exorcism Hall to address them.
He had never intervened himself!
However, Wang Chen’s senior brother had also provided the Exorcism Hall with a considerable amount of elixirs and blood talismans, contributing his share of effort.
The former Celestial Guardian did not care for the external criticisms, adhering to the principle of “I’ll take the blame while you face the consequences,” and managed to last through the three-year mission duration before promptly returning to the mountain gate.
He is quite the talent!
Wang Chen estimated that the gold, silver, jewels, elixirs, and talismans left in the hidden chamber were a payoff for his successor.
After all, this senior brother from the inner sect had seen the reputation of the Celestial Guardians’ residences decline sharply during his three years in office and the three years following his departure, allowing even the servants left behind to brazenly commit wrongdoings.
He left Wang Chen with a huge burden!
Although it was frustrating to inherit such a mess, the governor’s residence’s eager attempt to shift blame actually provided him with great assistance!
Wang Chen’s Heavenly Net for Exorcising Evil could refine Evil Spirits and turn the dark forces into the purest spiritual energy for storage.
Previously, during his time in the inner sect of the Yunyang Sect, he had never considered using the spiritual energy from the Exorcising Net for cultivation.
That would have been wasteful.
The spiritual energy from the Exorcising Net was not easy to come by; it could be used as a super Qi Recovery Pill, which could save lives or secure victory during critical moments.
Of course, it needed to be treasured.
However, times had changed, and Wang Chen now desperately needed the spiritual energy from the Exorcising Net.
By eliminating Evil Spirits to replenish his spiritual energy, he could meet his daily cultivation needs while also earning some Virtue and fulfilling his responsibilities—truly a win-win situation!
If this path proved successful, Wang Chen would solve his biggest problem.
At that time, he would definitely award Ruan Zhaoming a trophy weighing a ton!
After reviewing all the files, Wang Chen did not rush to hunt down the Evil Spirits.
The greatest trouble with Evil Spirits was their strong ability to hide. Aside from fixed Evil Nests, they often appeared and disappeared unpredictably, and it was not uncommon for them to remain dormant for years or even decades.
Their actions were strange and unpredictable, making it not easy to find any subtle traces of their existence.
Wang Chen spent an entire day creating three hundred blood protection talismans.
Blood protection talismans could be used by mortals and activated by applying blood. While their power was not as great as that of true legal symbols, they could still be considered treasures in the Mortal Realm.
Wang Chen’s predecessor had left him several tens of blood protection talismans.
However, as a practitioner who had achieved perfect mastery of Beginner Talisman Making, Wang Chen looked down on these!
Not only was their quality low, but because they had not been kept in a storage bag, they had lost significant spiritual energy, greatly reducing their effectiveness.
He burnt them all—how could one be so ridiculous!
Wang Chen’s newly crafted blood talismans included dispelling talismans, Protection talismans, Armor Horse Talismans, explosive talismans, and help talismans, among others.
Creating three hundred blood protection talismans consumed a large amount of his magic power.
Once he finished crafting them, Wang Chen summoned Zuo Yongjun, a hundred households from the Exorcism Hall of South Shao, to the governor’s residence, ordering him to send people to investigate the incidents caused by Evil Spirits in South Shao County over the past six months.
"These talismans are for you to distribute."
Wang Chen handed the three hundred blood talismans to the innate martial artist and introduced several of their uses.
He then earnestly reminded him, "Don’t hesitate to use them. In encounters with Evil Spirits, your first priority is to save your life. Do not take risks. If you run out of talismans, just come back here to get more."
Even the emperor wouldn’t send hungry soldiers into danger without providing real support.
Holding a thick stack of talismans, even the resolute Zuo Yongjun couldn’t hide his emotional expression.
Wang Chen was not the first Immortal Master he had dealt with.
But he was definitely the most understanding of his subordinates!
Other Immortal Masters always acted aloof, looking down on mortals, and at most giving a little face to the innate martial artists. It was virtually impossible to obtain so many precious talismans from them.
Zuo Yongjun was well aware that with these talismans, his group of brothers would be able to face the ferocious Evil Spirits later—even if they couldn’t win, they could at least escape.
Real life-saving treasures!
He immediately bowed down, exclaiming, “This official, on behalf of the 127 guards of the Exorcism Hall of South Shao, thanks the Immortal Master for your generous reward!”
