Chapter 207

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Chapter 207: Changhe County

Heavenly Wall Divine Kingdom，Changhe County

As the name suggests, Changhe County was filled with rivers. It was a famous water town within the Divine Kingdom. Lin Jiang hid during the day and traveled at night, sneaking into Changhe County. He quickly found the location mentioned by Prince Jiangdu.

The entire city turned into ruins. There were piles of white bones everywhere, stretching for miles. Lin Jiang carefully observed and confirmed that the damage was caused by cultivators fighting.

"It seems that Lin Batian brought in a powerful person from the four major families into the Divine Kingdom, and there was a fight. I wonder if they managed to provoke the Formation Spirit."

Lin Jiang admired Lin Batian’s methods greatly. He managed to trick and kill many Soul Changing cultivators of the same level, and even outwitted those from higher realms. This kind of strength is truly rare in the world.

There were many Martial Arts Masters lurking near the ruins of the city. They probably knew that cultivators would come to investigate, so they were waiting for an opportunity. Lin Jiang didn’t dare to linger and quickly left.

Several hundred miles away was the bustling county city of Changhe. When Lin Jiang appeared outside the city, he noticed his own wanted poster. Killing Prince Jiangdu was a big deal, and it’s likely that his face was now plastered all over the Divine Kingdom.

Lin Jiang couldn’t change his appearance, intentionally leaving himself visible to Lin Batian. However, he wasn’t sure if Lin Batian would notice him.

The next morning, Lin Jiang hid under a vegetable delivery cart and sneaked into the city of Changhe County. After searching for a whole day, he found a deserted little courtyard and quietly slipped inside.

"The county city is quite big, how am I supposed to find someone? This is giving me a headache. Lin Batian, why are you so good at running?"

Lin Jiang thought for a while and felt unsure about how to find Lin Batian. The more he learned about the Divine Kingdom, the more he realized that it was not to be underestimated.

Many Nascent Soul and Soul Changing cultivators have failed here. It doesn’t make sense that a single golden core cultivator could overthrow the entire Divine Kingdom. The reason he can act so recklessly in Jiangdu County is because the Divine Kingdom hasn’t paid much attention to him, and the main reason is that the Formation Spirit hasn’t noticed him. But if he continues causing trouble, it’s uncertain what will happen.

So Lin Jiang dared not release his divine sense anymore. Who knows how many cultivators have surrendered to the Divine Kingdom? If another Zhu Qianguang comes, Lin Jiang might not be able to defend against them.

In the following half month, Lin Jiang wandered through the streets and alleys of the county city, investigating continuously, but still found nothing. This made Lin Jiang feel a bit discouraged.

······

Outside Changhe County, Lin Jiang mingled with the crowd and left the county city. These were a group of temporary Divine Kingdom residents, including small merchants leaving for business, wealthy young travelers, and ordinary people looking for relatives in a distant place. Various identities gathered together for safety.

Changhe County is rich in general, but there are still many poor people, leading to the birth of many bandits. The official Divine Kingdom authorities don’t pay much attention to these bandits because they cannot threaten their rule. They only order the local officials to suppress them, but one can imagine how effective the local officials can be. It is possible that they are even in cahoots with the bandits.

This leads to the poor security in Changhe County, and traveling in groups is the preferred choice for ordinary people. Otherwise, they have to rely on large commercial establishments for travel.

At the front of the group is a rich young man dressed as a wandering swordsman. He has mediocre martial arts skills and is obsessed with stories of traveling the rivers and lakes. He ran away from home and prepared to roam the rivers and lakes, becoming a respected hero.

He carries a sword at his waist and boasts to the beautiful women in the group, saying that if they encounter bandits, he will defeat them with just one sword strike, eliminating evil for the people.

"Swoosh…"

The team marched into the third day noon, when a cold arrow appeared, directly piercing through the ranger’s throat. He covered his throat, his eyes widened like copper bells, and he stared tightly at the people emerging from all around.

"Robbery, everyone crouch down."

"Those who stand up will die."

Hundreds of people appeared all around, holding swords and knives. Some of them shouted deafeningly at the crowd.

The crowd suddenly exploded. Some people picked up weapons to resist, while others ran in all directions. Lin Jiang immediately crouched down.

"These bandits really lack culture. They don’t even know how to say ‘I cleared this mountain, I planted this tree. If you want to pass this road, leave some money.’"

Lin Jiang looked at the bandits with disdain. It’s not their fault for being bandits, but it’s their fault for lacking education.

The bandits were quite formidable. Those who resisted were killed, those who fled were captured, and in the end, they all acted like Lin Jiang and obediently crouched down.

"Boss, we’ve intercepted them all, none escaped."

"Haha, great, bring them all home."

The leader of the group laughed as he looked at the remaining people. Soon, a group of henchmen appeared. They searched and took away their belongings, then tied their hands with ropes, one person per rope.

Lin Jiang didn’t have many treasures on him, but he didn’t like being touched and searched by a man. So when one of the henchmen tried to search him, Lin Jiang activated his mental power. The man’s eyes glazed over, and he voluntarily avoided Lin Jiang. The others didn’t pay attention either.

The group was taken off the main road and walked for more than ten miles along a small path until they reached a hidden dock. Some boats were waiting there. The hostages were thrown onto the boats with their eyes blindfolded.

After about four hours, the blindfolds were removed, and the group arrived at a small island. There were many bandits on the island, and they cheered when they saw the leader bringing so many hostages.

The hostages were taken onto the island, and soon someone took charge. People resembling strategists came one by one to inquire about the hostages’ identities and background. Based on this information, they would demand ransom from their families.

Lin Jiang had secretly thrown his sword onto their boat. When it was time for questioning, Lin Jiang made up a story, temporarily deceiving them. They would still verify these identities.

In the evening, the bandits were reveling. They had pulled off a big feat today, so they had reason to celebrate. The hostages, on the other hand, were in a miserable state, experiencing the harsh conditions of a water dungeon. They wore sad faces, and many were secretly crying.

Until late at night, Lin Jiang managed to escape from the water prison and quietly made his way to the mountain cottage on the island. The leader of the gang, who slept like a log, was surrounded by two beautiful ladies who seemed exhausted from their hard work.

On the table, there was a mess of food and drink. Lin Jiang wasn’t interested in the leftovers, but he did take a few sips of the unopened fine wine.

"Yuck! This tastes worse than dishwashing water!"

After taking a sip, Lin Jiang spat it out. In the Five Elements Sect, he only drank high-end spiritual wine or stole from his master. This kind of rubbish was absolutely unbearable.

The commotion startled the leader of the thieves. He abruptly opened his eyes and saw Lin Jiang. Pushing aside the woman beside him, he reached out for the precious sword on the bedside.

"If I were you, I wouldn’t reach for that sword. Because that hand reaching for it will soon be severed."

Lin Jiang thought he had said something impressive, but the leader simply paused for a moment before picking up the sword and swinging it fiercely at Lin Jiang, unleashing a powerful wave of energy.

"Not showing any respect, huh?"

Lin Jiang was speechless. He extended his hand and dispersed the energy from the sword, looking at the leader.

"The powerful aura, the Grand Master of Martial Arts"

The leader of the thieves gasped in fear when he saw Lin Jiang’s skills. His face immediately turned pale.

"Do you still want your hand?"

"Senior, please spare me."

The leader of the thieves was decisive, throwing his knife and kneeling down with a thump. He was the only Innate Martial Artist among the thieves’ gang. Unable to win, it was not embarrassing to kneel and beg for mercy.

"You have some skillful eyes, I will spare you."

"Thank you, senior. Thank you, senior."

"Get up and talk."

"Yes, yes."

"The woman is going out."

Lin Jiang waved his hand as the two untidy women disturbed his thoughts. How can he ask questions like this?

"Quickly go out, quickly go out."

The gang leader, without saying a word, directly drove the person out. It was quite heartless, truly a righteous moment.

"Do you have any questions, senior? Please ask, I will never dare to hide anything."

"I want to ask you, more than a year ago, in the northwest direction about two hundred miles away, there is a city called Ancheng City, do you know what happened there?"

"Senior, are you investigating the demon case?"

"Should I ask you or should you ask me?"

"I’m sorry, I’m just a humble person. I don’t know much about this matter either, but it is extremely important."

"Just tell me everything you know."

"Yes, yes, I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, but I’ve heard people talk about it. Over a year ago, two people suddenly appeared in the sky above Ancheng City. They were glowing, and with just one flash of light, almost everyone in Ancheng City died. Buildings collapsed, mountains crumbled, and then the sky became filled with dark clouds. There were lots of thunder and lightning, and people nearby were terrified."

"Just this?"

"Senior, I wasn’t at the scene. I heard about it. All the skilled people in Changhe County rushed over. Even Prince Changhe went. Later, the court sent many people. I was scared and didn’t dare to go out to do business for over a year. Today is my first deal."

"If it’s not worth anything, I’ll have to kill someone."

Lin Jiang showed a menacing smile. This guy doesn’t look honest at all.

"Senior, I really don’t know. I’m just a small lackey in one of the Thirty Six Water Bandit Groups in Changhe County. Otherwise, I can take you to other villages. They are stronger and definitely know more."

"You, you…"

Lin Jiang laughed. If he were another Water Bandit, he would definitely kill the guy for saying that.