A palm-sized imperial seal materialized out of thin air, carved with the image of a Bi’an beast. As it appeared, a brilliant aura swept outwards.
The moment this square seal emerged, under its majestic might, both the ink-black long sword and the one hundred and eight prayer beads froze mid-air.
Even as the seal flipped, its four characters, 'Qianyu City Peace,' smashing down, the ink-black long sword that had been cleaving downwards shattered with a 'peng' sound, splattering countless drops of ink onto the ground.
The rolling, righteous energy flowed, but it did not return to Shen Lang’s side. Instead, it was devoured by this seal, disappearing without a trace within moments.
Then, the seal flipped again and heavily landed upon the prayer beads, immediately suppressing the gushing Buddhist light, causing the one hundred and eight beads to dim in spiritual energy, and then fall powerlessly to the ground.
Shen Lang and Huixin’s complexions turned pale. After their respective attacks were broken, they had clearly suffered significant backlash, their vital energy in disarray, rendering them temporarily unable to fight further.
“Don’t you truly think I am only capable of brute force.”
Yuan Yongcheng chuckled coldly, killing intent flaring in his eyes.
He extended a hand, and the imperial seal hovering above his head descended into his palm. Besides its brilliant might, righteous energy and Buddhist light surged within it.
Seeing this scene, everyone’s hearts sank. In an instant, they recognized what this seal was.
It was Yuan Yongcheng’s official seal as a seventh-rank county magistrate, bestowed by the Great Yu Dynasty, containing a trace of imperial aura. Within the city limits, it could borrow great power from the unseen.
Through the power of the official seal, if combined with the unity of the city's populace, the wielder could possess immense strength, even capable of contending with opponents a full major realm higher.
Fortunately, Yuan Yongcheng had already fallen to the demonic path, and the city's populace was plunged into panic. Without their unified will, he could not borrow a sliver of the Great Yu Dynasty’s power through this official seal.
However, even so, the seal's inherent power alone was equivalent to a top-grade artifact, and that trace of imperial aura was exceptionally troublesome.
The myriad Great Daos in the world, only the Imperial Dao was the most difficult to contend with, with almost no method of counteraction.
And after the appearance of the official seal, Ji Yuan finally understood the reason for the unusual feeling he had sensed earlier.
Although Yuan Yongcheng could not fully unleash the seal's power, he could still elevate his cultivation by a minor realm and boost his combat prowess.
The opponent before them was now equivalent to the late stage of the Bone and Muscle Realm, coupled with the physique and combat strength of a martial artist. Unless one possessed special means or wielded a powerful artifact, it would be difficult for cultivators of the same realm to fight him in such close quarters.
Not to mention, there was still a demon cultivator of the second realm who had yet to reveal themselves, and they could not sense that demon cultivator's presence.
Despite having a numerical advantage, they were indeed in a perilous situation.
Seeing their grim expressions, Yuan Yongcheng’s smile grew wider. His gaze, filled with intense killing intent, swept through the crowd, finally settling on the pale-faced Ji Yuan.
“Since you have all exhausted your means, it is my turn!”
He sneered and then threw the official seal in his hand.
The square seal immediately hovered above his head, casting down wisps of imperial aura, as well as the Buddhist light and righteous energy it had previously absorbed.
The next moment, his figure flickered, crossing several feet in an instant, before raising his fist and striking fiercely.
Now, without needing anyone to remind her, Su Hongzhu stepped forward, blocking his ferocious assault with a pair of crystal-clear white arm bones.
For a moment, continuous thuds echoed within the county office as Yuan Yongcheng and Su Hongzhu exchanged blows, fist against fist. Each collision stirred up violent gusts of wind.
Although the opponent’s realm was comparable to the late stage of the Bone and Muscle Realm, in terms of raw strength, Su Hongzhu could easily contend with him, not yielding an inch.
Indeed, if not for the Buddhist light and righteous energy absorbed by the official seal, which made Su Hongzhu somewhat wary, her strength might have been even greater.
Seeing this, Song He and his wife exchanged glances and prepared to intervene. However, as soon as the thought arose, Ji Yuan stopped them.
“Conserve your spiritual energy. That scribe Sun Youfang has not yet appeared.”
He shook his head, speaking weakly.
After consuming several pills, Ji Yuan’s injuries had improved, but his internal condition was still dire, making it difficult for him to fight again in the short term.
What truly occupied his attention was not the temporarily peerless Yuan Yongcheng, but the never-before-seen Sun Youfang.
According to the clues they had, Sun Youfang, the scribe in this county office, might be a confidant of the mastermind behind this scheme, and it was because of him that Yuan Yongcheng had fallen to the demonic path.
In terms of threat level, this person might be the highest.
Hearing this, Song He and his wife nodded, temporarily suppressing their urge to help and silently adjusting their breathing, preparing to face the enemy in their optimal state.
In the current scene, Su Hongzhu and Yuan Yongcheng were almost at a stalemate. Their legs seemed rooted to the ground as they clashed fist to fist.
However, no matter how strong Yuan Yongcheng’s physique was, it could not compare to this Crimson Lady Skeleton. After a period of intense combat, the demonic energy and vital blood on his body even showed signs of dispersion.
Only his protective aura, under the fierce blows, seemed to become increasingly refined.
Upon seeing this, Su Hongzhu immediately understood. The opponent was using her as a whetstone to hone his protective aura and stabilize the instability in his foundation caused by his rapid increase in realm.
With this realization, she couldn’t help but let out a cold smile, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.
At this moment, she unhesitatingly unleashed her innate divine ability. Unbeknownst to them, a faint pink mist began to permeate the air.
Even with a mere whiff, Zhao Yuansong, who had reached the second realm, his face immediately turned flushed, and lustful thoughts began to rise in his eyes.
Only by retreating from the pink mist did this situation slightly subside, and the lingering erotic images in his mind gradually faded.
As for Yuan Yongcheng, who was at the center of the pink mist, his eyes were suddenly filled with intense lust. An uncontainable evil fire ignited within him, continuously burning his vital blood and essence.
The Crimson Lady Skeleton's innate divine ability was not merely about enticing men’s hearts. When fully unleashed, it could ignite an evil fire within the opponent, silently incinerating everything.
Moreover, those who walked the demonic path did not suppress their desires. In a demonic heart, all seven emotions and six desires would be infinitely magnified.
Thus, in a mere moment, Yuan Yongcheng seemed to have lost a lot of weight. His aura grew increasingly violent and surging, but his vital blood, essence, and other internal energies had been significantly weakened.
Seeing this, Su Hongzhu did not press her advantage and increase her strength. Instead, she cooperated by gradually retracting her power, maintaining a similar state to the opponent.
Even after a radiant smile, she deliberately eased her grip slightly, allowing him to gain a subtle advantage, yet unable to truly defeat her in a short period.
In this way, as the evil fire rose and grew within him, Yuan Yongcheng continued to attack ferociously, oblivious to the rapid burning of his vital blood and essence.
In just over a dozen breaths, his eyes could only see Su Hongzhu’s figure, and a voice in his heart urged him to give his all, to defeat the woman before him with his strongest posture and fastest speed!
“If only I had known… I wouldn’t have had to fight so hard earlier…”
Ji Yuan’s lips twitched, his expression somewhat helpless.
In his estimation, Su Hongzhu’s innate divine ability to entice men’s desires might have an unexpected effect on martial artists who had cultivated the demonic path.
After all, those who walked the demonic path had their desires infinitely magnified, and they did not restrain their seven emotions and six desires.
On the contrary, the vast majority of demonic cultivation techniques sought to unleash their seven emotions and six desires more unrestrainedly.
Only extremely high-level demonic cultivators would have methods to prevent themselves from sinking into depravity while releasing their desires.
And in the second and third realms, perhaps only demonic cultivators would possess one or two secret techniques that could maintain a sliver of clarity within the boundless seven emotions and six desires.
Therefore, Ji Yuan had considered that Su Hongzhu might be able to exert great effect when fighting demonic cultivators with her innate divine ability, but he had never expected its power to be so significant!
However, regarding this point, it wasn't just him who hadn't expected it; even everyone else was caught off guard.
After all, Yuan Yongcheng was a martial artist in the late Bone and Muscle Realm. Although he walked the demonic path, he should not have been so incompetent as previously imagined.
Even if his realm was largely achieved by relying on that official seal, no matter what, even borrowed power was still actual realm.
If he were in the same position, unless there was a full major realm difference, or his mental state was extremely poor, it would be impossible for him to be like the opponent, unable to sense the slightest abnormality within himself.
Silently, Yuan Yongcheng’s essence blood had been nearly halved, transforming into wisps of pure energy that mixed with the pink mist and were completely absorbed by Su Hongzhu.
With the gains of one and losses of another, even if the opponent now realized his situation, it would be too late. Unless he had a trump card up his sleeve, he would no longer be Su Hongzhu’s match.
His demise was only a matter of time.
Seeing this scene, the expressions of a group of people became somewhat strange.
Previously, their combined efforts, even using many trump cards and secret techniques, had failed to inflict fundamental damage on the opponent, but instead caused them to suffer considerable injuries.
Who would have thought that once Su Hongzhu unleashed her innate divine ability, she would so decisively subdue the opponent? Without external intervention, Yuan Yongcheng would probably only ‘suddenly awaken’ upon his death!
“Heaven, earth, all things, give birth to and overcome each other, nothing more than this.”
Ji Yuan murmured to himself, suddenly gaining a moment of clarity.
His soul light flickered. Already greatly enhanced by the nourishment of the Water God Pill, it was now as if he had read hundreds of Taoist scriptures in one go, bringing his soul light infinitely close to perfection.
In terms of the refinement of his soul light, it far surpassed cultivators of the same realm, having touched the threshold of the early stage of the Spirit Sensing Realm.
This was what cultivators referred to as enlightenment, a moment of epiphany that was both rare and sought after. Apart from profound cultivation techniques and potent elixirs, it was one of the greatest ways to improve one’s cultivation.
Once enlightened, a surge in cultivation was a minor matter; the most important thing was laying a solid foundation for future cultivation.
The change in Ji Yuan at this moment was likely undetectable by anyone present except himself. Although they noticed the shift in his expression, they only thought he was feeling emotional.
This was perhaps for the best, fitting Ji Yuan’s usual style of concealing his strength as much as possible without any significant harm.
“However, with the situation reaching this point, why hasn’t that scribe Sun Youfang made a move?”
Song He furrowed his brow, glancing around but finding no one observing.
This was inherently unreasonable. Earlier, when the Zhenshan Sect launched a large-scale attack, it was the two of them who acted together that severely wounded the ancestor of the second realm martial artists.
Yet now, with Yuan Yongcheng about to be completely subdued by Su Hongzhu without any external intervention, Sun Youfang still hadn't appeared.
Did he still not care even if this person perished here?