"Something's not right..."
Ji Yuan muttered subconsciously, then exchanged glances with the people beside him.
Although Yuan Yongcheng's aura was increasingly strong, his eyes were actually vacant, his divine light scattered. A large portion of his essence blood had been burned by the malevolent fire, turning into wisps of pure energy that Su Hongzhu devoured.
Even if Sun Youfang were to intervene now, although he could save Yuan Yongcheng's life, he would be rendered useless. With his foundation heavily damaged, it was questionable whether he could even retain his Flesh and Bone Realm strength in the future.
However, previously, Yuan Yongcheng had had the opportunity to intervene and prevent the situation from deteriorating to this extent.
Yet, Sun Youfang had made no move whatsoever from beginning to end, and might not even have been in this county yamen at all.
"If he was just a chess piece, why bother cultivating him so painstakingly, instead of directly controlling his mind or refining him into a puppet demon soldier?"
Zhao Yuansong couldn't help but voice his confusion.
If the intention was to control the entire city by controlling County Magistrate Yuan Yongcheng, there was no need for such trouble. They could have directly used demonic means to control his mind.
Even in the current situation, he could have been refined into a demon soldier. Regardless, he was just a pawn, and it was best to make full use of him.
Instead of luring him into the demonic path a year or two in advance, sacrificing his original cultivation, and then practicing demonic martial arts.
The time, calculation, and vast resources consumed were immeasurable.
After all, if attaining the second realm of cultivation was so easy, the Zhenshan Sect's ancestor would have been the only one in the entire Qianyu City to have reached the early stage of the Muscle and Bone Realm previously.
Zhao family's patriarch would not have been so tempted by evil spirits as to prepare for reincarnation through soul possession.
"Is there some contingency?"
A sharp glint flashed in Ji Yuan's eyes as he scanned his surroundings meticulously.
However, no matter how he observed, he couldn't find the slightest clue.
Yet, his suspicion only deepened. He refused to believe that the other party would do anything useless.
The events unfolding in the city generally had their own logic. For instance, places like the Zhao family, Baiyun Temple, and the City God Temple ultimately became the cores of the grand formation that sealed off the county.
"What role could those lewd temples play in all of this?"
Suddenly, he thought of the lewd temples they had destroyed at the very beginning. If that group of people hadn't discovered this place back then, what position would they be in regarding this matter now?
"Careful!"
Song He shouted lowly, and he and his wife simultaneously retreated.
As his voice faded, the expressions of those around them changed slightly, and they immediately retreated three to four zhang, almost pressing against the high walls of the county yamen.
And just a few breaths later, Yuan Yongcheng, whose demonic energy had reached its peak, suddenly let out a loud roar.
Streams of powerful qi surged from his body, dispersing completely in an instant. Then, the malevolent fire within him erupted, transforming from something intangible into a visible entity.
In a mere flash, Yuan Yongcheng was engulfed by the malevolent fire. All his essence blood, demonic energy, and so on, were burned away, leaving only wisps of pure essence, which Su Hongzhu swallowed in one gulp.
These pure energies quickly integrated into her bones. The sensation of comfort was like the most extreme pleasure in the world, causing a blush to appear on her illusory face.
After more than ten breaths, as the malevolent fire dissipated into the heavens and earth, Yuan Yongcheng's figure had turned to ashes, leaving only a pile of dust and an official seal.
Ji Yuan and the others looked at each other. Although they had somewhat anticipated it, the scene where no one made a move until Yuan Yongcheng's death still evoked a sense of emotion in their hearts.
Although they didn't know if there was any deeper meaning to this, the nature of those in the demonic path was evident.
"Did you succeed?"
After a long pause, a joyous shout broke the silence among them.
Glances were cast, and they saw Jiang He and the others running over with joyous expressions. Outside the large gate behind them lay countless demonized commoners.
"Those demonized people suddenly stopped moving and just fell to the ground."
Jiang He came before everyone and recounted the situation outside the county yamen to all present.
However, he did not see any joy on their faces; instead, he saw deep suspicion.
Logically speaking, killing the demonized individuals here should have been a great thing, signifying that they had taken another significant step towards resolving the crisis.
*Bang!!!*
At that very moment, a ball of fire suddenly rose into the sky, followed by a massive firework blooming in the firmament.
Even from a distance, a slightly deafening sound could be heard.
Upon seeing this, Xu Liuqing's expression changed instantly: "It's a distress flare from the Sandao Gang!"
Everyone looked up. The direction of the firework that lingered in the sky indeed pointed towards the City God Temple.
For the members of the Sandao Gang to release a distress flare, knowing that there was likely no rescue, meant they must have encountered an extremely perilous situation.
"Fellow Daoist Zhao, you and Mr. Xu take people ahead. I'll follow shortly!"
Ji Yuan said immediately after retracting his gaze.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuansong nodded, then led his junior brothers and sisters, along with Xu Liuqing and a dozen members of the Sandao Gang, rushing towards the City God Temple.
Although everyone knew in their hearts that given the distance between the two locations, the situation might already be beyond recovery by the time they arrived, they couldn't help but hold onto a sliver of hope.
"Aren't we going together?"
Song He turned and looked at Ji Yuan, whose face was pale.
He shook his head, and with Guo Tao's support, walked step by step to Su Hongzhu's side, then bent down and picked up the official seal from the ground.
"There are some things I must figure out clearly. Otherwise, no matter how many people go, they will eventually fall into the trap that person has set."
Ji Yuan whispered, then gestured for his fifth senior brother to help him walk a few steps forward, standing outside the main hall of the county yamen used for trying cases.
Ever since he saw Yuan Yongcheng die and the person behind him did not make a move to save him, a dark cloud had lingered in his mind, a feeling that was hard to describe.
It was as if, apart from the initial discovery of the riverbed demon by Zhao Yuansong, every step they took felt like they were being led by someone.
Or rather, someone had always been ahead of them…
All their efforts in the past two days were within a prearranged situation. No matter how hard they tried, even if they killed the demons and monsters from the Zhao family, Baiyun Temple, and even within the county city,
They still couldn't break free from this established situation!
"The Zhao family is undoubtedly the strongest force in Qianyu City, with the qualification to command both the underworld and the legitimate world of the entire city."
Ji Yuan pondered, seemingly trying to clarify the entire sequence of events. "This qualification is even more significant than Liu Hongsheng, who has served for decades."
"Baiyun Temple is the place of cultivation for all Buddhist cultivators within a hundred-mile radius, and Buddhist divine abilities are most effective at restraining demons and monsters."
"The city guard barracks have one thousand soldiers, well-equipped with armor, strong bows, and other supplies. Once a battle formation is formed, it can withstand several times the number of demons."
"The City God Temple has eight Divine Officers, plus the City God who can monitor the entire city and whose cultivation and killing power have greatly increased within the city."
"This county yamen is the most critical point. If it is controlled, the connection with the imperial court can be severed, and a sealing formation can be smoothly established."
Besides serving as formation eyes, these five locations inherently held great significance. If any other place were chosen, it would likely lead to the failure of the plan and create numerous variables.
Compared to these, what role did the lewd temples that Ji Yuan and others had destroyed at the very beginning play?
Were they merely used to accumulate incense offerings?
But even with a hundred years of accumulated incense offerings, what use could they be to the person plotting in secret?
Ji Yuan had even begun to suspect that the secret planner had been plotting for a hundred years, and the so-called world-shattering spiritual treasure from three hundred years ago was merely a pretense, with some other as-yet-undiscovered objective.
But if it was just to cultivate demonic arts or to forge demonic energy of immense power, wouldn't a secluded corner be better? There would be no need to choose Qianyu City, a county town less than a thousand li from the prefectural city.
Regardless of success or failure, it would undoubtedly be extremely difficult for the other party to avoid the experts of the imperial court in the heartland of a prefecture.
Even with a cultivation base of the third realm, it would be nearly impossible, unless they had already formed a Golden Core or achieved the position of a Land Immortal.
Otherwise, the Mingjian Division, painstakingly established by the imperial court, with its carefully selected cultivators who enjoyed immense resources and were decisive and ruthless in their actions, would be enough to slay all beings below the Golden Core.
Be you god or ghost, demon or fiend, even immortal cultivators from the mountains, or scholars of the Confucian way, or those from the military or Buddhist schools below the mountains, under a single saber, there was no difference.
The sabers of the Mingjian Division possessed great prestige even in the countries surrounding the Great Yu Dynasty.
The title of Blade Wielder would make even a third-realm cultivator's expression change on the spot. If they knew they were being targeted, they would wish they could burrow dozens of zhang into the ground and never be discovered by anyone again in their lives.
Ji Yuan did not believe that the person plotting in secret was truly unafraid of the threat of the Mingjian Division's Blade Wielders, thinking that their own methods could successfully evade them.
If the other party could truly achieve that, then the Blade Wielders would not be mere Blade Wielders. Let alone roaming the martial and cultivation worlds of several countries, whether they could even leave the capital would be a question.
Yet, the current actions of this person seemed as if they were completely unafraid of the Blade Wielders, as if they had never worried about the threat of the Great Yu Dynasty. This in itself was an extremely abnormal situation.
Unless the other party had something imperative to do, something so important that it outweighed all danger!
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Ji Yuan's mind. His eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had grasped a crucial thread.
"Let's go! To the City God Temple!"
He quietly put away the official seal in his hand, and after taking a deep look at the hall before him, he turned and shouted to everyone.
Although they had some doubts, the others did not say much and followed Ji Yuan out of the county yamen.
Upon reaching the outside of the county yamen and seeing the demonized commoners lying on the ground, an indescribable emotion surfaced in their hearts.
However, there was nothing they could do about this situation. They could only hope that after resolving the crisis in the city, the commoners affected by the formation would recover on their own, or place their hopes on the experts of the imperial court.
After a brief moment of reflection, Ji Yuan and the others hurried to the City God Temple. Along the way, besides the comatose demonized people, they encountered many surviving commoners.
In their initial panic, these commoners could still persevere, even picking up items like tables and chairs and reluctantly fighting the demonized people.
But once all the demonized people fell unconscious, the commoners who had been fighting back could no longer hold back their emotions. They knelt on the ground and wept uncontrollably.
Some held their demonized relatives, some held their still-warm corpses, and some had already collapsed mentally, staring blankly in a certain direction, unresponsive to the shouts of those around them.
Sometimes, what crushes a will is not the immediate danger and fear, but rather the tranquility that follows everything. All sorts of emotions surge like a tide, capable of drowning a person's will in an instant.
As for these situations, Ji Yuan and his group were powerless to do anything, and could only rely on the commoners themselves to gradually overcome them.
However, such an experience might require a lifetime to gradually emerge from, and some people might not forget today's events even after decades.