"It's been some time since I broke through."
Ji Yuan looked back and said with a smile.
As he answered, he sheathed his long sword into the scabbard behind him and waved his sleeve, channeling magical power to collect the hundreds of vengeful souls and remnant spirits released from the black small flag.
"This is a bit troublesome!"
He looked at the hundreds of remnant souls before him, sensing the immense resentment contained within, and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
If it were elsewhere, he could naturally spend time to gradually pacify them, allowing these remnant souls to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation.
However, this was still rebel territory. Although there was no longer any power in the city that could threaten him, it was still inconvenient.
Moreover, outside the county town, there were two cultivators of the third realm, and he didn't know where they had gone.
After some thought, Ji Yuan opened his mouth and exhaled. A small nine-story pagoda then flew into the air.
As the small pagoda spun, streams of pure light descended, drawing all hundreds of vengeful souls and remnant spirits into it.
He reached out and caught the descending pagoda, then turned to Zhao Yuansong beside him. "Time is short, let's leave this place first."
The latter nodded, then seemed to remember something and quickly looked towards a spot not far away.
Seeing Song Changsheng and Qian Dahai, who had temporarily lost consciousness but were not in mortal danger, Zhao Yuansong breathed a sigh of relief.
About half an hour later, a streak of light streaked across the night sky and landed in a relatively secluded forest.
Among the dense tree shadows, there was a small courtyard that had been abandoned for many years, with three or four simple wooden houses.
When the light dissipated, apart from Ji Yuan, there were also Zhao Yuansong and two other disciples.
However, the three of them had all fallen into a deep sleep and would likely not wake for several hours.
Ji Yuan used his magical power to carry the three of them into a wooden house and placed them on the wooden beds.
Then, he took out several bottles of pills and a large amount of spiritual items, feeding them to the sleeping trio and refining them with his own magical power.
It wasn't until dawn that he finally succeeded, emerging from the wooden house with a look of fatigue.
Ji Yuan had barely rested during this period, constantly traveling and searching. During this time, he had encountered several third-realm cultivators from the Wangsheng Tower and had fought four or five battles.
Coupled with the night's work of refining pills and spiritual items for the three with his own magical power, even with his cultivation nearing the mid-third realm, he couldn't avoid a deep sense of fatigue.
"Thank you, Daoist Master, for your help last night!"
Just then, several people walked out of another wooden house and bowed deeply to him.
They were Cao Yan and his wife, children, and parents, who had left the county town several days ago and planned to find a secluded place to hide.
Everything had been going smoothly for them until they were pursued yesterday by a group of city guards.
If Ji Yuan hadn't passed by and intervened, they might have already met their end on the roadside.
And it was precisely because of this intervention that Ji Yuan learned of Zhao Yuansong and his companions' whereabouts and arrived at a critical moment to save their lives.
"No need for such formalities."
Ji Yuan smiled slightly, appearing very approachable, not displaying any airs of superiority due to his cultivation.
He then glanced at the few people whose complexions were not looking good and took out several bottles of pills for them.
These were not high-grade spirit pills and did not have much value, but they had a decent effect of strengthening the foundation and nourishing the vital energy for mortals.
However, they were perfect for Cao Yan's wife, children, and parents. The four of them were ultimately ordinary mortals. After several days of arduous travel and a near-death experience, even after resting for a night, they were still somewhat overwhelmed.
"Daoist Master's kindness, Cao Yan has no way to repay!"
He accepted the pills and bowed deeply again.
After all, he had the cultivation of a first-realm martial artist and, having been a caravan escort and traveled extensively, had accumulated considerable knowledge and experience.
Thus, he could naturally see that although his family was not in mortal danger, after this ordeal, they would inevitably be bedridden for a long time.
As for whether there would be any lingering effects, that was hard to say.
Now, with these few bottles of pills, he believed his family would be fine, as they came from a powerful immortal master.
"Daoist Cao, I have some matters and would appreciate your help in clarifying them."
After his family had taken the pills, Ji Yuan slowly spoke.
Hearing this, Cao Yan's spirits immediately lifted, and he quickly assured Ji Yuan that he would tell him everything he knew.
"Last night, I entered the county town and discovered some unusual things..."
He nodded slightly and then stated his doubts.
After a long while, Cao Yan's expression became grave, and he appeared hesitant to speak.
After a few more moments, he finally sighed and poured out everything he knew.
In fact, not long after the rebels occupied the county town, people began to go missing.
However, at that time, the city had just experienced a period of conflict, so not many people paid attention. Moreover, the county yamen had not yet resumed operations, and the rebels had maintained control of the city by force.
Even after order was restored, people continued to disappear, but because the number remained at a very subtle level, no one paid much attention.
"Because entire families were disappearing, we assumed they had fled due to the war."
Cao Yan shook his head. It wasn't until a few days ago that he realized something was amiss.
That night, when they were searching for the so-called "俠盜" (xiá dào - chivalrous thief), over a hundred households had mysteriously died.
Although the rebel yamen claimed that all these crimes were committed by the xiá dào, no one in the city, apart from ordinary citizens, believed it.
The reason was simple: for a single xiá dào to slaughter over a hundred households in one night was simply impossible.
Not to mention the dense demonic energy lingering at the scene, and the fact that the yamen had a demon residing there for years, which was enough to explain some things.
This was the fundamental reason why Cao Yan wanted to take his family away from the county town.
Whether it was occupied by the imperial court or the rebels, it made no difference to the city's inhabitants; it was merely a change of hands for tax collection.
But if there was a demon causing trouble, harming the populace to achieve its own hidden agenda.
Then, if not now, when would they run?
Would they wait until the demon found their home one day?
If Cao Yan's own strength were insufficient, he would not have chosen to flee with his family but would have directly killed the rogue demon.
"Go and accompany your family first."
Ji Yuan dismissed Cao Yan and stood alone in the small courtyard.
Combining the information provided by the man with the black small flag he had seen last night and the hundreds of remnant souls in the Xuan Tian Shi Ling Pagoda,
He had a vague grasp of something, but some things still needed to be confirmed.