Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 248 The Resurrected Soul
The fire at the Cui family's house that night burned very fiercely.

Outside the Cui family compound, the head guard dusted off some non-existent dust from his body, his face still bearing that faint smile.

One of the guards bowed and replied, "Boss, it's all been cleaned up! With Cui Gui and Cui Luo dead, there are no survivors left in the entire Cui family. Even the few chickens that could still breathe were slaughtered by Xiao Mo."

The entire family was exterminated.

This is true extermination of the entire family.

The secret guards didn't even spare the chickens raised in the backyard.

"Mission complete, retreat."

"Yes!"

In the darkness, the firelight reflected off many mysterious figures, who quietly disappeared near the Cui family's residence.

……

In Yan'an Prefecture, Zhu Jinzhen received the secret guards' report that very evening.

"gunpowder?"

"Are you sure it was done by the Demonic Sect?"

Zhu Jinzhen frowned.

The Demonic Cult—a term that had become somewhat unfamiliar to him.

Four years ago, after defeating the Mongol-Liao coalition, the first thing he did was to uproot the evil cult that dominated the Western Regions. Even the cult leader, Bai Bi, was killed by a single spear in the cult's stronghold.

Unexpectedly, after all this time, the evil cult has made a comeback.
"Yes, Your Highness."

"According to the intelligence obtained by the secret guards and the confession of the Cui family patriarch, the remnants of the Demonic Cult have prepared a large quantity of gunpowder, intending to commit treacherous acts."

Yan Yimei paused for a moment, then continued, "Furthermore, according to the clues investigated by the secret guards, the person who contacted the Cui family is very likely the leader of the Western Demonic Sect, Yu Luosha."

Jade Rakshasa?
A Western demonic cult?

The relevant information surfaced in Zhu Jinzhen's mind, and he shook his head slightly: "The Western Demonic Sect is just a branch of the Demonic Sect. Back then, the Demonic Sect, which claimed to have hundreds of thousands of demon followers, was wiped out, and the Western Demonic Sect was among them. Jade Rakshasa... I remember that she was beheaded by Song Senxue with one stroke back then, and she was dead beyond dead."

"Why did you run out again?"

Zhu Jinzhen was naturally familiar with the Western Demonic Sect and the Jade Rakshasa.

Lu Xiaofeng is currently serving under him, so how could he possibly forget a certain stage boss that appeared in the Legend of Lu Xiaofeng?

However, he remembered very clearly that Jade Rakshasa was definitely dead back then.

Now another Western demonic sect, Jade Rakshasa, has emerged.
"Your Highness, the secret guards have not yet located Jade Rakshasa. Please give us some time, and we will surely give you a satisfactory answer."

"Ah."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded. The enemy was unknown, and their schemes and plots were unclear, so they needed to be more vigilant. Once they slipped up, it would be much easier for the Secret Guard to track them down and arrest them with their current strength.

"Your Highness, there is another matter, which is extremely strange."

"What is it?" Zhu Jinzhen asked.

Yan Yimei's expression changed slightly. "Besides the Jade Rakshasa of the Western Demonic Sect, the Secret Guard also found that many people who should have died back then, including the Demonic Sect leader Bai Bi and the former leader Ren Tianxing, have reappeared in the martial world."

"In fact, it is said that many senior masters, such as the Five Great Masters, Mei Niansheng, Purple-Clad Marquis, Fang Baoyu, Carefree Marquis, and Shen Tianjun, have appeared in the martial arts world."

Zhu Jinzhen suppressed his sneer and contempt, frowned and asked, "You mean, many people who died years, decades, or even longer ago have come back?"

In the world of martial arts, there are countless masters.

But those who leave a legend in the martial arts world are not simple characters.

Even Mei Niansheng, a Finger Profound Realm expert or even a Grandmaster of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm in this world, not to mention figures like the Purple-Clad Marquis and Fang Baoyu, and Shen Tianjun, who was once known as invincible and had even fought against the Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai. But all those legends have ultimately become history, buried in the Yellow Springs.

How could someone possibly come back to life?
unless……

"Could it be that there are other transmigrators in the world of martial arts?"

"Those who died have reappeared."

"System resurrection style? Diary style? System revival style? Lie style?"

"Or perhaps a protagonist who is a wish-fulfillment transmigrator with abilities like the Reanimation Jutsu or Rinnegan from Naruto?"

Zhu Jinzhen's mind raced, countless guesses flashing through his mind in an instant. If those people were really resurrected ghosts, then there must be a force from outside the martial arts world that had intervened.

or……

Power from the heavens?
Yan Yimei pondered for a moment, then slowly shook her head and said, "Your Highness, it is not clear yet. Although the secret guards' intelligence has found traces of their appearance in public, there is no substantial evidence to prove that those people are real, let alone that they have come back from the dead or that someone is impersonating them and playing tricks."

"This information was discovered by the secret guards by accident."

"Oh?" Zhu Jinzhen looked at Yan Yimei, but did not interrupt, and continued to listen to what she had to say.

"When the secret guard Yan Qinghuang was suppressing and pacifying the Emei Sect, she entered the Five Absolutes Underground Palace and discovered that the corpse of the Five Absolutes Elder had disappeared from the palace, which had been sealed for many years."

"Other secret guards, however, were ambushed by a master suspected to be the Five Great Elders while carrying out other missions in Sichuan."

"The opponent was very cautious; if they missed their first attack, they fled a great distance."

"Moreover, the speed was extremely strange. Even Yan Qinghuang, who had superb lightness skills and could fly by air, could not catch up with him and could only watch helplessly as he disappeared."

"After this matter was reported, I immediately ordered the secret guards in various places to pay attention, but they found one after another traces of people who seemed to be dead, but they were all like ghosts, appearing and disappearing without a trace."

"A secret guard at the Land Immortal Realm, while surveying the four realms, unexpectedly discovered traces that resembled Shen Tianjun, but was forced back by a divine blade strike that appeared out of nowhere."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jinzhen's expression grew even more solemn.

"Yan Qinghuang's Phoenix Technique, which allows her to travel through the sky by controlling her qi, combines the lightness skills of Cangyun and Tiance. Her speed is so fast that it can be said to be unparalleled in the world. Within fifty miles, even Bai Zhantang, who was once known as having lightness skills second only to Chu Liuxiang, could not catch up with her."

"Even she failed?"

Yan Qinghuang, also known as Yan San Niang in the novel "The Strange Hero with a Plum Blossom," was captured by Zhu Jinzhen in the early stages of the "Comprehensive Martial World" and became a member of the Secret Guard.

Zhu Jinzhen was very clear about her skill in light-body techniques.

It can be said that, apart from Zhu Jinzhen, when Yan Qinghuang was still at the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, she was already far superior to other Celestial Phenomenon Grandmasters with outstanding lightness skills.

If she can't catch up, even a typical terrestrial deity probably couldn't.

"Yes," Yan Yimei replied with a solemn expression.

This is also why Yan Yimei paid enough attention to it after noticing something was wrong.

Yan Yimei was also very familiar with Yan Qinghuang's lightness skill. Although she was not a terrestrial immortal, her speed was definitely not much weaker. The fact that she could not catch up with her showed that those guys who launched the sneak attack and mastered the Five Ultimate Divine Skills were very suspicious.

"The Divine Blade Slash? Since Ding Peng's death and the destruction of the Demonic Sect, it has been unheard of for several years. Even the sword manual is currently stored in the Secret Guard's Scripture Pavilion. How could someone outside suddenly appear who can wield the Divine Blade Slash and repel a terrestrial immortal?" Zhu Jinzhen's expression was extremely grim. There were only three possibilities regarding the Divine Blade Slash.

Or perhaps Bai Xiaolou left behind other sword manuals for posterity.

Either there's a traitor within the secret guards.

He took the divine sword from the library to the outside.

Either...

Ding Peng or Bai Xiaolou have truly come back to life.

But, is it possible?
(End of this chapter)