Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 582 It's been a long time since anyone has challenged me...

"The situation is about to change..." Manager Wang of the silk shop wiped away cold sweat as he climbed into the carriage. "Quickly send a message to the master: burn the account books related to the Zhou family!"

Before the carriage curtain could be lowered, it was suddenly torn apart by a black iron hook and sickle.

Three Black Ice Guards appeared like ghosts: "Wang's Silk Shop received stolen goods from the Zhou family last month. Come with us."

The shopkeeper's body went limp, and he tried to speak, trembling, but couldn't utter a single word.

As the sound of horses' hooves faded into the distance, the gatekeeper's legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground, dropping half of a jade pendant engraved with the Zhao family crest from his bosom.

As dusk fell, eighteen prison vans rolled over the bluestone of the long street.

On the top floor of the teahouse, a scholar in a green robe watched the prison cart procession disappear into the direction of the Zhenfu Division, when suddenly the folding fan in his hand broke.

"Twenty-six properties were seized in half a day, not even the hidden agents escaped..." He turned to look at the Zhou family ancestral home shrouded in mist to the north, "Where do you think the Marquis of Qingyang is right now?"

Just then, crows took flight in fright outside the window, and the blood-red setting sun dyed the Jiuchuan River a crimson ribbon.

In front of Beilu Village, Cao Jiada slowly unrolled the paper scroll in his hand.

His eyes narrowed, revealing a sharp, intelligent light.

"My lord, have you taken action against the Zhou family?"

He turned his head and looked at the several large carts loaded with grain that were approaching not far away.

The lead truck had a flag with the character "Zhou" on it.

The setting sun stained the bluestone slabs at the entrance of Beilu Village blood red, and Cao Jiada's black boots made a crisp, crunching sound as they crunched over the grass.

He stroked the dragon-patterned fish tally bestowed upon him by the Marquis of Qingyang with his fingertips, and as he watched the Zhou family's grain cart slowly approaching, he suddenly recalled the light laugh that Young Master Tao had given him three days ago when he was leaving.

Taking charge on his own is a test for him by the Marquis of Qingyang.

"Stop!"

The shout from Jin Yuelin, the Shadow Division Chief, startled the crows in the forest, and the ten grain carts carved with Pixiu patterns trembled in unison.

The leading Zhou family steward pulled on the reins, his face showing impatience.

If it weren't for the Lu family sending a message, how could the Zhou family have possibly delivered grain to Beilu Village?

"What does Magistrate Cao mean by this?" Zhou Mingyuan, the eldest son of the third branch of the Zhou family, lifted the carriage curtain, his jade thumb ring tapping against the gilded door frame. "My Zhou family has come here on the orders of Marquis Qingyang to provide relief—"

"Choke!"

The cold glint of the drawn goose-feather saber cut off his words; Jin Yuelin's blade gleamed with a chilling light.

"By order of Lord Hou," Cao Jiada said calmly, glancing at the Zhou family's convoy, "capture all the members of the Zhou family."

Behind the ancient locust tree twenty feet away, the pine cone on Lu Changwu's fingertip cracked open with a "pop".

A look of seriousness appeared on his face.

The two people beside him also showed surprise on their faces.

Why did the Marquis of Qingyang suddenly decide to capture the Zhou family?
One after another, figures in black armor rushed out and surrounded the cart.

"Cao Jiada!" Zhou Mingyuan kicked over the carriage shaft and leaped into the air, his soft sword at his waist unleashing seven blue lotuses. "You're just a seventh-rank county magistrate. Do you know how many imperial edicts are enshrined in my Zhou family ancestral hall?"

His sword flashed, startling the birds in the forest into flying in panic: "Once Marquis Qingyang gets out of the Eastern Territory, I'll skin you alive and burn you to a crisp!"

Cao Jiada remained expressionless and simply waved his hand.

Just as the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the mountain ridge, Jin Yuelin's cold laugh, hidden beneath his iron mask, mingled with the sound of horses' hooves: "Take him down."

"boom!"

Three hundred black-clad riders surged out from the bend in the mountain valley, directly scattering the Zhou family's caravan, and one by one, the Zhou family members were dragged off their horses.

"Retreat—" As Zhou Mingyuan staggered backward, twelve soul-hooking ropes pierced the air and entangled the late-stage Innate Realm elder of the Zhou family, dragging him off the cart.

An old sigh suddenly echoed through the pine forest.

Standing beside Lu Changwu, the elder of the Zhao clan tapped his sandalwood cane on the bluestone, the sparks illuminating the gloom in his eyes: "Brother Lu, what do you think? Isn't the Marquis of Qingyang afraid of chilling the hearts of the aristocratic families in the Eastern Territory with such methods?"

On the other side, the third uncle of the Lu family rubbed the black jade bracelet on his wrist, the dark patterns engraved on the inside of the bracelet glowing with blood-red light.

A protective treasure for immortals.

He gazed at the startled owl taking flight in the woods, his voice suddenly lowering: "Has this Marquis's blade ever asked which mountain dares to block his path?"

Lu Changwu suddenly chuckled, and the pine nut shells he flicked with his fingertips landed on the hair of the fleeing Zhou family groom.

He gazed at Zhou Mingyuan, whose collarbone was pierced by black iron chains, and slowly said, "Third Uncle, when Marquis Qingyang shattered the gate of Xuanwei Temple, did he show any mercy because of the title 'Immortal Master'?" Suddenly, the sound of wood cracking came from afar, and the carriages were smashed, their shafts broken, and the grain piled on them was unloaded.

The elder of the Zhao clan gripped his sandalwood cane tightly. He stared at the newly worn jade pendant with dragon patterns on Lu Changwu's waist and said in a hoarse voice, "Nephew Lu, it's easy for you to say you've climbed the social ladder to become the Marquis of Qingyang. But the powerful families in the Eastern Territory have been entrenched for centuries..."

"So, Lord Marquis is moving mountains." Lu Changwu stroked the blood-streaked patterns on the jade pendant, a hint of eagerness on his face.

“Uncle Zhao, you might want to think about this carefully. Once the three roots of the Jianghu, the sects, and the border army are all severed—” He suddenly pointed down the mountain, where black-clad riders were throwing Zhou family banners into a bonfire: “Do you think this old tree of the aristocratic family can withstand a few more storms?”

These words left the Zhao clan elder speechless for a moment.

……

The rear hall of the Donghan County Prefectural Governor's Mansion.

Suddenly, the bronze crane-beak incense burner exploded with sparks, and the secret report in the hand of the acting prefect Liu Peiyuan fluttered onto the jade table. The words "Zhou's twenty-six properties have been completely destroyed" pressed down by the gilded paperweight were still trembling.

“Brother Zhao, the Black Ice Guards have directly destroyed the Zhou family's territory,” he said, his official robes sweeping over teacups, the brown tea flowing along the Nine Rivers on the “Eastern Han Geomantic Map”. “Even Old Madam Zhou, who guards the ancestral hall, was dragged out by the Black Riders!”

Prefect Zhao Defang slowly adjusted the lamp wick with a silver stick, while the sudden rain outside the window made a soft, muffled sound as it struck the glass lamp: "What's the panic, Lord Liu? The more erratic the Marquis of Qingyang's actions become..."

He ran his fingertips over the family markings on the map: "The more he says this, the more it shows he doesn't understand the Eastern Territory at all. You can't break through it by just killing."

Outside the window, a thunderbolt cleaved through the clouds, causing Liu Peiyuan's pupils to contract.

"The Grandmaster of Eastern Wei has arrived at Broken Soul Gorge." Zhao Defang gently stroked the teacup in his hand. "Once the brute Marquis of Qingyang has slaughtered ten or eight families, it will be a good time for Elder Yuwen to test his newly forged Blood River Sword..."

Liu Peiyuan suddenly grabbed Zhao Defang's wrist, a hint of panic on his face: "This morning, Patriarch Zhou sent someone to say that if we stand by and do not come to our aid, he will hand over the accounts of the border troops embezzling salaries for the past twenty years to the Black Ice Guard!"

The sound of rain mingled with the clanging of armor, and Zhao Defang scoffed, shaking off his hand: "Account books?"

"When the Zhou family colluded with the Wei Kingdom to ambush and kill the Xueyun Sect, I had the Tingyu Tower's Xiyu Sword slit the neck of the fifth son of the Zhou family."

The fifth son of the Zhou family is the one in charge of the family's accounts and records, and his cultivation level is Dragon Elephant Realm.

Zhao Defang's words made Liu Peiyuan breathe a slight sigh of relief.

However, a hint of apprehension flashed in his eyes.

If you can slit the throats of the Zhou family today, can you slit Liu Peiyuan's throat tomorrow too?
Zhao Defang seemed oblivious to the change in his expression, and simply dipped his teacup into the jade table and gently traced the words: "The Marquis of Qingyang thought he was acting on behalf of Heaven, but little did he know that every Zhou family member's head that fell would lead him to the Broken Soul Gorge."

……

Zhao Defang is right, Zhang Yuan has indeed gone to Broken Soul Gorge.

But he wasn't led there by the news from the Zhou family; he was actually heading to the Soul-Severing Gorge.

Aoki's carriage was parked by the roadside.

The cliffs of Broken Soul Gorge appeared eerily indigo under the moonlight. Zhang Yuan ran his fingertips over the mottled sword marks, and the dark red patterns deeply embedded in the basalt were like living blood vessels, capable of completely shielding the power of the soul.

No wonder this place is called the Soul-Severing Gorge. Just the fact that it isolates the power of the soul makes it a forbidden place that cultivators are unwilling to set foot in.

“My lord, be careful,” Yin Jiuyou said, his black iron mask beneath his hood oozing frost. “Seven grandmasters have perished here, and their resentment has even gnawed a hole in the Heavenly Dao.”

As if to confirm his words, the crisp sound of chains being dragged echoed from the depths of the canyon.

The three hundred black riders' mounts neighed in alarm, and the amulet bells hanging beside their saddles shattered into powder.

Backlash against the soul.

Before the powder could even land, it condensed in mid-air into a distorted, smiling baby face.

"Crack!"

Yin Jiuyou crushed the spirit-testing disc in his hand, watching the jade dust condense into the Wei Kingdom's Heavenly Wolf pattern in his palm: "The Blood Sacrifice Array sacrificed at least three thousand souls..."

Before he finished speaking, hundreds of scarlet vertical pupils suddenly opened on the rock wall, each reflecting Zhang Yuan's image.

"boom--"

A blood-red face, ten feet long, appeared in the void, smiled brightly at Zhang Yuan, and then disappeared.

"Is this a provocation against me?"

Zhang Yuan narrowed his eyes and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"Okay."

"It's been a long time since anyone has challenged me..."

(End of this chapter)