This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Zhong Bai didn't want to have any contact with Mo Ling, but at that moment, Zuo Qianhu, who was standing next to Zhong Bai, suddenly knelt down on the ground.

He looked at Mo Ling with unwavering determination.

"Fairy Mo, I am a commander of a thousand men in Songjiang County. I beg you, Fairy, to save the Great Qian Dynasty!"

Zhong Bai truly hadn't anticipated Zuo Qianhu's move, but from Zuo Qianhu's perspective, it made sense.

Zhong Bai told him that there was a giant centipede demon in the imperial city that devoured the flesh and blood of officials and even attempted to devour the dragon energy of the entire Great Qian Dynasty. However, Zhong Bai said that he was not entirely confident that he could kill the giant centipede demon. As a result, Commander Zuo could only worry anxiously. But now it was different. Commander Zuo was not stupid. He could see that Zhong Bai did not want to have any contact with Mo Ling. But there was no denying that the fairy Mo Ling in front of him was extremely terrifying. If he could get this fairy to agree to go to the imperial city to kill the demon, he might really be able to eliminate the scourge of Great Qian Dynasty!
Such a tempting offer was too good to pass up for Zuo Qianhu.

Zhong Bai, who was about to leave, paused slightly upon hearing Zuo Qianhu's plea.

Although Zhong Bai hadn't expected Zuo Qianhu to do this, he still wanted to hear whether Mo Ling, a cultivator from the Feathered Immortal Mansion, knew the specific details about Pudu Cihang.

Mo Ling was somewhat taken aback. She looked at Zuo Qianhu, whose expression was resolute, and asked with some uncertainty.

"This... Commander Qian, I am a little curious. Logically speaking, this Daoist Zhong Bai beside you is no weaker than me. If he were willing to take action, which of the evil spirits and demons of your Great Qian could survive?"
It's better to ask him than me...

Besides, Maoshan's cultural heritage is extraordinary; even this princess must show it respect.

Hearing Mo Ling's words, Zhong Bai turned around with a helpless look in his eyes.

"Miss Mo Ling is joking. I am only at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. The one occupying the Great Qian Imperial City is a giant centipede demon."

Possessing the strength of a half-step demon emperor, although I have some treasures for self-defense, I am not confident that I can kill that great demon.

The fact that Commander Zuo sought out Miss Mo Ling suggests that he believed her unparalleled swordsmanship meant she could easily slay a half-step demon emperor.

Zhong Bai smiled, but Mo Ling frowned. She roughly understood that Zhong Bai didn't want to be around her, but wasn't this resistance a bit too obvious? Was she some kind of monster?

She felt slightly displeased, but Mo Ling quickly came up with a solution.

With a gentle smile, Mo Ling looked at Commander Zuo and said, "Commander Zuo, what Daoist Zhong said is right. If the centipede demon in the imperial city is close to the Demon Emperor, then even if I go to the imperial city with you, Commander Zuo, it will be in vain."

However… this princess is willing to save the people of the Great Qian Dynasty, but one person's strength is limited. Zhong Daojun comes from Maoshan and is in no way weaker than this princess. If Commander Zuo could get Zhong Daojun to accompany him to the capital, that centipede demon would have no choice but to submit to annihilation. In this way, the people of the Great Qian Dynasty could all survive!”

Zuo Qianhu was so excited that his blood boiled. He had only tried it out, but he never expected that he could actually get the fairy in front of him to agree. Although the deeper meaning of her words was that she wanted Zhong Bai to go to the capital with her, at least there was hope.

He stood up and kowtowed to Zhong Bai.

He completed the task in one go, and Zuo Qianhu felt no shame whatsoever, his heart filled with righteous indignation.

"Daojun, I am clumsy with words, but I understand your character. If the officials of the Great Qian are truly as you say, I implore you to join forces with Fairy Mo to slay that centipede demon. I am willing to serve you both for the rest of my life!"

Hearing this, Zhong Bai was a little surprised. Mo Ling was actually willing to go to the imperial city to slay the demon. Zhong Bai was somewhat astonished, but he did not refuse.

His current identity is a disciple of Maoshan. What he refuses is to damage Maoshan's reputation. After all, even a female cultivator like Mo Ling had the courage to go to the capital to exorcise demons. How could he, a genuine disciple of Maoshan, say no?

"Haha, Commander Zuo, please rise!"

"I hail from Maoshan, where the principles of good and evil are fundamentally opposed, and we fight each other to the death. Since Fairy Mo Ling is fearless, I have no reason to be afraid either. I am willing to accompany Fairy Mo Ling on her journey to the imperial city to exorcise the demon!"

Hearing Zhong Bai speak like that, a smile gradually appeared on Mo Ling's lips. Well, she had achieved her goal. Although she had gotten herself into a bit of trouble, Mo Ling was still happy.

"I, Zuo, kowtow to express my deepest gratitude to both of you!"

Zuo Qianhu was very excited. All the problems that had been troubling him in one day had been solved. How could he not be happy?
Finally, Mo Ling and Zhong Bai followed Commander Zuo to Songjiang County.

.........................................................

There is a dilapidated temple ten miles west of Zhengqi Villa.

This place is an important stop between Songjiang County and the Imperial City. Inside the dilapidated temple, a stunningly beautiful woman is frowning slightly. A three-foot-long sword in her hand is gleaming with a cold light, and every move she makes is filled with killing intent.

"Sister, news has come!"

Just then, another stunningly beautiful woman appeared behind the woman and gently patted her shoulder.

"Yuechi, speak, what news do you have?"

Fu Qingfeng held her three-foot-long sword horizontally in front of her, her expression still cold, until her sister Fu Yuechi spoke.

"Sister, news of Father!"

Upon hearing the word "father," Fu Qingfeng's composure vanished instantly. He stood up abruptly and anxiously asked Fu Yuechi behind him, "Yuechi, tell me quickly, where is Father!"

Fu Yuechi understood that her sister was extremely anxious at the moment, so she did not delay and quickly informed Fu Qingfeng of the situation that her subordinates had investigated.

“Sister, Father is still alive, but he has been arrested by the commander of Songjiang County. A few days ago, an imperial decree came from the capital, ordering the commander to send Father to the capital for punishment.”

Upon hearing this news, Fu Qingfeng immediately snorted coldly.

"Humph!

Those officials in the capital must be full of idiots. Father only impeached the Imperial Preceptor, and this is what happened to him. With treacherous officials in power and a foolish emperor ruining the country, Father still thinks about saving the Great Qian Dynasty. It's truly..."

Despite his complaints, Fu Qingfeng knew that his father could still be saved.

"Yuechi, do you know anything about that commander of a thousand men in Songjiang County?"

Mentioning Commander Zuo, Fu Yuechi couldn't help but sigh, his expression becoming hesitant.

"Sister, this commander of Songjiang is no ordinary man. His surname is Zuo, and his family has been in the Imperial Guards for generations. Since he became a commander, there has never been a criminal he couldn't catch, nor has anyone been able to successfully break him out of prison."

"Sister, we need to plan carefully before we can rescue Father from this Commander Zuo."

Upon hearing this, Fu Qingfeng also looked solemn. If even his own sister said it was terrifying, then it was definitely not an ordinary person.

"Let's start monitoring them..."

"Yes, I understand, sister!"

After Fu Yuechi finished speaking, he left the dilapidated temple, leaving Fu Qingfeng alone to stare at the long sword lying horizontally in front of him and ponder silently.

Songjiang County.

After returning from Songjiang, Zhong Bai went back to the small courtyard that Commander Zuo had prepared for him.

According to Commander Zuo, before leaving Songjiang County, he needed to give clear instructions to the local officials. Although Commander Zuo's official rank was not high, the name "Jinyiwei" (Imperial Guard) was enough to make the local officials obedient. Otherwise, it was a special privilege of the emperor, and they could be killed without exception. Of course, the officials of Songjiang County gave Commander Zuo face not only because he was a member of the Jinyiwei, but also because the governor of Songjiang County was Commander Zuo's second uncle. The Zuo family was deeply rooted in Songjiang!

In the courtyard, Zhong Bai looked at the demon-slaying points in front of him with some helplessness. After killing a demon emperor in the mid-Nascent Soul stage, Zhong Bai only had ten million demon-slaying points. Clearly, ten million demon-slaying points were not enough to improve his cultivation level again.

"I'm truly all alone..."

Zhong Bai sighed. Usually, demon emperors are surrounded by a group of lesser demons. When Zhong Bai kills a powerful demon, those lesser demons and ghosts can't escape either. But this blue-eyed dragon is different. It doesn't even have any shrimp soldiers or crab generals. Zhong Bai felt a little sorry for it.

That being said, having ten million Demon Extermination Points is quite good for Zhong Bai. Little by little, Zhong Bai estimates that if he can get sixty million Demon Extermination Points, he should be able to break through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Not far away was Mo Ling's courtyard. Like Zhong Bai, Zuo Qianhu did not dare to neglect her.

Inside the room, the usually proud and arrogant Mo Ling was now as docile as a quail.

Before her, the Spirit Sword Demon Slayer floated in the void, and a deep male voice sighed helplessly.

"I say, Lingmei, you were perfectly fine in the Underworld, but suddenly you came to the mortal realm. If it weren't for the fact that this Demon Slayer possesses a wisp of my divine consciousness, you would really be able to run rampant in the mortal realm all by yourself..."

Upon hearing this, Mo Ling, who had been looking down, suddenly raised her head and stared directly at the Demon-Slaying Sword in front of her.

“Brother, I know my limits. I’ve been in the underworld for hundreds of years. I just long for life in the mortal world. Besides, with you protecting me in the dark, I won’t be in any danger.”

Hearing Mo Ling's retort, the voice of Mo Chen Saint Lord within the Demon-Slaying Sword gradually softened.

"Little sister, you know, it's not that your elder brother doesn't want you to travel in the mortal realm, but the Feathered Immortal Mansion currently has no foundation there. Putting aside everything else, just look at that centipede demon you promised to kill on this trip; it's under the command of the Myriad Demon Mansion. If you kill it, wouldn't that be slapping the Myriad Demon Mansion in the face?"

Hearing her brother's explanation, Mo Ling was a little stunned. She really didn't know that the centipede demon was from the Ten Thousand Demon Palace.

However, having already agreed, Mo Ling was unlikely to go back on her word.

"Big brother, the Demon Palace... really?"

Mo Chen Saint Lord nodded.

"That's right, Pudu Cihang has the realm of a half-step demon emperor, which is the middle level in the Ten Thousand Demon Palace. He came to Daqian this time to use the dragon energy of Daqian to break through the dragon body and become a demon emperor in one fell swoop!"

Therefore, not to mention the difficulty of killing it, even if they did kill it, the Demon Palace would probably not let it go easily...

"By the way, you said that the Taoist priest next door is a disciple of Maoshan?" Mo Ling nodded subconsciously.

“Brother, he said he came from Maoshan, but I’m not sure if that’s true. But one thing is certain: his magical powers and treasures are not something that ordinary cultivators can possess.”

Upon hearing her elder brother mention Zhong Bai, Mo Ling launched into a long, detailed account of everything she had seen and heard since meeting Zhong Bai, including Zhong Bai's fight against the dragon in Songjiang River.

After hearing his sister's account, Mo Chen Shengjun was somewhat surprised. He had initially doubted Zhong Bai's identity, since he had never heard of any disciples from Maoshan going down the mountain for training. But now...

"I don't know if this is true or not, but the Taoist's aura doesn't seem like that of a rogue cultivator. Also, there's something you might not know, little sister."

"Huh? Big brother, I didn't know?"

“That’s right. Did you know that Zhong Bai is not even a hundred years old? If I’m not mistaken, he’s only around sixty years old. To have the cultivation level of the mid-Nascent Soul stage, he really might be from Maoshan.”

"Oh? Big brother, you think so too? To be honest, I suspect that this person was secretly sent down the mountain by Maoshan to train, so that other forces would not pay attention and follow him, allowing Zhong Bai to train in peace."

Mo Chen did not continue the conversation.

Whether Zhong Bai is a disciple of Maoshan or not is no longer important.

"Little sister, if you insist on killing Pudu Cihang on this trip to the capital, remember, just seriously injure him. Leave the rest to Zhong Bai. If he is truly a disciple of Maoshan, the Ten Thousand Demons Mansion won't dare to do anything to him. But if he isn't a disciple of Maoshan, yet he's using Maoshan's name, he deserves to die at the hands of the Ten Thousand Demons Mansion!"

Hearing her elder brother's cold words, Mo Ling nodded silently without refuting them.

"Brother, Ling'er understands!"

"Well, I understand. Now that you've come to the mortal realm, you can play for a few years. But three years from now is your thousandth birthday. Remember to return to the underworld to receive the worship of the immortals."

There's also a wisp of my soul within the Demon-Slaying Sword. If I encounter trouble I can't solve, I just need to silently recite my elder brother's name.

"There are other matters to attend to at the Immortal Abode, so I'll be leaving now, elder brother..."

"Yes, Ling'er respectfully sees off elder brother!"

In the blink of an eye, the Demon-Slaying Sword in front of Mo Ling returned to its normal appearance, the blade sheathed, concealing its sharpness.

Seeing that her elder brother really hadn't taken her back to the underworld, Mo Ling was overjoyed.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Three days later, Commander Zuo and a group of Imperial Guards escorted former Minister of War Fu Tianchou to the capital.

Naturally, Zhong Bai and Mo Ling traveled together.

In the long line, Zhong Bai and Mo Ling were not close, about ten meters apart. Both of them sat cross-legged on their spirit swords and followed Zuo Qianhu's team slowly forward.

The group traveled for about ten days and then arrived at a place about twenty or thirty miles away from Zhengqi Manor, where they set up camp for the night.

For Zhong Bai and Mo Ling, the trip was rather tedious and boring. However, since both of them were cultivators, Zhong Bai was busy refining the essence blood of the demon beast he had won in the lottery, while Mo Ling was busy admiring the landscape paintings in the mortal realm. They really didn't bother each other.

After setting up camp, Commander Zuo, as usual, stood quietly in front of Fu Tianchou's prison cart, holding a long sword.

At this moment, Fu Tianchou, looking somewhat exhausted, sighed heavily and said, "Commander Zuo, we have been traveling for more than ten days. I have already said that I have not committed treason. It was the Imperial Preceptor Pudu Cihang who slandered me. Why do you still imprison me?"

Despite hearing Fu Tianchou's repeated attempts to persuade him, Commander Zuo remained calm.

“Lord Fu, you were formerly the Minister of War. Although I believe what you say, I cannot agree to release you.”

Regardless of whether the Imperial Preceptor Pudu Cihang was a demon in disguise, Lord Fu, you have indeed been arrested by imperial decree. Until the truth is revealed, it is truly unfair to you, sir.

When it came to seeing Commander Zuo, he was unyielding to both soft and hard tactics, leaving Fu Tianchou at a loss for what to do.

In the group, Zhong Bai and Mo Ling were both sitting cross-legged on their spirit swords. The difference was that Zhong Bai was busy refining his essence blood, while Mo Ling was busy absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

As soon as Zhong Bai swallowed all ten drops of essence blood, his expression changed instantly.

"Commander Zuo, be careful."

(End of this chapter)