Starting from his vigorous old age, he began to conquer Liaozhai.

The three talismans burst into flames the moment they left the black-clad leader's hand.

Three streaks of cyan light emerged from the ashes of the talisman and slashed towards Cao Xiong.

"Sword Drawing Technique~"

Cao Xiong unleashed his inner strength and used a secret technique.

The Evil-Smelling Longsword clashed fiercely with the blade light emitted from the three talismans.

The cyan blade light resisted for only a moment before being severed by the Evil-Sniffing Longsword.

Although the broken blade's power was weakened, it did not disappear. Like a nimble green snake, it changed direction and slashed at Cao Xiong.

The black chainmail shattered inch by inch where it was struck by the blade's edge.

The blade pierced through the armor and struck Cao Xiong's body.

The entry "Copper Skin and Iron Bones" began to exert its power, and a faint golden light emanated from his body, like a transparent golden bell shield, firmly resisting the attack.

"What a strange talisman~" Cao Xiong murmured.

The internal energy that had been depleted after using the "Sword Drawing Technique" was quickly restored.

"Let me see how many treasures you have."

"Sword Drawing Technique~"

Cao Xiong once again used his secret technique to attack the leader in black.

After seeing that none of the three talismans could injure Cao Xiong, the leader in black was filled with doubt and had a vague sense of unease.

He quickly took out a sword light talisman from his pocket and affixed it to the sword.

Having used up four talismans in succession, the black-clad leader felt as if his heart was bleeding.

He then glared at Cao Xiong with resentment, brandishing his longsword as he charged forward.

The sword-drawing technique, imbued with an aura capable of destroying everything, unleashed a storm.

The longsword in the black-clad leader's hand was enhanced by talismans, and with each swing, a virtual sword shadow accompanied him.

When the leader in black arrived at Cao Xiong's side, more than twenty sword shadows had already gathered around him.

"Clang~"

As their swords clashed, a vortex of air swirled around them.

The longsword in the black-clad leader's hand snapped in two, and the sword shadows around him suddenly dimmed.

"die!"

Cao Xiong roared angrily, and his Evil-Sniffing Blade, without slowing down, landed on the black-clad leader's neck.

The black-clad leader's head flew into the air, and before the blood could gush from his body, it was completely absorbed by the Evil-Sniffing Blade.

[Kill a martial artist in the early stage of the Tendon Refining Realm, 0.5 fragments]

Cao Xiong landed on the ground and looked around. Two of the eight men in black had already been killed by the gray wolves.

Of the remaining six, three were attacking Gray Wolf, while the other three were fighting with the Fu family's retainers.

Cao Xiong approached the gray wolf and casually killed the three men in black who were attacking it.

[Killed three warriors at the Skin Tempering Realm, 0.15 fragments]

At this moment, the gray wolf was covered in sword marks, and its eyes gleamed with ferocity.

Cao Xiong patted the gray wolf's head. "Get some rest now."

Then, Cao Xiong quickly arrived at the Fu family's side and killed the last three men in black.

"Thank you, Commander."

The beautiful woman came to Cao Xiong's side and gave a curtsy, her voice soft and sweet.

Cao Xiong clasped his hands in greeting, "Cao Xiong, a centurion of Guobei County, Linya Commandery, greets Madam Fu. Killing the rebels was my duty."

"Miss Fu Qingfeng has been taken back to Guobei County by me. In a few days, Lord Fu will surely send someone to Guobei County to bring you all back to the capital."

"That's wonderful! My sister is still alive!" Fu Yuechi excitedly grasped Madam Fu's hand, tears welling in her eyes.

Madam Fu also breathed a sigh of relief; for her, this was undoubtedly the best news at the moment.

"Then I'll trouble you, Commander Cao. We'll go back to Guobei County with you."

"Please wait a moment, Madam Fu." Cao Xiong turned around and came to the body of the black-clad leader, squatting down to feel around.

Finally, he pulled out two fifty-tael silver notes and a tattered talisman.

"There's been some gain after all." Cao Xiong was very interested in these talismans.

It should be noted that talismans are treasures used by cultivators and require spiritual power to activate.

However, the talismans used by the White Lotus Sect members could be activated with internal force, something unheard of before.

After Cao Xiong had examined all the corpses in the area, he led the Fu family away from the valley.

……

……

……

Cao Xiong led the Fu family back to Guobei County safely after two days.

"Madam Fu, this is the Cao residence. Please rest well here for the next while."

After entering the city, Cao Xiong led the Fu family members straight back to the Cao residence.

"Bang bang~"

Cao Xiong knocked on the door, and Madam Fu and Fu Yuechi, who were standing behind him, looked on expectantly.

"Is that Uncle Cao?" Fu Qingfeng's gentle voice came from behind the door.

When the door opened, Fu Qingfeng stood there, stunned, his face full of disbelief.

"Mother, Yuechi." All of Fu Qingfeng's worries over the past few days turned into tears.

The three of them hugged each other tightly.

After settling Fu Tianchou's family in, Cao Xiong returned to the Hundred Households Office and began dealing with the plague.

"I don't know how the people who contracted the corpse plague are being dealt with, but judging from the situation in Guobei County, it should still be under control."

"Otherwise, with such a large flow of people in the county, it's impossible that there wouldn't be a single case."

Cao Xiong had formed a preliminary judgment about the plague.

He has already sent someone to summon Sha Huizi to see him; the details will be clear once he asks.

With that thought in mind, Cao Xiong stopped thinking about the plague and instead looked at the Evil-Sniffing Longsword lying in front of him.

Perhaps it's because of the continuous fighting over the past few months that the Evil-Sniffing Blade has absorbed enough essence of flesh and blood.

In any case, the current Sniffing Evil Blade is vastly different from the one he had when he first obtained it.

The rust on the blade was slowly peeling away, revealing the jet-black body beneath the rust.

Moreover, as more and more rust fell off, the Evil-Sniffing Blade became even more sinister.

For example, when Cao Xiong stared at the exposed, pitch-black blade, he felt an urge to faint from being so captivated by it.

"Are you ultimately a demonic weapon or a divine weapon?" Cao Xiong heard footsteps coming from outside the door and sheathed his Evil-Sniffing Longsword.

"Greetings, Commander!" These past few days, with Cao Xiong away from Guobei County, the Sha Hui people have been like a family without a leader.

He needed to keep an eye on the plague and also arrange for officers and soldiers to guard the city gates, keeping him as busy as a spinning top.

"How is the plague under control?" Cao Xiong asked Sha Huizi.

"The situation is currently under control and there has been no large-scale infection."

"That's good." Cao Xiong's worries subsided somewhat.

If measures to contain the plague are taken, the number of people infected with the corpse plague does not continue to increase or spread.

That means that this plague is very likely unrelated to the Burial Dragon.

"Sir, what should we do next?"

Cao Xiong has already located the family of Vice Minister Fu, so solving the plague is now the top priority.

He was waiting for Liu Mingzi and Cao Man to return so that they could consolidate their forces and bring all the infected people under control.

To resolve the panic caused by this epidemic once and for all.

He agreed with Liu Mingzi that they would meet within five days, and if he couldn't find Liu Mingzi within those five days, he would return to Guobei County.

According to the schedule, Liu Mingzi and Cao Man should be back tomorrow or the day after.