【Wandering Spirit Temple】
Chen Haoyan had already shed his county yamen official uniform, changing into a tight-fitting martial outfit. His face was concealed by a black cloth, revealing only a pair of sharp, falcon-like eyes.
Around him, figures flashed rapidly. Dazzling, brilliant light reflected off them under the sun, blurring one’s vision. These figures brandished various weapons—sabers, spears, staffs, and clubs. As they shifted and moved, a billowing aura of slaughter encircled Chen Haoyan.
“What a formidable 【Bronze Men Formation】.”
Chen Haoyan praised softly, “I had long heard that the guardian bronze men of the 【Wandering Spirit Temple】 are extraordinarily miraculous. Once in formation, they can fight a hundred at once, and even Martial Masters find them difficult to break.”
Whoosh!
Just then, a sudden gust of wind swept by, carrying the sunlight reflected off the bronze men. It caused Chen Haoyan’s vision to waver, and his eyes narrowed involuntarily.
However, in that precise instant, the previously motionless bronze men violently lunged into action. Every strike from their weapons was vicious, crashing toward Chen Haoyan from all directions.
The force contained within them was not the least bit inferior to a martial artist at external perfection like Xie Shi. They truly possessed the might to split monuments and shatter rocks.
Facing this onslaught, Chen Haoyan neither dodged nor evaded.
He bolstered his sinews and bones. Immediately, wisps of blood-red qi force seeped from his pores, intertwining to form a protective barrier around him.
Boom!
The bronze men’s weapons smashed against the blood-red qi force, but it was like striking a rock with an egg. They were sent flying backwards on the spot, failing to harm a single hair on Chen Haoyan’s head.
The next second, Chen Haoyan unslung the massive bow from his back. Grabbing nine arrows, in a flash of lightning, he fired nine consecutive shots in all directions!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
With every arrow fired, a visible white ripple exploded as the bowstring snapped back. Nine arrows shot simultaneously, causing the overlapping ripples to stack upon one another.
Looking closely, it was as if a monstrous wave had surged from flat ground. This was the shockwave generated by the air barrier being ripped apart, rendering the loosed arrows invisible to the naked eye.
By the time the bronze men heard the explosive sound of arrows piercing the air, the arrows had already struck their chests!
In the blink of an eye, the 【Bronze Men Formation】 was broken!
With Chen Haoyan’s divine strength, bolstered by Internal Force and utilizing black iron armor-piercing arrows, even these bronze men—each weighing over a thousand pounds—were knocked flying backward.
Seizing this opportunity, Chen Haoyan leaped forward and sprinted.
The bronze men are invulnerable to weapons. Although my nine arrows knocked them back, they didn’t damage them. Once they recover, they’ll immediately reform the formation.
By then, he would be surrounded again.
And those nine arrows? He made it look effortless, but in reality, he had already exerted his full strength. He couldn’t sustain such explosive bursts for long.
“Now is the time!”
Moving like lightning, Chen Haoyan sprinted toward a pre-determined direction. He darted through the blinding golden light, yet encountered no bronze men blocking his path.
His field of vision suddenly opened up, and his spirits lifted:
Just as I thought! I wasn’t mistaken. This 【Bronze Men Formation】 isn’t flawless. It has a massive opening—there are no bronze men guarding this direction!
After escaping the encirclement of the 【Bronze Men Formation】, Chen Haoyan didn’t dare dawdle. He immediately scanned his surroundings, taking in the layout of the 【Wandering Spirit Temple】.
“The elixir of immortality… where is it!”
It was well-known that the Imperial Fangshi entrenched in various provinces and counties were favored by the Imperial Court precisely because they could refine the elixir of immortality.
This was no absurd rumor.
One must know that the reigning Son of Heaven was already over a hundred and twenty years old. Even for a martial arts legend, this age was long past the twilight years.
Yet the Son of Heaven remained vigorous, capable of handling ten women a night without tiring.
This was the masterpiece of the Imperial Fangshi. Their life-extending secret elixirs allowed the Son of Heaven to continuously break through his lifespan limits and live to this day.
This was precisely what Chen Haoyan came for.
“Which one is the alchemy room?”
Chen Haoyan’s eyes burned brightly. He rapidly swept his gaze over the numerous side rooms within the 【Wandering Spirit Temple】. With a twitch of his nose, he instantly locked onto the room with the heaviest medicinal scent.
Bang!
Smashing the door open, Chen Haoyan charged straight in. Before him sat a massive alchemy furnace. Surrounding the furnace were rows upon rows of wooden shelves, filled with a wide assortment of porcelain bottles. Small characters were written on the bottles as notes. A pungent medicinal scent instantly washed over him.
Which one was the elixir of immortality?
“Whatever… I’ll take them all!”
With the guardian bronze men reforming their formation and giving chase right behind him, Chen Haoyan had no time to think. He immediately stripped off his tight-fitting martial outfit and swept all the porcelain bottles into it.
Following that, he leaped into the air.
With a loud crash, he smashed right through the alchemy room’s ceiling. Spitting out Internal Force, he actually walked on air as if treading on flat ground, preparing to escape.
However, right at that moment.
“I pity the people of this world, for they are beset by endless suffering….”
Chen Haoyan, who had momentarily relaxed his mind thinking his great deed was accomplished, felt his pupils shrink drastically. Before him, he saw a single lotus flower blooming.
This is bad!
The next second, Chen Haoyan’s vision abruptly blurred.
The Lotus descends to the world, delivering all sentient beings. Amidst the scattered lotus petals, Chen Haoyan seemed to see a compassionate and holy woman walking toward him.
A thick scent of incense flooded his nose.
This was something he had never experienced before, but he had read about it in the files of the Divine Constable Bureau in the capital. Back then, he merely thought it was absurd nonsense fabricated by lower-level officials to shirk responsibility.
Only now did he understand.
That wasn’t a fabricated ghost or god, but something that truly exists?
The 【Bodhisattva of Compassion for All Life】… is alive!?
………..
【Morgue】
Wang Ping’s figure reappeared. His gaze immediately landed on the towering tome before him, watching as the golden, radiant book turned another page.
【Volume Three: Empty】
【Awaiting Record】.
Seeing this, joy lit up Wang Ping’s face. However, he quickly realized something was wrong. How did the 【Lotus Blade】 and the Longxing County Seal only turn one page?
Could it be…
The next second, the page flipped backward, revealing a scene that greatly surprised Wang Ping. The second page of 【The Taiping Classic】 had actually changed.
Countless words had surfaced on the previously blank page.
In a daze, Wang Ping seemingly witnessed a scene.
It was a rural village, very similar to the former Qian Village, yet quite chaotic at this moment. Constables from the county yamen were going door-to-door, questioning the residents about something.
Soon, he learned the answer.
These county yamen constables were conducting a household census, surveying farmlands, and recalculating taxes. They even claimed this was a tremendous blessing that benefited the nation above and the commoners below.
Next, he saw a constable, led by a farmer, arrive at a modestly sized field, roughly an acre in size. The head of this farming household, an old man with graying hair, smiled apologetically and said, “Lord, this is the land allocated by the Imperial Court.”
“It’s about an acre and a half.”
“An acre and a half?”
The constable glanced at the field before him, then shook his head. “That’s wrong. The official register here says there should be eight acres of land.”
“Ah? Eight acres?”
Hearing this, the old man froze, then hurriedly asked, “Isn’t there a mistake? You can see for yourself, Lord. My family’s field is only this big.”
“I don’t care about that.”
The constable’s tone was flat. “What’s written in black and white on the official register definitely isn’t wrong. Your family must be hiding land, thinking you can deceive us?”
“How is that possible! Lord…”
The constable ignored the old man’s wails, his tone indifferent. “Alright, hurry up and get the grain. Remember, not a single grain of the autumn tax for eight acres can be missing!”
With that, he glanced at the old man, as well as the young man and boy standing behind him, and continued, “Also, according to the Imperial Court’s orders, from now on, only father and son can remain in one household. You already have three generations under one roof, right? Your grandson will have to be separated and counted as a new household.”
Hearing this, the old man was still somewhat bewildered. “What, what does this mean?”
The next second, the constable rested his hand on his ox-tail saber and said softly, “It means that for this autumn tax, you must hand over the money for two households.”
“What!?”
“Lord! Lord, please spare our lives…”
“This is our very last bit, you can’t take it away!”
The scene abruptly cut off. When Wang Ping looked back, he saw cart after cart filled to the brim with grain being transported into Longxing County.
Then, the scene shifted again.
This time, Wang Ping finally arrived at a familiar place. This was the inner courtyard of the county yamen. Two people sat across from each other, drinking tea and conversing.
One of them was Chen Haoyan.
At this moment, he respectfully bowed to the other person and whispered, “Reporting to Your Excellency, this autumn tax collection was a massive success, exceeding even our expectations!”
“Oh? Truly?”
Hearing this, the other person seemed pleasantly surprised and looked up. Only then did Wang Ping see his face clearly. It was a middle-aged man with an elegant and refined scholarly aura.
“How successful? Tell me.”
Chen Haoyan immediately rattled off the details like family treasures: “This time, we personally went down to the villages and discovered one hundred thousand acres of hidden land and over three thousand eight hundred hidden households. We have already compiled a new register.”
Having said this, Chen Haoyan looked somewhat proud:
“As a result, this year’s autumn tax multiplied several times over. To be honest, we almost ran out of space for the grain carts transported into the county town. All the granaries were stuffed full. This subordinate even had to order the constables to help build several temporary granaries just to barely accommodate it all.”
“Good, good, good! Excellent!”
Hearing this, the refined man immediately clapped his hands and laughed heartily. “Assigning this task to you, Haoyan, was indeed the right choice. Now I can finally deliver a satisfactory report to the Imperial Court.”
“However…”
At this point, the refined man seemed to think of something and frowned. “While the autumn tax is important, we must not push the good citizens in the city too hard.”
“Rest assured, Your Excellency.”
Chen Haoyan hurriedly explained. “The Lin family, the Chen family, the Liu family… I’ve negotiated with all seventeen good citizen families in the city. They only need to offer one-tenth of their land.”
“After all, most of the constables in our yamen come from these very lineages of good citizens. How could we go too far? We just turn a blind eye to many things, and it passes. There is plenty of land outside the city. Doing this doesn’t violate the law either. Family members covering for each other—according to the law, it isn’t a crime!”
The refined man’s face finally relaxed. “That is for the best.”
“You must understand that prioritizing the people is the only way to keep the world stable.”
“Besides, most of these good citizens have practiced martial arts for generations and possess some capability. If we cause any trouble, it will only hurt the harmony within the county town.”
“In contrast, the peasants outside the city don’t know martial arts, nor do they need to eat that much grain. Leaving it for them is a waste. Moreover, they can’t cause a splash.”
“Let them suffer a bit more.”
Chen Haoyan immediately nodded. “Your Excellency’s words are extremely true. This subordinate will strictly instruct the men. We will not commit any acts that harm or exploit the people, lest we tarnish Your Excellency’s upright reputation.”
Only then did the refined man smile and nod:
“I am always at ease when you handle matters… Perfect timing. A position has opened up at the Divine Constable Bureau in the capital. I have already recommended you to fill it.”
Chen Haoyan was instantly overjoyed. “Many thanks, County Magistrate!”
The scene reached this point and shattered completely.
Wang Ping opened his eyes, only to find himself back in the internal space of the 【Morgue】. Every word on the towering tome before him glowed with a bloody hue.
“The County Magistrate… I see.”
He was puzzled earlier. Why would 【The Taiping Classic】, which supposedly only settled 【Scripture Scrolls】 upon storing a corpse, suddenly activate?
“The answer is simple. It did store a ‘corpse’.”
It’s just that this time, the corpse wasn’t a person, but the entirety of Longxing County.
That Longxing County Seal, the imperial treasure that Shouchong claimed held the entire county town and the incense of tens of thousands of commoners both inside and out—that was the corpse of Longxing County.
And what it settled was the 【Event that led to the death of Longxing County】.
The seal of a hundred officials is the blood of ten thousand commoners.
Inside the city walls, song and dance flourished. Outside the city walls, corpses littered the fields. The so-called Longxing County had died during that autumn tax collection long ago; it just hadn’t drawn its final breath yet.
For a moment, Wang Ping suddenly thought of his life before last.
He had just transmigrated back then, still an infant. His family had saved up for over half a lifetime, yet couldn’t even afford polished rice. He was almost abandoned.
Why did that happen?
The village was clearly surrounded by farmlands, crops growing in every field. When harvest season arrived, a sea of golden yellow stretched as far as the eye could see. Why would there still be a shortage of grain?
Why couldn’t they even afford rice? When starved to the extreme, they could only dig up wild vegetables or eat coarse rice. Even then, they had to stretch it into three days of porridge, even adding grit and gravel just to feel full… to feel full, not actually be full.
Why was it like this?
Walking up to 【The Taiping Classic】, Wang Ping’s hand gently caressed the page, carefully touching every bloody character, and then sighed deeply.
【Volume Two: Perish with the Sun】
【No matter how loud the weeds rustle, they cannot shake the sun in the sky. Vows of mutual destruction are nothing more than the final wail before death.】
So this was the reason.
The effect of the second scripture scroll, 【Perish with the Sun】, was very simple. In a nutshell, it caused a thousand damage to oneself to inflict eight hundred on the enemy. It was akin to a cursing technique.
“When I clash with a target, all injuries inflicted by the target can be recorded by 【Perish with the Sun】. When I feel it’s enough, I can enter the 【The Taiping Classic】 space, activate 【Perish with the Sun】, and deliver retribution based on the severity of the injuries.”
“The strength of the retribution will depend on the gap between the target and me.”
“If we are at the same level, the injury and retribution are equal. If I am stronger, light injuries yield heavy retribution. If I am weaker, heavy injuries yield light retribution.”
The next second, the world spun.
The sacrifice ended. Wang Ping walked out of the 【Morgue】. After a moment of silence, he resolutely gripped the Black Hornless-Dragon Bow and the ox-tail saber beside him.
Tonight, it was raining heavily again.
Wang Ping stood up and silently left the carriage. His figure vanished into the rain, yet his gaze was locked dead onto the distant 【Wandering Spirit Temple】.
“That hateful Chen Haoyan, actually causing me a miserable death…”
But since he survived, he had to do something. After all, he had already decided to throw this life away. Now, he could act exactly as he pleased.
…Consider it repayment.
Wang Ping lowered his eyelids. His gaze lingered on the records of the 【Perish with the Sun】 scroll for a moment. He then slowly stood straight and exhaled a long breath.
Judging by its effects, the future of this scripture scroll was highly promising. It could even become a decisive trump card. He had truly hit the jackpot this time.
Therefore, as repayment for receiving this scroll…
And to vent his sheer frustration…
Chen Haoyan, one of the suns of Longxing County. Using this life… I will shoot him down for you!
Boom!
Under the night sky, Wang Ping’s figure faintly overlapped with a sudden flash of lightning. Tearing through the torrential rain, accompanied by a thunderous roar, he rapidly vanished into the distance.