Not long after the martial arts tournament ended.
Dengfeng County!
In front of the Shen family residence in the county town, several guards stood watch as usual.
Except these three all looked listless—either staring blankly into space or yawning from time to time.
Just then, two sturdy middle-aged men slowly approached the main gate, looking casual yet somehow deliberate.
Once near the gate, the leading man immediately clasped his hands and bowed.
His honest, simple face instantly broke into a familiar, enthusiastic smile as he said warmly:
“Brothers, we two have come from outside the city.”
“May I ask if Elder Shen Yunwei is in?”
“We heard Doctor Shen’s medical skills are extraordinary and came specially to seek treatment!”
The three Shen family guards, seeing that the two had come from outside the city, showed no impatience at all—instead, they politely returned the greeting.
One of the guards said: “Dear guests, our apologies!”
“Our master instructed us a few days ago that he won’t be receiving visitors for a while.”
“The master and the whole family have all left the city to visit the young madam’s family.”
“All of the Shen family’s medicine shops have also posted notices today that they’re temporarily closed.”
“What!”
Hearing this answer, the questioning man’s gaze instinctively darted to his companion beside him, shocked inside.
That old fellow Shen Yunwei actually left the city!
No wonder all the Shen family’s medicine shops had been closed since yesterday.
So that was it!
The priority now was to get this information to the county magistrate as soon as possible!
The man who had spoken forced down his inner shock and, without betraying anything, cupped his hands and said: “Thank you three brothers for telling us!”
“It seems we brothers just don’t have the fortune to see Doctor Shen.”
With that, the two men turned and left, walking briskly toward a certain direction.
And that direction was exactly where the county office was located.
In a side hall of the county office, a man dressed in casual fine robes sat in a chair.
He looked to be around forty or fifty, his face carrying the dignity of someone in power.
This man was Liu Bifu, the county magistrate of Dengfeng County—the very person who had personally come to warn Shen Yunwei that day.
At this moment, hearing the news the two men had brought back, he shot to his feet and demanded furiously: “What did you say!”
“That old fellow Shen Yunwei left the city?”
“As the county magistrate of Dengfeng County, how could I not know about this!”
“Where are those useless fools guarding the city gates?”
“Tell them to get over here and see me right now!”
Liu Bifu’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, his iron-blue expression carrying a hint of menace.
These past few days, he had been secretly searching for weaknesses in the Shen family, trying to find a breakthrough.
However, what surprised Liu Bifu was this:
The Shen family’s attitude toward that young madam, Lu Qingqing, was extremely special.
Not just simple importance—there was even a faint hint of respect.
This left Liu Bifu greatly puzzled.
That Lu Qingqing was nothing more than a daughter of the Lu family in Qingyun County’s prefectural city. Though matched in status with the Shen family, she hardly came from some illustrious clan.
Why would the Shen family value her so much?
To this end, Liu Bifu had specially sent people to secretly investigate Lu Qingqing’s background, trying to find a weakness he could exploit.
He had already planned it out in his mind—he intended to focus all his efforts on targeting Lu Qingqing next, using her to force the Shen family into submission.
However, just as Liu Bifu was about to act, he suddenly learned that the entire Shen family had quietly left the city and vanished without a trace!
“Hmph!”
Liu Bifu snorted coldly, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes.
“That old fellow Shen Yunwei—the monk may run, but the temple can’t! ”
“With a family business as big as the Shen family’s, I don’t believe you can stay away forever!”
When that time came, Liu Bifu could slowly deal with the Shen family—no rush.
For now, the most important thing was to keep a close eye on the Shen family’s movements and never let them completely slip out of his control.
Liu Bifu took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and ordered coldly: “Someone! Send more men immediately—keep close watch on all the Shen family’s medicine shops!”
“The moment you discover any trace of Shen Yunwei or anyone from the Shen family, report to me at once!”
“Also, continue investigating Lu Qingqing’s background.”
“I want to see just what’s so special about this Lu family that makes the Shen family value them so highly!”
The secretary beside Liu Bifu promptly acknowledged and left.
Liu Bifu stood in the hall with his hands behind his back, his gaze dark as he looked outside the door.
Shen Yunwei, do you think you can escape?
This Dengfeng County is ultimately my territory!
However, before Liu Bifu could carefully plan how to devour the Shen family’s wealth—
A loud crash suddenly came from outside the door. A dark figure shot through the wooden door like a cannonball, hurtling straight toward him.
Liu Bifu was shocked and hurriedly dodged to the side with his portly, well-fed body.
The dark figure slammed heavily onto the ground with a dull thud.
Looking closely, it was actually the secretary he had just sent out on an errand!
At this moment, the secretary’s body was lifeless, a pool of blood slowly spreading beneath him—clearly dead.
Liu Bifu was both shocked and furious. He hurriedly looked up toward the door and shouted sternly: “What audacity!”
“To dare trespass into the county office and commit murder right before my eyes! What lawless madman!”
His voice carried a slight tremor—both anger and fear.
A county office of all places—to think there would come a day when someone would walk in as if it were empty ground and even kill someone right in front of him.
This was utter humiliation!
Outside the door, a tall figure slowly stepped in, his stride steady yet carrying a suffocating pressure.
It was a man with only one left arm.
Then, this man—his face cold, his gaze like a blade—looked straight at Liu Bifu.
“You are the county magistrate of Dengfeng County—why have you set your sights on Miss Lu Qingqing!”
“Who sent you!”
Liu Bifu’s expression changed drastically, alarm bells ringing in his mind.
He forced himself to stay calm and said sternly: “You… who exactly are you?”
“How dare you be so reckless!”
“Someone! Someone come! Seize this madman!”
However, outside the door there was dead silence—no one answered.
The entire county office seemed to have fallen into a deathly stillness, with only that man’s voice echoing through the empty hall.
“I don’t know any Lu Qingqing.”
“Perhaps there’s some misunderstanding between us!”
Cold sweat seeped from Liu Bifu’s forehead. He lied through his teeth while trying to guess the origin of the man before him.
An ominous premonition rose in his heart. He instinctively retreated a few steps, his voice carrying a hint of panic: “You… don’t come closer!”
“I am a court-appointed official!”
“If you dare touch me, you’ll be making an enemy of the entire court!”
What a powerful martial artist’s aura—such an oppressive, scorching force.
Could this be a Blood Refining Realm martial artist?
Liu Bifu was terrified. As a martial artist at the Marrow Refining Perfection stage, he was no match for this man at all.
Suddenly, several more men in identical white brocade robes rushed in quickly from outside the door.
Their movements were uniform, their strides steady—clearly well-trained.
“Wait!”
“That uniform!”
In his extreme tension, three large characters suddenly flashed through Liu Bifu’s mind.
Profound Bird Guard!
Liu Bifu’s pupils violently contracted, and a tidal wave surged in his heart.
The Profound Bird Guard—that mysterious force directly under the current Emperor, specifically tasked with handling those ghostly things.
Why would they appear here?
Could it be… could it be that his actions had already drawn the attention of the Profound Bird Guard?
But I haven’t even had time to act yet!
Besides, the Profound Bird Guard seems to almost never involve themselves in mundane affairs—how could they possibly come looking for trouble with me?
There must be some misunderstanding here!
Right!
It must be a misunderstanding.
Cold sweat kept pouring down Liu Bifu’s ashen face.
He forced down the fear in his heart, barely managed a smile, and said in a trembling voice: “My lords, may I ask… may I ask what brings you here today?”
“Could there be… some kind of misunderstanding?”
However, the men in white brocade robes outside the door completely ignored Liu Bifu. They walked straight to the leading man and respectfully cupped their hands to report:
“Lord Huang, we few have interrogated some information from Liu Bifu’s subordinates.”
“This Liu Bifu was preparing to move against the Shen family!” One of them said in a low voice.
“As for the reason—” Another took over, his tone carrying a hint of disdain, “For money!”
The man called “Lord Huang” frowned slightly at this, a flash of coldness in his eyes.
And this man was none other than Li Daren—the one Lu Jiahe had asked to stay in Dengfeng County to protect Lu Qingqing!
Li Daren coldly glanced at Liu Bifu.
The temperature in the room skyrocketed in an instant, and the air was filled with a suffocating pressure.
This was the phenomenon caused by Li Daren’s full-blooded energy suddenly surging.
Feeling Li Daren’s terrifying killing intent, Liu Bifu’s whole body went rigid, his face as pale as paper. He stammered: “No… you… you can’t kill me!”
“I… I can give you money! Lots of money! Just let me go…”
But what followed was a crisp sound of breaking bone.
A shattered piece of the door’s wood shot through Liu Bifu’s forehead like an arrow, leaving a glaring bloody hole.
His eyes were wide open, the last trace of terror and disbelief still lingering in them.
As if even in the final moment of his life, Liu Bifu still couldn’t believe any of this was happening.
It seemed his hand had reached where it shouldn’t have!
Miss Lu Qingqing!
That was the crucial point.
Unfortunately, in the last second before his consciousness faded, Liu Bifu finally understood the truth of everything.
Li Daren looked at the two corpses on the ground and said coldly:
“So it’s just another corrupt official!”
Li Daren was somewhat speechless. He had thought it was some bastard with guts.
Daring to hide in the shadows and spy on Director Lu’s little sister.
Turned out to be just a greedy, law-breaking corrupt official who treated money as his life!
“You few—take this news back to Lord Xuan immediately.”
That Director Lu had, just a few days ago, used great divine abilities to secretly relocate the entire Shen family.
Likely, Elder Brother Lu in Qingyun County had also been settled somewhere unknown by Director Lu, just like the Shen family.
What on earth was happening up there?
Even a legendary figure like Director Lu had to settle his family in advance!
Li Daren shook his head and sighed inwardly: “Forget it, forget it!
These matters of immortals fighting—a little Blood Refining Realm like me has no right to get involved.”
Meanwhile, in Qingyun County’s county town.
In front of the Lu family residence, eight figures suddenly appeared. Their attire was strange, their aura extraordinary—instantly alerting the guards at the gate.
“Hey, who are you people!” A guard stepped forward, gripping his long saber, warily eyeing the eight.
Among the eight were five men and three women.
Of the five men, there was a white-haired, lean-faced elder with the air of an immortal, as well as a few somewhat younger-looking men.
The three women appeared to be around forty or fifty, still retaining their charm, their faces carrying a mature dignity.
One of the elders smiled slightly, his voice extremely gentle: “We few are old friends of the Lu family. We’ve come today specially to visit the Lu family head. Please announce us.”
The Lu family guards frowned slightly at this, secretly on alert.
Although these people spoke mildly, the aura emanating from them gave off an invisible pressure.
The lead guard didn’t dare be negligent and quickly cupped his hands: “Dear guests, our apologies.”
“Our master happens to be away at the moment and isn’t at the residence. I’m afraid it’ll be some time before he returns!”
At this moment, behind the elder who had spoken—
A man with a fierce face and eyes flickering with piercing red light suddenly snorted coldly.
“Hmph!”
That cold snort exploded like heavenly thunder, instantly suppressing the entire Lu family residence.
The air was filled with a suffocating pressure, as if even time itself had frozen at this moment.
“Old Ghost Luo, why even ask!”
The fierce man’s voice was cold, carrying disdain and contempt. “These ants—just take action directly.”
“The ancestors are overthinking it.”
“A mere group of mortals, and they need so many of us to act together—what a waste!”
The elder who had spoken frowned slightly, seemingly displeased with his companion’s recklessness, but he didn’t try to stop him.
These eight were the eight Sun Spirit Envoys—all peerless powerhouses at the Spirit Palace realm!
Their existence was inherently above mortals; ordinarily, they would never show themselves easily.
And today, eight Sun Spirit Envoys had mobilized simultaneously—all just to capture Lu Xuan’s blood relatives!
This was like using a cannon to swat a mosquito—overkill to the extreme!
Half an hour later!
Those eight Sun Spirit Envoys disappeared from Qingyun County’s county town at extreme speed.
However, the Lu family residence had been left in a complete mess.
The eight Sun Spirit Envoys had searched the entire Lu family in a short time, only to discover in shock:
Not a single one of Lu Xuan’s relatives was in the residence.
Even the most important target—Lu Xuan’s birth father, Lu Jiahe—was nowhere to be seen.
However, these eight Sun Spirit Envoys hadn’t returned empty-handed.
From the mouths of the Lu family servants, they learned where Lu Jiahe had gone.
“At Yunteng Valley in Zilan Mountain!” One Sun Spirit Envoy said coldly, a flash of cold light in his eyes.
Yunteng Valley in Zilan Mountain was only thirty li from the county town, surrounded by rolling mountains and steep terrain.
The valley entrance was wide, surrounded by hard yellow rock—like a natural barrier.
The figures of the eight Sun Spirit Envoys appeared above Yunteng Valley like ghosts.
They stood in midair, their gazes sharp as falcons, scanning the valley below.
The eight Sun Spirit Envoys’ gazes all fell on a stone platform below, where a young man sat cross-legged.
He wore a black brocade robe, his ink-black hair neatly tied up, gently swaying in the wind.
“Lu Xuan!”
Old Ghost Luo’s pupils violently contracted, his voice carrying shock and wariness.
The fierce man’s expression changed, red light flickering in his eyes as he gritted his teeth: “Damn it, we’ve been set up!”
There was also a woman—one of the three female Sun Spirit Envoys.
Her face was cold and alluring, usually carrying a lofty arrogance.
But at this moment, her face rarely showed terror.
“This… how is this possible!” She murmured in a low voice, her eyes full of disbelief.
They had never expected Lu Xuan to actually appear here!
So all of this was a trap Lu Xuan had carefully designed!
“It’s you four again!”
“This Director has been waiting for you all!”
“Good—last time at Mingxin Prefecture, this Director never settled that score with you!”
“Today, all of you stay here for this Director!”
As soon as the words fell, Lu Xuan’s aura erupted violently, and the entire valley trembled under his presence.
