In the Provincial Governor's camp, there was a moment of silence, followed by a sudden uproar. Around Governor Zhao Tianbao, various voices erupted, and then officials from the Administration, Investigation, and Military Command offices shouted angrily, rushing out of the camp to chase after Chen Shi.
Soon, notable figures from New Township Province, looking as if they had lost a loved one, cursed and cried while counting the Imperial Guards, leaving the camp to capture the rebel.
The Lords of the Heavenly Blessings Manor, Earthly Principles Manor, and Yellow Court Manor were the fastest to react.
The Zhao family, especially Zhao Yanlong, the Lord of Dark Jade Manor, had been attacked while in a porcelain-like state, his primordial spirit blown up, and his body killed. Seeing this, they were filled with hatred and rushed out to avenge Zhao Yanlong.
Governor Zhao Tianbao's face was grim as he took a step, and in that step, he seemed to rise into the air, walking on clouds effortlessly.
His presence spread out completely, and everything within a few miles felt as if it was being suppressed by a Mountain-Moving Talisman, like carrying a golden mountain.
Behind him, his primordial spirit appeared, towering over ten meters tall, majestic and imposing.
The spirit's face was angry, resembling a wrathful deity, terrifying and full of pressure.
Those Imperial Guards who had rushed out to earn merit were instantly suppressed by his aura, unable to move.
The knights and soldiers from other manors stopped their horses, unwilling to move forward, only the officials could withstand Governor Zhao Tianbao's pressure.
However, they were just making a statement; with Governor Zhao Tianbao showing his determination to personally execute the murderer, they deliberately fell back a step.
The experts from the Heavenly Blessings, Earthly Principles, and Yellow Court Manors did not stop, continuing to run forward at high speed, quickly closing the distance with Chen Shi.
Even though Chen Shi used the Armored Horse Talisman to increase his speed, he couldn't match these Zhao family elites.
From afar, someone launched their golden core, and over twenty golden cores flew along the provincial road, piercing through trees and leaves like countless invisible silver needles, leaving them full of holes, twisting and bending the trunks!
The river beside the road bubbled like a boiling pot, steam rising!
More primordial spirits flew out, causing cracks to appear on the road! This was the destructive power of the golden cores and primordial spirits.
Normally, when golden cores and primordial spirits were balanced, they seemed harmless, but once activated, their power became terrifying.
The Zhao family was furious.
In front of them, someone had killed one of their lords, a family member. Even if the opponent was the Heavenly King, they would seek revenge for Zhao Yanlong, let alone the fact that the opponent was just a young kid!
Their speed was fast, but Governor Zhao Tianbao was faster. With his second step, he was already above Chen Shi.
At that moment, his heart suddenly became incredibly calm, and his previous anger vanished.
Even his fierce killing intent disappeared, leaving him as calm as an enlightened monk.
So calm that there was no emotional fluctuation.
Below, the experts from various manors who were chasing also suddenly found their minds peaceful, free of distractions, and without killing intent, as if they had been chanting scriptures their whole lives, unwilling to even step on an ant, let alone kill someone.
Then, they saw a young man in black with an oiled paper umbrella standing by the roadside.
Governor Zhao Tianbao felt a chill in his heart, wanting to become tense but unable to, wanting to feel fear but the fear was gone.
"Go!"
His rational mind told him he had encountered an unimaginable expert, so he immediately turned around, telling the Zhao family experts, "Return to the Provincial Capital."
The Zhao family experts, like him, had peaceful expressions, put away their golden cores and primordial spirits, and turned back towards the capital.
The other officials who had caught up also stopped, looking at the governor and others with uncertainty.
By the roadside, the young man in black with the oiled paper umbrella smiled, watching Chen Shi race away. Suddenly, an old, strong hand grabbed the umbrella's handle, taking it away.
The man in black, from Mysterious Mountain, looked a bit helpless and said, "Little one, this treasure can't fully suppress your demonic nature. It's fine during the day, but at night, when the moon comes out, you'll be in danger."
Chen Yindu held the umbrella handle, speaking as usual, "Wrong. It's not me who's in danger, but the world."
He walked away, holding the oiled paper umbrella.
"Don't start a massacre."
The man in black from Mysterious Mountain said, "Your state is unstable now, and killing will make you fall faster."
Chen Yindu waved his hand, "I hold an ordinary umbrella, and my heart is at peace."
Governor Zhao Tianbao returned to the government office, and the Zhao family experts returned to their homes, as did everyone else, thinking it was a strange event.
Governor Zhao Tianbao ordered a maid to make tea, and as the tea reached his lips, his Buddha-like calmness suddenly disappeared, replaced by anger and fear. His hand holding the teacup shook, causing it to clink against the saucer, spilling tea on himself.
He put down the teacup, his hand still shaking uncontrollably.
He didn't understand how his mind was influenced. With his level of cultivation, how could he be affected?
Yet he was, setting aside thoughts of revenge and anger, calmly returning home without a single thought of killing or resistance!
He didn't know how to counter this influence, nor how the other person affected him! Such a method was terrifying!
The maid saw the tea spilled on him and quickly knelt to wipe it, but Zhao Tianbao waved her away. Normally, he liked this maid, sometimes deliberately spilling tea on himself to let her wipe it, adding a bit of fun.
He remembered the first time he took this maid's virginity, using this method, deliberately spilling tea to let her wipe it, and then taking action.
The maid was willing, half resisting, half yielding.
But today, he had no such thoughts.
He steadied himself.
"Yanlong's revenge cannot go unavenged!"
After a moment, he calmed his mind and said softly, "If this great revenge is not avenged, my Zhao family cannot stand in New Township Province! To become a noble family, to pass down through the ages, we must kill that boy, wipe out his entire family, and destroy his clan! Only by killing until corpses are everywhere and rivers of blood flow can we intimidate other noble families!"
"So, my grandson must die, right?"
A voice came from outside.
Zhao Tianbao was startled, quickly getting up, only to see an old man in funeral clothes holding a green oiled paper umbrella walking into the study.
The old man was quite tall, his clothes unsettling, his face slightly blue.
Facing Zhao Tianbao, he was completely at ease, entering the governor's study as if it were his own home, without any sense of being an outsider.
"I always worry that after I'm gone, my grandson will have no one to care for him, that he will be bullied.
He's had a hard life, suffered a lot, and I can't let him suffer more.
But I can't kill all his enemies and those with ill intentions, so I deal with them one by one, so I can die in peace."
Chen Yindu held the umbrella with one hand, looking at Zhao Tianbao, "Your family mismanaged, leading the Zhao family to commit evil deeds, harming neighbors, bringing disaster upon your Zhao family.
I've been patient, indulging your Zhao family. When you acted against my grandson before, I just watched, not intervening.
But this time, I must step in.
But rest assured, I won't kill the innocent, only you."
Zhao Tianbao's eye twitched violently, feeling a strong pressure.
"Destroying a noble family is hard; I've tried many times.
But destroying your Zhao family is not hard."
Chen Yindu said, "After you die, your Zhao family will be leaderless, and someone will replace you, punishing your family for causing demonic transformations.
How many of your Zhao family will survive is hard to say."
Zhao Tianbao was horrified and shouted, "Who are you? I have close ties with Elder Yan from the Western Capital..."
"Dead people have no value."
Chen Yindu shook his head, "I'm not unreasonable. I'm here to kill you to eliminate future troubles.
But I don't mind if you resist. If you can kill me, you can live and then kill my grandson.
Do you have any last words?"
Zhao Tianbao knew that the other person wouldn't let go of this grudge, so he said, "Please wait a moment."
He ground ink and wrote his last instructions on paper, then put down the pen and said, "You've come a long way, well-prepared, but I won't sit and wait for death.
Who will win is still unknown! Please!"
He activated his primordial spirit, merging it with his divine fetus!
A dull sound came from the study, the window frames rattled, then everything calmed down.
Chen Yindu walked out of the study, closing the door behind him, and drifted away.
Rain began to fall from the sky, a gentle drizzle.
The old man, with a green umbrella, walked in the rain, gradually disappearing into the distance.
After a long time, the maid came to clean up the tea set and found that Governor Zhao Tianbao was dead, and a piercing scream came from the study.
The Zhao family in New Township Province was in chaos.
The governor's wife received Zhao Tianbao's last letter, which stated that after his death, the Zhao family would be attacked by other noble factions, and the blame for the demonic transformation at Heavenly Yang Mountain would fall on the Zhao family. The letter instructed the recipient to quietly take some young Zhao family members and belongings, leave New Township immediately, and go into hiding to preserve the Zhao family bloodline.
The governor's wife immediately ordered preparations, and the mansion was in chaos.
A great house was about to collapse.
The fall of a noble family often comes suddenly.
But Chen Shi was unaware of this.
He killed Zhao Yanlong and ran all the way, catching up with Li Tianqing, and the two escaped back to Heavenly Yang Mountain, still shaken.
They cautiously headed towards Yellow Slope Village, fearing that powerful figures from the provincial capital would arrive there first to arrest them.
On the way, they saw people walking, not yet fully recovered from the porcelain-like state, but indeed walking!
"Little Shi, there are fish swimming in the water!"
Li Tianqing noticed and shouted.
Chen Shi went to the ditch and indeed saw fish swimming at the bottom, with some jumping out of the water.
Suddenly, a long, resonant roar came from the distant mountains, loud and grand, like the roar of an exotic beast waking up, sounding like a dragon's call in the mountains.
However, Chen Shi had chased this sound before and never found its source.
He was both surprised and delighted.
Life had returned.
Heavenly Yang Mountain had survived this demonic transformation and come back to life!
They returned to Yellow Slope Village, where a group of ducks quacked and waddled out, but the usual duck herder, Granny Yuzhu, wasn't with them, probably not fully recovered from the porcelain-like state.
Chen Shi caught a duck, which laid an egg for him, then waddled its way back to the duck group.
Holding the warm egg, Chen Shi waited a moment before seeing Granny Yuzhu slowly come out, probably worried about the ducks.
Chen Shi hurried into the village, where the villagers were slowly moving, cautiously greeting each other, looking in good spirits.
He quickened his pace to the village center, where the once porcelain-like Divine Tree was now lush and green. A girl sat on the tree, reaching out to him with a bright red fruit in her hand.
Chen Shi hesitated, and the girl smiled, "It used to be poisonous, but not anymore."
Chen Shi took the fruit and bit into it, the sweet taste refreshing his soul.
He returned home to find Li Jindou lying in his grandfather's chair, his legs amputated, wrapped in white cloth to stop the bleeding.
Jin Hongying was helping Granny Sha move her limbs, while Prince Xiao stood by.
All four were seriously injured.
Seeing them come in, Heiguo wagged its tail, greeting them with a smile.
"Where's my grandfather?"
Chen Shi asked.
Just then, his grandfather's voice came from outside, "Little Shi, I'm back."
Chen Shi turned to see his grandfather standing at the door, holding a green umbrella, smiling at him.