Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 224 Arriving at Xiangwu City

That book, "Elementary Nascent Soul Book," was indeed a lucky charm. Most of the items I drew afterward were decent spiritual materials, and I even drew a green-quality weapon and a blue-quality weapon!

The green-quality weapon is called the [Refined Iron Sword]. The hilt is made entirely of pure gold and wrapped with red silk threads. The part of the blade close to the hilt is inlaid with intricate pure gold carvings, while the upper part is made of refined iron, giving it a chilling gleam.

This sword is actually an upgraded version of the Night Talk Sword that was originally given to Chang Ping'an. However, the Night Talk Sword had already been taken by Zhang Chengdao two months ago and reforged. Because of the special sword blank, and because it was forged with Six Jia Yang Fire combined with high-grade crystal and [Immortal Jade], it was much higher quality than this fine iron sword and had already been judged as a purple quality weapon by the Golden Finger Backpack.

However, if this [Refined Iron Sword] were to be tempered with the Six Jia Yang Fire later, it would likely be no less impressive than the Night Talk Sword.

However, since [Immortal Jade] is rare, whether or not to refine it depends on whether it can be used.

Besides the [Refined Iron Sword], another blue-quality weapon is the [Scaled Iron Bow].

The Scaled Iron Bow is a bow made entirely of dark gold, inlaid with various fancy bone ornaments and metal decorations. It is extremely heavy, and Zhang Chengdao cannot even lift it without using spiritual power, let alone draw it. Even if Zhang Chengdao uses spiritual power to draw the bow, it is difficult to control it as he wishes, unless he removes the Iron Sword from his equipment slot and replaces it with the Scaled Iron Bow.

However, he didn't have any particular obsession with bows, nor did he know how to use them very well, so he just played with them a few times for fun before throwing them back into his backpack. On the other hand, he replaced the [Fine Iron Sword] in his equipment slot.

The green-quality [Refined Iron Sword] was indeed much sharper and more spiritual than an ordinary iron sword. Zhang Chengdao could even sense some of the [Refined Iron Sword]'s own emotions—for example, it was currently in a stable state.

What he sensed was even clearer than the most spiritual Taiyue Sword he had ever used before!
If it is nurtured for a longer period of time, it may grow into a blue-quality spirit sword without the need for tempering.

After drawing all the member red envelopes, Zhang Chengdao set off from Baishi Mountain.

As a Golden Core cultivator, and already at the sixth level of the Golden Core stage, Zhang Chengdao's flying speed was much faster than Murong Ruyan's.

So when Zhang Chengdao arrived at the county government office in Xiangwu City, Murong Ruyan had just flown over Taiyue Mountain and was still far from Xiangwu City.

"Sect Master, you've arrived!"

Zhang Chengdao landed directly outside the main hall of the county government from the sky. He Shilie was the first to see his sect leader and immediately went to greet him and bowed.

At this time, besides Heshilie Tudi, there was only one other disciple surnamed Niu in the main hall of the county government.

The disciple was named Niu Man. He was originally brought along by He Shilie to help Ling Shuang clear up the case. Unexpectedly, it was discovered that although this junior brother Niu had mediocre cultivation, he was very good at overall planning and coordination. So He Shilie simply brought him to his side to be in charge of overseeing the logistics of the Left and Right Mighty Armies, in order to prevent the Mighty Armies from developing any disloyalty.

Although the possibility is very low, as the temporary general, Heshilie naturally had to take precautions in advance.

Niu Man was looking through the old account books of Xiangwu County when he heard He Shilie's sudden voice. He immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Sect Master!"

“No need for formalities. I came to deal with the matter because Ruyan mentioned the ‘ghost’ that is suspected to be the ‘King of Qin’. There’s no need to alarm anyone else.” Seeing that Heshilie suddenly looked like he was about to call for help, Zhang Chengdao quickly waved his hand, indicating to his disciples that they didn’t need such formalities. He then encouraged the two of them, saying, “I’ve heard the news these days. You’ve done a good job. Conquering Longxi is not the goal. The goal is to govern it thoroughly and remove the mountain of powerful families and nobles that weighs on the people. It seems that you have indeed understood my meaning. Good, good.”

He Shilie was suddenly flattered by the praise and said modestly, "Sect Master, you flatter me. The disciples were just acting according to your instructions. It's just that we were short-handed, which made it take longer."

Zhang Chengdao nodded slightly, then instructed, "Tudi, arrange for someone to take me to the Qin King Temple and show me the way. This matter is probably too complicated for you to follow. Just stay here at the county government office."

Local government offices are often the most righteous places, naturally able to ward off evil spirits and drive away all kinds of fierce ghosts and demons, making them relatively safe places.

When Murong Ruyan said that she encountered a "ghost" in the county government office, Zhang Chengdao immediately guessed that it was definitely not some kind of vengeful ghost, but probably a ghost immortal or incense god, otherwise it would be impossible for it to enter the county government office.

However, he couldn't say for sure what the specifics were; he would have to investigate it himself.

If they really have something to do with ghosts, immortals, or incense gods, then we incompetent disciples would either be easy prey or a liability if we went there. It would be better for us to just stay here at the county government office and wait to survive.

Heshilie suddenly dared not say anything more, and hurriedly called the clerks working below him, ordering them to lead the way for Zhang Chengdao.

The Qin King Temple is not far away. Although it does not cover a large area, it is one of the most bustling and prosperous places in Xiangwu City.

After crossing the largest arched bridge in the city, you can see the roof of the Qin King Temple, its green tiles shimmering slightly with blue light in the sunlight.

While they were on the other side of the bridge, Zhang Chengdao stood aside and then instructed the junior official who was leading the way: "Go and ask Heshilie to send people over to clear the area. Make sure there is no one within a mile of the Qin King Temple!"

When the clerk saw that the "immortal" looked serious, he was startled. He responded and hurriedly ran back to the county office to report the news.

The reason Zhang Chengdao wanted to clear the area was because he could see the heavy "ghostly aura" surrounding the Qin King Temple just across the bridge!
"Ghostly aura" is different from yin energy and evil energy, which are all very negative to people and cultivators. Although normal people cannot withstand "ghostly aura", it will not actively erode people and cultivators.

Furthermore, if the source of the "ghostly aura" is a being like a ghost immortal, then the "ghostly aura" can be controlled within a certain range.

If a normal person stays in "ghostly energy" for a long time, at most they will be more prone to physical weakness or mental fatigue, but it will not actually have any impact on lifespan or health.

However, the situation changes once a "ghost" deliberately controls "ghostly energy" to corrupt mortals and cultivators.

The destructive power of "ghost energy" is a hundred times greater than that of yin energy and evil energy. If "ghost energy" is unleashed to attack ordinary people, their souls and bodies will be separated due to the "ghost energy" within a quarter of an hour, leading to "sudden death".

Zhang Chengdao certainly couldn't gamble on the attitude of that "Qin King Ghost," so he immediately planned to clear the area before going to meet the "Qin King Ghost."

(End of this chapter)