Water elemental became a god, ultimately becoming the master of heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers

Chapter 158 Diverting Conflicts
There's something beneath the mortuary.

Chen Shunan moved swiftly, searching the back hall before discovering that beneath the stone embankment where Nie Zheng's body lay, there seemed to be a hidden world, some kind of mechanism leading directly underground.

Thoughts are like tides, capturing energy and feeling it.

A faint, bloody, and malevolent aura emanated from the air, as if countless ghosts were wailing and numerous evil spirits were shrieking.

A faint stinging pain appeared between his eyebrows. As if stimulated, the primordial Qi in his Niwan acupoint was instinctively activated, flowing through his soul chamber, making Chen Shun'an's entire forehead feel tense.

He sensed a faint sense of crisis.

Chen Shunan's expression immediately turned serious.

It's too risky for him to single-handedly wipe out this den of demons and kill Zhao Guanghui; he probably only has an 80-90% chance of success.

"Find some help! This isn't something I can do alone. I can't be the only one to charge into battle as an unsung hero. We all need to work together!"

"And perhaps someone would be willing to be the hero."

Thinking of this, Chen Shunan's eyes flickered, as if he had thought of something, and in the next instant, his figure disappeared from the spot.

……

"That's... a mortuary?"

Down the hillside, Li Yaozu crouched in the grass and saw Chen Shunan disappear into a fairly spacious building.

After waiting for a while, Chen Shunan did not reappear.

Li Yaozu finally couldn't hold back any longer. With a sudden movement, he moved close to the ground and quickly and silently slipped into the mortuary.

The mortuary didn't smell pleasant; it had a faint odor of rotting corpses.

Inside the main hall were more than a dozen unidentified corpses, their faces covered with straw mats, creating a chilling and eerie atmosphere.

But Li Yaozu remained calm and showed no signs of distress. He quickly arrived at the roof of the back hall, lay prone, and peered into the house through the gaps in the tiles.

The body retrievers, who had lit lamps and offered incense, arranged the coffin properly but did not linger. They closed the windows, locked the doors, and returned to the front hall.

"What's in that coffin? Why are these corpse retrievers being so cautious?"

The mortuary wasn't large, but Li Yaozu couldn't find Chen Shunan anywhere.

After the body retriever left, Li Yaozu appeared in the back room.

After searching for a while, he also vaguely discovered that the area under the stone embankment seemed to be hollow, and that if it was knocked, an echo would be heard.

"Could there be a secret underground passage? Did Chen Shunan go there?"

Li Yaozu's heart stirred, and he carefully moved the coffin lid, then, like a hawk darting into the forest, lay down inside the coffin.

"What is this?"

Li Yaozu then saw a pool of viscous substance inside the coffin, the contents of which were indistinguishable.

There was no strange smell. He even leaned closer to smell it carefully and rubbed it with his hand.

Click!

Suddenly, the wooden plank beneath them vanished!
Without warning, the bottom of the coffin flipped inward. Li Yaozu plummeted downwards, a chilling feeling of weightlessness washing over him.

"not good!"

Being a martial artist, his shock only lasted for a moment.

Li Yaozu exerted force from his waist and abdomen, and his limbs suddenly spread out like a hawk, bracing himself against the narrow and damp tunnel wall.

Fingertips dug into the slippery moss, and the sole of the boot braced against a protruding rock, finally stopping the fall.

He was suspended in mid-air, the breath-holding pills continuing to take effect.

My heartbeat was slow, almost nonexistent, and I didn't even break out in a cold sweat.

"Huh? Didn't they say they recovered Nie Zheng's body? What is this?"

"It's so soft and limp that it doesn't look like a corpse or flesh. Could there be a mistake?"

"Hmph! These corpse retrievers, are they trying to scam us? They must have a death wish!"

Faint sounds of voices came from below.

Mustering his courage, Li Yaozu descended more than ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) and looked down.

With just one glance, he couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle and his soul almost fly away.

Below was a huge underground cave.

The piles of white bones were piled up like mountains, and the jagged skeletons were intertwined like a forest. It was truly a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. The stench was indeed unbearable. There were also many figures with gloomy expressions moving among the blood pools, occasionally pulling out corpses from them.

"What evil forces! So Chen Shunan was actually doing this kind of thing behind the scenes?"

Upon seeing this, Li Yaozu was both shocked and furious.

"We must leave immediately!"

He suppressed his fear and used both his hands and feet to climb up silently.

But just as he turned his head—

They almost touched nose to nose.

A small face with indistinct features, only a human outline, was quietly floating in front of him.

The tiny figure was no more than an inch long, with a withered body, emitting a faint gray light, and its pupil-less eye sockets stared straight at him.

More than one.

In the shadows surrounding the passageway, countless tiny human figures had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

They silently surrounded him, their blurry faces all turning toward him.

Inside the Blood Pool Palace, Zhao Guanghui suddenly looked up at Li Yaozu and gave a cold smile.

"A little mouse crawled in."

……

"Poor kid, of all people to follow, he had to follow Chen. Now he's really messed things up."

Outside the mortuary, atop a towering ancient tree, Chen Shunan took a deep look at Li Yaozu, who had left without returning and from which no further movement was heard, before drifting away.

Back at the government office, I pushed open the door, went inside, and quickly packed my luggage.

Chen Shunan stayed at Sanchakou for a few days, and he didn't have much with him, only seven or eight beige pearls, one green pearl, a few bottles of pills, and some clothes.

A moment later, Chen Shunan carried his bundle and strode toward Wuqing County.

He had planned to return to the county tomorrow, but with this incident tonight, time was of the essence, and he did not want to delay. He planned to return to the county overnight to report the matter to Zhao Guangxi.

The practice of turning corpses into spirits is an act of evil and heretical sects, and everyone has the right to punish it. This is a major event that disgraces the reputation of Shuiwozi and will bring disaster to Wuqing County!
Chen Shunan naturally wanted to escalate the conflict and shift it to Shuiwozi, Wuqing Sticky Rod Office, and the government!
Moreover, Li Yaozu's audacity in venturing into the underground cave likely means he's in grave danger.

That means the Wuguan Camp can also be dragged into this.

After all, the Wuguan Battalion guards the capital, and its soldiers are all brave and skilled in battle. In particular, there is Captain Liu, who holds military power, trains soldiers and armor, and has unfathomable strength. Even Lu Jing is wary of him.

With these people acting as shields, why would Chen Shunan need to personally put himself in danger?

"Unfortunately, Zhao Guanghui is utterly wicked, and even the magnanimous Mr. Chen couldn't tolerate him anymore. He probably won't have many more opportunities to take out loans in the future..."

Chen Shunan also said that he would take out three months' worth of small loans until they were overdue, which would completely escalate the conflict between the two parties, and then he would get rid of Zhao Guanghui, the creditor.

As it turned out, things didn't go as planned, and Zhao Guanghui was determined to die.

Back in Wuqing County, the rooster crowed three times.

When Chen Shunan arrived at the Zhao residence, it was quiet and deserted outside, with only two lanterns swaying in the night breeze.

The gatekeeper, who was dozing on the kang (a heated brick bed) in his room, was hearing a noise when he quickly grabbed his broadsword and lantern.

"...Is it Manager Chen?"

The orange light shone on Chen Shunan's face, and the doorman recognized him.

Noticing Chen Shunan's solemn and cold face, the doorman dared not hesitate and quickly pushed open the side door to report.

After a while.

In the study.

Zhao Guangxi put on his clothes, draped a fur coat over his shoulders, and lay lazily on the couch.

There was also a maidservant who had just gotten up, looking fresh and lovely, who brewed tea for the two of them.

"Something happened, Lao Chen? Why did you wake me up in such a hurry?"

The new official takes office and slaps his own elder brother in the face.

Zhao Guangxi was excited all night long, and only when dawn broke did he take a short nap while holding the two maids who were warming his bed.

He looked somewhat tired at the moment. After having his maid serve him a pipe, he gestured for the maid to leave.

Looking at the broken tea leaves floating in the teacup, Chen Shunan wondered why Zhao Dongjia seemed to be living a somewhat frugal life.
Even when his family had fallen on hard times and was just beginning to show signs of prosperity, Old Master Li was already rinsing his mouth with sparrow tongue and brewing tea with sweet spring water.

Why is the boss drinking the same high-calorie drinks as me?
Zhao Guangxi glanced at Chen Shunan, who had a look of dissatisfaction on his face, but remained calm and said nothing.

He certainly has good tea.

But they were all used to entertain outsiders.

Old Chen is one of us, so we won't be extravagant.

The province is the province, the flowers are the flowers.

Chen Shunan said in a deep voice: "Master, Zhao Guanghui steals corpses, refines them into spirits, and colludes with the Sancha Corpse Retrieval Team. There is probably a den of demons hidden beneath the Tutanzi Mortuary!"

"what?!"

Zhao Guangxi suddenly stood up, dropping his pipe to the ground.

His mouth dropped open, his face filled with disbelief.

Now, he was no longer sleepy, he stopped smoking, and he no longer needed the maid to warm his room. He paced around the study several times, his expression shifting between light and dark.

"Old Chen, are you sure? Do you have any evidence?"

Zhao Guangxi couldn't help but press for an answer.

Although he trusted Chen Shunan implicitly, this matter was of great importance, and any move it made would have far-reaching consequences, so Zhao Guangxi dared not be careless.

However, he did not ask Chen Shunan how he knew about this matter, or how he managed to escape unscathed from that so-called 'Dingjia Warrior'.

Who among them hasn't had some extraordinary adventure or hidden advantage to reach their current status?
Zhao Guangxi also had his own opportunities, so why would he care about Chen Shunan's little secrets?
"I saw it with my own eyes, as for evidence..."

Chen Shunan said in a deep voice, "I didn't. However, Li Yaozu, a soldier from Wuguan Camp, was probably also harmed."

Chen Shunan briefly recounted the matter, omitting the beginning and end.

Chen Shunan indeed had no evidence.

That Dingjia warrior had no physical form; he not only came and went without a trace, but also turned into wisps of green smoke upon death.

Chen Shunan even speculated that once Zhao Guanghui realized that a certain Dingjia warrior had fallen into the hands of others, he could directly eliminate the corresponding Dingjia warrior and immediately cut it up.

But this is a holy dynasty where power is absolute and one's own strength surpasses even the heavens...

I suspect you, I saw it, and that's enough!

This is better than any evidence!
"Li Yaozu?"

With Chen Shunan's explanation, Zhao Guangxi quickly understood the key to this person's identity.

Although he was just a young soldier, he not only came from the Liangjiang Military Academy, but was also trained by Lu Jing.

Now he is highly regarded by Liu, the battalion commander of the Wuguan Battalion.

Chen Shunan wanted to find a scapegoat, while Zhao Guangxi also wanted to minimize his own losses as much as possible.

The Wuguan Camp is an excellent helper!
After all, the method of refining corpses into spirits, barring any unforeseen circumstances, would likely involve some kind of immortal destiny!
Any treasure related to immortality possesses various mysterious and extraordinary abilities, enough to make Zhao Guangxi take it very seriously.

Does anyone else know about this?

"No, it wasn't just the two of us."

"Well!"

Zhao Guangxi said in a deep voice, "Don't concern yourself with this matter, and don't reveal anything about it. Just pretend nothing happened..."

A moment later, Chen Shunan took the new transfer order, the map of Wohu Well, and the shopkeeper's red seal, and left the Zhao residence.

Zhao Guanghui is finished.

Looking at the first light of dawn on the horizon, Chen Shunan sighed inwardly.

The only unknown factor is what kind of immortal destiny he possesses, and what wonderful uses it may have.

This is what Zhao Guangxi and Chen Shunan fear most.

However, no matter what, Zhao Guanghui can no longer cause any trouble.

After all, if his destiny to become an immortal were truly capable of dominating all directions and being invincible, then there would be no need for him to hide and secretly refine corpses in a remote place outside the county.

"I need to hurry up and borrow money, or I'll miss my chance. Now that I'm the manager, my business value has increased, so my 'credit score' with Guanghui Money Shop should be higher, and I should be able to get some more money out of me."

Chen Shunan thought to himself and quickened his pace.

(End of this chapter)