Fantasy/Heroic: Heaven-Burning Divine Fire, Earthly Sovereign!

"I see. Since he said there are demons in the city, could it be true?"

The governor was swayed by Yuwen Tuo's words but was slightly worried.

"My lord, do not worry. I will go to Chiyang Temple to ask Master Qixuan first thing tomorrow morning."

"The Taoist priest is a highly skilled person, and must be much more powerful than this humble Taoist."

Sun Daoren was quite confident in his judgment and did not believe what Yuwen Tuo said, so he simply brought up Qi Xuan Daoren.

"Alright."

Seeing that he had said this, the governor said no more.

The two exchanged a few words and then went their separate ways.

Yuwen Tuo did not go too far; he practiced cultivation on a mountain outside the city.

Qiongqi was dozing off beside him.

As night deepened, the sky was filled with cold stars.

Qiongqi suddenly let out a howling sound.

Yuwen Tuo opened his eyes and looked over, only to see the beast staring into the city.

His eyes shimmered with a divine light, and he could see faint green lights drifting through the city.

Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be fragments of a soul.

"Come with me."

Yuwen Tuo gave an order, then transformed into a streak of red light and flew across the sky like a shooting star.

Qiongqi spread its wings and followed closely behind, creating a whirlwind.

Yuwen Tuo arrived above the city and grabbed the green light.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that these were fragments of a human soul, as if they had been eaten away by something, leaving only this small remnant.

He used his divine power to sense the traces left on the fragments of his soul. He had completely lost consciousness, leaving only the traces of the intertwining of ice and fire.

It must be someone who has cultivated themselves; kill this person.

"May I ask which fellow Daoist has come here?"

Just as Yuwen Tuo was about to go down and check, a voice rang out.

Immediately afterwards, a person rode a cold flying sword and flew into the sky.

Yuwen Tuo looked closely and recognized him as the same Taoist priest who had been in the governor's mansion during the day.

When the other party came in front of him, Yuwen Tuo bowed.

"It's you!"

When Sun Daoren saw Yuwen Tuo flying in the sky with a strange beast, his eyes widened in astonishment.

"Greetings, fellow Daoist."

Yuwen Tuo didn't ask how the other person recognized him; he simply bowed.

"I never expected you to be such a great cultivator, fellow Daoist!"

When Sun Daoren saw Yuwen Tuo standing in mid-air, with a strange beast following him, his eyes immediately burned with desire.

It is said that those who cultivate themselves to a high level will naturally regain their youth and no longer be bound by physical appearance.

This young Taoist priest, who can tame such a strange beast, must be a great cultivator.

I underestimated him during the day!

"You're too kind, fellow Daoist."

Yuwen Tuo smiled calmly.

"During the day, the governor ordered me to observe from the sidelines. I'm sure you must have noticed, my friend. I'm truly ashamed that I didn't get to see you."

Master Sun behaved very politely, even somewhat humbly.

"Fellow Daoist, you're too kind!"

"It's late at night, I wonder what brings you here, fellow Daoist?"

"I observed that there seemed to be demons causing trouble in this city, killing people and eating their souls, leaving only these remnants of souls to drift away, so I came to investigate."

Yuwen Tuo revealed the fragments of souls he had just collected.

But in Sun Daoren's eyes, they were just specks of green light.

Without sufficient cultivation, one cannot perceive the Dao of Ice and Fire above.

But Sun Daoren thought that Yuwen Tuo's cultivation was profound and he was no ordinary person, so what he said must be true.

"Some people have gone missing in the city these past few days. Is it really the work of demons?"

"Please come with me to pay my respects to the lord and explain things clearly."

Sun Daoren stopped questioning and invited him with clasped hands.

"Alright."

Yuwen Tuo originally wanted to go directly to the northern glacier.

But seeing that Master Sun had invited him, he was prepared to go to the governor's mansion again to find out more.

The two landed at the governor's residence, where the governor was still not resting.

Many people have gone missing, and he is waiting for news, too afraid to go to sleep.

Upon seeing Sun Daoren arrive with Yuwen Tuo and a strange beast, the governor's eyes widened in astonishment.

"This, this is..."

"My lord, please do not be alarmed. This beast is named Qiongqi. It is my pet spirit beast and will not harm anyone."

Yuwen Tuo explained.

Only then did Master Sun realize that this was actually an ancient ferocious beast.

Although he didn't know much, he did know the names of the four ferocious beasts: Chaos, Qiongqi, Taotie, and Taowu.

"This humble official was blind to your greatness and has been disrespectful to you, Daoist Master. Please forgive me."

The governor bowed deeply, displaying great humility.

"I am a person outside the realm of civilization, while you are a court official. There is no need for such formalities."

Yuwen Tuo was not annoyed and took it calmly.

The three arrived at the main hall, where the governor personally served them tea.

Yuwen Tuo didn't stand on ceremony and said a few more words.

The governor recounted in detail the disappearances of the people within the city and also spoke of the actions of the Seven Mysteries Taoist priest outside the city.

Upon learning that there was a Chiyang Temple outside the city, they set a time to dispel the miasma and pray for the people's well-being.

Yuwen Tuo was quite curious.

"Why don't we have Master Sun accompany Master Ying to the outskirts of the city tomorrow and have a good talk with Master Qi Xuan? Maybe we can find out the monster in the city."

The governor was good at reading people's expressions. Seeing that Yuwen Tuo was somewhat interested, he wanted him to have a conversation with Daoist Qixuan.

"Alright."

Yuwen Tuo agreed.

The governor immediately invited him to a side room, and Qiongqi was also settled in.

Early the next morning, Yuwen Tuo and Sun Daoren went to the outskirts of the city together.

Many people have already left the city, and the snow on the roads has long been cleared away.

The people were dressed in very thick clothes, and held incense, candles, and some offerings in their hands.

"These people all went to Chiyang Temple to pray for blessings."

"Master Qixuan is also a highly skilled cultivator. He prays for the people without ever accepting any benefits."

"His Taoist skills are also profound; fellow Taoist, you may exchange ideas with him."

Master Sun spoke highly of Master Qixuan of Chiyang Temple.

Yuwen Tuo nodded, also quite curious about this person.

I suppose this person is also from the local area, and might even know something about the fragments of the soul.

Before long, the people arrived outside Chiyang Temple.

It's not particularly grand, but it has a rustic charm.

The eaves and corners are all red, making it look like a burning fire.

The people stood in the square, not daring to move forward.

At that moment, a bell rang, and eight disciples poured water from a jar using golden basins.

Immediately afterwards, a Taoist priest who was around fifty years old came out.

This person had a bluish complexion, bright eyes, wore a crimson crown, a bright red Taoist robe, and held a red sword.

He seems like a knowledgeable person.

However, his complexion was really not good.

Yuwen Tuo frowned slightly, his eyes flashing with a mixture of yin and yang.

There were many fragments of souls floating above the Taoist temple.

It vanishes without a trace when exposed to sunlight.

"Could it be this person's doing?"

Yuwen Tuo's heart stirred.

But seeing that many people had already knelt down, he couldn't make a move there.

"Fellow Daoist Sun, why don't you take me to the glacier first? The matters here are probably not going to be resolved anytime soon."

"Alright."

Sun Daoren originally wanted to wait until the miasma removal was over so that Yuwen Tuo and Qi Xuan Daoren could get to know each other and have a chat.

But since the other party wanted to go to the glacier, he couldn't very well stop them.

The two headed north together.

Qiongqi, who was placed in the mountains by Yuwentuo, also followed closely behind.