Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

Inside the council hall of Pingyuan County Government, chaos reigned.

Seeing the panicked state of his subordinates, the current magistrate Xu Huan couldn't help but speak up:

"Why the panic?"

Several officials who were preparing to pack their things and sneak out of the city gate paused and looked at the county magistrate in the main seat.

"Lord Xu, are you unaware of what happened in Changning County?"

The celestial being on the wanted poster went on a killing spree as soon as he arrived at the county government. We'd better save our lives first!

The group nodded in agreement and continued tidying up their respective desks.

"Didn't I already say there's no need for such panic?"

Upon hearing this, the officials completely stopped what they were doing and stared at Xu Huan with curiosity.

"What insightful opinion does Lord Xu have?"

All they knew was that the dynasty had issued an arrest warrant early this morning, stating that if the local county government discovered this immortal, it should immediately report it and wait for reinforcements.

However, the capital city is at least several thousand miles away from Pingyuan County. Although there are communication devices distributed, by the time that immortal venerable arrives at the county government, it will be too late.

Xu Huan remained calm and composed throughout, even sitting back down at his desk, taking a sip of his tea before speaking:

"Do you all think that if you flee now, you can escape from the clutches of that unpredictable and elusive immortal?"

Everyone shook their heads. "It seems impossible..."

"That's settled then. Since we can't escape and can't wait for reinforcements from the capital, we might as well surrender."

As soon as Xu Huan finished speaking, the expressions of the officials below looked as if they had eaten something bad.

They thought that Lord Xianling would have a way to break the deadlock, but instead they just made us open the city gates and surrender.

"Lord Xu, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

If the dynasty and the ancestral hall find out, and Pingyuan County is returned to the throne, we fear we will all lose our heads!

One of the officials was worried. Although he knew that the nearby Changning County was controlled by that immortal, what could one county prove?

Under this vast land, there are hundreds and thousands of counties. How could a suddenly appearing immortal be comparable to the current dynasty and the ancient ancestral temples of immortals?

Once this period of chaos is over, the dynasty and the ancestral hall will once again be in power.

Therefore, if they were to submit to the so-called Immortal Venerable, they would be among the first to have their heads chopped off and displayed on the city gates as a form of protest.

But Xu Huan didn't think so; on the contrary, he felt that this was the inevitable trend.

"I have been friends with the new magistrate of Changning County for many years."

He wrote to me just yesterday; how could you possibly know how exaggerated the divine power of this celestial being can be?

He took a letter from the table and passed it around to everyone to see.

It mainly states that—

Suddenly, a religious ceremony was held at the Wangdu Ancestral Hall in Shuitian Village, and an army invaded, but both were easily quelled by the immortals...

Moreover, having personally experienced the legendary immortal techniques, I can attest that the rumors are false; the Immortal Venerable truly blesses mortals.

If you arrive at my brother's place, you will certainly not be able to resist me. Please remember this!

After reading the letter, each person had a different expression on their face; some were still not quite convinced.

"Could it be that the magistrate of Changning County has been bewitched by some kind of magic? He's here to lure us in, following the instructions of that immortal deity."

"Yes, Lord Xu, let's run first. Those two have already entered the city; it's better than staying here!"

Xu Huan sat in the main seat, looking at the ignorant officials under his command, his face showing some sorrow.

"Fine, fine, go if you want. I'm alone..."

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of armor clashing came from outside the hall.

Everyone looked on in alarm, only to see several county guards flying backward and crashing heavily onto the stone slabs inside the hall.

A handsome young man dressed in a Taoist robe was followed by a child of about ten years old who looked wary.

Ye Xuan's gaze swept over everyone in the hall, finally landing on Xu Huan, who was seated at the head of the table.

"For a short-lived species, you're quite sensible."

Upon seeing this, the officials in the hall turned pale. The men who had just said they wanted to escape now had their legs go weak and could barely stand.

Xu Huan took a deep breath, stood up, stepped down from the main seat, and bowed to Ye Xuan:

"Xu Huan, the magistrate of Pingyuan County, respectfully welcomes the venerable immortal."

Ye Xuan nodded slightly. "I have heard what you just said."

He walked straight to the head seat, sat down calmly, lightly tapping the armrest with his fingertips, his voice neither loud nor soft.

"Whether you submit or not is your own choice, but those who leave today will be protected by the Immortal Willow in the future."

The officials looked at each other, and one of them mustered his courage and said in a trembling voice:

"My lord, we are merely ordinary officials with no cultivation. Could you spare our lives?"

Ye Xuan did not answer, but turned his gaze to the pragmatic Xu Huan.

Xu Huan understood immediately and said in a deep voice:

"Fellow colleagues, you are already aware of the events in Changning County. The celestial being descended to earth with the intention of bringing blessings to all living beings."

Now that you, sir, have arrived, we must no longer yearn for the capital; we should abandon our allegiance to the light as soon as possible.

No one dared to discuss what Xu Huan said, but each had their own understanding. One of them still thought, how could the young man in front of them be a true immortal from the world of immortality?

He seemed to have already imagined that if he surrendered today, his head would be hung on the city gate to demonstrate the king's power.

He immediately cursed Xu Huan, who was standing nearby: "A traitor is not someone to be associated with!"

He got up and was about to leave, but was blocked at the door by a barrier made of spiritual energy.

"Isn't it all up to us to make our own choices?"

Although the official said this, he himself, who had no cultivation, was already filled with immense fear.

Ye Xuan then explained, "Yes, it's up to you to choose."

"But you're not affecting others. Just because you're unwilling doesn't mean everyone else is unwilling."

After saying this, the official saw with his own eyes that the originally clear sky outside the county government building suddenly became covered with dark clouds.

A thunderclap boomed, striking him squarely from the sky and causing him to gradually lose his breath...

Seeing this, Xu Huan was secretly relieved that he was sensible and knew how to judge the situation, otherwise he would have ended up like this!

These officials have now come to a clear understanding of the current situation.

"We are willing to submit to the Immortal Venerable!"

……

Ye Xuan's expression remained unchanged, and he only asked Xu Huan:

Where are the ancestral halls within the city?

Xu Huan hurriedly replied, "It's in the west of the city, three streets away from the county government."

"lead the way."

After dealing with the people in the county government, the next step was naturally the shrine of the immortals.

The ancestral hall in Pingyuan County was similar in size to that in Changning County. When Ye Xuan led Chen Qinghe and Xu Huan into the ancestral hall, two priests on duty were praying devoutly to the stone statue of the immortals.

They knew what had happened in the city, and naturally they also knew about Changning County, whereupon the ancestral hall was demolished and the whereabouts of the religious ceremony became unknown.

Upon seeing the county magistrate and his men barge in, one of the ritual priests frowned and said:

"Magistrate Xu, this is an important ancestral hall. Even the county government is not allowed to trespass here without permission."

Xu Huan didn't waste any words with him. He immediately ordered his guards to seize the two ritual practitioners and hand them over to the Immortal Venerable for judgment.

Ye Xuan was quite satisfied with this. It was good to have someone who knew what was important. He didn't have to do everything himself, which made things much easier.

By the morning of the following day, apart from the local county government and ancestral hall, no force in the city could resist, and the Xianjia Ancestral Hall in Pingyuan County had changed hands.

The original ruins of the immortal stone statues were cleared away and replaced by a young stone statue that bore a striking resemblance to Ye Xuan.

"Heavenly Dao Immortal Venerable"

In the square in front of the temple, Xu Huan personally preached the method of the Immortal Willow to the gathered people.

Perhaps because of the wanted notice, people here are more easily swayed by fear and are more accepting of the situation than those in Changning County.

Chen Qinghe whispered from the side, "Sir, how much longer are we going to have to stay here?"

I'll leave tomorrow.

Ye Xuan continued to look eastward; the next city was Jiangning County.