With half a game of chess, I vanquish all demons!

At the city gate, the second-in-command of Black Wind Stronghold, in a moment of excitement, stood up, overturned the stall in front of him, and looked anxiously at the leader of Black Wind Stronghold at the fruit stall across the street.

"Damn, why did he retreat..."

"Brother, what should we do? Chase after her?"

"Don't chase after them. There's a county constable on the city wall. We absolutely can't let him find a reason to attack us... Oh dear, what's wrong with you? Did a ghost touch you or something? Hurry up and set the dishes out, don't waste them."

The leader of Black Wind Stronghold glanced at Zhao Yao, who was leaving, with a resentful look on his face. He whispered something to the second leader, then changed his tone and shouted twice in an exaggerated and disgusted manner. He then walked out from behind the fruit stall and went forward to help pick up the vegetables that had been knocked over from the second leader's stall.

Not far away, although Zhao Yao was determined to enter the city, his actions were exactly the opposite. He turned around and left the city gate with Zhou Pengju.

The two of them spent some time circling around Wangzhou City. Seeing that the other city gates were all closed due to the arrival of the dignitaries, they returned to the city gate guarded by the county magistrate.

They went as a pair, but returned as Zhou Pengju alone.

Zhou Pengju changed into the clothes of a yamen runner, with an ordinary-looking water bottle hanging at his waist. Dressed lightly, his face was ashen, and his steps were unsteady as he walked toward the city gate.

"Brother, wasn't this guy with that Zhao Yao just now?"

The second-in-command of Black Wind Stronghold kept a close eye on Zhou Pengju, who was getting closer and closer.

"Hmm, it seems so."

The leader of Black Wind Stronghold also looked at Zhou Pengju and nodded in affirmation.

"Should we take action?"

The second-in-command became anxious again.

"Um……"

The leader hesitated and slowly shook his head.

Their ultimate target was Zhao Yao, not this unfamiliar yamen runner.

"Don't do it! Don't do it!"

Under the watchful eyes and discussions of the two leaders of Black Wind Stronghold at the city gate, Zhou Pengju roared inwardly, his body drenched in sweat, each step leaving a wet footprint, trembling as he kept moving forward.

Feeling as if each day was an eternity, he gradually became dazed. When he regained his composure, he was already standing inside the city gate.

"I...I got in? Haha~ I got in successfully?"

Zhou Pengju was overjoyed, felt a wave of relief wash over him, his heart pounded wildly, and his body went limp, almost collapsing to the ground.

It took him a long time to calm his heartbeat.

He grabbed the water bottle from his waist and ran quickly into a house.

……

In the desolate lower realm, Zhao Yao temporarily sought refuge in Wangzhou City.

This time, he didn't make a big splash; instead, he disappeared without a trace and hid in the shadows.

The original statue in the square of the Shanyang tribe has been covered by a stone house for careful protection.

Zhao Yao came and took a look, but did not go in.

He hid in the shadows and remotely drew upon the divine power accumulated and stored within the statue. With a wisp of that power, he displayed before his eyes the significant changes the Shanyang tribe had undergone since he left.

The images played in fast forward before his eyes, and with the aid of divine power, he quickly browsed through the major events of concern to the Shanyang tribe.

As the images faded, Zhao Yao felt a pang of sadness.

Wei Xiaohua, who had been given the Yuanqi Flower by him, died of old age.

Fortunately, during their last meeting, he gave Wei Xiaohua his vital energy, allowing her to die peacefully without suffering.

Meanwhile, Wei Lai, who had a stone shell growing on his body and was healed by his divine power, grew up in the blink of an eye, became the leader of the Shanyang tribe, and even had a child.

That child doesn't seem to have a name yet...

Thinking of this, Zhao Yao had an idea and headed towards Wei Lai's residence.

He saw Wei Lai, now an adult, from afar, and with a flick of his finger, a wisp of divine power surged into Wei Lai's brain, leaving him with a message.

"immortal?"

Sensing the information in his mind, Wei Lai was stunned for a moment, then immediately turned around and looked around. His body suddenly froze. Not far away, the immortal smiled at him, nodded at him, and then disappeared again.

Wei Lai stood there, gazing at the spot, motionless for a long time.

He was thrilled; he had seen a deity once again! He had been saved by a deity in his childhood, but he didn't understand what that meant. It was only after he grew up that this emotion slowly fermented and grew stronger.

Now that he can see the immortals again, Wei Lai feels not only gratitude, but also a devout faith.

Far from the Shanyang tribe, Zhao Yao revealed himself.

He went to see Wei Lai just now, and did nothing else but casually give Wei Lai's son a name, Wei Ji, as a way of remembering the deceased.

The reason we are here now is because of the strange cultivation method offered by Black Light and the two people with pupils that Zhao Yi captured.

With a thought, Zhao Yao sent two tiny figures, each encased in a jade block, away from the shattered jade chessboard and Zhao Yi's waist. They emerged as light and hovered before him.

He raised his hand again, and the handkerchief and book that Hei Guang had offered floated to the side.

He used his divine power to examine the information on the book and the handkerchief in detail, and as he looked at them, his expression became strange.

The handkerchief contained the method of cultivating extraordinary arts, which he already knew and, with the help of divine power, had memorized thoroughly.

And the short story of "The Person in the Pupil" on the book page...

Zhao Yao's expression was strange. The story written on it was actually the one called "The Man in the Pupil" from "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio".

It turns out that the person in the pupil captured by the Blacklight Ancestor is the same person as the person in the pupil mentioned in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio!

Is this story based on a real person? Or is the story itself true?

Zhao Yao had no idea.

He compared the training methods of the two arts, "Thunder and Fire Witness" and "Pupil Man," with the short story of the Pupil Man and found that the two were indeed closely related.

The "Pupil-like Person" in the Liaozhai stories can be seen as a personified spirit embodying the concept of the eye.

If the person in the pupil of the left eye moves to the right eye, the left eye will go blind, and the right eye will have greatly improved vision!

It was by leveraging this phenomenon to enhance eyesight that the Blacklight Ancestor was able to deduce the two extraordinary techniques, "Thunder and Fire Witness" and "Person in the Pupil"!

"Well then, now it's my turn to go through this process."

Zhao Yao muttered to himself, and with a thought, his divine power surged forward, grabbing the two figures in his pupils, shrinking them continuously, and crashing them straight into his eyes.

hum~

As the jade block binding the people in his eyes exploded in a burst of light, with the aid of divine power, the two people in his eyes smoothly and effortlessly merged into his eyes without any resistance.

He used his divine power to conjure a round mirror, and looking at his own faintly visible pupils within it, he once again marveled at how effective divine power truly was.

Now, the two small pupils derived from the Black Light bloodline have merged with his own eyes, which can be considered as having the qualification to cultivate the Black Light Ancestral Legendary Technique.

He turned his head and looked around, his eyes bright. He took in the desolation and vastness of the world below the barren rocks, his vision both extremely far and extremely clear.

At this moment, the scenario described in the Liaozhai stories was being reenacted in his life.

……

Zhou Pengju borrowed a basin from this family, filled it with water, hid inside the house, and poured all the flying water from the kettle into it. After waiting for a while, he saw Zhao Yao climb out of the basin, which seemed to lead to an abyss.

He climbed out of the basin, his body bursting with a jade-white radiance. He blew off the water, twitched his nose slightly, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Zhou Pengju, saying:

"Why are you covered in sweat, Brother Zhou?"

"Next time, no, there will absolutely be no next time!"

I'll never do this kind of work again! It scared me to death!

Zhou Pengju clutched his heart, closed his eyes, and took deep breaths, still deeply shaken.

Seeing his appearance and remembering his tendency to run away at the slightest sign of trouble, Zhao Yao knew he had truly been put in a difficult position. His expression turned solemn, and he said gratefully:

"I am Zhao Yao, and I thank Brother Zhou for his great help."

"Brother Zhou, don't worry, it was my oversight. There will absolutely not be a next time."

Zhou Pengju closed his eyes and waved his hand weakly, utterly exhausted.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Yao said understandingly:

"Brother Zhou, please rest here for a while before returning to the county office."

Just then, I also had some things to take care of... Brother Zhou, I'm tired, no need to get up, I'll go now.

After he finished speaking, he quickly left the house.

Zhou Pengju remained in the room, clutching the silver notes left by Zhao Yao in his hand, shaking his head with a sense of satisfaction.

This guy...

……

On the streets of Wangzhou City.

Zhao Yao's eyes were bright, his goal clear, and he strode quickly toward the Su family's location.