The divine manifestations began at the Gongwei Division.

Da da da.

Heavy footsteps echoed at the foot of the mountain.

One after another, the cavalry units walked out of the Taishan Mountains dejectedly.

Qin Kuo's face bore several unhealed wounds, making his expression somewhat ferocious.

When a captain came up to him, he kicked him to the ground.

The captain got up, not daring to resist, but his face was full of grievance.

"If this were on the front lines, I'd kill you right now!"

Qin Kuo angrily said, "Is this the information you gathered?"

Four demon-slaying captains, one seventh-rank celestial official, two eighth-rank martial artists, and one ninth-rank divine official.

I'm telling you, at least two of them are sixth-rank officials!

The captain's face instantly turned deathly pale.

"That's not right..."

He muttered to himself.

This news was sent back by spies in the capital, how could it be wrong?

Moreover, how could a sixth-rank cultivator still be a demon-slaying captain?

Shouldn't it be the pacification commissioner?

It's impossible for the Imperial Guard to send four garrison commanders to Qizhou.

"General Qin, are you telling the truth?"

A sixth-rank cultivator—that's at the level of a Garrison Commander. Could it be that the imperial court already knows about our affairs?

A middle-aged man dressed as a civil official asked nervously.

Do you think I'm joking?

Qin Kuo snorted coldly, "I don't have the ability to capture two Imperial Guards Commanders on Mount Tai."

"You can explain this to the Prince yourselves. I'll take my leave."

The incident on Mount Tai was caused by these civil officials, and Qin Kuo never liked dealing with those demons.

Now that such a huge mess has occurred, he's forced to clean up these guys' messes.

These guys originally wanted to keep it a secret from the prince, and they paid a considerable price to get him to take action.

This matter can no longer be kept secret.

To subdue the two sixth-rank cultivators from the Guardian Division, a fifth-rank cultivator or more than five sixth-rank cultivators would be needed.

To mobilize this power, the King of Qi must give his approval.

Anyway, this was already beyond Qin Kuo's capabilities.

The civil officials looked grim, and they huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.

"Even if the imperial court suspects Qizhou, they have no evidence. We absolutely cannot let these four guards escape back."

"It was a civil official who said in a deep voice."

"But on Mount Tai, the army is restricted, so how easy is it to kill a sixth-grade cultivator? If we need to ask a fifth-grade cultivator to take action, this matter can no longer be kept secret."

If the Prince finds out that the Imperial Guard discovered what happened on Mount Tai, he will definitely blame us for our incompetence.

Another civil service route.

"We can't persuade a fifth-grade cultivator, so what about a fifth-grade demon?"

A civil official said with a gloomy face, "Don't forget, that person sent a fifth-rank demon to support the prince."

That fifth-rank demon is on Mount Tai. It's a mortal enemy of the Imperial Guard. If it makes a move, how can those people in the Imperial Guard not die?

"Oh yeah, how could we forget about it!"

The civil officials all said, "In that case, let's choose one of us to ask it to take action!"

…………

On a branch of Mount Tai.

Zhou Heng was enjoying this rare moment.

These past few days, he's been chased around like a rabbit, never having a moment's rest.

A heavy rain finally helped him weather the five-day crisis.

Using magic to summon rain in the midst of a storm had a much better effect than Zhou Heng had expected.

Not only were the cavalrymen frightened away, but the monsters were also scared away.

The danger countdown was immediately reset to zero.

This is also because his cultivation level as a celestial official reached the sixth rank, which greatly increased the power of his celestial rain-summoning technique.

With this kind of massively destructive immortal technique, as long as Zhou Heng's immortal energy is not exhausted, he will be virtually invincible.

[With your extraordinary wisdom and power, you weathered an unprecedented crisis and have been rewarded with: the Ancient Sacred Body.]

A line of tiny, mosquito-like characters flashed before Zhou Heng's eyes.

The small characters transformed into a beam of white light and shot into Zhou Heng's brow.

In an instant, a surge of heat gushed from deep within Zhou Heng's body.

The heat instantly flowed throughout his body, nourishing every cell.

He felt his body undergoing an unimaginable transformation at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This change is fundamental, more thorough than a complete transformation.

His entire body was cleansed by that heat.

His cultivation level remained unchanged, nor did it improve.

But he felt that his physical body must be completely different from before.

Ding-dong!

Zhou Heng drew his Dragon Sparrow Blade and slashed at his arm with seventy percent of his strength.

With a clang of metal on metal, the Dragon Sparrow Blade was deflected, but his arm remained unharmed.

His cultivation level hadn't improved, but his physical strength was many times greater than before.

His previously cultivated Xuanhu Overlord Body would definitely not be able to withstand the sharpness of the Dragon Sparrow Blade.

"Ancient Sacred Body, invincible in physical form..."

Zhou Heng's face lit up with surprise.

This is a special physique; once cultivated, it makes one far stronger than martial artists of the same level.

Even though they are both sixth-rank martial artists, he could stand still and no ordinary sixth-rank martial artist could harm him in the slightest.

Even a fifth-rank martial artist probably couldn't break through his physical defenses now.

Moreover, when he cultivates body-tempering martial arts in the future, he will definitely achieve twice the result with half the effort.

"The stronger the body, the better."

Zhou Heng was very satisfied with the reward.

This fundamentally changed my physical condition and raised my future potential by an unknown amount.

It was worth risking my life to stay on Mount Tai for so long.

worth!

"It has been five days since I parted ways with Xue Zhiwei and the others. They should have already escaped Qizhou."

Zhou Heng sheathed his sword, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"There's no need for me to take any more risks here."

It's time to get out of here.

"The rebellion of Prince Qi, Zhao Yuanji, is not something I can handle alone. I have completed my task; the rest is up to the imperial army to quell the rebellion."

The general trend of the world cannot be changed by the power of one person, and Zhou Heng is very clear about what his mission is.

It would be absolutely impossible for King Qi Zhao Yuanji not to have any cultivators of the fifth or sixth rank under his command.

He might even have fourth-rank cultivators under his command.

That's definitely not something Zhou Heng can handle.

Even without high-level cultivators, encountering an elite army would be very dangerous.

He was able to engage those heavy cavalry earlier because he had the advantage of terrain.

If he encountered a troop of heavy cavalry in an open area, even with his current strength, he would still be doomed.

"If only I could assassinate Prince Qi, Zhao Yuanji..."

The thought flashed through Zhou Heng's mind, and he immediately shook his head in self-doubt.

Prince Qi, Zhao Yuanji, was no minor official like Chen Yongcheng, the Prefect of Mount Tai. If he dared to approach the Prince Qi's residence, he would likely face immediate and merciless retaliation.

"Being in the Guardian Division, there will be plenty of opportunities to slay demons and monsters in the future. This time the gains have already been considerable. If we continue to stay here, we might really attract a great demon."

Zhou Heng stood up, determined his direction, and prepared to flee Mount Tai.

…………

Just as Zhou Heng was traveling along the Taishan mountain range.

On a branch of Mount Tai, a demon that had almost transformed into human form left its cave.