Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

This is clearly a sign of going astray.

After months of seclusion, she diligently cultivated the Creation of Heaven and Earth Technique. Her comprehension was exceptionally high, but unfortunately, it was an incomplete manual, only half of which made her cultivation process full of twists and turns.

Having finally cultivated to the third level and wanting to break through to a higher realm, he was caught in his inner demons.

In the illusion, a series of bizarre experiences unfolded, flashing before Leng Ningshuang's eyes and eroding her will.

Her body trembled violently, and a trickle of blood escaped from the corner of her mouth.

But they gritted their teeth and persevered.

On this day, Li Yuan and his party arrived in Nanfeng.

Nanfeng is a small town in eastern Jiangxi, located at the border of Fujian and Jiangxi. It is a bustling place. The group settled down in an inn in the town. He specially asked for a quiet, sunny room for Zhang Daojing so that the old man could rest well.

After days of traveling, even with thick bedding in the carriage, the Celestial Master had lost all his cultivation and was weaker than an ordinary old man. He was clearly exhausted from the long journey.

The next morning, as Li Yuan was arranging his itinerary, a messenger falcon flew over and landed on his arm.

Li Yuan took a bamboo tube from the falcon's leg and pulled out a scroll of silk, which he then unfolded.

Seeing him remain silent in thought, Wu Yu asked curiously.

"But did the commander send a message?"

"Yes."

It turned out that Lou Junbo had returned to Chang'an and reported the Battle of Xuefeng Mountain to His Majesty. His Majesty was greatly shocked and immediately issued an edict to commend Zhang Tianshi, bestowing upon him the title of Chongxu Zhenren, and granting him a certain amount of gold and silk. He also ordered the Tianshi Mansion of Longhu Mountain to erect a monument to commemorate his merits and to recognize his selfless dedication to protecting the Dao.

Another achievement was Li Yuan's outstanding feat of single-handedly slaying three demon kings. With Lou Junbo's strong recommendation, he was promoted to Deputy Demon Suppression Envoy of the Demon Suppression Division, ranking as a fourth-grade official, and was rewarded with a thousand taels of gold and a hundred pieces of spirit jade.

"What? Brother Li, you've been promoted?"

Wu Yu jumped up with joy and slapped Li Yuan on the shoulder. "Deputy Demon Suppressor? And a fourth-rank one at that! Good lad, your promotion speed is faster than me eating a meal, haha..."

"Congratulations, Lord Li."

Han Kuo cupped his hands in congratulations. When Li Yuan first entered the Demon Suppression Division, he was extremely unconvinced, but now he was completely convinced. He was the youngest person in the Condensation Realm in the Tang Dynasty, and the first person in hundreds of years.

Ji Fanghua stood aside, watching silently, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Alright, let's not make a fuss about this. Our priority is to complete the mission first."

Just as Li Yuan finished putting away the silk scroll, footsteps sounded outside the inn.

"Is the Celestial Master here?"

He pushed open the door and went out, where he saw a group of Taoist priests standing in a row. The leader was a young man in his early twenties with a handsome face, a tall and straight posture, a long sword hanging at his waist, and an air of arrogance between his brows.

Seeing Li Yuan emerge from the inn, he glanced at him before looking back into the inn and announced loudly, "Disciple Xuan Yi, by order of the Celestial Master's Mansion, respectfully welcomes Master back to the mountain!"

"Xuan Yi, what brings you here?"

Ji Fanghua helped Zhang Daojing downstairs, and when she saw him, a kind smile appeared on her face.

Xuan Yi stepped forward quickly and bowed respectfully: "Master sacrificed himself to protect the people and uphold the Dao. We disciples heard about this in the mountains and were filled with admiration."

"The eldest disciple specially ordered his disciples to lead people down the mountain to welcome their master back."

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Yuan and said, "This must be the recently famous Lord Li Yuan, right? Indeed, he is young and promising."

His words sounded like flattery, but his tone was somewhat subtle. Li Yuan had single-handedly killed three demon kings in Xuefeng Mountain, becoming famous overnight and being promoted to deputy demon-suppressing envoy. His fame even overshadowed that of the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Xuan Yi had always been proud of his master. It was clearly the Celestial Master who had sacrificed a thousand years of cultivation, but now an outsider had stolen the limelight, which made him extremely uncomfortable.

Sensing the hostility in his tone, Li Yuan didn't take it to heart, and simply cupped his hands politely: "Daoist Xuan Yi, you flatter me. I was merely doing my duty."

Xuan Yi gave a faint "hmm" and then ignored him, turning to Zhang Daojing and saying, "Master, the carriage is ready. Please get in."

Zhang Daojing glanced at him, then at Li Yuan, and said nothing, only nodding as Xuan Yi helped him into the carriage.

Just as Li Yuan took a step to follow, Xuan Yi turned back and said coldly, "Lord Li, you have taken good care of my master along the way. However, now that we are in the territory of the Celestial Master's Mansion, you will no longer need to trouble yourself."

Wu Yu's expression immediately changed. This Zhang Xuanyi was too rude. Just as he was about to argue, Li Yuan waved his hand to stop him.

"Please proceed, Taoist priest."

Li Yuan responded calmly, secretly shaking his head at Wu Yu.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for the rest of the journey.

Xuan Yi led the disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion ahead, leaving Li Yuan and the others behind.

The Taoist priests under him made sarcastic remarks, whether intentionally or unintentionally, their words full of doubt. He was promoted to deputy demon-suppressing envoy at such a young age, so his background must be quite impressive.

Wu Yu was furious and tried to retort several times, but Li Yuan stopped her each time.

"Never mind," Li Yuan said in a low voice. "We're here to escort Master Zhang back to the mountain, not to pick a fight. For Master Zhang's sake, please bear with it. We'll leave as soon as we get there."

Wu Yu, seething with anger, snorted, turned her head away, and simply lagged far behind, refusing to travel with them.

Inside the carriage, Zhang Daojing saw everything but remained silent, simply closing his eyes to rest.

The group traveled in this lukewarm manner for several days before entering the Jinxi area.

Jinxi is already very close to Yingtan. After crossing the mountain in front, you will be in the territory of Longhu Mountain. Once here, Xuan Yi became even more arrogant, as if he were in his own backyard. His attitude towards Li Yuan and the others became even more haughty.

"Lord Li, we've reached the territory of our Celestial Master's Mansion." Xuan Yi, still on his horse, turned back to Li Yuan and said, "You can stop here. We'll take care of the rest of the journey."

Wu Yu finally couldn't hold back any longer and sneered, "Oh, we haven't even reached Longhu Mountain yet, and you're already trying to kick us out? We've escorted Master Zhang all this way with great difficulty, and you're not even offering us a cup of tea before you're sending us away?"

"Is this how the Celestial Master's Mansion treats its guests?"

Xuan Yi's expression darkened slightly: "Fellow Daoist, please watch your words. I just feel that you have all traveled a long way and should return to the capital to report as soon as possible. I cannot bear the responsibility of delaying the court's official business."

"you……"

"Wu Yu." Li Yuan patted his hand and cupped his hands in greeting to Xuan Yi. "My mission is to escort the True Person back to the sect. If I leave on my own, I'm afraid I'll have a hard time explaining myself when I get back."

"Hmph, whatever!"

Xuan Yi snorted, said nothing more, and spurred his horse forward.

Ji Fanghua seemed thoughtful, then spurred her horse closer to Li Yuan and whispered, "Senior brother, don't you think Master Zhang has been acting strangely these past few days?"

Li Yuan was slightly taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"He clearly saw Xuan Yi ostracizing us, but he didn't say a word," Ji Fanghua said, frowning. "This is really not like him."

Master Zhang has always been kind and polite, and he has been very supportive of younger generations like Li Yuan. How could his disciple be so arrogant and unreasonable? It is indeed quite strange.

"The real person has his reasons for doing this; we just need to focus on doing our own thing." Li Yuan's expression remained calm.

As the carriage entered the mountains, the road became rugged, with dense forests on both sides that blocked out the sun.

A sense of unease welled up in Li Yuan's heart, and he raised his hand to signal the team to stop.

"What's wrong?" Han Kuo asked.