After breaking up with my girlfriend, I became a Great Sage of the Demon Clan.

As soon as the girl finished speaking, she turned her head and fell onto Zhou Yan's shoulder. This time, she stopped breathing completely.

Zhou Yan: "..."

The white snake that was wrapped around Zhou Yan's hand slowly crawled to the back of his hand and breathed on the girl, but the girl did not move.

How can you bring someone who's dead back to life?

Zhou Yan then placed the girl on the ground and controlled the soil to cover her.

The covering had barely been completed when footsteps approached from the foot of the mountain.

Zhou Yan hid behind a tree.

Soon, several burly men wearing faded clothes came up carrying two burlap sacks, and found a patch of land with no color difference to begin digging.

Because the digging didn't need to be deep, a shallow pit was soon dug out. A bald, burly man threw a sack into it, and as soon as he did, he said timidly.

"Grandpa, what exactly are you feeding those girls? We've buried over ten girls in the last two years, haven't we?"

Another burly man with a scar on his face hesitated.

"It seems to be about refining elixirs. Master Xu said that the elixir our master refines is based on a prescription from the capital. Even the current Emperor is refining according to this prescription, and even the nobles in the capital find it extremely difficult to obtain one."

The scarred, burly man tossed the last sack inside, the bald, burly man's voice trembling. (Slippery)

"Xiao Hong, Xiao Qing, don't blame us for your deaths. We were just following Butler Zhang's orders. Every wrong has its perpetrator; every debt has its debtor. Go find the person who killed you." (Qing)

Two strong men began filling the grave with soil. After they finished, the two strong men began burning paper money.

Unlike their patriarch, they were not ruthless; after each time they dug a pit to bury someone, they would burn paper money to ease their conscience.

Zhou Yan sighed behind the tree.

I can't save people myself.

Even if he were to kill all the Taoists at Jingtian Temple with his Gouchen Sword Qi and rescue the girls who were being treated as medicine dregs from the dormitory, he still wouldn't be able to feed so many mouths.

These girls cannot possibly go back to their own homes and be cared for by their families.

These girls were taken away by the local government to be used as medicine residue. If I take these girls back with me, it might, no, it will definitely implicate their entire family in the countryside.

Don't expect any honest officials or upright bureaucrats to uphold justice for you. In this era, it was the emperor who took the lead in arresting people for alchemy, and the nobles of the entire capital also took pride in consuming elixirs and making medicines. Under such circumstances, which official would dare to punish the crime of using people as medicine?

Zhou Yan is no longer Bai Ze, nor does he possess supernatural powers such as "all things are illusory" or "all things are permissible." How could he dare to confront the mainstream forces of this era?

Zhou Yan could only watch these girls die helplessly.

So let's focus on doing what we can do first.

Zhou Yan lowered his head and touched the white snake's head, which looked completely bewildered and didn't know what to do.

The white snake looked up at Zhou Yan with a puzzled expression. This little guy had become intelligent, but his thinking ability was still very immature. He didn't understand what was happening at all. However, she could tell from Zhou Yan's eyes that he had no ill intentions.

"Little one..."

Zhou Yan sighed repeatedly.

"For the first time, I felt that our era is actually quite good."

No matter how decadent or insane the Eastern Xia Federation may be, it is still a progressive nation compared to the present era.

As Wenquxing said, the times are always moving forward.

……

The next morning.

Jingtian Temple.

A heart-wrenching scream shattered the tranquility of Jingtian Temple.

Three-quarters of an hour later, two Taoist priests dressed in dark robes rode to the entrance of Jingtian Temple. One of them, a Taoist priest with long hair past his shoulders and an elegant demeanor, dismounted first, and two young Taoist boys who had been waiting at the entrance greeted him.

The young Taoist on the left spoke up.

"Uncle Qingyang, you've finally arrived! My master, my master..."

The young Taoist priest wiped away his tears.

"My master had an accident, he was... he was..."

Another beautiful female Taoist priest, who hadn't dismounted, said anxiously.

"What else are you saying? Lead the way now!"

Two young Taoist disciples hurriedly entered Jingtian Temple. The three male Taoist priests, known as Qingyang, followed the three female Taoist priests inside. After navigating several small paths, the two Taoist priests arrived at the courtyard where the old Taoist priest Qingxu lived.

Several guards in black uniforms were already standing outside the courtyard. The one in the lead was carrying a goose-wing saber, and judging from his appearance, he was a squad leader.

The squad leader clasped his hands and bowed to the approaching Taoist Qingyang.

"Master, I am Li Yang, a squad leader of the Black-Clad Guard in Beiyang County."

Qingyang, the old Taoist priest, nodded.

"The Five Offices of the Imperial Observatory - Qingyang".

The old Taoist priest Qingyang reached out to the female Taoist priest behind him.

"Imperial Observatory Water Clock Doctor - Qingxu".

Corporal Li Yang also clasped his hands in a salute to the female Taoist priest.

The old Taoist priest Qingyang asked again.

“My junior brother got into trouble. Have you investigated, Corporal Li?”

The sergeant stood up and nodded.

"You two Taoist priests should go in and take a look; things are a bit complicated."

Corporal Li Yang entered the courtyard, followed by two Taoist priests from the Imperial Observatory.

When Li Yang arrived at the house of the old Taoist Qingxu, he opened the door and a strong smell of blood rushed out. The old Taoist Qingxu was fine, but the female Taoist following behind him covered her nose.

Li Yang walked into the house and then went to the side of the head of the old Taoist Qingxu that had rolled on the ground.

Qingyang Daoist followed him in. The old Daoist first looked at his junior brother's corpse, and then looked at the area where Li Yang was.

Li Yang picked up the head of the old Taoist priest Qingxu.

"Master Qingyang, look at this."

Li Yang pointed at the face of the old Taoist Qingxu.

The old Taoist priest's head fell to the ground, but his face showed no anger or pain, only a slight astonishment and a lingering joy.

Li Yang explained.

"When Master Qingxu was dying, he seemed unaware that he was dying."

Qingyang understood what Li Yang meant.

"The killer acted extremely quickly, and my junior brother didn't even notice?"

Li Yang showed Qingxu Laodao the severed neck.

"Taoist priest, look at this broken neck bone."

"The bone fracture showed no signs of bone spurs, breakage, or irregularity, indicating that an extremely sharp weapon severed Master Qingxu's head at an incredibly fast speed, so much so that Master Qingxu didn't even realize he had been killed."

"Snapped!"

Dr. Qingxu, who was behind her, slammed her hand on the table and said angrily.

"You scoundrel! How dare you go against the Imperial Observatory!"

It would have been enough for them to bully the common people and powerful families. How could the government, which treats people like medicinal herbs, possibly care about the lives of ordinary people? But this vicious man actually dared to kill the Water Clock Doctor of the Imperial Observatory (Qingxu Laodao's position was Water Clock Doctor). He even turned his knife on himself. How can such a person be allowed to live?

Li Qingyang, the Five Observation Officer, frowned as he looked at his junior brother's corpse and hesitated.

"With such skills, it's one thing to rob the rich and powerful, but why would you hurt my junior brother?"

The sergeant licked his lips, took a few breaths, and then clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Perhaps it's because of a white snake."

The sergeant told the story of the white snake he had captured, which was of good quality.

"...I checked, and the white snake is gone..."

Qingxu and Qingyang's expressions changed slightly.

Qingyang stroked the beard on his chin.

"I see. It's true that the herb 'Young Dragon' has been hard to find lately."

The current Emperor is a devout follower of the Taoist alchemy method of ascension. The main ingredients for this alchemy are Gui water and snake gall. For the sake of a better sound, the snake is now called a young dragon, implying that after the young dragon and Gui water are combined with other precious elixirs, consuming it will transform a human into a dragon and ascend to godhood.

Nowadays, there are many people in the world. If the emperor gives an order, rows of young virgins will come. There are fewer snakes. Especially now that Taoism is flourishing, the medicinal materials for alchemy are becoming less and less. If this white snake of excellent quality were taken to the capital, it would be priceless.

When wealth tempts people, it's not uncommon for some to kill to steal.

The female Taoist priest Qingxu angrily addressed Qingyang.

"Murder and robbery are despicable acts. Senior brother, do not let such a villain go unpunished!"

Qingyang nodded, took out a piece of yellow paper from his pocket, and tore it open casually. Before anyone could see how he tore it, the paper was torn into the shape of a bird with outstretched wings.

Old Daoist Qingyang tossed the paper bird into the air. The paper bird flew out but did not land. It flapped its wings and circled around the small house before flying back to Old Daoist Qingyang's hand. Old Daoist Qingyang bent down, plucked a feather from his junior brother's corpse, and placed it on the paper bird.

The paper bird flapped its wings and flew towards the door. (Seven)

The sergeant looked at all this with a hint of surprise. He had heard that the Taoist priests of the Imperial Observatory all possessed magical powers, but seeing it now, he couldn't help but think that it was no wonder that the current Emperor was so devout in Taoism; these Taoist priests were truly capable.

Qingyang looked at the squad leader beside him.

Li Yang, being a shrewd man, immediately said...

"Such a vicious person cannot be let go. Li Yangwang will join forces to kill this scoundrel."

Qingyang was very satisfied. In his eyes, mortals were just weeds that could be harvested at will. So he would use the virgins he collected from various places to refine his elixir of immortality. As for how many people he harmed by refining the elixir, he couldn't care less.

They're just ordinary people; one batch dies and another batch comes; one crop is harvested and another grows.

These illiterate, foolish, and short-sighted fellows—wouldn't it be better to use their lives for our own purposes than to let them waste their time on their useless and boring lives? *Clang*

Therefore, Qingyang was very angry about the death of his junior brother. This junior brother was a Taoist who had achieved success in his cultivation and was also a Qi cultivator who could seek immortality with him. However, he was killed in Jingtian Temple.

This is worse than the death of ten thousand ignorant people. Qingyang will catch this murderer later, and then, in front of all the civilians, skin this thug alive and execute him in a public spectacle.

"Let's go!"

Qingyang, along with his squad leader and his junior sister, left Qingxu Daoist's house and then Jingtian Temple. When they left, all six Xuanyi Guards came out as well.

Eight people in total mounted their horses and followed the flying paper bird.

The paper bird flew out of Beiyang County rather slowly, then went to the mass grave outside the county, and plunged into the suburban woodland behind the mass grave.

There were no official roads in the woodland, only narrow paths worn down by wild animals and humans, which grew smaller and smaller as you went further in.

Upon reaching the center of the woods, where there was no path at all, the group had no choice but to dismount, tie their horses to the spot, and continue onward.

There were rules for moving forward as well. Six guards in black robes surrounded the two celestial masters from the Imperial Observatory, carefully observing the surrounding situation. With sufficient vigilance, the group reached the end of the forest without any incident, in front of an abandoned mountain god temple.

The paper crane folded by Qingyang Daoist landed on the roof of the mountain god temple, flapping its wings but not flying away.

Li Yang, the squad leader standing at the front, turned around to look at the two astronomical masters from the Imperial Observatory.

Qingyang Daoist stared at the mountain god temple not far away, where paper cranes stood, and nodded.

"The divine bird has landed, so the murderer should be nearby. Find two people to go inside the mountain god temple and check it out. The rest of you, stay on guard."

Corporal Li Yang pointed to one of his trusted men, and the two drew their weapons, one on the left and one on the right, and walked cautiously toward the dilapidated mountain god temple.

It's unclear how long this mountain god temple has stood here; the roof has collapsed, the walls are damaged, and the head of the mountain god statue facing the entrance is missing half.

But at least it's a house. If the murderer who killed Master Qingxu left the city last night, it's perfectly normal for him to come to this mountain god temple to rest.

Two guards in black robes, who were prepared, entered the mountain god temple, but not long after they entered, a muffled sound suddenly came from inside the temple.

Not far from the second temple of the mountain god, the two members of the Imperial Observatory and the four members of the Black-Clad Guards were all shocked, and their gazes involuntarily turned towards the fourth temple of the mountain god.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to this, a hand reached out from behind the guard in black robes, standing beside him.

Then came a human head and half a body.

Zhou Yan emerged from underground at an extremely fast speed without making a sound.