Tang Jie and Yiyi left the village and flew all the way to Changping Prefecture. It wasn't long before they saw a city looming in the distance.
This city had walls made from giant, abnormally tough black stones with formations carved into them, exuding the energy of dragons and snakes. Soldiers manned the walls, and the entire city was protected by a top-class formation. It was the complete opposite of the lazily-guarded Hundred Battle City.
As they flew closer, they saw that the inside of the city was also arranged in a cultivator's fashion, with each street being a formation line and each intersection being a formation eye.
Tang Jie could immediately tell that flying over the city would be difficult, as he was bound to be attacked by the formation, so he landed in front of the gates.
Although the gate had guards, as they had seen Tang Jie descend from the sky, they knew he was a cultivator and didn't dare to make trouble for him, letting him through without even taking the toll.
But the moment he walked through the gates, a mirror above the gate let out a beam of light that lit Yiyi up. Yiyi yelped in fear and hid behind Tang Jie.
In a flash, the soldiers on the wall aimed their bows at Tang Jie, the shining arrowheads indicating that these were no ordinary weapons. The officer leading them was a cultivator, and he shouted, "Hiding, fiend? Hurry and show yourself!"
Tang Jie replied, "She's my little sister, not a member of the fiend race."
Although the Verdant Cloud Domain was ruled by fiends, it wasn't like there were no cultivators who had subdued fiends, so a matter like this wasn't considered rare. But there were also cases where fiends pretended to be pets and controlled humans in order to infiltrate cities and sow chaos. This was why the officer didn't dare to be careless, saying, "If that's the case, please follow me to be registered."
It seemed like he would need to be questioned on his background, get registered, and even have a tracking mark placed on him before he could finally leave.
Tang Jie frowned. He knew that this rule was needed for the sake of defense, but he was unwilling to be tracked like this.
As he was considering what to do, a soldier suddenly ran over and whispered a few words into the ears of the officer.
The officer paled and whispered to the soldier, "You're sure you saw things right?"
The soldier repeatedly nodded. "This lowly one wouldn't dare to deceive you. I'm certain it's them! If Sir does not believe it, others also saw them and can verify my testimony."
The officer looked back at Tang Jie, a beaming smile on his face now. He jumped down from the wall and came up to Tang Jie. "Sir, are you–"
Tang Jie cut him off. "Since you know I'm not a fiend spy, can I enter the city now?"
He could immediately tell that that soldier was definitely one of the human slaves who had escaped from Hundred Battle City. Soldiers were the primary form of resistance against the fiends, so they were the ones most frequently taken as captives. Thus, it wasn't strange for a soldier to have seen him.
It had been ten-some days since he had destroyed Hundred Battle City. A secluded place like Daoxiang Village might not have received the news, but he must have become a household name in Changping Prefecture by now.
Now that the officer knew that this person was a cultivator who had single-handedly massacred Hundred Battle City, he naturally had no desire to make trouble for him, and he immediately started to fawn upon Tang Jie. But Tang Jie needed to save Er Hu and had no time to waste on small talk, so he cut off the conversation.
The officer hastily said, "Of course. Please head inside, Sir."
Tang Jie led Yiyi away.
The officer wanted to exchange a few more words with Tang Jie, but he didn't dare to give chase. He could only watch as this expert who had exterminated Hundred Battle City disappeared from his sight. He was going to report this to his superior, but he recalled that this person had interrupted him before he could finish saying anything, so he clearly didn't want to reveal his status. If he meddled too much and reported the matter, he might infuriate this mighty figure and suffer.
But now that he knew Tang Jie's appearance, while he didn't dare to send anyone to follow him, he could issue a secret order to keep an eye out for him and find out where he was. When the time came, if he properly served this man, he might be able to get something good. This was much better than the matter being publicly known and everyone desperately trying to get in his good graces, leaving no opportunity for himself. He smugly smiled at the thought, praising himself.
He then ordered the matter silenced and also ordered that soldier who had recognized Tang Jie to not spread any rumors.
Tang Jie had no idea what the officer was thinking, quickly entering the city with Yiyi.
Changping Prefecture was a rather thriving city, its streets packed with people. Peddlers hawked their wares, toothless old grannies ladled out bowls of soft tofu, artists performed on stone bridges, and storytellers told tales in restaurants.
"That battle shook the world, making ghosts and gods weep. That warrior suddenly transformed into a mighty giant that stood a thousand feet tall! With a single strike of his palm, he had those fiend soldiers wailing and howling. With a punch, he shattered the heavens! With a kick, he made the mountains and rivers pale, the moon and sun seem dim. That Violet Flame Lion King was a peak fiend king, but he was dead in just three punches, his brains splattered across the earth, dying a truly miserable death…"
A clear voice rang out from upstairs, and Tang Jie and Yiyi looked at each other and smiled.
Humans had been suppressed by the fiends for too long, so such a momentous event naturally had everyone singing their praises. This story about that giant killing the Violet Flame Lion King in three punches had been told countless times, but everyone in the city, young and old, still loved hearing it. The storyteller basically had his entire year made by this one story.
Yiyi said to Tang Jie, "You're a hero now."
Tang Jie shook his head. "Who cares about this sort of false glory? Ask around for the home of the Bai Clan's Bai Zhanjun. Handling this matter is our first priority."
"Mm."
They quickly found out that the Bai Clan was the third house on Big Willow Street, on the western end of the city.
The two of them immediately headed over.
When they arrived, they saw a red gate flanked by two stone lions and guarded by two servants wearing little hats and short jackets. With cudgels in hand, they appeared quite impressive.
Tang Jie came up and asked, "Might I ask if this is the Bai Clan?"
A servant looked at Tang Jie and said, "It is. And who are you?"
"Bai Zhanjun's Bai Clan?" Tang Jie asked.
The servant impatiently said, "Of course! While Changping Prefecture might have many people with the surname Bai, there is no second Bai Clan! Explain your purpose, or else–"
Before he could finish, Tang Jie nodded and said, "This is the place, then. Yiyi, you're the one responsible, so you handle this matter!"
He fell back.
Yiyi waved a hand, and two vines flew out and wrapped around the servants. She threw them to the side without a second glance.
She thrust out a palm, and the gate blew apart.
Yiyi strode inside while Tang Jie leisurely followed behind.
Yiyi shouted, "Bai Zhanjun, come out right now!"
"Who dares to make a ruckus in the Bai Clan!?" A pile of servants rushed out with cudgels, but when they saw that the intruder was just a tender little girl with two tiny arms and a face like a painting, they put down their cudgels and put on smiles instead. "Where did this little girl come from? She's quite amusing." "She looks quite pretty. The young master will definitely like her." "She's a little young, though." "That's no problem. We can just raise her for a few years before using her." "We can use her even without a few years."
The servants laughed.
Yiyi snorted and then snapped her fingers. Green roses grew from under the feet of the servants, instantly piercing through the soles of their feet.
The courtyard of the Bai Clan was instantly filled with howls of pain.
The servants now couldn't leave even if they wanted to, and those green roses were still growing. They grew up to their chests, where they bloomed bloody maws that had the servants screaming in terror.
One of the green roses bit down on a servant. This servant had spoken of Yiyi with the lewdest tone, so he was the first to suffer. The giant maw tore off a big chunk of flesh from his leg, chewing on it a few times before swallowing, and then it tore a chunk off his abdomen. Chunk by chunk, the flower was devouring this person alive.
The others were so horrified that their souls left their bodies. At this moment, a voice rang out: "Who dares to cause trouble in the Bai Clan?"
A sword flew out of the rear house at Yiyi.
"It's Immortal Master Li! Master Li has intervened!" the servants cheered.
But a moment later, the sword simply began to fly around Yiyi, unable to land. Yiyi glanced up and snorted, "Puny light!"
With a flick of her fingers, she snapped the sword in two.
The cultivator in the rear house grunted.
This cultivator was only at Mortal Shedding, so he was no match for Yiyi. Just a small move from her had been enough to heavily wound him. He immediately knew that he was dealing with an expert and that attacking again would probably mean losing his life, so he took to the skies in an attempt to flee. But Yiyi wasn't going to let him run, a vine flying out and dragging him back. In this entire process, she didn't even glance at that cultivator.
Yiyi casually entered the estate, using vines to tie up any servants she encountered and putting them to the side. Anyone who spoke rudely to her would be taught a lesson, and while she didn't kill them, she did take a few chunks of their flesh.
The Bai Clan was quickly thrown into chaos. Yiyi spread her plants wherever she went, soon filling the entire estate with plants that crazily grew upward, announcing to the world her astounding strength.
The people of Big Willow Street bore witness as a green canopy grew over the Bai Estate. Within its walls, plants rapidly grew, turning the entire estate into a primordial jungle. At the top of every tree was bound a member of the Bai Estate, and one of them was naturally that Young Master Bai, Bai Zhanjun. They were suspended high up so that people could gawk and point, and everyone who saw this understood one thing: the Bai Clan had stirred up some trouble.
The jungle continued to expand and grow so high that half of the city could see it.
In the center of this jungle was a verdant palace.
At the highest floor of this three-leveled palace, Yiyi sat cross-legged on the floor, playing with a red jade butterfly.
A person lay next to her.
Er Hu.
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