I Slay Gods and Demons in the Deceit Night
Chapter 204 - 149: The Former Garrison Commander! The Key to Tribulation Ash! [Three more updates!]

Chapter 204: Chapter 149: The Former Garrison Commander! The Key to Tribulation Ash! [Three more updates!]

The sudden mishap alarmed everyone in the Pure Land.

"Quick! Throw him out!"

Just then, the Shopkeeper, in a furious voice, commanded, "Don’t let him die here..."

The old man fell to the ground, covered in fresh blood, with a wound on his back deep enough to see the bone and faintly the internal organs.

His left hand had been severed at the wrist, and blood was still flowing out, unceasingly.

With such injuries, there was essentially no hope of survival.

"Wait..." Lin Yan furrowed his brow and suddenly spoke up.

"Young master, now is not the time to be overly kind. There’s no saving him with those injuries."

The elderly Shopkeeper quickly said, "Leaving him here, if he dies in the Pure Land, it will bring ominous omens, and we will all be in danger for our lives."

Lin Yan did not respond but tightened his brows and stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the old man, with apparent hesitation.

"Young master?"

The Shopkeeper hurried forward, saying, "Let my men throw him out. Look at his wounds, his hand has just been severed."

"Who knows if his enemies are nearby. Night is falling, and evil spirits are everywhere, it’s not a good time to stir up trouble."

"If he dies, we’re all truly finished."

While persuading, the old Shopkeeper gestured backward, signaling the guards to act quickly.

"If you don’t want to die, don’t touch him."

Lin Yan suddenly spoke, pushed past the elderly Shopkeeper, and walked up to the old man lying on the ground, who seemed to be unconscious.

Three steps away, he stopped.

The closer he got, the clearer he could see.

The flesh at the old man’s wrist was writhing, and the wound was healing.

The injury on his back, too, where the flesh had split, was gradually knitting together, quickly scabbing over, and then the scabs were falling off.

Such vitality, even at the peak of the Inner Strength Realm, was unachievable.

"A cultivation of the Refining Essence Realm, very rare indeed."

Lin Yan said in a calm tone, looking down.

Everyone in the Pure Land was stunned, exchanging glances, unable to believe it.

The Refining Essence Realm?

For them, it represented a lofty, unattainable figure of great importance!

It was said that reaching the peak of the Inner Strength in cultivation was already the limit of human effort.

But the Refining Essence Realm had already exceeded human bounds!

In rumors, someone at this level could, with a single drop of their essence blood, suppress evil spirits!

Not far off was Feng City, and any martial artist who achieved the Refining Essence Realm held an important position and high status.

But this bloodied old man with one arm severed, having tumbled into the Pure Land and seemingly on the verge of death, was of the Refining Essence Realm?

"Young master, you..." the Shopkeeper said, his face changing, somewhat in disbelief.

"Move aside."

Lin Yan waved his hand, then drew his sword from its sheath and slowly asked, "Old sir, have we perhaps had dealings before?"

"..."

The old man suddenly moved slightly, propped himself up on one hand, gasping as he raised his head.

He looked at Lin Yan, somewhat bewildered.

"Have we met before? I don’t recall your face."

"I have no recollection of the old sir either."

"If there’s no recollection, how can you say we have had dealings?"

"Not knowing each other’s faces doesn’t mean we haven’t interacted."

"Oh?" The old man’s gaze turned wary.

"Not long ago, the Observatory Headquarters transported a batch of goods from Qifeng Prefecture City."

Lin Yan said in an even tone, "That batch of goods was last month’s salary for the members of the High Willow City Sky Observation Bureau!"

"..." The old man’s pupils constricted.

"At the edge of Jinliu Manor, the garrison commander escorting the goods suddenly succumbed to madness, an ancient method’s hidden danger erupted, and he lost control,"

Lin Yan continued, "He not only killed all his companions but also chopped them into pieces... then dashing around frantically, killing anyone he encountered."

As he spoke, the Pure Land fell into utter silence.

The people of the shop, their faces in shock, quickly retreated, squeezing into a corner of the Pure Land.

The old man propped himself up, found a place to sit, and let out a breath.

"Garrison Commander, don’t you have something to say?"

"There’s nothing much to say, the people were indeed killed by me," he stated.

This escaped garrison commander, sitting on a stone, took a few breaths, seeming to have recovered quite a bit.

Only then did he appear somewhat relaxed, looked at Lin Yan, and said, "You are young, yet you carry an extraordinary air and a daring spirit."

"Knowing my identity and my cultivation, yet you still dare to expose me openly; aren’t you afraid of dying?"

As the voice fell, the old man seemed to remember something, stretching out his remaining right hand and rubbing his head, "That’s right, this is the Pure Land where killing is forbidden."

"..."

Lin Yan watched him quietly, saying nothing.

"Relying on being in the Pure Land to act recklessly?"

The old man laughed sinisterly, "I can make you wish you were dead or capture you alive and throw you outside the Pure Land."

"Even if not, by tomorrow’s daylight, once we leave the Pure Land, I can still kill you!"

"You should not have known my identity, let alone reveal it in public!"

As the voice faded, the garrison commander slowly stood up.

He stepped back and kicked casually.

The rock where he had been sitting suddenly shattered.

Then he walked toward Lin Yan and said, "Boy, under me, there are no nameless ones who won’t die. State your name."

"Wu Chang!"

"..."

The old man’s expression suddenly froze, and he frowned, "Are you the Wu Chang that Zhao Zhou desperately saved? So young, yet having reached the pinnacle of the Inner Strength Realm, becoming the successor in Han Zheng’s eyes..."

Lin Yan was also startled by these words, and then he laughed, "Old man, having escaped for so many days within the Pure Land, are you completely unaware of the outside world’s news?"

"What outside world news?"

The old man was slightly perplexed but seemed to think of something, and snorted coldly, "In consideration of Zhao Zhou and Han Zheng, I will spare your life for now."

He stood up and walked towards the outside of the Pure Land.

Standing at the edge of the Pure Land, he took a few more glances into the darkness.

Those chasing him seemed unable to reach the vicinity of this Pure Land in time.

Either those pursuers had scattered to other Pure Lands at dusk to survive the night,

or those pursuers were supposed to die in this dark night.

Having sighed in relief, the former garrison commander of the Observatory then sat down at the edge of the Pure Land.

---

"Old Master?" Little White Ape approached and whispered, "He is right at the edge of the Pure Land, just a push away... Push him into the darkness, then kill him?"

"Let’s talk about it at dawn."

Lin Yan sheathed his Blood Evil Divine Saber and walked towards the old man, saying, "They say ancient laws bring calamities which, once triggered, leave no hope of recovery. How did you recover?"

"You will learn eventually," the old man glanced sideways and said, "provided that after dawn, you can still live to return to High Willow City."

"No need to scare me," Lin Yan said, sitting beside him. "From the beginning, you didn’t know who I was, nor did you intend to kill me."

"If you wanted to kill someone, you wouldn’t need to wait until after dawn. With your cultivation at the pinnacle of the Refining Essence Realm, even severely injured and having lost an arm, you could easily suppress the Inner Strength Realm."

"I heard you also practiced the Blood Evil Divine Saber. Just throw someone into the darkness, and with one strike, you could end it."

As Lin Yan spoke, the old man’s expression gradually grew solemn.

"You’re young but your mind works well." The former garrison commander smiled and said, "Unfortunately, after dawn, everyone who leaves this Pure Land is bound to die."

"Those who want to kill you?" Lin Yan murmured.

"Anyone who has come into contact with me, they want to kill," the former garrison commander slowly said.

"That’s rather unexpected," Lin Yan stated calmly. "I thought it was people from the Observatory cleaning house... but you are just a traitor. There’s no need for the Observatory to kill innocents while dealing with you."

"Have you heard of Tribulation Ash?" the former garrison commander suddenly asked.

"I’ve dealt with them," Lin Yan replied.

"These days, I’ve had quite a few dealings with the people from Tribulation Ash," the former garrison commander said.

"You’ve gotten a handle on Tribulation Ash’s secrets?" Lin Yan asked, seemingly understanding something, then said, "So it’s the people from Tribulation Ash who are after you?"

"There’s no escape," the former garrison commander suddenly sighed. "At night, I can’t move anymore, but they have Cultivators who can pinpoint which Pure Land I am in, and can set up in advance..."

"So tomorrow at dawn, the people from Tribulation Ash will surround this Pure Land and kill all who go out?" Lin Yan surmised.

"Something like that," the former garrison commander confirmed, then asked, "Got any wine?"

"No," Lin Yan looked back and said, "Perhaps people from the trade house might."

"Forget it," the old garrison commander lay back and said, "It appears to me that you hold no grudge against me, a traitor."

"I originally did, planning to drive you out of the Pure Land and kill you."

Lin Yan spoke evenly, "But I am curious, a character from the Refining Essence Realm, already labeled as a traitor by the Observatory, unwelcome in any city..."

He looked at the old man beside him and said, "Such a person should be eagerly sought by Tribulation Ash. Even if they couldn’t recruit you, they wouldn’t desperately hunt you down."

"..."

The old man’s eyes momentarily seemed far away.

"What secret did you uncover within Tribulation Ash?"

Lin Yan said, "Everyone is going to die; might as well let one die understanding why."

The old man appeared somewhat surprised, glanced over and asked, "You think I infiltrated Tribulation Ash?"

"Aren’t you?"

"Not at first."

"And now?"

"More or less."

Relieved, the old man said reflectively, "Lately, I’ve made contact with the core members of Tribulation Ash in Feng City, planning to join them. But yesterday, I intercepted a secret letter."

"Where is the letter?"

"It was taken back."

"And they still want to kill you?"

"I saw the letter."

"What did it say?"

"An ancient relic appeared in Residual Prison Mansion, containing a ’key’."

"A key?"

"It’s said this so-called key can break all shackles."

The old garrison commander spoke calmly, slowly saying, "The key obtained by Tribulation Ash could enable the Heavenly God King of Feng City to break his chains!"