BAM!

Difficulties’s chest instantly caved in, and he shot back like a crimson blur.

Han Yuan’s right arm tensed as he fiercely hurled the Cold Blade from his hand!

WHOOSH!

Empowered by immense Qi Power, the Cold Blade shrieked through the air. It flashed like a glint of cold light as it pierced through Difficulties’s chest, pinning him to a wall.

Seeing that Han Yuan was now unarmed, He Ye naturally wasn’t going to miss this opportunity.

The giant palm, its flesh blasted away to reveal only white bone, came crashing down toward Han Yuan’s head.

"Die!!!"

Han Yuan grinned savagely. A furious torrent of Qi Power erupted from his body as he unleashed a vicious Hand Blade strike!

BOOM!

The very air seemed to explode from the force of this Hand Blade strike!

BAM!!!!

Han Yuan’s arm, like a Heavy Saber swung by an Ancient God, outright shattered He Ye’s bony arm and slammed viciously into his opponent’s chest!

The Giant Spirit Monument-Opening Hand was designed for the ultimate downward burst of explosive power.

The impact drove He Ye’s legs deep into the floorboards, and the entire hall roared and shook.

Han Yuan roared, leaping into the air and unleashing a flurry of kicks!

THWACK THWACK THWACK!!!

Like the legendary Shadowless Kick, a blur of countless kicks hammered wildly into He Ye’s head.

Each kick landed with terrifying, crushing force.

He Ye’s head simply couldn’t withstand the assault, and his facial features were kicked until they burst and split open.

Just as He Ye’s head was about to be kicked into oblivion, Difficulties roared. After a struggle, he finally wrenched the long saber from his chest and charged at Han Yuan once more.

Han Yuan landed at that exact moment. He hoisted the dazed He Ye with one hand and hurled him violently at Difficulties.

BOOM!

He Ye’s body crashed into Difficulties like a meteorite!

Difficulties let out a pained shriek as he was slammed to the ground.

Han Yuan grinned, grabbing Difficulties by the arms. He then swung him like a great sledgehammer, smashing him down onto He Ye!

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!!!

Han Yuan smashed him down again and again in a frenzy.

The savage smashing made him feel increasingly euphoric, his blood pumping with excitement.

He smashed him down a dozen times or more!

Finally, Difficulties’s arms could take no more and were ripped from their sockets with a sickening crack.

Its limbs were broken and twisted, and the Scale Armor that had grown on its body was long gone, leaving it a mangled, bloody mess.

He Ye was in an even more wretched state.

His rotting body had been smashed beyond recognition, a gory mess of exploded flesh, sinew, and bone.

"Is this the power bestowed by your Yellow Springs Saint Mother?"

"It doesn’t seem to be nearly enough."

Han Yuan crushed He Ye’s head with a stomp, then picked up his Cold Blade and walked toward Difficulties.

"You... The Yellow Springs Saint Mother will... punish you."

Difficulties hissed a venomous curse.

"Then let it come!"

Han Yuan let out a low roar and swung his saber with both hands.

SQUELCH!

With a single slash, he lopped off Difficulties’s head.

RUMBLE!!!

A support beam from the hall’s ceiling suddenly broke loose, falling toward Han Yuan’s head.

Han Yuan reached up with one large hand and casually caught the beam.

’It’s collapsing...’

Han Yuan noticed the hall was shaking even more violently now.

He wasn’t in a rush, however, and walked out calmly.

Outside in the courtyard, the ground was covered in corpses.

Most were followers of the Wangling Sect, but there were some Government Officials among them.

The scene was utterly gruesome.

Huang Xian’Er had been on a rampage; her yellow dress was now dyed red with blood.

After lopping off the head of the last Wangling Sect follower, she hurriedly looked toward the main hall.

The intense rumbles from the hall had made Huang Xian’Er assume Han Yuan was locked in a desperate battle. Just as she prepared to rush in and help him, she saw a figure emerge.

Han Yuan was carrying his saber, and the savage, murderous Evil Qi clinging to him had not yet faded, making Huang Xian’Er’s heart skip a beat.

Right at that moment, the main hall finally gave way, collapsing with a great roar and kicking up a cloud of dust that filled the sky.

Han Yuan didn’t even spare it a backward glance.

He looked at the corpses covering the ground and said flatly, "I’ve killed Difficulties and He Ye."

"But there was something strange about those two. We should burn the bodies."

Chief Constable Hu Bai was still alive, his face covered in blood.

Upon hearing Han Yuan’s words, he hurried to give the order.

After the bodies of the fallen Government Officials were dragged out, the entire estate was soon engulfed in a raging inferno.

Han Yuan then led his people back to the County Yamen to recuperate.

....

「That night.」

Xu Feng was still busy at work.

Although the Wangling Sect’s stronghold had been annihilated, some remnants were still hiding in the city.

They had to be investigated and stamped out as quickly as possible.

Han Yuan and Huang Xian’Er were talking in the rear courtyard of the County Yamen.

"About today... Difficulties and He Ye were really strange."

"Their power didn’t seem like a Magic Technique used by Abnormal People. Could the Yellow Springs Saint Mother actually exist?"

Han Yuan voiced his doubts to Huang Xian’Er.

After all, she was from a Noble Family and might know about things he had never encountered.

"That might be an Evil Demon Seed," Huang Xian’Er said gravely.

"An Evil Demon Seed?"

Han Yuan looked startled and confused.

He had originally assumed the Yellow Springs Saint Mother was some kind of local, unrecognized deity.

He never expected it could be an Evil Demon Seed.

He had heard of Evil Demon Seeds before. A Resentful Evil-class Evil Spirit that evolves to the next stage becomes an Evil Demon Seed.

"Yes... A being like an Evil Demon Seed... can’t really be considered an Evil Spirit anymore."

"Evil Spirits are savage and cruel. They’re filled with hatred for the living and kill indiscriminately."

"Evil Demon Seeds are different... They seem to have developed a sliver of consciousness."

"According to ancient records, the origins of these Evil Demon Seeds are unverifiable. Some speculate they come from beyond the stars, while others believe they are coalesced from the world’s Yin Qi and other profane energies."

"And besides developing consciousness, there’s another, more terrifying aspect to them."

"They corrupt the mind."

"Once an Evil Demon Seed appears, it corrupts the minds of the living things in its vicinity, causing them to do all sorts of incomprehensible things."

"Take those Wangling Sect followers from earlier, for example. They were fearless of death, as frenzied as wild beasts."

"Of course, some Evil Demon Seeds will act directly, turning the entire region into an Asura’s Purgatory."

"So, this so-called Yellow Springs Saint Mother is likely one such Evil Demon Seed," Huang Xian’Er said gravely.

"But this Evil Demon Seed shouldn’t be in Wushan County Town."

"Can it corrupt from a distance?"

Han Yuan asked curiously.

’If the Yellow Springs Saint Mother were truly in Wushan County Town, he knew he wouldn’t have made it out alive.’

"Definitely not."

"But Difficulties and He Ye must have been severely corrupted by the Yellow Springs Saint Mother, which in turn gave them a trace of her corrupting influence," Huang Xian’Er analyzed.

’Indirect corruption...’

Han Yuan was lost in thought.

That would explain why Difficulties used methods like curing illnesses with talismanic water to lure and recruit followers.

His own corrupting influence was probably too weak to affect a normal person’s mind on its own.

He had to resort to such means, making people want to believe in him, before he could truly corrupt their minds.

"That’s more or less the idea."

"But Evil Demon Seeds were supposed to have disappeared back in the Chaotic Ancient Era."

"For now, I can only say it’s a possibility... We should report what we’ve found and let Supervisor Du make the final judgment."

Even Huang Xian’Er wasn’t certain.

"If it really is an Evil Demon Seed... what happens then?"

Han Yuan asked.

"I don’t know... It’s been too long since an Evil Demon Seed has appeared."

"But I have a feeling... if it really is an Evil Demon Seed, I’m afraid it will lead to a massive catastrophe," Huang Xian’Er said with a grave expression.