Chapter 42

In the deep courtyard of the town mayor's residence, five young men finished practicing a set of sword techniques. The courtyard was filled with grooves and gullies, all marks of sword strikes, demonstrating their immense destructive power.

"This set of sword techniques is called the Five Seasons Sword. We are exactly five people, so each of us practiced one season, and it just fits perfectly." The mayor's son, Liu Yu, who practiced the intense and fiery sword technique, activated it, and the air seemed to dry up as if the earth was scorched.

"The Five Seasons Sword! This is truly an ancient sword technique!" Guchen Sha was momentarily stunned.

Originally, there were only four seasons in the world: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

But in ancient times, there were five seasons. During the fifth season, ten suns would appear in the sky, scorching the land and rivers, and all living beings would suffer in the furnace. Later, a great hero emerged and shot down nine of the suns, leaving only the four seasons.

"Your practice of sword techniques is quite extraordinary. This is a rare encounter, and it will surely be useful in the future." Guchen Sha marveled at the intricacies of the Five Seasons Sword. He took out a gourd and poured five drops of Heavenly Dew into a bowl. "This is a spiritual medicine. Each of you should take one drop. It can cleanse your body and expel impurities, and perhaps you will have the chance to advance to the level of a Grandmaster soon."

"This is..." The five young men, smelling the fragrant aroma, felt refreshed. Liu Yu's eyes sparkled, and he suddenly said, "Is this the legendary Heavenly Dew?"

"Oh? You actually recognize Heavenly Dew." Guchen Sha was surprised that a young man from a remote town could recognize such a thing.

"We read about it in the books hidden in that cave. It says that if we can take Heavenly Dew, we can open several key acupoints in our sword techniques, advancing to a higher level. Now, smelling the fragrance, my key acupoints are tingling, so I guessed it might be this rare ancient substance." Liu Yu knelt down, "Nineteenth Prince actually bestowed such a precious item upon us. We swear to serve you with our lives."

"No, I am not bestowing it upon you, but upon all the people of the town." Guchen Sha's expression was solemn. "The evil cult may return at any time. You five are the strongest in martial arts and must protect the town. Promise me that you will protect them even if it means your death."

"Yes!" Hearing Guchen Sha's words, the five young men felt a sense of sacredness.

"Pick up your swords and protect those you must. As long as the sword remains, there is hope." Guchen Sha patted each of their shoulders. "Stand up. I hope that one day, we will meet again in the capital, drinking and talking."

With that, he leaped up and quickly ran out of the town, heading towards the true lair of the evil cult, Tao County.

"As long as the sword remains, there is hope..." Liu Yu murmured, his blood boiling. "This prince is truly a dragon among men, worthy of our loyalty. He bravely faces the evil cult alone, showing great courage. He bestowed Heavenly Dew upon us for the sake of the town's people, showing great righteousness. To follow such a person, what regrets could we have? Come, let's drink this Heavenly Dew and practice our sword techniques with all our might, fighting the enemy with all our strength!"

The morning mist had dissipated, the sun was high, and the weather was still cold. Spring had not yet arrived. Guchen Sha took the mountain path, rarely traveled by people, so he did not encounter any of the evil cult's experts.

Gradually, after traveling several hundred miles, he approached the city of Tao County.

He found a high point on a hill outside the city and looked out. The entire city was in view.

The city had completely fallen. Many cult members were transporting wood and stone, seemingly building temples and altars in the city center. On the well-connected roads, many cult members were coming from all directions, driving and escorting the people.

The cult members used this as their base, sending teams to raid villages and towns, capturing people as sacrifices.

Indeed, many people were being supervised by the cult members and a group of barbarian soldiers. Those who resisted were dragged to the large altar and beheaded, sacrificed to the evil god.

The central altar in the city was at least several thousand acres, covered in blood and bones. Many people had been killed in recent days.

In the center of the altar, due to the excessive killings, a faint black mist rose, as if opening a portal. Inside, cold winds blew, and ghostly cries echoed, with demonic shadows moving, trying to break through the space and descend into the real world.

Many barbarian generals knelt below the altar, praying, occasionally grabbing a few people to behead, and black smoke would instantly enter their bodies, enhancing their strength.

Such cultivation through killing made them progress very quickly.

"Truly despicable, like beasts." Guchen Sha was filled with hatred but did not act. He knew that there must be experts in Tao County, and there were many barbarian and cult leaders. He could not act rashly.

"First, I need to sacrifice the other Blood-Melting Blade."

His body disappeared, and he entered the sacrificial space of the altar. The Blood-Melting Blade instantly collapsed and transformed into the雏形 of a Demon-Slaying Blade. Then, the two Demon-Slaying Blade雏形 attracted and merged, forming a single blade.

Guchen Sha held the newly synthesized Demon-Slaying Blade and found it heavier but with more perfect lines and a sharper edge. At the same time, he sacrificed the two martial arts grandmasters he had killed, obtaining five drops of Heavenly Dew, exactly the same number he had given away. He couldn't help but marvel at the cycle of heaven and the mysterious coincidences.

"This blade's power has increased, and it is more versatile. I wonder if it can penetrate the defenses of a Third Transformation Daoist with copper skin and iron bones?" Guchen Sha put on a set of cult clothes.

He was well-prepared. The cult members all wore black robes, covering their faces, making it impossible to see their true identities. It was not difficult for him to blend in.

Moreover, the cult in the three counties was newly established, with various systems not yet perfected. The members were mixed, and even they did not recognize each other, which greatly benefited Guchen Sha's infiltration.

After changing his clothes, he quickly leaped, following the returning cult group, and no one noticed him.

The cult members walked silently, each focused on their own tasks. Their intelligence seemed to be eroded by evil energy, their martial arts strength increased, but they lost their wisdom and humanity.

Such people were easy to control, fearless in battle, but lacked creativity and could not last long.

"Rest for a while, eat something, and be ready to follow orders!" The cult leader instructed as they entered the city.

The cult members walked silently, reaching the newly constructed temples, and sat down. Other cult members brought water and food, and after eating, they lay down to rest, not talking to each other, like zombies.

They had no personal homes and rested in the temples, each sleeping on the floor.

Guchen Sha pretended to relieve himself and moved around freely, but no one paid attention to him.

At that moment, he moved swiftly, avoiding everyone's attention, and潜入 the depths of the temple.

The entire city of Tao County was being continuously transformed by the cult members, with temples surrounding the central altar.

The outermost temples housed ordinary cult members, who slept on the floor in large halls, often with hundreds of people in one hall. Further inside were smaller rooms, occupied by higher-ranking cult leaders.

As Guchen Sha moved deeper, he found that the rooms with individual occupants were at the warrior level. Deeper still, the larger rooms with servants were at the martial artist level.

But these were not worth assassinating.

Guchen Sha did not even want to assassinate martial arts grandmasters at this moment. He wanted to assassinate key figures at the Daoist level or barbarian generals.

A Daoist, even at the First Transformation, would hold a high position in the barbarian army, commanding a large force, or be a highly respected temple messenger.

If he could assassinate a few such key leaders, it would certainly alleviate the crisis.

"Deeper!"

His body flashed, sometimes like a gecko on the wall, sometimes like a cat crouching, and sometimes like a snake slipping into a hole. He used the Sun and Moon Transformation Technique to the extreme, making it difficult for even experts to detect his presence.

The Sun and Moon Transformation Technique was adept at changing, with breaths that could be either powerful or subtle.

Behind a pillar, he could blend completely with the surroundings, his heartbeat and breathing synchronized with the temple's frequency. Even those with profound mental cultivation could not sense his presence.

The deeper into the temple, the more luxurious the decoration became, with gold foil, jade, and pearls on the walls. The cult members walking here were full of vitality, not in a zombie-like state.

"The defense is not very tight." Guchen Sha hid in a corner, entering the sacrificial space whenever someone passed by, and reappeared after they left. He quickly approached the core of the temple in this way: "If I continue like this, I could become a master thief. Unfortunately, when I hide in the sacrificial space, I cannot sense the outside world. I can only reappear after calculating that the people have left, which is very inconvenient. This is not a weakness of the sacrificial edict, but rather that I have not yet fully unlocked its true potential."

Ancient history records that the sacrificial edict was almost omnipotent, not only communicating with heaven but also suppressing various worlds and creating and destroying all things. It could be said to be the only key to the heavenly treasure vault or a fragment of the core of the heavenly way.

But only a small part of the edict's power had been revealed, requiring more imperial aura to fully unlock it. Many ancient emperors had not been able to accumulate enough imperial aura to fully utilize this treasure.

The true use of the sacrificial edict in ancient times was for the emperor to build a large altar, place the edict on it, and choose a time for the officials to worship together. This would channel the nation's imperial aura into the edict, reaching the realm of establishing and abolishing gods.

Hey! Hey!

At that moment, a group of cult members carrying a chest approached, heading to the storage room.

"Be careful, these are treasures. Lift them gently and avoid shaking them." The cult leader shouted, and the warriors, numbering over a dozen, struggled to carry the chest, indicating that it weighed at least several thousand pounds.

Guchen Sha followed behind and saw the group bypass the main hall, enter a side hall, and use a key to open a heavy door.

Whoosh!

Guchen Sha quickly slipped inside.

"Hmm? I feel like I saw a shadow just now." The cult leaders looked at each other and quickly entered the storage room to check every corner but found no one. "Maybe our eyes were playing tricks on us."

After confirming that no one was there, they closed the door and left.

After a long time, a person suddenly appeared in the storage room. It was Guchen Sha. He had risked entering the storage room and then entered the sacrificial space, waiting until he felt the inspectors had left before reappearing.

"Being in the sacrificial space, I cannot see the outside, which is troublesome. If I can find more imperial edicts from the Great Wei Dynasty and absorb their imperial aura, it will definitely cause new changes in the sacrificial space." Guchen Sha began to examine the storage room.

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