Chapter 65: The County Magistrate Returns to Reinforce
Chapter 65: Chapter 65: The County Magistrate Returns to Reinforce
"SKREEE!!"
Just then, an extremely unsettling shriek suddenly echoed across the sky, coming from the area outside the city where the battle was taking place!
Immediately after, a pillar of light, black as ink and seeming to devour all light, shot into the sky. The space around the pillar warped, and countless wailing, tormented phantoms could be faintly seen rising and falling within it!
A cold, deathly silent aura, thick with the stench of corrosion and depravity, rapidly spread outward with the rise of the black pillar!
"Demonic Qi! It’s Demonic Qi!"
Yang Wenqing’s pupils constricted as he gasped. This had to be the enemy Cultivator’s final escape tactic.
Although he had seen it described countless times in the textbooks and archives at the Police Academy, witnessing it firsthand now—feeling that bone-deep chill and evil that seemed to freeze his very consciousness—still made him feel a nauseating revulsion from the bottom of his heart.
The cultivation of Demonic Qi was a forbidden power, explicitly outlawed by Wanxuan Law and marked for immediate elimination upon discovery!
In the distance, the two streaks of light—one crimson, one azure—that had given chase shot back even faster than they had left. They were clearly the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Government Soldiers.
The two retreated to the edge of the city district and, without hesitation, jointly activated a simple, ancient-looking bronze mirror, a Magical Artifact. The mirror grew in the air, its surface blooming with a soft, pure radiance that formed a massive screen of light. Like an inverted bowl, it barely managed to hold back the spreading Demonic Qi, keeping it outside the city.
Where the light screen met the Demonic Qi, a corrosive SIZZLE echoed. The pure radiance rippled continuously; they were clearly struggling to maintain it!
"Demonic Qi is invading! Where are the city’s Entry-level Cultivators? Act now and suppress it!" one of the Government Soldiers, the one in crimson armor, roared, his voice empowered by Spiritual Power to shake the entire city. His tone was laced with anxiety and a barely perceptible thread of shocked fury.
According to Wanxuan Law and the emergency response plan, once a Demonic Qi invasion was confirmed, any resident Entry-level Cultivators were required to intervene immediately. Failure to do so was a severe dereliction of duty, punishable by strict penalties.
However, the crimson-armored soldier’s shout was met with silence, like a stone sinking into the sea. Not a single powerful aura belonging to an Entry-level Cultivator responded from within the city.
Yang Wenqing’s heart sank. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liu Xin leading her pursuit team back to defend the branch office. They were escorting four dejected captives, one of whom was shockingly also wearing the uniform of the City Defense Bureau!
’A mole!’
Yang Wenqing wasn’t entirely surprised, as he had already guessed what might have happened at the branch office earlier.
And just at that moment—WHOOSH—! A piercing sound of tearing air approached from the distance. A streamlined rapid-response Flying Shuttle, like an arrow splitting the sky, streaked in from outside the city at an astonishing speed, coming to a halt above the City Defense Bureau’s plaza in an instant.
The Flying Shuttle’s hatch opened, and two figures shot out.
One of them, dressed in a dark, formal suit embroidered with mountains and rivers, was the Magistrate of Qianjiao County. The moment he appeared, he raised a golden official seal that radiated a magnificent, righteous aura.
The instant the seal appeared, it erupted with brilliant golden light. This light carried a majestic, vast power of order that, like sunlight on snow, swiftly suppressed, purified, and dispelled the pillar of Demonic Qi rising outside the city!
The other person was Vice Director Gao, clad in the white uniform of a police commissioner. His face was as dark as water. His gaze, sharp as lightning, swept over the ravaged branch office and the residual Demonic Qi outside the city before finally landing on the plaza. With a flicker, his form appeared and landed steadily in the center of the square.
Seeing this, Yang Wenqing didn’t dare to delay for a second. He immediately leaped down from his hiding spot on the roof and rushed toward the plaza as fast as he could.
When he reached the plaza, Vice Director Gao was listening to Liu Xin’s rapid report, his expression growing uglier by the second.
After hearing Liu Xin’s report, Vice Director Gao’s gaze immediately shifted to the newly arrived Yang Wenqing. He asked in a serious tone, "Wenqing, what’s the situation on your end?"
"Vice Director Gao!"
Yang Wenqing snapped to attention and saluted, giving a quick, concise report. "It started with a massive explosion in the Port District, suspected to be a diversionary tactic..."
He summed up the events in a few words: "...While pursuing a suspected mole, I confiscated a large quantity of materials he was carrying, including logistics reserves, the monitoring Array Base, the communication core, and several regulated Magical Artifacts!"
As he spoke, he unhesitatingly presented the string of hot-potato Storage Bags with both hands.
Vice Director Gao took the Storage Bags and swept his Divine Sense through them. His expression grew even more grave, but a flash of relief also crossed his eyes. He gave Yang Wenqing a deep look and nodded. "You did very well!"
Then, he extended his consciousness into them. After inspecting the resources in the Storage Bags, he took out a new one. A flash of Spiritual Light later, he handed the new Storage Bag to Yang Wenqing.
"Take this!"
His tone was casual.
Yang Wenqing took it and sent his consciousness inside. It was a pile of energy crystals—the same ones that had been in the other Storage Bags.
"Put it away!"
Vice Director Gao instructed.
Without hesitation, Yang Wenqing secured the Storage Bag on his person.
Just then, the magistrate retrieved his official seal and landed beside Vice Director Gao. Vice Director Gao immediately turned to report something, but the magistrate spoke first. "Organize your people at once. Prioritize repairing the city’s defensive Array and communication devices. And hurry up with the monitoring Array, too."
Vice Director Gao immediately gave orders to Liu Xin and Yang Wenqing. "Xiaoxin, take the technical division and prioritize restoring the main protective Array. Also, start an internal investigation immediately. Begin with the people close to those traitors and their squads."
"Yes, sir!"
The two responded in unison.
After giving their orders, the magistrate and Vice Director Gao did not linger. Although the Demonic Qi outside the city had been temporarily suppressed by the official seal, its source hadn’t been eliminated, and the residual contamination still needed to be dealt with. The two Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Government Soldiers also needed support. So, the pair boarded the rapid-response Flying Shuttle again, which transformed into a streak of light and shot toward the area where the Demonic Qi had erupted.
Yang Wenqing didn’t dare delay and immediately turned and ran for the emergency command center.
As he pushed open the heavy doors of the command center, a wave of Spiritual Qi mixed with a faint, paralyzing scent washed over him. In the communications team area, which should have been bustling with activity, seven or eight people lay scattered on the floor!
Alarmed, Yang Wenqing rushed forward, crouched down, and placed his fingers on the neck of an unconscious communications specialist, carefully probing with his Spiritual Qi.
’Hmm?’
The results of his probe brought a small sigh of relief. The victims were only unconscious due to some kind of nerve paralysis.
Yang Wenqing immediately circulated his Spiritual Power, placing his hands on the backs of two unconscious specialists. He slowly channeled a gentle, pure stream of Spiritual Power into them, stimulating their nearly stagnant circulation of qi, blood, and Spiritual Veins.
"Cough... cough cough..."
In just over ten seconds, the two specialists began to cough lightly and slowly came to, their eyes still filled with confusion and weakness.
"Sergeant..." one of them recognized Yang Wenqing and struggled to stand up.
"Don’t move. Take a moment to recover!" Yang Wenqing held him down and spoke rapidly, "Communications are down, and there are multiple attacks across the city. We have to repair the Communication Array right now. Can you two still function?"
The two communications specialists were stunned for a moment, but their professional training kicked in. Forcing themselves to focus, they nodded firmly. "Yes!"