Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

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"Alright, now that this matter is concluded, thanks to everyone's assistance. You can all head back to the Golden Moon Pavilion to rest for the night. Tomorrow, I will hold a banquet to thank everyone," said the military chief, folding his hands in a salute toward Yi Chen and the six others. Stirring their mana, everyone employed their own techniques to speed away toward the direction of Golden Moon City.

Soon, only Feng Linsu and the Red Flame military chief remained on the mountaintop. The rest dispersed around the surroundings of the Evil Ghost Lair to search for treasures and army provisions that the old ghost had hidden.

"Old Flame, truly, every generation brings forth new talents. This generation's Dragon and Tiger List outshines ours by a great margin. Yi Chengzi is quite interesting. Why do you think he insisted on killing that rat monster?" Feng Linsu remarked with a sigh.

"Old Feng, feigning ignorance, are you? His Hidden Dragon Temple relies solely on him. You must know about his master's issue with the Yan Family; his actions were merely killing a chicken to scare the monkeys. If he didn't act a bit crazy, how would he intimidate those night owls?

This is a warning to the Yan Family and all the noble families that serve them. With that sword strike, unless they kill Yi Chengzi, no one will dare to mess with his Hidden Dragon Temple again.

He is quite sentimental; he's worth investing in. When he falls on hard times, I, the Red Flame Army, am willing to take on the karma tied to him," the military chief said, his gaze deep and calculating as he watched Yi Chen and the others leave.

Feng Linsu's eyes gleamed, "My Peacekeeping Division can as well."

"Old Feng, your Peacekeeping Division is too full of schemers. Yi Chengzi is precisely the kind of talent our Red Flame Army urgently needs. You can't compete with me for him."

The military chief replied as if a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Having been fully briefed by the Bear brothers on the events that had taken place at the banquet hosted by that wily old ghost, the military chief's appreciation for Yi Chen had grown. He had already decided to write a letter to his beloved daughter.

"Look at you, getting all anxious. Do you really think I would do something like that? After all these years of friendship,

But now, with the world in turmoil and the hearts of men ever-changing, my Peacekeeping Division is also short-handed. It wouldn't be a problem to use him for a task, right?" Feng Linsu's expression turned serious as he took out a piece of intelligence and handed it to the military chief.

"This is an urgent report I received yesterday."

"Now is not a problem; it just depends on what terms you offer. That young man has quite the appetite!" the military chief chuckled, taking the intelligence and glancing at it, his face turning ashen in an instant.

"How dare they!" He waved his iron-blooded war banner, and a surge of verdant qi energy shot forth, blasting away the peak of a distant mountain. In an instant, stones flew and the surviving birds flapped their wings in mournful cries.

...

...

At night, in the Bear Cave.

Yi Chen sat cross-legged with a large bear beside him that had fallen into a baby-like sleep.

On his way back to Golden Moon City, he found an excuse to leave the group and made his way to this secluded place.

"With but a few words, I've gathered the remaining Deep Red Points and even more to spare. It seems my power has not diminished since yesteryear."

"To avoid detection and safely make a breakthrough, this wilderness is naturally safer."

After killing the yellow-skinned demon, Xiao Tianji and Mr. Shu, Yi Chen had accumulated an enormous 4,566 Deep Red Points.

If not now for a breakthrough, then when?

"Deep Red! Let me see your limit!"

Yi Chen roared inwardly. The Deep Red Value flashed as 4,000 Deep Red Points were instantly deducted, and at that same moment, a grand memory suddenly emerged in his mind.

It was the familiar disc-reading segment.

The memory unfolded like a cursory glance – on a precipice overlooking a sea of clouds, a tall Daoist sat watching the roiling mists and the rising sun, his expression profound.

Advancing further on the path of Pure Yang was so difficult at his stage.

After thirty years of quiet meditation and countless precious gems spent refining his body and accessing his spirit's treasures, the Daoist's faint golden Inner Qi had reached a standstill.

Turning inward had failed.

Upon facing a hopeless path, he sighed and left his retreat.

With staff in hand and straw sandals on feet, he began to travel the world.

If a tree doesn't move, it dies; if a person moves, they live.

Since turning inward failed, he naturally had to look outward and learn from nature.

The Daoist had witnessed battles of a million soldiers on the battlefield, with their iron horses and martial spirit soaring to the heavens.

He had also sailed the seas and encountered a black mermaid in the endless depths.

He'd seen beautiful auroras light up the earth and delved into the lightless depths of the ocean.

Yet, all of it was futile.

After nearly a century, he had gained nothing.

Breakthroughs were inherently arduous.

Disheartened, the Daoist no longer forced himself and began to heal the world and exorcise demons.

One day, he came upon a remote village.

The villagers had recently relocated here to escape calamity, but soon after their arrival, they were plagued with illnesses as if cursed by demons.

Outsiders called it a land of fall and a land cursed.

The Daoist, a practitioner of Pure Yang, naturally came to exorcise the demons.

The villagers were simple folk, offering food and drink.

Yet, the Daoist saw something unusual.

For in this village, everyone was 'deformed.'

Some had three eyes, some four hands, some were covered in sores, some bled continuously; all were hideous, each in their own way.

The people here died young, and the village seemed cursed, with no one living to old age.

Strange and curious. Continue your journey with empire

Upon investigating, the Daoist discovered, to his surprise, that it wasn't the work of demons but the stones used in building the village that were the issue.

Somehow, they were affecting the growth and development of living beings.

Delving into the quarry, his faint golden qi energy split rocks and mountains. When he reached the heart of it, he saw that deep within, parts of the stone mine glowed faintly. An unknown force surged, and the Daoist circulated his qi throughout his body, burying the mountain deep in the earth.

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