"Just kidding." Qiu Ming smiled. "Of course, your body is indeed failing. I wasn't wrong about that. It is a terminal illness, but it's not that rare. With how much you've overdrawn your body, you might be saved by awakening your bloodline now. Other methods..."

She shook her head.

Judging from her Qi energy, the woman's internal condition had reached its final stage.

Her internal organs were riddled with and assimilated by the disease. Unless she had a complete body transplant, otherwise...

But only a very few top-tier divine arts and bloodlines could achieve body transplants, so... this woman was basically waiting to die.

"I..." Guo Yurong looked at the withered woman before her, her heart sinking.

She didn't believe it. She didn't believe she had suddenly contracted a terminal illness.

But the person before her was a stranger and had no reason to lie to her.

Li Cheng Yi also sensed Guo Yurong's abnormal state and sighed inwardly.

He took out a few more gold leaves, placed them in her hand, and patted her shoulder without a word before turning to leave.

"Hey, are you just leaving like that?" Qiu Ming was stunned and quickly followed.

"..." Li Cheng Yi didn't say much. He wasn't related to her. Helping her because of a past acquaintance was already kind. He couldn't possibly take responsibility for her entire life.

"Heh, you have a good temperament. In this chaotic world, only a cold heart can take you further. You're much better than I was back then." Qiu Ming chuckled a few times.

She thought the woman looked pretty, despite being dirty. She thought Li Cheng Yi might take her in.

"Next, I'll ask at the town garrison. If there are still no leads..." Li Cheng Yi's expression was grave.

"Then post a public reward notice. That's the fastest way, as long as you're willing to spend the money," Qiu Ming said.

"Alright." Li Cheng Yi nodded.

The two disappeared at the end of the street and headed to the town garrison.

Unfortunately, the result was still fruitless. In the end, Li Cheng Yi could only return to Qu Ling Prefecture and follow Qiu Ming's advice to prepare a reward notice and search for Wang Yi Heng on a large scale.

Although he was offering a reward, he was already prepared for the possibility that Wang Yi Heng was dead.

Without resting that night, the two returned to Qu Ling Prefecture.

The turmoil caused by the destruction of the Ouyang family had completely dissipated. Those red-eyed people forcibly transformed by the Rong Ling Zhen Yin state had also been dealt with.

Whether they were killed or imprisoned, the city was still the same as before.

The flow of people continued, and patrols guarded the farmland and hunted wild beasts and savages.

The previous turmoil ended too quickly, so only a small area of the city was affected. Most other places continued to operate as usual, especially since Qu Ling Prefecture was built by the sea and relied on maritime slave trade to support its economy.

Such deaths and casualties were not uncommon, even in the past.

The city had long established a complete mechanism for handling the aftermath. For ordinary people, it was just something to talk about after dinner.

Inside Tian Ju Pavilion.

Large Yin Eyes glowed with an eerie, dim luster in the morning sun.

They wriggled, constantly peering towards various parts of the city.

In a courtyard inside the pavilion.

Sunlight streamed down, turning into thick beams that fell on a white-haired Taoist.

The Taoist wore a dark red Taoist robe with two crescent moons embroidered on the large sleeves. The crescent moons' moon-white patterns were edged with silver thread, and surrounded by small, tadpole-like characters.

He was the strongest person in Qu Ling Prefecture – Yin Yue Zhenren.

On the surface, he just had a red vertical mark between his eyebrows, otherwise he was no different from ordinary people. But... if anyone could get within ten meters of him, they would naturally feel a bone-chilling cold.

"Master, Senior Sister Qiu Ming and that Wang Yi Chen have returned," Yun Shan, who was waiting in the corner of the courtyard, said softly.

"That genius, eh? Bring him here," Yin Yue said casually.

Qu Ling Prefecture wasn't considered strong in the entire Shao Yin Kingdom, but that was because there weren't many experts here.

In terms of quality alone, he was equivalent to the combined strength of many Prefecture Lords.

"Yes."

Inside the courtyard, Yun Shan flicked his finger, and a wisp of blood energy turned into a red light and shot out.

Soon, soft footsteps approached outside the courtyard.

Qiu Ming led Li Cheng Yi through the door without anyone stopping them. About fifteen meters from Yin Yue, Qiu Ming bowed deeply and clasped her fist in salute.

Li Cheng Yi gave an official greeting.

"You are Wang Yi Chen?" Yin Yue sized him up with curiosity. After learning that Wang Yi Chen had destroyed the Ouyang family and defeated Tian Can, the core disciple he had placed high hopes on, he became curious.

Now, looking at him, the man was two meters tall, with ordinary, young features. For the moment, he couldn't see anything unusual about him compared to ordinary martial artists.

"Are you willing to establish a new family in the city, or return to your original position and continue to serve the court?" Yin Yue asked softly.

Li Cheng Yi lowered his head and replied.

"This subordinate wishes to continue serving the court."

"Not bad." Yin Yue smiled. "I heard that you defeated my disciple Tian Can. Is that true?"

"Yes." Li Cheng Yi nodded.

"How long have you been practicing martial arts?" Yin Yue asked.

"Since I was a child."

"Then... attack me with all your strength." Yin Yue lowered his left hand, and a dark red eye suddenly cracked open in his palm. The pupil rotated rapidly left and right, quickly locking onto Li Cheng Yi's position.

"?" Li Cheng Yi was slightly stunned. The other party's transition was too quick. He was still wondering if he had misheard.

"Just attack me with all your strength. Let me see what you relied on to defeat Tian Can," Yin Yue ordered with a relaxed expression.

Clearly, from his current perspective, he didn't believe the news that Li Cheng Yi had defeated Tian Can. He just wanted to see it for himself.

He had personally created the Dragon Cocoon Ten Transformations Divine Art for Tian Can. He knew best how powerful this divine art was.

And Wang Yi Chen, a True Qi martial artist with a humble background and low-level martial arts, even if he was talented, could defeat Tian Can... That was a bit much.

"Prefecture Lord... be careful." This time, Li Cheng Yi heard clearly.

He immediately stood up straight, and wisps of white Qi energy swirled and overflowed from his body, quickly covering half of the courtyard.

Within the white Qi energy, a pair of huge, light golden eyes appeared, staring at Yin Yue.

"Hmm?" Yin Yue Zhenren's brows narrowed slightly. "Interesting."

Before he could finish speaking, there was a loud bang.

The ground of the courtyard shook violently, and the white Qi energy exploded, from which a huge figure fifteen meters tall burst out.

Li Cheng Yi transformed into the Rong Ling Zhen Yin state, and the giant halberd in his hand smashed down on Yin Yue.

One blade of the giant three-pronged halberd was about the same size as Yin Yue.

The terrifying screech squeezed the air, and in the blink of an eye, a layer of firelight enveloped the three-pronged halberd.

'Dragon Annihilation!!' Li Cheng Yi didn't hold back. Except for Hua Yu, he was using all his strength, including the invisible fused bone armor of the Hua Lin Yi.

The three-pronged halberd was like a dark cloud, completely covering the area where Yin Yue was.

This strike had at least 30,000 tons of terrifying impact force, superimposed with ten times the speed of sound.

Clang!

But just as the three-pronged halberd was about to touch Yin Yue Zhenren, a pure silver crescent moon lit up in front of him.

The crescent moon was like a scythe, taller than Yin Yue, perfectly protecting him. It collided head-on with the descending three-pronged halberd.

Buzz!!!

When the two collided, there was no expected loud noise. Instead, only the air was squeezed out, and whirlwinds surged within the courtyard.

The strong wind made Yun Shan and others' robes flutter, and large amounts of dust were stirred up from the ground and scattered around.

The three-pronged halberd in Li Cheng Yi's hand trembled violently, but it couldn't smash down. He felt as if the giant halberd had smashed into a large ball of cotton, and all his strength was lost. He wanted to increase his strength, but it was like falling into empty space, unable to move further.

The giant halberd seemed to be stuck in mud, unable to move.

"Hmm not bad Your foundation is very good, your talent is strong, and you've reached the third Rong Ling Zhen Yin state No wonder you were able to defeat Tian Can..." Yin Yue's usually calm eyes widened slightly.

"...Third... Third imprint?!"

Yun Shan and the others were shocked when they heard this.

At first, they thought Li Cheng Yi was just an ordinary genius, only fused with one imprint, yet he surpassed Tian Can. Now it seemed, that this guy was probably not a one-imprint martial artist, but a three-imprint one!

"No wonder... If it's three imprints, then that can be understood." Qiu Ming's expression became serious.

"If an ordinary Blood Essence martial artist's bloodline can be developed to the extreme, that counts as one imprint. After that, if he cultivates a technique and successfully fuses with the spirit, that counts as two imprints. But three imprints at this age..." Du He shook his bloated head, puzzled.

"There's another possibility," Qiu Ming said. "If the bloodline he inherited is fused with the True Imprint, and is a two-imprint bloodline to begin with, then after the Spirit Fusion, it would be three imprints!"

Her expression was solemn, clearly indicating that a two-imprint bloodline was quite rare for them.

"Two-imprint bloodline... Tian Can also has a two-imprint bloodline They both fused with the spirit, but he still couldn't defeat him..." Yun Shan frowned and glanced at Tian Can, who had a grim expression.

"You guys are all single-imprint bloodlines, what are you looking at me for?! Be careful, I'll beat you up!" Tian Can said angrily.

"A two-imprint bloodline can only appear if at least two consecutive Spirit Fusion experts have appeared in the family's lineage, but frankly speaking, I don't think I've heard of such an ancient clan in my Shao Yin Kingdom," Yun Shan continued.

"So, there's only one answer." Qiu Ming's eyes were burning, staring at the two figures in the arena.

"He's not Wang Yi Chen at all! He's from a foreign great clan that the Wang family adopted from elsewhere!"

"You're not from the Wang family?" Yin Yue Zhenren in the arena frowned slightly. "But the True Imprint on your body is clearly in the form of the Wang family's True Imprint Spirit..."

As the Prefecture Lord, with his long lifespan, he had naturally made a collection of the illustrations of all the True Imprint Spirits.

Although the Wang family was humble, they were also collected as a placeholder.

He had some impression of this kind of True Imprint Spirit that was completely based on healing abilities.

But now...

This True Imprint Spirit, which he originally thought was useless...

He looked at the huge deer-man fifteen meters tall on the opposite side, with its terrifying muscle lines, thick gray-white bone armor, and ferocious giant antlers.

No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem useless at all...

In this form, a single slap could kill an ordinary Spirit Fusion martial artist.

"The most likely possibility is that you should have had a two-imprint bloodline to begin with. Then, while cultivating the Wang family's Qing Yuan Dan technique, your bloodline was also developed to the extreme, and your martial arts were also cultivated to the Rong Ling Zhen Yin state. Only then did you become like this." Yin Yue Zhenren was indeed a peak martial artist, seventh on the Shao Yin Kingdom's Heaven Sealing List.

Among the nine Prefectures, he could rank in the top three among all the Prefecture Lords.

Moreover, that was already a ranking from a hundred years ago. The Heaven Sealing List could only rank according to past achievements. No one knew what the true ranking was today.

After all, Yin Yue had not been slack since being defeated by Song Yun He.

Instead, he was always preparing to challenge the National Preceptor again.

After all, no one wanted to guard a city dryly, unable to move for hundreds of years.

(End of this chapter)