Wait a minute, where is my master?

"I am a Yinming Corpse Evil, though having been born not so long ago, I am able to rival cultivators at the Divinity Transformation Realm.

This is what it means to be innately powerful!!!

My existence came into being from the collective corpse qi and blood of an entire city.

I've always believed that someone as powerful as I should go around ambushing cultivators for their blood, to advance myself into a Yellow Springs Corpse Evil.

Unfortunately, from the day I became sentient, my master commanded that I must not leave this city.

Of course, he promised that as long as I obediently stayed in the city, a steady stream of cultivators would come to me willingly, to become my blood feast.

Indeed, many people came at the beginning, and the two strongest together caused me a little trouble, but they were eventually devoured by me.

I felt myself growing stronger, hehehe, and at this rate, my promotion to Yellow Springs Corpse Evil is just around the corner.

Today, two from the Nascent Soul Realm and one from the Golden Core Realm came to the city, enough for me to have a hearty meal.

Hehehe..."

Inside Ling City, a mass of black qi rose and landed in the street where Jin Xu and his group were.

In the simple mind of the Yinming Corpse Evil, it fantasized about the scene where its master would bow down to him after it advanced to a Yellow Springs Corpse Evil, and it couldn't help but let out a "hehehe" chuckle.

Then, it couldn't laugh anymore.

On the street, the young Taoist slightly tilted his head and glanced at the mass of black qi at the end of the street.

"Hmm? What's this?"

He lifted his right hand and casually flung out a Hand Palm Thunder.

Corpse Evil: "Isn't that just a mortal, how...?"

The lightning struck swiftly, not leaving much time for thought.

The Yinming Corpse Evil, dead.

Age... four days.

The robust golden thunderbolt collided with the black qi, easily obliterating it.

Then, the lightning penetrated the various shops and houses on the street, and only after shattering the walls of Ling City, did it dissipate.

There were no living people in the city, so when Jin Xu made a move, he didn't need to hold back and could simply greet with a Hand Palm Thunder.

"Alright, the filth has been cleaned up, let's determine our direction and head toward Shangjing City."

The young Taoist dusted off his hands and walked towards the city gates.

Xu Qian opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no sound came out.

Simply put, he was too shocked and for a moment didn't know how to put his tongue to use.

The horrifying black qi had vanished instantly, and the cylindrical passage blown through allowed one to see straight out of Ling City.

"Hiss, all I can say is worthy of Jin Xu."

Xu Qian took in a breath of cold air, thinking to himself.

Then he quickly followed the steps of the others.

Outside the city, in front of the large round hole.

"Young master, shall we change our mode of travel? Ling City is much closer to Shangjing City compared to Gusu, with Little White's pace, we could arrive in two days," Yu Yaoer said gently shaking Jin Xu's arm and pleading in a low voice.

She isn't a body cultivator and does not have Little White's endurance, and couldn't bear the Taoist's Dry Land Onion Escape Skill.

Meanwhile, Xu Qian, who had caught up, heard Little Fish Demon's words and nodded frantically. Although he hoped to arrive at Shangjing City before Li Mi, he didn't want to experience that crazy escape technique again.

He was eager, but not that desperate.

On the other hand, Little White seemed eager to try, apparently very willing to experience it once more.

"Hmm... okay then, let's trouble Little White."

Jin Xu calmly replied, then pulled his arm out of Yu Yaoer's "generosity."

Feeling slightly disappointed inside, he had wanted to try his Dry Land Onion Escape Skill again.

When Little Fish Demon heard her master agree to the request, she was overjoyed, but Jin Xu's action of withdrawing his arm also left her somewhat disappointed.

The master was good in all respects, just too much of a gentleman!

...

The four of them resumed their journey, silently.

It wasn't until dusk that Jin Xu, out of boredom, scanned the surroundings with his Spiritual Sense and discovered something.

Next to a village's fields, two poorly dressed adult men and a little boy stood.

One of the men was beating the little boy's backside with a branch of thorns, over and over.

The little boy cried out in pain, wailing, but he did not dodge the blows.

And the other man found the spectacle thoroughly entertaining, laughing and joking with the one doing the beating.

"What's this???"

Perplexed, the young Taoist spoke of it to the others.

The group, figuring it was on the way, quickly directed Little White to hurry along towards the field.

At the edge of the field, the two villagers suddenly saw a gigantic Demon Wolf appear before them and instinctively fell to their knees, begging for mercy.

"Merciful Wolf Lord, spare us! I'm dirty, I haven't bathed, I won't taste good!"

"Yes, yes, that's right, my lord, I haven't bathed either, I'm also not good to eat!"

The boy who was being beaten, upon seeing the Husky appear, actually forgot to cry.

Seeing their reactions, Jin Xu gave Xu Qian a meaningful look, signaling that it was time for him to step in.

Xu Qian caught the hint, leaped off the wolf's back, and stood before the two men, proclaiming loudly, "Do not panic, you two, for I am Xu Qian, the seventh-grade night watchman of Great Xia! These individuals behind me are all hermits of high standing, not evil spirits or evil cultivators, and certainly not man-eaters!"

He paused for a moment then continued, "However, you two are beating a child here, what's the reason for this? If you cannot give a satisfactory explanation, then... the two of you will have to come with me to the official residence!"

After saying this, Xu Qian turned his head to give Jin Xu a look as if asking, "Did I do it right?" Seeing the Taoist nod, he then turned back around, ready to pose his question again.

At this point, the villager who kept agreeing spoke quietly to his companion, "What's a night watchman?"

Upon hearing this, his companion elbowed him urgently, signaling him not to talk nonsense, then cautiously lifted his eyes to study the person in front of him.

Although the villagers had spoken softly, none of the others present were ordinary folk, and the question about the night watchman was heard loud and clear by everyone.

Xu Qian: "..."

He hadn't expected that his status would be of no use here. What sort of remote village was this, living in Great Xia but not even knowing what a night watchman was?

Having heard the villagers' words, Jin Xu took Yu Yaoer and hopped off Little White's back.

He then gently patted the wolf's hind leg, and the Husky instantly transformed into human form.

Walking forward a few steps, the young Taoist spoke softly, "Both of you stand up, please. We are just passing by and were curious as to why you two have been beating this child so persistently. What's the child done wrong?"

Seeing the Demon Wolf suddenly turn into a little girl, both the villagers and the little boy were dumbfounded; then they beheld a celestial-looking Taoist approaching, leaving them even more astonished.

Jin Xu had been standing on the Husky's back previously and had not yet been seen by anyone.

After a few seconds, the man with the thorny branch was the first to snap back to reality.

"This.. this.. this esteemed... immortal, you are not aware, we are not simply beating him; this is a long-standing custom in our Little Horse Village."

The other villager: "That's right, that's right."

"Just call me Jin Xu. What kind of custom would have you beating children?"

Being called an immortal felt odd, so the young Taoist volunteered his own name.

Meanwhile, Little White had already taken the liberty of amusing the boy who had been crying so hard that snot bubbles had formed.

"Okay, Immortal Jin Xu, let me tell you..."