Little Woods Town. With Zhao Rucheng and Du Yehhu having lost their combat ability, and Ling He carrying Zhao Rucheng on his back, only Jiang Wang could fight on the return journey to the central palace location. Fortunately, he was already quite experienced in dealing with the wandering souls, and his Purple Qi East Comes Sword technique was becoming increasingly refined in this continuous battle.

Stamina was not a concern, as since returning from Tangshe Town and focusing on the Chong Meridian cultivation, he had accumulated seventy-odd units of Dao Yuan. Although each one used was one less before the formation of the Dao Vortex, each Dao Yuan provided ample feedback in critical moments, easily sustaining the pressure of this intense combat. In fact, these Dao Yuan were his trump card for the four of them to break the Xun Palace position, but he had not anticipated Zhao Rucheng’s sudden peril and Du Yehhu’s decisive action.

“I say, can you guys stop looking so gloomy?” After walking for a while, Zhao Rucheng couldn’t help but speak. “It’s just excessive Qi and blood loss. It’s not like there’s no way to replenish it.”

“What way?” Before Du Yehhu could speak, Ling He exclaimed excitedly, shaking Zhao Rucheng’s hand. “Tell us quickly.”

While clearing away wandering souls, Jiang Wang couldn’t help but glance at him, tempted to give him a few sword strikes. This kid had a solution but kept it hidden, clearly up to no good.

“Hey, hey, you’re making my handsome head spin.” Zhao Rucheng finally managed to pacify his ‘temporary mount’ and continued, “I happen to know that someone recently purchased a Solid Foundation Pill at a high price from Yun Country and is looking to resell it. This pill has remarkable effects in nourishing Qi and blood and stabilizing the foundation. Some noble youths even take a Solid Foundation Pill before opening their meridians, so that the Dao Vein True Spirits will be more agile afterward! Let alone Du Yehhu’s mere excessive loss of Qi and blood.”

“I just don’t know…” He even curled up the corners of his mouth. “If some people are willing to buy it.”

Du Yehhu paused before saying in a muffled voice, “This old man has no money.”

“You can borrow from me. Industry rules, nine out, thirteen back.” Zhao Rucheng said with a smile.

“Usury is fine; Brother Hu likes usury.” Du Yehhu smiled with an air of apparent simplicity.

“Alright, alright.” Jiang Wang massaged his forehead, feeling exasperated. Everyone in Maple Forest City knew that Du Yehhu was notorious for not repaying loans. In Du Yehhu’s words, those who engage in usury are not good people anyway, so it’s fine to swindle them out of some drinking money. If it weren’t for his background in the Dao Academy, he would have been thrown into the city moat long ago.

“Little Five, who is that person? How much silver do they want for it?”

Jiang Wang had secretly decided that no matter how much the person asked for, he would find a way to scrape together enough money.

“The person who bought the Solid Foundation Pill actually has the surname Zhao. Isn’t that a coincidence?” Zhao Rucheng sighed dramatically. “Even more coincidentally, he’s actually from my mansion. This is too much of a coincidence!”

Jiang Wang took a deep breath, reminding himself that Old Five was seriously injured and could easily be beaten to death. Only then did he control the urge to strike him.

This kid beat around the bush for half a day, just to say that his family had a Solid Foundation Pill that could replenish Du Yehhu’s loss. He had kept his brothers in suspense for a whole half-incense stick for just this one sentence!

Even the generous Ling He felt a toothache coming on.

However, with this assurance, everyone felt much more at ease. As they spoke, they had already returned to the central palace location.

Li Jianqiu and Zhao Lang were already waiting there, discussing something with Wang Changxiang. There were other disciples present as well, and their conditions were not good. Wei Yan had gone to support the Dui Palace position, which was the only array point that had not yet been broken.

“Junior Brother Jiang’s performance was good,” Li Jianqiu casually greeted him.

Wang Changxiang also nodded to him.

“I’m ashamed; it was all thanks to Brother Yehhu and Rucheng’s burst of power,” Jiang Wang said with a wry smile.

In front of several main fighters, he decisively conceded the credit. The most important thing at this stage was for them to successfully open their meridians. The reason he didn’t mention Ling He was because Du Yehhu and Zhao Rucheng’s conditions were more convincing.

Ling He didn’t mind at all.

Li Jianqiu and the others were seasoned veterans; one look was enough for them to understand Du Yehhu’s condition, and they were secretly astonished by the strength of his Qi and blood.

“Once Wei Yan returns, we’ll go straight into the central palace,” Wang Changxiang said. “This time, everyone fought bravely to eliminate evil, a commendable performance. Maple Forest City will not forget your contributions, and the Dao Academy will not forget your merits.”

“Indeed!” As he spoke, Wei Yan emerged from the thick fog, followed by three Dao Academy disciples. Two other disciples were missing, and it seemed that they had met an unfortunate fate.

The fierce battle was not limited to the Xun Palace position. Apart from Wei Yan and Li Jianqiu, who had almost effortlessly dealt with the town-guarding Wraith, the other teams had suffered casualties, with eleven deaths, a casualty rate of nearly half! Almost everyone who survived was also wounded. Even Zhao Lang had nearly been disemboweled, with a gruesome wound left on his abdomen.

If Wang Changxiang, who was stationed in front of the central palace, hadn’t dispatched reinforcements in time, this team operation might not have succeeded.

Wei Yan solemnly said, “If we can return from this battle, I will be the first to petition for merit for everyone.”

“The danger of this battle was beyond what I had imagined. But now Maple Forest City’s strength is depleted, and only you are capable of fighting,” He said, and actually bent over and bowed. “On behalf of the unjustly deceased souls of Little Woods Town, and on behalf of the people of our Maple Forest City, I thank you all for fighting valiantly!”

“Brother Wei is too polite,” Li Jianqiu said.

Everyone turned aside, unwilling to accept the bow.

“General Wei, what are you saying? You are from Maple Forest City, but are we not also born and raised here?” Du Yehhu said disapprovingly. “Stop with the formalities; time is of the essence!”

In such a weakened state, he still didn’t hide his heroic spirit.

Wei Yan took a deep look at him, grabbed his sword, and turned around. “This Junior Brother is right. Everyone, follow me! Let us see what kind of demons are poisoning our fellow villagers here!”

With the eight palaces broken, the fog wall in the central palace location also lost its foundation, collapsed silently, and no longer blocked the way. But the thick fog still hadn’t dispersed, constantly obscuring the view.

Wei Yan took the lead, Li Jianqiu and Wang Changxiang guarded the left and right, Zhao Lang, although wounded, was mostly intact in combat ability, and sat at the rear of the team. The party cautiously explored toward the center of the palace.

At this point, the danger in Little Woods Town no longer needed to be said. Having experienced the difficulty of killing the Wraith in the other eight palace positions, everyone could imagine the ferocity of the central palace location.

Those demons who were wreaking havoc in Little Woods Town, if they had a plan, would be at this center point.

This group of people could be said to represent the hope of the younger generation of Maple Forest City. If they all died in battle here, it could be said that the entire Maple Forest City Dao Academy would suffer from a lack of successors.

But no one said anything about retreating. The road ahead was indeed dangerous and terrifying, but this was their hometown!

They were born here, raised here, learned here, and were willing to die here.

Besides Zhao Rucheng and Du Yehhu, there were three other Dao Academy disciples who had lost their combat ability. Little Woods Town was so dangerous that it was impossible to leave them where they were. Therefore, Ling He still carried Zhao Rucheng on his back as the team proceeded, and Huang Azhan, as Du Yehhu’s old drinking buddy, protected him from the side.

Unlike the almost exhausted Du Yehhu, Huang Azhan was full of energy. In the previous battle, he was one of the few who was completely unscathed, which showed that he had some strength, and it wasn’t all just flirting.

As the team was advancing, Huang Azhan suddenly stopped. He took a deep sniff. “I smell a fragrance.”

The team paused.

He continued, “It’s a woman’s rouge… no, it’s a body fragrance.”

Everyone turned to look at him.

He added, “It’s a beautiful woman.”

Du Yehhu said unpleasantly, “Is your nose a dog’s nose?”

“Ah! A beautiful female ghost!” Zhao Rucheng suddenly became excited. “I said there would be one, right? Du Yehhu, you owe me a romantic encounter!”

No one paid attention to these two lively treasures, because they had reached the very center of Little Woods Town, and they saw that huge, moving vortex.

Besides this, there was nothing else in the entire central palace location.

That red-clad woman, white-haired old man, and black-robed cultivator seemed to have never existed.

Not only were they non-existent, there was no one, no livestock, not even a brick or tile. Besides the endless mist, there was only this strange, lonely vortex.

“Where did the official yamen go? What the hell is this vortex?”

No one could answer this question. Only Wang Changxiang stared with wide eyes, shocked!

“Brother Wang, do you recognize it?” Wei Yan asked in a deep voice, holding his sword vigilantly.

But his question was soon answered.

Because from the deep darkness at the center of the vortex, a jet-black object slowly emerged.

To see jet-black from within the darkness was a peculiar description. But that was how it was.

That jet-black object within the darkness seemed to be the center of the darkness, and could let everyone clearly see its appearance. As it rose little by little in the vortex, its full appearance gradually unfolded before everyone.

It was a stone paifang, and its structure was not grand, only a three-bay, four-pillar, seven-tower pattern. If one ignored its jet-black texture and the scene in which it appeared, then it was no different from those paifangs that people saw in everyday life.

But the plaque in the very middle of the paifang expressed its extraordinary nature.

There were three characters written on it. No one present recognized the font, but everyone understood its meaning at first glance.

——Ghost! Gate! Pass!