That encounter occurred during a mission to investigate devilish cult members.

As he departed Tangshe Town, Zhang Linchuan had let slip a casual sigh.

Of course, he later learned that Zhang Linchuan himself was the very leader of the devilish cult members they had been investigating at that time.

That trip to Tangshe Town had been fraught with deeper meaning, a test. Zhang Linchuan’s true cold and cruel nature had been masked beneath the facade of “Senior Brother Zhang Linchuan,” as he watched him with icy detachment.

He watched him lash out in anger, descend into madness, and struggle in desperation.

It was a final effort by the White Bone Dao to eliminate potential threats, with the ever-present possibility of conveniently crushing him at any moment.

These past scenes, upon reflection now, sent shivers down his spine.

But in that moment, upon hearing Zhang Linchuan’s sigh,

He had been genuinely silenced.

At that time, he had thought, Senior Brother Zhang, with such talent, such fortunate origins, such natural gifts, could still be so anxious about the future, so restless, so driven. What reason did he, Jiang Wang, have to be complacent?

That single sentence, that fleeting emotion, had spurred him on to greater effort for a very long time.

Thinking back now, that unintentional sigh at the time was indeed a reflection of Zhang Linchuan’s state of mind.

He was indeed a person consumed by urgency, which is why he later snatched sustenance from the tiger’s maw and contended with deities. In the short span of a few years, he had wildly spread the Unborn Cult.

While developing the Unborn Cult, he had also taken Lei Zhangan’s place, and who knew how many other contingencies he had laid down for himself in this manner?

He had indeed not wasted a single moment in these past years.

Jiang Wang, recalling that sentence at this moment, seemed to understand Zhang Linchuan a little more.

From the perspective of desiring to become stronger, how were they not alike?

To become strong… a spark of insight flashed in Jiang Wang’s heart.

Zhang Linchuan would not do meaningless things. Zhang Linchuan’s most important priority now was definitely to restore his True God realm, or even ascend to higher realms.

Ultimately, strength was the fundamental basis for confronting everything.

The four realms of deities: False God, True God, Yang God, Honored God.

Each step taken was a world of difference.

Zhang Linchuan had been severed from the world by a single strike from a fierce resident. Now, he could only be considered a False God, a mere shell of a deity.

With the destruction of the Unborn Cult, his tens of thousands of followers worldwide had scattered, some dead, some retreated, some imprisoned. In terms of faith, he was completely without hope. Unless he were given several years to re-establish a new cult and rally his forces again.

So why did he go to Wei Country?

Firstly, he occupied a small town. Secondly, he issued a blood challenge to Wei Country, inciting his personal vendetta against an entire nation.

Regarding the first point, connecting it to the old matter of the White Bone Dao’s sacrifice in Fenglin City, and then linking it to the event of the Human Pill in Dan Country, things seemed to fall into a logical sequence—it was very likely that Zhang Linchuan was relying on killing people to restore his power!

Either through sacrifice, or absorption, or perhaps related to that mysterious and unfathomable Unborn World.

Regarding the second point, Zhang Linchuan, by declaring his evil deeds through a blood challenge and proclaiming vengeance on Wei Country, exhibited a strong spirit of being an enemy to the world.

Much like Yin Guan’s path to Dao through curse techniques, did Zhang Linchuan possess some secret cultivation method that utilized hatred? Could he draw more power the more people hated him?

These were Jiang Wang’s own conjectures, and he was also considering his responses to these possibilities.

At the same time, the latest news about Zhang Linchuan, and the ensuing speculations, he promptly wrote into a letter and sent to Chong Xuan Sheng through the Grand Void Illusion Realm.

After all, “one person’s plan is short, one fat person’s plan is long.”

Chong Xuan Sheng, overseeing the grand scheme from Linzi, might have clearer insights.

By now, Jiang Wang had a certain understanding of Zhang Linchuan’s thunderous methods, his divine abilities similar to “Seven Souls Substituting Life,” and the various feats he had displayed in the Earth Official’s palace in Yan Yun Mountain.

And the most attention-grabbing and mysterious element remained the Unborn World, controlled solely by Zhang Linchuan.

To this day, the various nations of the world had already crushed all publicly established Unborn Cult branches. The seventy-two Earth Fiend Envoys were all but eliminated. Dharma Protectors had either died or gone into hiding. But still, no one could clearly articulate the specific situation of the Unborn World. People only knew that all divine graces of the Unborn Cult were channeled through the Unborn World. But Zhang Linchuan, as the Divine Lord, had always descended unilaterally from the beginning. The Unborn World, which the Unborn Cult followers yearned to eternally exist in after death, had never revealed its true face before their living eyes.

It was not difficult to see now that when establishing the Unborn Cult at the outset, Zhang Linchuan had already planned to abandon all his followers.

Was it a result of his cautious nature, or had he foreseen this day early on?

Wei Country, situated on the south bank of the Long River, had a small section of the Yellow River bank within its borders and encompassed the entire riverbank line between the seventh and eighth towns of the Long River.

It was said that the open embrace was Wei’s gateway, and the ten thousand li of the Long River was a lonely belt encircling its waist.

The current Wei Emperor, when he was still the Crown Prince, had ascended Wangjiang Tower and uttered this sigh, which was still praised by people today as the voice of a heroic lord.

Wei Country and Jing Country faced each other across the Long River, were separated from Song Country by the Longmen Academy, and bordered the old Xia to the east and the mighty Chu to the south.

It could be said to be located in four war zones, with no weak opponents on any side. Without a certain level of strength, it would be impossible to stand firm.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that it fostered the fierce and tough customs of the Wei people. The populace was prone to private feuds, and the soldiers were often fierce and unafraid of death in battle. Dongguo Bao’s fight to the death on Guanhe Platform was a glimpse of this.

And there was another special aspect: in the current era where the martial arts path had not yet been fully forged, Wei Country was the first nation to fully promote martial arts cultivation!

Almost all practitioners in the current world, before achieving the extraordinary, would cultivate martial arts to temper their bodies. But martial arts after the extraordinary realm had not been a smooth path from the beginning, and even now, it could not be considered a complete Great Dao.

Under Wu Xun’s forceful advocacy, the Wei Emperor dared to be the first, pushing martial arts as the mainstream cultivation path, thereby making Wei Country a special location among the nations of the world.

However, the effects were not very promising. Since fully promoting martial arts, Wei Country’s national power had even somewhat declined.

This was because the current mainstream cultivation paths had already been verified by history and perfected by countless strong individuals throughout the ages. In every country and region, they had deep foundations. Every step in cultivation had countless solutions.

Meanwhile, the ultimate path of martial arts was still being explored, with endless pitfalls and lurking dangers along the way. Which practitioner with ambition for the future would not fear taking the wrong path?

And looking at the Yellow River Gathering in Dao Calendar 3919, the Wei Country participants on stage, Dongguo Bao and Yan Shaofei, were both not martial arts cultivators. From this, it could be seen that Wei Country’s choice was likely not firm enough.

However, the contemporary Wei Emperor was obviously a decisive character, firmly believing that martial arts was the future and fundamentally unwilling to change the national policy.

The Wei Martial Army was a world-renowned powerful army, commanding awe in the southern domain under Wu Xun’s leadership. And Wu Xun also firmly implemented his own ideas, gradually replacing officers at all levels with those who secretly cultivated martial arts in recent years, aiming to build a fully martial arts-focused strong army that lived up to the name “Martial Army.”

Those practitioners who were replaced and adhered to the original path were then integrated into another army. It was also said to be cultivated as a strong army, but the actual resources were far less than those of the Wei Martial Army.

After all, Wei Country’s national power was limited. How could it support two world-class strong armies?

No matter what, the will of the Wei Emperor and the Great General was very firm, and no one in court or wilderness could stop them.

The “Martial Arts General Canon,” compiled by Wu Xun himself and supplemented by the Wei Emperor, was also circulated in various martial arts institutes throughout Wei Country, becoming a required martial arts book for young practitioners in Wei Country.

If Wang Jing was considered the most recognized first person in contemporary martial arts, then the Great General Wu Xun of Wei Country, originally from a military strategist background, could be counted among the top three martial arts cultivators in the world, aspiring to be the first.

His cultivation was extraordinary.

So why did Chen Yi Wu feel that Zhang Linchuan was courting death?

It could be said that as long as Zhang Linchuan faced this Great General, he would be without a doubt, and no one could save him.

Unless he could make Wu Xun never find him. But how could doing such evil deeds in Wei Country not leave a trace?

Chen Yi Wu did not think Zhang Linchuan had a chance to escape.

While Jiang Wang only felt that Zhang Linchuan’s true purpose seemed to be separated by only a layer of window paper. It looked vague, but it was already within reach.

The place where this incident occurred was called Wansang Town.

Because the pursuit and killing of Zhang Linchuan was known throughout the world, Jiang Wang did not encounter any obstacles when entering Wei Country. It was only upon arriving at Wansang Town that he was stopped by the red-eyed Wei army soldiers who had blockaded the area.

Thus, he reported his name and waited for the Wei army general to come and greet him.

Yan Shaofei had left the country wielding his sword, Dongguo Bao had died in battle on Guanhe Platform.

The young generation of Wei Country had no particularly eye-catching figures left. Qin Wenqi, who appeared before Jiang Wang at this moment, was a Divine Realm cultivator who had achieved this realm at the age of forty-three. This year, he was already sixty-seven – a figure below the Divine Realm was truly not qualified to handle this matter.

Achieving the Divine Realm at forty-three was actually a genius-level feat, consolidating one’s peak state until death and being a strong hand in the Divine Realm. But compared to an absolute world prodigy like Jiang Wang, who achieved the Divine Realm at twenty, they were completely on different levels of talent.

In the entire Wei Country, if one were to discuss young prodigies, only Yan Shaofei, who had proudly traveled far with his sword, could be compared to Jiang Wang. But that person had not been heard from since the Yellow River Gathering, and it was unknown whether he was still alive in the world.

This world was too vast, with many stories that had no opportunity to be heard.

Upon seeing Jiang Wang, Qin Wenqi came forward to greet him: “This general is Qin Wenqi, under the command of the Great General, blockading the scene in Wansang, verifying the murder. Is Marquis Wu’an here for that evil leader?”

This matter had indeed alarmed Wu Xun!

He wondered where Zhang Linchuan had gotten the confidence to dare to commit such evil deeds in Wei Country and invite Wu Xun’s pursuit?

“Please accept my condolences, General.” Jiang Wang bowed, then got straight to the point: “Does General Qin have any trace of that evil leader here?”

Qin Wenqi said with a voice of shame: “We have not once caught that evil one!”

Through Qin Wenqi’s narration, Jiang Wang finally learned the specific details of the incident.

Wansang Town had been occupied, and within the entire town, tens of thousands of ordinary people were slaughtered clean, leaving only chaos and destruction. And it was a full two hours later that Wei Country discovered the tragedy!

The customs of Wei Country were fierce and tough, and fights often occurred, resulting in bloodshed and corpses.

For security, every district in Wei Country had patrol riders who patrolled each area and sometimes acted as temporary judicial officials, mediating neighbor disputes.

In Wei Country, these patrol riders were highly respected and were called “Mountain-Dependent Riders” by the common people. Only the most excellent individuals within each clan were qualified to be listed among them.

This time, it was also the patrol riders who patrolled here and discovered the tragedy. Layer by layer, the news was reported upwards, alarming the Wei Court. The local official in charge was the last to know – something that should not have happened.

Wei Country was a nation standing in four war zones, a country with a protective array, not some weak small state.

Wansang Town was subordinate to Mou City, which was subordinate to Xinlan County.

The entire Wansang Town being occupied should have triggered a real-time reaction at the Xinlan County Magistrate’s mansion. Holding the Xinlan Magistrate’s seal, one could clearly feel a large block of human vital energy missing.

But on the day the incident happened, the Xinlan Magistrate was hunting in the suburbs with his newly acquired concubine, his mind not on the county magistrate’s seal, thus he was completely unaware.

Of course, no matter how negligent, the Xinlan Magistrate could not have ignored the changes in his magistrate’s seal. The only explanation was that his and the magistrate’s seal’s perception had been tampered with in advance – this was typical Zhang Linchuan style. No matter how exaggerated or crazy he acted, an investigation into the matter would reveal calm and steady steps.

Behind the occupation and slaughter of a town of common people and the public challenge to Wei Country, he had calmly arranged every link, leaving himself relatively ample time to escape.

Tampering with the Xinlan Magistrate was definitely not an easy feat. Disrupting the perception of the magistrate’s seal also couldn’t be concealed for too long.

Thus, Zhang Linchuan’s performance of this series of evil deeds required very precise execution time. It was absolutely not a temporary outburst of impulse.

Jiang Wang pondered slightly: “May I go in and take a look?”

Qin Wenqi did not hesitate and immediately ordered his soldiers to unlock the blockade and make way.

Wei Country was not a military court empire, but its style was highly militarized. The court from top to bottom, unlike those influenced by Confucianism, did not shy away from acknowledging their own mistakes – whether to change or not was another matter.

So Qin Wenqi frankly told Jiang Wang, a person from Qi Country, that their Wei Country soldiers had basically failed to capture the murderer, and when Zhang Linchuan was occupying and slaughtering the common people, their county magistrate was leisurely hunting with his concubine.

Their internal pain, incompetence, and anger, they openly displayed.

It was Jiang Wang’s first time in Wei Country, and it had already left a deep impression on his heart.

As the military blockade was lifted, Jiang Wang walked into Wansang Town. The first sensation that impacted him was the thick smell of blood, almost overwhelming the senses.

It was so heavy, so fresh, and so cruel. An entire town, tens of thousands of ordinary people.

When written on paper or heard by ear, they were just numbers.

When smelled by the nose or seen by the eyes, they were broken ordinary lives, one by one.

The saying “lose in the east corner, gain in the mulberry and elm” gave Wansang Town a beautiful name. The evening sunset falling between the mulberry and elm trees was the meaning of this name, and it was also the beautiful scene that people should be seeing now.

But the people who truly gave them this beautiful meaning were all gone.

“All the corpses are left here, all the departed souls are already gone, they should have been pulled into the Unborn World.” Qin Wenqi walked beside Jiang Wang, trying to speak without emotion, as a soldier should: “We initially suspect that Zhang Linchuan is using this to cultivate, borrowing killing to achieve the Dao. That is to say, such things are very likely to happen again.”

Jiang Wang did not speak.

In the face of such a tragedy, any words seemed pale.

His Dry Sun Red Pupils silently scanned every detail.

The ordinary people of Wansang Town had all died in an extremely short time. Everyone’s expression before death was very painful.

Many people had spit up large mouthfuls of blood before dying, and there were sticky blood traces in their eyes, ears, and noses. This was why, in the absence of any sharp weapon wounds, there was such a heavy smell of blood.

Jiang Wang could roughly imagine the scene when Zhang Linchuan completed the final arrangements, pulling the souls of all the people in Wansang Town out of their bodies simultaneously. Ordinary people were fundamentally unable to endure that kind of pain. Their seven orifices would bleed, their livers and gallbladders would burst first, and many people would even choose to end their lives sooner. Before this, Zhang Linchuan had perhaps lived in this small town for several days.

Perhaps he had already become familiar with many people. He casually observed everything, leisurely recuperating from his injuries amidst the enthusiasm of the small town’s common people, preparing his actions thoroughly, and then precisely executing the final step at a set time.

“Who is this person?”

Jiang Wang saw a disheveled person hanging from a flagpole in the town’s central street.

Qin Wenqi did not even look at the person, only saying: “The magistrate of Xinlan County.”

No matter how many reasons there were for the process, no matter how difficult the enemy was to deal with, according to Wei Country’s law, one who holds a position but does not bear its responsibility, thus delaying the best pursuit time, the head of the Xinlan County Magistrate,

Absolutely could not be kept.

Jiang Wang did not look at him again, only asking Qin Wenqi: “With such a large Wansang Town, did Zhang Linchuan truly leave no trace?”

Qin Wenqi said: “Our Ministry of Justice investigated twenty-seven leads, but they all turned out to be misleading.”

From the bloody battle in the Yan Yun Mountain Earth Palace to Zhang Linchuan’s various actions of occupying and slaughtering in Wansang Town of Wei Country, he seemed like an evil owl who had reached a dead end and was going mad.

But in these specific and minute details, it was clear that he was terrifyingly calm!

Jiang Wang asked again: “There are so many blood debts here, the blood is not yet cold, the resentment has not yet dispersed! Has a divination master been invited to divine?”

Qin Wenqi did not hide anything: “The Great General specially ordered the Altar Master of the Dragon and Tiger Altar to come here to divine. Master Dongfang said that Zhang Linchuan not only possesses the White Bone Saint Body, which makes divination difficult, but also carries some kind of divine ability that blocks cause and effect, transcending the mortal realm and outside of cause and effect. Combining these two, even with his profound cultivation, he was unable to divine!”

Wei Country also had a strong individual in the path of stargazing and divination, the True Person of Divination, Dongfang Shi, who held the seal granted by the Wei Emperor and served as the National Teacher, presiding over the Dragon and Tiger Altar of Wei Country.

This person personally taking action showed that Zhang Linchuan had truly angered Wei Country.

It could be said that in the entire Wei Country, except for the Wei Emperor whose body had become Dao, the highest level of strength that could be mobilized had all been deployed.

But even Dongfang Shi’s personal divination could not pinpoint Zhang Linchuan!

The only gain was learning that Zhang Linchuan possessed an unknown divine ability, which at least had the effect of “blocking cause and effect.”

Zhang Linchuan’s confidence in coming to Wei Country to court death was likely mostly derived from this!

Jiang Wang was silent.

Before his eyes, he seemed to see again that everything about the brilliant talent of the Zhang family, who had fought for Fenglin and fallen under a thunder strike on the three cities’ Dao discussion initially, was a disguise.

Zhang Linchuan, ah Zhang Linchuan, how many more surprises do you have for me?

Qin Wenqi looked over.

This look possessed a typical Wei Country style, direct and straightforward.

Jiang Wang actually understood the meaning.

Wansang Town was different from the earlier desolate forests and the Yan Yun Mountain Earth Official’s palace. The blood was still very fresh, and too many people had died, making it still very possible to trace the cause.

It was just that Dongfang Shi was unable to capture that possibility. It didn’t mean that others couldn’t see it. There were not many people in the world who were stronger than Dongfang Shi in the path of divination.

Coincidentally, Jiang Wang happened to know two.

One was the number one divination master in the world, Yu Bei Dou, and the other was Ruan Si, the supervisor of the Yin Tian Jian in Qi Country.

Even Yu Bei Dou was not guaranteed because Dongfang Shi was a True Person of Divination, yet he gained nothing in Wansang Town. And the White Bone Saint Body was a means above the absolute peak.

Qin Wenqi hoped that this great Qi Wu’an Marquis could invite Ruan Si to take action!

But what kind of figure was Ruan Si?

The supervisor of the Yin Tian Jian was a nation-protecting level existence, constantly observing the stars. He guarded the national fortune, his eyes on the world, his hands flipping history, and his divination on the future. He contended with the masters of the overlord nations of the world.

Not every matter could invite him. Not every person could disturb him.

What you considered a big deal in the heavens, to someone at another level, might just be a passing breeze.

When a Divine Realm prodigy of Jing Country was killed by Zhang Linchuan, the Divination Dao King of Jing Country did not take action to divine,

Precisely for this reason.

How precious was the divination power of such figures? What virtue or ability did he, Jiang Wang, have?

Killing an evil cult leader at the Divine Realm level was like killing a chicken or a dog in the current world. How could it warrant inviting such a slaughtering knife upon the world?

Especially since he had no previous connection with Ruan Si, nor could he claim to have a deep friendship now. They had only briefly cooperated on the Qi-Xia battlefield and in the southern border.

Ruan Si had given him a coin, but that was for the secret of the Floating Land World and did not involve anything else.

What’s more, the path of divination always emphasized repayment of cause and effect. There was no such thing as free divination. If not with money, then perhaps a more precious price had to be paid.

Initially, one divination by Yu Bei Dou had left him disabled after the battle in Broken Soul Gorge.

To invite a divination master of Ruan Si’s level to take action, what price could he pay?

And he understood another point even more clearly.

No matter how terrifying Zhang Linchuan’s current performance, how shocking his actions, this person was achieving these inconceivable feats at the cost of continuously exposing himself.

The more Zhang Linchuan exposed himself now, the more time he gained, and the greater his own opportunity.

This person had already become an enemy to the world, the more he struggled, the less place he had to hide.

He could completely disregard Zhang Linchuan’s overturning of rivers and seas and simply pursue the traces slowly, steadily pressuring him, seizing greater certainty of victory in the end.

But facing the gaze of Qin Wenqi, this unfamiliar Wei Country general, he only said: “I will write a letter now. I will trouble the General to send it to the Southern Xia Governor’s Mansion through Wei Country’s channels. As for whether Supervisor Ruan will agree, I have no certainty either.”

Qin Wenqi thumped his chest armor: “Enough. The divination cost needed by the Great Master, no matter what, Wei Country is willing to repay!”

Immediately, he used his palm as a platform, gathered blood as ink, and disassembled the bone of the Xinlan Magistrate as a brush, personally providing the pen and ink for Jiang Wang.

“The thief committed evil deeds, this person has not shirked responsibility, cause and effect are linked. With this as a book, the Great Master might be able to divine it!”

Wu Xun had obviously become truly angry and had given Qin Wenqi enough authority, even saying “no matter what divination cost will be repaid.”

Jiang Wang did not hesitate, lifted the brush, and finished the writing in one go.

He understood that the general trend was on his side, and time was also on his side. The more he knew, the less opportunity Zhang Linchuan had.

But if this “knowing” was achieved at the cost of more people’s lives, then he would rather not have such a great certainty.

Before his eyes were these occupied innocent common people, their corpses scattered here, their resentment almost gathering into clouds, making divination possible.

Then he should grasp this possibility.

With his current identity, he would add weight to these lives.

If Ruan Si did not agree, he would just invite Yu Bei Dou again, even if it meant breaking a limb and crippling his body once more.

As for Ruan Si agreeing to divine, the price he should pay, he would pay. If he couldn’t pay, he would find a way to pay.

In short, Zhang Linchuan must die, and he could not live another day!