Chapter 675 - 676: An 【Anomalous】 Village

Chapter 675: Chapter 676: An 【Anomalous】 Village

"Let’s skip today’s banquet."

On the fourth day, Zheng Zhaoling declined the Yunze God’s personal invitation.

"Is there some performance you don’t like?" The Yunze God’s eyes were full of autumn waves, her expression seeming somewhat aggrieved.

Zheng Zhaoling shook her head gently. Looking at the slightly surprised Yunze God, she added:

"I’ve come under my sect’s orders. I’m here on a mission. Continuing to attend banquets would be unreasonable to my sect, whether by emotion or reason. I hope you can understand."

The Yunze God lowered her eyes and said softly:

"If you have a mission, you could have said so earlier. Yunmeng Marsh would naturally help Yunmeng Pavilion resolve difficulties. Whatever the matter, with just one word from you, all of Yunmeng Marsh will comply."

"I’ve already stated before that my mission is only two words: inspection." Zheng Zhaoling’s tone was calm. "This time I came alone, so the inspection must be done by myself."

"I won’t be attending any more banquets. If I need any help, I won’t stand on ceremony."

Hearing this, the Yunze God didn’t say much more. She nodded lightly and said:

"In that case, I won’t delay your mission."

After a pause, the Yunze God emphasized:

"After all, Yunmeng Marsh belongs to Yunmeng Pavilion. To speak without standing on ceremony, we can be considered half of Yunmeng Pavilion’s demons."

Hearing this, Zheng Zhaoling showed an understanding smile. She nodded gently, cupped her fists in greeting, and then turned to leave.

As if she had understood what the Yunze God wanted to emphasize.

The Yunze God also didn’t continue speaking. She simply watched Zheng Zhaoling’s resolute retreating figure.

Only after Zheng Zhaoling’s figure had completely left—

The Yunze God’s expression gradually turned calm. The eyes that had been full of autumn waves turned cold and emotionless.

After a moment, she spoke softly:

"Has everyone been notified?"

"All have been notified." A demon answered from beside the door.

This place was the Yunze God’s cave dwelling after all. Those who could truly serve in the core were naturally demons.

The Yunze God gently shook her long sleeves and spoke with a sigh:

"Living at others’ mercy is like this. I only hope this generation’s core disciple is a sensible person."

After these words fell, no demon dared to respond.

——————

Zheng Zhaoling raised her head, her gaze sweeping across the cloud-shrouded Yunmeng Marsh around her.

She had given enough face to the Yunze God. If things truly reached the point of tearing faces, then she would already have an explanation for her sect.

After all, the Yunze God, strictly speaking, wasn’t yet qualified to demand an explanation from her.

Chu Xingchen’s words had been somewhat coercive and tempting. Zheng Zhaoling had naturally simplified and reported them upward.

On the most basic surface, it seemed like coercion and inducement to make her investigate Yunmeng Marsh.

After all, the threatening words had been too direct. Paraphrasing them would seem strange and rather meaningless.

But if examined more deeply, perhaps this was an ultimatum from Chu Xingchen.

The feat of Enforcing Heaven’s Law was too absurd and dazzling. It wasn’t just about communicating with the Heavenly Dao—it was about how many cultivators at Tribulation Transcendence peak were trapped on the path of heavenly tribulation in this world.

If Yunmeng Pavilion really wanted to challenge Chu Xingchen, they naturally had to calculate gains and losses.

Strictly speaking, if Chu Xingchen truly chose to pressure Yunmeng Marsh, Yunmeng Pavilion might not actually send someone to respond.

In short, even if Chu Xingchen was bluffing, no one dared to treat his bluff as a bluff.

Zheng Zhaoling’s mind cleared for a moment, and she began to carefully recall the intelligence from the elders Yunmeng Pavilion had sent to guard here when she first arrived.

They might have interest entanglements with the Yunze God, but in the face of the sect’s major principles, they would still choose clearly. After all, they still had to return to Yunmeng Pavilion.

Although the guarding elders didn’t interfere in Yunmeng Marsh’s internal operations, gathering intelligence was their primary work.

Among the complex information, the truly notable part was what their own elder had specifically emphasized—Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation demons who were trading with unknown outside cultivators.

After thinking for a moment, Zheng Zhaoling had a rough action plan.

However, now was not the time to head straight for the intelligence locations.

Zheng Zhaoling chose to first observe the scattered villages within Yunmeng Marsh.

First, heading straight for key points would make it easier to find nothing.

Second, the words "hunger and cold" were not something evil cultivators and those demons could feel.

No matter what kind of person Chu Xingchen truly was, since she had accepted the commitment, she ultimately still had to carry it out.

In the days that followed—

Zheng Zhaoling did not deliberately conceal all her traces.

Although Yunmeng Marsh was not as large as before, it was still not small. There were quite a few villages, large and small.

Zheng Zhaoling did not visit them in any particular order. Instead, she went randomly to observe villages in no set sequence.

The time she spent at each varied.

Sometimes she concealed herself, standing in the forest to observe how the villagers lived.

What exactly was the process of the so-called Incense Divine Path, and what impact did it really have on mortals’ lives?

Sometimes she would also reveal her true form, stroll through the villages, visit the god shrines to see for herself, and chat with villagers about seemingly casual topics.

The answers she received were roughly extremely uniform.

Offering to the god shrine was voluntary. The god they believed in also voluntarily protected them. Everything here was very good. Occasional shortcomings were acceptable—compared to the warfare outside Yunmeng Marsh.

The time spent varied, but the journey was very smooth.

Perhaps this was related to her not concealing her traces, allowing certain demons to prepare and coach people on how to respond.

These people might know her approximate identity, but no one was willing to speak the truth.

Yunmeng Marsh had been like this for a thousand years. From their grandfathers to them, the rules had always been this way.

Someone who might be from above had come. But how could they know if things would really change? Would the real culprits truly be punished?

If such an important figure really existed, why would they stay in Yunmeng Marsh?

If after she left, everything returned to normal, who would speak for them then?

Zheng Zhaoling was willing to understand. She hadn’t done anything yet, yet expected others to bare their hearts. That was truly a fantasy.

She was like a recorder, not asking about the complex details, passing through one village after another like viewing flowers from horseback.

Until the twenty-sixth day.

Before Huaze Village.

Zheng Zhaoling’s footsteps stopped. She looked with confusion at the unusually new signboard and village gate, and the completely different atmosphere inside the village.

In the records, Huaze Village was only a small village of about a hundred households.

Zheng Zhaoling looked around. The current scale should be at least three hundred households, if not more.

Moreover, many people inside were still building new houses, and almost all the houses on the outside were new.

She gazed into the distance. A bit further away was a large expanse of reclaimed farmland, and she could see many people working in it.

Compared to the puppet-like villages she had seen before—

The village before her eyes now seemed to have truly come alive.

Was this prepared for her to see, or had a real oddity appeared?

Zheng Zhaoling didn’t overthink it. After all, seeing was believing.

She simply concealed her form and stepped into this extremely [anomalous] village—

Called Huaze Village.

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