By the time Shen Mo arrived, the battle was over!

Even though the mutated Heavenly Demon had advanced to the late-stage of Class II, it was still no match for Chen Mengze.

The demon-corrupted cultivator was a local rogue cultivator at Layer II of the Qi Gathering Realm.

His proficiency in magic, cultivation methods, talismans, and magic artifacts was just average!

Even by devouring creatures to boost his Cultivation Realm to a level not inferior to Chen Mengze's...

His combat power still fell short compared to Chen Mengze, who hailed from the Riverside Sect!

Moreover, Chen Mengze still had the Purple Bamboo Sword in her hand. Even if she couldn't defeat it, she could rely on this treasure to slay it.

"Senior Sister Chen, are you injured?"

With a look of concern, Shen Mo asked after he descended from the Thunderstroke Sword.

"I'm fine."

Chen Mengze put away her sword, glanced coldly at Patriarch Chi, and commented, "Regrettably… six people from the Chi Family have been slain by this demon head."

Shen Mo had witnessed the previous scene through his Flawless Dharma Eye.

He turned around and sighed at Patriarch Chi, "Chi, this is a dereliction of duty by my Defense Division."

Shen Mo didn't say things like the city defenders being arranged by the Tian Family or that all the Cultivating Families within the city shared responsibility.

Patriarch Chi already knew about this.

His family even had a junior at the Body Tempering Realm who was receiving a monthly salary from the Tian Family and guarding the southern city wall!

If he tried to shirk responsibility at this moment, he would also give away his rights. But he couldn't avoid official punishment. If something happened in the future, the one who suffered would still be him, as the Commander of the Defense Division!

"There will be compensation from our Division after this incident," Shen Mo continued.

"Although it cannot alleviate your pain of loss, at the very least it can provide the survivors with resources to cultivate and to strengthen their abilities."

"So as to prevent such a tragedy from reoccurring!"

Patriarch Chi showed a look of sorrow on his face. He wanted to argue with Shen Mo but could find no pretext.

Was he to blame the Defense Division for neglecting its duty and allowing the Heavenly Demon into the city? But the duties and rights of defending the city had always been controlled by the Tian Family-led clans, and the Defense Division couldn't intervene. Blame this woman named Chen for driving the Heavenly Demon into their mansion? But the extermination of the Heavenly Demon was a great cause. He couldn't ask them to let the demon head go, right!

Eventually, Patriarch Chi heaved a heavy sigh, cupped his hands towards Shen Mo, then returned to his mansion.

The body of the demon-corrupted cultivator was taken back to the Defense Division by two Body Tempering Realm cultivators.

"Senior Sister Chen, take your people to all parts of the city wall and arrest all the defending cultivators," Shen Mo instructed.

"Temporarily... bring them back to the Defense Division for custody."

"After the investigation is clear, you can let them go. My Division's cultivators will fill the vacant positions."

"Also, all four Bone Viewing Mirrors on top of the city walls should be replaced."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mengze's brows slightly furrowed. With her current strength, arresting the defending cultivators wouldn't be difficult.

But this move would undoubtedly provoke the families in the city!

The Defense Division was just starting to show improvement.

Such drastic measures would probably push the smaller Cultivating Families to further align themselves with the Tian Clan.

Shen Mo saw her doubts and said calmly, "Deter them with force and lure them with benefits! I'm not afraid that they'll utterly turn against us."

"You go ahead. I need to pay a visit to the Tian Family."

"It's time to settle the resources that have been owed to the Defense Division for over a decade."

Similar to the Riverside Sect, when the Defense Division was established, all families and immortal sects with properties would cede some of their profits to the Defense Division.

The Tian Clan had been prosperous for five hundred years.

They gradually developed from an ordinary cultivating family in Hongye City into a wealthy immortal clan.

Over a hundred years ago, when the demonic calamity had just begun, the Tian Family also followed the rules, ceding some of their property interests.

Relying on the Defense Division to exterminate demons and evil, and protect Hongye City, they paid their monthly cultivation resources in full.

However, about two decades ago, after the demonic calamity temporarily receded, they began to make small moves.

Firstly, they arranged for a member of their family to serve as the Commander in Hongye City, but they were rejected by the Riverside Sect.

Then, the resources they contributed gradually decreased, and they progressively interfered with affairs that were rightfully under the Defense Division's jurisdiction.

Until today, the cultivators guarding the city were paid by the Tian Family, and not even a single Spirit Stone was given to the Defense Division each year.

At a rate of three hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones per month, over the years, the Tian Family had accrued a debt of more than seventy thousand Spirit Stones!

Calculating old debts from previous years was just an excuse for Shen Mo.

What he wanted to settle was today's account.

As soon as he left the Defense Division, a mutated Heavenly Demon entered the city.

If he hadn't possessed the Flawless Dharma Eye to monitor the whole city, and hadn't notified Chen Mengze—whose strength was fortunately considerable—allowing her to arrive in time to slay the demon head, things would have been dire.

If there had been any mistake in any of these links, the demon would have devoured many creatures in the city today.

It might have even advanced to Class III, slaughtering and devouring countless mortals and cultivators!

And Shen Mo himself would not have escaped the punishment of the Enforcement Hall.

A fate of death and destruction might have been the lightest outcome.

Therefore, he decided to immediately take back the responsibility and authority for guarding the city, to prevent such disasters from happening again.

Of course, he couldn't let the Tian Family off easily!

WHOOSH!

The stream of light that was Shen Mo appeared in the sky above the Tian Family mansion.

As the hegemon of Hongye City, the Tian Family's estate was vast, with countless buildings, and was located above the Spirit Vein node within the city.

Furthermore, with the Spirit Gathering Array accumulating Spiritual Qi, their residence was remarkably grand, and the rich Spiritual Qi rivaled that of immortal sects outside the city, such as the Gold Toad Tower.

At this moment, the gates of the Tian Family's mansion were tightly closed, and not even a single gatekeeper was visible.

A large Formation of Prohibitions covered the entire mansion, its runes circulating and emitting a faint light.

It wasn't clear whether they were guarding against the mutated Heavenly Demon or Shen Mo!

Shen Mo gathered his mana and spoke in a loud voice, "I, Shen Mo, Commander of the Hongye City Defense Division, have come to visit Patriarch Tian of the Tian Clan!"

"I request Patriarch Tian to meet with me."

Soon, Tian Hong's reply came from within the mansion, "Since you are a disciple of the Riverside Sect coming to visit, why not observe the etiquette befitting a junior?"

Tian Hong had also cultivated in the Riverside Sect.

Technically speaking, it was perfectly fine for Shen Mo to call him Senior.

But since he was here to settle accounts today, how could he visit this supposed Senior with the status of a 'junior'!

Shen Mo paid it no heed and stated, "If Patriarch Tian refuses to come out, then we can just communicate like this."

"All these years, the Tian Family has owed the Spirit Stones that should have been paid to the Defense Division. The total is seventy-one thousand, eight hundred and fifty Spirit Stones!"

"Considering Patriarch Tian also hails from the Riverside Sect, I'll round the amount for you."

"Your Tian Family only needs to pay seventy-two thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Patriarch Tian, please hurry up and pay this overdue debt."

The commotion here immediately attracted many cultivators from the city to watch.

Today was a real eye-opener for them.

First, there was an unusual celestial phenomenon, accompanied by the sign of countless swords humming. Then, a demon-corrupted cultivator infiltrated the city, leading to a battle with Defense Division cultivators.

Now, the city's new Master Shen was actually at the doorstep of the Tian Family mansion, demanding payment of a debt!

Most cultivators were there just to watch the excitement.

However, the leaders and elders of the smaller families in the city were extremely concerned about the situation.

Many of them had previously guessed that Shen Mo might be the one who caused the celestial abnormality and had already arranged for their clan members to visit the Defense Division.

Now, he had made a new move.

They wondered if he would end up disgraced, or if he could actually force the Tian Family to obediently pay the overdue Spirit Stones.

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