That day, after tidying up briefly,

they had a farewell drink with the 'meritorious' old cultivator.

Zhang Feng and the other two set off lightly equipped, heading towards Yang Mountain, a thousand miles away.

The old cultivator, carrying some collected talismans, returned to the General's mansion alone.

However, Zhang Feng also had him deliver a message to the General.

'Do not search for me, and regardless of any news you hear, do not act rashly. Be mindful of your own safety.'

As for General Hang, the warlord.

Zhang Feng didn't quite know how to describe him, but perhaps the world was different, as he didn't possess that 'this land is mine alone' mindset common among warlords.

He focused more on business, promoting harmony for profit, and didn't oppress anyone.

Part of the reason he held his position was because it was left to him by his father.

His overly harmonious nature led to an attempted assassination by his subordinates a few years ago.

For such a harmonious person, Zhang Feng chose to give him a reminder, to keep him safe.

After all, in his position, in these times, he managed to remain so amicable.

You couldn't demand much more than that.

When compared to other powerful figures, in a way, he was already quite a good person.

Sometimes Zhang Feng realized that people's goodness or badness was all relative.

However, in another world, he would have been a bad person disrupting the copper coin system.

...

Three days later, at night.

Five hundred miles away.

Zhang Feng and the two others arrived at the outskirts of a village.

By rights, they wouldn't stop but continue moving on.

At midnight, they planned to 'camp' outdoors.

They were all cultivators; a pile of fallen leaves on the ground was as good as a bed.

To people like them, with powerful bodily functions, there was no great difference between sleeping on a soft bed and on dirt and leaves.

Only a slight difference in sensation.

But at this moment,

Zhang Feng stopped walking, staring at the evil qi floating in the air outside the village.

"What's wrong, Daoist Brother?"

The Daoist, seeing Zhang Feng halt, stopped to inquire.

"Something is not right..." Lin Dao You, who practiced the Yin Soil Method, could also sense the presence of evil qi in the air.

He had once detected ghosts using this 'feeling' as well.

"There's an issue here."

Zhang Feng judged as he walked towards the village, following the direction from which the evil qi floated. "Within an eleven-meter radius of me."

Recently, Zhang Feng optimized the structure of his spiritual sense with a newly acquired talisman.

Though the strokes didn't increase, the precision and magnitude improved.

The most notable enhancement was the nearly one-meter increase in range.

The fraction less than a meter was compensated for by Zhang Feng's augmented spiritual thoughts.

The accurate range now is 11.2 meters.

"Follow." Lin Dao You and the other didn't say much, vigilantly following next to Zhang Feng, observing the villagers.

Some were sorting vegetables at their doorsteps, others returning from the fields, while some engaged in idle chatter.

"Who are you?" A few children ran curiously at the village entrance, looking at Zhang Feng and the others.

Their lives continued unchanged, outwardly unaffected by the evil qi.

Yet Zhang Feng could see the evil qi entwining around their bodies, which, thanks to their youth and vitality, hadn't caused any reactions yet.

In a few years, when they are thoroughly eroded by the evil qi, this village would become a 'ghost village.'

"They are already possessed by evil qi..." Lin Dao You could also perceive the evil qi swirling around their bodies.

"Three Daoists."

At this moment, the village head saw the three extraordinary daoists approaching, accompanied by a few curious villagers.

However, the extraordinariness belonged to Lin Dao You and the Daoist.

Zhang Feng, dressed in simple clothes, appeared as an ordinary young man who wouldn't stand out in a crowd.

Yet Zhang Feng led the way ahead of Lin Dao You and the Daoist.

Lin Dao You and the Daoist followed Zhang Feng like little companions.

Under their contrast, the village head and others felt all three were extraordinary.

"Old man." Seeing the village head leading people over, Zhang Feng, though unsure exactly who he was, recognized him as the leader.

For the villagers looked to the village head with trust.

"Daoists, this old man is..." The village head introduced himself and inquired, "Are the Daoists here to rest?"

Their village generally didn't welcome outsiders to stay.

Typically, the village head would turn outsiders away.

Yet the three possessed such presence that he unconsciously asked like an inn's shopkeeper.

Upon hearing the inquiry, Zhang Feng didn't speak to prolong matters, directly stating: "I noticed an issue in your village."

Zhang Feng said, specifically looking at some curious women and children who gathered around,

"Have the young and old among you felt unusually tired and drowsy lately?"

"How did the Daoist know?" The village head was puzzled and looked at those around, wondering if anyone had told the Daoist.

"No one has said anything..." Those around shook their heads, looking even more strangely at Zhang Feng.

"The Daoist says our village has a problem? What kind of problem?"

They all looked with confusion, as if something clouded their minds, quickly forgetting Zhang Feng's mention of 'drowsiness.'

"Their minds are being clouded." Lin Dao You quickly assessed, "But not too deeply."

"Hmm." Zhang Feng noticed their puzzled looks, which seemed normal.

Because evil qi inherently had a 'bewildering' effect.

Or rather, the monster controlling the evil qi deliberately used it to erode people's spirits, making them forget things related to the evil qi.

Otherwise, those who should be alert turned drowsy.

Elders in the families became increasingly frail.

Some men occasionally felt weak.

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