The newcomer was an old man standing before Qin An, his figure like a gnarled ancient pine wrapped in an indigo long robe, still revealing the powerful contours of his youth.

His feet were in short shoes, with bulging blue veins at the ankles like old tree roots entwined.

A scar on his left cheek glowed dark purple under the sunlight, and his tiger eyes under sword-like brows burned like torches.

The whites of his eyes were covered with Yang Qi, like a red-hot iron net, intimidating to behold.

Noticing Qin An's intent to draw his sword, the old man stroked his beard and sighed.

"The younger generation can indeed be formidable."

Qin An squinted and remained silent.

The old man asked, "Is the duty of a mountain patrol officer very arduous?"

Qin An replied indifferently, "It's average."

The old man nodded, "You'd best leave, or there might be a life-threatening danger."

Qin An shook his head, "The mission has been accepted, how can one abandon it halfway?"

The old man let out a long sigh, "I truly can't bear to see a promising young talent perish here."

With a clanging sound, Qin An sheathed his sword.

The old man showed a puzzled expression, "Why did you put away your sword?"

A sharp light flashed in Qin An's eyes, "Because you have no intent to kill."

The old man laughed heartily, "No intent to kill, indeed! Listen to me: leave immediately with the mountain patrol officers, don't let yourself be harmed."

Qin An pondered, "Since the sect leader has no intent to kill but speaks of danger, why not speak plainly?"

The person before him had Yang Qi as fierce as boiling water, and combined with the Pure Yang True Qi of the Profound Sun Sect's Cultivation Technique, Qin An had already identified the old man's identity.

The Sect Leader—Zhang Chunyang.

Zhang Chunyang stroked his beard, "The danger in the sect cannot be resolved by the mountain patrol bronze officer. Unfortunately, the message was delayed, making the bronze officer take on this duty."

"I can't speak. If I do, things will go wrong. You should just leave."

"If you really don't leave, I have no means."

"Whether you go or stay is your decision, as is your life."

With these words, Zhang Chunyang said no more and turned to leave.

Even after Zhang Chunyang had left, Qin An still stood there.

He furrowed his brows, thought for a while, and then walked toward the room.

Since he was already here.

He greatly needed the Yang Elixir and to break into the Gui Cang Realm to establish himself in Lingzhou.

Since he came for the Yang Elixir, even if it were a dragon's lair or tiger's den, he had to venture in.

Upon returning to the room, Sang Yang and Wild Ox were still bickering.

Seeing Qin An's return, Sang Yang was tactful and didn't ask much, only discussed matters of medicine with Qin An.

Qin An spoke while contemplating the implicit message behind Zhang Chunyang's words.

...

After Zhang Chunyang left, he walked toward the rear mountain of the Profound Sun Sect.

The rear mountain was rarely visited, with nothing besides the sounds of nature and floral fragrances.

Upon reaching a secluded path, footsteps were suddenly heard.

Zhang Chunyang turned and looked at the old man behind him, "So the Great Elder is this distrustful of me?"

The Great Elder donned in white, his hair and beard white as well, shook his head, "Your cultivation transcends the ordinary; how dare I be careless? To secretly meet with a mountain patrol captain from the Evil Extermination Bureau is ill-advised."

Zhang Chunyang swung his robe sleeve, "The contract between us is sealed; how can it be reneged?"

"If the poison is neutralized, you'll return my son's life to me and leave the Profound Sun Sect."

"Should the antidote fail, I'll offer you the Yang Elixir, and I shall sever my meridians."

The Great Elder, seeing Zhang Chunyang's defiant attitude, said sinisterly, "You're already a prisoner, yet you remain so arrogant!"

Zhang Chunyang sneered sideways, "Your cultivation is soon unable to suppress; without the Yang Elixir, you'd be just a common Returning to Storage. Would you be willing to accept that?"

The Great Elder fell silent.

Then, the sound of metal scraping against stone suddenly echoed from the rocky wall.

Behind the Great Elder, a centipede several zhang long stood, with its thousand feet scratching the rock wall, making fine grinding noises.

Its upper body had formed into a pale humanoid shape, and at its collarbone, scales gleamed with a bluish-black sheen.

Meanwhile, its segmented centipede body had dark red shells densely covered with golden curse marks.

Its slanted eyes, round like bronze bells, had black pupils with slender vertical slits.

The whites of the eyes were pale yellow, showing a sickly gloss, as its gaze moved with a malicious gleam, exuding horrific Demonic Power.

"The mountain patrol officer must die!"

The centipede demon's eyes were icy cold.

Behind it, a young man lay unconscious, being held by several centipede feet.

Seemingly disturbed by the sound, the young man groggily opened his eyes.

Upon seeing Zhang Chunyang, he cried out loudly, "Father, save me, save me!"

Seeing this, Zhang Chunyang's eyes flashed with a trace of sorrow, then he looked at the centipede demon, "Qianyuan, do you really think I dare not kill you?"

The centipede demon Qianyuan sneered, "Upon the sect leader's death, the power from the Mysterious Sun Secret Skill shall belong to the bloodline."

"If this boy dies, the Profound Sun Sect's heritage ends. Do you dare make reckless moves?"

Zhang Chunyang fell silent.

Qianyuan turned his gaze to the Great Elder, "Remember, once you win and acquire the Yang Elixir, you shall belong to my Thousand-legged Cave."

The Great Elder bowed his head, appearing subservient, "Rest assured, Master Qian, once I achieve two Yang Elixirs to reach Returning to Storage, my allegiance will surely be to the Thousand-legged Cave."

Qianyuan slowly remarked, "The Fire Crow Race recently sent word that the sixth elder's offspring perished at the hands of a mountain patrol officer with the surname Qin. Verify if any of these people bear the name Qin."

The Great Elder's face showed difficulty.

The mountain patrol has always been mysterious, and with human skin masks, how could he ascertain such details?

Yet he knew that Qianyuan's words were just offhand, so he promptly agreed.

Then, the Great Elder waved his hand.

A few disciples, eyes filled with fear, dragged several half-dead Profound Sun Sect disciples forward.

The Great Elder fawned, "Master Qian, I've heard that the Thousand-legged Cave enjoys injecting toxins into living beings, watching them suffer; I specially prepared some disciples as tribute to you."

The half-dead disciples struggled, shouting toward Zhang Chunyang, "Sect leader, save me, save me!"

Witnessing this, Zhang Chunyang painfully closed his eyes.

Qianyuan demanded angrily, "Open your eyes, or your son shall die at once!"

Zhang Chunyang took a deep breath and then opened his eyes.

Qianyuan crawled in front of the disciples and exhaled a green toxic gas.

As the gas entered their bodies, they immediately began to scream and writhe on the ground in agony.

Even the Great Elder's people suffered similarly, their skin rotting visibly.

The Great Elder's face drastically changed, "Master Qian, those were my people..."

Qianyuan's cold gaze swept past, "I am a demon, demons lack humanity, and the people you brought aren't enough for me to torment."

The Great Elder, hearing this, showed a trace of fear and did not dare to speak another word.

Zhang Chunyang waved his sleeve and then turned away.

Qianyuan watched Zhang Chunyang's back, a playful smile on his face.

Demon creatures feasting on humans, especially those in the Thousand-legged Cave, prefer to torture before eating.

This satisfaction from torturing Gui Cang Realm experts made all the hairs on Qianyuan's body stand up.

Before long, only a few corpses remained here.

Qianyuan dragged a few corpses and disappeared up the mountain path.

...

The next day.

When the morning sunlight shone in, a wild ox lay in the dawn chewing tender grass, emitting a contented moo.

Outside the door, a knock sounded.

The voice of a disciple of the Profound Sun Sect came through: "Senior, the Sect Leader has already set up a feast outside, please change your clothes and head to the main hall."

Sang Yang had long been neatly dressed, nodded upon hearing this and said, "Understood."

Outside fell silent, the disciple of the Profound Sun Sect left after receiving a response.

Sang Yang looked at Qin An who was strapping a sword, and said: "Your colleagues are all on guard nearby, yet you don't go with them, it seems you have other plans."

Qin An straightened the creases in his clothes and said: "I am here to assist the Sect Leader in diagnosis with you, Senior."

Sang Yang stroked his beard and smiled: "I know your nature, you must have spotted something unusual, but if you don't say, I won't ask either."

Qin An raised his eyes and asked: "I wonder what the Senior's battle capability is?"

Sang Yang frowned, remaining silent.

He knew Qin An's nature, if it weren't an extraordinary situation, he wouldn't ask such private matters.

Thinking of this, Sang Yang slowly said: "Hundred Medicine Valley is not adept at fighting, but I have been immersed in the Gui Cang Realm for many years."

"Plus, this Pseudo-God wild ox is also in the Gui Cang Realm, handling two Gui Cang Realm would be no problem."

Qin An nodded slightly and asked: "If danger arises, Senior would take action?"

Sang Yang pondered: "You're always so mysterious, what's on your mind?"

Qin An shook his head and said: "It's all speculation, but it's possible to come true."

Sang Yang stroked his long beard: "If that's the case, of course, I will take action."

Qin An nodded, said no more, and walked to the door.

This task involves the Thousand-legged Cave, and there are certainly many dangers.

Now with two Gui Cang Realm experts by his side, Qin An felt more assured.

Sang Yang saw Qin An not answering, then followed Qin An to the main hall.

...

Main Hall.

Columns of coiled dragons held up the gilded ceiling, sunlight spilled through the carved window lattices, casting small light spots on the jade floor tiles.

The Bronze Immortal Crane Incense Burner emitted ambergris, amidst the swirling smoke, patterns on the ceiling were faintly visible.

At this moment, inside the main hall of the Profound Sun Sect, many physicians had already arrived.

Rows of seats and tables were arranged neatly.

Sang Yang was an elder of Hundred Medicine Valley and a Gui Cang Realm expert, naturally, his status was prestigious.

Led by several disciples, he had already taken a seat at the front.

Qin An sat beside him, watching the end of the main hall.

At the far end, there was only an old man with white hair and a white beard, dressed in white.

The white clothes were spotless, looking like an immortal.

Sang Yang said: "That is the Grand Elder, I once had a meeting with him."

Grand Elder?

Qin An squinted his eyes, his gaze as sharp as lightning.

Yesterday, Liao Yang said that the Grand Elder might have already confined the Sect Leader.

But last night, he saw the Sect Leader, which was quite different from what Liao Yang said.

At this moment, the Sect Leader did not appear, but the Grand Elder was comfortably seated in the main seat.

This matter was too strange.

"Everyone, please start dining, after finishing, you may enter the main hall to diagnose the Sect Leader."

As soon as the words fell, several disciples brought exquisite food and placed it on the tables.

The attendees were all physicians, naturally focusing on medical treatment.

But since the Grand Elder had spoken, they set aside their thoughts for a while and began eating the meal first.

Qin An and Sang Yang did not eat.

They both knew something was amiss, so they remained cautious.

At this moment, the copper token at their waist kept vibrating.

Though Qin An sat in his position, he occasionally used True Qi to communicate with the copper token.

Wuo Lin: "No traces of demon forces have been found, it seems no demons want to take advantage of the chaos to attack the Profound Sun Sect."

Liao Yang: "It's not right, something is very wrong, if no demons want to attack, then what does it mean?"

Many copper soldiers patrolling the mountain had long guarded the perimeter.

Their task was guarding, naturally pretending to defend first.

But the current situation was too peculiar.

There wasn't even a single trace of demon creatures.

Qin An pondered for a moment, condensed his voice with True Qi, and passed it into the copper token.

"The hunters in the mountains used to say, if there are no beasts in the deep mountains, there must be a fierce creature lurking."

"No trace of demon forces means there must be a more terrifying presence within the Profound Sun Sect."

As soon as these words came out, silence filled the copper token.

Many copper soldiers patrolling the mountain deciphered the meaning behind Qin An's words.

Then, Liao Yang's voice came through.

"Mr. Qin, what do you plan to do?"

Now, among all the copper soldiers patrolling the mountain, only Qin An and Sang Yang were involved in the treatment matter.

So Liao Yang asked this question.

The other copper soldiers remained silent, clearly awaiting Qin An's conclusion as well.

This was something quite rare among the copper soldiers patrolling the mountain.

Back when Qin An asserted his authority with one strike, and now with his different status, the colleagues all wanted to know Qin An's thoughts.

Qin An pondered slightly, his brows furrowed.

Zhang Chunyang's actions were somewhat strange; he couldn't fathom his intentions.

But now things have come to this point, he could only wait and see.

Just as Qin An was thinking about this, Zhang Chunyang's voice echoed in the main hall.

The sound was like a great bell, spreading throughout the entire mountain gate.

"I invite the esteemed mountain patrol officers to join in the diagnosis, to gather ideas, and perhaps cure my stubborn illness."

The Grand Elder's eyes flashed upon hearing this, his fists clenched tight in his sleeves: "This old fox, what is he truly planning?"

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