Afterward, the two senior Taoists of the Shenxiao Sect did not stay long. After leaving the back mountain, they returned to the Shenxiao Sect's Taoist hall.
"Master, if there's nothing else, I'll go cultivate now." The successor of the Shenxiao Sect said.
The old Taoist nodded. "Go ahead, I have matters to attend to as well."
"Master, what are you busy with?"
"I'm going to ask Bureau 749 about the situation at Changbai Mountain."
The old Taoist of the Shenxiao Sect did not want to sit and wait for death. The affairs of the underworld and the celestial court were beyond his power to resolve at present, so he could only focus on what was in front of him. However, he had no way of knowing the movements of the man in black mist.
But as for Changbai Mountain, he could inquire about it through Bureau 749.
Just as the old Taoist of the Shenxiao Sect was speaking, on the other side...
———
[In the depths of Changbai Mountain, Daxia.]
The sky was covered with dark clouds, torrential rain poured down, and flashes of lightning streaked across the sky with rolling thunder.
This weather, to ordinary people, it was nothing more than a common heavy rainstorm.
But in the eyes of those with some cultivation, this was not just a heavy rain. It was a sign that a flood dragon was emerging, summoning wind and rain.
An old Taoist, Li Hanguang, stood high in the sky, wielding a horsetail whisk. With a casual flick, he easily dispelled the descending heavenly thunder.
Below, in the forest he overlooked, a thousand-meter-long creature had crushed the trees beneath it, lying sprawled on the ground. Its form resembled a serpent, but it had two horns on its head, identical to the flood dragons of folklore.
The only difference from legend was… this flood dragon had none of the awe-inspiring majesty of myths. Large patches of its dragon scales had fallen off, revealing ghastly wounds that oozed scalding dragon blood, causing the rainwater on the ground to evaporate into rolling mist.
It was clearly gravely injured. Even one of its dragon horns was chipped.
Li Hanguang took in the entire scene, then flicked his horsetail whisk onto his arm and spoke slowly.
"Daoist friend Wang Yi, let me ask you one last time—do you still wish to leave the mountain?"
Following this, a Daoist master from the Five Families of the Northeast, the elderly master of the Huang family, spoke at this moment.
"Daoist Li, there's no need to be courteous with Wang Yi. A demonic cultivator like him, guilty of heinous crimes, does not deserve mercy."
The elderly master of the Liu family, flicking his serpent-like tongue, also spoke, "Seven years ago, Wang Yi attempted to undergo tribulation in broad daylight in Pudong, Shanghai, almost exposing the existence of the transcendental world to ordinary society. At the time, his demonic essence was stripped away, and he was sentenced to remain in Changbai Mountain as punishment."
"Now, with the Mountain God missing, not only did he fail to redeem himself by preventing other great demons from emerging, but he even conspired with them to escape. A demonic cultivator so rebellious and depraved does not deserve to be spared."
While the man in black mist was suppressing the Hengduan Mountains, here at Changbai Mountain, another suppression was taking place.
Li Hanguang, single-handedly, fought against the ancient great demons led by their chieftain, including a two-thousand-year-old tiger demon.
Even though the demonic cultivator Wang Yi later chose to intervene, siding with the ancient great demons against Li Hanguang,
He was still stopped by Li Hanguang. And together with the arriving elderly masters of the Five Families of the Northeast, they suppressed these ancient great demons, deterring other restless ones from taking action.
"Is that so?"
Li Hanguang glanced over, stroking his white beard.
"I was entrusted by the King of the Night to prevent these ancient great demons from emerging, and I must fulfill my duty. If Daoist Wang Yi has a history of evil deeds…"
At this point, his voice paused. His kind and aged face sighed. "Then I can only cut him down to prevent future trouble and uphold my commission from the King of the Night."
Then, Li Hanguang flicked his horsetail whisk. Without hesitation, he didn't even give the demonic cultivator Wang Yi a chance to beg for mercy.
Swish!
A streak of Daoist light shot out, and Wang Yi's dragon head was severed. Dragon blood gushed from the wound. Blood splattered through the forest, dyeing the once lush greenery into a sea of crimson.
The other ancient great demons were terrified.
This Li Hanguang—whenever it involved the King of the Night's commission, his previous compassion vanished. He executed without hesitation, not even blinking an eye.
Just as they were thinking this, Li Hanguang's voice rang out.
After beheading Wang Yi, he slowly raised his gaze, sweeping over the other ancient great demons, and asked Zhang Feng and the elderly masters of the Five Families of the Northeast, "I do not know much about these Daoist friends. Can you tell me—are any of them as wicked as Wang Yi?"
The moment the question was asked, the first to respond was not Zhang feng or the elderly masters, but the two-thousand-year-old tiger demon.
It blurted out instantly, "Daoist Li Hanguang, I am not an evil demon like Wang Yi. I just stayed in the mountains for too long and wanted to go out and see the world."
Its demeanor, anyone could see its meaning. It might as well have written on its face: "I'm saying this quickly so I don't get killed!"
Immediately after, Li Hanguang said nothing. He simply looked at Zhang Feng and the elderly masters of the Five Families, while raising his horsetail whisk slightly.
His gesture, anyone could tell what it meant.
It was as if he were silently saying: "Daoist friends, is it telling the truth?"
Zhang Feng understood. He was sure that if they answered that the tiger demon was lying, Li Hanguang would immediately swing his whisk and behead it.
Afterward, according to the elderly masters' accounts, out of five ancient great demons, three were executed by Li Hanguang.
Even when one offered to become his mount, and another offered its entire fortune in exchange for its life—wealth so immense that it even tempted the elderly masters, Li Hanguang still didn't blink.
He simply waved his horsetail whisk and severed the demons' heads.
For a moment, all of Changbai Mountain fell silent.
The restless ancient great demons ceased their agitation. Some became exceptionally quiet, their eyes as clear as newborn infants'.
Seeing this, Li Hanguang stroked his white beard and chuckled. "Now, this commission should be considered complete."
The elderly masters of the Five Families of the Northeast stepped forward. The elder of the Huang family folded his hands in his sleeves and bowed.
"Thank you, Daoist Li. Without you, these ancient great demons would have escaped before we arrived."
The elder of the Hu family nodded in agreement.
"These demons took advantage of my third brother's death and the Mountain God's disappearance to wreak havoc. In the end, we Five Families failed to respond in time. It's fortunate that you were here."
Li Hanguang smiled. "You are too kind. This was not my merit alone—I was merely fulfilling a commission."
The elderly masters exchanged glances. They had already learned from Bureau 749 that Li Hanguang had been sent by the King of the Night to suppress Changbai Mountain.
Now that the situation was resolved, they finally had a moment to spare.
The eighth elder of the Hu family hesitated before asking, "Daoist Li, my third brother once mentioned that he met someone a thousand years ago at Shanhaiguan, also called the King of the Night. Could it be the same person?"
Li Hanguang stroked his beard and smiled. "He once mentioned that he was friends with Hu San."
Hearing this, the third elder's expression became complicated.
Just then, Li Hanguang suddenly froze and looked up at the sky.
At the same time, Zhang Feng and the others also noticed something and turned their gazes upward.
In the sky, the dark clouds parted, revealing a booming sound.
It was not thunder—but the heavy creak of an ancient gate opening.
No, not just similar. It was an ancient gate.
When they focused on its details, their expressions changed. It was colossal, its stone pillars taller than the sky itself. Carved upon it were three ancient Great Xia characters—"Southern Heavenly Gate?!"
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