Li Tianqing said that in recent times, each night an Evil Spirit attempted to kill him, and sword energy within the temple would slay the Evil Spirit.
The God of Wealth Temple brimmed with a battle intent so strong that it could form visions of a mountain of blades and a sea of fire in Chen Shi’s mind, presumably deterring any Evil Spirit from approaching. Yet, some Evil Spirits still intruded upon the temple, trying to kill Li Tianqing!
This meant that these Evil Spirits were being controlled by someone.
In other words, someone was manipulating Evil Spirits to kill Li Tianqing!
Chen Shi’s eyes flickered. Manipulating Evil Spirits?
Who could possess such ability?
"This person, how many Evil Spirits can they control?"
He suddenly recalled what he had seen on the road. Qingzhou City was heavily laden with evil aura, and there were particularly many Evil Spirits that even appeared during the day. Were these Evil Spirits also controlled by someone?
Otherwise, why would Evil Spirits appear during the day?
Chaos reigned in Qingzhou City, with shouts everywhere.
The sky was entwined with an Azure Dragon.
That was the vision created by a slash of the sword light!
The sword light flashed by, leaving only the waning energy of the Azure Dragon in the air.
"This strike is so powerful!"
Chen Shi exclaimed, his curiosity greatly piqued.
Had Li Tianqing been slaying Evil Spirits all the way here? Could it be that Evil Spirits had also infiltrated Qingzhou City?
"Is the Ten Thousand Soul Banner also an Evil Spirit? Why did he also strike it?"
He was about to hurry over when suddenly the sound of horse hooves dashed towards him, and a heatwave hit him as Li Tianqing galloped past him.
Chen Shi looked over to see Li Tianqing holding a human head in his hand, and behind him fluttered countless silver notes and gold and silver jewels, all flying away with him.
Chen Shi was dumbfounded. "So Emperor Guan is this kind of God of Wealth!"
He pursued energetically, only to hear someone shout behind him, "The Salt Commissioner Sir has been killed by the Red Horse Thief!"
"The Salt Commissioner’s treasury has been plundered by the Red Horse Thief!"
Qingzhou City, teeming with formidable individuals, witnessed many experts who unleashed their Primordial Spirits, flying about in search of the Red Horse Thief. However, the Azure Dragon-like sword light that even split the Ten Thousand Soul Banner deterred them from getting too close. As they chased, their speed gradually decreased.
Chen Shi closely followed the Red Horse, seeing Li Tianqing on horseback slashing frequently, and with each swing, the heads of Evil Spirits fell along the way. The Red Horse was extremely fast; even when Chen Shi pushed his speed to the limit, he couldn’t catch up to the man and horse.
Suddenly, a village appeared ahead, and Li Tianqing slowed down slightly, with mountains of gold and silver and silver notes trailing him. Pieces of gold and silver coins flew up, landing in the courtyards of each household in the village.
Chen Shi was stunned. Was the deity worshiped in the God of Wealth Temple one that robbed the rich to aid the poor?
He rushed forward, only to see the Red Horse carrying Li Tianqing distributing the wealth past towns and villages, with each household receiving several dozen Silver Coins.
After running for most of the night, when Li Tianqing had dispersed all his wealth, the Red Horse headed towards the God of Wealth Temple, slowing down as it approached the temple.
Chen Shi caught up with the Red Horse, only to see Li Tianqing leaping off.
The Red Horse neighed, its hooves stepping on the Demon Fire of hell, and it jumped into the underworld, disappearing from sight.
Li Tianqing reached out and grabbed the Azure Dragon Energy swirling around him, transforming it into a long sword, and threw it to Chen Shi.
Chen Shi caught it, and as the long sword landed in his hand, it transformed back into flying Azure Dragon Energy, swirling around him.
Li Tianqing also threw the head of the Salt Commissioner, and Chen Shi quickly caught it, identifying it as a head. He promptly invoked the Youquan Wandering Dragon Sword, throwing the head into the underworld.
Only then did he notice that Li Tianqing’s eyes were actually closed.
Li Tianqing had been traveling with his eyes closed all along, covering over a thousand miles overnight, slaying countless Evil Spirits, and even breaking into Qingzhou City, chopping down the Salt Commissioner, and looting his treasury!
Li Tianqing entered the temple with an imposing stride, his movements very different from before, heading directly toward the shrine inside the temple.
Upon reaching the shrine, he turned around and slowly opened his eyes.
The vacant room brightened, filled with light.
He gazed at the lands outside the temple, his voice deep and husky, "Why is this land so filled with chaos and evil, with no presence of Righteous Qi? What demon wreaks havoc upon this world?"
His body shook slightly, and a stream of clear qi rose up, falling into the shrine.
Li Tianqing collapsed backward, and Chen Shi hurriedly supported him, gently laying him on the bed.
Li Tianqing fell into a deep sleep.
The Azure Dragon Energy swirling around Chen Shi also rose up and entered the shrine.
At that moment, the sound of ears flapping came from outside the temple. Chen Shi looked out to see many Heaven Listeners with large ears descending slowly from the sky, landing around the God of Wealth Temple, each jotting down something.
His mind stirred, and he summoned the Youquan Wandering Dragon Sword, blowing out a breath that transformed the sword into a bird flying up to one Heaven Listener’s back to examine what the Heaven Listener was recording.
The Heaven Listener’s record was all about Li Tianqing’s actions and words.
It read: "...donning Azure Dragon Energy on a red horse, he slew seventeen Evil Spirits, entered Qingzhou City at night, broke down the city gates, slashed the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, killed the Salt Commissioner Lv Song, and absconded with the wealth.
"...distributed wealth in Qingzhou Salt Commissioner’s villages such as Cangzhu, Heyin, and Ge family, dispersing Silver Coins among the villagers.
"...suspect Chen Shi also left the temple, traced the path, and returned to the temple, summoning the sword transformed into a bird, flew behind me to view my book. I feigned ignorance; suspect continued to watch. The suspect approached, reached behind my back..."
Chen Shi knocked this Heaven Listener unconscious and flipped through the records.
One evening, sunlight shone through the crevices of the temple doors, catching the attention of the Heaven Listeners, and thus Li Tianqing was placed under close surveillance by six Heaven Listeners.
Chen Shi kept reading, the Heaven Listener faithfully recorded everything that happened each day, including Li Tianqing’s words, and his activities of eating and sleeping.