Chapter 1213: Massacre (Part Two)
Jing Qi hadn't brought Jing Miao along when he went to dismantle the strongholds of the various major factions. Besides considering the spoils of war, there was another reason: he simply felt it was unnecessary to bring Jing Miao for such a minor task. He believed he could handle it perfectly well alone, confident that no one in a small place like Ancang possessed the strength to threaten him.
After Jing Qi departed, Ancang Underworld Office's Emissary of Death led his Night Watchers to begin clearing the battlefield. The Ancang Underworld Office's Emissary of Death harbored no thoughts whatsoever about the spoils of this great battle. He knew full well that if the siblings Jing Qi and Jing Miao hadn't arrived in the nick of time, it wouldn't be his Ancang Underworld Office personnel clearing the spoils at the Death God Temple, but rather those from the Spirit Medium faction.
To put it bluntly, the appearance of the siblings Jing Qi and Jing Miao had successfully saved their lives. Otherwise, they would all have perished in battle, and the Ancang Underworld Office would have ceased to exist. Turning defeat into victory was already a heaven-sent blessing, so how could the Ancang Underworld Office's Emissary of Death still be thinking of the spoils? Even if Jing Qi and Jing Miao genuinely offered the spoils to their Ancang Underworld Office, he would be too embarrassed to accept.
As for the Night Watchers of the Ancang Underworld Office, while not every single one of them completely lacked thoughts of the spoils, those who did were exceedingly few. And even if they did have such thoughts, they could only keep them to themselves; how would they dare show even the slightest hint of it? They certainly didn't want to become another corpse lying on the ground.
The vast majority of Night Watchers felt the same way as their Emissary of Death—they had no designs on the spoils whatsoever. They knew that the victory in this great battle was entirely due to Jing Qi and Jing Miao's efforts. It was perfectly understandable for the siblings to take all the spoils; after all, they simply had no right to dispute the ownership of the loot with the pair.
While everyone in the Ancang Underworld Office was busy cleaning up the battlefield, Ancang itself had fallen into a bloody reign of terror. Explosions from clashing powers erupted incessantly, and the screams of agony from those dying brutally rose, wave after wave. A one-sided massacre was unfolding in Ancang, with people perishing miserably every single minute.
The one wielding the slaughtering blade was none other than Jing Qi.
Since Spirit Mediums had always operated in the shadows, Ancang had no Spirit Medium strongholds. However, there were Talisman Order temples in Ancang, and several of them at that. After Jing Qi left the Death God Temple, his first targets for slaughter were the Talisman Masters of the Talisman Order.
The Ancang Talisman Order had turned out in full force for this operation for one reason only: they wanted to demonstrate their strength to the Spirit Mediums. This would greatly benefit their future interactions and cooperation, as only by proving their own side's power could they earn more respect and secure greater advantages in future collaborations.
As for why a Black Talisman Master was left to guard the collection vault, it was easily understood. All of the Ancang Talisman Order's resources were stored within the collection vault; it was, in essence, their treasury. Such a vital place naturally required an expert to guard it at all times, to prevent anyone from fishing in troubled waters and emptying the vault. Even though the Talisman Order wished to display its might to the Spirit Mediums today, the Black Talisman Master stationed in the collection vault remained unmoving.
To an ordinary Yellow Talisman Master, a Black Talisman Master was an unreachable, awe-inspiring existence, someone to be looked up to. But in Jing Qi's eyes, an ordinary Black Talisman Master was nothing more than an ant, posing absolutely no challenge.
Without any surprise, Jing Qi's appearance dealt a devastating blow to this Black Talisman Master. He didn't even last a single move against Jing Qi before being directly cut down, his soul collected.
It wasn't just this Black Talisman Master; Jing Qi showed no mercy to the other Talisman Masters in this Death God Temple, slaughtering all of them, even the lowest-ranked Yellow Talisman Masters. Even the cats, dogs, and livestock kept by the Talisman Order all died by Jing Qi's hand.
With Jing Qi's arrival, Ancang Talisman Order's largest temple saw everything, from the distinguished Black Talisman Masters down to the defenseless livestock, brutally perish by his hand. It was truly a scene of extreme brutality.
After slaying the Black Talisman Master guarding the collection vault, Jing Qi naturally wouldn't miss the chance to enter. The vault contained a considerable collection, certainly no worse than he had anticipated. Innumerable resources filled the space, with the most abundant being the various materials required for Talisman Masters to draw talismans.
Such a vast quantity of resources naturally delighted Jing Qi, for these resources represented merit—the best means for him to prove his capability and worth. Of course, the more, the better.
The problem, however, was that the resources within the Talisman Order's collection vault were simply too vast for his personal storage space to hold them all. Furthermore, he still had other faction strongholds to deal with and couldn't waste too much time here. So, he set up a restrictive barrier around the collection vault to prevent anyone from secretly sneaking in to take advantage, then proceeded to his next destination. Once all targets were dealt with, he would return with people to empty the vault.
Jing Qi's second target was still a Talisman Order temple. Although it wasn't Ancang Talisman Order's largest temple, there were still Talisman Masters guarding it. These, however, were just ordinary Yellow Talisman Masters, not Black Talisman Masters. Jing Qi easily slaughtered all of them and took their souls.
Such excellent places as collection vaults simply didn't exist in these ordinary temples, which left Jing Qi somewhat regretful. If every temple had a collection vault, his gains from this expedition would have been even more astonishing.
In a very short time, Jing Qi completely cleared out all the Talisman Order temples in Ancang, large and small. Not a single temple was spared, and not a single Talisman Master escaped his demonic clutches.
After clearing out the Talisman Order, Jing Qi immediately proceeded to clear out other factions. The second force he targeted was the Ancang Administrative Courtyard.
The Ancang Administrative Courtyard had also participated in this assault on the Ancang Underworld Office. Therefore, when Jing Qi moved to eliminate the forces that had opposed the Ancang Underworld Office, the Ancang Administrative Courtyard certainly couldn't be excluded.
The Ancang Administrative Courtyard should have disappeared from Ancang long ago. On one hand, it had suffered external suppression, and on the other, it was plagued by internal strife. Just as the Ancang Administrative Courtyard seemed poised to exit the stage of history, the Spirit Mediums gave it a crucial helping hand at this critical moment, allowing it to barely re-establish a foothold in Ancang. The Ancang Administrative Courtyard, as a result, naturally became one of the Spirit Mediums' affiliated forces.
When the Spirit Mediums and the Talisman Order joined forces to destroy the Ancang Underworld Office this time, the Ancang Administrative Courtyard, as an affiliated force of the Spirit Mediums, could not possibly be absent, nor did they dare to be. However, like the Talisman Order, the Ancang Administrative Courtyard also left a portion of its forces behind to guard the Administrative Courtyard.
Besides the forces left behind, there were also the armies managed by the Administrative Courtyard and officials of all ranks from various departments. Since they were all ordinary mortals, they wouldn't be of much use in assaulting the Ancang Underworld Office, and thus were not brought along.
Some well-informed individuals within the Administrative Courtyard had already learned of their side's crushing defeat. Knowing that they, too, would likely face dire consequences, they secretly packed their bags, preparing to flee Ancang.
There were also others whose information wasn't as timely as the former group. Consequently, they had no idea that Death was rapidly approaching them. Devoid of any sense of crisis, they drank, danced, and chased women as usual, living life with carefree abandon.
There was no need to mention the latter group; such people would undoubtedly die by Jing Qi's hand. Once Jing Qi appeared, it was a given that their death day had arrived. As for the former group, although their sense of crisis was far stronger than the latter's, they still couldn't save their lives based on that.
This was because after Jing Qi had completely cleared out all the Talisman Ancestor temples in Ancang, large and small, he sensed that some people were trying to flee the city. So, with a wave of his hand, he set up a restrictive barrier, enveloping the entirety of Ancang within it.
A restrictive barrier covering such a large area naturally wouldn't possess supreme defensive power. However, it would certainly be impossible for ordinary people to break through. Not just ordinary people, but even cultivators would find it difficult. Taking the Underworld Office's cultivation realms as an example, if one's strength hadn't reached the peak of the Heaven Soul realm, breaking through this restrictive barrier would be exceedingly difficult, unless they possessed special methods.
From this, two points could be discerned. First, for Ancang, a small city with not many experts, the defensive power of the restrictive barrier Jing Qi had set up was definitely considered very strong. Second, one could catch a glimpse of the tip of Jing Qi's current power through this restrictive barrier.
Because of the restrictive barrier, none of those who wished to flee managed to escape; they were all trapped within Ancang.
Without any surprises, the Ancang Administrative Courtyard was swiftly slaughtered clean by Jing Qi. Whether ordinary people or cultivators, none escaped his demonic clutches.
Like the Talisman Order, the Ancang Administrative Courtyard's treasury was also sealed by him with a restrictive barrier, to prevent anyone from taking advantage and collecting easy gains from the vault.
After dealing with the Ancang Administrative Courtyard, Jing Qi, covered in blood, was just about to head for his next target when the space before him suddenly ripped open, forming a spatial rift. Several women in white robes emerged from the rift one after another, not only blocking his path but also glaring at him with fury.
From their attire, and the Saintly Power emanating from their bodies, Jing Qi ascertained their identities, knowing them to be members of the Holy Mother Cult. Jing Qi, who had originally been preparing to head to his next target, now, upon seeing their appearance, had no intention of leaving immediately. Instead, he watched them with a sinister grin, choosing to completely ignore their angry glares.
“You slaughter innocents so indiscriminately, doesn't your conscience torment you? Listen to my advice: it's not too late to turn back now. Don't let your hands be stained with any more blood! ”
The leading woman in white frowned deeply, speaking to Jing Qi with a serious expression. Judging by the power fluctuations emanating from her, she was likely a Saint, and one who had reached the mid-tier of that realm. However, Jing Qi didn't even put a Saint of this caliber in his eyes.
Let alone a mid-tier Saint; even if she were a peak Saint, he would still not put her in his eyes.
“Hehe, you've arrived at just the right time. This way, I won't need to waste time looking for you. ”
Jing Qi spoke with a sinister grin, his words causing the Holy Mother Cult members to momentarily freeze in shock. Immediately afterward, they suffered a devastating blow. With a swing of Jing Qi's heavy sword, a blood-red sword energy flashed past. The leading Saint hadn't even reacted, the astonished expression on her face still lingering, when her head flew into the air.
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