Wu Yu and You Xue were currently in the Li Heavenly Province of the Dark North Kingdom.
The Dark North Kingdom was divided into provinces and special cities. The status of provincial lords was roughly equivalent to You Yuan"s at the Immortal City of Northern Frost.
Ordinary provincial armies were also very huge. Within the Li Heavenly Province, many wanted to enter the Li Heavenly Province Guard. After all, provincial guards could enjoy many different resources. With the provincial lord as the core, they guarded the entire province and enjoyed a high status.
All the provincial guards, including their parents and families, would enjoy the esteemed reputation and influence, and would gain advantages in all sorts of cultivation resources.
The young Dark North Kingdom martial cultivators, especially those from humble backgrounds, aimed for the Eight Main Armies as their first step, and then provincial guards, and finally city guards.
The city guards at this city had already been destroyed by the sinister dragon, and the city lord had been killed first. But after all, this was a small city, so the city guards were not that strong.
If it were the capital city of a province, it would be the provincial guard that answered the call.
The citizens had also informed the provincial guard in a timely fas.h.i.+on when the sinister dragon had appeared. However, they had not expected things to be so serious. After all, there had not been many such incidents in the Dark North Kingdom.
Wu Yu"s impression of the Dark North Kingdom was that they were even more hierarchically strict here. There were layers of systems, similar to mortal kingdoms but even stricter.
For example, the arrival of the provincial guard had caused everyone to heave a sigh of relief. There was a full complement of 100 or more provincial guards, and they were basically all Primordial Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators. Such a large force was definitely capable of dealing with the sinister dragon.
The Li Heavenly Province Guard had come to deal with the sinister dragon, so there was no need for Wu Yu to handle him. Since the people responsible had come, Wu Yu was prepared to leave it up to them. After all, they were Dark North Kingdom people.
However, he saw that most of the squad of 100 were not his match. There was one exception, however. Their leader was sitting cross-legged on a huge jet-black eagle. The eagle was a demon at the Primordial Spirit Transformation Realm, but he seemed to have been subdued by this person and now served as his mount.
This person was in navy armor. Although their suits of armor were all dao treasures, his armor"s rank was clearly much higher! The spirit designs were probably close to what you would see on an advanced dao treasure. Although it was also a dao treasure, a tenfold variation in power was still considered normal.
This person had long hair tied up in a bunch, and his eyes were differently colored. One was the black of the abyss, the other was as blue as the deep sea, or perhaps a night sky.
The differently colored pupils was a telltale sign that this person was of rare quality, and his important position in the provincial guard meant that he must have been through many conflicts. Such experience gave him a fear-instilling presence that could only be honed on the brink of life and death.
Of course, Wu Yu"s own Eyes of Fire and Gold told him that this person had been cultivating for 70 years or more, and was definitely over 50 years old. He could not have entered this iteration of the Taigu Immortal Path.
His cultivation level was indeed high, his Violet Kingdom Primordial Energy and Primordial Spirit both robust and developed. He emanated a crus.h.i.+ng energy. Wu Yu could not be sure, but guessed that he was at least an eighth or even ninth tier Primordial Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator. Perhaps even higher!
Although he was not yet at the Dao Querying Three Disasters Realm, where immortalhood was but a step away, he was already very strong. If all went well, in another two or three hundred years, he might very well reach immortalhood! It showed that this person was not really inferior to Princess You Xue.
"Duan Yi?" Princess You Xue recognized him.
From her thoughts, Wu Yu roughly knew who he was. The first grandson of the Li Heavenly Provincial Lord, and also a talented individual from young. Although his status was not as high as Yin Xuan"s, who Wu Yu had previously defeated, he was even more talented and powerful. His age was roughly the same as Yin Xuan"s, but he was already a ninth tier Primordial Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator. At their age, he was one of the top few in the Dark North Kingdom.
He had been fighting on the front lines of the Li Heavenly Province Guard and had grown up molded by the battlefield. He had risen from an ordinary soldier as well, and now he was the Li Heavenly General of the Li Heavenly Province Guard, with 10,000 provincial guards under his command.
You Xue had a vivid impression of him because Duan Yi had also been one of the candidates to be her husband. Although he lost out to Yin Xuan a little in terms of status, he made up for it in other aspects.
It was said that Duan Yi was greatly favored by the royal family.
"Be careful of this person. While we were in the Taigu Immortal Path, he was training in the sea region. He returned recently as well. It"s said that he, like you, has obtained an advanced dao treasure."
Princess You Xue hurriedly informed him. After all, this person was much stronger than Yin Xuan.
Hearing this, his impression of Duan Yi naturally rose. To train by himself at a tender, young age, and also to obtain an advanced dao treasure, this person was no slouch.
As the pair spotted him, Duan Yi had also noticed their presence. His eyes softened slightly as he gazed upon Princess You Xue, then they darted to the sinister dragon, subdued and bleeding from the head. He could roughly guess what had transpired.
Princess You Xue must have pa.s.sed by and helped him resolve this mess.
He led the provincial guard over, his eagle mount morphing into human form. They swiftly took a knee before Princess You Xue, and Duan Yi said in a firm and solid voice, "Li Heavenly General Duan Yi, on behalf of the provincial guard, pays our respects to Princess You Xue."
"Rise," Princess You Xue said.
The sinister dragon did not want to be left out. He cleared his throat and said, "Who would have thought that the mighty Duan Yi himself would make an appearance! This is perfect. Your Princess was just troubled by my offer. Right now, a few hundred survivors have been swallowed into my belly. As long as you, Duan Yi, take me out of the Dark North Kingdom and let me into the sea, I will let these few hundred people live. Otherwise, we all die! This is a few hundred lives. Duan Yi, you better be careful."
The sinister dragon had prepared for this day for a long time and was therefore confident in his offer.
The provincial guard had been communicating with the citizenry through Message Talismans before they arrived. Therefore, they understood what had happened. As the sinister dragon made his threats, Duan Yi calmly continued, "Violet Hill City is under the jurisdiction and protection of the Li Heavenly Province Guard. As the Li Heavenly General, I, Duan Yi, am to blame for not protecting Violet Hill City well, allowing this demon to cause trouble, and even troubling the Princess personally! After this incident, Duan Yi will personally report his faults to the provincial lord. On behalf of the Violet Hill citizens, many thanks to the Princess for her grace!"
Princess You Xue knew that he had always been such a proper person, and therefore said, "Trivial matters. More importantly, do you have a way of dealing with the sinister dragon"s threat?"
Duan Yi said, "As for dealing with the sinister dragon, that is this subordinate"s duty. I beg the Princess to wait a moment - this subordinate will deliver a satisfactory answer."
He stood up and headed over to the sinister dragon with a severe expression, the Li Heavenly Province Guard backing him up.
Within Violet Hill City, everyone was watching with bated breath, hoping for the lives of their loved ones.
The sinister dragon felt scared when he looked into Duan Yi"s eyes, but still stubbornly lipped, "I am not a murderous demon. I just want to leave this place. It is not suited for me. As long as I can leave, I will naturally let them go. After all, killing them does me no good."
All eyes on Duan Yi.
The person called Duan Yi did not reply, but continued to move towards the sinister dragon, his navy armor gleaming in the sunlight.
"Don"t come any closer! Or I"ll kill a few!" The sinister dragon panicked at how close he was getting.
Wu Yu wanted to see how he would deal with it as well. After all, these were a few hundred lives. If he bungled it up, he would face reprimanding and punishment.
At this moment, Duan Yi suddenly vanished!
His speed was ferocious, but he did not escape Wu Yu"s Eyes of Fire and Gold.
"He"s going to risk killing the demon!" Wu Yu guessed his intent.
This person indeed had a direct personality. He did not even seem to hesitate. Perhaps he had never considered another alternative. If he let this demon leave the Dark North Kingdom as it chose, it would firstly encourage other demons to copy his approach, and secondly would disgrace the Dark North Kingdom and the Li Heavenly Province. The almighty Li Heavenly Province Guard - taken for a turn by a demon?
That was why he had made his decision. A risk, wagered on those few hundred lives.
Wu Yu could feel how terrifying this person was. He was risking these people"s lives. No matter how confident he was, he must have been prepared to let these people die.
However, his formidable abilities could prevent an unsatisfactory outcome. In that instant, Wu Yu saw him pull out a pitch-black spear. It looked ancient and rust-specked, but a fearsome aura came from its pitch-black body.
In that instant, he appeared beside the sinister dragon, his long spear thrusting through the sinister dragon"s neck.
"You!" The sinister dragon flew into a rage at the attack. He immediately turned on his hostages, evidently going to kill them. They were all trapped in his belly, so they were extremely easy to kill.
But he had not expected the long black spear to be an advanced dao treasure!
And an evil, wicked, and deadly one!
As the long spear skewered the sinister dragon, he had not expected to die immediately.
Wu Yu could see that the sinister dragon"s huge bulk suddenly shrank, losing the healthy bulk of his flesh. He became a dried corpse of a sinister dragon, and a casual flick from Duan Yi crumbled him into powder.
Besides, he had controlled it finely. Because after the sinister dragon turned to powder, the people inside him were still alive. At this time, they fell to the ground. Wu Yu could see that the final revenge of the sinister dragon had taken its toll. About 50 people had died, leaving about 300 or so survivors.
This execution had been clean, and a work of art.