Chapter 667: Zhou (Part 1)
The Qingyang Guards, who had just dispersed, gathered back together.
"Boss, isn't that the edge of the plane a hundred kilometers to the north?" the round-faced Qingyang Guard asked, scratching his head.
The tall, thin man slapped him on the shoulder: "Are you stupid? Didn't you hear General Li say we're going to Qingyang Martial Tempering Pure Land? That's a Pure Land! It must have been newly built by the Lord, the plane has definitely expanded."
"A Pure Land..." The round-faced Qingyang Guard's eyes lit up. "Like the Bloodthorn Forest?"
"Then what are we waiting for? We'll meet in two days. I'll bring my mother and sister along so they can also enjoy the blessings of this sacred place."
“I’m bringing my dad too! He’s never left the Blood Abyss Plane in his entire life, this is going to be a real eye-opener for him.”
The group became more and more excited as they talked, and their voices grew louder and louder.
After listening for a while, Zhang Ergou finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Alright, alright, stop dreaming. Let's get on with the business at hand. We'll meet in two days. Anyone who's late, I'll leave them here."
"No, boss! I promise I'll be the first one there!"
"Boss, where are your family? Are you going to answer the phone?"
Zhang Ergou was stunned for a moment.
His family was long gone; his parents died in the Blood Abyss Plane, leaving him with no brothers or sisters.
He thought for a moment and said, "I'm all alone, no need to pick me up."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the temporary camp. After taking a few steps, he looked back at the group of Qingyang Guards who were still chattering and twitched his lips.
He looked up at the north, then down at the map in his hand, and couldn't help but sigh.
It's a full 2,500 kilometers from here to Zhuwu City.
...
After emerging from the purple portal, the migrating army continued eastward.
The line stretched out so long that it seemed to end in the distance.
On both sides were Qin soldiers in full armor, and in the middle were densely packed migrants. The sounds of footsteps, wheels, and livestock neighing blended together, like a long, slowly crawling dragon.
Shen Yanzhou walked in the middle of the crowd.
He was once a clerk in the Blood Nest, a subordinate of the Azure Blood Demon Sect. Although his cultivation level was not high, he was serious in his work and not a bad person.
When the relocation order came down, he had no intention of resisting. He just thought that moving to a different place would be better than living in fear every day under the rule of the Demonic Sect.
After traveling for a day and a night, a tall boundary marker finally appeared ahead.
The boundary marker is inscribed with the two large characters "Xizhou".
The line stopped.
Shen Yanzhou stood in the crowd, looking up at the gray-white boulder.
Beyond the boundary marker lies a wide official road, stretching straight into the distance.
"Ahead lies the territory of Xizhou, the Pure Land of Ten Thousand Lifetimes."
A general hovered above °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the boundary marker, his voice carrying throughout the entire troop.
"Once you enter, the Pure Land will automatically determine your status: officials, clerks, servants, and commoners will each have their own place."
They will also assign you route information to your destination. Once inside, you must abide by the law and behave properly. Anyone who violates the law will be severely punished.
"Yes," came the scattered responses from the crowd below.
Among the crowd, several disciples of the Azure Blood Demon Sect, who had reached the Acquired Realm, bowed their heads, their faces showing obedience, but inwardly they were sneering.
"Hmph, what Pure Land of Ten Thousand Lives? Let's go inside and talk about it."
“The escorting soldiers aren’t going in, which is perfect. Once they’re inside, we’ll contact our fellow disciples and turn this rear area upside down.”
"We'll see how their lord handles this then."
They exchanged glances, but their faces remained honest and unassuming as they followed the crowd across the boundary marker.
However, the scene before them changed abruptly the moment they stepped inside.
The path I came from has vanished, leaving only a hazy mist behind me, as if it had never existed.
The disciples who had reached the Acquired Realm panicked for a moment, but quickly forced themselves to calm down.
"No rush, let's find out the details of this place first, then figure out a way to get out..."
The thought had barely formed when a cold, imaginary message suddenly appeared in my mind.
【Identity: Death row inmate; Basis for determination: malicious intent, rebellious intentions; Execution: to be executed soon.】
"What?"
The men's expressions changed drastically. Before they could react, heavy black shackles appeared out of thin air, locking their limbs and necks with a series of cracking sounds.
No matter how they used their acquired cultivation, the shackles remained unmoved.
"Aaaaaah, let me go!"
"What the hell is this thing?!"
"I refuse to accept this! Why are you saying I'm a death row inmate!"
"Damn it! Let me go! I didn't do anything!" a burly man with a face full of scars roared, the shackles binding him tighter and tighter, making it hard for him to breathe.
"I'm innocent! I'm just a farmer! I've never even killed a chicken!" A skinny man next to him lay on the ground, wailing and crying, his face covered in tears and snot.
Screams rose and fell, and many others who had also been sentenced to death struggled frantically. Some cursed loudly, while others knelt down and begged for mercy, creating a chaotic scene.
Just then, the words "Yabobu" suddenly appeared above the heads of some people in the crowd, and they also had a heavy water and fire stick in their hands.
After receiving the instructions in their minds, they didn't hesitate and started hitting the death row inmates with their sticks.
"Smack!"
"What are you yelling about! You think you're so great just because you've entered the Pure Land?"
"You death row inmate, behave yourself! If you howl again, I'll shove a stick down your throat!"
"Ouch! Sir, be gentle! I was wrong! I was really wrong!"
"Weren't you being pretty arrogant just now? Keep being arrogant!"
Sticks flew, and cries for parents instantly drowned out the shouts and curses.
"Ouch! Be gentle! I'm one of our own!"
"Fellow countrymen my ass! Who the hell considers you one of our own!"
Several disciples who had just vowed to "stir up trouble in the rear" were now being beaten and running away in a sorry state.
The leading constable was a man in his forties with a square face and thick, dark eyebrows.
He walked up to the roaring burly man, slammed his fire-and-water club on the ground, and said in a deep voice, "Death row inmate, shut up."
"You fucking bastard, you're the death row inmate! I..."
The water-and-fire stick was slapped horizontally across the big man's mouth, and two front teeth flew out on the spot, splattering blood and saliva all over the ground.
The big man's mouth was swollen so badly that he could only sob and mumble, unable to speak.
The old constable put away his stick and said expressionlessly, "This place is called the Pure Land of Ten Thousand Lives. The will of the Pure Land knows better than you what kind of person comes in."
You say you didn't do anything wrong? Then why is the Pure Land putting shackles on you? Do you think you can hide your little schemes from anyone?
Shen Yanzhou stood not far away, receiving information in his mind.
【Identity confirmed: Magistrate of Yuguan County, Xizhou.】
【Name: Shen Yanzhou】
【Authority: Highest-ranking official in charge of administration, judiciary, and military (military) affairs within Yuguan County.】
【Note: Please proceed to Yuguan County to assume your post as soon as possible. The required accompanying personnel have been assigned to your name.】
Shen Yanzhou was stunned for a moment.
County magistrate?
He used to be a clerk in the Azure Blood Demon Sect, in charge of the sect's accounts and correspondence. The highest position he ever held was "manager," and he had never even seen a sect steward.
Now he's directly become the head of a county?
He didn't have time to think, because a commotion was already rising and falling around him.
Shen Yanzhou took a deep breath, suppressing all the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and said in a deep voice, "Men, escort these death row inmates to the Yuguan County government office for imprisonment and execution on a later date."
"Yes!" The constables obeyed and quickly dragged the person away.