Zhang Changyan held his head in despair, staring blankly at the crackling fire in front of him without saying a word.
Opposite him, Zhang Ke sat cross-legged on the ground, feeling a little sympathetic.
Today at noon, the two of them arrived at the village at lightning speed. What they saw almost made Zhang Changyan collapse.
Senior brother Xie Shilun and junior brother Xin Zhou all died, and their bodies were damaged and mutilated.
From the moment he saw the corpse of his senior brother, Zhang Changyan fell into deep self-blame.
When he discovered the evil cultivators of the 'Red Robe Society' last night, Xie Shilun proposed to temporarily avoid them and contact the government to encircle and suppress them.
However, Zhang Changyan rushed towards the top door in anger and rushed into the village first without hesitation. Xie Shilun and Xin Zhou had no choice but to follow closely behind.
The final result was that all the brothers died, but Zhang Changyan luckily escaped with his life because of his encounter with Zhang Ke.
Outside the ancestral hall, hundreds of villagers who had lost their family members were in mourning, and their cries echoed throughout the night.
Listening to the faint crying outside, Zhang Ke said:
"The matter has come to this, and grief will not help. People from the government will be coming from time to time. It is not convenient for me to meet them, so I will say goodbye and see you again someday."
Zhang Changyan focused his scattered eyes, looked at Zhang Ke, and suddenly asked:
"Do you have somewhere to go now, fellow Taoist?"
Zhang Ke shook his head and said:
"I haven't thought about where to go yet. I'll first familiarize myself with the surrounding situation."
Zhang Changyan thought over and over again and secretly made a decision.
"Actually, there is another way to quickly integrate into the local area without having to avoid others."
Zhang Ke's heart moved slightly:
"What do fellow Taoists mean...?"
“The technique practiced by my senior brother Xie Shilun is the ‘Withering and Glory Tribulation’, which requires switching between Yin and Yang withering and glory.
The physical appearance often changes, and sometimes the Taoist friend appears like a child.
Therefore, Senior Brother always wears a mask, and few people have seen his true face.
If fellow Taoist is willing, you can use my senior brother's name, which can reduce a lot of trouble and make it easier to detect the person that fellow Taoist wants to track."
Zhang Ke was slightly startled. He originally thought that Zhang Changyan would invite him to join him, but he didn't expect that it would be such a method.
After thinking about it for a moment, I found that this idea was actually quite good.
The Central Region is different from the Eastern Region. It is divided and governed by seven major powers. Due to the strong centralization of power, the management of the territory is relatively strict.
In addition, there are many small princely states ruled by these countries.
As an outsider from the Eastern Region, Zhang Ke would not have difficulty traveling here, but it was still not very convenient.
If you have a local identity, many things will be much easier to handle.
He pondered for a moment and said:
"Why do fellow Taoists arrange this? If others see through it, I'm afraid that fellow Taoist will be called a spy."
Zhang Changyan was silent for a moment and sighed:
"There are only four real people in charge of our master's sect 'Danqing Sect'. Now that senior brother and junior brother have died at the same time, I am afraid that it will arouse the covetousness of the surrounding sects.
If a fellow Taoist replaces his senior brother, and there are three real people around, he will be safe for the time being.
In addition, the 'Red Robe Society' killed five people, and these people had seen my appearance.
Not to mention how powerful its power is, just because it is in the dark and I am in the light, it is extremely dangerous to our sect.
You also have this selfish motive for asking fellow Taoists to come in. If danger really comes, you need fellow Taoists to help you."
Zhang Ke made some calculations in his mind.
I want to integrate into the Central Territory and find out the whereabouts of Tu Shan. This identity is a good entry point.
"What if something happens and I need to reveal my identity?"
Zhang Changyan explained in detail:
"Nowadays, there are only two ways to determine one's identity in the Central Territory. One is the bloodline mark left by the government at birth.
The second is the breath of the Three Treasures left in the sect’s longevity lamp.”
Having said this, Zhang Changyan glanced at Zhang Ke.
"Many years ago, there was an evil cultivator who destroyed the government offices and used the magic of witchcraft to use these brands to curse many monks, causing quite a stir in the spiritual world.
Because of this matter, everyone who practices in the Central Realm is in danger. For a long period of time, all industries in the Central Realm have been stagnant, which has had a great impact on development.
Later, the government had no choice but to take a step back, and all monks who advanced to the level of real people could get back their bloodline brand, and the chaos was calmed down."
Zhang Ke was slightly distracted when he heard this. This was much better than the Eastern Region.
"As for the aura of the three treasures of the 'Jing Qi Shen' within the sect, it is not so strict. Just replace the aura of the senior fellow apprentice with that of a fellow Taoist!"
Zhang Changyan hesitated for a moment and then said:
"The only trouble now is that my senior brother is good at defeating the enemy with his paintings, but my fellow Taoist's swordsmanship is not easily revealed."
Zhang Ke smiled slightly:
"I am not a swordsman to begin with. Please tell me the techniques and magical powers that fellow Taoist Xie is good at, and I will see if there is anything I can do."
Zhang Changyan's eyes lit up.
"So, Taoist friend has agreed?"
The platinum runes on Zhang Ke's fingertips appeared, forming a platinum mask, which he then put on his face, and a childish voice sounded.
"You must be careful what you say in the future. From now on, you have to make it a habit to call me senior brother."
Zhang Changyan took a deep breath, bowed and said:
"Brother!"
Zhang Ke returned the greeting: "Junior brother!"
Zhang Changyan was slightly relieved after confirming the relationship.
"I'll go back to the sect tomorrow to deal with the follow-up actions, so that I can... explain everything about my senior brother clearly."
Zhang Ke pondered for a moment and said: "There is one more matter that needs to be dealt with urgently."
Zhang Changyan asked: "Please speak!"
"My Tao name is "Ruyi". It is a name given by heaven and earth. It cannot be hidden. Others will know the root of it at a glance. What should I do?"
Zhang Changyan smiled and said:
"I have expected this, I have a magic weapon 'Hidden Bead'.
With the ability to 'hide the sky and cross the sea', you can temporarily block the number given by heaven and earth. As for the rest, we can worry about it after returning to the sect."
As he spoke, he reached into his arms and took out a gray bead.
After Zhang Ke took it, he inspected it for a while and found nothing out of the ordinary. He was secretly surprised.
Wearing the 'Hidden Bead' on his body, Zhang Changyan used his spiritual thoughts to explore and found that Zhang Ke's 'Ruyi' Taoist name was no longer revealed in his heart.
He nodded with satisfaction and whispered to Zhang Ke in detail some things that needed to be avoided or paid attention to.
While the two were talking, several figures suddenly flew down from outside the ancestral hall and led people directly into the ancestral hall.
The first person was dressed in splendid and elegant clothes, with a Haechi pattern embroidered on his chest.
His face is like a purple liver, his eyes are long and narrow, his eyebrows are twisted into the Chinese character "Sichuan", and he is tall and burly.
There is a soft whip coiled in his right hand, shining with a faint white light.
Behind him were two men and one woman, all of them with solemn expressions and dressed in the same attire as the people in front, except for the slight difference in the pattern of their robes.
As soon as the four of them entered the door, they saw two figures, one large and one small.
One of the three people behind shouted:
"Commander Bai Kun, the demon-suppressing guard, is here. Why don't you tell me your name quickly?"
With just this question, Zhang Ke instantly understood what kind of deterrent power a country had in the Central Territory.
Zhang Changyan stood up and saluted:
"Danqing Sect Zhang Changyan, Xie Shilun has met Commander Bai!"
Bai Kun's face was as dark as water. He walked up to the two of them and looked them up and down.
Pointing at Zhang Ke: "You! Take off the mask!"
Zhang Changyan felt nervous, fearing that Zhang Ke would lose his temper at this moment.
When he saw Zhang Ke obediently taking off his mask, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Kun looked down in surprise at Zhang Ke, who looked like a child in front of him.
"Are you the 'Magic Pen' Xie Shilun?"
Zhang Ke's childish face showed a hint of pride.
"Exactly down there!"
Bai Kun made a "tsk tsk" sound from his mouth.
“I never thought that there really is a way to rejuvenate one’s youth?
By the way, what’s going on with your eyes?”
Zhang Changyan's heart skipped a beat and he forgot that Zhang Ke was blind.
Zhang Ke's heart trembled, and he realized that there seemed to be something in his words.
"Haha! There is no way to rejuvenate one's youth. It's just the characteristics of the technique.
It will change every ten days, which is extremely painful, and you will lose consciousness for half an hour.
Alas! I shouldn’t have chosen this method to practice in the first place!
As for my eyes, they are just a special kind of pupil magic power. I usually need to close my eyes to gather strength."
Bai Kun was a little disappointed, but he didn't fully believe what Zhang Ke said. He came here today for other things.
"I received a summons saying that evil cultivators from the 'Red Robe Society' appeared here. I wonder who reported it?"
Zhang Changyan cupped his hands and said, "That's exactly what I did!"
Bai Kun said "Oh": "Tell me in detail!"
Zhang Changyan said: "Last night I passed by here with my senior fellow apprentices and found that the 'Red Robe Society' was offering blood sacrifices to the people here.
During the fight, my brothers and I saw that they were no match for the evil cultivators. At the moment of crisis, for some unknown reason, many evil cultivators from the 'Red Robe Society' suddenly withdrew.
I finally regained my breath and immediately sent a message to the Demon Suppressing Guard.
But my junior brother Xin Zhou died on the spot."
Bai Kun nodded slightly, which was roughly the same as what he learned.
"Alas! Zhenren Xin fell because of the people's resistance to evil cultivators. I will definitely report to Your Majesty and ask for merit for Zhenren Xin."
Zhang Changyan said gratefully:
"Thank you very much for the recommendation, Commander Bai, and please give me some kind words, Commander Bai!"
Bai Kun asked a few more questions casually, but when he saw that there were no clues, he turned around and left.
Zhang Ke quickly walked up to Bai Kun and quietly handed a space money bag into Bai Kun's hand.
"I wonder if the Demon Suppressing Guards will still accept people?"
Bai Kun was stunned for a moment, then put the money bag away with his backhand without showing any signs of it.
"Haha! Master Xie intends to join the Demon Suppressing Guard?"
Zhang Ke cupped his hands and said:
"My junior brother lost his life at the hands of the 'Red Robe Society'. With the strength of my sect, I'm afraid it will be difficult to avenge this.
If Commander Bai doesn't dislike it, I'd like to be a pioneer."
Bai Kun secretly thought about the meaning of Zhang Ke's words.
Generally speaking, apart from going down the mountain for training, few disciples of the sect will join the Demon Suppressing Guard. After all, most monks do not want to be controlled.
Therefore, in addition to the core members who were trained by themselves, the Demon Suppressing Guards are not included.
Most of the flag bearers are taken by casual cultivators recruited from all over.
At this moment, Zhang Ke volunteered to join the Demon Suppressing Guard, which is certainly a good thing for the Demon Suppressing Guard.
After all, this is a real person in the Golden Core Realm. Masters are extremely rare at any time.
But Zhang Ke obviously just wanted to help his junior brother seek revenge from the 'Red Robe Society', and he still needed to discuss it with others before making a decision.
"Haha! Let me think about this for a few days. I have other things to deal with today. See you again if we have the chance."
After saying that, he bowed his hands to the two of them and turned around to leave.
After a few people left, Zhang Changyan said anxiously:
"Why..."
Zhang Changyan couldn't sit still. Zhang Ke's identity could not withstand careful investigation.
It was too late to hide from the demon guard, so why did he take the initiative to climb over?
Zhang Ke intercepted and said:
"Junior Brother Xin, how can we not avenge him! Junior Brother, there is no need to persuade me, I have already made up my mind and I will vent my anger!"
Zhang Changyan was shocked. Could it be that someone was spying around him? He could no longer express his complaints.
After this incident, Zhang Changyan also saw that Zhang Ke's temperament was not one to follow the rules.
For a moment, he didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that he introduced Zhang Ke to him.
"Alas! In that case! Junior brother, let's join the Demon Suppressing Guard together with our senior brother!"
Zhang Ke shook his head:
"The sect cannot be left unattended. Junior brother will stay here to take care of you. Leave the matter of revenge to me."