Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

"It's over, all over."

The townsfolk of Blackwater Town gazed at the ruins of the Dragon King Temple, utterly destroyed, with eyes filled with despair.

Amidst the flying wood shavings, Yi Chen stood still, focusing. After waiting the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, yet not a single abnormality occurred.

Feeling rather foolish for just standing there, Yi Chen finally moved. His aura suddenly retracted, no longer oppressing the townsfolk around him, instead he spoke aloud, "Where is your Dragon King?"

"I've demolished his temple, yet he does not show himself."

As soon as these words were spoken, the defiant young man who had been prostrate on the ground suddenly looked as though his eyes would burst with rage, angrily saying, "You're going to get Blackwater Town killed, I...."

"If you utter another half a word, I will turn and leave, flee a thousand miles away. When your Dragon King cannot find me and takes out his anger on you, don't blame me for not abiding by the rules," Yi Chen interrupted the young man's words without a shred of politeness.

Things are not fixed and immutable; one must look at problems with an eye for development and change.

And contradictions, too, can shift and transform.

In his previous life, Yi Chen had thoroughly read the classics, then practiced them in reverse. Even after reaping others like leeks, they still thought well of him—so knowledge really is power!

As a Daoist adept in human nature, his words quickly silenced the young man. The young man's robust neighbors were quick to cover his mouth, afraid he'd speak further.

After struggling a few times, the young man quieted down once he saw more and more villagers giving him warning looks.

Such is the art of transforming contradictions.

For instance, Eagle-chan's ninety-plus genders—when seen through the surface, it's nothing but a re-skin of this very art.

Yi Chen could not always keep the townsfolk at bay with intimidation. It was too much for the weak and the elderly to bear, but neither did he want to be on the receiving end of insults, so he resorted to a little low-level trickery.

The effect was remarkable. The townsfolk now wore complex expressions, some wishing for his death to quell the wrath of the Dragon King, others hoping he'd survive to lift the heavy yoke that had burdened countless people near the Blackwater River for hundreds of years.

...

...

At night, inside an old tiled house in Blackwater Town.

Xiu Niang, holding half a roast chicken, knocked on Yi Chen's door, a young child with a clean-shaven head except for a small tuft of hair the size of a duck egg on the forehead, stood by her left side.

"Daoist, Blackwater Town is poor, and we have little to offer. Please enjoy," said Xiu Niang, whom Yi Chen had saved, her face tinged with embarrassment. Next to her, the young child clutched her hand tightly, eyeing the chicken in the bowl and swallowing hard.

"Is this your brother?" Yi Chen asked with a smile, placing the ceramic bowl filled with roast chicken on the table. He looked at the young child who kept sniffling, reminded of 'Duck Egg', the child with the incredible fate who had found the Creation Profound Fruit.

Pity he was born with weak fortune, his vitality severely depleted, and in the end, no medicine worked.

"Yes, and I'm deeply grateful to you, Daoist, for saving my life. He's very close to me; he insisted on coming and wouldn't let go," Xiu Niang said with a smile.

"Come here, young one, have a drumstick," Yi Chen said casually, tearing off a drumstick and handing it to the child. "Call me 'Daoist Brother,' and this entire plate of roast chicken will be yours."

Yi Chen always spoke honestly; the roast chicken was not to his liking.

"I won't take it, I won't eat it. Daoist Brother saved my sister, so this was specially slaughtered for Daoist Brother to eat."

"I've already had dinner, and I even ate three eggs tonight!"

The young child counted his fingers before resolutely putting out two fingers, struggling to shift his gaze away from the roast chicken.

"..." He seemed even more like a duck egg.

"Xiu Niang, it's not good for a child to eat so many eggs at night; he should eat something else," Yi Chen said after a moment's thought, offering his advice.

Upon hearing Yi Chen's words, Xiu Niang quickly waved her hands:

"How can one eat like this every day? Today is just his birthday. We happened to kill a hen that had two eggs inside, and mother cooked one for him. Usually, we can't afford to eat like this."

"Getting to eat an egg once a fortnight is already a luxury. Otherwise, where will the money come from for the annual offerings to the Dragon King Sect?"

As she spoke, Yi Chen's smile grew rigid.

He looked at Xiu Niang's rough hands and her simple cloth dress, understanding instantly. Blackwater Town was even poorer than he had thought. It was only because today was the Dragon King's sacrificial day that the villagers wore their best clothes, which made him overlook the poverty of Blackwater Town.

This was the house of the town head. Even the most selfless town head would at least have a standard of living no lower than the average townsfolk.

Tearing off two drumsticks, Yi Chen forcefully placed them in the hands of Xiu Niang and the child.

"One for each of you, no refusing."

"I acknowledge your kind intentions, but if anything happens tonight, do not leave your room."

"If you notice anything amiss, shout loudly for help and I'll be there immediately, assuredly protecting you fully."

With Yi Chen's insistence, Xiu Niang and the child finally left with the drumsticks in their hands.

As the door slowly closed, only the flickering flame of an oil lamp danced, casting Yi Chen's face in a golden hue.

On the banks of the Blackwater River, a thousand acres of fertile land, and the fishing resources were also very abundant.

If a person eats without gaining weight, there is surely a parasite within them.

Yi Chen, sitting beside the table, slowly tore the rest of the roast chicken without the drumsticks into strips and ate them. Then he let out a sigh.

"Since I've eaten your roast chicken, I should make more of an effort."

"This Dragon King, I will certainly catch him out."

This was the town head's house of Blackwater Town, and it was in such a state. The ordinary households could only be in even more dire straits.

Humans are a very strange animal; in the face of death and tragedy, even if a thousand, ten thousand, or a hundred thousand die, it's just a set of numbers.

However, if one comes into contact with the individuals behind the numbers and understands their lives and their joys and sorrows, even if the number is merely one, people will feel a bond of shared experience, a sense of shared affliction.

The Black Demon Dragon King, no matter how well he hides and whatever secrets this matter has, Yi Chen must take him down.

At most, it'll just take a bit more effort.

Time ticked away, second by second, and the deep night of Blackwater Town was as quiet as a chicken.

Yi Chen, like waiting for Godot, waited for the Dragon King.

Holding a brush in his hand, he began to write feverishly, bored out of his mind.

"Hardships and lean soil for many autumns"

"Grains of golden millet, sweat never ceasing"

"Yet frequent reverence to the Dragon King"@@novelbin@@

"Half a lifetime's grain reserves turned into thin porridge"

"Damn, where is the Dragon King."

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The following night.

After several deep breaths, Yi Chen continued to write vigorously.

"No rush, let the bullet fly for a while."

By this time, he had already become somewhat anxious; if the Dragon King didn't show up soon, he would have to consider other tactics.

For instance, pushing over the temples of the Dragon King along the Blackwater River was one of his conservative plans.

Just then, suddenly, a fluttering caught his ear, and a trace of joy couldn't help but reveal itself on Yi Chen's face.

"There's a stir."

A stir is a good thing; what Yi Chen fears the most is the lack of any stir. He doesn't have the time to play a game of waiting for the rabbit.

...

...

A gust of wind swept across the land, immediately emitting a ghostly howling sound.

In a small forest less than ten miles from Blackwater Town, a black boot crushed plants underfoot, and the pale green plant juices immediately stained the white gravel on the ground.

A man with a head full of filthy dreadlocks, slanted eyes, holding a white mourning stick, slipped into the woods like a ghost of the night.

After scouting the area, Kuai Shiren slyly planted four formation flags at strategic locations within the forest. In an instant, his form and aura began to fade, blending with the surrounding environment.

Having done all this, Kuai Shiren couldn't help but let out a long breath of stale air.

A cautious approach lasts a lifetime. Kuai Shiren had climbed to his current position within the Dragon King Sect because many disciples more talented than him had died, yet he had steadfastly cultivated step by step to the True Person Realm, relying on the word "caution."

Upon receiving intelligence from within the Sect that another heedless practitioner had come to challenge the might of the Dragon King Sect, and his cultivation was said to not be lacking, the Sect sent him to scout out this person's abilities.

If the cultivation was shallow, naturally, the only path was death.

If the cultivation was strong, then he would return and report.

After taking all precautions, Kuai Shiren took out a piece of oiled paper gleaming with the sheen of human skin and started forming hand seals. He breathed onto the paper, and a featureless, eerie young girl appeared in place.

Putting his finger in his mouth, he heartlessly bit his fingertip and began to smear blood on the face of the eerie girl, painting the features onto her.

Once the painting was finished,

The eerie young girl's eyes began to emit a strange red light, and the view from her eyes appeared in Kuai Shiren's own.

This was one of Kuai Shiren's techniques.

Lately, the situation has been tense and unclear. If worse comes to worst, he would lose a female puppet; he was not willing to put his real body at risk.

At midnight, the eerie painted skin girl began prowling the land, heading in the direction of Blackwater Town.

Just as the eerie girl entered Blackwater Town, Kuai Shiren suddenly felt a gust of wind hit her, and an enormous palm-like a pu fan enlarged in the eerie girl's vision.

Crack.

A streak of white light flowed, and darkness fell before Kuai Shiren's eyes—the carefully refined female puppet turned to ashes instantly.

"This isn't good, it's a master, I must go back and report to the Sect Hierarch."

"Thank goodness I was careful and didn't rush in."

"Worthy of me."

Kuai Shiren's face turned pale with shock, and he thought to flee.

Just as he was about to remove the formation flags, the figure of a tall Daoist had already appeared outside, with his back towards him.

"You little brat, quite good at hiding, aren't you?"

"Esteemed Daoist has finally waited for you."

A harsh and cold voice came through, shaking the forest leaves to the ground.