Chapter 890: The Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art

“As you wish.”

Chen Yang said, slowly withdrawing his fist, then crouched down to wipe it clean on Xiong Pi’s clothes.

Xiong Pi’s eyes were wide open, his body trembling uncontrollably, a long-forgotten fear rising in his heart.

Not far from him, the two archive officers, though unable to move, shook like sieves. They could never have imagined that Chen Yang, who always greeted them with a smile, could be so ruthless.

“I, I… am willing to follow Captain Chen Yang… no, City Lord Chen Yang!” the round-faced archive officer was the first to shout.

“I too am willing to follow City Lord Chen Yang…” the square-faced archive officer followed closely.

“I am willing…”

“I am also willing…”

A satisfied smile appeared in Chen Yang’s eyes. He strolled over to Mou Lin, bent down, and asked with a smile:

“Fellow Daoist Mou, what do you say?”

“I, I am willing…” Mou Lin sighed and said.

“Haha, you are willing, but I am not.” A murderous glint flashed in Chen Yang’s eyes. Without warning, he raised his fist and smashed it into Mou Lin’s head.

A dull thud sounded.

Mou Lin’s head split open with the sound, bursting like a ripe watermelon.

Silence fell over the hall once more. Everyone’s fear was magnified to the extreme at that moment.

Even those who had already surrendered could not escape death.

“Fellow Daoist Chen, if you want to kill, then kill. Why toy with us like this?” At that moment, the horned giant suddenly spoke.

“Heh, it seems there are still those who aren’t afraid of death.” Chen Yang turned his gaze to the man and said.

“Death is certainly feared, but to die after being toyed with by you is not worth it,” the horned giant said calmly.

“If I remember correctly, you are called Xuan Yuanxing, right?” Chen Yang looked at the man, raised an eyebrow, and asked.

“It is rare for Fellow Daoist Chen to know my humble name,” the horned giant said indifferently.

“Very well. From now on, the patrol duties of Qingyang City, previously managed by Mou Lin, will be your responsibility,” Chen Yang nodded and said.

The horned giant was stunned upon hearing this.

The others in the hall also thought they had misheard, looking puzzled.

“Mou Lin was vicious by nature, and just now he called for everyone to kill me. He truly had a wolfish look about him, so naturally I could not keep him. As for the rest of you, as long as you are willing to pledge allegiance to me, you will all live,” Chen Yang declared loudly.

“We are willing to pledge allegiance to City Lord Chen Yang,” the round-faced archive officer shouted first.

Following him, the others also shouted in unison, their voices surging like a tide.

…

In the adjacent side hall.

“Chen Yang’s use of both kindness and authority is quite apt. This way, even if these people still have second thoughts, they probably won’t dare to act rashly,” Han Li said thoughtfully.

“It’s not over yet…” Gu Qianxun said with a smile.

“Oh?” Han Li was taken aback.

…

Inside the main hall, the sound of vows of allegiance gradually subsided as Chen Yang raised his hand to signal for silence.

He walked over to Xiong Pi, bent down to look at him, and asked with a smile:

“Having survived a great disaster, is there anything you want to say?”

“Fellow Daoist Chen… no, City Lord Chen. You know me. I am different from that Mou Lin. I have no ambition and am truly surrendering to you,” Xiong Pi, already like a startled bird, said with trembling lips.

“Mm, those are indeed heartfelt words,” Chen Yang nodded and said.

Xiong Pi felt a little relieved upon hearing this and was about to speak when he heard Chen Yang continue: “However, just to be safe, it’s better to use some measures. After all, restrictive spells are more reliable than verbal vows.”

With that, he took out a black stone bottle from his sleeve, placed it on Xiong Pi’s chest, and uncorked it.

A three-inch-long black centipede slowly crawled out, slithered along the collar of his robe, easily bit through his skin, and burrowed inside.

"Black Calamity Bugs..."

Xiong Pi let out a silent lament in his heart, but dared not voice any complaint; he could only close his eyes weakly.

The others were no different from fish on a chopping board, naturally not daring to show any defiance either.

Chen Yang waved his hand, and the tattooed youth and his companions each took out a black stone bottle from their sleeves, planting Black Calamity Bugs into the people lying on the ground.

"I believe you are all familiar with the Black Calamity Bug, so I need not elaborate on its effects, need I? Now that Du Qingyang is dead, I am the only one who can remove these bugs. In the future, anyone who renders great service will naturally have their bug removed by me." Chen Yang's gaze swept over the crowd as he spoke.

Those people were still lying瘫倒 on the ground, so they could only let the Black Calamity Bugs settle in their hearts, and they all responded with "Yes."

A battle for succession had finally come to an end, and Chen Yang got his wish, ascending to the position of city lord.

However, since several hunting teams had not yet returned, Chen Yang did not immediately hold a ceremony. Instead, he kept the upheaval within the city secret, planning to hold the enthronement ceremony only after dealing with all of them.

After that, he would only need to send a generous gift from Du Qingyang's treasury to Xuan City, and Chen Yang would become the true and legitimate city lord of Qingyang City.

Han Li was not interested in any of this; that night he returned to his residence in the Fighting Arena.

Throughout the entire upheaval, although he was at the center of the storm, he remained hidden behind Chen Yang, just like Gu Qianxun. Thus, apart from Chen Yang and the Crab Daoist, no one else knew what role they had played in this battle for succession.

Originally, Chen Yang had intended to take Han Li and the other out of the Fighting Arena and keep them as secret retainers in Qingyang City, but they both refused.

Like Han Li, Gu Qianxun chose to remain in the Fighting Arena under their original identities for the time being.

After verifying again from Chen Yang that Zi Ling had indeed never appeared in Qingyang City, Han Li planned to stay for a while and then leave.

But before leaving, he still had some matters regarding the Crab Daoist that needed confirmation.

That night, Han Li's room was brightly lit. He was sitting cross-legged on a corner of the stone bed, holding the three-headed, six-armed demon god statue in his hands, examining it over and over.

A flash appeared between his eyebrows, and a beam of crystalline light shot out from it, plunging into the relief.

As before, the black relief immediately began to move its hands and feet, striking those twelve strange poses, and behind it appeared the unfamiliar, peculiar script.

After watching for a while, Han Li's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and his expression grew somewhat solemn.

Just then, a knocking sound suddenly came from outside the stone door.

Han Li raised an eyebrow, stood up, and opened the heavy stone door. The figure outside the door then slipped inside.

"Daoist Crab, what exactly are you up to?" Han Li asked, closing the stone door and looking at the familiar figure.

"I don't have much time. Let's talk business first." The Crab Daoist turned around, looked at Han Li, and said with a serious expression.

Han Li looked at the Crab Daoist before him. For some reason, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. He felt that this person had suddenly become somewhat unfamiliar—different from the Crab Daoist he had known before, and also different from the one he had seen during the day.

"You've used your divine sense to examine the statue, haven't you?" The Crab Daoist's gaze fell on the statue in Han Li's hand as he asked.

Han Li nodded without speaking.

"Your divine sense is far stronger than Du Qingyang's. He could only vaguely see the statue's movements change, but you should be able to see the text that appears inside?" the Crab Daoist continued.

"The statue has twelve postures, corresponding to twelve passages of text, but I don't recognize any of them," Han Li said.

"This statue is called the 'Heavenly Fiend Divine Statue.' It is an ancient deity long worshipped in the demon realm, but now it has been lost. The text recorded in the statue is also a lost ancient script called 'Mystic Script,'" the Crab Daoist nodded and said quickly.

"Mystic Script..." Han Li frowned slightly upon hearing this, pondering silently.

"The content of the Mystic Script in the statue is a profound body-tempering technique called the 'Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art.' This technique has a total of twelve layers, and the complete techniques for the first three layers are all contained in this statue," the Crab Daoist continued.

"Since you had me choose this statue, this 'Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art' must have some unique features, right?" Han Li's heart stirred as he asked.

"Those seemingly splendid technique manuals can at most open a little over three hundred acupoints. The Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art is different; it can open four hundred and fifty acupoints," the Crab Daoist said.

"Four hundred and fifty acupoints?" Han Li raised an eyebrow, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes.

"Cultivating the three layers of technique in one statue can open four hundred and fifty acupoints. If you can find the other three statues and cultivate all twelve layers, you can open one thousand eight hundred acupoints," the Crab Daoist said calmly, his expression unchanged.

Han Li was greatly shocked upon hearing this, and for a long time, he could not speak.

"The reason I had you choose this technique is that there is an even more important benefit: when cultivating this technique, each layer requires refining a type of true spirit bloodline power to help open the acupoints. If others cultivate this technique, they would mostly face great risks due to the conflict of mixed true spirit bloodlines within their bodies. But you are different. You have already initially refined many true spirit bloodlines through the 'Twelve Awakening Transformations' and can make them coexist harmoniously, so the risk of cultivating this technique will be much smaller," the Crab Daoist continued.

"True spirit bloodline power... initially refined? What does that mean?" Han Li frowned, as if thinking of something, and asked.

"It means exactly what it says. Your refinement of true spirit bloodlines is still a crude method from when you were in the Spirit Realm. The Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art contains a higher-level refinement method that allows you to completely refine the original true spirit bloodline power within your body. This will not only help open acupoints but also make your bloodline power stronger," the Crab Daoist explained.

"I see," Han Li nodded after hearing this.

"Now, I will begin teaching you how to recognize the Mystic Script. I don't have much time, so let's start now," the Crab Daoist said, stepping closer.

Before Han Li could agree, he began communicating with him through divine sense.