Chapter 334

Chapter 334: Coming in Quick Succession

Huang Deqi’s disdain was palpable.

Even with Chen Anhe’s deep composure, his aged face flushed with embarrassment.

He couldn’t resist a sharp retort, "Now that we’ve stirred up this situation, I fear Wang Chen might catch on. It won’t be easy to replace the village chief!"

Chen Anhe disapproved of using the Chen brothers’ inheritance dispute to test Wang Chen.

It seemed utterly frivolous to him.

Though Wang Chen had no local ties, he was a formidable Purple Palace cultivator.

How could his intellect be anything but sharp?

Indeed, Chen Anhe had no desire to confront Wang Chen directly, wary of becoming mere cannon fodder.

"What do you know!"

Huang Deqi scolded him harshly. "Without understanding his background, how can we proceed?"

No one was aware of the depth of his apprehension towards Wang Chen.

Since assuming the role of village chief in Datian Village, Wang Chen had never exhibited any lust for power or wealth. He was amiable, conducted himself modestly, and even personally cultivated spiritual wheat.

His demeanor was starkly different from most Purple Palace masters.

This very difference made Huang Deqi unable to decipher Wang Chen and left him feeling powerless over this outsider from the Purple Palace.

To prevent any potential mishaps, he had resolved to eliminate any possible threats.

After all, their actions were entirely clandestine!

Chen Anhe remained silent.

Among the three major clans in Datian Village, the Huang clan wasn’t the most numerous, but Huang Deqi was the most domineering.

His influence and connections were beyond Chen Anhe’s capacity to challenge.

Huang Deqi was effectively the supreme authority in Datian Village!

At that moment, a message crane fluttered through the window and hovered before Huang Deqi.

His eyes gleamed as he swiftly seized the crane and unfolded it.

After perusing the letter, Huang Deqi’s countenance turned grave.

Chen Anhe inquired, "What’s the matter?"

He and Huang Deqi were bound together; their fates intertwined.

Huang Deqi clasped his hands, and the letter disintegrated into ash.

In a deep voice, he revealed, "This Wang Chen was recommended by Luo Zhen of the South Region Patrol Division, West Sea Sect."

This was the intelligence Huang Deqi had been pursuing. Now, he had his answer.

"Luo Zhen?"

Chen Anhe was aghast, exclaiming, "Luo the King of Hell!"

The King of Hell, a legendary figure from folklore, reigns over the underworld. Though not officially venerated, his influence remains profound among common folk and low-level cultivators alike.

To earn the title "King of Hell," a cultivator must have amassed a staggering toll of lives!

Luo Zhen, a senior cultivator from the South Region Patrol Division of the West Sea Sect, is a figure of great renown.

Since assuming his role, he has reportedly slain thousands of demon cultivators, evil cultivators, and rogue practitioners, his hands stained with blood and his heart cold as ice.

Furthermore, he has eradicated dozens of local gentry families.

None were innocent!

Thus, Luo Zhen is also known as “Luo the Annihilator.”

At the mere thought of Luo Zhen’s fearsome reputation, Chen Anhe shivered uncontrollably. “Lord Huang, we must stop. Outside…”

It never crossed his mind that Wang Chen had been recommended by Luo Zhen himself to serve as the village chief of Datian Village.

Could this mean that the Living King of Hell has turned his gaze upon Datian Village?

The more Chen Anhe pondered, the more his fear grew.

“Stop?”

Before he could finish, Huang Deqi cut him off sharply.

Huang Deqi fixed Chen Anhe with a piercing stare and spoke in a chilling tone, “Do you truly believe we still have a way out?”

“Rest easy!”

He waved his hand dismissively. “If Luo Zhen had indeed uncovered anything, he wouldn’t resort to such games. He would have come straight for us, leaving no room for us to sit here so calmly.”

“The patrol guards of the Patrol Division adhere to rules and principles; without evidence, they cannot falsely accuse us!”

Chen Anhe swallowed hard. “Then what should we do next?”

“We’ll discuss replacing the village chief later.”

Huang Deqi spoke in a deep voice, “But we cannot let the village chief remain idle; we must keep him occupied with tasks.”

Idleness breeds trouble; when people have too much free time, their thoughts wander.

They become restless.

“With so many people in Datian Village, the new village chief has been in office for some time now. He can’t keep relying on us to solve every issue, can he? I believe certain matters can be entrusted to Wang Chen to handle. What do you think?”

Chen Anhe dared not object. “You’re right. Since he came for the West Sea Sect’s entry assessment, he must also need a favorable evaluation.”

Huang Deqi smiled. “Exactly. You handle the arrangements.”

Again, it fell to him!

Chen Anhe cursed inwardly but maintained a cheerful facade. “Very well.”

Huang Deqi nodded in satisfaction. “Go on, then.”

After Chen Anhe departed, Huang Deqi turned to the elderly woman seated quietly beside him and said, “Xu Miao, we must accelerate our plans. The longer we delay, the greater the risk of complications.”

The white-haired woman was the caretaker of Houtu Temple in Datian Village, her cultivation level at the Qi Training ninth level.

Huang Deqi, Xu Miao, and Chen Anhe were the true power behind Datian Village.

“This will not be easy.”

The elderly woman from the Xu family spoke slowly, "Actually, I am more anxious than you, but haste won’t help. If we act rashly and expose ourselves, we will both be left without a place to be buried!"

Huang Deqi knew she was right. After pondering for a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "I’ll find a way!"

Thinking of the troubles ahead, Huang Deqi’s hatred for Wang Chen deepened further.

Wang Chen had to come at this moment, disrupting all his plans.

If there were a chance, Huang Deqi truly wished he could slap this new village chief dead.

"Achoo!"

Just as he returned to the village chief’s residence, Wang Chen couldn’t help but sneeze, feeling an inexplicable surge of inspiration.

He calculated with his fingers.

But he couldn’t figure anything out.

Because Wang Chen had not yet learned the Heavenly Merit technique.

"My lord."

Little He emerged from the room, asking with concern, "Has the matter been resolved?"

"Just a small issue."

Wang Chen smiled and said, "But from now on, there will be more things to deal with."

His intuition was correct. The next day at noon, an old man from the village came to his door, frowning in distress.

He said that a cow raised at his home was lost last night!

Immediately after, several farmers hurried to the village chief’s residence.

They reported to the village chief that they had found burrowing moles in their spirit fields.

Burrowing moles were a major pest in wheat fields, as they loved to gnaw on tender wheat ears.

These small transformed beasts usually dug labyrinthine nests underground, emerging at night to wreak havoc on crops.

Since low-level Qi Training cultivators couldn’t deal with the burrowing moles, they wanted to ask Wang Chen to exterminate them.

And it didn’t stop there; a third group of people arrived one after another.

They said that while some villagers were collecting firewood in the mountains that morning, they had been attacked by bandits.

Two were kidnapped while one managed to escape back.

One batch after another, the once quiet and unvisited village chief’s residence suddenly became bustling and noisy!