Chapter 335

Chapter 335: The Daylight Pursuit of the Murderer (Part 1)

"Silence."

In the main hall of the village chief’s residence, Wang Chen raised his hand and spoke in a deep voice.

Though his voice was not loud, it resonated like thunder in the ears of all present. The villagers who had come seeking help immediately fell silent, their faces etched with anxiety and fear.

It dawned on them suddenly that this young village chief was none other than a Purple Palace master!

The room became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Wang Chen took in the expressions of everyone present, then with a flick of his robe sleeve, he sent a spirit pill floating toward a villager, supported by an invisible force.

"First, take this Healing Pill, and then tell me in detail about the bandits."

There were priorities to consider.

Compared to the loss of a cow or the discovery of burrowing moles, the kidnapping of two villagers by bandits was the most pressing matter.

Since crossing the Yulong Mountain Range and settling in the West Sea Spiritual Realm, Wang Chen had found the environment here to be remarkably peaceful. The people lived without want, enjoying a life of comfort and prosperity.

There were no threats from Evil Spirits, nor any sightings of demon cultivators or evil cultivators. While human conflicts and schemes were inevitable, overall, it was a far cry from the chaos he had known in Yunyang.

Especially in Wancheng, beggars and the homeless were a rare sight.

But now, Wang Chen realized that beneath this calm surface, there might be hidden dangers. His time here had been short, and his interactions limited, leaving him with only superficial knowledge of the area.

"Thank you, my lord," the villager said, his face pale and his right hand clutching his chest as he coughed intermittently.

It was he who, while gathering firewood in the mountains, had encountered the bandits. Though he had managed to escape, he had been struck by a palm strike from a distance, injuring his internal organs and suffering serious internal damage.

After taking the Healing Pill provided by Wang Chen, the villager’s condition visibly improved at a remarkable pace.

Color returned to his face, and his voice grew stronger.

He recounted to Wang Chen how they had encountered a group of gray-clad masked bandits. The bandits had not revealed their identity and had attacked immediately, displaying great ferocity.

This villager, having practiced movement techniques, had been quick to sense the danger and had fled, narrowly escaping.

After hearing this, Wang Chen asked, "Have you encountered bandits before?"

The villagers exchanged uneasy glances, but none dared to answer.

Wang Chen’s eyes narrowed, and he spoke gravely, "Is it that you dare not speak, or that you will not? Could it be that you have ties with these bandits?"

This was no baseless accusation. In the loose cultivator towns outside East Cangzhou, at least eight out of ten had dubious connections with bandits.

Some small towns were little more than bandit hideouts!

Though the West Sea Spiritual Realm was under the jurisdiction of the West Sea Sect, the foremost immortal sect, it was a remote area, over a hundred thousand miles from the sect’s mountain gate, lying on the very fringes of the border.

In villages like Datian Village, the real power lay with wealthy local gentlemen like Lord Huang.

The presence of bandits in the area was not at all surprising.

Wang Chen’s stern accusation immediately struck fear into the hearts of the villagers, and one among them stammered in reply, "My lord, please believe me, I would never dare!"

Bandits had always been a part of life, and there was more than one group operating around Datian Village.

To the south of Datian Village lies the Yulong Mountain Range, surrounded by mountainous forests that provide the perfect hiding spots for bandits.

Normally, the bandits in the mountains would not easily attack the villages below, as long as a protection fee was paid.

However, sometimes the bandits would resort to capturing villagers to bolster their numbers.

The kidnapped villagers would vanish without a trace, with almost no chance of returning safely.

In the past, when the bandit situation was severe, Wancheng had even sent battle cultivators to hunt them down, and a Purple Palace master was called upon.

As for the outcome, no one knew, and it ended without resolution.

Datian Village had also faced such incidents before, but it had been peaceful for the past few years, so they didn’t expect this to happen again.

Peaceful?

Wang Chen silently scoffed.

His predecessor had been missing for two years!

If there were no tricks involved, he would write the character "Wang" in reverse!

"Take me to the location of the incident now."

Wang Chen didn’t wait for the villager to respond and directly grabbed the one who had come to report: "The others should return and wait for news."

He stepped out of the front hall and summoned his power, soaring into the air.

The villager in Wang Chen’s grasp was terrified, trembling with fear, his mind blank as he pointed the way for Wang Chen.

Before the watchful eyes of the crowd, Wang Chen flew over the village and the spirit fields, entering the rolling mountains.

After flying several miles, he landed in a forest.

This forest was a place where villagers often came to gather firewood, with tree stumps covered in mushrooms.

"I remember they came from that direction."

The freshly landed villager pointed tremblingly to the northwest: "I saw six or seven people."

"Alright."

Wang Chen nodded, "You go back, and I will pursue them."

No matter how strange this situation was, the bandits who kidnapped the villagers from Datian Village were openly challenging him.

If Wang Chen did nothing, he would lose all reputation and authority in the village!

He could forget about passing the entry assessment of the West Sea Sect.

The villager swallowed hard and said, "Be careful, my lord."

"Mm."

Wang Chen glanced at him and suddenly vanished from the spot.

In the next moment, he reappeared a hundred steps away.

He quickly disappeared into the dense forest.

Wang Chen did not limit his search to one direction but instead circled the area to look for traces left by the bandits.

He soon made a discovery.

As the saying goes, "Geese leave traces, people leave marks." Unless one was flying high above, a group passing through the forest would inevitably leave some evidence behind.

Wang Chen found the footprints left by the bandits.

Though the footprints were faint, if it weren’t for his divine sense scanning for them, they would have been difficult to spot.

Wang Chen did not simply follow these tracks, as doing so would be inefficient and slow.

He concentrated his power at his fingertips, mentally crafting a tracking talisman.

The tracking talisman was a mid-level first-tier legal symbol that few people purchased, resulting in very little usage.

Thus, Wang Chen had never made one before.

However, he had already mastered the foundational talismans, and his Beginner Talisman Making was at the level of perfect mastery.

Drawing in the air, shaping the energy into a talisman, was easy!

"Ha!"

Wang Chen suddenly clapped his hand, and the just-formed tracking talisman erupted, sending shimmering light into his eyes.

Wang Chen’s eyes sparkled, and the traces on the ground instantly became clear and vivid.

They extended deep into the forest.

Following these traces, Wang Chen looked ahead, his gaze turning sharp!