At these words, both Cheng Zongyang and Luo Dingran froze.

"You’re sure you didn’t misspeak just now?" Luo Dingran frowned. "Smashed to pieces?"

Li Kai still looked stunned. "I’m positive! After I checked, there’s a Palm Seal on the ground! The entire County Town was smashed, and the Palm Seal was driven several meters into the earth! Only a few ruined walls on the outskirts are left!"

"Did you find anything else?" Cheng Zongyang pressed.

As they spoke, Li Kai led them toward the County Town.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too far. However, since no one had traveled this way for many years, the path had long since vanished. Li Kai had only stumbled upon it by chance while wandering around.

Li Kai shook his head. "No. The moment I realized the outline on the ground was a palm, I ran straight back! It’s too astonishing! Smashing a County Town with a single palm... That must be the work of an Immortal, right?"

Seeing this, Cheng Zongyang and Luo Dingran asked no more questions and continued to quicken their pace.

With the three of them traveling at full speed, Cheng Zongyang was the fastest, followed by Luo Dingran, and finally Li Kai.

But Li Kai had anticipated this on his way back. He called out to Cheng Zongyang, "When I returned, I marked the trees along the way. Just follow them! I’ll catch up slowly from behind."

"Alright." Cheng Zongyang and Luo Dingran both nodded, then quickly followed the markings northward.

After about fifteen minutes, they arrived at the edge of a mountain forest.

They looked at each other, their gazes fixed on the weed-choked ruins and broken walls in the distance.

Luo Dingran took out a Geomagnetic Stone and handed a Purse to Cheng Zongyang. "Sir, just in case."

Cheng Zongyang nodded, took the Purse, tucked it away, and continued onward.

Arriving at the foot of the city’s broken wall, Cheng Zongyang pushed off and swiftly leaped to the top.

When he stood atop the wall and saw the scene in the distance, he too was stunned. As far as the eye could see, aside from the weed-infested outer perimeter, the interior was almost entirely rubble and shattered buildings. Save for a scattered few, there were almost no intact houses.

Without doing anything else, he first used his appraisal ability.

--Huining County!

Now he could confirm it was a County Town, one that had been destroyed by an external force.

But as he observed further, he noticed that the weeds in Huining County were only growing on its periphery. The interior had no weeds, no vines, not even any moss.

This greatly surprised Cheng Zongyang.

Just then, Luo Dingran also made it to the top of the wall.

He looked at the state of the County Town, too shocked to find any words.

Cheng Zongyang surveyed the surroundings, but the wall wasn’t high enough for a complete bird’s-eye view.

After a moment’s thought, he jumped down from the wall and ran toward the mountain forest. A short while later, he returned carrying a tree thirty to forty meters tall.

Seeing this, Luo Dingran knew what Cheng Zongyang was planning and immediately followed him.

Finding a relatively flat patch of exposed earth, Cheng Zongyang wedged the end of the log into the ground. It wasn’t deep, but it was enough to keep it standing.

"Hold this steady, don’t let it fall," Cheng Zongyang instructed Luo Dingran.

He then took a few steps back, kicked off, and used his Body Technique to ascend quickly to the top.

Luo Dingran braced the trunk, ensuring the tree wouldn’t topple.

When Cheng Zongyang reached the highest point and looked down, his pupils constricted abruptly.

Li Kai’s observation had been correct. Below him were the imprints of several fingers!

His position was right at the tip of one of the fingers. He couldn’t help but look up at the sky, then around at his surroundings. ’The theories about this world’s Cultivation Civilization are growing stronger,’ he thought.

After committing the overall shape of the Palm Seal to memory, he quickly descended. Cheng Zongyang asked Luo Dingran, "Do you need to go up and take a look?"

Luo Dingran shook his head. "No need. Even knowing a Palm Seal caused this doesn’t change much. What’s important now is to arrange for manpower to see if we can find any useful information. This place is far more valuable than Botao Town."

"Sir, I propose we send all our men here to search. As for the town, leaving three people to sort through it slowly should be enough. That way, we won’t neglect the investigation of either location."

Cheng Zongyang thought for a moment. "That’s acceptable. How is the acquisition of Middle Tier Soul Crystal Stones going?"

Luo Dingran smiled slightly. "The trades are going quickly. We’ve acquired fifty so far and are still seeking more. But the pace over there has slowed down a bit."

"However, there are plenty of Low Tier Crystal Stones available for acquisition. Sir, I think we should procure some. After all, we still have a great need for basic labor."

Cheng Zongyang shook his head. "It’s not cost-effective. In the future, when we screen for talent to be upgraded with High Tier Crystal Stones, we’ll be selecting from the Middle Tier Soul Slaves. Only with a large base pool can we find the most talented individuals. So whether they’re Middle Tier or Low Tier, they do the same work; it makes no difference."

"When conditions are good, we buy better. When they’re poor, we can settle for less. But for now, it’s not necessary."

"Besides, we only have about forty Martial Artists available outside right now. We still need to build up our numbers gradually, so there’s no rush. I’ll take those Crystal Stones with me when I go back later and transfer them over slowly."

After speaking, he started walking toward the inner area of the County Town, wanting to see what he could find.

Although the surroundings were a mess of rubble and ruined walls, the area where the palm had landed was basically flat ground. The stones and everything else had been crushed into gravel, with nothing left intact.

It was a testament to the power of that one palm strike!

Hearing the mention of Martial Artists, Luo Dingran seemed to recall something. As he followed, he said suddenly:

"Sir, last time you sent in the Crystal Stones, I discovered something unexpected when I was preparing to use them."

"That person named He Shujun... after his neck was snapped, he didn’t actually die. He entered a state of feigned death."

"What? Feigning death after having his neck snapped?" Cheng Zongyang thought he had misheard. He stopped in his tracks, his face a mask of disbelief.

Luo Dingran nodded slightly. "I was shocked at the time as well. I was going to report it, but the matter of the Huangfu Family’s treasure caused a delay of a few days."

"The man did indeed enter a state of feigned death. Although I crushed his neck, it’s been gradually recovering."

"His heartbeat never truly stopped, either. It’s just beating at an incredibly slow rate—about once every thirty breaths."

"Later, an examination by Zhang Jinquan revealed that his Physique is somewhat special. It seems to have been modified by something, giving him this gradual regenerative Ability, similar to Zhang Jinquan’s own Self-Healing Talent."

"In the past few days, the boy has already recovered by about half. I estimate he should be fully recovered in another half-month."

Cheng Zongyang was utterly shocked to hear this. ’To actually come back from the dead... this is a method I’ve never known!’

’If I had a method like that...’

Suddenly, he recalled the plea He Shujun had made back in the dungeon. He had begged to be left with an intact corpse for burial!

Now, he understood.

’So that guy had such a bizarre, unknown trick up his sleeve.’

He continued walking forward, surveying his surroundings as he asked, "Has Zhang Jinquan figured out the cause? By the way, that man is a Poison Physician!"

Hearing the words "Poison Physician," Luo Dingran was surprised again. "A Poison Physician? No wonder!"

"What? You know the reason?" Cheng Zongyang asked, suspicious.

Luo Dingran shook his head. "No, but it’s rumored that Poison Physicians have all sorts of bizarre techniques. If he is one, then it’s more understandable. I’ve just never heard of reviving in this manner. I imagine the cost must be significant."

Cheng Zongyang shook his head. "If you can come back from the dead, any price is worth it. If word of this technique got out, it would probably throw the world into chaos."

Luo Dingran deeply agreed. "Indeed. A life-saving technique like this is simply unbelievable! Sir, should we wake him? This method is very valuable."

Ever since becoming a Steward, his thoughts basically revolved around how to earn Points for Cheng Zongyang. Now that he’d encountered such a bizarre technique, his first thought was whether it could be sold for Points.

The ability to come back from the dead was definitely not cheap.