Jiang Wang pondered for a while, then said to the bald leader with anticipation in his eyes, "If this epidemic can really affect transcendent cultivators, where do you think you can go now? Which route do you plan to take back to Qi Country? How can you ensure that the people you meet on the way are not carrying the plague?""This..." The bald leader hesitated.

    Jiang Wang continued, "In the Qingyang Town domain, at least all the infected people have been isolated from the outside world, so it won''t affect you and me. Once the epidemic really shows signs of change, we can be the first to notice."

    "If the situation is really as bad as you imagine, it''s dangerous to run around everywhere. Staying in Qingyang Town is the safer choice."

    Jiang Wang didn''t really appreciate the leader of the guards, but he was considering the lack of manpower in Qingyang Town.

    The more difficult the environment, the more need for unity and more strength. If used properly, this group of guards from the Four Seas Trading Alliance could accomplish a lot.

    But after hesitating for a long time, the bald leader said, "I still want to go back to Qi Country, Jiang Wang. Even if I accidentally get infected with the plague on the way, I''ll accept it! It''s better than waiting to die here."

    He gritted his teeth and said, "We''ve had a lot of dealings with the officials of Yang Country. To be honest with you, I don''t trust the Yang Country court! As long as we return to our Qi Country, nothing will happen!"

    With that, Jiang Wang had no more reason to stop him.

    Fighting the plague is different from other situations, and forcing people to stay has no meaning. Unhappiness will only bring counterproductive results.

    "What about them? Do they all understand the danger of running around now? Which ones are willing to go back with you, and which ones are willing to stay?" Jiang Wang asked.

    "We want to go back to Qi Country!"

    "We all want to go back!"

    "Jiang Wang, you should leave too. This place is really not good."

    Not a single guard from the Four Seas Trading Alliance in Qingyang Town was willing to stay, despite the fact that staying in Qingyang Town was safer given the current situation.

    Whether these people are good or bad, wise or foolish, they all have almost blind confidence in Qi Country.

    This is the cohesion of a hegemonic-level country.

    It is also the pride and sense of belonging that a powerful country brings to its people.

    Jiang Wang sighed inwardly. He waved his hand and said, "If you want to leave, then leave, but don''t take any supplies from Qingyang Town."

    He let these people go and said to Xiangqian and Xiaoxiao, "Let them go. Don''t spread this matter for now. Call everyone to the town hall later, and we''ll talk about it in detail."

    Jiang Wang turned back first, planning to take a look in the Illusory Realm first. S~?a??h the N?v?lFir?.n?t website on G??gl? to access chapters of n?vels early and in the highest quality.

    With such a big event, if even a steward of the Four Seas Trading Alliance got the news, then it shouldn''t be overlooked by Chongxuan Sheng.

    ...

    Entering the Illusory Realm, Chongxuan Sheng''s fat paper crane had been circling for a long time.

    Jiang Wang looked at the letter - "Leave Yang Country immediately. The plague has worsened and can now kill transcendent beings."

    He had only been in the Illusory Realm for two days, and he almost missed such a big piece of news.

    From the timing, Chongxuan Sheng''s message should have arrived earlier than the time when the steward of the Four Seas Trading Alliance got the news.

    But Jiang Wang naturally refused to leave.

    Not to mention the things he said to the guards of the trading alliance, at this moment, the safest choice in the entire Yang Country is to stay put. Not to mention that if he "leaves" now, it would be tantamount to giving up all the efforts he had made in Yang Country before.

    Just one point, just the many innocent people in Qingyang Town.

    If he were to leave, Zhubei Qiong, Xiangqian, Zhanghai, Dugu Xiao, and even the two medical cultivators from the Chongxuan family would not stay.

    In the current situation in Yang Country, taking away all the transcendent power that has been the backbone of the fight against the plague... the entire order of Qingyang Town would collapse immediately.

    At this moment, abandoning... is equivalent to killing.

    He immediately wrote back to Chongxuan Sheng, waited for a while, and received no reply. Then he left the Illusory Realm first.

    In the town hall, Zhubei Qiong, Xiangqian, Zhanghai, and Dugu Xiao had all arrived, and the two medical cultivators called by Chongxuan Sheng had also been summoned. They were medical cultivators cultivated by the Chongxuan family themselves and had no relationship with medical sects like the Eastern King Valley.

    Medical cultivators are precious talents, and since Chongxuan Sheng had sent a definite message, Jiang Wang didn''t need to force them to stay.

    He directly asked, "How many infected people are there? How soon can the diagnosis and treatment be completed?"

    The two medical cultivators sent by Chongxuan Sheng would naturally not put on a show in front of Jiang Wang.

    The older one, a man in the Transcendent Realm, said, "There are still twenty-three cases of infection. If we don''t take a break in the middle and there are no new cases of infection, we can finish the diagnosis and treatment as soon as tomorrow."

    The younger one, who was only in the Meridian Realm, didn''t speak on the side.

    "Chongxuan Sheng wrote to me, saying that the plague in Yang Country has mutated and can now affect transcendent beings... what this represents, you naturally understand, and I don''t need to say more. After the remaining infected people in Qingyang Town are all diagnosed and treated, you can decide whether to stay or leave on your own."

    Upon hearing this, Zhubei Qiong and Zhanghai were startled, but Xiangqian and Dugu Xiao had already known about it, so their reaction was not as great.

    "What should we do if there are still uninfected people in the town when we leave?" The older medical cultivator thought for a moment. "Jiang Gongzi, I suppose you don''t plan to leave?"

    The reason is simple. If Jiang Wang wanted to leave, there was no need to say so much to them. He could just gather the group and leave, and it was impossible for anyone to stop him now.

    "I certainly won''t leave."

    Hearing Jiang Wang''s words, Zhanghai felt relieved, or perhaps he was more on edge.

    At this moment in the town hall, only he and Dugu Xiao were native-born Yang Country people.He himself had complex thoughts. If possible, he certainly hoped for the prosperity and peace of the Yang Kingdom. But at the same time, he was unwilling to put himself in danger. Seeking benefits and avoiding harm is the instinct of all living beings.

    While he was conflicted, the old man from Qi State had already spoken: "Then I shall not leave either. However, just in case, let my disciple depart."

    The heart of a healer is akin to that of a parent.

    In ancient times, Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs, narrowly escaping death numerous times, all for the sake of "saving people."

    The medical path, this school of thought, was originally born from the virtue of "benevolence."

    "Old master, your disciple may leave now." Jiang Wang took out a ten-thousand yuan stone from his storage box and placed it on the table: "In addition to the consultation fee paid by the Chongxuan family, this is a personal token of my appreciation."

    "Master..." The young medical cultivator''s face showed reluctance.

    The old physician didn''t dawdle, took the ten-thousand yuan stone, stuffed it into his disciple''s hand, and said sternly: "Now hurry back to Qi State. A mere epidemic can''t trouble me."

    The old physician was quite strict in his usual days, and his authority was deeply ingrained. The young physician didn''t dare to talk back and just stood there with the yuan stone, as if rooted to the spot.

    "Go!" The old physician kicked him, and only then did he leave the town hall, looking back three steps at a time.

    For a plague that could now harm Transcendent cultivators, as a medical cultivator, he understood its terror all too well—just think, once ordinary people were infected with the plague, they could only wait for death, utterly powerless!

    And the old physician''s choice to stay at such a moment truly reflected his benevolent healer''s heart.

    His decision to stay allowed Jiang Wang to breathe a sigh of relief. Without the presence of a medical cultivator, for those newly infected, there was really only one path to take—simply to isolate them from the outside world and let nature take its course.

    Relying solely on Jiang Wang''s ability to absorb poison, he feared that even if he continued until the end of time, it might still not be effective.

    After reaching a consensus with the "outsiders," Jiang Wang then said to the few "own people": "You all know the situation, I have nothing else to say. Whether to leave or stay, you decide for yourselves. Those who leave, I will not hold back; those who stay, we will work together to overcome this crisis."

    After such a discussion, everyone was somewhat prepared mentally. Those who had to make a decision had already made up their minds.

    "Wherever you are, my lord, I will be there," Dugu Xiao was the first to speak.

    "A man is bound to die once." Xiang Qian said indifferently: "Death is death, no matter how it comes."

    Jiang Wang really wanted to spit at him for expressing his resolve in such a morale-dampening way. But considering the need for manpower, he let it go.

    Zhu Bijing hurriedly stuffed something into her bosom and said with great vigor: "I promised you half a year, and I''m someone who keeps her word."

    Jiang Wang looked at her deeply: "Is the Fortune and Misfortune Orb quite calm?"

    "Just a little bit of misfortune, a mere drizzle!" Zhu Bijing waved her hand grandly, then suddenly realized she had revealed something, stuck out her tongue, and shrank like a quail.

    This time, Zhang Hai truly relaxed. Even if he wanted to run, he really had nowhere to go. The Yang Kingdom was his motherland. He had personally participated in the fight against the plague, and compared to other places in the Yang Kingdom, he had much more confidence in the environment of Qingyang Town. Moreover, Zhu Bijing''s Fortune and Misfortune Orb showed no signs of trouble, indicating at least the next few days would be safe.

    "Lord Jiang! Of course, I''m not leaving either." His voice was very loud.

    "This matter need not be made public," Jiang Wang decided: "Relocate all the villagers from the surrounding areas into the town, arrange them uniformly, and leave the countryside to the fierce beasts. Other measures, as before."

    The fierce beasts in the various regions within Jia City, especially those causing serious harm, were dealt with by Transcendent cultivators dispatched by Jia City.

    The Hu family father and son took over Qingyang Town, as well as the responsibility of defending against the fierce beasts.

    Now, Jiang Wang was in the same position.

    However, now faced with the more terrifying mutated plague, it was no longer possible to divert manpower to deal with it. Abandoning the countryside and focusing on control was the only option. As long as the plague within could be controlled, simply sealing the four gates of Qingyang Town would be enough to prevent the external plague from invading.

    Under the current circumstances, this was the method with the least pressure.

    ...

    After making a personal visit, Jiang Wang finally understood the current situation of the Yang Kingdom.

    The intelligence verified by both Chongxuan Sheng and the Four Seas Commerce Alliance was correct; the plague ravaging the Yang Kingdom had indeed mutated to the point where it could harm Transcendent cultivators.

    The first case of a Transcendent cultivator truly dying from the plague occurred in the domain of Yue City.

    Then, two more cases followed in succession.

    For a time, the entire Yue City domain was in a state of panic, and the situation, which had just begun to improve, plunged into chaos once again... and even collapsed outright.

    The main reason for the rapid collapse of Yue City domain was that—

    After confirming the mutation of the plague, the Lord of Yue City chose to abandon the city and flee at the first opportunity.

    Abandoning hundreds of thousands of city domain residents!