Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Ji Shui was very shocked. She thought that Zhang Ruochen was too daring to go against Discipline King Haiming. Wasn't he afraid that Haiming would kill him first after he was fully healed?
Going against a Discipline King had very grave consequences.
Zhang Ruochen didn't feel anything positive about Discipline King Haiming. If possible, he would love to use the Immortal Vampires and get rid of Haiming.
The next day, news of Discipline King Haiming's attempted a.s.sa.s.sination spread throughout the Blood G.o.d Sect. It caused a huge uproar.
News even spread to the outside world so the other sects all knew about it.
"The Blood G.o.d Sect has so many troubles. First, the Hierarch went missing, then a Discipling King was arrested, a Discipline King was stabbed gravely, and a Saint died. If this continues, it won't be long before the Blood G.o.d Sect falls into chaos."
"If the Blood G.o.d Sect is in chaos, the entire Tiantai State will be upended. We must prepare beforehand so we aren't caught off guard.
The strongest forces of Tiantai State—the Taichi Way, Shangguan Clan, Cai Family, Lingxiao Heavenly King Mansion… They all sensed that the Blood G.o.d Sect's unrest was spreading. It would soon involve them and they were all preparing for it.
Blood G.o.d Sect
Elder Yuan Gui and the palace lord of the Disorder Heavenly Palace had personally planned last night's a.s.sa.s.sination. They naturally felt very accomplished. Last night's mission hadn't killed Discipline King Haiming, but it made him unable to compete for the Hierarch's position.
Plus, it was highly possible that Liao Teng had already killed Gu Linfeng. This meant that yet another candidate was gone.
Elder Yuan Gui stood on a mountain cliff. Gazing at the various pavilions of the Blood G.o.d Sect, he smiled. "It is disappointing that we couldn't kill Discipline King Haiming during last night's battle, but it was still quite perfect."
Disorder Heavenly Palace's palace lord was still worried. "Liao Teng has been gone for so long and still hasn't returned. I'm actually worried that an accident has occurred in Hidden Dragon Palace."
"A mid-level Saint against a First Trial Pre-Saint. What could happen?"
Elder Yuan Gui was confident in Liao Teng. He just thought that Liao Teng had been delayed by some other things, so he couldn't hurry back in time.
Elder Yuan Gui returned to the Elder Pavilion. He thought for a moment and an eerie smile appeared on his face. He sent out an order. "No matter who dares to a.s.sa.s.sinate a Discipline King of the Blood G.o.d Sect, the Sect will do its best to kill him."
The Disorder Heavenly Palace's palace lord stood in a majestic pavilion and said to the world, "Seal all exits of the sect and activate the defensive formation. We must catch the criminal and burn him to ashes."
Elder Yuan Gui and the palace lord's proclamations immediately received the support of the entire sect. All the disciples started acting. They believed that an outsider had attacked Haiming and wanted to capture him.
Zhang Ruochen sat in the Hidden Dragon Palace. Hearing the palace lord's words, he smiled and muttered to himself, "He is acting so justly and confidently. I am truly impressed. I wonder what his expression will be like when Ji Shui takes Liao Teng's corpse to the Elder Pavilion."
After that, Zhang Ruochen entered the scroll world. He stopped caring about the outside world and started to open the remaining 12 apertures in his head. He wanted to turn his body into a Saint as soon as possible.
Noon.
Ji Shui and Discipline King Haiming's second disciple, Lan Kuan, stood tall on the steps. They climbed up to the Elder Pavilion.
Other than Elder Yuan Gui, there were two other Saint elders, Elder Yuan Xin and Elder Yuan Zhou, and a dozen other elders. They guarded the Elder Pavilion.
They were currently discussing Discipline King Haiming's a.s.sa.s.sination. The atmosphere was very heavy. Everyone felt invisible danger. Even a Discipline King could be attacked. If this continued, they might be in danger as well.
Elder Yuan Gui huffed coldly. "It must be the Immortal Vampires taking revenge."
An inner elder agreed with him. "Yesterday, the Deity killed Saint Hongyuan and revealed his true ident.i.ty. The Blood G.o.d Sect used this pointer to kill a large group of infiltrators. It would be strange if they didn't take revenge."
Elder Yuan Gui scoffed inwardly but his expression was still one of justice. "Let us declare war! The Blood G.o.d Sect must declare war against the Immortal Vampires to make them pay an even bloodier price."
"Even if we want to declare war, we must choose a Hierarch first," someone suggested. "The Deity hasn't reached the Saint Realm yet and cannot become the new Hierarch. How about we choose the new Hierarch from the four Discipline Kings and ten palace lords?"
Arguments started in the Elder Pavilion again.
Just then, an outer elder walked in. "Discipline King Haiming's second disciple, Lan Kuan, and tenth disciple, Ji Shui, request a presence. They claim to have important news to report."
"Let them in," Elder Yuan Xin said.
Elder Yuan Gui's brow furrowed. Getting a bad feeling, he thought, Was there some important evidence when Yu Huacheng attacked Discipline King Haiming?
Lan Kuan and Ji Shui entered the Elder Pavilion and bowed to the three Saint Elders.
Elder Yuan Gui couldn't wait anymore. He immediately asked, "Lan Kuan, what important message do you two have? Is it related to Discipline King Haiming's a.s.sa.s.sination?"
Lan Kuan bowed to him. "I am not clear about this. My Junior Sister is the one who knows the entire thing."
All the elders' gazes turned to Ji Shui.
She wasn't intimidated by their auras. "Yesterday," she said calmly, "not only did a Saint try to a.s.sa.s.sinate my master, but a Saint also broke into the Hidden Dragon Pavilion to kill the Deity."
"What?"
A shocking cold Qi poured out of Elder Yuan Xing. The strong energy waves covered the entire mountain that the Elder Pavilion was situated in.
The mountain shook; the pavilion shook as well.
Elder Yuan Xin thought highly of Gu Linfeng, thinking that he was the hope of the Blood G.o.d Sect. If Gu Linfeng had been killed, would the sect still have hope?
The Elder Pavilion was in an uproar. All the Elders were shocked and furious.
Elder Yuan Gui thought that Gu Linfeng was dead. He had a furious expression too, but he was overjoyed inside. He thought that Liao Teng deserved praise and hadn't disappointed him.
Killing Gu Linfeng is indeed a big achievement, he thought. I must reward him handsomely.
"Is the Deity still alive?" Elder Yuan Xin asked.
Ji Shui sighed. While observing the Elders' expressions as Zhang Ruochen told her to, she said, "The Deity is heavily injured and is recovering in isolation."
He wasn't dead?
Even with Elder Yuan Gui's mindset, he still couldn't help but let out a confused expression. How could Gu Linfeng not be dead?
Ji Shui sensitively caught Elder Yuan Gui's micro-expression.
"Last night," Ji Shui continued, "Master was attacked and heavily injured. He'd already entered the Ancient Snow Mountain to recover. However, the a.s.sa.s.sination yesterday was too strange and he predicted that someone might attack the Deity as well. He bore his injuries and returned, hurrying to the Hidden Dragon Palace just in time. He saved the Deity from a.s.sa.s.sination and killed the a.s.sa.s.sin as well."
"The Vampire a.s.sa.s.sin was killed?" Elder Yuan Gui asked. "Where is the corpse?"
Ji Shui took out Liao Teng's head and carefully placed it before the three Saint Elders.
"Liao Teng, sub-palace leader of the Disorder Heavenly Palace. He…he is an Immortal Vampire too."
None of the Elders present could compose themselves. They felt a shudder run down their spines. The scene before their eyes had overturned all their previous knowledge.
After all, Liao Teng was an outgoing person. He socialized a lot and many of the people here were his friends. Who would've thought that he was an infiltrator?
Elder Yuan Gui's eyes were extremely dark. Hatred filled him. Two Saints had died in a row. This was a big loss to the Immortal Vampires.
He'd thought that yesterday's mission had been perfect but unexpectedly, it was a failure. Discipline King Haiming hadn't been killed. Gu Linfeng hadn't been killed either.
"Since Liao Teng is an infiltrator, the entire Disorder Heavenly Palace might have problems too. We must start cleaning them out before news spreads. We cannot let another infiltrator escape."
"Liao Teng was personally raised by Yu Huacheng, the palace leader. He's highly suspicious too. We must arrest him."
Yesterday's cleaning hadn't ended yet, but a bigger cleaning was begun today. It targeted the Disorder Heavenly Palace.
Elder Yuan Gui immediately sent a message to the Disorder Heavenly Palace's palace leader. "Liao Teng was killed and you're exposed. Leave the Blood G.o.d Sect now. It's best if you go into the Ancient Snow Mountain and kill that Discipline King Haiming at all costs."
Discipline King Diyuan was already arrested. If Yu Huacheng was arrested as well, the Vampires' force in the Blood G.o.d Sect would be halved.
When Yu Huacheng received the message, he was taken aback too. He immediately left the Blood G.o.d Sect, rus.h.i.+ng into the white Ancient Snow Mountain.
After Ji Shui returned, Zhang Ruochen took a break from cultivating to listen to her report.
"The palace leader of the Disorder Heavenly Palace has actually escaped. This means that there must be a spy in the Elder Pavilion that leaked the news. He must have very advanced cultivation as well. It may be one of the three Saint Elders," Zhang Ruochen a.n.a.lyzed.
"Why?" Ji Shui asked.
"If an average Elder sends a message, the three Saint Elders will sense it."
Ji Shui hesitated. In the end, she revealed what had happened at the Elder Pavilion, including Elder Yuan Gui's expression changes when he heard that Gu Linfeng hadn't died.
Zhang Ruochen touched his chin and smiled. "Elder Yuan Gui is the biggest suspect. Investigate him."
Ji Shui transformed into 12 beams of Blood Qi and disappeared into the air. Then a servant walked in from the outside and lowered onto one knee. "Saint Elder Yuan Zhou and the Saintess have come to the Hidden Dragon Pavilion to check on your condition. Will you meet them?"
