“Is there someone else?!” The county governor, the head of the Mo family, and the disciples of the Nine Nether Sect were shocked. They prided themselves on controlling everything from the shadows, being the chess masters. How did they end up being controlled instead?
Who was in the shadows?
They employed various methods.
The county governor tried to manipulate the chains hidden on his back, but no matter how hard he tried, the chains seemed nailed to the space on his back, not moving an inch.
The head of the Mo family had tattoos of eighteen types of weapons on his arms, which were actually eighteen weapons he had personally crafted. These weapons had always been invincible, but now, they were all dormant, not a single one responding.
The disciples of the Nine Nether Sect attempted to summon the ghostly shadows hidden in their bodies, but these shadows seemed to have encountered something terrifying, trembling and cowering inside their bodies.
The three of them realized that the person who acted was no ordinary individual. This ability to disregard reality and casually change local rules… was it a Unity Stage cultivator?!
Did the disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect travel with such extravagance, always accompanied by a Unity Stage powerhouse?
The county governor and the head of the Mo family regretted their actions. Stealing a Phoenix Blood Stone had caused so many problems, involving both the Nine Nether Sect and a Unity Stage cultivator.
Meng Jingzhou, seeing Su Yiren finally take action, was so frightened that he got up quickly and ran to seek Su Yiren’s protection.He was the only one in the room who could move.
Lu Yang whispered to Li Haoran, “If she uses force, it seems like you don’t have the ability to resist. You might as well comply with her.”
“In that case, she can have my body, but not my heart!” Li Haoran responded righteously, though he was also feeling apprehensive inside.
Su Yiren, gentle and kind, like a considerate elder sister. It seems not so bad to comply with her.
Su Yiren pushed open the door, looking at the three people she had immobilized. Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, and Li Haoran followed behind her, feeling extremely safe.
“Who would have thought, governor Shi, that you would not only collude with the Phoenix Clan but also with the Nine Nether Sect? Your crimes are heinous, and I’ve recorded everything with a shadow ball!” Lu Yang immediately accused.
“Hey, hey, hey, you can’t just say things like that.” The county governor’s face changed.
“Ah yes, yes, yes, he is indeed colluding with the Phoenix Clan and the Nine Nether Sect. I can testify.” The head of the Mo family seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Lu Yang, a disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect.”
“Meng Jingzhou, Dao Seeking Sect disciple.”
“Li Haoran, Dao Seeking Sect disciple.”
Su Yiren said nothing. She was kind to Li Haoran, but not so to outsiders.
“I originally wanted to see what secrets this Phoenix Blood Stone held, but I didn’t expect to catch such a big fish.”
Lu Yang removed the mask of the Nine Nether Sect disciple, revealing an ordinary face.
“You just mentioned refining the phoenix into a corpse puppet. Tell us what happened, and I might spare your life.” This was no small matter. A Unity Stage phoenix corpse was at their feet. Even the phoenix just turning over would spell disaster for Luofeng County.
The county governor’s face turned grim as well. If the Nine Nether Sect succeeded, his position as governor would be over.
The Nine Nether Sect disciple laughed loudly, “You discovered it, and you think I can still live?”
“Senior Su, search his soul.” Seeing that the other party had no intention of speaking, Lu Yang directly asked Su Yiren to act.
Su Yiren stepped forward and pressed the brow of the Nine Nether Sect disciple. Her brow furrowed, “He’s not human, he’s a corpse!”
The disciple’s eyes went dull, his body rapidly decaying until only a pile of bones remained.
This was a common method of the Nine Nether Sect. They animated corpses, controlling them from behind the scenes. Once discovered, they severed the connection, and the corpse decayed quickly, leaving no clues, making it extremely difficult to capture them. However, the people present did not know much about the Nine Nether Sect.
“Trying to escape?”
Su Yiren took action again, using her Unity Stage abilities to envelop the entire Luofeng County, making it impossible for even insects to enter or birds to leave. She was determined to find the members of the Nine Nether Sect.
Controlling corpses had a range. The opponent couldn’t have escaped Luofeng County.
If she let them escape despite a two-realm difference, it would be too embarrassing.
She didn’t mind losing face herself, but losing face in front of Li Haoran was unacceptable!
She spread her divine sense, scanning every inch of Luofeng County.
Under normal circumstances, a Unity Stage rogue cultivator scanning a city with divine sense would be seen as a provocation to the Great Xia Dynasty, but given the circumstances, no one would hold Su Yiren accountable.
“Found them!”
Su Yiren quickly locked onto several suspicious cultivators with her divine sense. These suspicious cultivators seemed to have some kind of restriction on them, and once immobilized by Su Yiren, they died instantly.
“So ruthless?”
The county governor’s face turned pale. “I’ve heard that the Nine Nether Sect believes in the existence of the Nine Nether, that death is just a cycle of reincarnation for them, so they are not afraid of death. The Nine Nether Sect is a group of desperados and very dangerous!”
Su Yiren discovered through her divine sense that many dry wells in wealthy households contained intricate formations, linked together very tightly, covering the entire large formation. This should be the formation used to refine the phoenix.
“No, the disciples of the Nine Nether Sect who died instantly were not even at the Spirit Transformation Stage. The real manipulator hasn’t been found!” Su Yiren realized that those who died were just the subordinates of the mastermind.
“They’re below, inside the phoenix’s corpse!” Lu Yang was the first to think of it. The old phoenix was at the Unity Stage before it died, and a Unity Stage corpse could block divine sense scans of the same level.
Su Yiren also thought of this, but she did not act.
“Senior Su, what’s the matter?” Lu Yang was puzzled. For a Unity Stage cultivator, drilling into the ground shouldn’t be difficult, right? Don’t Unity Stage cultivators know a few ground-penetrating techniques?
“Exactly, Senior Su, hurry up and go down. If the Nine Nether Sect refines the phoenix, Luofeng County will be in danger.” Li Haoran also urged.
Su Yiren thought about her wording and said, “My methods… might not be what you expect.”
Su Yiren took a deep breath, calming herself. At this point, there was no point in pretending to be a refined lady anymore.
She clenched her fist and punched the ground, creating a deep hole wide enough for a person. Then she jumped in and drilled into the ground.
Lu Yang and the others widened their eyes and swallowed hard. Senior Su Yiren’s methods… seemed not to match her gentle appearance.
They suddenly remembered a previously overlooked question.
“What aspect of cultivation is she skilled in?”
Meng Jingzhou found the hole particularly familiar. This technique was similar to his master’s.
The three exchanged glances, an absurd guess emerging in their minds: “Could Su Yiren be a body cultivator?”
A phoenix with vibrant red feathers lay quietly underground, as if it had just died. Suddenly, the formations left by the Nine Nether Sect on the ground activated one by one. The phoenix’s eyes lit up with a green glow, like jade, and real phoenix flames ignited around it, burning the underground space into a hollow.
“Since you’ve discovered us, we might as well go all out!” The phoenix echoed with the voice of the Nine Nether Sect disciple, hoarse and frantic.
Although he said that, the Nine Nether Sect disciple felt immense regret.
Setting up formations, stealing a Phoenix Blood Stone, reviving the phoenix, overthrowing Luofeng County—it was a perfect plan, simple and foolproof, unlikely to be discovered.
Why did stealing a Phoenix Blood Stone have to involve a Unity Stage cultivator overseeing it?
Is this Phoenix Blood Stone really that valuable? Huh?
“Although I can’t revive the phoenix to its peak state in such haste, it’s more than enough to overthrow Luofeng County!” The Nine Nether Sect disciple couldn’t care less at this point.
“I know you’re at the Unity Stage, but so what? Whether you’re skilled in formations or talismans, it doesn’t matter. Before you completely stop the phoenix, I can destroy Luofeng County several times over!”
The phoenix, wrapped in true flames, screeched in the underground hollow. It spread its wings, carrying an endless destructive force, like rebirth through fire.
The Nine Nether Sect disciple was about to control the phoenix to soar into the sky but found that the phoenix couldn’t fly up.
“What’s happening?”
He used his divine sense to probe outside and discovered that Su Yiren was holding the phoenix’s beak with one hand, preventing it from flying even an inch.
“Fly?” Su Yiren’s delicate face showed a cold smile. She gripped the phoenix’s beak with one hand and forcefully slammed it down, smashing the phoenix hard onto the ground.
The county governor and the head of the Mo family, along with Lu Yang and the others, descended through the hole and witnessed the scene of Su Yiren hurling the phoenix. The blend of beauty and violence was striking.
Li Haoran swallowed hard. If he married her, would he even survive?
(End of the chapter)
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