Chapter 859: A Good Show

Buzz! Buzz!

As the teleportation array trembled, Ye Chen turned and stepped into it.

Behind him, Haotian Shijia let out a sigh and followed suit.

After a quarter of an hour, the two emerged from the teleportation array one after the other. Meanwhile, Haotian Xuan Hai and the others had already arrived and were organizing members of Haotian Shijia to teleport toward Nanyang Gucheng.

"Guard the teleportation array exit. You know what to do."

"Don't worry, boss. It's second nature to me."

The clone flashed a set of pearly white teeth. Ye Chen's meaning was clear—to destroy the array if necessary, which could deal another major blow to Xue Qiong.

"Chen Ye, here, replenish your spiritual energy!"

Haotian Shiyue handed Ye Chen a gourd filled with spiritual liquid.

"Thank you."

Though his expression remained indifferent, Ye Chen accepted it.

"No need to thank me."

Haotian Shiyue lightly bit her lip, feeling an inexplicable sense of disappointment at Ye Chen's aloofness.

In the pitch-black night sky, a streak of bloodlight stood out starkly. A figure drenched in blood plummeted into the forest. Under the faint moonlight, it was barely visible as a young man.

"Who are you?"

The young man staggered to his feet, his face filled with terror as he stared into the darkness ahead.

"You don't need to know."

A cold voice echoed, and three figures in blood-red robes emerged from the shadows.

"I have no grudge with you from Yuyang Shijia. Why are you killing me?"

"This is on your own heads."

One of the blood-robed figures swung his sword, decapitating the young man in a single stroke.

"Go!"

At the command of another blood-robed elder, the three vanished into the night as swiftly as they had come.

It wasn't until some time later that over a dozen figures soared through the air and landed in the forest.

"Who did this?"

Soon, a furious roar echoed through the sky.

"Who did this?"

Such cries weren't limited to this forest; they resounded across many places in Beichu.

This night was destined to be unrestful.

Under the cover of darkness, bloodlight flashed repeatedly, and figures fell into pools of blood each time. These victims were no ordinary people—they were the holy sons and young masters of various families in Beichu.

Indeed, Ye Chen's cunning scheme had succeeded.

Not long ago, under the guise of Yan Zun, he had issued orders to over twenty branches of the Shixue Dian, aiming to sow chaos in Beichu.

The results proved his efforts were not in vain. All twenty-plus branches participated in tonight's assassinations, with a scale and speed that likely exceeded even Ye Chen's expectations.

Thus, what should have been a peaceful night was disrupted by roars from various locations.

In response, many families in Beichu mobilized en masse. Waves of powerful experts flew out from their strongholds, each radiating immense aura and sky-piercing killing intent, throwing Beichu into a state of panic.

"What's going on?"

In the main hall of Shixue Dian, Shixue Yan Luo frowned upon receiving reports from his subordinates.

"I've heard that people from the families were killed, and they're scouring everywhere for the culprits."

"It's no coincidence that so many family young masters were killed on the same night."

Shixue Yan Luo narrowed his eyes. "Such a secretive operation, with such vast forces and ruthless methods, all targeting so many families in Beichu at once—who could be behind this?"

"Could it be someone from Nanchu?"

"We can't rule that out."

Shixue Yan Luo spoke gravely. "Notify Feng Ying to investigate this immediately."

"Report to the hall master—Feng Ying is in the Huangquan Mountains."

"The Huangquan Mountains? What's he doing there?"

"We just received word that Xue Qiong, the hall master, summoned him."

The scout reported truthfully. "Not just him—over eighty percent of the Shenying assassins have been deployed to the Huangquan Mountains. They're said to be surrounding Haotian Shijia."

"A mere Haotian Shijia warrants mobilizing such a massive force from Shenying?"

Shixue Yan Luo snorted coldly. "I gave him authority to use Shenying, and he's abusing it completely. Pass the order to Xue Qiong: Withdraw the Shenying assassins back to Shixue Dian, right now."

"Understood."

The black-robed scout hurriedly turned and left the hall.

After he departed, Shihun Wang appeared in the hall, glancing at Shixue Yan Luo with interest before casually reclining on the hall master's throne.

"Do you have a feeling about this?"

Shixue Yan Luo glanced at Shihun Wang.

"It's obvious—a hidden hand is stirring up the winds in Beichu."

Shihun Wang replied casually.

"What? They're not here?"

On a peak in the Huangquan Mountains, upon hearing the scout's report, Xue Qiong shot up from his throne.

"We've searched the entire area thoroughly—there's no sign of Haotian Shijia."

"Could our judgment be wrong?"

One commander muttered subconsciously. "Or maybe they entered the mortal world before we arrived."

"That's impossible."

Another commander retorted immediately. "They're relying on flight, and they can't make a scene or pass through areas with many cultivators. In three days, there's no way they could leave the cultivator realm."

"Then perhaps they used a teleportation array?"

"That's even less likely."

A commander pondered. "The ancient city teleportation arrays leading to Nanchu are all under Shenying's control. With so many of them, there would have been some news."

"That's strange, then."

"Order Shenying to investigate this matter thoroughly."

Xue Qiong snorted coldly, his face twisted in a grotesque scowl.

"No need to investigate."

A eerie voice rang out as Feng Ying appeared on the peak like a ghost, his expression devoid of any emotion. "They're in Zhenlong Gucheng now."

"Zhenlong Gucheng?"

"Half an hour ago, they detoured through Huangquan Gucheng and teleported in batches to Zhenlong Gucheng."

Feng Ying remained silent, but a black-robed elder at his side spoke. "They're likely using the teleportation array in Zhenlong Gucheng to send batches to Nanyang Gucheng. It seems they got wind of our ambush here and changed their route at the last minute."

"You knew this—why didn't you say so earlier?"

Xue Qiong glared at Feng Ying with a frosty expression.

"I only just found out."

Feng Ying's tone was as cold as ever.

"What are Shenying doing? Can't they even hold a teleportation array?"

Xue Qiong finally couldn't contain his rage, roaring like a mad dog. All his elaborate plans had gone awry.

"The hall master is mistaken."

The black-robed elder spoke again, his demeanor as cold as Feng Ying's. "Over eighty percent of Shenying's forces were deployed here at your command. There weren't enough left to guard the ancient city arrays. Haotian Shijia may not match the ninth branch hall's strength, but they have experts in abundance. Given the disparity, it's no surprise they couldn't hold the array."

"Then what are we waiting for? Intercept them now!"

Xue Qiong's roar thundered like lightning.

"On this point, Shenying cannot comply."

The black-robed elder replied flatly.

"How dare you defy—"

"We've just received orders from the hall master—Shenying is to withdraw entirely to Shixue Dian."

The black-robed elder cut Xue Qiong off directly. "As for pursuing Haotian Shijia, we'll take no part in it."

With that, the black-robed elder stepped into the air, following Feng Ying, who had already vanished in silence.

Not just them—shadows began to lift off from peaks across the Huangquan Mountains, merging into a vast black curtain, like an endless dark ocean.

"Come back! All of you, come back!"

As Shenying withdrew, Xue Qiong erupted in fury, but his orders were ignored.

"Dammit!"

Xue Qiong transformed into a raging lion.

Not only had he failed to trap Haotian Shijia, but Shenying had also been pulled away—how could he not be furious?

What truly ignited his rage, however, was Shixue Yan Luo's maneuver. As the hall master of the ninth branch of Shixue Dian, he felt like a puppet being toyed with.

"For now, hall master, our best move is to pursue them quickly."

In the end, one commander spoke softly.

"Kill! Kill! Kill them all!"

Xue Qiong's face was twisted in savagery, his eyes blood-red, like a madman or a demon. His terrifying killing intent was uncontrollable, even making his commanders tremble.