Chapter 28: Who Killed Him?

The Tengjiao Legion hung suspended in the sky, its invisible force enveloping the ruins of the Blood Viper Guild’s headquarters, extracting the surviving members one by one—within the vast expanse of ten billion kilometers, hundreds of thousands of members were teleported out.

“After the battle, only one or two in ten of the Blood Viper Guild members survived,” Jiang Chengrong gazed down, shaking his head slightly.

“Those who survived were almost all hiding deep underground,” said his deputy. The Blood Viper Guild’s headquarters indeed had extensive subterranean structures; only the immense thickness and stability of the Origin Continent allowed one or two tenths of its members to survive this terrifying clash.

“Hm?”

General Jiang Chengrong and his deputy both noticed the latest bounty task issued by the Shadow Hall of the Yanfeng Guild—only when a bounty task changed did the Shadow Hall proactively notify its clients.

The bounty task showed: The assassination of Blood Viper Guild Master Mu Yang had been completed!

“The Blood Viper Guild Master is dead?” the deputy exclaimed. The ruins showed no trace of an Eternal True God’s corpse—they had no idea of the casualties.

“If the Yanfeng Guild confirms death, then death it is,” Jiang Chengrong nodded. Since the Yanfeng Guild’s Shadow Hall issued assassination tasks, it had absolute certainty regarding the target’s life or death.

The deputy spoke solemnly: “Our entire Tengjiao Legion couldn’t touch the Blood Viper Guild Master—and now he’s been killed…”

“The one who struck is stronger than our entire legion!” Jiang Chengrong sighed. “I wonder who it was.”

Whoosh!

A group of figures pierced through the void from afar—their leader was Mo Li Xiao, the Supreme Commander of all ten legions of Hu Yang. Mo Li Xiao’s face bore signs of age; his eyes, burning with purple flames, scanned the battlefield.

“You oversee the Tengjiao Legion. I’ll go greet Commander Mo Li,” General Jiang Chengrong ordered.

“Understood,” the deputy replied immediately.

Each of Hu Yang’s ten legions, when fully manned, had two Eternal True Gods, over twenty thousand Void True Gods, and over twenty million elite True Gods—this was a doubled configuration! They maintained constant readiness, ensuring at least one Eternal True God, over ten thousand Void True Gods, and over a million elite True Gods remained inside the legion’s mechanical artifacts.

This allowed for rotation—should an Eternal True God meet with misfortune, the legion’s operations remained unaffected.

Whoosh!

General Jiang Chengrong flew out from the massive Tengjiao Legion to personally welcome Commander Mo Li Xiao.

“Commander Mo Li,” General Jiang Chengrong landed beside him.

“The Yanfeng Guild confirms: the Blood Viper Guild Master is dead,” Mo Li Xiao stared at the vast ruins before them. “In Hu Yang City, only a handful could kill him!”

“Indeed—he couldn’t escape; he was slain outright,” Jiang Chengrong nodded, then added, “Their clash occurred entirely within the Blood Viper Guild’s headquarters. I immediately teleported all surviving members aside—no battlefield traces were disturbed.”

Mo Li Xiao gave a slight nod.

Hum~~~

With a thought, endless black mist spread, completely shrouding the ruins as he meticulously examined the remnants. From the traces left behind, one could deduce aspects of the battle.

“The matter and cosmic forces here were recently shattered and smelted into chaotic energy,” Mo Li Xiao observed carefully. “This was not the Blood Viper Guild Master’s technique.”

Jiang Chengrong nodded: “The one who struck must possess a mechanical artifact capable of controlling chaotic energy.”

“A single mechanical artifact alone cannot kill the Blood Viper Guild Master,” Mo Li Xiao shook his head. “You command a legion’s mechanical artifact—could you kill him?”

General Jiang Chengrong smiled: “The one who struck is far stronger than I am.”

“Very strong—and not one of the few I know,” Mo Li Xiao frowned. “A new, unknown powerhouse has come to Hu Yang City.”

Behind them, their subordinates dared not speak a word.

At Mo Li Xiao’s side stood his favorite disciple, Gao Wu Shui.

Gao Wu Shui listened, secretly astonished.

In his mind… his master was the very pillar of Hu Yang City! General Jiang Chengrong was also an immensely powerful Eternal True God. Yet this mysterious stranger clearly made even his master wary.

“We must uncover his identity as soon as possible,” Mo Li Xiao spoke.

“If that mysterious powerhouse claims the bounty, the Yanfeng Guild will know his identity,” General Jiang Chengrong said. “But the Yanfeng Guild will never betray its clients.”

Mo Li Xiao nodded: “As long as he isn’t aligned with the Shi Nation, it’s good news for us.”

The Shi Nation frequently invaded neighboring territories; as a border city, Hu Yang bore immense pressure.

…

Inside Meng Hua Pavilion.

Sheng Tian Yan and Sang Shui Yun sat facing each other in a hall, drinking and chatting casually—they often visited Meng Hua Pavilion.

“Hm?” Both received the latest bounty task from the Yanfeng Guild’s Shadow Hall.

“The Blood Viper Guild Master is dead?” Sheng Tian Yan was startled. “He’s one of the dominant powers in Hu Yang City—I always avoided him. Who could kill him?”

The winged man Sang Shui Yun exuded an air of lethargy; even this news failed to rouse him. He shrugged indifferently: “If you build a dark faction and keep fighting, isn’t it inevitable that some stronger force will eventually kill you?”

“True—he killed too many and finally met a worthy opponent,” Sheng Tian Yan nodded, eyes alight with excitement. “Still, I’m curious—who struck?”

“Why think so much? Time will reveal all,” the winged man Sang Shui Yun gazed calmly into his cup of wine.

…

“Who could kill Blood Viper Guild Master Mu Yang?” A thin, elderly man preparing food suddenly paused, then smiled faintly. “Hu Yang City is becoming more interesting.”

…

“The bounty for the Blood Viper Guild Master ranks fifth; mine is fourth—and higher. Could he target me?” Chu Yu Yi, leader of the Puppet Shadow Guild and another dark faction head, felt a tightening in his chest upon hearing the news.

…

At this moment, every client of the Yanfeng Guild’s Shadow Hall in Hu Yang City received the latest bounty task. The news of the Blood Viper Guild Master’s death sparked unrest across the entire city.

The death of Diao Rong Yan had little impact—he was relatively weak.

But the death of the Blood Viper Guild Master? That was monumental! Each of the few who could kill him could shake Hu Yang City with a single movement.

“Was it one of those few—or a new arrival?” All factions wanted to know.

… Zan Yun, the Guild Master, sat atop Tianyun Tower, holding a communication token.

“The one who killed me is Luo He! He used an extremely powerful mechanical artifact to kill me! His mechanical artifact far surpasses my ‘Life Blood River’—my ‘Life Blood River’ is worth 1.5 million Cosmic Sands; his artifact is worth at least 5 million Cosmic Sands!” The Blood Viper Guild Master’s final message to Zan Yun included an image.

The image showed Luo Feng with six golden wings spread behind him, chaotic energy swirling around him.

“Luo He?” Zan Yun was startled. “Are those six wings ordinary artifacts—or mechanical ones?”

Many mechanical artifacts could be absorbed into the body, invisible from outside.

Throughout the long history of the Origin Continent, countless Eternal-grade mechanical artifacts had been born. In Hu Yang City alone, the Hu Yang Legion possessed ten legion-class artifacts; the Hu Yang Guard had weaker legion artifacts; and countless individual mechanical artifacts existed.

“If he killed the Blood Viper Guild Master, his power rivals Mo Li Xiao and Xue Yun,” Zan Yun concluded.

…

Mo Li Meng, current leader of the Mo Li Clan, also received the final message and image from the dying Blood Viper Guild Master.

“The one who killed me is Luo He! He used an extremely powerful mechanical artifact to kill me! His mechanical artifact far surpasses my ‘Life Blood River’—my ‘Life Blood River’ is worth 1.5 million Cosmic Sands; his artifact is worth at least 5 million Cosmic Sands!” The message was identical.

Mo Li Meng stared at the message and the image of Luo Feng’s six wings.

!

“Two mechanical artifacts total 6.5 million Cosmic Sands—not counting any other treasures he carries,” Mo Li Meng mused. “He’s deliberately using my blade—I can’t help but be tempted.”

“But Luo He is too mysterious—I know nothing of his background,” Mo Li Meng shook his head. “This message isn’t fit to tell my father.”

His father was Mo Li Xiao.

“My father is the pillar of the Mo Li Clan. I cannot let him take such a risk,” Mo Li Meng had already decided—he would act as if he had never seen the message.

…

In his final moments, the Blood Viper Guild Master sent this message via a karmic communication token to five factions in Hu Yang City—all with immense backgrounds, capable of summoning terrifying reinforcements from elsewhere.

Outside Hu Yang City.

From the depths of endless wilderness, a black venomous insect emerged, transforming into a figure—the gaunt vice guild master, Mu Lin.

“I cultivated my body into a venomous insect precisely because of its exceptional survival ability,” Mu Lin, the vice guild master, gazed toward Hu Yang City in the distance. “My life insect has always been hidden outside the city.”

“Luo He is truly terrifying. According to the Yanfeng Guild’s bounty task, the Guild Master is dead too,” Mu Lin sighed.

His life insect carried an ordinary communication token—only effective near Hu Yang City. Unlike karmic tokens, it lacked miraculous range but couldn’t be tracked by karmic locks.

Mu Lin, the vice guild master, was far more cautious than his kin, Guild Master Mu Yang.

“I must leave—far from Hu Yang City. If Luo He finds me, all the venomous insects I’ve painstakingly cultivated will turn to ash,” Mu Lin truly feared Luo Feng. “To Xuyincheng—three major cities of the Ji Jiang Chaos Region!”

Mu Lin made his decision and immediately set course for Xuyincheng.

…

Inside the City Lord’s Mansion, Hu Yang City.

Three divine energy incarnations stood side by side, watching the city-wide surveillance.

Only through this surveillance could the mansion track all dark faction movements, and with identity tokens’ location tracking, determine which True Gods had been killed.

Every ordinary True God carried an identity token, required to pay regular residence fees—or be expelled from the city.

“If the one who struck used a small universe domain to block detection, we couldn’t track him,” said a white-haired figure.

“Let’s see—maybe we’ll find something,” said the Hu Yang City Lord, his three eyes scanning the surveillance footage.

Commander Mo Li Xiao stood nearby, silently watching.

Hu Yang City was built by a coalition of mechanical-artifact masters; all recorded scenes were preserved for over one eon, allowing review of past events.

“Look!” The white-haired figure, the Hu Yang City Lord, and Commander Mo Li Xiao all tensed.

The city-wide surveillance clearly showed—

After parting from Mo Luo Sa and Mo Yu Hu, Luo Feng walked alone to the main gate of the Blood Viper Guild’s headquarters—then, darkness suddenly appeared, completely engulfing the entire complex.

“It’s him,” the Hu Yang City Lord exclaimed. “It’s Luo He!”

“He didn’t conceal or block detection—he walked openly to the Blood Viper Guild’s gate,” Commander Mo Li Xiao nodded. “He did this intentionally.”

Any Eternal True God could use a small universe domain to evade surveillance.

“Only our City Lord’s Mansion monitors the entire city continuously,” the white-haired figure said. “So he’s not hiding from us. This Luo He means us no harm.”

Commander Mo Li Xiao and the Hu Yang City Lord both nodded.

The Origin Continent’s spacetime was stable—no one in Hu Yang City could perform temporal retrospection to view past events.

Only the City Lord’s Mansion, with its constant surveillance, could replay the scene of Luo Feng arriving at the Blood Viper Guild’s headquarters.

…

After leaving the Blood Python Guild headquarters, Luo Feng flew all the way and now could see the Flame Wind Hall far in the distance.

“The Lord Mayor’s mansion oversees the entire city—it must have witnessed my arrival at the Blood Python Guild headquarters,” Luo Feng thought. Between the Lord Mayor’s mansion and the hidden forces of the Food Nation, he naturally favored the Lord Mayor’s mansion.

As he thought this, Luo Feng arrived above the Flame Wind Hall: “Time to claim the bounty.”

——

Thank you to the two Alliance Masters who tipped: zy Chengfu and Mu Yi Cheng Zhou 0919.

(End of Chapter)