Chapter 852

“These demonic cultivators have grown brazen beyond measure.”

A muffled thud echoed within the Eastern Provincial Military Command.

Pei Yao’s gaze was icy.

In recent days, officials from the Eastern Provincial Military Command had been disappearing one after another—some even among the promising talents she had nurtured, destined to reach Soul Transformation.

Her experience in the martial world was immense.

One glance told her this was no accident—it was a deliberate strike against her Eastern Provincial Military Command.

Yes.

Several years ago, thanks to her sudden surge of fortune, she finally ascended to the Soul Transformation realm.

Now she was the Eastern Provincial Military Commander of Great Yu.

In truth, her nature made her reluctant to serve in the imperial court; had she truly desired such a path, she would have long since been the Female National General of Yu, not merely the Female Martial Saint.

The only reason she stayed was because of Li Rui.

Without Li Rui, she would never have had the chance to witness the splendor of the Soul Transformation realm.

Li Rui never asked her to stay—she chose to remain on her own. Over these years, under her governance, the several states under her command had remained stable and prosperous.

“Sister Pei, I suspect the mastermind behind this is at least a Soul Transformation cultivator—this is no ordinary affair.”

Cui He squinted as he spoke.

In the eyes of outsiders, Taihuazhou had become nothing but a demonic province, with over half its population practicing the demonic arts of the Wan Fadian’s Old Devil Xiang.

Had Old Devil Xiang not held back and refrained from unleashing his demonic might, the entire province would already be a wasteland of corpses.

Ordinary cultivators knew nothing of this—but by the time one reached Soul Transformation, such secrets were no longer hidden.

Old Devil Xiang had never been a benevolent man.

The Eastern Provincial Military Command was the sole place in the province that refused to practice demonic arts, and thus bore constant hostility—but no demonic sect had ever dared to directly target its high-ranking officials.

Now, they were being assassinated repeatedly.

Pei Yao was furious, vowing to unearth the mastermind behind these attacks.

Just as Pei Yao prepared to personally hunt down the killer,

a voice came from behind: “This was done by a True Lord of the Shenxu Immortal Dynasty.”

She turned around.

And saw Li Rui, who had been in seclusion, appearing unexpectedly.

“True Lord?”

At Li Rui’s words, Pei Yao involuntarily shuddered.

And not just any True Lord—but one of the Shenxu Immortal Dynasty.

The thought that she had just been planning to investigate herself, unaware that she was walking into a dragon’s den and a tiger’s lair,

sent a chill of dread through her.

Even Cui He, who had seen countless grand scenes, was startled.

It was no wonder Pei Yao had been careless.

The disappearances had all been Tianren cultivators—who could have imagined a True Lord was behind it?

What manner of being was a True Lord? To them, such a figure was nearly divine.

And yet he had personally intervened.

It was terrifying!

Li Rui: “I will handle this myself.”

A True Lord personally hunting Tianren cultivators wasn’t even using a sledgehammer to crack a nut—it was like using a divine weapon to slay mosquitoes.

No need to guess.

Only someone targeting Li Rui himself—a True Lord—would go to such lengths.

And how did he know?

It wasn’t some legendary divination or revelation of heavenly fate—it was Xue Qing True Lord who had informed him.

Two True Lords of the Shenxu Immortal Dynasty had arrived in Taihuazhou.

Seeing Li Rui prepare to act, Pei Yao did not relax: “Ancestor, they’ve come prepared—they’re deliberately luring you out.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Why would Huanglong Daojun need the life-souls of these ordinary cultivators?”

In Yunze City,

An old Confucian scholar gazed curiously at the seven or eight life-souls inside his sack.