Chapter 350: Cold Edge

Li Fei walked into the secret chamber.

This secret chamber was built entirely of steel and incorporated special materials capable of resisting a martial artist's internal force, similar to the dungeon at the Green-Faced Mountain Villa.

Once the door was completely shut, unless Li Fei opened it, anyone outside would have to use brute force to break in.

The secret chamber contained a bathroom, a toilet, as well as food, water, and a large bed.

It looked very much like a hotel room.

Li Fei first placed the dozen or so bottles of elixirs he had prepared in advance on the floor, then sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion in the center of the room and began to check his physical condition.

Neither the 【Steel Armor】 nor the 【Phantom Leaf】 showed any abnormalities, and the number of blood souls currently stored within the "Blood Spring" was 223.8!

This was Li Fei's greatest reliance; his own life force was already several times stronger than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment realm expert, and with the "Blood Spring," as long as he did not die instantly, he could slowly recover afterward.

He closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and began to perform the "Contemplation of Self-Existence."

The next second, a faint sense of Zen appeared about him—serene, empty, and at ease.

Li Fei first focused his attention on his left arm, using the "Contemplation of Self-Existence" to perceive all the 【Steel Armor】 branches within it.

He had repeated this process many times over the past month or so, and he was almost intimately familiar with the distribution of all the implant branches inside his left arm.

He began to manipulate his Geng Metal True Qi to adhere to the surface of these implant branches.

Because Geng Metal True Qi was extremely sharp, this process would normally easily damage the implants, but Li Fei did not cut off his connection to the Myriad Blood Bead at this time, allowing him to operate boldly.

Relying on his powerful control, Li Fei completed this step in just over an hour.

He opened his eyes, picked up a bottle of elixirs from the floor, and poured out a pill to consume.

This was a Spirit-Awakening Pill, which had the effect of helping one quickly recover their mental state.

For this breakthrough, Li Fei had made ample preparations; in addition to the Spirit-Awakening Pill, he had also prepared Iron Sand Qi-Replenishing Pills to restore his Innate One Qi. Furthermore, there were various elixirs for stopping bleeding, replenishing blood and Qi, and healing wounds.

After taking a Spirit-Awakening Pill, Li Fei closed his eyes to rest and recover his energy; once his mental state returned to its peak, he opened another medicine bottle and took another pill.

The pill he took this time was called a Boiling-Stilling Pill, a potent analgesic elixir!

Once the elixir began to take effect, Li Fei started the next step of the operation:

First, he severed his connection to the Myriad Blood Bead, then transformed his Geng Metal True Qi into a sharp blade to cut open his flesh, sever his meridians, slice through his bones, and finally "extract" the 【Steel Armor】 implant branches from his left arm in their entirety.

The logic of the Total Extraction Method was essentially consistent with Li Fei's current operation; Li Fei was drawing on its techniques and methods for how to complete the extraction of implant branches with minimal trauma.

This process was equivalent to performing surgery on oneself, many times more extreme than scraping poison from bone, and the pain he had to endure was indescribable!

Even with his extremely strong willpower, Li Fei had still taken the analgesic Boiling-Stilling Pill before starting.

At this moment, the skin on his left arm looked as if it had been sliced countless times, or like porcelain about to shatter, covered in cracks!

Fresh blood gushed out continuously, and Li Fei's forehead and back were drenched in sweat.

Once the implant branches in his left arm were "extracted," Li Fei maintained the Geng Metal True Qi he had previously deployed while beginning to gather the "extracted" implants.

Ten minutes later, Li Fei's left arm had stopped bleeding, and he had successfully gathered all the 【Steel Armor】 implant branches taken from his left arm into a single mass, placing it in his dantian.

If he had done this step normally using the Unification Method, it would have taken Li Fei at least a month or so to complete.

But now, he had used less than two hours.

He "glanced" at the Myriad Blood Bead; the number of blood souls had decreased by 16.

Not bad, he could keep showing off!

After taking a blood-replenishing elixir, Li Fei began to repeat the previous steps, but this time his target was his right arm.

Several hours later, Li Fei had completely turned into a bloody mess, with a large pool of blood on the floor.

His entire body could be described as mangled, with wounds everywhere!

Moreover, these injuries were not just on the surface; they included his bones. Twenty-seven of his bones were fractured, and the implant branches had been extracted from these twenty-seven fracture sites.

Yet Li Fei's expression remained calm; from the initial excruciating pain, he had even become somewhat numb.

At this point, he had successfully gathered all the 【Steel Armor】 implant branches from his four limbs into his dantian, and the next step was the real test:

He had to begin extracting the implant branches from his internal organs.

Compared to the limbs, once the internal organs were injured, the damage would be much more severe and more likely to be life-threatening!

Li Fei first chose the liver, because the liver belongs to the Wood element, and Metal overcomes Wood, so the number of 【Steel Armor】 implant branches in the liver was relatively the smallest.

He still used the "Contemplation of Self-Existence" to determine the distribution of all branches, then used Geng Metal True Qi to adhere to them, and finally cut and extracted them.

Pfft—

When Li Fei "extracted" the 【Steel Armor】 implant branches from his liver in their entirety, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

He hurriedly re-established his connection with the Myriad Blood Bead, transferring the damage his liver was currently sustaining to the bead, which prevented the injury from worsening further.

At this point, his cumulative reduction in blood souls had reached 69; if this had been an ordinary Foundation Establishment realm expert, more than half their life would have already been lost.

After taking a blood and Qi-replenishing elixir, another Spirit-Awakening Pill, and an Iron Sand Qi-Replenishing Pill, Li Fei adjusted his breathing on the spot for over ten minutes before beginning to gather the implant branches taken from his liver.

Once he had successfully gathered this portion of the implant branches, Li Fei paused for a moment.

His mental energy had reached its limit, and he could no longer continue to control more Geng Metal True Qi to maintain the "channels."

The biggest challenge of this breakthrough for him was not just enduring the damage, but also controlling the Geng Metal True Qi to maintain so many "channels"; the drain on his mental energy was simply too great!

Fortunately, as his body tissues continuously repaired themselves, Li Fei could constantly reduce the number of "channels" he had to maintain.

What he had to do now was wait quietly; only after a portion of his body tissues had finished repairing could he withdraw a portion of the Geng Metal True Qi, thereby continuing to extract from other parts.

May 12th, the third day of Li Fei's seclusion.

Datong Prefecture Government Building.

The Datong Prefecture Garrison Commander and two Deputy Garrison Commanders.

The Chief Inspector of the General Inspectorate.

The Chief Supervisor of the General Supervisory Office and one Deputy Chief Supervisor.

The Head of the General Stop-War Office and two Steering Commanders.

Jiang Jin, Vice Dean of the General Law-Enforcement Office, and Qi Yiming, a Great Mage of the Possession realm who was most skilled in tracking.

These big figures at the pinnacle of Datong Prefecture gathered together to hold a meeting.

Also participating in the meeting was the investigation team from the provincial capital, led by Yan Shijin, Deputy Supervisory Commissioner of the Supervisory Department, along with a group of officials.

"Please, Chief Supervisor Qu, explain the situation."

Datong Prefecture Garrison Commander Bian Jingru was responsible for presiding over today's meeting, and he spoke to Qu Xun, the Chief Supervisor of the General Supervisory Office.

Qu Xun was a man who looked stern, with a sinister gaze.

He nodded, picked up the report in his hand, and read aloud:

"On the evening of March 2nd, the 45th year of Hongguang, Zhang Zongyang, a Steering Commander of the Datong Prefecture General Stop-War Office, was murdered.

In the early hours of March 3rd, Great Mage Qi Yiming of the General Law-Enforcement Office used his tracking artifact to discover that the aura remaining on Zhang Zongyang's corpse was similar to that of a strange beast, leading to the preliminary suspicion that the murderer was a 'Strange Person' from the Western Nations (see Chapter 28 of Volume 2 for details).

Because a previous case at Wu'an University revealed that the Iron Blade Sect might be involved with Western spies, the General Supervisory Office began an investigation into the Iron Blade Sect.

After more than a month of investigation, our General Supervisory Office has indeed uncovered collusion between the Iron Blade Sect and Western spies!"

Upon hearing this, there was a commotion in the room.

At the time, Garrison Commander Bian Jingru had immediately dispatched the Imperial Guard Army to seal the mountain, trapping everyone in the Iron Blade Sect on Iron Blade Mountain for a full two months!

During those two months, the Iron Blade Sect had cooperated with the investigation, and no problems were found, so many assumed the Iron Blade Sect had just been unlucky to encounter such a thing.

Who would have thought it was actually colluding with Western spies!

"Qu Xun, is the evidence conclusive?"

Yan Shijin suddenly asked.

Counting it up, Yan Shijin was Qu Xun's direct superior; the supervisory work in Datong Prefecture needed to be reported regularly to the Supervisory Department in the provincial capital, and Yan Shijin was responsible for intelligence regarding Datong Prefecture.

Therefore, Yan Shijin did not have much small talk for Qu Xun and asked directly.

Qu Xun nodded: "Of course, this matter involves a major martial arts sect and implicates a Martial Arts Master; our General Supervisory Office would certainly have to obtain conclusive evidence before daring to formally bring charges."

After speaking, he turned his head and gave a look to the Deputy Chief Supervisor beside him, who immediately passed the materials prepared in advance to everyone present.

"This document records the detailed investigation process and the evidence we have mastered, including witnesses and testimonies; you lords may take a look first."

Qu Xun said.

Bian Jingru had already read it in advance, while the others present were seeing the materials for the first time and read them carefully.

Soon, everyone's expressions became grave.

It was indeed as Qu Xun said; the matter involved a major martial arts sect and implicated a Martial Arts Master. Without conclusive evidence, the General Supervisory Office would certainly not dare to bring charges in front of so many high-ranking officials of Datong Prefecture.

According to the contents recorded in this document, it could basically be determined that the Iron Blade Sect was colluding with Western spies, and the dealings between the two sides had been going on for some years!

"So, do you think the Iron Blade Sect cooperated with Western spies to kill Steering Commander Zhang Zongyang?"

Yan Shijin looked at Qu Xun and asked.

The meeting room suddenly went quiet.

The materials provided by the General Supervisory Office could only prove that the Iron Blade Sect was colluding with Western spies and had beneficial dealings, but it could not directly prove that Zhang Zongyang's death was related to the Iron Blade Sect.

Qu Xun looked at Yan Shijin: "At least from the clues we have mastered so far, the Iron Blade Sect has the greatest suspicion; if we want to find the murderer, we have to take action against the Iron Blade Sect!"

"Heh."

Yan Shijin chuckled, "Could it also be that you pushed out a scapegoat just to close the case as quickly as possible?"

He had actually laid it out directly in public!

This made the atmosphere in the room heavy.

The investigation team had been in Datong Prefecture for a long time without taking any action, but ever since Yan Shijin was shot on the street that day, the investigation team had begun to move.

They launched investigations into every level of Datong Prefecture!

The Zhang Zongyang case had not yet been solved, and Yan Shijin, the head of the investigation team and Deputy Supervisory Commissioner of the Supervisory Department, had been shot on the street; this was indeed a huge slap in the face, leaving Datong Prefecture with no choice but to silently endure the investigation team's fury.

In just over a month, the investigation team had already sent three imperial officials and over a dozen subordinate officials of Datong Prefecture to prison!

If this continued, the officialdom of Datong Prefecture would likely be turned upside down.

And so, today, the high-level officials of Datong Prefecture proactively convened such a meeting and presented the investigation team with this result—

The death of Zhang Zongyang may be related to the Iron Peak Sect.

Although there is currently no direct evidence to prove this, it is possible that once the Iron Peak Sect is dealt with, the "true culprit" will be found.

And the case will be closed.

Yan Shijin felt that this was a scapegoat put forward by Datong Prefecture to deal with the investigation team.

"Lord Yan, that is a serious accusation."

Bian Jingru, the Garrison Commissioner who had not spoken until now, finally spoke.

"Lord Bian."

Yan Shijin looked at him, "Please enlighten me."

Bian Jingru met his gaze and said slowly:

"I am also deeply saddened by the death of Helmsman Zhang Zongyang, and I also very much want to catch the murderer! I believe everyone present here feels the same as I do. If we cannot even guarantee the safety of an official of the Helmsman's rank, does our Datong Prefecture have any future at all?!"

He emphasized his tone at the end:

"Therefore, regarding the investigation of the true culprit, I would like to ask Lord Yan to believe in our sincerity."

Yan Shijin stared at him for a moment and nodded:

"It was a slip of the tongue on my part; I ask Lord Bian and all the other lords to forgive me."

The people present spoke up one after another to say it was no matter, as everyone was just working to solve the case for the sake of the Great Lan Dynasty.

"Now that it has been discovered that the Iron Peak Sect is colluding with Western spies, and the evidence is conclusive, then regardless of whether the Iron Peak Sect is truly related to the death of Zhang Zongyang, we must deal with it!"

Bian Jingru said decisively.

In fact, at any other time, even if it were discovered that the Iron Peak Sect was colluding with Western spies, the way Datong Prefecture chose to handle it would have been very gentle; they would likely have downplayed the matter, as it involved a Martial Dao Master.

As long as the "Blade King" Gu Vanguard Commander had not openly committed treason or done something too egregious, it would not have led to the destruction of his sect.

But it just so happened that the collusion with Western spies was discovered at this very moment.

The outcome of everything would be different!

Seeing that Bian Jingru was determined to move against the Iron Peak Sect, Yan Shijin no longer expressed his opinion, waiting to see what kind of result this play would ultimately produce.

"The General Headquarters of Cease-Arms and the General Headquarters of Orthodoxy must send people to cooperate with the Imperial Camp Army in the operation, and I will contact Wu'an University to request that they dispatch a Martial Dao Master. I want to take down the Iron Peak Sect within three days, and I must ensure that Gu Vanguard Commander does not escape!"

Bian Jingru issued the highest directive.

At this moment, the fate of the Iron Peak Sect, a great Martial Dao sect that had dominated Datong Prefecture for decades, was decided just like that!

Seeking monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)