Chapter 584: Demonic Paths and Heretical Ways

Ming Province, Jinshan Prefecture.

Mingjia Town is located in the northwest of Jinshan Prefecture; heading further north enters the territory of Xiuzhou Prefecture.

At 6:37 PM, Li Fei arrived safely at Mingjia Town with five Foundation Establishment cultivators including Lu Wen, as well as twenty-four officially registered martial masters.

They came by car, having temporarily requisitioned ten sedans from Chongcheng.

Mingjia Town had received word in advance, and the town mayor, along with a group of officials, had been waiting by the highway for a long time.

"We respectfully welcome you, my lords."

The mayor of Mingjia Town was a man over fifty years old; after the cars carrying Li Fei and his group came to a steady stop, he bowed with a face full of smiles.

The mayor was also an official appointed by the imperial court, but only a Grade 10 official.

Yet, among Li Fei's party, excluding Li Fei himself, the lowest rank was Grade 10, and the highest was a Grade 14 seat official!

Therefore, the group of officials in Mingjia Town all acted with great humility.

Under their welcome, Li Fei and his group entered the town and were arranged to stay directly in the mayor's own residence.

This was also the most high-end place in all of Mingjia Town.

"My lord, Mayor Zhang says he has arranged a banquet for us."

Lu Wen walked into the room and said to Li Fei.

He had already automatically taken on the role of Li Fei's "secretary"; he was the one who communicated with Li Fei on many matters and also the one who conveyed orders on Li Fei's behalf.

"No need, there may be a mission tonight."

Li Fei shook his head and refused.

The Imperial Preceptor's office had sent them to Mingjia Town to intercept people from the Great Luo Sect, so it was possible that a battle would break out tonight!

"Has contact been made with the Great Luo Sect side?"

Li Fei asked.

After True Person Qingxu was defeated and killed, some of those in the Great Luo Sect who supported him chose to flee.

After Xiang Yunshu arrived at the Great Luo Sect, he immediately had the Taiyu faction send people to hunt down those who had fled, ensuring not a single one was left alive!

This was a gesture of stance, and Taiyu could not refuse.

So, the current situation was that a group of Great Luo Sect members were fleeing, with another group behind them in pursuit.

The pursuers carried a Great Luo Sect tracking magic treasure, allowing them to be located at any time.

Based on this, Xiang Yunshu was able to order the imperial court's people to intercept them in advance.

Besides Li Fei and his group, all other cities and towns had received orders to dispatch personnel to set up checkpoints on all major traffic routes.

Even if these checkpoints could not stop the rebels of the Great Luo Sect, they could at least be used to confirm the location of these rebels.

"Contact has been made; the one we are to intercept is a True Person of the Great Luo Sect!"

Lu Wen's expression was somewhat grim.

The mission Pan Tianhao had assigned to them was indeed the most dangerous one.

Upon hearing this, Li Fei remained very calm:

"Who is responsible for the pursuit from the Great Luo Sect side?"

"It is a Martial Arts Master."

"So our mission is to be responsible for intercepting this True Person and buying time for that Martial Arts Master behind?"

"Correct."

Lu Wen nodded, "The intelligence says this True Person has already been severely wounded."

For a single individual, the escape route might seem to have countless paths, but in reality, there are mountains and rivers everywhere, so there are not many viable routes.

Although a True Person can use techniques to ride the wind, while they have not yet completely shaken off their pursuers, constantly crossing mountains and rivers not only consumes their own true power but also wastes time.

Therefore, the probability of intercepting the opponent at various traffic hubs is still quite high.

Li Fei and his group were ordered to come to Mingjia Town because the road where Mingjia Town is located is the place that True Person is most likely to pass through next.

In other words, the probability of them encountering that True Person is very high.

"My lord."

Lu Wen hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"Actually, it doesn't matter if we don't manage to intercept that fleeing True Person. With the merits you have previously established, my lord, you will definitely be heavily rewarded upon returning! Even if you request a retrial of the original case, His Majesty will agree."

He was one step away from directly saying, let's just slack off.

Li Fei understood the other's meaning and nodded:

"Rest assured, I will not force it."

Hearing this, Lu Wen said no more and exited the room.

Li Fei seized the time to cultivate.

He had already stimulated the core-level extraordinary ability of the 【Flame Core】 and could prepare to incorporate a fourth implant.

So he began to perform "unification" on the 【Flame Core】.

Without enough time for seclusion, Li Fei still chose "partial unification," slowly accumulating progress.

While Li Fei was cultivating, a group of strangers arrived at a village a dozen miles from Mingjia Town.

These people were all shrouded in black robes, their appearances unclear, appearing very mysterious.

Under the night, every household in the village had lights on.

This group of people stood on a hillside, looking at the village below.

"Boss, the target has arrived at Mingjia Town."

A black-robed person said in a low voice:

"According to the intelligence provided by the employer, that Great Luo Sect True Person is very likely to pass through Mingjia Town tomorrow morning."

"Hmm."

The lead black-robed person looked at the lights below with dead, silent eyes:

"The target's information is inconsistent with what we obtained beforehand. What does the employer say?"

This group of people were the assassins hired by the Lu family, preparing to assassinate Li Fei!

Originally, according to the intelligence they had obtained, Li Fei was at most equivalent to a fifth-tier Foundation Establishment cultivator, but in that battle outside Chongcheng, Li Fei had single-handedly wiped out more than fifty cavalrymen of the Imperial Guard.

This was already the combat power of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator!

Assassinating a fifth-tier Foundation Establishment cultivator and assassinating a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator were two completely different levels of difficulty.

Not to mention that the target was followed by five Foundation Establishment cultivators and over twenty martial masters who had trained their strength.

"The employer said, add more money."

"Add how much?"

"Double the original amount."

Hearing this, the breathing of everyone present became much heavier.

"Adding money" was just a euphemism; for an assassin group capable of killing Foundation Establishment powerhouses, what they lacked was no longer just money, but those precious resources monopolized by major powers:

Elixirs, implants, protective clothing, exotic weapons, secret manuals...

The price the Lu family initially offered was already not low; otherwise, it would have been impossible to get these people to take this job at the risk of killing an imperial envoy.

Doubling the original price—if converted into money, this would be an astronomical figure!

And many things simply could not be bought with money.

This could not help but make the leader of this assassin team somewhat suspicious:

"Can the employer afford this price? What is the guarantee?"

"The other party paid two additional 'deposits' through two different channels; our people have confirmed it, there is no problem."

The subordinate replied.

"Two different channels."

The assassin leader pondered for a moment and immediately saw the trick behind it.

Clearly, the employer behind him had temporarily found two new employers, and their status was not low either.

"It seems this 'First in History' has offended quite a few big shots."

The assassin leader said.

"Additionally, the employer wants us to borrow the Great Luo Sect's blade to kill, if possible."

The subordinate brought up another point.

"Hmm."

The assassin leader thought for a moment, "Execute according to the second plan."

As his voice fell, the group of subordinates behind him rushed toward the village below.

"Xu Gou, are these people enough?"

The assassin leader asked the only subordinate who remained in place.

"No martial artists, too little blood energy, barely enough."

The subordinate with the code name "Xu Gou" said in a tone of disdain.

Afterward, he said with great envy: "I heard that True Person Qingxu of the Great Luo Sect blood-sacrificed hundreds of thousands of people this time! If I could blood-sacrifice hundreds of thousands of people at once, I would definitely be able to step into the 'True Spirit Realm'!"

The assassin leader sneered: "And then? Even True Person Qingxu is dead; how long do you think you would live?"

"Damn it!"

Xu Gou cursed, "When will people like us be able to kill in the open?"

"If you had the strength of the Old Ancestor of the Styx, you could."

The assassin leader said casually.

The Ancestor of the River of Styx is a notorious fiend in the pugilistic world.

"One Supreme, Three Fiends, Five True Lords, Seven Martial Saints"—the Ancestor of the River of Styx is one of the "Three Fiends," a peak powerhouse who has stepped into the "True One" realm!

In Daoism, the "True Spirit Realm" corresponds to a True Person, and the "True One Realm" corresponds to a True Lord.

It is just that the Ancestor of the River of Styx is a heterodox cultivator; no matter what, he cannot obtain recognition from the Daoists, and being infamous, no one would respectfully call him a True Lord, only "Fiend of the River of Styx."

Only those in the heterodox paths of the pugilistic world would call him Ancestor.

Xu Gou listened to the leader's words and curled his lip:

"If you ask me, the number of people the Ancestor of the River of Styx has killed in his life doesn't add up to as many as True Lord Qingxu's blood sacrifice this time. Who is the real fiend? Bah, does the Daoist school still have the nerve to call itself the righteous path?"

"Whoever has the bigger fist is the righteous path."

The assassin leader said indifferently.

As the two spoke, the tranquility of the village below had already been broken.

Those black-robed figures who had just rushed down drove all the villagers out of the village.

To intimidate these villagers, the black-robed figures even killed people, leaving behind a dozen corpses!

A moment later, the black-robed figures made the two hundred or so villagers in the village stand in specific positions.

Then they stuck some talisman papers on the ground, surrounding all these villagers.

"Begin."

The assassin leader said.

Xu Gou raised his sleeve, and a blood-red light flew out, heading toward the village below.

This was a skull, with blood-red patterns on its white bone.

When this skull flew over the village, the talisman papers previously stuck to the ground began to burn one after another.

"Ahhhhh—"

The villagers surrounded by the talisman papers immediately felt their heads splitting with pain, letting out agonizing wails.

Subsequently, these villagers' limbs went weak, losing all their strength, and they collapsed to the ground one after another.

These villagers wailed for a full forty minutes; everyone was in such agony they were dying, bleeding from their seven orifices, until in the end, they didn't even have the strength to wail.

Xu Gou, standing on the hillside, nodded: "We can start now."

And so, the black-robed figures who had been guarding the perimeter all took action, using blades to cut open the bodies of the villagers on the ground, disemboweling them.

Fresh blood and internal organs flowed all over the ground, and a thick, bloody stench permeated the entire village.

The skull that had been hovering in the air suddenly flared with blood-red light, and then the blood below was sucked up by an invisible force, flying toward the skull in the air and merging into it.

Ten minutes later, the blood of all the corpses on the ground had been sucked dry, turning them into dried husks.

Xu Gou retracted his magic treasure into his sleeve.

"How is it?"

The assassin leader asked.

Xu Gou: "Barely enough to trigger the Curse Grudge Array once."

"That is enough."

The assassin leader nodded.

For ordinary missions, he would not let Xu Gou do this; slaughtering an entire village was simply too conspicuous.

But the mission they had accepted this time was to kill an imperial envoy.

Since even an imperial envoy was being killed, slaughtering a village didn't amount to much.

Besides, hundreds of thousands had already died in Ming Province; what did a few hundred more matter?

This team of theirs had a resounding name in the pugilistic world—the Twelve Owls!

The core members were composed of twelve powerhouses at the Dao Foundation or Possession stage!

Most of these twelve core members were heterodox fiends.

So-called heterodox fiends are either demonic martial artists who plunder mature implants from other martial artists to cultivate.

Or they are heterodox cultivators whose techniques and magic treasures are primarily based on harming others.

For example, this "Blood Grudge Skull" of Xu Gou's requires the implants within it to feed on human blood in order to grow.

He had just "sacrificed and refined" the two hundred-plus villagers below, absorbing their resentment, fear, pain, and fresh blood, so that he could store an array within the "Blood Grudge Skull."

The "Twelve Owls" are an infamous assassin team, but they have been able to survive until now because their strength is sufficient.

They have even killed more than one powerhouse at the peak of the Dao Foundation stage!

As long as one Martial Arts Master or True Person could appear in this team, their comprehensive strength would immediately rival those great sects of the pugilistic world!

Lu Wenzheng hiring these people to kill Li Fei could absolutely not be considered a slight.

As for Martial Arts Masters or True Persons, Lu Wenzheng could indeed hire them, but every one of those people is a famous figure whose background can be traced.

Using such people to carry out an assassination would instead be easy to expose.

Killing others would be one thing, but killing an imperial envoy required Lu Wenzheng to be cautious.

"Everyone, let's rehearse the tactics again."

The assassin leader said.

There are different tactics for different targets; since this time the target might have to face a True Person from the Great Luo Sect, this was good news for them.

By suddenly launching a sneak attack while the target is engaged with a True Person, they could take down the target more easily!

Ming Family Town.

Li Fei stopped his "Return to One" cultivation in his room.

He separated a strand of his virtual consciousness to enter the Dream-Like Order, preparing to roam the Dream Realm once more.

Next, if he wanted to use the Dream-Like Order to break through to the Possession stage, he had to use this magic treasure frequently.

The most suitable way was to cast the "Gate of the Dream Realm" and then use the Dream-Like Order to roam the Dream Realm.

Soon, Li Fei entered the Dream Realm again.

Just after completing his "Fixed Intent" and making himself appear in Ming Family Town, Li Fei sensed a faint, lingering malicious intent.

"Hmm?"

Li Fei was startled.

He had carefully read the secret manuals related to the Dream Realm.

If one feels malice in the Dream Realm, it means someone is targeting them, and they are not far away!

In the real world, malice is easy to hide, and there are various means to shield heavenly secrets and interfere with divination.

But in the Dream Realm, malice in the subconscious is hard to hide and can be felt quite intuitively.

Therefore, besides being able to probe others' subconscious, the Dream Realm can also be used to identify enemies and detect danger in advance.

"Who wants to harm me?"

Li Fei immediately "flew" in the direction from which the malice originated.

A moment later, more than thirty projections of different shapes appeared before him.

Judging from the size of these projections, none of them were ordinary people; they were all formidable experts.

Among them were a dozen or so enormous monsters:

Some looked like vicious wolves, some like large dogs, some like giant snakes.

Judging from the volume of these monster projections, they were at least powerhouses at the Dao Foundation or Possession stage.

"So many powerhouses gathered together?"

Li Fei immediately realized that the situation was not simple.

So many powerhouses gathered together, and harboring malice toward him, made him instantly vigilant.

He sought out the subconscious with the smallest projection area and relatively the weakest strength, then quietly slipped into it.

PS: Sorry, only one chapter today.

(End of chapter)