Chapter 185

"Speaking of which, I picked up another case recently. That newly emerged Mystic Eagle Sect has been stirring up trouble, seeking revenge, and slaughtering several small and medium-sized families in the Inner City. It even alerted the Black Army. The Pacification Corps couldn't handle it, so the Black Army took over."

Hong Ling drank his tea and chatted casually.

"The night before last, they finally cornered that woman, Xue Ying, in the Middle Ring. The Sect Masters of the Three Sects led the team, and a powerhouse at the Blood Ancestor level—above a Palace Master—personally took action. With the aid of a Relic array provided by the Extreme Desire Heaven, they finally crippled her.

"I was in charge of the perimeter guard. The battle shook the earth and the mountains. A small lake was beaten dry, leaving behind a pit hundreds of meters deep. You should have seen it—midnight turned to day in an instant. It was utterly overwhelming. The sky was filled with the glowing red flesh-and-blood vines of the Longevity Wheel, like a blood‑red sunset hanging overhead."

"That scene sounds... excessive, doesn't it?" Lin Hui listened, entranced, and poured him another cup.

"It is. Above the Grand Elders of the Three Sects lies the Blood Ancestor level of our Truebloods—a realm of its own. There are no more than ten such figures in the entire Trueblood community, and ordinary matters wouldn't disturb them. But this Xue Ying accidentally killed a Trueblood granddaughter of one of these figures during a massacre not long ago... naturally, he was enraged. He immediately activated a sealed set of Relics to locate, intercept, and capture her, all in one go. Within a week, Xue Ying was ruined."

Hong Ling's tone carried a certain pride—even as a subordinate, speaking of the Trueblood Blood Ancestors made him puff out his chest.

Lin Hui listened with fascination. He hadn't even seen the Palace Master realm properly. Although he had met a Rain Palace Vice Palace Master in Xingdao City before, they hadn't fought. And that was only a Vice Palace Master. Above that, according to Hong Ling, was the Blood Ancestor tier of the Trueblood Nobles. He couldn't imagine what level that was.

However, hearing about Xue Ying's fall, he couldn't help but think of Tao Xuehai, the disciple who had joined her banner. If the Mystic Eagle Sect fell, then Tao Xuehai...

A trace of worry flashed through Lin Hui's eyes. Although they hadn't spent much time together, he was truly satisfied with him and didn't wish him any harm.

…

Mist Zone, inside a deep underground palace.

Tranquil Incense slowly propped up a stable circular cavity. Inside, a group surrounded a blue-clothed woman, their expressions sorrowful.

The woman's chest was caved in, her face wretched, her eyes gazing listlessly at the flowing Mist outside. Blue streams of light flickered continuously in the depths of her eyes, as if vast, unknown energy still surged within her. But everyone understood this was an illusion.

A distinct aura of Corruption emanated from her body—a faint scent of rot and fresh blood. This aura told everyone that their Sect Master, Xue Ying of the Mystic Eagle Sect, was approaching her end.

"In this life, to avenge a great grievance, I focused on bitter cultivation for hundreds of years. I never thought I would fall into such an accident."

Xue Ying turned her head slightly, looking at the three standing closest to her.

"I can't go on," she said quietly. "After I leave, the Relic 'Heaven Heart Link' will be inherited by Xie Xinlan. The 'Offering God Spear' goes to Chen Ji, and the 'Source Dragon Shield' to Shangguan Zi'er."

After handing over the three most important Relic sets, her gaze moved to the few behind them. These were the ones who had fought desperately to intercept the pursuers and save her at the very end.

"Zhao Lingguan, Feng Zhu, Tao Xuehai. You possess the strongest aptitude and greatest potential in my sect and are the most loyal. After I leave, the Mystic Eagle Palace will be jointly administered by the three of you."

The Mystic Eagle Palace was her greatest trump card aside from the Relic sets, the true reliance that had allowed her to cultivate her current realm in just a few hundred years. This was a special underground palace. Incomparably sturdy, it possessed a formidable ability: it could absorb mysterious external energy to condense a special mark on the administrator's body. This mark greatly amplified strength and allowed for a thorough, whole-body recovery.

The injuries on these three were all sustained to save her. Now, two were crippled, and one's foundation was completely destroyed. No one had any objection to Xue Ying dividing the administration of the Mystic Eagle Palace among them.

"The Mystic Eagle Palace can eliminate all hidden dangers and injuries for the three of you, but only once. After using it, you three must exert yourselves to govern well, manage the Mystic Eagle Sect properly, and wait for the opportunity for revenge... Do not disappoint me..."

Xue Ying slowly closed her eyes and suddenly struck her own forehead with a palm.

Bang!

Blue electric light sprayed like a thunderclap from her mouth, nose, and ears, flashing into the bodies of the six people present. Her entire lifetime of cultivation power was being evenly distributed among her six most loyal disciples.

"Sect Master!!"

The crowd cried out in grief, kneeling on the ground.

Tao Xuehai was among them. He didn't cry, but his eyes were resolute. Unlike the others, he hadn't been in the sect long. He received the power transfer because his sister had died in battle, bringing up the rear; coupled with his extremely high aptitude and potential, he was listed as a seed candidate.

Though he hadn't been in the sect long, he held the same grudge as Xue Ying—a grudge against the Moon Tower of Tuyue Inner City. Thus, he was the least likely to betray them.

Feeling the drastic changes in his body, the Imitation Insect Canon integrated within him was forcibly squeezed out by a higher-level power. A mysterious, ancient palace situated in endless darkness emerged in his mind.

As Xue Ying's hundreds of years of cultivation power flooded in, Tao Xuehai's aura rose rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, he broke through the Minor Three Harmonies realm and charged towards the Major Three Harmonies.

The essence of the Minor and Major Three Harmonies lay in the unification of Body, Mind, and Force. After the triple fusion of body, mind, and External Force, one could use that External Force to continuously scour and temper the body, drastically strengthening oneself.

At this moment, Xue Ying was using her own cultivation to forcibly push him into this realm—using External Force to compress and envelop him, hurling him forward. If he couldn’t stabilize himself over this distance, he would quickly fall back, and the power transfer would be wasted.

But if he did stabilize, he would not only be able to fully absorb Xue Ying’s power, he could also advance further on that foundation, layering his own insights atop it and soaring in one bound. This was why Xue Ying chose to transfer her power only to those with high aptitude and comprehension.

If their aptitude and comprehension were lacking, the transfer would be squandered; they would be unable to retain her power.

As the power transfer continued, the auras of the six rose frantically, forcing the others on the periphery to retreat.

Several minutes later, the six terrifying auras slowly settled.

Xue Ying's body turned into a dried corpse, silently shattered, and dissipated completely.

The six were wreathed in crackling blue arcs of electricity. Everyone had been forcibly elevated by a full realm, and all their injuries had completely healed.

"From this moment on, the Mystic Eagle Sect will be jointly governed by us. In accordance with the Sect Master's final wish, we will be known as the Six Elites of Mystic Eagle. I hope we will not fail the Sect Master's expectations!" The leader, Xie Xinlan, turned to face the others as she spoke, her voice trembling, tears silently streaming from her beautiful eyes.

"Yes!"

The other five answered in unison, then dropped to their knees and kowtowed in Xue Ying's direction.

…

November 10th.

Lin Hui couldn't resist Hong Ling's invitation. To satisfy his own curiosity, he set off with Hong Ling to visit the Moon Tower in the Inner City's Core Zone as a guest.

After testing, he determined that Hong Ling could not detect the Purgatory fire on him, nor did he detect it on the disciples of the Clear Wind Temple. The Purgatory pollution on the temple disciples wasn't significant, far from the degree of 'Purgatory-ization.'

Since Hong Ling didn't notice anything, Lin Hui had a rough idea of the sensitivity level of this Inspectorate Division Director—a Trueblood at the Divine Officer realm—towards Purgatory power.

In reality, as long as actual Purgatory-ization traits didn't appear, Purgatory pollution was extremely concealed. From the outside, it manifested as a slightly more irritable temper, increased strength, and stronger recovery. The latter two could easily be glossed over as martial arts progress.

Back when he approached the Moon Tower alone without the suppression of the Extreme Cold Heaven power, the Purgatory power hadn't been detected either, which was proof enough. The only uncertainty was whether there were array detections for Purgatory power inside the Moon Tower.

But after asking Hong Ling indirectly, he received a negative answer.

In the Core Zone, under the influence of the Extreme Desire Heaven, debauchery was rampant inside the Moon Tower. In the past, surveillance arrays had been used for peeping. Later, after the chaotic relationships between certain big shots were exposed, the arrays were angrily dismantled by the crowd. Now it had returned to its initial, most primitive state.

There were no checks whatsoever. The Truebloods weren't afraid of troublemakers. With the strength of the Extreme Desire Heaven and the Taisu Primal Disk, anyone who came had to obediently abide by local rules.

Confirmed that there would be no problems, and that they would only visit the entertainment and living areas in the middle and lower layers of the Moon Tower, Lin Hui accepted the invitation.

This time, he didn't have to run on his own two feet. Hong Ling took him directly to a secluded section of the wall in the Inner City's Outer Ring.

Here, a square recess had been dug out high on the wall, a hundred meters up. Inside, Moth Carriages were parked, serving as a temporary guard post.

Sitting in the Hong family's Moth Carriage, Hong Ling introduced his sister, Hong Lingxiang, who was returning with them.

"This is my sister, Lingxiang. She's definitely older than you, so just call her Sister Xiang. She's currently responsible for miscellaneous duties at the External Affairs Office—handling trade and communication with other urban districts." Hong Ling introduced them enthusiastically. "This is the Clear Wind Temple Master Lin Hui, I told you about. His big brother is Liu Wujun, whose reputation has been very loud recently. Temple Master Lin's own strength is also quite good; his movement technique is especially swift. Even you might not be able to catch him."

Hong Lingxiang nodded, her attitude cold. "Hello. I have some duties to deal with. I'll rest on the way back; you two make yourselves comfortable."

"Okay." Lin Hui could tell she didn't think much of him, but for a Trueblood, innate superiority was normal.

Hong Lingxiang was indeed as rumored; Truebloods were never ugly. With white hair and white eyebrows, her features were exquisite. She looked a bit fierce, but mostly cold and glamorous. Though her figure was a bit meager, her proportions were well-balanced.

"Sigh, don't take offense. My sister was cheated emotionally before, so now she's cold and indifferent to everyone," Hong Ling said helplessly. "You don't know, but as Truebloods with strong bloodlines, we deal with so many treacherous schemes. Tons of people approach us with hidden agendas, trying to acquire our bloodline and cheat us of our feelings. Sigh..."

Lin Hui could imagine it. Indeed, if one combined with a Trueblood and, with luck, produced a high-quality Trueblood offspring, even an ordinary person's life would instantly be elevated by countless strata, leaping to the top layer of Tuyue society.

Under such enormous temptation, there would inevitably be a large number of people plotting to seduce Truebloods with ulterior motives.

"Sit tight. Enjoy the scenery. You probably haven't entered the Moon Tower from a high altitude before; I'll show you today."

Hong Ling stood at the front, grabbed a long feeler of the moth, and pulled gently.

"Up."

The Moth Carriage crawled forward, then lunged out of the recess, flapping its wings against the wind and ascending at extreme speed. An invisible barrier enveloped the three of them, blocking the gale outside.