Qingyuan Empire Mingshi Tang …
Straw mats were placed side by side on the ground, and eight corpses were laid out on top of them.
Each of the corpses was dressed in a master teacher robe, and the seven stars on their chests reflected their identities.
Zhang Xuan was extremely familiar with the old man standing at the very center. It was due to his unfair treatment that he had crashed the pavilion and even fought with him. He had thought that the old man would be stripped of his position as the head of the Qingyuan Empire Pavilion, but who could have thought that he would actually die here?
"What happened?" Zhang Xuan turned to Wu Shi with a frown.
"It happened this morning … Based on the name list you gave me, I only managed to interrogate eight people when eight of them suddenly died!"
Wu Shi's face turned livid.
After learning the name list from the Qingtian Emperor, Zhang Xuan had sent it to him. In order not to alarm the enemy, he had been discreetly interrogating the eight people. However, just as he was about to interrogate the eighth person, he suddenly heard a subordinate reporting that eight Seven Star master teachers had died in the Qingyuan Empire Pavilion.
Among them … was Pavilion Master Gou!
Zhang Xuan's face darkened.
Eight Seven Star master teachers had died in the interrogation of the eight people. It was clear that the other party was trying to warn them off.
"Furthermore, they died in the same manner as Chen Zhe, having their souls ejected from their bodies, leaving only their bodies behind."
Wu Shi continued.
Zhang Xuan fell silent.
As soon as he entered, he had noticed that everyone, including Pavilion Master Gou, had their souls taken away by the Soul Capture Technique, thus turning them into corpses.
"It's … Vicious!"
Zhang Xuan clenched his fists tightly.
To be able to do such a thing, even Pavilion Master Gou, it was likely that only Vicious was capable of such a feat.
Just that … according to the Qingtian Emperor's confession, there seemed to be some kind of seal binding him in the Marshlands of the Northern Meadows, preventing him from escaping … How could he possibly use such a secret art to kill so many master teachers consecutively?
Perplexed, Zhang Xuan turned to Zhang Xuan and asked, "Where were they found?"
"They were all in their own residences. Their family members thought that they were resting, but they couldn't wake them up by the time they woke up.
Hearing those words, Wu Shi couldn't help but ask, "Is this related to the Qingtian Emperor? But wasn't the Qingtian Emperor killed? "
As a soul oracle, the Qingtian Emperor possessed such a unique secret art, and Zhang Shi had already told him about how he had killed Chen Zhe. Since Chen Zhe was already dead, he couldn't help but wonder who could have used such a bizarre move.
Death for no reason, without any warning, had already caused the entire Mingshi Tang to be in a state of panic and fear.
Humans tend to be fearful of the unknown and incomprehensible, and this was exactly the case for the person in front of him.
Hall Master Gou could be said to be the strongest existence in the entire Qingyuan City, and yet, even he was unable to withstand the attack and was killed silently. No matter who it was, they could not help but feel a chill run down their spine.
"The Qingtian Emperor is indeed dead, but … the person behind him isn't!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.
"The people behind you?" Wu Shi was puzzled.
Zhang Xuan didn't tell anyone about the matter regarding Vicious, so he didn't know anything about it.
"Un. Even though the Qingtian Emperor is one of the emperors of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, the heritage of the soul oracles has already been severed. Most likely, the culprit is that person! "
Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.
"The person who taught the Qingtian Emperor the soul oracles? How powerful is that person? His cultivation surpasses that of a Conferred Empire master teacher, so I can report this matter to the headquarters and have them send their men over! "
Wu Shi narrowed his eyes in astonishment.
The Mingshi Tang had its own rules. Under normal circumstances, the most they could do was to submit a written report to the headquarters and not have the upper echelons deal with it.
Firstly, the headquarters were too busy to clean up the mess of their subordinates. Secondly, it was also a good opportunity for the headquarters to temper their subordinates.
If they had to report everything to the headquarters, wouldn't a high-ranking master teacher be overworked to death?
However, once the strength of a Conferred Empire master teacher exceeded that of a Conferred Empire master teacher, the situation would be different. Countless lives would be lost, so they could request for the headquarters to send more powerful master teachers to deal with the matter.
"How long will it take for them to send their men over?" Zhang Xuan asked with a frown.
"Qianchong Conferred Empire, which is closest to us, has a half 8-star master teacher. It will take them around ten days to send their men over. As for the Empire Alliance with 8-star master teachers, it will take at least twenty days for them to arrive!"
Wu shi pondered for a moment before replying.
"Ten days? Twenty days? That's too late … "Zhang Xuan shook his head grimly." By the time they arrive, I fear that even more people in the Mingshi Tang Empire will die! "
"What should we do then?"
Wu Shi asked anxiously.
Ten days was indeed too late. The other party had killed eight of them in a single night. If they were to make a move, it was likely that all of the Seven Star master teachers in the Qingyuan Empire would have been wiped out.
"I'm not too sure how powerful the person behind the Qingtian Emperor is, but it shouldn't be beyond Leaving Aperture realm! Otherwise, the headquarters of the Mingshi Tang Empire would have noticed it long ago! "
Instead of answering his question, Zhang Xuan analyzed the situation.
While the headquarters of the Mingshi Tang Empire had delegated their authority to their subordinates, they would still patrol the area from time to time, and they would deal with any life forms that exceeded their cultivation realm personally.
The strongest existence in the Conferred Empire was the Leaving Aperture realm. The fact that Vicious's Eye was able to remain in the Qingyuan Empire without being noticed meant that he hadn't surpassed that limit yet.
"Even if he hasn't surpassed Leaving Aperture realm, there's still a huge gap between each realm of Leaving Aperture realm. As long as he surpasses Leaving Aperture realm primary stage, we won't be a match for him!"
Wu Shi said.
At Leaving Aperture realm, one's Primordial Spirit would be able to draw out one's Primordial Spirit and control one's surroundings through the power of nature. Every single realm that one advanced would require one to undergo a lightning tribulation, and the more lightning tribulations one experienced, the stronger one would become. The difference between every single realm could be said to be as great as the clouds and mud.
Taking Leaving Aperture realm primary stage and intermediate stage as an example, even though there was only a small gap between them, the difference in their fighting prowess was several times greater.
Even if ten of them were to work together and form a formation, they might not necessarily be a match for the latter.
As such, even if the other party was still at Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle, the gap between them and Leaving Aperture realm primary stage was simply too huge.
"I know, but I'm not too sure about his exact cultivation level. However, this isn't the time to be thinking about that. Aren't you curious as to how that fellow managed to kill all of them?"
Zhang Xuan asked with a deep frown. He knew that it was impossible for him to gauge the other party's strength based on such a conjecture. Thus, he walked around the corpses on the ground and asked.
"How did he manage to kill all of them?"
"That's right. Back then, I was ambushed by the Qingtian Emperor, and I learned of their means. Through the altar, they are able to infiltrate the consciousness of others and capture their souls. In other words, no matter how formidable the Soul Evocation Art is, it requires a medium to execute it. So, what is the medium used to kill the eight of them? Did you look into it carefully? "
Zhang Xuan asked.
The Soul Evocation Art that Vicious used could be executed directly at close range, but at a distance of several dozen thousand li, he would have to rely on various artifacts.
For example, the altar!
However, the altar had been taken away by Wu Shi for investigation by the headquarters. So, how did the eight of them die?
"This … I didn't notice that …"
Wu Shi was taken aback by Zhang Xuan's question.
"Perhaps, you might be able to find something …"
Zhang Xuan instructed. Activating his Eye of Insight, he began assessing the corpses on the ground once more.
Judging from the terrified expression on Pavilion Master Gou's face before his death, it was likely that he had encountered something that he could not believe.
Zhang Xuan examined the corpses closely, but after a moment, he shook his head.
The cause of Pavilion Master Gou's death was identical to Chen Zhe's — his soul had been captured and turned into a corpse.
Even with the Eye of Insight, Zhang Xuan was unable to discern anything.
"Right, where's that Zhong Qingwang? Where is he being held? "
Zhang Xuan suddenly thought of a person and asked anxiously.
"He was captured once more and imprisoned in the underground prison of the Mingshi Tang Empire, so there's no way he can get any news out. Last night, Emperor Chu Tianxing requested an audience, but I turned him down!"
Wu shi pondered for a moment before replying.
"Emperor Chu Tianxing requested an audience?" Zhang Xuan frowned.
That fellow was only a king, not the emperor's biological son. Why would he rush over as soon as something happened? Why would he pay such a huge price?
"That's right, but the two of them didn't meet. There shouldn't be any problem, right?"
Wu Shi asked.
"I'm not too sure about that, but there's a good chance that Chu Tianxing is involved as well," Zhang Xuan replied grimly.
Zhong Qingwang had already confirmed through the memories of the Qingtian Emperor that there was a problem with him. Yet, given how close the emperor was to him, Zhang Xuan found it hard to believe that there was no problem at all.
"Should we capture him and interrogate him?"
"Let's not rush into it for now. Once we interrogate him, it'll cause a huge commotion. What we need to do right now is to find the medium that killed these people and find a way to get rid of the mastermind!"
After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Xuan analyzed, "Only with Blackhand's death will we be safe."
"That's true."
Wu Shi nodded.
Zhang Shi was right. Making a move on the emperor of an empire was bound to cause panic among the populace.
Putting aside the chaos it would cause, more importantly, the lack of evidence would affect the credibility of the Mingshi Tang Empire.
If the Mingshi Tang Empire wanted to make a move on an empire, they would need irrefutable evidence. Otherwise, what would the other empires think?
Wouldn't everyone be in danger?
Just suspicion was far from enough.
"I'll send some men to investigate this matter right now."
Having thought through this, Wu Shi said.
"Not only so, we'll need to prepare some men to head to the Marshlands of the Northern Meadows together!"
"Marshlands of the Northern Meadows?" Wu Shi was perplexed.
"I suspect that the mastermind is hiding there," Zhang Xuan explained.
"Alright. I'll select the most elite troops of the Mingshi Tang Empire and the experts of the Combat Master Hall to head there together," Wu Shi said.
"Un. I'll make some preparations as well."
After making the arrangements, Zhang Xuan nodded.
There were two things he had to do in order to find Vicious in the Marshlands of the Northern Meadows. Firstly, he had to raise Jin Yuan Ding's cultivation further so that he could reach Leaving Aperture realm. Secondly, he had to help Vicious, who had devoured the Qingtian Emperor, overcome his lightning tribulation as soon as possible!
Only then would he be able to reach Leaving Aperture realm. Otherwise, given his current cultivation and the fact that Vicious wasn't strong enough, there was a good chance that he would become the other party's tonic. If that happened, he would really be helpless.
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