Chapter 158: Clues Begin to Emerge

The two men produced a jar of immortal wine and placed it on the table, looking as though they were settling in for a deep conversation. Unfortunately, no sooner had they finished a single cup than Fang Yexu received a transmission from Guan Chaoyong, informing him that Jin Yuling, the vice leader of the Crimson Rain Sect, had been taken into custody.

They immediately stood up and hurried to the base of the rear mountain to welcome the arrivals, knowing that guarding their secrets was of the utmost importance.

Along with Jin Yuling, nearly ten female cultivators had been captured, showing that Guan Chaoyong had thoroughly investigated the Crimson Rain Sect beforehand.

Seeing both Liu Junhuai and Fang Yexu come out to greet them, Guan Chaoyong and Xiao Qingtian bypassed conventional pleasantries. On the way back, they began inquiring about the battle results on Longwhale Island.

Upon hearing that Liu Junhuai had single-handedly captured two Blood-Slaying Alliance assassins, Guan Chaoyong raised his thumb in high praise. "Junhuai is truly a lucky star! He always manages to bring unexpected surprises!"

Liu Junhuai asked, "Has this Sect Leader Jin confessed any important clues?"

Guan Chaoyong replied, "We haven't interrogated her in depth yet. The Crimson Rain Sect's leader wasn't very cooperative at first, causing quite a commotion throughout the sect that made it difficult to use harsher methods. It was only after those close to Jin Yuling began confessing that the sect leader's attitude changed! Quite uncoincidentally, the Crimson Rain Sect's leader happened to be visiting Jin Yuling's residence during the raid and was caught red-handed. Fortunately, she was brought back safely."

Fang Yexu interjected, "Once we get to the interrogation room, we'll apply pressure to Jin Yuling first. Since she and the Blood-Slaying Alliance's female leader are both women, we should be able to get some answers out of her. We cannot stay long on Longwhale Island either; the Blood-Slaying Alliance will surely find out about this. Since they've already sent one batch of assassins, there will undoubtedly be a second and a third. Returning to the Myriad Manifestations Sect posthaste is the wisest course of action!"

As the three men conversed, they unconsciously arrived back at Che Shangguan's manor.

After assigning the interrogation tasks, Liu Junhuai and the others seated themselves once again before the jar of mulberry wine.

According to Fang Yexu's account, the two assassins were members of the Dark Night King assassin organization, which was secretly backed by the Blood-Slaying Alliance's headquarters. They were senior martial brother and junior martial sister, hailing from a minor sect in the Central Region.

The senior brother was named Jiao Yuncan, and the junior sister was named Ye Mei. Both were at the late Golden Core stage—an accomplishment considered lower-middle tier within the Dark Night King organization, primarily responsible for the Western Region, an area less developed in terms of cultivation.

They operated under the direct leadership of the local Blood-Slaying Alliance leader. Their mission this time was to assassinate Che Shangguan, the vice island master of Longwhale Island, and Liu Junhuai, the leader of the Myriad Manifestations Sect.

Ordinarily, the two rarely met with the female leader. Even when summoned, a veil separated them, and the meeting locations were never repeated; their last encounter had taken place at a tavern in Azure Moon City in the Southern Region.

They had also participated in the operation at the Shangyu Chamber of Commerce in的出云谷 ( 出云谷 -> Auspicious Cloud Valley ), led by a middle-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from the Dark Night King whom others referred to as Senior Brother Moshun.

This man had white hair and a white beard, looked to be nearly sixty years old, and was skilled in wielding a heavenly-grade top-tier seven-foot-long sword. Legend had it that he possessed a sun-and-moon wheel dharma treasure, which was where his moniker of Moshun—the Demonic Wheel—originated.

Three other Nascent Soul cultivators had participated in that operation as well. Following identification, Zisang Yanqi and Taishu Yong had already been captured. The remaining individual was a middle-aged early Nascent Soul cultivator who used no apparent weapon; his distinguishing feature was that the knuckles of both hands were severely deformed, likely the result of practicing the Iron Sand Palm or the Seven Poisons Palm.

The two prisoners knew little about the deployment of the Dark Night King in the Western Region. Aside from the middle-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, they were aware of a dozen or so cultivators in the mid-to-late Golden Core stage, though their residences were unknown.

The assassins of the Dark Night King possessed no distinguishing physical traits; their only marker of identity was a black profound-iron identity token.

Fang Yexu produced two such tokens and handed them to Liu Junhuai and Guan Chaoyong for inspection.

Hearing this, Liu Junhuai remarked, "It seems the leader of the Blood-Slaying Alliance is indeed exceedingly mysterious! Which is to be expected, so we cannot afford to be impatient. However, the emergence of the Dark Night King makes things quite a headache. Upon learning of the failure to assassinate Che Shangguan, the Blood-Slaying Alliance will surely find out soon, and even if they discover our residence here, they will only find an empty house. Still, that early Nascent Soul middle-aged man with the severely deformed knuckles should be relatively easy to track down. We can only pin our hopes on him! As for Liangqiu Tuochu at the Regional Prefecture, I don't hold out much hope unless we can extract the Central Harm Divine Gu worm from his body; only then might there be some room for maneuver."

Naturally, Fang Yexu was well aware of the crucial pivot points in the situation. "The current state of affairs is still vastly superior to when you and the Sect Alliance were groping in the dark, crossing the river by feeling for stones. At present, we already have a multitude of clues; through so many threads, we are bound to completely crack the situation open through someone. The anxious party right now should be the Blood-Slaying Alliance. We might as well remain patient and slowly play cat-and-mouse with them. Once the Regional Prefecture breaks open the stalemate, that will be the day we drive the Blood-Slaying Alliance out of the Western Region."

"My view is precisely the opposite of yours," Guan Chaoyong countered. "It is true that we cannot afford to be impatient right now, but we must even more firmly bite onto these exposed clues without letting go, pressing the Blood-Slaying Alliance step by step. As for their reaction—whether a cornered dog leaps over the wall or they make a desperate last stand—as long as they take action, they will reveal flaws. We might suffer some losses along the way, but if you can thoroughly drag that female leader out into the light, any price is worth paying!" Guan Chaoyong had clearly pondered this many times; his thoughts were simple and direct, but far more effective.

"I agree with Hall Master Guan's suggestion. There is also the matter of troop morale involved here. Drums beat loud at the first roll, flag a little at the second, and die at the third! Prompt follow-up after a victory is often the primary means of maintaining the fruits of success. We must press the Blood-Slaying Alliance so they have no time to catch their breath. Their forces in the other regions are quite formidable; if their reinforcements arrive, we will instead find ourselves on the defensive." Liu Junhuai deeply understood the principle that attacking the enemy's strategy is paramount, and they could not afford to give the Blood-Slaying Alliance sufficient time to plan.

None of their opinions were wrong; one advocated a delaying strategy, while the other favored forceful advancement. When dealing with enemies hidden in the dark, there was rarely a clearly defined path to follow.

Fang Yexu pondered for a long time. Just as he was about to express his stance, Gong Hamao hurried in to report that Fang Haiquan, head of the Fang family in Eastcorner City, had already entered the gates of Longwhale Island.

The three men temporarily suspended their discussion. Guan Chaoyong went to supervise the interrogations, while Liu Junhuai and Fang Yexu prepared for the arrest.

Before long, a Longwhale Island disciple entered to report that Fang Haiquan had arrived, and Gong Hamao, who had been waiting at the entrance, ushered him into the main hall.

Naturally, the arrest of Fang Haiquan required no verbal preamble. The moment Fang Yexu released his late Integration-stage aura, it sealed Fang Haiquan's fate.

Liu Junhuai stepped forward and struck several pressure points with his finger, subduing Fang Haiquan—who was already suppressed by the overwhelming aura—while he was practically in a daze.

His several retainers were already so terrified that they sat paralyzed to the side. Sect Alliance disciples immediately stepped forward to drag them off to the interrogation rooms one by one.

As more and more prisoners were locked up in the interrogation rooms, the available space began to run out, forcing many Sect Alliance disciples to surrender their own living quarters for use.

Fortunately, with the forty-odd people brought by Guan Chaoyong, there were plenty of interrogators.

Seeing that there was nothing pressing for the moment, Liu Junhuai returned to his room to continue practicing the Beast Taming Arts.

Unawares, the sky outside gradually grew dark. It was not until the Second Elder of the King of Hell Hall, Guan Shaoqing, was brought to justice and Fang Yexu emerged from the interrogation rooms to announce that everyone connected to Che Shangguan's network had been apprehended that the people of Longwhale Island finally relaxed their nerves, which had been stretched taut all day.

Fang Yexu reached out and beckoned Xiao She and Gong Hamao over. "It has been verified that neither of you has ties to the Blood-Slaying Alliance, so Xiao She, you may return home tomorrow! However, you must not leak a single word of everything you have seen and heard on Longwhale Island; otherwise, the Western Regional Prefecture and the Sect Alliance will hold you accountable!" With that, ignoring Xiao She's profuse expressions of gratitude and kowtows, he waved a hand for him to leave.

Gazing at Gong Hamao, Fang Yexu fell into contemplation for a moment. "Elder Gong, it has been verified that Che Shangguan is a member of权 the Blood-Slaying Alliance ( 权 -> redundant formatting removed ). We will be removing him from Longwhale Island. I think you should temporarily take over the position of island master. Go quickly and summon all elders and above of Longwhale Island to attend a meeting; I shall announce this decision on behalf of the Western Regional Prefecture!"

Gong Hamao wept tears of gratitude and repeatedly pledged his loyalty before being waved away by Fang Yexu.

"Junhuai, our trip to Longwhale Island has yielded tremendous rewards, and this is entirely thanks to the accurate clues provided by you and the Sect Alliance. I won't bother with further pleasantries. Once we've cleaned up the mess here on Longwhale Island, we should rush back overnight! The Sect Alliance interrogators are also exhausted and need some rest."

Liu Junhuai naturally had no objections. After inquiring about the interrogations, he learned that Jin Yuling, the vice leader of the Crimson Rain Sect, had indeed held several private meetings with the female leader of the Blood-Slaying Alliance.

She only knew that this leader's surname was Chu, that she was a middle-aged woman at the early Transformation stage, and that she wore a veil over her face year-round. The Crimson Rain Sect members privately suspected that this female leader belonged to the Western Region's Chu family, because when she had asked Alliance Leader Chu about it, the latter had sidestepped the question and refused to give a direct response, even showing displeasure on her face.

As for why the Crimson Rain Sect had joined the Blood-Slaying Alliance, it was at the behest of another individual—and that person turned out to be Ling Jiuxiao, the steward of the Western Regional Lord's Manor. The Crimson Rain Sect leader happened to be a distant relative of his.

With Ling Jiuxiao brought to light, the dense and intricate web of the Western Region's Blood-Slaying Alliance instantly became much clearer, and the main trunk of that network was none other than the Western Region's Chu family.

Liu Junhuai wore a grave expression. The Blood-Slaying Alliance, which had plagued him for over a year, was finally emerging from the shadows, but this also filled him with deep anxiety for the future of the Western Region.

Setting the Chu family aside, Jing Mowei of the Sea God Palace was already at the late Nascent Soul stage. According to intelligence, the Sea God Palace was one of the largest sects in the Western Region to date, with Jing Mowei commanding five or six Nascent Soul cultivators under him and dozens of mid-to-late Golden Core disciples. If Jing Mowei led the Sea God Palace in a collective rebellion, it would undoubtedly be a brutal battle—and that was assuming the Blood-Slaying Alliance's reinforcements had yet to arrive.

Looking further at the Blood-Slaying Alliance's deployment in the Western Region—an area they supposedly valued least—they possessed Liangqiu Tuochu at the late Mahayana stage, his steward Ling Jiuxiao at the mid Integration stage, the Western Region's Blood-Slaying Alliance leader at the early Transformation stage, and more than a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators. It went without saying just how formidable the entire Blood-Slaying Alliance's strength truly was.

Fortunately, Mu Fanghe had already established communication with the regional prefectures of various realms, and the Starry Firmament Council should have received the news as well. He could only hope that fewer of these lofty, top-tier powers had been subverted by the Blood-Slaying Alliance.