Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

In the following period, the situation around Pingyang County became increasingly delicate.

Under Xia Jin and Shen Jinghan's constant meddling, the three secret strongholds of the Wrathful Soul Hall located on the outskirts of Pingyang County were uprooted overnight.

The Hall of Wrathful Souls was furious and dispatched an elite squad to investigate. However, the squad was ambushed as soon as they left Pingyang County.

The entire squad was wiped out, with no survivors. Of course, under Xia Jin and her companion's deliberate tactic, the blame was once again placed on the Thirteen Bandits.

This is just the appetizer.

What truly gave the Hall of Wrathful Souls a headache was that the Thirteen Bandits had actually made their move.

Over the years, the Hall of Wrathful Souls has always adopted a "turn a blind eye" attitude towards the Thirteen Bandits.

After all, in the eyes of a hegemonic power like the Hall of Wrathful Souls, the Thirteen Bandits were nothing more than a bunch of lowly clowns who occasionally robbed passing caravans and bullied small sects, posing no real threat whatsoever.

The Hall of Wrathful Souls was too lazy to waste its energy on them, just as a fierce tiger wouldn't care about a few ants under its feet.

But this time, those "ants" must have been incredibly bold to actually start provoking the Hall of Wrathful Souls.

First, a grain transport convoy from the Hall of Wrathful Souls was intercepted by the Thirteen Bandits.

Before the Hall of Wrathful Souls could react, the second thing happened.

Several groups of bandits from the Thirteen Outlaws joined forces to launch a surprise attack on a mine located northeast of Pingyang County belonging to the Hall of Wrathful Souls.

That mine produced top-grade spirit ore, bringing in a considerable income for the Wrathful Soul Palace every year. But overnight, the mine was completely destroyed by blasting.

But what truly humiliated the Hall of Wrathful Souls was the third incident.

An elder of the Hall of Wrathful Souls went out on business, accompanied by more than a dozen elite disciples. While passing through a canyon, they were ambushed by the Thirteen Bandits.

Although the elder was quite powerful, he couldn't withstand the overwhelming numbers of the enemy. In the end, the elder managed to escape, but all his disciples were captured.

Although the Hall of Wrathful Souls tried its best to conceal it, the news still managed to spread secretly.

The Hall of Wrathful Souls has utterly lost face.

Gui Shu would never have imagined that the source of all this was actually Xia Jin and her companion.

Having suffered such a great loss, the Hall of Wrathful Souls was naturally not going to let it go easily. They mobilized some of their forces, but it seemed they didn't have many options for dealing with the Thirteen Bandits.

Gradually, the Hall of Wrathful Souls finally ceased its ambitions to invade the surrounding counties. They were forced to redeploy the resources originally intended for expansion to deal with the immediate troubles.

Gui Shu's already sinister face hadn't shown a single smile in recent days.

The Hall of Wrathful Souls, main hall.

Gui Shu sat on the throne in the center of the hall, his only remaining eye fixed on the secret letter in his hand, his face as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

He was a burly man, exuding an aura of power even while seated. His long, grey hair cascaded over his shoulders, making his face appear even more menacing. He abruptly slammed the secret letter to the ground: "Hmph! The Thirteen Bandits? A bunch of rabble! Do they really think they've survived this long because of their strength? It's just that a dominant power like ours can't be bothered with them!"

The entire hall seemed to freeze the moment Gui Shu spoke.

Below the main hall, an old man listened to Gui Shu's roar, yet remained calm, standing with his hands behind his back.

Clearly, this person's relationship with Guishu is extraordinary.

"Lord, please calm down!!" After a long while, a somewhat aged voice came from beneath the black and white mask.

This is Elder Wu, the new Grand Elder of the Hall of Wrathful Souls.

Elder Wu played a crucial role in Gui Shu's rise to become the new master of the Wrathful Soul Hall in just a few months.

Throughout the entire Hall of Wrathful Souls, only he dared to maintain such a calm and composed demeanor even when Ghost Guard was in a fit of rage.

"Elder Wu," Gui Shu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, but the anger on his face still hadn't subsided, "This time, we still need you to take the lead and find out where their hideout is. Don't they like to have multiple burrows? Then this Palace Master will just destroy all their strongholds! Leave no one alive!"

Elder Wu frowned slightly, but still bowed and said, "I will give the Palace Master an answer within three days."

"Very well, then I will give you three days!"

As Gui Shu's voice faded, Elder Wu said nothing more and transformed into a thick black mist.

They surged silently toward the outside of the hall, disappearing into the darkness outside the door in the blink of an eye.

The main hall fell silent once more.

Gui Shu sat alone on the throne, his single eye fixed on the direction where Elder Wu had disappeared, remaining silent for a long time.

After a moment, he slowly stood up.

"Hmph! Thirteen bandits, let you run wild for a few more days! Cherish these last few days."

Gui Shu turned around and walked behind the throne.

His gaze involuntarily fell on the dragon carved on the back of the throne. He reached out his right hand, grasped the dragon's head, and then gently twisted it.

Click.

A faint sound rang out, and suddenly the entire wall behind the throne stirred. The thick stone wall slowly split open from the middle, revealing a passage.

A strong stench of blood wafted from the depths of the passage.

Gui Shu remained expressionless and stepped into the passage.

Inside is a huge secret chamber, several hundred feet in circumference, with a dome several tens of feet high.

But none of that matters. What matters are the twenty motionless figures standing in the center of the secret room.

The figures were of different heights, weights, and builds; some were men, some women, and some were old.

But they all have one thing in common: their skin is an abnormal grayish-white color, like a shell left after all life has been drained away.

Their eyes were closed, and they had no expression whatsoever.

They stood there quietly, motionless, like twenty lifelike wax figures.

A crimson light flashed in Gui Shu's single eye.

At that very moment, all twenty figures opened their eyes simultaneously.

Twenty pairs of eyes, without pupils, only a hollow gray-white.

But the aura emanating from them made the air in the secret room feel heavy.

They all turned around in unison, facing the ghost guard, and then knelt down on one knee in perfect unison.

Gui Shu's gaze swept over the twenty blood puppets one by one, and the gloomy look on his face finally eased a little.

His lips curled up slightly, revealing a satisfied smile.

Twenty blood puppets at the sixth level of the Immortal Ascension Realm.

This power, even if placed in the entire Pingyang Prefecture, would be enough to sweep away the vast majority of forces.

Each blood puppet is equivalent to a sixth-level Immortal Ascension Realm assassin, feeling no pain, tireless, and fearless of death. And most importantly, they cannot be easily killed.

With twenty people working together, even a powerful expert at the ninth level of the Immortal Ascension Realm would have to avoid their sharp edge.

But Gui Shu's smile only lasted a moment before it vanished again.

"Not enough," he muttered to himself, his voice tinged with a hint of madness. "It's far from enough."

Pingyang Prefecture? That's just the first step. His vision has never been limited to this small corner of the land.

His ambition was to emulate the Blood Puppet Ancestor.