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Chapter 103 Plotting Against a Vengeful Ghost (3rd Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Three days later, in the council hall of the Eagle Wolf Guard's thousand-household office.

As Xia Dong followed Gu Yue Zhenren and his disciples across the high threshold once more, he felt a sense of disorientation, as if he had stepped into another world.

It's the same hall, and we're here for the same meeting.

But compared to the tense and deadly situation three days ago, today's situation is completely different, so safe that it warms one's heart.

The hall was already filled with officers of all ranks from the Eagle Wolf Guard, who were ready to participate in the bandit suppression operation.

Standing in the crowd, Zhao Ting immediately spotted Xia Dong, who was standing beside Master Gu Yue. His eyes lit up, and he subtly gave Xia Dong a thumbs-up.

Zhao Ting knew perfectly well that going to the Crimson Fire Mine to wipe out the Wusheng Cult was a job where he was risking his life.

But "Dongzi" is awesome. With the fearsome Gu Yue Zhenren protecting him, this operation can be said to be extremely safe.

Zhao Ting secretly made up his mind that once he entered the Crimson Fire Mine, even if he had to be tied up with ropes, he would stick to Xia Dong's side no matter what.

A moment later, the commander and two deputy commanders came out to greet him with beaming smiles.

After exchanging greetings, Master Guyue was invited into a small hall inside the main hall to discuss important matters, leaving only the younger generation, such as Xia Dong and Pei Hongling, to wait in the outer hall.

Pei Hongling was still wearing that magnificent inner sect Taoist robe, standing alone to the side.

Her face was like ice, and she exuded a cold aura that kept strangers at bay, like a block of ice that would never melt.

Looking at her haughty and unapproachable demeanor, Xia Dong's eyes remained indifferent. It was truly difficult for him to connect her with the beautiful female cultivator who had taken the initiative to undress and offer herself to him in the guest room that night.

Just as Xia Dong was feeling sentimental, Zhao Ting approached him and quietly pulled him to a secluded corner of the hall.

"Xueyi." Zhao Ting's lips moved slightly, and an extremely subtle whisper entered Xia Dong's ear, "That bald monk Cixiang is dead."

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"what?"

Xia Dong showed a perfectly timed look of surprise, but the turmoil in her heart subsided instantly. She felt both surprised and that it made perfect sense.

The words of Master Guyue, "A benevolent appearance is nothing to worry about," flashed through his mind in an instant.

So that's what they were waiting for!

This ingenious method of killing without leaving a trace deepened Xia Dong's awe of the great cultivator.

Of course, he wouldn't utter a single word of this, but following Zhao Ting's words, he used telepathy to ask in surprise:

T

How did he die?

Zhao Ting glanced around and continued telepathically, "I just got this information from one of Deputy Commander Wang's men. Yesterday, a group of scantily clad young women stumbled into our command post to report a crime. We found out they were the 'flesh lotuses' that Ci Xiang kept in the underground palace outside the city."

Zhao Ting paused, his tone laced with mockery: "Those women are all the private property of the Red Lotus Temple, and most of them are bound by restrictions or indentures. They know that even if they escape, once caught by the government or the Red Lotus Temple's executioners, their fate will be worse than death, so they simply came to the Eagle Wolf Guard to seek a way to survive." Upon hearing this, Deputy Commander Wang's face turned green, and he immediately sent men to investigate that underground palace and interrogate those flesh-lotus girls.

"And the result?" Xia Dong asked.

"The scene was horrific." Zhao Ting sneered. "Based on the traces at the scene and the women's testimonies, it was unanimously determined that Ci Xiang, while healing, was consumed by lust and went into a qi deviation. His blood and qi exploded, his meridians were severed, and he was utterly dead."

Summer and winter were silent.

In fact, in the eyes of the Eagle Wolf Guard, the extreme technique of "planting lotus in fire" at the Red Lotus Temple was like walking on the edge of a cliff.

Death due to qi deviation is a common occurrence recorded in the Honglian Temple.

Ci Xiang died from a loss of control of his qi and blood, and his meridians were severed. No matter how aggrieved Honglian Temple felt, they could not pin the blame on Gu Yue Zhenren, who was far away in the prefectural city.

This is because it is a typical death symptom of the backlash from their own cultivation technique.

As for what the higher-ups at Honglian Temple thought after receiving the news, that was Honglian Temple's business. At least on the surface, no one could find fault with it.

"What does our Thousand Household Office say about this?" Xia Dong asked.

Zhao Ting sighed, his brows furrowing slightly. "The tricky part now is dealing with the aftermath. In the underground palace where Ci Xiang passed away, due to the overwhelming resentment and desires, coupled with his profound cultivation in life, a Foundation Establishment level vengeful ghost actually sprang to life on the spot after his death!"

"A Foundation Establishment stage vengeful ghost?" Xia Dong's heart skipped a beat, yet he also felt a surge of excitement. The Yin Spirit Pill refined from this would definitely be more effective than one made from a Ghost-Faced Spider.

"Yes," Zhao Ting said, pursing his lips. "Right now, all the elites in our Thousand Households are busy with the task of eradicating the Wusheng Sect at the Crimson Fire Mine. Where would we find a Foundation Establishment stage expert to go to the desolate mountains outside the city to catch ghosts? Lord Xiang has already given the order to seal off that underground palace and write an official document to report it to his superiors, so they can send someone to handle it. We shouldn't worry about that."

"Hmm." Xia Dong nodded slightly, her expression remaining unchanged.

Seeing his indifferent reaction, Zhao Ting assumed that he didn't want to continue talking about such unpleasant things, so he wisely stopped the conversation and went to chat with other familiar officers.

Xia Dong stood alone in the shadows at the edge of the crowd, her eyes lowered, but a very bold plan had already formed in her mind.

If the operation to clear out the Crimson Fire Mine can be successfully concluded with the help of Master Lonely Moon, he must find an excuse to escape and make a proper plan to deal with that vengeful ghost.

The ancient bronze bell in his mind had an extremely domineering and unreasonable restraint on ghosts and evil spirits.

Whether it was the ghostly figure encountered in the dry well at the beginning, or the ghostly spider suppressed in the deep mountains of Tiger Hill later, it was all the same.

However, this vengeful ghost, born from Ci Xiang's demonic possession, still possessed a formidable foundation at the Foundation Establishment level.

Xia Dong was unsure whether he could reliably devour such a ferocious creature by forcibly controlling the ancient bell with his current cultivation level.

But as he repeatedly calculated and deduced in his mind, relying on the absolute suppressive power that the ancient bell had displayed before, he felt that the possibility of success was extremely high.

Cultivation is essentially a struggle against fate.

If the suppression is successful, it will be a "Yin Spirit Pill" refined from a Foundation Establishment level vengeful ghost!

Once this high-grade soul-refining medicine is ingested and absorbed, it will exert an extremely terrifying driving force on his cultivation of the "Mysterious Yin Refining God Technique," and may even allow his divine sense to transcend the shackles of the Qi Refining stage.

Given such enormous potential profits, taking a little risk is absolutely worthwhile.

Moreover, Ci Xiang must have hated him to the core because he suffered such a great humiliation in the council hall before his death.

The vengeful ghost that this old bald monk has conjured may still harbor the resentment and malice of his past life, secretly watching him intently.

Allowing such a terrifying creature to linger near Lin Yuan Prefecture is tantamount to planting a time bomb that could explode at any moment.

Rather than passively guarding against it in the future, it's better to take the initiative and eliminate it completely while the Eagle Wolf Guards are preoccupied with the underground palace.

It can both harvest the divine soul medicine and eliminate potential dangers in advance.

Of course, the most important thing right now is to get through the Redfire Mine hurdle unscathed.

Small matters are addressed in large meetings, while important matters are addressed in small meetings.

Inside the small council hall, only Master Guyue and a few others, including Commander Xiang, were present; the atmosphere was heavy and subtle.

Master Guyue sat upright in the guest seat, but his powerful aura, as cold as frost, effortlessly overwhelmed Commander Xiang in the main seat.

When she went down the mountain to clear out the Crimson Fire Mine, besides her disciple Pei Hongling, she only brought Xia Dong, an outsider, with her.

Once she reaches the pinnacle of Foundation Establishment, she alone is worth a thousand troops.

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With its domineering and unparalleled Taiyin Divine Light, it would be more than enough to wipe out the group of shady Wusheng Sect demons at the Crimson Fire Mine.

Master Guyue had a clear plan in mind. Her only concern was that the fanatical demons of the Wusheng Sect always acted in extreme ways. If they were driven to the brink, they might destroy the soon-to-mature "Sacred Heart Lotus Seed" or perish together with it.

Therefore, she needs the Eagle Wolf Guards to assist her.

At the head of the table, Commander Xiang held a cup of hot tea, his smile amiable, yet a shrewd glint remained hidden in his eyes. He was equally determined to obtain the soon-to-be-born Sacred Heart Lotus Seed.

Xiang Qianhu understood that such a rare treasure of heaven and earth, which could increase the chances of forming a core out of thin air and deepen one's understanding of the profound mysteries of the Great Dao, would be an excellent bargaining chip for his promotion if placed in the circle of powerful and influential people in the capital!

If he could obtain even one Sacred Lotus Seed and present it as a stepping stone to his superior or a prince in the capital, his path to advancement would be completely paved.

Once he rises to a higher position and holds power, what rare treasures for prolonging life or riches and honors can't he obtain?

In this small hall, which was less than ten steps long, although everyone had their own thoughts, they reached a remarkable consensus on ensuring the safety of the Sacred Lotus Seeds.

The plan was quickly finalized after a few bland exchanges.

The Eagle Wolf Guard mobilized all the elite troops of the prefecture, with Lord Qian and Deputy Commander Wang leading their respective teams, one on the left and one on the right, sealing off the outer perimeter of the Crimson Fire Mine like an iron barrel.

Remove all hidden stakes from the perimeter at any cost, not even allowing a single fly to escape.

The Eagle Wolf Guard's massive offensive will inevitably attract and restrain the vast majority of the Wusheng Sect's followers and protectors.

As for Master Guyue, he acted as the sharpest dagger piercing the heart. Taking advantage of the chaos on the outside, he concealed his presence and sneaked into the deepest part of the mine, striking at the heart of the matter. He used thunderous methods to kill the leader of the Wusheng Sect and seize the Sacred Heart Lotus Seed.

Commander Xiang personally oversaw the central command, taking command of the overall situation and responding to any changes.

Half an hour later, the meeting concluded.

The heavy wooden door to the small hall was pushed open with a bang by two strongmen.

Xiang Qianhu strode back to the outer hall, his previously amiable face instantly turning cold and stern. One by one, iron tokens symbolizing military orders were distributed to the centurions and squad leaders of various ranks, accompanied by his authoritative voice.

The entire Eagle Wolf Guard Thousand-Household Garrison was like a war behemoth that had been fully awakened, instantly becoming highly efficient.

A large number of imperial guards clad in heavy black armor quickly assembled on the training ground, the clanging of armor and the neighing of warhorses echoing endlessly.

Xia Dong stood quietly a few steps behind Pei Hongling, watching the massive, violent machine start up.

The imperial court is indeed the imperial court; with just a little effort, it can unleash power that is unimaginable to low-level cultivators.

Zhao Ting silently followed Xia Dong.

"Set off!"

With a command from Commander Xiang, the Eagle Wolf Guard's elite cavalry began their operation.

Instead of flying, Master Guyue rode with Pei Hongling in a large, unassuming spirit wood carriage. Xia Dong and Zhao Ting rode armored black dragon horses, closely guarding the carriage on both sides.

They weren't worried about the Wusheng Sect getting wind of their actions and fleeing, because the Sacred Heart Lotus Seed was not yet mature. The key to the Sacred Heart Lotus Seed's maturity lay in a strange fire within the Crimson Fire Mine.

Different flames possess their own spirit and are extremely powerful and domineering, making them very difficult to subdue.

Once alerted, they will vanish without a trace, rendering the Wusheng Sect's years of planning futile.

If the Sacred Heart Lotus Seeds can mature successfully and be taken away by them, it will be of great significance to the Wusheng Sect.

However, this was merely a scheme by the Wusheng Sect in Linyuan Prefecture. Even if it failed, it wouldn't severely damage the Wusheng Sect's strength.

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"The Lonely Moon has finally arrived." A chilling voice echoed from deep within the underground mine of the Crimson Fire Mine.

A silent hunt is quietly unfolding.