My Demonic Cult's Holy Maiden

"You can go now! I'll have someone handle the valley to the south!" Li Ming waved his hand and said.

After the soldiers left, Li Ming looked around and then said, "Ancestor Xuan, I need your help!"

"What's the matter?"

An old, hunched figure appeared in the tent. In the firelight, the old man's skin was somewhat sallow and even had faint spots.

This man was none other than Li Zhen, the patriarch of the Li family, who was already 113 years old.

He was the Li family's last deterrent against the aristocratic families, and also a deterrent against the surrounding countries.

Li Ming hurriedly bowed and said, "Ancestor, the powerful clans in the southern valley are launching a fierce attack. I hope you can intervene and resolve this!"

"it is good!"

Li Zhen spoke succinctly, and his figure had already disappeared into the tent.

With a grandmaster involved, the south should be able to stabilize!

After nightfall, the aristocratic faction sent assassins to continue their attempts to assassinate the emperor and him, but they failed.

After their defeat, the aristocratic faction began attacking Tiannan Mountain from four directions.

Li Ming has limited manpower and can only barely manage to defend and wait for the moment to counterattack.

……

On the other side, the heads of the seven major aristocratic families of the aristocratic faction gathered in a tent, looking at a sand table.

Chang Wei, the head of the Chang family, said with a solemn expression, "News has just come from the capital that Chang Lian has taken control of the capital, and the wife and daughters of Marquis Guanyong have been detained."

"Now the only problem left is Li Ming!"

Looking at the sand table, Mo Yutian, the head of the Mo family, said in a deep voice, "But Li Ming is not easy to deal with either! The weapons in the hands of those soldiers are too effective against martial artists below the fifth rank."

"It's alright, we can gather our high-level martial artists and break through Li Ming's defenses from the south." Chang Wei paused, his eyes deep. "The key now is Li Zhen!"

“Master Chang, there’s no need to worry. We are prepared. If Li Zhen really dares to come, we will make sure he doesn’t leave alive,” said Zhou Yibai, the head of the Zhou family.

"Can your 'Bewildering Fruit' really kill a Grandmaster?" Chang Wei frowned.

Zhou Yibai laughed and said, "Don't worry, Master Chang. Haven't you witnessed its power? Fifty-four 'Confused Fruits' couldn't kill a Grandmaster, could they?"

Just as everyone was discussing this, a guard dressed in a black robe walked in and said, "Reporting to the patriarch, Li Zhen, the grandmaster of the Li family, has appeared and is frantically attacking our people!"

Chang Wei raised an eyebrow, then looked around and said, "Proceed according to plan, lure Li Zhen into the valley!"

The guard obeyed and left. Chang Wei looked at Zhou Yibo and asked, "Did you come up with this plan?"

He didn't believe Zhou Yibo had the guts to kill a grandmaster, let alone have such a high success rate.

Zhou Yibai, having experienced the ups and downs of court politics, was not easily tricked into revealing information by Chang Wei. He nodded and said, "It was the idea of ​​one of my guest advisors, and he also gave me the 'Mute Fruit'!"

Chang Wei didn't say anything more, just nodded, but his eyes flickered.

This is a massacre of a grandmaster!

A Grandmaster can support a country and a powerful force. These second- or third-rank family heads are nothing but ants in front of a Grandmaster.

But today, this bunch of ants is going to kill a grandmaster. While they are afraid, they are also a little excited!

With Li Zhen dead, the Li family will lose its last protector, and that will be a victory for their aristocratic faction.

Once his uncle Chang Xuanqing breaks through to the Grandmaster level, he will be able to completely replace the Li family and take control of the Great Yun Dynasty.

……

Li Zhencang's aged figure moved stealthily in the darkness, surrounded by dense forests.

In his perception, everyone around him was a martial artist, and several of them were at the second rank.

However, instead of launching an attack, they chose to flee.

Although Li Zhen was puzzled, he still chased after them.

By killing these second and third-rank officials, he should have fulfilled Li Ming's request.

Li Zhen's figure flickered in the woods as if he were teleporting. With each step he took, he would move forward at least twenty meters, which was very strange.

As autumn arrived, the mountains and forests were filled with leaves. Li Zhen stepped on the leaves, lifted them up, and then let them fall again, looking around in surprise.

This is a small valley, not very big, only about five acres in size, surrounded by steep, towering peaks, and the valley has only one exit.

The exit was right in front of us, only wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side.

Even a ghost would know something's wrong; there's definitely a trap inside.

If a normal person knows it's a trap, they will definitely turn around and leave.

However, Li Zhen is no ordinary person; he is a grandmaster.

He felt as if his dignity had been challenged when someone dared to set a trap for him.

If he turns around and leaves now without even checking what kind of trap it is, he will definitely be seen as scared, and people will laugh at him if word gets out!

The dignity of a grandmaster must not be dishonored!

If he retires, even if he dies, he will certainly be regarded as a disgrace by other masters.

He will become the first grandmaster to be frightened away by martial artists!

Li Zhen straightened his hunched back slightly and then stepped inside.

Upon entering the valley, one is surrounded by three streams of true energy, all of which are of the second rank.

"Come on, let me see what tricks you have up your sleeve!" Li Zhen glanced around, put his hands behind his back, and said indifferently.

Three martial artists, all of the second rank, emerged from the woods.

Their faces showed a hint of struggle and resentment, because they were about to die.

The three of them are bait; their lives are to be exchanged for the life of Li Zhen, a grandmaster!

Li Zhen sensed that something was off about the three men. He frowned and was about to say something when a group of people entered his perception range, each of them holding a torch.

"Let's do it!"

With a loud shout, the torches were thrown into the valley, and the entire valley instantly turned into a sea of ​​fire.

Boom boom boom...

A series of rumbling sounds, like muffled thunder, echoed throughout the heavens and earth, and then a small valley... collapsed!

------------

Chapter 105 Backstab

The battle at Tiannan Mountain lasted all night. Li Ming successfully held the position, but the casualties were exceptionally high.

At daybreak, a letter was delivered to Li Ming's tent.

This letter comes from Mo Yutian, the head of the Mo family!

After reading it, Li Ming raised an eyebrow and then hurriedly ordered his soldiers to launch a proactive attack to the south.

Within the aristocratic faction, some subtle changes are also taking place.

Apart from the guest retainers of the Chang family, all the members of other aristocratic families wore a set of white belts.

A martial artist from the Chang family was fighting fiercely with a soldier from the Imperial Guard when a guest of the Mo family flew over from a distance.

The Chang family's retainer was overjoyed and attacked even more forcefully, while the Imperial Guard soldiers showed expressions of despair.

Two against one is absolutely no match!

Escape is out of the question; if he turns his head now, the person in front of him will end his life with a single blow.

The Mo family's retainer drew his longsword, its blade wreathed in true energy, and charged forward.

As the Chang family's retainer attacked, he laughed wildly, his gaze towards the Imperial Guards filled with murderous intent and mockery.

The Imperial Guard soldiers thought they were doomed and were about to take someone down with them when a flash of sword light appeared. The Chang family retainer, who was laughing wildly, was already on the ground when they engaged him in battle.

A head flew high into the air, the maniacal laughter on its face still unabated.

The Mo family's retainer stood beside the corpse, took out a handkerchief, wiped the blood off the sword, and then looked at the Imperial Guard soldiers.

"Don't be nervous, our Mo family has already pledged allegiance to His Highness the Crown Prince!" said the guest elder of the Mo family with a smile.

The Imperial Guard soldiers looked bewildered, then blinked as they stared at the lifeless corpse of the Chang family's guest.

How is this going?

Meanwhile, in many places around Tiannan Mountain, the same scene unfolded.

The retainers of the Mo and Zhou families took action, stabbing the Chang family's retainers in the back.

The guest retainer of the Chang family never expected that his comrade-in-arms, who had fought a bloody battle all night, would suddenly attack him, and he was caught off guard.

Then, naturally, they all died, their heads cut off.

On this morning, almost all of the Chang family members died; very few remained.

At noon, the battle finally ended, and Li Ming, dressed in a bright silver armor, appeared outside the temporary 'command center' of the aristocratic families.

Outside the tent, a group of people were already kneeling; these were the heads of various powerful families.

Chang Wei, the head of the Chang family, was bound hand and foot, covered in wounds, and his tendons in his hands and feet had been severed. He was pinned to the ground by Mo Yutian, the head of the Mo family.

"This guilty subject respectfully welcomes Your Highness the Crown Prince! We beg Your Highness to punish us!" Mo Yutian and the other family heads had clearly prepared their speeches beforehand and began to speak.

"Your Highness, please punish him!"

The retainers from other prominent families who were carrying the heads of the Chang family's retainers and clansmen also knelt down.

Li Ming narrowed his eyes slightly. Qi Yu's plan had succeeded!

Moreover, these family heads were cunning and shrewd, and they only surrendered after exhausting so many of their troops.

The purpose was to make myself hesitant to act rashly!

If I blame them now, the martial artists around me will rise up and kill.

Although the aristocratic faction is much weaker without the Chang family's strength, he has also suffered considerable losses. In a real fight, it would be a 50/50 situation.

These old foxes are no pushovers!

Although I want to kill them immediately and take back power, we have to take it one step at a time. It's not the right time yet, as they still have power.