Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

He was well aware of how ruthless Prince Seven's methods were in propping him up.

"So, Yi Chengzi has given you an ultimatum?"

"I indeed underestimated him. With such tactics, he truly has the power to turn the tide and use one's own strength against them."

"Your Highness thinks so highly of this man? He is quite greedy, which may be used to our advantage," Family Head Huang said hesitantly.

"What do you think? He entered the city for merely half a day and first intimidated the people of the Peace Preservation Department, binding them to his chariot, and the money spent was even from your pockets. Do you now realize how formidable he is?"

"If he can truly work for me, I am willing to let him use the financial resources at will. I'm just afraid that he is insatiable."

"Even his greed may just be a smokescreen he has released."

"Then Your Highness, should I agree or not?" Family Head Huang asked quietly.

"Circumstances force our hand, follow his instructions. For the time being, cease all dirty work and deal with what needs to be dealt with," Prince Seven said with a headache while rubbing his temples.

With a creak, Family Head Huang took his leave, and the door closed.

The brightness in the hall dimmed immediately.

Only the lanterns on both sides clearly illuminated the face of the man at the desk, his face filled with cold frost and utterly grim, as Prince Seven suddenly hurled the glass wine cup on the table to the ground, shattering it.

"Damn it! This Yi Chengzi dares to deceive me so; I must kill him!" Prince Seven exclaimed fiercely.

At that moment, the door creaked open once more, and a black-robed elder walked in from outside.

It was the black-robed elder who had attempted to assassinate Yi Chen the day before.

"Ghost Elder, your return is timely. You clashed with Yi Chengzi yesterday, what is the extent of his cultivation?"

The black-robed elder was well aware of how cold and heartless the prince before him could be beneath his seemingly generous facade.

Especially as his cultivation of the sinister arts grew deeper, he became even more unpredictable in his moods and utterly inscrutable.

After a moment of silence, he still dare not tell Prince Seven that his own Soul Banner was destroyed in a self-explosion to make an escape.

Fearing the knowledge that his powers had greatly diminished, he worried that Prince Seven might have other sinister thoughts.

"Yi Chengzi is formidable," the black-robed elder said, steeling himself.

"How formidable? Where is your Soul Banner? Where are your Thousand Infant Ghost Spirits? Bring them out for me to see," Prince Seven said with a cold laugh.

Somehow, Prince Seven had already come to know the truth.

The black-robed elder's expression changed drastically upon hearing this: "Your Highness, I didn't…"

"Trash! A reject of the Yin Illusion Demon Sect, had it not been for my shelter and help to cover your tracks and reconcile your collected souls, would you be where you are today?"

"I've spent so much in resources to cultivate you, and this is how you repay me? Trash will always be trash!" Prince Seven laughed in his fury, forming a hand seal, and suddenly, a network of black veins appeared over the black-robed elder's entire body.

For a time, the black-robed elder was in so much pain that he rolled on the ground, screaming miserably, as if he were being sliced by a thousand knives.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Prince Seven finally stopped, saying coldly:

"Considering past merits, I will spare you this time."

"Since you failed to kill Yi Chengzi this time, let the matter rest for now. Activate the backup plan. It would be best if you could provoke a war between the Peace Preservation Department and the Yin Illusion Demon Sect."

"My grand plan is about to reach completion soon. It must not be exposed at this time, drawing attention to me."

The black-robed elder, now looking as if he had been fished out of water, dripping with sweat, was immensely relieved at the reprieve and kowtowed vigorously: "Your Highness, rest assured, I will arrange everything properly, or I will come to you head in hand!"

"Then why aren't you gone yet?" Prince Seven burst out in anger, striking the black-robed elder with a jet-black surge of mana shaped like an inky python, sending him flying out of the hall,

With a sweep of his sleeve, the vermilion door closed instantly, and the room fell into darkness again.

Letting out a long sigh, Prince Seven walked out from the side door of the great hall, crossed a long corridor, and threw out a black token.

Space rippled, and the ground split open to reveal a portal, a dark stairway suddenly taking shape.

Prince Seven walked down the dark stairway step by step.

He arrived in a deep underground location.

At the end of the path, a bronze gate emerged, and two characters were inscribed on it in a calligraphy that soared and dived.

Demon Seal!

The ancient seal script emitted a faint glimmer, mysterious and peculiar.

Pushing open the gate, the world spun, and he entered a wholly different realm.

A small town appeared.

Like stacked blocks, wooden cells rose from the ground.

Inside were numerous women and children, like pigs and dogs, with numb expressions. Robust overseers patrolled back and forth, and there were incessant sounds of amusement, a scene of a living hell.

"Soon, very soon, my Demon Heaven transformation will be complete, hahaha!"

Suddenly, terrifying demonic patterns appeared on the face of the seventh prince, who burst into mad laughter.

His voice was wild, venomous, and fierce!

At this moment, the seventh prince's momentum was climbing by the second, and in an instant, it soared to the eighth level of the True Person Realm.

His body turned into a black rainbow light, and amidst the kneeling crowd, he shot towards the black hall at the end of the wooden prison.

As he approached, the black doors suddenly swung open and then slammed shut with a bang!

Bang!

…

…

Nighttime.

After a flurry of activity, Yi Chen pushed open the gates of Xu Xiaoxun's mansion.

He hoped to find some possible clues.

Ever since the incident, Xu Xiaoxun's mansion had been watched over by the security office, with no outsiders allowed in.

Yi Chen frowned as he looked around the empty house that was practically devoid of furniture, and he was momentarily speechless.

"Master Li, what's going on here? Has Xu Xiaoxun's residence been robbed?"

Master Li replied carefully, his words filled with respect for Xu Xiaoxun: "My lord, Xu Xiaoxun lived a frugal life, attended only by an old servant and a maid. He and Lady Shuang were both kind-hearted and benevolent people."

"If it weren't for the security office assigning this mansion to Master Xu, he probably wouldn't have lived in such a place."

"Apart from security office staff maintaining the magical array occasionally, no outsiders have entered."

"Whenever Master Xu and Lady Shuang had extra money, they would distribute porridge and medicine to the needy."

…

As Master Li narrated, Yi Chen gradually understood Xu Xiaoxun's situation in Tianfeng Prefecture: he was a stickler for principles, a good person.

Stubbornly principled.

Such people usually isolated themselves from their peers.

"Master Yi, this is the room where Master Xu died, kept as it was. I should not enter, so please, go ahead." Master Li was very measured in his speech and actions.

Yi Chen stepped into the room. By this time, Xu Xiaoxun's body had naturally been collected and laid to rest.

There were drops of blood scattered like plum blossoms across the long table and the floor.

Having oxidized for a long time, they had turned a deep black color.

A white paper lay beneath a weight on the desk, with ten large characters written on it!
Stay connected with empire

"A sad song brings a smile, strong wine surpasses a thousand patrols!"

The handwriting was sharp as iron hooks and silver strokes, angular throughout.

To see his handwriting was to see the man himself, revealing Xu Xiaoxun's true nature.

On the ground lay a toppled bronze wine cup!

"What a man, this Xu Xiaoxun!"

It took Yi Chen a while to speak.

Several speculations suddenly surfaced in his mind.

After standing quietly for a moment, Yi Chen finally left the room.

Rigidly upright, incorruptibly honest, he detested evil as if it were his foe.

The impression of Xu Xiaoxun gathered from reports was ultimately less shocking than seeing the reality firsthand.

"Master Li, let's go,"

"I shall naturally seek justice for Master Xu!"

Under the moonlight, Yi Chen's voice was resolute and firm.

He put away any playful thoughts, and a flame ignited in his chest.

A good person should not meet such an end.