525 The Angry Kun Peng Clan Leaders
“This is a conspiracy! It’s the sect master’s plot!” blurted out a visceral prefecture realm expert. “The sect master wants to eradicate us collateral kin!”
Qin Huai, in the midst of slaying the demons, was stunned when he heard this. These fellows seemed to harbor no doubts about his identity as a pure-blooded demon and a spy raised by their sect master. He didn’t even need to provide any explanation — they were already concocting an intricate conspiracy theory.
“It’s too late for realizations.” Qin Huai swept his gaze across the crowd with a nonchalant expression. “You won’t have the chance to spread the word about this so-called conspiracy… because all of you will die here.”
A fourth-level visceral prefecture realm expert laughed. “I see. I understand everything now! You were the one who killed the leaders of the central clan and the southern clan, weren’t you? Sect Master, you’re truly merciless!” His voice quivered, and his eyes seemed aflame.
“Everyone, scatter! Spread out in every direction! Find the remaining two clan leaders and inform them about the sect master’s plot!” he roared out. “This guy is a pure-blooded cultivator nurtured by the sect master. Now that his training is complete, he plans to sacrifice us to fill the gap in the blood sea!”
Qin Huai’s eyebrows shot up. The northern clan experts seemed to have inadvertently divulged some important information. The next moment, the surrounding Kun Peng demons dispersed instantly, scattering in all directions.
“Do you believe you can escape?” Qin Huai roared. Immediately after, flaming feathers filled the sky, and star-like flames materialized above many demons’ heads.
A fourth-level visceral prefecture realm expert’s pupils constricted upon seeing this. “This is the clan leader’s secret technique, fire illusion! As I suspected… You truly aim to use us as bait!” Shui Sheng gritted his teeth. Initially, he contemplated engaging Qin Huai in combat, but immediately reconsidered and decided to flee.
As a spy for the sect master, Qin Huai must possess a trump card, given his audacious unveiling. On the surface, they held a significant advantage. They could potentially defeat Qin Huai on the spot.
However, an intuition warned him that if they stayed to fight, they would surely perish. It could even result in the loss of all northern clan elites.
Shui Sheng’s clear reasoning and animosity towards the sect master instantly awakened him. As he departed, he roared, “I will certainly expose your conspiracy!”
Only when Shui Sheng, the top-notch expert, had almost moved beyond his range, did Qin Huai lower his raised finger. The incredible flames plummeted towards the ground. It was an all-encompassing firestorm.
Despite its shocking aura, many demons stood rooted to the spot when they witnessed it. However, its actual power was far less than before.
“As expected of a northern clan demon, their speed is truly impressive,” Qin Huai remarked nonchalantly, observing the fleeing demons in the distance.
The dense fire rain resulted in the tragic deaths of only a few dozen demons, proving less deadly than the imperial might Qin Huai had earlier displayed.
Bang!
Suddenly, a figure surfaced from the sea of blood. It was Wang Kun, who had separated from Qin Huai earlier.
“Brother Qin, I finally found you.” He appeared considerably worse for wear and seriously injured. Two of his wounds were bone-deep, perilously close to his organs, but were healing at a visibly rapid pace.
Qin Huai turned his gaze away from the fleeing demons and asked, “How did it go on your end?”
“Not well. Those guys are bastards. No matter how much I tried to provoke them, they wouldn’t surface. I had to take a risk, but it didn’t have much effect,” Wang Kun replied with a bitter laugh.
He observed the fleeing demons, “Seems like your situation isn’t much better, Brother Qin.” He sighed. “What should we do next? Those demons must have seen through our plan. They won’t show themselves for a while. However, there’s still some gain. Their determination to hide in the central region and not emerge, does it confirm our guess?”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Qin Huai responded.
“What’s our next move?” Wang Kun queried anxiously.
“We’ll cultivate and recover. Elder Wang, you’re gravely injured…” Qin Huai began, pacing away. He paused and turned back to observe Wang Kun’s deep wound, bone now clearly visible.
“We need to continue cultivating,” he decided.
“But time is of the essence. If we don’t devise a way out of this predicament soon, then—”
“There’s no rush. Let the arrow fly for a while longer,” Qin Huai interjected calmly.
Taking a cue from Qin Huai’s composed demeanor, Wang Kun chose to remain silent.
…
At the center of the blood sea, Shui Sheng, scarred and battered, arrived at an area densely populated with blood crystal pillars. A brawny, bald man sat cross-legged atop a massive pillar.
“Oh, isn’t this Shui Sheng? Accompanied by a companion? Why spare the time to visit me?” Jin Jianghong teased, eyeing Shui Sheng’s injuries with a smirk. “Been playing a bit too hard, have you?”
“The clan leader is dead,” Shui Sheng announced, his words wiping the smile off Jin Jianghong’s face.
“Don’t joke around. Those two incompetents, Huo Huan and Tu Fang, perished because they were careless and walked into an ambush. But you led the half-race elite to hunt down a bug!” Jin Jianghong’s eyes expressed disbelief.
He’d personally intercepted Wang Kun. Despite his formidable strength, he wasn’t at the level to kill a clan leader. That could probably only be achieved by two bugs working together.
“That young man, he’s a pureblood!”
“A pureblood?”
Shui Sheng’s revelation left Jin Jianghong stunned.
“A pure-blooded member of the Kun Peng clan.”
Even a clan leader like Jin Jianghong couldn’t help his drastic change in expression upon hearing the word ‘pureblood’.
“Tang Pi!” He spat out the name through gritted teeth. If anyone in the entire Kun Peng clan could nurture a pure-blooded member, it would undoubtedly be their leader, Tang Pi, who controlled the majority of the clan’s resources.
“That sneaky Tang Pi. I should’ve seen this coming,” he muttered, “Especially when his pride and joy, Tang Xinglong, died and he barely showed any sadness. That young bug must be Tang Pi’s secret, favored son.”
He visualized Tang Pi’s scheme, as Shui Sheng narrated Qin Huai’s demonstration of the rain of fire. Any lingering doubts were swept away, leaving Jin Jianghong enlightened.
“No wonder Tu Fang died, no wonder Huo Huan perished. Using all of us side branch members as blood sacrifices, stepping stones? He’s ruthlessly heartless!”
Jin Jianghong stood and began to stride in another direction. Shortly after, the two remaining branch clan leaders had assembled. Shui Sheng of the northern clan, alongside the leaders of the central clan and the southern clan, joined them.
“Everyone, the truth is now clear,” Jin Jianghong said. “The untimely deaths of our brethren, including our leader, were all part of Sect Master Tang Pi’s scheme! He’s become entirely unhinged in pursuit of the so-called pure-blood dream! He has disregarded the kinship of our race, he has disregarded the lives of his clansmen! He is no different from the malevolent disciples of the Sacred Heart Sect.”
He continued, “We must fight for the future of the Kun Peng clan and our survival! We have to eliminate Tang Pi, the crazed cultist!” Jin Jianghong’s roar filled the air as he raised his fist.
“For the Kun Peng clan!” they echoed, fists held high, eyes brimming with resolve.
In the following moment, Jin Jianghong was the first to rise, charging towards the heart of the blood sea. His clansmen followed suit, forming an imposing swarm behind him.