After hearing the middle-aged man's account, Li Xuan now understood everything that had happened in Dongbi City.
It turned out that the first incident of residents being abducted occurred in Dongbi City about half a year ago.
Although the patrol team in Dongbi City tried their best to search at the time, they found no news in the end. Moreover, it was only the first case of a woman being abducted, so the patrol team did not take it very seriously.
Within the next month, over ten women were mysteriously abducted from Dongbi City. This naturally caused panic among all the residents of Dongbi City.
However, Dongfang Xiao then stepped forward and announced that he would personally track down the mastermind behind the abductions. He asked everyone not to panic and dispatched a large number of personnel to patrol the city.
Seeing Dongfang Xiao's actions, the residents of Dongbi City felt slightly relieved.
Then, one night, as a couple was returning home, they were abducted again. This time, even the man disappeared. Three days later, the man's body was found outside the city gate.
Following the discovery of the man's body, the bodies of the previously abducted women were also found in a ravine not far from the man, within a mountain gully.
Each of the women's bodies bore signs of being gnawed, and their blood was completely drained.
After these women's bodies were discovered, Dongfang Xiao appeared with his guards. He then produced the corpse of a white-eyed fierce tiger, claiming that it was the cause of everything.
The residents of Dongbi City, who had lost their daughters, were naturally heartbroken. However, since the culprit had been killed by Dongfang Xiao, no one suspected anything and took the bodies of their daughters home for burial.
It was thought that everything was over, but two months later, people were abducted again. This time, it was exclusively children.
Everyone in Dongbi City assumed it was retaliation by the remaining companions of the white-eyed fierce tiger. However, a child who narrowly escaped told everyone that they had seen a very, very long snake. The child also saw this long snake drill into the City Lord's mansion and disappear.
Although the people of Dongbi City were somewhat confused, they still took the child to the City Lord's mansion to question Dongfang Xiao. As a result, they saw Dongfang Xiao emerge from the house covered in blood, and behind him, several guards were dragging out a long snake.
The long snake was now dead, and Dongfang Hong had undoubtedly become the hero of Dongbi City once again.
However, every time Dongfang Xiao solved a problem, more girls and children went missing. Sometimes, even some elderly people would inexplicably lose contact. Gradually, the people of Dongbi City became increasingly uneasy and naturally dared not appear on the streets casually.
People would only go to taverns and teahouses in groups, daring to leave their homes.
After hearing the middle-aged man's explanation, Li Xuan let out a cold snort.
Dongfang Xiao was from the Beast Taming Sect. The sect was named so because it specialized in controlling beasts. Now, he was pushing all the blame onto ferocious beasts, and Li Xuan could see through the trickery at a glance.
Furthermore, Li Xuan had a premonition that Dongfang Xiao's actions might be part of a larger conspiracy.
After finishing his tea, Li Xuan bid farewell to Old Man Zhao and the two middle-aged men. His divine sense moved instantly, locking onto the location of the City Lord's mansion. Finding a secluded spot, Li Xuan's figure moved like a gentle breeze, swiftly flying towards the mansion.
Now that he knew about the changes in Dongbi City, Li Xuan naturally could not stand idly by. Moreover, this matter was a clandestine affair orchestrated by Dongfang Xiao and the Beast Taming Sect. Li Xuan was determined to investigate it thoroughly.
"What a strong smell of blood." Li Xuan's figure slowly appeared inside the City Lord's mansion.
Despite the guards, Li Xuan moved as if he were invisible, appearing directly in Dongfang Xiao's room. As soon as Li Xuan appeared, he detected an extremely strong smell of blood.
With a slight movement of his divine sense, he discovered a hidden mechanism on Dongfang Xiao's wall. Li Xuan pressed it gently, and the wall instantly rotated.
As it rotated, the smell of blood intensified. Seeing this, Li Xuan couldn't help but frown.
"Damn it!"
As he went deeper, the smell of blood became almost tangible. When the path turned and he saw the scene before him, Li Xuan's face turned furious.
In this cellar, which was essentially a dungeon, maidens and children were suspended from wooden stakes.
These maidens and children had vacant eyes, devoid of any emotion, appearing like the living dead. Above each of them, a faint spiritual mass provided spiritual energy, and from each of their feet, blood continuously dripped into a blood pool dug below.
The blood from various places converged through channels into the blood pool, where it was absorbed by a blood cocoon within the pool. Faintly, there seemed to be a hint of fetal movement. Clearly, Dongfang Xiao was using the blood of these innocent citizens to cultivate the blood fetus in the blood pool.
"Such evil methods! Dongfang Xiao deserves to die a thousand times! I want to see who is behind Dongfang Xiao's schemes!"
Anger flared in Li Xuan's eyes. He then waved his hand towards the blood pool below. The spiritual power within him surged out, transforming into a spiritual cage that instantly confined the blood fetus. Following that, Li Xuan moved his hand, casting a sealing formation and throwing it into his storage ring.
After finishing everything, Li Xuan glanced at the nearly twenty figures in the dungeon and sighed slightly. Then, with another wave of his hand, the ropes binding these children and maidens instantly snapped.
"Rest in peace. I, Li Xuan, swear here that I will thoroughly investigate this matter to avenge your spirits!" These maidens and children had been hanging for a long time. Now that Li Xuan had broken their restraints, they were at their last moments.
As Li Xuan finished speaking, a glimmer of spirituality seemed to flicker in the eyes of each figure. After shedding a tear, they closed their eyes.
Seeing these innocent commoners die before his eyes, Li Xuan felt immense pain. Although he could have left them on the stakes, keeping them alive, Li Xuan knew that if these commoners had a choice, they would have preferred to die.
"Beast Taming Sect, I hope you are not as I imagine. Otherwise, your Beast Taming Sect has no reason to exist."
After bringing all the maidens and children out of the dungeon, Li Xuan waved his hand towards the blood pool, causing the entire City Lord's mansion to tremble. Li Xuan then placed the deceased maidens and children in the plaza, and with a movement, he flew towards the direction where Dongfang Xiao was imprisoned.
"You... you hurry and let me go!" On a mountain peak outside Dongbi City, Li Xuan waved his hand, and the illusion array imprisoning Dongfang Xiao became clear.
Upon seeing Li Xuan's appearance, Dongfang Xiao cried out in panic.
In the half-hour since Li Xuan left, Dongfang Xiao had tried countless times and found that he could not escape the illusion array. His fear of Li Xuan grew stronger.
"You... what do you want?" Seeing Li Xuan's icy gaze, Dongfang Xiao shivered with a chill.
"Dongfang Xiao, if I didn't need you alive for something, I would have killed you right now! So many innocent children and maidens, and you persecuted them so cruelly!" Li Xuan's voice was extremely cold, his gaze towards Dongfang Xiao filled with intense killing intent.
"How do you know? You, you went to my mansion?" Dongfang Xiao was shocked and looked at Li Xuan.
Li Xuan let out a cold snort. Dongfang Xiao had indeed not denied his actions.
"If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it. You, a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, actually cultivate such evil arts. The Beast Taming Sect owes me an explanation for this."
"An explanation? Hahahaha, boy, your strength is indeed formidable. But in the eyes of our Beast Taming Sect, you are just a lone wolf. With just you, you want our Beast Taming Sect to give you an explanation?"
Dongfang Xiao burst into laughter.
Li Xuan's expression turned cold again. He took two steps towards Dongfang Xiao and said grimly, "Even Ou Nanzhai of our Beast Taming Sect wouldn't dare speak to me like you do."
"I said before, if I didn't need your worthless life, do you think I, Li Xuan, would let you go for brutally harming so many commoners?"
"Since you are so confident in the Beast Taming Sect, then I will show you what your Beast Taming Sect can do to me!"
As Li Xuan spoke, he struck Dongfang Xiao with a palm. Before Dongfang Xiao could speak, he was hit by the palm, his eyes closed, and he immediately fainted.
Li Xuan let out a cold snort, picked up Dongfang Xiao's body, and flew directly towards the Beast Taming Sect in the east.
Li Xuan had initially thought that the incidents in Dongbi City were isolated cases. However, on the way to the Beast Taming Sect, he discovered more.
After leaving Dongbi City, the three cities he passed through all had disappearances of children and maidens. However, compared to Dongbi City, the situation was much milder.
These cities were immense, each with hundreds of thousands, even millions, of inhabitants. The disappearance of a few people per month naturally did not cause much of a stir, so people did not pay much attention to it.
But in Li Xuan's heart, a conviction began to solidify. Everything behind this was definitely at the behest of someone within the Beast Taming Sect. Otherwise, why would such incidents occur in every city, and why would the victims almost exclusively be maidens and children?
Although Li Xuan did not understand how evil arts were cultivated, he had heard that using the blood of virgins could accelerate cultivation. And the blood of children was naturally very pure, which could also be very effective for cultivating evil arts.
Combining this with the situation in Dongbi City, Li Xuan could not help but guess the extent of the terrifying conspiracy behind it.
"Dongfang Xiao, I'll give you a chance. If you tell me who is behind you, I can guarantee you a way out."
After two days, Li Xuan, carrying Dongfang Xiao, stopped on a tall mountain peak. Li Xuan looked at the dying Dongfang Xiao and said in a deep voice.
In the past two days, Li Xuan had considered that if he simply brought Dongfang Xiao to the Beast Taming Sect, it would be difficult to uncover any new clues. Moreover, Dongfang Xiao might become a scapegoat, and the Beast Taming Sect would completely deny all responsibility.
In that case, his actions would undoubtedly alert the enemy, and the subsequent investigation would become even more difficult.
Even if Li Xuan returned to the Azure Hall and asked Sect Master An Batian to intervene, it might not be possible to unmask the real mastermind.
"A way out for me? Hahahaha, boy, once you reach our Beast Taming Sect, do you think you'll come out alive? No one who knows about this matter has ever left our eastern region alive!"
"I advise you to let me go. If you swear allegiance to me, I can even introduce you to our Beast Taming Sect, and you can look down upon the world!"
Dongfang Xiao sneered again.
Li Xuan's brows furrowed. It seemed that if he did not reveal even a little of his identity to Dongfang Xiao, Dongfang Xiao would not easily reveal the entire story.
With a thought, Li Xuan took out the Seven Peaks Token and said, "Look at this first. What is it?"