When previously in close proximity to Yao Bao’er, Zi Yun had already detected a faint medicinal aroma emanating from her, though he had paid it no mind at the time. After all, the Imperial Dragon Manor was a formidable force within the ruins, and the presence of healers was entirely normal.
However, the situation was different now. Regardless of whether the other party was telling the truth or lying, with Yao Bao’er present, they would leave him no room to maneuver.
With this thought, Zi Yun instantly lunged towards Yao Bao’er. His objective was simple: to kill Yao Bao’er, thereby leaving them with no alternative but to keep him captive to save the lives of others.
“You dare to make a move in front of me, do you not consider me important at all?”
Just as Lan Yue was about to intercept Zi Yun, Ye Cangtian’s voice rang out. Lan Yue immediately abandoned her interception.
In the next moment, a blade of energy swept out from Ye Cangtian’s outstretched hand, piercing Zi Yun’s body in an instant and cleaving him in two.
“You…”
“You’re actually a Heaven-tier expert…”
Looking at his own body, cleanly split in half from the chest by the energy blade, Zi Yun was filled with despair, but at the same time, he realized something. The spiritual energy permeating his body was something only a Heaven-tier expert could achieve!
“You are correct.”
As Ye Cangtian’s voice fell, despair clouded Zi Yun’s eyes. Heaven-tier experts were rare treasures in the ruins, practically impossible to encounter by chance. He had never imagined the other party was a Heaven-tier expert, let alone such a young one.
He had initially pinned his hopes on the Five Poisons Sect for revenge, but after learning of Ye Cangtian’s strength, he abandoned that thought. The other party was already a Heaven-tier expert, a level of cultivation the Five Poisons Sect simply did not possess. Furthermore, Ye Cangtian’s immunity to all poisons perfectly countered the very means by which the Five Poisons Sect survived. Facing such an individual, the Five Poisons Sect would likely face a catastrophe!
With this realization, he looked at Ye Cangtian with difficulty and said, “You leave no room for error in your actions; someone will eventually deal with you…”
“Heh, I’ll be waiting.”
Ye Cangtian sneered dismissively and turned his gaze towards Lan Yue. Lan Yue had already finished off the remaining members of the Five Poisons Sect. Seeing this, Ye Cangtian did not hesitate. The three of them split up and proceeded to release all the imprisoned members of the Hidden Group, gathering them in the manor.
All these members of the Hidden Group had been poisoned, with the severity of their poisoning categorized into mild, moderate, and severe. Approximately half of them suffered moderate poisoning, while mild and severe poisoning each accounted for a quarter.
“Everyone, please do not be nervous. I am the God of Death from the Imperial Dragon Manor…”
Whoosh!
Seeing the anxious expressions of the crowd, Ye Cangtian introduced himself first. However, as soon as he spoke, the over a thousand people before him erupted in a clamor. They had been captured by the Imperial Dragon Manor and naturally held no goodwill towards anyone from there. Even if the other party had killed Zi Yun and Poison Fly, they might still have ulterior motives.
At this, Ye Cangtian quickly added, “I am also Ye Cangtian from the Hidden Group. Have you heard of me?”
“Who is Ye Cangtian?”
“Yes! Is there such a person in the Hidden Group?”
“Are you trying to trick us again, planning to use us for more experiments?”
As the voices faded, the crowd erupted in another uproar. Ye Cangtian had only risen to prominence in recent years. Most of these people had been imprisoned for three to five years, so it was understandable they hadn't heard of him.
“Ye Cangtian?”
“That sounds a bit familiar!”
Just then, an unusual voice chimed from the crowd, immediately drawing everyone’s attention. After everyone looked at him, he slowly spoke, “I only learned about him from the idle chatter of the Five Poisons Sect members. It is said that Ye Cangtian is a strong expert from the Hidden Group who has caused significant losses to the Five Poisons Sect…”
Hearing their companion’s words, the crowd turned their gaze towards Ye Cangtian.
“That’s right, it’s me.”
Ye Cangtian admitted, continuing, “I previously came from Frostfall City and helped Hu Qing reclaim Frostfall City…”
“Wait!”
Before he could finish, a man stepped forward and asked, “If I heard correctly, you just introduced yourself as the God of Death from the Imperial Dragon Manor, so why did you help the Hidden Group reclaim Frostfall City?”
“That is not contradictory.”
Ye Cangtian looked at the man calmly and continued, “I am considering the interests of the Huaxia forces. For the continued peaceful development of the Imperial Dragon Manor and the Hidden Group, and to jointly protect Huaxia, Frostfall City should be returned to the Hidden Group…”
“Peaceful development? Jointly protect Huaxia?”
Upon hearing this, the man’s face contorted into a sarcastic smile. He pointed at everyone present and asked, “Do you think, after they harmed us to this extent, that the two sides can still have peaceful development or cooperate?”
“I do not deny that some individuals made mistakes and caused you harm.”
“However, the Imperial Dragon Manor is a part of the Huaxia forces. We cannot stand by and watch them break away from the Huaxia forces, thereby weakening Huaxia. We must actively correct their mistakes and have them serve Huaxia once more…”
Ye Cangtian glanced at everyone and spoke. He knew that these people had been persecuted by the Imperial Dragon Manor and harbored deep hatred for them. But because of this, the Imperial Dragon Manor could not simply be labeled an evil force. After all, there were still many upright individuals within the Imperial Dragon Manor. It was just that their uprightness and loyalty were suppressed by Lei Ming.
Listening to Ye Cangtian’s guidance, everyone’s expressions shifted. After a moment of silence, the man stepped forward again and asked, “Lord Ye, may I ask how you intend to deal with the Imperial Dragon Manor in the future?”
Ye Cangtian glanced at the man. From his demeanor and the aura he exuded, Ye Cangtian knew this was no ordinary guard; he likely held a significant position within the Hidden Group.
In the next moment, Ye Cangtian spoke, “As I said, I intend to thoroughly reform the Imperial Dragon Manor and have them serve the Huaxia forces once more. As for the people within, those who deserve to be killed will be killed, and those who deserve punishment will be punished!”
“Then tell me, should the current Manor Lord of the Imperial Dragon Manor, Lei Ming, be killed!” the man continued to ask.
“He should be killed! His death is insufficient to appease the public anger!” Ye Cangtian stated without hesitation.
Plop!
With those words, the man immediately knelt on one knee and said, “Your subordinate, Mu Yuanfei from the Frostfall City branch, greets Lord Ye!”
Upon hearing this, he not only dispelled all suspicions about Ye Cangtian but was also deeply impressed by Ye Cangtian’s resolve.
“Your subordinate greets Lord Ye…”
As Mu Yuanfei led the way in kneeling, everyone else also knelt on one knee to pay their respects.
“Rise!”
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian showed a faint smile and continued, “My identity cannot be revealed yet. I hope you will keep it a secret. Now, please line up according to the severity of your poisoning, from severe to mild, so that Bao’er can examine you first…”
Ye Cangtian was in no hurry to leave. The wicked deeds being carried out here would certainly be kept secret by Lei Ming, so he would not come here easily. At least he had some time to examine everyone’s physical condition. Moreover, everyone was heavily poisoned, making it very dangerous to leave under such circumstances. If they were to encounter an ambush from the Imperial Dragon Manor, it would be disastrous.
As his words fell, Mu Yuanfei immediately began to organize the crowd. In the next moment, everyone formed orderly queues for Yao Bao’er to examine them one by one.
Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Ye Cangtian called Lan Yue aside and said, “Sister Lan Yue, please assist Bao’er here. I still need to go to the secret realm entrance.”
“Hmm? What are you going there for?” Lan Yue asked curiously. Now that all the members of the Five Poisons Sect in the secret realm had been eliminated and the battle was over, what was the point of going there? It would be better to stay and rest.
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian smiled slightly and said, “Don’t you remember? We infiltrated this place under the guise of delivering supplies, so someone will definitely come to deliver supplies later…”
To put it plainly, Ye Cangtian was also worried that the people delivering supplies might leak information and attract the Imperial Dragon Manor’s forces, which would be troublesome.
“Alright, you go ahead!”
After hearing Ye Cangtian’s explanation, Lan Yue nodded slowly. Then, as if recalling something, she quickly called out to him.
“By the way, Junior Brother, those poisoned people and zombie corpses that fell in droves earlier, you did that, didn’t you?”
“How did you manage that?”
Lan Yue had always been very curious about this. Since there was no one around, she directly inquired.
Mm.
Ye Cangtian nodded and began to explain.