The True Culprit Behind the Scenes

The battle saber slashed across, and blood splattered.

Ying Que felt a sharp pain surge through its entire body. It instinctively looked down and saw a bloodline splitting its waist in two. Blood gushed out like a spring, unstoppable.

"How is this possible!"

Ying Que whispered in disbelief, its pupils gradually dilating as its life force dissipated.

It raised its head slightly to look at Lin Baichuan. Its expression was complex and meaningful, but without resentment. Its eyes were clear as water, even holding a hint of relief.

"Pfft..."

A few breaths later, Ying Que spat out a mouthful of blood, and its entire body crashed to the ground with a thud, split in two. Blood instantly stained the ground.

The hall fell into a dead silence.

Qin Qing and Liang Youtian stared at Lin Baichuan in shock. They never expected Lin Baichuan's strength to be so formidable, turning the tables at the last moment. Qin Qing, in particular, who was right beside Lin Baichuan, felt it most deeply.

Although Lin Baichuan's saber strike earlier wasn't aimed at her, it still sent chills down her spine.

Lin Baichuan, however, raised his eyebrows, sheathed his battle saber with a flick of his wrist, and strode towards the green jade talisman that had fallen to the ground. This was the container for the Nine Yin Ice Soul Net, and it was part of this high-grade Spirit Artifact.

With a raise of his hand, his internal energy surged, forming a suction force in his palm that forcibly pulled the jade talisman from the ground into his hand.

It was ice-cold to the touch, with a faint malevolent aura emanating from it, stimulating Lin Baichuan's skin.

However, he had now cultivated Bronze Skin, reaching the limit of the Ninth Rank Skin Refinement Realm. His physical strength had even broken through the human limitations of the Skin Refinement Realm, reaching thirteen thousand jin. With his physical body transformed, mere malevolent aura had no effect on him.

Lin Baichuan played with the jade talisman in his hand, observing it closely.

"Spirit Artifacts must be refined with blood before they can be used."

At this moment, Qin Qing's voice came. Her expression had returned to normal, as if she had recovered from her shock. She looked at the jade talisman in Lin Baichuan's hand and said in a deep voice, "This Nine Yin Ice Soul Net is a high-grade Spirit Artifact, priceless. You should try not to show it to others in the future, or it will surely bring great trouble..."

"Naturally!"

Lin Baichuan nodded slightly and put the jade talisman into his pocket. Of course, this was just a cover; the jade talisman had already been placed in his Space Ring.

After securing the jade talisman, Lin Baichuan continued, "Now that this matter is settled, shouldn't we be leaving?"

As he spoke, he glanced intentionally or unintentionally at Liang Youtian, who was still slumped on the ground, yet to fully recover.

"Yes, it is indeed time to leave."

Qin Qing nodded slightly, then glanced at Liang Youtian and said in a deep voice, "Lord Liang, since the matter is concluded, we shall take our leave. We hope Lord Liang will handle the subsequent affairs."

The Demon Suppression Division's Demon Slayer Guards were only responsible for slaying demons and monsters; other matters were not within their purview.

Now that the demon that had caused chaos in Yunshan County and the Ying Que behind it had been eliminated, they naturally wouldn't linger. They planned to return to Cangwu County City to submit their mission. Their team had suffered heavy losses this time, and they needed to return as soon as possible to report everything.

"Of course, please proceed, honored guests."

Liang Youtian let out a long sigh and slowly stood up from the ground. He then bowed solemnly to Lin Baichuan and Qin Qing, saying, "On behalf of all the citizens of Yunshan County, I thank you two Demon Slayers..."

"It's nothing, just doing our duty."

Qin Qing waved her hand slightly. After exchanging a look with Lin Baichuan, they walked out of the county office together and returned to their courtyard.

Li Da was still in his room recuperating from his injuries, completely unaware of what had just transpired. Qin Qing glanced at Li Da's room and then said to Lin Baichuan, "Rest for one night, and we'll set off for the county city early tomorrow morning."

"Alright!"

Lin Baichuan nodded slightly, without further ado, and turned to enter his own room.

The night was deep, the moon bright, and the stars sparse.

Yunshan County City was silent, with only the night wind howling, like ghosts crying and wolves howling, sending shivers down one's spine. However, the county office was still brightly lit. Liang Youtian's expression was cold; he had long since regained his imposing demeanor as county magistrate and was arranging for people to handle the aftermath.

He himself, with a cold face, walked through the backyard and entered an inconspicuous pavilion.

The pavilion was dark and chilling, with a faint, eerie malevolent aura permeating the air.

Liang Youtian walked to the innermost part of the pavilion and tapped a stone brick on the wall.

With a muffled creak, the entire wall slowly rotated, revealing a passage just wide enough for one person to pass through.

The passage was deep and stretched downwards, leading directly underground.

Below was a gloomy underground palace, about ten zhang square. In the center was a pool one zhang wide, filled with crimson water that emitted a strong smell of blood. This was actually a pool of fresh blood, constantly churning as if it were boiling.

Liang Youtian walked to the edge of the blood pool, his eyes gradually turning crimson, and a sinister, twisted smile appeared on his face.

"Gahahaha... Demon Suppression Division, Demon Slayer Guards... Hehehe, nothing more than this. Aren't they all still being played like fools by me?"

Liang Youtian let out a low, eerie chuckle. Suddenly, a strange black mist of malevolent energy surged out from within him. His clothes instantly turned to dust, and the black mist enveloped his entire body, emanating an evil, dark aura.

He stepped into the blood pool step by step, his voice becoming even more eerie, "It's just a shame about that Blood Demon, who cost me so much effort.

But it doesn't matter... Once I absorb this pool of essence blood, my body will be completely demonized, turning into the Blood Demon Physique, and I won't need the Blood Demon anymore.

Demon Suppression Division... Heh, nothing more than this. Just using a scapegoat to fool everyone..."

"So you're very proud now!"

Suddenly!

Just as Liang Youtian was chuckling sinisterly, his face full of smugness, a cold voice rang out, echoing throughout the underground palace.

"Who..."

Liang Youtian's body trembled, and he suddenly turned to look at the passage entrance. His expression immediately changed drastically, his face filled with fear.

He saw that, at some point, a young man had appeared at the passage entrance. Dressed in the Demon Slayer Guard's black uniform, he stood there holding a saber in his right hand, his expression icy cold as he stared at Liang Youtian.

It was Lin Baichuan.

"Lin Baichuan, it's you. How did you get here?"

Liang Youtian's face was as dark as water, and he gritted his teeth, growling, "You deliberately left, but you secretly returned. When did you start suspecting me?"

"When I killed Ying Que."

Lin Baichuan sneered, "I saw his eyes. They were clear and calm, without any resentment towards me. Instead, there was a sense of relief, so I concluded there must be a hidden reason. Then, I happened to see the hint of a mocking smile hidden beneath your panicked exterior..."

In fact, after killing Ying Que, Lin Baichuan felt something was off. He then inadvertently noticed Liang Youtian's expression was not right. He observed Liang Youtian carefully in secret, feeling that Liang Youtian was likely faking it.

It was precisely because everything seemed too perfect, without any flaws, that Lin Baichuan felt something was wrong. That's why he deliberately left the county office with Qin Qing and returned to his residence.

However, after returning to his room, he immediately exited through the window and returned to the county office. He wanted to secretly monitor Liang Youtian. He hadn't expected Liang Youtian to be so impatient and come to this underground palace, where Lin Baichuan happened to catch him.

So, it turned out Liang Youtian was behind everything. The Mountain Fiend and the Blood Demon were both creatures he had raised.

Ying Que was taking the fall for him.

From this pool of blood, it wasn't hard to tell that Liang Youtian was likely cultivating some demonic art, wanting to break through using it and improve his martial arts realm.

Lin Baichuan's eyes narrowed slightly. Gripping his saber, he walked step by step towards the blood pool, squinting at Liang Youtian, and said coldly, "I'm just very curious, how did you get Ying Que to willingly be your scapegoat..."

"Heh heh... Willingly? You're overthinking it."

Liang Youtian sneered, "The truth is, he was poisoned by my Corpse Poison and enslaved by me. He had no choice but to obey my commands..."

Boom!

The moment he finished speaking, Liang Youtian suddenly moved. He leaped out of the blood pool and, with a palm strike, came straight for Lin Baichuan.