The Culprit

Although Zhang Lingjian was Primordial Spirit True Lord, his cultivation was considered to be among the best in the southern region.

However, he was first struck by the backlash of Huangzhou's fortune, and later, having nowhere else to turn, he had no choice but to take up his sword to fight Demonic Beasts. He was nearly exhausted and his strength was depleted.

Now, as Gu Jinlai recounts the fact that he personally destroyed Yellow Heaven Sect, his faith, built up over a century of dedicated service to the sect, is ruthlessly shattered. His heart, spirit, and soul are all broken, and ultimately...

The dignified Primordial Spirit True Lord died spitting blood.

He fell backward and soon went silent.

In response, neither the Gu Jinlai have made any comment, merely observing coldly.

Yu Xuanjing, who was being escorted by Gu Chifeng, trembled and cried out in pain, "Sect... Sect Master!?"

Many of the Yellow Heaven Sect disciples who were loyal to Zhang Lingjian stood up abruptly.

Before they could make any move, Gu Qingmei, Gu Luochen, and the others attacked simultaneously.

The heavy sword was unleashed.

Blood spurted out.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the room became tense.

"Take over Haitian City."

Gu Jinlai, orders have been issued. "Those who resist will be killed without exception!"

"Yes."

Gu Chifeng agreed.

He quickly got busy with his many demon guards.

Yu Xuanjing watched the demon guards retreat one by one, his eyes filled with sorrow.

Just as it Gu Jinlai.

If Yellow Heaven Sect doesn't step forward first, and there's a check and balance between them, then it's unlikely that any major battles will occur in the Tiannan region in the short term...

Because Yellow Heaven Sect was the first to make a move, the First Supreme Elder Zhang Taiping gave Gu Jinlai a legitimate excuse to occupy Huangzhou, which ultimately not only led to the Yellow Heaven Sect's downfall but also laid the foundation for Lingxiao City's hegemony.

It is no exaggeration to say that Yellow Heaven Sect was destroyed by them.

Upon realizing this, the grief in Yu Xuanjing's eyes deepened even further.

"Greedy."

Yu Xuanjing said regretfully, "If it weren't for the greed in my heart, thinking about the immortal refined gold you seized from Dragon Sparrow Manor, I'm afraid... we Yellow Heaven Sect wouldn't have been the first to jump out..."

Gu Jinlai at Yu Xuanjing.

The immortal refined gold of Dragon Sparrow Manor?

He quickly realized what was going on.

Yellow Heaven Sect was incited by the remnants of Longque Manor.

But...

As Yu Xuanjing himself said, all of this was because of their greed.

If it weren't for this greed, how could Yellow Heaven Sect have ended up in such a state?

Now...

It's over.

Tens of thousands of demon guards relentlessly pursued and killed the Demonic Beasts.

With the loss of their leader, the Demonic Beasts King Flash Falcon, the remaining Demonic Beasts Kings, while not entirely leaderless, were quickly eliminated under the dual pursuit of the Demon God's personal guards and the sharp swords and heavy cannons.

Subsequently, the elite troops dispatched by Starlight City also entered Huangzhou. One part began to take over various cities in Huangzhou, while the other part joined the ranks of those hunting down Demonic Beasts.

This period was naturally accompanied by many contradictions and conflicts.

After all, many cities still have Yellow Heaven Sect's protectors, and even elders stationed there.

However, unlike the last time when he left directly, this time, Gu Jinlai did not tolerate the remaining Yellow Heaven Sect disciples in the various cities.

On many occasions, he even personally descended upon cities where resistance was fierce, and killed all the rebels one by one.

Furthermore, the return of the Demon God's personal guards to Huangzhou after completing their pursuit of the Heavenly River Demonic Beasts further accelerated the pace of the purge of various cities.

Eventually, the chaos subsided after a month.

The reason it took so long was mainly because Huangzhou was hit by too many Demonic Beasts, and many forces from the north of Huangzhou fled to the south and clashed with the local forces, causing great chaos.

Otherwise, half a month would be enough.

The upheaval in Huangzhou and the destruction of the Yellow Heaven Sect caused a great shock in the southern lands.

But just as people Gu Jinlai, if Lingxiao City were to directly attack Yellow Heaven Sect without any reason, it would inevitably cause everyone in the Cold Moon Sect, Huangquan Sect, and Purgatory Sect to feel insecure.

At that time, Lingxiao City learned that Yellow Heaven Sect was in trouble and stepped in to help. However, Zhang Taiping of the Yellow Heaven Sect Tiandao relied on his temporary ascension to the Celestial Person Realm with the help of luck and wanted to kill Gu Jinlai, the leader of Lingxiao City, Gu Jinlai, so as to give Yellow Heaven Sect a chance to recuperate.

Even...

The opportunity to seize Jiangzhou and Star Province.

If he succeeds, then there's nothing more to say.

The dead are gone.

Gu Jinlai, Star Province and Jiangzhou have fallen into a chaotic war, and the three families can also share in the benefits.

The problem is that Zhang Taiping's understanding of the power of destiny is not up to par, unlike Gu Jinlai, who also possesses the power of destiny.

One wrong move, and Yellow Heaven Sect suffered a backlash from his fate, leading to his destruction.

Under these circumstances, the three major sects naturally sided with Lingxiao City and condemned Yellow Heaven Sect's inhumane and unjust actions.

In particular, in the future, they may have to rely on the power of Lingxiao City to fight against the Cold Moon Sect of Muzhou. Sect Master Fang Linghai even scolded Zhang Taiping and strongly supported Gu Jinlai's takeover of Gu Jinlai.

They proclaimed that only by bringing Huangzhou under the rule of Lingxiao City could the people of Huangzhou live a good life.

While they stood on Lingxiao City's side and condemned Yellow Heaven Sect, their actions were not as righteous and noble as they claimed.

When Gu Chifeng led his troops north to support Haitian City, news secretly spread that they were attacked by experts from the Twelve Islands of Lizhou in Jiangzhou and lost dozens of sharp swords and heavy cannons.

All three are trying to purchase the Sword Cannon from the Twelve Islands of Lizhou through other channels for research.

Whether it was the Battle of Baihe City, the Battle of Longxiao City, the Battle of Yuntian City, or the Battle of Hulu Valley, the performance of the Sharp Sword Heavy Spirit Artifact of war, was outstanding.

If they don't want to be as powerless as Longque Manor when facing the annexation of Lingxiao City in the future, analyzing and researching their own sharp swords and heavy cannons is the only way.

Not to mention, this kind of heavy artillery is indeed very useful when dealing with Demonic Beasts.

The situation was causing quite a stir in the states south of the Milky Way.

However, none of these efforts could affect the Gu Jinlai process of pacifying Huangzhou.

One month later.

The City Lord Mansion of Yuntian City.

The demon guards who had been scattered to exterminate Demonic Beasts and suppress monsters in various places returned one after another.

Also returning were Gu Chifeng and Cheng Lixue, who had been following the army and wanted to atone for her sins.

Even Xin Tianqi, who was far away in Jiangzhou, came over in person.

The atmosphere in the main hall was somewhat oppressive.

Outside the council hall of the City Lord Mansion's mansion.

Gu Jinlai handed his blood-stained robe to Gu Qingmei beside him and changed into a new set of clothes.

The blood on his body...

They just tried and executed a group of heinous criminals.

This is a retained item in the Lingxiao City system.

After conquering a territory, they would put the local people, including those who had exploited and oppressed the people, on trial.

Out of respect for life, and to ensure that no wrongful convictions or false accusations are made, he reviews the names of all those to be executed to avoid any mistakes.

"They're all here?"

Gu Jinlai had changed her clothes, greeted them.

"Yes, Lord Xin has also arrived."

Gu Qingmei said.

Gu Jinlai nodded.

He knew why Xin Tianqi and the others had arrived at this time.

He had known about the theft of the sixty sword-wielding cannons a month ago, but at that time he was busy clearing out the Demonic Beasts of the Heavenly River and it was not appropriate to deal with Gu Chifeng at that time.

And now...

Of the ten Demonic Beasts of the Milky Way, only a few thousand survived and fled into the Milky Way, hiding deep at its bottom.

Huangzhou was also completely pacified.

Right and wrong, merits and demerits, also need to be evaluated.

Gu Jinlai entered the main hall, Xin Tianqi stood up and said in a deep voice, "Lord Gu, this is my dereliction of duty. I failed to monitor the landing of the people from the twelve overseas islands in time, which led to such a great loss for us. I am willing to accept the punishment."

Gu Jinlai waved his hand. "Xin Xingzhu has managed the entire Jiangzhou and ensured that there is no trouble in Jiangzhou. That is a great achievement. As for the people from the twelve overseas islands coming ashore... there are less than a hundred of them, and the weakest of them are all True Person of Spirit Refining. They can easily go ashore with just one or two ships docked at a certain place. It is reasonable that they cannot be monitored."

He was telling the truth.

With Jiangzhou newly established, there were bound to be numerous matters, both large and small. Xin Tianqi's ability to manage Jiangzhou so well was indeed a great achievement.

This is like a province that has just been conquered, but no riots have broken out inside. It requires top-notch abilities from the highest ruler of the province.

As for those overseas experts...

If True Person of Spirit Refining were to infiltrate from a certain location, not only the coastline, but even a walled city would be unable to stop him.

Their stealth and infiltration abilities are too strong.

His gaze fell directly on Gu Chifeng.

"I was very disappointed with the combat strength shown by the Demon God's Guard at that time."

Speaking frankly, Gu Jinlai.

Gu Chifeng lowered his head in shame.

"The Demon God's Guards have been trained to target True Person of the Spirit Refining Realm and even Spirit Transformation Realm. When we first attacked White River City, the Demon God's Guards performed exceptionally well. I know that the recent expansion of the Demon God's Guards is the main reason for their decline in quality, but to have fallen to this level, to be defeated to this extent by eighty Spirit Refining, a dozen Spirit Transformation, and two True Lords, is truly disappointing."

From Gu Jinlai, it has been said, "You shall relinquish your position as commander of the Demon God's personal guard, and Luo Chen shall succeed you."

After saying that, he looked at Gu Luochen beside him and said, "I hope that you can help the Demon God's guards calm down from their increasingly arrogant attitude and recognize their own position. They are still far from being able to dominate the world."

"Yes."

Gu Chifeng and Gu Luochen responded simultaneously.

Cheng Lixue watched from the side, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I also made mistakes in that battle. I failed to stop those two Primordial Spirit True Lord..."

"You've managed to keep one of them in check, so you've done your best."

Gu Jinlai, "Next, what we need to discuss is how to make Lizhou and the twelve overseas islands pay the price for their actions."

"I have already ordered the formation of a navy. In six months at most, we will have a fleet capable of long-range voyages."

Xin Tianqi quickly replied.

"Fleet?"

Gu Jinlai at Xin Tianqi and asked, "What do you need a fleet for?"

Xin Tianqi was taken aback. "Shouldn't we... investigate which company was behind this and pursue them?"

"An investigation? No need."

Gu Jinlai stated directly. "Give Lizhou an ultimatum: hand over the murderer within three months!"

"Lizhou? Lizhou did this?"

"Whether it was Li Zhou who did it or not is not important, but they are the center of the East Sea and also the strongest force in the East Sea. Even if they were not the ones who directly took action, with so many Spirit Refining and Spirit Transformation cultivators, as well as two True Lord involved, they couldn't possibly be unaware of it. In that case, things will be much easier."

Gu Jinlai calmly said, "Either they become the targets of our revenge in place of the murderer, or they hand over the murderer to us!"