Intelligence

Haifeng City.

The two city lords, Lei Xuanyu and Wu Yan, have not yet returned.

On the one hand...

They just filed a joint lawsuit yesterday, labeling Gu Jinlai a member of the Demonic Cult, thus eliminating a major threat, and they should celebrate.

On the other hand...

The Holy Dynasty will definitely send a Void Immortal Realm expert to personally apprehend Gu Jinlai. These people will be the first to welcome him, which will leave a good impression.

Of course, there's also the most important point.

The Dragon Cry Demon Emperor only gave them one day.

What if the Dragon Cry Demon Emperor suddenly decides to turn around and kill them first? Wouldn't they be trapped and fight like cornered beasts since they happen to be in the city?

Therefore, staying in Haifeng City for a day or two until the situation becomes clear before returning to their respective cities is the safest course of action.

At this moment, a banquet was being held in the main hall of the City Lord Mansion.

One after another, graceful dancers were dancing, while on both sides, more than twenty musicians were plucking the strings of their instruments.

In addition, many young servants and maids flitted about the palace like butterflies, offering carefully prepared delicacies and drinks.

The hosts of this banquet were naturally the three city lords, Si Xinghui, Lei Xuanyu, and Wu Yan, along with some of their trusted subordinates.

The atmosphere in the venue was lively, filled with laughter and joy.

"Thanks to the three city lords' painstaking efforts, a great calamity has finally been averted. The three of you are the saviors of our Haifeng City, Liuhuo City, and Zilei City. Let me toast you all to thank the city lords for their tremendous contributions in this demonic tide."

At this moment, Li Shengyang, the commander of the city guard of Haifeng City, was raising a wine cup and flattering Si Xinghui and the other two at the front.

"Thanks to City Lord Si for directly contacting the Taihao Cave Heaven behind you, and having Elder Si Xuanyuan of the Taihao Cave Heaven come forward to report this matter to the Holy Lord, the Holy Lord was able to issue the order so quickly to Gu Jinlai this rebellious person who colluded with the Demon Cult, thus averting this great calamity. We should first toast City Lord Si."

Wu Yan then turned the wine glass towards Si Xinghui.

Those who can serve as city lords in the twelve inner ring cities often have a direct relationship with the six great grotto heavens.

The Si family, to which Si Xinghui belongs, is the surname of the rulers of Taihao Cave Heaven.

That peerless immortal wielding the divine weapon—the Tai Xuan Star Palace—was none other than Si Wuyai, the patriarch of the Si family.

"It is thanks to Lord Wu and Lord Lei that I was able to react quickly. Otherwise, if the Demon Cultist Gu Jinlai's plan had succeeded and the Dragon Cry Demon Emperor had swept the demon tide into Wind and Rain City, Flowing Fire City, and Purple Thunder City, I don't know how many people would have been torn apart by their wives and children, and their families would have been destroyed. In particular, this matter would have damaged the reputation of the Holy Dynasty and affected its stable rule, laying the foundation for these Demon Cultists to split the Holy Dynasty in the future."

Si Xinghui also raised his glass.

"Gu Jinlai, in order to disrupt the stability of our Holy Dynasty, they have not hesitated to provoke a great war between our four cities and Demonic Beasts, breaking the hard-won balance and tacit understanding between the two sides. Their intentions are truly despicable!"

Lei Xuanyu said heavily.

"These cultists would never understand how hard-won peace is. They would love for us to fight the Demonic Beasts to the death, and for the Holy Dynasty to be in chaos. Only when the world is in chaos can they seize the opportunity to rise up, divide the land, and realize their conspiracy. If our Holy Dynasty does not move and does not fall into their trap, once they show their faces, they will immediately face the thunderous strikes of the Holy Dynasty's top experts and even the royal family's retainers."

Si Xinghui said with a smile, "Just like now, this Gu Jinlai's acting perfectly, using the righteous cause of the human race to fight Demonic Beasts to the death to stir up a demon tide, intending to turn Haifeng City, Liuhuo City, Fengyu City, Zilei City and Longqi Valley into a mess so he can profit from the chaos. But as long as we remain stable and don't lose our composure, his schemes are nothing more than the foolish performance of a clown."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"This time, it must be the Supreme Elder Si Xuanyuan, right? With the Supreme Elder Si taking action, Gu Jinlai will soon pay the price for his foolish act of provoking the Holy Dynasty."

Wu Yan said with a smile.

"It was Elder Si who came forward. Elder Si is a renowned Void Immortal in our Taihao Cave Heaven. He has survived the tribulation of lightning and condensed the Great Dao for thirty years. He is deeply immersed in the Void Immortal realm. Although he has not cultivated any great Divine Ability, he has diligently cultivated two top-tier Divine Ability. He is good at both offense and defense and is not considered weak among Void Immortals. In particular, his offensive Divine Ability, Rift Flash, has been perfected. Even the Demon Emperor does not dare to confront it head-on."

Si Xinghui said with a smile.

"Hiss!? Top-tier Divine Ability at its peak!?"

Wu Yan, Lei Xuanyu, and the others couldn't help but gasp.

The Heavenly Pavilion divides the Celestial Person, Saints, and Immortals into three levels of Ascension Lists, but this list is mainly to distinguish the differences between Celestial Person, Martial Kings, Saints, and Martial Saints.

Although there is a theory about the Human Immortal stage, no one has ever truly mastered it to this day. In addition, due to the divine weapons and various foundations, the combat power of the Void Immortal stage fluctuates greatly. People often do not recognize the ninth level of Void Immortal. Most people use seven levels to distinguish strength: ordinary, high-level, top-level, peak, national protector, great Divine Ability being, and peerless.

The fact that Si Xuanyuan has mastered a top-tier offensive Divine Ability is enough to prove that he has reached the level of a top-tier Void Immortal in terms of maximum attack power.

"Although the demonic body cultivated by the Dragon Cry Demon Emperor is powerful, it is at most at the level of a high-level Void Immortal. With his top-level Divine Ability that has been cultivated to perfection, even the Dragon Cry Demon Emperor would not have much of an advantage against him."

Wu Yandao.

"That's right. The Holy Lord sent Si Taishang to arrest people with the intention of using Si Taishang's power to intimidate the Dragon Cry Demon Emperor and make it understand that our human race handed over the Gu Jinlai and present not because we were afraid of Demonic Beasts."

Si Xinghui nodded slightly.

At this moment, the Celestial Person Wu Shu, sitting behind Wu Yan, seemed to have received some news. His expression changed slightly, and he quickly transmitted his thoughts. "Uncle... we just received news that Gu Jinlai of Fengyu City led his elite troops and defeated the demonic tide!"

Wu Yan, who was about to continue flattering Si Xinghui, was stunned, and then couldn't help but exclaim, "What!?"

His loss of composure immediately drew the attention of Si Xinghui and Lei Xuanyu.

"Lord Wu, is there something you need?"

Si Xinghui asked directly.

"Demonic Tide..."

Wu Yan immediately turned to Wu Shu and asked, "What exactly happened? You said the Demon Tide was defeated!? Defeated by the elite troops of Wind and Rain City led by Gu Jinlai?"

"Has the demonic tide been defeated Gu Jinlai? How is that possible!?"

Lei Xuanyu was also somewhat taken aback upon hearing this, his gaze fixed intently on the black tree.

Seeing that the three city lords' gazes were all on him, Wu Shu dared not be negligent or conceal anything, and quickly said, "I just received news from the front. This morning, Gu Jinlai led his elite troops to ambush the Demonic Beasts. Several hours later, he returned to Fengyu City and announced that the demon tide had been defeated. Our intelligence personnel immediately conducted a detailed investigation... According to their report..."

The Celestial Person being swallowed hard before speaking in a hoarse voice, "Gu Jinlai... they unleashed a power no less than that of a great Divine Ability being, crushing the demonic tide with overwhelming force. The Dragon Cry Demon Emperor, the Demon Emperors and Demon Kings surrounding him, and the millions of Demonic Beasts were almost all wiped out."

"Great Divine Ability!?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Gu Jinlai, there has only been one Martial Saint. Even if he was a Void Immortal who transformed into a Martial Saint, how could he possibly unleash such great Divine Ability?! Where did this information come from? Don't they even care about basic common sense?"

The three city lords, Wu Yan, Si Xinghui, and Lei Xuanyu, spoke almost simultaneously, rejecting the news without hesitation.

"But... that's the message from the intelligence agents..."

Wu Shu's eyes held a hint of horror as he spoke.

"What kind of intelligence is this?"

Lei Xuanyu suddenly stood up and said sternly, "These are heretical words that are trying to demoralize our army! Anyone who spreads such heretical words should be executed!"

But Si Xinghui didn't speak. Instead, he glanced at a saint behind him.

The saint took out a communication jade talisman, seemingly asking something.

A moment later, his face also turned pale, and horror appeared in his eyes.

"How so?"

Si Xinghui immediately replied.

"Our intelligence agents also received this information, and... it's even more exaggerated than what Lord Wuyan said. The report claims... only Gu Jinlai alone quelled the demonic tide and annihilated millions of Demonic Beasts... This news, along with the Martial Saint's unleashing of great Divine Ability, is too unbelievable. They dare not report it until they obtain credible evidence, and the investigation is still ongoing..."

"This is what the saint said."

"One person!? He was the only one who defeated the demonic tide!?"

Si Xinghui's eyes widened, feeling a chill run down his spine and his thoughts seemingly frozen.

"How is that possible... How could he possibly defeat the demonic tide stirred up by the Dragon Cry Demon Emperor Gu Jinlai?! That's a Demon Emperor, dozens of Demon Kings, and hundreds of Demon Kings! Even a top-tier Void Immortal, or even a peak Void Immortal, would be trapped and worn down to death if he Gu Jinlai. How could he possibly..."

Wu Yan was shaken, his lips trembled, and his words were somewhat indistinct.

"How could a Martial Saint be this powerful!?"

Lei Xuanyu seemed to have all his strength drained away, and he sat down again with a thud.

Si Xinghui waved his hand, and the dancers and maids in the room quickly retreated.

The atmosphere in the room also turned from lively to dull as these people left.

After a long while, Si Xinghui said again, "A Martial Saint could not possibly possess such great Divine Ability."

He spoke with absolute certainty.

After a long pause, he cautiously speculated, "Do you think... this Martial Saint, Gu Jinlai... might not be a mere Immortal who transformed into a True Immortal, but rather... a True Immortal!?"

"A true immortal!?"

Wu Yan and Lei Xuanyu were deeply shaken.

"Right."

Si Xinghui nodded emphatically. "A True Immortal whose True Immortal body was shattered, who regained a physical body through a process similar to reincarnation or possession, and who, in order to quickly gain combat power, is demonstrating the Path of the Martial Saint!"