The main hall of Lei Hall.
Lei Mu, Lei Mo, and the two remaining guardians had all gathered there.
Their faces were grim.
"You all know that Lei Yao was killed. But before he died, he brought someone wearing a bamboo hat to see the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform!"
Lei Mu looked at the other three and spoke in a grave voice.
At his words, the other three froze.
They had known nothing about this.
"Hall Master, are you saying Lei Yao took someone to see the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform and betrayed Lei Hall?"
Lei Gu asked in disbelief.
"Judging from the situation, yes."
Lei Mu replied.
"Hall Master, that means someone now knows about the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform in Qin Cui Mountain Valley. The news could spread."
"What should we do now?"
Lei Muyan couldn't help asking.
"The news about the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform is secondary. We should be thinking about how to explain to Third Young Master Qin that Lei Yao took people into the mountains."
Lei Mu asked in a solemn voice.
"Hall Master, I'll go to Qin Cui Mountain first and kill every remaining member of Lei Hall there. I'll leave no survivors."
"Then no one will know Lei Yao took anyone to see the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform. As for how he died, we'll say he fell defending the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform!"
Lei Gu said.
At Lei Gu's words, the other three fell silent.
But in the end, Lei Mu nodded.
Just then, a man came in from outside.
"What happened?"
Lei Mu asked sternly.
"Reporting to the Hall Master, news came from the black market. It says our Lei Family is cultivating Blood Demon Flowers on Qin Cui Mountain, and they're about to mature."
"It also says Ling Tianhe and Bai Tianyu of Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower are heading toward Lei Hall."
The man replied.
"What Blood Demon Flower? You said the message mentioned Blood Demon Flowers. What are they?"
Lei Mu's pupils suddenly contracted as he asked.
"Blood Demon Flowers. Before coming here, I looked into them. Their effects are similar to those of the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform, but the cultivation methods are different. Judging from how we've been cultivating them, what's in the valley may indeed be Blood Demon Flowers."
The man said gravely.
At this, Lei Mu's brow furrowed slightly, and he looked toward Lei Mo.
Qin Hao had been introduced by him.
"I don't know either. I only heard Third Young Master Qin say it was a Fifth-grade Lotus Platform. I even compared it with the appearance of the Fifth-grade Lotus Platform, and it really does look like one!"
Lei Mo immediately spoke up.
"We'll deal with that later. Lei Gu, go take care of it first."
Lei Mu instructed him.
Then he thought of the second matter. "You said Ling Tianhe and Bai Tianyu are heading toward Lei Hall?"
"Yes!"
The man replied at once.
"Why are they coming to Lei Hall? Could they be connected to what happened on Qin Cui Mountain?"
"Go and keep a close eye on Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower's movements!"
Lei Mu waved a hand.
The man bowed and left the hall.
The atmosphere inside grew heavy.
"Hall Master, the news says it's Blood Demon Flower, not a Fifth-grade Lotus Platform, but Young Master Qin said it was a Fifth-grade Lotus Platform."
"Looks like Young Master Qin deceived us."
"No wonder the cultivation method for this Fifth-grade Lotus Platform was so different."
Lei Muyan said in a grave voice.
"Whether it's a Fifth-grade Lotus Platform or a Blood Demon Flower isn't important. What matters is how Lei Hall gets through this calamity."
Lei Mu said.
"Should we ask Third Young Master Qin about it?"
Lei Mo asked.
"The Qin Family hasn't arrived yet. There's no point in going to see Third Young Master Qin."
"Besides, Third Young Master Qin has probably been using us all along. Once he's done with us, he may simply cast us aside."
"Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept the truth from us."
"There's just one thing I don't understand. Why did Young Master Qin say that thing was a Fifth-grade Lotus Platform instead of a Blood Demon Flower?"
"Muyan, go find out exactly what the Blood Demon Flower is."
Lei Mu said.
Ah!
Not long after they spoke, a miserable scream suddenly came from outside.
"That was Lei Gu's voice. What happened?"
Lei Mu darted out of the hall and reached the entrance of Lei Hall.
At that moment,
Lei Gu had been cut in half by a single slash, his two halves lying on the ground.
"Bai Tianyu, Ling Tianhe, why are you killing people in my Lei Hall?"
Lei Mu looked at Ling Tianhe and demanded.
"Your Lei Hall hired an assassin to kill our Tower Lord. Our new Tower Lord offered Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower as the price for Brother Bai to destroy your Lei Hall!"
Ling Tianhe replied.
"You're saying Su Chen offered Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower as payment for Bai Tianyu to destroy my Lei Hall?"
"Isn't Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower already under your control? Why do you still have to listen to him?"
Lei Mu stared at Ling Tianhe, his gaze dark.
"Because my claim isn't legitimate. If Su Chen truly steps down and yields his position, that'll be a good thing for me."
Ling Tianhe said gravely.
"Now you know why you're going to die. Brother Bai, I'll leave this place to you. I'll take my men to destroy the Lei Family."
Ling Tianhe said to Bai Tianyu.
To pull up the roots, none of the Lei Family could be allowed to survive.
The Lei Family had made their move, but they hadn't been ruthless enough to eliminate Su Chen. That was why they'd ended up here.
Since they'd made their move, they couldn't leave any threat for their lord.
"Second Brother, go first. Head to Qin Hao and escape through the secret chamber."
Lei Mu sent a voice transmission to Lei Mo.
Lei Mo hesitated, but then gritted his teeth and prepared to flee.
"None of you are leaving today!"
Bai Tianyu's deep voice rang through Lei Hall.
As the words sounded, an invisible force erupted from Bai Tianyu and soared into the sky, churning heaven and earth. A vast surge of Blade Qi appeared within Lei Hall.
"This Blade Qi!"
Many people throughout Qingcheng City sensed it.
At that moment,
Mu Qingxue and the burly man had just entered Qingcheng City. Their expressions changed at the sight of the Blade Qi.
"Miss, this Blade Qi has probably reached the Refining Soul Realm."
The burly man said.
"It hasn't just reached it. It is the Refining Soul Realm!"
An elderly voice sounded beside them.
A moment later, an old man in a blue robe slowly walked up behind them.
When Mu Qingxue saw the old man, her face lit up. "Third Grandpa, you've been following us this whole time? Then the horses we lost—"
"When you travel the martial world, it's your own fault if you aren't alert enough. But your Third Grandpa has already avenged you. Their bodies will remain on the Gobi forever."
As the old man in the blue robe spoke,
his gaze was fixed on the place where the Blade Qi shot into the sky.
"Today, Bai Tianyu of Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower destroys Lei Hall!"
Suddenly, a voice like thunder rolled across all of Qingcheng City.
As the voice fell,
a dazzling blade-light, bright as a streak of light, suddenly rose from the ground. Then it crashed down with the force of splitting a river in two.
Boom!
A deafening crash followed.
A towering cloud of dust billowed up where the blade-light had struck.
"What terrifying Blade Qi! Come on, let's see what kind of person could swing a strike like that!"
The old man in the blue robe grabbed the two of them and darted toward Lei Hall like a phantom.
Meanwhile, atop Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower,
Su Chen watched the clouds of dust billowing into the sky, his expression calm.
"After today, there shouldn't be many people paying attention to me anymore!"
Besides Su Chen, watching from the tower, dozens of figures were also heading toward Lei Hall.
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