In the dark space of the Imperial Capital branch of the Demon Summoning Cult, the faint sound of wooden blocks colliding overhead could be heard.
The Blood Refinement Hall, whose face was half-covered by a mask, along with representatives from various halls and high-ranking members of the main altar, were all present. Each of them had an enamel mug with hot water inside, on which goji berries floated.
The Blood Refinement Hall paused, reading his manuscript, and cleared his throat:
"Dear colleagues and leaders, the main purpose of this meeting is to report on the operation of this branch forum. Your guidance and suggestions are welcome."
"First of all, while sales of Heavenly Venerable Brand Instant Noodles have surged recently, its reputation in the Imperial Capital has actually declined. Furthermore, one of its production workshops was destroyed by Gan Gong, Seventh Realm expert from the Great Yu, resulting in heavy losses..."
"So the imperial court has started a strict investigation of the Heavenly Venerable Brand?"
A burly, dark figure stood with his arms crossed, his displeased voice replaced by a delicate, feminine one:
"I stopped the use of the Divine Strength Powder in Instant Noodles back then, and now look what's happened. The imperial court is investigating us, and we don't know who will make up for the lack of the Power of All Living Beings."
The Blood Refinement Hall sneered, "Yin-Yang Hall, please stop with your sarcastic remarks. The Heavenly Venerable Brand Instant Noodles are not selling well because of the Divine Strength Powder."
"Why is that?"
"Some merchant, copying the designs, produced counterfeit and substandard products, leading to a flood of fake goods on the market. Many people are not buying the genuine articles at all!"
The Blood Refinement Hall's words had barely faded when...
The members of the Demonic Cult were in an uproar.
"Those unscrupulous merchants in the Imperial Capital are so rude!"
"In broad daylight, under the clear sky, this is utterly lawless! Is nobody going to do anything about it? Is the imperial court just sitting around doing nothing?"
"This is outrageous! According to Article 130 of the Great Yu Commercial Law, this is a serious infringement! The maximum sentence is ten years in prison."
"What kind of class do you have, daring to challenge our Demon Summoning Cult!"
The demons were filled with righteous indignation and were extremely angry.
Finally, they decided to investigate the matter secretly and bring all the criminals to justice.
Next, the Blood Refinement Hall reported on other tasks.
"Due to the decline in Instant Noodles sales, the financial situation of our establishment has been precarious lately. In order to increase revenue, I, the owner, have placed a heavy bet at the Thousand Gold Casino."
"The bad news is, I lost my bet."
"The good news is that Qianjin Casino has gone bankrupt, so the money doesn't need to be repaid."
"The operation to infiltrate the Hidden Dragon Assembly is progressing steadily. The Yin-Yang Hall envoy has successfully infiltrated the competition using Qu Songyun's identity..."
Upon hearing this, the demons all sat up straight.
No matter what, few people care about the Blood Refinement Hall, but infiltrating the Hidden Dragon Assembly is a matter of great importance to the Blood God.
Each ancestral god is the foundation of the Demon Summoning Cult Sect.
The Blood Refinement Hall took a sip of goji berry tea from his thermos, cleared his throat, and was about to speak.
Snap--
The door was suddenly pushed open with great force.
The cult members who entered were taken aback, scratching their heads. "Where is everyone?"
"Don't you people from the Blood Refinement Hall know to knock before entering?" The Yin-Yang Hall's figure reassembled.
"That was close! I thought the soldiers had broken down the door."
Luo also crawled out from under the table first.
"What's the big deal!"
The Blood Refinement Hall, wiping the boiling water from his crotch, asked irritably, "You'd better really have something to say, or I'll use you to refine medicine!"
"The results of the Hidden Dragon Assembly are in!" the cult member exclaimed, panting.
"What's the big deal?!"
"Isn't Jiang Yu always at the top of the list every year? He has the True Dragon Body, the Emperor Sword Bone, and he's still in the Imperial Capital. If someone were to take his place, even someone at the fifth realm would have a hard time getting there."
"Jiang Yu has been defeated!"
"That's right, I knew it..."
The people in the Demonic Sect were suddenly stunned, realizing that they hadn't misheard. It wasn't that Jiang Yu had won, but that he had lost. The arena suddenly fell silent.
Tan Zhuyin clenched his fist and asked, "Who defeated him? Was it Ying Bing?"
"It's Bingbing... um, Cold Fairy..."
"If it's her, it's not impossible..."
"My beloved, Li Mo."
"Can't you just finish your sentence in one go?!"
The Blood Refinement Hall felt extremely humiliated and had an urge to slap the other person to death.
"Li Mo? How could that be?"
"He's using a sword!"
People in the Demonic Sect didn't respect Li Mo. After all, the value of the Divine Hammer Little Overlord was obvious to all; even Han Zhen could kill one enemy with a single blow without making a sound.
They simply looked down on Li Mo's Swordsmanship.
"Absolutely true! I have the mirage wall as proof!"
As the cultist spoke, he took out a piece of crystal, and after injecting his true energy into it, images appeared within.
"I came down first, so I lost."
The scene showed Li Mo lying in Ying Bing's arms, a display of affection that left the entire audience in silence.
Now even the branch altars of the Demon Summoning Cult have fallen silent.
"He's the one who defeated Jiang Yu? Did he choke Jiang Yu to death?"
"I'll fucking refine you!"
"Master, please calm down, I made a mistake..."
The believer fiddled with it for a bit before the image returned to normal.
Watching the scene of ten thousand swords soaring into the sky and shaking the Eight Desolations and Six Directions Seal, the people of the Demonic Sect remained silent for a long time.
Both the Blood Refinement Hall and the Yin-Yang Hall stared intently at Li Mo's figure.
After the meeting, he and the Yin-Yang Hall slowly rose to their feet.
Not long after.
Their figures appeared in a teahouse on the same street as Cloud-Stepping Tower.
A woman had already poured three cups of tea and was waiting there; she was Qu Songyun, who had been defeated by Jiang Yu that day.
She participated in the entire Hidden Dragon Assembly, yet showed no signs of fatigue.
"Greetings, two hall masters."
"Did you witness Li Mo's sword Swordsmanship today?" the Blood Refinement Hall asked directly.
"The Blood God told me that it was neither a technique nor Swordsmanship."
Qu Songyun shook her head.
"What martial art can draw upon the Power of All Living Beings..." the Yin-Yang Hall murmured.
The Blood Refinement Hall frowned and said, "It's called Swordsmanship, but I see traces of other martial arts in it. It's clearly performed using the Heavenly Human Divine Sword."
"Even the Method of Observing Self as God left behind by the ancestral gods can only absorb the Power of All Living Beings; it is impossible to control them as one's own limbs."
Even if he practices a divine skill, it's still...
Hearing this, even though Qu Songyun didn't speak, a voice suddenly rang out:
"What's strange isn't his martial arts, but him as a person."
"The Hidden Dragon passes through the Dragon Gate, the Heavenly Human City appears; prepare early."
The two were suddenly startled to realize that it was actually the Blood God speaking directly to them, instead of issuing a divine decree as usual.
Does this mean that the Blood God is no longer stopping at sending people to the Heavenly Human City, but intends to descend in person?