Blood-Hand Butcher

Seeing that even Zhang You was so courteous to Jiang Yuan, Zhou Yun's expression darkened further.

But in the end, he did not dare say anything else, lest he bring humiliation upon himself.

Zhang Ce also hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over, saying with a smile, "All right, all right. Elder Jiang is a retainer of my City Lord's Manor. Since he is not some murderous madman, then this is merely a misunderstanding. There is no need for everyone to take it to heart!"

"Brother Zhao, can we discuss the important matter now?"

Zhao You nodded and said seriously, "Everyone, according to our investigations over the past few days, this murderous madman is very likely a lackey of the Blood-Clad Cult."

"This man is called Xue Tu. His cultivation is above the Meridian Opening Realm, and he excels at disguises. He is an extremely troublesome opponent."

"A year ago, among the many demonic cult scoundrels who killed several of my Azure Profound Sect disciples, Xue Tu was one of them!"

"This time, we have descended the mountain to bring him to justice!"

At the mention of Xue Tu, Guan Ling lightly bit her pearly teeth, her eyes full of hatred.

Back then, it was this man called Xue Tu who had secretly ambushed her elder brother with a strike, ultimately leaving him gravely injured and crippled!

"The Meridian Opening Realm..."

Everyone sucked in a cold breath.

The Meridian Opening Realm stood an entire major realm above the Qi Condensation Realm. The two simply could not be mentioned in the same breath!

"There is no need for everyone to worry."

Seeing their concerns, Zhao You smiled. "Xue Tu may be formidable, but with my fellow disciples and me here, we will be more than enough to deal with him."

"You only need to guard the perimeter and prevent him from escaping."

Hearing this, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Guarding the perimeter—that would not be a problem.

They might not even need to fight.

Jiang Yuan stood among the crowd without saying a word, though his mind was deep in thought.

Xue Tu, Meridian Opening Realm...

To capture a demonic cult scoundrel in the Meridian Opening Realm, the Azure Profound Sect had actually sent so many disciples all the way to Jiangning City?

Jiang Yuan could not shake the feeling that something was off.

Unless...

They had another purpose.

Jiang Yuan recalled what Guan Ling had said. Back then, the demonic cult seemed to have slaughtered Azure Profound Sect disciples to seize some treasure...

Could that be...

the true crux of the matter?

At midnight, beneath a bright moon and sparse stars.

Twenty miles outside Jiangning City.

More than twenty retainers had gathered together, and several Azure Profound Sect disciples had also arrived.

Zhao You stood at the front and said in a low voice:

"Everyone, according to our investigations these past few days, every time Xue Tu commits a crime, he leaves traces at a ruined temple outside the city."

"Tonight, we will wait there like a tree stump for a rabbit!"

"Yes!"

Everyone mounted their horses and vanished into the night.

Jiang Yuan rode among them, gazing at the pitch-black official road ahead, a faint sense of unease rising in his heart.

Such obvious traces.

Why did it sound like a trap?

Less than half an hour later, the group arrived at a dark forest, where an abandoned ruined temple stood.

"This is the place."

Zhao You was the first to leap from his horse. His wary gaze swept over the surroundings before he slowly entered the forest.

The others dismounted in succession and quietly followed after him.

Jiang Yuan stood at the very back of the group, his gaze fixed on the forest ahead. He could vaguely make out the shadow of a ruined temple.

The eerie silence all around gave him a bad feeling.

"Senior, what is it?"

Guan Ling walked to his side and asked in a low voice.

"Nothing."

Jiang Yuan shook his head. "This old man merely feels that this place is a little sinister."

"You suspect a trick?"

Guan Ling was clever as ice and snow. Hearing the meaning behind Jiang Yuan's words, she could not help but look startled.

They had obtained this information only after months of painstaking investigation.

Could it really be false?

"Hahaha—"

"You pests that linger like restless ghosts, you've finally come!"

Suddenly, a burst of wild laughter rang out from within the forest. Then a figure appeared before them.

The man looked to be in his thirties. He wore a blood-red robe, his face was ferocious, and his eyes gleamed with a bloody light. He was clearly one of the Blood-Clad Cult.

"Xue Tu!"

Zhao You's gaze sharpened as he said coldly, "Hmph, so it truly was you causing trouble. We have gathered here today, and we will surely destroy you, you demonic cult fiend!"

"Everyone, he is the murderous madman. Do not let him escape today!"

At this, Xue Tu sneered. "Heh, laughable. Just you lot?"

"Since you have delivered yourselves to my door, then do not blame me for being impolite!"

"Come out!"

Rustle, rustle.

The next moment, a hundred black shadows suddenly surged out from every direction, surrounding everyone instead.

Every one of them wore a mask and a blood-red robe, their killing intent soaring to the heavens.

"Blood-Clad Slaves?"

Everyone's expressions changed drastically, and they immediately realized they had fallen into a trap.

It was not that they had discovered Xue Tu's trail. Xue Tu had clearly lured them here on purpose, intending to catch them all in one net!

"Didn't expect that, did you?"

Xue Tu gave a savage grin and licked his lips. "Tsk, tsk. I already knew that you self-proclaimed righteous sect bastards would come. As expected, you are a pack of brainless fools."

"So many fat sheep. Tonight, we can have a proper feast!"

"Get them!"

"Kill all the men. Leave the women behind to have fun with us."

Xue Tu furiously waved his hand, and the surrounding Blood-Clad Slaves charged forward in a swarm, like hungry tigers pouncing on prey.

"Everyone, do not panic!"

Zhao You shouted. "Though there are many demonic cult members, most of them are merely a rabble!"

"Do not scatter! Strike together!"

Though everyone had been badly frightened, they still drew their weapons one after another, ready to fight to the death.

Jiang Yuan stood amid the crowd, his expression exceptionally calm.

Guan Ling stood beside him and asked softly, "Elder Jiang, what should we do now?"

At this critical moment, she still chose to trust Jiang Yuan.

In her eyes, if Jiang Yuan was willing to fight with all his strength, these demonic cult scoundrels would not be a threat at all.

"Kill!"

Following Xue Tu's command, the Blood-Clad Cult members rushed forward in a flood!

A great battle was on the verge of erupting!

Very quickly, Zhao You and Zhang Sheng, the two with the highest cultivation present, met Xue Tu head-on. All three were above the Meridian Opening Realm, and for a time, their battle was evenly matched.

From their exchange, Xue Tu's cultivation seemed to be slightly higher than Zhao You's and Zhang Sheng's. He pressed them down throughout the fight.

On the other side, Jiang Yuan fought separately from the others, locked in battle with the demonic cult members.

The pressure on him was not great.

Aside from Xue Tu, most of these Blood-Clad Slaves were only in the Qi Condensation Realm and posed no threat to him at all.

"There is something strange about this old man. Kill him first!"

After a bout of fighting, the Blood-Clad Slaves seemed to have noticed Jiang Yuan's strength and began to gang up on him.

In no time, more than a dozen Blood-Clad Slaves had surrounded Jiang Yuan.

The situation suddenly became critical.

"I'll go help Senior Jiang!"

Seeing this, Guan Ling was about to rush over, but Zhou Yun, who had been watching for quite some time, stopped her. Smiling, he said, "Junior Sister, Elder Jiang's swordsmanship is superb. He will surely be fine. We should focus on breaking the enemy as quickly as possible."

"You..."

Guan Ling glared angrily at Zhou Yun. She had not expected him to still harbor such crooked thoughts at a time like this.

His words clearly meant to leave Jiang Yuan to die!

But on second thought, with Jiang Yuan's swordsmanship, he truly had no need for her to worry about him against these minor lackeys.

Thus, she snorted coldly.

"Senior Brother Zhou, trouble yourself with the Blood-Clad Slaves over there. Do not come near me!"

"Junior Sister!"

Zhou Yun's face was full of astonishment, then it darkened, becoming incomparably ugly.

That bitch actually truly cared about an old fossil.

Shameless!

I want to see how you can still put on airs before me once that old bastard is destroyed by the Blood-Clad Slaves!