Hehuan Sect

When Cao Jinxing reached North Mountain Red Maple Slope, he saw fiery red maple trees covering the mountain. As the wind blew, their branches and leaves swayed like a crimson sea.

Beneath that sea, a battle to the death raged.

A dozen or so masked men in black had already killed a group of soldiers and were now locked in individual duels with the eunuchs from the Judicial Review Office.

Eight large wagons blocked the official road. The women inside huddled in the corners, trembling with fear.

"Hehuan Sect! How dare you!"

The eunuch's voice was naturally high and shrill, but this shout rang with righteous fury, shaking the surrounding wilderness.

The moment Cao Jinxing heard it, he knew the speaker had to be Feng Bao.

"Hehehehe..."

The masked leader laughed. "Such fine cultivation vessels. Letting that old emperor use them to gather dew would be a waste. Why not come with me and enjoy the ultimate pleasures of this world?"

"You dare profane His Majesty! You're courting death!"

Feng Bao roared in anger, his attacks growing ever more vicious and ruthless.

"What's the rush? He has an entire imperial harem. I'm only asking him for a hundred palace maids. Is that really worth getting so worked up over?"

His opponent was no pushover either.

Cao Jinxing glanced at them. Fallen leaves whirled through the air as they fought, every exchange booming like thunder. He was secretly startled. They're both in the Xiantian realm!

"A Xiantian expert brought a whole group here to abduct palace maids?"

Cao Jinxing wore a strange expression. "Even if he practices some evil art and needs to harvest yin to replenish yang, surely he wouldn't challenge imperial authority head-on just for them..."

Even a fool could tell something was wrong here, but this was no time to dwell on it. If these men really succeeded, he would be punished too.

With that thought in mind,

Cao Jinxing turned his gaze toward the remaining Hehuan Sect experts. Every one of them was at the peak of the Houtian realm.

Several had already broken through the Judicial Review Office's defenses and charged toward the wagons.

"Little beauties, your daddy-" One masked man leaped onto a wagon, about to tease them.

Shing!

A blade flashed behind him, and his head fell!

A lecherous smile still hung on his face. He had no idea his head had already parted company with his body.

Thud!

His head struck the wagon shaft, and his body toppled into the wagon.

"Aaaah!"

The women in the wagon screamed!

The Judicial Review Office experts hurriedly turned toward the sound. All they saw was the blur of an iron-gray Flying Fish Uniform flashing like a phantom behind the men in black!

It was like a wisp of ash drifting past at blinding speed.

Unbelievably fast!

Pale blade light flashed again and again. One man in black after another froze in place, motionless.

Swish!

Cao Jinxing appeared, trailing a succession of afterimages left by his extreme speed. He sheathed his saber and said calmly,

"One alive is enough..."

Everyone froze.

Then-

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Head after head hit the ground.

Man after man in black collapsed!

In the blink of an eye, only one of the dozen or so men in black surrounding the eight wagons remained standing.

He stared blankly around him. In a single instant, all his fellow sect members had become headless corpses! An overwhelming terror engulfed him!

"AAAAAH!"

He shrieked and crumpled to the ground, his legs jerking as he scrambled backward. Every hair on his body stood on end. He was terrified out of his wits!

He was not the only one.

Even the eunuchs from the Judicial Review Office had been frightened.

What a fast blade.

What a ruthless blade!

"Take him into custody and let Eunuch Feng question him," Cao Jinxing told one of the Judicial Review Office eunuchs.

"Yes... yes!" The eunuch hesitated, then hurriedly called the others over to arrest the sole survivor. Shock still churned in his heart.

Who is this man?

I haven't heard of an expert like this joining the Pacification Commission... He's too strong! He kills experts at his own level like he's chopping vegetables!

Feng Bao and the masked leader were equally astonished-even they found such skill breathtaking.

Delighted by the arrival of powerful reinforcements, Feng Bao rejoiced.

The masked man was shocked and furious.

"You're courting death!"

He swept his hand forward, launching a palm strike at Cao Jinxing.

A gigantic palm as tall as a man flew from his hand, whipping up sand and stones in its wake. It was the Tibetan Hehuan Sect's secret technique, the Demon-Subduing Great Hand Seal!

Cao Jinxing shook his saber, unleashed all his internal energy, and slashed!

Tyrant Saber: Shocking Tide Slash!

Vast saber energy surged like a tidal front, raising towering waves as it collided with the great hand seal. The two torrents of true qi clashed violently. Force blasted outward in an instant, sending maple leaves dancing wildly across the sky.

"Ugh!"

Cao Jinxing staggered back five steps. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth; he had suffered internal injuries.

Yet the masked Xiantian expert was also driven back three steps by that incomparably domineering saber energy!

Disbelief filled his face.

Just then, Feng Bao appeared behind him like a ghost and struck his back with a palm. The blow looked light and soft, but the expert's expression changed abruptly. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his limbs went weak.

He hurriedly mustered his qi and retreated with his lightness skill, vanishing without a trace.

"After taking my Bone-Melting Cotton Palm, keeping him alive would only waste medicine!"

Feng Bao gave a cold smile, flashed to Cao Jinxing's side, and pressed a hand to his back, channeling true qi into him.

Some color returned to Cao Jinxing's face. He cupped his hands. "Thank you, Eunuch Feng. For a Houtian cultivator to challenge a Xiantian expert-I overestimated myself. I've made a fool of myself before you."

"No, no, no! Company Commander Cao, you're far too modest."

Feng Bao shook his head repeatedly, looking at him with delighted surprise. "Do you know what cultivation level that man had?"

"No."

"The third level of Xiantian!"

Admiration filled Feng Bao's face. "You're only at the peak of Houtian, yet you drove him back three steps with one slash. Others at your level could never do that. Without you, my surprise attack wouldn't have succeeded either. Your help was crucial today. I'll report everything faithfully to the Directorate of Ceremonial and request a commendation for you!"

His sincerity prompted a smile from Cao Jinxing. "Then let me thank you in advance, Eunuch Feng."

Feng Bao was even more pleased. "Company Commander Cao, your talent is exceptional, and your future is boundless. There's no need to stand on ceremony." Then he raised his voice and addressed the surrounding Judicial Review Office eunuchs. "Clean away the blood, put the convoy in order, and return to the capital!"

By the time Su Yunsheng and Sun Lang arrived with the Pacification Commission officers, the fighting had long since ended.

Feng Bao had even pried the group's origins out of the "survivor."

"Remnants of the previous dynasty's Tibetan monks."

Feng Bao sneered. "Those Hehuan Sect scoundrels threw the Yuan Dynasty's court into chaos. After the Yuan Dynasty fell, they went into hiding. Now they've actually targeted the Selected Maidens for cultivation vessels. They truly have a death wish!"

"I'm afraid there's more to it than that."

Cao Jinxing pointed out, "Their timing was too convenient. A hundred Selected Maidens, eight large wagons-with only a dozen or so men, they couldn't possibly take them all away. I suspect this operation had another purpose."

Feng Bao gave him a surprised look. "Company Commander Cao, not only are your martial skills outstanding, but your mind is exceptionally sharp as well. A rare combination."

"Then it seems I spoke out of turn." Cao Jinxing smiled. "Since you already have matters well in hand, Eunuch Feng, I need only follow your lead."

Feng Bao grew even more interested.

Now here's a talent!

Where did the Pacification Commission find this treasure?

He glanced back at the eight large wagons, a cold smile curling his lips. Focusing his voice into a thread, he said, "A secret report from the Eastern Depot says members of the Demon Cult Bright Lineage have recently appeared on the outskirts of the capital... These two incidents are probably no coincidence. Most likely, someone slipped in during the chaos, intending to harm His Majesty in secret... Hah. These rebels never stop plotting rebellion. They truly don't know what's good for them!"

Cao Jinxing silently gave him a thumbs-up.

A man capable of wielding overwhelming power was truly a different breed.

"Trying to fool me with such paltry tricks-they underestimate me far too much!"

Feng Bao seemed utterly unconcerned. "Since they've come, they needn't leave. To catch a big fish, you need good bait. Let's see just who... takes the hook."