"Alright, if you're not tired of explaining, then tell me, why is Elder Lin also Zuo An's accomplice? Who was the impostor that the Wolf King and I discovered back then?" Qin Feiyang asked.

"It was me," Jia Hei sneered.

"It was really you!" Qin Feiyang's pupils contracted. "But why would you impersonate him?" he asked, puzzled.

"The reason is simple. Back then, I wanted to frame Elder Lin," Jia Hei explained with a sinister laugh. "You captured Shen Qiang and learned from him that two War Emperors had already defected to the Blood Slaughter Palace. When we received the news, we knew that with your intellect, you would definitely manage to unearth us step by step. So, we devised a plan: I would transform into Elder Lin's appearance and shift the suspicion onto him."

Qin Feiyang frowned. "Aren't you all on the same side? Why would you still frame him?"

"Who told you he was with us?" Jia Hei retorted with a sneer. "Before leaving Yan Province, he had no connection to us at all. It was in King Pan City, after I persuaded him several times, that he finally agreed to join the Blood Slaughter Palace. The Eldest Prince was also convinced by me in King Pan City."

"What?" Qin Feiyang exclaimed, surprised. "Does this mean there's still a War Emperor hidden in Yan City? Who is it?"

"Well, that's confidential for now," Jia Hei said with a teasing smile.

"It seems you deliberately let the Wolf King discover you. Was it also you who fired that hidden arrow that night, killing that middle-aged man right under my and Elder Ji's noses?" Qin Feiyang frowned.

"That's right, I killed him," Jia Hei admitted. "As for the Wolf King, it was always wandering around Yan City, so it was convenient to use it. But what I didn't expect was that you would actually get Chief Li to follow me and find out I entered the Elixir King Palace. Not only did the framing plan fail, but it almost exposed my identity. Since then, I've been living on edge, treading carefully, terrified you'd find evidence against me. I have to admit, your mind is truly brilliant."

Jia Hei praised profusely. He was genuinely praising him; it was the first time in his life he had encountered such a terrifying young man.

HUFF!

Qin Feiyang let out a long sigh. He had already figured out the rest, even without Jia Hei needing to explain.

On the day the friendly competition ended, the Eldest Prince approached him, telling him that Elder Lin had discovered something was amiss with Jia Hei. In reality, it was a ploy to divert his attention, to make him overlook Elder Lin. This way, even if Jia Hei's assassination attempt on Jiang Zhengyi failed, they still had Elder Lin as a backup.

He looked up at Zuo An and asked, "You're the Palace Master of the Blood Slaughter Palace, aren't you?"

"Yes," Zuo An nodded, adding enticingly, "As long as you're willing to join the Blood Slaughter Palace, not only will I let Jiang Zhengyi and the others go, but I'll also appoint you as the Young Palace Master. How about it?"

With Zuo An's admission, all of this could finally be explained. The attacks on Fatty and Lu Hong, having Shen Qiang and Lin Chang capture Lin Yiyi—all of it ultimately had one target: Qin Feiyang.

"Don't treat me like a three-year-old. Even if I were to join the Blood Slaughter Palace, you wouldn't let them go," Qin Feiyang sneered.

"Your clever mind... I find myself liking it more and more," Zuo An said with a lecherous grin. "Correct. I definitely won't let Jiang Zhengyi go. But those little beauties beside you, I'll give them all to you as wives. It's quite normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines."

The faces of Lo Qingzhu and the other women immediately frosted over.

Xue Yang's eyes darted. He bowed to Jia Hei and said, "Master, please allow this Disciple to also join the Blood Slaughter Palace."

"This Disciple is also willing to serve the Blood Slaughter Palace!" Wang Xia declared.

"And me!" Xie Fang added, both of them kneeling in the void.

Zhao Shuang'er said with disgust, "Clinging to life and fearing death, how utterly repulsive!"

The Eldest Prince chuckled. "Miss Shuang'er, you're mistaken. They are merely adapting to the circumstances."

He then looked at Lin Hua and asked, "Are you willing to join the Blood Slaughter Palace?"

"Of course, I am!" Without hesitation, Lin Hua knelt before Zuo An and said respectfully, "This Disciple will be completely loyal. Please accept me, Palace Master."

"HAHA..." Zuo An laughed triumphantly. He glanced at Lin Hua, Xue Yang, and the others, then nodded. "Good. From now on, you are all members of the Blood Slaughter Palace!"

"Thank you, Palace Master!" the few of them kowtowed respectfully.

Qin Feiyang's expression was as dark as still water.

Do these people have any dignity left as human beings? They were supposed to be the prodigies of Yan Province, yet they are so spineless?

Now, only Jiang Zhengyi, Ling Yunfei, Lo Qingzhu, Zhao Shuang'er, Feng Ling'er, the Wolf King, and the Third Prince, Wei Tai, remained.

Wei Tai was also struggling, and Qin Feiyang had noticed. But even if Wei Tai chose to defect to the Blood Slaughter Palace now, Qin Feiyang was powerless to stop him.

He looked at Elder Lin, the Eldest Prince, and Jia Hei, and said in a low voice, "What kind of offer did Zuo An make for you to take such a huge risk and join the Blood Slaughter Palace?"

"That's none of your business," the Eldest Prince sneered.

Qin Feiyang said, "Indeed, it's not my business. But what you're doing now has probably already reached Yan Province."

The Eldest Prince immediately frowned.

Qin Feiyang continued, "Don't forget, Lu Hong and Fatty are both in my ancient fort. They can hear everything said out here clearly, and as it happens, they've also established a contractual link with Chief Li."

The expressions of the Eldest Prince and the others changed drastically; they looked to Zuo An for help.

"Don't panic!" Zuo An lowered his head, pondered for a moment, then said with a savage grin, "Qin Feiyang, you're very troublesome. We went to great lengths to deceive you. But as long as all of you die here, when we return to Yan Province, won't it be us who dictates the narrative?"

"Excellent idea." The Eldest Prince and the others burst into laughter, their smiles radiant.

At that time, they could completely turn the tables and claim that Qin Feiyang and his group had framed them.

Wei Tai's face turned white. He hastily looked at Zuo An and said, "Palace Master, I also want to join the Blood Slaughter Palace! I beg you to take me in."

Zuo An replied, "That's something you'll have to ask your Eldest Brother. If your Eldest Brother agrees, then I agree."

Wei Tai looked at the Eldest Prince and pleaded, "Eldest Brother, for the sake of our brotherhood, please spare me."

"HEH HEH." The Eldest Prince let out a cold laugh. "Wei Tai, oh Wei Tai, don't try to make it sound so pleasant. Did you think I didn't know you've always wanted to eliminate me and seize the position of the next Yan King? Would this Prince keep someone like you alive?"

The Eldest Prince sneered endlessly, the murderous intent in his eyes unconcealed.

Wei Tai's body trembled.

The Eldest Prince said grimly, "Elder Lin, help me kill him!"

"Alright." Elder Lin gave a cold, sinister smile. With a flick of his finger, a streak of Battle Intent shot out, directly piercing Wei Tai's head.

Wei Tai died on the spot!

HAHAHA...

Just then, Jiang Zhengyi tilted his head back and laughed wildly, a laugh filled with the desolate helplessness of a hero in his twilight years.

Suddenly, murderous intent blazed in his eyes!

With a wave of his hand, several streams of Battle Intent erupted, shooting towards Qin Feiyang and the others.

PUFF! PUFF! PUFF!

The Battle Intent, like cold, sharp arrows, mercilessly plunged into the chests of Qin Feiyang and the others, including Lo Qingzhu!

Instantly, blood sprayed high into the air!

"AHHH!" They screamed, their pupils rapidly dilating.

All of this happened so suddenly that even Zuo An didn't have time to react.

The Eldest Prince and Lin Hao, who were holding Qin Feiyang and Lo Qingzhu hostage, were not spared either. Battle Intent pierced their bodies too, leaving thumb-sized bloody holes in their shoulders.

Both were stupefied.

Has Jiang Zhengyi gone mad? Did he actually kill Qin Feiyang and the others with his own hands? Even his most beloved daughter?

"Since we're all going to die anyway, I'd rather send them on their way myself than let you kill them," Jiang Zhengyi declared, looking at the sullen-faced Zuo An, his own eyes filled with a crazed light. "Zuo An, all your elaborate schemes were just to get Qin Feiyang to refine Potential Elixirs for you, weren't they? Now that hope is shattered, you must be furious, right?"

BOOM!

Zuo An was enraged. The aura of an Eight-star War Emperor erupted from him.

At the same time, Jiang Zhengyi's aura also fully exploded.

ROAR!

Behind him, a massive bestial silhouette materialized—a colossal golden tiger, its ferocious might rolling out in all directions! It was his Battle Soul.

"KILL!" Jiang Zhengyi shouted, pointing a finger at Zuo An from mid-air. The colossal tiger roared skyward and pounced ferociously at Zuo An.

"You dare ruin my plans! I'll send you to hell this instant!" Zuo An's malevolent aura surged sky-high.

HISS!

With a sharp hiss, a bestial silhouette also erupted behind him—a gigantic black python. Its cold, serpentine eyes emitted an eerie green light as, with its own baleful aura rolling, it charged towards the golden tiger!

Jia Hei and Elder Lin's expressions changed. They hastily took the Eldest Prince and the others and fled into the sky.

BOOM!

The two Battle Souls collided violently. The golden tiger let out a mournful howl and immediately disintegrated.

Jiang Zhengyi's face turned deathly pale. He spat out a mouthful of blood and, like a meteor, plummeted towards the mountain range below, carrying the bodies of Qin Feiyang and the others with him.

With a tremendous crash, a mountain peak hundreds of zhang high was instantly pulverized by Jiang Zhengyi's impact.

Dust and smoke billowed, obscuring the sky and sun! The earth itself was gouged into a massive crater!

Jiang Zhengyi lay at the bottom of the crater, covered in his own blood.

However, Qin Feiyang and the others were suspended in the void, protected by a golden Battle Intent barrier.

Jiang Zhengyi struggled to his feet. Looking at Lo Qingzhu, a gentle, paternal smile touched his bloodstained face as he whispered, "Child, you must live on."

Then, he ripped off a piece of his own robe and, using his blood as ink, wrote several shocking, blood-red characters on it. He then took out his Qiankun Bag, placed the blood-inscribed cloth inside, and tucked the Qiankun Bag into Qin Feiyang's robes.

Next, with a wave of his hand, Qin Feiyang and the others descended into the deep pit. With another flick of his large sleeve, several boulders flew over, piling up around them. Then, the earth churned, quickly burying Qin Feiyang and the others beneath.

The dense smoke obscured Zuo An's vision, so he saw none of this.

All of this was done in a flash. Having completed these actions, Jiang Zhengyi transformed into a streak of light and shot out from the dust cloud alone, roaring with his hair practically standing on end from fury, "Zuo An! Jia Hei! Elder Lin! Even if I am ground to dust today, I will kill you all to accompany Qingzhu and the others in death!"

He raised his hand, and a vast expanse of golden Battle Intent, like a raging torrent, surged towards Zuo An and his cohorts! In that instant, the entire sky was dyed gold.

"The four of you old dogs together couldn't do anything to me, let alone you by yourself!" Zuo An scoffed.

He charged forward, engaging Jiang Zhengyi in a frenzied battle. For a time, a murderous aura choked the area, and the world itself seemed to plunge into darkness and chaos!

Elder Lin and Jia Hei, leading the Eldest Prince and the others, retreated further and further.

The battle lasted for about a hundred breaths.

"One day, you will all face retribution!" Jiang Zhengyi let out an unreconciled roar before Zuo An's fist smashed into his chest, sending him flying like a cannonball into the mountain range below.

RUMBLE!

An area spanning thousands of zhang was instantly leveled.

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