Unexpectedly, there was such a profound secret hidden within. Fan Meng had not used his authority, but rather his Martial Arts, to control the provincial officials.
No wonder the ensuing chaos had ended the moment Fan Meng died.
"Such an Abnormal Skill must absolutely not fall into the hands of the Celestial Fragrance Sect!" young and hot-blooded Lul Yilin said, slamming his hand against the table as he stood up.
Leng Lianyun frowned slightly but said nothing. Instead, he looked at Meng Yuanshu. "You mean to say that you want to hand over the *Soul-Stealing Secret Manual* to the Court?"
"Yes. Only by handing such a Miraculous Skill over to the Court can I feel at ease."
"So, the *Soul-Stealing Secret Manual* is still in your hands?"
"Yes, of course it is in my... hands!"
As his voice hit the final syllable, Meng Yuanshu’s eyes glinted fiercely. His sudden shout rang out like a massive bell, piercing straight through their minds!
The situation changed in an instant. Leng Lianyun, Jiangg Hengchuan, and Yan Chong reacted immediately, but they were far slower than Meng Yuanshu’s voice!
Jiangg Hengchuan’s saber froze just as it was being unsheathed. The Feihuang Stone in Leng Lianyun’s hand stopped dead between his fingers. Yan Chong’s sword hung on the verge of being drawn.
Meanwhile, Lul Yilin remained frozen in his table-slamming posture.
"Huff... Huff..." Meng Yuanshu panted heavily. The pressure of feigning compliance with these Divine Robe Guards and Wind-Catching Secret Agents had been far too immense.
Immediately after, he burst into maniacal laughter. "Hahahaha!"
So what if they were Divine Robe Guards? So what if they were Wind-Catching Secret Agents? They were merely a few experts of the Inner Realm. How could they possibly resist the Cultivation Skill of the *Soul-Stealing Secret Manual*?
SWISH.
A Short Sword slid out from Meng Yuanshu’s sleeve. He stared dead at Chen Xin in front of him. Venerable Wuxiang had died at the hands of this very man—the one who had nearly ruined the grand plans of the Celestial Fragrance Sect!
Yet after a long moment, Meng Yuanshu still did not thrust his sword.
None of these people could die. There were a large number of Divine Robe Captains waiting outside, and he knew he was no match for them. He could only lament his lack of time. Despite secretly studying the *Soul-Stealing Secret Manual* for so long, he still hadn’t mastered it. He could barely steal people’s minds, let alone manipulate their souls. He was far from reaching the level of his ancestors.
But the crisis had passed.
Meng Yuanshu completely relaxed. Sitting in the Taishi Chair, he took the *Soul-Stealing Secret Manual* from his robes and continued to study it. Among these five people, that sixteen or seventeen-year-old little Wind Catcher had the weakest Willpower. He could exploit this vulnerability, controlling the boy to lead him out of the Escort Agency Courtyard.
SWISH—
Just as he spread it open, the entire Secret Manual vanished from Meng Yuanshu’s hands.
"Oh no!" Meng Yuanshu’s expression drastically changed. Someone was faking it!
The Short Sword slipped from his sleeve as he strode forward, preparing to take one of them hostage.
CRACK CRACK CRACK!
The moment Meng Yuanshu moved, his shoulder and hand bones fractured inch by inch. The piercing agony instantly made him lose his grip on the weapon.
He wondered when he had been ambushed.
CLANG!
The Short Sword hit the ground, and Meng Yuanshu fell to one knee in agony.
He thought, "My shoulder... It’s my shoulder. Someone patted my shoulder just now."
Gritting his teeth, Meng Yuanshu looked up, only to see someone flipping through his *Soul-Stealing Secret Manual*. This person was clearly the Divine Robe Guard he had just immobilized, and the one who patted his shoulder was also this man!
He watched as the Divine Robe Guard flipped through the Secret Manual with the wind trailing behind his palms. He blew through page after page, barely pausing for more than five seconds on any given one.
He thought, "Damn Divine Robe Guard..." Meng Yuanshu’s face twisted in pain, wishing he could hack the man into a thousand pieces.
Outwardly, however, he had no choice but to plead. "Lord Copper Order Divine Robe, I want to surrender!
"I can wake up your companions, and I can provide the secret strongholds of the Celestial Fragrance Sect followers!"
Seeing no reaction from the Divine Robe Guard, Meng Yuanshu gritted his teeth and fabricated a lie. "Those subjected to Soul Stealing cannot be awakened through normal means. Only I can..."
"Enough." Chen Xin snapped the Secret Manual shut with a THWACK. He had mastered it.
The *Soul-Stealing Secret Manual* was not difficult to learn; it was on par with a Rare: Sixth Grade Martial Arts. With a new Martial Arts acquired, the panel popped up again to make its presence known.
[Name: Chen Xin]
[Talent: A Man among Men]
[Realm: Inner Realm]
[Weapon: Long Blade: Unstoppable]
[Evaluation: Integration]
[Martial Arts: Divine Illumination Skill, Soul-Stealing Secret Manual, Seven Kills Saber Technique, Meteor Meteor Body Technique, Hundred Victory Saber Technique]
"Let’s test it on you first," Chen Xin said, lifting Meng Yuanshu up.
Meng Yuanshu still tried to struggle after being lifted, but the moment Chen Xin spoke, those seven words smashed into his heart like a massive hammer. Everything went dead silent in Meng Yuanshu’s ears, leaving only those seven words echoing in his mind. Chen Xin’s figure gradually grew taller in his eyes, eventually turning into a towering, divine statue surrounded by auspicious clouds and a sky full of rainbows.
Chen Xin asked, "Who are you?"
"Meng Yuanshu."
"Do you believe in the Celestial Fragrance Sect?"
"Yes."
"Who is responsible for the massacre at the Changfeng Escort Agency?"
"I killed them all."
HISS...
Chen Xin was stunned. Even a vicious tiger wouldn’t eat its cubs, yet to think there was someone who would annihilate their own entire family. The harm of Evil Cult superstitions was truly profound.
Chen Xin fired off a series of questions regarding the Celestial Fragrance Sect’s secrets and their deployments in the Capital City. Meng Yuanshu answered each one with precise and meticulous detail. The entire conspiracy of the Celestial Fragrance Sect was laid bare before Chen Xin’s eyes.
The Sect Leader of the Celestial Fragrance Sect, Wang Sen, had come to the Capital City under the instruction of the White Lotus Sect. He had brought two great Venerables of the sect with him. Aside from Venerable Wuxiang, who represented Dao and had just been slaughtered by Chen Xin, there was also Venerable Zhenyan, who represented monks. Venerable Zhenyan stayed by the Sect Leader’s side at all times.
The Celestial Fragrance Sect indeed wanted to seize the Secret Manual, but it was Meng Yuanshu who had reported it to the sect and personally led his people to take it. It was precisely because of this internal betrayal that the Changfeng Escort Agency had been wiped out overnight.
As for why they had caused such a huge commotion, it was to attract the attention of the Divine Robe Guards.
Recently, Wang Sen had decided to organize a grand gathering to assemble all the core believers in the capital. They aimed to preach the Three Calamities, distribute the Celestial Fragrance, and stabilize the people’s hearts, which had been unsettled by the Divine Robe Guards’ city-wide searches.
Meng Yuanshu and Venerable Wuxiang had originally intended to seize the Secret Manual anyway, so they took advantage of this opportunity to orchestrate the entire incident. First, they annihilated the Changfeng Escort Agency to draw the Divine Robe Guards in. Then, Venerable Wuxiang would impersonate Meng Yuanshu and accidentally "expose" himself, thereby clearing the real Meng Yuanshu of any suspicion. Following that, Zhou Yin would act in the open while Meng Yuanshu operated in the shadows, and the two would manipulate the situation together.
To ensure the Divine Robe Guards’ attention remained firmly locked on the Escort Agency case, they had even made several backup plans.
Yet, their very first step failed.
Venerable Wuxiang hadn’t exposed himself; he was directly seen through and slain on the spot. Meng Yuanshu couldn’t wait for Zhou Yin to arrive, but instead, he ended up facing Chen Xin’s group of five. Left with no other choice, he gambled everything on using the *Soul-Stealing Secret Manual*.
"What a pair of geniuses," Chen Xin said, his mouth twitching.
Fortunately, the geniuses were on the enemy’s side.
A Celestial Fragrance Vegetarian Gathering that assembled all the core believers in the capital? It was actually a perfect opportunity for a clean sweep, uprooting the entire Celestial Fragrance Sect in the Capital City once and for all.
"Where has Wang Sen decided to hold the Celestial Fragrance Vegetarian Gathering?"
Meng Yuanshu’s mouth opened and closed as he uttered a location.
THUD!
Chen Xin struck Meng Yuanshu’s body with three consecutive palm strikes, wiping out his memory of what had just happened, before releasing his control and tossing him to the ground.
It was about time. Chen Xin looked over at Leng Lianyun and the other three. Because Meng Yuanshu lacked mastery of his skills, the four of them would naturally wake up after a period of time. Chen Xin could wake them up early, but there was no need.
Jiangg Hengchuan, Leng Lianyun, and Yan Chong jolted awake. Only when they saw Chen Xin smiling cheerfully did they retract the moves they had been about to unleash. A wave of lingering fear washed over the three of them. They touched their backs, finding themselves drenched in cold sweat.
"W-what happened?" Only Lul Yilin was slow on the uptake, just now realizing that something was wrong.
"We were hit by a sneak attack," Leng Lianyun explained. He then glared at Lul Yilin, genuinely feeling embarrassed by him.
Lul Yilin looked sheepish and stopped talking.
Chen Xin explained to the four of them what had just happened, telling a tale that was nine parts truth and one part lie. He claimed he had used his Inner Strength to seal his sense of hearing, dodging Meng Yuanshu’s control. Then, he had subdued the man and harshly interrogated him to extract information about the Celestial Fragrance Sect. Following that, time ran out, and Leng Lianyun’s group of four woke up naturally.
"So that’s what happened..." The four of them gasped in amazement, showing no signs of suspicion. It made sense because, at this moment, Meng Yuanshu was still lying on the ground, screaming incessantly. His body had several caved-in spots, clearly showing that he had been heavily tortured.
"The Celestial Fragrance Vegetarian Gathering starts tonight!" Chen Xin’s voice rang out firmly.
Hearing this, Jiangg Hengchuan and Yan Chong paused for a moment before understanding his meaning.
Chen Xin then summoned a Divine Robe Captain to take Meng Yuanshu away.
"Today, everything continues as usual," Chen Xin said.
Leng Lianyun nodded. The Wind-Catching Secret Agents would cooperate.