The moment the official army appeared in the distance, Xu Heyu urgently ordered the troops who had not yet attacked the city to retreat.
Xu Hongru claimed to have started the rebellion in the name of the Celestial Fragrance Sect’s Leader. Almost all the soldiers and generals in the army were followers of the Celestial Fragrance Sect. As Xu Hongru’s younger brother and the newly appointed Venerable Wuxiang, Xu Heyu naturally commanded the entire army with ease.
Following Xu Heyu’s orders, the majority of the Demon Thieves Army abandoned the forces currently laying siege to the city and turned to retreat.
Before long, the official army led by Yang Guodong descended like Divine Soldiers from the heavens. They flanked and annihilated the rebel army attacking the city, then launched a direct assault on the retreating Demon Thieves Army’s rear, completely crushing the stragglers who hadn’t managed to pull back in time.
Yang Guodong initially intended to press the pursuit, but mysteriously altered individuals—Aliens—with numb expressions and lifeless eyes suddenly emerged from the rebel ranks. They dealt the official army a devastating head-on blow, causing massive casualties and forcing Yang Guodong to abandon a deeper pursuit.
After lifting the siege of Xia Town, Yang Guodong left a portion of his men behind to clear the battlefield. He then led his troops into the city to meet with the Garrison Commander of Xia Town and the Divine Robe Guard who had arrived ahead of them.
After a brief round of introductions, Yang Guodong, whose armor was still stained with blood, cut straight to the chase. "What kind of monsters are those things? They look neither human nor ghost." If not for those mysterious monsters blocking his way, he would have undoubtedly inflicted far greater casualties on the rebel army.
"We don’t know either," Peng Zheng, the Garrison Commander of Xia Town, said with a shake of his head.
He had originally been confined to his sickbed, but upon hearing the news of the rebel army’s renewed assault, he had dragged his ailing body up to the city wall. Peng Zheng had fully expected to sacrifice his life for the country. To his surprise, what greeted him on the wall was the sight of the Divine Robe Guard unleashing an absolute massacre. The Aliens that his men had to fight tooth and nail to kill were as fragile as paper before these experts.
The subsequent arrival of Yang Guodong’s official army invigorated Peng Zheng even more.
Hesitantly, Peng Zheng added, "They show no signs of cultivating Inner Power. They should just be Ordinary people..."
"They are ’Snake Slaves’ refined by the Golden Snake Demon of the White Lotus Sect," Chen Xin said.
The White Lotus Sect? The Golden Snake Demon? The crowd exchanged bewildered glances.
"Don’t the Demon Thieves believe in the Celestial Fragrance Sect?" Peng Zheng asked, his face full of confusion.
"No wonder there are so many experts within the Celestial Fragrance Sect." Yang Guodong suddenly understood. "So they’ve been colluding with the White Lotus Sect."
Chen Xin provided a brief explanation. Within the White Lotus Sect, the Sect Leader and the Holy Daughter shone together like the Sun and Moon, collectively known as the Twin Venerables. Below them were the Celestial Wind Demon hierarchy—namely, the Four Great Guardian Heavenly Kings, the Eight-direction Mountain People, the Eight Wind Envoys, and the Nineteen Human Demons.
The Eight Wind Envoys excelled at inciting the masses, assisting and contacting various Evil Cults and their followers to stage uprisings. The Dragon Heaven Sect and Wuwei Sect rebellions decades ago, as well as the current Celestial Fragrance Sect uprising, were all orchestrated by the Eight Wind Envoys.
The Nineteen Human Demons were elite experts within the White Lotus Sect. They were all at the Outer Realm Level; some possessed rare Martial Arts Techniques, while others inherited Abnormal Skills, making them incredibly difficult to deal with. All of these individuals were already on the Divine Robe Guard’s watchlist, with extensive records kept in the Archives for any Divine Robe to review at any time.
The Golden Snake Demon was one of the Nineteen Human Demons. Rumor had it that his legacy hailed from Minzhong. He controlled a bizarre Snake Mother, and its venom could refine Ordinary people into Snake Slaves, turning them into mindless monsters with Copper Skin and Iron Bones and the strength of oxen.
However, the lifespan of such Snake Slaves would never exceed Twelve Hours. Once their time was up, medicine would be useless, and even a Medical Saint would find them impossible to save. The Snake Slaves would exhaust their Life Force and die, shriveling into mummified corpses.
"Condensing a mortal’s century-long lifespan into a mere Twelve Hours, thereby granting them the strength to split mountains and bodies impervious to blades and spears... What a malicious Secret Skill," Yang Guodong said angrily. His True Qi erupted from his body, revealing an impressively high mastery of the Inner Realm.
"If a single Snake Slave is that terrifying, why doesn’t this Golden Snake Demon refine all the Demon Thieves into Snake Slaves?" Peng Zheng asked, bewildered. "Tens of thousands of Snake Slaves would be unstoppable, even for the entire Shandong army!"
"He doesn’t have the capability," Chen Xin said decisively. "Every Snake Slave requires the Snake Mother’s venom as a catalyst. Even if the Golden Snake Demon uses his Demon Skill to refine them and drains the Snake Mother completely dry, there simply isn’t enough venom.
"Furthermore, since the Snake Slaves die after Twelve Hours, no matter how many they refine, it all becomes futile as long as the official army avoids battle for a single day."
In massive army clashes or duels between true experts, Snake Slaves were nothing more than a joke. It was only in small-scale siege battles like this that the Golden Snake Demon’s Snake Slaves had any real utility.
Resting his chin in his hand, Yang Guodong pondered deeply. "But if we are to defeat the rebel army, even a small number of Snake Slaves will still cause us immense trouble. Ordinary soldiers are completely powerless against them."
"Strike the leader down first," Chen Xin said, slowly spitting out the five words.
"A Wind Catcher reported that every refinement of a Snake Slave is accompanied by agonized screams and wails. To avoid damaging morale, Xu Heyu opts to refine the Snake Slaves in a dense forest two miles outside the military camp before bringing them back in.
"I have already dispatched Divine Robe Imperial Guards to confirm this. There are indeed traces of Snake Slave refinement at the site. Tonight is our chance. Both Xu Heyu and the Golden Snake Demon will be present. Once those two die, the Demon Thieves Army at Xia Town will collapse on its own!"
Chen Xin was lying here. It wasn’t intelligence from a Wind-Catching Secret Agent, but rather information he had interrogated out of a few Snake Slaves who still retained a shred of sanity using the Soul-Stealing Secret Manual.
"Excellent!" Yang Guodong’s blood boiled with excitement. He immediately declared, "Chen Copper Order, I will bring my men and move out with you tonight to slay those two beasts!"
Chen Xin shook his head and refused. "Governor Yang, leave the assassination to the Divine Robe. You must stay behind to command the official army. Once Xu Heyu and the Golden Snake Demon are dead and the Demon Thieves Army descends into chaos, you can lead the charge and crush them."
"...Yes, Chen Copper Order is absolutely right." Calming down slightly, Yang Guodong thought about it and realized that Chen Xin’s plan made much more sense.
Evening fell over the Demon Thieves Army camp east of Xia Town.
Surrounding a crude Celestial Fragrance Altar, soldiers watched with immense envy as the newly appointed Venerable Wuxiang, Xu Heyu, bestowed incense upon over a dozen male followers. They had achieved Perfection in their Cultivation and survived all three tribulations, finally earning the honor of being granted the Celestial Fragrance by Xu Heyu.
This was the supreme glory of the Celestial Fragrance Sect! Many soldiers were left sighing, wondering why it couldn’t have been them.
After the incense-bestowing ceremony concluded, this group of strong, young men was arranged inside a large tent filled with burning Celestial Fragrance. When the sun rose, they would achieve salvation and become Maitreya Saints in their next lives.
The spectating soldiers dispersed and returned to their respective tents. Xu Heyu’s words echoed continuously in their minds: only by killing enough of the dog-like official army could they achieve Perfection in their Cultivation and be bestowed the Celestial Fragrance just like those men.
The cold, clear moon gradually rose into the sky.
Flanked by the Golden Snake Demon, Xu Heyu silently approached the large tent with a group of Celestial Fragrance Disciples. He ordered his disciples to open the tent and take away the dozen or so male believers lying haphazardly inside.
"Who’s there?" the Golden Snake Demon suddenly asked, raising an eyebrow as he drew the long whip from his waist.
The rest of the Celestial Fragrance Disciples immediately went on high alert.
Two strange figures wearing Nuo masks stepped out from behind the tent. They were none other than Bird’s Beak and Wasp of the Four Demon Nether Envoys.
"Underworld assassins, the Four Demon Nether Envoys—Leopard, Bird, Fish, and Bee!"
Xu Heyu recognized the duo and immediately demanded, "My brother hired you to assassinate that Divine Robe Guard! Why is he still alive? Why are you here? Taking our money but doing no work—is this supposed to be the true strength of the Underworld, the world’s number one assassin organization?"
Killing the Divine Robe Guard Copper Order, Chen Xin—this was the condition Wang Haoxian had given Xu Hongru.
Naturally, Xu Hongru had agreed without hesitation. Assassinating an Inner Realm martial artist was no difficult task, even if the target was a Divine Robe Guard. He had immediately enlisted Underworld assassins—the Ghost General Level Four Demon Nether Envoys—to carry out the hit.
The Underworld assassins were divided into several tiers: Ghost Soldier Level, Ghost General Level, and Ghost King Level, which corresponded to the Inner Realm, Outer Realm, and Profound Master stages, respectively.
Ghost Soldiers were mostly nameless underlings, adopting monikers such as Drowned Ghost, Long-tongued Ghost, and Faceless Ghost. At the Ghost General Level, assassins had distinct names and titles, such as Black and White Impermanence, Ox Head and Horse Face, and the Four Demon Nether Envoys.
Although the Four Demon Nether Envoys had a relatively poor track record among the Ghost General Level, they were still Outer Realm experts, after all. Xu Hongru felt he had already treated the target with considerable importance by hiring the Four Demon Nether Envoys. With Outer Realm experts assassinating an Inner Realm target, there was absolutely no way they could fail.
"The intelligence was flawed. That man has reached the Outer Realm Level," Bird’s Beak said indifferently, his voice devoid of sorrow or joy. "Leopard’s Tail and Fish’s Gills were killed by him in a single strike."
Wasp chimed in, "But the mission stands, and we will not let him off. He is currently in Xia Town."
"No wonder our attack on Xia Town was thwarted. It turns out a Divine Robe Guard expert was providing support," Xu Heyu thought to himself, muttering a curse about them being trash under his breath. He also managed to grasp their intention: these two were planning to hide within the army and bide their time to execute the assassination.
"Very well. Once I finish refining the Snake Slaves tonight, we will assault the city immediately tomorrow. You two will hide among the troops and wait for an opportunity to strike. Bring me that Divine Robe Guard’s head!"
Bird’s Beak and Wasp remained completely silent, tacitly agreeing to Xu Heyu’s plan.
The Underworld assassins were highly flexible and adaptable, willing to use any means necessary. As long as they could complete the mission and ensure the target died by their hands, nothing else mattered.