“Is there someone else?!” The county magistrate, the Mo family head, and the followers of the Nine Nether Sect were all shocked. They prided themselves on manipulating everything from the shadows, like chess masters. How could they now be controlled by someone else?

Who was hiding in the shadows?

They tried various means to break free.

The county magistrate attempted to mobilize the chains hidden on his back, but no matter how hard he tried, the chains seemed to be nailed to the space behind him, not moving at all.

The Mo family head had tattoos of eighteen different weapons on his arms. These were actually eighteen weapons he had personally forged. In the past, these weapons were invincible, but now, they all fell silent, and he couldn’t mobilize any of them.

The followers of the Nine Nether Sect tried to summon the ghostly shadows hidden in their bodies. However, these shadows seemed to have encountered something terrifying and were shivering inside their bodies.

The three of them realized that the person who made the move was not simple. This ability to ignore reality and casually change local rules… was it at the Integration Stage?!

Did all disciples of the Seek Tao Sect have such extravagant protection when they went out, with a powerful cultivator at the Integration Stage accompanying them?

The county magistrate and the Mo family head regretted in their hearts. They were just trying to steal a phoenix bloodstone, but it had caused so much trouble, involving both the Nine Nether Sect and a cultivator at the Integration Stage.

Seeing that Su Yiren finally made a move, Meng Jingzhou was so scared that he quickly got up and ran, seeking Su Yiren’s protection.

He was the only one in the room who could move.

Lu Yang whispered to Li Haoran, “If she uses force, you seem to have no ability to resist. You might as well submit to her.”

“She can only have my body, not my heart!” Li Haoran responded righteously, but he was also nervous inside.

Su Yiren was gentle and generous, like a caring big sister. It seemed that it wouldn’t be too bad to submit to her.

Su Yiren pushed open the door and looked at the three people she had immobilized. Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, and Li Haoran followed behind her, feeling very safe.

“Who would have thought, Magistrate Shi, that you not only colluded with the Phoenix Clan but also with the Nine Nether Sect. Your crimes are extremely heinous. I have recorded everything with a memory orb!” Lu Yang started with a false accusation.

“Hey, hey, hey, you can’t just say things like that.” The county magistrate’s face changed.

“Oh yes, yes, yes, he did collude with the Phoenix Clan and the Nine Nether Sect. I can testify.” The Mo family head took the opportunity to kick the county magistrate when he was down.

“Let me introduce myself, I’m Lu Yang, a disciple of the Seek Tao Sect.”

“Meng Jingzhou, a disciple of the Seek Tao Sect.”

“Li Haoran, a disciple of the Seek Tao Sect.”

Su Yiren didn’t say anything. She was easygoing in front of Li Haoran, but not so in front of others.

“I originally wanted to see what secrets this phoenix bloodstone held, but I didn’t expect to hook a big fish.”

Lu Yang removed the mask from the follower of the Nine Nether Sect. The man looked ordinary.

“You just said that you want to refine the phoenix into a corpse puppet. If you tell me what happened, I might spare your life.” This was no small matter. The corpse of an Integration Stage phoenix was right under their feet. If it were to be refined into a corpse puppet, or even if the phoenix just turned over, it would be a disaster for the Falling Phoenix County.

The county magistrate’s face was also very ugly. If the Nine Nether Sect succeeded, his tenure as county magistrate would be over.

The follower of the Nine Nether Sect laughed loudly, “If you discover me, can I still live?”

“Senior Su, search his soul.” Seeing that the other party had no intention of speaking, Lu Yang directly asked Su Yiren to make a move.

Su Yiren stepped forward, pressed her hand on the follower’s forehead, and frowned, “He’s not a human, he’s a corpse!”

The follower of the Nine Nether Sect’s eyes were lifeless, and his body quickly decayed, leaving only a pile of bones.

This was a common tactic of the Nine Nether Sect, controlling corpses while the real body operated from behind the scenes. Once discovered, they would cut off the connection with the corpse, which would then quickly decay, leaving no clues. It was very difficult to catch them, but the people present didn’t know much about the Nine Nether Sect.

“Trying to escape?”

Su Yiren made another move, using her Integration Stage power to cover the entire Falling Phoenix County with a rule barrier. No insects could enter, no birds could leave. She was determined to find the people from the Nine Nether Sect.

Controlling corpses also had a range, and the other party couldn’t possibly escape from Falling Phoenix County.

If she let someone two major realms below her escape, it would be too embarrassing.

It didn’t matter if she embarrassed herself, but it was unacceptable to lose face in front of Li Haoran!

She expanded her divine sense, scanning every inch of the Falling Phoenix County.

Normally, an Integration Stage rogue cultivator casually scanning a city with divine sense would be a provocation to the Great Xia Dynasty, but given the circumstances, no one would hold Su Yiren accountable.

“I found them!”

Su Yiren quickly locked onto several suspicious cultivators with her divine sense. Those suspicious cultivators had some kind of restriction on them. Once they were immobilized by Su Yiren, they immediately died violently.

“So ruthless?”

The county magistrate’s face turned pale, “I heard that the Nine Nether Sect believes in the existence of the Nine Nethers. Death is just a cycle to them, not something to be feared. Therefore, the Nine Nether Sect is a group of desperados, very dangerous!”

Su Yiren found many arrays hidden in the dry wells of many large families with her divine sense. They were interconnected and very tight, covering the entire large array. It should be the array for refining the phoenix.

“No, the Nine Nether Sect followers who died violently didn’t have the cultivation base of the Deity Transformation Stage. The real controller hasn’t been found yet!” Su Yiren realized that those who died violently were just the subordinates of the person behind the scenes.

“It’s underneath, in the corpse of the phoenix!” Lu Yang was the first to think of it. The old phoenix was at the Integration Stage when it was alive, and the corpse of an Integration Stage cultivator could block the divine sense scan of a cultivator at the same level.

Su Yiren also thought of this, but she didn’t move.

“Senior Su, what’s wrong?” Lu Yang was puzzled. Wasn’t it easy for an Integration Stage cultivator to burrow into the ground? Didn’t an Integration Stage cultivator know a few small burrowing techniques?

“Yeah, Senior Su, hurry up and go down. If the Nine Nether Sect refines the phoenix, Falling Phoenix County will be in danger.” Li Haoran also urged.

Su Yiren thought for a moment about how to phrase it, then said, “My methods… might not be what you think.”

Su Yiren took a deep breath to calm herself. At this point, she couldn’t pretend to be a delicate lady anymore.

She clenched her fist and punched the ground, creating a hole wide enough for a person. Then she jumped down and burrowed into the ground.

Lu Yang and the others widened their eyes and swallowed. Senior Su Yiren’s methods… seemed to be inconsistent with her gentle appearance.

They suddenly remembered a question that had been overlooked before.

“What is she good at in cultivation?”Meng Jingzhou looked at the large hole, finding it eerily familiar. Was this method not similar to his master’s?

The three exchanged glances, a ludicrous guess surfacing in their minds: “Could Su Yiren be… a body cultivator?”

A phoenix, its feathers a vibrant red, lay quietly on the ground as if it had just died. Suddenly, the array left by the Jiuyou Sect activated. The phoenix’s eyes lit up with a green glow, like jade, and the Phoenix True Flame ignited around it, burning the entire underground into a hollow.

“Since you’ve discovered it, let’s all go down together!” The voice of a Jiuyou Sect disciple echoed from the phoenix, hoarse and crazed.

He said so, but inside, the disciple was filled with regret.

Setting up the array, stealing a piece of Phoenix Bloodstone, resurrecting the phoenix, overthrowing Luofeng County, what a perfect plan it was. Simple, flawless, and undetectable.

How did stealing a Phoenix Bloodstone attract the attention of a cultivator in the Unity stage?

Is this Phoenix Bloodstone really that valuable?

“Although I couldn’t resurrect the phoenix to its peak state in such a hurry, it’s more than enough to overthrow Luofeng County!” At this point, the Jiuyou Sect disciple couldn’t care less.

“I know you’re in the Unity stage, but so what? Are you an array or talisman cultivator? It doesn’t matter. Before you can completely stop the phoenix, I can destroy Luofeng County several times over!”

The phoenix, wrapped in True Flame, cried out in the hollow underground. It spread its wings, carrying an endless destructive power, like a rebirth from the fire.

Just as the Jiuyou Sect disciple was about to control the phoenix to soar into the sky, he found that the phoenix couldn’t fly at all.

“What’s going on?”

He used his divine sense to probe the outside world and found that Su Yiren was holding the phoenix’s beak with one hand, preventing it from flying no matter how hard it flapped its wings.

“Fly?” A cold smirk appeared on Su Yiren’s pretty face. With one hand holding the phoenix’s beak, she forcefully threw it down, slamming the phoenix onto the ground.

The county lord and the head of the Mo family, along with Lu Yang and the others, came down from the opened hole just in time to see Su Yiren flinging the phoenix, a scene filled with both beauty and violence.

Li Haoran swallowed hard. If he were to marry, would he even have a chance to survive?

(End of the chapter)