Chapter 154: The Mastermind

Imperial Palace, Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The civil and military officials have already been dismissed except for Li Guozhu, Jiang Yushu, Ye Dongming, Tao Mingsheng, the fifth prince, and other high-ranking officials,

Everyone was currently looking at Fang Chen with solemn expressions.

Fang Chen was discussing some of the deeds committed by the Spirit Blood Sect in the capital with Jin Nan.

The more Jin Nan heard, the more his expression became increasingly serious.

The Grand Xia Emperor showed a trace of astonishment.

Ancestor Xia Yu's face had long since turned pale, and cold sweat trickled down his back. He never expected that Grand Xia had attracted the attention of evil cultivators.

"Lord Fang, was Master Xuhui back then one of the Spirit Blood Sect cultivators? Did he use the orphans in the Hall of Compassion to refine blood pills?" Jiang Yushu spoke slowly.

Fang Chen nodded.

It was only then that everyone understood why Fang Chen had targeted the Hall of Compassion and killed Master Xuhui out of the blue. They had thought that Master Xuhui turned out to be a demonic arts practitioner, but unexpectedly, he was a cultivator!

A cultivator hidden within the territory of Grand Xia!

The fifth prince wore a strange expression. "Was the Heavenly Sword Villa also plotted against by the Spirit Blood Sect cultivators?"

Fang Chen nodded. "Yes."

Tao Mingsheng's face had turned pale. "Is... Qin Dong also a Spirit Blood Sect cultivator?"

"He’s not. He's just an ordinary mortal,” said Fang Chen.

Everyone showed relief at that, but Fang Chen’s next words caused them to turn tense again.

“However, the Spirit Blood Sect had collaborated with a few people in the capital to facilitate their operation."

They were collaborating with people in the capital? Does that mean there were still members of the Spirit Blood Sect in the capital?!

"Lord Fang," said Jin Nan slowly, "have the Spirit Blood Sect cultivators been completely eliminated?"

That was the most important question that needed to be answered at the moment.

Fang Chen nodded. "They have."

Jin Nan let out a long sigh of relief. "That's good...." He then looked over at everyone and said, "Now, as long as we find out who the ordinary people they were colluding with were, this matter will be considered as good as done."

"The battle at Three World Mountain," murmured the Grand Xia Emperor. "Did the Spirit Blood Sect have a hand in what happened? Since they wanted to refine Spirit Blood Pills, then the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and generals who had died in that battle... were their blood used to...?"

Fang Chen nodded. "The Spirit Blood Sect cultivators used that battle to refine six Blood Spirit Pills. I didn’t know anything about cultivation at the time, so I wasn’t able to detect the abnormality."

"How did you become the emperor?" Ancestor Xia Yu suddenly looked angrily at the Grand Xia Emperor. "There were cultivators secretly plotting against your subjects, and you didn't sense anything?"

The Grand Xia Emperor showed a bitter twist. "Old Ancestor, I..."

"Don't blame him. He is just an ordinary man. How can he sense spiritual energy? If it weren't for Lord Fang being recruited by a high-level sect, he’d still be in the dark regarding the Spirit Blood Sect’s movements," said Elder Jin Nan offhandedly.

"Lord Fang, do you have any clues we can follow? Who in the capital colluded so shamelessly with the Spirit Blood Sect cultivators?" asked the Grand Xia Emperor quickly.

Standing behind Jin Nan, Xia Yu feigned calmness as he looked at Fang Chen. His face was the epitome of curiosity, but in his heart, he kept praying that Fang Chen wouldn't look at him.

"Commander of the Valiant Saber Guards, Xiao Shence," revealed Fang Chen casually.

Everyone took a cold breath and looked at each other in disbelief. Xiao Shence, the trusted confidant of the Grand Xia Emperor, the former commander of the Valiant Saber Guards, had actually colluded with the Spirit Blood Sect!?

This...

The Grand Xia Emperor's face leached off blood, and he felt his strength escape him. He weakly said, "Lord Fang, do you have concrete evidence to back up that claim?"

Fang Chen didn’t answer him and instead told Huang Sihai, "Bring them in here,"

Huang Sihai immediately nodded, turned and left the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Not long after, he brought Xiao Shence and some others into the hall.

Xiao Shence face was ashen, and he looked so weak, he couldn’t even walk properly. Those with sharp eyes even noticed that his martial cultivation had been completely abolished!

"We’ve found this pill bottle on Xiao Shence, my lord." Huang Sihai handed a porcelain bottle to Fang Chen. Fang Chen opened it, took a sniff, and then tossed the bottle to Jin Nan.

Jin Nan caught it, took a look, and sniffed it. His face became extremely serious. He then threw the bottle to Abbess Zhu Yue.

After a few moments, Abbess Zhu Yue said indifferently, "There is a Blood Pill in here, a pill that is refined with essence and blood. These pills must be refined with demonic and heretical methods. It can enhance cultivation, but it also leads the people who consume it to gradually fall into the demonic path."

"You have disappointed me, Xiao Shence!" mouthed the Grand Xia Emperor as he stared at his former confidant.

Xiao Shence smiled bitterly. "I was just seeking more power to protect our nation, Your Majesty. I haven't done anything wrong." He swept his eyes around until his gaze finally fell on Fang Chen.

"Fang Chen, I don't understand why I always fall short of you. Your martial talent has been unmatched since young. Even after you've had your martial cultivation crippled at Three World Mountain, you were still able to become a cultivator. Why does the Heavens favor you so much?"

Fang Chen declined to humor him and went straight to the point. "Where is Chief Pacifier Liu?"

Xiao Shence laughed with a thread of madness. "What, weren't you so good at guessing things? Why don't you go and find him yourself!"

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The people around finally understood that it was Xiao Shence who had helped Chief Pacifier Liu, who had been involved in the incident at the Hall of Compassion, escape.

Li Guozhu and others scolded him one after another.

Fang Chen smiled. "He is just an insignificant small fry. He might not even be aware of the existence of the Spirit Blood Sect. Whether we find him or not doesn't matter to me. Even you, commander

of the Valiant Saber Guards, aren’t worth anything in the eyes of cultivators. I have seen how arrogant cultivators can be."

Jin Nan revealed a strange expression.

"Was this Blood Pill given to you by your backer?" asked Fang Chen faintly.

Backer? The expressions of everyone tightened.

Xiao Shence's gaze flickered, and he gritted his teeth. "The Spirit Blood Sect were the ones who got in contact with me,” he said. “Fang Chen, you better not think that you can use this to get rid of your oppositions in the court!"

"Lord Fang already is a cultivator. Why would he care about the court?" yelled Tao Mingsheng. "Hurry up and reveal who is behind you! Or no amount of punishment will appease our anger!"

Xiao Shence sneered. "Lord Tao, I remember you used to hate Fang Chen very much. Why the change in attitude now?"

Tao Mingsheng suddenly choked on his own words, his expression flickered back and forth. He said in a deep voice, "I have indeed had conflicts with Lord Fang, but those were trivial matters. There’s an even more major issue at hand right now! There is actually someone who doesn’t show respect to the lives of the Grand Xia citizens. Don't divert the topic!"

"Fang Chen, you wanted to know who is behind me, right?" Xiao Shence chuckled lightly. "Minister of Rites, Tao Mingsheng; Minister of War, Ye Dongming; Minister of Justice, Jiang Yushu,” he listed. ” Oh, I almost forgot. There’s also the fifth prince, Li Guozhu,” he added with a smile. “Those are the people supporting me.”

Suddenly all hell broke loose.

The fifth prince cursed loudly, "This dying dog still wants to drag random innocent people down with him!”

"The person behind you is Xia Yu, isn't he?” said Fang Chen with an indifferent smile.

The hall became extremely quiet, and Xiao Shence showed an incredulous expression, his eyes constricting.

Xia Yu was startled and immediately pointed at Fang Chen angrily. "You're spouting nonsense!"