Under Zhao Qinghuo’s leadership, the Qinghuo Gang seized control of the entire Celestial Demon Canyon with lightning speed.

Of the hundred-plus Lui Family elites gathered in the Celestial Demon Canyon, more than half were killed or injured. Grand Elder Lui Chen died in battle, while Lui Guan had his hands and feet severed. He was tied to a wooden pillar, exposed to the scorching sun and lashed by the wind, a truly miserable sight.

The rest of the Lui Family members had their cultivation crippled and were tightly bound, forced to kneel before the tombstones at the entrance to the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm.

Every half a day, the Qinghuo Gang would drag out an expert from the Lui Family and behead them as a public example.

Their bodies were tossed onto the ground to bake under the scorching sun, while their heads were piled up in front of Lui Guan.

Lui Guan was disheveled and filthy, tied to the wooden pillar with his limbs severed. Dried blood was caked onto his body. His eyes were filled with despair and pain as he watched his clansmen die one after another. His heart twisted in agony, and he roared with a raw, hoarse voice, "Zhao Qinghuo! Luo Zhen! You’ll suffer a terrible death...!"

"How noisy. Cut out his tongue," Luo Zhen said with a frown, casually holding a bunch of grapes.

Zhao Qinghuo nodded and looked at Zhao Qingshui. "Didn’t you hear Young Master Luo?"

"Yes!"

Zhao Qingshui walked up to Lui Guan with a dagger, pinched his jaw, and sliced. Blood splattered as Lui Guan’s tongue was cut out.

"Ngh... nghhh..."

With his mouth full of blood, Lui Guan screamed repeatedly, but only muffled whimpers escaped.

His eyes burned with rage and hatred, fixed upon Luo Zhen and Zhao Qinghuo.

Luo Zhen frowned, a flicker of displeasure in his eyes.

Zhao Qinghuo, ever observant, immediately spoke up. "Hmph! How dare you, Lui Guan! To stare at Young Master Luo with such a venomous gaze is a grave act of disrespect! Men, gouge out his eyes!"

"Yes, sir!"

A savage grin on his face, Zhao Qingshui walked up to Lui Guan. "Heh heh heh, Lui Guan, oh, Lui Guan. It was because of you that I never got my chance with that pretty little thing. I bet you never thought you’d end up like this, did you?"

Before he had even finished speaking, Zhao Qingshui thrust two fingers into Lui Guan’s eye sockets and gouged out two bloody eyeballs. Blood streamed from Lui Guan’s face as his body convulsed in agony, and he nearly fainted from the pain.

A satisfied smile touched Luo Zhen’s lips. He said nonchalantly, "Gang Leader Zhao, since the plan is to use them to lure out the killer, we can’t let him die so easily. I have a few Life-extending Pills here. Give him one to keep him hanging on by a thread."

"Young Master Luo is truly benevolent!" Zhao Qinghuo said at once.

They then used the pill to keep Lui Guan from dying, in reality trapping him in a state where he could neither live nor die.

’This is too much...’

’Zhao Qinghuo and that Luo Zhen are inhuman.’

’The Lui Family... how tragic...’

The various factions of Yulan Mansion were furious but dared not voice their anger.

Even the City Lord’s Mansion and the Red Flame Army could only stand by and let it happen, wary of Luo Zhen’s background.

Time flowed like a river... and in the blink of an eye, another half a month went by.

Lui Guan was withered and gaunt. With his tongue and eyes destroyed, an aura of death clung to him. He was holding on only by a final shred of conviction. He wanted to see Lui Yifa one last time...

Inside the City Lord’s Mansion encampment, Wang Yizhou slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair, shattering it. He roared with a dark expression, "Lawless! This is utterly lawless...!"

"Brother Wang, watch what you say!"

Yulan Shouqing said.

"Watch what I say? What Zhao Qinghuo and Luo Zhen have done is too much! Just look at what they’ve done to Old Lui..." Wang Yizhou’s eyes were bloodshot, the veins on his forehead bulging.

Yulan Shouqing gave a bitter smile. "Do you think I’m not angry? I even wish I could put him out of his misery. But that’s the Luo Family we’re talking about! One of the Ten Great Aristocratic Families from the Imperial Capital. We can’t afford to make an enemy of them!"

"I..."

Wang Yizhou opened his mouth, then sighed in defeat, seeming to age ten years in that moment. "Old Lui... your brothers have failed you."

"Our only hope now rests with Jiang Chen..." Yulan Shouqing said with a soft sigh.

"Jiang Chen? Even if he shows up, what can he do? He’ll just be throwing his life away..."

Yulan Shouqing shook his head, a thoughtful light flashing in his eyes. "Before we heard about Zhao Qiankun’s death, I would have thought the same as you. But now, I’m more and more convinced that it was Jiang Chen who killed him. If he was really capable of killing Zhao Qiankun, then maybe he also has the power to fight Zhao Qinghuo. Don’t forget, according to our previous speculation, Zhao Qiankun had a Tier Two Medium Demon Beast helping him..."

Wang Yizhou’s expression changed suddenly. He murmured thoughtfully, "I hope... I hope Jiang Chen can really turn the tide."

Suddenly...

The expressions of both men changed at once, and they shot bolt upright. "The exit to the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm is opening!"

RUMBLE!

Thunder rolled across the Celestial Demon Canyon, and terrifying bolts of lightning boomed, striking the tombstones.

An arched Light Gate materialized.

In the Celestial Demon Canyon, everyone’s attention was captured. The experts from the Qinghuo Gang, in particular, were fully armed and had the exit completely surrounded. Zhao Qinghuo and Zhao Qingshui were at the very front, personally standing guard. The moment anyone strong emerged, they would be the first to strike and subdue them.

Zhao Qinghuo’s expression was murderous as he gnashed his teeth. ’After waiting for half a month, they’re finally coming out. No matter who killed my Kun’er, anyone involved, regardless of their identity, will accompany my son in death!’

SWOOSH—

One figure after another was teleported out.

The first to emerge were the experts from the Red Flame Army and the City Lord’s Mansion, followed closely by the experts from the other families. Over forty people swarmed out at once.

Some were glowing with vigor, others were shrouded in the aura of treasures. Some were disheveled, and others were covered in wounds...

They had just been teleported out of the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm and hadn’t even had time to breathe the outside air before being surrounded by the Qinghuo Gang’s experts. Everyone was completely baffled.

Yulan Tianpeng raised an eyebrow. "What’s going on?"

"People from the Qinghuo Gang? What do you want?" The excited smile on Si Xiaosheng’s face froze, and his expression darkened as he demanded in a low voice.

’Everyone’s here, but not a single person from my Qinghuo Gang has appeared? They’ve been completely wiped out? One person couldn’t have done this. The City Lord’s Mansion and the Red Flame Army must have been involved. Hmph, with the Luo Family backing me now, so what if it’s Yulan Shouqing and Wang Yizhou? Even if I slaughter all these people, I bet they won’t dare to utter a single complaint...’

Zhao Qinghuo’s gaze swept over the crowd, and seeing not a single one of his Qinghuo Gang experts, his eyes turned impossibly cold. His frigid voice echoed through the Celestial Demon Canyon, "Listen up, all of you! I am Zhao Qinghuo, Gang Leader of the Qinghuo Gang. Today, I have sealed the Celestial Demon Canyon for one reason and one reason only: to find the person who murdered my son, Zhao Qiankun. You had all best stay right where you are and await my interrogation. Anyone who dares to defy me will be killed on the spot!"

"Zhao Qinghuo? He’s actually here..."

Si Xiaosheng and Yulan Tianpeng’s expressions changed in unison. They exchanged a glance, and both saw the worry in the other’s eyes.

"What? Zhao Qiankun is dead?"

"How is that possible..."

The implications of Zhao Qiankun’s death were so great that even Si Xiaosheng and Yulan Tianpeng hadn’t told Lui Yifa and the others. Hearing this news so suddenly, everyone was utterly shocked.

Zhao Qinghuo’s icy gaze swept across the crowd as he said coldly, "Next, I will question each of you, one by one. During this time, anyone caught whispering or colluding will be considered an accomplice to the murderer, and I will show no mercy. If it is proven that you have nothing to do with my son’s death, I will naturally not frame an innocent person. But if I find out that you are involved, or that you concealed the killer’s identity... then the fate of the Lui Family will be yours!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the members of the Qinghuo Gang immediately parted, revealing the area where Lui Guan was tied up, along with the piles of heads and bodies.

Dozens of Lui Family experts lay decapitated, their bodies already beginning to stink. Dozens more were bound and kneeling on the ground. But the sight of Lui Guan on the wooden pillar—limbs severed, face a mask of blood—was especially horrifying.

It sent a chill down everyone’s spines.