Behold, Xuanzhenzi held his teacup, acting as if he were alone, not even sparing a glance for the Yinsha Demon Lord before him. Never mind that the Yinsha Demon Lord didn't know who killed Li Yao; even if he did, why would he hand over the culprit? The Yinsha Demon Lord, after all, was a middle-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, ranking among the top three, if not first, in the Yinsha Sect. His hands had been stained with countless lives; how could he possibly feel intimidated by a mere threat from Xuanzhenzi?

Though the Yinsha Sect was far inferior to the Taishang Sect, it was certainly not a complete pushover for Xuanzhenzi to knead as he pleased. Putting on such an air, did Xuanzhenzi truly believe he was some peerless Soul Transformation expert?

Of course, having lived as long as he had and weathered countless storms, the Yinsha Demon Lord was hardly impulsive. He knew perfectly well that the only viable approach now was deception. No matter what, Xuanzhenzi represented the Taishang Sect in pursuit of a killer, and his expression remained unchanged, utterly calm: "Brother Xuanzhen, I have already stated this: if Li Yao's death was indeed the work of the Yinsha Sect, I would certainly hand over the person without another word. However, this matter truly has nothing to do with our Yinsha Sect. I ask Brother Xuanzhen to look into it thoroughly."

"Old Demon Yinsha, several of us martial siblings respect you as a Grandmaster-level figure, which is why we speak to you with such courtesy," stated Fan Quqing, the female middle-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, her expression rife with impatience. "If you continue to prevaricate, don't blame us martial siblings for reporting back to our sect and having our elders intervene to uphold justice. Our elders will not be as amiable as we are."

At the mention of "elders," the Yinsha Demon Lord's complexion shifted slightly. The Taishang Sect's terrifying reputation, and the often erratic behavior of its disciples, stemmed primarily from that single phrase: "elders."

"Soul Transformation stage"—just those three words alone were enough to establish the Taishang Sect as one of the most prominent major sects in the Tianqian Continent. It was precisely because of those three words that the various sects in Kangzhou had tolerated the repeated provocations from the Taishang Sect members. After all, any cultivator at the Soul Transformation stage was a peak existence in this world, an unparalleled expert that everyone else had to look up to.

"Fan Quqing, please mind your phrasing. This is the Yinsha Sect in Kangzhou, not your Taishang Sect in Daqian Continent. You are guests here, and we in the Yinsha Sect have done our utmost to host you. If you arrive uninvited to provoke us, do you take us, the sects of the rural region of Kangzhou, as pushovers?" The voice that cut through the air was cold and utterly domineering—it was Tianmo, shrouded entirely in a black robe with dark qi swirling around her. Observing her aura, she stood toe-to-toe with the middle-stage Nascent Soul cultivator Fan Quqing and showed no sign of being at a disadvantage. Clearly, in the time since Le Dong and the others had left, Tianmo had put in considerable effort, achieving the middle-stage Nascent Soul realm through a massive influx of excellent resources.

"I wonder who it is, none other than the famed Tianmo." Fan Quqing was quite favored within the Taishang Sect and had long developed an arrogant attitude that her sect was supreme. After arriving in Kangzhou, she had repeatedly heard the name Tianmo—tales of her being a prodigious genius, a Nascent Soul expert at such a young age. If this were just rural self-aggrandizement, Fan Quqing would have merely scoffed and ridiculed it.

But the fact remained: Tianmo was indeed decades younger than her, and what was even harder for Fan Quqing to accept was that Tianmo’s cultivation level was already the middle-stage Nascent Soul, matching her own. Fan Quqing considered herself a formidable talent among women, yet she had only reached the middle stage a few years prior. To be surpassed by Tianmo so swiftly was unacceptable. She had already resolved that even if Tianmo hadn't spoken, Fan Quqing would find an excuse to challenge her—to show that 'country girl' what a true middle-stage Nascent Soul expert was. A bewitching face twisted into a look of disdain as she challenged Tianmo: "Indeed, some self-awareness. A rural sect, hehe. If you know you are a rural sect, then shut your mouth. What 'Eight Great Firm Sects'? In my view, you are merely eight bumpkins occupying a corner of the countryside, calling yourselves kings just because you occupy a hilltop." Fan Quqing was truly sharp; with a single string of words, she managed to slight all eight major sects of Kangzhou, offending every one of them in the process. After all, an old fox like the Yinsha Demon Lord, having lived so long, would surely note the context of this meeting.

Although Tianmo had previously clashed fiercely with the Blood Demon, she was, after all, a disciple raised within the Yinsha Sect from childhood, possessing deep roots and profound loyalty to it. Hearing her speak so contemptuously of her own sect stirred her anger into a laugh: "Fan Quqing, since you are a cultivator from a 'big place' and a 'big sect,' I presume your strength far surpasses that of us 'rural' cultivators? This Demon Lord wishes to witness firsthand how formidable cultivators from the 'great regions' truly are."

This statement was, naturally, a challenge. Tianmo's challenge, seemingly an outpouring of anger over the insult to her sect, was actually cloaked in a desire to muddy the waters as much as possible. After all, Tianmo knew perfectly well how Li Yao had died. If the investigation went too deep, clues would surely surface.

Following the Taishang Sect's usual modus operandi, they were hardly the type to simply accept the culprit and let the matter rest. Xuanzhenzi was merely posturing. Perhaps beneath that haughty exterior, he had already calculated that if the murderer was indeed from the Yinsha Sect, it must be one of their extremely important Grand Elders, a sacrifice the Yinsha Sect would never agree to make.

The pretense was simply a probing tactic. Even the Taishang Sect couldn't casually declare war on the Yinsha Sect without cause or justification. First, the distance between the regions was vast. Second, launching an attack without provocation would only force the local righteous and demonic factions to unite against the common external enemy.

Though the Taishang Sect was powerful, it couldn't commit all its strength to this far-off Kangzhou. Even in the Daqian Continent, the Taishang Sect did not hold absolute sway; it had formidable rivals watching hungrily.

For Xuanzhenzi, the best outcome was to execute all culprits involved in Li Yao’s murder to uphold the Taishang Sect's prestige. Of course, recovering the storage box his Master had instructed him to find was paramount. Furthermore, through threats and inducements, they aimed to extract an unimaginable price in wealth from the Yinsha Sect. Kangzhou might be a remote frontier, but the Yinsha Sect was one of the eight major local sects and certainly possessed significant assets. While the Daqian Continent was vast and rich in resources, it was also teeming with competitors eager to snatch any spoils. A mere mid-level Nascent Soul cultivator, measured purely by wealth, might even be less affluent than these Nascent Soul cultivators acting as local emperors in Kangzhou.

These Eight Sons of Lingxiao, having arrived in Kangzhou for barely two years, had already begun coveting the rich coffers of the eight major sects. They certainly didn't have the appetite to swallow the whole lot, but taking down one sect was hardly an issue. If they proved too obstinate, then a public execution—killing the chicken to scare the monkeys—would be unavoidable.

It was for this reason that the Eight Sons of Lingxiao were determined to use this incident to showcase their strength, to let these country bumpkins of Kangzhou properly witness the might of cultivators from the Daqian Continent.

However, if Xuanzhenzi were to challenge the Yinsha Demon Lord, a middle-stage Nascent Soul expert, it would clearly be bullying the weak—unjust and unlikely to earn respect. But for Fan Quqing to fight Tianmo was ideal: both were female, their cultivation levels matched, and Tianmo had reportedly only recently advanced to the middle stage, making her ripe for the picking.

Having received a subtle cue from Xuanzhenzi, Fan Quqing responded with arrogant assertiveness: "Fine. We will let the bumpkins of Kangzhou witness the prowess of cultivators from our Daqian Continent. But combat between cultivators often involves life and death, hard to control. Don't let Tianmo die and then accuse the Taishang Sect of bullying the young..." She slanted her eyes towards Tianmo with a provocative smirk. The implication was clear: Tianmo must sign a life-or-death waiver.

Little did she know, this move played right into Tianmo's hands; Tianmo wanted the waters even muddier and was keen to stir things up further. Who knew that Fan Quqing would deliver herself to his doorstep so readily? True, Fan Quqing was favored in the Taishang Sect, possessed many potent spirit treasures, and wielded formidable techniques. But Tianmo was no pushover; her Heavenly Demon Great Law was perfected, and moreover, she possessed the two ultimate spirit ghosts gifted by her little lover, Le Dong.

After an expenditure of resources that spared no cost for refining and catalysis, and following her advancement to the middle stage, she had finally managed to raise those two ultimate spirit ghosts to the initial Ghost King level. With such terrifying strength, Tianmo was confident that even if she couldn't win, she certainly wouldn't lose.

Had this involved Tianmo’s temperament of the past, she would have agreed immediately. But having witnessed her little lover's repeated mastery of 'playing the pig to eat the tiger,' Tianmo had learned a thing or two. She directly adopted his tactic: her eyes showed a flicker of timidity, and her body subtly recoiled backward, yet her verbal posture remained defiant and resolute: "Fan Quqing, it is not that this Demon Lord fears you and refuses to sign a life-or-death contract. It is just that you are from the Taishang Sect. If you die on our Kangzhou arena, what if your Taishang Sect disavows responsibility later? Therefore, even if we must decide a victor, a scholarly contest or spar would be better, to avoid damaging the harmony between our two sides."

These words, falling upon Fan Quqing's ears, coupled with the sight of Tianmo's shrinking expression, sent a signal that Tianmo was afraid and lacked confidence. Her words, they concluded, were just stubborn defiance. This realization only solidified Fan Quqing's resolve. She had already ascertained that Kangzhou had only one place that produced mechanical puppets, the Mechanism Sect, but currently, the Mechanism Sect had only ever produced two Nascent Soul-level puppets, meaning Tianmo could never possess one.

Yet, because Fan Quqing was so favored by her Master, she had been gifted an early-stage Nascent Soul puppet—a treasure considered extremely rare even in the Daqian Continent. Fighting two against one, how could she possibly lose?