The action by Li Xuan brought a breath of relief to Master Huixin. While others were unaware, the abbot of the Chan sect knew that given Li Xuan’s formidable power, if he were to suddenly turn to the Demonic Cult side, the heroes of the Righteous Path would likely face dire consequences today.

Although no one dared claim the title of the foremost martial artist in the current era after the Nine Swords Immortal shattered the void, most held an underlying belief: Li Xuan was the foremost master in the Jianghu following the Nine Swords Immortal's departure.

Now, this great master stood with the Righteous Path once more, opposing the Demonic Cult. For the heroes of the Righteous Path, whose situation was currently far from ideal, this was an immense boon.

“What a pity that Sect Master Li made such a choice. I thought Sect Master Li was a sensible man,” Situ Haolong sighed deeply, seeming to find it a genuine shame. Beyond that, he showed no sign of recognizing how troublesome it was that Li Xuan remained his adversary.

Turning his head, Situ Haolong made a gesture to someone unseen, then turned back to a few individuals and said, “I had thought Sect Master Li would join our ranks. That way, after cleaning up these rats who unexpectedly appeared here, we could proceed with an attack on the Central Plains and execute that grand scheme of changing the dynasty.”

As he spoke, several figures materialized in the hall. Their appearance was unremarkable, but they were dragging several people along. Upon clearly seeing who those captives were, Master Huixin’s expression and Ye Wen’s changed drastically.

“True Man Tianyi? Gate Master Beicheng?”

Seeing this, even the usually composed Li Xuan frowned deeply. He had not expected the Demonic Cult to be so brutal, capturing both True Man Tianyi and Beicheng Yan.

The Demonic Cult members escorting the two captives smiled smugly. “And a group coming from the Northwest—all of them slaughtered!”

“The Ximen Family…”

Ye Wen had initially thought the Ximen family had escaped a disaster by not seeing Ximen Cuixue. Who knew they had been utterly wiped out? What astonished Ye Wen even more was that True Man Tianyi’s condition was deeply wrong. Compared to Beicheng Yan, who was being pushed forward, True Man Tianyi was being dragged; he lay entirely on the ground, seemingly without a single breath.

“Could it be…”

“Amitabha. I didn't expect that old Taoist to beat this old monk to the punch,” Master Huixin, who had been closely watching True Man Tianyi, was now certain that his old friend was undoubtedly dead.

The Demonic Cult member dragging True Man Tianyi laughed heartily, “What True Man Tianyi? What Heavenly Dao Sect? Facing formations of arrows and rolling logs, didn’t they still surrender obediently?” As he spoke, he pulled out a small, dark sphere from his robes, tossing it up and down. “This little thing the Fire Emissary made, called the Thunder Fire Pellet, is quite good. Too bad the noise it makes is so loud it hurts the ears.”

“That is…” Upon seeing the small object, Ye Wen’s initial suspicion was confirmed by the man’s words: “A bomb?”

He had calculated everything, yet never expected the Demonic Cult to possess such a weapon of mass destruction in warfare, and from the man’s words, it was crafted by the Fire Emissary—that old man Pei Shiyuan.

“No wonder he became the Fire Emissary; that’s the reason.”

At this moment, the two Demonic Cult members stepped forward and shoved the disheveled Beicheng Yan in front of Situ Haolong. This heroic woman could only fall onto Situ Haolong’s feet with a face full of reluctance.

After accomplishing this, the two men stood in the center of the hall. They first glanced at Li Xuan, then at Ye Wen and his group. One of them spoke, “Xiang Yutian, that idiot, insisted on adhering to Jianghu rules. His mind must be twisted. Our Holy Cult’s ambition is not here; why cling to those petty Jianghu regulations?”

This man’s voice was sharp, like a rusted gong, grating to the ears, and coupled with the eerie paleness of his face, he looked as if he had just recovered from a severe illness.

The other sneered, “Hmph. He ended up losing his life because of it; he asked for it. But losing