The imperial bandit-suppression forces traveled light, and Qu Duanyun quickly arrived in Qizhou.

The weather was pleasant, and Qizhou should have been adorned with spring flowers in full bloom and willow trees like clouds. But now, the flower stems were crushed into muddy filth, and the willow bark, left unguarded, had been gnawed clean by passing livestock. The stone slabs were covered in grime, and most of the small shops for tourists were closed, with only a few bold ones still struggling to do business.

The tourists of yesteryear had long since departed or scattered. Every household kept their doors tightly shut, leaving only desolation and decline throughout the city.

Even the shrine within Qizhou city hadn't escaped the poison hand of the Red Hook Sect. Who knows what brutal methods they used, but half of one wall of the shrine had collapsed. Fortunately, the statue of the Divine Emperor Wu seemed not to have suffered much damage and had been covered with a cloth by the people of the Immortal Gathering. All the valuable gold items and money boxes had been looted clean, and not a single person could be seen in the once-bustling courtyard.

The shrines of the Divine Emperor Wu had stood for hundreds of years in various places. Even if people didn't seriously believe in it, they had developed some affection through familiarity. Faced with the tragic scene of the once-majestic shrine, Qu Duanyun, mixed in with the bandit-suppression forces, heard only a chorus of sighs rising and falling.

"Chaos, what chaos," lamented a soldier beside him. "If it weren't for all the able-bodied men going off to war, could they be so brazen? At this critical moment, instead of protecting home and country, they only know how to take advantage of the chaos and fight among ourselves. Bandits will always be bandits!"

"Indeed," another agreed. "They say even the elderly came out kneeling to block their way. But that new Sect Leader of the Red Hook was unmoved, and even the old folks were pushed and shoved aside... They always said the Red Hook was careful in dealing with the imperial court, who knows what madness has seized them this time."

"A cornered dog will leap over a wall, I suppose," someone else added mysteriously. "That new Sect Leader is quite close to the rebel Shi Jingzhi, and the gold they stole is to support him... But gold is useless now. The common folk are used to peace, they're all fleeing as fast as they can. Who has the mind to follow him in rebellion?"

Qu Duanyun couldn't help but reveal a slight smile.

After all, when it came to governance alone, the emperor had been diligent and industrious, not committing any major mistakes, let alone inciting public anger. Faced with this foreign threat, the imperial court's response may have been slow, but the common people were even slower to react. People either ran or hid; the knife hadn't cut to the bone yet, so they couldn't muster the bitterness needed for an uprising.

Inciting the people of Dayun to rebel was as difficult as growing crops in rock crevices.

With the accusation of "conspiracy to rebel" pinned by Jiang Youyue, they hadn't even left Shi Jingzhi room to climb up - surrounded on all sides, Shi Jingzhi was thoroughly trapped near Ku Mountain. Even if he wanted to find another path, he had neither the time nor the ability.

Of course, the Red Hook Sect Leader's attack on the shrine might also be due to learning about the appearance of the Desire Child. Perhaps their true intention wasn't the gold, and the looting was just a facade - driving people away and destroying the statue was their real goal. Theoretically, a flesh statue couldn't absorb essence, so Shi Jingzhi could indeed extend his lifespan.

Unfortunately, they had chosen the wrong path again.

The shrine was merely built in the most prosperous location, but the absorption range of the flesh statue was not small. The Suspended Tree could absorb essence on its own, let alone a flesh statue modeled after it - regardless of whether people believed in the Divine Emperor Wu or not, it would absorb essence as it should. As long as people were alive, they had desires, and even if people no longer visited the shrine, the flesh statue would just absorb more slowly.

And with the Suspended Tree connected beneath the flesh statue, how could it be easily destroyed?

In this way, they had cut off every retreat for Shi Jingzhi.

Only by consuming the Shi Rou could that man escape from this chaos. Qu Duanyun was very curious to see what kind of counterattack Shi Jingzhi could muster in such a desperate situation.

Not to mention, that move at the Yueshui Bureau was truly a terrible misstep.

The roots of the Suspended Tree were invisible and intangible, only those in the know would believe in it, the common people wouldn't buy it at all. Once Shi Jingzhi ascended to the throne, they would have time to deal with those knowledgeable leaders.

The martial arts world was about individual versus individual, accidents could still happen. Now that they had all the advantages of timing and location, there shouldn't be any more mistakes—

The Luojiu people were advancing like an unstoppable force, while manpower was stretched thin. The Immortal Gathering had "thoughtfully" organized quite a few of their own people, and with some more recruited from Qizhou itself, an army of a thousand men wasn't a problem.

In contrast, look at the "rebels". At the foot of Ku Mountain, many vagrant bandits had gathered, the surroundings were filthy and chaotic, the air filled with the stench of rotting flesh and excrement. Forget about a formal rebel army, there wasn't even a semblance of an organized troop. Everyone coming and going wore bitter expressions, who knows where all the gold from the Red Hook Sect had gone.

Outside the abandoned town was a large stretch of wilderness, scorching hot during the day and wind-swept at night, with stray dogs occasionally wandering through. The refugees were unwilling to live there. The soldiers weren't so picky, it was just right for setting up camp.

The opponent was insignificant, not even a shadow to be seen. The soldiers felt little tension, even the air seemed to lighten.

However, just as everyone was relaxing, a solitary dark figure appeared on the wasteland. When his features became clear, a small commotion rippled through the army.

The man had picturesque features, wore a sleek black outfit, and his long hair was three shades darker than a crow's feathers. He walked alone amidst the wild grass, his jet-black hair swaying in the wind, like an evil god fallen from the heavens, or a fierce ghost bound to this place.

Though it was just one man, his aura was like a gale ravaging a forest or huge waves crashing against a shore. The man's face showed no expression, yet even the youngest soldier could feel that aura of ferocity and hatred.

It was Yin Ci.

He came alone, without a trace of Shi Jingzhi by his side. The young commander in charge glanced at Qu Duanyun, and seeing him shake his head, immediately signaled to hold position.

Qu Duanyun mounted his white horse and rode out alone, heading straight for Yin Ci.

Knowing Yin Ci's background, he felt no fear in his heart - as the saying goes, brute force can overcome any technique. Though this man's martial arts were high, he had no inner force. If Shi Jingzhi were by his side, the two might be able to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses. But now that he came alone, even if the soldiers behind were ordered to charge straight at him, they could easily pin him down on the spot.

He had more important matters to attend to.

Qu Duanyun's toes lightly tapped, and he leapt from the horse's back. Several extremely fine streams of true qi shot out. Extremely light explosive sounds rang out from all directions. He spun nimbly in the air and landed back on his horse.

"The demonic aura of the soft fish demon eyes." He drew his Guanwu sword, its tip pointing directly at Yin Ci. "Such a petty trick, and you want to play it a second time?"

Yin Ci also stopped in his tracks.

He looked up at Qu Duanyun, a smile on his face that chilled one to the bone. He didn't answer, merely swept his gaze over the army behind Qu Duanyun.

"Three thousand five hundred men," Yin Ci murmured silently. Several of the thousand-tael soft fish demon eyes had been destroyed, but he didn't seem to care at all, not even glancing at them.

Qu Duanyun frowned: "Yin Zizhu, the great founding general, in the end resorting to such scattered, petty tricks. Truly unsightly."

It was nothing but a rehash of old tricks, trying to provoke people with illusions. The Immortal Gathering might have been fooled once at the martial arts gathering, but they certainly wouldn't be fooled a second time.

"Is the Taiheng Sect Master collaborating with the Immortal Gathering not unsightly as well?"

"This response to rebels is a great matter of national importance. Not to mention Taiheng, even your alliance leader's subordinates haven't interfered, have they?"

Qu Duanyun was full of confidence.

He was merely maintaining the overall situation in his capacity as the Taiheng Sect Master. Nominally, this army still belonged to the imperial court, no one could find fault with that. But once Shi Jingzhi obtained the Shi Rou, who this "diluted" force would support as king was anybody's guess.

Yin Ci gave a light chuckle, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, his face only showing "as expected".

He quietly looked at Qu Duanyun for a while, then his left hand moved slightly, causing the grass behind him to rustle. Qu Duanyun instinctively tightened his grip on the reins. As the grass rope was pulled, a blood-stained sack rolled out. Yin Ci loosened the opening of the sack, revealing human limbs chopped into several pieces.

Though covered in blood, one could still see that the limbs were long and beautiful, unlike those of ordinary people. The wound surfaces were all ordinary flesh and blood, clearly not belonging to Yin Ci. Shi Jingzhi was nowhere to be seen, could it be...

Qu Duanyun's gaze gradually turned cold.

Yin Ci smiled and said, "To bring him to the brink of death would certainly attract the 'immortals'. I'm not foolish enough to kill him... Thanks to all of you, I've been unable to die for many years, and have perfected the art of dissecting living beings."

Those blood-covered hands and feet rolled on the ground, and Yin Ci's gaze grew increasingly manic.

"Three hundred years, the Xu family is still the Xu family, the traitor is still the traitor. I thought Shi Jingzhi was clear-minded, who knew he'd turn out to be a cowardly fool afraid of death. Now even if the Shi Rou was placed before Shi Jingzhi, he couldn't eat it."

"Rest assured, even if he's injured to just half a body, the True Immortals can heal him. Even if you killed him, we could still raise another Desire Child."

Qu Duanyun responded coldly.

"Before that, we will seal you back into the Great Prohibited Formation of the Northwest. This time, no one will steal mercury to save you... Yin Zizhu, by the time you surface again, our Dayun will have already unified the world for a thousand generations."

Yin Ci drew his Hanging Shadow sword: "Instead of boasting, you'd better protect the Desire Child first. Now that his limbs are gone, how long do you think his destiny will last? The stage is set so grandly, it would be such a shame if the lead actor died."

With that, he lunged forward with his sword, a killing move aimed straight at Qu Duanyun's throat. Mingled with resentment and hatred, madness and malice combined, the sword wind was as terrifying as a poisonous snake's breath, even more vicious than the Bone-Sweeping sword technique.

Qu Duanyun's scalp tingled as he reined in his horse and dodged sideways. The Hanging Shadow sword immediately changed its attack, slashing open the horse's neck. The white horse let out a long neigh and began to struggle wildly, spraying hot blood everywhere. Qu Duanyun immediately flipped off the horse, narrowly avoiding the sword's edge with his chest.

There was only one enemy, and the soldiers behind looked at each other, truly not knowing whether they should act or not. Qu Duanyun was desperately fending off Yin Ci's sword attacks, his mind racing—

Internal strife?

Shi Jingzhi valued his life extremely, perhaps he couldn't withstand the strong desire to live and was preparing to secretly eat the Shi Rou, but was unfortunately discovered by Yin Ci. That man's inner strength was formidable, and now that he was weak and frail, it wasn't impossible for Yin Ci to control him.

If understood this way, both the messy chaos and the small-scale resistance became easier to comprehend.

Yin Ci was no match for the True Immortal and didn't dare to kill Shi Jingzhi directly. So he took away that man's ability to move, hiding Shi Jingzhi in some remote corner, just waiting for him to slowly die, making it difficult even for the True Immortal to save him. With the master and disciple of Ku Mountain at odds, and people outside in a state of panic, naturally the arrangements couldn't hold up.

...Shi Jingzhi couldn't die yet.

It would take at least ten to twenty years for the next Desire Child to grow up. Although the True Immortal could intervene to quell the unrest and support the National Teacher's lineage, this war would ultimately harm Dayun's national strength. If Shi Jingzhi died at this juncture, the deal would truly be unprofitable.

"This man is also a rebel!" Qu Duanyun shouted loudly while dodging sword attacks. "Shi Jingzhi is hidden nearby by him, quickly go and search!"

With that, he pulled out Taiheng's communication flare from his sleeve and released it into the air. The flare burst into a bright red color in the blue sky, very eye-catching.

This time he was trying to save someone, Taiheng had no reason to stand idly by.

Who could have imagined that a well-organized bandit-suppression force would end up searching the countryside? The soldiers were bewildered but could only follow orders and scatter into several teams. In an instant, the three thousand plus men were reduced to just over a hundred, looking even sparser than the wild shrubs on the wasteland.

Leaving just over a hundred men should be enough to deal with Yin Ci. He only needed to buy time, hold out until Taiheng arrived, then they could find a way to subdue this man.

"If I were you, I would have hidden away with that man long ago. You came out specifically to fight, are you afraid of not losing fast enough?" Qu Duanyun defended cautiously, retreating towards where there were more people.

"I don't want to flee like a drowning dog, that's no fun at all. It's a pity you damaged the soft fish demon eyes, I had originally wanted to transmit the images of this place... How does it feel to fail at the last moment, isn't it a shame to miss out?"

Yin Ci's sword was like a sudden rain, his breathing not the least bit disturbed. The malevolent aura around him grew stronger and stronger, like a vengeful ghost crawling out of the eighteenth level of hell.

To deal with that master-disciple pair, Qu Duanyun had made full preparations. However, even with magical artifacts at hand, he still couldn't quite withstand that storm-like attack.

The opponent had an immortal, indestructible body, he had to drag things out as long as possible...

"Even if you kill me, there will be successors coming. We want Dayun to prosper, yet you want to destroy this prosperous age with your own hands." Qu Duanyun deliberately started a conversation.

"Prosper?" Yin Ci laughed loudly, "The elderly in poor families don't live past sixty, young adults die from serious injuries and illnesses. In the end, you Immortal Gathering feed human lives to the Suspended Tree, how is that prosperity? Six of one, half a dozen of the other!"

Although Qu Duanyun had started this topic himself, talking about this suddenly brought a wave of bitterness to his heart. Face after face flashed through his mind, and a long-forgotten feeling of nausea surged up again.

So this man had lived for over a hundred years and still couldn't see clearly the ways of the world.

"Those extremely foolish and inherently lazy people, why bother to support and indulge them? We and the Suspended Tree are merely taking what we need from each other!"

True energy fluctuated on the Guanwu sword, causing the surrounding air to distort slightly. Qu Duanyun finally lost his calm and stable appearance, shouting fiercely.

"My father once ordered me to personally engage in farming and commerce, to experience all aspects of the world, to see all kinds of people in the mortal realm. If only those people would strive a bit more, think a bit more, they wouldn't live such bitter lives. Those of low ability are despised even by heaven. What's wrong with eliminating the weak and preserving the strong?"

Qu Duanyun's outburst came suddenly, and Yin Ci couldn't withdraw in time. His left shoulder was cut with an extremely deep gash, his left arm nearly severed. One mistake, and he lost the initiative, giving Qu Duanyun, whose true energy had suddenly risen, the upper hand.

"Pitying the common rabble wastes national strength, and in the end only leads to being dragged down by them, unable to move forward!"

"The grand principles sound nice, but weren't 'superior' individuals like Sect Leader Qi, who was virtuous and highly respected, also erased by you? Allowing the Luojiu to massacre the common people, were there no 'superior' people among the dead? In my opinion, it's nothing more than the selfish desire to leave one's name in history."

Yin Ci licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, the laughter in his voice growing thicker.

"We're all driven by selfish desires and personal grudges, why bother saying it so—"

Countless fine roots sprouted from the wound on Yin Ci's left arm, quickly restoring it to its original state. His entire being was like a black wind, attacking from the most tricky angles. However, though his sword moves were frenzied, he deliberately avoided taking Qu Duanyun's life, as if enjoying the process of toying with him.

"—so high and mighty?" The blade fell along with the words, causing Qu Duanyun's limb to go numb.

"Selfish desires?" Blue veins bulged on Qu Duanyun's forehead as he raised his sword for another strike. "If it were for selfish desires, why would I have turned against my mentor! It's only because the sect leader was too indecisive, lacking the heart for decisive action. With a grand enterprise of a thousand years before us, even if I had to die, I would gladly—"

But before he could finish speaking, the madness on Yin Ci's face vanished in an instant.

"Hmm, quite tragic." He jumped back several zhang, kicking away the severed limbs at his feet. "Everyone, did you hear that? This person has personally admitted to the matter of the demon tree."

Qu Duanyun's mind went blank for a moment.

Who was this person talking to?

There were clearly no auras around, he had specifically checked. Yin Ci's madness just now didn't seem feigned, these people really...

"Well done, Zizhu."

A figure suddenly darted out, rushing straight towards Yin Ci. The man had long arms and legs, moved like the wind, with a radiant smile on his face. When he reached Yin Ci, he even tilted his body in public and kissed Yin Ci's cheek.

It was none other than Shi Jingzhi himself, who was supposed to be "dismembered"!

Even more absurd was that he was followed by several old acquaintances—

Monk Juehui had his hands clasped together, his bitter face even more miserable than before. Shi Zhongyu's face was colorless and expressionless, either too angry or too shocked. Hua Jingchun was still hissing and drawing in cold breaths, and the remaining person, dressed like a member of the Yueshui Bureau, had eyes that were about to pop out.

These people were all masters at concealing their auras, and even so, they wore expensive magical artifacts on their wrists to mask their presence.

It was a trap.

...The news about the Suspended Tree was one thing, the more bizarre the better to cover it up. But at this critical moment, the crime of disrupting the martial arts world absolutely could not be exposed.

This was trouble, they would have to silence everyone.