Chapter 228: Chapter 227: Su Yiren Takes Action (Thanks to Book Friend Xi Tang for the Reward)”_1

“Is there someone else?!” The County Magistrate, the Head of the Mo Family, and the followers of the Nine Nether Sect were all startled. They prided themselves on controlling everything from the shadows, as if they were the ones manipulating the chess pieces. How had they now become the ones being controlled?

Who was in the shadows?

They tried various means.

The County Magistrate attempted to mobilize the chains hidden on his back, but no matter how hard he struggled, the chains were as if nailed into the space behind him, not moving at all.

The Head of the Mo Family’s arms were tattooed with eighteen types of weapons. These were actually eighteen types of weapons he had personally crafted. In the past, these weapons were invincible, but now, they all fell silent, not a single one could be mobilized.

The follower of the Nine Nether Sect tried to call out the ghostly shadows hiding in his body, but the ghostly shadows were as if they encountered a terrifying thing, hiding in his body, shivering.

The three of them realized that the person who took action was no ordinary person. This kind of ability to disregard reality and casually change local rules… was it the Unification Stage?!

Do all disciples of the Seek Dao Sect who go out have such luxury, with even a Unification Stage Great Power accompanying them?

The County Magistrate and the Head of the Mo Family regretted in their hearts. All they did was steal a Phoenix Blood Stone, why did it cause so many problems, involving both the Nine Nether Sect and the Unification Stage?

Seeing Su Yiren finally take action, Meng Jingzhou was frightened and quickly stood up, running away, seeking Su Yiren for protection.

He was the only one in the room who could still move.

Lu Yang whispered to Li Haoran, “If she forces you, you seem to have no ability to resist, you should just accept her.”

“In that case, she could only have my body, not my heart!” Li Haoran replied earnestly, but he was also nervous in his heart.

Su Yiren was gentle and generous, like a caring older sister. It didn’t seem so bad to yield to her.

Su Yiren pushed open the door, looking at the three men she had frozen in place. Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, and Li Haoran followed behind Su Yiren, feeling extremely secure.

“I didn’t expect this County Magistrate Shi, not only are you colluding with the Phoenix Tribe, but also with the Nine Nether Sect, your sins are great and evil, I’ve recorded all these on a Recording Orb!” Lu Yang started with a false accusation.

“Hey, hey, hey, you can’t just say things like this.” The County Magistrate’s face changed.

“Ah right, he is indeed colluding with the Phoenix Tribe and the Nine Nether Sect, I can testify.” The Head of the Mo Family didn’t hesitate to kick a man while he’s down the moment he saw an opportunity.

“Let me introduce myself, I’m Lu Yang, a disciple of the Seek Dao Sect.”

“Meng Jingzhou, disciple of the Seek Dao Sect.”

“Li Haoran, disciple of the Seek Dao Sect.”

Su Yiren didn’t say anything. She’s easy to talk to in front of Li Haoran, but not in front of strangers.

“I originally intended to see what secrets this Phoenix Blood Stone has, but I didn’t expect to hook a big fish.”

Lu Yang removed the face mask of the Nine Nether Sect follower. The man looked mundane.

“You just mentioned, you want to refine the phoenix into a Corpse Puppet. Crap about it and I might spare your life.” This was no small matter, with the corpse of a Unification Stage Phoenix right under their feet. The catastrophe would be unimaginable if the Corpse Puppet phoenix even flipped its body, let alone reviving it, to Luofeng County.

The County Magistrate’s face was also very ugly. If the Nine Nether Sect succeeded, his position would be threatened.

The follower of the Nine Nether Sect laughed loudly, “Discovered by you, and still able to spare my life?”

“Senior Su, search his soul.” As the Nine Nether Sect follower had no intention of speaking, Lu Yang directly requested Su Yiren to make a move.

Su Yiren stepped forward, pressing her hand on the follower of the Nine Nether Sect’s forehead, her eyebrows furrowed, “He is not human, he’s a corpse!”

Only to see the eyes of the Nine Nether Sect follower lose their glow, his body decayed rapidly, leaving only a pile of white bones.

This was a common tactic utilized by the Nine Nether Sect, animating a corpse to act as a puppet, while the real body controlled it from the shadows. Once discovered, the connection with the corpse would be severed and the corpse would decay rapidly. There would be no clues left; very hard to capture. However, not many people present knew much about the Nine Nether Sect.

“Trying to escape?”

Su Yiren took action again, using her Unification Stage ability to envelop the entire Luofeng County in a barrier, not allowing insects to enter nor birds to leave. She was determined to find the person from the Nine Nether Sect.

There was a range limit to controlling a corpse. It would be impossible for the Nine Nether Sect person to flee outside of Luofeng County.

If she let a person two realms lower than her to escape, it would be too humiliating.

It wouldn’t matter if she lost face, but losing face in front of Li Haoran was unacceptable!

She extended her Spiritual Sense, scanning every inch of Luofeng County.

Normally, an independent Unification cultivator scanning a city with their Spiritual Sense would be considered a provocation towards the Great Xia Dynasty. However, under the circumstances, no one would blame Su Yiren for doing so.

“Found them!”

Quite quickly, Su Yiren located a few suspicious cultivators with her Spiritual Sense. Unbeknownst to them, they carried a type of prohibition on their bodies that killed them the moment they were detected by Su Yiren.

“This is brutal, isn’t it?”

The County Magistrate’s face turned ashen, he said, “I’ve heard that the Nine Nether Sect believes in reincarnation, and death is not to be feared for them. Hence, many of their followers are desperados, making them very dangerous.”

Su Yiren’s Spiritual Sense detected Array Methods hidden in the wells of several influential households. The arrays were intricately linked, forming a large, comprehensive net which was most likely designed to refine the Phoenix.

“Something’s not right. The dead believers of the Nine Nether Sect weren’t at the Divinity Transformation Stage. The real mastermind is yet to be found!” Su Yiren quickly realized that the dead weren’t the real string-pullers.

“It’s under us, in the Phoenix’s corpse!” Lu Yang was the first to come up with this. The old Phoenix was at the Unification stage while it was alive; the body of a Unification cultivator could block the Spiritual Sense of someone at the same stage.

Su Yiren also thought of this, but she didn’t act.

“Senior Su, what’s wrong?” Lu Yang was puzzled. Is digging not a simple task for a Unification stage cultivator? She doesn’t even have a small digging magic skill?

“Yeah, Senior Su, please hurry down. If the Nine Nether Sect manages to refine the Phoenix, Luofeng County will be in grave danger,” Li Haoran also urged.

Su Yiren thought for a moment and said, “My methods… might not be what you think.”

She took a deep breath, calming herself. At this point, she couldn’t pretend to be a delicate lady anymore.

She clenched her fist, and smashed the ground, creating a man-wide hole. Then, she jumped into it, burrowing underground.

Lu Yang and the other two were left wide-eyed and swallowing hard; Senior Su’s ways seemed… quite different from her frail appearance.

They suddenly remembered a previously overlooked question.

“What aspect of cultivation is she proficient in?”

Meng Jingzhou, looking at the large hole, seemed more familiar with this method. Isn’t this similar to what his master uses?

The three exchanged glances, a ridiculous notion crossing their minds. “Could Su Yiren… be a Body Cultivator?”

Underneath, a Phoenix with bright red feathers lay in silence as if just recently dead. All at once, the array laid by the leftover priests of Nine Nether Sect activated. Green lights, akin to jade, began to glow in the Phoenix’s eyes, surrounded by the incandescent True Flame, turning the entire underground into a hollow cavity.

“Since you all have found me, we might as well fight till our last breath!” the voice of a follower from the Nine Nether Sect came from the Phoenix, sounding hoarse and mad.

The words were easier said than done, inside he was filled with regret.

The plan to secretly place the Array Method, steal a Phoenix Blood Stone, resurrect the Phoenix, overturn Luofeng County, was perfect. It was simple and easy, without any flaws, and no one would’ve discovered it.

Who would’ve known a Phoenix Blood Stone was closely guarded by a Unification stage cultivator.

Is this Phoenix Blood Stone really that valuable?

“Though I couldn’t fully resurrect the Phoenix due to this sudden event, it’s still more than enough to overturn Luofeng County!” The follower of the Nine Nether Sect had no time to care about all that anymore.

“I know you’re at the Unification stage, but what of it? Are you an Array Cultivator or a Talisman Cultivator? It doesn’t matter now. Before you can completely stop the Phoenix, I would’ve destroyed Luofeng County several times over!”

The Phoenix, wrapped in the True Flame, screamed in the hollow cavity below ground, its wings unfurled, carrying an incredible amount of destructive power, as if reborn from the flame.

Just as the follower of the Nine Nether Sect was about to control the Phoenix and soar into the sky, he found that no matter what, the Phoenix couldn’t fly.

“What’s going on?”

He used his Spiritual Sense to survey the surroundings, only to find that Su Yiren was holding onto the Phoenix’s beak, and no matter how much the Phoenix flapped its wings, it couldn’t lift off the ground.

“Flight?” A faint smirk appeared on Su Yiren’s delicate face. Holding the Phoenix’s beak in one hand, she slammed it down, harshly slamming it to the ground.

When the Head of the Mo Family and the County Magistrate lead Lu Yang and the two others down through the opened pit, they witnessed Su Yiren throwing down the Phoenix—a sight full of surreal beauty and violence.

Unable to help himself, Li Haoran swallowed hard. If he were to marry her, would he even live?