Chapter 1426: Judgment of Light

Chapter 1426: Chapter 1426: Judgment of Light

From Delacuri’s memory, Pei Yan learned about the secrets of the Vlad Clan. The gathering spot of this clan is located in an independent space that randomly transmits within several locations. Upon reaching a new location, it stays for at least two days to recover the energy needed for transmission, and then it can carry out the next transmission. Some hidden locations are inside a painting, some are within a statue, and some may be above a seaside lighthouse. These locations are changed by Delacuri every one to two years with trusted individuals. Hence, besides clan members praying to the clan and being verified for their identity before being allowed to transmit, outsiders trying to find the base location can almost be said to be an impossible task.

Just like the orchard behind a subsidiary church of the Bright Church is in front of us now. The family space of the Vlad Clan just transmitted here yesterday, disguised as an apple hidden in one of the fruit trees. If not for mastering Delacuri’s bloodline and using bloodline tracking methods, Pei Yan would have never imagined they could hide in such a place.

"This is what they call under the lamp, it’s darkest, isn’t it?" Pei Yan joked while looking at everyone present, and the bishop of the Bright Church assigned to monitor them had evidently lost face because of the family space being under their church, staying silent with a gloomy expression.

Having locked onto the family space in this area, the remaining matters became easier, as opposed to eliminating a clan of the Blood Race. The Bright Church did not feel any heartache over losing an orchard. As a result, Pei Yan straightforwardly set the entire orchard ablaze. As the whole orchard went up in roaring flames, the independent space disguised as fruit on the tree was unveiled to everyone.

Upon determining the final target, Pei Yan did not rush but methodically waited for reinforcements sent by several planes to carefully inspect the independent space for traps. He constructed an external array linked to the interior, ready to engage it should an emergency arise. This would allow for quick withdrawal by breaking through internal defenses and seals.

After implementing all preventive measures, Pei Yan left his sister, Pei Jin, and Zheng Jia Ru outside, providing them fifty subordinates and all the ninth-level supernatural beings sent by the hall. These individuals represented his retreat options, and Pei Yan wouldn’t be reassured if outsiders held control over his retreat.

Those entering the independent space included all remaining investigation hall members, accompanied by Lin Daozi and Liu Xuanji from the Daoist Plane. The Magic Plane sent a witch alongside the Bright Bishop, and the Dragon Realm dispatched Jin He Xuan and Tushan Yueya. Such a lineup ensured representatives from each force entered the independent space. Should any issues arise, no faction would stand idly by and all would fully engage in rescue, a matter everyone tacitly agreed upon without Pei Yan needing to clarify.

With the collective strength, breaking into the space was a simple task. The Vlad Clan seemingly understood that increasing defenses was futile, thus sparing the effort. Perhaps for the same reason, when everyone entered the space, they encountered no effective resistance.

This independent space was far larger than the residence area of the investigation hall. Looking around, there were hills, lakes, and dense forests. Ascending into the sky, Pei Yan observed an expansive town within the space. From the drone reconnaissance information, the marketplace’s shops offered all daily living essentials, indicating true habitation rather than mere show.

It’s referred to in the past tense because the current three towns were already vacant. Oh! Wrong! Pei Yan’s brows furrowed, as data returning from sensing showed there were indeed inhabitants in the town!

After leaving an order for the main group to await on site, Pei Yan headed directly into the town, arriving in front of a building resembling a market council hall. Opening the door, he saw a curled-up group of people, and pairs of eyes filled with inexplicable terror staring at him.

Sighing, Pei Yan exited the room without saying much. Speaking to companions who had followed outside, he said, "It’s the same situation we encountered in the previous town, some unable to fight and marked as blood food by the Vlad Clan. Presumably, these individuals were seen as burdens in combat and thus discarded here."

"Well, that’s simple. Isn’t the Bright Church’s bishop here? Just hand over this situation to them," Xia Yu casually suggested after peeking inside.

Pei Yan shared this view and glanced at Mei Simiao, with whom the Bright Church had been adversarial throughout the mission, so Mei Simiao handled communications. Understanding the situation, Mei approached those who followed, and after speaking with the Bright Bishop, the bishop gazed at Pei Yan meaningfully before showing no interest to glance at the situation, raising his hand and pointing towards the council hall filled with civilians. Before Pei Yan could react, a dazzling Holy Light descended straight into the hall.

"Ugh~ Ah~ Ah!"

"My body! My body! Ah~!"

"Mommy~! Help me! Mommy!"

An ear-splitting bout of screams emerged from the town hall as the stunned Pei Yan saw someone trying to escape the Holy Light via the window. However, the window was too narrow for eight people to crowd together, piling up at the window frame and choking. The hall’s door was forced open by the outermost people, with several figures rushing out only to be unable to outrun Death God’s hunt. These few stumbled and knelt before Pei Yan after mere steps, tearing at their throats and chests with frantic force, their skin scratched open with bloodied trails, before their bodies rapidly shriveled in visible descent.

Understanding the situation thanks to his acute sensitivity to bloodlines, Pei Yan realized this was due to infection by the Vlad Clan, with a purification method enacted on their bloodline.

"This, this, this..." Xia Yu uttered in horror, covering her mouth at the unfolding scene. She had never anticipated her suggestion would lead to such an outcome, desiring to peek inside the hall, while Pei Yan signaled Ye Ruozai to prevent Xia Yu’s advance.

Pei Yan then steadily stepped over the corpses before the council hall, pushing open a door corner to glimpse inside. With just one look, he promptly shut the hall doors, turning towards the group as Mei Simiao noticed Pei Yan’s disquiet and stepped forward to block him, suggesting, "Pei Yan! Don’t act impulsively! This is unrelated to us!"