Chapter 65 - 64: A Shocking Conspiracy, Laying Out a Plan

Chapter 65: Chapter 64: A Shocking Conspiracy, Laying Out a Plan

The secret technique "Illusory Snake Eye" was a method of utilizing Divine Sense recorded in the "Spirit Snake Shadow Poison Scripture". It could control snakes through illusion techniques, and could also be used to control people. It could plunge a target into an Illusion Realm, leaving them bewildered and completely unaware.

When Inspector Liu of the Blood Demon Sect was uninjured, it would have been very difficult for Qin Yu to achieve this with his Divine Sense that could barely leave his body. But deceiving a heavily injured, dying cripple with no power to resist was much easier.

"I am an inspector of the Holy Sect’s Bishui City branch. With Li Tianyi’s sudden fall, I need to investigate the cause. The Qin Family’s close relationship with the Demon Suppression Bureau makes them a very good breakthrough point.

"That’s why I came. Along the way, I planned to enslave the Qin Family and absorb them into the Holy Sect."

A trace of struggle flashed through the eyes of the already dying Inspector Liu before he spoke in a daze.

He figured investigating Li Tianyi’s cause of death and enslaving the Qin Family along the way was to be expected. Li Tianyi was, at the very least, an expert with Qi and Blood like a Dragon. It would be unreasonable if no one came to investigate his sudden fall. The Insect Swarm had set up a reconnaissance network in Cyan Peak County and the Cang Mang Mountain Range precisely to guard against them.

However, the fact that the Blood Demon Sect had a branch in Bishui City and possessed such formidable strength surprised him a little.

"Why is the Blood Demon Sect searching for the Five Poison Sect’s legacy, and what arrangements have they made in Bishui City? Why did you enter the Cang Mang Mountain Range?" Qin Yu asked a series of questions. While he wasn’t completely clueless about the Blood Demon Sect, his knowledge was severely lacking. Now that he had captured a high-ranking member, how could he easily let him go?

"I..."

Just as Inspector Liu was about to speak, he struggled violently, his entire body convulsing. Madness filled his bloodshot eyes as he spewed out a mouthful of blood. He was clearly resisting with all his might.

"Hmph!" Qin Yu snorted coldly, sending the power of the Insect Swarm’s Mind Network surging into the man’s mind.

Inspector Liu, who had nearly broken through the Illusion Realm, quieted down once more. Panting heavily like a bull, his shattered lungs wheezed like a bellows as he spoke intermittently.

"The higher-ups issued an order to find the secret treasury of the Five Poison Sect. Back when the Demon Suppression Bureau breached the Five Poison Sect’s main headquarters, their core legacy was secretly transferred.

"It was suspected that the Red Scorpion Sect in Zoushan County held a secret key, but we didn’t find it after breaching their sect gates.

"The Holy Sect has secretly laid out plans to blood sacrifice Bishui City before the Laba Festival. They ordered me to go to the Cang Mang Mountain Range to recruit... recruit... Dragon..."

As he spoke, Inspector Liu struggled frantically, veins bulging all over his body as if he had triggered some sort of taboo. He violently spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes completely bloodshot.

"No—"

Amidst his despairing cry, Inspector Liu’s head suddenly exploded, scattering white brain matter in all directions. Sensing something amiss beforehand, Qin Yu had quickly retreated and ducked behind a cockroach.

SIZZLE! SIZZLE!

Inspector Liu’s flesh and blood seemed to possess intense corrosiveness. When it splattered onto the cockroach, even its faint blue shield failed to block it. A hole the size of a bowl melted through its thick carapace. Such an injury would be fatal to a human, but for the massive cockroach, it didn’t even count as a light wound. As its body wriggled, the injury rapidly healed. The most powerful aspect of cockroaches was their unparalleled regenerative ability.

"A backlash from a restriction?" Qin Yu frowned. Demonic organizations like the Blood Demon Sect inevitably had control methods; otherwise, how could they force those old demons and ruthless bandits to obediently submit and follow orders? With Inspector Liu dying from the backlash, it was unknown if the Blood Demon Sect would be able to sense it.

Failing to strike a snake dead would inevitably leave future troubles. His feud with the Blood Demon Sect was only growing larger.

The information revealed by Inspector Liu was also horrifying.

The core legacy of the Five Poison Sect! He had thought the Demon Suppression Bureau had already obtained it, but there was still a hidden legacy? The Five Poison Sect of the past was a super sect that spanned several counties. Its core legacy was bound to be extraordinary. Who knew how many secret techniques and treasures it contained?

So this was the reason Zoushan County was attacked! However, there were too many hidden secrets involved. Although Qin Yu was interested, he couldn’t intervene.

"A blood sacrifice! Another blood sacrifice! And this time, the Blood Demon Sect’s target is actually Bishui City? That’s a massive city with a population of a million! Has the Blood Demon Sect gone mad?"

Qin Yu’s eyes were filled with disbelief. Although the Blood Demon Sect was strong, they only hid in the shadows. Even when they occasionally struck remote county towns like Cyan Peak County, they had to do so under the guise of Demon Fiends.

Over the recent period, more than a dozen towns around Bishui City had been attacked by Demon Fiends, but it had all remained within a controllable range. The ones truly massacred were merely weak and small villages.

What kind of place was Bishui City? It was a Prefecture City that controlled a radius of thousands of miles, overseeing seventeen towns of varying sizes and a population in the millions! Not only did it have a branch of the Demon Suppression Bureau stationed there, but it also housed the Lord of Evil Suppression, over a dozen noble families, and the branches of quite a few sects.

How many experts would they need to mobilize to blood sacrifice such a massive city? Let alone whether they could succeed, even if they did, wouldn’t the Great Wei Capital go crazy? They would probably deploy the legendary Celestial Patrol Army and the Border Army!

The Demon Suppression Bureau was used to exterminate Demon Fiends and people of the Demonic Sects within Great Wei’s borders, but at the end of the day, it was merely a law enforcement agency, similar to the Jinyi Guards in feudal dynasties. If a major incident truly occurred, the army would inevitably be mobilized directly. Perhaps there were Demon Fiends and Demonic Sects that dared to provoke the Demon Suppression Bureau, but provoking the army? That would truly be courting death.

"And in this Wilderness Mountain Range, what are they trying to recruit? ’Dragon’?" Qin Yu looked toward the Cang Mang Mountain Range, feeling somewhat puzzled. The Black Thorn Eagles were currently leading the Red-bellied Eagles on reconnaissance missions outward, and they had discovered quite a few Demon Fiends during this time. However, none of them had anything to do with a ’Dragon’.

"It seems the scale of the aquatic Insect Swarm needs to be expanded as soon as possible. Once Golden Scale Lake is cleaned up, they can expand outward. No matter what it is, this Cang Mang Mountain Range is the Insect Swarm’s territory!"

A trace of ruthlessness flashed through Qin Yu’s eyes. This was the place where the Insect Swarm rose to power, and he had long considered it his own backyard.

"Laba... there’s still time. I can give Zhao Zhenshan and the others a heads-up beforehand so they can be prepared."

The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month was the Laba Festival. It was the first important festival of the final lunar month—a time for cooking porridge, worshipping ancestors, and preparing for the New Year. It marked the beginning of the festive atmosphere. It was currently early in the tenth lunar month, meaning there were only two months left until Laba.

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. If Bishui City was truly subjected to a blood sacrifice, the surrounding geopolitical landscape would inevitably undergo drastic changes. Even though Cyan Peak County was situated in a remote area, it would likely be implicated.

"Clean up the battlefield!"

With a mere thought, Qin Yu leaped onto the Profound Flood Dragon’s head and advanced in the direction of the Qin Family Manor.

*** ℴ

The ambush on the Blood Demon Sect group had caused quite a commotion, which had long since caught the attention of the guards inside the Qin Family Manor. The crisis had not yet been resolved. Even though they knew the Insect Swarm was guarding the surroundings, they didn’t lower their guard. Burly men wielding bows and arrows still stood guard on the watchtowers of the Qin Family Manor’s walls.

"What is that?"

The broad-shouldered, burly Qin Wu peered into the distance. Since Qin Yu’s strength was so overwhelming that he no longer needed him as a bodyguard, Qin Wu had taken on the security duties of the Qin Family Manor. At this moment, he gripped his Profound Iron Bow tightly, a sense of tension rising in his heart. He knew that with the Young Master’s Insect Swarm present, nothing should be able to invade!

Suddenly, a massive shadow appeared in the distant jungle. When he saw the master of that shadow, Qin Wu’s pupils violently shrank. Its eighteen-zhang-long body and the ferocious long horns on its head made him cry out in alarm.

"A Flood Dragon!"

"It’s a Flood Dragon!"

"What a massive Flood Dragon!"

All the Qin Family Guards on the wall who witnessed this scene were dumbfounded. Some were terrified, but more were filled with excitement and joy, because standing impressively atop the Flood Dragon’s head was none other than Qin Yu.

"The Young Master tamed a Flood Dragon!"

"Quick, open the gates!"

A group of people hurriedly opened the gates while a smile graced Qin Yu’s lips.

A fully matured Profound Flood Dragon boasted a body length of eighteen zhang and possessed strength equivalent to a Qi and Blood like a Dragon Martial Artist. It was even more powerful than the Ink Green Snake King tamed by Li Tianyi. Its head alone was over a zhang wide, approaching five meters. Even with the gates of the Qin Family Manor fully open, it could only barely accommodate it.

Under the gasping gazes of the crowd, the Profound Flood Dragon reared its upper body like a human and effortlessly stepped over the three-zhang-tall wall. It then slithered straight inside.

The massive commotion caused by the Profound Flood Dragon had long since alarmed everyone in the Qin Family Manor. One by one, they ran out to look at the behemoth, letting out cheers of pleasant surprise. In the courtyard at the center of the Qin Family Manor, Qin Hu and Ouyang Xue also watched with faces full of awe.

"This is the source of the sound we heard two days ago? No wonder it gave off such a strong sense of oppression from its roar alone, even from so far away. To think it’s actually a Flood Dragon!" A look of realization dawned upon Qin Hu.

"Father, Mother." Qin Yu flipped off the Profound Flood Dragon and looked at his parents.

He planned to leave this Profound Flood Dragon at the Qin Family Manor to act as a Guardian Beast, freeing him from any worries about his home. That was why he had brought it back with such fanfare. The Insect Swarm did not lack this single combat unit. With the Insect Swarm’s snowballing development, it would soon breed even more powerful units.

"Congratulations, Father, on breaking through to the Qi and Blood Realm!" Sensing the change in his father’s aura, Qin Yu smiled and offered his congratulations. His father had finally broken through as well.

"What is this?" Amidst his joy, Qin Hu looked at Qin Yu and the Profound Flood Dragon behind him.

"I’ve broken through as well and ’tamed’ this Profound Flood Dragon. It has strength comparable to a Qi and Blood like a Dragon Martial Artist!" Qin Yu glanced around before turning back to his father. "Let’s talk inside."

***

Inside the secret room, he gave his parents a rough rundown of the situation. He had never liked hiding things. As Qin Hu listened to Qin Yu’s account, his expression changed continuously, a mix of worry and joy.

When he heard that Qin Yu had directly reached the Qi and Blood Like a Tiger realm after breaking through, and could breed existences like the Profound Flood Dragon merely by expending some resources, Qin Hu fell silent for a long while. He felt a complex mix of emotions. He had cultivated bitterly for decades, only to barely break through to the Qi and Blood Realm with the help of elixirs, yet his monstrous son could already mass-produce such powerful creatures. It was truly a somewhat uncomfortable feeling.

However, Qin Hu quickly adjusted his mindset. What he needed to do was simple: let his son cultivate with peace of mind and climb toward a higher world. As for the subsequent slaying of the Blood Demon Sect members, that was completely within expectations.

The Blood Demon Sect? A blood sacrifice on Bishui City? It was better to leave such matters to the Demon Suppression Bureau and the Great Wei Court. That wasn’t something he should get involved in, nor was it something Qin Yu should get involved in.

Great Wei was massive—massive beyond imagination. For Great Wei to stand tall for tens of thousands of years without falling, its underlying foundation had to be incredibly astonishing.

"Don’t worry, Father, I know what I’m doing. I won’t get involved in things that offer no benefits." Qin Yu shook his head slightly. As long as they received news in advance, the Demon Suppression Bureau would definitely have countermeasures. It was even possible that the Demon Suppression Bureau had already received the news.

The Blood Demon Sect caused chaos, and the Demon Suppression Bureau suppressed them. The two sides had played similar games of cat and mouse for who knew how many years. The information he obtained was only a fragmented piece; it was impossible for the Demon Suppression Bureau to lack intelligence sources.

"At the moment, improving strength is the foundation. The Insect Swarm has expanded within the Wilderness Mountain Range and acquired quite a few resources. A portion of them is needed by the swarm,

"but there are some that are of little use to the swarm yet are priceless for a Martial Artist’s cultivation. I’d like to ask for your help in processing them, Father."