I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

"Junior Brother Zhou, your Thousand Blade Technique has truly broadened my horizons!"

At this moment, Song Meng's gaze toward Zhou Yuan had changed from initial surprise to genuine respect.

The instantaneous mid-level Thousand Blade Technique, with such terrifying power, completely overturned his understanding of the strength of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The shock on Liu Jing's face gradually subsided, replaced by a complex expression of admiration.

He has always valued his reputation and enjoyed being respected by his peers, but he is also an upright person who admires those who are truly capable.

Zhou Yuan's display of skill had completely won him over.

They watched as Zhou Yuan stepped forward and picked up the four beads of different colors, each shrouded in malevolent energy, from the ground.

These four Blood Servants were all killed by Zhou Yuan with swift and decisive methods, and the spoils of war naturally belonged to Zhou Yuan. Liu Jing and Song Meng had no objection to this.

Zhou Yuan carefully put away the four Five Elements Evil Pills, sensing the mixed yet pure evil energy and spiritual power contained within them.

Just then, he raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly, and his powerful divine sense instantly detected a very subtle, malicious aura that was quietly approaching Song Meng's side!

"Be careful, senior brothers!"

Zhou Yuan suddenly spoke, his voice cold and sharp.

Almost as soon as he spoke, Wulongduo, which had been hovering beside him, transformed into a dark golden afterimage. Like a venomous snake that had been lying in wait for a long time, it tore through the air with lightning speed and shot towards a seemingly empty shadow three zhang away from Song Meng!

"clang--!"

A loud bang, like metal clashing against metal!

The shadows twisted, and a middle-aged figure in a blue brocade robe with a sinister face staggered out, a dark blue short blade in his hand blocking Wulongduo's claws, sparks flying.

His gaze toward Zhou Yuan was filled with shock, anger, and a hint of fear; he clearly hadn't expected his stealthy attack to be so easily detected.

"Late stage of Foundation Establishment?"

Liu Jing's gaze sharpened as he sensed the spiritual pressure emanating from the other party, which was clearly stronger than that of Qingwen and the others. His brows furrowed slightly, but he did not show much apprehension.

Among the three of them, Zhou Yuan's strength was unfathomable, and they themselves and Song Meng were no pushovers either, so they were not necessarily afraid of the opponent.

He stepped forward, blocking Song Meng's path, his gaze sharp as lightning, locking onto the middle-aged man in blue robes, and shouted sternly:

"Sneaking around, launching a sneak attack! You must be the so-called 'leader' of this cult, right?"

"good!"

The middle-aged man in the blue robe steadied himself, sneered upon hearing this, and swept his gaze over Zhou Yuan and the other two, lingering particularly on Zhou Yuan. A glint of greed and coldness flashed in his eyes:

"I am the Black Fiend Cult Leader! You have trespassed into the forbidden area of ​​the Imperial City, killed my followers, and destroyed my blood servants. Today, I will ensure that you do not leave alive!"

"You dare to spout such nonsense even when you're about to die!" Song Meng roared, and the Blue Silk Sword hummed again, its tip pointing directly at his opponent.

"With just you guys?"

The man in blue sneered, but his attention was mostly focused on Zhou Yuan, seemingly most wary of him, or perhaps assessing something:

"Having unleashed two such powerful intermediate-level spells in quick succession, you're probably at your limit now, with very little mana left, aren't you?"

"Still trying to act tough?"

He clearly believed that a Thousand Blades Technique with such instantaneous power must consume a huge amount of energy.

Zhou Yuan must be outwardly strong but inwardly weak at this moment.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan's lips curled into a cold smile: "Whether it's at its last gasp or not, why don't you try and see?"

Just kidding, he has the continuous healing effect from the [Miniature Spirit Eye Spring] and three mid-tier spirit stones in his equipment slot.

The magical power within his body was almost inexhaustible.

The energy depleted during the battle has already been replenished while we're talking! I'm at my peak condition.

"Junior brothers, stop wasting words with this fiend! Let's attack immediately and join forces to kill this monster!"

Liu Jing was unwilling to delay any longer, lest something unexpected happen. His two silver flying needles and the white silk handkerchief once again shone brightly, ready to be unleashed.

However, he had barely finished speaking.

In the night sky, a soft yet swift beam of light flew rapidly from afar.

Under the moonlight, Zhong Weiniang and Han Li, riding their flying magical artifact, slowly descended from the sky with a middle-aged man dressed in bright yellow dragon-patterned clothing, his face as pale as paper, and his expression filled with terror.

The middle-aged man, who was about forty years old and had lived a life of luxury, was now being held upside down by Zhong Weiniang by the collar, hanging outside the magic artifact like a chick. When he saw Zhou Yuan, Liu Jing, and Song Meng, the fear on his face deepened, and his body trembled like a leaf.

"Senior Brother Liu, Senior Brother Zhou, Senior Brother Song! We've found him!"

Zhong Weiniang landed, placed the middle-aged man she was holding on the ground, pointed at him, and said to Liu Jing and the others, "This is the Emperor of Yue! When we found him, he was in the 'Hall of Mental Cultivation' meeting with some ministers. My junior brother Han and I knocked the others unconscious and brought him here!"

"Yes, thank you for your hard work, Junior Sister Zhong and Junior Brother Han!"

Liu Jing nodded, his last lingering concern finally dispelled.

Now, they no longer need to worry about the Black Fiend Cult using the Emperor's life to blackmail them. The hostages have been rescued.

The initiative is entirely in our hands.

Liu Jing and Song Meng merely glanced at the Yue Emperor trembling on the ground, and seeing that he showed no signs of cultivation fluctuation, they stopped paying attention and turned all their attention back to the cold-blooded blue-robed "Black Fiend Cult Leader".

"That is the Black Fiend Cult Leader! Junior Sister Zhong, Junior Brother Han, be careful! His cultivation has reached the late Foundation Establishment stage!"

Liu Jing pointed at the man in blue robes and reminded him in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Weiniang and Han Li immediately became serious, each summoning their magical artifacts and standing in a row with Liu Jing, Song Meng, and Zhou Yuan, subtly forming an encirclement.

It's five against one now.

Even though the opponent was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and their side had a large number of people and Zhou Yuan's strength was unpredictable, Han Li, Liu Jing and the others were not flustered at all and were full of confidence.

However, Han Li's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Just moments ago, a clear voice transmission had echoed in his mind, originating from Zhou Yuan:

"Junior Brother Han, be careful of Emperor Yue! He is not without cultivation; rather, he is hiding it extremely well. I sense that his true cultivation level is probably at the late Foundation Establishment stage! I suspect that he is the true mastermind behind the Black Fiend Sect. Be sure to be cautious!"

Han Li was deeply shocked: "Is the Yue Emperor a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator? Or is he the true leader of the Black Fiend Cult?"

He had always trusted Zhou Yuan's judgment and knew that Zhou Yuan was not someone who spoke without reason.

At this moment, although he remained outwardly calm, he secretly focused most of his attention on the seemingly weak and incompetent Yue Emperor, quietly circulating his magical power to deal with any unexpected situations.

Just then, the Yue Emperor, who had been slumped on the ground, seemed to catch his breath. He struggled to his feet and bowed tremblingly towards Han Li and Zhong Weiniang, his voice trembling with tears: "Thank you... thank you so much for your rescue! These demons of the Black Fiend Sect have imprisoned me for a long time, and I have been living in constant fear. Today, I am fortunate that you immortals descended to rid me of the evil spirits and save me from this dire situation. Please accept my bow!"

His acting skills were superb, perfectly portraying a mortal emperor who was terrified and moved to tears.

After paying his respects to Han Li and Zhong Weiniang, he turned to Liu Jing and the other two, first bowing deeply to Liu Jing, who was leading the group: "Thank you, Immortal!"

Then he bowed to Song Meng.

Finally, he staggered to Zhou Yuan's side, bowed deeply, and repeatedly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Immortal..."

Just as he bent down, leaned forward, and closed the distance between himself and Zhou Yuan to less than five feet, seemingly without any defense—

A cold glint flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes!

Without warning, he unleashed the Twelve Assassins of the Divine Court!

An invisible and intangible divine consciousness spike, condensed to the extreme and carrying a sharp piercing intent, ignored spatial distance and instantly pierced into Yue Huang's lowered brow, fiercely penetrating the depths of his sea of ​​consciousness!

"Ugh—!!"

Caught off guard, the Yue emperor felt as if his head had been pierced by a red-hot iron. The indescribable pain and shock to his soul caused him to let out a scream that was not human.

Almost at the same time as the divine sense attack was launched, Wulongduo beside Zhou Yuan had already transformed into a stream of deathly light, accompanied by a shrill sound of air being torn apart, and struck hard at Yue Huang's vital heart!

"Pfft!"

Wulongduo's sharp claws instantly tore through the seemingly ordinary bright yellow dragon robe on Emperor Yue's body. However, the moment it touched his skin, a thick, viscous, dark red blood light with a strong bloody smell suddenly erupted from Emperor Yue's body, firmly resisting Wulongduo's stabbing attack!

However, this sudden burst of blood was clearly no match for Wulong's long-prepared, all-out attack.

The stalemate lasted only a moment before the dark golden light surged, and with a soft "pop," the blood-red light was forcibly torn apart!

Wulong's claws pierced deeply into the Yue Emperor's chest!

The sounds of flesh tearing and bones shattering were clearly audible!

A shocking bloody hole suddenly appeared on the chest of the Yue Emperor, a bloody mess, deep enough to expose the bone!

He let out a roar of pain mixed with rage, and with the force of the impact, his body was violently pushed back more than ten feet!

After stepping back, the blood-red light around him was no longer concealed, rising up like a raging blood flame. The powerful spiritual pressure and violent, eerie aura belonging to the late Foundation Establishment stage were no longer hidden and exploded with a roar!

His entire demeanor transformed from that of a cowardly and terrified mortal emperor into that of a wicked cultivator with vicious eyes and a terrifying aura!

"Junior Brother Zhou! Killing the Yue Emperor is a grave crime! You..."

Liu Jing was stunned by this sudden turn of events. He was about to reprimand Zhou Yuan for his recklessness, but when he saw the late Foundation Establishment stage cultivation and the familiar evil blood light emanating from the Emperor Yue, the second half of his sentence was stuck in his throat, and his expression changed drastically!

"What?! The Yue Emperor has cultivation?! And he's at the late Foundation Establishment stage?!"

Song Meng and Zhong Weiniang also gasped in shock at the same time, their faces filled with disbelief.

By this point, how could they not realize that something was wrong?

This Yue Emperor is no pitiful kidnapper! He is clearly the one who is most deeply hidden and has the highest cultivation! The evil techniques he uses are from the same source as those four blood servants from before!

Although Han Li was mentally prepared, he was still taken aback when he saw the Yue Emperor unleash such a terrifying aura and strength in an instant. He thought to himself that Zhou Yuan's judgment was indeed accurate.