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

Han Li reacted extremely quickly. In the instant that the Yue Emperor retreated violently and blood light rose, he had already activated the Mother-Child Blade!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"

Several streaks of dark light ripped through the night sky, heading straight for the vital points of the Yue Emperor!

"Kill! This Yue Emperor is the real demon!"

Liu Jing reacted instantly, both shocked and furious. He roared and unleashed a barrage of silver flying needles and wind blades, following closely behind Han Li! He had almost been fooled by this old fox; if Zhou Yuan hadn't acted decisively, the consequences would have been unimaginable!

Song Meng and Zhong Weiniang suppressed their shock and simultaneously summoned their Blue Silk Sword and a ring-shaped magic artifact to join the attack!

Just as the Yue Emperor regained his footing, the excruciating pain from the bloody hole in his chest and his chaotic breathing caused several powerful magical artifacts mixed with Taoist attacks to descend upon him like a storm!

He was filled with shock and anger, and in his haste, he could only frantically activate his protective blood light to withstand the attack.

"Bang bang bang! Sizzle—!"

The protective crimson aura fluctuated violently under the continuous attacks and quickly dimmed.

Meanwhile, the man in blue robes was shocked to see the Emperor Yue (his true form) in danger. He roared and rushed towards the Emperor Yue without regard for his own safety, wanting to rescue him.

But would Zhou Yuan give him that chance?

He didn't even turn around to look at the blue-robed man rushing towards him. He simply stared coldly at the Yue Emperor, whose aura was already waning and whose protective blood aura was on the verge of shattering, and formed hand seals once more!

The familiar fluctuations of spiritual energy converged wildly once again!

Just as the blue-robed man was about to charge into the battle—

The third wave of Thousand Blade Technique is cast instantly!

Thousands of pale golden, solidified sword lights, like invitations from the Grim Reaper, mercilessly poured down upon the staggering, blood-soaked Yue Emperor, completely engulfing him!

"No--!!!"

The Yue emperor only had time to let out a roar filled with resentment and despair.

The golden storm of sword light mercilessly shredded the last remaining traces of blood light, tearing his flesh and shattering his bones...

When the sword light dissipated.

All that remained was a pool of barely recognizable bits of flesh and blood, and a few pieces of bright yellow cloth stained with blood.

The Emperor of Yue, the true leader of the Black Demon Cult, is dead!

Almost at the same moment that the aura of the Yue Emperor was completely extinguished, the blue-robed man who was rushing towards the battle circle with a face full of shock and anger suddenly froze, his forward momentum coming to an abrupt halt.

His expression froze instantly, and the light in his eyes faded like the tide, leaving them utterly empty.

Immediately afterwards, he fell straight backward like a puppet with its strings cut, crashing to the ground with a thud, lifeless.

It was already a corpse.

"What happened?"

Liu Jing, Song Meng, and Zhong Weiniang watched this bizarre scene with surprise and uncertainty.

Han Li's eyes flickered, as if he were deep in thought.

Zhou Yuan put away his magic seal and explained calmly, "If I am not mistaken, that blue-robed man is not an independent individual, but rather an 'external avatar' condensed from the essence of the Yue Emperor's own blood and consciousness by practicing some kind of evil secret technique."

With the death of the Yue Emperor's main body, the divine consciousness and awareness entrusted to his clone naturally dissipated, leaving the clone as an empty shell.

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized what was going on.

It turns out that the real enemy had been hiding all along, disguised as a victim, while the seemingly powerful "leader" was nothing more than a slightly more sophisticated puppet.

If Zhou Yuan hadn't foreseen the situation and acted decisively, they might have suffered a great loss tonight, or even been caught off guard and lost their lives.

"Senior Brother Zhou is truly amazing; he discovered the problem with Emperor Yue so quickly..."

Han Li secretly praised Zhou Yuan, and his respect for Zhou Yuan's vigilance and methods increased even more.

Next, Zhou Yuan went to the place where the Yue Emperor had died and found a storage bag amidst the carnage.

Zhou Yuan put the storage bag away.

He made great contributions in this battle, and since he killed the Yue Emperor, the spoils of war belonged to him, so Liu Jing and the others naturally had no objections.

As for the blue-robed man's (clone's) corpse, Zhou Yuan flicked out a wisp of true fire, burning it to ashes, revealing a deep blue bead.

This is the last of the Five Elements Evil Elixir.

"Senior Brother Liu, although the core members of the Black Fiend Sect have been killed, there must still be many remnants scattered throughout the palace or lurking in the capital. Now that we have taken action, we should eradicate evil completely and clean up the mess as soon as possible to avoid leaving any future troubles or causing further problems." Zhou Yuan took the initiative to suggest, diverting everyone's attention and not wanting them to focus too much on the spoils of war he had obtained.

"Junior Brother Zhou is absolutely right! Let's split up and search the palace thoroughly, especially the Cold Palace, cellars, and secret passages, to completely eradicate the Black Fiend Sect!" Liu Jing, recovering from his shock, immediately nodded in agreement.

The group immediately dispersed and began to eliminate the remaining forces of the Black Fiend Cult.

Zhou Yuan then rushed directly towards the dilapidated palace deep within the Cold Palace, where the four Blood Servants had previously appeared.

Based on memory and divine sense, the strongest smell of blood was found there, along with faint fluctuations in the array formation. It was likely the core area where the Black Fiend Cult performed blood sacrifices, and perhaps it contained a treasure vault.

Sure enough, behind a hidden door concealed by an illusion array at the back of the palace, he discovered a staircase leading underground.

Descending the steps, one enters a spacious stone chamber, the air thick with an overwhelming stench of blood and resentment.

In the center of the stone chamber was a huge blood pool. Although it had dried up, the dark red blood stains on the pool walls and the ground were shocking. Scattered around were some bones and broken magical artifacts.

On one side of the stone chamber, there is a heavy stone door with simple protective runes engraved on it.

Zhou Yuan swung his sword and broke open the stone door, revealing a small secret chamber that resembled the Black Fiend Sect's treasure trove.

The treasure vault contained few items, but they were of considerable value.

The most eye-catching items were the dozens of medicinal herbs neatly arranged in the jade box!

These medicinal herbs are at least two hundred years old, and some are even four or five hundred years old! Although most of them are not as rare as the main ingredients of the Foundation Establishment Pill, their age and quantity make their total value definitely exceed ten thousand spirit stones!

"It seems the Black Fiend Sect, entrenched in the palace, has amassed quite a few valuable items by leveraging the power of the royal family. Many of these medicinal herbs likely originated from the palace's secret collection or were looted from elsewhere."

Zhou Yuan understood, but his movements were swift. With a wave of his hand, he collected all the jade boxes, along with some high-quality refining materials, finished pills, talismans, and other items inside, into his storage bag.

He certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to share this windfall with Liu Jing and the others.

He led the effort to wipe out the Black Fiend Cult, dealt with its core forces, and discovered the treasure vault himself, so naturally it all belonged to him.

After midnight, the entire palace had been thoroughly cleaned up. The remaining members of the Black Fiend Cult were basically wiped out by the five Foundation Establishment cultivators from Yellow Maple Valley.

Liu Jing gathered everyone together, his expression solemn: "Fellow disciples, the Black Fiend Sect has been eliminated, and the Yue Emperor... has also been executed. This matter is of great importance, especially the death of the Yue Emperor. We must immediately report to the sect for a decision, and consult with the other six sects to properly handle the aftermath. We must support the new emperor's ascension to the throne as soon as possible to stabilize the mortal realm of Yue and prevent major chaos from arising."

"What Senior Brother Liu said is absolutely right." Everyone nodded.

"Senior Brother Liu, you should return to the Golden Drum Plain camp or the sect to report first," Zhou Yuan said. "I have some personal matters to attend to in the capital, so I may have to go back in a few days."

Now that he has left the front lines under the guise of Li Huayuan's mission, he naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to go back on his own initiative.

With Li Huayuan's warrant in hand, they could deal with any law enforcement patrols they encountered on the road.

Upon hearing this, Han Li quickly replied, "Senior Brother Liu, I... I also have some things to take care of, so I might have to go back later."

Liu Jing glanced at Zhou Yuan and Han Li, considering that both were disciples of Li Huayuan and had made great contributions this time, with Zhou Yuan being particularly formidable. He decided not to interfere too much and nodded, saying:

"Alright, then you all finish up and return as soon as possible. Junior Brother Song, Junior Sister Zhong, and I will go ahead and report this matter to Master and the sect."

After saying that, Liu Jing, Song Meng, and Zhong Weiniang did not linger. They harnessed their magical artifacts, transformed into three streaks of light, and quickly disappeared into the dawn light of Yuejing.

Only Zhou Yuan and Han Li remained on the spot.

Han Li looked at Zhou Yuan, waiting for his instructions.

He knew that Zhou Yuan's so-called "private matter" was probably related to that ancient teleportation array.

And he himself finally managed to temporarily escape the constraints of the front lines through this mission.

Han Paopao from Luanxinghai presents "In Huangfeng Valley, I Have an Equipment Slot!", exclusively published by Cola Novels!