Seeing these, they suddenly remembered.
These members of the Secret Shadow Sect were experts in killing from the shadows, masters of sneak attacks and assassinations.
People were often drawn to their ability to operate in the shadows, neglecting the 'killing' part, forgetting they were an evil sect known for indiscriminate slaughter. The bloodstains in this alley indicated they had already killed many.
They didn't kill out of grudges or passion, but to practice their martial arts, to hone their killing skills. They treated human lives like child's play, cold-blooded and devoid of humanity. This was the essence of the evil sect's demonic members.
The two women walked into the alley, then turned back, spotting the small courtyard at the end, its gate already open. Wen Qianqian had opened the door and was beckoning them.
The two floated inside, finding the courtyard quiet. Chu Zhiyuan stood in the center, hands behind his back, surveying the scene. They also noticed corpses neatly arranged, eight in total.
Wen Qianqian said, "Those guys all ran away."
"Were they practicing in the alleys outside?" A lively young woman couldn't help but ask, "They rely on killing to practice."
"Oh?"
Chu Zhiyuan nodded, "Yes, quite a few people must have been harmed in the two adjacent alleys... Surprisingly, the Town Guard hasn't noticed."
He looked at Huang Shirong.
Huang Shirong, her jade face solemn, slowly said, "This is the East One Hall, and the Hall Master is Gu Hao of the Flying Heaven Sect!"
"Careless," Chu Zhiyuan said, "Negligence!"
Huang Shirong slowly said, "Gu Hao is too ambitious, always wanting to achieve great merit, not content with ordinary trivial matters."
"Senior Sister," Xu Mengyu said softly.
Reminding her not to speak ill of others behind their backs.
Huang Shirong said, "There are no outsiders here. The Heir Apparent should know about this person."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded, "The Bureau of Sect Affairs will hold someone accountable for this."
Huang Shirong said, "Gu Hao is the son of an elder of the Flying Heaven Sect, acting boldly and generously, and is well-regarded within the sect."
Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Does Hall Master Huang have a grudge against him?"
"There are some disagreements," Huang Shirong said, "I can't stand his behavior, but he is also a Hall Master, on equal footing with me, so I can't do anything about him."
Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "I will have the Surveillance Bureau take a look."
Even though he was close to Huang Shirong and trusted her character, he would not make a decision rashly.
Hearing both sides leads to clarity.
Everyone has a different perspective, and sometimes there may even be misunderstandings. It is necessary to consider everything comprehensively before deciding how to handle it.
The Secret Shadow Sect masters were killing and practicing here, and so many people died without anyone noticing. No matter what, it was inexcusable and someone had to be held accountable.
Wen Qianqian and Xu Mengyu went inside the house to search, but ultimately came out disappointed, "Heir Apparent, there doesn't seem to be anything to search here."
"Their lair isn't in the inner city. They act arrogantly, but they are also very cautious," Chu Zhiyuan said, "Let's go to the outer city."
Zou Fang had already washed some throwing knives with strong liquor and returned them to Wen Qianqian and Xu Mengyu's iron boxes. He kept four knives for himself.
These were Armor-Piercing Throwing Knives, and these four knives were used to kill Grandmasters.
Chu Zhiyuan discovered that the Secret Shadow Sect also had the same phenomenon: their Grandmaster realm was not high, and they had no resistance to the Hidden Knife technique within the Heart Questioning Knife Manual.
Sudden and without warning, the killing intent was completely concealed. As Grandmasters of the Secret Shadow Sect, the four of them still failed to detect the arrival of the throwing knives.
An hour later, Chu Zhiyuan and his group of nine appeared outside the city gate.
Chu Zhiyuan's face was pale.
Despite having the Earth Origin Art and the Earth Origin Art, he still felt exhausted.
"Heir Apparent, why don't we take a break?" Wen Qianqian couldn't help but say, "It won't make a difference, and the battle over there might already be over."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "It shouldn't be that easy."
If Grandmasters couldn't kill people at will, they had to rely on the Town Guard's experts. The Jade Cauldron Sect's demonic members were difficult to deal with, and it wouldn't be easy to wipe them out.
"Then can you still hold on?" Wen Qianqian asked.
Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "It's alright."
His spirit was sufficient, his Gang Qi was sufficient, and his body was as vigorous as a sea, but he still felt exhausted. It was a fatigue originating from the soul.
Zou Fang took off his green robe and spread it on the thick, soft pine needles on the ground.
Chu Zhiyuan seemed to casually support the pine tree with his palm, then sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and remained motionless.
Huang Shirong frowned slightly, glanced at Chu Zhiyuan, and then looked into the distance.
She spotted a secret mark left by the Town Guard.
She wondered how things were progressing, whether they had already destroyed the lair, which should be the true lair of the Jade Cauldron Sect. Any escapees would be a future threat.
They would definitely retaliate, most commonly by rushing into the inner city of Jade Capital and destroying everything. It was impossible to defend against.
It would be best to wipe them out completely.
If they could take the opportunity to find the mental cultivation method and completely destroy its inheritance, that would be the true annihilation of the Jade Cauldron Sect, preventing it from rising from the ashes. Otherwise, even if they killed this batch, there would be more in the future.
If the mental cultivation method was not destroyed, as long as human greed was not eliminated, the Jade Cauldron Sect would not cut off its disciples, and they would be endless. She glanced at Wen Qianqian and Xu Mengyu, seeing them full of concern, staring intently at Chu Zhiyuan.
She transmitted a sentence to them secretly.
The two women were stunned and hurriedly glared at her, their expressions unfriendly. Huang Shirong smiled.
The words she said in the ears of the two women were: "Your eyes are about to fall out."
Wen Qianqian, feeling embarrassed and annoyed, pounced on her and tried to tickle her, "Senior Sister, you're so mean, take that!" Xu Mengyu also chased after her.
Huang Shirong laughed and dodged, floating away. After getting far away from Chu Zhiyuan, she was caught up by them, and they had a fight.
Her temples were a little disheveled, her jade face was flushed, and she smiled, "You two, we and the Heir Apparent are people from two different worlds."
"How are we from two different worlds!" Wen Qianqian said indignantly, "We see the Heir Apparent every day, how can we be from two different worlds."
"But he has a Princess Consort," Huang Shirong said, "He won't marry a woman from a martial arts sect as a secondary consort."
"That's not necessarily true."
"Oh, you want to marry into the Prince Qing's Mansion?" Huang Shirong laughed.
"Sen-ior Sis-ter!" Wen Qianqian stamped her feet, "People just admire the Heir Apparent, why are you thinking so much? Senior Sister, your own heart isn't pure!"
Huang Shirong smiled, "Alright, my heart isn't pure, your heart is pure, but it's always good to be careful."
The disciples of the White Cloud Sword Palace should have hearts like clear blue skies, carefree and unrestrained.
If they were truly attached to someone, they would lose their freedom and ease, their cultivation progress would stagnate, and the power of their swordplay would be greatly diminished.
Xu Mengyu smiled, "The Heir Apparent's martial arts are indeed admirable... Senior Sister, aren't we very useless?"
Huang Shirong said, "It will take another ten years before we can take on great responsibilities. It's already not easy to join this siege this time."
She was very clear about this.
The current self was still too young, her cultivation was too shallow, it was not the time to take on great responsibilities, but to focus on experience and knowledge. Chu Zhiyuan suddenly said, "Zou Fang, the knives!"
The three women were immediately startled and floated over.
They saw Chu Zhiyuan already standing up, his eyes shining brightly, reaching out to take the Armor-Piercing Throwing Knives handed over by Zou Fang, and silently shot out two knives. The knife light was like a faint, almost imperceptible phantom, silently passing through the treetops.
The three women's expressions were solemn.
Clearly, a Grandmaster had come.
It was unknown whether it was a Grandmaster from the Secret Shadow Sect or the Jade Cauldron Sect, but judging from Chu Zhiyuan's expression, it wouldn't be easy to deal with. Chu Zhiyuan's expression was solemn.
These two knives were actually avoided by the same person! And it was still a young man!
