87: This head was taken by your Dan Tower.

Outside the Pill Pagoda, the air was deathly still.

That soaring stench of blood and resentment felt like an invisible giant hand, choking everyone present.

Wang Duojin leaned against the counter, vomiting so violently it felt as if his bile were about to come out.

In his life, he had seen mountains of gold and silver and clouds of Magic Treasures, but he had never witnessed such a malicious scene.

A human head.

A head he was somewhat familiar with.

It stared at the world with eyes wide open, as if unable to rest in peace, from a box disguised as an "express delivery."

Su Linger's beautiful face was ice-cold, and the air around her began to condense into fine ice crystals.

The tanghulu stick in her hand had been crushed into powder at some unknown moment.

In those clear eyes, a flame called "hatred" burned openly for the first time.

Ye Chenfeng's reaction was the most direct.

His knuckles turned white as he gripped his sword, and a Sword Intent refined to the extreme soared into the sky, tearing a hole in the clouds above.

Under this Sword Intent, the legs of the surrounding Pill Pagoda guards went weak, and their Magical Artifacts clattered, nearly slipping from their grasp.

"How bold!"

A majestic and aged roar came from the top of the Pill Pagoda, sounding like rolling thunder.

The voice contained terrifying Divine Soul power, instantly suppressing Ye Chenfeng's dissipating Sword Intent.

A figure approached from afar, crossing ten thousand feet in a single step to appear above the square.

The newcomer was a white-haired old man wearing a Seven-Mark Alchemist robe; his face was gaunt, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.

His aura was as deep as the sea, far beyond what the Elder Sun, who had been killed in one strike earlier, could compare to.

Early Integration Stage!

The Grand Elder of the Pill Pagoda, Dan Chenzi!

His gaze was like lightning as it swept over the Black Iron Box and the head on the ground, finally settling on Ye Chenfeng's group of three.

He ignored the trembling guards on the ground and spoke directly, his voice echoing across half of Tianxu City.

"Myriad Dao Divine Sect! You have quite the audacity!"

"To dare commit assassination under the guise of sending a gift! And even more, to slay an Elder of my Pill Pagoda right at our mountain gate!"

"Do you intend to fight to the death against my Pill Pagoda and the entire Central Region's Alchemy Dao!"

He spoke with harsh severity, immediately pinning a massive accusation on them.

The surrounding onlookers immediately broke into an uproar.

"What? That head was sent by the Myriad Dao Divine Sect?"

"I knew this new Sect was wicked! It turns out they are Demonic Path evildoers!"

"Assassinating a Pill Pagoda Elder? It's over; the Myriad Dao Divine Sect is going to be erased from the Central Region!"

Under Dan Chenzi's guidance, public opinion reversed in just a few sentences.

The Myriad Dao Divine Sect went from being a victim to a malicious perpetrator.

Lin Yi and the other Disciples were both angry and anxious, drawing their swords one after another.

"Nonsense! It was clearly your Pill Pagoda that set a trap!"

"Slander! You shameless old thief!"

Dan Chenzi sneered, completely ignoring the shouting of these "minor characters."

He simply stared at Ye Chenfeng, as the pressure of the Body Integration Stage slowly bore down like an invisible divine mountain.

"Both witness and physical evidence are here! What else do you have to say!"

"Now, surrender without a fight and follow me to the Pill Pagoda's dungeon to await judgment! Otherwise, today, all of you shall be buried with my Pill Pagoda Elder!"

He didn't want the truth.

He wanted an excuse.

A high-sounding excuse that could wipe out the Myriad Dao Divine Sect along with that damned "Myriad Dao Express Delivery" from Tianxu City.

Ye Chenfeng's eyes turned cold as he prepared to strike.

Whatever conspiracies or schemes there were, he would break them with a single sword strike!

However, a chubby hand pressed down on him.

It was Wang Duojin.

He had already straightened his back and wiped his mouth; though his fat face was still a bit pale, his small eyes sparkled with an unprecedented light.

"Eldest Senior Brother, don't be in a hurry."

Wang Duojin chuckled and stepped forward, bowing deeply toward Dan Chenzi in the sky.

"Junior Wang Duojin of the Myriad Dao Divine Sect greets Senior Dan Chenzi."

His bow stunned everyone.

Including Dan Chenzi.

What does this fat man want to do? Beg for mercy?

"Senior says this head was sent by us?" Wang Duojin asked.

"Is it not so?" Dan Chenzi snorted.

"We did send it," Wang Duojin nodded, admitting it cleanly and concisely.

As soon as he said this, the entire crowd went into an uproar.

Even Lin Yi and the others became anxious: "Senior Brother Wang!"

Wang Duojin waved his hand, signaling them to stay calm.

He continued to speak to Dan Chenzi at an unhurried pace:

"We at Myriad Dao Express Delivery are open for business. If someone places an order, we naturally deliver it."

"This express delivery was to be sent to the Pill Pagoda. We delivered it, so our task is complete."

"As for what is inside, that is a matter between the sender and the receiver. What does it have to do with my Myriad Dao Express Delivery?"

Dan Chenzi paused before angrily retorting, "Sophistry! You knew it was a murder weapon yet still dared to deliver it; that makes you an accomplice!"

"Oh?" Wang Duojin pulled out his gold abacus and began clicking it rapidly.

"Senior, how could we have known there was a murder weapon inside? This box was sealed with Black Iron and Divine Lead, blocking all forms of detection."

"The customer who placed the order paid a delivery fee of one hundred thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones, so we naturally had to treat it with the highest specifications."

"On the other hand, as soon as your Pill Pagoda saw our people, you wanted to forcibly open the box for inspection without a word."

"I just want to ask one thing."

Wang Duojin's voice suddenly rose.

"How did you know in advance that there was a problem inside that required inspection?"

"Or rather..."

Wang Duojin's small eyes narrowed like those of a cunning fox.

"Was this 'gift' originally sent to yourselves by someone from your own Pill Pagoda?"

"The thief crying 'thief' to frame others. I'm quite familiar with this script!"

"You... you're slandering me!" Dan Chenzi's expression changed drastically.

He hadn't expected this fat man, who seemed the easiest to bully, to be so sharp-tongued, turning the spearhead back at him in just a few words!

"Me, slandering you?" Wang Duojin smiled.

He pointed at the head on the ground.

"I recognize this person. An Elder of the Purple Cloud Chamber of Commerce, Middle Stage Void Refining. Three days ago, he was just taught a lesson by my Eldest Senior Brother."

"The expression he had before death was one of extreme fear and disbelief."

"This indicates that the person who killed him was someone he didn't expect, perhaps even someone familiar."

He then pointed to Elder Sun, who had just been killed by Ye Chenfeng.

"This man just laid out a demonic array to kill my Junior Brother and seize this box."

"This shows he knew what was in the box and that he didn't want the contents to be handed over normally."

"One Purple Cloud Chamber of Commerce and one Pill Pagoda, both related to Demonic Cultivators."

"One was in a hurry to send it, and the other was in a hurry to steal it."

"Senior, why don't you calculate for me what exactly is going on here?"

Wang Duojin's words were clear, logical, and rigorous.

The surrounding Cultivators also shifted from their initial anger to suspicion.

Indeed!

This matter was suspicious everywhere!

Since when were the Pill Pagoda and the Purple Cloud Chamber of Commerce so close?

And both were connected to Demonic Cultivators?

Dan Chenzi was trembling with rage; he knew that if he let this fat man continue, his plan would be completely exposed.

"Pure nonsense! Twisting black and white!"

"It seems you won't repent until you see your coffins!"

"In that case, today I shall cleanse the house and eliminate these demons for the sake of the Alchemy Dao!"

He wasted no more words as his terrifying Body Integration Stage magic power erupted!

A giant hand condensed from pure Pill Fire blotted out the sun, slamming down ruthlessly toward Wang Duojin and the others!

He wanted to burn these individuals who knew too much, along with all the evidence, into ash!

"Third Junior Brother, step back."

Su Linger's cold voice rang out.

She took a step forward and lightly waved the ordinary tanghulu stick in her hand.

"Dao Technique, Ice Age."

Crack! Crack! Crack!

An indescribable, extreme chill spread frantically in all directions with her as the center!

The air was frozen.

The Spiritual Qi was frozen.

Even that sun-blotting giant hand of Pill Fire was instantly frozen into a crystal-clear ice sculpture in mid-air!

Immediately after, with a "bang," it shattered into a flurry of ice shards.

The entire Pill Pagoda square, along with dozens of surrounding buildings, was covered in a thick layer of Mystic Ice.

All the Cultivators, regardless of their cultivation level, were frozen in place, unable to move, their faces still wearing expressions of shock.

But they were not harmed; they were merely restrained.

This was the absolute control over power that Su Linger had realized while governing the Zhao Kingdom!

Harm the enemy, not the civilians!

In the entire area, the only ones who could still move were the Disciples of the Myriad Dao Divine Sect and Dan Chenzi in the sky.

"A Domain! This is a true Domain!"

Dan Chenzi screamed, his eyes filled with unbelievable terror.

What kind of monster was this young girl!

How could someone with a Nascent Soul Stage cultivation perform such a perfect Domain Divine Ability!

"Your fire isn't hot enough."

Su Linger looked at him and said plainly.

"It's my turn."

Ye Chenfeng's voice sounded from behind her.

Su Linger understood immediately, and the frozen Domain quietly opened a crack.

A sword light flashed through that crack and vanished.

It was fast to the extreme and quiet to the extreme.

Dan Chenzi didn't even have time to make any reaction.

He only felt a chill at his brow.

He lowered his head and saw a transparent hole had appeared in his chest.

Through the hole, he could see the frozen blue sky behind him.

His life force, his Divine Soul, and his everything were being frantically strangled and annihilated by that single strand of Sword Intent.

"Wh... Why..."

He struggled to spit out a few words, his eyes full of confusion and unwillingness.

He didn't understand how he, a dignified Body Integration powerhouse and Grand Elder of the Pill Pagoda, could be defeated so quickly and thoroughly.

"Because."

Ye Chenfeng's figure appeared before him as he sheathed his sword.

"You have a certain smell on you."

"I don't like it."

Pfft.

Dan Chenzi's body turned into flying ash.

A Token engraved with strange Demonic Markings dropped from the sky.

Su Linger reached out, and the Token fell into her hand.

She glanced at it and handed it to Wang Duojin.

"It's exactly the same as the one on that City Lord from Wanghai City."

Wang Duojin took the Token, the expression on his fat face becoming incredibly solemn.

"It seems we've stirred up a hornets' nest of Demonic Cultivators."

He looked around at the frozen Pill Pagoda Cultivators and buildings, and suddenly, his eyes lit up.

He cleared his throat and, circulating his spiritual power to the fullest, shouted toward the void:

"Everyone! You've all seen it! The Pill Pagoda colluded with Demonic Cultivators and had ill intentions!"

"Now, the culprits have been executed on the spot by my Sect's Senior Brother and Senior Sister!"

"However, the Pill Pagoda has many industries and cannot be without a leader for a single day! To prevent a counterattack by the remnants of the Demonic Path and to maintain the stability of Tianxu City!"

"I, Wang Duojin of the Myriad Dao Divine Sect, hereby announce!"

"From this day forward, all industries of the Pill Pagoda are temporarily taken over by my Myriad Dao Merchant Guild!"

"Fellow Daoists, if you need Alchemy services, you are welcome to place orders with our Myriad Dao Merchant Guild! Honest prices for all, cheating neither the young nor the old!"

Ye Chenfeng: "..."

Su Linger: "..."

The frozen Cultivators: "???"