71: Bloodbath in the Night

Mo Xuan immediately pressed his palm against his alchemy room.

The door instantly opened, and he was met with a powerful kick. Jiang Donghua stumbled back a few steps from the kick, clutching his backside and grimacing, but a wave of relief washed over him.

This familiar, irritable force definitely belonged to Elder Mo Xuan!

"Ouch! Elder, go easy on me!"

Rubbing his backside, he complained, but a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

"I just killed a Blood Demon Sect scumbag and was rummaging through his storage ring when I found something deadly. I was panicking!"

Elder Mo Xuan snorted, his gaze sweeping over the messy alchemy room, then glanced at the nameless book clutched in Jiang Donghua's hand, frowning.

"Panicking about what?! The Blood Demon Sect members are dead; can they really rise from the grave?"

Jiang Donghua swallowed, hesitated, and then handed over the book.

"Elder, see for yourself..."

Elder Mo Xuan took the book, casually flipped through a few pages, and his eyes suddenly narrowed.

His previously nonchalant expression instantly turned grim, and his fingers squeezed the pages, making them creak.

"Yan Feng... was replaced?"

He muttered softly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Jiang Donghua nodded, his voice tight.

"It's not just him; there are two or three hundred people listed here, all 'Blood Puppets' secretly replaced by the Blood Demon Sect!"

Elder Mo Xuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered.

"Heh, what a grand scheme!"

He abruptly closed the book, his gaze like a knife sweeping towards Jiang Donghua.

"You're a clever boy; you didn't foolishly run out and shout, otherwise, you would probably have already been 'dealt with' by now."

Jiang Donghua felt a chill down his spine.

"Elder, do you mean the Academy is now full of Blood Demon Sect spies?"

Elder Mo Xuan didn't answer directly. Instead, he strode towards the alchemy furnace, flicked out several streams of Dou Qi from his sleeve, and instantly activated the isolation array of the alchemy room.

The entire room was immediately enveloped by a faint blue light screen, completely cutting off contact with the outside world.

"From now on, don't go anywhere. Just stay here."

Elder Mo Xuan said in a deep voice.

"Since the Blood Demon Sect can replace so many people without a sound, it means their influence within the Academy is far deeper than we imagined. Acting rashly will only alert them."

Jiang Donghua opened his mouth.

"So, we just wait like this?"

Elder Mo Xuan glanced at him, then suddenly grinned, a hint of ruthlessness in his smile.

"Wait? Of course not."

He raised his hand, took out a dark red jade slip from his storage ring, and lightly swiped his fingertip across it. The jade slip instantly ignited a wisp of blood-colored flame.

"Since they like to play dirty, we'll play a big game with them."

Iron Punishment stood on a tall tower in the Outer Academy of Jia Nan Academy, his gaze grimly sweeping over the students coming and going below.

His fingertips glowed with the black light of Dark Attribute Dou Qi, as if ready to strike at any moment.

Lei Tian leaned lazily against a nearby stone pillar, Lightning Light flickering in his palm. He occasionally tossed a lightning ball up and caught it, yawning idly.

"Iron Punishment, you've been watching here for a long time. Have you seen anything?"

Lei Tian grinned.

"You don't really think the Blood Demon Sect members will just swagger out and let you catch them, do you?"

Iron Punishment said coldly.

"The Blood Demon Sect members are best at concealment. The calmer it is, the more it indicates they are acting in secret."

Lei Tian sneered.

"Come on, if you ask me, we should just charge into the Blood Demon Sect's lair, drag out Old Ghost Blood Demon, and chop him up, saving us the trouble of being so suspicious here."

Iron Punishment frowned.

"Reckless behavior! How can the Blood Demon Sect, which has stood firm in the Northwest Continent for so many years, be destroyed just because you say so?"

Lei Tian was about to retort when suddenly...

"Boom!"

A grey shadow descended from the sky, crashing heavily between the two. The ground instantly cracked.

As the dust cleared, Elder Mo Xuan stood with a grim face, his gaze sweeping over the two of them.

"You two, still have time to bicker here?"

Lei Tian, Iron Punishment.

"..."

Lei Tian was the first to react, grinning.

"Yo, Old Man Mo, what's up? Are you here to join the fun too?"

Iron Punishment, however, frowned slightly.

"Elder Mo Xuan, what happened?"

Elder Mo Xuan snorted, flicked his sleeve, and a Dou Qi barrier instantly enveloped the three, isolating them from external detection.

"The Blood Demon Sect has infiltrated Jia Nan Academy."

His voice was low.

"And it's more serious than we imagined."

A flash of Lightning Light appeared in Lei Tian's eyes.

"Oh? Finally, something interesting!"

Iron Punishment's eyes narrowed.

"Do you have proof?"

Elder Mo Xuan took out the nameless book from his storage ring and threw it to Iron Punishment.

"See for yourself."

Iron Punishment quickly flipped through it, his face growing uglier and uglier.

Lei Tian leaned over for a look, and his brows also furrowed.

"Chen Tiexin, even he, an Elder, has been replaced?"

Iron Punishment's voice was cold.

"And he's not the only one?"

Elder Mo Xuan nodded.

"At least two or three hundred people, all Blood Puppets."

Lei Tian clenched his fists, Lightning Light crackling.

"Damn it, these bastards dare to play tricks right under my nose?"

Iron Punishment closed the book, a cold glint in his eyes.

"We must act immediately, but we must not alert them."

Lei Tian impatiently waved his hand.

"What are we waiting for? Just kill them!"

Elder Mo Xuan sneered.

"Kill? Do you know who are Blood Puppets and who are innocent?"

"I only found this book on one of them. As for whether the contents are accurate or if there's any mischief, I have no idea!"

Lei Tian was speechless, then irritably scratched his hair.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Iron Punishment pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"First, identify a few key figures, investigate them secretly, and then act after confirming their identities."

Elder Mo Xuan nodded.

"That's exactly what I intended."

Lei Tian rolled his eyes.

"Troublesome!"

But in the end, he didn't object anymore.

Elder Mo Xuan's gaze swept over the two.

"From now on, you two will secretly investigate the people on the list, but remember."

His tone suddenly became sharp.

"Better to let a hundred guilty go than to kill one innocent!"

Lei Tian pouted.

"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you."

Iron Punishment, however, nodded slightly.

"Understood."

Elder Mo Xuan nodded with satisfaction, then his figure flickered and disappeared again.

Lei Tian watched him leave, a grin on his face.

"That old fellow, still so decisive."

Iron Punishment was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice.

"Lei Tian, this time... don't be impulsive."

Lei Tian sneered.

"What, afraid I'll mess things up?"

Iron Punishment shook his head.

"We both know the Blood Demon Sect's methods. Once they detect us, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Lei Tian was silent for a moment, uncharacteristically not retorting. He just clenched his fists, Lightning Light leaping between his fingers.

"Alright, I'll listen to you this once."

He grinned, "But if I catch a Blood Puppet, I'll blast him until there's not even a speck left!"

This kind of secret investigation with a list was hundreds of times simpler than the Law Enforcement Team had imagined.

Before, they were like headless chickens, searching back and forth among the hundreds of thousands of people in the Outer Academy for spies.

But now it was completely different; judging through this list was extremely simple.

Elder Mo Xuan's figure flitted across the night sky like a ghost, a cold sneer playing on his lips.

"Those two hotheads finally decided to use their brains."

He looked down at the blood-glowing jade slip in his hand, on which dozens of names were densely displayed, each followed by the annotation "Blood Puppet confirmed."

"They're quite fast."

At the same time, in the Jia Nan Academy dormitory area.

"Bang!"

A wooden door was kicked open by Lei Tian, and Lightning Light instantly illuminated the entire room.

The student on the bed woke up with a start. Before he could react, Lei Tian grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.

"Kid, you put on a good act, didn't you?"

Lei Tian sneered, Lightning Light crackling in his palm.

"Too bad you can't hide the stench of blood on you!"

The student's pupils constricted, his expression of terror suddenly twisted, and a strange arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Heh, discovered?"

The next second, dark red blood vessels suddenly seeped out from under his skin, and his entire body swelled like a balloon.

"Trying to self-destruct?"

Lei Tian sneered, his five fingers suddenly tightening.

"Get back in there!"

"Boom—!"

Violent Lightning Attribute Dou Qi directly poured into the opponent's body, forcefully suppressing the Blood Fiend Qi that was about to erupt.

The Blood Puppet convulsed all over, bleeding from its seven orifices, and instantly collapsed like mud.

Lei Tian casually tossed him to the Law Enforcement Team behind him.

"Disable his Dou Qi and throw him into the dungeon!"

In another dormitory.

Iron Punishment stood in the shadows of the corridor, threads of black mist coiling around his fingertips.

In front of him, a seemingly ordinary student was laughing and chatting as he bid farewell to his companion, then turned and walked towards his room.

Iron Punishment's eyes were cold. He raised his hand and waved.

"Swish!"

A stream of Dark Attribute Dou Qi shot out like a venomous snake, instantly coiling around the student's ankle.

The opponent's body stiffened, and he suddenly turned his head, only to see Iron Punishment already close to him like a ghost, pressing a palm to his Dantian.

"You...!"

The student's face changed drastically.

"Blood Puppet, confirmed."

Iron Punishment's voice was terrifyingly calm, and the black light in his palm surged.

"Break."

"Ah—!"

The mournful scream was swallowed by the Dark Attribute Dou Qi as soon as it left his mouth.

The student twitched and fell, the blood vessels wriggling under his skin rapidly withering.

Iron Punishment withdrew his hand and said faintly to the approaching Law Enforcement Team members.

"Take him away."

Iron Punishment stood in the center of the main hall, with numerous Blood Puppets bound by iron chains at his feet. Their faces were pale, their Dantians were all pierced, and their Dou Qi was completely destroyed.

The Law Enforcement Team members held their weapons, guarding them with stern expressions.

Lei Tian stepped on the back of a Blood Puppet Elder, grinning sinisterly.

"old fellow, you hid quite well, didn't you? A dignified Outer Academy Elder, actually refined into a puppet by the Blood Demon Sect?"

The Elder's face was twisted, his eyes bloodshot, and he hissed.

"You... think this is over? The Blood Demon Sect's plan... is far from it, and what right do you, a mere Peak Dou Huang, have to speak of the Blood Demon Sect!"

"Slap!"

Lei Tian directly slapped him, making his mouth full of blood.

"Too much nonsense!"

Iron Punishment frowned, raised his hand to stop Lei Tian from continuing the violence, and asked coldly.

"Speak, what other arrangements does the Blood Demon Sect have in Jia Nan Academy?"

The Blood Puppet Elder smiled sinisterly.

"Heh, you'll know soon enough."

Before he finished speaking, his body suddenly convulsed violently, blood vessels wriggled madly under his skin, and his entire body began to swell rapidly!

"Not good! He's going to self-destruct!"

Iron Punishment shouted, instantly striking. Dark Attribute Dou Qi transformed into chains, tightly constricting the Blood Puppet Elder's body.

Lei Tian reacted extremely quickly, Lightning Light surging in his palm as he slammed it onto the top of his head.

"Suppress him!"

"Boom—!"

The violent energy was forcibly suppressed. The Blood Puppet Elder's body ultimately only exploded into a cloud of blood mist, but it did not affect the surroundings.

Iron Punishment's face was grim.

"The Blood Demon Sect planted a restriction in their bodies. Once captured, it triggers self-destruction."

Lei Tian shook the bloodstains from his hand, cursing under his breath.

"Damn it, a bunch of lunatics!"

To be precise, at this moment, the guys whose Dou Qi had been abolished exploded one by one like fireworks.

Waves of blood mist made the Hall of Enforcement even more gruesome. It seemed the Blood Demon Sect was burning their soul jade tablets.

Lei Tian and Iron Punishment exchanged glances and could only shake their heads. Neither of them had the ability to stop such a thing.

Unless they were Dou Zong, they could briefly use some spatial power.

It would be best to reach the Dou Zun level; then, with a single hand, they could condense space, and even if they wanted to self-destruct, there would be no way. Unfortunately, where would they find such strength!

The Academy has truly been through a lot in recent years. Why hasn't that old fellow, the hands-off manager, shown up?

Throughout the night, the roar of battle rose and fell. Many students dared not sleep, clutching their weapons and huddling in corners, staring intently at their doors.

"It sounded like Instructor Chen was taken away just now?"

A New Student's voice trembled.

"Shh! Don't talk nonsense!"

Another student whispered.

"The Law Enforcement Team instructors are clearing out the Blood Demon Sect's spies. We just need to stay quiet!"

"But even Elder-level figures have been replaced. Who can we trust in this Academy?"

Everyone fell silent, and only heavy breathing remained in the room.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the corridor. Everyone instantly tensed, pointing their weapons at the door.

"Thump thump thump."

A knock on the door sounded, followed by the cold, stern voice of a Law Enforcement Team member.

"Everyone, gather in the square after dawn. The Dean has ordered a thorough identity check!"

The students exchanged glances, and finally could only respond in low voices.

"Yes."