299: Chapter 299 The Demonic Cult, Searching for People

The next moment.

The window lattice on the left side of the ship hall suddenly shattered.

Amid flying wood splinters, a black figure flipped into the hall like a ghost, landing without a sound, and then turned sideways to make way for the position behind him.

Closely following, the second, the third...

One figure in black after another poured in from the shattered window.

They wore uniform dark-colored martial attire, with a blooming lotus embroidered in dark red silk on their chests, gleaming with a bewitching luster under the glazed lamps.

Before the people in the ship hall could react, more than ten men in black had already taken their positions on all four sides, firmly sealing off all exits.

"Red Lotus... Red Lotus Demonic Cult!"

It was unknown who was the first to recognize the emblem on the chest, letting out an exclamation.

The faces of those minor noble families turned pale as paper, their legs turning weak, and someone had already collapsed into a chair, trembling all over incessantly.

"How could... how could they be here..."

"Why do they know we are here!"

Even the Disciples of Ciyin Medical Valley changed their expressions slightly upon seeing this, casting vigilant gazes toward the source of the commotion.

Red Lotus Demonic Cult.

That was the number one bounty target of the Great Wei Court, and the supreme evil of the Demonic Path that made the Righteous Path of Jianghu turn pale at the mere mention.

Rumor had it that they stopped at nothing in their actions, killing people as effortlessly as picking a flower, and eight or nine out of ten people who fell into their hands would leave no trace alive or dead.

Especially after defeating the imperial court's army some time ago, the Aura of the entire Red Lotus Demonic Cult became even more formidable.

They had never imagined that such an existence would appear before them.

The gazes of everyone in the hall were captivated by those men in black.

Right at this moment, a man in black turned sideways to make way.

Outside the hall door, a burst of footsteps slowly came over.

A tall and slender man walked slowly into the ship hall.

He wore a red robe, with intricate lotus patterns darkly embroidered on the fabric, and the most eye-catching thing was a bronze mask worn on his face.

The facial features on the surface of the mask were engraved simply, with only a small blood lotus carved between the eyebrows. From behind the mask, a pair of slender eyes were revealed,

He stood still in the hall, with his hands behind his back, slowly scanning a circle.

Right at this moment, someone finally recognized this person.

"Zhao Chi..."

Zhou Ruicheng's lips trembled slightly, spitting out this name.

His face turned as pale as paper in an instant, and his wife beside him tightly grasped his sleeve, trembling so much that she could barely stand.

Zhao Chi.

Master of the southern branch hall of the Red Lotus Demonic Cult.

This name in the southern prefectures was almost equivalent to death itself.

Some people in the hall recognized this name, and suddenly felt as if struck by lightning, their legs going soft as they collapsed to the ground.

"It's over... It's over..."

Fear spread like a plague.

Zhao Chi ignored those trembling gazes, and simply looked faintly at Zhou Ruicheng.

"Patriarch Zhou, you have been in such a hurry all the way, which really cost us a lot of effort."

His voice was low and calm, without the slightest bit of Killing Intent, yet it was more chilling than a blade's edge.

Zhou Ruicheng took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and said in a deep voice:

"Zhao Chi, this is a Great Wei secret ship. Aren't you afraid of the imperial court holding you accountable?"

Zhao Chi tilted his head slightly, a trace of playfulness flashing in the eyes behind the mask.

"The imperial court?"

He chuckled softly and raised a hand to point around.

"Do you think we are very afraid of them?"

Zhou Ruicheng looked in the direction of his finger, and his pupils shrank abruptly.

On the corridor outside the ship hall, those previously respectful and polite waiters were lowering their heads, standing quietly aside, indifferent to everything happening before them.

No, it was not indifference.

Rather, they had already been controlled.

On the necks of several people, a dark red pattern as thin as a spider's silk could be vaguely seen, spreading up from their collars.

The entire ship had long fallen under the control of the Red Lotus Demonic Cult.

Zhou Ruicheng's body swayed, and the last trace of color on his face faded away.

His wife beside him finally couldn't help it, letting out a muffled sob.

"Take him away."

Zhao Chi lifted his chin casually.

Two men in black immediately stepped forward and closed in on Zhou Ruicheng.

"Stop!"

The two guards behind Zhou Ruicheng shouted simultaneously and drew their sabers from their scabbards.

Two cold flashes cut through the lamplight, slashing toward the approaching men in black.

The saber wind was fierce, and internal Qi surged; they were clearly both good hands.

However.

Zhao Chi just tilted his head slightly and pushed with a single palm.

The next instant, an invisible gush of Qi suddenly diffused from his body.

Boom.

Those two guards were hit head-on as if by an invisible wall, their bodies violently flying backward and heavily smashing against the ship's wall.

Wooden boards shattered, the two coughed up blood and collapsed limply to the ground, the sabers in their hands clattering to the floor.

From drawing the saber to defeat, it was no more than a breath's time.

Peak Grade 4 guards couldn't even withstand a single exchange in front of Zhao Chi.

The entire ship hall was so silent that a falling needle could be heard.

Liu Qing frowned deeply, her hands silently probing into the pouch at her waist to take out her accompanying medical needles, like a patch of silver light gathering at her fingertips.

"What a formidable opponent."

Her gaze swept over Zhao Chi, and her heart had already sunk to the bottom of the valley.

Judged solely by Aura, the person before her faintly seemed to surpass her.

If it were the Return to Truth Realm, it would be fine, but if the opponent was in the Innate Realm, the scenario would be terrible.

Everything in the arena seemed to have happened for a long time, but in reality, it only happened within a few breaths.

Zhao Chi withdrew his gaze and looked at Zhou Ruicheng once more.

Those two men in black had already closed in, holding Zhou Ruicheng's arms from left and right.

Zhou Ruicheng struggled a bit, but it was as if he was clamped by iron pliers, not moving at all.

Zhao Chi walked forward slowly and stood still in front of Zhou Ruicheng.

Overlooking this wealthy family head of Linan Prefecture from high above.

"Patriarch Zhou, give up pointless resistance and come with us on a trip, please."

Zhou Ruicheng's face was ashen, his lips trembling, but he couldn't say a single word.

No one in the hall dared to make a sound; those minor nobles wished they could curl themselves into a ball and hide under the table.

Just when the two men in black were escorting Zhou Ruicheng and turning around to leave.

"Hold on."

A lazy voice sounded in the hall.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound.

The person speaking was the middle-aged man sitting at the table in the corner.

He was still biting on that stalk of grass, his bamboo hat pushed to the back of his head, one hand resting on the table and the other holding a wine gourd.

Zhao Chi stopped in his tracks, and the gaze behind the mask turned over.

"Your Excellency, who are you?"

Qin Jianshen did not answer immediately, but instead tilted his head back to take a gulp of wine, wiped the corner of his mouth, and then slowly placed the wine gourd on the table before turning his head over.

"No other meaning."

The tone of his speech was very casual, like chatting with an acquaintance on the street.

"It's just that this person Zhou Ruicheng is also my target."

Qin Jianshen paused, the stalk of grass at the corner of his mouth moving.

"You want to take the person away, which makes things very difficult for me."