12: Demon Lord, General of a Hundred Souls

A moment later.

Xia Xuan stopped interrogating Hei Xiao and instead went to the only Divine Martial Realm expert in the dungeon, Hou Zun, the master of Savage Tiger.

Hou Zun hung his head, expressionless, as if he hadn't noticed the newcomer.

"Poof!"

A cold dagger suddenly pierced his sternum.

The tyrannical Protective Aura of Divine Fire, following the blade, instantly completely destroyed his heart.

"Finally free."

Hou Zun raised his head slightly, an expression of disbelief mixed with a hint of relief appearing on his pale face.

He smiled.

Xia Xuan also smiled.

Under Wu Zhong's horrified gaze, a huge nether ghost king's nest emerged behind Xia Xuan, almost filling the entire dungeon.

Terrifying and eerie Nether Qi raged wildly, transforming the place into a veritable Hell.

A Ghost General, with ferocious long horns on his head, his body imbued with Nether Qi, muscles bulging, and clad in bone armor, stepped out of the ghost king's nest and knelt before Xia Xuan.

"Greetings, my Lord!"

The Ghost General's voice was hoarse and unpleasant, yet it conveyed deep fear and reverence.

Beside him, Wu Zhong looked surprised and uncertain: "Your Highness..."

This strange thing, whatever it was, was definitely not of the Human Race. When did Your Highness get involved with other races?

Although the Ghost General's strength was only at the True Martial Realm, the Nether Qi Entangled around his body was extremely terrifying and strange, as if it could corrode Protective Aura and Soul, making one feel a bone-chilling cold.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

Xia Xuan raised his hand, offering no explanation.

He wasn't worried that Wu Zhong would leak secrets, and even if he did, the enemy, unable to grasp the true nature of the nether ghost king's nest, would likely be hesitant to act.

"Devour them, but temporarily retain half of their human form; they still have use."

As Xia Xuan gave the order, the Ghost General's hollow eye sockets flickered with ghostly fire, and several Ghost Soldiers holding long bone halberds appeared from the ghost king's nest. The remaining five people in the dungeon whose Cultivation had been sealed were all killed, their bodies dragged into the nether ghost king's nest.

A grating chewing sound continued for a moment.

The Ghost General respectfully retreated to the side.

Six ghostly figures, shrouded in ominous Qi, emerged from it and knelt before Xia Xuan.

Five of them had been transformed into fiend leaders with three curved demonic horns on their heads.

Each fiend leader could command a maximum of three fiend generals, ten ordinary Ghost General, and a total of ten thousand Ghost Soldiers.

Their own strength was close to the Peak of the True Martial Realm.

As for Hou Zun, who was at the Divine Martial Realm, he had a single red horn on his head, wore rusted bronze and iron armor, and a blood-stained cloak flapped in the Nether Qi.

His aura was very restrained, yet it still carried a terrifying oppressive feeling that made Wu Zhong feel uncomfortable, as if his blood had frozen.

Hundred Soul Ghost Marshal!

Transformed from a Divine Martial Realm being, each of its Souls was a fiend general-level Myriad Soul.

An ordinary minor ghost would need to devour at least a million human Souls to grow to this level!

A Hundred Soul Ghost Marshal could command a maximum of ten fiend leaders, thirty fiend generals, one hundred ordinary Ghost General, and one hundred thousand Ghost Soldiers!

This Ghost Marshal was Xia Xuan's second Divine Martial Realm combat force, and although its strength was not as great as Lü Bu's, its role could not be underestimated.

"Who ordered you to assassinate this Prince?"

In the Early Stage of transformation into a ghost, some human memories are preserved, so Xia Xuan asked directly.

The Hundred Soul Ghost Marshal pondered for a moment and then uttered three words: "Killing Altar."

Xia Xuan looked at the others, including Hei Xiao, and they all gave the same answer.

This meant that the first poisoning and the second assassination at the Prince's Mansion were both the work of the same party.

Xia Xuan frowned; he had never heard the name Killing Altar before.

He knew nothing about this force; the core intelligence his predecessor could access was still too limited.

The Imperial Capital of the Wu Dynasty, which suppressed the Luck of the dynasty, was full of hidden masters, like a deep pool.

His previous actions had probably only caused ripples on the surface, and he hadn't even seen what the behemoths at the bottom of the deep pool looked like.

Xia Xuan had a flash of inspiration and immediately asked the fiend leader that Hei Xiao had transformed into: "Was your allegiance to Prince Qi your own will, or an order from the Killing Altar?

And who ordered you to make a move against me when you first appeared outside Xianle Tower?"

Hei Xiao paused, then replied: "Both were from the Killing Altar."

"Indeed."

Xia Xuan's guess was correct; the Second Prince, Prince Qi, temporarily dared not make a move against him, even if the probability of being found out was minuscule, they wouldn't risk it.

But this suddenly appearing force, the Killing Altar, seemed utterly unconcerned by the Prince Who Guards the North's prestige, twice attempting to put him to death.

Moreover, if Xia Xuan hadn't Transmigrated, the first attempt would have already succeeded.

"Who exactly is behind the Killing Altar?"

Xia Xuan then asked many details, trying to find the Killing Altar's headquarters.

But the result was slightly disappointing; the Killing Altar was like a tightly organized assassin group, with single-line contacts and no traces left behind.

They had all joined the Killing Altar when they were desperate, had strict Restrictions placed on them, and were secretly cultivated by the Killing Altar.

When they had no missions, they would develop and improve their public identities, and once a mission was received, they would complete it at all costs.

In other words, anyone in the Imperial Capital could potentially be a minion of the Killing Altar.

Xia Xuan felt a chill run down his spine.

If he didn't have the System, he probably wouldn't even know that such a terrifying force was hidden in the Imperial Capital, trying to take his life!

Outside the dungeon, Wu Zhong was worried and deeply remorseful; he hated himself for not being able to share His Highness's worries.

The Killing Altar could even dispatch Divine Martial Realm assassins; he, a mere True Martial Realm Cultivator, was simply not enough.

Wu Zhong silently vowed to Cultivate even harder.

At this moment, Xia Xuan interrupted his thoughts and casually asked: "Where do you think we can find clues about the Killing Altar?"

Wu Zhong snapped back to attention, pondered for a long time, and replied: "Perhaps the Great General knows a thing or two?"

The Prince Who Guards the North, Xu Tianlang, also the Great General of the Wu Dynasty, a veteran of three reigns, had an extensive intelligence network, even with layout throughout the Four Seas and Five Regions.

Wu Zhong could only think of him.

Xia Xuan nodded. Since the Killing Altar was untraceable, asking the Great General was indeed a method.

The Great General, protective of his own, had already retreated from Beiyuan and was preparing to return to the capital upon hearing of Xia Xuan's near-death experience.

Of course, the army could not truly reach outside the Imperial Capital.

The current Prime Minister, who was at odds with the Great General, had many cronies and controlled the Northern Camp, one of the four camps guarding the Imperial Capital.

With him restraining, the Great General's army could not approach the Imperial Capital.

"Compared to that, my truly personal power is still too weak."

Even his maternal grandfather, the Great General, had his own thoughts, and Xia Xuan could not command him as easily as his own arm.

And he had almost no real power in the imperial court.

That's why the Crown Prince used to feel so at ease playing with him, instead of plotting against him.

"Your Highness, someone from Prince Qi's Residence has arrived, demanding Hei Xiao from Your Highness," Madam Pei reported, finding Xia Xuan.