Liu Feiyan’s killing intent toward Li Chang’an had never once waned.

For many years now, every time Mandarin Duck Valley held an internal meeting, she would make a point of bringing up how to deal with Li Chang’an.

She would even mention it during critical moments of the war between the two sects.

She was determined to end the war between the sects quickly so she could concentrate their forces on dealing with Li Chang’an. To that end, she was even willing to have Mandarin Duck Valley compromise with the Hundred Beasts Sect and cede some of their interests.

"What do you all think of this Spirit Contract for the peace talks?"

Liu Feiyan finished drafting the Spirit Contract and used her Magical Power to send it to the center of the secret room. A golden light flickered over the contract as characters materialized one by one.

Soon, the other Mandarin Duck Valley Golden Core Masters in the secret room began to speak up, offering their opinions.

Although the opinions of these dozen or so Golden Core Masters seemed to vary, they were, in fact, all under Li Chang’an’s control.

Through them, Li Chang’an continuously proposed opinions, stalling for time.

Before they knew it, it was Late at Night.

A golden light materialized before his eyes.

[The Divination has been refreshed]

[Today’s Divination · Auspicious]

[You will lure Liu Feiyan out of Mandarin Duck Valley, successfully kill her, and obtain the Ancient Wood Cave Mansion Key.]

’An Auspicious Trigram. Looks like this is a sure thing.’

Li Chang’an’s heart was put at ease as he read the Divination’s contents.

’His many years of planning had not been in vain.’

A moment later, the many Puppets under his control all agreed to the Spirit Contract.

The discussion came to an end.

He had Fan Wenlong propose, "Daoist Liu, although we are amenable to peace talks, I fear the Hundred Beasts Sect may be setting a trap. Why don’t we go to the negotiation site ahead of time and make some arrangements?"

"Good! That’s exactly what I was thinking!"

Liu Feiyan agreed at once and put away the Spirit Contract for the peace talks.

「About a quarter of an hour later.」

She and a dozen or so Mandarin Duck Valley Golden Core Masters quietly left Mandarin Duck Valley, heading for the site of the peace talks.

Only three Golden Core Masters and two Demon Kings remained to guard Mandarin Duck Valley.

"I’ve already contacted the Hundred Beasts Elder. The Hundred Beasts Sect is also unwilling to fight any longer, so these peace talks should go smoothly."

Halfway there, Liu Feiyan began to discuss some points of caution for the upcoming negotiations.

As she spoke, she turned her head to look in the direction of the Southern Domain.

"Huang Sha’s disciples refuse to work for me. In that case, I’ll just unite the forces of the entire Western Domain, invade deep into the heart of the Southern Domain, and forcibly breach that Li Chang’an’s Changqing Mountain. I refuse to believe he can..."

Before she could finish her sentence, disaster struck from right beside her!

The dozen or so Golden Core Masters at her side suddenly attacked in unison.

In an instant, countless streams of astonishing killing intent converged into a great net, trapping her like prey.

Li Chang’an had plotted for many years for this operation, and his preparations were far more thorough than when he had dealt with Shi Hu Master.

At that moment, the dozen or so Golden Core Masters under his control all swallowed Elixir Pills that would forcibly extract their latent potential. They began to frantically burn their own lifespans, doing everything in their power to unleash their strongest possible attack.

BOOM!

A dozen or so terrifying attacks slammed into Liu Feiyan in an instant.

She didn’t have time to react—she was still lost in thought about how to deal with Li Chang’an—when her body was overwhelmed by a torrent of horrifying Magical Treasures and Magical Power.

In the blink of an eye, her limbs exploded into clouds of blood mist.

Yet her chest was merely caved in, and her head remained completely unharmed, protected by a radiant, iridescent Treasure.

’To think she blocked it.’

This result was slightly beyond Li Chang’an’s expectations.

After all, among the dozen or so Golden Core Masters in the ambush, two had Cultivation on par with Liu Feiyan’s; they were also Late Golden Core Stage Cultivators.

An ordinary Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator would have been utterly unable to withstand a surprise attack from these two while they were burning their lifespans and forcibly extracting their potential.

Li Chang’an immediately commanded the Evil Soul, "Netherworld Evil Domain!"

"It’s locked down tight! Rest easy, old master, this old hag isn’t getting away!"

The Evil Soul, hidden in the shadows, did its utmost to maintain the Netherworld Evil Domain, trapping Liu Feiyan so she was completely immobile.

Only then did Liu Feiyan react.

Her face was ashen as she shrieked, "You’ve all betrayed Mandarin Duck Valley! Did you collude with the Hundred Beasts Sect behind my back? Or did you defect to the Southern Domain?"

Li Chang’an didn’t answer. He simply forced the dozen or so Golden Core Masters to once again attack, making them burn through all their potential and lifespans at any cost.

BOOM!

It was another earth-shattering blow.

After this strike, Liu Feiyan was somehow still alive, though the Treasure protecting her head had dimmed considerably.

She was bound tightly, unable to use any other Treasures, and could only passively endure the beating.

’Just one more strike should be enough to finish her off completely.’

"Huang Sha, save me!"

Liu Feiyan screamed herself hoarse, her face ghastly pale as she coughed up blood.

The next instant, the pendant hanging around her neck suddenly began to glow.

With a CRACK, the pendant abruptly shattered, and a Puppet with a stunning aura flew out from within.

"What insignificant little curs dare to lay a hand on my Daoist companion?"

The Puppet swelled in size, its Magical Power surging and its aura terrifying. With a single punch, it shattered the Netherworld Evil Domain that had been trapping Liu Feiyan.

Its power had already surpassed the Golden Core Limit, but had not yet reached Tier Four.

Li Chang’an’s expression turned grave as he made his judgment.

’A Quasi-Tier Four Puppet!’

’Zi Xi has a Puppet of this Tier as well.’

’But Zi Xi’s is a pure Puppet, one that only she can control.’

’This Puppet, however, was emitting an extremely terrifying fluctuation of Divine Sense.’

’Nascent Soul Divine Sense!’

’And it wasn’t just a single wisp of it.’

’This portion of Divine Sense was incredibly powerful. While not at Tier Four, it far surpassed that of a Golden Core Peak Cultivator.’

’Huang Sha True Monarch actually split off a portion of his Nascent Soul Divine Sense and hid it inside this Puppet to personally protect Liu Feiyan.’

When it came to his Daoist companion, Liu Feiyan, Huang Sha True Monarch had truly done the utmost.

He not only arranged for a small-scale Tier Four Array to be set up for her in Mandarin Duck Valley, but also gave her a Quasi-Tier Four Puppet for personal protection.

A Quasi-Tier Four Puppet controlled by a Nascent Soul True Monarch like him could unleash its power to the absolute limit, far surpassing the one Zi Xi possessed.