# Chapter 1174: Another Major Shockwave
Ji Shui was very surprised, feeling that Zhang Ruochen was far too bold, actually daring to set up Sea Abyss Dharma King. Could it be that he was not afraid that once Sea Abyss Dharma King recovered from his injuries, he would make an example of him first?
Opposing a Dharma King carried quite serious consequences.
Zhang Ruochen had not a shred of goodwill toward Sea Abyss Dharma King. If possible, he would like to use this opportunity, through the Undying Blood Clan's hands, to eliminate Sea Abyss Dharma King.
The next day, news of Sea Abyss Dharma King's assassination attempt spread throughout the Blood God Sect, causing shockwaves like surging waves.
The news spread to the outside world and was learned by other forces.
"The Blood God Sect is truly in troubled times. First the Sect Leader goes missing, then a Dharma King is imprisoned, another Dharma King is severely wounded by assassination, and a Saint has fallen. If this continues, a great upheaval will surely occur in the Blood God Sect before long."
"Once the Blood God Sect falls into chaos, the entire Tiantai Prefecture will change. We must prepare in advance, so we won't be caught off guard."
...
The most powerful forces in Tiantai Prefecture—Taiji Dao, Shangguan Aristocratic Family, Cai Clan, Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor...—all realized that the turmoil in the Blood God Sect was spreading and would soon affect them. They all began preparing countermeasures.
Within the Blood God Sect.
Elder Yuan Gui and the Chaos Character Heavenly Palace Lord, who had personally orchestrated last night's assassination, naturally felt a great sense of accomplishment. Although they had failed to kill Sea Abyss Dharma King, they had cost him the chance to compete for the position of Sect Leader.
Moreover, since Liao Teng had most likely killed Gu Linfeng, there was one less competitor for the Sect Leader position.
Standing at the edge of a cliff on a mountain peak, Elder Yuan Gui gazed at the halls and pavilions within the Blood God Sect and said with a smile, "Although last night's battle was somewhat regrettable—failing to eliminate Sea Abyss Dharma King—overall, it was still quite perfect."
The Chaos Character Heavenly Palace Lord was slightly worried. "Liao Teng has been gone for so long without returning. I am somewhat concerned that something unexpected might have happened at the Hidden Dragon Hall."
"A mid-level Saint dealing with a First Tribulation Quasi-Saint—how could anything go wrong?"
Elder Yuan Gui had great confidence in Liao Teng, believing only that he had been delayed by other matters and thus hadn't returned in time.
Elder Yuan Gui returned to the Elder Pavilion. After pondering for a moment, a sinister smile appeared on his aged face. He issued a decree: "Whoever dares to assassinate a Dharma King of the Blood God Sect, the Blood God Sect will exhaust all its strength to hunt them down and kill them."
The Chaos Character Heavenly Palace Lord stood within a magnificent hall and called out to the outside world: "Seal off all exits of the Blood God Sect, activate the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation, and make sure to capture the murderer, grinding their bones to dust and scattering their ashes."
The declarations of Elder Yuan Gui and the Chaos Character Heavenly Palace Lord immediately received support from the entire Blood God Sect. All followers mobilized, believing that outsiders had wounded Sea Abyss Dharma King and wanted to capture them.
Zhang Ruochen sat in the Hidden Dragon Hall, hearing the Chaos Character Heavenly Palace Lord's proclamation. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and he murmured to himself, "Putting on such a righteous and awe-inspiring front—one can't help but admire it. I wonder what expression that Palace Lord will have when Ji Shui brings Liao Teng's corpse to the Elder Pavilion?"
Afterward, Zhang Ruochen entered the Scroll World, no longer concerning himself with external matters, and began to attack the remaining twelve acupoints in his head, striving to achieve a Saintly Body as soon as possible.
At noon.
Ji Shui and Sea Abyss Dharma King's second disciple, Lan Kuan, walked along the straight stone steps, ascending step by step toward the Elder Pavilion at the mountain peak.
Besides Elder Yuan Gui, two Saint Elders—Elder Yuan Xing and Elder Yuan Zhou—along with over a dozen Inner Sect Elders, were all seated in the Elder Pavilion.
They were discussing the assassination attempt on Sea Abyss Dharma King. The atmosphere was extremely heavy, and everyone felt an intangible crisis.
Even a figure at the Dharma King level had been assassinated. If this continued to escalate, they too might not be spared.
Elder Yuan Gui snorted coldly. "It must be the Undying Blood Clan retaliating against us."
An Inner Sect Elder agreed with Elder Yuan Gui's speculation. "Yesterday, the Divine Son killed Saint Hong Yuan and exposed his true identity. The Blood God Sect took the opportunity to root out and annihilate a large number of Undying Blood Clan infiltrators. It would be strange if the Undying Blood Clan didn't retaliate."
A cold smile formed in Elder Yuan Gui's heart, but his face showed a righteous expression. "Let's go to war! The Blood God Sect must declare war on the Undying Blood Clan and make them pay an even heavier price."
"Even if we go to war, we must first select a Sect Leader. The Divine Son has not yet reached the Saint Realm and cannot become the new Sect Leader. Why not choose a new Sect Leader from among the Four Great Dharma Kings and Ten Palace Lords?" someone suggested.
The debate in the Elder Pavilion flared up again.
Just then, an Outer Sect Elder entered and announced, "Sea Abyss Dharma King's second disciple, Lan Kuan, and tenth disciple, Ji Shui, seek an audience outside, claiming to have extremely important information to report."
"Let them in," Elder Yuan Xing said.
Elder Yuan Gui's brows furrowed, a bad premonition rising in his heart. He thought to himself, "Could it be that when Yu Huacheng assassinated Sea Abyss Dharma King, he left behind some important traces?"
Lan Kuan and Ji Shui entered the Elder Pavilion and bowed to the three Saint Elders.
Elder Yuan Gui couldn't wait any longer and immediately asked, "Lan Kuan, what important information do you two have? Is it related to the assassination of Sea Abyss Dharma King?"
Lan Kuan bowed to Elder Yuan Gui. "I am not very clear about this matter. Only my junior sister knows the full story."
All the elders' gazes turned to Ji Shui.
Ji Shui was not intimidated by the elders' imposing presence. She spoke unhurriedly, "Last night, not only did a Saint-level expert attempt to assassinate my master, but a Saint-level expert also broke into the Hidden Dragon Hall to assassinate the Divine Son."
"What?"
Elder Yuan Xing's body erupted with astonishing cold energy. The powerful force fluctuations enveloped the entire mountain where the Elder Pavilion was located.
The mountain shook, and the hall trembled.
It must be known that Elder Yuan Xing had great hopes for Gu Linfeng, seeing him as a ray of hope for the Blood God Sect.
If Gu Linfeng had been assassinated, what hope would there be for the Blood God Sect's future?
The Elder Pavilion erupted in uproar. All the elders felt shocked and furious.
Elder Yuan Gui believed that Gu Linfeng was already dead. Although his face showed anger, his heart was quite pleased, feeling that Liao Teng's work was commendable and had not disappointed him.
"Killing Gu Linfeng is no small merit. I must reward him," Elder Yuan Gui thought to himself.
Elder Yuan Xing asked, "Is the Divine Son still alive?"
Ji Shui sighed softly. At the same time, following Zhang Ruochen's instructions, she observed the expressions of the various elders. She slowly said, "The Divine Son was severely wounded and has gone into seclusion to recover."
Not dead?
Even with Elder Yuan Gui's state of mind, he couldn't help but show a hint of confusion.
How could he not be dead?
Elder Yuan Gui's subtle expression was keenly captured by Ji Shui.
Ji Shui continued, "Last night, my master was assassinated and suffered extremely severe injuries. He had already entered the Eternal Ancient Snowy Mountains to recover. However, he suddenly realized that last night's assassination was too strange and deduced that someone might try to harm the Divine Son. So, he forcibly suppressed his injuries, turned back, and arrived at the Hidden Dragon Hall in time, saving the Divine Son from the assassination. He also killed the Undying Blood Clan assassin."
"The Undying Blood Clan assassin was killed? Where is the body?" Elder Yuan Gui asked.
Ji Shui took out Liao Teng's head, carefully presented it, and placed it before the three Saint Elders.
"The Deputy Palace Lord of the Chaos Character Heavenly Palace, Liao Teng... he... he was also an Undying Blood Clan infiltrator."
In the Elder Pavilion, all the elders were unsettled, feeling a chill down their spines. This scene before them overturned their previous understanding.
It must be known that Liao Teng was a person of open and generous character, with wide social connections, and was friends with many present. Who could have imagined he was an Undying Blood Clan infiltrator?
Elder Yuan Gui's gaze turned extremely dark, and hatred surged within him.
Two Saints had fallen in succession. The Undying Blood Clan had suffered heavy losses.
He had thought last night's operation was perfect, but it turned out to be a complete failure. They had neither killed Sea Abyss Dharma King nor Gu Linfeng.
"Since Liao Teng was an Undying Blood Clan infiltrator, the entire Chaos Character Heavenly Palace is likely problematic. We must launch a major purge before the news spreads. We cannot let any infiltrator escape."
"Liao Teng was personally promoted by Chaos Character Heavenly Palace Lord Yu Huacheng. Yu Huacheng is also highly suspect and must be detained."
...
Yesterday's purge was not yet over, but today, an even larger purge was launched, directly targeting the Chaos Character Heavenly Palace.
Elder Yuan Gui immediately sent a voice transmission to the Chaos Character Heavenly Palace Lord: "Liao Teng has been killed. Your identity has been exposed. Leave the Blood God Sect immediately. You'd better enter the Eternal Ancient Snowy Mountains and, by any means necessary, eliminate that old bastard Sea Abyss Dharma King."
Earth Yuan Dharma King had already been imprisoned. If the Chaos Character Heavenly Palace Lord were also imprisoned, the Undying Blood Clan's power within the Blood God Sect would be halved.
Upon receiving the transmission, the Chaos Character Heavenly Palace Lord was stunned for a moment, then immediately left the Blood God Sect and rushed into the snow-covered Eternal Ancient Snowy Mountains.
After Ji Shui returned, Zhang Ruochen temporarily stopped his cultivation to listen to her report.
"The Chaos Character Heavenly Palace Lord fled first. This means there must be an Undying Blood Clan infiltrator in the Elder Pavilion who tipped him off. Moreover, that person's cultivation must be extremely high—likely one of the three Saint Elders present at the time," Zhang Ruochen speculated.
Ji Shui asked, "Why?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "An ordinary Inner Sect Elder sending a voice transmission to the outside would not be able to escape the perception of the three Saint Elders."
Ji Shui hesitated for a moment but ultimately revealed some of her observations from the Elder Pavilion that day, including Elder Yuan Gui's change in expression when he heard that Gu Linfeng was not dead.
Zhang Ruochen rested his chin on his fingers, a slight smile on his lips. "Elder Yuan Gui is highly suspicious. Go investigate him."
Ji Shui transformed into twelve streams of blood energy and vanished into the air. Soon after, a maidservant entered from outside, knelt on one knee before Zhang Ruochen, and said, "Saint Elder Yuan Zhou and the Saintess have arrived at the Hidden Dragon Hall to inquire about the Divine Son's injuries. Does the Divine Son wish to receive them or not?" (To be continued...)