Chapter 137: The World in Turmoil, the Trump Card Revealed

Tai Shizheng, his face livid, let out a cold snort as he returned to his seat. He gripped the armrests so tightly that the veins on his hands bulged, struggling to maintain a facade of calm. In truth, his heart was still erupting with volcanic rage, which he was forcing himself to suppress. His mind was consumed by the mocking words of that old scoundrel Xiu: "Just wait and weep."

Truth be told, Tai Shizheng actually wanted to cry. He was moved to tears by the old villain's infuriating schemes, but even more so by his own stupidity. The opponent was a top-tier power of the Southern Domain, a force in the continent’s premier echelon; he had simply never considered that they would stoop to deception while already possessing such overwhelming strength. Who would have guessed that the Shura Mansion was so base? While the battle raged, they had actually spent heavily to hire large numbers of assassins from various domains to wipe out the main force of his reinforcements in advance. It was a naked, shameful humiliation.

Immediately, he sent a telepathic message to all his intelligence operatives scattered across the domains. In an instant, a shocking piece of news swept across the continent, reaching the ears of every faction, large and small.

"Have you heard? The Shura Mansion actually spent a fortune hiring a massive group of assassins as mercenaries! Is it true?"
"It must be. Who would dare slander a top-tier power like that otherwise?"
"No need to guess. I saw it with my own eyes. I happened to be passing by when a bunch of assassins, all at least at the Nascent Soul stage, suddenly sprang out... it scared the life out of me."
"So, the Shura Mansion is really that low?"
"Who's to say otherwise? A top-tier power resorting to dirty tricks in a showdown with a second-rate sect?! Utterly shameless."
"Why did I hear that on the front lines, the Shura Mansion is barely fighting the Puppet Sect to a draw?"
"Doesn't that mean the Shura Mansion isn't all that strong? Far from the rumors and the image everyone had of them?"
"I suspect that’s the case."
"Think about it. In the Great Hundred Sects Tournament hosted by the prestigious Shura Mansion themselves, the first place was taken by the obscure Misty Sect. Looking at the Earth Rankings, their disciples' performance was quite underwhelming."
"True, and last time, Senior Helian Tu wiped out one of their late-stage Spirit Severing experts and over twenty late-stage Nascent Soul masters in one go..."
"Everyone, my sect has matters to attend to, I must take my leave."
"Oh? Right, I have some things to handle too. Carry on, everyone."

Across every region of the continent, although most factions disliked the Puppet Sect’s reputation for underhandedness, no one was criticizing them now. The focus of everyone’s condemnation was entirely on the Shura Mansion, which had long sat firmly as the dominant power of the Southern Domain. In teahouses, taverns, on major roads, and along small paths—anywhere there were cultivators, they were whispering about it. Before long, group after group took their leave, rushing back to their respective sects. Being shrewd as they were, they all knew that everyone else was returning to hold urgent discussions with their own leaders and ancestors, as that was precisely what they intended to do themselves.

Even within the Shura Mansion’s headquarters, the countless members left behind had inevitably heard the news. A small minority could not understand why their Mansion Master would make such a calculated arrangement. However, the majority believed their leader was right. "As the premier power of the Southern Domain, why should we treat a Puppet Sect that is rotten to the core with any sense of honor? That would be giving them too much credit!"

...

On the battlefield.

Before long, the Shura Mansion’s second wave of reinforcements arrived. Mansion Master Xiu, guessing that the Puppet Sect’s reinforcements had likely run into trouble, immediately ordered the fresh troops to press into the eight major battlefields. The situation shifted instantly; the Shura Mansion’s side pushed forward aggressively, while the Puppet Sect’s forces were suppressed, suffering heavy casualties and retreating steadily. Far outside the battlefield, countless spectators cursed the Shura Mansion’s shamelessness in their hearts, though they dared not voice it for fear of retaliation.

Just as the Puppet Sect was being pushed to the brink, numerous formations appeared on the horizon. Everyone knew the Puppet Sect’s second wave of reinforcements had arrived.

Coming from the East, West, and North, there were dozens of groups of varying sizes. Yet, the strongest among them were only at the late Golden Core stage. At the head of each group flew an eye-catching white funerary banner. Every person in the groups had white cloth wrapped around their foreheads; some wore gloomy expressions, others looked heartbroken, and some were openly weeping. They carried dozens of makeshift white stretchers, each laden with white-wrapped corpses. As they drew closer, they glared at the Shura Mansion with the hatred of those who had lost fathers or had their wives stolen, gnashing their teeth in fury.

"Hahahaha! Tai, you old dog, are you playing games now?! What is the meaning of this? Wearing white banners and wrapping yourselves in white cloth—preparing to surrender to our Shura Mansion? Hahaha!"
"You old scoundrel Xiu... you have gone too far! You have insulted me too deeply!"
"Men! Send word to all our reserve forces at the Puppet Sect headquarters! Deploy every single puppet! Have them all reach me within a day!"
"If you encounter assassins on the way, leave none alive! Slaughter them all!"
"Hmph, Tai, you old dog, do you really think your Grandpa Xiu is afraid of you? Xuan Tian, pass the order! Have the Shura Mansion’s remaining reserves march out as well!"

...

The war was escalating once again. Across the continent, countless large factions were engaged in heated deliberations.

"Sect Master, do you think the Shura Mansion is now just a hollow shell?"
"I think so."
"Furthermore, to confirm the truth, I had our moles inside the Absolute Kill Tower investigate."
"The report confirms that high-ranking elders of the Shura Mansion placed heavy bounties in every region, dumping no less than one point six million spirit stones in each one."
"As expected of the Shura Mansion, such a lavish display!"
"But based on the rough count of those white-wrapped corpses, they must have spent at least ten million spirit stones. Each branch of the Absolute Kill Tower should have received at least three million, right?!"
"Need you ask? It must be that those money-grubbing killers at the Absolute Kill Tower intentionally under-reported it to one million to make their own culpability seem smaller."
"Indeed, the Sect Master is wise."

...

"Ancestor, the Shura Mansion is no longer what it once was. With their heavy consumption in this war against the Puppet Sect, could we perhaps..."
"Don't be hasty. Contact a few friendly sects first and gauge their intentions."
"Do not think of keeping the spoils for ourselves; a single sect acting alone will find it very difficult."
"If we are to strike, it must be with full preparation. Only the combined strength of several sects can cripple them in one fell swoop."
"The Ancestor is as far-sighted as ever. It is time we avenged the disgrace of three hundred years ago."
"You go and check with the other sects then."

...

"Second brother, send word: all our surviving members across the domains are to gather here in a day."
"Think of how tyrannical the Shura Mansion was back then, destroying our Hundred Herbs Sect over a mere disagreement."
"Leaving less than a thousand of us, forced to flee and hide like stray dogs in various domains to this day."
"If I am not mistaken, the Shura Mansion’s end is nigh."
"It is time for us to exact our revenge."
"We will not participate in the main battle, but we have more than enough strength to scavenge, hunt down their arrogant disciples on the periphery, and target their affiliated forces."
"Brother is wise. I shall send the message immediately."

...

The situation was now so sensitive that one move could trigger a collapse. If the executors like Xiu Ji knew that their routine actions had caused such a chain reaction, they would be terrified to death. And as for Mansion Master Xiu Binggan and the true powerhouses of the Shura Mansion, who were currently unaware—if they knew it was truly their own elders who had acted under the mansion’s name, one could only wonder how they would react.

At this moment, Mansion Master Xiu Binggan was watching his side force the Puppet Sect into a steady retreat. He felt incredibly satisfied, his wrinkled face creased with a wide, smug grin. The experts around him, whether in the Spirit Severing or Tribulation stages, were all the same, seemingly ignoring the fact that their own side had also suffered heavy losses.

The countless spectators on the sidelines watched with disgust and disdain. The fact that the Shura Mansion—the premier power of the Southern Domain and a leader of the continent—could be so shameless truly opened their eyes. Though they could not speak aloud, they were busy criticizing and condemning each other through telepathy. Meanwhile, those who had received news from their own sect leaders waited with malicious glee, eager to see the Shura Mansion’s downfall. To most factions, whether the Puppet Sect was crippled or not was of no concern; they felt no sympathy, given the Puppet Sect’s history of underhanded deeds. Furthermore, the Puppet Sect was located within a terrifying, miasma-filled region, and even if other factions had designs on them, they deemed the effort not worth the risk. Besides, the Puppet Sect had other mysterious, greater powers behind them, destined to be untouchable by these minor factions.

"Hidden trump card! Activate!"
"Ah..."

Following a roar from the livid Tai Shizheng, eight simultaneous, blood-curdling screams erupted across the eight battlefields. Everyone saw the retreating Puppet Sect combatants unleash tens of thousands of poison-tipped black needles from their hands and mouths, firing them in unison at the Shura Mansion’s side. The dense swarm of needles rose like a black cloud, a terrifying sight.

The Shura Mansion’s combatants, caught unprepared, were killed instantly by the thousands. Countless others were struck by multiple needles, regardless of their cultivation level. Of course, those in the rear managed to condense their spiritual energy into shields or protective barriers, narrowly escaping death.

But for those unfortunate enough to be struck, black, corrosive smoke immediately began to rise from the needle wounds. Their flesh, centered around the puncture, began to melt rapidly into sludge, both inside and out. Those with lower cultivation levels lasted less than ten breaths before collapsing into a pool of filth on the ground. Those with higher cultivation levels, even while exhausting their spiritual energy to suppress the poison, could only delay the inevitable; without external aid, they suffered the same fate as their subordinates. During the Misty Sect’s outer disciple tournament, Zeng Hu, who hadn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage, had fired such a needle at Fatty Gu, which was only deflected by the stone pendant on his chest. Otherwise...

"Tai, you old dog... you are despicable, shameless, and utterly devoid of conscience..."
"Hmph, I had intended to collect more corpses from this battle to refine into puppets later."
"But I never imagined that you, the so-called premier power of the Southern Domain, would resort to such underhanded, base tactics."
"Since you started this, don't blame me for finishing it!"
"All my troops! Second wave of trump cards! Fire!"

As the Shura Mansion’s high-ranking leaders fell into chaos and panic, another ten thousand poisonous black needles rained down like an approaching storm, engulfing their combatants.