Even though he was stern and expressionless, Su Yu could see disdain deep in his eyes.

“Who is the leader of the guards?” Su Yu said.

Nine of them remained silent, The expressionless middle-aged man with his neck slightly lifted said, “I am!”

“Your name?” Su Yu asked calmly, looked him over.

“Li Tianqiang!” the middle-aged man did not hesitate in answering.

“Li Tianqiang, is it? Are you unwilling to accept me?” Su Yu’s gaze flickered.

Even though Li Tianqiang did not wear any expression and remained silent, wasn’t the deep disdain in his eyes telling enough?

“I’m asking you a question.” Su Yu’s tone became colder.

Li Tianqiang answered, “No. Since it is the order of the palace master, I will naturally protect Master Yin Yu.”

In other words, he was not listening to the orders of Su Yu but was merely following the orders of Lin Xiaotian.

Squinting, Su Yu calmly nodded. “It’s best that you do!”

“All right, let’s set off!”

Under the respectful gaze of the crowd, Su Yu led the way, vanishing into the horizon. The ten red-clothed bodyguards followed closely. Han Jianglin coldly stared at Su Yu, leaving with hatred in his heart.

Outside the Alliance City, the sinister old man appeared in front of a tree. Wu Yaoyue and Huang Xiaoyan had been waiting here for a long time.

Wu Yaoyue’s expression had traces of fury. “Darn it! They went to take away An Yurou earlier than me!”

Whoosh—

The sinister old man returned empty-handed.

“Where are the Flesh Regeneration Elixirs?” Wu Yaoyue scolded.

The sinister old man’s face was filled with resentment. “That Nameless is very cunning, attracting all the powerful fighters from within the city. I had no chance to strike! An Yurou was also taken by them!”

“What? An Yurou is also in their hands? Where is he?” Wu Yaoyue was livid.

The sinister old man hesitated. “I do not know…”

“Useless!” Wu Yaoyue was extremely angry, “We were nearly about to succeed, but Nameless beat us to it!”

The sinister old man said with a deep voice, “Prince, why do you need to fulfill your promise? If you use force, I would think that Miss Mo Wu would not be able to retaliate. Why not just defile her first? Then she would naturally follow you.”

“Humph! Do you think that I do not wish to?” Wu Yaoyue let out a low grunt, “Mo Wu is extremely proud. Unless she personally allows it, no one can violate her! She has cultivated an immortal-level sword technique, and her sword is hidden in her body. If I used force, she would activate the sword in her body and commit suicide!”

So, that was the reason Wu Yaoyue would put in so much effort.

“Prince, we have been away from the Dark Forest for too long,” the sinister old man said. “It is time to go back. There are still important matters to attend to.”

Wu Yaoyue was extremely unwilling, but hearing the words “important matters,” he could only clench his teeth. “Fine! Take Mo Wu back to the Dark Forest first! I’ll come for Nameless sooner or later!”

Two months later, leaping past the Wolong Snowfield, Su Yu entered the territory of the Liuxian Faction. Passing by the Abyss of Wutong, Su Yu involuntarily sighed as he saw the once familiar but now decrepit place.

Half a year ago, he was merely a Holy King, his fate controlled by the faction. Today, he had become the vice palace master of the most mysterious power in the continent, the Empire of Darkness!

What was most comical was that he had made enemies with the members of the Empire of Darkness on multiple occasions, yet he was ultimately forced to join the Empire of Darkness. The karma at play was laughable.

Suddenly, Su Yu realized that there were unfamiliar figures in the Abyss of Wutong, digging up the Abyss of Wutong.

“Could it be the neighboring Hehuan Faction?” Su Yu raised his brows.

The influence of the Liuxian Faction had declined considerably, its territories shrinking. This scene was reasonable. Su Yu remained indifferent.

“There are still many things for me to do.” Su Yu shot his gaze toward the Liuxian Faction. “The Liuxian Faction was but one of them.”

Multiple days later, Su Yu stood with his hands behind him outside the entrance of the Liuxian Faction.

On the way here, he saw the territory that once belonged to the Liuxian Faction being split by the neighboring factions, with the Hehuan Faction as its leader. A big part of the Liuxian Faction territory had been occupied by the Hehuan Faction. Now, the Liuxian Faction’s sphere of influence was limited to a 100-mile radius from the faction.

Standing at the entrance of the Liuxian Faction, Su Yu could see a few Liuxian Faction disciples getting out of their Liuxian Faction robes, dejectedly leaving the faction. Most of them were Outer Sanctum disciples, but there were also a few Inner Sanctum Disciples.

The faction was in danger. A large bulk of disciples were choosing to leave. Even the Inner Sanctum disciples were not optimistic about the faction. It was only a matter of time before the faction was destroyed. The reason for all of this was the bloodbath that had happened months ago.

“Follow me in,” Su Yu calmly said.

Li Tianqiang creased his brows. “Master Yin Yu, I would advise you to not enter. This faction seems to have suffered an upheaval. If you get mixed into their affairs, it is difficult to guarantee your safety.”

Su Yu turned around coldly. “I’ll say once again, follow me in!”

Li Tianqiang’s eyes were filled with disdain. He calmly replied, “My mission is to ensure the safety of Master Yin Yu—not to follow the orders of Master Yin Yu.”

“You are determined not to accept me?” Su Yu coldly said.

Li Tianqiang did not hesitate, replying without expression, “No. I am merely advising Master Yin Yu.”

He denied it, but his eyes were filled with deep disdain. Su Yu becoming the tenth vice palace master might have invoked his jealousy, making him unhappy.

Su Yu squinted. “Fine. You’ll wait outside. The rest of you, follow me in!”

The rest of the nine people did not have the guts of Li Tianqiang. They followed Su Yu in without saying a word.

In the Liuxian Faction meeting hall, the Liuxian Faction master had just returned a day before and his face filled with grief and anger. The Third, Fifth, and Sixth Elder stood beside the Liuxian Faction master, their eyes full of anger. Standing opposite them were three men and three women. The man who was leading the party had an evil vibe—a strange aura enveloped his body.

His cultivation level was shocking, being at Immortal Realm Level One Lower Tier, comparable to the Liuxian Faction master. He was the Hehuan Faction master: Zhao Qianghuan!

Behind him were five elders. The highest of them was Dragon Realm Level Seven Peak, followed by Dragon Realm Level Seven Upper Tier. The six of them were the most powerful fighters of the Hehuan Faction. In the past, they were not as strong as the Liuxian Faction, for the faction master and the Great Elder were both Immortal Realm level fighters.

But now, the Liuxian Faction master had lost an arm, his abilities taking a hit. There were also only three elders left, with the strongest being the Third Elder at Dragon Realm Level Six. The six people of the Hehuan Faction had all descended on the Liuxian Faction with unfriendly intentions.

Zhao Qianghuan let out an evil laugh. “Liuxian Faction master, have you considered the conditions?”

The Liuxian Faction master slammed the table in anger. “You want the Liuxian Faction to hand over our beautiful female disciples to be violated by the Hehuan Faction to cultivate yin energy? That’s going too far!”

Zhao Qianghuan stood with his arms crossed, letting out an evil laugh. “So what if I am going overboard? Do you think that the Liuxian Faction is still the faction of the past? Your faction now is only slightly better than an average family! If you do not know your place, the Hehuan Faction is more than willing to replace you, taking the last of your territory. Since you cannot protect the territory you already have, why waste it and give it to outsiders?”