A beautiful woman stood before them in an ice-blue colored long dress. Her long hair fluttered behind her, accenting her perfect face. Who else could this be but Chu Chuyan?

Too many people had appeared suddenly, all of them wearing dazzling helmets, so no one had noticed her at first.

Zheng Dan sighed in her heart as she took in her exceptional appearance. No wonder Ah Zu was willing to sacrifice himself for the Chu clan.

Then again, he had also offered himself up to the Devil sect for her sake, and he had protected her many times, often at great risk to himself. This made her smile warmly.

Sang Qien stared at that woman in the long dress in a stupor. Even in the capital, she was constantly hearing about this woman’s beauty. Sure enough, now that she had come face to face with her, she could see for herself that she was a devastatingly beautiful woman! No wonder so many young masters had chased after her, and even her own big brother had seemed quite fond of her.

When she thought of her big brother, a fresh wave of grief hit her, and she almost burst into tears again.

“Chuyan, why are you with them?” Pei Mianman looked at her in confusion.

Chu Chuyan dismounted and walked over to her. “I heard about what was going on with the Chu clan while in the capital, and rushed towards Brightmoon City. On the way, I heard that something had happened to Zu An. I just happened to run into Commander Zhuxie, so I decided to travel with them. They have access to better information, after all, and that would give me the best chance of finding Zu An.”

“So that was what happened.” Pei Mianman knew that Zhuxie Chixin was a mysterious figure. If it wasn’t because of Chu Chuyan’s outstanding reputation in the capital, he wouldn’t have paid any attention to her at all.

“What about you? What are you doing here?” Chu Chuyan blinked and asked curiously.

“I…” Pei Mianman was just about to reply, but the words seemed to catch in her throat. What was she supposed to say?

Chu Chuyan seemed to have read her mind. “Did you come to rescue Zu An?” She asked her with a smile.

Pei Mianman grunted in agreement, feeling slightly guilty. “We’re good friends, after all, and you weren’t in Brightmoon City when this all went down. How could I do nothing?”

Chu Chuyan reached out to grab her hands, her voice filled with raw emotion. “Manman, thank you so much.” 

Her emotions had been on a roller coaster ride all this time, and she had no one around her that she could talk to. Knowing that her confidant had been helping her all along brought an immediate warmth to her heart.

“Chuyan, you’re being too polite. It’s only expected that I do this.” The more she spoke, the more awkward Pei Mianman felt. 

Am I really doing a good deed? Ah, why am I feeling so guilty?

The Chu clan has already annulled their marriage, so they’re not even husband and wife anymore! Pei Mianman, why are you acting like a mistress who has been unwittingly discovered?

This is so annoying!

These thoughts left Pei Mianman with the sour taste of regret in her mouth. Unfortunately, it seemed a little late to change her tone now.

The Chief Commander of the Embroidered Envoy spoke up at this time. “Lord Sang, did you all break out? I never expected a loyal and devoted man like Lord Sang would dare to do such a disgraceful act.”

His voice was just as cold as his appearance. All of them shivered when they heard it.

Sang Hong replied in a heavy voice, “Lord Zhuxie, listen to the report of this humble one. We did not break out. Rather, our group was attacked by a rebel army. Later on, both the dark elves and the Devil Sect attacked as well. The ones who watched over us are all dead. Commander Huang Huihong undid our seals for the sake of not letting us fall into their hands.”

“Huang Huihong is dead?” Zhuxie Chixin narrowed his eyes. It was hard to tell what he was currently feeling.

“Correct.” Sang Hong said, then broke into a fit of coughing. Sang Qien continued for him, giving a full account of what had happened.

“Cash Warrior Ding Run? Good, very good.” Zhuxie Chixin laughed coldly. From his tone of voice, all of them thought that he had decided to avenge Huang Huihong’s death. Instead, he turned to the other members of the Embroidered Envoy and said, “Did you all hear what they said? Huang Huihong was killed so easily because he was incompetent! If you all want to live long lives, then you had better do your best to cultivate every day. Cultivate, cultivate, and keep cultivating!”

Zheng Dan and the other girls were taken aback. This man was so callous! Could it be that the entire Embroidered Envoy was like this?

“Understood!” The members of the Embroidered Envoy were extremely disciplined, and made no other sound besides this one reply.

Zhuxie Chixin nodded in satisfaction, then turned to look at Pei Mianman. “Are you that girl from the Pei clan, who was born of a concubine?”

Pei Mianman felt awful inside, but she was careful not to let it show. She replied, “Yes, this humble one is Pei Mianman.”

“It sounds like you want to rescue Zu An. Are you trying to forcefully secure a prisoner’s release?” Zhuxie Chixin gave her a cold look.

Caught under his frigid gaze, Pei Mianman felt as if she had been thrown into a freezer. She couldn’t muster even the tiniest thought of resisting. Even gathering her thoughts to form proper sentences seemed beyond her.

Beside her, Chu Chuyan immediately spoke up. “Lord Zhuxie, it was a poor choice of words on our part earlier. She is my friend, and she came to protect Zu An after discovering that various other powers were scheming against his majesty.”

Zhuxie Chixin grunted, but offered no further comment. After a while, he shifted his gaze.

Pei Mianman felt a huge weight lift off her chest, now that she was no longer being stared at. The experience had frightened her. Rumors abounded that Zhuxie Chixin’s cultivation was deep and unmeasurable, but it seemed like he was even more formidable than these rumors suggested.

Zhuxie Chixin gave Sang Qien a look. “What about Miss Sang, then? Do you have any intentions of freeing your father and brother?”

Sang Qien was now put under the same pressure that Pei Mianman had just faced. Sang Hong quickly spoke up in her place. “The young lady heard that someone might act against us, and she came out of concern for our safety. She definitely has no intention of freeing any prisoners.”

Zhuxie Chixin snorted. “If I’m hearing Lord Sang correctly, it seems Miss Sang does not trust the imperial court to protect their own prisoners.”

Sang Qien cursed him in her heart. 

You guys have already failed, okay? 

Naturally, there was no way she would say that out loud. “Of course I trust the imperial court, but I was still worried for my family. That was why I came to take a look.”

“Whatever. Since you claim that it was just a sense of filial piety, I won’t pry any further.” Zhuxie Chixin gave Sang Hong a frosty look. “Lord Sang, are you going to follow us obediently, or will you choose to resist us?”

Sang Hong’s face paled. He immediately clasped his fist and said, “I do not dare cause trouble for the Chief Commander. I will quietly let myself be captured. However, before that, my Lord, please help me avenge my son.”

He could not be clearer about his current situation. He was seriously injured, but even if he were in peak condition, he was no match for such a powerful opponent. There was no way he could even think about resisting.

“Sang Qian? What happened to him?” Zhuxie Chixin was surprised. He hadn’t seen him anywhere.

Sang Hong cast a sorrowful look at the dried-up corpse on the ground. “My son was attacked, and died a tragic death. Unfortunately, I don’t even know who the murderer is.”

At this time, Zhuxie Chixin noticed the corpse in the underbrush. His eyes narrowed, and then he leapt off his horse. He squatted beside the corpse and examined it. His tone grew dark. “This was done by someone of the blood race.”

“The blood race?” Sang Hang was momentarily stunned, but quickly gathered his wits about him again. “Didn't they all vanish after their defeat centuries ago?”

Zhuxie Chixin examined the wound on the corpse's neck and said in a low voice, “It seems like the fiend emperor hasn’t fully resigned himself to defeat. He has begun to covet our land once more.”

The women all wore stunned expressions. They were all talented students from their respective academies, so they were naturally aware of the history behind this.

In the war between humans and the foreign races, these so-called foreign races were actually the fiend races.

In the eyes of ordinary folk, demons, elves, dark elves, beastmen, and even the dragons were all collectively known as the fiend races.

However, cultivators from distinguished clans knew that these races were distinct from the pureblooded fiend race. The fiends were the most powerful race, and all the other races followed the fiend emperor.

In this world, animals, plants, and other lifeforms had a chance of cultivating and becoming fiends. Even some non-living things, given the opportunity, could cultivate into fiends and take human form.

Of course, they would be considered non-innate fiends, and it was extremely difficult for them to succeed.

Another group, considered naturally-born fiends, did not need to cultivate to become fiends, and the power within their blood was enough to grant them human form at birth.

The blood race was a unique branch of the fiend race, and they naturally survived by sucking the blood of others. Their original forms were diverse, from bats, leeches, mosquitoes, lampreys, et cetera. Even the other great fiends within the fiend races feared them.