Chapter 1255: Divine Martial Guard vs. Forbidden Guard Office

Chapter 1255: Chapter 1255: Divine Martial Guard vs. Forbidden Guard Office

Before Shao An could respond to Pei Yan’s question, a voice full of sarcastic irony emerged from among the crowd of Immortal Palace disciples. Pei Yan scanned the crowd and identified the speaker as a Tier Seven disciple wearing the attire of the Hongjun Sword Furnace. Judging by his strength and how he was surrounded by others, he seemed to be one of the leading figures among the disciples.

Everyone was aware of the misunderstanding between the Hongjun Sword Furnace and the Investigation Office during this period, so it wasn’t surprising for his disciples to voice their grievances first. Pei Yan deliberately ignored him and instead turned his gaze to Shao An, indicating for him to continue. Shao An continued, saying, "When we arrived here and announced martial law, the Immortal Palace disciples were initially just agitated. As more people gathered, they began to incite, leading to a conflict between us. My men were injured during that unrest. It was only after the disciples of the Mo Sect delivered orders and Grand General Shi arrived that the conflict was mitigated, lasting until your arrival."

"Hmm, has the Spirit Lord’s order been delivered?" Pei Yan nodded and continued to ask.

"It has been delivered! But they are ignoring it, insisting on seeing the Sect Elders before they will stop." Shao An wiped the sweat off his forehead as he reported truthfully.

"Who knows if you are... uh~!"

The disciple who had just spoken provocatively tried again to mock, but this time he couldn’t finish his sentence before a short dagger mysteriously appeared at his throat. He realized what was happening but couldn’t speak further as his throat was sliced open, blood instantly soaking his front shirt. He wanted to resist but found his body’s source energy was restrained. Like a chick being choked, he had his throat cut open and couldn’t heal, watching himself bleed to death in agony.

"Someone’s attacking!"

This sudden turn of events stunned the Immortal Palace disciples, and it was only when someone cried out in shock that they regained their senses, scattering left and right and assuming combat stances.

Thud! Accompanied by the dull sound of a body hitting the ground, Hu Jiu, who shared Pei Yan’s thoughts and stealthily slit the troublemaker’s throat, waved a gleaming dagger playfully. He looked provocatively at the Immortal Palace disciples who eyed him with hostility but dared not approach, his eyes filled with disdain.

"The Spirit Lord’s order has been issued; they disobey and remain at their stations awaiting consequences? What are you here for if you let them continue this way? Repeat the Spirit Lord’s order to me again!" Pei Yan harshly reprimanded Shao An.

"The Spirit Lord commands! All disciples of the Immortal Palace Guard Office are to return to their quarters on standby, not to step outside and await further orders, violators and rebels are to be killed!" Shao An bowed his head and responded to Pei Yan.

"What are you waiting for then? Execute it!"

"Yes, sir!"

After receiving the order, Shao An looked at his subordinates; they had only brought three thousand men today to seal the key access points throughout the palace and especially care for several sect side courtyard locations, thus dispersing two thousand and still feeling stretched thin and unable to cover everything. Only a thousand remained with him, yet they had to suppress nearly ten thousand Immortal Palace Guard disciples. The orders were easy to give, crossing lips lightly, but those at the forefront were his fellow comrades!

"Advance!" Though filled with dissatisfaction and apprehension, Shao An, unable to defy military orders, had to grit his teeth and hysterically shouted the command to attack.

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"

With the command given, the Divine Martial Guard soldiers instantly gained momentum, their long spears unanimously thrust forward. Amidst the orderly commands, they pressed step by step towards the gathered Immortal Palace disciples.

The Immortal Palace disciples were forced to retreat under the pressure of this imposing force, soon being driven back within the walls of the Forbidden Guard Office. At this moment, someone from the crowd shouted, "We can’t just go back like this! Who knows what’s happened to the sect? Why are we not allowed to see the Sect Elders?"

"Yes! Isn’t it suspicious that a command to seal the Immortal Palace is delivered by an outsider like Pei Yan? The investigation group has been getting close to the Embroidered Robe Envoys lately, who can be sure they haven’t colluded with the Divine Martial Guard to act first and report later, removing us to position the Embroidered Robe Envoys as leaders?" More voices immediately joined in agreement.

"Indeed! The Spirit Lord has been missing for over a month now, last seen together with the Essence of the Foundation Plane. I heard that person had a grudge with our Spirit Lord, maybe the Spirit Lord was ambushed by them as master and disciple, then they look for a reason to remove us and take over the Immortal Palace."

What vicious rhetoric! Upon hearing this, Pei Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly. Although the one who first instigated deliberately hid in the crowd and even changed how his voice spread, letting it come from another direction, Pei Yan, who had mastered the control of source energy, identified the individual immediately. The camera caught him wearing the attire of a disciple from White Deer Academy.

The malice in these words stemmed from the fact that everything mentioned had indeed occurred in that period, mixed truths and lies to entice people. If a real conflict arose, it would be the disciples worried for the Spirit Lord’s safety, rather than merely obeying their sect’s orders.

Such rhetoric indeed had a profoundly inflammatory effect; previously pressured and concerned by the Divine Martial Guard’s momentum, the Immortal Palace disciples became agitated once more under these provocations. Those at the front line arrayed themselves, each forming an array to face the advancing Divine Martial Guards, no longer backing down.

As the tips of the Divine Martial Guards’ spears were about to pierce the bodies of Immortal Palace disciples, conflict erupted! ℴ

Watching the clash unfold, Pei Yan intentionally refrained from intervening immediately. He wanted to take this opportunity to observe the true strength of the two major forces within the Daoist Plane, and this confrontation quickly revealed the significant gap between the Investigation Office and the opposing side.

The Divine Martial Guard soldiers were uniformly Tier Six Cultivators, with each squad led by a Tier Seven Human Dao Cultivator. Just this aspect showed that amongst the chosen soldiers from the Left and Right Divine Martial Guards, the overall level exceeded all abilities within the Investigation Office.

Once the battle commenced, the source energy of all the Divine Martial Guard seamlessly unified, unleashing power far beyond their level. Without elaborate moves, the spear formation of soldiers faced the tidal wave of attacks steadily like a slowly advancing dam. Allowing the waves to crash against their cohesive source array, they repeated simple actions of piercing, lifting, and pulling, reaping lives like a sickle.

Conversely, on the Immortal Palace disciples’ side, even if their individual combat ability possibly surpassed that of the Divine Martial Guard soldiers, they were utterly outmatched in terms of morale. A glance would show the disciples congregated distinctly with their sect group, fighting independently in small groups. Facing the sudden attacks from the Divine Martial Guard, they failed to organize an effective defense, already at a disadvantage from the onset of the battle.