Chapter 303: Muddied Waters

Zhang Fengyun and the others had clashed with the Tribulation Religion on several occasions over the past few days, so they had all become very familiar with the Greed Demon and his powerful ability.

Thus, even though the Greed Demon's body was in terrible condition, they were still able to identify him immediately.

"Who did this?" Zhang Fengyun exclaimed in bewilderment.

She reached out, intending to take down the body, but Jiang Xusheng stopped her.

"Don't move the body," Jiang Xusheng instructed before beginning a thorough examination.

Following the examination, he concluded, "He's been dead for about two hours, and he appears to have been killed by a blunt-force blow to the head, perhaps from something like a hammer."

Jun Li was also examining the body, and he remarked, "These burns are quite severe."

Jiang Xusheng extracted a fragment of metal from one of the Greed Demon's wounds, then exclaimed, "This appears to be a piece of a weapon! Whoever killed the Greed Demon was able to break through his defenses, shatter his blades, and drive one of the fragments into his body! As for the saber used to nail him here, I've seen him use this exact type of saber in battle, so it seems he was impaled by his own blade.

“Whoever hurled his body here possesses immense strength. The saber pierced through his body and the gate in one go, and judging from the wound, he was only impaled here recently."

Finally, Jiang Xusheng concluded, "I'm certain the Greed Demon wasn't killed here. Instead, he was killed elsewhere before being thrown here, and his opponent must've possessed immense strength. Despite the Greed Demon's defenses, almost every bone in his body was broken.

"It would take a martial artist at the pinnacle of the fifth state, at the very least, to accomplish such a feat with their bare hands. I can't think of any martial artist that powerful in Shu Province, so whoever did this most likely used some type of heavy blunt weapon, such as a hammer or staff. As for these burns..."

His voice trailed off as he exchanged a glance with Jun Li. They had seen similar burns on many bodies before, all of which had belonged to Bai Shihe's victims.

Whenever Bai Shihe channeled the Sumeru Strength Scripture, his qi and blood would release fiery heat intense enough to burn an ordinary person to death.

The burns on the Greed Demon's body were very similar to those they had seen in the past, although they were much less severe.

"In any case, the Greed Demon was clearly killed by an extremely formidable cultivator," Jiang Xusheng said. "If we want to find more clues, we must locate the site of the battle. The Greed Demon's ability is extremely destructive, so it shouldn't be difficult to find where the battle took place."

With the analysis complete, people were immediately sent out of the city to search for the place where the Greed Demon had met his demise.

Meanwhile, the Greed Demon's body was temporarily kept in the Daoist temple.

Chu Qiguang's return to the Daoist temple drew no attention from Han Jueyong and the three Dao Comprehension Seeds, all of whom were too busy attending to other matters. However, Zhang Fengyun took some time to reprimand him.

"Why did you go out at a time like this? You're causing more trouble for us at the worst possible time!"

Chu Qiguang knew that Zhang Fengyun was speaking out of concern, so he wasn't bothered by her harsh attitude.

"Go and visit Hao Xiangtong," Zhang Fengyun continued. "She's been worried sick about you. I've been telling her that once she becomes strong enough, she can have any man she wants, but I can already tell that she's beyond saving. If she was willing to follow you all the way to Shu Province, then you've clearly got her wrapped around your little finger. You better be good to her, Chu Qiguang. Otherwise, I'm going to break your third leg!"

Chu Qiguang was taken aback by the directness of Zhang Fengyun's threat, and he hurriedly changed the subject. "Did something happen? Everyone seems tense and anxious."

"The Greed Demon was killed," Zhang Fengyun replied with a grim expression.

"The Greed Demon is dead?" Chu Qiguang exclaimed.

Zhang Fengyun nodded in confirmation.

"His skull was shattered along with almost every other bone in his body."

"Who did it?" Chu Qiguang asked.

"We don't know yet," Zhang Fengyun replied before relaying Jiang Xusheng and Jun Li's analysis to Chu Qiguang. "The situation was already complicated, and this has only served to muddy the waters even further. If the Tribulation Religion discovers that the Greed Demon is dead, they'll most likely declare all-out war on us."

Chu Qiguang was very pleased to hear this.

It looks like the Demon Vanquishing Department hasn't been able to get to the bottom of things. I made sure to nail him to the entrance of the temple. As long as they're not complete pushovers, the Tribulation Religion will be sure to retaliate.

After parting ways with Zhang Fengyun, Chu Qiguang had nothing better to do, so he paid Hao Xiangtong a visit.

As he passed an incense table, he noticed some fruit that had been offered to a statue of the Profound Origin Dao Lord.

What a waste of fruit! I should put it to better use.

All of a sudden, the fruit on the table vanished amid a gust of wind.

***

Hao Xiangtong was meditating in her courtyard when a Daoist attendant informed her of Chu Qiguang's arrival. She immediately went outside and found him standing with his back to her, gazing up at the moon.

Over the past year and half of cultivation, Chu Qiguang had undergone a drastic transformation. He looked like a completely different person from the Zhou Ergou whom Hao Xiangtong had first met.