Chapter Sixty-Four: Money Laundering

A silent blue lightning bolt struck the left arm of the man in blood-red robes, erupting with a deafening blast and sending out ripples of spiritual pressure like waves, submerging his entire body. When the ripples faded, his figure reappeared; his right hand was now empty—the storage pouch had vanished—and his left arm was severed at the root, yet no blood flowed from the wound. He simply stared at his broken limb, unmoving and silent.

A breeze swept through, and with a surge of spiritual energy, five more figures appeared. At their head was a young man, holding a storage pouch in his left hand and grinning, revealing small tiger-like fangs.

The man in blood-red robes turned his gaze toward them; venomous light flickered beneath his crimson hat, but he still said nothing.

The five newcomers remained silent as well, their fans unfurled as they naturally surrounded him. Glimmers of light flashed as each of them raised their protective barriers, and magical artifacts flew from their storage pouches, orbiting above their heads. Several pairs of eyes watched the man in blood-red robes intently, as if facing a mortal enemy.

Suddenly, the blood-robed man chuckled darkly. Without any visible movement, he recited, "Blood Fiend burns bright, demonic desire surges," and a flash of white light burst from his severed left shoulder. In an instant, a perfectly restored arm appeared—he had healed himself completely.

The young man with the tiger fangs spoke up, “We meet again. But should I call you Alliance Lord now? Or should I address you as Your Majesty, or perhaps Royal Uncle?”

The blood-robed man gave no reply. The young man shook the storage pouch in his hand, “I told you I’d find the Blood Fiend Alliance’s spirit stones in three days. I did not break my word. If I’m not mistaken, these are all the spirit stones the Blood Fiend Alliance has hoarded over the years. Now the question is, will you surrender willingly, or shall we kill you where you stand?”

The blood-robed man sighed. “Lei Xiang, how did you see through me?”

These people were indeed Lei Xiang and his companions—Situ Hongji among them. With a flick of Lei Xiang’s wrist, the storage pouch disappeared. Flashing his tiger fangs in a grin, he replied, “There are many reasons, all quite compelling. First, in the Li Fire Kingdom, you readily agreed to my terms on behalf of the Emperor. That made me question your true status. Then, when I visited the Blood Fiend Alliance headquarters, the entrance's teleportation array twisted and turned, clearly designed to confuse and obscure direction. Yet the actual teleportation distance was short, proving the headquarters was always inside the imperial city. That led me to suspect the real Alliance Lord was among us.”

The blood-robed man sneered, “There are many within our ranks. Why suspect me?”

Lei Xiang answered calmly, “During the final battle, the Blood Fiend Alliance’s top cultivators targeted the Emperor of Eastern Yue. With his death, who stood to gain? The answer was obvious. I suspected either you or Situ Hongji—only you two could ascend the throne. I investigated and cleared Situ Hongji, leaving you as the sole suspect.”

Beneath his crimson hat, the blood-robed man’s expression remained unreadable.

Lei Xiang continued, “So I asked Senior Situ to lure you away at an opportune moment. I then snuck into your study and found the jade slip I was looking for—the emergency talisman from the Li Fire Kingdom. When the Blood Fiend Alliance attacked Li Fire, the crown prince sent a plea for help, but you suppressed it, leading to the kingdom’s fall. Does this not prove you were a traitor within our ranks?”

“And there’s an even clearer piece of evidence: Chen Junxi’s father was a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, while you were only at the early stage. How did you kill him effortlessly in the blood mist? There’s only one explanation—you knew each other. He was your puppet, and you are the true Alliance Lord of the Blood Fiend Alliance.”

The blood-robed man shook his head with a cold smile.

Lei Xiang’s tone remained mild. “If you still won’t admit it, that’s fine. I have more proof. To catch you faster, Senior Situ and I made a plan three days ago. We staged a wager in the Golden Throne Hall just for your benefit. I then waited at the Blood Fiend Alliance headquarters and deliberately let your close eunuch hear the news, so you’d feel safe coming here to collect the spirit stones. After all, as the emperor, you have the status to store such a vast fortune openly, and you’d never leave so many spirit stones elsewhere. So you hurried here to retrieve them. Am I wrong?”

The blood-robed man finally spoke, “Your logic seems sound, but you overlook one crucial point: if I am the Alliance Lord, why would I help Eastern Yue exterminate the very organization I created with my own hands? Am I mad? Ha!”

Linghu Zhong and the others found this argument convincing. Why would anyone destroy their own painstakingly built empire unless they were insane?

But Lei Xiang answered calmly with just two words: “Money laundering.”

Everyone was stunned. Only the blood-robed man’s body seemed to tremble ever so slightly—so subtly it might have been missed, but not by Lei Xiang’s sharp eyes.

“I see I’ve struck a nerve. At first, I didn’t understand either. But do you remember that grotesque, rotten-meat-like statue in the Blood Fiend Alliance headquarters? That’s where I overheard your distracted orders—not punishing the third elder, not arranging defenses. It was clear you were indifferent to the alliance’s fate. There was only one reason: you wanted to shed your old identity and spend your wealth openly. But your rank at court wasn’t high enough yet. So you killed the emperor and took his place, and used us to destroy the evidence of your crimes—the Blood Fiend Alliance.”

“From then on, you could sit safely on the throne, with no one left to suspect you. My dear Alliance Lord!”

As Lei Xiang finished laying out every detail, the group fell silent. Each person wore a different expression, all lost in thought. The air seemed to freeze in that moment.

Suddenly, the blood-robed man laughed—a laugh tinged with bitterness, sorrow, and resignation. “Lei Xiang, you are indeed clever. But you shouldn’t meddle in what’s not your concern. Now, you may die.”

“Wait!” Lei Xiang suddenly shouted. “After all I’ve said, I still haven’t seen your true face. Even if I die, it would be a shame not to!”

The blood-robed man threw his head back and laughed, as if he’d heard the funniest joke in the world. When his laughter faded, he said coldly, “You want to see who I am? Dream on! Keep guessing, Lei Xiang. If you want the answer, ask in the underworld.”

With that, he stretched out his arms and shouted. From his arms, legs, and chest, six blood-red skulls flew out, each one wailing eerily before vanishing in an instant—only to reappear around Lei Xiang’s group, one by each person, but surrounding Lei Xiang with two. The skulls opened their jaws wide, spewing thick pink blood mist, surging toward the group.

Scarlet Powdered Skulls!