Wu Gang in her black dragon form floated in Peng City's skies. Her manner extremely majestic and her aura extremely powerful!
As long as the commoners of Peng City looked up at the sky, they could witness Wu Gang's dragon body. If that was truly the case, it would definitely stir up great chaos!
But Fan Li had long arranged everything, ordering the Garrison Army to patrol the streets and temporarily restrict the commoners' movements, forcing them to obediently remain at home.
After succeeding in that sneak attack, Wu Gang wanted to continue her offensive. Her previous bewildered gaze wasn't because she had fallen for Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler's bewitchment. She was merely gathering power to transform into a dragon.
When her dragon tail swept out again, it only gouged out a deep trench in the ground outside Dragon God Palace.
Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler wouldn't make the same mistake of lowering her guard after being ambushed once already.
She effortlessly evaded the dragon tail and in an instant, flew up into the high altitudes, leaving both Dragon God Palace and Wu Gang down below her.
"What courage to actually launch a joint ambush against me?" Looking down from her superior vantage point, Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler spoke like a deity overlooking mortals.
A streak of blood flowed from the corner of her mouth but her aura still remained extremely arrogant!
Wu Gang's sneak attack coordinated with Lü Chunqiu's Annals of Lü Buwei had only inflicted minor injuries on her without damaging her cultivation base at all. It wouldn't even affect her battle power.
"For Fan Li to grasp such great power in Chu, he really is exceptionally outstanding." Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler praised again.
But her tone was very strange, as if she was reading Fan Li's epitaph. She was praising him, yet it was merely a generous eulogy for the deceased.
Inside Dragon God Palace, Fan Li finally walked out. An old Confucian scholar was following by his side. If it wasn't the contemporary Marquis of Wenxin, then who else could it be?
Fan Li deeply inhaled and said, "A Sage Ruler from the Pure Lands personally arriving to take this official's life, this lowly one is deeply honored."
Fan Li lifted his head to look at Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler high up in the skies. His eyes revealed traces of killing intent.
"Hahahahaha!" After briefly locking gazes with Fan Li, Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler first chuckled before loudly laughing out. "Very good! Extremely good! With my experience, I've never seen a man with your sort of arrogant backbone before! Even the men I selectively bred descendants with aren't as spirited as you!"
Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler was publicly praising Fan Li only because she understood the killing intent in Fan Li's eyes.
A trivial Foundation Realm cultivator surprisingly schemed to such extent. He even wanted to ambush and kill her, a Sage Ruler of the Brahma Sound Pure Lands?
How many years has it been?
In the entire world, there still hasn't been anyone daring enough to actively plot against the Brahma Sound Pure Lands.
Forget mentioning the Pure Land's Sage Rulers. No one would even dare scheme against ordinary Pure Land disciples!
Everyone knew the Brahma Sound Pure Lands were extremely protective over their own. Unless it was completely clear who was right or wrong, the Pure Lands would always assume its disciples had been wronged even if they were the ones at fault. Otherwise, any man in the outside world who injured a Pure Land member would be deemed the enemy of the entire Brahma Sound Pure Lands.
Ever since the Brahma Sound Pure Lands were founded, its purpose was to protect weak women in the world—especially protecting them from harm by men.
The Pure Lands were extremely exclusive towards outsiders, particularly hostile against men.
The reason why Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler and Nanguang Yan never publicly announced their relationship and even maintained long term separation, only occasionally secretly meeting, was to avoid violating the Pure Land's rules.
"Fan Li! You've chosen a path towards death! Even if you succeed by some fluke, how will you escape the Brahma Sound Pure Lands' pursuit in the future!?"
After Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler finished speaking, she loudly laughed again as if ridiculing Fan Li's stupidity while also mocking him for having no path of retreat left.
Fan Li indifferently said, "This official is temporarily unable to consider matters of the future for now. But today, only one person between this official and the Sage Ruler will leave Dragon God Palace alive. Of course, if the Sage Ruler insists on fleeing, perhaps Wu Gang and Teacher Lü won't be able to obstruct you."
"Hmph! With just those two? They wouldn't even be able to fight me evenly, let alone dream of defeating me!" Although Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler spoke as such, she was actually internally debating.
After personally witnessing the might of Annals of Lü Buwei, Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler determined she would have great difficulties breaking through its defense. Retreating for now before seeking another chance to assassinate Fan Li later should be the optimal choice.
Yet her pride was too strong!
As a respected Sage Ruler, she returned empty-handed from a mission to assassinate Fan Li?
After being provoked by Fan Li's words, Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler found such humiliating outcome increasingly hard to accept. She finally decided to remain behind and continue fighting while seeking a chance to utilize her secret technique to kill Fan Li.
"If I consume fifty years of my lifespan to activate my Pure Lands secret technique, Blood Fairy, I can unleash the power of a peak ninth grade Great Vehicle Realm expert with three strikes!
Although Annals of Lü Buwei is a top defensive treasure, with Lü Chunqiu's strength only at the peak of ninth grade Divine Transformation, it may not be able to withstand three attacks from a peak Great Vehicle Realm! But... just to kill an insignificant Fan Li, I actually have to lose fifty years of lifespan..."
The greatest assurance for Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler not retreating was her unique secret technique, Blood Fairy.
But after carefully weighing the costs, she still wasn't willing to immediately utilize this secret method.
"I've never fought with Lü Chunqiu before so I should test things out first. If Annals of Lü Buwei really does have an exaggerated reputation and I can break through it without utilizing my secret technique, that would be the optimal outcome!"
Having thought things through, Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler finally came to a decision. Her expression kept shifting between dark and clear, all seen by Fan Li.
"Success." What Fan Li wanted was precisely this effect.
He used goading to keep Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler from fleeing before seeking another chance to assassinate him later. If he had to be on guard day and night against a Great Vehicle Realm assassin's schemes, it would be impossible to defend against.
After goading her into staying, next was stall tactics.
Fan Li smiled and said, "Is the Sage Ruler curious about the current situations of the other three locations since I made preparations here against you?"
Upon hearing this, Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler was startled as she frowned!
Was he stalling for time?
But since Fan Li was so resourceful with his arrangements, Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler couldn't help feeling somewhat curious.
"Go ahead and tell me. This Sage Ruler is quite curious. With Wu Gang and Teacher Lü here, what other cards do you have to protect the other three Fan clan members?"
Even if he was delaying for time, Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler didn't mind. She had sustained some minor injuries so she could treat them while waiting.
As for sending troops to assassinate Fan Ming, Fan Chun and Fan Yuehua, Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler wasn't worried in the slightest.
How many more experts could the Fan clan dispatch?
Unless it was someone at the Unity Realm's level, it would be completely impossible to change the outcome.
The only Unity Realm expert in Great Chu was the Head Eunuch Supervising the Inner Palace, Chen Gong. But he would definitely not support Fan Li.
In order to prevent the Fan clan from making any final desperate gambits, Chen Gong had always remained in the Inner Palace to protect the Grand Empress Dowager and Xiang Chong.
Since Fan Li deliberately wanted to stall for time, his speech was extremely slow.
"I heard that one of the two Elders following the Holy Master, her daughter, went to Peach Blossom Woods to assassinate my little sister Yuehua?"
Although Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler was shocked by the accuracy of Fan Li's intelligence reports, her surface expression remained cold laughter.
"Your sister was accompanied by dozens of men, chanting poetry amidst peach blossoms. Her extremely promiscuous deeds have utterly humiliated all women in the world!"
"The Holy Master misunderstands." Fan Li smiled and casually pointed to Lü Chunqiu by his side.
"My little sister recently developed great interest towards Confucian teachings. She specially invited the Marquis of Wenxin's seventy-two personally taught disciples to Peach Blossom Woods. They could appreciate the flowers while reviewing the ancient sages' ethical writings."
Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler's expression changed. The Seventy-Two Worthies of Lü City?
Even she had heard of those famous Confucian cultivators' reputations. Yet Fan Li completely ignored Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler's ugly expression as he continued chattering away.
"My Third Younger Brother Fan Chun went hunting in the southern mountains. But the Elder from your Blazing Fire Sect actually led all the sect's elites to ambush and kill him?
What a pity. My Third Brother was accompanied by the Garrison Army's ten thousand troops to go hunting. With ten thousand heads, even if the Blazing Fire Sect extends their necks for the chopping block, I'm afraid they still wouldn't finish beheading everyone for a number of days and nights!"
Blood Phoenix Sage Ruler's complexion changed yet again until she looked extremely awful!
Fan Li finally said, "As for my Eldest Brother at the clan's secret manor, he happens to be discussing major events with the Han emissaries Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan. If your husband, Nanguang Yan, goes now to assassinate my Eldest Brother, I'm afraid those three Han emissaries wouldn't just stand idly by..."