Chapter 35: The Consequences of Doubt

It had not been long since Qu Yi and the others entered the Inch Realm Ball when a group of five people flew toward the Lava Lake. All five were dressed in purple-gold martial robes, and their aura of true energy indicated that they were all at the Divine Spirit stage.

Soon, the five sensed the disturbance in the energy in the air and immediately flew above the battlefield, scanning every trace left behind.

“Strange. This energy disturbance suggests a battle just took place, yet we can’t sense the presence of the victors,” said a round-faced man among them.

“Han Sen, you’re right. I also sense no aura of any cultivators around. It seems the victors left a long time ago,” another added.

The five then landed on the ground and carefully inspected the battlefield again. Apart from two patches of black, foul-smelling liquid, they found nothing unusual.

“What is this liquid? It’s black and emits intense poisonous gas. It seems like some cultivator was poisoned so severely that their entire body turned into black liquid,” Han Sen exclaimed in horror.

The other four also sensed the nauseating poison gas and immediately flew away.

“Indeed, this poison gas seems similar to the one from the legendary Demon Poison Star Region. Could someone have collected poison from there to launch a surprise attack on those two?” another man guessed.

The five landed somewhere and pondered for a while but couldn’t figure out what exactly had happened, so they stopped trying to deduce it.

Han Sen glanced at the other four and smiled. “Many people will surely come to this Heavenly Fire Region soon. The battle just now was probably between small sects. We shouldn’t pursue it further. The team leader divided our 200 people into 40 groups, sending them to various places to set up spatial teleportation arrays in hidden locations. I think this place is ideal—surrounded by a lava lake, and after flying for so long, we haven’t seen any signs of Heavenly Fire descending. It should be suitable for setting up spatial teleportation arrays.”

Hearing this, the other four showed surprise and immediately spread their spiritual senses to scan the surrounding area.

“Han Sen, I think you’re right.”

“Han Sen, I think it’s our turn to make a contribution this time. This place is indeed perfect for setting up spatial teleportation arrays.”

“Han Sen, you’re really amazing. According to the rules, if the captain chooses this place as the location for the space teleportation array, the five of us just need to guard it here—no need to go to other planets anymore. Our safety will be guaranteed, and we’ll still get the rewards.”
The five of them immediately burst into laughter.
Just as they were laughing, Qu Yi, Wu Yuan, Jin Qilin, and Huan Wu Die suddenly appeared, all grinning joyfully as they stared at the five of them.
“Who… are you guys?”
“Ah, so you were hiding here, eavesdropping on us?”
“Were you one of the winning sides in that battle just now?”
When the five of them sensed that Qu Yi and the others included three experts at the Fusion stage, they panicked immediately and started shouting anxiously.
“Gentlemen, I’d say you’re just too unlucky to have ended up here. All you can do now is leave your corpses behind,” Qu Yi sneered, already unleashing the Poison Soul Beast.
The five who had been feeling lucky suddenly felt terror spread throughout their bodies upon hearing Qu Yi’s words, sensing death approaching.
“No… you can’t do this! We’re from the Jin Yang Sect’s enforcement team. If you dare harm us, you’re declaring war on the Jin Yang Sect!” Han Sen immediately shouted.
“That’s right! We’re from the Jin Yang Sect. There’s an enforcement team from our sect right on this outer planet. If you kill us, our people will definitely find you.”
“We hope you leave. The five of us won’t expose what happened to you.”
Seeing Qu Yi controlling the Poison Soul Beast wreathed in poisonous gas, along with the three experts at the Fusion stage surrounding them, the five of them were utterly desperate. They could only resort to revealing their identities and trying to intimidate Qu Yi with words.
“Die!”
Qu Yi shouted coldly again.
Suddenly, the Poison Soul Beast turned into a cloud of darkness and rushed straight at Han Sen. Wu Yuan, Jin Qilin, and Huan Wu Die also immediately took to the air, blocking the five of them’s escape routes, watching as the Poison Soul Beast devoured them.
The Poison Soul Beast’s attacks were extremely bizarre—it could penetrate various parts of the body, corroding it and devouring the true essence and soul. The five from the Jin Yang Sect’s enforcement team had no idea how to deal with it. Amidst their shrill screams, they turned into five pools of black water.
After devouring the five, the Poison Soul Beast’s strength returned to that of the late Diversion stage.

“Jinyang Sect, if it were some small sects in the cultivation world, they really wouldn’t dare confront you five. But I am the captain of the Taiyuan Sect’s enforcement team. Now, all ten major sects are coming to the Tianhuo Star Region to fight over treasures—how could there be no battles, openly or secretly? This time, it’s your bad luck; you’ll be the first victims of our Taiyuan Sect’s enforcement team.” Qu Yi glanced at the five pools of black water that had appeared on the ground and smiled slightly.

Back at the Mingxin Hall, Chief Commander Liang Kui had already said that there would definitely be secret battles among the ten major sects, and there was no need to hold back—just kill directly. So Qu Yi didn’t hesitate to kill these five right away.

Tsk tsk!

The Poison Soul Beast made a sound, from which it could be heard that it was very happy, as having devoured seven experts at the Divided Mind stage had restored its strength.

“Poison Soul Beast, enter the Spirit Bag!” Qu Yi ordered coldly.

The Poison Soul Beast, which had been joyful and proud moments ago, obediently flew into the Spirit Bag, willing to be trapped by Qu Yi.

Then, Qu Yi used his spiritual sense to scan the surrounding terrain and smiled. He had just heard what the five from Jinyang Sect said and was inspired. It seemed that the place discovered by the Guangyuan Sect was indeed suitable for setting up a spatial teleportation array.

At this point, Qu Yi decided to place Taiyuan Sect’s spatial teleportation array on another planet near this lava lake.

……

Qu Yi returned to Red Stone Mountain and landed in front of the three members of the enforcement team. As soon as he landed, his face showed a sorrowful expression.

“Members of the 20th Enforcement Team, members of the 43rd Enforcement Team, I’m sorry to tell you that Captain Meng Zhan and Captain Gui Ning were accidentally struck by falling celestial fire while taking me to the lava lake and have died.” Qu Yi’s expression was extremely painful, almost to the point of tears, as he spoke lightly.

Ah!

The members of the three teams were shocked upon hearing this and looked at Qu Yi with varied expressions.

Qu Yi quickly regained his calm expression and declared, “According to the rules set by the chief commander, since only I remain alive among our three captains, I will now be your captain. For this mission in the Tianhuo Star Region and in the days to come, you must obey my orders.”

“You’re just the captain of the 4th Enforcement Team! We won’t follow your orders!”

“The cause of our captain’s death hasn’t been determined yet. We can’t trust you.”

“Celestial fire rarely falls on Tianyi Star. Our captain’s death is suspicious. We can’t trust you. We must find the real cause before we’ll obey you.”

“All the members of our two teams know that you, Li Mu, have a feud with Captains Meng Zhan and Gui Ning. You are also responsible for their deaths.”
……
In a moment, the members of the 20th and 43rd Enforcement Teams, along with some of Meng Zhan and Gui Ning’s trusted subordinates, immediately started shouting.
Qu Yi stood there with a faint smile, allowing those members to shout as much as they wanted, while noting down all those who doubted him. Only when the noisy members calmed down did Qu Yi smile.
“The 20th Team has fifteen members who doubt me. The 43rd Team has twenty-three. Very good. I hereby declare that openly opposing the captain is a capital crime. All thirty-eight of you must die. Everyone else, listen well: whoever kills these thirty-eight first will be given priority to serve as guards at the space transmission array, without having to go to other planets in the Tianhuo Star Region.”
Qu Yi spoke calmly, yet his words carried a fierce killing intent that terrified everyone.
At this point, Qu Yi was too lazy to waste words on them and decided to establish his authority through violence. Chief Commander Liang Kui had already granted Qu Yi absolute power—how could he give up such power? After all, these people were all Meng Zhan and Gui Ning’s subordinates. It would be better to get rid of them now to avoid future troubles.
“Li Mu, you bastard! You’re trying to cover up your own crimes as a murderer!”
“Li Mu, you have no right to execute us! We’re not members of your Enforcement Team!”……
Qu Yi didn’t respond. Instead, he smiled at the forty-three members of his 4th Enforcement Team, conveying a look of trust.
“The Chief Commander has given Captain Li Mu absolute power. Now, he is the only captain here, and he is our common captain. You thirty-eight who doubt the captain are rebelling—you must die!”
“I don’t want to go inside the Tianhuo Star Region. There, flames fly everywhere; I don’t want to take risks. So, I have no choice but to burden you thirty-eight.”……
Some clever members of the 4th Enforcement Team immediately counterattacked and rushed to attack those thirty-eight.
Ah!……
Before the members of the 4th Enforcement Team could reach them, those thirty-eight who opposed Qu Yi were attacked by their former teammates standing nearby. In just a moment, without even a proper fight, all of them were reduced to bloody messes.
The other members of the 20th and 43rd Enforcement Teams, fearing to enter the Tianhuo Star Region themselves, didn’t want the members of the 4th Enforcement Team to take advantage. They quickly struck first to seize the opportunity.

In the cultivation world, friendship is very fragile!
Qu Yi glanced at the remaining members of the enforcement team, nodded, and said with a smile, “Very good. Those who know when to act wisely are truly outstanding. You’ve done well. I’ve recorded the order in which each of you killed those thirty-eight people. The first three will be assigned to the outer star guardian space teleportation array. From now on, whenever we arrive at a new planet, the task of guarding the space teleportation array will be assigned to you thirty-eight in sequence.”
At this moment, the other members who hadn’t participated in killing those thirty-eight people felt deep regret.