These two middle-aged men, known as the Black White Twin Devils of You Province, one in black and one in white, had both reached the peak of the Lingdan Realm.
They were extremely skilled at coordinated attacks; once they joined forces with all their might, even a strong practitioner of the Ling Ying Realm would not fall behind in a brief confrontation.
The two of them had come here for only one purpose: to assassinate Ye Xuan. However, they were from You City, the provincial capital of You Province.
Several miles away, a carriage stood silently on the ancient road.
Inside the carriage, Ye Xuan's eyes suddenly opened, and he softly commanded, "Ximen Chuixue, kill them!"
Ximen Chuixue, standing beside the carriage, nodded silently at the sound, his figure dissolving like smoke, leaving only a faint sword shadow flickering in the air.
Since the assassination attempt outside the Imperial City, Ye Xuan had suffered several more assassination attempts, but these were mostly from You Province.
After all, the local forces in You Province had, through long-term development, already formed a stable structure. They naturally did not wish to see the emergence of a new You Wang, threatening their status and power.
...
"Who?" Black Devil's face, hidden by the ghost mask, was filled with panic.
At this moment, an endless surge of sword energy, like a celestial river pouring down, descended from the sky. The entire valley trembled under the pressure of this vast sword energy, like an ant about to be crushed.
White Devil, beside him, no longer held his previous composure; the folding fan he was toying with silently dropped to the ground, his eyes filled with fear and disbelief.
"The dead are not worthy of knowing!" Ximen Chuixue's tone was icy.
Before he finished speaking, the sword energy shot out, instantly piercing through the bodies of Black Devil and White Devil. The two of them couldn't even let out a scream before they were pulverized into a mist of blood by the crisscrossing sword energy, dissipating into the air.
...
Inside the You City Lord's Mansion, the atmosphere was heavy.
A man dressed in deep black armor sat on the City Lord's throne, his face ferocious, a prominent scar etched across his face, making him appear even more menacing.
Below him, in the great hall, five figures were seated in their respective positions.
An old woman holding a walking stick, her face covered in wrinkles, her eyes revealing shrewdness.
A plump middle-aged man in luxurious attire, exuding an aura of wealth, his chubby fingers adorned with rings.
A gaunt old man with cunning eyes; his shifty-eyed appearance immediately revealed his deep cunning.
A woman wearing a revealing black long dress, her face covered by a black silk veil; although her face couldn't be seen, her graceful figure, especially her voluptuous breasts that seemed almost to burst through her clothes, sparked endless imagination.
The last person, dressed in a simple long robe, had a weathered face, but his eyes gleamed with ruthlessness, and a venomous snake with a green tongue was coiled around his hand.
"Bang!" The armored man, Jin You, his eyes wide with fury, suddenly exerted force, and the teacup in his hand instantly turned to dust.
Along with the explosive sound, his roar echoed throughout the hall: "A bunch of useless fools! Sending out so many people, yet you can't even deal with a Seventh Prince who has no cultivation!"
Jin You, the Grand General of You Province, commanded the entire military force of You Province, with a loyal army of one hundred thousand Xiantian soldiers under his command. His power in You Province was unrivaled, almost to the point of overshadowing everything.
His own cultivation was also quite profound, having already entered the peak of the Ling Ying Realm, making him a top-tier strong practitioner in You Province.
Most of the previous You Province Governors who came here were largely sidelined by Jin You, and many even died directly or indirectly at his hands.
Moreover, Jin You had powerful backing in the Imperial City, which was why he could repeatedly kill governors and remain unharmed.
"General, please calm your anger. It's truly not worth harming yourself over such a trivial matter," Zhou Hong's plump face was filled with flattery.
"Even if the Seventh Prince comes to You City, under your absolute prestige, how could he possibly shake you in the slightest?"
As the head of the Zhou Family, one of the four great families of You Province, Zhou Hong himself possessed a cultivation at the early Ling Ying Realm.
The Zhou Family was renowned for its business ventures, with its commercial empire spanning the entire You Province. Although not skilled in warfare, when it came to accumulating wealth, they were considered the richest in You Province.
"What do you, a fool, understand!" A fierce glint flashed in Jin You's eyes, causing Zhou Hong's body to involuntarily tremble.
"This Seventh Prince is someone the Imperial City wishes to eliminate quickly. If he enters You City, openly killing him would be far from easy. After all, he is a Prince, and if he dies here, those forces in the Imperial City hostile to us will surely seize the opportunity to stir up trouble and make a big fuss."
"Imperial City..."
The old woman, the matriarch of the Li Family, her voice slightly hoarse, had reached the late Ling Ying Realm in cultivation.
The Li Family was also one of the four great families of You Province, primarily dealing in medicinal herbs, holding a crucial position in You Province.
At this moment, Chen Dao, the middle-aged man toying with a venomous snake in his hand, a cold murderous intent flashed in his eyes, "Since the General intends for him to die, then we will arrange another assassination before he enters You City!"
The Chen Family, as one of the four great families of You Province, primarily engaged in the mercenary business, owning the most powerful mercenary group in You Province—the Tiger Leopard Mercenary Group. The Black White Twin Devils who previously assassinated Ye Xuan were elites from the Tiger Leopard Mercenary Group.
"Pfft!" Murong Xue, though her face was veiled by light gauze, could not conceal a soft laugh.
The depth of her cultivation was unknown to anyone, and the power she controlled was not a Family, but she managed the largest brothel in You Province—the Luohua Brothel.
"Easier said than done. Who will you send this time? Will you go yourself?" Murong Xue's tone carried a hint of mockery.
"Don't forget, your Black White Twin Devils not only failed their mission but also lost their lives. Surely, the Seventh Prince must have a strong practitioner of the Ling Ying Realm guarding him."
Chen Dao's expression changed abruptly upon hearing the taunt, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes, his tone chilling: "Murong Xue, you'd best not go too far. The Black White Twin Devils sacrificed themselves for You Province, for the Grand General! If you continue to spout nonsense, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Murong Xue, however, merely sneered, her red lips parting slightly, her tone filled with disdain:
"Hmph, be polite to me? With your mere mid-Ling Ying Realm cultivation, you dare to speak so presumptuously in front of me? To tell you the truth, this Mistress has never taken you seriously!"
"A few days ago, several Lingdan Realm Cultivators from your Tiger Leopard Mercenary Group, in their madness, cruelly tortured many of my Luohua Brothel's girls, leaving them crippled. I've been keeping that score, and today is a good day to settle it with you!"
Murong Xue's voice grew colder and colder, and flames of anger flickered in her beautiful eyes.
Chen Dao burst into laughter, his attitude utterly arrogant: "Hahaha, they're just a bunch of shameless hussies anyway. So what if they died? They were born to be played with and trampled upon, so what if they've been ridden by thousands!"
"You're asking to die!"
Murong Xue's delicate brows shot up; this time, she was truly moved to kill.
In an instant, her originally seductive, graceful figure, capable of captivating countless men, seemed to transform into an icy peak, continuously emanating an extreme chill.