Chapter 2548: Unexpected Insider

Zu An also noticed that the expressions of these people were all calm, even faintly carrying a hint of a smile. The dense crowd in the square, no matter how one looked at them, gave off a strange feeling.

He squatted down to examine the bodies of the Shouyang Witches nearby. "They've probably been dead for twelve to sixteen hours."

The Wushan Goddess was a little surprised. "How do you know?"

Zu An replied, "The bodies are already cold and stiff, and there are fixed lividity marks on various parts of their bodies. These are all signs of death occurring more than twelve hours ago. If more time passes, the bodies would gradually soften, not remain this stiff."

The Wushan Goddess's eyes sparkled repeatedly, and her tone was filled with admiration. "Young Master, you are truly knowledgeable and versatile, to even know such things."

"It's all the wisdom of our predecessors." Zu An chuckled. "In my previous life, there were so many crime dramas on TV; even if I hadn't eaten pork, I'd seen pigs run."

"Moreover, after joining the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I also learned some relevant information."

The Wushan Goddess mused, "It seems I previously underestimated humanity's learning ability."

Beside them, the Mermaid Queen, seeing the Wushan Goddess's admiring gaze, subconsciously puffed out her chest, feeling an inexplicable sense of pride.

However, she soon became a little troubled. While it was good that her lover was exceptional and admired by others, being *too* exceptional and attracting the affection of other women was troublesome.

At this moment, Zu An had reached the very center of the crowd. This person was not kneeling but standing, seemingly bowing in salute.

Although he was an elder, his physique was more robust than that of ordinary Shouyang Witches, and his clothes were noticeably more luxurious.

"He is Yan Shan, the clan leader of the Shouyang Witches. I once met him." The Wushan Goddess's face turned a little pale.

"According to what you said earlier, these Shouyang Witches are indeed very powerful." Zu An looked at the bodies in the square. Even in death, he could still sense their might and presence from when they were alive.

"All the powerful Shouyang Witches are here. Logically, this is a formidable force. What kind of being could take all their lives in an instant?" The Wushan Goddess's beautiful brows furrowed, truly puzzled.

Zu An investigated the surroundings, then wiped his hands and said, "The souls of these bodies are all gone without a trace. It seems most likely they also died at the hands of that Myriad Soul Banner."

"It seems the Myriad Soul Banner has been successfully refined." The Wushan Goddess's complexion grew even paler; she knew what this meant.

"But even if it's the Myriad Soul Banner, with so many powerful individuals here, how could they have offered no resistance at all? You mentioned earlier that there's also a powerful defensive array here," the Mermaid Queen questioned.

"You're right. Even if the Myriad Soul Banner is formidable, there's no way it could have silently taken everyone's lives without them putting up any fight. The defensive array didn't even have time to activate," the Wushan Goddess's eyes lit up. "Unless someone from inside suddenly attacked them while they were gathered in prayer."

"Or perhaps the identity of the culprit made these people completely drop their guard," Zu An added.

As the two were discussing the possibilities, a sudden clamor came from afar.

"Oh, all the Shouyang Witches are here."

"Why do their expressions look strange?"

"They all seem to be dead!"

The voices initially held a hint of doubt, then quickly turned into a chorus of gasps and exclamations.

Zu An and his companions looked in the direction of the voices, seeing a team of golden-armored warriors approaching from another direction, currently examining the Shouyang Witches on that side.

The leader of the group wore a vermilion robe with fire and auspicious cloud patterns embroidered on the collar. A fiery red jade was embedded in his waist sash.

His face was sharply chiseled, his eyes deep and bright like torches. Between his brows, there seemed to be a faint, flickering flame pattern. He held a bronze fire axe, and subtle phantom flames danced around his body. The man appeared tall and mighty, exuding an aura that made one dare not meet his gaze.

Zu An was secretly alarmed. This person was incredibly powerful. Even from a distance, the oppressive feeling he exuded was palpable.

At that moment, the other team also discovered Zu An and his group, and their expressions changed. "There are still living people here!"

"They're not Shouyang Witches."

"Could they be the culprits?"

Hearing their discussion, Zu An's eyelids twitched. This scene felt familiar; last time, he was also misunderstood by Xing Tian and Kuafu at the Chang Clan.

To avoid conflict, he quickly said, "We just arrived here ourselves and found them all mysteriously dead. May I ask your names?"

The timing of the other group's appearance here was too coincidental. Could it be that the culprits were crying "thief"?

"Words mean nothing. Capture them first, then we'll interrogate them slowly." The red-robed leader snorted coldly. At his command, several golden-armored warriors under him lunged towards Zu An.

Zu An: "..."

The Mermaid Queen was also annoyed. She directly plucked the Deep Sea Lyre, and the golden-armored warriors involuntarily began attacking each other.

Zu An secretly admired her. In terms of cultivation alone, none of these golden-armored warriors were inferior to her. In a head-on confrontation, she would likely be no match. However, she possessed powerful control and support abilities, making this chaotic battle ideal for her to demonstrate her skills.

Watching his warriors fighting amongst themselves like clowns, the red-robed man's eyelid twitched. He roared furiously, "Mere parlor tricks!"

His voice boomed like thunder. The golden-armored warriors finally snapped out of it, and remembering how they had been toyed with, they charged furiously at the Mermaid Queen.

"Stop!" The Wushan Goddess waved her hand, and wisps of cloud energy restrained the golden-armored warriors. "How can you attack people without distinguishing right from wrong? Are *you* the real culprits, trying to silence us?"

"How audacious! How dare you speak to this Divine Lord like that!" The red-robed man roared in anger. He thrust his bronze fire axe into the ground, and two massive fire dragons roared as they lunged towards her.

Although the woman was beautiful, in his eyes, she was nothing more than a pretty skeleton.

He had just realized that both women seemed to be water elemental users, and his skills were precisely their bane.

Before the two fire dragons even got close, the clothes and hair of the kneeling Shouyang Witches nearby began to curl and dry up.

The Wushan Goddess's expression also changed slightly. The opponent's flames were incredibly powerful; every flicker of fire on the fire dragons contained terrifying destructive power. The environment of Shouyang Mountain was already highly restrictive for her, and with this ebb and flow, she feared she might not be able to withstand this attack.

Just then, Zu An appeared in front of her. He quickly formed hand seals, and a massive lotus flower surged forward to meet the two fire dragons.

In the current environment of Shouyang Mountain, fire elemental abilities received a tremendous boost, making it naturally suitable to combat fire with fire.

With a thunderous crash, the two fire dragons and the lotus flower dissipated simultaneously. The cloud energy that had just restrained the golden-armored warriors was instantly evaporated by the scattered flames, and many of the Shouyang Witches' corpses nearby were charred to cinders by the spreading fire.

Seeing this scene, all three of them frowned in unison.

"White Lotus Sacred Flame, and also Phoenix True Flame, huh. So, you have the bloodline of a Phoenix. No wonder you're so arrogant." The red-robed man's voice was cold. He ascended into the air, and the fiery phantoms around his body gradually solidified, clearly brimming with fighting spirit.

Zu An's heart sank. Recalling the Wushan Goddess's earlier warning, he thought, *This guy's tone is so disdainful of phoenixes; could he be a descendant of a True Dragon?*

However, he had no time to consider these thoughts. The opponent's aura was rising wildly, and he could only face the enemy with all his might.

Just then, a delicate cry of surprise came from afar: "Stop! We're all on the same side!"