Leaving the seaside, Wang Zhong headed northeast. His next destination was the Heaven Dou Empire.
Unlike the unified kingdom of the Star Luo Empire, the Heaven Dou Empire divided its vast territory into small kingdoms through enfeoffment for easier management. However, this enfeoffment also led to the weakening of the Heaven Dou imperial family's authority.
Kingdom after kingdom gradually broke away from the Heaven Dou imperial family's control over countless years. Although there was no overt rebellion or uprising, hidden currents had long been surging within.
But it was precisely because of the weakening imperial power that various sects and families were able to flourish. The most typical example was the Upper Three Sects!
The Haotian Sect, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. These three major sects had countless disciples, a vast number of soul masters, and even several Titled Douluo.
The current Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, Emperor Xue Ye, was merely a Soul Sect of level forty-something. Although there were many soul masters and powerhouses loyal to the empire, their numbers and the quality of their strength could not be compared to the Upper Three Sects.
Sect strength far exceeding the imperial family was actually a terrifying prospect for an empire, as one never knew when those sects might erupt and bring about a complete overhaul and change of imperial power.
However, Emperor Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire seemed unconcerned about this. Neither his policies nor his actions showed any intention of targeting them. He let them develop, and even seemed inclined to rely on them as his arms.
The most prominent example was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! This sect was subtly known as the empire's treasury! It controlled over eighty percent of the Heaven Dou Empire's finances!
Such a figure was terrifying, almost as if the Heaven Dou Empire had handed over its core finances to outsiders.
Finance, population, and military power were the core of an empire. Yet, the current Heaven Dou Empire possessed none of these. The entire nation could be annihilated at someone else's whim. But Emperor Xue Ye paid no mind to such crises. Both the imperial family and the nobility lived lives of revelry and extravagance.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the world's foremost utensil spirit, and its current Sect Master Ning Fengzhi, possessed great ambition and extraordinary means. This was what Bibi Dong had praised Wang Zhong about before.
"Although Ning Fengzhi is merely a support-type utensil spirit master, his ambition and methods should not be underestimated."
"The struggle for the imperial throne was originally an internal affair of the royal family, yet he dared to openly interfere, supporting Prince Xue Qinghe and becoming his teacher, leading to his ascension to the position of Crown Prince."
"His boldness and determination are truly decisive. What he desires is far more than just the title of the world's foremost support-type soul master. The world's foremost sect should be his ambition."
"However, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is ultimately just a support-type utensil spirit. In terms of combat ability, it is on a completely different level from the Haotian Hammer or the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Moreover, as a support-type soul master, it is destined for him to be a mere appendage."
"The weakened Heaven Dou imperial family is the best object to attach to, and extremely easy to control. Under such circumstances, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect can not only develop and grow stronger but also completely avoid truly becoming someone else's appendage!"
Walking alone on a sparsely populated path, Wang Zhong pondered some matters concerning the Heaven Dou Empire and his personal judgments regarding the actions of Ning Fengzhi, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Suddenly, Wang Zhong's train of thought was abruptly interrupted by an extremely strong scent of blood.
The pungent smell that assailed him, almost enveloping the entire area, made Wang Zhong frown deeply.
He scanned his surroundings. This was a vast expanse of farmland. In his line of sight, there was a village. Smoke curled from the chimneys of the village, giving it a serene, idyllic appearance.
However, if Wang Zhong's senses were correct, the smell of blood was emanating from that village.
He extended his senses towards the village, and what he perceived ignited his fury.
"Such cruel, such brutal methods!"
His figure transformed into a bolt of lightning, and Wang Zhong suddenly vanished from his original spot, appearing where the village was located.
The houses, once orderly, were now in ruins, almost reduced to rubble. Pale and contorted corpses lay scattered all around, covering the entire ground.
Every single person was covered in countless wounds. These wounds were not deep, but they were so numerous and fine that they completely covered everyone's flesh.
The cause of death for these people was not the wounds on their bodies, but excessive blood loss!
In other words, they had bled to death alive!
Stepping into the piles of corpses, the overflowing blood on the ground had completely soaked the earth beneath his feet. As he walked through this silent town, Wang Zhong almost ground his teeth to dust.
Not a single survivor!
From the elderly to the young, from livestock to poultry, in this village, every living being, or rather, every life that had blood to spill, had met a tragic end!
Wang Zhong even saw a pregnant woman, her abdomen completely cut open, and the infant within subjected to the same fate!
Such methods, such bloodshed, were monstrously cruel!
"Yo, what is this thing!"
"A stray dog that stumbled in here!"
A hoarse, chilling voice suddenly rang out. Along with the voice came a stench so thick it was nauseating, an aura of horror and dread that made one feel as if they were in a sea of blood and mountains of corpses.
"There's still someone here!" Because of the suddenness of the voice, Wang Zhong's pupils shrank to the size of needle points, his heart pounding wildly.
Under his spiritual sense, there should have been no one alive here but him!
He abruptly looked up towards the source of the voice. It was a tall, thin middle-aged man with pale skin and a sinister face. His eyes were a strange red, and when he opened his mouth, Wang Zhong saw two fangs like those of a lion or tiger.
He wore a black and red long robe, sinister and eerie, with a cloak of the same color behind him, wrapping his entire body. He stood there like a piece of dried wood stained with dried blood.
"No heartbeat! No breathing! No body temperature! No sign of life at all..."
"My spiritual sense passed through him as if he were air!"
"What is this thing!"
Wang Zhong jumped in fright. He did not believe the person before him was human at all.
"Wang Zhong, be careful! He's a Blood Demon!" the little fox in his spiritual sea suddenly warned sternly.
"Blood Demon! The sixth elder of the Holy Spirit Cult!"
Wang Zhong's eyes became extremely solemn, his killing intent almost materializing.
Man-devourers eat people, Blood Demons drink blood. Both are scum that are utterly devoid of humanity and extremely cruel!
"You know me."
The Blood Demon was incredulous that Wang Zhong knew his name. When he appeared here, no one knew who he was. He had also inquired about the current continent from the villagers.
However, what could the villagers know? It was only from a soul master who had ventured out and returned that he obtained some general information.
What interested him most was that the name Holy Spirit Cult had faded from human sight, with no one remembering it.
Moreover, this resurrection occurred only decades after his last death and slumber, less than fifty years to be precise. This short period surprised even him. In the past, his reincarnation and rebirth took at least tens of thousands of years.
Of course, these matters paled in comparison to another matter.
That was, his previous death was actually at the direct order of the Cult Master, who had instructed Qian Bian to act!
Otherwise, with his strength, how could those individuals he targeted in the Spirit Hall have escaped? Not only him, but Shui Gui, Gu Yao, and Tai Tan also had questionable deaths.