Otherworldly Affairs Office-Chapter 720: The Death of Li Songtao (Request for Subscription)

"Alright, I understand!" Lin Ruxue looked at Pei Yan's anxious expression, knowing that Lin Junzhao was still upset and unwilling to talk with her much. She sighed and advised, "Remember my promise just now, strive to secure benefits for your realm, but don't expect me to go easy. My disciple is very strong."

"Rest assured, I will seize the opportunity and win this tournament," Pei Yan bowed and expressed gratitude.

"That's good. I have nothing more to do here for the time being. I have other urgent matters to attend to, you can proceed independently. If there's any issue, you can go directly to the Immortal Palace to find my chief disciple; you should have met him, I've already instructed him to prioritize and fulfill all your requests."

"Thank you, Spirit Venerable!"

As Lin Ruxue was being respectfully seen off by everyone in the room, she flicked her duster, and her figure gradually faded from the air. After confirming she had indeed vanished, Pei Yan exhaled deeply and exchanged glances with Gu Shenghui, Elder Lin, and others, wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads.

"Pei Yan, you've turned misfortune into fortune this time," Gu Shenghui said, looking joyfully at the two fragments in Pei Yan's hands. "Originally, we thought it would be the limit to purify seven or eight out of ten impurities from Li Songtao's fragment. After all, the two energies have been intertwined for too long and deeply rooted, but to our surprise, this energy turned out to be part of Candle Dragon's consciousness. Now that it's transferred, when you absorb this origin fragment, you won't suffer from body pains."

"Indeed, though I'm not sure how this fragment was transformed by Candle Dragon, I wonder if it will be handy to use," Pei Yan said, holding up the origin fragment in his hand, now clear and blue, free of evil impurities.

Standing nearby, Elder Lin eyed the other fragment in his hand, asking, "What do you plan to do with this origin fragment gifted by Candle Dragon before his departure? Absorb it?"

"Alas!" Hearing Elder Lin's words, Pei Yan looked at the blood-red Blood Demon Origin Fragment in his palm, hesitating before lamenting, "After listening to Li Songtao's confession and watching Lelajin and Suhabaru's battle performance, I'm genuinely curious about the change this origin fragment might bring me. However, after seeing Candle Dragon's earlier performance, I feel really apprehensive. Who knows what he has done to this fragment? I'm sure of the base realm fragment, but this Blood Demon Fragment, after all, is his power. If he harbors any evil intentions, I can't guard against it."

Pei Yan weighed the origin fragment in his hand, saying reluctantly, "I'll keep it for now; unless absolutely necessary, I won't try absorbing it."

Gu Shenghui and Elder Lin agreed with Pei Yan's cautiousness. Mei Simiao interjected, "Actually, we've gained a lot today. We've gathered much useful information. From their conversation earlier, it's now an advantageous time for our base realm."

"It's also a very dangerous time. One wrong move and we could be doomed," Gu Shenghui mused, scratching his head.

"Has the hall decided which side to support?" Pei Yan inquired.

"What does the lady inside your mind think?" Gu Shenghui countered.

"She said she wants to hear your opinions," Pei Yan responded truthfully.

"Aligning with the Four Great Realms is the clearest choice."

Facing Gu Shenghui's unequivocal answer, Pei Yan asked skeptically, "So certain?"

"Given the current situation, yes," Gu Shenghui nodded, explaining, "Setting aside morals and positions, concerning interests, Candle Dragon chose to form the Divine Desire instead of partnering with the Investigation Hall right from the start. This indicates that, subconsciously, he's categorized us as a non-negotiable faction. Additionally, he's schemed over the years, connecting with various dark forces, now it's an established power. Even if we change alignment now, it'd be embellishment rather than rescue. Will their plans succeed is uncertain. Even if they do, can we seize more benefits from those long-planned dark forces? Conversely, reaching out and assisting the Four Great Realms with the origin crisis aligns better with our interests."

"Also, we act not solely for profit. I have a premonition that what Candle Dragon and his followers aim to do will bring immense destruction to this world, something we absolutely cannot allow to happen!" Gu Shenghui said solemnly.

Pei Yan stayed silent for a moment before speaking, "Lin Junzhao said she understood and wants to think carefully about this while hoping we can gather more intelligence regarding the Blood Demon Realm, Candle Dragon, and the Divine Desire Organization."

Gu Shenghui readily agreed, "No problem, this is our job. Besides closely monitoring every move of the Immortal Palace, we can start with Suhabaru and Shitang Longsi as gateways to see if we can uncover traces of Divine Desire. If needed, we still have the Celestial Sword Manor connection; there's still more to ask Li Songtao about..."

Mid-conversation, Gu Shenghui turned towards Li Songtao, suddenly went silent, hurriedly stepped forward, felt his pulse, checked his breathing, and was dumbfounded by the stillness of his chest. "He's dead!"

"How could he die? The separation process wasn't lethal on his body, and Elder Lin treated his wound!" Upon hearing this, Pei Yan rushed forward, examined him, found even Li Songtao's soul dissipated, and incredulously exclaimed. Even with heavy restrictions on Li Songtao's body, there's still much to uncover; no one wanted him to die so simply.

"He couldn't have been scared to death by Candle Dragon." Pei Yan self-mocked in disappointment. Meanwhile, Elder Lin stepped forward, took Li Songtao's wrist from Pei Yan's hand, pondered for a moment, and said slowly, "He wasn't scared to death; his heart vessels were shattered by a mysterious method. I reckon Candle Dragon was responsible."

Stunned at first upon hearing this, Pei Yan quickly commanded Suzi in his mind, retrieved the video of the earlier conversation, and watched the entire process closely three times, finally smiling wryly, "Indeed, it was him. We were all so captivated by their conversation earlier that we didn't notice. When he waved to release the energy ball and showed the images, the particles entered Li Songtao's body, silently killing him."

Dong Shigang, on loan from the Investigation Hall, chuckled and mocked, "Candle Dragon sure is petty. Even though they're in the same faction, because of some old conflict, he didn't save him and made a move to kill him instead. How narrow-minded!"

"Narrow-minded? How can you prove that he killed him? This person was clearly killed by us!" Mei Simiao sneered and, staring at Li Songtao's corpse, spoke in annoyance.