Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!-Chapter 712 - 423: Earn! Imperial Butcher! Accusation and Responsibility!

The next day.

Kunxu Mountain.

The crisp sunlight fell on Zhen Ruan's hair like firecrackers, as she slept soundly, curled up like a kitten, her face still flushed with lingering warmth.

Except for a pair of delicate little feet, her graceful body was entirely covered by a brocade quilt.

At this moment, a robust Taoist stood at the window sill, his strong upper body bare, gazing into the distant sky, lost in thought.

After a while, the Taoist turned to glance at the sleeping woman with ear-length short hair by his side, he reached out his large hand and summoned the Daoist robe hanging on the rack, flung it over himself, and quietly departed.

As his figure vanished from the room, the opened window slowly closed, plunging the room into darkness while the chest of the beauty under the quilt continued to rise and fall rhythmically.

She was exhausted, sleeping deeply.

The Taoist, with his wide-sleeved robe, traveled swiftly through the wind and soon reached the foot of Kunxu Mountain.

At this moment, two or three hundred cultivators with pale faces knelt on the ground, heavy magical shackles on them, and a purple-haired young woman stood before the crowd with a grim face.

"Fellow Taoist Lin Luo, how is the investigation coming along?"

"Ah, the empire is unfortunate, the situation is even more severe than you, State Preceptor, had anticipated."

"In many cities of the Northern Region, the City Lords were coerced by Demonkin masters to collaborate with them. To preserve themselves, these officials large and small chose to turn a blind eye. The reports to the court are either suppressed, delayed, or downsized."

"State Preceptor, I've utilized the covert strength of the Ministry of Justice, and I've captured all these ringleaders. Lin Luo believes that not executing these people publicly and swiftly is insufficient to quell the public outrage."

"Many remote villages and towns in the Northern Region are now...ten rooms empty out of ten."

At this point, the purple-haired young woman's face was frosty, her expression stern.

After hearing Lin Luo's report, Yi Chen then understood the operations of the Demonkin who had secretly moved from the Southern Region to the Northern Region.

Unlike the battle tactics of the Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf, the Demonkin led by the Demon Tiger of the Southern Region were more deceitful and cunning.

They intentionally left small groups of Demonkin in the Southern Region to create minor disturbances, while secretly moving large forces to the lands of the Northern Region.

This vile creature didn't opt for large, swift assaults like the Hundred-Headed Demon Wolf, but rather used a tactic that made the least waves, silently permeating everything.

They directly intimidated cultivators and even sect members of Great Qin through a mix of threats and inducements.

Such tactics were essentially a combination of special operations and decapitation strike tactics.

Of course, there were also some 'insidious humans' who happily turned to the Demonkin, joyfully becoming self-provided guides, much like certain cultivators from the Illumination Organization.

Hearing Lin Luo suggest annihilating their group completely, many of the kneeling cultivators couldn't help but stir uneasily.

"State Preceptor, mercy, Lord Lin Luo, the Demonkin threatened the lives of my entire family; I truly had no choice but to feign compliance!"

"Exactly, the Demonkin are fierce. Without resorting to such measures, we couldn't have protected ourselves."

"..."

"Good! Well said!"

Applause.

With a gentle smile on his face, Yi Chen listened to everyone's defense, suddenly began clapping enthusiastically himself.

"Well said, indeed!"

"The families or the powers behind each of you lords are prominent figures in the Northern Region. Should this poor Daoist add more details for you lords?"

"I reckon your lordships thought as long as you didn't falsely report the military situation, and did report the upheaval caused by small groups of Demonkin, you might push the blame onto others when things go awry under the guise of mere incompetence."

"What a perfect play of snapping from behind, escaping from the front! Who could surpass your lordships in cleverness? Profit!"

"Why don't I help your lordships recall whether any of you has reconciled with the Demonkin, say, providing them with 'protection money' so long as they don't attack your cities, they're free to ravage other places, and everyone keeps mum about it?"

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"Next, when it comes to rewarding merits, you could claim yet another merit for defending your lands effectively—more profit!"

"Of course, for those stubborn ones, you might even secretly provide the Demonkin with a hit list,

after all, having dipped into such matters yourselves, anyone who stands dry on the shore would seem out of place, wouldn't they? With the help of the Demonkin, eliminating those 'out of group' Alien Species and filling their spots with your own people, pushing all the blame onto the Demonkin, you make a huge profit!"

"What the Demonkin want are lives; those untakeable properties, hidden gold and silver all become unaccounted funds. With your capacities, deploy your people into those new positions as you wish, how to manipulate the situation is just a phrase away."

"The more people die, the greater the gains, all under the assurance that the emperor will eventually step in; Great Qin loses nothing, and you scoop up the genuine treasures."

"The Northern Region has truly decayed, turned to white ground, and inevitably Great Qin will allocate funds for reconstruction—another profit! After all, whether a thousand or a hundred thousand or a million die, it's but a statistic, not such a big deal!"