"Gong Bajie, two elders from our Fifth Camp were sent out. Were they both killed by you?"
A tall, elderly man fixed his gaze fiercely on Commander Gong as he spoke.
"Gong Bajie! Were Elder Qian and Elder Liu from our Eleventh Camp also killed?"
"And what about Elder Lu, Elder Yue, Senior Elder Shangguan, and Elder Tang from our camp? Have they all fallen victim to you?"
…
High-ranking officers from the other camps joined in, their voices filled with furious questioning.
At this moment, everyone realized that this Commander Gong had indeed betrayed the Light Faction and defected to the Dark Faction. Recalling how those from their own camps who had been sent out had never returned these past few days, their fury began to boil over.
They had initially believed Commander Gong dispatched so many Earth Immortals to carry out some sort of secret mission. They never imagined he had colluded with the Dark Faction, sending those Earth Immortals to their deaths.
This camp leader had twisted and manipulated the forces of all twenty-eight camps, yet everyone had trusted him, even electing him to the position of overall commander!
Now that the high-ranking officers of each camp understood what had truly transpired, how could they not be enraged? They glared at Commander Gong, one after another.
"All those sent out… all are dead."
"A large force of Dark Faction experts is waiting in ambush outside. Those sent out had no chance to escape."
Gong Bajie said, forcing himself to speak through his fear.
He knew hiding the truth was useless now. In fact, everyone had already guessed the outcome; they just wanted confirmation from his own mouth.
Upon hearing Gong Bajie's words, the fury of the camp officers intensified. They pointed at him, shouting curses.
"Gong Bajie… I never imagined you could be this kind of person. To think you betrayed the Light Faction…"
Commander Xue looked at Gong Bajie, who was now being glared at and berated by everyone, and couldn't help but sigh as he spoke.
"I told you all earlier! Commander Ye could never betray our Light Faction. Not long ago, I followed Commander Ye in battle, slaying countless Dark Faction experts. I know deep down that he would absolutely never betray us!"
Commander Lü from the 36th Camp spoke loudly.
"Commander Ye, fortunately, the Earth Immortals from our thirteen camps refused to leave the Feixian Continent over the last two days. Even when Gong Bajie sent messengers ordering us to carry out missions, our Earth Immortals from these thirteen camps always found excuses to refuse."
Commander Qiu from the 24th Camp addressed Ye Yunfei.
"This is mainly because we all trusted you, Commander Ye. That bastard Gong Bajie was clearly pushing you away, so our Earth Immortals simply didn't want to carry out his orders. Unexpectedly, this saved our lives! This is truly excellent!"
Commander Ding from the 27th Camp laughed loudly.
"Haha… Gong Bajie, that traitor, kept ordering the five elders from our 35th Camp to go out and perform missions. But from top to bottom, our entire camp disliked him! So the five of us simply faked illness and absolutely refused to take a single step beyond the camp gates!"
"Otherwise, we wouldn't have had the chance to see Commander Ye again!"
Elder Zhao from the 35th Camp burst into hearty laughter.
Upon hearing Elder Zhao's words, the high-ranking officers from the surrounding camps all felt ashamed in their hearts.
From the beginning, their camps hadn't paid much attention to a junior like Ye Yunfei. Little did they imagine that now, the camps that trusted Ye Yunfei suffered no losses, while those camps that doubted him—almost every single one—had Earth Immortals sent out by Gong Bajie.
"Commander Ye! Execute that traitor Gong Bajie directly! He betrayed the Light Faction and caused the deaths of so many. We must not let him live!"
Suddenly, someone pointed at Gong Bajie and yelled.
"That's right! Kill Gong Bajie!"
Others began to shout in agreement.
"Kill him?"
"No. He still has his uses."
Ye Yunfei let out a cold laugh.
"Commander Ye, have mercy! Spare my life!"
Hearing Ye Yunfei's words, a desperate desire to survive ignited within Gong Bajie, and he cried out loudly.
"Alright. Now tell me, among the twenty-eight camps, who else besides you are traitors?"
Ye Yunfei asked indifferently.
Hearing his question, everyone was stunned for a moment, and the scene quieted.
"That's right! How did I not think of that? That bastard Gong Bajie must have accomplices!"
Someone shouted loudly.
"I'll talk!"
In order to survive, Gong Bajie now threw all caution to the wind.
At that very moment, the nine elders from the Second Camp simultaneously turned and fled, rushing towards the exit of the Feixian Continent.
"Do you really think you can escape?"
Ye Yunfei had long been prepared and sneered coldly.
In the next instant.
Boom…
The Blood Clan Clone transformed into a streak of bloody light, giving chase. It erupted with a vast, heaven-covering bloody mist, instantly engulfing all nine elders at once.
"Aahh!…"
In the next moment, the crowd heard the shrill screams of the Second Camp's nine elders echo from within that vast, roiling crimson fog.
"Anyone else?"
Ye Yunfei asked coldly.
He knew very well that his Blood Clan Clone was more than capable of handling those nine elders, so he wasn't worried in the slightest.
Furthermore, the Goldhorn Silkworm and Hu Miao had long since been lying in wait near the exits of the Feixian Continent to prevent anyone from escaping.
"There's also Commander Feng from the Ninth Camp and Elder Yuan Zhen, Elder Guan…"
"And Commander Zhang from the Fifth Camp, Elder Wu. They've also pledged allegiance to the Dark Faction."
Gong Bajie pointed out several individuals as he spoke.
"Gong Bajie! Don't spread lies! Why are you framing us?"
The five individuals pointed out by Gong Bajie all paled dramatically, roaring back in furious denial.
Hearing Gong Bajie's words, everyone else also changed expression. Commander Feng and Commander Zhang were both leaders of their respective camps. If both of them were traitors, did that mean at least three camp commanders among the twenty-eight had already turned to the Dark Faction?
The thought was chilling.
"Commander Ye, if you don't believe me, simply search them. They should all carry jade slips specially used for communicating with Dark Faction experts."
Gong Bajie declared.
Upon hearing his words, the expressions of the five individuals darkened further, and they retreated several steps back.
"To all present, if you have a grievance and wish to prove your innocence, allow me to conduct a search."
Ye Yunfei gave a cold smirk.
In truth, ever since his main body's return, Ye Yunfei had been using Soul Power to observe every high-ranking officer from the twenty-eight camps, perceiving every minute change in their expressions with absolute clarity. He had already vaguely speculated which ones were problematic. The five individuals Gong Bajie pointed out were ones Ye Yunfei had already noted earlier; he strongly suspected they were the spies.
"Commander Xue! Must we stand idly by and allow that traitor Gong Bajie and this junior Ye Yunfei to create chaos here, spreading lies and shaking the army's morale?!"
Commander Feng from the Ninth Camp turned and addressed Commander Xue.
"Commander Xue! That traitor Gong Bajie is clearly lashing out now that his pot is broken*, desperate to drag us down with him!
"Commander Xue, we are in a most perilous period. Our Light Faction must maintain internal unity. We cannot let this shake the army's morale!"
Commander Zhang from the Fifth Camp also spoke up to Commander Xue.
"*TL Note: He's making an idiom - Gong Bajie is “hitting a broken pot to pieces” implying reckless destruction as he's ruined/doomed anyway.*
"Our Light Faction's internal unity is a given—however, traitors no longer belong to our ranks, so talk of unity with them is irrelevant."
Ye Yunfei rebutted with a cold sneer.
"Since you refuse to admit it, let me search you myself."
He stated calmly.
"Ye Yunfei! You are nothing but a junior! By what right do you search my person?!"
Commander Feng roared.
Rumble…
Ye Yunfei extended his right hand, which expanded continuously as it shot forward to grab Commander Feng.
This Commander Feng was only a Superior Earth Immortal. Faced with the terrifying physical might Ye Yunfei exuded, his heart palpitated with fear, his expression terrified as he stumbled backwards.
Rumble…
An invisible spatial cage descended from above, directly suppressing Commander Feng's body and causing his movements to freeze.
In the next instant, Ye Yunfei's enormous palm, imbued with terrifying force, slammed heavily onto Commander Feng's shoulder, grabbing him and hauling him forward.
Too strong!
Witnessing this scene, everyone gasped inwardly in shock.
A Superior Earth Immortal hadn't even been able to resist!
The next moment, Ye Yunfei had already sealed Commander Feng, then proceeded to search his person, retrieving over a hundred spatial rings.
Ye Yunfei probed them with his Soul Power and detected a trace of Dark Energy aura emanating from one of the rings. He directly extracted a black jade slip from it.
"It really is a communication jade slip specifically for use by the Dark Faction!"
Someone cried out in shock.
"They're trying to escape!"
Another voice suddenly yelled.
Seizing the moment when attention was elsewhere, Elder Yuan Zhen, Elder Guan, Commander Zhang from the Fifth Camp, and Elder Wu abruptly mobilized their movement techniques, dashing towards the exits of the Feixian Continent.
Rumble…
The Blood Clan Clone, shrouded in churning crimson mist, materialized in front of them. It held a scarlet longblade in its hand, and with a sweeping horizontal slash, blocked the quartet's escape route.
The Blood Clan Clone had already dealt with the nine elders from the Second Camp.
Enraged and alarmed, the four simultaneously erupted with power, attacking the Blood Clan Clone together.
But how could they be a match for the Blood Clan Clone? Within moments, they were sent staggering backwards, each struck down by a slash of the clone's blade and shattered into pieces. They were then sealed and brought before Ye Yunfei.
At this moment, Commander Feng had also been sealed by Ye Yunfei and teleported into the Illusory Shadow Pagoda.
The blood essence of these Earth Immortal experts would be useful for the Blood Clan Clone, and their soul bodies would be beneficial to Huang Shang.
"Anyone else?"
Ye Yunfei turned his gaze to Gong Bajie, his voice icy.
"No, there isn't."
Gong Bajie answered.
"Humph. I believe you wouldn't dare deceive me now."
Ye Yunfei let out a cold snort and teleported Gong Bajie's soul body into the Illusory Shadow Pagoda as well.