Ma Kun brought the subordinates of the Demon Subduing Sect's branch hall and arrived at that small town.
However, upon arriving, he discovered that due to the change in circumstances, the Demon Subduing Sect's Sect Master and the other branch hall masters had already taken action ahead of schedule, launching an assault on the demon cultivators' lair. Only a single disciple had been left behind to relay a message: once they arrived, they were to immediately follow the map and head to the demon cultivators' lair to reinforce the Sect Master.
Upon learning of this situation, Ma Kun naturally did not hesitate. He led the branch hall's forces and rushed toward the demon cultivators' lair.
However, when they arrived, the scene that greeted them left Ma Kun and the others horrified.
The great battle had already concluded. The ground was littered with broken weapons and pools of blood, along with the bodies of his fellow disciples from the Demon Subduing Sect.
The Demon Subduing Sect had suffered devastating casualties. Those young men and women—carefully selected successors of the sect—lay scattered across the ground, every last one of them without a breath of life.
The lightly wounded had lost limbs. The heavily damaged were unrecognizable, their bodies dismembered. Not a single corpse had been left whole.
It wasn't just these disciples—even the elite forces of the Demon Subduing Sect had suffered more than half their numbers killed or wounded.
At this moment, only a handful of people still lived: the Demon Subduing Sect's Sect Master and a few branch hall masters.
But these individuals, who normally stood high above others and loudly proclaimed they were ridding the world of evil, were now all kneeling on the ground.
Kneeling before a group of people clad in black robes.
"Oh, look—another batch of souls come to die."
A mocking voice rose from among the black-robed figures.
"Run! Now!"
It was at that moment that the Demon Subduing Sect's Sect Master let out a furious roar.
In truth, Ma Kun had already sensed the danger and was entertaining thoughts of retreat. But facing the sight of his Sect Master captured, he hesitated.
"Run? Think you can escape?"
However, just then, several dark figures appeared soundlessly behind them.
They were the demon cultivators stationed here.
"You… you…"
Ma Kun's face was filled with terror. He was, after all, a master of the second level of Yuan Martial.
Yet he could not even perceive the movements of those demon cultivators.
This meant their strength was entirely above his own—they were existences he stood no chance against.
In truth, the number of demon cultivators here was not large. There were only twelve in total, far fewer than the Demon Subduing Sect's forces.
But every single one of these demon cultivators was completely unscathed.
At first, Ma Kun couldn't understand why. But now he realized—these demon cultivators were all formidable fighters possessed of extraordinary skills. No wonder the Demon Subduing Sect had been no match for them.
"Who exactly are you?" Ma Kun asked.
He didn't even know why he had asked such a question. He had simply subconsciously sensed that these demon cultivators were not what they appeared to be.
"Ha ha! Good question—very good question. I didn't think the Demon Subduing Sect would finally produce someone with a shred of sense."
"Fine. You're all going to die anyway. Let me at least let you die with the truth."
With that, the demon cultivator swept his sleeve, and the black robes were torn away from their bodies all at once.
They not only revealed their true faces—they were all wearing identical attire. Most importantly, identical tokens hung at each of their waists.
Two characters were inscribed upon those tokens: Yuan Family.
"You… you're people of the Yuan Family?"
At that moment, let alone Ma Kun—even the Demon Subduing Sect's Sect Master and every member of the sect were struck dumb, their eyes filled with a bewildering mixture of shock, confusion, disbelief, and fear.
This could hardly be blamed on them. The Yuan Family's identity and the demon cultivators were supposed to be enemies.
Who could have imagined that the demon cultivators were the Yuan Family themselves?