The next few days.
Feng Qi accompanied the Mist Lord in carrying out bloody suppression on the domain weak tribe members stationed in Star City.
This was mainly to send a message to the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance within Star City.
A strong force had already taken residence in Star City.
From now on, any tasks taken by the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance would need approval; no actions would be allowed to proceed without permission.
The method was highly effective.
The leaders of the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance in Star City actively reached out through the contact information left by the Mist Lord.
They did not know the true identity of the Mist Lord or the force behind him, but the bloody cleansing over the past few days had clearly made them realize that if they didn't cooperate, it would be difficult for the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance to continue operating in Star City.
This was a loss that the forces behind the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance could not afford to accept.
The initiative to make contact was completely within the Mist Lord's control.
Soon after, the Mist Lord met with the higher-ups of the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance in Star City, using the Blood Feast to completely take control of them.
From that point on, the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance in Star City was essentially under the Mist Lord's control.
The only regret was that the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance could not be fully absorbed.
After all, this was a disjointed group.
Without offering corresponding benefits, many of the weaker tribe warriors would rather leave Star City than submit.
What the Mist Lord could do now was control the intelligence network of the weak tribe alliance, ensuring that no unfavorable missions or information would reach him.
In other areas, however, he could not intervene deeply.
To maintain stability, he even promised the higher-ups of the weak tribe alliance to periodically provide a certain amount of spiritual resources as development aid.
With the threat to the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance resolved, the Mist Lord chose to enter seclusion once again.
During this time, Feng Qi was fully responsible for handling all affairs related to the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
Three months later.
When the Mist Lord emerged from his retreat, he decided to formally begin his plan to suppress the Dark God Sect.
Under his control, the media in Star City began to report negative events surrounding the Dark God Sect.
Whether or not these events were true didn't matter.
What was important was making the public believe they were true.
For example, they reported that the Dark God Sect brainwashed its followers, or that it was possibly controlled by a domain force, among other things.
The initial reports indeed stirred anger in many people in Star City.
However, because there was no solid evidence, many remained skeptical about the content of the reports.
But for the Mist Lord, it was enough that some people believed.
Next, he began to guide public opinion to increase the attention of Star City residents on the Dark God Sect.
Then, he used online public opinion to create conflict.
This step was extremely successful, with some angry citizens organizing to storm the Dark God Sect, causing large-scale destruction.
During this period, the Dark God Sect was thrust into the spotlight.
Subsequent negative reports further hindered the Dark God Sect's development.
…
Old Day City, West District.
Dark God Sect Headquarters, Core Area.
Under the towering Dark God statue, more than twenty figures wearing white bone masks were talking.
Their conversation revolved around the limitations on the development of the Dark God Sect's branch in Star City.
At that moment, a shadow appeared beside them.
Seeing this shadow, the leader of the group immediately fell silent. They all turned their attention to the shadow.
"How's the investigation going?" the shadow asked.
In response, the figure wearing the white bone mask spoke in a deep voice:
"Star City doesn't have our intelligence organization, so we could only ask the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance in Star City to investigate the force behind this event. But five days have passed since the mission was issued, and we've still received no reply from the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance in Star City."
After hearing this, the shadow pondered for a moment and then spoke:
"If I'm not mistaken, Star City has probably experienced some major changes recently. The Domain Weak Tribe Alliance in Star City is now under the control of a hidden new force. It's no longer possible to investigate through the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance."
"Lord Ling, who do you think is the force obstructing our plan's development?"
"The situation on the surface is easy enough to guess. There are only a few forces in Star City that can control public opinion. First, the Star City Military Department; then there's the Star City Supreme Council, Tiger Soul Research Institute, and the Crimson Research Institute."
"The Star City Supreme Council is composed of leaders of various organizations. We can rule them out first; they are not a completely unified force."
"Next, we can rule out the Crimson Research Institute. This mysterious organization has very few interactions with the outside world and limited contact with the media, so it doesn't have the ability to control public opinion."
"That leaves us with only two forces: the Star City Military Department and the Tiger Soul Research Institute."
"It's actually quite easy to figure out which force is behind this. We just need to look at which media outlets initiated the public opinion attack first, and from there, we can follow the trail and identify which force is behind them."
"Which force?" the figure wearing the white bone mask immediately asked.
"The Tiger Soul Research Institute!"
"The media that first initiated the public opinion attack was Star City's Brilliant News. This media organization specializes in integrating cultivation technique information, and the only institution with the highest level of access to such information is the Tiger Soul Research Institute."
"Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that this is a smokescreen, a fog bomb released by a force hiding in Star City."
"Anyway, the intelligence we have is limited. Even if we know which organization is the opposing force, we can't act recklessly. After all, right now we can only access information on the surface, and the true strength of the opposing force behind the scenes is still a complete mystery."
Upon hearing this, the figure wearing the white bone mask hesitated for a moment before asking:
"Lingzun, are you saying… we should temporarily abandon the development in Star City?"
"If you want to challenge me, I won't stop you, but our Psionic Race will certainly not intervene to help. Your Dark God Clan is merely one part of our Psionic Race's future plans. Without you, we will still support new forces."
Hearing these words, the figure in the white bone mask immediately fell silent.
Looking at the shadow in front of him, he opened his mouth, but finally lowered his head and respectfully said:
"As a subordinate force of the Psionic Race, we will follow Lingzun's instructions on all matters."
The shadow did not respond, and its figure slowly faded, eventually disappearing.
After the Psionic Race member left, the figure wearing the white bone mask revealed a flash of crimson in his eyes.
The deeper he understood the Psionic Race, the more uneasy he felt.
In the Psionic Race's future plans, one of the key elements involved cultivating five powerful subordinate forces.
Originally, his Dark God Clan was not qualified to be one of the five subordinates of the Psionic Race, nor to receive their resource support.
Everything had been a matter of opportunity.
He had learned this from the "Lingzun."
At that time, the Psionic Race had a list of forces they intended to recruit, planning to cultivate the five domain forces with the most potential.
One of those forces was called the "Mist Clan."
This force was ranked first on the Psionic Race's recruitment list.
However, before the Psionic Race could begin their recruitment and support efforts, the domain field where the Mist Clan resided collapsed, and the members of the Mist Clan disappeared.
As a result, a vacancy appeared on the support list.
In the end, it was his Dark God Clan that successfully took their place.
It was also through the Psionic Race's strong support that the Dark God Clan could develop so rapidly.
Though he harbored resentment against the "Lingzun's" orders, he dared not voice it openly.
The figure wearing the white bone mask then lifted his head and gazed at the Dark God statue in front of him.
Once upon a time, the Dark God Clan had been incredibly powerful.
A force like the Psionic Race wasn't even worthy of enslaving the Dark God Clan.
But that was all in the past.
He knew that the Psionic Race's support for them certainly had ulterior motives.
Choosing to cooperate with them was undoubtedly like seeking to work with a tiger — there was always the risk of extermination.
But the greater the risk, the greater the reward.
Was he not also using the platform provided by the Psionic Race to rapidly advance the Dark God Clan?
As long as the number of people believing in the Dark God reached a certain level, he could establish a spiritual connection with all the believers and then implant special powers into them.
Bit by bit, he would transform these followers into the new members of his clan.
If this plan succeeded, the future of the Dark God Clan would have limitless hope.
With an inexhaustible supply of faith power and a growing number of new clan members, the Dark God Kingdom, which had only been recorded in ancient texts, might be restored.
At that time, he could lead his clan to break free from the control of the Psionic Race.
He might even enslave the Psionic Race.
However, when he thought about the setbacks the Dark God Sect was facing in Star City, a headache surged.
If their faith development plan couldn't keep up with the Psionic Race's progress, there was a large chance that the Dark God Clan would be excluded from the support list.
After all, the Psionic Race hadn't fully finalized the five forces they planned to cultivate.
It was not impossible for variables to arise along the way.
Without the Psionic Race's support, the Dark God Clan's development would face huge obstacles.
Thinking about this, the eyes beneath the bone mask flashed with a ruthless glint.
Now, two choices lay before him.
First, wait for the Psionic Race to provide a response to the investigation, but how long this would take was completely uncertain, and the Psionic Race might not even be interested in the matter.
Second, he could take the risk of investigating personally. But this came with enormous dangers, potentially provoking the wrong force, which could bring catastrophic consequences for the Dark God Clan.
The Psionic Race had also made it clear: if they wanted to investigate, they could, but they would bear the consequences themselves.
On one side, there was the uncertainty of waiting; on the other, the risk of taking action.
After much hesitation, he clenched his fists tightly.
Entrusting his fate completely to others didn't sit well with him.
Since he was already in the game, he would gamble it all. Fight until the end.
Only in this way could he maximize his interests.
The outcome was simple: either success, or failure.
One month later.
Tiger Soul Headquarters.
the Mist Lord, flipped through the task list sent by the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance, nodding in satisfaction.
As he had anticipated.
After the Dark God Sect's branch in Star City was suppressed, the forces behind the Dark God Sect indeed tried to use the Domain Weak Tribe Alliance in Star City to investigate him.
By today, the number of investigation tasks against him had exceeded a hundred.
But all of these tasks had been intercepted by him, and the Dark God Sect's forces in Old Day City were unable to receive any information.
He suspected that the Dark God Sect's forces might have guessed which force in Star City he controlled.
But as of now, they knew nothing about him.
This was exactly the result he wanted to achieve.
A half-truth, half-lie was the most intimidating.
As long as the Psionic Race wasn't foolish, they wouldn't take hasty action against him.
And as he had predicted, the Dark God Sect's branch in Star City was showing signs of retreating.
At this point, he looked up at Feng Qi, who was sitting not far from him.
With the Dark God Sect's branch almost eradicated, the most important part of the next phase of his plan was to continue shaping Feng Qi's persona, turning him into an object of public belief.
Six months later.
The second round of testing for the Flesh Sacrifice technique passed successfully.
It received unanimous praise as "perfect," causing a stir in public opinion.
With the success of Flesh Sacrifice, Feng Qi solidified his position as the founder of the new era of cultivation studies.
Today, his second hero statue was unveiled in Star City's Central Park, and his popularity soared to new heights.
After attending the unveiling ceremony, Feng Qi got into the Tiger Soul military car, heading back to the headquarters.
On the way, he couldn't help but reflect.
Mist Lord's plan had undoubtedly succeeded.
At this stage, he had successfully surpassed "Lin Ran" to become the most famous figure in Star City and the surrounding cities. His fame even overshadowed the rising star, Mu Qing.
During this time, Mist Lord had used his authority at Tiger Soul Research Institute to revise the textbooks in Star City's primary and secondary schools.
This was all to help him continue increasing his popularity until he reached the level of a legend.
The effect was obvious.
At the unveiling ceremony at Central Park, many children had come to offer flowers.
He had clearly become the hero in the hearts of Star City's younger generation.
What surprised him even more was that he had even managed to absorb a faint trace of faith power from these children.
This was a clear sign that, as long as things continued according to plan, Mist Lord's vision of harvesting both flesh and spirit would become a reality.
Thinking of this, Feng Qi couldn't help but marvel at Mist Lord's terrifying ambition.
While lost in thought, the Tiger Soul military vehicle exited the congested road and entered a quiet path leading to the headquarters.
Just then, Feng Qi suddenly felt a strong sense of weightlessness.
Before he could react, the vehicle was thrown into a dizzying spin, rolling and crashing.
Boom!
The Tiger Soul vehicle collided with a large old locust tree by the roadside and came to a halt.
Realizing they were under attack, Feng Qi decisively pressed the emergency alarm device to contact the headquarters.
At that moment, a hand covered in ghostly green flames pierced through the specially reinforced metal car door and effortlessly tore it off.
Seeing this, Feng Qi was about to rush out.
But then, the flaming green hand shot out and grabbed his neck, yanking him out of the car.
As he was pulled out, he finally saw the figure outside.
The man wore a white bone ram-horn mask and was cloaked in ghostly green flames. His skin was grey, marked with many black tattoos, and his appearance vaguely resembled the goat-headed demon he had once encountered, though there were notable differences.
But it was the ghostly green flames that made him immediately recognize the figure.
This was the very same fire controlled by the goat-headed demon.
When Feng Qi entered his upgraded "Blood Source" form, his body would also be engulfed in similar flames, though the color was darker, a deep greenish-black.
Behind the figure wearing the bone mask, three similar-looking individuals stood, their presence menacing.
At that moment, the driver, having crawled out from the overturned vehicle, moved quickly to counterattack.
However, before he could get close, a blast of green fire shot from the side and instantly incinerated him into ashes.
Seeing this, Feng Qi was about to strike back.
But just as he was about to activate the Demon Dragon Rune Crystal, a hand, cloaked in ghostly green flames, pressed down on his head.
The flames followed his breath, seeping into his nostrils and spreading throughout his body.
A wave of irresistible drowsiness surged through him.
He tried to resist but only managed to struggle for a few seconds before his head drooped, losing consciousness.