Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Sect Leader Yuan, are you planning to incite internal strife within the sect?"

"Yuan Xiuren, you have really disappointed us."

"If I had known you had such ambitions, I should have eliminated you beforehand to prevent future troubles!"

Seeing Wang Xiao and the others looking furious, Yuan Xiuren remained indifferent.

"Things have come to this point, so I'll tell you the truth: I want to become the emperor of Wu, and make the Heavenly Dao Sect the first model of establishing a nation based on a sect."

If you support me and help me drive out the Chu Kingdom, you will be founding heroes after the founding of the nation, and you will have everything you could want in terms of wealth and honor. Otherwise…”

"Otherwise, what do you want?"

Wang Xiao asked in a cold voice.

"Humph."

Yuan Xiuren chuckled softly.

"Then I can only apologize to you all. Anyone who obstructs the hegemony of my Heavenly Dao Sect will have no way out."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiao glanced around and sneered, "You think these disciples can take us down? Yuan Xiuren, you're underestimating us too much."

"Is it?"

Yuan Xiuren suddenly released his inner aura.

Instantly, an indescribable pressure caused the hearts of the group to tremble.

"This is?"

"The aura of an immortal realm?"

Everyone was shocked when they saw this.

Yuan Xiuren laughed and said, "If I didn't have something to rely on, how would I dare to confront you directly?"

Actually, I had already reached the Immortal Realm three years ago, but my realm was not stable at that time.

Now, you are like fish on a chopping board, at my mercy. As long as you agree to enthrone me as the Great Emperor of Wu, I will naturally forgive your great disrespect!

"You're dreaming!"

Wang Xiao roared angrily.

"I will absolutely never recognize you, you traitor, as emperor!"

"Sigh, why bother?"

Yuan Xiuren, looking confident of victory, sighed dramatically as he observed Wang Xiao and the others.

"I really don't want to see fellow disciples killing each other, but now, you've all forced me to do this."

After speaking, he turned around and waved his hand, signaling the surrounding disciples to deal with them directly.

However, the disciples around him did not make any move.

The men exchanged glances, then simultaneously turned their swords and aimed them at Yuan Xiuren.

"What are you doing?"

Zhao Banshan exclaimed in surprise, which drew Yuan Xiuren's attention.

When he turned around and saw a cluster of gleaming swords aimed at him, he frowned.

"What are you doing? Do you want to die?"

The air pressure in the Immortal Realm exploded, causing a painful ache in people's eardrums.

But these disciples gritted their teeth and endured the pressure, pointing their swords at Yuan Xiuren.

"Hahaha, those who act justly gain many supporters, while those who act unjustly lose many. Yuan Xiuren, even the disciples of the Wuyi Headquarters are no longer loyal to you. So what if your cultivation has reached the Immortal Realm?"

"What exactly did you do to them?"

"Humph."

Faced with Yuan Xiuren's questioning, Wang Xiao simply gave him a disdainful snort.

In fact, with Wang Xiao's assistance, the disciples and their families of the Wuyi Headquarters were all controlled by Lü Meng.

During this time, they all received letters from home, saying that the Queen of Chu would be in charge of the Wu region and would distribute land to her family to settle their lives.

This led the disciples of the Wuyi Headquarters to collectively defect, showing no fear even when facing an Immortal Realm expert.

"Since you want to die, then..."

boom--

Suddenly, the door was pushed open.

Lü Meng led two teams of officers and soldiers into the conference room.

Before Yuan Xiuren could ask any questions, Lü Meng opened the contract and began to read it aloud expressionlessly.

"By imperial decree, Wang Xiao of Ping'an Prefecture, possessing the virtues of a chivalrous scholar, took in refugees and opened soup kitchens during the famine in the Wu region."

"Having rescued the people from dire straits, I am deeply gratified. Therefore, I hereby bestow upon him the title of Sect Master of the Heavenly Way Sect, and grant him the additional title of Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness, with a fief of one thousand households."

After reading it, Lü Meng roared at the dumbfounded Yuan Xiuren: "Yuan Xiuren, as the puppet sect leader of the Heavenly Dao Sect, is not recognized by the Empress of Great Chu!"

He is considered a traitor and should be escorted to the capital to await trial and punishment. Anyone who dares to obstruct him will be executed on the spot!

In an instant, Yuan Xiuren went from being the high and mighty sect leader of the Heavenly Dao Sect to a puppet sect leader, and was even accused of treason.

"Hahaha, Wang Xiao, you actually colluded with the State of Chu long ago, you scoundrel!" Yuan Xiuren was furious.

Wang Xiao sneered: "It's a foregone conclusion that the State of Chu will rule the State of Wu. You're still indulging in this unrealistic dream. Only by surrendering to the State of Chu can you bring peace and tranquility to the State of Wu."

"I am going to kill you!"

After Yuan Xiuren roared, his loyal followers, including Zhao Banshan, unleashed their inner strength, attempting to blast everyone in front of them to death.

"shooting!"

Lu Meng calmly took a step back, and a squad of soldiers behind him, armed with light machine guns, collectively pulled the triggers.

dong dong dong-

In an instant, bullets flew through the conference room.

Zhao Banshan, at the late stage of the Innate Realm, instinctively activated his protective true energy to block a burst of bullets that were stopped half a foot in front of him.

But his companions were not so lucky. Even though they had gathered all their inner energy beforehand, they were still riddled with bullets in the relentless hail of bullets.

Then all the bullets were concentrated in front of Zhao Banshan's air wall.

Seeing that his internal energy was about to be exhausted, blood kept seeping from Zhao Banshan's mouth. He turned back and looked at Yuan Xiuren, who was in shock.

"Sect Master! I'm taking my leave now! Remember to avenge me!"

Puff puff puff——

As soon as he finished speaking, clusters of blood erupted from his body.

By the time the team had run out of bullets and started reloading, Zhao Banshan was already lying on the ground, his body mangled and bloody.

"I'm going to wipe you all out! Yay!"

Yuan Xiuren was furious. A shockwave swept over everyone present, including the Chu army machine gun team, and their heart meridians were shattered by the shockwave.

Then he stood up and stomped hard on Wang Xiao's head.

puff--

Wang Xiao coughed up blood as his head was stepped into his shoulder, causing his facial features to shatter and him to die instantly.

The other elders were also killed by Yuan Xiuren one by one; none of them could withstand even a single move from him.

Seeing this, Lü Meng took advantage of the fact that Yuan Xiuren was not paying attention to him and immediately ordered the remaining troops under his command to withdraw from the meeting room.

In an instant, the meeting room was covered in blood. Yuan Xiuren, his hair disheveled, had brutally murdered all the disciples he saw.

The remaining disciples who had not yet been harmed were so shocked by this scene that they scrambled out of the meeting hall.

"No one is allowed to leave!"

Yuan Xiuren roared and raised his bloodied hands, slamming them directly onto the heads of two disciples who had just stepped out of the gate, instantly cracking their skulls.

Bang~

puff--

Suddenly, a gunshot unlike any other rang out, abruptly interrupting Yuan Xiuren's frenzy.

Lu Meng actually operated a 26mm anti-armor sniper rifle and, taking advantage of Yuan Xiuren's momentary lapse in concentration, shot him through his dantian.

Yuan Xiuren was stunned for a moment, then looked at his abdominal cavity.

A white mess rolled down, and when I wiped it with my hand, I found a wound the size of a large bowl.

"Pfft~"

He lost his focus and collapsed to his knees outside the gate, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Lu Meng's shot broke his spine.

Even those at the Immortal Realm, before their Qi can form a protective barrier, would be annihilated if hit by an anti-armor bullet within a few dozen meters.

After all, times have changed.

Bang~

puff--

Without hesitation, Lü Meng fired another shot.

This shot shattered Yuan Xiuren's head.

This rare Immortal Realm expert died so easily in the face of military technology.

"call……"

With everything settled, Lü Meng let out a long breath, looked at the scene before him, and simply said something.

"Report to the commander that an internal conflict has broken out in the Heavenly Dao Sect. Our division has taken the opportunity to bring the situation under control. Tell him not to interfere."

"Yes!"

Thus, the Heavenly Dao Sect completely collapsed under Lü Meng's psychological warfare tactics.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the remaining disciples of the Heavenly Dao Sect surrendered to Lü Meng and were willing to serve the Empress.