Shadow Organization: Phantom Emperor

The Right Envoy, upon hearing the West Extreme Demon Lord's response, roughly understood his motives.

The Shadow Organization didn’t care whether you were from the righteous path or the demonic path—if someone paid, they would kill.

In fact, most demonic cultivators with even a shred of strength had already made it onto the Shadow Organization’s assassination list.

After all, the reason the demonic path was called the demonic path was because its followers committed countless atrocities, so having many enemies was only natural.

But the Right Envoy still didn’t fully grasp it.

“When did you join them?”

“You’ve got it wrong. I’ve always been part of the Shadow Organization—even during my time in the Heavenly Demon Sect.”

The West Extreme Demon Lord answered with a smirk while continuing to press his attack. He had no interest in wasting words.

Yet the Right Envoy withstood the pressure and countered with a single move, forcing the West Extreme Demon Lord back.

“Still alive after that?” The West Extreme Demon Lord sheathed his dagger. If the first strike didn’t kill, there likely wouldn’t be another chance.

And indeed, the Right Envoy was among the elite of the Great Ascension stage—tenacious to the core.

“I’ll remember this.” The Right Envoy’s face darkened. Losing his temper now would only make him look pathetic.

With that, he vanished in an instant, escaping once more.

The West Extreme Demon Lord’s expression also darkened. He hadn’t expected the Right Envoy to slip away like this—he certainly hadn’t underestimated him.

That last strike had been his strongest, yet even a heavily injured Right Envoy had survived it.

“He got away, but you won’t.”

At that moment, three Great Ascension cultivators arrived in pursuit. Though their current condition wasn’t ideal, dealing with a mere Cave Void cultivator was still well within their means.

Faced with their overwhelming pressure, the West Extreme Demon Lord merely smiled.

“I did help you land a hit on the Right Envoy. How about letting me go?”

“Don’t even think about it. You’re dying too.”

The Shadow Organization killed even those from the righteous path, so they could hardly be considered allies.

Yet the West Extreme Demon Lord showed no trace of panic. “You think I can’t escape? How laughable.”

“You’re the one who’s laughable. Even if you betrayed the Right Envoy, we won’t spare you.”

The three Great Ascension cultivators attacked again, unleashing a massive sword energy toward the West Extreme Demon Lord.

This was a combined strike from all three—under normal circumstances, the West Extreme Demon Lord wouldn’t be able to block it.

And indeed, he didn’t even try.

At the critical moment, a pitch-black cloth appeared out of nowhere, enveloping the sword energy before dissipating it entirely.

The devastating attack was effortlessly neutralized.

Standing before the West Extreme Demon Lord now was a middle-aged man dressed in black.

“Gentlemen, the West Extreme Demon Lord is one of our Shadow Organization’s top assassins. You don’t get to kill him as you please.”

“It’s you!” The three Great Ascension cultivators clearly recognized him.

He was none other than the leader of the Shadow Organization—the Shadow Ghost Emperor.

“Any later, and I’d be dead.” The West Extreme Demon Lord had only been so bold because he sensed the Shadow Ghost Emperor nearby.

“I came as fast as I could.”

The Shadow Ghost Emperor sighed. He had rushed over immediately upon receiving the West Extreme Demon Lord’s distress signal.

The West Extreme Demon Lord rarely asked for help—when he did, it was always serious. But the Shadow Ghost Emperor wasn’t afraid.

The others, however, had no interest in their small talk. One of the Great Ascension cultivators spoke up, “The West Extreme Demon Lord has committed countless atrocities. We won’t let him go.”

His time in the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Earthly Fiend Sect had been filled with evil deeds. Even if he was part of the Shadow Organization, that didn’t make him righteous.

“Heh. I’m taking him with me. You can’t stop me.” The Shadow Ghost Emperor smirked confidently.

The three Great Ascension cultivators attacked without another word.

Yet the Shadow Ghost Emperor blocked them effortlessly.

He wasn’t even breaking a sweat.

“Don’t provoke me, or the consequences will be severe.”

His only goal here was to retrieve the West Extreme Demon Lord—the Shadow Organization’s most accomplished assassin.

Thanks to his undercover work in the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Earthly Fiend Sect, he had eliminated many high-value demonic targets.

“You’re the ones who shouldn’t provoke us. Are you really going to interfere?”

The three Great Ascension cultivators knew they couldn’t defeat the Shadow Ghost Emperor, but they had to at least try.

“Yes. The West Extreme Demon Lord is under my protection. Seems like I’ll have to teach you a lesson before you understand.”

With that, the Shadow Ghost Emperor launched a casual attack—not aimed at the three Great Ascension cultivators, but at the surrounding bystanders.

Most of them were from the righteous path, as the Earthly Fiend Sect had already been nearly wiped out.

“Damn it!”

The three Great Ascension cultivators rushed to intercept the attack.

They barely managed to block it before it reached the crowd.

A second later, and the casualties would have been devastating.

“Now do you see the situation clearly? We’re leaving. Still going to stop us?”

The Shadow Ghost Emperor stood his ground, making it clear he would walk away unopposed.

At his peak, he was among the strongest in the Great Ascension stage, while the three Great Ascension cultivators were battered and exhausted.

The advantage was clearly his.

The three hesitated. They knew the odds were against them, but their pride wouldn’t let them back down.

The Shadow Ghost Emperor pulled out a small dagger, flipped it a few times, then caught it and pointed it at Lin Xuan.

“So, what’s your answer? Will you stop us… or not?”

A blatant threat.

Lin Xuan was currently enduring a heavenly tribulation. If someone as powerful as the Shadow Ghost Emperor interfered, the consequences would be dire.

The three Great Ascension cultivators exchanged glances.

In the end, they had no choice but to relent.

“Just go.”

“Hah! That’s more like it. Let’s go, West Extreme Demon Lord.”

The Shadow Ghost Emperor didn’t want to push things too far—otherwise, the Shadow Organization might end up like the Earthly Fiend Sect today.

But just as he was about to leave, a man wrapped in bandages appeared before him.

The Shadow Ghost Emperor chuckled, unimpressed. “You plan to stop me?”

“No. But you just attacked someone important to me.”

There was a slight deviation from the expected events. When the Shadow Ghost Emperor had attacked the crowd earlier, Li Siyi happened to be within range.

An attack from anyone else wouldn’t have been life-threatening, but the Shadow Ghost Emperor was different—if she had been hit, the damage would have been severe.

Su Luo was not pleased.

“So what?”

As he spoke, the Shadow Ghost Emperor launched another attack toward the crowd.

He didn’t know who this bandaged man’s important person was, but it didn’t matter—he’d just attack again.

He wanted to see what this man could possibly do about it.

The three Great Ascension cultivators rushed to block the attack.

But before they could, a force intercepted it mid-air, dissipating it completely.

Su Luo had stopped it.

The Shadow Ghost Emperor’s expression shifted. This man seemed… unusual.

Before he could test further, Su Luo grabbed his hand.

Then—yanked.

The Shadow Ghost Emperor’s right arm was torn clean off.

Blood sprayed wildly.

His face darkened—that hurt. But he quickly stemmed the bleeding.

Facing Su Luo again, the Shadow Ghost Emperor remained composed. “Like my arm? You can keep it.”

A facade of calm.

Even now, he refused to show weakness. He knew Su Luo wasn’t ordinary, but he rarely made public appearances as the Shadow Organization’s leader—he couldn’t afford to lose face.

Besides, he still didn’t believe this man could truly threaten him.