Xi Ruoyao and Luo Mengwan exchanged a glance. The fact that they had managed to get to where they were today in the environment of the demonic path meant that they had long since been working together, otherwise they would have been completely devoured long ago.

Xi Ruoyao stood up and bowed to Youquan, saying softly, "Sect Leader Youquan, may I ask why you are so certain that we will be defeated this time?"

"Is that even a question? How did the Northern Desert Empire find out Ding Ruohai's true identity? Even we only realized that the Northern Desert Court's words were true when we were invited by him. I think there must be someone around him who betrayed him. It's laughable that you're still plotting here. Perhaps your every move is under the watchful eyes of the Northern Desert Court."

After hearing Youquan's words, everyone stared at Ding Ruohai's men on the huge platform.

Even Ding Ruohai frowned, his expression shifting between light and dark. He had never considered this question before, but now that he thought about it, it did seem rather strange.

He looked sharply at his subordinates, and just as Youquan had said, there must be a traitor among his trusted men!

Without hesitation, he waved his hand, and a blue light enveloped the entire underground platform, encompassing all his men.

"My Lord, spare me! I am utterly loyal to you..."

"My lord, spare my life! I am not a traitor..."

"My Lord, spare me! My Lord, spare me..."

The sounds of pleas for mercy echoed throughout the space, and the people kowtowed repeatedly, all because they were well aware of Ding Ruohai's methods.

Ding Ruohai hesitated for a moment. Did he have to search each person's soul? How many people would he have to kill to find out?

Youquan's voice rang out at just the right moment.

"No poison, no man; such hesitation and indecisiveness are not the behavior of a strong man."

Upon hearing Youquan's words, Ding Ruohai's expression grew even more ruthless. Today's events must not be allowed to spread. It's better to kill a hundred innocent people than let one guilty person go free.

With a clenched fist, all of his dozens of subordinates, the lowest of whom were at the Grandmaster level, perished, including several Void Transformation Realm experts!

"Excellent! Sect Leader Ding is indeed a hero among men. He never hesitates to act when the time is right. I admire him!"

"They have no hope of reaching the Heavenly Realm in their entire lives, and their existence is a waste of food. I will send them into reincarnation so that they can cultivate diligently in their next life and strive to reach the Heavenly Realm as soon as possible."

Ding Ruohai said nonchalantly, but his heart was bleeding. He regretted it as soon as he made the move. This was a subordinate he had spent so much resources and time to train, and he had just ruined him.

But it was too late for regrets. The only saving grace was that the traitor was also killed, so there was no fear of any more news getting out.

He never imagined that Youquan was just making things up. There was no traitor at all. His identity was no secret to the people of the Gold and Silver Gate. The fact that the Northern Desert Empire knew his identity was only because Meng Fan had Jiang Mu convey it to them.

If Ding Ruohai knew all this, he would probably be filled with shame and anger and his inner demons would be overwhelmed. Being mocked by Youquan like this, he would probably never recover.

Youquan stood up and actually bowed to Ding Ruohai, saying, "Such a gentlemanly demeanor is worthy of a member of the Demonic Path. Sect Leader Ding must have been burdened by his reputation in the past, and learned from the righteous path to be hypocritical. Now it seems that Sect Leader Ding has not forgotten that he is a member of the Demonic Path."

"Oh? What makes you say that, Master Youquan?"

"I, Youquan, come from humble origins and despise those hypocrites the most. They shout about eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path, but what they do in secret is utterly disgusting. They may have killed as many people as we demons, yet they always put on a righteous and awe-inspiring act. I can't stand these people the most."

"I originally thought that Sect Leader Ding was just like those people, a hypocrite who didn't deserve to be called a demon. We demons should be decisive in killing, always avenge our grudges, and be straightforward. That's the way of the demons."

"Now that Sect Leader Ding has done this, I can see a trace of the demonic path in him. Previously, Pang Ban and I robbed Sect Leader Ding's silver because we couldn't stand his behavior and his unworthy conduct of the demonic path. Now it seems that we were wrong. Tomorrow I will return the silver to Sect Leader Ding. Please forgive me!"

Ding Ruohai looked at Youquan's honest face, which seemed genuine, and was actually somewhat moved by Youquan's heartfelt expression.

He immediately said, "Master Youquan, you flatter me. That silver is nothing but a small matter. To receive your praise is a testament to our friendship, and there's no need to bring up those trivial matters again."

Ding Ruohai saw that Youquan was trying to make amends with him, so of course he wouldn't care about those trivial matters.

If they could gain the assistance of Youquan and Pangban, their strength would increase significantly, which naturally pleased him.

"Since Sect Leader Ding is so generous, it would be presumptuous for me, Youquan, to be any more polite."

"Now that all the hidden dangers have been eliminated, are Sect Leader Youquan and Palace Master Pang willing to lend a hand?"

"Of course, as a member of the demonic path, I should do what I can."

Youquan thumped his chest loudly, looking righteous and awe-inspiring, somewhat like a tyrant possessed by a powerful figure.

He witnessed the entire process of how Xiong Ba won over people's hearts, and immediately realized that his previous reckless and impulsive actions were too rash. While admiring Xiong Ba, he also copied his methods.

Pang Ban, who also knew the inside story, immediately said, "As the saying goes, 'the higher the righteous path, the higher the demonic path; when the righteous path declines, the demonic path grows.' We should put aside our past grievances, advance and retreat together, and pave the way for the revival of the demonic path."

"Well said."

"Palace Master Pang is indeed a man of great strategy."

Seeing everyone agreeing, Ding Ruohai was pleased, but he felt something was off. How come these two had been controlling the pace of things since their arrival, making them somewhat out of his control?

But he didn't think about it too much. As long as Youquan and Pangban were willing to help, he didn't care about such a small matter.

Pang Ban and You Quan exchanged a silent glance, nodded to the crowd, and turned to Ding Ruohai, saying, "Sect Master Ding, although we have come to lend our assistance, the world is full of people who come and go for profit. Shouldn't you offer something in return?"

Seeing that the matter was basically settled, Ding Ruohai was in a great mood and immediately replied, "Of course, as a fellow member of the demonic path, I will not be stingy. This time, the Northern Desert Empire cheated me out of nearly hundreds of millions of taels of silver and seized countless treasures from my Hengtong Bank."

"If we kill those eight old ancestors of the Northern Desert, I will not take a single penny from the treasure vault of the Northern Desert, how about that?"

Youquan sighed, "Alas, Sect Master Ding, I don't really want to say more. Let's just say what we have to say. The matter of the Northern Desert Empire is something for later. But can't you make any statement before we take action?"

"I've already brought out all the islands in the East China Sea, what more do you want in return?"

Youquan shook his head and said, "Sect Leader Ding has already contributed those islands, why should he care about giving up a little more?"

Only now did Ding Ruohai realize that he had fallen into a trap, and his face darkened.

"Master Youquan, please state your desires clearly."

"Sect Leader Ding, why don't you offer up Hengtong Money Shop and let us split it equally among ourselves?"