Chapter 247: The lizard sheds its tail [II]
Xie Qing wearily stood up. His entire body ached, and his wounds were still not properly healed. Despite his body being very sturdy, like that of a Spiritual Ascension ninth-stage cultivator, he was still weak against the Law of Fire.
“Hm. The burns are gone. It took a month to heal…” the young man thought with a grim expression.
His condition was pitiful, but there was nothing he could do about it. Opponents at the Divine Transformation stage were in a completely different league, so he could only sigh and heal his wounds.
Sitting in the lotus position, Xie Qing closed his eyes and began to meditate. His breathing was slightly erratic, as he had recently experienced tremendous pressure on his internal organs.
A month passed in healing.
Fortunately, thanks to the pills and other items, Xie Qing recovered quite quickly and effectively.
And once his treatment was complete, he set off for the next city.
***
Modu City. At first glance, this city was inhabited by ordinary people with no cultivation. But in reality…
This place was the headquarters of the Sect of Shadowed Blades. And it was here, beneath this city, that the evil sect of assassins resided.
How did Xie Qing find out? It was simple. Upon entering the city, he was attempted to be robbed and then killed. But he managed to kill his enemies and gather information.
“I never would have thought they were hiding in such a place. Like moles…” Xie Qing frowned.
“P-please spare me…”
“Hm?”
A sudden hoarse voice brought him out of his thoughts. As it turned out, he had momentarily forgotten that he was clutching the throat of his enemy. Xie Qing looked at him and smiled.
“Nuh uh.”
“…P-ple-”
“You talk too much.”
Crack!
Xie Qing tightened his grip and mercilessly crushed the assassin’s neck. Tossing the corpse aside, Xie Qing emerged from the narrow alleyway, looking as if nothing had happened.
His current appearance was ordinary. Short black hair, brown eyes, and pale skin. The only thing that stood out about him was his tall stature, and that was it.
Someone like him, if encountered in a crowd, would not even be noticed. That was precisely why Xie Qing chose this technique.
“Hm. This pill should last for a year. Even a cultivator at the Transcendence stage would have difficulty seeing through it, so I can be confident,” the young man thought and nodded, feeling relieved. “Good, now I just need to figure out how to join this sect. I’m sure my earlier actions only complicated the task…”
The young man licked his dry lips with a hint of melancholy. He was truly getting tired of all these machinations, but there was no other choice. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the fate of the future depended on his actions at this moment.
“The altar. It must be destroyed!” Xie Qing thought, and his eyes gleamed. “At any cost! Even if I have to kill innocents!”
His gaze turned grim, and he strode forward.
***
A gust of wind brushed against Xie Qing’s face. He sat down on a bench and propped up his chin, looking towards a tall pavilion.
“The main entrance. At first glance, it’s just the residence of the City Lord, but in reality, the basement hides a descent into the underground realm. Hm, how clever. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to sneak in quietly. There are numerous formations there,” he thought and rubbed his brows. “At the city entrance, there was also an enhanced version of the devilish Qi check. It even felt like they were trying to check my soul. But, pfft, how can one easily check the soul of a Spiritual Ascension cultivator?”
Xie Qing sneered contemptuously. He thought that the leaders of the devilish cultivators probably considered him just a slippery worm. Not that they were entirely wrong—from a power perspective, he was indeed a worm.
But even one worm could harm the harvest.
Xie Qing cracked his neck.
“Now I need to think about how to get inside. I reviewed the memories of those guys, and they joined the sect by chance. You could say they only take in the desperate and those with no one to rely on,” Xie Qing rubbed his lips with his left hand, while the index finger of his right hand rhythmically tapped the armrest of the bench. “Think, think… how to infiltrate?”
Xie Qing’s eyes narrowed into slits, turning into crescents. He was deeply engrossed in thought, paying no attention to his surroundings.
***
“Wang Dongyang.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Two disciples have died. Investigate the situation.”
“Hm?”
Underneath the city, in one of the pavilions located in the inner court of the sect, there were two men. One of them, cloaked from head to toe in a black robe, knelt before a man whose face was blurred.
“Master, there is no need to pay attention to the disappearance of a few disciples. Most likely, those fools were causing trouble and were killed by some expert…” Wang Dongyang, the one in the black robe, said with confusion.
“Wang Dongyang.”
“…”
The one whose face was blurred, whom they called “Master,” merely spoke his disciple’s name in a calm voice in response to Wang Dongyang’s words.
However, this was enough to make the disciple sweat, and then he immediately bowed and disappeared into the air.
The ‘Master’ remained alone in the room, gazing indifferently at a painting on the wall. It was unclear what he was thinking.
***
Wang Dongyang exited through a secret passage and irritably clicked his tongue, kicking a servant who bowed to him as he left the basement.
“Get out of my way, bitch,” the man said with displeasure, looking annoyed.
“Y-yes…”
“Pfft, stop yapping, you fucking freak!” Wang Dongyang snorted and kicked again, so hard that the servant flew against the wall and coughed up blood.
In response, Wang Dongyang only sneered contemptuously and left, looking smug.
The servant dared not say anything and merely returned to his place, trembling.
Wang Dongyang stepped outside and took a deep breath.
“Aaah! Such beautiful, clean air. I’m so tired of spending time in that rotten place!” Wang Dongyang smiled and rubbed his chin. “Hah, I don’t know who those idiots were, but thanks to their deaths, I can take a little stroll. Consider yourselves to have died a noble death. Hahaha!”
Some time ago, approximately more than a month, the sect issued an order not to let anyone outside without the permission of the elders. This left the disciples bewildered, as there were simply no reasons given.
However, few dared to disobey. But “few” does not mean there were none at all. For example, two disciples from the outer court escaped outside, evading the guards who were too lazy to chase after them.
As a result, they died, which immediately triggered a reaction from the sect. After all, each disciple is obligated to split their soul and place it in a special artifact that helps track whether they are dead or alive.
As a result, Wang Dongyang had to go outside. As a disciple of the inner court, he considered it demeaning to clean up after the disciples of the outer court, but he did not dare to express disobedience.
“And why does the Master even care about some outer court disciples? They’re just a bunch of trash, not even worth burning,” Wang Dongyang thought and sighed. “Ah, I’d rather be having fun with the junior sister-disciples…”
Indeed… his thoughts were simply corrupt. But his power could not be underestimated. After all, this guy…
Was at the sixth stage of Spiritual Ascension.
Approaching the main square, Wang Dongyang snapped his fingers. His eyes gleamed, and a book appeared before him, rapidly flipping through its pages. His gaze sparkled.
“Found it!”
Wang Dongyang smiled, pleased with the result. This book was a special artifact that helped locate someone using the Heavenly Mysteries. Of course, his Master had given him this item.
He clearly saw the Qi trail of the two disciples and their approximate location. Taking two steps forward, Wang Dongyang found himself in the alley where the murder had taken place.
The first thing Wang Dongyang noticed was the scent of blood and vanilla. Looking down at his feet, he clicked his tongue in amazement.
“Who did this to them? Wow, how brutal. Did he torture them before killing them? What a terrifying guy,” Wang Dongyang thought, yet despite his thoughts, he smiled brightly. “Hahaha, I think we’ll get along just fine! Of course, that is if he… doesn’t become an enemy of our sect.”
The man’s eyes narrowed, and the aura around him turned cold.
“I really hope you’re not our enemy, brat.”
***
Xie Qing, of course, did not yet know about Wang Dongyang, and even if he did, he would not be particularly concerned.
At the moment, he was aimlessly wandering around the city, trying to memorize various locations and make mental notes. He even sketched out a rough escape route.
At one point, he felt a piercing gaze on his back, and when he turned to check the source, the gaze immediately vanished.
“Hm? For some reason, this gaze feels familiar…”
Xie Qing was puzzled, but he had no choice and returned to his stroll.
