“Little brother, it’s so late for you to be out alone. Aren’t you afraid of running into ghosts?”
The young man immediately recognized the Shenhua Sect’s cloud-patterned robe; these must be patrolling disciples who happened to be here.
Hmph, tough luck for you…
The two men wore cold, sinister expressions, closing in step by step, clearly intending to silence him for good. At that moment, the boy finally spoke.
“Ma Zhong, Liu Zhi, disciples of the Demonic Sect’s Bloodthirsty Banner, am I right?”
Yun Liu’s voice was calm, as if he were the judge in the Hall of Yama, flipping open the Book of Life and Death.
“Who are you? How do you know…!?”
A chill ran down both men’s spines.
How did he know their names!
Could he have been lying in ambush here all along?
That was even more impossible.
Aside from the companions buried on Sighing Peak, no outsiders knew about this.
The Bloodthirsty Banner were all desperados with poison under their tongues, their lives in the hands of the Flagmaster.
Unless someone used a secret soul-searching art, there was no way they would betray each other.
“I’ve been expecting you.”
The white-robed youth nodded.
The “guests'” escape route was pinpoint accurate—everything was under control.
The Demonic Sect’s night raid on Sighing Peak was a storyline event bound to happen.
According to the game’s timeline, by the time that sickly guy rushed over to comfort his fiancée, the enemies had already long fled.
In the plot, Ji Shiyu and Ao Tian once again displayed their might, saving Xiao Xinran yet another time.
Tonight, Yun Liu didn’t interfere with the Outer Sect’s chaos.
Instead, he lay in wait along their escape route, making it clear he didn’t intend to leave any witnesses.
“Why is it just the two of you?”
The white-robed youth glanced around, frowning slightly.
He hadn’t seen anyone else, which puzzled him.
Could they have been left behind by Feng Aotian?
The only difference from the storyline was the number.
According to reason, four members of the Bloodthirsty Banner should have escaped the patrolling disciples’ encirclement; the rest should have died from their bodies exploding.
The only thing Yun Liu couldn’t have predicted was the Extreme Dao Female Yao awakening early.
If her qi sea hadn’t been restricted, she would have devoured even two Foundation Establishment Demonic Cultivators on the spot.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, little brother. By the way, do you know which direction Lancheng is?”
Ma Zhong feigned calm, trying to distract the boy while signaling Liu Zhi with his eyes.
They had to take him down quickly.
There was something strange about this kid—wait too long, and something might go wrong!
Surely not all Shenhua Sect Qi Refining Cultivators were monsters?
The two demonic cultivators slowly approached the tree stump from different directions, not realizing they were walking straight into Yun Liu’s trap.
Boom!
Ma Zhong stepped wrong, and the ground exploded beneath his foot.
A surge of violent thunder energy erupted, electric light crackling, instantly shattering his spiritual shield.
“Ah!”
Ma Zhong fell to the ground clutching his broken leg, scorched by the thunder, his eyes filled with panic.
“Thunder Shock Talisman!?”
Liu Zhi gripped his scythe in horror, brain going blank.
Before he could react, he triggered another hidden thunder trap.
Another Thunder Shock Talisman detonated, lightning flashing, triggering a chain reaction.
Explosions rang out endlessly, the ground shaking.
When the forest finally grew quiet, the clearing was riddled with craters, as if a Yunhai Sword Cultivator had carpet-bombed it with thunder.
Severed limbs and remains were scattered everywhere.
The two demonic deathsworn died with their eyes open, never knowing what they had overlooked.
“Since you’ve come, don’t even think about leaving.”
Having easily dealt with the Demonic Cult Remnants, Yun Liu muttered to himself as he put away the Earth Thick Talisman he’d kept prepared in his sleeve.
He still had more tricks up his sleeve—almost excessively cautious.
That day, after Yun Liu received his payment, he immediately went to the innkeeper and bought several sets of talismans, already planning how to finish off these demonic cultivators.
Expensive for a reason—deadly accurate.
The boy waved his hand, glanced at the sky, and carefully cleaned up the scene, retrieving all untriggered Trap Talismans before starting to loot the bodies.
“They’re all just extras—someone’s got to die, but that someone will never be me.”
Yun Liu muttered to himself.
As a useless person without a protagonist’s halo, he had to tread carefully from the moment he woke up.
Not only did he need to distance himself from the protagonist group, he also had to fade from the villains’ view. Caught in the middle, he was doomed.
If he let them go tonight, reporting the three names and details truthfully, Ji Shiyu and Xiao Xinran, blessed by fate, might be fine, but he’d be the scapegoat and doomed.
No way I’m doing that~
After tidying everything up, Yun Liu slipped back to the Sea of Clouds, not even bothering to bury the bodies.
The Shenhua Sect would definitely investigate thoroughly.
By the time they found that patch of forest, they still wouldn’t know who cleaned up the mess.
Under the bright moon, the youth rode his sword through the night, one step closer to a brighter future.
Jing Tan’er was just an experience point baby to annoy Huangmao, but the woman who commanded the Eight Banners of the Demonic Sect was truly dangerous.
If possible, Yun Liu hoped he’d never meet the real Demonic Woman.
As an Inner Disciple, he carried the sword badge and could freely enter and exit the Cloudsea Formation.
Yun Liu slipped back to Celestial Phenomena Peak and pulled a tattered little scroll from his storage item.
Why were the demonic sect fiends so relentless?
The answer was hidden in the Way of Alchemy Notes, but someone died before they could explain everything.
At that moment, in the eyes of the Demonic Sect traitor, elder sister Qin Yao was more important than anything.
Entrusting this letter was the most important thing in the world.
If nothing unexpected happened, someone would come asking questions tomorrow. He just had to report truthfully and push everything onto Huangmao.
***
Early the next morning, several Inner Court Steward Elders arrived at the Heaven Courtyard to offer their regards and investigate.
The Sighing Peak incident had resulted in bloodshed, involving demonic sect fiends in hiding.
The Shenhua Sect disciples who failed their duties all looked ashamed.
If anything happened to the two girls, the Sect Leader Immortal Master would hold them responsible.
The entire Outer Sect staff would get a pay cut, and the patrolling disciples wouldn’t escape punishment either.
At the head of the group was a plump female cultivator. Her ink-black robes accentuated her curves, and a patch of green auspicious clouds glowed faintly on her brow, as if some big shot had been alerted.
“You don’t even know you have ghosts in your house. I think you, Director of Security Office, don’t need this job anymore—go down the mountain and raise pigs instead!”
“Shishu Ge, please don’t be angry. Who could have guessed there was a cunning demonic cultivator hiding among the newcomers?”
“You still dare to talk back?”
“Disciple wouldn’t dare. From now on, I’ll strengthen the Sea of Clouds’ defenses and not let a single suspicious person slip through.”
The Outer Sect Instructor wore a bitter face.
Running into this sort of thing right after joining the sect—no wonder the two little ones were still shaken.
If this wasn’t handled well, they might even leave the Shenhua Sect for good.
Xiao Xinran had already woken up, unharmed, but stared blankly at her hands, her expression complicated.
As she came to her senses, the girl remembered she’d taken lives with her own hands.
Though those fiends deserved death, it was still her first time killing.
Thinking of those nauseating scenes, her stomach churned.
Yet, the burning power that surged within her at that moment had overridden everything, a force that vowed to burn all things, making her utterly intoxicated.
Ji Shiyu had suffered some minor injuries, but the little doctors from the Rosy Fragrance Pavilion had bandaged her up.
She was in good spirits, squatting in her battered dorm room, wolfing down her meal at the crack of dawn.
When she saw a group of instructors, Huangmao stood up and saluted, patting her chest as if she’d choked on something.
“Cough, cough… Good morning, teachers!”
“No need for formalities.”
The mature female cultivator couldn’t help but smile, gesturing for the two of them to relax and not be so nervous.