“An alliance, huh! Turns out He Can dug up this news before he died...” With just a few words, Shui Dielan passed on what she knew, and Li Xun suddenly understood.
“Old Demon Luo really knows how to make a move! With these five sects joining forces, their strength is unprecedented. They’ll be able to go toe-to-toe with the Rogue Cultivators’ Alliance without being at any disadvantage.”
Li Xun remembered that when the Rogue Cultivators’ Alliance was first established, these very sects had been the ones who stepped forward in support. Clearly, their ties had already grown quite close back then.
But when he thought of Lin Wuyou and that little schemer’s tricks, Li Xun figured the honeymoon phase between the Rogue Cultivators’ Alliance and this Five-Sect Alliance was probably long over.
The thought only lingered for a moment before sinking away.
He didn’t have the time to puzzle over the greater situation. What mattered most right now was survival in this deadly place. And to survive, how could he not deal with the treacherous and ever-shifting undercurrents between his so-called “companion”?
With that thought, he glanced back again. The pitch-black underground couldn’t hinder his night vision, nor Shui Die Lan’s.
Their eyes met, and what they both saw was the same: deep wariness, and beneath it, hidden layers of murderous intent.
This won’t do.
There was no doubt about it. They were all clever people.
But that’s exactly the problem with clever people. On one hand, they know when to pull together and fight a common enemy. On the other hand, they’ll never pass up a chance to strike a fatal blow at each other.
There’s not even room to ease the tension.
The truth is, they know too many of each other’s secrets. Once they part ways, there’s no question; they’ll become each other’s deadliest threat.
It was a deadlock.
Suddenly, Li Xun’s heart stirred. The sensor formation he’d left in the ancient temple a few days ago had been triggered. That was what gave him an idea. His thoughts shifted, and he turned to say, “They’re breaking the temple’s restrictions!”
Shui Die Lan clearly flinched, but wisely didn’t waste time with something stupid like, ‘How do you know?’ Instead, she asked the most practical question: “How much longer?”
“Who knows? But if their cultivation level is about the same as mine, and they’re starting from scratch... about forty hours.” Li Xun made his estimate by his own standard, then added, “But they’ve got far more detailed knowledge than I do, so they’ll probably shave that down. Wait a second.”
He cut Shui Die Lan off with a wave just as she was about to speak, then shut his eyes and carefully extended his senses.
There was no doubt they weren’t too far from the Demon Thunder Monastery. Otherwise, the fluctuations in energy wouldn’t have been so clear.
“The worst possible case,” Li Xun muttered with a crooked smile. “Experts.”
Shui Die Lan shot him another glance, puzzled. “You don’t seem all that concerned?”
“Do I?” Li Xun replied, though inside he knew his casual tone had already made her suspicious.
Still, he had his own plans. He didn’t explain, just smiled again and led her in a few more turns through the underground river.
Their luck wasn’t great. Apparently Xiao Zhongzi’s usual tricks had been seen through, and quite a few of the Five-Sect cultivators had followed them underground.
No matter how well Li Xun knew the waterways, a few skirmishes were unavoidable. That was when the benefit of their cooperation really showed. Even injured as they were, the two of them moved as if born to fight side by side. Advancing and retreating in perfect rhythm through the dark, they forced open a gap and plunged into a torrenting current.
At Li Xun’s signal, they held their breath and let the water carry them. After drifting around two more bends, in less than half the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, they could already see the exit ahead.
The raging current burst them out of the narrow channel, only to fling them into freezing lake water instead of open air.
Though there was no sunlight here, the water was astonishingly clear, so much so that even fish were rare. The lake was clearly very deep as well. The sudden crush of pressure forced both of them to spit out a mouthful of blood at the same time.
Thin streams of crimson quickly spread through the water, scattering and twisting with the current. Their blood mingled together, and the sensation of it was strangely hard to describe.
Shui Die Lan’s eyes flickered. With a sweep of her sleeve, the drifting threads of blood vanished completely.
Li Xun caught it at a glance and silently praised her caution. That way, she had reduced the information their pursuers could track to the bare minimum.
Unfortunately, Shui Die Lan didn’t seem to appreciate his unspoken compliment. Her gaze swept over their surroundings, and she frowned as her voice sounded in his mind, communicating through voice transmission: “What is this cursed place?”
She had reason to ask. The water might be clear, but the scenery was far from pleasant. In particular, the vast expanse of jagged reefs along the lakebed was pitch black and tangled, like countless strange beasts crouched in the depths, disturbing the otherwise steady current.
“This is a perfect place to hide and recover,” Li Xun said with a grin. “Look at this lakebed terrain. It’s so tangled and complex that if we hole up here and set up a few arrangements, who could possibly find us?”
His words gave Shui Die Lan a moment’s pause, and she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of temptation.
The lakebed was pitch-dark, and the reef-strewn expanse stretched so far it seemed endless. With the fetal-breathing technique, not to mention two people, even hundreds could hide here with room to spare.
But could the Hundred Ghosts really have such good intentions?
“It seems you’re quite familiar with this place...”
“I am. I planned this as a fallback long ago. Now I’m bringing it out to share with Fairy Shui. Just as you said, in the current situation, only by working together can we accomplish anything. As for my earlier offenses... let this count as my apology.”
Shui Die Lan’s expression shifted subtly, clearly still weighed down by doubt.
Li Xun’s tone grew serious. “This is the most secret place I can think of. If Fairy still refuses to trust me, then what talk is there of ‘working together’?”
She understood the meaning behind his words at once.
In truth, even as he was trying to persuade her, Shui Die Lan had already swept the lakebed with her spiritual sense. Finding no strange fluctuations in the aura, and considering the variety of methods at her disposal, she finally gave a small nod.
“Fine. But... men and women shouldn’t get too close. Keep your distance!”
Li Xun chuckled at the excuse, but answered with surprising generosity: “In a place this spacious, that’s no problem at all.”
The Skyfaring Ape Demon squatted on the charred remains of a massive tree, monkey eyes rolling as he swept his gaze over the surroundings. It looked as though he was paying close attention, but in truth, he wasn’t giving it the slightest thought.
All his attention was fixed several dozen yards away, on the pink tent hidden beneath a screen of branches and leaves. In the dark of night, the glow of candlelight through that silken tent was far too enticing.
Watching such a seductive scene, the Skyfaring Ape Demon felt more relaxed than he had in years.
This time, the Five-Sect Alliance’s thunderous strike had been an overwhelming success.
In terms of sheer strength, Clear Origin Master’s cultivation had been second to none among the cultivators of the southeast forest. Yet even he had died under their ruthless scheme. Even if his spirit had survived, and he used some secret technique to reincarnate and start over, that would be centuries away.
With Ti Wujiu as a grim warning, Vermillion Hook Sect—who had been scheming to snatch a few scraps—wisely pulled out completely. As for the few leftover opportunists still clinging to hope, they weren’t worth worrying about.
It was obvious that Xiao Zhongzi would have his way this time as well, and his failure from five years ago could at last be made right.
Now was the time to relax.
Swallowing hard in the dark, he couldn’t take his eyes off the tent. The two beauties inside were peerless in their charms, and especially with the sort of thing they were doing...
Old Yuan wasn’t the kind of cat who didn't eat fish. Of course, his heart itched just like anyone else’s. But as for the Heart-Consuming Concubine, he didn’t dare even dream of her. That woman was known as the finest in the whole cultivation world when it came to draining men’s essence. Not just him, even if the sect master himself showed up, he probably wouldn’t risk it lightly.
Still, there was someone else. Maybe Old Yuan couldn’t get the very first taste, but lining up for a share wasn’t out of the question. Now that the Five Sects had formed an alliance, no matter how domineering the Heart-Consuming Concubine was, she couldn’t just keep every beauty for herself. She had to give others some face… And rumor had it that female cultivator had once been personally trained by Yin Wanderer. If that was true, her skills must be something special.
With a sly chuckle, Old Yuan narrowed his eyes, ready to doze off for a while, when heavy footsteps sounded behind him. Just from the tread, he could tell it was that unlucky bastard, Yuan Nan.
“Third Old Yuan! Lend me a few men!”
Something was off. Yuan Nan’s voice sounded distorted. He turned his head and saw Yuan Nan’s ugly face, already gray-blue, twisted almost beyond recognition.
Startled, he swung down from the tree. “Huh? What happened?”
“Yuanchi is dead!”
“Dead? Song Yuanchi?” The Skyfaring Ape Demon’s face instantly hardened.
He knew Song Yuanchi. His cultivation wasn’t the strongest, but he was cautious, clever, and resourceful. Remarkable in his own right. For someone like him to be killed so silently…
“Who did it?”
“It had to be those two bastards, Hundred Ghosts and Shui Die Lan!”
Yuan Nan was seething with hatred, but his injuries still hadn’t healed. He wanted to act, but he had no strength. All he could do was grit his teeth and curse: “Five days ago it was their ambush that killed Yuanxi and the others. And now Yuanchi’s insides were burned to ash by the netherworld yin fire. There’s no trace of any special technique on the wound at the back of his head, but judging by how viciously it was done, there’s no doubt Shui Die Lan struck the blow!”
“Hundred Ghosts? Shui Die Lan? How’d those two end up working together? Shui Die Lan’s a strange one. No one dares provoke her. What does that kid Hundred Ghosts have that lets him?”
He fell silent for a moment, his monkey-like face darkening.
“This is trouble. Our sect master warned us. Shui Die Lan may be the deadliest assassin in the world. Her ‘Reverse Shadow Escape’ combines the techniques of two great sects, and she may even carry a hidden inheritance. In speed and unpredictability, she’s second to none. If she decides to play hide and seek with us, then pops out at the worst possible moment to strike… heh…”
His mind raced. Without wasting a breath, he summoned his disciples to reorganize their defenses.
Just then, someone rushed in with news: Shui Die Lan and Hundred Ghosts had fled, making their escape through the underground river.
“Fled? On the run?”