All those long-time friends and relatives… yet none of them could compare to a stranger he had only just met. A heavy swirl of emotions washed over Li Shunxi, leaving him unable to speak for a moment.
“Brother Lu… I have the map you’re looking for. But it’s useless now. The war between the two northern factions has torn everything apart outside the city… I’m not sure what exactly happened, but this map from before holds no value anymore. The Noble Families have already made their move…”
His words reminded Lu Sheng that the chaos sparked by the clash between the Zhen Family and the Scarlet District would naturally throw demons, devils, ghosts, and other foul creatures into even greater disarray.
“That’s troublesome…” Lu Sheng muttered. With the situation this chaotic, he couldn’t even find a proper target to test himself against. It was more than a little inconvenient.
“Brother Lu, er… could you lend me some travel money…?” Li Shunxi ventured cautiously, embarrassment evident in his tone. He was fully sober now; he hadn’t actually drunk much—most of the wine had spilled earlier—so clarity returned quickly.
“Small thing.” Lu Sheng reached into the pouch at his waist, pulled out his wallet, and tossed it to Li Shunxi without hesitation. “This is what I have on me. Take it.”
He didn’t think twice about giving away eighty taels or so. Now that he stood among the upper ranks of the Crimson Whale Sect, his income had grown substantially, giving him the freedom to be more generous. Besides, Li Shunxi was someone worth cultivating ties with; investing a small amount to build good will was only logical.
As for that fiasco at the weapons section earlier—he had the money, of course, but no one enjoyed being cheated. That was why he had made a point of messing with that old man.
Li Shunxi accepted the pouch with a face full of gratitude. When he peered inside, the contents amounted to no less than a hundred taels in notes and silver.
“Many thanks, Brother Lu! I, Li, will remember your kindness for as long as I live!” he said solemnly.
“Don’t mention it, Brother Li. Everyone hits a rough patch sooner or later.” Lu Sheng gestured lightly. “Right, what exactly happened to your family…?”
Li Shunxi’s expression darkened the moment the topic surfaced.
“Brother Lu, have you heard of Duke Ashoka before?”
“Duke Ashoka?” Lu Sheng shook his head. “Some sort of royal duke in the imperial government?”
“That’s right. But he isn’t just any royalty. In truth, he’s a terrifying figure—his influence isn’t merely worldly,” Li Shunxi said with a weary sigh. “My father was investigating him. There were suspicions that he was offering blood sacrifices to evil spirits. Because of that, he was framed by soldiers and officials, and our family fell into ruin.”
“Duke Ashoka… blood sacrifice?” Lu Sheng muttered, recalling the tragedy that befell Nine Links City.
When the entire Xu Family—once the pride of Nine Links City—was annihilated, rumors had spread that it was the result of a blood sacrifice. Lu Sheng hesitated, then asked with a furrowed brow, “Does it have anything to do with the blood sacrifice incident in Nine Links City?”
“Yes,” Li Shunxi replied, his face clouded with gloom. “And not just Nine Links City. There were eight such massacres throughout the North, each more horrific than the last. Entire villages around the cities vanished overnight. The true death toll far surpassed the official murder cases.”
He drew a shaky breath. “Because of all this, my father couldn’t stand by any longer. He decided to dig deeper. Who knew…” His voice trembled and faded, eyes reddening.
“Duke Ashoka…” Lu Sheng’s gaze sharpened. If this was true, then the Xu Family incident wasn’t merely the work of supernatural forces or the Mortal Sweeping Manor—Duke Ashoka was entangled in it as well.
“According to what my father uncovered, Duke Ashoka is likely connected to powerful ghost factions. The extent of it is horrifying,” Li Shunxi said. “He isn’t of the same bloodline as the current imperial family. His title was inherited from the previous dynasty. Because he always lived quietly in the shadows, few knew anything about him. But this time… the blood sacrifices were too cruel. My father unearthed what he shouldn’t have.”
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“There was a major war in the North a while back, fought over some treasure—did he have a hand in that as well?” Lu Sheng asked. Opportunities to hear inside information like this were rare, and he naturally wanted to extract every bit of clarity he could.
“That I’m not sure of. But I’m certain he was involved somehow,” Li Shunxi replied, nodding vigorously. He poured himself a cup of water and downed it in one gulp.
“Alright. As long as the mountains stand and the rivers flow, we will meet again. Brother Lu, I, Li Shunxi, will remember this favor and repay it when the chance comes! Farewell!”
Lu Sheng could see through his intentions and made no effort to stop him.
Li Shunxi simply didn’t want to drag him into danger. Duke Ashoka and the Minister of the Army stood on a level far beyond what ordinary people—or even most cultivators—could contend with. Even if Lu Sheng could protect himself, his family would not survive the aftermath if such powers were angered.
Though Lu Sheng had claimed none of this troubled him, he understood the unspoken truth.
“Brother Li, take care…” Lu Sheng sighed softly as he rose and cupped his fists in return.
“Till we meet again.” Li Shunxi gripped the money pouch tightly as he left. To him, it was more than silver—it was something that rekindled a sense of direction and purpose.
He opened the door and stepped out. Only after it had long closed behind him did Lu Sheng slowly stand.
“Friend, since you’ve heard everything, you may as well come out now. Don’t make me welcome you personally,” Lu Sheng’s voice echoed through the quiet chamber.
“That won’t be necessary,” an aged voice murmured beside his ear. “Meeting personally with a wanted convict… aren’t you worried about implicating your entire household?”
“Implicating? Whom did I meet? I merely received a friend. What wanted convict?” Lu Sheng asked, his expression perfectly blank.
“That Li Shunxi is a wanted criminal pursued by the authorities. You’re strong, but don’t step where you shouldn’t,” the old voice said coolly. “At best, you’ll invite trouble. At worst… you and your whole household will be exterminated.”
Such audacity.
Lu Sheng’s expression shifted ever so slightly. Inside, however, his mood sank. So someone had indeed been shadowing Li Shunxi. He simply hadn’t expected the warning to come this quickly.
“Exterminated? Heh…” A sinister laugh escaped his lips. “I’ll be waiting. Come out and try—let’s see if you can exterminate me.”
A dangerous aura slowly unfurled from his body.
Even he didn’t fully grasp the might of the eighth level of the Ultimate Crimson Nine-Furies Skill. But the timing couldn’t have been better—an expert had delivered himself right to his doorstep. Perfect for a test.
“Arrogant brat!” the aged voice snapped, seething.
Following the sound, a steel needle as fine as cow’s hair shot out from behind the wall. It tore through the wooden boards in an instant, streaking straight toward Lu Sheng’s chest.
It moved without a whisper, hidden beneath the elder’s voice. By the time Lu Sheng sensed it, it was already too late to dodge.
PU!
The silver needle stabbed viciously into his chest.
But before the poison on the needle could even activate, a massive cleaver—broad and heavy as a door—came crashing down onto the left wall of the chamber.
BOOM!!!
The wall exploded into splinters, revealing a skinny, green-robed elder behind it. With no chance to evade, he was caught entirely by the savage slash. Wood fragments blasted across him like shrapnel, ripping into his flesh and drawing blood from a dozen wounds in an instant.
“HA!!!” Lu Sheng roared. He surged forward, saber tip driving toward the elder’s throat, and brought it down with murderous force.
PU!!!
His entire weight slammed the elder to the ground. The saber carved through his neck and into the floorboards beneath, nearly cleaving the man’s chin and chest apart.
The elderly man writhed weakly beneath the weight pinning him to the floor. Blood bubbled at his lips, choking his breath as he stared up at Lu Sheng with desperate, widening eyes. His trembling hands reached for the embedded saber, trying in vain to pull it free—it didn’t budge an inch.
“Exterminate me? YOU?” Lu Sheng snarled, seizing the old man by the hair and yanking him upward.
CHI.
The saber sliced cleanly through. His head split neatly into two halves, and all sound died in an instant.
Blood fanned across the room in sheets. Only now did the Crimson Whale Sect members outside notice the commotion and rush in. When their eyes fell on the corpse—or what was left of it—the color drained from their faces one by one.
“Boss…” Xu Chui covered his nose as he stepped inside. Even for someone seasoned in countless battles, the thick, metallic stench of blood saturating the chamber was suffocating.
“Tidy up. Cremate the body immediately. Leave no trace,” Lu Sheng instructed calmly. He plucked the steel needle from his chest—it had bent against his clothes and hadn’t even scratched him, much less delivered any poison.
“Yes, sir.”
Lu Sheng wiped the blood from his shoes with a towel, then strode out of the restaurant.
Earlier, he had sensed a faint aura shadowing Li Shunxi’s movements. At first, he had assumed it belonged to a protector. Only now did he realize it had been a spy all along.
He couldn’t risk any part of his conversation with Li Shunxi leaking out. And to think the spy had even dared threaten him—rage surged, and he chose to act without the slightest restraint.
It was only the power of the Fifth Level of the Ultimate Crimson Nine-Furies Skill, combined with his hard body techniques. Yet even so, the explosive strength had been overwhelming—an Intent Proficiency–level opponent hadn’t even had the chance to react before being cut down.
‘In that case, I still can’t determine exactly what level my strength has reached…’ Lu Sheng pondered as he stepped out into the open air.
After returning to the Golden Jade Greenhouse, Lu Sheng reached beneath his mattress and pulled out a small box filled with tiny vials—remnants from his previous experiments.
The Bind alcohol contained in these vials would allow him to roughly gauge how much Bind poison his body could withstand at his current level.
He sat at the round table, picked up one vial, and set the rest inside the white box on the tabletop.
‘I’ve got no choice but to experiment with this for now…’
Carefully, he removed the wooden stopper and tilted the vial, letting its contents drip slowly onto his palm.
A bead of black liquid slid down and dropped onto his skin.
Szzz…
White smoke hissed upward. A harsh, acrid smell filled the air, like concentrated acid burning through flesh.
Lu Sheng watched calmly as the black droplet shrank rapidly and vanished from his palm. Then he moved to the next vial.
His inner Qi pulsed strongly, unwavering. The quality of his Ultimate Crimson Nine-Furies Skill had clearly risen. Before this breakthrough, even a single vial’s Bind power would have overwhelmed him.
The second drop evaporated just as quickly. Then the third, the fourth, the fifth… each vial emptied onto the same spot on his palm.
Soon, more than half of his inner Qi had been consumed. Yin-Yang Jade Crane Skill activated, followed by the reinforcement of the Nine Lakes Steel Chains hard body skill.
Thin wisps of steam drifted from the top of his head—sweat instantly vaporized by the heat of his inner Qi.
The sixth vial, the seventh… Finally, he picked up the eighth vial—the last one.
His inner Qi had resisted and neutralized the poison from the first seven vials. But by now, every last trace of his inner Qi had been completely exhausted.
In the end, he held the eighth vial between his fingers but did not pour out its contents.
‘I managed to withstand the poison in seven vials… soon… very soon… just a little more to go,’ Lu Sheng thought, his heart surging as perspiration dampened his brow.
He estimated that with just one more breakthrough—one more upgrade in his inner force skill—he would finally reach the realm of Bind.
It was the most basic, the lowest level among the Noblemen and the Anomalies… yet it marked the greatest divide between ordinary mortals and the supernatural.
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