Frowning, Lu Sheng stepped carefully through the layer of white ash. As he entered the room, the ruined cauldron that had once sat in the bedroom came into view.
Only half of it remained. The other half looked as if it had been melted away—black metal had flowed down like liquid tar before cooling into hardened ripples across the floor.
He approached and brushed his fingers across the surface. The metal felt cold, hard, and coarse beneath his touch.
“This is a pill cauldron forged under extreme heat. Ordinary fire couldn’t melt it like this,” Xu Chui whispered as he came closer.
“It wasn’t fire,” Lu Sheng replied, shaking his head.
Leaving the cauldron behind, he began to inspect the room. Articles of clothing lay scattered across the floor—the remnants of the ghosts. Yet what troubled him was the complete absence of Yin Qi. Not a single trace lingered.
His eyes drifted toward the bed. There, a charred corpse lay shriveled and black as ink. Strangely, the bed beneath it bore no signs of having been scorched.
Lu Sheng stood before the corpse, studying it intently. After a moment, he reached toward its sealed mouth, intent on prying it open. Something was hidden inside.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t touch the corpse’s mouth,” a flat female voice suddenly said from somewhere within the room.
“Who’s there!” Xu Chui snapped, drawing his sword at once as he faced the direction of the voice.
Lu Sheng turned as well, his eyes narrowing when a middle-aged woman in a sapphire athletic outfit stepped casually through the bedroom door.
Her face was ordinary—not beautiful, not unsightly—with fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, the appearance of someone unremarkable.
But what set Lu Sheng on alert was the short sword in her hand.
Its blade glinted with a razor-sharp sheen, thin as a strip of silver silk. Just imagining gripping the flat of the blade with bare fingers was enough to send a cold shiver down one’s spine.
“Who’re you?” Lu Sheng asked calmly. He did not fault the sect disciples stationed outside; for her to appear inside the room meant either they were dead, or her stealth was exceptional. Neither possibility boded well.
He caught a faint, almost inaudible scent drifting from her—subtle, but unmistakable.
The middle-aged woman studied him from head to toe.
“I’m Zhuo Wenyu. If I’m not mistaken, you must be Crimson Whale Sect’s third-in-command—External Head, Lu Sheng?”
“You know me?” Lu Sheng raised a brow.
“Crimson Whale Sect has slaughtered so many of our people. If we don’t investigate thoroughly, wouldn’t Scarlet Tower be the fools?” she said with a low, sinister chuckle.
‘So she really is from Scarlet Tower,’ Lu Sheng realized. “Now that we’ve met, shouldn’t we be trying to kill each other? How is it you’re still in the mood for conversation?”
“I’m different from the others,” Zhuo Wenyu replied, her tone light. “When I heard chaos had broken out here, I rushed over immediately. Unfortunately, I still arrived a little late. But not too late, it seems—otherwise I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet Brother Lu.”
“What do you want?” Lu Sheng asked, keeping a careful eye on her. It was his first time encountering someone from Scarlet Tower. Contrary to the rumors of deranged fanatics, she looked no different from any ordinary woman.
“There’s no need for us to fight to the death. I’ve only come for that corpse,” Zhuo Wenyu said evenly. “Specifically, the item in its mouth. As for you, Brother Lu—surely you don’t want a pointless battle that would cost you many men? Not because you fear me, of course. But there’s no reason for needless losses.”
Lu Sheng understood immediately.
Crimson Whale Sect and Scarlet Tower were merely instruments—vassals serving greater forces lurking in the shadows. Neither side was truly fighting for its own sake; their struggles were threads woven by the hands of those above them.
Given the circumstances, there was no need for either side to fight to the death. Zhuo Wenyu’s intention was obvious—stall, make a show of formality, and avoid true bloodshed. In the end, even if one of them won, that victory would be meaningless. Only triumph for the powers behind them counted as real.
With that understanding, Lu Sheng had no desire to start a pointless clash. His purpose here was simple: gather the Yin Qi items and complete his mission. As long as the other side refrained from acting, so would he.
“I want to examine the item first, to see whether it’s useful to me,” he said after a brief pause.
“Please,” Zhuo Wenyu replied, raising her hands in a polite gesture to proceed.
Lu Sheng drew his saber and gently pried open the corpse’s mouth with its tip.
A soft tearing sound followed.
Szz…
A slit slowly opened along the corpse’s lips, and black liquid spilled out in a thick stream. A heavy, nauseating stench filled the room.
Lu Sheng and Xu Chui held their breath, but even so, the foul odor forced them to step back.
When the last of the liquid drained away, an inky black, disc-shaped piece of metal was revealed inside.
Lu Sheng glanced toward Zhuo Wenyu. “That’s what you want?”
“That’s the one,” Zhuo Wenyu said calmly. “Hand it to me and we’ll leave immediately.”
“No need. Take it yourselves—we’re going,” Lu Sheng replied with a frown. The stench was unbearable. Detecting no Yin Qi from the object, he exchanged a look with Xu Chui and made for the exit.
The two walked past Zhuo Wenyu swiftly. Neither side lifted a hand. Zhuo Wenyu watched them depart in silence.
She remained standing in the room, unbothered by the choking stench of the black fluid. In fact, a faint look of pleasure touched her face.
Moments later, she heard Lu Sheng’s voice outside, ordering his men to retreat.
Yet she still did not move. She continued gazing out toward the courtyard.
“A mere brute. Why not kill him?” a shrill female voice suddenly sounded beside her.
She was clearly alone in the room. Zhuo Wenyu’s lips hadn’t moved at all, yet the voice echoed clearly, laced with a sinister, demonic chill.
“It’s too obvious. If we act now, we might attract the Zhen Family’s attention.”
“The Zhen Family has no time for us. Their war with Scarlet District grows fiercer by the day. Panic brings opportunity,” the voice whispered.
“Killing an External Head is easy. Making his body disappear is not. I need him to send a signal for me.”
“What signal?”
“That’s the difference between you and me,” Zhuo Wenyu murmured, a cold smile curling at the corner of her lips. “I—”
Creak…
The door slid open, and someone stepped inside.
Zhuo Wenyu halted, lifting her head. For the first time, her expression froze.
“Why have you come back…?” she asked, eyes fixed on Lu Sheng standing at the doorway.
“I changed my mind,” Lu Sheng said with a grin, drawing out two massive butcher blades in a backward grip. “That thing—I want it now. Oh, and… hand over everything valuable you’ve got. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what happens next.”
His towering frame and the twin giant sabers filled the entire doorway, blocking every path of escape. Murderous intent surged through the room like a violent storm.
Zhuo Wenyu’s eyes narrowed, studying him. Then, unexpectedly, a strange grin twisted across her face.
“To think someone would truly walk willingly into death for no reason…”
BAM!!
Before she could finish, her pupils shrank. A massive blade—broad as a signboard—came sweeping from her left, too fast for her to react.
The impact sent her body flying across the room, slamming brutally into the stone wall.
BOOM!!
Blood burst outward like a blooming crimson flower across the surface.
Only then did Lu Sheng’s figure reappear where Zhuo Wenyu had stood moments before. His movement was too fast—no, his explosive close-range power was simply overwhelming.
Just Level Five of the Ultimate Crimson Mantra combined with the Yin-Yang Jade Crane Skill produced an explosive burst of power. Paired with the resilience granted by his hard-body training, these layered abilities allowed Lu Sheng to unleash his strength freely within several meters without fearing the strain on his body. At full force, his short-range power was terrifying.
“Ouch…!” Zhuo Wenyu staggered to her feet with difficulty. Blood soaked her torn clothing. Her body was broken—an elbow fractured, a leg twisted grotesquely, wounds gaping across her flesh. Yet none of it slowed her. Shockingly, she still moved.
Her eyes shimmered green as she rose, wavering slightly. She fixed a trembling but venomous gaze on Lu Sheng.
“How… how is this possible…”
“Oh?” Lu Sheng tilted his head with curiosity. “You’re still not dead?”
“Your strength… it’s actually…” Zhuo Wenyu choked, blood foaming at her lips. She had underestimated him—so much so that she had taken a direct blow at close range and suffered grievously before the battle even began.
Lu Sheng strode forward, reaching out to seize her.
SWISH!
Zhuo Wenyu slid under his arm like a serpent, slipping free of his grasp.
She reappeared on the far end of the room. A pale green glow rippled across her skin. Her fingernails elongated into talons. Thick scales crawled over the backs of her arms, which hung limp as if unused to the changes. Her pupils darkened until they were pitch-black.
“I was careless earlier. But now, I’ll show you what a true Spirit Demon-Possessed Body looks like…!”
BOOM!!!
Before she finished speaking, she was struck again—this time with the force of a rampaging beast. She flew across the room with no ability to resist.
Lu Sheng had launched the attack using both sabers.
With a single stride, the bedroom floor trembled as he appeared several meters ahead of her in a blur of motion. Lightning-quick, he delivered two sweeping hacks with his massive blades.
BOOM! BOOM!!!
Green sludge poured from Zhuo Wenyu’s nose, mouth, and ears. Her head had been beaten so badly it was almost misshapen. Her body arced through the air before crashing directly into the half-melted pill cauldron.
“DONG!”
Blood scattered like crimson rain. This time, her body tumbled several times before hitting the ground. She lay wide-eyed, stunned beyond movement.
“You really can take a beating,” Lu Sheng said as he approached. He seized her by the neck, lifted her clean off the floor, and shook her like a rag doll. “To avoid damaging whatever valuables you’ve got on you, I’ve only been using slaps. Didn’t expect it would take three of them just to stop you.”
“You… what are you!?” Zhuo Wenyu snarled through clenched teeth. She refused to believe that a normal human could strike her out of her Spirit Demon-Possessed Body form.
“I’m just an ordinary mortal. Why don’t you tell me what you are? What’s this ‘Spirit Demon-Possessed Body’ supposed to be?” Lu Sheng asked, intrigued by this first encounter with a creature like her.
“You… you don’t know about us?” Zhuo Wenyu stared at him, stunned. Her blood-smeared face was twisted with disbelief.
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