Betrayal (continued)

He immediately channeled his True Qi, using up the three-tenths of his reserved power, and unleashed a torrent of Sword Qi, wave after wave.

However, Si Ming's two fingers acted like two solid gates, blocking all of the opponent's surging Sword Qi. No matter how much Diao Mei tried to urge her True Qi, she could not cross the line. Si Ming stood firmly in place, as if she had not been affected by the slightest impact, with only her clothes fluttering in the residual force.

Si Ming recalled a line often used to satirize opponents in martial arts novels, and said, "The sword is a fine sword, but the person... hehe." He raised his left hand and unleashed a Mighty Vajra Palm strike.

"You old hag, are you asking for death if you don't return it?!"

Mao Wei shouted and lunged forward, grabbing Diao Mei with his left hand and gathering earth energy in his right palm to form a stone shield to block Si Ming's palm strike.

With a loud bang, the stone shield shattered under the divine power. The remaining force struck Mao Wei, causing him to vomit blood. He dared not linger in front of the opponent for even a moment longer and immediately pulled him into the blood mist.

Once Diao Mei regained her senses, she was surprised at her impulsiveness. Her Swordsmanship was designed to avoid the enemy's strength and strike their vitals, similar to assassination. If she missed her target, she should flee a thousand miles away. How could she have foolishly put all her power into it?

"Be careful, that man's Fist Intent is strange; it seems to ignite anger within people. Don't fall for his tricks."

Mao Wei said irritably, "The opponent is a formidable figure capable of defeating the Beast King Anye head-on. Do you really need to warn him to be careful?"

Having just taken a punch, he still felt a lingering pain on one side of his body. Thinking that in a direct confrontation, he feared he wouldn't last three moves, he couldn't help but say, "Now I'm starting to admire those people from the Evil-Slaying Sword School. They've actually managed to kill the Beast King Anye multiple times. If it were me, I'm afraid I would have lost all fighting spirit long ago. The more you understand the opponent's strength, the more you realize the vast difference in strength between us. Without the resolve to die for their cause, even advantages in formations and numbers cannot make up for it."

Li Ban appeared beside them at some point and chimed in, "That's right, so don't rush in first. Remember to let them go first, and if things get bad, escape immediately. Just buy some time."

He had originally prepared two plans. If he had the chance to kill Si Ming, he would go all in, eliminate Si Ming, and then go to find Shang Yu. This would give him enough time to slowly prepare the method of possession. Conversely, if he didn't have the opportunity, he would have these guys hold off Si Ming while he took the opportunity to leave, using a diversionary tactic. Now it seems that the former is completely impossible.

I originally thought that Evil-Slaying Sword School could gather four Grandmaster and use a sword formation to kill the Beast King Anye, I, with seven Grandmaster this time, should be able to defeat them, if not kill them.

Li Ban now realized that this was entirely wishful thinking on his part. Not only were they unfamiliar with each other's coordination, but more importantly, each of them harbored their own selfish motives, holding back their attacks and not daring to go all out. Under such circumstances, how could they possibly defeat a powerhouse whose strength was comparable to the King of Monsters?

Previously, Ghost Fort Fortress Master Ximen Chou Dark Ghost Sect and Evil Dao. It seemed that among everyone, he harbored the deepest hatred for the Heavenly Martial Alliance. However, when the battle actually came, he was the one who was most afraid to fight.

After exchanging blows for several dozen breaths, everyone else had already fought against the Ximen Chou Heavenly Martial Alliance, except for Si Ming revealed a weakness, he wouldn't dare to make a move. He would only pretend to have seen through the other party's "deliberate exposure of weakness" and wait for the next opportunity to strike.

The others weren't much better off. Even the most hot-tempered Purgatory Divine Lord, after suffering a loss in the first move and realizing the difference in strength between them, always held back some of his power in his next attack, just in case.

With this bunch of hypocritical guys thinking they could kill the "Number One Master Under Heaven," it's like pigs can fly. Li Ban completely gave up the idea of killing him. There's a reason why the Evil Dao has become a heretical sect and can't become the mainstream of the martial arts world.

"Try to buy me at least fifteen minutes."

As Li Ban spoke, he activated Secret Method, secretly slipping his true body out of the Seven Slaughter Blood Formation, leaving only a illusory clone. Under the cover of Diao Mei and Mao Wei, the clone joined the siege. Even though the others noticed something amiss, they were too caught up in the fierce battle to investigate further, simply assuming that the Blood Abyss Sect Master was even more shameless than themselves, having actually preserved so much of his power.

Li Ban emerged from underground, transforming into a streak of blood-red light and speeding along until he found Shang Yu at the agreed-upon location.

"Yu'er, listen to me. It was really your father who sent me to infiltrate the Blood Abyss Sect as an inside agent. I was able to rise through the ranks thanks to his instructions, because the higher I climbed, the more important information I could learn. I didn't want to agree to do such a thing, but he promised that if I did it, he would give you to me in marriage. I thought that as long as I could marry you properly and get your parents' approval, I would do anything, so I agreed on the spot."

As soon as Li Ban landed, he immediately explained his predicament to Shang Yu, without reminiscing or wasting words, and went straight to the point.

Although TV dramas often feature a ridiculous scene where the male character begs the female character to "let me explain," and the female character replies "I don't want to hear your explanation," and the two argue for a while before something unexpected happens, forcing them to separate, and the man never manages to explain the reason to the woman, leading to a continued misunderstanding, no one in reality would do something so stupid.

Instead of shouting "Let me explain," it's better to speak quickly and tell the truth. The other party may not believe it at the time, but once they know the truth, they will be more careful afterward and it won't be difficult to find evidence to verify it.

"Because I leaked too much information, I aroused the suspicion of the former sect leader. He then set up a trap to catch me red-handed, and instead laid an ambush. Fortunately, your father also brought many experts from the Evil-Slaying Sword School that day. Although we were ambushed, we still had the power to fight back. You know what happened next: both sides perished together..."

Shang Yu said, "My father never told me about this."

Li Ban said angrily, "Of course he wouldn't tell you, because he never intended to marry you to me in the first place; he just wanted to use me! If the former sect leader hadn't set up this scheme that day, I would probably have been killed after the fact, and in a disgraced way. Then your father would have told you that he had seen through what kind of person I was all along, and that it was fortunate he hadn't agreed to our marriage... Out of respect for the dead, I didn't mean to tarnish your father's reputation, but I don't want you to misunderstand me. Please believe me, everything I'm saying is true!"

Shang Yu sighed and said, "I believe you."

"Real?"

"If I didn't trust you, why would I contact you secretly?" Shang Yu retorted, then continued, "Although my father never mentioned this to me, I've long suspected he has an inside agent within the Blood Abyss Sect. Otherwise, how could he have predicted the Blood Abyss Sect's actions so accurately every time and intercepted those lone experts?"

Li Ban took out a notebook and said, "That's right, I am his inside man. Even if he tries to cover up this connection, I keep records of every operation. You can compare them. Although it's only one side of the story, if you pay attention, it shouldn't be difficult to find the corresponding evidence."

Shang Yu didn't accept the notebook. Instead, she stared into the other person's eyes and said, "I'll believe you even without evidence. Haven't you known my feelings for you all this time?"

Li Ban was stunned. The scene of the other person taking the sword for him flashed through his mind. He smiled with relief and said apologetically, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have doubted you, Yu'er. Please forgive me... I always thought you were dead. I never thought you could come back to life. It's so wonderful. I've never been so grateful to God!"

He then added, "I never intended to use your corpse as a sacrifice to refine the Myriad Filth Tainted Blood, but at that time I had not yet become the sect leader of the Blood Abyss Sect. It was my enemy who stole your corpse to threaten me. Now it seems I should thank him; otherwise, I'm afraid I would never have seen you again."

"I never thought I could return to the world of the living... I can't be considered resurrected now, at most I'm just a lingering obsession. Even if that obsession isn't satisfied, it will dissipate over time."

"Whether it's an obsession or a soul, you have Shang Yu's memories and the same personality. To me, you are Shang Yu. I will never let you leave. I have found a way to fix the obsession. Although there are some hidden dangers, they are nothing compared to keeping you by my side!" Li Ban said with extreme excitement.

Shang Yu nodded and said, "Let's begin now."

"Here?"

Li Ban looked around but couldn't sense anyone else's presence. However, they were still in the wild, which wasn't safe enough.

"I only temporarily have control of this body, while the original owner's consciousness remains inside and could be taken back at any time. I can't guarantee I'll still be here the next moment, so the sooner the better. That's why I contacted you secretly and lured Sima Liang away from the mountain. With him watching over me, there's no way I could sneak away. The original owner of this body was his childhood sweetheart; he wouldn't let me possess him."

After a moment's thought, Li Ban nodded and said, "That's right. To avoid any unforeseen complications, let's perform the ritual of turning the tables and fixing you into this body now."

He immediately began setting up the ritual. He had already prepared all sorts of materials during his escape, and he had also rehearsed the ritual many times. It was completed quickly, and then he activated the magic array.

"The snake coils and the dragon leaps, the tiger crows and the demons, Outer Dao and monsters, be severed at the appointed time, separate humans and ghosts, awaken evil spirits, the Heavenly Dao becomes turbid, the way of earth becomes chaotic, the way of humanity values death, the way of ghosts takes form!"

A dark red light enveloped Shang Yu, causing a look of pain to appear on her face.

Li Ban reminded him, "Bear with it a little longer. If you can endure this, you will be the master of this body." He then urged his True Essence to activate the magic array, entering the crucial stage.

Just then, a stream of blood shot out and struck Li Ban's back; it was Liu Qingqing.

"I've been on guard against you for a while now."

Li Ban showed no surprise. With a backhand strike, he shattered the Blood Spirit Body into countless drops of blood. He turned and glanced at it, a cold smile on his face.