One Against Two

Night deepened. During the gap between shifts of the Market Patrol, Wu Kui, leader of the Wu Han Gang, spoke in low tones with one of the patrol captains in a shadowed corner.

Wu Kui handed over a weighty bag of Spirit Stones and lowered his voice. "Captain Zhao, there are a hundred Spirit Stones in here—a small token of my regard. From the Chou Hour to the Yin Hour tonight, there's an alley in the Southwest District where Li's Pill Pavilion is located, along with the two side streets beside it. I'll have to ask the brothers to do us a favor—take a detour and skip patrols there."

Captain Zhao accepted the bag and swept it with his divine sense. A satisfied smile appeared on his face, though his tone carried a trace of reluctance. "Gang Leader Wu, this... isn't quite according to the Rules. If something happens in that alley during that time and the higher-ups investigate, it'll be hard for me to explain myself."

Wu Kui chuckled and patted Captain Zhao on the shoulder. "What could happen? At most, a few private Grudges. It'll all settle down soon. I guarantee there won't be too much commotion, and Captain Zhao won't be put in a difficult position. Afterward, no one will ever trace it back to the patrol. The brothers work hard—consider these Spirit Stones a treat for some spirit tea and a chance to rest their feet."

Captain Zhao weighed the Spirit Stone bag in his hand. After hesitating for a moment, he finally nodded. "...Fine. I'll do it for Gang Leader Wu's sincerity. From the Chou Hour to the Yin Hour, I'll have the brothers avoid that area. But Gang Leader Wu, you'd better make it quick, and don't let the whole world know about it. Otherwise, I won't be able to cover for you either."

A vicious glint flashed through Wu Kui's eyes. "Don't worry, Captain Zhao. I understand the Rules. I guarantee it'll be clean and swift, as though nothing ever happened."

Captain Zhao put away the Spirit Stone bag. "Good. I'll make the arrangements now. I wish Gang Leader Wu... success the moment your horse arrives."

Captain Zhao turned and vanished into the night.

A savage smile spread across Wu Kui's face. He gestured toward the shadows behind him, and two ghostlike figures silently emerged—Old Hei and Viper.

Wu Kui instructed the two, "You heard everything?

Time is limited, and the route has been cleared.

The targets are Li's Pill Pavilion and Li Chengjie.

Be quick. Be clean!

Old Hei, you'll break in and lead the assault.

Viper, use your poison and movement techniques to support him. Don't let the target escape or raise an alarm.

Once it's done, loot every valuable item and make it look like a robbery and murder."

Old Hei licked his lips, his voice hoarse. "Rest easy, Gang Leader. A little Qi Refining Level 5 alchemist will be caught as easily as turning over a hand!"

Viper gave a sinister laugh. "My Spirit Corroding Powder is ready. I guarantee his Spiritual Energy Circulation will be sluggish, leaving him at our mercy."

Wu Kui nodded. "Good! Go! I'll await your good news!"

Old Hei and Viper exchanged a glance. Their figures flickered, and like two wisps of green smoke, they silently slipped toward Li's Pill Pavilion.

Inside Li's Pill Pavilion, Li Chengjie was meditating in the quiet room of the rear courtyard, regulating his breath while keeping his divine sense alert to the outside world.

Suddenly, the Warning Restriction Formation he had set in the shop's front hall sent out an exceedingly faint ripple!

Li Chengjie's eyes snapped open. His divine sense surged out at full force as he barked, "Who's there?!"

A soft muffled sound came from the front hall, as though a door bolt had been silently severed by something sharp.

Old Hei's coarse voice, tinged with mockery, rang out from the front hall. "Heh, kid, you're pretty alert! Too bad you're too late!"

With a thunderous BANG, the door to the quiet room was kicked open by tremendous force!

Old Hei's burly figure blocked the doorway, a Ghost-head Saber gleaming coldly in his hand.

At the same time, a faintly fishy-sweet scent drifted in through the window, carrying an effect that numbed spiritual energy.

Li Chengjie instantly drew the Azure Edge Sword at his side. He circulated his spiritual energy, only to feel it snag slightly. His heart jolted. "Poison?! Who are you people?!"

Viper's icy voice seemed to come from every direction. "The people here to take your life! Kid, blame yourself for offending someone you shouldn't have offended! Submit and die obediently, and you may suffer a little less!"

Li Chengjie's gaze turned cold. As he circulated spiritual energy to resist the poison, he thought that he had not offended anyone recently—except perhaps Chen Kun. He demanded sharply, "Did Chen Kun send you?!"

Old Hei gave a savage grin and swung his saber. "The dead don't need to know that much! Give me your life!"

The heavy Ghost-head Saber split through the air as it hacked toward Li Chengjie's head!

Li Chengjie twisted aside and raised the Azure Edge Sword in a slanting block. CLANG!

The weapons collided, scattering sparks. Li Chengjie felt an immense force crash into him, numbing his arm and driving him back several steps. Shock filled his heart: the opponent was a Body Cultivator, with strength far beyond others of the same level!

Viper's figure appeared behind Li Chengjie's side like a ghost. A black gleam stabbed straight for his heart from behind. "Take this!"

Li Chengjie's divine sense caught the danger. He forcibly twisted his body and swept the Azure Edge Sword back. DING!

He barely blocked Viper's dagger, but that strange numbing sensation seemed ready to travel along the blade once more.

Li Chengjie's thoughts raced. He knew he could not drag this out; he had to break through as soon as possible. "You dare commit murder in the inner circle of the Flowing Cloud Sect! Aren't you afraid of the Enforcement Team?!"

Old Hei roared with laughter, his attacks growing fiercer. "The Enforcement Team? Hahaha! Not even a ghost will come to this alley tonight! Kid, accept your fate!"

Blade-light and sword-shadows crisscrossed through the cramped quiet room. Li Chengjie barely held on with his exquisite footwork and sword arts, but under the poison's effects, his spiritual energy circulated ever more slowly, and small wounds began to appear across his body.

Viper prowled about treacherously, constantly seeking an opening. "Old Hei, put some muscle into it! He's almost done for! The taste of this Spirit Corroding Powder isn't bad, is it?"

Li Chengjie panted heavily, yet his eyes grew sharper and sharper. He noticed that his opponents seemed to want to capture him alive, or at least make sure he could no longer resist before killing him. "You... aren't here just to kill me?"

Old Hei smashed the table and chairs beside him with a slash of his saber and roared, "Nonsense! Once we kill you, won't the pills and Spirit Stones in your shop all be ours?"

Fury surged in Li Chengjie's heart, and he completely understood the chain of events. "Good! Very good!"

Li Chengjie's thoughts whirled. Old Man Li's abundant experience in life-and-death combat and Su Yuchen's insights into exquisite spellcasting flowed through his mind in an instant.

Spiritual energy burst beneath Li Chengjie's feet, sending him rapidly backward. At the same time, his hands flew through seals. "Rock Eruption Technique!"

The ground trembled faintly as several sharp stone spikes suddenly thrust up beneath Old Hei's feet!

Caught off guard, Old Hei crushed several of them underfoot with his formidable physique, but his movements were stalled for an instant nonetheless. He cursed angrily, "Tricks of a petty craftsman!"

Viper's figure blurred like smoke as he evaded the range of the stone spikes. A miserable green ghost flame flew from his sleeve. "Have a taste of my Corpse Soul Ghost Fire!"

The ghost flame burned soundlessly, exuding a chilling aura that corroded the soul as it drifted toward Li Chengjie.

Li Chengjie's gaze sharpened. Recognizing the vicious thing, he dared not take it head-on. Spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips. "Water Spout!"

A spinning current of water appeared out of thin air. Though small, it precisely swept toward the ghost flame. Water and fire collided with a series of sizzling sounds, steam billowing forth as the ghost flame was barely extinguished.

Viper looked slightly surprised. "Oh? Not a slow reaction! Then take this!" His hands flicked repeatedly, and dozens of tiny Wind Blades, like invisible sickles, howled as they blanketed Li Chengjie.

Though the poison hindered the circulation of Li Chengjie's Internal Spiritual Energy, the spellcasting experience he had copied made his movements exceptionally practiced. "Earth Wall Technique!"

A thick earthen wall instantly rose from the ground before him.

"Puff puff puff..."

Most of the Wind Blades sank into the earthen wall, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Seizing the opportunity, Old Hei had already circled around the wall. Dense earth-yellow light gathered around his right fist as he threw a punch. "Stone Shattering Fist!"

The force of the punch was fierce and powerful, carrying the momentum of shattering mountains and cracking boulders.

Li Chengjie had no time to use a complicated spell. The Cultivation Technique in his left hand changed. "Vine Entanglement!"

Several tough blue-black vines burst from the ground, swiftly winding around Old Hei's legs.

Old Hei's punching momentum stalled. He braced his legs and erupted with spiritual energy. "Break for me!"

The vines snapped inch by inch, but they had still hindered him for a moment.

Li Chengjie gained a sliver of breathing room. He held two fingers together like a sword with his right hand, and the little spiritual energy remaining within him surged madly toward his fingertips. A blinding glint of gold lit up. "Geng Metal Finger!"

An incomparably condensed, peerlessly sharp golden beam shot toward Old Hei's chest like lightning! This was a low-tier spell from Su Yuchen's memories—one that consumed an enormous amount of spiritual energy but possessed exceptional penetrating power!

Sensing the threat of that golden gleam, Old Hei's face changed drastically. He let out a furious roar and crossed his arms before his chest. Earth-yellow spiritual energy condensed into a rough rock shield. "Rock Armor Technique!"

Boom!

The golden beam slammed fiercely into the rock shield with a deafening crash!

The shield shook violently, cracks spreading across it. Though it did not shatter completely, the sharp Geng Metal energy had already penetrated through, sending waves of agonizing pain through Old Hei's arms and making his Qi and Blood Surge!

Old Hei grunted and staggered back several steps. His eyes were filled with shock as he stared at Li Chengjie. "This kid... his spells are cast fast and accurately! Their power is condensed to such a degree too! He doesn't seem like some greenhorn!"

Seeing Old Hei suffer a loss, Viper's gaze turned even colder. He muttered an incantation, and an invisible ripple spread outward from him. "Mind Bewildering Curse!"

Li Chengjie only felt a slight dizziness in his head. His Spiritual Sense Perception became hazy, and his spellcasting speed immediately slowed by a beat.

Viper seized the chance. A black rope shot from his sleeve, coiling around Li Chengjie's neck like a venomous snake. "Spirit Binding Rope! Bind him!"