Bluffing Towards Death

Qin Yang sat there quite casually, sipping his tea, his questions equally casual...

Yet Zhang Zhengyi increasingly felt that Qin Yang was unfathomably deep—he even knew about this matter, further confirming his guess that the other party had been watching him for a long time without him noticing at all...

The last shred of wishful thinking in his heart was extinguished...

He sat there obediently, spilling everything he knew.

"Senior Brother, I only learned about the Purple Firmament Dao Lord's Seated Transcendence Land by chance. Who would've thought the map would be destroyed by the Three Mountains Gang? Now, I'm afraid quite a few people know about it. Boundless Dao Academy will definitely send experts..."

"I know all that. The Three Mountains Gang tore the map apart and tattooed it on their bodies. The Human Skin Map still exists, so set the map aside for now. Is that all you know?" Qin Yang's tone carried a hint of disdain as he set his teacup down on the table.

Seeing this attitude, Zhang Zhengyi grew a bit anxious—was he being dismissed for his lack of strength? Had this news already spread to everyone?

"How could it be just that? I also know that besides the Purple Firmament Dao Lord's signature treasure artifact, the Multitreasures Heavenly Wheel, there's a good chance part of the Purple Firmament Dao Scripture's inheritance is there too! This is the pinnacle of divine arts. Others might not know, but I do—the Purple Firmament Dao Lord named himself Purple Firmament precisely because of this half of the Purple Firmament Dao Scripture!"

Qin Yang's expression remained still, but inside, waves surged. Leaving that note earlier was purely a casual move; he hadn't expected all this to follow. He'd only thought this Little Fatty might be connected to that thief from last night...

He never expected this Little Fatty was that scrawny thief from last night!

This guy had somehow filled in the gaps with his imagination and scared himself silly. Was the Divine Thief he'd buried before backed by a major force? Did he really have a sect?

And he'd never heard of the Purple Firmament Dao Lord, but those two words "Dao Lord"—he'd heard them before. They weren't a realm title but an honorific for certain great powers. Purple Firmament was the title, Dao Lord the honorific.

How strong the Purple Firmament Dao Lord was, he had no idea...

Back in the city, listening to people shoot the breeze, he'd heard a story. It was said that ten thousand li north of Green Forest City, there was a bottomless rift stretching a thousand li, over ten li wide. There, eerie winds howled day and night, countless poisonous creatures filled the fissure, and some had even seen the Yin River drifting past, with endless ghostly beings wailing and tumbling within. It was said that beneath that unfathomable rift lay the legendary Netherworld.

This rift was called One Slash Gorge, supposedly created thousands of years ago when two Dao Lords fought there, and one of them slashed out this gorge with a single strike...

Once, someone confident in their strength tried to fly across the rift, but halfway over, a baleful wind blew them, and they plunged straight into the fissure, never to be seen again. Since then, north-south travel had to detour a thousand li...

Even so, legend had it that this One Slash Gorge was merely the aftermath of their battle...

This Purple Firmament Dao Lord, bearing the highest-grade Dao Scripture, was definitely no weaker than those two battling Dao Lords—likely even stronger.

Even the behemoth Boundless Dao Academy near Green Forest City had never been known to have top-tier titled experts. Their strongest was still an unfathomable distance from a Titled Dao Lord...

Qin Yang's heart burned with excitement. A Seated Transcendence Land meant that the Purple Firmament Dao Lord was already dead! His hands itched to go and touch that Dao Lord's corpse...

His Corpse Touching skill, though unreliable and with a low chance of yielding Skill Books, still had a good chance of pulling one out if the deceased had talent...

From his previous problem-solving experiences, he'd concluded that most unremarkable people yielded no Skill Books, but if someone had a specialty in life, the odds were high—like that cooking recipe he'd gotten before.

Pulling out the thing the deceased was most proud of—that probability was high...

Since this Purple Firmament Dao Lord had taken Purple Firmament as his title, he must have been immensely proud of obtaining that Purple Firmament Dao Scripture.

The Purple Firmament Dao Scripture—the highest-grade existence among scriptures, classics, methods, and techniques!

Thinking of this, Qin Yang's insides churned uncontrollably. He could barely restrain his hands. When the map in his mind popped up again, he felt he couldn't even control his own legs...

Qin Yang sat there, his eyes flickering uncertainly...

"Senior Brother?" Little Fatty asked, looking worried...

"Hm?" Qin Yang snapped back to reality, glanced at Zhang Zhengyi, and put on a kind smile. "Zhang Zhengyi, interested in pulling off a job with me?"

"Senior Brother, don't joke. We don't have the map, and we don't know where the Purple Firmament Dao Lord's Seated Transcendence Land is. Besides, with Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce and Boundless Dao Academy both making moves, with our strength, we can't even fish in troubled waters..."

"Let me tell you the truth." Qin Yang thought briefly and made up his mind. Going alone to fish in troubled waters wouldn't work. This Little Fatty wasn't strong—not even at Foundation Establishment—but he'd seen him last night; the guy was slippery as hell. Plus, he had a decent technique for changing his body shape and appearance—that would be very useful...

"I have the map. I just don't know how prepared Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce and Boundless Dao Academy are. I'll notify the sect's elders, but they might not make it in time. If it comes down to it, I'll have to find someone to work with."

"Senior Brother, I'm willing to give my all for the sect, even die in the attempt." Zhang Zhengyi's eyes shifted, and he immediately began pledging loyalty...

"Cut it out. You know what the sect is like. Why would I bring an outsider like you along? What contributions have you made to the sect?" Qin Yang snorted with laughter.

Zhang Zhengyi looked a bit awkward and let out a dry laugh.

"I know. The sect's rules are pretty peculiar—nothing comes for free. But if I contribute now, it should still count, right?"

With that, Little Fatty pulled several thin books and three Jade Slips from his Storage Bag. Finally, gritting his teeth, he even took off the black silk ribbon wrapped around his arm.

"Senior Brother, take these first. Don't hold back..."

Qin Yang eyed Little Fatty's black silk ribbon with some greed. Its grade wasn't high—just a Magical Artifact—but it was extremely useful and flexible.

Too bad if he took it, it'd be harder to trick Little Fatty later. The guy was hot-headed now; if he pushed too hard, things might go wrong.

He picked up the books and skimmed them. They were mostly cultivation techniques and secret techniques, low-grade, including a familiar Bone Shrinking Art. He flipped through it—pretty much the same as what he practiced.

The three Jade Slips contained a Thousand Thread Poison Hand secret technique, a technique to conceal spiritual energy fluctuations called Conceal Void Art, and the last one was Little Fatty's flawless disguise method, named Shape Shifting Art.

Only this Shape Shifting Art was of a decent grade. It wasn't mere disguise but a technique derived from the Demon Race, used to alter body shape, even adjusting facial features to some extent. That was far more advanced than simple disguise.

"Alright, I'll take these two secret techniques. You go gather information first." Qin Yang pocketed the Conceal Void Art and Shape Shifting Art.

Watching Little Fatty grin like an idiot, he had a sudden idea.

"The sect's rules don't allow taking things for nothing. This is part of the map—let you have a look first."

With that, Qin Yang took out a piece of paper and, right in front of Little Fatty, drew a mountain surrounded by two rivers.

Little Fatty looked at it and felt greatly reassured.

It was indeed part of the Human Skin Map he'd seen before. Even if he couldn't recall the details, seeing it now, he recognized it.

"Senior Brother, don't worry. I'll go gather information right now..."