Wang Xuan's pupils contracted!
A chill shot straight to the crown of his head!
The strange black face on his chest kept writhing, like a black insect that possessed life!
"Damn it! When did I get contaminated with this ghostly thing?!"
"It wasn't there last night. When did it appear?"
"Could it be... just now?"
Wang Xuan's heart sank. He suddenly recalled how, when he had fought Lu Qing earlier, he had split Lu Qing's chest open with one slash, and the latter had smiled at him eerily.
"It had to be then. It had to be just now!"
Wang Xuan's expression became incomparably ugly!
This strange black face must have been Lu Qing's handiwork when Wang Xuan attacked him!
Wang Xuan immediately circulated the qi and blood throughout his body, trying to purge the Black Face Mark.
Yet no matter what method he used, the Black Face Mark clung to him like a maggot burrowing into bone!
It simply could not be removed!
Moreover, the black face twisted, its lips curling upward as if it were mocking him.
Seeing this, Li Qingyi said, "Stop wasting your strength. This is the Soul-Devouring Mark of the Pity Life Sect. Once this mark is placed upon you, it means you have become a Human Pill of the Pity Life Sect!"
"Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, the people of the Pity Life Sect will still know your location!"
"Soul-Devouring Mark?!"
"Human Pill?!"
Wang Xuan frowned deeply at those words.
He solemnly cupped his hands toward Li Qingyi. "Please enlighten me, Young Master Li!"
Li Qingyi immediately began to explain.
"The Soul-Devouring Mark is a special method of the Pity Life Sect. The mark can be directly planted deep within a person's bloodline."
"Unless a Martial Path expert at the Innate level takes action, it cannot be forcibly erased."
"Of course, there is another way besides that."
"Kill the person who planted the mark, and the Soul-Devouring Mark will disperse!"
"As for Human Pills, they are a special kind of sacrifice used by the Pity Life Sect. Those making offerings can sacrifice Human Pills to the Holy Mother of Pity Life in exchange for greater power!"
"Do you understand now?"
As Wang Xuan listened to Li Qingyi's explanation, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
"Young Master Li, you said that when the person who planted the Soul-Devouring Mark dies, the mark will disappear."
"But Lu Qing was already cleaved to death by my blade. By all rights, it should have vanished. Why is it still here?"
Li Qingyi sneered. "Cleaved to death?"
"Who told you he was dead?"
"And how can you be sure that he was the one who planted the mark?"
As soon as those words left her mouth, Wang Xuan's expression changed once more.
Li Qingyi continued, "Anyone capable of planting a Soul-Devouring Mark must hold at least the rank of a Bewitching Envoy within the Pity Life Sect!"
"That is at least two or three ranks above the fellow you encountered before!"
"The man you just cut down was merely an unlucky bastard who had been possessed. He was already dead long before you cleaved him apart!"
"He had only maintained the appearance of a normal person through the power of a Bewitching Envoy."
"Bewitching Envoy?"
The more Wang Xuan heard, the more bewildered he became.
What exactly was a Bewitching Envoy?
Seeing Wang Xuan's puzzled expression, Li Qingyi said, "These matters are complicated. I will explain them to you slowly!"
"In short, you have been targeted!"
"Ever since I saved you last time, I felt that something was wrong!"
"After investigating, I discovered traces of Bewitching Envoys appearing in White Water County, so I tracked them all the way here!"
"If you want to break free from them and clear your name, the most urgent matter is to find their nest!"
"The Pity Life Sect has now infiltrated White Water County. They have more than a dozen strongholds within several hundred li. Although those have been destroyed, none of them were their central nest!"
After hearing Li Qingyi's warning, Wang Xuan's mood grew even heavier!
From Li Qingyi's tone, this Bewitching Envoy was likely on the same level as Yang Tianfeng!
Perhaps even stronger!
Being targeted by such a figure was absolutely not a good thing!
Besides, he had killed Lu Qing. That was an indisputable fact!
If he could not find evidence within three days to prove his innocence, he would have to return for trial!
Judging by Li Qingyi's manner, if they could not find the Pity Life Sect's nest within three days, she would certainly send him back.
"In Young Master Li's opinion, what should we do now?"
Wang Xuan raised his head and asked.
Since Li Qingyi knew he had been targeted by a Bewitching Envoy, she surely had a solution. Otherwise, she would not have saved him.
However.
Li Qingyi answered blankly:
"I don't know."
"Ah?"
Wang Xuan was instantly dumbfounded.
Didn't know?
Are you playing me?!
In an instant, ten thousand grass-mud horses galloped through Wang Xuan's heart.
"The reason I saved you is because you are a Human Pill. Any Blood Sacrifice involving a Human Pill will certainly be held at the location of their nest!"
"Within three days, they will definitely come for you again!"
"When they capture you, I can follow the vine to find the melon and locate their nest!"
Hearing that, Wang Xuan was speechless for a while.
So that was why Li Qingyi had saved him!
"They will find me within three days..."
"So that is why you made this three-day agreement with me?"
Wang Xuan could not help asking.
If he could help Li Qingyi find the Pity Life Sect's nest in White Water County within three days and deal with the Bewitching Envoy, he could survive.
If they could not deal with it.
He would either return to the military camp to stand trial, or be captured by the Bewitching Envoy for Blood Sacrifice.
No matter which outcome it was, it was a dead end.
"What else?"
Li Qingyi replied blankly.
Wang Xuan gave a bitter smile.
Looks like I can't count on this fellow!
I have to find a way to actively locate the Pity Life Sect's nest in White Water County!
Wang Xuan lowered his head and pondered for a time.
But.
Even after thinking for a long while, Wang Xuan could not come up with a solution.
"Damn it, at worst I'll turn Blackwind Mountain upside down over these three days!"
"I refuse to believe I won't find it!"
Wang Xuan abruptly rose to his feet.
He was not someone willing to sit and wait for death!
"What are you doing?"
Li Qingyi frowned at once when she saw Wang Xuan stand.
Wang Xuan said irritably, "Of course I'm going to find their nest. I'm not someone willing to sit and wait for death!"
Li Qingyi said calmly, "That is useless."
"I have already searched all over White Water County these past few days and found nothing."
"Just wait peacefully for them to come and capture you!"
"Don't worry. I will do my utmost to keep you safe!"
Wang Xuan turned his back on her and headed down the mountain.
"Sorry, but I don't have the habit of sitting around and waiting to die!"
Watching Wang Xuan descend the mountain, Li Qingyi's willow brows drew together, but she ultimately said nothing and followed behind him.
"What are you planning to do now?"
Li Qingyi walked shoulder to shoulder with Wang Xuan. Though she was dressed as a man, Wang Xuan could still smell the faint scent of gardenias on her.
"I'm going back to Whitestone Town first, to take a look at Zhou Laifu's residence!"
"My dealings with the Pity Life Sect began entirely because of Zhou Laifu. Their targeting me must also be connected to Zhou Laifu!"
"I'll search around the altar there. Perhaps I can find clues!"
Li Qingyi pondered slightly upon hearing this.
"You walk too slowly. I'll take you there!"
Without waiting for Wang Xuan to agree, Li Qingyi grabbed him and stepped onto a flying sword, shooting toward Whitestone Town.
Half an hour later.
The two arrived at the Zhou Estate in Whitestone Town.
It was already dawn.
The sky was faintly bright.
"How do you plan to investigate?"
Li Qingyi asked.
Wang Xuan looked at the pitch-black Zhou Estate before him and drew a deep breath. "I don't know, but there will definitely be clues!"
He directly vaulted into the Zhou Estate, activating the Tracking Art while also activating the effect of seeing as clearly as a blazing fire, scanning every corner around him.
Wang Xuan searched with great caution, beginning from the outer perimeter of Zhou Laifu's residence bit by bit. At last, he arrived at the pond where they had discovered the altar before.
This place had now been sealed off with the military camp's markers, and the entrance had been blocked by a massive boulder.
Wang Xuan raised his pudao and brought it down in a slash.
With a thunderous boom, the boulder sealing the entrance exploded. Wang Xuan immediately hunched over and entered through the opening.
Li Qingyi followed closely behind him.
The two quickly reached the place where Zhou Laifu had arranged the altar. Though it had already been dealt with by the military camp, the smell of blood still lingered in the air.
The statue of the Holy Mother of Pity Life that had once stood at the center of the altar had vanished, leaving only blood grooves in the ground shaped like a human face.
Wang Xuan crouched down and began searching carefully.
Tracking Art experience +20 Tracking Art experience +20 Tracking Art breaks through to Greater Mastery. Spiritual power greatly increased. Tracking Art: Greater Mastery progress 20/800 The effect of seeing as clearly as a blazing fire doubled.
As Wang Xuan searched carefully, the Tracking Art unknowingly broke through to Greater Mastery.
"Stop wasting your effort."
"I examined this place carefully. There were no clues left behind. I checked every other stronghold one by one as well."
Watching Wang Xuan search so carefully, Li Qingyi could not help speaking up.
But.
Wang Xuan ignored her. Using seeing as clearly as a blazing fire, he carefully searched the ground.
"The face on the ground is exactly the same as the one on my chest. The Pity Life Sect uses this face as a sacrificial pattern, and there is also the Soul-Devouring Mark!"
"There must be a secret to this face!"
"Could it be the face of the Holy Mother of Pity Life?"
Wang Xuan looked at the face on the ground, then recalled the black human face on his chest. His eyes narrowed slightly.
Suddenly!
As he stared carefully at the human face, his chest turned violently scorching hot, making his face twitch at once!
Wang Xuan hurriedly tore open his clothing at the chest and saw that the Soul-Devouring Mark there was continuously twisting, as though it were laughing wildly!
Before he could figure out what was happening, a frenzied urge suddenly arose in his mind, demanding that he tear up the ground!
It was as if something lay beneath the earth!
Something that was drawing the black face on his chest toward it!
Noticing Wang Xuan's abnormality, Li Qingyi immediately walked over and saw the face on his chest laughing.
"What is going on?"
Li Qingyi's expression changed.
Though she recognized the Soul-Devouring Mark, in her understanding it was only a marker and should not have had any other reaction.
Wang Xuan's face twisted savagely, veins bulging across his forehead!
"I... don't know!"
"There's something beneath the ground!"
When the Black Face Mark flared up, he had seen as clearly as a blazing fire that something abnormal lay beneath the eerie face!
"Move aside!"
Wang Xuan struggled to his feet.
He raised the Pudao in his hand, activating Copper Skin Iron Bones.
Ten Sun Blazing Saber!
Boom!
The saber qi crashed down, splitting the eerie face on the ground apart and blasting open a pit half a meter deep!
As soon as the first slash fell, Wang Xuan immediately raised his saber again for a second slash, then a third. The ground continued to explode along with them!
After more than a dozen slashes, a deafening bang rang out, as though the ground had been punched through!
In an instant!
The stench of blood surged skyward!
Wang Xuan and Li Qingyi's vision both turned scarlet in that instant!
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