Xu Bai: Do You Want to Make a Deal?

Those who can stand in mid-air are definitely at the Transcendent Realm or above.

In Xu Bai's view, of the five people who came, only the middle-aged man at the front was floating in mid-air; the others all had their feet on the roof.

It's unclear whether they've reached the Transcendent Realm, but judging from the current situation, the strongest one is the middle-aged leader.

"I've encountered strange things as soon as I arrived. Am I the kind of person who attracts trouble?" Xu Bai wondered.

To be honest, he didn't come here to cause trouble. He knew his own identity and that the more low-key he was, the better. He just wanted to go to Three Lives Mountain, get what he wanted, and then leave.

After my escape, I'll return to the Great Chu Kingdom Great Chu Kingdom and lord it over everyone. Wouldn't that be great? I am the King Xu!

After going back, I'll spend my days extorting money from those Prince and collecting tons of progress bars; that'll be quite enjoyable.

When Ye Zi came out of seclusion, he was surrounded by a beautiful woman, and the scent was incredibly enticing. He had even already imagined many positions.

So he really didn't want to cause trouble.

But sometimes, when you don't want to cause trouble, things just happen to come knocking on your door, and they even seem to be working against you, like right now.

Before that, in that dilapidated courtyard, he didn't intend to cause trouble. It was only after Zhong Ruqin insisted on making trouble for him that he exposed himself and then killed her.

Now, Xu Bai finally realized that when he read novels before, all the main characters had a knack for attracting trouble, which he had previously scoffed at.

But now it seems that sometimes when things come to a head, it really isn't your fault.

The night outside the window was as still as water, and the rustling wind outside made the robes of the group of people flutter.

Xu Bai narrowed his eyes and didn't say a word.

The one who was leading the group, floating in mid-air, spoke up, "Is it him?"

These words came abruptly, and were not spoken to Xu Bai, but to someone behind him.

Behind him, a man stepped forward and bowed, saying, "It was him, sir. Although I have not reached the Transcendent Realm, my Qi Observation Technique has reached the Transcendent Realm, which means that he was the one who did it."

grown ups?

Subordinate?

"Looks like they're from the Dark Building."

In this era, this title can be used in many ways, and an organization can also use it, but Xu Bai prefers to think of the Dark Building.

Where is this place? This is Fallen Phoenix City, a city, and a city near the Border Pass. Who would dare to stand so openly on a rooftop? Aren't they afraid that someone in the shadows will see them?

The fact that someone dares to stand here so boldly, without wearing armor, suggests they must be connected to the Dark Building.

"The Qi Observation Technique seems to be related to that woman."

After arriving in the Great Yue Kingdom, Xu Bai did not do anything significant. Apart from killing Zhong Ruqin, he did not cause any trouble.

Now that this news has suddenly come out, it's quite obvious that it's related to his killing of that woman.

"It seems I need to be more careful in normal times," Xu Bai thought to himself.

Just as he was thinking this, the middle-aged man in the lead finally spoke to him.

"I am the Si Zhong. Are you a member of the martial arts world? What is your name? Would you be so kind as to come with me to the Dark Building?"

His voice was loud and clear, as if he were doing something upright and honest. If Xu Bai didn't know that this person was a spy from the Dark Building, he probably would have believed him based on his voice alone.

Xu Bai was originally considering how to obtain information about that mountain, but after hearing what the man named Si Zhong said, his eyes suddenly lit up.

What he was looking for was the mountains of the Great Yue Kingdom, but how could he obtain intelligence openly? It was actually quite simple. What kind of organization was the Dark Building? The Dark Building was the intelligence agency of the Great Chu Kingdom, and it also included many complicated powers.

If we could find it in the Dark Building, wouldn't that solve the problem once and for all? Once this thought took hold, it was completely uncontrollable.

"If we can impersonate someone else and successfully infiltrate the Dark Building, and then use the Dark Building's intelligence network to obtain information about Three Lives Mountain, then everything will become extremely simple."

Xu Bai made up his mind.

"This person spoke just now, it seems he doesn't intend to make a move immediately, what's the reason?"

"That woman must be connected to them, and may even be one of their hidden agents. In that case, I should be the one to blame for killing her and ruining their plans."

"But he didn't get angry or make a move. He even spoke kindly to me. I realized he wanted to extend an olive branch."

In just a short while, Xu Bai had some minor clues in his mind. After connecting the clues, he came to a conclusion.

At the same time, a plan flashed through his mind.

"Heh... If I join the Dark Building in this way, I'll be exposed sooner or later. After all, my identity is of unknown origin, and even if I don't look the same as before, there's still a risk."

"In that case, we have to change our approach. Dark Building is already my enemy. They've tripped me up so many times before, so don't blame me for being ruthless."

After a moment's thought, Xu Bai finalized his plan and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

At this moment, the shopkeeper Si Zhong, suddenly felt something was wrong, as if his hair stood on end. His gaze lingered on Xu Bai, and a look of doubt appeared on his face.

He had never met this person before. How could he possibly know all the people in the martial arts Great Yue Kingdom?

Logically speaking, people like these from the martial arts world should be overjoyed to receive an invitation from the Dark Building.

After all, those who belong to the martial arts world are still martial arts people; being able to join an official organization is a great favor to them.

But for some reason, this person did not show any joy; instead, he seemed to be sizing up his prey.

"Prey... prey..."

"This person cannot be allowed to live!"

Si Zhong shook his shoulders, dispelling all the fear in his heart.

This man's eyes are suspicious; he must take him down and will no longer consider letting him join the Dark Building.

Having made up his mind, Si Zhong turned around and said, "Take it down!"

The moment the two words were uttered, a gust of wind was heard. Turning around, the man who had been standing by the window had already run to the horizon, his speed astonishing.

"They've escaped this far in the blink of an eye; they must possess some extraordinary skill!" A greedy glint flashed in Si Zhong's eyes.

Even among the members of the Dark Building, they didn't possess many good things. They were only much better off than most of the wandering martial artists who lived a life of hardship.

But now, seeing that the other party has a unique skill, regardless of whether they can cultivate it, they want to get their hands on it first.

If you can cultivate on your own, that's a good thing. If it doesn't match your profession, you can give it to your superiors to get a promotion opportunity.

"Chase!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Si Zhong flew out first.

The person in front of me was just constantly moving around on the rooftop; he shouldn't be at the Transcendent Realm.

Even if it's Transcendent Realm, he can easily deal with them, since he has two other Half-Step Transcendent by his side, so it's no problem at all.

This highlights the differences between the Great Yue Kingdom and the Great Chu Kingdom.

Judging from the two institutions, the Great Yue Kingdom assigned members of the Dark Building of different ranks to oversee each city based on its importance.

The Great Chu Kingdom, on the other hand, adopted a patrol system to keep the entire Bureau of Surveillance in motion.

The reason is actually quite simple. The Great Chu Kingdom was established not long ago, and after its establishment, half of the Jianghu was trampled by Rising Dusk King. Therefore, it was still somewhat weak in recruiting Jianghu people to join the Bureau of Surveillance.

Si Zhong chased after him very quickly, his eyes already blinded by the incredible skill of the movement technique, and not just because of the technique itself.

Something inexplicable was gradually stirring his soul, but it was doing so in a very subtle way that he was unaware of it.

This method of manipulation made him disregard minor details, as if he could gain enormous benefits simply by killing the person in front of him.

"Such skillful movement is absolutely rare and must be mastered!"

Gradually, his men couldn't keep up.

How can a person running on two legs possibly outrun a flying creature?

As Si Zhong chased him out of the city and into a desolate wilderness, his four henchmen were far behind and disappeared from sight.

But he didn't notice and continued chasing after them without paying attention.

Driven by his soul and various desires, he no longer cared about anything else.

The unfamiliar figure ahead remained at a distance, neither too close nor too far, as if he could catch up at any moment, yet it also seemed as if he would never catch up.

"He can't hold on much longer!"

The Si Zhong was bewildered by this inexplicable distance, and an idea arose in his mind, so he chased after it even further.

Under the moonlight, in the vast and boundless wilderness, only two figures remained, one chasing and the other fleeing; the others had long since vanished.

The Si Zhong was still chasing, and after a while, he realized that the distance between them was closing.

A feeling of joy filled my heart.

"Just as I thought, you couldn't hold on any longer?"

"I knew it. How could someone who hasn't even reached the Transcendent Realm possibly be better than me?"

"This baby is mine!"

The more Si Zhong thought about it, the more agitated he became. Gradually, he also noticed that something was wrong.

The distance between the two was closing rapidly, and the reason was simple: it wasn't because the other person was slowing down, but because the man had stopped and was facing away from him.

"Something feels off!"

Even though he was being swayed by his own thoughts, the strange situation made Si Zhong stop in his tracks, leaving him more than ten meters away from the man in front of him.

The moonlight shone down, casting a hazy glow on the man's back. The man in front of him, whom he didn't recognize, didn't seem to have any intention of wasting words with him; he seemed to be in a hurry.

"There's no one around..."

A calm voice sounded in Si Zhong's ear, and then he watched as the man turned around, with gold and gray-white colors intertwined behind him.

Confusion!

The despairing chaos was gradually boiling over.

In Si Zhong's eyes, only this man remained.

Everything around him seemed to have vanished, and the man became a chaotic aggregate.

"Chaos, it's you! Xu..."

How could he not know who this person was? In the eyes of those in the know in the Great Yue Kingdom, the Heavenly Change that intertwined gold and gray-white, and the terrifying and despairing chaos, were all marks of that man.

—Xu Bai! He only got halfway through his sentence because he couldn't finish it; he saw a dazzling light that filled him with despair.

Indestructible, stunning the world! For some reason, he suddenly felt a pain in his neck, and then he lost consciousness.

Blood splattered down, and his head rolled around until it reached Xu Bai's feet.

Xu Bai moved very quickly, and before the blood could fall to the ground, he had already taken off the outer garment, followed by another dazzling blade of light.

This time, the blade's edge was not as precise as before, but rather became indestructible.

The body and head were gone, vanished without a trace.

Xu Bai quickly put on his clothes, applied a human skin mask to his face, and transformed into the appearance of Si Zhong from before. Moreover, his figure began to change gradually, becoming almost identical to Si Zhong.

"This is not the final destination."

If they stopped here, there would still be some openings if their so-called subordinates caught up. So Xu Bai continued flying forward for a while before stopping again.

At the same time, he unleashed blade flashes everywhere, making the place incredibly chaotic.

After standing still for a while, the four members of the Dark Building finally caught up.

"My lord, where is he?" Zhang De, who was skilled in the Qi Observation Technique, stopped and looked around in confusion.

Along the way, they hurried as fast as they could without the slightest hesitation, but unfortunately, the difference in strength was too great, and they were ultimately unable to catch up, falling further and further behind.

But to their surprise, when they caught up, the place was empty.

Xu Bai narrowed his eyes, pondering Si Zhong's personality just now, and said, "When we were halfway through the chase, we fought a big battle with him. He was seriously injured and started to run away again. When we caught up with him here, we fought another big battle. In the end, he used a special movement technique and disappeared without a trace."

The statement was brief, summarizing the whole story but omitting any details.

In situations like this, the more detailed the explanation, the more flaws there are; the more general the explanation, the fewer flaws there are.

He was the leader here, so there was no need for him to explain in too much detail to his subordinates.

Yun Liu asked, "This person has ruined the Shadow Operative Plan, sir. Should we ask our superiors to issue a warrant for his arrest in the Dark Building?"

Shadow Operative Plan?

Xu Bai showed no sign of distress and quickly understood what it meant.

Perhaps that woman named Zhong Ruqin is part of the Shadow Operative Plan.

Thinking of this, he nodded.

"Let's go back to where we're staying first, and I'll make the arrangements there."

No one noticed anything amiss. They all nodded, got up, and left.

Xu Bai pretended to be nonchalant and lagged behind, letting the group lead the way towards their so-called resting place.

"I could kill them or control them right now, but that's not a safe option."

"Let's see if there are any other members here, then we'll take them all out at once."

His purpose was merely to gather information, not to infiltrate the country, nor did he intend to wait a long time before returning to the Great Chu Kingdom Great Chu Kingdom to inform the emperor that he had taken control of the Dark Building.

He would leave as soon as he could find out the information, because even if he was pretending to be someone else, he would eventually be exposed, especially now that he was taking a risky move.

"As soon as I get the information, I'll wipe this place clean immediately," Xu Bai thought.

He had no worries whatsoever, nor any sympathy or pity. The people sent by the Dark Building of the Great Yue Kingdom back then also showed him no pity whatsoever.

They could fight and kill at will.

These days, it's better to be ruthless.

Thinking this, I arrived at the simple pharmacy.

Yun Liu went to the door of the pharmacy, opened it, and let Xu Bai go in first before everyone else entered.

Once inside the house, Xu Bai looked around and found no one else.

"Does this branch only have a few people? If so, we can make our move. But before we do, we still need to test the waters."

If there were only this many people, he could easily control them and extract information from them.

Thinking of this, Xu Bai asked casually.

"Has no one else returned?"

After asking that question, Xu Bai's gaze lingered on everyone's face.

He saw doubt on these people's faces, but they quickly concealed it.

This person is not right!

Because this is Border Pass with a large army stationed here, there aren't many people in the Dark Building.

Xu Bai smiled.

These guys are indeed members of Dark Building; they're pretty good at managing their expressions, but they still need a bit more finesse.

The question that had been lingering in his mind just now had already given Xu Bai the answer.

There's no one here anymore.

When he asked that question, these people were puzzled, but they quickly hid their doubts because they had already become suspicious of him, but did not want to alert him.

That's enough.

Xu Bai said calmly.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Liu pretended to be puzzled. "Sir, what do you mean? We still have people outside who haven't returned yet."

The others also looked puzzled, pretending to be very convincing.

True Yuan Power surged, and the Qi mechanism stirred.

The next moment, everyone present was stunned and motionless.

Xu Bai found a seat and slowly began, "Let's talk about something. How can you find information here?"

When he was controlling these people, Xu Bai had thought it through carefully. He wouldn't ask too many questions because the Dark Building guys had methods to control people.

As far as he knew, it was basically poison, but other possibilities could not be ruled out.

If his inquiry into the core secrets backfires, it's tantamount to exposing himself.

Asking how to obtain information isn't a core secret; it can reduce risk.

When Xu Bai asked that question, it proved that his guess was correct.

Yun Liu spoke stiffly, "The Dark Building's information is divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. We can only access level B."

"In the basement of this kind of pharmacy, there is a library where you can access all kinds of information."

Xu Bai frowned. "Will you be able to find it?"

Yun Liu nodded.

Xu Bai's eyes lit up.

He didn't expect things to be resolved so quickly and easily; now he just wanted to check the news.

The information is divided into four grades: A, B, C, and D. Since Fallen Phoenix City can find information on grade B and below, there shouldn't be a big problem.

He just wanted to check information about a mountain. No matter what, the information about this mountain couldn't possibly be above grade B, right?

Thinking of this, Xu Bai asked them to take him down.

Yun Liu walked at the front, his steps stiff, the others followed behind, and Xu Bai walked at the back.

Soon, they entered the underground through a secret passage.

Inside the staircase leading underground, a soft, glowing light emanated from the luminous pearls.

"They've come up with quite a few tricks; the lighting is quite interesting."

Under the light, the staircase was faintly visible, but those present could still see the way with the help of this light.

Soon, they came to a door by going up the stairs.

Yun Liu was at the front, opening the door, and people entered one after another.

When Xu Bai was the last to step inside, he finally saw what was inside.

Inside was a square space filled with various bookshelves, on which were placed all kinds of files. The light from the luminous pearls hanging on the wall was brighter than that of the corridor, illuminating the space clearly.

After Yun Liu and the other three finished doing this, they stood aside, clearly not taking any further action without receiving Xu Bai's next order.

"I need your help to find some information about a mountain, specifically what it looks like..."

Xu Bai began to describe the appearance and characteristics of the Three Lives Mountain in great detail.

After he finished speaking, the people started moving.

Xu Bai was also walking around. Seeing so many files, he thought he would encounter a lot of progress bars.

Unfortunately, all that's recorded here is data; there's not even a progress bar.

Slightly disappointed that he couldn't find the progress bar, Xu Bai found a place to stand, leaned against the wall, and waited patiently.

Yun Liu and his group searched quickly and systematically, categorizing their search by type.

After about an hour, all the files had been searched through, but no one found any useful information.

Yun Liu said blankly, "We found many strangely shaped mountains, as well as quite a few steep ones, but we didn't find any that could tower into the clouds."

Not found?

Xu Bai frowned.

That's impossible! Rising Dusk King once said that if you want to find extraordinary mountains and towering peaks, the best place to go is the Great Yue Kingdom. But why can't we find it in the records? It's just information about a mountain. How could it not be found in the second-grade documents?

"Is it possible that it's in the Grade A documents?"

"That should be the case," Yun Liu replied. "When we were checking just now, we found that some information about the mountain had been directly erased. It might be something extremely important, or perhaps something major has happened."

An extremely important matter? Xu Bai listened with growing seriousness.

Normally, he would just treat this kind of news as a hobby, but this time it's different. This matter is related to him, and not only that, he also knows the secret of the Three Lives Mountain.

Many sordid things happened there, some even related to the depletion of resources at the time, and there were even speculations from elderly people with white hair.

When these three factors were combined, Xu Bai couldn't help but have an idea.

"Could it be that the Great Yue Kingdom has already made a discovery, and therefore erased all information about these mountains, or perhaps upgraded it to a higher level, so that only those in the highest tier can access it?"

As the thought crossed his mind, Xu Bai became even more certain.

Although there were no clues, everything that was in front of them was pushing this inference in a definite direction.

"If that's the case, the usual methods of finding information might not work."

All of this has been erased, proving the importance that the Great Yue Kingdom attached to it. In that case, it would be extremely difficult to find out about it through other methods or other channels.

Headache.

It's giving me a headache.

I thought it would be a simple trip to find treasure, but I didn't expect there to be so many strange things going on.

"If I need to look at the Class A documents, what should I do?" Xu Bai asked.

He was determined to obtain the Three Lives Mountain, not only for the progress bars, but also for the secret of the white-haired old man.

That white-haired old man, half-mad and half-sane, was perhaps the one most capable of approaching madness with a clear mind, and even uncovering something from it.

Yun Liu thought for a moment in a daze, then said, "There are two methods."

"First, to advance to the next level, one needs to reach the extraordinary level."

"Second, find someone with the authority in this area and ask them for help."

Xu Bai: "..."

Both of these aspects are very difficult for him.

The most difficult part is his identity.

Whether it's being promoted to the next level or finding someone with the authority to access Class A documents, all of this is predicated on him not revealing his identity.

But is this possible? It's possible, but the probability is extremely small.

It can even be extremely dangerous, because those who have the right to view top-tier materials, or those who have been promoted to the next level, are all in extraordinary circumstances.

As a mere sixth-grade Transcendent Realm cultivator, how could he not control these people? Was he just courting death?

The more Xu Bai thought about it, the more of a headache he got.

If there was really no other way, he could only search for it himself, traversing every inch of the Great Yue Kingdom.

At this moment, a middle-aged man next to Yun Liu suddenly spoke in a daze.

"Actually... there is a third method."

Xu Bai was already feeling quite troubled, but upon hearing this, he abruptly raised his head and said, "Speak!"

The middle-aged man slowly began to speak...

"If one can achieve a first-class merit, one can be promoted to the next official position without reaching a certain level."

Xu Bai: "..."

This is just pure self-deception.

What is his current status? To put it bluntly, a spy.

Not just a spy, but the kind of spy that, once the enemy finds out, the entire Great Yue Kingdom will hunt him down.

Sending him to gain merit? That's utterly a pipe dream.

Xu Bai then glanced at the others, as if asking them if they had anything else to say.

No one spoke, which meant there were no other options left; only three methods remained before him.

"Tell me, how did you find me?" Xu Bai changed the subject.

Yun Liu said, "We have a Qi Gazing Master here who can find relevant clues through Qi Observation Technique, but there is a certain distance. If you go too far away, you won't be able to find them."

Can't you find it if you go too far away? Xu Bai finally realized where he had made a mistake.

The reason why Zhong Ruqin was allowed to enter the city before dying was to avoid causing a commotion during the journey, but unexpectedly, this was overlooked.

There are countless professions in this world, and indeed some are quite mysterious and difficult to guard against.

"It seems that after I kill you all, I'll have to find a way to get away from Fallen Phoenix City as soon as possible."

Xu Bai had already made up his mind that he could not let these people live. After killing them, he would leave Fallen Phoenix City and go as far away as possible. Then he would change his identity and live a different life. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

With this in mind, Xu Bai prepared to make his move.

These people in front of him were already under his control and had no power to resist. He could take their lives with just a wave of his hand.

Unexpectedly, before Xu Bai could even make a move, he suddenly felt a gust of wind blowing around him.

Following the gust of wind, I saw a dark shadow in the corner of the room, gradually twisting and turning.

The shadowy figure emerged from the corner, its previously indistinct shape transforming into a woman.

The woman was wearing a pale yellow dress and had a silver bracelet on her wrist.

Her hair was styled in a bun, but it wasn't the kind of bun worn by married women; it was the kind worn by unmarried young women.

She was stunningly beautiful with perfectly proportioned features. Most importantly, her eyes were large and bright, as if one could see a hint of girlish cunning through them.

The pale yellow dress accentuated the woman's figure perfectly, especially her taut chest, which looked as if it might jump out at any moment.

Xu Bai raised his right hand and looked at the woman calmly.

The woman in the pale yellow dress smiled and said, "Don't make a move. I'm not an enemy. I'm here to help you."

Xu Bai asked, "Name, age, gender, and purpose of your visit."

He spoke briefly, but a faint sense of unease permeated the air; if the woman couldn't give him a satisfactory answer, his head would be rolling on the ground the next moment.

If you see something you shouldn't have seen, then you might as well die.

The moment this woman appeared, he tried to use his soul control, but it didn't work.

The woman raised her hand, covered her mouth, and chuckled softly; the silver bracelet on her wrist gleamed brightly.

"I saw you being chased by the Dark Building alone, and I saw that you had control over the people of the Dark Building. You must be an enemy of the Dark Building, and I am also an enemy of the Dark Building."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I know where to find the top-tier documents you want, but you have to do me a favor."

The conversation stopped there because the woman took a step back.

"He's trying to kill me!"

The woman in the pale yellow dress could clearly sense the murderous intent emanating from Xu Bai.

Why?! She didn't do anything excessive, nor did she make any extreme moves. Why did the other party become so murderous after just a few words? Wait!

The woman seemed to understand something and quickly said, "Ying Yue, female, twenty years old, came here to cooperate with you."

Simple and unpretentious.

The answer was crisp and concise, without any hesitation.

As the murderous aura around her vanished, Ying Yue's eyes were filled with resentment.

"Just as I thought..."

The murderous aura she exuded just now wasn't because she harbored any hostility, but because she didn't answer the question.

This man is so strange. How come he doesn't know how to cherish women at all? Ying Yue increasingly felt that showing herself was a mistake. Her eyes rolled around, and the cunning hidden in them grew stronger.

Xu Bai didn't know the woman's purpose, but he was certain that she didn't know his identity.

If you know his identity, you can call him by his name.

Thinking of this, Xu Bai smiled.

If someone familiar with this smile saw it, they would sincerely exclaim in admiration.

—He's here, he's here, he's brought business with him.

When Ying Yue felt the gaze, she heard a sound that gave her goosebumps.

Do you want to make a deal?