Ma Wuji's expression changed drastically as he stared at Zhang Chu in disbelief. "You could even guess that?"
"Why couldn't I? The dignified seventh-ranked Flowing Cloud Swordsman on the Human Ranking, Bai Feiyu, was actually an arrogant, brainless idiot. Don't you find that strange?"
"Please, could you at least put some heart into your acting next time? It was so fake I could barely stand to watch."
The manor had been in complete chaos at the time. The Four Heroes of Demonic Rock had been slaughtering in all directions, and their terrifying strength was plain for all to see.
And Li Gang and the others had tried their utmost to stop him.
Yet even so, Bai Feiyu had still charged in. If that was not treating everyone like fools, then what was? Even if he wanted to clear himself of suspicion as quickly as possible, there was no need to make it so absurdly fake!
Sure enough, as soon as Zhang Chu finished speaking, a figure slowly stepped out from behind a tree in the forest.
Who else could it have been but the Bai Feiyu from before?
"Brother Zhang's observations are meticulous beyond measure. Bai has nothing to say." Bai Feiyu's complexion was rosy and his breathing steady. There was not the slightest trace of someone grievously injured and on the brink of death.
Zhang Chu did not waste words. Seeing that the net had nearly been drawn tight, he leaped down from his horse.
Then he looked calmly at the two of them. "At this point, do either of you have any last words?"
The words were spoken lightly, yet Bai Feiyu's expression changed on the spot, and his longsword let out a low hum.
Every muscle in Bai Feiyu's body tensed. Even though he had concealed his strength as well, he was still nowhere near a match for Zhang Chu.
Ma Wuji, however, suddenly gave a soft laugh.
"Why is Daoist Priest Zhang so confident that you can take down the two of us? Don't forget, I am a man of the Demonic Cult!"
Before his words had faded, Ma Wuji's figure vanished in an instant, so fast that only an afterimage remained.
His true strength was shockingly that of a True Gang Grandmaster!
That inconceivable Lightness Skill made Zhang Chu freeze for a moment. In the end, he had still underestimated the other man's speed.
Such movement technique had long surpassed all reason.
It was fast to the absolute extreme.
Even Zhang Chu, a Jade Liquid Grandmaster, could not catch his opponent's exact figure.
"Has brother Ma forgotten how you were exposed?" Gang Qi suddenly surged around Zhang Chu.
A terrifying pressure spread through the surroundings!
At the same time, Ma Wuji, who had already appeared beside Bai Feiyu, suddenly halted.
His entire body fell into a momentary daze. Even his eyes became dim, and he nearly collapsed.
"Th-This... what kind of martial art is this?"
Ma Wuji abruptly came back to his senses. He stared fixedly at the smiling Zhang Chu, his eyes filled with terror.
At that moment, he felt as though he were deep beneath the sea. Every movement took immense effort, and the space around him was filled with pressure, making even his Lightness Skill difficult to use.
"Is it strange? I created it myself."
Zhang Chu smiled faintly, as calm as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze.
What he was using was precisely the Ninth Layer Gang Qi of Yellow Court Inner Strength after its Manifestation. Invisible Gang Qi descended like the boundless northern sea, its terrifying water pressure shrouding the two of them.
Under Ma Wuji's horrified gaze, Zhang Chu's half-golden, half-white hair stirred, and a sharp gleam suddenly flashed through his eyes.
One blue and one crimson pupil gave off soul-shaking light. Then, behind Zhang Chu, two enormous phantom images seemed to emerge in a blur.
It was a dazzling, bizarre sight.
On his left stood a Mystic Turtle exhaling freezing mist, its cold piercing to the bone. On his right stood a Withered Monk burning with golden flames, scorching heaven and earth.
The two utterly different phantoms intertwined, forming a Manifestation that struck the heart like thunder.
"This is a Jade Liquid Manifestation! You... you actually broke through to the Jade Liquid Realm, and you're even a Manifestation Grandmaster!"
As a member of the Demonic Cult, Ma Wuji had seen much of the world. He recognized Zhang Chu's strength at a glance.
Bai Feiyu, meanwhile, stood there with hollow eyes, like an empty shell whose soul had been pulled away.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared on Ma Wuji's face, and his eyes were full of disbelief.
What kind of monster was this man?
When they had first met, Zhang Chu had only just entered the True Gang Realm. Yet after only a few short days, he had entered the Jade Liquid Realm and even developed a Manifestation!
One had to know that Jade Liquid Grandmasters capable of producing a Manifestation had always been as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns throughout history.
Even within their Sacred Cult, only a handful could achieve it. Every one of them was an existence that shook a region.
"Brother Zhang... I think we should talk. I still have bargaining chips!" Ma Wuji suddenly said.
There was a tremor in his voice. Even with his peerless Lightness Skill, he could still feel that terrifying pressure.
"Oh?" Zhang Chu asked curiously.
He had originally intended to send both of them to their graves with a palm strike each. He had not expected the other side to still have bargaining chips.
That stirred a trace of curiosity in him. "Let me hear it. What bargaining chip could buy your lives?"
"I know Brother Zhang is exceptionally gifted, but True Martial Temple has no Lightness Skill worth mentioning. Brother Zhang must have coveted my movement technique for a long time, right?"
Ma Wuji looked at Zhang Chu, a flicker of hope flashing through his eyes. He knew Zhang Chu had his eyes on his Lightness Skill.
Zhang Chu did not deny it. He truly wanted to obtain that inconceivable Lightness Skill.
It was not as though Zhang Chu had never considered entering the martial world, killing a few people, and having secret manuals drop out.
But imagination was beautiful; reality was impossible.
No fool would carry a martial arts manual on their person. Some especially cautious people would even destroy the manual on the spot after memorizing its contents.
"But that bargaining chip is still not enough. A single Lightness Skill is not enough to trade for both your lives."
Ma Wuji was not surprised by this. Zhang Chu was a Manifestation Jade Liquid Grandmaster, and so young besides. It was only natural that one Lightness Skill would not be enough.
"Of course I know that a single Lightness Skill is insufficient. But what if I add news of your master?" Ma Wuji offered news that was impossible to refuse.
"You know where my master is?"
Zhang Chu's expression changed instantly. This bargaining chip truly was impossible for him to refuse.
The information Tu Xiong and the others had given earlier had been sparse. They had only mentioned the Ghost Realm, without providing enough evidence.
"I naturally know more than the Sky Patrol Guard. Daoist Priest Zhang, don't forget that I am a member of the Demonic Cult!"
The words "Demonic Cult" represented mystery and danger in the martial world, but they also represented well-informed channels.
Zhang Chu fell silent for a moment before saying, "Fine. If the information is accurate, I can consider letting you leave. I can also let you take the Divine Sword Embryo with you."
"Good, then it's a deal!" Ma Wuji immediately let out a breath of relief. He had finally survived.
"Actually, Tu Xiong got one thing wrong. Your master did not enter North of Mobei alone. I have reliable information that he entered together with someone else!"
"And he made another mistake. He told you to investigate Sandstorm City, but that is useless, because before your master disappeared, he only went to one place!"
At that point, Ma Wuji abruptly stopped speaking. He looked at Zhang Chu with a trace of cunning in his eyes.
"What place?" Zhang Chu asked.
"Brother Zhang will know once you let me leave!"
Ma Wuji's tone carried several parts certainty.
Seeing how confident he looked, Zhang Chu nodded. "Fine. brother Ma may leave now."
As soon as the words fell,
the Gang Qi enveloping the entire area instantly dispersed.
Ma Wuji immediately gasped for breath, fine cold sweat seeping from his forehead. Zhang Chu's strength was too terrifying.
Once he regained the ability to move, Ma Wuji was just about to leave with Bai Feiyu when he suddenly saw Zhang Chu smile.
Ma Wuji's heart tightened.
He knew that smile far too well. Every time Zhang Chu wore that expression, nothing good happened!
"Brother Zhang... are you going back on your word?"
Ma Wuji asked cautiously.
Zhang Chu shook his head. "No. It is impolite not to reciprocate. brother Ma observed Zhang all the way here, yet you never revealed your true face. That is rather hard to justify."
Ma Wuji curled his lips after hearing that.
What true face? Zhang Chu was clearly worried the information might be false and wanted to remember his real appearance so he could settle accounts later.
But Ma Wuji had no way to refuse.
After all, his life and death rested on a single thought from Zhang Chu.
"Fine, I can agree."
Then, under Zhang Chu's curious gaze, Ma Wuji slowly raised a hand to his cheek.
His fingers lightly picked behind his ear, and a mask as thin as cicada wings was slowly peeled away.
Then Ma Wuji's bones let out a series of crackling sounds. The originally thin and short figure transformed into that of a woman, several inches taller than before!
When Zhang Chu saw "Ma Wuji" reveal her true form, he could not hold it in and burst out laughing.
He had once thought he was an emotionless killer who would never break character, no matter what happened.
Unless he could not hold it in.
He had long known that Ma Wuji was from the Demonic Cult.
But he had never expected that the Demonic Cult spy who had followed him all this way would be a little girl!
And how should he describe her? Bright eyes, white teeth, adorably childish, even with a bit of baby fat.
You were a middle schooler, weren't you!
Seeing Zhang Chu laugh, Fake Ma Wuji immediately puffed up her cheeks. "I knew you'd laugh!"
Then her little face grew even rounder. "Hmph! I'm really not as young as you think! My face just looks young!"
As she spoke, she unconsciously rose onto her tiptoes. The sight only made her seem even more amusing.
Zhang Chu's smile grew brighter and brighter.
The girl shot him a fierce glare.
Knowing that staying would only mean more ridicule, she simply grabbed Bai Feiyu and swept toward the depths of the forest.
"My martial arts cannot be passed on to you. This Lightness Skill is even more powerful, and no one in our cult has ever managed to master it."
"Not even Lu Yuanjia, once the greatest hero under heaven, could cultivate it successfully. You'd better train yourself to death!"
A black piece of material, neither cloth nor leather, drifted out from the forest and landed directly before Zhang Chu.
Immediately afterward, a sweet and lively voice, laced with a trace of anger, echoed endlessly through the mountains.
"Your master's last destination was the Western Regions Ancient City!"
When the voice faded, silence returned to the mountains. The two of them had vanished without a trace...
Before you continue