There Were More Behind Them

Wuyang Prefecture, at the border with Donghe Prefecture.

In fact, it was right around Cloud Mountain Cliff.

Yu Xiu disembarked from the Flying Boat. By the way, Su Wenjin had paid the contribution points for it in advance.

He glanced toward the nearby town. It was still bustling with people, but there were far fewer cultivators, and he didn't see Luo Fuyi, who had been carrying a saber and a sword. He assumed they had all left.

"Guan Che!" Yu Xiu didn't linger. He took out a wooden sword about the size of his palm.

Su Wenjin had given it to him. Once activated, it could track a target using the aura left behind earlier.

The most common secret art of this kind was the Daoist sect's paper-crane tracking technique. It also cost the least, requiring only a single talisman.

The Sword Sect's wooden sword was pretty decent too!

Yu Xiu was about to activate the wooden sword in his hand when his expression suddenly changed. He slipped into the dense forest.

A disciple of the Qingwei Sword Sect? He looked at a young man hurrying over from the distant town. The man's features were delicate and feminine, his expression shadowed by gloom, and his skin had a sickly pallor.

Though the man wasn't wearing the Qingwei Sword Sect's uniform, Yu Xiu's Sword Heart could easily discern the Sword Qi on him.

There was no doubt that he was a sword cultivator of the Sword Sect.

Hm? His Sword Qi is impure, but the impurities aren't caused by pill poison! After sensing it for a moment, Yu Xiu grew even more puzzled. Did he rely on an external object to break through?

No, that doesn't seem right.

His Sword Qi seems to be mixed with an aura that doesn't belong to a sword cultivator!

This fellow disciple from the Qingwei Sword Sect hadn't gained his strength through normal cultivation. He had most likely taken a crooked path!

Is he looking for someone too? Yu Xiu used Hidden Edge to conceal his entire presence. Silently, he watched the young fellow disciple walk into the forest and take out a wooden tracking sword of his own.

After a moment's thought, Yu Xiu silently followed him.

The man activated the wooden sword in his hand. It flew free, heading through the air in a certain direction. His face lit up, and he caught the sword again.

Then he took out a communication talisman and said something. The talisman burned up, turning into a wisp of smoke that drifted away.

Perhaps half an hour later, a figure radiating a frigid aura arrived.

A Shadow Demon?! Yu Xiu's heart stirred.

Having cultivated a Sword Heart, his spiritual perception was far stronger than that of an ordinary cultivator in the second, Five Elements stage.

He easily sensed that this newcomer was undoubtedly a Shadow Demon.

Although the Shadow Demon's aura was tightly sealed within its body, it still couldn't fool his Sword Heart.

As expected, this Shadow Demon must have possessed a cultivator's body when the cultivator was breaking through.

Aside from their nature as Shadow Demons, these beings were almost indistinguishable from ordinary cultivators. Their bodies even suited them perfectly, making them especially difficult to detect!

Besides...

This Qingwei Sword Sect disciple really had taken a crooked path. Otherwise, why would he collude with a Shadow Demon?

As an enforcer from Dragon-Slaying Peak, Yu Xiu had every right to step in and carry out the sect's justice when he saw something like this.

But he wanted to see what this Qingwei Sword Sect disciple was up to, and who he was looking for.

"Wei Guan, have you found any trace of Guan Che?" the Shadow Demon murmured. Its gaze was dark and eerie; even the Sword Sect disciple Wei Guan found it unsettling.

A Shadow Demon's gaze was highly invasive. It could unknowingly influence an ordinary person's disposition, even taint them with demonic breath, until they ultimately fell to the demonic path.

Wei Guan concealed his discomfort well and replied respectfully, "Envoy Changqing, I've found a lead.

"When I left the sect, I made a point of bringing something connected to Guan Che. It carries his aura!"

"Good. If you find Guan Che, I can make sure the cult records a merit for you." A strange, spectral gleam flickered in the eyes of the Shadow Demon known as Envoy Changqing, making Wei Guan feel even more uncomfortable. Fortunately, the feeling soon faded.

As if he had noticed Wei Guan's veiled disgust, Envoy Changqing sneered. "Don't even think of returning to the Qingwei Sword Sect. You used an evil art to break through. You know better than anyone how many lives of people whose fates were bound to yours you sacrificed.

"If you dare reveal even the slightest flaw, those hardcases from Dragon-Slaying Peak will send you to the Earth Fire Prison, where they'll grind your soul to dust and crush your bones. You'll never see the light of day again!"

At the end of his words, Envoy Changqing let out a chilling laugh. "But following our cult is another matter. You used an evil art to break through and ruined your foundation as a sword cultivator. You're bound to make no further progress. If you instead cultivate our cult's sacred art, the two will complement each other!

"What's so good about being a sword cultivator? Apart from practicing the sword, all you do is practice the sword. You practice it day and night, every hour and every moment. Your progress is slow, and it wears you out. You know better than anyone how much you've suffered over the years to train with the sword.

"Look at you. After all that practice, what have you gotten?"

The longer Wei Guan listened, the darker his expression became. It wasn't that Envoy Changqing was wrong. Each of his words seemed to strike the deepest part of Wei Guan's heart, stirring his sympathy and winning his agreement. They even made him resent the Qingwei Sword Sect!

No, he's stirring up my inner demon! As a sword cultivator of the Sword Sect, Wei Guan's heart tightened. He quickly came to his senses.

These Shadow Demons and other fiendish creatures really were hard to deal with. One slip, and they could stir up his inner demon. Once that happened, he'd be close to falling to the demonic path!

"Envoy Changqing, finding Guan Che is more urgent." He swiftly changed the subject, afraid that if he let the Shadow Demon go on, he'd be the one to suffer.

The Sword Sect's people really are hard to tempt! Envoy Changqing sighed inwardly, but kept his expression unchanged. "When you left the sect, did you make sure to cover your tracks?

"If you draw the attention of those hardcases from Dragon-Slaying Peak, you'll likely die!"

By the end of his words, the spectral gleam in Envoy Changqing's eyes had turned downright dangerous.

Wei Guan forced a smile. "I was careful the whole way. Nothing should have gone wrong. The people from Dragon-Slaying Peak don't yet know that I broke through using the life-sacrifice method!"

Envoy Changqing grunted. "Hurry up and find Guan Che."

Wei Guan didn't dare delay. He immediately activated the wooden sword and followed after it.

Only after the man and demon had left did Yu Xiu leisurely emerge from the forest. "Wei Guan!"

He used an evil sacrifice to break through!

He colluded with a Shadow Demon!

Either one of those crimes would be enough to get him killed. And he'd committed both.

His death was already certain!

What Yu Xiu hadn't expected was that the Shadow Demon, Envoy Changqing, was also looking for Guan Che!

But it didn't matter. The Shadow Demon known as Envoy Changqing was probably only at the second stage of the Four Great Passes, the Five Elements stage. Yu Xiu guessed it wouldn't be beyond the second layer of Five Elements.

Wei Guan, who had broken through using an evil art, was even weaker. He had only just entered the Five Elements stage.

If Yu Xiu had acted earlier, both of them would already be dead—one a corpse, the other a dead demon.

But Yu Xiu wanted to know whether Guan Che, who had fallen to the demonic path, had already joined forces with Envoy Changqing.

If they had joined forces, then Yu Xiu wouldn't need to take him alive.

He'd just kill them all.

And, in the end, the Sword Heart's Hidden Edge truly was useful.

Though they had been no more than ten zhang away, neither the Shadow Demon Envoy Changqing nor Wei Guan had sensed his presence.

Without lingering, Yu Xiu followed the man and demon deeper into the mountains.

But before leaving, Yu Xiu seemed to glance toward a certain direction. He quickly looked away again, as if it had been an idle glance.

My Sword Heart sensed it. It can't be wrong!

There was someone else behind them!