"Master, this Gu Lie has a very tough mouth. He has used all kinds of tortures, but he still remains tight-lipped and has not revealed any effective clues about the weaknesses of Gu Sheng's technique or his whereabouts."
"My subordinates suspect that he may really have limited knowledge. Should... cast Soul Searching Technique on him? Although it may cause his soul to collapse, some fragmentary information may be obtained."
"Searching for souls?"
Xiao Beixuan slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the subordinate, with a hint of displeasure and contempt in his eyes.
"Idiot. Gu Lie is just a bait, a tool used to distract Gu Sheng's mind.
He is alive now, and is much more useful than a worthless corpse. After searching for the soul, he becomes an idiot or loses his soul. What else can I do to catch that big fish? Let him live and live in pain, so that Gu Sheng can be in chaos."
The subordinate was so scolded that he broke into cold sweat and quickly lowered his head.
"My subordinates are stupid, but my master is wise!"
At this moment, another subordinate walked quickly and quietly, and respectfully handed over a Communication Jade Talisman that had just received the message.
Xiao Beixuan's spiritual consciousness scanned the information in the jade talisman, and a playful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Oh? Gu Sheng left Great Desolation City and took a young man with him to southern Xinjiang? It seems that he can't sit still and wants to find opportunities to improve his strength so that he can cope with the life and death challenge in half a month?"
The subordinate who had been reprimanded before immediately volunteered.
"Master, my subordinate is willing to lead a team of elites to go to southern Xinjiang immediately, intercept and kill this beast on the way, and will definitely bring his head back!"
"Interception? Just you?"
Xiao Beixuan sneered and shook his head with undisguised contempt in his tone.
"Use your brains! Why did this news spread so fast? So accurately? It was clearly Linlang Pavilion, or in other words, Gu Sheng himself, who deliberately released the news! The purpose was to lure the snake out of the hole and see who would jump out."
He sat up straight, picked up a grape that the maid had peeled, put it into his mouth, and spoke slowly.
"I have long expected that he will play this trick. Don't worry, I have already arranged for a 'double' to take the manpower to prepare a 'surprise' for him. How can the real killing move be exposed so easily? You guys, just continue to be optimistic about Gu Lie and don't let him die."
"Yes! Master has no plans left!"
The two men responded in unison, their awe for Xiao Beixuan deepening in their hearts.
On the other side, Gu Sheng and Situ Qingfeng did not choose the conventional route to southern Xinjiang.
Relying on the Linlang Pavilion's teleportation network all over the place, they passed through several large-scale long-distance teleportation arrays in succession. In just half a day, they crossed an extremely long distance and arrived at a small border town on the border between Eastern Wasteland and Southern Xinjiang.
This small town appears to be quite dilapidated and remote. The walls are low and the buildings are mostly made of rough stone and wood. Most of the pedestrians walking on the street wear clothing with obvious southern Xinjiang style. Their skin color is darker, and they are more or less wearing some animal teeth and bone ornaments.
The sky is high and the emperor is far away here, and it is not under the direct control of the "god religion" forces. It is one of the few cities in southern Xinjiang that still maintains its own unique order, with dragons and snakes mixed together.
The two of them were walking on the dusty streets. When Situ Qingfeng glanced at a simple notice board near the city gate, their steps suddenly stopped and their expressions instantly darkened.
"Brother Gu, look!"
Situ Qingfeng pointed at a wanted notice posted on the notice board that was obviously new and his tone was full of indignation.
Gu Sheng looked around and saw his portrait clearly painted on the wanted poster. Although it was only about 70% similar, the charm was captured quite accurately. The wanted poster was jointly issued by two forces - Southern Border Divine Cult, and... Eastern Wasteland Southern Emperor City! It listed his "crimes" and offered a heavy reward.
It is also stated that his cultivation level is about the Heavenly Martial Realm, but he possesses a special magic weapon that can explode with the power to kill sects, and he is full of tricks, so those who capture him must be careful.
"This Southern Emperor City! This is so deceiving!"
Situ Qingfeng said angrily.
"When you first asked us for help, you not only tried to burn bridges, but now you actually colluded with the religious sect and issued a wanted order! How shameless!"
Compared to Situ Qingfeng's indignation, Gu Sheng's reaction was much duller. He just glanced at it lightly and then looked away, as if the person on the wanted order had nothing to do with him. "As expected."
He only said four words, then stopped paying attention and turned to Situ Qingfeng.
"Find an inn to stay first."
Situ Qingfeng Seeing how calm he was, he could only suppress his anger and follow him.
The two of them asked for two upper rooms at a relatively clean inn in the city called "Ke Zai Lai".
After entering the room, closing the doors and windows, and placing a soundproof barrier, Situ Qingfeng finally couldn't help but speak again.
"Brother Gu, I still don't understand! The purpose of our trip is to secretly obtain the remains of Golden Winged Great Peng. Why did you go out of your way to let Linlang Pavilion spread the word and attract the people of Xiao Beixuan to intercept and kill him? Doesn't this add uncertainty and danger? If a large group of people or a stronger opponent is attracted, wouldn't our plan to seize the remains..."
Gu Sheng sat at the table and poured himself a glass of water, but did not drink it. He just looked at the ripples in the glass and spoke calmly.
"Qingfeng, do you think my trip is just for Golden Winged Great Peng's legacy?"
Situ Qingfeng was stunned.
"Isn't it?"
"Yes, but not entirely."
Gu Sheng raised his head with deep eyes.
"I have other plans at Great Desolation City. In addition to leaving the corpse, the more important purpose of this trip south is to attract attention and pin the eyes of Xiao Beixuan and the forces that may collude with him, such as Southern Border Divine Cult and Boundless Sect, firmly on us and on southern Xinjiang."
He paused and continued to explain.
"Soul Severing Cliff life and death challenge, I will go.
Moreover, I want to kill Xiao Beixuan openly and openly in front of everyone in the world.
The life and death competition under the supervision of the Great Desolation Sacred Academy has strict rules, which can limit him to the greatest extent from using certain evil and taboo methods, and can at least destroy one of his arms.
But Xiao Beixuan is cunning and suspicious by nature, he will never leave his nest easily and personally come to southern Xinjiang to intercept and kill me."
"So, you took the initiative to expose your whereabouts and publicized it in order to..."
Situ Qingfeng seems to understand somewhat.
"It's to make him think that all my energy is in southern Xinjiang, dealing with his interceptions and searching for his remains."
Gu Sheng A flash of wisdom flashed in his eyes.
"In this way, his attention to Great Desolation City will naturally weaken. Only then will my real back-up man have the opportunity to arrange things quietly.
To put it simply, I want to make him think that he has figured out my movements. In fact, my goal has never been limited to southern Xinjiang, but also lies in the battle on Great Desolation City Soul Severing Cliff half a month later! By diverting the attention of him and his allies, our operations on Great Desolation City will go more smoothly."
After listening, Situ Qingfeng suddenly understood and looked at Gu Sheng with eyes full of admiration.
"That's it! Brother Gu is very thoughtful and Qingfeng admires him! It's just me who didn't think carefully."
Gu Sheng stood up and walked to the window. Looking at the desolate and chaotic scene of the small border town outside the window, his tone became cold again.
"Since he has sent people here, let's collect some interest on this road to southern Xinjiang. Now that the news has been released, we only need to 'wait'."
Situ Qingfeng walked beside him, his brows furrowed, still worried.
"Brother Gu, I still think this move is too risky.
That Xiao Beixuan is insidious and cunning. If he really tried his best to intercept and kill him, it would be difficult for us to deal with him.
Moreover, in the life-and-death competition half a month later, will he really abide by the rules and fight you fairly? I always feel that he will not be so honest."
Gu Sheng is still looking out the window, as if he can penetrate the void and see his opponent Great Desolation City far away. "Fair?"
There was a cold arc at the corner of his mouth.
"Xiao Beixuan naturally won't tie his arms to fight me.
What a smart person like him is best at is using all means outside the rules to create an absolutely favorable situation for himself."
He turned around and looked at Situ Qingfeng, his eyes as deep as a starry night.
"Precisely because he is a smart person, when I took the initiative to expose my whereabouts and attracted an interception with great fanfare, he would be suspicious, thinking that this was another trap set by me.
On the surface, he will send people to intercept and kill, but his real energy must be on the deployment of Great Desolation City, trying to weaken me through various off-board moves before the life and death competition, such as targeting people around me, destroying my layout, or looking for treasures that can restrain me, etc., to ensure that nothing goes wrong in the arena."
"So you think the people he sent to southern Xinjiang are not the main force?"
Situ Qingfeng If you have some enlightenment.
"The main force? Maybe there is, but it is by no means his core force. It is more likely to be some abandoned sons used for testing, or... the local forces in southern Xinjiang that colluded with him."
Gu Sheng said in a determined tone.
"He takes one step and looks at three steps. Naturally, I look at a few more steps than him.
I have already taken precautions against various arrangements he may make at Great Desolation City.
He wants to use the incident in southern Xinjiang to distract my attention, and I can also treat him in his own way."
Situ Qingfeng pondered for a moment and then raised another possibility.
"Then... what if, I mean what if, Xiao Beixuan doesn't follow common sense and really sends unimaginable power, or comes in person? Aren't we..."
Before he finished speaking, Gu Sheng suddenly raised his eyebrows and revealed a meaningful smile.
"Don't act according to common sense? That's okay."
Almost at the same time as his voice fell, Situ Qingfeng looked out the window that Gu Sheng was looking at just now, and his pupils shrank suddenly.
On the opposite side of the street downstairs, in an inconspicuous corner, an old man with slovenly clothes and hair like tangled grass was sitting on a stone without any image, with one leg crossed and he seemed to be picking his feet in his hand.
This old man is surprisingly the same Xia Wuyou who not long ago suppressed Situ Qingfeng in front of Great Desolation City Linlang Pavilion with just his Qi machine!
However, upon closer inspection, the figure of Xia Wuyou seems a bit illusory, not a complete entity. There is an imperceptible faint halo flowing around it, as if it is an incarnation constructed of pure energy and spiritual power.
But even so, the faint hint of terrifying aura emitted by this incarnation still made Situ Qingfeng feel Array Core frightened.
Just when Situ Qingfeng was shocked as to why the incarnation of Xia Wuyou appeared at this time--
Rumble!!!
A loud thunder-like sound suddenly came from the southern sky! It was not a real thunder, but a strange phenomenon in the heaven and earth caused by the huge energy field formed by countless powerful zhenqi fluctuations and converging together!
Everyone looked up and saw the sky in the south. The originally clear sky was quickly covered by a huge "dark cloud"! That "dark cloud" was not water vapor, but a huge and oppressive aura formed by densely packed thousands or even tens of thousands of warriors. The various colors of true energy rays emitted from their bodies were intertwined and fused together to form a huge and oppressive aura!
This joint aura is so powerful that it is suffocating. Even though they are hundreds of miles away, the pressure that sweeps in like a tsunami has made all the warriors in this small border town turn pale and feel uncontrollable fear in their hearts!
"This... this is..."
Situ Qingfeng took a deep breath, his eyes filled with shock.
"How many people? Thousands? Or tens of thousands? How could Xiao Beixuan mobilize so many people in such a short time?!"
Gu Sheng's eyes were cold and he said in a deep voice.
"He is not that capable of mobilizing so many Eastern Wasteland warriors in a short period of time. It seems that we guessed correctly. The people he sent did not come directly to intercept and kill us at the first time, but notified their allies in southern Xinjiang - Seventy-two Divine Sects!
This is killing someone with a borrowed knife, and they want to crush us with sheer numbers!"
While the two were talking, the "dark cloud" composed of countless warriors was approaching the sky above the small town at an alarming speed! Shrouding the Heavens blocked the sun, casting a huge shadow, as if the end was coming!
"Gu Sheng! Get out and die!"
A roar like thunder exploded from the front of the dark clouds. The sound was so loud that it made the houses in the small town tremble and the ground shook slightly.
The small town instantly fell into chaos, and the civilians hid in their homes in fear, closing their doors and windows tightly, while the warriors raised their heads one after another, looking in horror at the huge team suspended in the air, like heavenly soldiers and generals.
"There! The window on the second floor of the inn! He is the Eastern Wasteland warrior Gu Sheng on the wanted poster!"
Among the crowd, some sharp-eyed people immediately spotted Gu Sheng standing at the window, pointed here and shouted loudly.
In the sky, the dark crowd gradually became clearer.
In addition to the warriors wearing Boundless Sect costumes that I have seen before, there are even more warriors wearing various southern Xinjiang-style costumes with different but very eye-catching symbols of the divine religion on their bodies.
They come from different religions, but they are united at this moment.
At the front of this group of people, a young man wearing rich clothes and with a face that was somewhat similar to Xiao Beixuan was looking at Gu Sheng with a condescending and murderous gaze.
The aura around him is not weak, but it is by no means as unfathomable as Xiao Beixuan himself.
"Substitute."
Gu Sheng saw through the details at a glance.
The sword in the double's hand was pointed at Gu Sheng, and the sound was amplified by the true energy and resounded throughout the city.
"Gu Sheng! You deserve to die for killing my 'brother'! Today I am here with the Seventy-two Divine Sects coalition forces. I will make you pay with blood. I will cut you into pieces and avenge my 'brother'!"