As a disciple of the Void Cult and a First Realm cultivator, the woman in the bamboo hat had unquestionable faith in the Great Void Snake Mother.
Ordinary believers' faith came nowhere near hers.
Even so, No Truth had still affected her.
But the woman in the bamboo hat had wavered for only a moment before recovering.
"You bastard!"
"You dare blaspheme against the Great Void Snake Mother? I'll tear you limb from limb today!"
The woman roared, the void Mystic Qi around her growing even stronger.
She had sensed her faith wavering. This bastard had to be behind it!
Then.
She heard a scream.
The woman looked over in shock.
Xu Yi had pierced the tattooed man's heart with his sword, and the man's entire body was burning fiercely.
In that instant, the woman understood!
This bastard had affected not only her, but the tattooed man as well.
In her case, the gap in their strength was so great that even if her faith wavered slightly, her opponent still posed no threat.
But the tattooed man was different!
His opponent was Xu Yi!
The Demon Extermination Palace's foremost genius.
A wavering of faith was utterly fatal.
"Damn it!"
The woman's gaze turned as venomous as a snake's. She wished she could devour Lu Mian's flesh and blood raw.
She wielded her Mystic Qi again, trying to bind Lu Mian with the air currents around him.
Lu Mian's muscles and bones cracked explosively as he threw himself backward, holding nothing back.
By the time the air currents ensnared him, he had already put some distance between them!
"Xu Yi, she's all yours!"
Lu Mian let out a strange laugh.
He hardly needed to say it. Xu Yi was already charging at the woman with fire blazing in his eyes, sword held in one hand!
The woman could no longer deliver a killing blow to Lu Mian. She had no choice but to fight Xu Yi.
Lu Mian unleashed successive bursts of blood and qi, finally breaking free of the air currents.
He gasped for breath and chose not to join the fight.
To maximize No Truth's effect, he had nearly exhausted his mental strength, leaving his head throbbing painfully.
The rest was up to Xu Yi.
Surely this genius of the Demon Extermination Palace could beat her.
Clang, clang, clang!
The two figures fought furiously in the inner courtyard.
One was graceful and agile; the other, uncanny and vicious.
Dozens of exchanges later.
The woman was clearly struggling to withstand Xu Yi's attacks. Her Qi Mechanism grew visibly disordered, and she could no longer keep pace.
"Flowing Fire Chasing Feathers!"
Xu Yi suddenly unleashed a killing move.
The white jade longsword in his hand thrust repeatedly, forming dozens of crimson, fiery sword streaks that enveloped the woman.
The woman swung her curved saber again and again, trying to block every featherlike streak of fiery sword light.
But the moment her saber came down, her expression changed drastically.
Those fiery feather sword streaks were all illusions.
Shhk!
A flash of red light shot past and pierced the woman's heart.
"The Land of All Beings... where souls find peace..."
Looking at Xu Yi, the woman suddenly recited a line of scripture.
Fwoosh!
The next moment, the white jade longsword set her body ablaze, reducing her to drifting ash.
Xu Yi's swordsmanship really is impressive.
If he got serious, I might not last five strikes against him.
Lu Mian marveled inwardly.
"Lu Mian."
"Thank you for this."
"If you hadn't shown up in time, I would've met my end here today."
"I owe you my life."
Xu Yi walked over and thanked him earnestly.
Even recalling what had just happened left his heart pounding with fear.
That despair had been terrifying.
"I just happened to be passing nearby. I saw those two acting suspiciously and followed them inside."
"Just a lucky coincidence."
Lu Mian smiled.
"That was no lucky coincidence."
"A martial artist who hasn't even entered a realm actually held off a Qi Accumulation expert from the Void Cult for that long."
"If I were at your level, I might not have managed it."
Xu Yi shook his head.
Lu Mian's claim that the Great Void Snake Mother did not exist had affected only the woman and the tattooed man. It had had no effect on Xu Yi.
He had never believed in the Great Void Snake Mother in the first place.
So he had noticed nothing amiss and had simply seized the opening the tattooed man gave him.
Hearing Xu Yi say that, Lu Mian felt relieved.
It would be troublesome if Xu Yi sensed some strange power in him.
"You flatter me, Xu Yi. I don't deserve that much praise."
"By the way, please don't tell anyone else about this."
Lu Mian suddenly said.
"Why?"
Xu Yi was a little puzzled.
Lu Mian explained, "Xu Yi, I think those two were specifically after you."
"If they could track your movements, that means they still have someone in the Inner City, and that person holds a fairly high position."
"If you mention me and that person bears a grudge against me, I certainly won't survive."
After hearing Lu Mian's analysis, Xu Yi understood. "You're right... don't worry. I know how to handle this."
He was inwardly surprised by Lu Mian's perceptiveness, and how much he had deduced in an instant.
"Then I'll be off, Xu Yi."
Lu Mian nodded.
He absolutely could not let Huo Chengle and Li Jing see him.
"Be careful."
"When we're back in the city, I'll come find you for a drink."
Xu Yi patted Lu Mian on the shoulder.
Lu Mian waved goodbye and left with the Great Cleaver in hand.
Only after Lu Mian was far away did Xu Yi check on Huo Chengle and Li Jing.
The Void Cult members probably meant to kill Xu Yi tonight as revenge for the earlier bloody purge.
They never expected to run into me.
No Truth really is useful against believers in these deities.
Walking down the street, Lu Mian recalled the night's battle.
Without No Truth, tonight would never have gone so smoothly.
Just then, Lu Mian suddenly felt an itch between his brows.
He touched it, and his palm came away covered in blood.
Blood was seeping from between his brows.
After glancing around, Lu Mian entered a dark house.
Inside, he found a candle and a bronze mirror.
He brushed the dust off the bronze mirror and lit the candle.
When Lu Mian looked at his reflection in the bronze mirror again.
A bloody mark was appearing between his brows.
Then a savage, gray-green Ghost Eye slowly opened.
Name: Lu Mian Remaining lifespan: 5 Talent: Ten Thousand Ghost Furnace Supernatural abilities: Starvation Ghost Stomach, Scholar, Sickness-Death Wraith Miasma, Deluded Monk Truth, Spirit-Eye Wraith Gloom [Spirit-Eye Wraith Gloom: No evil spirit or weird being can hide from your sight. By gazing at a living being, you can cause them to fall into hallucinations.]
Indeed.
Lu Mian had absorbed the supernatural power of the Fierce Spirit hiding in the mansion.
The supernatural ability it had produced had not disappointed him. It was highly practical.
First was its perception enhancement, which could greatly improve Lu Mian's chances of survival.
Beyond that, it could also make an opponent hallucinate.
The strength of that ability in combat went without saying.
So this is what having three eyes feels like.
Lu Mian muttered.
His perspective was remarkable now, as though nothing could escape his sight and everything had become transparent.
With a thought from Lu Mian.
The savage Ghost Eye between his brows immediately closed.
Lu Mian touched the space between his brows. Only after finding no trace of a seam did he relax.
This Ghost Eye may be powerful, but I still need to be careful when using it.
If someone sees it and thinks I've been possessed by some evil spirit or weird being, that'll be trouble.
Before you continue