Stupidity

Everywhere the eye could see, swathes of radiance flowed.

Su Muyue's face was filled with horror. She had encountered a troublesome opponent. All her spells and sweeping attacks had failed to do anything to him.

No matter how she attacked, everything was broken apart. She had exhausted her methods without effect, and her opponent was already standing before her.

Su Muyue was shocked.

Yet the newcomer said nothing. He raised a hand and pressed down, crushing the Law Power around her and suppressing her on the spot.

Watching her Law Power being sealed as her opponent approached step by step, she could only keep backing away.

Without her Law Power, however, she was merely a mortal. Unable to resist at all, she was pinned to the ground just like that.

"You hid yourself pretty well!" Lu Changsheng said.

Su Muyue said gravely, "Who exactly are you?"

"Heh!"

Lu Changsheng gave no further answer. He reached out and removed the bracelet from her wrist. It was a spatial Law Artifact.

Upon inspection, it contained over ten thousand Spirit Stones and two profound-grade Law Artifacts.

This clearly fell short of Lu Changsheng's expectations. He removed the ring from her hand and inspected it as well, his brows involuntarily knitting.

"That's all?"

As he spoke, he found it hard to believe.

Two Law Artifacts, ten thousand Spirit Stones, and a few bottles of pills that were not even high-grade.

He reached toward her waist, and Su Muyue immediately cried out.

"Bastard, what are you trying to do?"

Naturally, Lu Changsheng ignored her. He removed a pouch, then took down her hairpin to inspect it, only to discover that it really was just a hairpin.

But as the hairpin came free, her black hair spilled loose, falling over her front.

Su Muyue let out a shrill scream. In just this brief span, he had felt over almost her entire body.

The next moment, Lu Changsheng suddenly noticed something. "That flowing immortal gauze of yours is pretty nice. It should be worth something!"

As he spoke, he had already begun.

"Don't you dare!"

Su Muyue's face flushed scarlet. She shouted furiously, wanting to fight him to the death.

"Little girl, what's all the fuss about? You coveted someone else's inheritance Law Treasure, but no one's allowed to covet you a little?"

Lu Changsheng offered her this lesson.

Su Muyue kept berating him, however. Her noise gave him a headache, so he simply sealed her mouth. Then, seeing runes manifest between her brows, he tapped down with a fingertip and sealed her soul.

With that tap, he sensed something extraordinary.

But as he investigated, an astonishing power protected that spot and repelled his Divine Sense.

Feeling that power confirmed Lu Changsheng's thoughts. This woman was no ordinary person. She had an astonishing background and had been lying low in Cangyun City for a purpose.

Most likely, she had come for the Azure Cloud Map.

Seeing that he could not probe any further, and unable to predict the consequences of forcing his way in, he still needed to exercise caution, as he had yet to enter the Nascent Soul stage.

"All right, stop glaring!"

Looking at Su Muyue's vicious glare, Lu Changsheng paid it no mind. A rope appeared in his hand, and he bound her with it. With a flick, its other end bound Zhao Yang.

Then the puppet leaped up, dragging the two into the air and heading outside.

He had originally intended to take Xuan Cheng along too, but for the moment, they were nowhere to be found.

Countless gazes below turned toward them, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

"Wh-what's going on?"

"Am I seeing things? Why did I just see that woman and Zhao Yang being dragged away?"

"Who was that? What just happened?"

"..."

In an instant, the puppet had already left.

Meanwhile, outside, everyone quietly watched the canopy of sky, where streaks of radiance intertwined and divine light flowed ceaselessly.

After the Azure Cloud Map appeared, the people of the Cangyun Sect looked solemn.

The people of the Profound Heaven Sect, however, wore smiles.

The old man who had come with Su Muyue also remained composed.

The scroll's appearance was good news for them. Whose hands it would ultimately fall into remained unknown.

Yet their faces held confidence, as though they had methods that might allow them to succeed.

"Fellow Daoists of the Cangyun Sect, why the long faces?"

"Indeed, the Azure Cloud Map's reappearance is good news. You should be happy!"

The people of the Profound Heaven Sect offered words of consolation, yet they sounded like mockery.

No one knew what was happening inside right now.

For these people, obtaining the Azure Cloud Map would undoubtedly be a tremendous boon. Even if they failed to obtain it, they would lose nothing. Either way, they would not suffer a loss.

For the Cangyun Sect, however, things were different.

Some Peak Masters frowned deeply at the looks on these people's faces.

How were they supposed to be happy?

Just then, however, the watery ripples began to stir.

"Someone's coming out!"

"Could someone have obtained the Azure Cloud Map?"

For a moment, everyone's emotions were stirred. Gaze after gaze fixed intently on that spot, only to see a black-robed figure standing there, holding a rope.

"What's going on?"

"Who's that?"

The onlookers were puzzled.

The next moment, Lu Changsheng swept his gaze across the surroundings through the puppet's eyes and slowly spoke.

"Where are the people of the Divine Firmament Sect?"

"What business do you have with our Divine Firmament Sect?" Meng Lang asked.

Lu Changsheng looked over and said, "I want to sell you something. Interested?"

"Sell us something?"

"What is it?"

Meng Lang was puzzled. Zhao Jing had also been released and was now standing beside him.

Then Lu Changsheng flicked the rope, and a figure landed before him.

At that moment, Meng Lang's expression froze.

Beside him, Zhao Jing's face darkened as well.

The others were also stunned. The thing that man spoke of was actually Zhao Yang, bound with a rope. No one could tell how many bones in his body had been shattered. He lay there in a heap, barely able to move.

"Bastard, how dare you!"

Zhao Jing immediately flew into a rage and stepped into the sky.

Lu Changsheng remained unconcerned. His hand closed around Zhao Yang's throat.

"Keep quiet, you wretched woman. Are you buying or not?"

Watching all this, Meng Lang could not help frowning. "Friend, he is a disciple of our Divine Firmament Sect. Aren't you afraid of angering the sect by acting this way?"

The crowd murmured. They could tell both of them were furious.

Their own disciple had been tied up and offered for sale in public. Where did that leave the sect's dignity?

Some were also astonished. Zhao Yang was no ordinary disciple. His cultivation was at the ninth layer of Essence Condensation. Even if he was not a peerless heavenly prodigy, he was still quite outstanding within the Yue Kingdom.

Yet in the end...

The people of the Cangyun Sect were also lost in thought.

Lu Changsheng, however, said leisurely, "Brat, I don't like your tone. I don't care about your bullshit sect. I'm here to sell something. If you want it, hand over the Spirit Stones. If not, I'll slaughter him!"

"Don't you dare!" Zhao Jing snapped again.

Lu Changsheng replied, "Want to try me?"

Hiss!

At those words, countless people sucked in a breath of cold air.

They had never seen anyone dare to challenge the Divine Firmament Sect before. He was most likely the first in several thousand years.

Regardless, his courage alone was already worthy of everyone's admiration.

Meng Lang also sensed his resolve. The other party truly seemed unconcerned about the Divine Firmament Sect.

"Wait. How much do you want?"

Silence fell all around. No one had expected things to turn out this way.

Lu Changsheng said, "Charging you twenty thousand Spirit Stones isn't excessive, is it?"

He had originally wanted fifty thousand, but after thinking it over, he feared they might find it too expensive and refuse to buy. Wouldn't he be left stuck holding the goods?

Yet even at just twenty thousand, hesitation had already appeared on Meng Lang's face.

Zhao Jing's expression grew even uglier.

In the end, however, they agreed. With so many people watching, they could not simply abandon him.

Ultimately, they handed over twenty thousand Spirit Stones.

Lu Changsheng also threw him down as promised.

They were helpless and could not attack at all. The moment they moved, their opponent could simply retreat into the secret realm, leaving them unable to pursue him.

The onlookers marveled. Such a ruthless person, extorting the Divine Firmament Sect, was truly a rare sight.

For a time, everyone clicked their tongues in amazement. Only one old man let out a cold laugh and spoke disdainfully.

"How stupid. Isn't he afraid he'll live to take the money but not to spend it?"

In his view, the other party would have to leave the secret realm eventually. Once he appeared, the consequences were easy to imagine.

If he could not even think of that, what was it if not stupidity?

The others nodded as well, finding his words reasonable.

But when Lu Changsheng heard that remark, he could not help frowning.