Chapter 168: Ninjutsu? I'll make you endure

"Where did everyone go?"

When Lu Xun left Star Moon Tower, he found Qingbei Jie utterly deserted, with hardly anyone in sight.

Right, the students must have gone back to school by now.

On Qingbei Jie, many shops had closed for good, including Jia's Medicine Shop.

"Are you that afraid of dying?"

Lu Xun had heard the rumors, though.

Whenever Lan Xing entered a node of the Starry Sky Ancient Road, foreign peoples would focus their attacks on Qingbei.

I don't know if Qingbei will suffer losses.

But Qingbei Jie has suffered several disasters out of the blue, and many of its buildings have been rebuilt.

That's probably why many shops on Qingbei Jie have shut down.

You all go back too; wages will be paid as usual during this period, and as for work hours, wait for my notice.

Thanks, boss!

Lu Xun gave the staff of Spirit Pill Pavilion a day off.

Upon hearing that wages would still be paid, the staff were overjoyed.

After the staff left in high spirits, Lu Xun gathered all the medicinal pills inside Spirit Pill Pavilion, locked the door, and prepared to close the shop for a while.

Huh?

At that moment, Lu Xun sensed something was off.

Qingbei Jie was still Qingbei Jie, yet something seemed wrong.

A barrier?

Lu Xun showed no abnormality; only his eyes quietly changed.

The place he was in seemed to be enveloped by a barrier, but it wasn't quite a barrier.

For example, sounds from outside could still get in.

If Lu Xun were an ordinary Third Realm cultivator, he wouldn't notice anything strange.

"Fusang people?"

Lu Xun recalled Li Bu Fan's warning.

The situation is likely the work of the Fusang people.

"The He family."

Lu Xun could naturally guess who had hired the Fusang people.

It's very likely the He family.

The He family really never quit.

Lu Xun will eventually settle this score with them.

But the Fusang people are quite careful.

They have secretly isolated Lu Xun, yet they haven't made a move.

Lu Xun also has no idea where they are hiding.

These Fusang assassins indeed have a unique edge in the art of killing.

After the High Martial Arts era arrived, the East pursued both immortal and martial paths, while the West mainly relied on magic.

As for the Fusang people, they mainly follow the East, but some with Western blood also study magic.

However, whether in the immortal way or the martial way, the Fusang people simply cannot compare to the East.

After all, the East is the orthodox tradition.

The Fusang people also have some distinctive traits.

For example, their assassins are highly skilled, even famous worldwide.

Their assassins combine old-era Fusang ninjutsu, making them impossible to guard against when they strike.

What's more troublesome,

In the East, cultivators at the Fifth Realm and above disdain working as assassins.

In the East, cultivators, whether they pursue immortal or martial cultivation, all cultivate the Dao.

Such side paths are not untraveled, but few take them.

The Fusang people, however, pay no heed to these.

As long as you can pay, not just Fifth Realm assassins—even Sixth Realm and above can be hired.

"Where?"

Lu Xun silently activated his Fiery Eyes Golden Pupils.

This time, the assassins coming after him should use ninjutsu.

Fusang ninjutsu is indeed formidable; it can disguise itself as any object—even if you open your eye aperture you won't see it, and even if you open your ear aperture you won't hear their breath.

To kill, they can even remain motionless for days, stretching a single breath to over a minute so that no breathing sound is heard.

As for their heartbeat, they can likewise control it perfectly.

"Heh."

However.

As soon as the Fiery Eyes Golden Pupils activated, Lu Xun spotted that Fusang assassin.

This guy.

He was actually inside a tree.

Yes, right inside the tree in front of Star Moon Tower.

I don't know how he managed to get inside.

In the West, there are some kinds of magic that can turn a person into a tree.

But this guy didn't turn into a tree; it's more like his whole body merged into the tree.

Nice technique.

"Being this careful, he's probably not Fifth Realm."

After Lu Xun discovered the opponent, he didn't rush to attack.

His gaze shifted away without leaving a trace.

The He clan is being too stingy, they can't even afford a Fifth Realm assassin.

Or do they think a Fourth Realm Sunrise Tree assassin is enough to deal with Lu Xun?

Sunrise Tree assassins are extremely expensive, especially for overseas jobs—they charge several times more than on the dark web.

Perhaps that's why the He clan is unwilling to hire a Fifth Realm Sunrise Tree assassin.

Another reason is that, compared to the infinite possibilities at the Ancient Road Node, the profit from killing is still too low.

Fifth Realm Sunrise Tree assassins are focused on the Ancient Road Node right now; they probably won't take jobs that would scatter their energy.

Lu Xun admits that this Sunrise Tree assassin is indeed skilled.

If it weren't for Li Bu Fan's warning, Lu Xun would have remained vigilant at all times; he might not have noticed the abnormality just now.

Moreover,

They are not just one.

But Lu Xun has only detected this one so far.

"Heh, I heard you!"

At this moment,

Lu Xun heard it.

He heard another assassin.

The opponent had actually turned invisible.

He wasn't hiding in space; he achieved invisibility through light refraction.

Moreover, that guy was hiding behind an obstacle, so Lu Xun couldn't see him.

He couldn't see him, but he could hear him.

When Lu Xun opened his ear aperture, he awakened a powerful martial divine ability.

Boundless Heaven Listening.

This is an upgraded version of Heavenly Ear Penetration.

As soon as it activated, Lu Xun heard the second assassin's extremely long breath.

"Two."

Now Lu Xun has detected two of them.

I don't know if there's a third one.

Lu Xun deliberately turned around to close the door, giving those two assassins a chance to attack.

Just as Lu Xun turned around, the assassin hiding in the tree moved.

The assassin didn't launch a violent attack on Lu Xun; instead, he gave a light blow.

An extremely fine needle was blown out at high speed, aiming for the back of Lu Xun's head.

The needle was so fine that, when blown out, it made almost no sound—not even a disturbance in the air.

Even if Lu Xun had a spirit talisman that would automatically activate upon sensing danger, it would be useless.

Such a needle produces no energy fluctuations, no movement at all, so spirit talismans cannot be triggered automatically.

Just as it was about to pierce Lu Xun's body, it suddenly stopped a few centimeters away.

Since Lu Xun dared to turn around, he naturally had precautions; his divine sense had already been monitoring the surroundings.

How could such a fine needle escape his divine sense detection?

"Heh!"

Lu Xun turned around, flicked it lightly, and the needle flew back toward the Sunrise Tree assassin in the tree.

"What?"

That Sunrise Tree assassin never expected Lu Xun to dodge this fatal blow.

His secret to killing lies not in head‑on confrontation but in extreme wickedness.

Like this needle, known in Sunrise Tree as the Ghost Needle, it is the nightmare of countless cultivators.

Because when it strikes there is no sound or movement, its special material and a filament finer than hair can pierce even the body‑protecting true qi of cultivators of the same level.

Cultivators' body‑protecting true qi normally stays at a baseline level; it is only deliberately heightened when they become wary or enter combat.

After all, the stronger the body‑protecting true qi, the greater the consumption.

But Lu Xun managed to notice it.

His reaction was swift; a shift of his body took him away from the tree, dodging the Ghost Needle.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

What awaited him was a pile of flying swords.

"Damn!"

This Sunrise Tree assassin was instantly thrown into panic.

At that moment, a sharp dagger silently approached from behind Lu Xun and pierced him in one strike.

The light around that dagger was completely refracted, putting it in an invisible state.

This country one (fierce)!

The first Supporting Mulberry assassin cheered for his companion.

But immediately, his expression froze.

Because the Lu Xun who was stabbed by the dagger turned into scattered shadows all over the sky.

"I am here."

Lu Xun's voice rang out.

The invisible assassin hesitated.

What he had just stabbed was actually Lu Xun's afterimage.

Lu Xun was too fast, to the point that he couldn't even notice.

"Let's go! (All together!)"

The second Supporting Mulberry assassin, seeing the assassination fail, launched a fierce attack.

His manipulation of light was extremely formidable; even when launching a frontal assault, to the naked eye one could barely perceive his existence.

Moreover, this guy likely wears a treasure garment that can block divine sense detection, so divine sense likewise cannot detect him.

Such an opponent, equivalent to invisibility, is still very difficult to deal with.

But after opening his ear aperture, Lu Xun could easily perceive his position through the movements of the air.

He drew his sword and attacked; wave after wave of fierce sword qi left this assassin in disarray, completely no match.

As for the first Supporting Mulberry assassin, under Lu Xun's flying sword attack, he could hardly block it.

"Is that it?"

These two Supporting Mulberry assassins indeed have a skill in assassination.

But on the frontal battlefield, they were completely suppressed and beaten by Lu Xun.

Not even the Demon Tribe Fourth Realm in the Cellar Secret Realm is comparable.

Those Demon Tribe Fourth Realm beings, however, do not have such good equipment.

However, Lu Xun also did not let down his guard.

The assassination principle of these Supporting Mulberry assassins is: if a strike fails, they retreat far away.

If there are many people, they will at most have two or three strikes.

But if they cannot prevail, they will not entangle; they will immediately flee and then wait for the next opportunity.

But these two guys, beaten so passively, have not yet left.

There is definitely a third assassin.

This guy is hiding very deep; Lu Xun still hasn't discovered him to this day.

"Still not coming out?"

Lu Xun gave a light snort and increased his offensive.

In fact, if he wholeheartedly wanted to kill these two assassins, he could easily do so.

The reason he does not kill them is because Lu Xun wants to lure out the other assassin and then deal with both at once.

These Supporting Mulberry assassins are different from those assassins on the Eastern Darknet.

Assassins on the Darknet, many are impoverished cultivators working part-time.

These cultivators weigh the pros and cons; upon finding the target too formidable and the assassination failing, they often will not take further risks.

Once a Supporting Mulberry assassin accepts a mission, it's a fight to the death.

They will not stop until their goal is achieved.

This is their reputation.

If Lu Xun does not settle them today, trouble will continue incessantly.

These guys will always hide in the dark, staring at Lu Xun like a venomous snake, looking for an opportunity.

Once they find an opportunity, they will decisively strike.

By then, Lu Xun will suffer.

So Lu Xun wants to lure them out and resolve them once and for all.

"You give Lu Da yo! (Ran away, ran away!)"

When Lu Xun increased his offensive, those two Supporting Mulberry assassins could not hold up at all and wanted to flee.

"Want to run?"

Lu Xun had also learned the Supporting Mulberry language from his teacher before, and could understand their words.

These two assassins want to flee.

"No third one?"

With a movement of Lu Xun's body and mind, more flying swords flew out.

These are flying swords mixed with divine bone ashes.

They are not only sharper, fly faster, and also possess a void attribute, able to penetrate distorted space regions.

Just as he was exerting his full effort.

Suddenly, a sword thrust fiercely upward from beneath his feet.

Lu Xun's brow twitched, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.

Sure enough, there is a third assassin; this guy actually hid underground.

Just as he arrived at a new place, even more swords thrust up from beneath his feet.

"Hah!"

Lu Xun leapt up, jumped into the sky, raised his hand, and a huge amount of fireballs smashed down.

Stealth Technique?

I'll make you endure!

Try a saturation-style strike!