Chapter 188: The Schemer Smiles Triumphantly

Generally, after crossing over, Jia Ji would appear within ten meters of any group member, and he usually crossed over during a group member's moment of crisis or just before a major battle, so each time he would tense his muscles, scan all around, listen keenly, and be ready to unleash a devastating punch to carve a path through encirclement.

"Not the moon…"

After glancing at the sky and ground and realizing it wasn't the black void of space or the gray-black lunar surface dotted with craters, Jia Ji first exhaled in relief—then his heart suddenly lurched.

Cold sweat surged violently.

"Trouble!"

"Bad!"

If this wasn't a lunar battlefield, then there was only one possibility—

He stiffly turned his neck to face the golden-haired beauty he had seen countless times in photos but was meeting in person for the first time.

Her slightly wavy golden hair fell to her waist, crowned with a soft white cap, its edges frilled with folds and tied in front with a red satin ribbon forming a cute bow.

She wore a simple white Western dress with layered lace trim along the hem and sleeves, over which she draped a purple Eastern Daoist robe decorated with red yin symbols and mysterious black hexagrams, embroidered with a yin-yang jade and featuring a purple-and-orange taiji diagram.

The hexagram on the yin-yang jade was Ze Di Cui—upper Dui (☱), lower Kun (☷)—adding an air of unfathomable mystery to the girl.

These anachronistic garments and extraordinary fashion sense left no doubt about the identity of this girl (questionable):

The Youkai Sage, the Youkai of the Gap, the founder of Gensokyo, a genius of strategy, eternally seventeen years old, Zi Laosjbqvuap!

Who could have imagined that this seventeen-year-old girl had once, seventeen years ago, also been a seventeen-year-old girl?

Her flawless features wore a radiant smile; her mysterious pupils fixed unblinkingly on Jia Ji. Only now, face to face, did he realize she possessed a demonic allure utterly unlike that of any human.

Normally, such extraordinary attention from a beautiful youkai would be pleasing—but…

This was Eight Cloud Zi!

Jia Ji wanted to say something stupid like, "Wow, baby, you're even prettier in person," to distract her—but under this frozen atmosphere, he clearly knew she wouldn't care about anything he said right now…

Pah.

With a flick of her slender white hand, Eight Cloud Zi opened her folded fan, hiding her delicate face behind it, revealing only her eyes—leaving her thoughts utterly unreadable.

Jia Ji's hair stood on end under her gaze; he instantly felt as if a blade had just grazed his neck. Though he didn't know what scheme she was hatching, he knew it was no good.

Behind the fan, she was undoubtedly smirking with the triumphant grin of a schemer who had succeeded.

Crisis! Great crisis! Conspiracy! Great conspiracy!

"Hey no no no no no, Zi-mei, Ah-Zi, Little Zi!"

If this creature had lured him here, she had already succeeded.

In the next instant.

Before Jia Ji, Eight Cloud Zi extended her free left hand toward empty air and slashed.

Where her fingertips passed, a black fissure tore open, its edges adorned with two red bows; within the rift appeared hundreds of crimson eyes, staring at him with malice, filling him with dread.

Then Jia Ji heard a terrifying term that sent ice through his veins and made his hair stand on end:

"—'The Boundary Between Male and Female'!"

In a flash, an insidiously powerful youki surge struck him; at such close range, even the puncher's terrifying speed and reflexes could not evade it.

"Damn it! Eight Cloud Zi, you 'big' me?!"

She actually used such a cruel technique!

Jia Ji shouted—but he wasn't unprepared; instantly, he sneered inwardly: "Of course—this is exactly what I expected! You'd use this to settle personal scores! Countermeasure—Wuxiang Yin Sha! Activate! Activate! Activate!!!"

Every muscle, every tendon in his body relaxed completely; his frame slumped as if surrendering entirely. Yet at the very moment the boundary force touched him, his tall, muscular form vanished in an almost imperceptible flicker.

The dark-purple energy wave missed. Jia Ji instantly reappeared behind the golden-haired girl; his left hand, fingers like steel bars, clamped tightly and unleashed a torrent of force into her back. Countless air explosions erupted; transparent shockwaves flashed through the air—the result of air rushing at extreme velocity.

Punch speed!

At its absolute peak! Beyond-sound punch speed!

His fist moved too fast for her to use a gap to dodge; Eight Cloud Zi could only sweep her fan horizontally to block the incoming blow.

Enhanced by her immense youki, the fan became harder than steel. The moment it met the punch, a terrifying impact surged through her arm, producing a faint, almost inaudible crack in her wrist bone.

Boom!

The fan shattered under the torrent of punch force.

The recoil and counterforce from the clash propelled the interdimensional Beidou Fist master and the youkai sage apart.

Jia Ji's technique, "Wuxiang Yin Sha," which resembled "Wuxiang Zhuan Sheng" in name, was not the same move.

Both were "Wuxiang"-style secret arts—one a secret secret art, the other a supreme secret art. Both rooted in "nothingness" to nullify the opponent's attack, but "Wuxiang Yin Sha" was a counterattack technique that erased distance, eliminated hesitation, and struck unconsciously.

In short, "Wuxiang Yin Sha" was a refined art that reversed offense and defense. Though far inferior to the invincible "Wuxiang Zhuan Sheng," even so, escaping the previous predicament had been effortless.

"You used Yanzhu to trick me! No shame at all!"

Ten meters away, Jia Ji held a punch stance with one arm, guarding against Eight Cloud Zi, while berating the youkai sage's nonexistent conscience and decency.

"This guy's gotten this strong?"

Even as she inwardly marveled at the strength and depth of Jia Ji's countermeasures, the youkai sage still sneered:

"Ridiculous! How else could I have lured you here?"

"His physical strength is inferior to mine… Low-tier Kuang? Or still stuck at Zhun Kuang? If there's more to come, if he's holding back, I'll have to prepare to flee…"

Two masters of deceit and conspiracy, together possessing hundreds of scheming minds, exchanged thoughts in an instant—ideas bloomed and vanished—but neither moved first.

As Jia Ji and Eight Cloud Zi stood locked in tense confrontation, a cool female voice came from behind Jia Ji, brimming with curiosity.

"Zi, who is he?"

(End of Chapter)