Chapter 91: The Black Cat Passes the Sword

After this incident, the existence of the “Binglu” would spread within a small circle and attract attention from various factions.

First, naturally, was the Candle World Sect; the Immortal Lord might find it difficult to descend again, and this sect appeared to have suffered heavy losses, but how much strength remained was unknown to anyone until the Immortal Platform intervened seriously.

The most powerful force revealed in this incident were the three figures in purple robes, yet according to records from fifty years ago, there should have been one more master above them.

Why didn’t he come? Could there be something more important elsewhere?

Next was the Immortal Platform. One must not assume the Immortal Platform is evil, but neither should one assume it is benevolent; it was certain that a young boy from a small town, possessing the “Binglu” yet possessing no cultivation, would be utterly powerless before them.

But if the Young Sword Lord of Yunlang Mountain had taken it, a polite inquiry would suffice.

And all other foreseeable and unforeseeable attention could likewise be blocked by the colossal presence of Yunlang Mountain.

Ming Qi Tian fell silent for a moment, as if carefully weighing all aspects; after roughly seven or eight breaths, she gave a slight nod: “Alright.”

Yue Muzhou offered a faint smile: “Then this matter remains between the four of us.”

He turned to the black cat, gesturing toward the still grotesque corpse: “This thing is truly dead, isn’t it?”

The black cat nodded: “Dead.”

“No, it isn’t.”

Pei Ye thought.

He looked at the black cat, but the black cat did not look back; it simply released the pearl and crawled beside Zhanxin Liuli, relaxing as it gently caressed it.

“It hasn’t been fully eradicated. We still have an unfulfilled ‘understanding’.” Pei Ye thought.

When Pei Ye descended from the city, he knew what he had to do.

The Immortal Lord’s celestial body and its consciousness had indeed been destroyed, but its most troublesome ability was its capacity to manifest a billion incarnations.

Pei Ye recalled Ming Qi Tian’s battle last night; at the time, the Immortal Lord was inevitably sliding toward defeat—how had it handled that?

It had entered the body of Qiongqi.

Now, of course, it could enter its own body.

Or the body of a rabbit, a snake—slipping deep into the mountains, growing, then returning with renewed force.

The consciousness buried by Heichi had been purged after exposure; it could no longer lock onto these incarnations’ locations.

He wasn’t afraid the Immortal Lord would enter his own body—he feared it would flee far away, leaving no chance to eradicate it completely.

So what he must do was lure its final consciousness into his own body.

And the bait? Only one.

Pei Ye looked at the pearl—it was even a blatant stratagem.

You may hide anywhere, but only my body can touch this object. Perhaps it’s a trap—but it’s also your last chance to destroy it.

In a few days, it may be taken away by the Immortal Platform or Ming Qi Tian; what then, if you’ve grown from a snake?

So the Immortal Lord will come.

When it enters this body, my thoughts won’t be read—but this body will record all sensory input it receives.

Therefore, this plan must never be spoken aloud, and only he and the black cat must know.

——And even then, only they must suspect the other knows.

Like Yu and Liang both opening their palms to reveal the character “fire” side by side, now they couldn’t even open their palms—one held one character, the other held the other.

They had to blindly trust the other was the one who thought the same, and trust that each palm held the same inked character.

No words, no signals—any hint, and the Immortal Lord would never appear.

Perhaps it had already entered his body, lying dormant, verifying the safety of the environment.

Pei Ye trusted the black cat was Zhuge Liang—it was calm enough, wise enough.

Pei Ye also trusted his own cunning wasn’t Zhang Fei—but… neither was it necessarily Zhou Yu.

Anxiety spread through him, yet Pei Ye could show no sign of abnormality; his heartbeat remained perfectly steady.

Using his own body as bait, relying on the unspoken understanding between the Immortal Hunter and the Contract Master.

Pei Ye walked casually toward the pearl.

It had lain on the ground for some time; it truly needed to be picked up. As its next master, the boy’s curiosity toward it was perfectly reasonable.

Pei Ye cast the bait.

This was an utterly solitary confrontation.

Yue the Grandfather stood beside him, Ming the girl stood nearby—but he could tell no one, could show no sign.

They remained in the relaxed state after victory; only he knew the Immortal Lord might already be inside his body.

He suspected he had an ally who knew—and that ally had prepared.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Four—

Pei Ye felt his body suddenly grow distant.

——Step.

“Himself” continued walking forward naturally, yet his limbs and body no longer belonged to him.

Excitement and terror surged simultaneously.

Like that childhood memory: hearing of a three-meter catfish in the river that devoured children, he’d gone with a thick fishing rod—and on that damp, starless night, in the calm, dark river, the rod had been yanked taut by a monstrous, unimaginably strong force!

Heichi! Heichi, come quickly! It’s hooked!

But now he couldn’t even shout—his mouth no longer belonged to him; he could only pray inwardly that he hadn’t misread the black cat’s hint.

Yet as he drew nearer to the pearl, that possibility surged wildly within him, for Heichi remained utterly silent.

Had he misjudged? Or had he become too clever?

Was he Sima Yi?

Nearby came the soft sound of the black cat tapping the sword hilt and conversing with Ming Qi Tian—seemingly distant: “It seems it won’t last much longer.”

Pei Ye now deeply understood the weight of the words “entrusting life and death”—his life and death were now entirely in the black cat’s hands, resting solely on an uncertain “understanding.”

He understood the Immortal Lord’s intent: to reveal itself as late as possible. This body showed no abnormality—it remained as ordinary and weak as ever.

Only when it picked up the pearl would it rapidly infect him, turning his flesh and bones into dragon blood to generate frostfire and other powers, then, before anyone could react, pour that power into the fissure.

Yet the black cat made no move.

It seemed deeply interested in the sword, even trying to befriend it: “This is called a ‘famous sword,’ is it? It feels familiar to me.”

Pei Ye watched himself stop before the pearl, bend down—the clear, lustrous sphere upon the dead leaves and twigs expanded in his vision.

He reached out; the fingertip in his vision had turned hard, deep blue.

Pei Ye’s consciousness began to feel thick and heavy, crushed, suffocating—as if sinking deeper and deeper into the dark ocean.

Done… damn you, Zhuge Liang… Pei Ye slowly closed his eyes.

Suddenly, in the dark ocean, a pair of clear, emerald eyes appeared.

As if a rope had descended from heaven, lashing onto him and yanking him violently from ten thousand meters below.

He gasped sharply, bursting from the sea’s surface—beyond the water, trees and the black cat.

The emerald eyes beneath the sea merged with those before him—he realized this was reality.

Then searing pain flared in his abdomen; he looked down—Zhanxin Liuli was plunged into his belly.

(End of Chapter)