Chapter 75

Two men and one woman, three Perfection Sect members fled in different directions. Zhou Shuo twitched the corner of his mouth; at most he could catch two, but if he couldn't guarantee silencing them completely, the chase would be pointless—at most just the difference between catching two or one. He might as well not chase.

Not mentioning the three fleeing, Zhou Shuo turned his head to look at the resisting girl Linglong from just now. This lass was already scared stupid, her eyes wide round, her small mouth slightly open, not knowing what to say. Seeing her foolish look, Zhou Shuo also knew there was nothing to say, so he didn't say more, sheathed his long sword, then stepped forward and moved the dead fatty aside, revealing the girl underneath who had almost been crushed to the point of suffocation.

"Mmm!" Zhou Shuo looked at the patch of white exposed on the girl's shoulder in the blood pool, swallowed a little saliva, reached out to pull her collar up to cover that white patch. Damn, it's too distracting.

"Hu'er, hey, what are you doing? Are you healing Hu'er?" The cute girl Linglong watched Zhou Shuo pull a companion out from under the corpse and tidy up the companion's clothes, and couldn't help feeling a bit dazed; indeed, Zhou Shuo had moved too fast just now, his words were shocking, and she now didn't know what to do.

"Of course, hey, those so-called orthodox sects are just bastards—what Lu Clan, Celestial Master's Mansion, I scoff, treating a girl like this." Zhou Shuo sensed the girl's dazedness behind him, feigned indignation in his reply, and pulled out the black iron spikes that had been driven through the girl's hands and feet. These spikes were about arm-length, likely the dead fatty's magic item; he really went at it ruthlessly, showing no pity, deserving to be a single dog.

"That... uh..." The girl Linglong wasn't angry, but tried to explain herself.

"Who are you, and when did you join our Perfection Sect?" Zhou Shuo tossed the pulled-out black spikes aside; although these iron spikes had been cultivated as magic items, their quality was too poor—without Qi's support they'd shatter on contact, and he had no interest in them.

"I, my surname is Lu." Linglong blinked at the spike-guy.

"I didn't ask your surname, I asked where you're from. Come, pick her up and hurry to get her treated." Zhou Shuo glanced at the wounded girl Hu'er's injuries, then stood up and looked at the girl Lu Linglong, surname Lu, presumably from the Lu Clan.

"Well, I'm not part of your Perfection Sect; my surname is Lu, my great-grandfather is Lu Jin, one of the Ten Elders. You must not look down on me—I and you Perfection demons are irreconcilable." Lu Linglong looked at the earnest guy, took a slight breath, then quickly stepped back.

Zhou Shuo watched the girl retreat, plant her feet, and assume a stance; he blinked slightly, then regained his composure and subconsciously glanced at the blood-soaked girl Hu'er behind him on the ground—his mouth twisted hard, her hands and feet nailed, she'd lost so much blood, and now he'd run into such a dim-witted teammate.

"Let me tell you, I, Lu Linglong, don't owe you my life. Today, the two of us… ah, Hu'er……." Lu Linglong looked at Zhou Shuo not speaking, gathered her courage, but before she could finish, she suddenly saw Zhou Shuo's companion behind his feet and involuntarily cried out—she suddenly remembered her companion now needed treatment.

"We agreed to cause trouble at the Celestial Master's Mansion, but all we've run into so far are these cute-but-stupid fools, and even the Lu Clan……!" Zhou Shuo watched the girl's reaction, covered his forehead and turned around, thinking to himself how he kept encountering such folks, especially this girl—she was simply……."

"Dim-witted lass, you really take me for a fool!" Zhou Shuo really couldn't keep the insult to himself, muttering it under his breath; the girl was just too cute-but-stupid—though her face was indeed somewhat cute, her personality a bit naive, and she certainly wasn't pretending, but her stupidity was truly unbearable.

Zhou Shuo's voice wasn't loud, yet it made Lu Linglong's lass freeze on the spot, even seeming about to turn to stone; in the Lu Clan, even her great-grandfather Lu Jin had never scolded her like that, and the meaning of his words—this guy had been playing dumb from the start, but he really had just killed three… of his own companions.

Ignoring the dazed lass, Zhou Shuo leapt onto the treetops and lunged toward Dragon Tiger Mountain. At that moment on Dragon Tiger Mountain, the great battle was still ongoing; Zhou Shuo had thought the Perfection Sect had thrown the Celestial Master's Mansion into utter chaos, but actually it wasn't so—the Perfection Sect members on the field were almost completely suppressed by the Celestial Master's Mansion daoists and the brown-uniformed Omnipresent staff. This Grand Celestial Ritual had been a setup from the beginning, only Omnipresent, the Celestial Master's Mansion, and the Lu Clan hadn't expected the Perfection Sect to come so fiercely.

Smoke filled the mountain, the woods were ablaze, many ancient buildings had collapsed; Zhou Shuo didn't dare get too close, skirting around those wearing Omnipresent uniforms. Frankly, he dared kill his Perfection Sect comrades and didn't fear opposing the Celestial Master's Mansion, but he didn't think he could withstand the crushing force of the state apparatus.

"Damn it, maybe I should just take a detour down the mountain and leave!" Zhou Shuo stood on a small path in the human world, looked at the distant fire lighting the sky, shook his head, and thought he really wasn't suited to cause trouble with those lunatics—too guilty.

"Xiao Yuzi, I'm going to kill you."

Just as Zhou Shuo was about to turn, a mournful long howl suddenly rose from afar; hearing it, he involuntarily paused, for the hatred in that voice was intensely strong, and it was coming from this direction—Xiao Yuzi, the name rang a bell; hmm, according to the internet, Gong Qing's alias while infiltrating the Celestial Master's Mansion was apparently this.

"Damn, they've been discovered—this plot's gone off the rails again." Zhou Shuo instantly thought of many things, but thinking more wouldn't help, because nearby a youthful figure was rapidly approaching—sure enough, it was Gong Qing in a green Daoist robe, and behind him two figures were rushing, one a burly daoist with thick brows and big eyes, both eyes bloodshot, the other Zhang Chulan.

"Sect leader……." Zhou Shuo caught sight of the figure behind Gong Qing and instinctively shouted.

"Uncle Rong Shan, watch out for the Perfection Sect's ambush." In the darkness, Zhang Chulan couldn't see clearly and called out a warning, but the thick‑eyed, big‑eyed daoist Rong Shan with both eyes blood‑red paid no heed, charging straight at Gong Qing while shouting as he lunged:

"I'm going to kill you, Xiao Yuzi."

"Damn, you're really doing this, huh!" Zhou Shuo saw the burly daoist Rong Shan lunging at Gong Qing, his brow twitched, but he couldn't ignore it—instantly he lunged forward and slammed the unprepared Rong Shan, who was charging straight at Gong Qing, flying away.

"Brother Zhou, I've got the thing in hand—help me hold them off for a bit." Gong Qing felt the attack behind him being blocked, turned to glance at Zhou Shuo, and involuntarily cried out for help.

"Damn it, why won't you let me die, there are so many daoists on Dragon Tiger Mountain……" Zhou Shuo instinctively wanted to curse this dead acting sect leader, but before he could finish, a fist came out of nowhere and struck him; he reflexively raised his hand to block, and at the point where his palm met the opponent's fist, a current of Qi that made his skin tingle and burn surged into his body.

"Thunder method." A thought flashed in Zhou Shuo's mind—though he'd never encountered it before, he could feel that this was thunder method.

He pushed the fist away with a palm, Zhou Shuo struck back with a palm to the opponent's chest, and the fist's owner, in the instant his fist passed through his body, instantly turned into a soaring electric arc and retreated, joining the daoist Rong Shan who had gotten up from being knocked to the ground, wearing a white black‑striped T‑shirt—indeed it was Zhang Chulan.

"Zhou Shuo, thanks for the trouble." Gong Qing watched the figure that had been beaten back, after leaving a sentence to Zhou Shuo he turned and ran; for this mission he had risked his life and even taken on a debt, he couldn't just fall here like that.

"Damn." Zhou Shuo looked at the kid who turned and ran, twitching the corner of his mouth; he very much wanted to stop this kid, then give him a good thrashing and throw him to the pursuers opposite, but after thinking, as a member of the Whole Nature, if he does nothing tonight he'll never really get by in the organization later; oh well, this time he'll help him out.

"Zhang Chulan..." Zhou Shuo directed his gaze toward the distant young man, Yang Five Thunder Method; tonight he must definitely witness it properly.

"Chulan, you deal with him, I'll go chase that beast." The sturdy Daoist Rong Shan watched the fleeing assassination target, the red in his eyes growing ever more intense; after throwing down those words he intended to take a detour to chase, but he didn't expect a figure to flash before him, followed by a tightness in his chest; instinctively he raised his hands shrouded in golden light to block, a great force surged, and his whole body was flung backward like riding clouds and mist.

"Master Rong Shan." Zhang Chulan watched as he flashed out, the Daoist who was instantly struck and sent flying back, could not help but break out in a cold sweat on his forehead, suppressing the urge to turn and run; his form turned into an arc of electricity rushing toward Zhou Shuo.

"Not bad speed, good to come." Zhou Shuo watched the lively arc of electricity approaching him, the corner of his mouth twitched into a smile; he violently thrust his right hand forward, a cyan-green arc of electricity sprang from his palm—crack! —the cyan-green lightning spread out in a fan shape.

"What is this, thunder method? Impossible, I'm going to die!" Within the arc, Zhang Chulan watched the cyan-colored arc of electricity spreading across his vision; several thoughts rose in his mind, and immediately he was instantly engulfed by the cyan-colored arc of electricity.

In an instant, Zhang Chulan found himself within the cyan-colored electric light; his eyebrows and eyes were tinged cyan-green, his hair standing on end strand by strand, cold, a bone-deep cold, he felt as if he were immersed in icy water; although it was obviously cold, his consciousness nevertheless sensed a hint of warmth, the originally clear and lively Crimson Palace Thunder within his body now seemed like a lazy snake, unwilling to move at all.

"So unable to withstand a hit?" Zhou Shuo looked at the two guys within the cyan arc of electricity who had no ability to resist, could not help but be slightly stunned; this was the first time he had used Yin Thunder Method against others, and he hadn't expected it to be so powerful.

Should he exert more force to kill the main character and the extra, or what should he do? Zhou Shuo was a bit hesitant, but before he could make a decision, his body hairs suddenly stood on end; instinctively he released the cyan arc of electricity in his hand and retreated to the right to avoid the sneak attacker, but he didn't expect the opponent to flick his wrist and release four black lines, shooting straight toward his face.