Chapter 197

As he finished speaking, his figure actually rippled faintly like a reflection in water, beginning to turn blurry and transparent.

"Wait!" Shi Ran suddenly spoke up, her gaze fixed tightly on him, "Do you know my Master? Or rather... what connection do you have with him?"

The mask-wearing man's about-to-dissipate figure paused slightly; in those exposed eyes flashed a trace of extremely swift, extremely complex emotion — seeming like reminiscence, like a sigh, yet also like some deeply buried regret.

"Ling Xiao..." he sighed softly, that sigh barely audible yet carrying a desolation spanning the years, "Matters of an old friend, why bring them up again? You need only remember: the Dao he walked may not be entirely right; the path we seek may not be entirely wrong. These shackles of heaven and earth, in the end someone must shake them... even if by different means."

As his words fell, his figure dissipated completely, leaving only an empty chair and a teacup on the table that still held residual warmth.

Inside the pavilion all was silent, only the mountain wind howling outside the window bringing distant clamor from afar.

Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue immediately unleashed their divine senses, carefully probing, confirming the other party had truly left and left behind no tracking marks or eavesdropping methods.

"This person... unfathomable." Mei Ruoxue's tone was heavy, "The formation mastery he displayed, his grasp of information — absolutely no ordinary figure. 'Xun Gu'... inside Di Shi, factions are indeed complex."

Gu Yusheng looked at Shi Ran: "Shi Ran, how much of his words do you think are credible? Especially regarding the Xun Tian Ling and... the Master's part."

Shi Ran's feelings were in turmoil. The other party's mention of the Xun Tian Ling's anomaly was accurate without error, even pointing out her subtle sensations during meditation. And that final sigh and words about her Master filled her heart with swirling doubts. Could her Master truly have some past with the people of "Di Shi" that she knew nothing of?

"Regarding the Xun Tian Ling part, I'm afraid it's true." Shi Ran took a deep breath, "But cooperation is absolutely not to be trusted. Their goal remains using the Xun Tian Ling to complete the evil formation; no matter how 'gentle' it sounds, the essence hasn't changed. Moreover, he deliberately revealed the Xia Qi Fang node — it could be 'sincerity', or it could be to confuse our vision, or... lure the tiger away from the mountain."

"Correct." Gu Yusheng nodded, "We must immediately report this matter in detail to the Master and the Xun Tian Si. The Xia Qi Fang node requires a secret and thorough investigation. As for the appointment three days from now..." a cold light flashed in his eyes, "Perhaps it is our chance to turn the tables. Provided we make foolproof preparations and obtain the Master's explicit orders."

The three swiftly left Zui Meng Xuan and did not return directly to Xia Qi Fang, instead circling the outer perimeter of Hong Lian Fang Shi several times; only after confirming no one was tailing them did they quietly slip back.

That night, Gu Yusheng transmitted the day's meeting details, the mask-wearing man "Xun Gu's" words, and the suspicions about the Xia Qi Fang node all together encrypted through a higher-level secret channel. At the same time, he also crushed the "zi fu" of the small sword talisman Shi Ran held (the sword talisman given by Ling Xiao had mother-child divisions; crushing the child talisman could transmit simple positioning and emergency signals without waiting for a true life-or-death crisis).

Over the next two days, the surface was calm but undercurrents surged. Inside Xia Qi Fang, the three dared not startle the snake, only using more concealed methods, combining the mask-wearing man's words to secretly sense and probe; they indeed detected extremely faint abnormal fluctuations underground in a specific district of the market town, cleverly combined with the earth veins and human breath, vastly different from the Ju Yin Formation style yet even more sophisticated and vicious, preliminarily confirming the mask-wearing man's words.

On Ling Xiao's side, there was temporarily no direct response. But Shi Ran could feel that sensation of being watched by an unseen gaze, of being resonated with by a clear cold sword intent, seemed to have become a bit clearer. The Master certainly already knew and was secretly arranging something.

On the evening of the third day, two hours remained until the zi shi appointment. Gu Yusheng received orders almost simultaneously from the Xun Tian Si high command and from Ling Xiao Sword Venerable (via encrypted sword message).

Xun Tian Si order: Approve feigning compliance, participate in the zi shi meeting, aiming to further confirm "Xun Gu's" identity, obtain the "Feng Zi" faction's core formation eye intelligence, and attempt to capture or mark the other party. Elite dark guards have already been deployed to control the outer perimeter of Hong Lian Fang Shi, acting on Gu Yusheng's signal. The Xia Qi Fang node has been arranged for secret investigation and handling by formation grandmasters.

Ling Xiao's sword message was much briefer, directly imprinting into Gu Yusheng's consciousness sea: "Protect Ran Ran. May attend appointment, I am here."

Only six characters, yet weighty as a thousand jun, giving Gu Yusheng the greatest confidence.

Gu Yusheng relayed the core of the orders to Mei Ruoxue and Shi Ran. When Shi Ran heard the two words "I am here", her heart settled; all unease seemed instantly soothed.

At the end of hai shi, the three once again quietly left Xia Qi Fang, heading for Hong Lian Fang Shi. This time, their bodies carried several additional layers of concealed protective sword qi (reinforced by the talismans bestowed earlier by Ling Xiao), as well as special artifacts provided by the Xun Tian Si for marking and counter-stealth.

Zi shi approached; Hong Lian Fang Shi still blazed with lantern light, Zui Meng Xuan's Heaven Character Room No. 3, window shutters tightly closed, no light inside.

Pushing the door and entering, the mask-wearing man "Xun Gu" was already seated, posture almost exactly the same as three days prior.

"It seems the three of you have reached a decision." The mask-wearing man's tone was flat, as if not the least bit surprised.

"We can listen to your intelligence on the 'Feng Zi' faction's core formation eye." Gu Yusheng cut straight to the chase, "In exchange, we can promise that after dealing with them, we will appropriately consider your request to borrow the power of 'Yi Nian', but on the premise that you must immediately cease all formation activities in Luo Xia Chuan and hand over all 'Di Shi' rosters and stronghold information you possess."

This was negotiation rhetoric — neither a flat refusal nor an easy agreement, aimed at extracting intelligence.

The mask-wearing man chuckled lightly, as if seeing through their plan but not minding. "A very reasonable request. The core formation eye lies eight hundred li south of here, deep in the 'Qi Xue Valley' bordering the Southern Wilderness. There lies the edge crack of an ancient immortal-demon battlefield, natural yin sha converges, and there is a spatial weak point. They plan on the new moon night seven days from now, using the yin sha gathered from nine auxiliary nodes similar to Luo Xia Chuan as energy, with at least three thousand living souls' blood sacrifice as catalyst, to forcibly strike the crack and summon some evil object or existence from the 'Nine Nether Depths'. These are the specific coordinates, formation layout map, and known guard forces."

He tossed out a black jade slip.

Gu Yusheng caught it, swiftly scanning with divine sense; the content's detail far exceeded expectations, not looking forged. His heart shook but his face revealed nothing: "The roster and strongholds."

"Right here." The mask-wearing man tossed another jade slip, "Luo Xia Chuan and the surrounding three commanderies, all 'Di Shi' members I know of, and three secret warehouses. As for the more core ones... once you demonstrate cooperative sincerity, for example allowing us preliminary contact with the 'Yi Nian' inside the Xun Tian Ling, more will naturally be given."

His gaze turned again to Shi Ran: "Fairy Shi Ran, may I sense a breath of that 'Yi Nian'? Just a moment, no need for you to activate the token, only relax your suppression of it. I need to confirm its 'purity' to adjust our ritual plan."

Shi Ran looked at Gu Yusheng. Gu Yusheng nodded slightly; according to the prearranged plan, they needed to further gain trust while also seeing what reaction the other party would have upon contacting "Yi Nian" — this might expose more information.

Shi Ran complied, slowly relaxing her suppression of that warm "nian" sensation at the center of the Xun Tian Ling, letting it naturally emit a trace of extremely faint, ancient and pure aura.

The mask-wearing man's body trembled slightly, his eyes suddenly erupting with blazing light! That was not merely confirmation, more like a yearning, a near-greedy pursuit!

But the next second, a sudden change erupted!

Precisely when the mask-wearing man's attention was drawn by the "Yi Nian" aura, from the shadows of that sheer cliff behind him, without any warning, stabbed a pitch-black ink-like, utterly non-reflective, slender sword beam faster than divine sense perception! Straight at the mask-wearing man's back!

This strike — timing, angle, speed all exquisite to the peak — and completely evaded the perception of Gu Yusheng and the other two; only when the sword beam reached the body did killing intent explode thunderously!

The mask-wearing man, though startled, did not panic; the dark gold cloud patterns on his black brocade robe suddenly lit up, forming a dense protective shield, while his figure slid forward in a bizarre manner, attempting to dodge the vital point.

*Ssh! *

The black sword beam actually seemed to ignore that shield, penetrating like a hot knife through butter, viciously piercing the mask-wearing man's left shoulder, bringing out a streak of black blood flowers emitting a rotting stench!

Almost simultaneously, the room's four corners, floor, and ceiling simultaneously lit up with dozens of miserable-green talisman patterns, forming a composite formation that both imprisoned and attacked, completely sealing the entire Heaven Character Room No. 3! Several pitch-black shadows emerged from the void, holding various strange weapons, carrying dense "Di Shi" yin sha aura, lunging at Gu Yusheng and the other two!

An ambush! And one that attacked indiscriminately, targeting even the mask-wearing man!

"'Feng Zi' faction's 'Shadow Kill'!" The mask-wearing man groaned, his voice carrying anger and a trace of hard-to-detect alarm, "They actually dared track me and set an ambush here! Go quickly!"

From his sleeve flew a palm-sized ancient bronze mirror; the mirror face flashed at the shadow behind him, a dim yellow light beam shooting out, actually freezing the assassin wielding the black slender sword for a slight instant. Simultaneously, he struck a palm toward a certain node on the ground, attempting to disrupt the formation.

Gu Yusheng and the other two, though startled, did not panic, having long been prepared. Gu Yusheng's natal flying sword left its sheath, transforming into a clear cold moonlight, sweeping across the two lunging shadow assassins; where the sword light passed, yin sha collapsed, the assassins shrieking as they retreated. Mei Ruoxue's pale hands rose continuously; countless ice crystals instantly filled the space, not only blocking attacks but also attempting to freeze the formation's energy flow. Shi Ran immediately gripped the Xun Tian Ling in hand; a dark gold halo bloomed, protecting her whole body, while simultaneously invoking the protective sword qi bestowed by her Master, preparing to face the crisis.

However, the enemy's assassination lineup was evidently extremely powerful. That leader of the assassins wielding the black slender sword, temporarily frozen by the ancient mirror, had an aura that shockingly reached Nascent Soul mid-stage, and was exquisitely skilled in assassination and concealment. His body twisted strangely, actually breaking free of the ancient mirror's binding; his slender sword shook, splitting into three even more illusory sword shadows, respectively attacking the mask-wearing man, Gu Yusheng, and Shi Ran! Before the sword shadows arrived, that soul-piercing yin cold and death intent already made one feel as if falling into an ice cave.

The mask-wearing man was injured first and had to divide attention to break the formation; facing this lethal sword, he seemed unable to dodge.

Gu Yusheng was also entangled by a sword shadow, unable to spare a hand.

Just as that sword shadow attacking Shi Ran reached her face —

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

That illusory yet deadly black sword shadow, less than three inches from Shi Ran's brow, without any warning, inch by inch shattered, annihilated, turning into nothingness.

It was not Shi Ran's protective golden light or sword qi that blocked it; rather it seemed to have crashed into an invisible, absolutely insurmountable wall, collapsing on its own.

Inside the entire Heaven Character Room No. 3, all the miserable-green formation talisman patterns currently operating, in that same instant, simultaneously dimmed, extinguished, collapsed, as if effortlessly erased by an unseen giant hand.

The shadow assassins lunging at Mei Ruoxue and Gu Yusheng suddenly stiffened, as if frozen like flying insects in amber, even the ferocity in their eyes fixed in place.

That Nascent Soul mid-stage assassin leader maintained his sword-striking posture, yet his pupils violently contracted to the limit, his face revealing for the first time an incredulous, near-fearful expression. He felt a power beyond description, beyond resistance, as if representing the heaven-earth supreme principle, the source of order, had already descended, completely locking down and controlling him, along with this space.

No earth-shaking momentum, no dazzling brilliant radiance.

Only a figure, unknown when, already stood quietly half a step before Shi Ran.

Still that dust-free cloud-patterned bright moon sword robe, ink hair jade hairpin, clear handsome countenance in the dim room seemingly emitting faint light on its own. His gaze was calm and waveless, like a ten-thousand-year cold pool, merely sweeping a light glance at that assassin leader.

Just a single glance.

Pfft!

The assassin leader, as if struck by a heavy hammer, violently spat out a large mouthful of black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs; his aura withered instantly, as though a single sword stroke had severed all his cultivation foundations. The thin black sword in his hand snapped into several pieces with a "crack."

The other Shadow Assassins who had been "frozen" collapsed to the ground simultaneously without even a grunt, their breath gone, yet without a single wound on their bodies — only their souls had already been extinguished.

Everything happened in the span of a spark's flash.

From the assassins' sudden attack, to Ling Xiao's arrival, to all enemies being executed and the formation shattered, it took merely one or two breaths.

The masked man "Xun Gu," clutching his bleeding shoulder, stared in shock at the scene before him, at the figure standing with his back to him, like a banished immortal descending to the mortal world; the gaze beneath the bronze mask fluctuated violently, holding shock, complexity, and finally settling into a long, long sigh of unfathomable meaning.

Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue hurriedly sheathed their swords and saluted: "Master!"

Shi Ran stood behind Ling Xiao, gazing at her Master's straight, pine-like back; her nose tingled slightly, yet her heart was filled with an unprecedented sense of security. She knew that as long as her Master was here, even if the sky collapsed, there was no need to fear.

Ling Xiao did not turn back, merely addressing the assassin leader who was already mortally wounded, his voice clear and cold like jade, yet carrying an undeniable authority:

"Go back, tell your master."

"The Weeping Blood Valley, I will go."

"His head, I will take as well."