Chapter 153

Then the crowd parted, and Kong Xingyi walked out shoulder to shoulder with Yu Canghai.

Seeing Yu Canghai's attire, Jiang Sishui said lightly, "You're from the Qingcheng Sect as well?"

Also!

Yu Canghai keenly picked out that single word, and his temper flared at once. Killing intent filled his brows: "From what you're saying, you've met my few disciples?"

Jiang Sishui muttered to himself, "The master of the Four Beasts of Qingcheng, this ugly, and this short… looks like you really are Yu Canghai."

"Not only have I met them, I killed them all with a single sword."

"What? You want to go see them? I can help you with that."

As he spoke, Jiang Sishui pinched a falling leaf drifting past him between two fingers and casually flung it toward Yu Canghai.

Yet this seemingly careless flick made Yu Canghai's eyelid twitch uncontrollably.

A sense of death welled up in his heart. Almost without needing to think, Yu Canghai drew the fastest sword strike of his life and slashed at the leaf.

A crisp "clang" rang out, and the fine-steel longsword snapped in two, the tip clattering to the ground.

And that leaf, like an arrow, kept its trajectory unchanged, piercing through Yu Canghai's chest and stabbing into his heart.

An incredulous terror flashed in Yu Canghai's eyes. He stared at the bleeding wound on his chest, opened his mouth, but could not speak.

His legs went weak, he collapsed to the ground, and breathed his last, his two eyes still wide open.

169 — Heavenly Desire Palace Heart Demon, Divine Form Li Buyi

Watching Yu Canghai's unclosed-eyed corpse, the women of the Huangshan Sect were greatly shaken.

Yu Canghai's cultivation was not high; he had only just reached the Grandmaster Realm and seemed to have broken through only recently. Within the Huangshan Sect, there were many who could surpass him.

Kong Xingyi was confident she could easily handle him.

But to do it as lightly as Jiang Sishui did—flicking out a leaf, first snapping a fine-steel longsword, then killing Yu Canghai in an instant—was something she could only look at the dust and sigh at.

Let alone her—even if Qiu Duandao came back to life, he couldn't have done it.

At this thought, Kong Xingyi grew heavy-hearted.

Because from the move Jiang Sishui had just shown, he was undoubtedly capable of killing Qiu Duandao.

And he had appeared here at this sensitive moment—however one looked at it, the suspicion was huge.

At this moment, Jiang Sishui's gaze swept over: "Disciples of the Huangshan Sect, do you need something from me?"

The women of the Huangshan Sect exchanged glances.

Need something?

Of course they needed something!

Only the matter hadn't even been spoken, and the one causing trouble had been taken out by him.

Thinking of this, the women couldn't help but glance at Yu Canghai's corpse and mourn for him a moment.

They'd blustered and chased for half a day, and in the end the culprit was found—but instead of avenging their grudge, they'd thrown themselves in.

Killed in a single move by the other party, no less!

Too pitiful.

But now that Yu Canghai was dead, should they count as having business or not?

The women all looked toward Kong Xingyi, waiting for her to decide.

Kong Xingyi felt the pressure was immense, unsure whether she should speak up.

She was afraid that once she asked, the other party would get angry from embarrassment, go on a killing spree, and leave all of them here.

But if she didn't ask, there'd always be a thorn in her heart, and the truth of Qiu Duandao's death would never be uncovered.

Caught in a dilemma, Kong Xingyi suddenly caught sight of A'Zhu nearby, and the black-robed man with the severed arm on the ground.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration lit up her mind.

No, wrong track!

Perhaps… she had misunderstood.

The reason was simple—when had anyone ever seen an assassin commit murder while bringing along a woman who looked delicate and weak?

Moreover, according to the intelligence report, the ones who came were one man and one woman, yet here there were three people before them.

One of them was not only heavily wounded and unable to move, but the wound was fresh—so who had struck the blow was obvious at a glance.

Three people, from two opposing sides.

Looking at the black-robed man's sneaky attire, a sudden realization dawned on Kong Xingyi.

Suppressing the excitement in her heart, she bowed to Jiang Sishui and said, "This humble woman is Kong Xingyi, chief disciple of the Huangshan Sect. An honored guest has arrived, and our humble sect has failed to welcome you from afar—please forgive us."

Jiang Sishui returned with a smile: "I've come to Mount Huangshan, not the Huangshan Sect. Your sect need not bother with this idle wanderer."

He came to Mount Huangshan, not the Huangshan Sect?

Kong Xingyi's heart stirred—she caught two layers of meaning.

On one hand, it said the Huangshan Sect had no duty to entertain him, no need to trouble themselves; but equally, the Huangshan Sect had no right to dictate where he went.

After all, Mount Huangshan is Mount Huangshan, and the Huangshan Sect is the Huangshan Sect—the two cannot be equated.

Kong Xingyi dared not argue, and said respectfully, "To tell you the truth, we are searching the mountain for the culprit. We came here by accident, not deliberately to disturb you."

"Hunting the culprit?" Jiang Sishui glanced at the black-robed man, thoughtful.

Kong Xingyi was also secretly observing the black-robed man, and said, "That's right. Our sect's Elder Qiu Duandao was assassinated last night and unfortunately perished. Now our sect is tracking down the murderer."

Hearing this, Jiang Sishui connected the before and after, and immediately had a guess.

This black-robed man was most likely the culprit—no wonder he was hiding and skulking.

As for why the other party had attacked him?

Jiang Sishui thought carefully—earlier, it was the very moment he and A'Zhu decided to enter the stone crevice that "Cicada Sense" was triggered.

If so, the black-robed man must have been worried about being exposed, so he struck first—not that he had come specifically for him.

Realizing all this, Jiang Sishui's heart cleared suddenly.

Glancing at the black-robed man, Jiang Sishui kicked him flying, then revealed how he had lurked in the stone crevice to ambush others.

Hearing this, Kong Xingyi immediately gained eight or nine tenths of certainty.

After thanking Jiang Sishui, Kong Xingyi lifted the black-robed man's chin with her sword scabbard.

Seeing his face clearly, she froze, then cried out: "A mind demon?!"

The mind demon, his identity exposed, finally stopped playing the mute and gritted his teeth: "Yes! I am the mind demon of Tianyu Palace!"

Tianyu Palace?

Hearing those three words, Jiang Sishui felt a sense of familiarity.

"So it's you! You're still alive! No wonder Qiu Shu's corpse had no wounds—it was your 'Soul-Seizing Great Art'!"

"Hmph, mind demon, you've committed countless evils. Today you've fallen into my hands—pay for Qiu Shu's life!"

Saying this, Kong Xingyi drew her sword to strike.

The mind demon's face darkened; he shouted fiercely: "If you kill me, Gongshu Princess will surely obliterate your Huangshan Sect!"

Kong Xingyi remained utterly unfazed: "You killed my sect's Qiu Shu—this feud is already irreconcilable. If Gongshu Tian comes, we'll fight him to the death! Huangshan Sect has no cowards!"

With that, before the mind demon could speak further, Kong Xingyi drove her sword through his heart.

"Tianyu Palace… Gongshu Tian… mind demon…" Jiang Sishui's gaze gradually sharpened with thought.

After slaying the assassin, the Huangshan Sect women first rejoiced, then frowned, their faces heavy with dread.

Clearly, the mind demon's dying threat had pressed them heavily.

After the sword thrust, Kong Xingyi decapitated the mind demon.

Seeing Jiang Sishui lost in thought, she assumed he was puzzled by the mind demon's background and methods.

Out of gratitude and to cultivate goodwill, Kong Xingyi explained: "Tianyu Palace is a demonic sect."

"Its master, Gongshu Tian, was once a late-stage Great Master who cultivated the 'Heavenly Demon Divine Art' and vanished from the martial world for many years."

"According to what Qiu Shu said before his death, this man either died by accident or was attempting to forge the path to Heaven-Man."

"The mind demon is Tianyu Palace's henchman. Eight years ago, he used the 'Soul-Seizing Great Art' to slaughter Zhengdaoge Sect masters in a frenzy, provoking many sects to unite against him."

"Unfortunately, the mind demon's movements were elusive; repeated ambushes and hunts failed."

"By chance, the Divine Physiognomist Li Buyi became entangled in this turmoil and stood opposed to the mind demon."

"They clashed, both sustaining grave injuries, but Li Buyi obtained the mind demon's blood."

"Li Buyi dripped the mind demon's blood onto the 'Xuanwu Crystal,' aided by Wuji Sect's 'Taiyi Heart Method,' and not only sensed his hiding place but also 'saw' his true face."

"Thus, Zhengdaoge Sect united to exterminate him—and finally eradicated the mind demon. Yet no one expected that, back then, he had faked his death and deceived everyone."

170 Since ancient times, the swept-clean floors produce great masters—Qingcheng's elder Qing Qing Songzi