Chapter 105 - 104: Confession
Chapter 105: Chapter 104: Confession
However, just as the gate swung wide open.
Shu Qi and Ya Jiu froze in place, their steps rooted to the ground. The ferocity and haste on their faces vanished, replaced in an instant by utter horror as their pupils constricted.
Directly in front of the gate stood a figure, hands clasped behind his back, so still he seemed to have merged with the night.
The cool moonlight outlined his serene face.
It was Chen Li.
There was no telling when he had arrived or how long he had been standing there. His gaze was indifferent, as if he were watching a pair of buffoons.
"You two..."
Chen Li’s calm gaze swept over the bulging hemp sacks in Shu Qi and Ya Jiu’s hands. His voice was level and emotionless, yet it carried an icy chill. "You’ve been stirring up trouble in my Lingxi for the past few days. Do you truly think you can just leave without giving me an explanation?"
Shu Qi and Ya Jiu went pale with fright, their hearts nearly stopping.
They never expected someone could evade their Spiritual Sense and appear here so silently.
"You’re... Chen Li?"
Shu Qi had never met Chen Li, but he quickly guessed his identity. His voice was distorted by extreme terror.
"Fight our way out!"
Ya Jiu reacted a fraction faster. With a furious roar, the power of his Spirit Realm cultivation erupted instantly.
He dropped the sack, his hands brushing past his waist to produce two short, gleaming blades. A foul wind followed his form as he lunged straight for Chen Li’s face.
The glint of his blades was sharp, aimed directly at Chen Li’s throat and heart—both vital points.
It was a desperate, killing move—swift, vicious, and designed to fell his enemy in a single strike.
However, in the face of Ya Jiu’s life-or-death counterattack, there wasn’t the slightest flicker in Chen Li’s eyes.
He didn’t even move his feet.
With but a flicker of his intention.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, the glazed, illusory figure seated in his Divine Hall Acupoint suddenly opened its eyes.
The next moment, a Divine Sense avatar—somewhat blurry, yet dignified and solemn, holding the illusion of a Black Iron Staff—stepped out from between Chen Li’s brows.
The illusion of the Qiankun Ruyi Staff in the avatar’s hand simply swung in a simple arc, devoid of any earth-shattering momentum.
Ape Strike Skill!
HUMMM!
An invisible yet vast and majestic pressure suddenly descended.
A tremor, nearly inaudible yet piercing deep into the soul, seemed to ring through the air.
Ya Jiu, who was charging forward manically, suddenly froze stiff!
The ferocity and killing intent on his face solidified in an instant. The light in his eyes dimmed and scattered abruptly, like a candle flame blown out by a gale.
His forward momentum carried him one more staggering step before his entire body went limp, collapsing forward like a boneless sack of mud.
THUD!
His body slammed onto the cold earth, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
The short blades in his hand fell with a CLANG. His eyes remained wide open, but they had lost all focus. His pupils were dilated, lifeless.
A thin trickle of blood slowly seeped from the corners of his mouth, nose, and eyes.
There was no earth-shattering collision, no back-and-forth struggle.
Just a single encounter, a single glance.
Ya Jiu, an expert at the Spirit Realm Meridian Passage, had his Divine Soul obliterated, becoming nothing more than a still-warm corpse.
Silence.
A dead silence.
The night wind blew past, rustling a few dry leaves. The soft sound only served to make the strange, suffocating atmosphere of the scene even more pronounced.
Shu Qi was frozen to the spot. A bone-deep chill instantly swept through his entire body, as if ice water had been poured over his head.
His eyes were fixed on Ya Jiu’s corpse on the ground, then snapped toward Chen Li, who still stood motionless. His pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks, filled with shock and terror.
’What kind of technique was that?’
’A Divine Soul Attack?’
’A Public God?’
’No, do the Public Gods in the sect even have techniques like this?’
’Could he be an Upper God?’
’Damn it, is He Liu a fucking idiot?’
’How could he send me and Ya Jiu to plot against a being like this?’
At this moment, fear had completely consumed Shu Qi.
Cowardly as a rat—this was, in fact, the blessing bestowed by the god he worshipped.
And rats do not have the courage to commit suicide.
THUD!
His knees gave way, and he dropped heavily to the ground, slamming his forehead onto the cold dirt with a dull thud. "Sen... Senior! Spare me! Spare my life! I was blind to have offended you, Great One! I beg you to spare me! I’ll be your slave, I’ll do anything for you! I beg you!"
Shu Qi’s voice was hoarse and sharp, cracking from extreme fear, and his body trembled like a leaf.
Chen Li looked down at Shu Qi kowtowing and begging for his life, his expression completely unmoved.
He slowly walked forward until he stood before Shu Qi.
Shu Qi felt a shadow fall over him and shuddered in terror. His kowtowing ceased, but he lacked the courage to even look up, merely curling himself into a smaller ball and trembling more violently.
Chen Li extended a finger. Its tip glowed with a faint, glazed luster, containing a profound power. As fast as lightning, he tapped it between Shu Qi’s brows.
Evil Suppressing Seal!
TSS...
A cool sensation instantly permeated the depths of Shu Qi’s sea of consciousness, forming a complex and solid brand.
Shu Qi let out a muffled grunt. He felt his Divine Soul tighten, as if it had been bound by something.
Chen Li retracted his finger. "Now, I will ask, and you will answer. If you speak a single false word, your Divine Soul will be obliterated."
Shu Qi collapsed limply to the ground, his face ashen. He stammered, "Yes... I wouldn’t dare! I absolutely wouldn’t dare!"
Chen Li began to speak, his voice flat yet piercing straight to Shu Qi’s Heart Spirit. "Speak. Who sent you? What is your ultimate goal?"
Shu Qi trembled and, not daring to hide anything, hastily replied, "Replying to Senior, the order came from a Public God in the sect. He ordered me and Ya Jiu to cooperate with someone called He Liu, specifically... specifically to deal with you."
"He Liu?"
Chen Li’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Who is he? What’s his full name?"
Shu Qi kept his head bowed, not daring to look at Chen Li’s expression. He swallowed hard. "I... I don’t know either."
"Hmm?" Chen Li raised an eyebrow, killing intent gathering in his eyes.
Shu Qi was terrified and hurriedly explained, "It’s... it’s true! Senior, you may not know this, but our sect has countless gods and is rife with factions. It’s perfectly normal for members who don’t worship the same god to be unaware of each other’s identities.
Besides, a county is usually overseen by a Qi Realm Yama leading three to five Manu. A minor god like myself would typically be stationed in a small commandery. If it weren’t for this operation targeting you, Senior, we wouldn’t have been temporarily dispatched here.
I really don’t know who this He Liu is. I only met him once a few days ago. He told me and Ya Jiu the detailed plan and then left. He was wearing a mask, so I never even saw his face, let alone learned his identity."
Chen Li’s brow furrowed slightly. "Tell me your entire plan in detail."
"Yes."
Shu Qi immediately recounted everything, starting from the unknown ancient tomb at Mirror Mountain, spreading rumors about it, and intentionally letting the news reach Chen Shouheng and Chen Shouye. When that had no effect, they came to Lingxi to plot further.
After a moment of silence, Chen Li asked, "What kind of cultivation technique is that Swallowing Essence Technique?"
Shu Qi swallowed and explained, "It’s an Evil Skill the sect acquired long ago. In the early years, it was sought after by many members. But because no one could solve the problem of merging the absorbed blood essence and Inner Qi, no one dares to practice it anymore."
Chen Li looked at the trembling Shu Qi on the ground. "Do you want to live?"
Shu Qi’s head snapped up, his eyes blazing with a desperate will to survive. He kowtowed like a pestle grinding garlic. "Yes, yes! I beg you for mercy, Senior!"
"Then do as I say."
...