Chapter 1048 - 878: The Best of Both Worlds (Part 2)

The ball of fire in the sky suddenly went out. Li Hongjiu and Zhu Xiangxin flashed down one after another, landing on the ground. Looking at the four gravely injured and mutilated men still struggling, they couldn't help but look at each other, the shock in their eyes obvious.

None of them had expected that this sleazy Mouse Demon would possess such terrifying strength, defeating four Heavenly Immortal Realm experts with a mere flip of his hand.

As for this outcome, Huang Yingying, standing with his hands hanging by his sides, also fell silent.

To be honest, he himself had no idea what level his strength had reached. Previously in the Netherworld he had traded blows with Lao Changtai and Chu Jingtang, and those two really couldn't take his beating.

He hadn't thought too much about it. After all, his cultivation had already reached the Heavenly Immortal Realm; how could two with lower cultivation possibly withstand his pounding.

Just before he made a move, he had still been very nervous. If not for seeing his clansmen in danger and the urgency of the situation, he truly wouldn't have dared to act rashly.

Now, realizing that none of the four were his match, and that he had beaten them to the point where they had no power to fight back, defeating them with ease, this result even made him himself fall silent, reflecting on it.

Of course, if he had known who these people were, known whether or not they could be killed, the four on the ground would already be dead. Besides, he didn't have that kind of temperament to casually take lives; he'd always maintained a cautious disposition, worried that overdoing things would stir up trouble.

Thus, in the heat of the moment he had still left them some leeway, not daring to deliver killing blows, and stopped once he had reduced the four to a state where they could no longer resist.

Looking at the four struggling broken bodies, Li Hongjiu also felt speechless. He didn't know why Huang Yingying had left them alive. These four definitely couldn't be let go, but he himself didn't want to personally do the deed. After all, there were outsiders watching, and he couldn't very well order someone to kill them either; he didn't want to casually leave evidence that could be used against him, especially since he wasn't familiar with the two in front of him.

"Old Huang, you've really been hiding deep!" Zhu Xiangxin suddenly exclaimed.

"Uh…" Huang Yingying let out a dry laugh and lifted a hand to scratch his head. He also didn't know how to explain.

The grandmaster-like bearing from just now vanished into thin air, and that sleazy look instantly reattached itself to him.

Li Hongjiu, however, had no mind for this. In a low voice he said, "We don't have time to wait. Hurry up and find Wu Jinliang."

Zhu Xiangxin snapped back to his senses and quickly said, "I'll go right away."

He looked up to discern Wu Jinliang's direction, then shot off at high speed.

Li Hongjiu didn't know when Wu Jinliang would be found. Since there was nothing else to do, he moved over to the cloaked man, curiosity in his voice as he asked, "How did you lot track us here?"

The cloaked man kept his eyes closed and said nothing. The fact that he cultivated Demon Skill was something he would never easily reveal.

On the sand, which had quieted down for a time, a head suddenly popped up to scout. Seeing the fighting was over, it immediately slapped the sand with its hand. Before long, the Golden-haired Rat Clan who had been hiding all surfaced from beneath the ground.

What let Li Hongjiu breathe a sigh of relief was that Zhu Xiangxin hadn't been gone long before he came back together with Wu Jinliang, who was riding on San.

The reason he was found so easily was simple: Wu Jinliang hadn't run too far. The Golden-haired Rat Clan had already estimated the time needed to finish digging out the ore vein; in truth, there was no need to run off for just this bit of time. He'd just wanted to take San for a ride and mess around. Before, San had always refused to let him ride; this time he'd finally found a justification.

On the way back he ran into Zhu Xiangxin. Upon hearing something had happened, he hurried back at once.

As soon as he saw Wu Jinliang, the impatient Li Hongjiu immediately called him over to speak in private, passing on what Shi Chun had instructed.

After hearing him out, Wu Jinliang's expression also grew grave, and he then asked how they had been tracked.

Li Hongjiu was also puzzled. "I don't know how we ended up being tracked. At the time of the incident, they had clearly all been lured away by Shi Chun. On the way, I didn't land to leave any traces, and I even used a Secret Technique to seal off my scent from leaking. Something's off."

As someone experienced with this kind of "off" situation, Wu Jinliang immediately raised a brow, suspecting something. He asked, "Is there anyone among them who cultivates Demon Skill?"

Li Hongjiu was taken aback. "They're all people sent by the Nanshan Royal Court. Where would a Demon Cultivator come from?"

"That's not necessarily true." Wu Jinliang snorted. He had plenty of experience in this area, all right? He himself had gone through this kind of "not necessarily". He immediately flashed over and personally cast a spell to pin down each gravely injured broken body in turn, carefully probing.

These Demon Cultivators, gravely wounded and no longer able to use Secret Techniques to conceal themselves, stood no chance of withstanding his direct, detailed probing of their Magic Source.

Very soon, after checking the four, Wu Jinliang turned back and grabbed the cloaked man, pinching his chin as he questioned, "You cultivated Demon Eye?"

A look of surprise flashed through the cloaked man's eyes. He didn't know where the other had gotten this knowledge.

Li Hongjiu squatted to the side and said, "He's a Demon Cultivator?"

Wu Jinliang said, "Whether he is or not, you can just check and see."

Li Hongjiu immediately pressed his hand over the cloaked man's Dantian and sent a spell inward, probing for a while. Then he said doubtfully, "This kind of phenomenon in the Magic Source is what a Demon Cultivator's phenomenon looks like?"

"If that's not a Demon Cultivator, then what is…" Wu Jinliang said, then paused, tilting his head to look at him. Realizing something, he tried asking, "You've never seen a Demon Cultivator's Magic Source before?"

Li Hongjiu thought to himself, Where would I go to see that?

Fine. From his reaction, Wu Jinliang understood that his question had been a bit redundant. Not everyone was like them. Smiling, he said, "Well, now you've seen it, haven't you?"

Li Hongjiu rose to his feet and said, "This place isn't safe to stay. I'm heading back first."

Wu Jinliang stopped him. "Wait."

He turned back and patted the cloaked man's face, saying, "How many of you in total came in here having cultivated Demon Eye?"

He knew very well that if this problem wasn't solved, not only would they be unable to escape, but Li Hongjiu's collusion with them would also be exposed through their comings and goings.

The cloaked man slowly closed his eyes, clearly determined to die before he would talk.

Seeing that the other wasn't even willing to bargain, Wu Jinliang didn't press him too hard. He knew that for the Nanshan Royal Court to send people like this out, they must have methods of control. He didn't have the time to slowly interrogate either. After thinking for a bit, he said to Li Hongjiu, "Brother Jiu, you've heard of Demon Eye, right?"

Li Hongjiu's expression darkened slightly, and he gave a faint nod.

Wu Jinliang also nodded. "As expected of a Great Sect Disciple."

Thinking of the matter with the Demon Cultivator's Magic Source just now, Li Hongjiu replied, "Are you throwing shade at me?"

Wu Jinliang rolled his eyes, and indeed had no mood to joke. He explained, "Since Brother Jiu knows how formidable Demon Eye is, you should understand the trouble we're in now. Right now we don't know just how many Demon Eye users Nanshan has sent over. With the environment of Yanfu Continent as it is, I don't believe they'd only send one. If there are still Demon Eye users tracking, not only will we fail to escape, but your collusion with us—once they follow the traces and check—you won't escape either."

Thinking of Demon Eye's methods, Li Hongjiu's scalp went numb. The trail he'd left all the way here was impossible to explain away. This time, the Yanbao Sect would probably be dragged into the pit by him.

He then heard Wu Jinliang say, "I do have a method that could be the best of both worlds. It just depends on whether Brother Jiu dares to carry it out."

Li Hongjiu's spirits lifted slightly, and he hurriedly urged, "Wu Daguo, stop beating around the bush. If you've got a way, spit it out."

Wu Jinliang pointed at the cloaked man who had closed his eyes to await death. "Let him go back."

The cloaked man thought he'd misheard and snapped his eyes open.

The others also thought they'd misheard. Li Hongjiu glared and said, "Are you stupid, or are you hoping I die?"

Wu Jinliang waved his hand and solemnly informed him, "You'll be the one to take him back. You carry him back—no, it's that you save him and bring him back. He's still alive, but his body's been crippled, his brain's been crippled too. You bring back a living corpse who can't be questioned about anything, then you make up some reason to scare them. Say you ran into some terrifying expert; only because three people stayed behind and died to cover the retreat did you manage to escape by sheer luck. You have to scare them so much they won't dare to act rashly. This way, even if they have other Demon Eye users follow the trail here, you won't be exposed. Even if they track us down on our side, they won't dare to move lightly. By then, with you as an inside agent, and Old Huang's abilities, we might actually have a chance at a fight. This might also be our only chance."