“Difficult?”
Upon hearing Chu Liang’s words, Luo Yao and Pǔ Shàn both had question marks popping up above their heads.
In theory, his statement was not wrong. The fifth realm Earth Fiend, with his high cultivation and numerous methods, had indeed given them a brief yet dangerous fight.
However, hearing these words from Chu Liang’s mouth seemed somewhat inappropriate… especially after he had just slain the Earth Fiend with a single sword strike.
From the moment they first met, Luo Yao and Pǔ Shàn had never truly considered Chu Liang to be on the same level as them. Regardless of how polite he was, such prodigies were bound to be proud.
Chu Liang, after all, was only at the third realm. Although he was indeed outstanding for his age, he could not be compared with them.
Therefore, when the battle began, they had subconsciously ignored Chu Liang’s presence, not expecting this disciple of Shu Mountain to provide much assistance.
When their combined efforts failed to stop the Earth Fiend from escaping, they thought the mission was doomed to fail. They had no complaints about Chu Liang’s lack of contribution, because they knew from the start that he was only at the Divine Intent realm, what could they expect from him?
The more natural their disregard was, the more shocking Chu Liang’s intervention was!
Unlike Yun Zhaoxian’s previous encounter, Yun Zhaoxian had not met Chu Liang before he saw him kill the Tiger King with his Thousand Swords Art, and had simply thought of him as a newly emerged expert. But now, their previous weak impression of him was shattered, and the shock was doubly intense.
After using such a earth-shattering sword art to kill the Earth Fiend, you casually say “difficult”, this… what would it be like if it wasn’t difficult? Would a sneeze scare him to death?
Chu Liang’s action and his casual comment left even the talkative Pǔ Shàn speechless for a while.
However, Chu Liang’s words were indeed heartfelt.
In his original plan, he didn’t really want to make a move. Although the Red Slayer Sword was already hot from the battle, there was no reward for killing. As long as the Earth Fiend died, he was happy to let Luo Yao and Pǔ Shàn take the credit.
With their cultivation and divine abilities, plus the advantage of a surprise attack, they should have been able to kill a fifth realm opponent. Unfortunately, the Earth Fiend had many tricks up his sleeve and managed to escape, forcing Chu Liang to act.
That’s why he found it difficult.
The reason he was reluctant to act was because the other two had already confirmed his cultivation level. If he were to display such great power now, it would either mean that he had been hiding his true cultivation level, or that he possessed a treasure!
Even though Luo Yao and Pǔ Shàn didn’t seem like the type to covet others’ treasures, Chu Liang couldn’t afford to be careless. Things could change, and even a rumor could bring unnecessary danger to him.
But now that he had already acted, there was no point in thinking too much.
Searching the corpse was the priority.
He lit a bone torch and flew to where the Earth Fiend had died, searching based on his vague memory. Unfortunately, the fog was thick and the Earth Fiend had been completely obliterated. Even if his belongings hadn’t been destroyed, it was unknown where they had scattered. He circled the area several times, but only found a black jade slip, which seemed to record some kind of legacy.
“Sigh…” Chu Liang sighed again, genuinely disappointed.
A fifth realm demon cultivator who had been operating in the Underworld Sect for many years was definitely a walking treasure trove. It was a pity to lose all his belongings.
Just as he was about to search again, he heard a rustling sound behind him.
“Watch out!” Pǔ Shàn’s warning rang out.
Chu Liang had already turned around with his sword, but this time, he was holding the Dustless Sword instead of the Red Slayer Sword!
Sure enough, a Sickle Ghost had jumped out while Chu Liang was searching for the scattered items, attempting a shameless sneak attack.
Holding the Dustless Sword, he repelled the Sickle Ghost’s skeletal body with a single strike, making a clanging sound!
“Ah——” The Sickle Ghost, with a deep cut in its half body, jumped far away, letting out a roar of anger.
Chu Liang was surprised at how tough the Sickle Ghost was, even the Dustless Sword couldn’t break it. Of course, it wasn’t entirely the Dustless Sword’s fault…
He flicked his wrist, instantly drawing a Ice-Fire Dual Symbol Sword. With his left hand forming a seal and his right hand pushing forward, the Dustless Sword flew out, boom——
Finally, the Sickle Ghost was shattered by the sword.
Its bones clattered to the ground. Thankfully, the power of this sword strike wasn’t too great, so the bones were easy to pick up.
The two people behind him found this very strange.
Because although the strike of the Dustless Sword was powerful, it was much weaker compared to the strike that had killed the Earth Fiend.
Luo Yao managed to maintain her aloof demeanor, but Pǔ Shàn couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Hero Chu, why does the power of your sword qi fluctuate so much?””Hehe.” Chu Liang smiled slightly, saying, “I am a person who hates evil as if it were my enemy. When I see a bad person, I can’t suppress my anger, and the power that bursts out will be a bit stronger.”
“I see.” Pǔ Shàn smiled and nodded, “I understand.”
What he understood was not the reason for the change in Chu Liang’s sword aura.
Rather, when someone makes up an obvious lie to fob you off, you should not ask any further.
……
In the circle waiting at the original place.
The guide of the southern route looked at the bone torch in his hand, the second one had already burned a part. Theoretically, the three hunting teams should have returned.
But now only two have returned.
Just as he was thinking, a figure flashed out of the mist, a soul capturer with a “fifty-eight” sign hanging around his waist staggered back, seemingly exhausted.
“What happened?” The guide of the southern route suddenly stood up and asked.
“Guide!” Fifty-eight bowed his head and said, “The Earth Fiend… The Earth Fiend was killed!”
“What?” The guide of the southern route frowned.
“We were hunting the Sickle Ghost, and suddenly a figure in a black robe flashed out of the mist. That person’s cultivation was extremely high, and a sword spell severely injured the Earth Fiend! We fled and got separated, and after searching for a long time, I finally found my way back!” Fifty-eight said loudly.
“Did you come back by yourself?” The guide of the southern route asked in a deep voice.
“Yes!” Fifty-eight replied.
“You’re lying!” The guide of the southern route shouted, “This mist is full of ghosts, as long as you are alone, even with a bone torch, you will still be entangled! How could you possibly walk back by yourself?!”
“I dare not!” Fifty-eight trembled, immediately defending himself, “There are indeed many ghosts in the mist, but I relied on my passion and will to serve the sect, resisted all the temptations of the ghosts, and insisted on walking back!”
The guide of the southern route fell into contemplation.
In fact, he was not sure that Fifty-eight was lying just now, but was trying to scare him. After all, the whole team was dead, and only he came back, which was suspicious. If he really had a guilty conscience, this scare might reveal something.
But Fifty-eight immediately defended himself loudly, which eased some of the guide’s suspicions. After all, he also knew that this was just the beginning of the Misty Valley, the ghosts were not strong, and it was possible for a Golden Elixir realm to walk back.
As he was thinking, another figure walked back from the mist, this time it was Sixty.
“Guide!” Sixty first glanced at Fifty-eight, then said, “Someone in the mist killed the Earth Fiend, I got separated from my team, and barely found my way back…”
“Hmm?” The guide of the southern route stared at Sixty, “Did you see the Earth Fiend die?”
“Yes… I ran slowly, and in the end, I saw the Earth Fiend die under a sword spell, then I turned around and ran.” Sixty replied.
The guide’s gaze lingered between “Fifty-eight” and “Sixty”, their words seemed to corroborate each other.
But the possibility of collusion was not ruled out.
Just as he was thinking, a loud shout came from outside the mist, the shouting came first, and then a figure rushed out, with a “fifty-nine” sign hanging on him.
“Guide…” Fifty-nine fell to the ground as soon as he came back, his voice choked with sobs, “I almost didn’t see you guys! Just now a man in black suddenly appeared and killed the Earth Fiend, we scattered and ran! The way back was extremely difficult with ghosts and Sickle Ghosts in the mist!”
Another one…
The guide of the southern route looked at the three of them, and his suspicion was completely dispelled. One person lying, two people lying, could it be that three people were lying together?
It seems that most likely someone ambushed and killed the Earth Fiend in the mist, but who this person is and what his purpose is…
His eyebrows were furrowed for a long time.
But the journey had to continue, after a while, the guide of the southern route ordered, “You three join the team first, we will continue to set off. We will go hunting later, you will follow in other Earth Fiend teams.”
The three “lucky escapees”, “still in shock” soul capturers, returned to the end of the team.
In Luo Yao and Pǔ Shàn’s eyes, there was a hint of approval when they looked at Chu Liang.
Because it was Chu Liang who had stopped them earlier and said that if the three of them went back like this and claimed that only the highest cultivation Earth Fiend in the team had died, it would inevitably arouse suspicion, and it might not be convenient to act later.
It’s better to return to the team separately.
In this way, a testimony was divided into three parts. The statements of the three people can corroborate each other, time and time again, making it easier to gain trust.
This set of corroborating operations did indeed dispel the guide’s doubts about them, allowing them to continue to participate in subsequent actions.
Exchange of golden water!
And his exhaustion and weakness were not feigned, but he really risked walking back alone from the heavy mist!
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