Chapter 168: Chapter 165: The Sun Breaks Through the Clouds, the Light Is Just Right
Song Ciwan shifted to the side, steadily applying her Qimen Taoist Skill, A Grain of Sand in the Sea. Standing in the corner’s shadow, she was practically silent.
The two Cultivators rushing from around the corner were saying, "The Black Heart Demon Saber is on a killing spree. With just the two of us, what’s the point in continuing the chase? To get ourselves killed?"
The other whispered, "But the clan sent a message. If we don’t go, the higher-ups will know..."
After listening for a moment, Song Ciwan understood what was going on.
The so-called "Black Heart Demon Saber," she realized, was none other than Lu Bell, the Black-clothed Blade Master she was impersonating.
’I have to admit, "Black Heart Demon Saber" is such an awful nickname that I don’t even want to acknowledge that person is me!’
’But on second thought, it doesn’t matter. Lu Bell is Lu Bell, and Song Ciwan is Song Ciwan. Lu Bell wasn’t me to begin with...’
As for these Cultivators in the Otherworld successfully contacting people in the real world, it wasn’t surprising at all.
The four light screens on Wangjiang Mountain served as portals between the real world and the Otherworld. Although people in the real world lost their special vantage point once they left the screens and could no longer see those in the Otherworld, they didn’t actually need to.
People at the foot of the mountain only needed to receive messages from Wangjiang Mountain, use them for guidance to get in front of the people in the Otherworld, and then project the information directly to them through the air.
After all, even though people in the real world couldn’t see those in the Otherworld, the people in the Otherworld could hear and see every move made by those in the real world!
Even if the two parties couldn’t communicate directly, face-to-face, this kind of information exchange wouldn’t be an issue after a period of trial and error, as long as both sides were determined.
By now, news that the Black-clothed Blade Master, Lu Bell, had obtained the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map had spread through both the real world and the Otherworld!
The news that "he" had defeated Ye Sheng with a single blow had also circulated, and the Cultivators in the Otherworld were, in truth, already growing timid.
Song Ciwan heard the two men conferring. "They can’t actually observe all of Bright Moon Square from Wangjiang Mountain. The Black Heart Demon Saber just has to stay away from the old Yao Fang Courtyard site. How could the people on the mountain possibly know his whereabouts then?"
"That’s true. Let’s slow down. It’s fine if we don’t go after the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map. Even if we managed to snatch a treasure like that, we’d just have to hand it over in the end."
"Exactly. The map is theirs, but our lives are our own. We can’t control what others do, but shouldn’t we at least look after ourselves?"
As the two went back and forth, the more they talked, the slower they walked. Eventually, their rapid pace slowed to a leisurely stroll.
The pair slowed their pace in perfect concert, exchanging glances and reaching an unspoken agreement.
Song Ciwan followed behind them, listening to their entire conversation. Only after they had fallen silent for a long time did she slip away from them just as noiselessly as she had appeared.
The two had no idea that if she hadn’t overheard their conversation, Song Ciwan, who was currently on a killing roll, might have just sent them to the afterlife as well.
Fortunately, Song Ciwan wasn’t a true homicidal maniac. Since the two men had no real intention of making an enemy of her, there was no need for her to create another massacre.
She changed direction, heading away from the two men. Before long, she reached the edge of Bright Moon Square.
Along the way, she spotted several more groups of Cultivators from the Otherworld in the distance.
There were Martial Artists, Cultivators, and even Scholars among them.
Whenever possible, Song Ciwan chose to avoid them.
If an encounter was unavoidable, she wouldn’t strike first. But if they showed any killing intent, Song Ciwan would show no mercy.
And so, within a matter of minutes, Song Ciwan had killed two more groups.
One group was small, only three people, but all were experts. Two of them were Innate Second Transformation Opening Realm Martial Artists, and it was clear from their auras that they had opened more than seventy-two apertures. Their Qi Blood was so dense it seemed almost tangible when it surged, a truly startling sight.
The Cultivator’s Cultivation was at least Late-stage Qi Refining, possibly even bordering on the Perfection realm.
None of the three were nobodies, and their combined combat prowess was extraordinary.
This was the source of their confidence, the reason they dared to attack Song Ciwan.
Unfortunately for them, even though the trio was skilled in both ranged and close-quarters combat, the power of Song Ciwan’s Illusion-Breaking Blade Technique, combined with her Black Insect, was far more terrifying.
The Illusion-Breaking Blade Technique, in particular, was completely unscrupulous.
It specialized in attacking the mind, making it incredibly difficult to defend against in a sudden encounter.
All three experts died. Before their deaths, they contributed several clumps of formless energy to Song Ciwan.
[Human Desires: The shock, fury, and hatred of an Innate Second Transformation Opening Realm Martial Artist. Two jin and one tael. Exchangeable.]
[Human Desires: The fury, terror, and shock of an Innate Second Transformation Opening Realm Martial Artist. Three jin and four taels. Exchangeable.]
[Human Desires: The hatred, fury, and regret of a Late-stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator. Three jin and eight taels. Exchangeable.]
...
The Heaven and Earth Scale automatically collected these Human Desires because of the intense emotional fluctuations of the trio just before their deaths.
The Heaven and Earth Scale then collected three clumps of Death Qi from them, weighing two jin and six taels, two jin and eight taels, and three jin and nine taels, respectively.
The Cultivator’s Death Qi weighed the most!
Song Ciwan summoned the Heaven and Earth Scale again, using it to collect the corpses and all of their belongings.
Later, when she had plenty of opportunities to make exchanges, she would sell everything.
Next came the second unavoidable encounter. This time, Song Ciwan faced many more enemies.
Three, five, eight, nine, twelve!
A quick count revealed a total of twelve people!
Just as Song Ciwan was about to leave Bright Moon Square, they flew in to block her path.
The leader bellowed, "Black Heart Demon Saber! Hand over the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map, and we’ll spare your life!"
As he spoke, the man pointed, releasing a scroll. The scroll transformed into a cage of clear light that instantly shot toward Song Ciwan.
Song Ciwan’s figure blurred, splitting into ten. A single illusion was caught by the cage of light, but in that same instant, her true self appeared before the Cultivator who had released it.
She gave a light chuckle. "Spare my life? You’re already trying to kill me for my treasure. You might want to spare me, but I have no intention of sparing you. Now what should we do about that?"
Her hand drew the blade at her waist.
It moved with such speed that it was like a flash of dawn in the dead of night.
The blade was drawn, seeming to have sliced a fissure in the fabric of spacetime itself. In that skip of a moment, life was separated from death.
Before Song Ciwan, the lead Cultivator fell flat on his back.
His eyes were wide. He died so quickly that his emotions didn’t even have time to surface, and the Heaven and Earth Scale couldn’t collect his Human Desires before he fell to the ground, dead.
’It seems he was the type to have too many distracting thoughts.’
That was why he died more cleanly than the others.
The remaining dozen men finally reacted a moment later. Someone roared in anger, "The Black Heart Demon Saber has killed again! Everyone, attack together! Form the array!"
