The misunderstanding has been cleared.

"What are you doing?!" Chu Liang shouted, his body springing into action instantly.

He had anticipated that his opponent would attack, but he never expected that a Soul-Detaining Envoy of the Underworld Sect would lead with sorcery.

The Underworld Sect was once a branch of the Heavenly Star Divine Sect, practicing the strange arts of the stars. After they splintered off and fell into the demonic path, they absorbed some techniques from the Demonic Sect, but regardless, they remained far removed from the arts of witchcraft.

A Zone of Forbidden Magic prohibited all spells. All manner of supernatural powers and magical artifacts were rendered ineffective here.

This situation was dangerous. However, having experienced such zones before, Chu Liang jumped backward, putting several paces of distance between them. He assumed the opponent was unaware of his ten-tiger strength and his "brick-fighting" techniques; if it came down to martial prowess, he was not entirely without a chance.

Yet, unsure of the enemy's true strength, he decided that escaping the zone and using his Jade Talisman of Guidance to notify his master was the wisest course of action. Since the enemy dared to deploy such a zone, they must have had other tricks up their sleeves, and Chu Liang chose to be exceptionally cautious.

"Sixty" was a person of few words, and she did not speak a single one.

As Chu Liang retreated, attempting to slip out of the zone, she did not watch him escape. With a flick of her wrist, she unleashed a rain of silver light!

Hidden weapons?

*Swish, swish, swish—*

Facing the overwhelming hail of silver, Chu Liang immediately employed his movement technique, weaving and retreating to barely dodge every silver needle.

Looking back, he saw the needles land on the ground and instantly soften, transforming into worm-like silver threads that burrowed into the soil.

Chu Liang felt his scalp tingle.

Those weren't needles at all; they were insects!

Gu-insects!

He dared not imagine the consequences of those insects burrowing into his body, nor did he wish to tangle with this sinister opponent any longer. His movements were swift and agile, and he was nearly out of the range of the forbidden zone.

"Sixty" seemed puzzled, muttering to herself, "The Backflow Movement Technique?"

But as Chu Liang was about to escape, she did not hesitate. She lunged forward, her movement just as swift and ghostly as before!

Chu Liang kept sprinting. The moment his figure cleared the edge of the forbidden zone, another rain of silver needles shot toward him from behind. He rolled and stumbled to avoid them.

He saw "Sixty" wave her hand, and the Zone of Forbidden Magic seemed to dissipate.

The elderly sorcerer from before couldn't stop his spell because he had died, but "Sixty" was alive and could retract her sorcery with a simple gesture.

Immediately after, she flipped her hand and produced a black umbrella.

*Whoosh—*

As the black umbrella opened, "Sixty" paused for a fraction of a second before suddenly flickering forward like a teleportation, appearing several yards ahead in the next instant!

Such a fast blink!

Chu Liang was startled. As she drew so close, he finally saw that beneath the open umbrella, a faint, black human-shaped phantom had appeared.

It looked like a living soul.

That soul was clutching "Sixty" by the waist, pulling her forward, which accounted for that teleport-like movement. Was this the art of ghost-riding under an umbrella? How did she know everything?

The speed of this ghost-riding movement was second only to the "Shrinking Ground to an Inch" immortal technique used by Fairy Jiang—at least, that was true teleportation.

Even though she was close, Chu Liang had already gripped the Jade Talisman of Guidance; with a single press, he could summon his master.

The "Sixty" before him flipped her hand again, revealing a massive, shimmering silver scimitar, its edge tinged with a dangerous shade of black.

Poison.

This weapon confirmed a suspicion Chu Liang had held. As he watched "Sixty" flicker once more right in front of him, the cold edge of the scimitar about to descend, Chu Liang did not crush the talisman. Instead, he shouted aloud, "You are not a Soul-Detaining Envoy; you are a disciple of the Three Ultimates Valley! Do you know that I am a disciple of Mount Shu?"

...

*Whoosh—*

The scimitar whistled and stopped just inches above his head, but Chu Liang remained unafraid. Even if she hadn't stopped, he could have summoned his Green Leaf artifact to wrap himself up like a mummy and fly away.

His courage stemmed from his confidence.

Still, the true energy and poison on the blade were so close they nearly touched his hair, which made his spine chill.

"You are a disciple of Mount Shu?"

"Sixty" questioned him, simultaneously lifting her hood to reveal a delicate face.

She was a woman?

Chu Liang was slightly surprised.

The person in the black robe was a cold-faced, pretty young girl. She had short, gray-white hair that barely reached her ears. Her skin was fair, her eyes indifferent, and she had a bit of a baby face that made her look youthful—a slight contrast to her icy expression.

Her height had indeed been faked; after removing her hood, her stature slightly shrank, and her voice became light and ethereal, though devoid of emotion.

The small girl holding the massive scimitar, with her "few words, brutal actions" demeanor, made for a somewhat strange scene.

"That's right." Seeing her willingness to be open, Chu Liang also pulled back his hood, revealing an innocent smile. "Mount Shu disciple, Chu Liang."

He had concluded she wasn't an Underworld Sect disciple not just because of his initial suspicions, but because of the techniques she had displayed.

Sorcery, Gu-arts, poison arts... it wouldn't be strange to know one, but to be proficient in all of them was highly unusual.

Coupled with the umbrella-based ghost-riding and the scimitar from the Southern Territory's Red Frontier, these were all hallmark techniques of the Three Ultimates Valley. She hadn't displayed any of the Heavenly Star arts or soul-manipulation techniques that the original Soul-Detaining Envoy had used.

This convinced him she was from the Three Ultimates Valley. Thinking of it this way, all her previous strange behaviors made sense.

"Hmm..." The scimitar-wielding girl pondered for a moment, then nodded. "I believe you..."

Chu Liang smiled slightly; it seemed his righteous countenance always earned people's trust.

The girl continued, "Soul-Detaining Envoys of the Underworld Sect must have at least Golden Core cultivation. You are only at the Third Realm; you couldn't be one."

"..." So it was his low cultivation that earned her trust.

"My name is Luo Yao," the girl said, putting away her scimitar in a cold, clear voice.

"Oh?" Chu Liang felt the name was familiar. He had seen it in the Seven Stars Gazette before: a ruthless genius disciple from the Three Ultimates Valley who had single-handedly slaughtered several evil witchcraft and Gu sects.

So it was this little girl?

Thinking back, he had managed to survive for a moment using his own methods, but if she had persisted, he would have had no choice but to call his master or use his Green Leaf to flee.

Her cultivation should be no less than Jiang Yuebai's, and with all her strange, sinister techniques, she was truly terrifying.

She had initially mistaken him for a Golden Core demonic cultivator from the Underworld Sect, which was why she started with the Zone of Forbidden Magic, only to be evaded by his Backflow Movement. If she had known he was only at the Divine Intent Realm and had attacked with real intent from the start, he would never have survived.

"So it is Miss Luo. I have long heard of your reputation," Chu Liang said with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" Luo Yao didn't bother with pleasantries, asking directly.

"I learned of the Underworld Sect's operations through a Soul-Detaining Order and came here to eliminate the demonic cultivators," Chu Liang replied, then asked, "Miss Luo, how are you using the Soul-Detaining Order?"

He had only been able to use it because, by pure chance, the original Envoy had his soul captured and preserved within the Underworld Heavenly Book. Such coincidences shouldn't be common.

"I captured a wicked Soul-Detaining Envoy. I originally intended to extract his soul to refine into witchcraft materials, but I accidentally discovered that I could use his Soul-Detaining Order afterward," Luo Yao said. "I thought I was the only one who knew how to crack these orders. I wanted to take this opportunity to kill more Underworld Sect cultivators and seize their orders. I didn't expect you to have discovered this method too."

"Just a coincidence," Chu Liang chuckled awkwardly.

I am not as ruthless as you.

To think that the Soul-Detaining Envoy, who had been so fierce in capturing souls, had become a mere toy in the hands of this young girl, stripped even of the right to be killed.

"Sigh, it's a pity," Luo Yao sighed lightly.

"What's a pity?" Chu Liang asked.

"The elders of my valley are waiting outside. I promised them I'd bring out more souls and get them Soul-Detaining Orders so we could all infiltrate the Underworld Sect," Luo Yao said. "Once this method is discovered, it won't work again. They all wanted to experience it."

Good grief.

Do you treat this like some kind of vacation experience?

He could only say, "There will be plenty of opportunities ahead. We can work together to deal with that 'Fifty-Nine' and the Earth-Fiend Envoy."

Luo Yao said nonchalantly, "I can handle that Soul-Detaining Envoy myself. As for the Earth-Fiend Envoy... he is at the Fifth Realm, which is tricky. We'll have to think of a way."