Golden Water

Quite difficult?

Hearing Chu Liang say this, Luo Yao and Pushan both had little black question marks pop up over their heads.

Logically speaking, there was nothing wrong with this statement. The Earthly Fiend Envoys of the Fifth Realm possessed profound cultivation and a myriad of methods, and they had indeed just gone through a brief and perilous magical battle.

However, hearing these words come out of Chu Liang's mouth felt somewhat inappropriate... especially after he had obliterated that Earthly Fiend Envoy in a single sword strike.

Ever since they first met, neither Luo Yao nor Pushan had ever truly regarded Chu Liang as a person of their own tier. No matter how polite one was in dealing with others, such proud prodigies inevitably harbored arrogance in their hearts.

No matter what, Chu Liang was merely in the Third Realm. While he could certainly be considered outstanding for his age, he was simply incomparable to them.

Therefore, when the battle began, both of them had subconsciously ignored Chu Liang's presence, not expecting this Mount Shu disciple to provide any significant assistance.

When the two of them had exhausted all their methods and still allowed the Earthly Fiend Envoy to escape, they had briefly thought this operation was doomed to fail. They held no resentment toward Chu Liang for his lack of contribution, because they had known from the start that he was only in the Divine Intent Realm—what else could one expect of him?

Just as natural as that neglect had been, the shock Chu Liang brought them after making his move was correspondingly intense!

Unlike Yun Chaoshan earlier—when Yun Chaoshan saw Chu Liang obliterate the Tiger King with the Myriad Sword Art, he had not known Chu Liang beforehand and simply regarded him as an abruptly emerged expert—they already had a relatively fragile impression of him in their hearts. Having that impression ruthlessly shattered multiplied the impact manifold.

Yet, after obliterating the Earthly Fiend Envoy with such an earth-shattering sword technique, he casually remarked, "Quite difficult." This... what would it look like if it weren't difficult? Would a sneeze scare him to death?

Chu Liang's move, coupled with this casual grumble, left even the most talkative Pushan speechless for a long time.

However, Chu Liang's remark truly came from the bottom of his heart.

Because in his original plan, he hadn't really wanted to make a move. Although his Slayer of the Notorious sword was already vibrating with heat, killing people didn't yield any rewards. As long as the Earthly Fiend Envoy died, he would have been more than happy to cede the credit to Luo Yao and Pushan.

With their cultivation and divine abilities, combined with a calculated sneak attack from the prepared against the unprepared, it should have been entirely sufficient to kill someone in the Fifth Realm. It was just a pity that the Earthly Fiend Envoy had too many tricks up his sleeve and actually managed to escape, forcing Chu Liang to intervene.

That was why he felt it was quite difficult.

The reason he was reluctant to act was that the other two had already clearly gauged his cultivation level. If he suddenly unleashed such terrifying power, it could only mean one of two things: either he had concealed his cultivation all along, or he possessed some supreme treasure!

Even though neither Luo Yao nor the monk Pushan seemed like the type to covet treasures belonging to others, one must guard against unintended consequences. The world was unpredictable; even if mere rumors spread, it could bring unnecessary danger to him.

Yet since he had already made his move, there was no point in overthinking it now.

Looting the corpse was paramount.

He ignited a white bone torch and flew toward the direction where the Earthly Fiend Envoy had perished, searching based on some vague memories. Unfortunately, amidst the boundless fog, the Earthly Fiend Envoy had been so thoroughly obliterated that even if some of his belongings had survived intact, there was no telling where they had scattered. He walked around the spot several times in unyielding frustration, only to find a single black jade slip, which appeared to record some kind of legacy.

"Sigh..." Chu Liang let out another heartfelt sigh.

A Fifth Realm demonic cultivator who had operated within the Underworld Sect for many years was basically a mobile treasury. It was simply too much of a pity for his belongings to be scattered and lost like this.

Just as he wanted to search a bit longer, he heard a rush of wind behind him.

"Watch out!" Pushan's warning rang out.

Chu Liang had already spun around with his sword drawn, though this time, what he raised was not the Slayer of the Notorious sword, but the Dustless Sword!

True to expectation, a sickle ghost had leaped out, trying to launch a shameless sneak attack while Chu Liang was searching for the scattered items.

Holding the Dustless Sword, he slashed back and forth, beating the sickle ghost's skeletal body back with a resounding clang!

"Ah—" Half of the sickle ghost's body was carved with a deep gash as it leaped far away, letting out an angry roar.

Chu Liang was somewhat astonished that this sickle ghost's bones were so tough that even the Dustless Sword could not cleave through them entirely. Of course, that probably wasn't entirely the fault of the Dustless Sword...

With a flick of his wrist, he instantly traced an ice-and-fire double talisman sword. Pinching an incantation with his left hand and pushing forward with his right, the Dustless Sword flew out into the air with a booming sound—

With a single strike, the sickle ghost was finally blasted to pieces.

Its entire skeleton clattered to the ground. Fortunately, that strike hadn't been excessively powerful, leaving the bones intact enough to be easily gathered.

Seeing this from behind, the other two felt extremely strange once again.

While this strike from the Dustless Sword was undeniably powerful, compared to the attack that had instantly killed the Earthly Fiend Envoy just moments ago, it was truly vastly inferior.

While Luo Yao managed to maintain her cold detachment, Pushan could no longer hold back and asked curiously, "Young Hero Chu, why does the power of your sword qi fluctuate so wildly?"

"Heh." Chu Liang smiled faintly and replied, "I'm just someone who detests evil as if it were my mortal enemy. Whenever I see a bad guy, I can't keep my temper in check, and the power I unleash ends up being slightly greater."

"I see." Pushan smiled and nodded. "I understand."

What he understood, naturally, was not the reason behind the fluctuation of Chu Liang's sword qi.

Rather, he understood that when someone concocts an obvious piece of nonsense to brush you off, you simply shouldn't pursue the matter any further.

...

In the gathering area where they had been waiting.

The Southern Route Guide looked at the white bone torch in his hand; the second one had already burned down a part. Logically speaking, all three hunting teams should have returned by now.

Yet only two teams had returned.

As he was thinking this, a figure flashed through the mist. A soul-detaining envoy wearing a tag numbered "Fifty-Eight" at his waist stumbled back, looking thoroughly exhausted of true qi.

"What happened?" The Southern Route Guide abruptly stood up and asked aloud.

"Guide Envoy!" Fifty-Eight bowed his head and said, "The Earthly Fiend Envoy... the Earthly Fiend Envoy has been killed!"

"What?" The Southern Route Guide frowned.

"We were hunting sickle ghosts when a figure in similarly black robes suddenly flashed out from the mist. That person possessed immensely high cultivation and heavily injured the Earthly Fiend Envoy with a single sword technique! We fled and got scattered, and your subordinate searched for a long time before finally managing to make it back!" Fifty-Eight said loudly.

"You came back alone?" The Southern Route Guide asked in a deep voice.

"Yes!" Fifty-Eight replied.

"You're lying!" The Southern Route Guide snapped sternly. "This mist is infested with lingering ghosts. The moment you fall behind alone, even with a white bone torch, you will still be entangled! How could you possibly walk back by yourself?!"

"This subordinate wouldn't dare!" Fifty-Eight trembled with fear and immediately defended himself, "There are indeed countless ghosts in the mist, but relying entirely on my zealous passion and willpower to serve the sect, I resisted all the ghosts' bewilderment and stubbornly walked back!"

The Southern Route Guide fell into contemplation.

Actually, he hadn't been certain that Fifty-Eight was lying; he was merely testing him. After all, an entire team had perished with only a single person walking back—the situation was exceedingly suspicious. If the man truly had a guilty conscience, this scare might just make him reveal some flaw.

However, Fifty-Eight's immediate and loud defense somewhat alleviated the Southern Route Guide's suspicion. After all, he knew in his heart that this was still only the outer fringe of the Misty Valley where the ghosts were not exceptionally strong, making it possible for someone in the Golden Core Realm to walk back.

As he was pondering, another figure walked out of the mist; this time it was Sixty.

"Guide Envoy Sir!" Sixty first glanced at Fifty-Eight before speaking, "Someone ambushed and killed the Earthly Fiend Envoy in the mist. Your subordinate got separated from the rest of the team, and that's how I barely managed to find my way back..."

"Oh?" The Southern Route Guide stared at Sixty. "You saw the Earthly Fiend Envoy die?"

"Yes... I fled slowly, and in the end, I witnessed the Earthly Fiend Envoy perish under a sword technique before turning around and fleeing," Sixty replied.

The Southern Route Guide's gaze hovered between "Fifty-Eight" and "Sixty." What these two men said seemed to corroborate each other.

Yet the possibility of collusion could not be ruled out.

As he was thinking, he heard a flurry of shouting echoing from outside the mist. The shouts arrived first, followed by a figure darting out—the newcomer wore a tag numbered "Fifty-Nine."

"Guide Envoy Sir..." As soon as Fifty-Nine returned, he collapsed to the ground, his tone laced with a crying lurch, "Your subordinate almost didn't get to see you all again! Suddenly a man in black rushed out earlier and slaughtered the Earthly Fiend Envoy, causing the rest of us to scatter and flee! Along the way, the mist was filled with swarms of lingering ghosts and packs of sickle ghosts. This journey was truly unimaginably difficult!"

Yet another one...

The Southern Route Guide looked at the three of them, and the lingering suspicions in his heart completely vanished. One person might lie, two people might lie, but could three people all lie together?

It seemed most likely that someone had ambushed and killed that Earthly Fiend Envoy within the mist, though what identity that person held and for what purpose...

His furrowed brows remained locked for a long time.

Yet the journey had to continue. After a long silence, the Southern Route Guide commanded, "The three of you rejoin your teams first, and we will continue moving forward. When we go out hunting later, you will tag along with other Earthly Fiend Envoy teams."

The three soul-detaining envoys, who had "narrowly escaped" and were still "shaken with terror," returned to the very tail end of the procession.

The looks Luo Yao and Pushan cast toward Chu Liang were both tinged with a hint of admiration.

It was because Chu Liang had stopped them earlier and warned them that if the three of them returned like this and claimed that only the highest-cultivated Earthly Fiend Envoy had died while everyone else survived, it would inevitably arouse suspicion and make subsequent actions rather inconvenient.

It would be much better for them to return separately.

By doing so, it was equivalent to splitting a single piece of testimony into three parts. Their statements could corroborate each other step by step, making it much easier to win people's trust.

This mutual corroboration tactic had indeed dispelled the Southern Route Guide's doubts regarding them, allowing them to continue participating in the subsequent operations.

They had successfully given each other mutual clean bills of health!

Meanwhile, his exhausted true qi and frail appearance were not fumed up at all—he had genuinely taken the risk of walking alone through the heavy mist to return!