338 190 Water Hides the Sea

The night turned even darker. Cui Hao and the others were crossing the mountain, having gone around the crumbled path. Thanks to the explosion earlier, they were certain that the assassins of the Unrelenting Tower had not given up. With a final burst of insanity, they decided to push on even if they didn't know if the Exterior-level experts had intercepted the assassins in time. If they had not, then they would take it that they were just passers-by. If they had, they could challenge themselves to fight the golden stair assassins and claim their reward.

The mountain road extended into the darkness of the night amid the cold winter wind. It crossed layers and layers of pine trees and went around the cliffs until they arrived at a natural shelter. The north wind had greatly diminished here. There was a shrine that sat on the side of the path up ahead. They could see the dim light of flames, giving them a sense of warmth at dusk.

A somewhat stale airflow entered their nostrils. Cui Hao felt discomfort in his Acupores of Nose and instantly yelled, "Everyone, be careful! There're remnants of poisonous gas ahead! Though it's been dispersed for a while, the wind here is weak. It'll affect us if we breathe in too much of it. We should quickly take the antidote pills."

The poisonous gas remnants had basically lost its effectiveness, but it was important to be careful. Sucking on an antidote pill wasn't something too troublesome to do anyway.

Jiang Qing was excited as this was his first time encountering something like this. He retrieved an antidote pill and stuffed it in his mouth before walking toward the shrine. "The Twelfth Cui, a huge battle must have happened there. What was the outcome, I wonder? How many did the Unrelenting Tower assassins kill?"

If the one who had arrived was a Red-stair assassin, would the heroic and proud Green-robed Rider be able to escape safely?

Cui Hao spoke steadily with a hint of regret. "Assassins always attack when their target is most vulnerable. That's why they can usually defeat enemies more powerful than they are. Since they had sounded Green-robed Rider the evening before, they probably have a better idea of his strength. That was why they dared to blow up the mountain path. I'm afraid they've probably got him..."

A person's realm in terms of strength was a sure fact, but there were always uncertain factors in battles. A person's battle strength differed whether they were feeling well, enraged beyond words, or relaxed.

Timing, opportunities, the union of man, and various other factors could affect one's battle power. Assassins who were skilled in observing and striking at the right moment would definitely attack when their target was at least in a weaker condition.

Hence, masters believed in maintaining the fullness and smoothness of their souls so they could slip into the right condition when necessary. That way, the uncertainties in their battles would be minimized. It was the proper thing to do.

The person ahead stopped suddenly and cried in a low voice,

"There's a dead body!"

Cui Hao who was close behind quickly headed in the direction of the sound and saw a corpse dressed in green robes. The corpse had a skinny face and protruding features. He was oddly covered in a layer of Frigid Crystal as if he had been frozen. However, the fatal strike was evidently the sword wound in his mid-brows.

He found the person to look similar and the names of various famous figures flashed through his mind. Realization suddenly hit him.

He noticed that the Frigid Crystal was thickest on the corpse's hands as if they had grown from within his blood and bones. With a start, he blurted out, "Shadow Cold Palm!"

The Jianghu members around him all held their breath. Jiang Ding, the Shadow Cold Palm, was an infamous Heterodox Expert in the Di and Qin prefectures. He had a reputation for being mighty and had committed countless bloody crimes, causing him to be hunted after. However, due to his outstanding Lightness Skill, he had always been able to flee the instant he felt something amiss. Eventually, he trained all the way until the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery and earned himself the title of a powerful Heterodox.

It was probably retribution for so many murders, but he later suffered Qi-deviancy Derangement and lost control of his chilling palm. He had barely been able to survive and his strength diminished significantly to the point where he almost dropped a realm. Each time he made a strike, he would suffer from countercharge.

Even then, he was still at the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery and his Lightness Skill and chilling palm were unparalleled. As long as he didn't overdo it, he could still hold on for more than 15 minutes before becoming gradually weaker with every strike. He would use his Body Movements to flee when he did reach that point, making it difficult for others to catch him. Thus most of the masters in Di and Qin prefectures who had enlightened their Acupores and a few of those on the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery were still afraid of him.

Who would have thought that he had perished there that day!

"He's an Unrelenting Tower assassin?"

"Green-robed Rider was actually able to kill him?"

Disbelief filled the air as they sucked in their breath in shock.

Cui Hao sighed. "Whether he was an assassin or not, anyone who tried to kill Green-robed Rider could be considered fearsome."

What was even more frightening was that Shadow Cold Palm had died. The charred surroundings, the sword marks, and the footprints on the ground all pointed toward an intense battle. Green-robed Rider had forced Shadow Cold Palm to use his ultimate move continuously and suffer from the countercharge early before finishing him off with a single blow. How terrifying!

Had he killed the enemy and left?

"There's another corpse over there!" Someone yelled, pointing at an area not too far away.

An already shocked Jiang Qing became downright horrified. He looked over and saw a corpse lying near the pine trees. He was completely bald and his five features were significant. There were marks around him that suggested there had been fire and thunder.

"Flame-scorching Devilman!"

"One of 19 Devilmen of the Destruction Sect!"

That corpse was easily identified with many calling out his name. It was Flame-scorching Devilman, one of the top five devilmen!

"He's dead too?"

"From the looks of it, he and Shadow Cold Palm teamed up to kill the man from before?"

To think that Flame-scorching Devilman and Shadow Cold Palm lost despite teaming up! It was absolutely unbelievable.

Seeing the battle-ravaged surroundings, the thin slit on the Flame-scorching Devilman's throat, and the thunder streaks near the wound, Cui Hao was so overwhelmed that he felt like he was in a dream. Just how terrifying was the Green-robed Rider's strength? What kind of exciting battle had occurred just now?

The night was dark and the firelight was dim. Everyone shuddered involuntarily as they stared at the two corpses. It was as if they were looking at a scene from hell.

"There's one more over there..." A lady said, her voice shaking. In front of the steps outside the shrine, a female corpse lay in the shadows with a jade flute beside her.

Everyone was in a trance as they took in the fact that there was yet another corpse...

There were many heroes in the crowd, so they were able to quickly identify the female corpse.

"Lin Biyu, the Soul-losing Flute..."

"The three of them joined forces but ended up dead..." Cui Hao swallowed with difficulty. He couldn't imagine how a trap like that could have failed. Green-robed Rider was clearly not on the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery.

Similarly, he also couldn't imagine what exactly had gone down during the fight. It was frustratingly inexplicable and exceeded common understanding!

Lin Biyu and Shadow Cold Palm had been stabbed to death using a sword, and none of them used swords. Flame-scorching Devilman was cut by a saber, but he was the only one who used a saber among the three of them. On top of that, his thin blade didn't match the wound on his neck. Hence they could exclude the possibility that they had killed one another.

The three corpses lay lifelessly on the snowy mountain path. The group of people staring at them were speechless.

Based on their strength and the fact that they had joined forces, it was no wonder they had dared to directly blow up the mountain road. They were not afraid of being surrounded even if they dragged things out. However, the end result had been unthinkable!

Unless someone was helping Green-robed Rider?

But there weren't any signs of any Exterior-level or Half-step Exterior Scenery-level experts!

"Sword wounds and saber marks..." Cui Hao suddenly thought of a particular person but didn't think it wasn't right. Probably only a handful among the top ten on the ranking list could eliminate Flame-scorching Devilman, Shadow Cold Palm, and Soul-losing Flute in a single battle!

Of course, if the person's kung fu was inclined toward fighting groups of people and fighting for one's life, then he could lower his standards a little.

"Let's search the place and hand over the items found on the corpses to the Six Fan School. They'll exchange them for elixirs, taels, and the like. Everyone here gets a share!" Cui Hao shouted. He didn't want anyone to try and sneak in among them and create trouble.

Though he was inexperienced when it came to Jianghu matters, he still had a way with words.

Upon hearing the news, arresters soon hurried over to calm the shock, maintain order, and prevent any killings from occurring.

The crowd dispersed and searched around, hoping to discover other corpses and secretly keep the items on them.

A few heroes happened to pass by a pile of dead leaves amidst the pine trees. It had no vitality at all and was covering a tree hole.

After they had passed, the dead leaves suddenly scattered and a figure stood up. He was wearing black clothes, held nothing in his hands, and had ordinary-looking features.

It was none other than Meng Qi!

He had leaped over the stream and leaped from the tree branches to make a huge detour. Then he returned to the shrine where the battle had taken place!

He knew it all too well that he couldn't go too far within ten breaths. Moreover, the stream had less flow in winter. Apart from removing his scent, its smooth flow wouldn't be able to conceal him. Therefore he decided to set up a misleading array and hide in the place where he had fought the trio, creating a psychological blind spot.

The place was a natural shelter so the smell of blood didn't disperse and spread into the woods. Even if he still had a slight scent of blood on him, he was unafraid of being suspected.

He then hid in the tree hole covered by the dead leaves and completely closed off his mental energy and vision. He also used his Eight Nine Mysteries to mimic the heartbeat and breathing of hibernating animals, immediately entering such a state without alerting anyone.

He had not noticed the arrival of the Exterior expert and the Red-stair assassin at all until the cry of "Useless trash!". He realized that the most dangerous moment had arrived then and stayed still like an actual hibernating animal using the power of the Eight Nine Mysteries.

He didn't dare to move even when the two terrifying enemies left after poking around. He patiently waited for the arrival of Cui Hao and the other heroes before using his Mystic Art and other items to alter his appearance. Then, while they were busy searching, he seized the opportunity to slip out of his hiding spot.

As the effect of the Recover Pill slowly spread through his body, he regained much of his strength. He pretended to be a weak member of the group and merged into the searching crowd.

"Hey there, brother. Have you found anything yet?" Meng Qi went up to one of the guys participating in the search and warmly greeted him.

The guy stared at the unassuming Meng Qi and couldn't recall if he knew him or not. He casually replied, "It's not that easy. Brother, you seemed to be injured?"

"Yeah. I accidentally slipped and hurt my left arm while we were crossing the mountain. That's why I was lagging behind," Meng Qi lied.

The guy looked like he suddenly understood. "I see."

So he was someone who had crossed the mountain with them. It was so dark and they hadn't known each other before. How could he remember his face?

With Meng Qi intentionally trying to bridge the distance between them, they were soon chatting away with friends of more than ten years.

After the search was over, they returned to the group. Meng Qi used the guy he had befriended to grow closer to the rest of the group. He completely blended into the "team" as they continued to chase after Green-robed Rider.

Up in the air, the man in black robes who was carrying a vase watched Cui Hao and the others pass by. He didn't take much notice of them. Suddenly, he noticed that the Dragon-rocky City was swept in an uproar with powerful masters nearby. He sighed, turned around, and disappeared into the darkness.