Chapter 131: Ink-Like Abyss

"Wait," Bug interrupted, shouting, "don't forget that the Southern Wandering Cloud Sea is also one of them. Now that they've gone into hiding, finding them won't be any easier than tracking down the Zen Sect."

Come to think of it, at least one lineage remains from the Wenjing Jingyuan side. Whether the Seal-Breaker is among them or not, it’s at least a lead.

Red Widow nodded. "Indeed. So, all of you, keep your wits about you. Baili Suhe must not die yet—at least, not by our hands. The Wusheng Gate wants to use him to lure us out, so we... we can use their own tactics against them."

Bug was quick to react this time. "Sister, do you mean to use him to draw out the people from the Zen Sect and the Southern Wandering Cloud Sea?"

"You're not entirely foolish, so I won't hold it against you this time."

Chang Daizi was genuinely impressed. Sometimes, the two men’s thinking was too one-sided, lacking the delicate touch a woman possessed. He asked, "What is your plan then?"

Perhaps tired of standing, Red Widow lay back, her body light and listless as if she were floating in mid-air. Bug, desperate to crawl over and offer support, was silenced by a single glance and immediately retreated. Grinning with his yellow teeth, he said, "Don't be angry, don't be angry. I was just worried you’d be tired from lying there like that."

"I think your skin is itching. I should have Little Red feed your worm-spawn to the net, then you’d know how serious I am."

"Hehehe, I wouldn't dare. If Little Red wants a snack, I have plenty of useless little ones here." With that, he opened his palm, and a dense swarm of tiny insects crawled from beneath his skin, covering his palm and piling up in a small heap in an instant.

The Blood-Vein Spider hissed in disgust and crawled into the cuff of Red Widow's sleeve, burrowing deeper and deeper until it nestled into the snow-white cleavage between her breasts.

Bug watched with such envy he nearly spat blood. They were both bugs, so why was the treatment so different?

The Blood-Vein Spider twitched its claws, then bit down, instantly staining the jade-white skin red, like three or four blooming crabapple flowers. Each one was exquisitely vibrant.

Red Widow seemed to feel no pain, only growing more indulgent toward the spider. Unable to compete, Bug could only watch and suffer in silence.

Chang Daizi frowned, glaring at Bug to make him behave—there was no sense of decorum in his actions. He turned back to Red Widow. "Can you tell us now?"

Red Widow propped her head up, looking languid. "Let the 'righteous' handle the righteous. As for us... we’ll just watch."

"You mean?"

"Exactly. The three of us put in so much effort, we shouldn't be making wedding clothes for others. Now that everyone is in the Royal City, isn't that just perfect?"

"But what can a woman like her possibly do?"

"Chang Daizi."

"Understood."

As soon as the words left her lips, Chang Daizi struck like lightning, sealing Bug’s mute point. Bug could only make garbled, incoherent noises. Having dealt with him, Chang Daizi clapped his hands. "Done."

Red Widow smiled, satisfied. "I'll save the details for when she arrives. Why don't you handle the summons?"

Chang Daizi formed a seal, and soon there was movement on Wuyou’s end. After sending off her usual guest, she appeared in black robes at the designated spot. The trio left their perch in the clouds and descended into the dense forest.

Seeing the three villains again, Wuyou instinctively wanted to resist the call in her mind, but her own body betrayed her, driving her toward them. Facing them, she felt a terror that rose from the depths of her soul.

Red Widow loved watching Wuyou’s reaction; the more frightened she was, the more pleasure it brought her. "Do you know what I like most about you?"

Wuyou shook her head, trembling like chaff in the wind. "I... I don't know."

"Hehe... it's exactly like this."

At those words, Wuyou froze, not daring to move a muscle, finding even the act of breathing to be a luxury.

Red Widow continued, "People should be just like this. Only when she knows that death is better than life will she be willing to live in such a wretched state. Tell me, am I right?"

Wuyou fell to her knees, stuttering, "Yes..."

"Good. Since you know right from wrong, we should get to the point."

"Wh... what point?"

"A man. A very handsome man."

"Wuyou is dull-witted. I beg... I beg for clarification."

"Fine." Red Widow yawned and walked toward Wuyou, looking down at her. "It’s about Baili Suhe."

Wuyou looked up sharply, her eyes filled with disbelief. "He..."

At the same time, the man in question, Suhe, stood once more by the river. He had initially thought the white shadow was deliberately luring him to trap both him and Yi Qingchen, so he had followed it all the way here. Unexpectedly, apart from the man in white robes, there was no one else. They had fallen for a trap; they had been intentionally separated.

Suhe said, "Since you went to the trouble of leading me here, why not stop beating around the bush and speak plainly?"

The man was handsome enough, but cold, lacking any semblance of human warmth. In the dead of night, dressed all in white, if one didn't look closely, they would mistake him for a grim reaper on duty.

Without emotion, the man replied, "What is it you want to know?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" Suhe lowered his gaze. "You went to such lengths to separate us and lure me here—surely it wasn't because the river grass is particularly lush. Why not state your purpose?"

"There is no purpose. Just to take your life."

With that, the man in white unsheathed his sword, a cold light flashing forth. Suhe’s eyes lifted instantly, he dodged to the side, and pulled out Minshu. Tapping his feet on the river surface, he rose like a soaring bird, thrusting his sword toward the man in white.

The man in white shifted with lightning speed, his sword transforming into a spiritual serpent, instantly entangling Minshu as the cold blade pierced toward Suhe’s throat.

"You haven't lost your true essence?"

Suhe caught the tip of the blade with two fingers, channeling his energy to shatter the strike. "Thanks to your kindness, fellow immortal, I have recovered ahead of time."

"Sophistry."

"For whom are you raising your blade? If you want someone dead, the least you could do is let them die with understanding."

The man in white’s sword was fast, raining down strikes upon vital points. His technique was crisp and fluid, clearly honed over many years, though Suhe couldn't tell who he served. Seeing that he couldn't take Suhe down after several exchanges, the man poured his true essence into his palm and shouted, "If you manage to stay alive, then you can come and ask me."

"Very well. Suhe would also like to test the skills of a fellow immortal from the Sea of Desire. Let’s see how much I’ve progressed in the few years I’ve been away."

With that, he also channeled his energy into his palm. The two palms collided, shaking the surroundings. The sounds of "boom" and "crash" were incessant, like thunder exploding on flat ground. The riverbanks were churned, the earth gouged into a pit several yards deep, and the river rose, waves crashing one after another.

Before the waves could settle, the two fought their way into the sky, then up into the clouds. Every move was tight, every strike lethal. The man in white was intent on killing but refused to reveal his motive. Suhe wanted to hold back, but the other man remained tight-lipped. Seeing that he was cold but his eyes held genuine hatred, Suhe thought of the three people he had killed the day before. "Are you here to avenge those killed yesterday?"

"The deaths of others have nothing to do with me." The man in white’s brows knit together. As he chanted, his sword released several white rays, like fine threads. They looked light and weightless, but struck with the force of thunder.

Suhe retreated, stepping on the first, dodging the second, and sweeping aside the third. But the white rays seemed sentient, dodging Minshu whenever they approached. They were incredibly fast and struck from devious angles. Even with Suhe’s skill, he still suffered a few gashes.

Glancing at his injured arm, he couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly—the man truly wasn't holding back. He decided to stop holding back as well; he was no saint. The idea of standing there and taking a beating was impossible.

As the white rays struck again, Minshu suddenly erupted with a majestic, clear aura, a force so overwhelming that the white rays were pushed back involuntarily. Suhe squinted at the man in white. "Since you aren't here for revenge, I assume you are here to test the techniques of my sect. Am I right?"

The man in white saw the clear aura radiating from Minshu, his pupils shrinking. He said coldly, "Indeed. Since you are the Seal-Breaker of the Wusheng Gate, you should use the techniques of the Wusheng Gate to prove it. Otherwise, someone like you, who trades on fame, will be killed by Mo Ruyuan wherever he is found."

"So, you do have a name. I was wondering what kind of stray cat or dog had come along." Suhe mocked him, noting his arrogance.

"Shut your mouth. Stop with the sharp tongue. If you have the skill, let the sword decide." Mo Ruyuan retorted.

"Deciding is easy, but shouldn't you show your true strength, Fellow Immortal Mo?"

"You..."

Before Mo Ruyuan could finish, Suhe attacked first. First, "Heavenly Wind Regrets" caught him off guard, then "Hundred Cicadas Chirping" forced him to reveal his sect’s true art.

The long sword transformed into an inkstone, splashing ink to build a landscape of mountains and rivers, instantly trapping Suhe within. "You brought this upon yourself. Don't blame anyone if you lose your life."

With that, he vanished into the ink and wash. Suhe’s heart tightened; he had heard of such techniques, but this was his first time experiencing it. He took a small step, and swords appeared from behind, rustling. The chilling intent seeped into his skin, making his hair stand on end. He spun to block, clanging the swords away, but when he turned, the attacker was nowhere to be seen.

Before he could reflect, the ground beneath him turned into a pitch-black abyss, an infinite suction dragging him down. Looking down, he saw flames rising, reaching his feet in an instant.

There was no time to think. Suhe tapped his feet together, using "Duckweed Cloud Crossing" to leap out of the trap. No sooner had he emerged than fire rained down from the sky. In an instant, the two forces converged, surrounding him.

Suhe thought to himself, this man was truly relentless in his quest to verify the Wusheng Gate’s arts. He used "Heavenly Sweep of the Eight Wilds" to break the flames, looking at the ever-changing ink landscape. "Do you wish to keep testing, Fellow Immortal Mo?"

As he spoke, Mo Ruyuan appeared.

"No need."

"Then are you willing to believe?"

"No."

"What do you mean, Fellow Immortal Mo?"

Mo Ruyuan waved his hand, and the ink landscape vanished. The inkstone landed in his palm, and he stowed it away. Looking at Suhe, he said, "I don't need to test further because 'Heavenly Sweep of the Eight Wilds' is a technique of Senior Jiang Yu of the Wusheng Gate—the very man you recently took as your master."

"Then why don't you believe me?" Suhe relaxed, his hostility fading, and sheathed Minshu.

"Simple. 'Heavenly Sweep' only proves you have a connection to the Wusheng Gate; it doesn't prove you are the Seal-Breaker. And let me give you one final piece of advice. The life and death of the Seal-Breaker concerns the survival of the Sea of Desire. You can act as grandly as you like, but don't be selfish. Your actions now are dragging the remaining six into this deadly vortex. You dying is one thing, but don't drag others to the grave with you."

With that, he transformed into a streak of light and departed.

Watching the direction where Mo Ruyuan disappeared, Suhe sighed, "Indeed, the world of ink and scholars is full of hidden tigers and crouching dragons."

Seeing the clouds surging on both sides, he lowered his altitude to the riverside. Suddenly, a sky-piercing sword aura erupted from the south.

"Oh no."