A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Chapter 85: Chapter 84: Exchange

A direct hit.

Lü Zhong suppressed the urge to press his advantage, instead retreating and summoning the Ink Crystal Shield.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he activated his Water Pattern Shield Divine Technique.

A swirl of azure Spiritual Light enveloped him, forming a shield that resembled an eggshell. The assassin, who had been about to charge, faltered, his expression changing as he halted his advance.

The assassin glared venomously at Lü Zhong, wishing he could tear him to shreds. Suppressing his rage, he spat, ”So I underestimated you. How did you find me?”

Without missing a beat, Lü Zhong sneered, ”Want to know? I’ll tell you after you’re dead!”

”Fine! Fine!” The one-armed assassin snarled. This was, after all, still inside the Workshop Market. He had been ambushed by his own target and had lost an arm. His killing intent waned, replaced by the urge to flee. ”I have experienced your skills firsthand. I will be sure to repay this visit one day!”

With that, he turned to escape.

”Trying to leave? It won’t be that easy!” Lü Zhong roared, immediately sending his Green Frost Sword to block the assassin’s path.

Not to be outdone, the assassin parried with his Black Sword, its backhanded slashes whistling through the air. He blocked Lü Zhong’s attacks while sneering, ”You’re just a puny Qi Refining Fifth Layer! Even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator would have trouble stopping me. You think that just because you managed a lucky shot and took my arm, you can actually keep me here? What a joke!”

Lü Zhong wasted no more words, his hand seals flashing through a series of Sword Mantras. He unleashed a furious barrage of attacks against the assassin.

’He’s clearly a Loose Cultivator, so how is he this tenacious?’

The assassin cursed inwardly. For a moment, he had the strange feeling he was fighting a disciple from a major clan.

His skill with the Sword Mantra, in particular, was nearly on par with that of an Outer Disciple from the Golden Rainbow Sect.

To say nothing of the cold qi coming off the Flying Sword. With every clash, a bit of that chill seeped into him. Now, his remaining arm was growing numb, and even the circulation of his Spiritual Power was becoming sluggish.

The assassin tried to disengage several times, but Lü Zhong stuck to him like glue. Protected by the Water Pattern Shield, Lü Zhong had gone on a pure, all-out offensive, showing no signs of letting up.

As the fight dragged on, the assassin grew even more shocked. His target’s Spiritual Power was abnormally dense; his Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivation was somehow holding its own against his own Seventh Layer in a battle of attrition. He also realized that since their combat was taking place on the border between the third and fourth rings of the city, the Market Enforcement Team would arrive much faster than usual.

’Looks like a clean getaway is impossible!’

The assassin was a decisive man. Once he committed to retreating, he gritted his teeth and fished a handful of papermen out of his Storage Bag. He threw them all at Lü Zhong. This was his last resort, a trump card he had paid a hefty price for.

The papermen fluttered to the ground, bursting in puffs of light.

From the mists, figures began to emerge.

A scholar, a Landlord, a farmer’s wife...

Each one was eerily lifelike, save for their deathly pale faces and cheeks rouged so red it looked as though they might start to bleed.

”The Paperman Skill?”

Lü Zhong’s expression changed. This was a notorious Demon Cultivation Secret Technique. Rumor had it that the skill involved refining a living person’s flesh and soul into the paper—a process so bloody and cruel that only a Demon Cultivator devoid of all humanity could master it.

’I can’t believe I’m running into it today.’

Lü Zhong watched the assassin retreat into the distance and gave up any thought of pursuit, turning his attention to the Papermen. Their outer shells were as hard as steel; even a Magical Artifact couldn’t slice through them in a single strike.

He struck again and again.

With a wet tearing sound, the leading Paperman—the ”Landlord”—was finally sliced in half at the waist by the Flying Sword.

The cross-section revealed that beneath the hard paper shell, it was filled with rotting, stinking flesh. A pungent, nauseating stench assaulted the senses, enough to make one’s stomach churn.

Fortunately, his Water Pattern Shield kept the disgusting odor at bay.

Lü Zhong maneuvered around the clumsy Papermen, controlling his Green Frost Sword to strike at them.

Before long, most of the Papermen had fallen.

Suddenly, his expression faltered.

He recalled the Green Frost Sword and saw that it was now covered in rust spots, corroded almost beyond recognition. No wonder it had been getting harder to control. The Array etched onto its surface had been severely damaged.

The cause was the flesh of the Papermen.

The putrid flesh was incredibly corrosive. The Green Frost Sword had only been exposed for a dozen breaths, but it was already nearly ruined.

Taking this lesson to heart, Lü Zhong avoided using the Late Sun Sword Skill for close combat with the Papermen. Instead, he chose to attack with the Qingyang Fire Rain Technique, which yielded impressive results.

Just as the last Paperman collapsed, the Market Enforcement Team finally arrived.

The team was led by Lin Yunhua. In addition to nine other enforcement officers, there was a grim-faced, middle-aged man among them. His aura was that of a cultivator at Late-stage Qi Refining Perfection, and it exuded an intense pressure.

When he saw the remains of the Papermen littering the small bamboo courtyard, his expression flickered through several changes.

”A Demon Cultivator?” The middle-aged man’s voice was laced with surprise.

After questioning Lü Zhong about the incident, the man made a few swift gestures, casting a Magic Skill on the severed arm on the ground. It immediately began to burn. A moment later, a ray of bloody light shot out from the arm, and the man took off in pursuit.

Fifteen minutes later, the middle-aged man returned, carrying a corpse.

”Is this the man?”

The corpse’s face was a blur. One could barely make out the general location of its eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, but the features themselves were impossible to distinguish. This was why the man had returned; he couldn’t identify the body by sight alone.

Lü Zhong carefully sensed the corpse’s aura and recognized it as the assassin who had just fled.

The aura wasn’t just similar; it was identical.

Cyan frost was still crystallizing on the stump of the corpse’s arm—a result of the residual Cyan Frost Cold Qi. This further confirmed his judgment.

Certain of his conclusion, Lü Zhong nodded to the middle-aged man.

”Yes, that’s him.”

As he spoke, he picked up his Green Frost Sword and activated a wisp of its Cyan Frost Cold Qi, as if to prove his words.

”Excellent! Excellent!” For some reason, the middle-aged man became excited. He gave Lü Zhong another look and suddenly smiled. ”Do you know who this was?”

”I’m afraid I don’t. Please, enlighten me,” Lü Zhong said, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect.

”If I’m not mistaken, this is the master of Thousand-Faced Lang—the Thousand-Faced Elder himself!” the middle-aged man exclaimed, pointing at the mangled face.

The Thousand-Faced Elder was a Red Lake Gold Medal Assassin on the Golden Rainbow Sect’s wanted list.

With his miraculous Disguise Skill and Late-stage Qi Refining cultivation, he had even managed to attack a disciple of the Golden Rainbow Sect.

Although he only managed to inflict serious injuries, the incident made him infamous. To think he would fall here today.

”The Thousand-Faced Elder was certainly unlucky. First, his own target unexpectedly cut off his arm, and then he happened to run into me while I was on an errand. It seems his fated time had come; death was inescapable.”

The middle-aged man’s grin widened as he looked at Lü Zhong. ”Do you know why I’m telling you all this?”

A thought struck Lü Zhong; he had a feeling he knew what was coming.

Before he could speak, the middle-aged man laid his cards on the table. ”You seem like a smart man, so let’s be frank,” he said loudly. ”This Thousand-Faced Elder was ambushed and killed by me, Li Yuanfeng. All the credit for this deed belongs to me, Li Yuanfeng. So, my friend, what will it take for you to agree to this account of events?”

As he spoke, he flashed a Token, on which the three words ”Golden Rainbow Sect” were impressively inscribed.

Lü Zhong glanced at it and thought, ’This Thousand-Faced Elder was truly unlucky.’

’First, I ambush him and take his arm, then he has the terrible luck to run into a Sect Disciple like this.’

’For me, the credit for killing the Thousand-Faced Elder isn’t actually that useful. If I were to exchange it for the bounty, I probably wouldn’t get many Spirit Stones out of it, and I’d have to deal with the inevitable retaliation.’

’So, it’s better to just...’

An idea sparked in his mind as he recalled the Tracking Spell Li Yuanfeng had just used.