Disguise and Murder!

Li Guanqi reappeared within the secret chamber where he had obtained the mask. Without the slightest hesitation, he drew his sword and concealed his presence. Soon enough, he caught scent of Yin Zisheng's aura. The man possessed extraordinarily keen senses, and his sense of smell was sharper still. Having left behind plenty of residual aura in the chamber earlier, Li Guanqi had been tracked down by Yin Zisheng ahead of everyone else. Yet when Yin Zisheng saw Li Guanqi, his brow furrowed slightly. "Who are you?" "Did you kill that fellow?" It was hardly surprising he thought so; Li Guanqi's current appearance and aura were completely different from before. Only the Red Lotus sword remained in his hand. Li Guanqi wasted no words. As his vital blood roared within, the surface patterns across the mask flickered, and his eyes turned entirely blood-red. In an instant, Li Guanqi's aura surged straight to the Sixth Layer of Mystic Immortal! The green paving bricks beneath his feet shattered. Donning the ghost mask, Li Guanqi looked like a god of slaughter crawling forth from an Asura hell, rampant thunder-flame power churning violently around him. His murderous intent toward this man had peaked. Taking a slow step forward, dragon scales surfaced across his entire body, divine markings blazing. Combined with his current oppressive aura and the hideous mask, a chilling, soul-shattering murderous intent erupted. Yin Zisheng was horrified to the core. His pupils shrank to needlepoints, and his legs trembled uncontrollably. Li Guanqi slowly parted his lips. The corners of the Rakshasa Ghost Mask curled into a grin, baring grotesque, jagged fangs. At this moment, Li Guanqi felt explosive strength course through every fiber of his being. It seemed as though he could crush the enemy before him with a casual flick of his hand. Dong! A concussive blast erupted. Before Yin Zisheng could even react, his raised arm flew into the air. A burly, towering figure appeared abruptly at his side! Boom! Boundless dark-green immortal primal energy surged forth, only to be met head-on by monstrous thunder-flames! A massive, scale-covered hand burst violently through the inferno, seized his head, and hurled him away. Whoosh! Crash! "Ah! Cough, cough!" Yin Zisheng felt as though his entire skeleton had shattered. Slamming into the stone wall, his internal organs ruptured from the impact. Spitting up a mouthful of clotted blood, his pupils quivered. "Impossible... How could a Sixth Layer cultivator enter?!" "Just who is he?!" He refused to believe anyone could conceal their strength and slip in right under the nose of the Tianhua Sword Sect Master. Furthermore, the surroundings shuddered and space warped faintly, visibly struggling under the sheer weight of this pressure! Only then did he realize this secret chamber was far from ordinary. By rights, a commotion this massive should have alerted those outside, yet not a sound came from beyond. Reaching behind him to touch the stone wall, Yin Zisheng's heart sank to rock bottom. "Yin Nether Profound Stone! No wonder..." Li Guanqi turned slowly. Beneath the grotesque mask, a pair of blood-red eyes stared down at him with utter calm. The sight sent chills down Yin Zisheng's spine, conjuring a nameless dread from deep within his heart. Even the flow of immortal primal energy through his meridians grew sluggish and obstructed. Clutching his severed arm, his eyes darted uncontrollably toward the stone door behind Li Guanqi. That was his sole avenue of survival! Yet Li Guanqi stood planted before the exit like an impassable mountain. 'I might die here...' The instant the thought crossed Yin Zisheng's mind, it spread with unstoppable panic. Boom! "How could I, Yin Zisheng, die in a place like this?!" "Abso-lute-ly im—urg... cough..." A flash of lightning cracked. Li Guanqi held Yin Zisheng's severed head by the hair. His masked face leaned in slowly. "What did you say?" Sword Qi crisscrossed, instantly mincing Yin Zisheng's headless body to pieces, extinguishing both body and soul! An instantaneous kill! When Li Guanqi's cultivation surpassed his foe's, slaughtering them was as simple as butchering a dog! Had he remained two realms below the man, he might have exercised a degree of caution, but with the Rakshasa Ghost Mask, his might had ascended to an unfathomable height. Taking the man's storage ring, Li Guanqi cast a flame and burned the remains to ash. Changing into Yin Zisheng's robes, he let the mask twist and reshape his features until he took on the man's exact likeness. He altered his build, adopted the man's expression and demeanor, and seamlessly became Yin Zisheng. After slipping away in silence, Li Guanqi lingered for a brief moment before returning to the ruins where the others were. By now, the rest of the cultivators had trickled back one after another. Du Zhonglai narrowed his eyes at Li Guanqi and said coldly, "Where did you go just now?" Li Guanqi spoke in a voice identical to Yin Zisheng's, glancing up with a sneer. "Why should I tell you?" At these words, several people immediately assumed Yin Zisheng had slain the cultivator from earlier. Even Qisha failed to notice anything amiss. The few surviving cultivators all wore guarded expressions. Yin Zisheng was notoriously temperamental, after all; those powerless to resist kept their distance, terrified he might turn violent without warning. Paying them no heed, Li Guanqi walked up to the crippled cultivator from before and kicked his other leg, snapping the bone. Talking to himself, he remarked, "Much safer this way." "Du Zhonglai, go ahead." Counting Li Guanqi, only seven people remained, two of whom he recognized. He still harbored some wariness toward Du Zhonglai. The man was clearly suppressing his aura and could likely break through to the Sixth Layer at any moment. If Li Guanqi made a move, it would have to be an absolute, one-hit kill. The others remained indifferent to the sight. To them, as long as the one being dragged along wasn't themselves, nothing else mattered. The man in green said nothing, merely casting a deep glance toward 'Yin Zisheng,' a faint, almost imperceptible glimmer of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. He coveted the Rank-Three immortal ore just as much. After all, even a single Rank-Three immortal crystal could be traded for hundreds of thousands, and a larger chunk would be worth vastly more. Yet since entering the secret realm, he hadn't found a thing. Li Guanqi sneered inwardly; every last one of these cultivators harbored sinister motives of their own. As Du Zhonglai hauled the captive outside, Li Guanqi casually flicked his gaze toward the black-robed figure lurking in the corner. The venomous glare made the figure stiffen all over, though they made no further move. Before long, Du Zhonglai ripped out the heavily injured cultivator's tongue and tossed it aside onto the ground. With a wave of his hand, he shattered the surrounding rubble to half-bury him. With all preparations complete, everyone concealed themselves. Moments later, spiritual light flared amid the ruins on the back mountain, and space warped continuously. Instantly, everyone tensed. A man and a woman appeared side by side, their faces pale and their eyes laden with panic and unease. The woman clutched the young man's arm and whispered in a trembling voice, "S-Senior Brother Zhao... Do we really have to go up there too?" The young man's face was equally pale, his nerves shaken, but he seized the chance to lightly pat and stroke the woman's back. "Don't worry, Junior Sister Zhou. No matter what, if our turn truly comes later, I will go first!" The delicate-featured woman was moved to tears, leaning half her body against his arm as she said softly, "All right. I knew Senior Brother Zhao was the best to me. Once we get out of here, I'll definitely repay you properly." Hearing this, the young man's heart beat faster, a lecherous smirk spreading across his face. "Oh? And just how does Junior Sister plan to repay me, hm?" The woman tapped his chest playfully, her eyes dripping with allure as her fair hand caressed his chest and slipped into his inner lapel. "Whatever Senior Brother desires..." Before the sentence could finish, the words were choked back into her throat, her eyes widening in pure terror. A thin line of blood suddenly traced across the young man's cheek, and the light vanished from his eyes. Splash! Blood sprayed over the woman's face. Before she could even register the scalding heat, a cold gleam cleanly slashed through!