Depths of the Black Mist

Looking down from the sky toward the ground, all trace of Huizhou County upon the plain bordering the two provinces had vanished, replaced instead by a bizarre mist spanning heaven and earth. No light could penetrate it, and every sound within seemed entirely severed from the outside world. Yet Li Junqing remained completely oblivious to all of this. His Body Integration cultivation made him an unattainable immortal in the mortal realm, but here in Huizhou County, where supreme figures had gathered, he did not even count as a paving stone. Still, as that shout echoed over, Li Junqing paused his drinking. Meeting death with composure was merely a choice when one had no choices left. If given a way out, who would willingly die? Especially someone who feared death as much as he did. Li Junqing had no idea what had actually transpired, but judging from the mad elder's words, that brat Xu Changtian seemed to be alive again. Thus, he felt he might be able to seize this turning point before him. After all, talking his way out of trouble was not Xu Changtian's exclusive specialty. Spinning a mix of truth and lies about Xu Yuan to the black-gowned woman before him might buy him enough time to cling to life and wait for further developments. He might not survive in the end, but at least there was a sliver of hope. Just as the thought crossed his mind, Luo Bingli slowly rose from the stone table. "Your Highness, it is time for me to go." Seeing this, Li Junqing immediately spoke up with a smile. "Senior, this prince happens to know about Xu Changtian—" "I will not believe your words." "..." Li Junqing was struck speechless. What a smooth-talker feared most was running into someone who struck without wasting words, and the black-gowned woman before him was clearly that kind of clever person. Li Junqing opened his mouth, wanting to offer some explanation, but ultimately swallowed the words that would only make him look pathetic. Maintain elegance in the face of death. With a soft chuckle, Li Junqing looked calmly into the eyes hidden behind her mask and gave a slight nod. Then, A beam of light illuminated the mist, but failed to pierce Li Junqing's body. A mangled, slender figure appeared before Li Junqing, blocking the strike on his behalf. The air in the courtyard seemed to freeze. Luo Bingli looked at the woman who had appeared before her, her gaze behind the iron mask remaining calm and indifferent. That this woman, whom she had already personally slain, should appear here was indeed beyond her expectations. She had not anticipated that the woman had not only survived, but had also managed to approach silently to such close quarters. Yet those who reached the Transcendent Realm were rare prodigies without exception. In a world of myriad techniques and countless esoteric effects, that she possessed a method to fake death was not entirely surprising. Luo Bingli stared at the woman whose body was half-shattered, her voice soft. "You ought to be an assassin, not a guard." Even with her body mangled, Qianxi's voice remained steady. "This concubine was originally an assassin planted at His Highness's side." Luo Bingli's gaze swept over the two. Her indifferent tone wavered slightly before returning to flat calm. "Since you are someone else's assassin, step aside and you may live to return to your master." Hearing this, Qianxi let a faint trace of amusement seep into her voice. "Some things cannot be decided by reason alone." With that, She lifted her beautiful eyes toward the distant sky shrouded in mist and smiled. "Senior, you do not have much time left to strike against His Highness. The Third Young Master seems to have been forced by you to reveal some trump card, and the other assassins cannot hold Chief Lou." Luo Bingli glanced into the distance, turned back, and raised her hand. "I give you one breath to speak your final words to this prince." Qianxi looked back at the man, who seemed frozen in place as though time had stopped. She lightly pursed her crimson lips and shook her head. "No need. His Highness wishes for this concubine to die." "..." Luo Bingli said nothing more. She gently raised her hand. In the next breath, A sphere of brilliant white light flared from the courtyard, piercing through the mist and reaching straight to the heavens! And when the white light dispersed, Qianxi's figure was gone, leaving only the man staring in bewilderment at the courtyard that was now utterly deserted... *** At the center of the battlefield, The sudden emergence of the bizarre mist plunged the atmosphere into a momentary silence—yet that silence lasted only an instant. As the withered elder's shout reached their ears, everyone immediately understood that they had no time to ponder where this bizarre mist had sprung from or what impact it would bring. The elder's shout of "Why are you still alive, you little devil?!" was the key. At the very center of the mist, Xu Changtian seemed to have come back to life. These words were like a fuse to a powder keg; the battle between these supreme powerhouses skipped any probing phase and escalated instantly. They were staking their lives. Whether it was Lou Ji or the three from the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion intercepting her, none held back anything. To Taishi Ran, any variable could be permitted, except one on the person who was the catalyst of the Great Calamity. And to Lou Ji, this was hope of Changtian returning from death. In an instant, The clash of techniques between Taishi Ran's trio and Lou Ji erupted into earth-shattering roars and blast waves that nearly leveled half of Huizhou, and the bizarre mist that had suddenly appeared was blasted into a vacuum around their impact. The three Transcendent experts were sent flying backward covered in blood, crashing to the ground and kicking up towering plumes of dust. Fatty Zhou directly played dead and refused to get up. The attractive middle-aged woman attempted to rise, but her movements were visibly sluggish from her injuries. Taishi Ran disregarded his wounds. Forcibly burning his lifespan to rise, his speed undiminished as he pursued Lou Ji, he barked a voice transmission to Luo Bingli: "Luo Bingli, this concerns the Great Calamity of the realm—cast aside your sentimental attachments! If you harbor resentment, I, Taishi Ran, will pay for your daughter's life with my own after this! Hurry and kill Xu Changtian!!" Together, the three of them had inflicted certain injuries upon Lou Ji, but in the withered elder's irrational, maddened state, if she got close to him, he would only be slaughtered in an instant. The only one who could stop that woman Lou Ji now was Luo Bingli, who had just lost her daughter. Compared to the three Transcendent experts from the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion, Lou Ji was in much better shape, yet several gruesome scars marred her voluptuous body, and blood spilled uncontrollably from the corner of her lips. Yet she could not care about her injuries now, nor did she care to finish off the three Transcendent experts. Without slowing in the slightest, she bolted toward the center of the black mist. There was still a Transcendent expert there! Even a Transcendent expert lost in madness was a being that neither Changtian nor Luo Xiran could match. And what made her even more anxious was that, obstructed by this bizarre mist, she could not sense at all what was happening in its deepest reaches. Lou Ji's seductive, enchanting voice took on a tinge of madness. "Luo Xiran, protect Changtian! I will soon be—" Before she could finish, a beam of white light manifested, and a woman in a black gown abruptly appeared directly in her path. Luo Bingli's voice was very soft. "Lou Ji, you are going nowhere." "..." Seeing this, Lou Ji's magnificent violet pupils constricted, a sensation of suffocation she had not felt in years welling up in her chest. She had encountered the person she least wanted to face right now. The woman in the black gown was exceedingly powerful—even the Semi-Saints within Burial Village could not rival her. To repel the Transcendent experts barring her way earlier, Lou Ji had already unleashed her strongest lethal moves, exposing them before this woman's eyes. Now, she had few techniques left capable of threatening her. Meanwhile, from their initial exchange, she had only a superficial understanding of her opponent's methods. Under such asymmetrical intelligence, wanting to repel an expert of the same tier in an instant was nothing short of a pipe dream. Even while realizing she might not make it to Changtian's side, Lou Ji did not hesitate for a second. Forcing her wounded body into a beam of violet light, she charged straight at Luo Bingli. "Rat of Burial Village, get out of my way!" "..." Luo Bingli did not answer, merely standing quietly in place as she watched the woman rushing toward her. A breath later, she felt a familiar qi dynamic envelop her surroundings. Lou Ji had once again enveloped her in that bizarre Dao domain. Plunging once more into the enemy's Dao domain, Luo Bingli showed not the slightest panic. Their earlier probing had already allowed her to grasp some of the Chief of the Black Scales' secrets. Yet as Lou Ji drew nearer, countless dazzling flowers and foliage abruptly fluttered and drifted down all around Luo Bingli. Seeing the sudden change in her surroundings, Luo Bingli's brows furrowed slightly beneath her iron mask. This was a technique she had not seen in the earlier fight. Yet her formidable perception allowed her to instantly detect where the technique's lethality lay. Though these poisonous plants were illusions formed by Lou Ji using Source Qi combined with her Dao domain, the lethal poisons contained in each blossom were nearly identical to the real thing. There were hallucinogenic poisons, aphrodisiac poisons, corrosive poisons, and among them was even the Charm God cherry blossom that could bypass all defenses... Each was among the world's most venomous substances. Even with her cultivation, if she took them head-on, eighty to ninety percent of her combat strength would likely be neutralized in an instant. She had to evade! The moment the thought arose, Luo Bingli rejected it. Lou Ji's purpose in executing this technique was to seal off her path, allowing Lou Ji herself to reach Xu Changtian. Thoughts flashed in her mind. Qi surged around Luo Bingli as a brilliant domain of light unfolded like a deity. Countless beams of light scattered outward centered on her, intercepting the fluttering flowers and foliage sweeping toward her. Soon, the first beam struck a seven-petaled chrysanthemum with violet pistils. Yet to Luo Bingli's narrowing pupils, the flower was not shattered; instead, like a phantasm, the beam passed straight through it! Then came the second, the third, the fourth! Without exception, every beam struck empty air. The blossoms fluttering down within Lou Ji's Dao domain were not affected in the slightest. A heavy solemnity crept into Luo Bingli's eyes. Were these poisonous plants all illusions? Or could Lou Ji manipulate these flowers to shift continuously between illusion and reality? For Way of Qi practitioners of their caliber, combat was an exchange of counters, scheming, and probing until a flaw was uncovered for the killing blow. Yet now, the anomaly with Xu Changtian seemed to have stripped Lou Ji of any patience, driving her to unleash lethal moves straight to the face from the very start. Thoughts spun rapidly in Luo Bingli's mind; she had little time to deliberate. An instant before the first petal could touch her body, the qi dynamic around Luo Bingli underwent a bizarre transformation. Having lost the support of physical flesh, the elaborate black gown and the Wailing Iron Mask drifted down through the air. Luo Bingli's flawless, jade-like form was exposed directly to the air without concealment, yet her entire body radiated a holy light so brilliant it was hard to look upon, obscuring the exquisite contours beneath. Assisted by Dao Charm, Luo Bingli had directly and completely transformed her physical body into Source Qi. Just as the beams of light had passed through the flowers, the fluttering blossoms passed straight through Luo Bingli. Seeing this unfold, a flicker of surprise surfaced in Lou Ji's eyes, only to be suppressed immediately and replaced by profound helplessness. This trump card of Luo Bingli's was the last thing she wanted to encounter right now. Although it was the first time she had witnessed such a technique, fundamental cultivation common sense told Lou Ji that Luo Bingli in this state possessed no fatal weaknesses. She could not knock her back, and to defeat her completely, she could only forcibly exhaust her Source Qi. No, it might not require complete exhaustion. As long as Luo Bingli still wished to live, she would have to retain a substantial amount of Source Qi to activate her Dao Charm and return to physical form. Unfortunately, given the Source Qi reserves of a Transcendent Realm cultivator, this was not something that could be accomplished in a short span. Lou Ji glanced in Xu Yuan's direction, the violet gleam in her eyes wavering. Gritting her silver teeth, she slowly raised her palm. She... could not give up yet. Following Lou Ji's movement, the venomous blossoms fluttering in her Dao domain faded away, replaced by countless purplish-red fruits of a similar nature. The moment these purplish-red fruits appeared, they began to swell, then detonated in full bloom! "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" Countless explosions threw the heaven and earth Source Qi into violent upheaval, and the expanding shockwaves obliterated Huizhou County below completely. Lou Ji was attempting to trap Luo Bingli, now in a gaseous qi form, by violently roiling the Source Qi. Yet clearly, she failed. Just as she was about to sweep past the center of the Source Qi turbulence, Luo Bingli's form once again barred her way. Looking at the woman before her, Lou Ji's serpentine violet eyes turned bloodshot with fury. In response, Luo Bingli merely maintained an expressionless face as her qi-state body thrust out a palm. A beam of pure energy bloomed. *Hum!* Though it failed to pierce the violet floral shield Lou Ji had conjured, it sent her hurtling a hundred zhang away. Her fingernails dug into her palms. Gazing at the woman in the distance, Lou Ji's body—which stood above all ordinary mortals—could not help trembling faintly. She could kill this obstructive woman, but that would take time. Yet... Changtian had no such time left... Taking a deep breath, with her fingernails dug deep into her palms, a flash of resolve crossed her eyes. Yet at that moment, Lou Ji witnessed a sight that left her feeling even more helpless. The three Transcendent experts whom she had severely wounded had now returned to the battlefield one after another. Arriving last, Fatty Zhou warily eyed the woman whose aura was unstable a hundred zhang away, suddenly asking via voice transmission: "Brother Taishi, are we going to surround and kill this Chief of the Black Scales here?" Before Taishi Ran could speak, Luo Bingli's cold voice reached everyone's ears: "You cannot kill her." Surprise flickered in the attractive middle-aged woman's eyes. "With Fairy Luo here, plus three Transcendent experts like us, we still cannot surround and kill her?" Luo Bingli glanced at her. "Not unless both I and all of you are prepared to die here." "..." The attractive middle-aged woman fell silent. Taishi Ran exhaled softly, saying solemnly, "Daoist Fu, our objective is not Lou Ji. The three of you only need to hold her here. I shall go into the depths of this mist to check on Xu Changtian's situation." "Why not let me go?" Fatty Zhou spoke up abruptly. "Brother Taishi, you know me. My Forest Soul Divine Eyes possess penetrating vision, so this mist has little effect on me. Besides, my cultivation technique happens to counter Old Man Tian." Taishi Ran hesitated slightly. Glancing at Fatty Zhou's injuries and the compatibility of his techniques against Old Man Tian, he paused for a moment and did not refuse. "Very well. Go together with Daoist Fu. Make absolutely sure you grind that Xu Changtian's bones to dust and scatter his ashes." Hearing this, Fatty Zhou breathed a massive sigh of relief in his heart. He had no desire to keep facing that madwoman Lou Ji here. He chuckled heartily. "Rest assured." "Be swift." "Understood." With those words, Fatty Zhou and the attractive middle-aged woman vanished from the spot, speeding toward the depths of the mist. A few breaths after their departure, earth-shaking booms and massive waves of surging qi dynamics echoed from the mist behind them. Hearing the commotion, Fatty Zhou rejoiced in his heart, his speed not slacking at all. In just a matter of breaths, he and the attractive middle-aged woman reached the deepest part of the mist. Slowly descending onto the ruins below, an eerie spectral-blue light gleamed in Fatty Zhou's squinted eyes, leaving nothing in his surroundings able to hide from his gaze. Soon, He cast his gaze upon two figures standing facing each other. One was the familiar withered elder. And the other was none other than Xu Changtian, who should have been dead. At this sight, Fatty Zhou glanced at the attractive middle-aged woman beside him. Seeing him look her way, her willow brows furrowed slightly, but now was no time to mind such things. She asked, "Found them?" Fatty Zhou nodded slightly. "Yeah, but... their state looks rather strange." "What do you mean?" Her gaze instantly turned solemn. "We need to get closer." As Fatty Zhou spoke, he circulated his cultivation in vigilance and swiftly darted toward the two figures. Coming within a hundred zhang, the sight that greeted Fatty Zhou's eyes made him freeze in his tracks. He whispered, "Daoist Fu, ever since Old Man Tian was infected with that plague, his mouth hasn't stopped running once, right?" "..." Hearing this, the attractive middle-aged woman's eyes froze. Having concentrated entirely on countering Lou Ji earlier, she had not noticed this. But now that he mentioned it, Old Man Tian had indeed made no sound whatsoever after that single shout. After a moment of silence, the woman asked in a low voice, "What are you getting at?" Fatty Zhou said in a low voice, "Old Man Tian seems to be dead." "What?" Her pupils constricted. "How is that possible?!" Fatty Zhou's implication was glaringly obvious: Old Man Tian had been dispatched without being able to make a single sound. Having fought earlier, the woman knew the withered elder's strength intimately. Even after losing his mind, killing him would have taken her some time. In this entire dead city, the only ones capable of instantly killing Old Man Tian in that state were probably Lou Ji and Luo Bingli. Unless reinforcements from the Prime Minister's Manor had arrived—and Semi-Saint reinforcements at that. "Someone from the Prime Minister's Manor?" Fatty Zhou stared fixedly at the two motionless figures in the mist, licked his lips, and said, "Yeah, someone from the Prime Minister's Manor." "Who?" "Xu Changtian." "..." The woman was struck dumb. After an instant of quiet, she spoke coldly, "Fatty Zhou." "Yeah?" "Do you think you're funny?" "Daoist Fu, I wish I were joking too." Hearing this, Fatty Zhou slowly turned his eyes back to stare at her, his voice grave and dead serious: "Because Old Man Tian's head is dangling right now in Xu Changtian's hand."