Liu Xiu: I Suspect You're All Playing Me!

The death of the fox spirit caused no ripple in Liu Xiu's mood, as her demise seemed only natural to him. The reason? His cultivation had grown! The battle in Gaoshulin had boosted his strength all across the board, and the first layer of the Three-Light Primordial Magnetism Body-Refining Art, Divine Perception, had advanced from the entry level to the minor achievement stage. Stepping into the minor achievement stage deepened the connection between his physical magnetic field and the magnetic resonance of heaven and earth. Along with that deepening, his sensory radius expanded straight from three paces to ten paces. Within ten paces, an opponent's heartbeat rate, breath length, footstep weight, and more were all mirrored clearly in his mind. Even if someone secretly nocked an arrow to shoot at him from the shadows, a mental premonition would allow him to sidestep and evade beforehand. As for incoming strikes from blades and swords, he could effortlessly dodge them just by sensing and anticipating their trajectories. However, he had not yet reached the state described for the minor achievement of Divine Perception—skin like bronze and bricks or gravel shattering under every fist. He felt this was likely related to having reached the minor achievement stage of the first layer too quickly. After all, Shi Jian had clearly written that an exceptionally gifted talent could achieve minor accomplishment in Divine Perception within a year. An exceptionally gifted talent in Shi Jian's eyes... To be honest, Liu Xiu didn't want to demoralize himself and chose not to dwell on it. It wasn't a big deal anyway; he might lack skin like bronze, but he still had Ice-Skin Jade-Bones! Besides, failing to kill the imperial-clan jiangshi didn't mean he was weak; the monster simply had too thick a health bar. Just as in the imperial-clan jiangshi's eyes, his health bar was thick as well! These thoughts flashed by in an instant. Gripping the Crimson Firmament Sword in his right hand, Liu Xiu dashed swiftly into Master Yixiu's wooden hut. The moment he entered, he saw Chang... bah, rather, the imperial-clan jiangshi chasing Shi Shaojian, pursued from behind by Four-Eyed Daoist and Master Yixiu, who couldn't stop it no matter how hard they tried. Shattered ritual implements, including a damaged dharma net, lay strewn across the floor! "Why are you chasing me?! Fuck you, you bitch, you family=0 piece of trash, I fuck your mommy..." Though Shi Shaojian was fleeing, his mouth didn't stop spewing English curses for a second. Naturally, the Xuandun Sword in his hands didn't stay still either. Whenever he caught an opening, he slashed at the imperial-clan jiangshi's mangled flesh, which was covered in charred, rotting sword wounds. The effect couldn't be called negligible—it was practically nonexistent. It just made a couple of loud thuds and was over. Loud noise, very short duration. Yep, not very lasting at all! Liu Xiu was watching, and not far away by the doorway of the inner room, Daoist Qianhe and his party of five—protecting the injured Xi, Nan, and the Seventy-First Prince—were also watching. Except for Jiale and Daoist Qianhe's group of three, who were four seasoned professionals at corpse driving, the remaining person—namely Qingqing—looked rather sickly. And no wonder: the imperial-clan jiangshi was utterly repulsive right now, practically a moving pile of rotten meat. Looking at it made Qingqing gag instinctively. Daoist Qianhe and his three companions were different. Shock covered their faces as they stared at the jiangshi's hideous, ruined condition, secretly astounded that Liu Xiu's strength was actually this formidable! Even so, it really is disgusting! × 3 + 1. Daoist Qianhe's group of three and Jiale were also somewhat pale. Liu Xiu paid no mind to this, turning instead to Four-Eyed Daoist and Master Yixiu, who, having run out of ritual implements, were engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the imperial-clan jiangshi. "Senior Brother, get out of the way! Martial Uncle, Master, go get your gear!" With that, Liu Xiu quickly added to Shi Shaojian, "Stop cursing!" The imperial-clan jiangshi was outrageously petty; Liu Xiu feared that if Shi Shaojian kept cursing, even he wouldn't be able to hold the monster back. "Ah? Oh, okay!" Shi Shaojian instinctively wanted to talk back, but after the battle in Gaoshulin, the memory of Liu Xiu risking his life to cover their retreat was still vivid in his mind, so he decided to listen to his junior brother this once! Well, next time he wouldn't! "Martial Nephew, be careful!" "Young friend, be careful!" Four-Eyed Daoist and Master Yixiu quickly withdrew from the combat zone, leaving behind the imperial-clan jiangshi, which had been on high alert ever since Liu Xiu appeared. "Grown stronger again, have you...?" Holding the Crimson Firmament Sword, Liu Xiu raised an eyebrow as he looked at the ground. Even though the imperial-clan jiangshi hadn't stepped on them, the glutinous rice grains were turning black, and some were being blown aside automatically by corpse qi. Not a big deal, though. He had grown stronger too! Just as Liu Xiu was about to strike, the imperial-clan jiangshi didn't follow the usual trope of enemies seeing red upon meeting. Instead, it stood rooted to the spot and let out a corpse roar. *Roar—* Oddly enough, Liu Xiu actually understood the full meaning behind this corpse roar. "No, I cannot hand the Seventy-First Prince over to you!" *You dumbass, you should've asked in secret! If you ask to my face, how can I say yes?!* Pah! Cursing inwardly that this wasn't what he meant and shocked to discover he possessed a talent for corpse language, Liu Xiu maintained his composure on the outside, merely shaking his head. *Roar—* "No! I am a Taoist priest of the Maoshan Sect. Slaying demons, purging evil, protecting the people, and upholding justice are my sacred duties! I will never hand the Seventy-First Prince over to you!" Liu Xiu cursed continuously in his mind, repeatedly glancing out of the corner of his eye toward the Seventy-First Prince, who was peeking from the doorway behind Daoist Qianhe's group. Yet no matter how much he winked and signaled until his eyes nearly cramped, the imperial-clan jiangshi failed to grasp it. It made him feel that while the monster had a brain, it didn't have much of one—just like Daoist Qianhe's group of five. He was already fully prepared for the imperial-clan jiangshi to bite the Seventy-First Prince to death, after which he would slay the jiangshi to avenge the boy. Yet the jiangshi acted completely blind to his hints, seeming even dimmer than Daoist Qianhe and his companions! The sudden exchange between human and corpse was so bizarre and ridiculous that Shi Shaojian stood watching with a dazed expression, thinking: *Did Master secretly teach Junior Brother corpse language?* *Wait...* *Why did he teach Junior Brother corpse language and not me?* Shi Shaojian's eyes widened, and he immediately resumed suspecting Liu Xiu's true identity. Daoist Qianhe's group, however, had a different reaction. Aside from the Seventy-First Prince at the doorway, who merely sensed that this uncle was an imposter and promptly scurried back into the room to hide beside Xi and Nan, though Daoist Qianhe and his two disciples were stunned that the imperial-clan jiangshi possessed such high intelligence and that Liu Xiu even understood corpse language, they knew this was no time to gawk. They secretly exchanged glances with Jiale and Qingqing, signaling them to keep Xi, Nan, and the prince safe. Immediately afterward, with his wits sharpened, Daoist Qianhe picked up his peach-wood sword, while Dong and Bei grabbed their dharma ropes. Flashing Liu Xiu a look to buy some time, the three crept toward the imperial-clan jiangshi. Catching their drift, Liu Xiu gave a slight nod and began stalling for time, whispering bald-faced lies to the imperial-clan jiangshi against his conscience: "Actually, it's not impossible. How about this: you and I stage a fake fight. I'll pretend I'm outmatched and let you go. Then, you sneak back later, snatch the Seventy-First Prince, and run?" Liu Xiu's delaying lies sounded so earnest and heartfelt that Daoist Qianhe and his companions could only marvel at how superb his acting was. Admiration washed over Jiale's face; he thought Liu Xiu's performance was incredible, unable to detect even the slightest flaw. Qingqing felt the same way! Only the Seventy-First Prince in the room behind him listened with wide eyes. His already pale face turned even paler as he began frantically whispering promises of all sorts of rewards to Xi and Nan if they protected him. He was a child, true, but that didn't mean he couldn't tell truth from falsehood! Faced with Liu Xiu's utterly seamless, deeply heartfelt "truth," a look of contemplation appeared on the imperial-clan jiangshi's mangled face, followed by a slight nod of agreement! *Whoosh! Whoosh—* Dong and Bei hurled their dharma ropes, swiftly dashing into their respective positions matching their names as they silently chanted the Liangyi Dark Rope Filth-Cleansing Incantation. *Buzz—* As the incantation took hold, the two dharma ropes flared with golden light, unleashing their power to suppress evil, cleanse filth, and immobilize jiangshi, bearing down upon the imperial-clan jiangshi. The imperial-clan jiangshi instinctively moved to resist, only to hear Liu Xiu whisper again, "Don't resist! We're just acting!" At these words, the imperial-clan jiangshi actually stopped, making Liu Xiu feel that its brain was even worse than Daoist Qianhe and his four companions. "Good, good. You really are clever!" Before the words finished, a flash of sword light erupted! A sudden flash of dark-red chilling light burst across the air with the Crimson Firmament Sword, followed immediately by the peach-wood sword brimmed with golden evil-warding power and the Xuandun Sword wrapped in black sludge-like lightning. *Clang! Clang! Clang—* Three nearly simultaneous metallic clangs rang out alongside showers of sparks from the imperial-clan jiangshi's neck, chest, and back. Unfortunately, these attacks inflicted virtually no substantial damage upon the creature. Having drunk the fox spirit's blood, the imperial-clan jiangshi had clearly become far more formidable than in the original story! *Roar—!* A corpse roar brimming with furious rage erupted from the imperial-clan jiangshi's maw—and this time, everyone understood its meaning!