“What are you doing, Rixia?” Shuren questioned with a bloodied face, enunciating her false name with intensity.

  “Even if that psychopath ordered us to kill everyone, there’s no need to listen to the whims of a demon. Surely, you of all people understand that,” With resolution, Aerestia glared into Shuren’s eyes, without the option of backing down.

  Ming sheathed his sword in silence, instead of scouting the area for the person Shuren mentioned on the cliffside. If anything happened, he’d needed to be the one to grab them by the scruff of their necks, and hightail it out of here.

  Even if it seemed almost impossible.

  Rank 1’s were mentored to master the flow of Qi, at best they could have the strength to slice steel with ease and destroy a simple monolith.

  Rank 2’s were wayfarers of the Path, learning to understand the power of the world, and conforming it to their own. The disparity of strength began from here, and you could go from someone being able to burn something at temperatures that would sear even bones into ash, or someone killing dozens with intangible poison, without even taking a step.

  But Rank 3’s, those in the Core Genesis Realm, those able to form a Path Core, meant not only were they masters of Qi, but also of their own Path, honed for years and even decades. They were able to form their Talispirit, gaining the opportunity of the Heavens to go beyond what providence delivered them at birth, such as their physique and Talisoul. Rank 1 and 2 were still learning the way of cultivation, but Rank 3 solidified the foundation of their Path and began treading with resolution, forging their own Path forward.

  A bunch of Rank 1’s, even at the later stages, couldn’t hope to face a Rank 3 Core Genesis, let alone one who went through the demonic path.

  “You’re wrong about one thing, Rixia. We were planning to kill every single one of these demonic cultivators either way. Even if we’re dancing in that snake’s palm, what I do now is my own choice! Those from the demonic faction must all die. Out by the roots.” Shuren refused to falter, staring daggers straight back at Aerestia. Now was the worst time for a conflict to arise between the two, and part of him even considered simply ripping the Ruyi Staff away from her hands and moving forward.

  But the dying words of a woman he killed lingered in the depths of his mind.

  “Look at these two! Can’t you see their clothing and demeanour? They aren’t demonic cultivators, they’re farmers picked up from the wayside to be used as slaves!” She besought Shuren, for the line between killing the evil and innocent had become blurred.

  “Out of respect for you, I’ll question them both. Surely they have a story for how they ended up here, right?” Shuren clicked his tongue as he brought his Ruyi Staff back, irritated at the waste of time when a Rank 3 was on the horizon, threatening their very lives.

  Aerestia stepped to the side, but bore a deep gaze at Shuren. Was he going this far due to his own beliefs of their evil, or for merely saving his life because of the threats of the demonic cultivator? She hated the conundrum.

  With the clang of his staff on the floor, judge and executor, Shuren ordered them. “Raise your heads. I’ll give you no more than the time it takes for Heaven’s Eye to rouse the dawn sky blue, to explain your origins.”

  The hues of red and purple flickered in the distance, the night dissipating by the second.

  The middle-aged man of viridescent hair with a single horn initiated the conversation, trepidation and fear in his eyes .”Lord, I was once a farmer in the outpost village of Rahuel, from the Kallas Jungle, but lord! We are weak, we don’t have the currency to trade with the nearest city, and most of the creatures we hunt in that jungle have become too difficult for us! Working as a mule for this sect was the only way I could feed my wife and daughter!

  The older man next to him, with slightly more muscle and auburn hair continued. “Honourable Lord, I was also in the same situation. Those cursed city dwellers refused us entry due to our appearance and lack of sponsors, and we couldn’t find a way to make a living. There are only so many mushrooms and seeds one can eat before tiring of it. So I-”

  With a wave of his palm, the staff destroyed the man’s neck, cutting oxygen off to his blood.

  “So for the reason of wealth, you decided to join a demonic sect, causing turmoil and chaos to the innocent. I would rather die at that point then join them,” Shuren announced with a cold voice.

  The fear in the viridescent-haired Silvent turned to a mixture of despair and acceptance, as he began to chant a silent prayer, placing two fingers on his mouth. Shuren fidgeted the base of his Ruyi Staff on the dirt beneath his head, before deciding his fate.

  Aerestia shivered with indignation and fury, but the thought of attacking him never came. If she did, everything would begin to go awry, and the one thing they had to do was stick together to survive. “Isn’t that enough?! Haven’t you had enough time playing to the orders of that Rank 3?!” She yelled, but didn’t move from her spot.

  Ming held a hand on his sheathed sword, waiting for the situation to change, but still widened his eyes at this absurd conflict. With the caravan right beside him, he could easily cut apart the innards which were confined with Deviant Beasts. There were only two directions the Rank 3 could descend; either the front or the rear side of them two. So long as he cut a hole facing towards the opponent, the likelihood the Deviant Beasts targeting him would increase.

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  With another tap, the second man fell on the floor without a single reaction, as still as a fallen leaf, his hair akin to wilted grass.

  But the silence that came after was broken by the claps of Lixi, and with it, the maddening roars of the Deviant Beasts chained in the caravan.

  “You know how to put on a good show, I almost thought it was fabricated. Interesting, truly interesting, the seeds of the ignoble righteous are truly unique.” Shuren and the rest could barely hear him from the rumbling of the caravan from the Deviant Beasts going wild. All three of them were forced to cycle their Qi, focusing it around their sense of hearing.

  “One has a heart of gold that slumbers with a corrupted wrath. One is as cold as steel, seeking to cleave the world in two. And one willingly blinds himself to reality, using ideals as a veil to seek the truth.”

  Ming put complete focus on one single task; the moment Lixi acted off, he would immediately cut apart the caravan and flee with the rest.

  “But as close friends, you should always do your best to help each other out.” Lixi’s quiet eyes that shone of the abyss widened, gazing in Shuren’s direction. The tone of his voice shifted to a dry, cold tone. “You said you would clear them all out to help me, so why did you lie and leave one of them alive?”

  And in the shadow beneath Shuren’s feet, where the ground inscribed with the words ‘play dead’ was located beneath the viridescent-haired Silvent, an opaque jade snake, the size of Shuren’s arm, slithered through his body as if a ghost moving through a wall.

  Heading back towards Lixi, it held a beating heart in its mouth.

  Aerestia stood in shock, her eyes shivering in fear.

  Ming tensed the hand on his sword, gripped to the point of almost bruising himself.

  Shuren could only stare at the man he pathetically attempted to save. His blue eyes were washed over with indignation, his sclera burning with blood vessels. The vein on his jugular jutted out from his skin, but he couldn’t even move a single step.

  He went nauseous with humiliation. The humiliation of being made a fool from a demonic being. The humiliation of the inability to act even once to defy him. The humiliation of him, the esteemed young master of the Liu Clan, the grandson of the Sword Saint who destroyed demons with each swing of his blade, forced to masquerade as a jester for entertainment.

  The only thing cutting the silence was the dying gasps of a father, clutching his hands over his lost heart.

  With the heart delivered to Lixi, it disappeared into the space within Lixi’s soul. “A fresh harvest is still of some use. Heart blood was required to open that seal, I believe.” Lixi’s tongue slithered, and though he smiled, his eyes were filled with malice.

  “You do realise what you did was betraying me. Why would you lie to me even though we were sworn as close friends? Are we so distant that you must lie over the life of some mortal?”

  A shadow was cast on Shuren’s face.

  Ming’s hand gripped the sheath of his blade.

  “Go. Head back to the sect and send a signal with the cloudmulet as soon as you can. You are the one with the highest Qi among us. You can sustain flight the fastest.” Shuren told Aerestia, with a voice as cold as steel.

  “What are you sayi-”

  “Go!”

  Shuren grit his teeth, barely able to compose himself.

  This time, Lixi did not smile. With an expression as if he felt insulted, he couldn’t understand why Shuren would say all that in front of him. “What makes you think I would let her?”

  Shuren took a deep breath. That’s right. I have to remain calm. I cannot let anger get the best of me.

  He raised his head to the sky, taking in the morning breeze.

  It was cold and refreshing.

  A beautiful morning ruined by a snake.

  “The weather is good. Don’t you think so, good friend?” Shuren said with a smile. The tension on his body eased up, as if he truly was here talking to a close friend.

  Yet that reaction only intrigued Lixi further. “It would have been good had it not been for your lie. Tell me Hei Xin, why would you do such a thing to me?”

  That’s right. I know this kind of person very well. Someone at his strength, who has been at the peak of his sect in his entire life, hasn’t met a single challenge against him from his peers. Aside from that Reizou guy probably, he lives an extremely boring and mundane life.

  Shuren held the Ruyi Staff out, buzzing with Qi.

  So any sort of strange situation and games would pique his interest. I know this well.

  After all, I used to be just like him, back then.

  The times when Shuren’s status was radiant and immaculate, hailed as the successor to the Liu Clan. Back when he wasn’t cursed with that anomaly, when he had his Heavenly Blessing of the sword.

  When he was at the peak amongst his generation, the colour of his world was dull with monotonous boredom.

  That when his mundane routine would suddenly change, it would grab his attention for that moment.

  It was a gamble.

  But there was no other choice.

  On the path of cultivation, you will be faced with such obstacles in your way.

  To collapse in front of fear and danger, or risk it all to make it out alive.

  Shuren cocked his chin up, with a wide smirk. “Make a bet with me, Lixi.”

  Lixi stared down at Shuren with contempt. “Why should I make a bet with a liar?”

  Pointing a finger to Lixi, Shuren didn’t back down. “You are a Rank 3 cultivator, someone who has reached Core Genesis. Me? I’m not even at Path Foundation. Yet you’re scared to hear out a bet? No wonder you didn’t make it as a Grand Disciple.”

  Lixi’s face twitched. He actually was taunted by Shuren this easily!

  “You… Spit it out then. What is this bet of yours?”

  Shuren glanced at Ming, still retaining that arrogant smirk. They exchanged no words, but Ming could tell what Shuren was about to do. So he returned a smile in return, and the danger of the situation no longer fazed him.

  “It’s simple really.”

  Shuren’s Qi turned silver, emanating from his body.

  His eyes gained a colour of silver, but this time his eyes didn’t become bloodshot like last time.

  They were clear eyes, with the glint of steel.

  And steam came off Shuren as his blood literally boiled.

  “If we leave a single injury on you, then forget about this lie.”

  The bored and disappointed face on Lixi changed.

  Into a maddening wide grin.

  For his day had just gotten even more interesting.