Chapter 61: Child of Monstrous Evil

Jiang Mingzhe let out a dry laugh, just as he was about to deny it, he heard Duan Yu shout loudly, "This has nothing to do with my elder brother! I fell into the canyon entirely because this person was chasing me. My elder brother only went down there because I led him. If you want to place blame, just take it out on me, Duan Yu!"

Jiang Mingzhe slapped his forehead, thinking: This sworn brother of mine is far too honest!

While speaking, Duan Yu emerged from behind a tree. The medicinal ointment of the Shennong Sect was indeed miraculous; in just this short while, the redness and swelling on Duan Yu's hands and face had mostly subsided, the blisters seemed to be fading, and though his backside could not be seen, it was presumably improving as well.

Envoy Fu nodded with a smile, saying, "Very well."

Then her expression turned cold, and she ordered, "Capture these two."

Duan Yu shouted aloud, "Hey, you are a pretty and refined young lady, why are you so unreasonable?"

Before he even finished speaking, he was grabbed by the Shennong Sect members standing nearby. One hand pressed against the back of his neck, and the other braced against his lumbar spine, shoving him forward.

Both Zuo Zimu and Xin Shuangqing drew their swords simultaneously, leaping through the air toward Jiang Mingzhe.

Without even glancing at them, Jiang Mingzhe shifted his stance and, moving like a ghost, rushed to Duan Yu's side. With a rising movement, he executed a "Throat-Locking Claw," snapping the windpipe of the Shennong Sect member holding Duan Yu.

Leveraging the momentum, he hoisted the corpse and grinned grimly, "Do you like that canyon so much? Let me send you down to have a look!"

With a sweep of his arm, the corpse was hurled over the cliff, plunging rapidly into the abyss below.

Knowing that these people feared the Vulture Palace like tigers, and that once the Envoy had given the order it was bound to be a fight to the death, he showed no mercy whatsoever.

The two sect masters, Zuo and Xin, had just pledged their allegiance and were eager to perform meritorious deeds. Assuming that Jiang Mingzhe was an easy target due to his youth, they never expected his methods to be so ruthless and his footwork to be terrifyingly fast.

Both shocked and enraged, one yelled, "Little thief, don't you run!" while the other cursed, "Little thief, surrender at once!"

They swooped in from both left and right, thrusting with their swords.

Jiang Mingzhe flicked his body to meet them, continuously executing the Three-Yin Centipede Claws, matching speed with speed. In the blink of an eye, they exchanged five or six blows.

The Wuliang Sword Sect was also a renowned faction in the Southern Frontier, and since Zuo and Xin were able to serve as leaders of its two branches, their martial arts were naturally extraordinary. Although Jiang Mingzhe's Three-Yin Centipede Claws were formidable, his experience was still shallow; logically speaking, defeating even one of them would be difficult.

However, he now possessed the ripples-on-water stepping-wave footwork, allowing him to circle around the pair while fighting. His figure shifted unpredictably, suddenly in front and suddenly behind. His claw techniques were venomous and vicious, striking and retracting abruptly, enabling him to hold his own even when fighting two opponents simultaneously.

Sikong Xuan watched the battle from the sidelines. As he observed, his brows gradually furrowed. He thought to himself that the martial arts this Dragon Overlord was displaying were indeed quite extraordinary, yet they seemed no more advanced than those of the two sect masters. Why wasn't he using that sword-qi technique of his? Could it be that even now, trapped as he was in heavy encirclement, he still harbored the intention of hiding his true strength?

Just as he was hesitating whether to step forward and assist, he heard Envoy Fu shout, "Zuo Zimu, Xin Shuangqing, fall back!"

Hearing the command, the two of them simultaneously delivered a swift sword strike and, taking advantage of Jiang Mingzhe's dodge, leaped out of the combat circle and quickly retreated.

Envoy Fu's face was filled with murderous intent as she stared fixedly at Jiang Mingzhe. Her voice was as cold as the profound ice of the nine netherworlds.

"Very well, very well. The lightness skill of the Great Villain and the claw techniques of Old Freak Ding—these two evildoers really are mixed up together after all! Are you their son, or else how could the ultimate skills of both men be imparted to you simultaneously?"

Sikong Xuan felt a jolt in his heart, thinking: No wonder this fellow is so young and yet serves as a patronized guest of the Duan family of Tiannan. It turns out his background is enormous—even Envoy Fu of the Vulture Palace speaks of him with an air of absolute dread.

He hurriedly said, "Envoy Fu, this brat possesses an incredible ultimate technique called the Wuji Formless Sword Qi of the Heavens' Gods and Demons. If the Envoy wishes to capture him, you must be extremely cautious!"

Envoy Fu nodded solemnly and shouted in a low voice, "Sisters, form the formation!"

Behind her, twelve women uttered a simultaneous sharp cry, and twelve cloaks were flipped off together. Every one of them now held two gleaming guard-hooks in their hands, and Envoy Fu also untied a soft whip from her waist.

Jiang Mingzhe raised both eyebrows and shouted sternly, "You people from the Wuliang Sword Sect and the Shennong Sect don't need to just watch the fun either; all of you come together! Formless! Sword! Qi!"

Amidst his furious roar, he violently swung both claws, and several blue-green toxic qi suddenly emerged. Everyone was startled and instinctively assumed defensive postures. Jiang Mingzhe whirled around, hoisted Duan Yu onto his back, and took to his heels, running for his life.

Realizing she had been tricked, Envoy Fu let out a piercing shriek of rage. With a flick of her wrist, she lashed her whip across Sikong Xuan's body, shouting, "Useless trash! If not for you singing his praises, who could mere toxic qi have frightened? After him, give chase!"

Sikong Xuan's face turned ashen. He reached out to pull the short hoe from his lower back, gritting his teeth as he said, "If I fail to capture this little thief today, this old man will present his head to you!"

Envoy Fu said disdainfully, "Who wants your smelly head? If he escapes, I'll feed this year's Life-Resolving Nerve-Control Pill antidote to the dogs."

Sikong Xuan's expression became even uglier, and he roared, "All brothers of the Shennong Sect, follow me!"

In an instant, nearly a hundred people on the mountainside of the back peak were all running in pursuit of Jiang Mingzhe. The women of the Vulture Palace, Sikong Xuan, and the two sect masters of the Wuliang Sword Sect were employing their lightness skills to lead the pursuit at the front.

Jiang Mingzhe glanced back and felt a surge of great delight, thinking: Now that I've mastered the ripples-on-water stepping-wave footwork, it's just like a Hong Kong triad gangster getting a passenger van. From now on, I can come and go as I please. Even if there were ten times as many people chasing me, they'd only be fit to eat my dust!

Just as he was preparing to execute a drift and shake off his pursuers completely, Duan Yu cried out anxiously, "Elder Brother, this is bad! That pretty sister said the lightness skill you practice belongs to the Great Villain. Could it be that they are traitors of the Xiaoyao Sect? When they see that I fell into the ravine and didn't die, they will definitely find a way to go down and inspect the place. By then, the jade statue of the Fairy Sister will surely be destroyed by them!"

Jiang Mingzhe snapped to his senses, thinking: That's right! In the original story, the two people who saw Duan Yu fall into the ravine were killed early on by Mu Wanqing. But the situation now is entirely different. Once those people go down, they might discover the hanging sword on the western peak, and who knows what other benefits might be hidden within the stone cave itself. Wouldn't all of that be snatched away by others?

He nodded slowly and said, "Indeed! How can the home of our sister-in-law be defiled by these people? We'll just have to slaughter them all!"

Hearing this, Duan Yu grew even more anxious. "No, no, no, Elder Brother. Although I cannot bear the thought of the Fairy Sister's jade statue being destroyed, after all, it's only a jade statue and not the Fairy Sister herself in the flesh. How could I let you take such a bizarre risk? There are so many of them, we cannot win."

Jiang Mingzhe turned his head to look. The setting sun was sinking in the west, and dusk was deepening. An idea was born in his mind. He fished out the bottle of Nine Palaces Pestilence-Warding Oil that Aziz had given him and said, "Virtuous Brother, toxic miasmas breed in the mountain nights. Smear this oil under your philtrum, and we'll use the toxic miasma to deal with them."

Duan Yu asked in surprise, "Is that so? But the Wuliang Sword Sect has lived here for a long time, surely they know about it?"

Though puzzled, he still followed instructions and smeared some oil beneath his nose, then considerately dabbed a little on Jiang Mingzhe as well.

Jiang Mingzhe casually replied, "They might know, but a fine sect like the Wuliang Sword Sect was forcefully subjugated by others—are they truly willing? Perhaps they are just looking for a chance to fight the Vulture Palace to the bitter end."

Hearing this, Duan Yu thought it utterly absurd, believing that if the Wuliang Sword Sect had the courage to fight to the bitter end, they would never have surrendered in the first place.

He originally wanted to point out that Jiang Mingzhe's idea was far too unreliable, but upon second thought: How extraordinarily clever my elder brother is; how could he not see through such a simple matter and require my guidance? If he wants to risk his life with the enemy, when all is said and done, isn't it because I care about the jade statue and the former residence of the Fairy Sister? Otherwise, why would he take such a risk? Having such a heroic figure as my elder brother, I would have no regrets even if I died. If I were to fuss and hesitate at every turn, how would I ever be worthy of being his brother?

Thus, he nodded fiercely and said, "That's right! I guess that Sect Master Zuo and Sect Master Xin must be thinking the exact same thing."

Jiang Mingzhe couldn't help turning his head to look at Duan Yu, thinking: I knew this kid was naive, but I never expected him to be naive to this degree. Sigh, from now on as brothers, I should try to trick him less. Tricking even a little fool like this is truly beneath my dignity.

He deliberately slowed his pace and pretended not to know the way, stumbling blindly this way and that. Envoy Fu was overjoyed, continuously shouting and directing them, until the crowd gradually surrounded Jiang Mingzhe and Duan Yu.