Shi Lang waited silently on the tree. He wanted to see what the old man would do. He stood at the bank of the silver mirror lake, gazing at the wilted Tulip with a fervor. However, his vigilance was not low. He stepped on the surface of the water and walked ahead. Shi Lang could not help but raised his brow and said, “Seems like he has used other methods to heal his injuries.”
The two ghosts looked at each other and asked, “What do you mean to say?”
Shi Lang replied, “According to my information, the target was looking for the nine-leafed golden lily. However, I later discovered that legendary beasts guarded the lily, and humans could not claim it. As for the usage of this herb, it was to heal the damaged meridians.
Damaged meridians are an injury that can leave you crippled. Every time you try to channel your spirit energy, you will experience a pain that would make you wish for death. However, this guy used his spiritual energy to walk on the lake’s surface. So, the only thing that can allow him to do that is remedies he had taken before this.”
Xiao Ai frowned and asked, “Doesn’t that mean he will be a strong threat to you?”
Shi Lang shook his head. The ghosts here were strong, but they did not have much experience. He replied, “His body is not yet at the peak of his ability. He would have reached the banks if he was fully healed. Yet, he did not move that quickly. It is because he wants to avoid unnecessary pain. Look at his face, and you will understand what I mean.”
The ghosts shifted their gaze and found the old man grimacing in pain. They nodded, and Young Master Min asked, “How long will you wait before you act?”
Shi Lang said, “I only wanted to have this guy fall into an illusion before I can extract a confession from him. I have already cast a great illusion array around the Tulip for this. The array will trigger as long as he is five meters away from it.”
Xiao Ai asked, “What if he notices it before the array triggers?”
Shi Lang shook his head and replied, “It will be too late for him to do anything by that time.”
The seventh elder walked closer to the flower, and his eyes gleamed joyfully. However, suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. He narrowed his gaze, and Shi Lang sighed as he said, “Senior Ai, you have the talent to jinx things.”
This comment startled the ghost, and she found that Shi Lang had picked up his spear. When she was confused, the old man said, “Who are you? Come out.” 𝗈𝓋𝑙xt.𝚌𝗈𝐌
Xiao Ai was surprised, while Shi Lang vanished from the place and appeared opposite the old man. The two people stood ten meters away from each other. The seventh elder was surprised to see a young man and asked, “Who might you be?”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “That is a bit confidential, Seventh Elder.”
The old man narrowed his eyes and commented, “Is it not disrespectful of you to lay such traps for an old man?”
Shi Lang sighed and replied, “I had no other method to confirm my conjecture. Please forgive me.”
The old man frowned and asked, “What conjecture are you talking about?”
Shi Lang glanced around and said, “Elder, the righteous side has put you on a list.”
The old man was surprised and asked, “What do you mean? I do not understand.”
Shi Lang frowned and mumbled, “Could I have found the wrong person? Fuck, Elder Yin will not spare me.”
The old man asked, “What are you mumbling about?”
Shi Lang sighed and said, “Old man, I apologize, but you are not the person I sought. I can only kill you to prevent my secret from spilling. What a hassle.”
The old man was surprised, and his frown deepened. He asked, “What secret are you talking about?”
Shi Lang took a talisman from his space ring and said, “Since you are about to die, I do not mind telling you that I am what you righteous bastards call a colluder. You do all look down on the weak, and you lick the boots of the strong. One person’s righteousness took away my family, and now I will take away everything you all hold dear.”
The seventh elder was shocked. When he sensed Shi Lang moving his spiritual energy, he became flustered. He could not see what the talisman was like, so he could not determine its purpose. He was flustered. The indifferent gaze of this young man made him think that death would be imminent as long as the talisman was triggered.
He knew he could no longer hold onto his cover and blurted out, “Wait! I am on your side, too.”
The seventh elder saw Shi Lang was surprised and said, “I am a colluder too.”
Shi Lang shook his head and said, “Old man, you cannot fool me with just that. My ally should be unable to use spiritual energy, and his meridians are damaged. If he were to use spiritual energy, death would be the only thing he need.”
The seventh elder sighed, and said, “Before coming here, I have used the Yin energy of the few ghosts and the life vitality of the other elders to heal myself. Yet my condition is deteriorating daily. It won’t be long before my facade is blown and the disciples discover my reality. That is why I need this Rejuvenating Ghost Tulip.”
Shi Lang sighed and said, “Any other proof?”
The old man glared at Shi Lang, and then a dark energy surged out of his body. However, it was just a bit of smoke before the old man coughed up blood. Shi Lang narrowed his eyes and said, “Thank you.”
He had been waiting for a moment of weakness. This was it. He vanished from his position, and the next movement, his lightning spirit energy, was concentrated at the tip of his spear. The spear was aimed right at the heart of the old man.
The seventh elder was shocked, but he would not lose so easily. He roared, “Insolent!”
He raised his hand and held the tip of the spear in his hand. His grip was firm, but the toll on his body was not shallow. He puked another mouthful of blood and said, “Bastard, if I am to go down, I will drag you along.”
Shi Lang chuckled, and the old man was shocked because the next moment, he sensed a profound intent seeping into his body. The lightning turned his body numb, and the spear intent left his meridians with holes. The old man exclaimed, “Spear intent.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “Now you are completely useless.”
The old man glared and said, “You underestimate me too much.”
Shi Lang smiled and watched the old man take out a spirit jade from his space ring. Then he crushed the jade and coldly said, “Just wait. You might be strong, but you won’t be able to evade the pursuit of hundreds of guardian swallows.”
Guardian Swallows was the designation for the security team or the guardian disciples. Shi Lang chuckled and said, “Look at the mountain’s peak, and you will see your swallows are trapped in my cage.”
The old man raised his head and found the entire peak was covered in a red glow. His pupils constricted, and he exclaimed in disbelief, “What is this? How! How is this possible?!”
Shi Lang smiled and replied, “You are not the only one who knows espionage skills, old man. You demonic scum think that we from the righteous side are fools, right? How does it feel to taste the same medicine you feed the others? Why are you silent now? Didn’t you want to ask what I did to those guys?
I had them gather in one place and cast an imprisonment array. If they try to break through it, their mental demons will attack them, and they will die. If they try to persist inside, they will end up frustrated and kill each other. That is how you demonic bastards usually act, right?
The Lost Bird Sect used to be a haven for the people wronged by the world, but you came ten years ago and then allowed anyone to come in and call that place home. You did not care if they were criminals or sinners of humanity. The mass recruitment was your first mistake.
Secondly, you should have kept a low profile and not make all the elders vanish from the public eye. The third mistake, you got injured and left behind a trace of your identity, the swallow tattoo. Your symptoms made it easy to find you. Fourth, call it a coincidence, but a sudden encounter made me come here.”
The old man was shocked and then he asked, “How did you do it? How did you get inside the sect?”
Shi Lang smiled cheekily and said, “Sorry, it is a trade secret, I cannot tell you.”