“You mean… that Jinyiwei Commander, Li Miao?”
“Right now, he’s here, at your Mount Tai Sect?”
Inside the quiet room, a middle-aged man asked.
“Yes, he’s been here for some time now,” Zuo Lishan replied.
“I fought him that night and was utterly defeated.”
“This person’s martial arts are already beyond the mundane. If not for your sect’s Gu worms and divine art, I fear I wouldn’t even have the courage to retaliate.”
Zuo Lishan’s appearance had returned to normal. The ear Li Miao had torn off and the left hand he had twisted were both healed. However, his face was now distorted, a foul odor emanated from him, and his eyes were bloodshot, making him look like a mad dog.
In the past few days, he had secretly harmed several more Mount Tai Sect disciples, devouring their qi-infused flesh and blood to replenish his body.
Cannibalism, rapid progress in evil cultivation, and a shattered state of mind after being defeated by Li Miao. Under the influence of these three factors, Zuo Lishan was becoming increasingly deranged.
Now, merely by his appearance, one could tell something was amiss, which was why he hadn’t dared to show himself to outsiders for the past few days, allowing Liu Baiyun to turn the Mount Tai Sect upside down.
If this continued, the Five Mountains Alliance Meeting would likely fall apart.
Without the Five Mountains Alliance Meeting, there would be no bargaining chip to trade with the Ming Cult, and he wouldn’t get the remaining Gu worms. Without the Gu worms, he couldn’t defeat Li Miao, and could only watch his death approach day by day.
In desperation, Zuo Lishan could only request aid from the Ming Cult in advance, asking them to send experts to assist and bring the remaining Gu worms.
This middle-aged man was the one who brought the Gu worms from the Ming Cult.
The Ming Cult’s Lan Left Envoy, Lan Lechuan.
He was over fifty years old, with an ordinary appearance, save for his sharp, chiseled eyebrows and eyes that inspired awe.
“However, that day, I truly did injure him!” Zuo Lishan chuckled.
“It was only because I switched cultivation methods too quickly, and the Gu worms weren’t enough to refine my entire body, and my sword techniques hadn’t yet merged with the Alien Qi , that I lost to him.”
“With the Gu worms, with the Gu worms…” Zuo Lishan gently stroked his chest: “I won’t lose to him again…”
“As long as I kill him, I will still be—the Number One Under Heaven!”
Lan Lechuan frowned, looking at Zuo Lishan, and secretly shook his head, thinking to himself: “Ultimately—he’s not worth much.”
“However, half a madman above the pinnacle can still be used, barely.”
The Ming Cult had never placed their bets on Zuo Lishan, or on the Mount Tai Sect.
A madman had no value for cooperation.
Zuo Lishan did not detect Lan Lechuan’s thoughts.
He was still immersed in the joy of finally obtaining the remaining Gu worms, patching up the flaws in his body, and truly becoming a master above the pinnacle.
“Tonight, tonight.”
“Lan Left Envoy, tonight I will go kill that Jinyiwei Commander.”
“Then, the Five Mountains Sword Sect will be yours. You still have the remaining Gu worms, give them all to me.”
Zuo Lishan rubbed the hilt of his sword, grinning at Lan Lechuan, revealing his pale, mucus-covered teeth.
“Alright, Master Zuo. We’ll do as you say,” Lan Lechuan said with a smile.
“You go kill him. Before the Five Mountains Alliance Meeting, the imperial court won’t have time to send a large army. A hundred or so Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) will naturally be handled by my Ming Cult. After the Five Mountains Alliance Meeting… with Master Zuo’s martial arts, the world is vast, you can go anywhere.”
“As for the aftermath of the Five Mountains Sword Sect, my Ming Cult will handle it. We will certainly not trouble Master Zuo.”
“Good!” Zuo Lishan let out a high-pitched, broken scream.
“Just wait for tonight, just wait for tonight… The head of this Jinyiwei Commander will be my welcoming gift for Lan Left Envoy…”
“Why is time passing so slowly? I want to kill him right now…”
“Or, should I go now? The back mountain is empty. After killing him, I’ll throw him into the forest, or… I’ll just eat him… The new Gu worms also need blood food, just right, just right.”
“Hehehe…”
Lan Lechuan frowned, about to speak and dissuade him.
“Master Zuo, you—”
Boom!!!
The outer wall of the quiet room collapsed with a roar, wood splinters flew, and countless shattered stones rained down on the two of them.
Lan Lechuan unleashed a palm strike into the void in front of him. His unparalleled, powerful true qi vaguely formed a handprint, blocking the incoming shattered stones.
Zuo Lishan, however, did not dodge or evade, letting the shattered stones strike his body, yet not a single mark was left.
“No need to wait until tonight, Master Zuo, we thought of the same thing.”
From amidst the flying dust, Li Miao slowly walked over.
With a flick of his hand, he threw the Mount Tai Sect disciple he had grabbed on the way onto the ground.
The disciple struggled to lift his head, intending to apologize to Zuo Lishan for revealing his location, but then he suddenly saw his sinister appearance and froze, unable to speak.
Li Miao, however, saw Lan Lechuan and frowned: “Lan Left Envoy, it’s actually you who came?”
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Lan Lechuan also looked at Li Miao, squeezing words through his teeth: “Li. Miao.”
“You finally decided to leave the capital.”
Back then, Li Miao could be said to have personally destroyed the Ming Cult’s struggles, killing so many first and second-rate experts within the sect that they had a gap in their ranks, and only slowly recovered in the past fifteen years.
With such a great grudge, Lan Lechuan naturally harbored murderous intent towards Li Miao. In the past fifteen years, Lan Lechuan had visited the capital once, and the two had met.
Enemies meeting again, their eyes burned with hatred.
At this moment, both sides were resolute in their killing intent, and there was nothing more to say. The grievances of the pugilistic world, after all, had to be washed with blood.
Li Miao advanced, his figure flickering, and in an instant, he was in front of Zuo Lishan.
He raised a palm and struck towards Zuo Lishan’s chest.
“Good timing!”
Zuo Lishan let out a strange cry and thrust his sword towards Li Miao’s chest.
He thought he had figured out a way to deal with Li Miao: My moves are not as profound as yours, but your body is not as tough as mine!
At this moment, Zuo Lishan had replenished his Gu worms, and his body’s resilience was even greater than before.
You strike me with a palm, and I will stab you with a sword! And Lan Lechuan is also here to assist. Let’s see who dies first!
Lan Lechuan was not idle either. He pointed two fingers at the void near Li Miao’s ribs, and a sharp true qi shot out, heading straight for Li Miao.
Li Miao, however, smiled. His left hand turned dark green, and he punched towards the sharp true qi shot by Lan Lechuan.
And his other hand struck towards Zuo Lishan’s chest as before!
Boom!!!
Ding—
The two sounds overlapped and erupted, shocking the ears of the captured Mount Tai Sect disciple until they bled.
Thump thump thump thump—
Zuo Lishan retreated violently. He managed to stabilize his stance with great difficulty, but blood was flowing from his seven orifices.
A palm print an inch deep was clearly visible on his chest! If it were an ordinary person, they would have died on the spot!
And Lan Lechuan also looked at Li Miao’s fist, where only some skin and flesh were broken, not even counting as a minor injury.
Not to mention, wisps of smoke were rising from the wound, which was actually healing at a visible rate!
“You! You weren’t even using your full strength that night!”
Zuo Lishan’s eyes were wide with rage, and he screamed madly at Li Miao in disbelief.
And Lan Lechuan also looked at Li Miao: “With your bone structure… you actually chose this path?”
“Have you gone mad cooped up in Shuntian Prefecture?”