Chapter 1003: Heavenly Human Five Decays

The disheveled man finally stirred, shaking his head to fling his hair to one side, revealing a face that looked quite young, probably in his early twenties.

"Someone really came?" His tone was very weak, but it sounded young as well.

"Who are you!" Gu Qingyi showed no sign of relaxing, as he recalled the bedtime ghost stories his master had told him as a child—ancient usurpers always appeared young like this, and weakness was a key trait.

"You're too weak to save me. Go back..." The young man eyed the person below the totem and, seeing how young he was, suddenly let out a long sigh.

"Alright." Gu Qingyi turned and walked away. Staying away from trouble was, in his view, the key to surviving on this Sheng Mi Xukong Dao.

Such a decisive about-face clearly caught the man on the totem off guard.

After a pause, he raised his voice a bit, adding a note of pleading:

"Friend, if you can, please help pass on a message to Sheng Shen Dian Tang and have them send someone over quickly."

The young man seemed unwilling to give up. As soon as the words left his mouth, a hint of hope flashed in his eyes, and he added from afar:

"Also, say that the scout has made a major discovery. It's best if anyone below Ban Sheng doesn't come—it's just sending them to their death..."

Below Ban Sheng are all just sacrifices?

Gu Qingyi's steps halted abruptly, his heart sinking to the bottom.

No!

That's not the point!

The point is... Sheng Shen Dian Tang!

Sheng Shen Dian Tang only rose to become the top power on the continent after the Lian Ling era began. For this guy to say the words "Sheng Shen Dian Tang," it meant he was likely not some ancient elder.

Gu Qingyi turned back, saying coldly: "Forget about passing on a message. I'm probably the second person mysteriously transported here besides you. I can't even find Sheng Shen Dian Tang, let alone figure out how to contact the outside world."

The young man bound to the totem gave a self-mocking smile: "So, you're just another 'lucky one'..."

Gu Qingyi fell silent for a moment but couldn't help his curiosity.

As fellow unfortunates cast adrift, he didn't want to end up as another ornament on the totem. After hesitating, he asked: "Who exactly are you?"

Rain pattered down steadily.

The man on the totem shook his wet hair, his gaze fixing on the sword in Gu Qingyi's arms, and suddenly, a light returned to his eyes.

"The top of the Ming Jian Bang, the Xie Jian Yue Lian?" This time, the surprise in his voice was impossible to hide.

"Mm." Gu Qingyi nodded.

"You're Gu Qingyi? From Zang Jian Zong?" The man seemed to finally make out the face of the sword-bearer, his eyes widening a bit.

"Yes."

"Good, very good!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the totem—it was the laughter of hope: "Now you have the qualification to know my name..."

"So, who are you?"

"Ling Bu Shou Zuo, Yu Ling Di!"

Gu Qingyi's pupils shrank, and he froze on the spot.

Yu Ling Di?

How could Yu Ling Di be locked up on Xukong Dao?

In the Yun Lun mountain range, near the ninth Long Mai, a crack suddenly appeared in the void, and two figures stepped out.

The two were dressed in similar styles, wearing masks, long robes, and hoods—one orange and one green, one male and one female.

The orange-masked person was gaunt and tall, like a skeleton frame. When the wind blew through his robes, it clearly outlined his emaciated, skin-and-bones figure.

His voice was eerie and low, with a hoarse, gritty quality, like the wail of a ghost, enough to make babies cry and adults break out in goosebumps.

Perhaps they had discussed something interesting in the spatial turbulence, because as soon as they landed, the orange-masked person's ghastly laughter followed:

"Cackle...

"Water Ghost? Who's this character, and when did you owe him so many favors, Meng Po?"

The green-robed masked person had a graceful and elegant figure; even with the mask and robe, her curves were hard to conceal.

After landing, she subconsciously kept a certain distance from her companion before suppressing a shiver and replying with a bitter smile:

"I don't know. I only know he's from Ye Mao's group.

"Honestly, I was surprised he sent me a message at this special time.

"But what he said should be true. We absolutely have to be careful on this mission."

The orange-masked person let out a couple of strange laughs, tilted his head, and said eerily: "No 'shoulds' about it. Huang Quan has already messaged me... The cooperation is set. This time, we have another task."

"It's really happening?" The woman, addressed as Meng Po, sounded quite surprised.

"Mm." The orange-masked person just nodded, saying no more.

The scene fell silent.

Meng Po felt a bit uncomfortable with the quiet.

On this internal Yan Wang operation, she was forced to team up with the person she least wanted to work with.

The one before her was the longest-serving member in Yan Wang, following Huang Quan, and her senior.

No one knew his exact level of cultivation, but they knew he was extremely powerful and deeply trusted by Huang Quan, placing him on a different level from the other Yan Wang members.

In theory, partnering with someone this strong could teach her a lot.

But every member of Yan Wang avoided him like the plague.

Because his abilities were too bizarre, with a special power that could cause people to die mysteriously.

Even without fighting, just chatting too much or getting too close could bring bad luck, leading to all sorts of accidents and unexplained deaths.

Every Yan Wang member had a code name.

Meng Po thought her own code name suited her abilities well.

With things like "Wu You Tang" and "Wang Qing Shui," she excelled in intelligence work.

But compared to the one before her, it was like a small trick next to a grand mastery.

Tian Ren Wu Sui!

That was the code name of the orange-robed masked person—mysterious and unpredictable, just like his abilities.

The silence dragged on...

Accompanied by the tap-tap of footsteps, they kept moving forward...

After walking silently for a while, Meng Po suddenly felt her body growing hot.

As a Tai Xu realm cultivator with a pure body, she wasn't affected by her surroundings, so she immediately sensed something was wrong.

Subtly, she pressed her arm against her side and felt a slight coolness under her armpit—it was the sign of sweat.

"This..."

Meng Po was startled and quickly looked down at her robes.

She hadn't walked on any muddy paths; she had just crossed from spatial turbulence.

Yet, somehow, her robes were now stained with dirt and grime, as if she had trudged through mud after rain and let it dry under the sun.

"Liang Xiang!

"I've already shown two of the signs. Death isn't far off!"

Meng Po nearly recoiled in terror, wanting to burst away from "Tian Ren Wu Sui."

But her mind flashed back to Huang Quan's extra instructions when assigning the task:

"Remember, Tian Ren's abilities are very special. People who go on missions with him usually don't die at the enemy's hands but in 'inadvertent' ways.

"You can't let him focus all his interest or attention on you, but you also can't let his mind go completely blank, allowing his bad luck to run wild.

"Because both outcomes lead to the same result: you'll die mysteriously.

"And, when you start showing signs of Tian Ren Wu Sui, you mustn't let him notice, because his gaze will make your bad luck grow wildly.

"This is all unintentional influence from him; it has nothing to do with his will. Actually... he's a pretty decent person..."

"How do I counter the influence?" Back then, Meng Po's only thought was to refuse the task, but she knew it was impossible, so she sought a backup plan.

"I've tested it countless times and only come up with one method. It might not be the only one, but since there are no more test subjects, we'll have to make do." Huang Quan sounded helpless.

"What method?"

"Gan Liao."

Gan Liao... Meng Po couldn't even recall the expression on her face when she heard those two abrupt words from Huang Quan.

But Huang Quan treated it with utmost seriousness, earnestly advising:

"You have to keep chatting with him, but not about topics that interest him too much. That way, he won't be too interested in you, yet his mind won't be completely empty.

"And when he starts speaking, the symptoms of Tian Ren Wu Sui seem to fade slowly... um, seem to...

"But you can't chat in a way that annoys him or gets him too excited.

"So, you have to maintain a state where the conversation is awkwardly balanced—not so awkward that it's unbearable for him, but enough to spark a faint interest in his boredom, with responses coming sporadically.

"Only then can you survive."

Meng Po couldn't understand why she had to accept such a maddening task.

But it was a mission from Huang Quan!

She had no choice but to try keeping her tone calm and not let her expression falter as she asked: "How do I grasp this... balance?"

Huang Quan pondered for a long time before replying: "You're in intelligence work; you're better at chatting with people than I am. You can handle the balance."

Meng Po wasn't satisfied and didn't want to die, so she clung to the last straw: "Tian Ren has followed Huang Quan for so long and you've withstood his Tian Ren Wu Sui. You must have some special techniques to teach me, right?"

After a silence, Huang Quan said: "I generally don't go on missions with him."

Damn it, damn it, damn it!

Recalling all this only made her more frustrated.

And in just that brief moment of thought, Meng Po felt a faint odor emanating from her body, which, as an elegant woman who always carried a natural fragrance, made her even more distraught.

"Tian Ren Qianbei..."

With no other option, she decided to go all in: "Did Huang Quan tell you what our second task is?"

"Cackle..." Tian Ren Wu Sui sneered, glancing over. "Of course. Otherwise, why would we be here?"

Don't look at me!

Meng Po felt a chill run up her spine from that eerie gaze, but she suppressed her shock and anger, forcing calm as she said: "But I still don't know. Could you give me a hint, Tian Ren Qianbei?"

"There's nothing to hide; you're my companion."

Tian Ren Wu Sui thought for a moment and said hoarsely: "This time, Huang Quan is cooperating with Ye Mao to slaughter a Sheng. Our goal is to act as bait, go to Gu Yin Ya, and lure that Ban Sheng into action."

"Ah?"

Meng Po was struck like lightning.

I haven't even shaken off my own Tian Ren Wu Sui signs, and death is looming—how can I qualify as bait to hook a Ban Sheng?

No wonder the mission details weren't shared with me from the start...

Did I offend Huang Quan somewhere? Why target me like this?

I only gave out a contact method—do I deserve this kind of retaliation?

Oh no!

I also gave Water Ghost the exact locations of the Yan Wang members...

Meng Po suddenly realized something, closing her eyes heavily and whispering: "What about our first task? Are we still doing it?"

"Of course we are." Tian Ren Wu Sui seemed to have memory issues as well; he thought again before pulling out several portraits from his robe and looking at them on his own:

"The bait operation starts in half a day. We have plenty of time now to find the people in these portraits.

"As per Huang Quan's instructions, the Lei Jia Tong power should have appeared on this little girl...

He pointed at the portrait, his eyes showing keen interest. "Mu Xiao Gong—such a nice name, isn't it?"

Where's the appeal in that name?

Your interests are as twisted as your abilities!

Meng Po had a thousand complaints she wanted to voice, but she wasn't like this before. Being around Tian Ren Wu Sui made every word of his prompt her to shout in retort.

"Dong!"

As she was about to speak, her heart suddenly twinged, and Meng Po let out a muffled "Uh."

"What's wrong?" Tian Ren Wu Sui looked up, his dark eyes like a reaper beginning to claim a life.

Meng Po's heart raced, feeling the pull of death intensify.

But she had to act nonchalant, staring at the portraits to divert his attention: "Nothing, just thinking about finding Lei Jia Tong and joining the Sheng slaughter operation... it's a bit exciting."

"Cackle..." Tian Ren Wu Sui laughed eerily and nodded sincerely. "I'm excited too."

Mine's fake excitement, but yours is pure perversion!

Meng Po didn't expect her feigned words to spark Tian Ren Wu Sui's genuine interest. Desperate to normalize things, she pointed at the portrait and said:

"This Mu Xiao Gong was involved in the Bi An Hua Kai operation but lost the 'Yin Yang Xue Tong' because of it—hardly worth it.

"She must have someone backing her, at least a special expert from Xu Shao's side. With high-level protection, we shouldn't approach her directly. Instead, we should shift targets and strike from the side."

"You make a good point." Tian Ren Wu Sui nodded in agreement.

Who knew you'd be so reasonable... Meng Po was surprised that this powerful Tian Ren Qianbei wasn't blindly arrogant.

But she didn't dare dwell on it, fearing it would pique his interest. She gestured for him to switch portraits—careful not to touch anything he'd handled—and continued:

"This girl is interesting. I've kept an eye on her; she's quite peculiar. But no matter how she disguises herself, her signature is obvious. We can use that as a breakthrough."

"Xiao Tong Lu?" Tian Ren Wu Sui noticed what she was pointing at from a distance.

"Yes." Meng Po nodded, subtly increasing the distance between them. "Every time she goes out, she carries this small copper furnace, even when disguised. I've always wondered... why?"

Tian Ren Wu Sui fell into thought for a long while before saying: "Fishing? Maybe she's actually very capable and using this inconspicuous detail to draw the attention of all her enemies, waiting for them to take the bait and then strike back?"

Hiss...

Meng Po drew in a sharp breath.

It wasn't that she agreed, but she was shocked that Tian Ren Qianbei was this cautious, not underestimating even a minor Zong Shi.

In fact, he treated everyone with such extreme equality!

"It's possible, but probably not to that extent..." Meng Po didn't know whether to agree or disagree, so she gave a vague response.

Just then, Tian Ren Wu Sui suddenly looked up toward the distance.

"Is that her? She looks a bit similar..."

"Who?"

Meng Po looked up and was surprised to see a woman walking slowly from the rocky wilderness in the distance.

She had an ordinary appearance with no special features, but her white clothes were as pure as snow, and she exuded a serene and composed air, like a snow lotus on Tian Shan—always blooming gracefully in her own world, undisturbed by the outside.

Most importantly, in her left hand, she held a small copper furnace with faint sandalwood incense burning.

Its shape matched the one in the portrait exactly!