Chapter 116: Repay Him in His Own Coin, Doubled

On Xiaoqiong Peak.

Fire swords streaked across the sky, fu arrays whirled rapidly, and two figures engaged in an intense aerial battle.

Today, Youqin Xuanya was clad in an ice-blue dress, as beautiful and graceful as ever.

In front of the thatched hut, the little shishu and her little shimei sat side-by-side at a low table, both tilting their heads back to watch, with snacks and tea readily available.

Whenever Youqin Xuanya flew overhead, the little shishu would exclaim,

"Wow!"

"Xiao Ya is wearing that today!"

Ling'e quickly interrupted, "Shishu!"

"Ah, hee-hee, Xiao Ya is just as beautiful as yesterday."

In the air, Li Changshou smiled as he activated the fu arrays, relying on agile movements to evade, making it appear as though he was evenly matched with Youqin Xuanya, but in reality...

He was entirely on the defensive.

Youqin Xuanya followed Jiu's instructions, using only eighty percent of her cultivation but deploying all her treasures and treating every sparring session with utmost seriousness.

The fu in the arrays were consumables. Though inexpensive, using them daily still caused Li Changshou a bit of heartache.

For their small peak with limited resources, every bit of material was precious!

However, this minor expenditure was worthwhile.

Near the border of Beijulu Continent and Nanzhanbu Continent, above a dense forest near a market town.

A cloaked figure flew swiftly on a cloud, soon followed by another figure...

The two silhouettes were remarkably similar.

The figure in the lead was naturally the paper effigy disguised as Kuai Si Daoist by Li Changshou.

The one behind was the real Kuai Si Daoist, whom Li Changshou had never ceased monitoring.

After waiting for more than a decade...

This pursuit spanning countless miles...

The target was lured out so effortlessly that several strategies Li Changshou had carefully planned for a long time never even got a chance to be used.

There was no sense of a worthy adversary.

Although the opponent looked down on him, Li Changshou held the opponent in high regard.

Li Changshou had not set up ambushes or arrays in this direction, as that might trigger the opponent's spiritual awareness.

Similarly, Li Changshou was suppressing his own killing intent, thinking about friendly interactions with the opponent to avoid any premonitions.

Glancing at the detection stones, Li Changshou saw that the time to strike had come, as few were paying attention to them now...

Not yet, one more cautious step.

His immortal sense ceaselessly scanned the surrounding hundreds of miles, from the sky above to a thousand zhang underground.

Li Changshou focused his mind completely, constantly calculating and deducing.

One paper effigy was here to lure the snake from its hole, while another was farther away in a different direction, releasing a third paper effigy and eight original paper figures to quietly set up the main battlefield.

Half of the treasures he had accumulated over the years from alchemy, peak allowances, and sect stipends were invested here.

To give Ling'e a sense of involvement, Li Changshou had deducted a few months of her allowance, letting her exchange it for materials to refine the array foundations.

Of course, Ling'e had no idea what her senior brother was using those materials for; as long as he needed them, she was happy to help.

Li Changshou liked to control the initiative but disliked actively inviting karma.

Today, by taking the initiative to act, Li Changshou had already prepared a comprehensive plan and contingency measures.

Though he couldn't claim a hundred percent certainty—after all, this daoist was a disciple of Renjiao—the chances now that the opponent had taken the bait were a solid ninety-eight percent.

The two figures flew a thousand miles, with Kuai Si Daoist's killing intent toward the one impersonating him growing stronger.

It was clear he had committed his share of murder and robbery, as well as trailing like a stalker; he maintained a careful distance while following, his experience evident.

After flying twelve hundred miles, Kuai Si Daoist quietly increased his speed, still concealing his aura fluctuations, and stealthily closed in from the side rear.

Just as Kuai Si Daoist was about to strike at the paper effigy disguised as him,

Li Changshou noticed that the detection stones showed no immortal sense probing anymore.

Clearly, such acts of trailing and killing were commonplace in this mixed human-demon market town.

The paper effigy posing as Kuai Si Daoist secretly opened a porcelain bottle and flew several hundred zhang forward before suddenly turning to look behind.

From the side rear, a thousand zhang away,

Kuai Si Daoist frowned and stopped.

But then, Kuai Si Daoist chuckled coldly and slowly ascended to the same height, facing the impostor.

"Daoist friend," Kuai Si Daoist said indifferently, "impersonating me and causing a stir—don't you owe me an explanation? Since we've formed this karma, I'm afraid we'll have to settle it today."

The fake Kuai Si's expression changed, and he slowly retreated in the air, cupping his hands toward Kuai Si Daoist. "Daoist friend, please don't blame me. I did this merely for convenience, with no intent to offend."

"For convenience?"

Kuai Si Daoist advanced on his cloud, his hand behind his back already gripping a long sword and a flying shuttle, channeling immortal power into his treasures.

The fake Kuai Si showed a hint of panic and said, "Daoist friend, I only impersonated you and didn't tarnish your reputation. Isn't that enough?"

"Heh," Kuai Si Daoist narrowed his eyes, and the flying shuttle vanished from his hand.

This flying shuttle seemed capable of concealment, now circling around to approach the fake Kuai Si's back silently.

Li Changshou smirked; this guy was quite the expert at underhanded tactics.

Well... why say "quite"...

Unfortunately, while Kuai Si Daoist had this flying shuttle, he lacked a bit of vigilance.

Poisoning in the air was not easy and required time, making it prone to detection.

But now, with the two figures one retreating and one advancing, and Kuai Si Daoist diverting most of his attention to controlling the flying shuttle...

Suddenly, a whooshing sound broke the air as the flying shuttle appeared behind the fake Kuai Si, carrying fierce flames and smashing toward the back of his head.

Kuai Si Daoist smirked coldly, but that smirk froze on his lips.

The aura of the one impersonating him suddenly surged, from early-stage Zhenxian realm to late-stage Zhenxian realm!

As the flying shuttle was about to hit the back of his head, a large hand reached back, immortal power gathering in the palm to seize the shuttle and extinguish its flames.

"Daoist friend," the fake Kuai Si said coldly, gripping the vibrating flying shuttle, "it seems we must settle this today."

Kuai Si Daoist's face changed, and without a word, he retreated urgently!

But before he could turn, his vision went dark, and he plummeted headfirst...

His primordial spirit grew hazy, his mind interrupted.

The fake Kuai Si quickly flew forward, one hand holding the flying shuttle and the other grabbing Kuai Si Daoist, instantly sealing his cultivation throughout his body.

They plummeted into the forest below and used earth escape to vanish.

The first step... went off smoothly.

Though it was just a sneak attack on a Zhenxian, it involved careful acting, scripting, calculating the opponent's reactions, and executing perfect poisoning techniques.

A moment later,

In a remote, array-shielded valley two thousand five hundred miles from the market town.

Pain, excruciating pain in the primordial spirit...

Kuai Si Daoist awoke from his stupor, feeling as if he had endured a horrific nightmare, like someone had rifled through his memories.

In reality, from the moment he was knocked out to now, only about the time of half an incense stick had passed, and he had indeed been subjected to a soul search.

For safety's sake, Li Changshou had to confirm whether this was the one who harmed his master.

The soul search method, though against the natural order, was not hard to master; Li Changshou had learned it from an ancient scroll fragment.

Better to search the soul than to kill the wrong person.

But not searching was fine; once he did...

This mild-mannered, refined, and profound young man of Renjiao very nearly turned this guy to ash on the spot!

Though Duixian Gate was just a mediocre sect, it had many disciples, and a few scum could be expected.

Swift battles and immediate escape were always Li Changshou's strict standards.

But this time, because he had set up isolating arrays here in advance, needed to leave some "evidence," and wanted to give the enemy a taste of unpleasantness, he spent a little more time.

Now, Kuai Si Daoist had awakened and completed his internal examination.

"No... my primordial spirit..."

Kuai Si Daoist cried out feebly, his fairly upright middle-aged face pale as death; his eyes were first vacant, then filled with panic.

His primordial spirit had withered!

He didn't understand what had happened—his primordial spirit had directly dropped in realm, shrunken and weak, with barely any immortal power left in his body.

Nine long nails were driven into his dao body, sealing his purple mansion, mystic orifices, and celestial spirit among other vital points, sources of the intense pain.

Moreover, clumps of earth vein turbidity had invaded his immortal body, tainting his immortal light, and the three dao flowers that had yet to bloom were now wilted.

In that instant, Kuai Si Daoist knew he had been ruined.

His dao foundation was completely destroyed!

Kuai Si Daoist's eyes turned red as he raged, "Who are you? Who is it? So vicious!"

A figure suddenly emerged from the ground ahead, dressed in black with a narrow face, surrounded by swirling black qi, and he coldly smiled at Kuai Si Daoist.

Kuai Si Daoist was startled and immediately recognized him, cursing furiously, "It's you!

You took my spirit stones and treasures, so why betray me and attack like this?"

This was none other than the centipede spirit that Li Changshou and Jiu Wu had casually eliminated in the brothel that day.

Of course, it was now another paper effigy disguised by Li Changshou.

Since he had never heard the centipede spirit speak, Li Changshou could only rasp, "The other side offered more."

"I shouldn't have trusted someone like you! What could a mere turbid immortal give you?"

Suddenly, Kuai Si Daoist sensed something amiss.

He had never revealed his face in front of the centipede spirit.

Rumble!

Thunder echoed overhead, and Kuai Si Daoist's face grew even paler as he looked up; dark clouds had blanketed the sky.

These clouds pressed low, with lightning flickering within, and waves of spiritual energy gathering around, the lightning intensifying.

On a patch of grass nearby, a large hand reached out and retrieved a previously placed sound-image sphere.

—This sound-image sphere was to prevent any fallout from escalating and alerting Renjiao experts to divine the events.

Though the probability was extremely low, it had to be considered.

The paper effigy disguised as the centipede spirit chuckled coldly and slowly stepped back, his features gradually shifting, and he even adjusted his face in front of Kuai Si Daoist, transforming into Kuai Si Daoist's appearance.

Kuai Si Daoist snarled, "You!"

"Look up," the paper effigy pointed to the sky.

In the array, Kuai Si Daoist looked up as the dark clouds erupted in flashes, and countless thunderbolts burst forth, merging into a single thunder pillar in the air!

Like a heavenly river bursting its banks, like a sea of thunder surging.

The lightning illuminated Kuai Si Daoist, who was kneeling with his head raised, and swallowed him whole.

The Sanjue Heavenly Thunder Array!

This was the most powerful thunder array Li Changshou knew how to set up, and the one closest to the tribulations of immortality.

He had already refined the array foundations and disks; here, he merely placed them quickly and used a few small spirit-gathering arrays to rapidly accumulate spiritual energy.

The array had three waves of thunder.

The first thunder pillar struck, and with no immortal power to resist, Kuai Si Daoist's immortal body exploded, his primordial spirit tore apart, and the ground was blasted open.

While he was still barely conscious and in pain, Li Changshou triggered the second wave of thunder to erupt, and the thunder pillar struck again.

Li Changshou thought it a pity that this wasn't a true immortality tribulation, lacking that kind of power to instantly reduce one to ashes.

After the third wave of heavenly thunder, only half a charred corpse remained of Kuai Si Daoist.

With his mind linked to the paper effigy, Li Changshou now stood before the corpse, silent, thinking to himself,

'With your dao foundation destroyed and facing heavenly thunder, you must have felt it, right?'

With a wave of his sleeve, several paper figures tumbled out, quickly clearing the array remnants.

Three soul-capturing pearls were tossed out, frantically absorbing the lingering soul from the remains.

This time, there was no recitation of scriptures for deliverance.

Li Changshou wouldn't give him any chance of reincarnation.

As compensation, Li Changshou first burned it with Samadhi True Flame, then with Chilling Ghost Fire.

Still uneasy, he released two soul-devouring insects, letting them linger near the pile of ashes on the ground.

Finally, he incinerated the insects with Samadhi True Flame as well.

Li Changshou scattered the ashes on the ground, a hint of relief in his eyes, his inner thoughts feeling more at ease, faintly gaining some insight.

But this time, he had to refuse any sudden enlightenment, as there were still many aftermath matters to handle.

Killing the enemy was easy; handling the consequences required meticulous arrangement.