Chapter 578: A Series of Bizarre Events

Wei Qing was decisive and forthright as he killed Du Lihuang with a single stroke. He scattered some powder on Du Lihuang’s corpse. Sizzles and green smoke arose from it before long. The corpse melted at a speed visible to the eye, becoming a pool of thick, green water which seeped into the shrubbery. Not a single trace of the corpse was left, with only the noxious fumes indicating something transpired here. Wei Qing now held Du Lihuang’s storage ring in his hand and after inspecting its contents, a satisfied expression forming on his face to see the two earth rank spirit herbs were safely in the storage ring.

Wei Qing grinned. “Although Du Lihuang was a brainless idiot, he was lucky enough to get two earth rank spirit herbs. What a pity, idiots will always be idiots. He didn’t have the fortune to enjoy his luck, so I’ll have to trouble myself and enjoy it in his stead.”

Mu Gaoqi felt disgusted by Wei Qing’s shameless lack of face. He even kept his calm demeanor while killing his comrades like slaughtering chickens, ruthless and vicious. He was a lion wearing a smiling mask, a true hypocrite.

It was next to impossible to guard against such people. They could kill their teammates as though it was nothing, just what depths would they not stoop to? Mu Gaoqi felt his stomach turn; he wanted to vomit.

“Don’t be afraid, junior brother Mu. You’re different from that piece of trash. I killed him because he was insatiably greedy. In fact, the Sacred Sword Palace and your Regal Pill Palace are at odds with each other. Shouldn’t you be grateful? I just killed an enemy of your sect after all!” Wei Qing beamed.

If Mu Gaoqi wasn’t here to watch the whole show, he might’ve been convinced by this performance. But after he’d witnessed how calculating Wei Qing was behind that smile of his, he only felt repulsed by him. “Wei Qing, just kill me already, don’t put on such an act. You even kill your teammates like it’s nothing, what makes you hesitate now?” Mu Gaoqi came to the conclusion it was best to simply ignore anything that came from Wei Qing’s mouth.

Wei Qing smiled. “Junior brother Mu, I’ve already explained to you why I killed Du Lihuang. I actually really dislike the Sacred Sword Palace. I’d much rather be on friendly terms with the Regal Pill Palace. It is no secret I greatly admire junior sister Ling Bi'er. It’s because of her I’ve come looking for you.”

Mu Gaoqi started. “If you’re looking for senior sister Ling, what did you hunt me down?”

“Hunt you down? If I was, wouldn't I have already killed you?” Wei Qing feigned complete innocence.

“So am I also just imagining I’m suffering from the effects of the Spirit Restraint Powder?” Mu Gaoqi asked mockingly.

“I was just putting on an act for Du Lihuang to see. I can give you the antidote at any time, however…”

“However what?” Mu Gaoqi glared at Wei Qing.

Wei Qing smiled leisurely. “Jiang Chen and I have a slight misunderstanding. I’m afraid this misunderstanding will leave a bad impression in junior sister Ling Bi’er’s heart. I’d like you to contact junior brother Jiang Chen so I can personally clear this up.”

Mu Gaoqi laughed heartily. “Wei Qing, do you take me for a three year old?”

“What do you mean?” Wei Qing asked as his face sank.

A cold grimace formed on Mu Gaoqi’s face. “The entire Myriad Domain knows the kind of person you are! You’re a viper, don’t try to cover it up with the face of a gentleman. You can’t find Brother Chen, so you’re using some underhanded method to get to him!”

“Why do you act like I want to hurt him?”

Mu Gaoqi was given a masterclass in acting by Wei Qing who wore a look of complete innocence. “Hmph, that goes without saying! I know you threatened Brother Chen back in the Rippling Mirage Hall to not run into you in Mt. Rippling Mirage. Do I have to explain everything? Like how you want to vent your embarrassment of losing face in front of senior sister Bi’er?! Did you think I didn’t know this?”

Wei Qing acted aggrieved, “Junior brother Gaoqi, do you take me for a narrow-hearted person? I already forgot such small matters of pride. Do you want me to make a heavenly oath? If I’m lying about my intentions for seeking brother Jiang Chen, may I be smote down by thunder and lightning!”

This was quite a vicious oath, but Mu Gaoqi still didn’t buy it. “If it isn’t that, you must have another despicable motive, like the pill recipe for the Longevity Pill or something.” Mu Gaoqi was convinced Wei Qing was a villain; he didn’t believe for a second Wei Qing was being honest.

With a serious tone, Wei Qing spoke, “I can swear I’m not looking for him because of the Longevity Pill, nor for his pill potential or the championship of the Pill Battles!”

Mu Gaoqi refused to let his guard down, showing suspicion to everything Wei Qing said. What is he playing at?

Wei Qing redoubled his efforts when he saw the hesitation on Mu Gaoqi’s face. “Junior bother Gaoqi, I can indeed be a tad forceful in my methods at times, but I’m really not looking for junior brother Jiang Chen to seek revenge on him. On top of that, we have a common enemy in the Sacred Sword Palace, why don’t we shake hands on a truce?”

It couldn’t be denied, Wei Qing’s acting was on point. However, after the show he’d watched earlier, no matter how beautifully Wei Qing painted his words, he wouldn’t fall for them. “Wei Qing, just give up already. I’m not a three year old, don’t bother trying to find Brother Chen through me. If you really want to make amends, there will be plenty of opportunities to do so.”

Wei Qing’s expression hardened when he realized his charade was seen through. “Mu Gaoqi, does this mean you’re turning down a toast only to drink a forfeit? Do you think there’s nothing I can do to you?”

Laughing heartily, Mu Gaoqi said, “Revealing your fox tail already, huh? Finally, your real face! You should wear it more often, it suits you!”

Wei Qing snorted coldly. “You may have a stiff lip now kid, but just wait until I feed you some poison. I’ll have you beg for death. Let’s see if you still have a big mouth then!”

Wei Qing couldn’t track down Jiang Chen. He merely hunted down Mu Gaoqi so he could use him to lure out Jiang Chen. Wei Qing wanted his sky rank spirit herb after all.

After being casually dismissed by Elder Wu Hen, defeat, anger and hatred had slowly filled his being. He only saw one way out: kill Jiang Chen and seize the sky rank spirit herb! He finally caught Mu Gaoqi after expending much time and effort, but his victim now refused to cooperate. Wei Qing was livid with how things had progressed.

He took out a flask of poison with a flip of his hand and walked toward Mu Gaoqi, a cold chuckle resounding in the forest. “Kid, this powder will make you think death isn’t all that bad. Let’s make sure you get a good taste of the feeling. It doesn’t end there, you see, I have all sorts of ways to deal with you. It’ll be a competition, let’s see who wins, your mouth or your bones!”

When he was about to start, he heard faint rustling sounds in the thick growth behind him.

“Who’s there?!” Wei Qing’s ears twitched, his figure wavered, and his eyes locked on a spot behind him. He flinched the moment his eyes found their mark, almost losing his grip on his short sword. A figure stood in the depths of the woods!

That wasn’t the strange part. What was odd was that it was Du Lihuang!

He’d killed Du Lihuang, reduced his corpse into a puddle of ooze, and saw his remains drain into the ground, how was he standing there now?!. It wasn’t as if he was a seed that could take root and grow back to its prime! Terror flashed through Wei Qing’s mind before he snorted coldly, “Smoke and mirrors!”

He shot two arrows from his sleeves at the figure. This was a technique he honed to perfection over twenty years. Their speed was so fast they weren’t any slower than a bolt shot from a crossbow. They sparkled with an eerie green light, making them even more difficult to discern in the woods.

Pfft! Pfft!

The two arrows hit Du Lihuang at the same time, toppling him over into the thick growth. Another figure appeared and dashed to Wei Qing from his left. It was another Du Lihuang! Du Lihuang was like a cockroach that just wouldn’t die. Wei Qing felt his hairs stand on end. Everytime he slayed one, another copy would appear somewhere close by.

The Walkabout Sect had a devious reputation in the Myriad Domain, and due to it, he saw many of the bizarre and unexplainable things in life. Although he was afraid, he still calmed himself down and focused on the matter at hand. He shot two more arrows from his sleeves, accurately hitting the latest Du Lihuang copy; this copy was to his left.

The sound of rustling leaves entered his ears. This time a figure from his right dashed at him from the thick growth. It was Du Lihuang again! Du Lihuang’s face was ashen, as if he was unwilling to accept his death. He instilled a feeling of terror into Wei Qing and Mu Gaoqi.

“Wei Qing, repay me with your life!” Du Lihuang spoke with a haunting voice, giving all who heard it goosebumps. Even one as bold as Wei Qing sucked in a breath in fear.

“Who the heck is it? Come out if you dare! Why play these petty tricks?!” Wei Qing screamed out. He didn’t believe this was Du Lihuang—he had killed Du Lihuang himself, how could he have come back to life?

“Heh heh, Wei Qing, you killed my body, not my soul. I will tell the sect of your sins. Wei Qing, just you wait… wait… wait...” The voice sounded desolate as it trembled and echoed, turning the atmosphere incredibly eerie.

All color had drained from Wei Qing’s face, furiously shooting arrows in all directions. “Die!”

Thud.

Yet another Du Lihuang copy dropped to the ground.

Wei Qing swept his eyes over the thick growth surrounding him, a cold smile plastered on his face. “Come on, show me some more tricks. Show me all you got!”

Anyone who saw him would think Wei Qing was about to succumb to his anger, but instead he was cautiously setting up a plan. Under the pretense of being nervous to the point of losing control over his emotions, he set up a small poison formation, covering an area of up to thirty meters around himself. He knew someone was pretending to be Du Lihuang, and although he hadn’t quite figured out what was going on, he at least had a plan to deal with his enemy. Wei Qing was confident that regardless who the enemy was he had a 90% chance of killing them the moment they entered the formation!

He turned to face Mu Gaoqi, and as he did, his body trembled violently. Mu Gaoqi was immobilized behind him this whole time, or so he thought, because the kid was gone!

Wei Qing’s heart spasmed painfully with embarrassing fright. He extended his consciousness to its limits and searched in all directions. His first reaction was that Mu Gaoqi had taken advantage of the opportunity to escape. However, afflicted by the Spirit Restraint Powder, Mu Gaoqi shouldn’t be able to get far.

After searching up to five kilometers in all directions, Wei Qing still hadn’t found so much as a  of his former prey. How did that kid vanish? How could he possibly travel such a distance in the blink of an eye? My Spirit Restraint Powder isn’t that weak!

All of a sudden, a feeling of foreboding creeped into Wei Qing’s mind. When he thought of all these bizarre events together, a terrifying thought emerged.