Ask the Mirror

Chapter 189: Sudden Chaos

Lifting the curtain, Yu Ci revealed his face.

Seeing him, the newcomer hurried forward two steps, a genial smile on his face: “Fellow Daoist Yu…”

Yu Ci gave a grunt in acknowledgment. “I am attending to the sick and cannot leave. Young Master Zeng, please convey my regards to Brother Ma on my behalf. If the matter is truly urgent, I would trouble Brother Ma to come here himself.”

Having said this, without looking at the man’s expression, he let the curtain fall, sealing himself inside. The man outside stood stunned for a long moment before finally acknowledging the response and heading back.

Inside the carriage, Yu Ci sat with his eyes closed in meditation. 

The man who had just shouted outside was called Zeng Liang. The man himself was unremarkable, but his master, Ma Cheng, was the second most powerful figure in the hunting party, subordinate only to You Gongquan. 

Unlike You Gongquan’s cautious steadiness, Ma Cheng was more adept at socializing, possessed a gregarious nature, and gathered friends and allies freely within the party. His influence was subtly surpassing You Gongquan’s. However, he usually presented a very detached demeanor, showing no intention of vying for the leader’s position.

Given Ma Cheng’s character, it wasn’t long before a laughing voice sounded outside the carriage: “Is Fellow Daoist Yu present?”

“Ah, Brother Ma.”

The form of address between master and disciple was rather confusing, but Yu Ci didn’t mind. He emerged from the carriage compartment, standing on the drawbar. Looking down from his height, he smiled faintly. “What urgent matter brings Brother Ma to seek me out?”

“Not exactly urgent, I merely wished to discuss a business transaction with you, Fellow Daoist.”

Ma Cheng had a broad face, a lion’s nose, and a wide mouth, giving him a rather formidable appearance. He approached on foot, walking alongside the Cloud-Driven Floating Cart that moved faster than a galloping horse. Yet his pace was extremely composed, as if he were taking an ordinary stroll—his cultivation was truly impressive.

Yu Ci smiled faintly but did not respond immediately. Instead, he raised his head and looked around.

Thin mountain mists revealed a winding path through a ridge, its origin unknown, treacherous and steep. An ordinary carriage would certainly be unable to pass, but the Cloud-Driven Floating Cart was different. This vehicle had no wheels; through some sort of talisman formation, it absorbed terrestrial energy, generating a buoyant force that allowed it to glide several feet above the ground. It moved quickly and was exceptionally stable. Unrestricted by terrain, it could follow the hunting party’s cultivators as they climbed mountains and crossed ridges as if on level ground.

The hunting party had two other such carriages. Their purpose was not to carry the sick, but to transport large spoils of war that couldn’t be easily stored in storage rings, to be sold upon arrival at Absolute Cliff City. This somewhat slowed their progress, but no one would argue with potential profit.

Currently, the hunting party’s convoy was heading towards a gentle mountain slope ahead. This area showed some signs of human traffic, frequently used by those traveling between Heavens Rift Valley and Absolute Cliff City, making the path increasingly clear.

“Fellow Daoist Yu?”

Seeing him somewhat distracted, Ma Cheng called out again, his expression perfectly measured. 

Looking at this face, Yu Ci suddenly felt a flicker of impatience. He couldn’t help but wonder, if he had indeed followed Zeng Liang’s earlier summons, what expression would this man be wearing now?

Placing his hand on the outer edge of the carriage, Yu Ci leaned down slightly, meeting Ma Cheng’s gaze directly. He was about to speak when the sounds of an argument erupted from behind, quickly escalating into a fight.

The convoy came to a halt.

Yu Ci and Ma Cheng both looked back. They saw two cultivators in the hunting party, who usually didn’t get along, their faces flushed with anger for some unknown reason. After exchanging insults, they directly drew their swords and started fighting. Such incidents were not uncommon in temporarily assembled hunting parties, and many times, matters like this could disrupt the entire group. At moments like this, the party’s leader needed to intervene.

You Gongquan did indeed appear quickly, shouting “Stop!” as he swiftly inserted himself between the combatants. At that moment, however, Yu Ci stopped looking in that direction. He turned his head, fixing his gaze once more on Ma Cheng’s face.

Ma Cheng was an expert and immediately sensed Yu Ci’s focused attention. Somewhat startled, he turned back. Just then, sword light blazed fiercely over there, and several muffled grunts were compressed into a single sound. Many cultivators in the hunting party gasped in surprise.

Two sharp clangs, a piercing shriek suddenly arose, then the entire scene fell silent.

You Gongquan stood expressionless. 

Of the two “quarreling” cultivators, one toppled sideways to the ground, silent; the other shrieked and retreated, in an instant already ten zhang away, but with a chest wound penetrating straight through his lungs. After retreating another twenty zhang, his body went limp and he collapsed.

In an instant, an “argument” had turned into a bloody tragedy. Many were stunned, but anyone who had watched from beginning to end had no question about You Gongquan’s ruthless action. Before he drew his sword, a dark, iron-black token had flown from his body, moving as if guided by spirit to block a waist-seeking venomous sword from the now-dead man who had fallen sideways, and also deflected a spray of flying nails from the other. Only then did he strike with his sword, killing.

Without a doubt, this was an assassination attempt, but the target was unexpectedly too tough.

Beside the Cloud-Driven Floating Cart, Ma Cheng’s face abruptly darkened. 

At that moment, a voice sounded in his ear: “Generous rewards may produce brave men, but not necessarily good assassins.”

Ma Cheng’s heart leaped. Before he could recover, a voice from the mountain ridge behind them cried out sharply, piling on accusations: “You Gongquan, you slaughtered entire families, r@ped wives and daughters—your day of reckoning has come!”

As the voice arose, over a dozen others joined in chorus, all with ample vital energy, their voices echoing across the mountain ridges.

The cultivators on the mountain path looked up in alarm. They saw figures one after another flying down from the ridges on both sides. Judging by their movement techniques, not one was not a formidable opponent. 

Meanwhile, the drifting mountain mists and thin fog had inexplicably thickened, blown by the mountain wind to engulf the convoy’s location. Everyone’s field of vision suddenly blurred.

The cultivators in the hunting party were all seasoned fighters with practical experience. They immediately sensed something amiss with the mountain mist. Some held their breath, yet detected no toxicity.

You Gongquan let out a sharp cry. Sword qi tore through the clouds and mist, soaring straight up. He intended to take the lead and crush this wave of attackers. But before he had flown ten zhang, a loud, exuberant laugh resounded through the blurred vision:

“You Gongquan! Let me, Fu Long, see if your Dragon Sparrow Sword still holds its former sharpness!”

The atmosphere suddenly trembled, followed by a booming shockwave. The mist scattered in one area, revealing two figures colliding and striking, then immediately tangling together, engaged in a fierce battle at low altitude.

The moment this Fu Long’s laughing voice sounded, the more experienced cultivators in the hunting party were all shocked. 

This man was renowned among the scattered cultivators of the Three Great Northern Lakes region. His cultivation had once reached the upper tier of Core Refinement, but due to his aggressive behavior, he offended Adept Da Fang of the Pure Void Virtue Sect. The adept administered a minor punishment, striking him with one finger, sending him fleeing for his life, and causing his cultivation to drop two consecutive levels.

Though utterly disgraced, Adept Da Fang was one of the few True Immortal Realm cultivators in the Jade Cleansing Alliance. Escaping from him caused Fu Long’s reputation to rise instead of fall; he gained a modest fame throughout the northern cultivation world.

A man’s reputation is like a tree’s shadow—its influence is always significant. Furthermore, although Fu Long was now only at the initial Core Refinement stage, his experience and insight from higher realms augmented his combat prowess considerably. Comparing You Gongquan to him, anyone would view the former as inferior.

Ma Cheng stabilized his mood. Despite unexpected occurrences, the overall situation hadn’t changed drastically. The shouts from the mountain ridge, the surging mist, Fu Long’s challenge—all served the same purpose: to make the vast majority of cultivators in the hunting party stand idly by, isolating You Gongquan.

Though the mist was thick, proximity allowed him to see this side relatively clearly. Seizing the moment, he instructed his subordinates through some channel to shout from the periphery: “We only execute the heinous You Gongquan—the rest will not be harmed!”

Another commotion stirred within the hunting party. This tactic was actually quite obvious, yet people’s delicate psychology always led them to fall for it time and again.

Right beside him, strands of sword qi began to flow, quickly forming an inwardly focused qi barrier that sealed off the Cloud-Driven Floating Cart. The carriage remained silent.

Ma Cheng quickly averted his gaze, not letting anyone see the smile on his face. He had a firm grasp on the mindset of most experts in the hunting party—there was absolutely no chance anyone would help You Gongquan now. 

Only Yu Ci, on the nearby floating carriage, was unpredictable. Yet now, this man clearly intended to protect himself and stay out of it—it couldn’t be better.

His earlier perception of oddness was probably just due to this man’s sharp eyes and clear mind. Heh heh, self-styled clever fellows—were there so few in this world?

Seizing the opportunity, he lowered his voice: “Fellow Daoist Yu, the situation is unclear. We should…”

Before he could finish, he cried out sharply and fell backward.

Even faster than his reaction, sword light blazed. 

An icy chill descended directly from above his head, sweeping across his throat and chest, nearly splitting him in two. Fortunately, a dark light flickered. 

Amidst a humming vibration, the sword qi was blocked outside his body.

This was an “Black Gold Dharma Token” on Ma Cheng’s person, which activated automatically in danger, shielding its owner from fatal external attacks. It was his most precious protective spiritual artifact, and now it had saved his life!

But it had only saved his life. The Black Gold Dharma Token could block the sword qi, but it couldn’t block the fierce killing intent that exploded with the sword qi. That killing intent, like a red-hot needle, stabbed straight into his brain, causing his entire body to convulse violently—his Divine Spirit was already wounded!

Forgetting his dignity, Ma Cheng rolled on the ground, turned over, and fled, cursing furiously in his heart: The Zhao brothers have ruined me!

He had asked the three men who had fought Yu Ci about his background. The first one, knocked unconscious instantly, didn’t count. The Zhao brothers’ accounts were relatively consistent: both said Yu Ci’s sword style was fierce, but even more formidable was his demonic art that seized people’s souls. Caught off guard, the brothers’ minds had been shaken, allowing Yu Ci to abandon his sword and use his legs, kicking them flying and leaving them utterly humiliated.

But now, experiencing it himself, Ma Cheng only wished he could spray his rage and terror mixed with spittle onto their faces: Your mother’s demonic art! This was clearly the superior sword path of transforming sword intent from void to reality, shaking and seizing the soul. Just this one sword was an unmatched secret transmission technique that these loose cultivators wouldn’t even dare to imagine. During his time in the Three Great Northern Lakes, he had only seen it on cultivators from the major sects!

Who could tell him, just what background did this Yu Ci have?

Midair, You Gongquan was already locked in battle with Fu Long. 

True Baleful Essence flowed, spreading over a square li. Those of slightly weaker cultivation felt a great wind touching their bodies like knife cuts. 

The cultivators flying down from the mountain ridge were now within arm’s reach. Precisely at this moment, second-in-command Ma Cheng encountered his own upheaval. Most cultivators in the hunting party felt dazed and confused, their battle spirit already reduced by seventy percent, thoughts of self-preservation emerging.

Just then, someone shrieked: “Leave none alive! Kill!”

The shout jolted the cultivators of the hunting party. 

On the other side, atop the Cloud-Driven Floating Cart, Yu Ci’s voice rang out sternly: “Yu Ci of the Transcendence Sect is here! What bandits dare act recklessly in this place?”