Chapter 666: How to Face It?

Ever since the first Anxin Hotel live broadcast, Lu Xing had served as a pawn for the Two-Faced Buddha. It was safe to say he was my nemesis.

The deadly puzzle in the dense fog of Henshan, the brief clash in Century Amusement Park, and the life-and-death struggle on the Lanjiang Dam—these memories flashed through my mind, and my eyes beneath the mask quickly grew bloodshot.

The conflict between Lu Xing and me was irreconcilable. I ached to kill him even in my dreams.

Gripping a Precept Blade, Lu Xing was dressed casually, standing between Mr. Paper and me as if nothing were amiss.

Perhaps because it was so dark, Lu Xing didn't recognize me right away.

He stared at the mask on my face, pinching the Precept Blade between two fingers, and said carelessly, "You've got a lot of nerve to scheme against the Buddha."

Since our last encounter, Lu Xing seemed to have grown even more wicked and ruthless. An extremely dangerous aura radiated from him, sharp as a needle point, making anyone reluctant to come near.

Not wanting to expose myself, I kept my mouth shut and used the Judging Eye to size him up.

Back when we fell from the dam, I had stabbed him in the stomach. He had been gravely injured. Yet, in the short amount of time since, not a single trace of his wounds could be seen on him.

While I observed Lu Xing, he was also watching me.

"Wearing a mask? What are you too afraid to show?" Lu Xing grinned, his tone extremely strange. "You give me a very familiar feeling, which is odd. Half the people I know are the Buddha's disciples, and I've already killed the other half. So where did you pop out from?"

I kept my mouth shut. I knew perfectly well that Lu Xing was fishing for information; the moment I spoke, whatever I said would expose my identity.

In truth, I was somewhat hesitant. Killing Mr. Paper wasn't my utmost priority; my main goal was to find the Live Show Phone and the Daoist texts about the Dream Realm on Chen Jiuge's corpse.

Initially, I had wanted to kill Mr. Paper because doing so wouldn't cost me too much. But Lu Xing's appearance had ruined my plan. It would be far too difficult to kill Mr. Paper now—I would have to deal with both of them at once.

Seeming to notice my hesitation, Mr. Paper hurriedly called out to Lu Xing, then ducked into the depths of the dense forest, decisively fleeing.

"To push Mr. Paper to this extent... you're the first one I've seen do it." Gripping the Precept Blade, Lu Xing backed away. The smile on his face remained fixed, pulling at the scars covering half his face and making him look utterly terrifying. "Until we meet again. One day, I'll tear off that mask and throw it on your tombstone."

The darkness surged, swallowing Lu Xing in the blink of an eye as the two of them left, one after the other.

The night breeze rustled the branches as I slowly unclenched my fists. "One day I'll butcher you. Not for myself, but just to give Xiaofeng justice."

The tremors in the earth grew increasingly obvious. The Diagnostic and Treatment Building and the Rehabilitation Center were still relatively stable, but the Third Ward had begun to tilt entirely. The ground beneath the building had been hollowed out. Now, without the protection of the formation, and coupled with the Uncorrupted Bone and the sect cultivators fighting furiously, its collapse was only a matter of time.

I picked up the white piece of paper sealing Wang Shi from the ground. With no time to examine it closely, I rushed into the equipment room and dragged out Chen Jiuge's corpse.

Before I could even run a few meters, a thunderous boom erupted behind me. Looking back, the building's glass shattered floor by floor as the entire structure began to sink.

"It's collapsing." Dragging Chen Jiuge's corpse, I ran straight into the woods without stopping. Watching the crumbling building, my mind raced. 'The sect cultivators are battling the Uncorrupted Bone right now. With the building collapsing, it's highly likely they'll all be buried alive down there.'

'If they're all dead, what will they use to hunt the Ghost Mother?' I adhered to the principle of "I Will Not Attack Unless Attacked." I had never actively provoked the Five Great Upper Sects; they had brought all of this upon themselves.

With the Third Ward collapsing, the sect cultivators were likely doomed, but the Uncorrupted Bone was very likely to escape. After all, it was a monster out of legend; it couldn't be judged by common sense.

'I still have a piece of the Uncorrupted Bone's spine on me. If it wants to be whole, it will definitely come looking for me.' Even all those sect cultivators put together were no match for the Uncorrupted Bone. On my own, it was even more impossible to fight it, but that didn't mean I had absolutely no chance of winning. 'Gu Tongtong possesses the White Ancestor bloodline. If the Uncorrupted Bone wants to heal its injuries, it might go looking for her. I can use Gu Tongtong as bait and team up with Daoist master Wan to lay a trap. Furthermore, Chen Jiuge's consciousness is also inside the Uncorrupted Bone. If I bring the Plush Bear here, will it affect him to some extent? After all, their game of hide-and-seek hasn't ended yet.'

I shook my head, dispelling the thoughts from my mind. Crouching beside Chen Jiuge's corpse, I pulled open his Daoist robe.

'Where's the Live Show Phone?' I searched him carefully, only to find that everything related to the Live Show on Chen Jiuge's body had vanished without a trace!

'When I first saw Chen Jiuge's corpse, it wasn't in its original position, and his Daoist robe was already undone. Someone searched his body ahead of time. Who could it be?' It could be Mr. Paper, or it could be the other streamers who participated in the live broadcast with me last night.

'That streamer wearing the Paper Doll Mask is highly suspicious.' Even now, I still wasn't certain exactly how many streamers had participated in last night's live broadcast. 'Once I finish dealing with these matters, I'll take a trip to Jinghai City. I might be able to find out something there.'

Tearing off the Daoist robe, I found a cloth pocket sewn into the inner lining of Chen Jiuge's clothes. I ripped it open and found a few medicine bottles inside.

'Dream-Returning Spirit-Condensing Pill? Spirit-Calming Powder? Soul Nourishing Pill...' Each medicine bottle was labeled with corresponding characters.

'These medicines look very unusual. They seem to be effective for the spiritual sense.' Getting injured in the Dream Realm damaged one's spirit and will; on a deeper level, it damaged the soul. The medicines I got from Chen Jiuge were perfectly suited to heal trauma to the spiritual sense, which meant they should also be useful for Sakurako.

'When Chen Jiuge entered dreams to cultivate, it was inevitable that he'd get injured in the dreams too. He probably kept these medicines for himself.' I carefully tucked the medicine bottles away and continued searching Chen Jiuge's corpse. Deep inside his Daoist robe, I found a few more blue Dao Talismans.

'These look very familiar. Back in the Deep Dream Layer, I think this was the exact kind of talisman he stuck to Ye Bing's forehead.' Executing talisman arts required the corresponding incantations. With just these few talismans alone, I still had no way of figuring out Ye Bing's whereabouts.

'I'll hang onto them for now.' After picking him clean, I hurriedly left the hospital. 'The scriptures in Chen Jiuge's room are of massive importance. The Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple's secret text can help me decipher the Dream Realm. If I use it together with the Dream Wing Gu, the Deep Dream Layer will become my own personal backyard. The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Fundamental Vows Sutra is worth thirty points. As for the final book regarding Fate Usurpers, it is absolutely critical to me.'

I possessed the potential to become a Fate Usurper, but I didn't understand how one was supposed to cultivate fate. The saying went, First Destiny, Second Luck, Third Feng Shui. Destiny ranked first. To cultivate destiny was to oppose the heavens themselves, which was why scriptures on cultivating destiny were virtually extinct in this world.

Making up my mind, I quickly walked out of the dense forest. Just as I reached the road, my phone suddenly rang.

Looking down, I saw that the person calling me was actually Leng Qingxuan.

'Why is he calling me?' The sect cultivators had been afraid that Leng Qingxuan would tip me off, so they hadn't let him come along. That was the only reason he had luckily escaped with his life.

Holding the phone, I didn't answer right away. Although I wasn't the one who had buried the sect cultivators alive underground, their fate was directly related to me. After all, they had technically come here to track me.

The phone rang over a dozen times without hanging up. I really "admired" the resilience of this Maoshan Yin Master. When it rang for the sixteenth time, I pressed the answer button.

"Why are you only answering now? Why didn't you have a signal? Where did you go?" The moment the call connected, Leng Qingxuan started rambling non-stop. He spoke very rapidly and sounded extremely anxious.

"I..."

"Forget it, don't say anything. Just stay holed up at home tonight! Daoist Master Xu Yan and the others all went looking for you. You absolutely must not do anything stupid!"

Listening to Leng Qingxuan's voice, the corners of my mouth curled up, and a trace of warmth swelled in my heart. I hadn't expected this Maoshan Yin Master, who appeared so cold but had such a kind heart, to actually tip me off at such a critical moment.

"Did you hear me?! Absolutely do not run around! Your current situation is very dangerous!" After giving me a few more instructions, Leng Qingxuan hung up the phone, acting as if he were taking a massive risk.

'This guy is worth getting to know better, but it's a pity we're destined not to be friends.'

The sect cultivators had been buried alive while tracking me. Their deaths implicated the Five Great Upper Sects, so it wouldn't be long before the sects inevitably sent more people over.

'Jiangcheng has already fallen into chaos.' I walked along the highway for a long time before I managed to flag down a taxi back to the city. Deciding there was no stopping halfway, I headed straight for Century New Garden.

Police cars and police tape that had yet to be taken down could still be seen all around. The police investigation was still in full swing.

'Just Chen Jiuge's death alone caused such a massive commotion. I indirectly doomed everyone sent out by the Five Great Upper Sects... This is going to pierce the heavens.'

Entering Century New Garden, I happened to spot Jiang Chen waiting in the lobby. At the very same time, he spotted me.

"Why are you back?" he asked, his voice filled with surprise, as if I should have been somewhere else entirely at this time.

Judging from his tone, I deduced that Jiang Chen had to be in on it too.

"I heard you kidnapped a child. Is that right?" I asked softly, glancing at him.

"Kidnap? Are you joking? Would our Jiangjin Group ever do something so illegal?" Jiang Chen was somewhat flustered. He had already developed an instinctive fear of me.

"That child is named Wang Yu. I hope you haven't done anything too excessive to him, otherwise his mother is going to slaughter every last one of you." I couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on him and took the elevator up to the door of Chen Jiuge's apartment.

'The sect cultivators specifically mentioned that no outsiders would come here.' I glanced at the electronic lock on the door, shook my head, took two steps back, and delivered a flying kick!

"Wait!"

Before my foot even touched the door panel, the door to the adjacent apartment opened. A young man wearing a Daoist robe walked out. Holding a phone in his left hand and a parcel in his right, he stared at me, his face full of shock.

"Gao Jian? What are you doing here?"