Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty: Reunion

Chapter Two Hundred and Thirty: Reunion

In front of the courtyard, the black-clad man was executing the most exquisite techniques of the Heavenly Spring Cleansing Heart Sword, but Su Mo broke through his defenses with a single strike.

Su Mo's swordsmanship was superb, but another reason was that the black-clad man didn't want to fight Su Mo.

He thought he would die by Su Mo's sword, but surprisingly, Su Mo whispered three words into his ear using voice transmission:

"Head east!"

The sword that appeared to pierce through his heart had merely grazed the skin.

Su Mo's stance was deliberately obscured, and those secretly watching didn't dare to get too close, fearing they would be noticed.

As a result, no one discovered the trick.

After that, Su Mo used a technique from the Purple Sun Divine Palm. It appeared powerful on the surface, but in reality, Su Mo used the force to push rather than strike.

For an ordinary person, the way force is applied changes depending on whether they are hitting or pushing someone.

This difference can be seen in their posture.

However, for a master like Su Mo, controlling the force was second nature.

What appeared to be a strike was actually a push, and it was extremely difficult to discern the truth.

With that push, he sent the black-clad man flying far away.

The black-clad man didn't hesitate. Since Su Mo told him to head east, he ran east.

He also created the illusion of being seriously injured, intending to deceive anyone who might be watching.

However, he hadn't expected that Su Mo, who told him to run east, would be so late.

Now, he really was seriously injured.

Looking up at Su Mo, he asked, "Why are you only coming now?"

"I got delayed. When you're putting on a show, you have to see it through to the end, no matter what. You didn't do badly yourself, did you?"

Su Mo looked at the black-clad man and said with a smile, "Since you started outwitting Old Hu, you haven't taken a single step back."

"..."

The black-clad man felt embarrassed. "That's different... When did you figure it out?"

"Inside the Cold Moon Palace, that day your eyes were disguised the same as before.

"But... there's a saying, what is it? The eyes are the windows to the soul.

"There were still some subtle changes.

"At first, your gaze was pure and ethereal, like a child's, clear to the bottom.

"But later on, even though you tried to disguise it, there was a certain depth.

"Lately, it's been better. I can't tell if you've just adapted to this role or if your acting has improved."

Su Mo smiled and said, "Enough with the reminiscing; we don’t want to keep them waiting too long."

As he spoke, he looked up at the eight people present.

The Five Ghosts Heavenly Net spread out, glaring coldly at Su Mo.

The foremost three individuals, led by Wan Zangxin, held long swords and wore solemn expressions.

"Su Mo... do not be arrogant!"

The leading Wan Zangxin shouted, "We’ve been eager to test your skills!"

"Oh?"

Su Mo smiled and said, "That’s unexpected. Is life really that unbearable for you?"

His eyes flickered slightly, and before the man could react, he had already clasped his fists and said,

"I truly apologize to all of you. I’ve been here for a long time but was only caught up in reminiscing.

"Leaving all of you aside was indeed quite rude.

"But don’t worry, I’ll take care of you now... and send you all to the afterlife!!"

Despite the torrential rain, Su Mo’s voice rang out clearly, reaching everyone’s ears.

It caused everyone present to change their expressions.

Su Mo, however, ignored them. He stepped forward and heard a click as the sword case behind him opened, followed by the sudden rise of the dragon's roar. The Dragon Roar Sword unsheathed itself.

The long sword soared into the air, and a burst of sword energy shot toward it, trying to knock the Dragon Roar Sword from the sky.

Su Mo flicked his sleeve and casually struck out with his palm.

Under normal conditions, this palm strike would feel like a mere breeze, its true force impossible to see.

But at this moment, with the heavy rain, as his palm struck out, it was clearly visible in the rain curtain as a palm print.

The print glowed, and upon it, the falling rain emitted faint mist.

It sliced through the rain, shattering the incoming sword energy.

In the next moment, three long swords and three magnificent sword energies reached Su Mo’s front.

And in Su Mo's hand, he already held the Dragon Roar Sword.

The long sword turned, its sharpness fierce.

Though it lacked the grandeur of the Heavenly Spring Heart-Cleansing Sword and the over-the-top sword energy,

it sent a chill down everyone’s spine.

It was a fear that emanated from the bones.

A primal fear of death.

And death was the arc traced by the long sword in Su Mo’s hand.

Sharpness!

In the rain, it merely split open a narrow gap.

However, this gap made the three Wan Zangxin's Heavenly Spring Heart-Cleansing Swords seem utterly ridiculous.

The sword qi, like floating duckweed without roots, dispersed in an instant.

They each clutched their throats, their eyes filled with nothing but horror.

The gushing blood couldn't be halted, no matter how hard they tried.

They could only fall to the ground, without any sign of life.

Meanwhile, Su Mo looked towards the five shadows flitting around him.

With a thoughtful smile, he said:

"You're surrounding me like this, what trick do you have up your sleeve?"

At these words, the figures of the Five Ghosts Heavenly Net faltered slightly, and then moved even faster!

Su Mo then heard the black-clad man shout:

"They are the Five Ghosts Heavenly Net!

"Their light-footed skills are strange and hard to predict.

"Moreover, their Five Demons Heavenly Demon Qi is extraordinary; they must not be underestimated!"

When Su Mo heard 'Five Demons Heavenly Demon Qi,' his brows rose: "The demonic qi poisoning you, was it inflicted by them?"

"..."

The corner of the black-clad man's mouth twitched, feeling that Su Mo had a knack for bringing up the most inconvenient topic.

It was indeed quite infuriating...

But he still nodded honestly:

"It was them."

At these four words, maniacal laughter erupted from the Five Ghosts Heavenly Net.

For a moment, the rain seemed to vibrate, and demonic sounds assaulted the ears.

Su Mo's brows lightly rose as he looked up to see the five flickering figures, which had transformed right under his nose.

Their bodies had grown massive, seemingly growing two extra heads and four additional arms.

In the next instant, these figures all appeared before Su Mo.

Attacking from five directions, in the blink of an eye, the ten arms turned into a sky full of palm shadows, covering Su Mo's entire body.

Su Mo shook his arms, emitting a long, clear sound of a bell.

A golden ancient bell faintly appeared before him, and the ten arms struck the body of the bell.

The resonant bell sound reverberated everywhere.

A powerful counterforce surged, shattering all ten arms instantly.

Their figures were thrown back even further!

But before these five figures reached the midway point, they had already split into two each.

It wasn’t that the Five Ghosts Heavenly Net had the ability to create clones, but rather, while executing their movement techniques, they had taken advantage of the multiple illusions to secretly retrieve five corpses of Wan Zangxin, who had already passed away.

Using the method of attaching shadow to bones, they stuck themselves to the backs of these five corpses.

This created the illusion that they seemed to have grown two heads and four arms while moving.

By utilizing Wan Zangxin’s corpses to unleash the Five Demons Heavenly Demon Qi, it was essentially a test.

Seeing the corpses' arms shattered and themselves being flung back by the powerful recoil of the Twelve Gates Golden Bell Shield,

It was clear just how strong Su Mo’s martial arts were. There was no time to waste on further entanglement.

They immediately abandoned Wan Zangxin’s corpses and fled in five different directions in a panic.

Not even daring to utter a word of farewell.

Su Mo shook his head lightly and casually released the Dragon Roar Sword, his two hands snapped in quick succession!

Streams of powerful wind shot out from his fingertips.

His Flicking Finger technique, combined with his formidable inner strength, was so powerful that even without using stones or branches, the force exerted was even more formidable.

The powerful wind tore through the rain, creating fissures in the air.

In the blink of an eye, it caught up to the Five Ghosts Heavenly Net, who were fleeing in five different directions.

The force pierced their backs, causing blood to erupt from their chests.

One by one, their figures fell, with some still trying to use cloning and shadow illusion techniques. However, Su Mo had already been tricked once along the river by such techniques.

How could he allow the same trick to be used on him twice?

With the Flicking Finger technique, the illusions were shattered, striking their true forms!

Within moments, the Five Ghosts Heavenly Net collapsed to the ground, unable to flee even if they tried.

Four of them had already lost their breath by the time they hit the ground, but one was still crawling forward with great effort.

As he crawled, he saw a foot blocking his path.

Looking up, he saw Su Mo smiling and saying:

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“……Spare me, please… spare me!!”

At this point, even this member of the Five Ghosts Heavenly Net, who was usually so good at playing mind games, had lost all composure.

All he wanted was to escape Su Mo's clutches.

But Su Mo shook his head, “I’ve patiently waited for a long time, precisely to find an opportunity to wipe out the mastermind behind this!

“If I let you go now, wouldn't all my previous efforts be in vain?

“Come, let me help you on your way!”

"Lord Night won't let you go!!"

The man, realizing his imminent death, couldn't help but shout at the top of his lungs.

However, his voice came to an abrupt halt as Su Mo's sword blade pierced through his throat. With a casual flick, the head and body were separated.

Su Mo shook off the blood from his long sword and smiled:

"If Lord Night won’t spare me, why should I spare him?"

He shook his head and casually sheathed the Dragon Roar Sword, the box clicking shut.

Turning his head to look at the black-clad figure not far away, a helpless expression on his face:

"For such a minor thing, you sure took your time..."

"..."

The black-clad figure was momentarily speechless and could only say: "Were they all masters?"

Su Mo looked suspiciously at the bodies all over the ground:

"Masters? Where?"

"Five Ghosts Heavenly Net... never mind."

The black-clad figure ultimately couldn't finish his sentence.

The Five Ghosts Heavenly Net might be experts, but only compared to some.

Compared to Su Mo, they were nothing but a joke!

They’re not even worth mentioning.

Su Mo smiled and didn't mind, simply crouching down to put on his deerskin gloves and began to search the bodies.

Finally, he curled his lips: "Is life in Evernight Valley really that hard?"

"......Why do you ask?"

"I’ve never seen such broke bad guys."

Su Mo stood up helplessly and walked over to him, looking down:

"Wan, I need to ask you something. Can we talk?"

"Sure."

……

……

Back inside the cave.

The black-clad figure's thumbs extended outward, and it was as if the Shaoshang points released a valve, a hissing sound accompanying the black gas continuously shooting out.

After the last trace of black gas was expelled from his body, Su Mo withdrew his hands, his inner energy returning to his dantian.

"Not bad this time, didn't end up with a case of Five Fatigues and Seven Injuries."

"Without Little Situ around and without the skills of my great master, saving you would be nearly impossible."

Su Mo stood up and looked at the black-clothed man. "You can remove your mask now."

The black-clothed man looked up at Su Mo, sighed, and removed the black cloth from his face.

A scarred face was revealed.

Looking at the face, Su Mo was speechless for a long time.

"How much did they hate you to do this to your face?"

"It's not them..."

The black-clothed man said quietly, "It's myself."

"..."

Su Mo was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized,

"That's some serious resolve!"

"Even though I was afflicted with the Five Demons Heavenly Demon Qi, I still didn’t want to die.

"I still had many things left undone...

"However, due to the Wusheng Order, my face became a target for many.

"Ever since I was besieged by a group of petty rogues from the western frontier, I knew...

"If I kept showing my face as Wan Zangxin.

"I would... be doomed to die!

"So, I had no choice but to destroy this face.

"If I wanted to live, no one could recognize me... as Wan Zangxin!"

Wan Zangxin finally revealed his identity calmly.

Su Mo casually gathered some dry wood, lit it, and the firelight illuminated the cave, bringing a bit of warmth.

"Since Little Situ mentioned that you had a special inner force hidden in your heart, I started to suspect your identity.

"Wei Ziyi once told me that the Sky Rainbow Interrogating Heart Sword technique is rooted in the heart and focuses on changes in one’s mental state.

"If there is a flaw in the mental state, one can fall into madness in a single thought.

"So, this martial art is closely tied to the heart.

"And the heart-related martial arts I know of are only two...

"One is the Sky Rainbow Interrogating Heart Sword practiced by Liu Suifeng of Jade Willow Villa.

"The other is the Sky Spring Heart-Washing Sword of Tianquan Elder.

"So, I began to have some suspicions about your identity back then."

Su Mo stared at the firelight and spoke softly, "Especially after your injuries healed and you looked like a newborn child, it made me think even more about who you might be. But back then... I still wasn’t sure."

"You became certain that I was Wan Zangxin starting from Cold Moon Palace, right?"

Wan Zangxin's brow furrowed slightly.

Su Mo nodded. "Because on that day, your eyes changed. And what happened on that day?"

He said this and then looked at Wan Zangxin:

"Liu Suifeng challenged the Third Palace Master, using the Sky Rainbow Interrogating Heart Sword.

"The Sky Rainbow Interrogating Heart Sword probes the heart's gate.

"If... you truly are Wan Zangxin, due to practicing the Heavenly Spring Wash Heart Sword, you've cleansed the dust from your heart and forgotten the past.

"If the probing of the heart's gate helped you remember something, wouldn't that make sense?"

Hearing this, Wan Zangxin couldn't help but sigh:

"It was an unexpected twist of fate.

"I ended up at the Life-and-Death Wash Heart Platform by sheer coincidence.

"If Hu Sandao hadn't saved me, and if I hadn't met you and Little Situ later.

"If... not for your chivalrous hearts,

"willing to expend your energy and inner strength on someone like me with unclear origins,

"I would have been a dead man long ago.

"That day, at Cold Moon Palace, on the Moon-Viewing Platform, Liu Suifeng challenged the Third Palace Master.

"Because my mind and spirit were clear, I subconsciously followed Liu Suifeng and imitated his Sky Rainbow Interrogating Heart Sword.

"But the swordplay probed the heart's gate.

"That's when I remembered my past.

"And this was also because Liu Suifeng had grasped another sword technique.

"Otherwise, with just his first sword, although I barely recalled some things, it still wasn't enough.

"It wasn't until the second sword that I suddenly realized and found my true self again.

"It was, truly, an extremely lucky turn of events."

This is also why, tonight in front of that courtyard, even though his killing intent was strong and he was willing to use the Heavenly Spring Wash Heart Sword's most powerful move to kill the fake Wan Zangxin on the spot,

when Su Mo stood in front of him, he reined in most of his power.

The injuries on his body were mostly internal wounds sustained at that time.

But... no matter what he intended to do, he didn't want to hurt Su Mo in the slightest.

It wasn't about the strength of their martial arts, but simply because he couldn't repay kindness with enmity.

Su Mo smiled. "Perhaps this is fate, and heaven doesn't intend to cut off your path, Wan Zangxin!"

However, there wasn't much joy in Wan Zangxin's eyes.

He merely whispered, "Perhaps because heaven knows I still have unpaid sins, so... they won't let me die.

"That is why they arranged a series of accidents, giving me a second chance at life just before I die, to repay those sins."

Su Mo raised an eyebrow at that:

"Sins?"

But before Wan Zangxin could elaborate, Su Mo frowned slightly.

He held up a hand to stop Wan Zangxin and then waved the other, snuffing out the fire.

In the quiet, they both heard the hurried footsteps approaching.

Moments later, the footsteps were right outside the cave entrance.

By the sound of it, several people were coming.

Mixed in with the footsteps was a faint creaking sound, hard to place.

The two watched silently as several figures rushed into the cave entrance.

Four girls entered, carrying a palanquin.

The faint creaking came from the swaying palanquin.

Su Mo and Wan Zangxin were both momentarily stunned.

I didn't expect to run into Little Situ Taoist here.

Right when I was about to step forward, one of the girls said:

"Sir, please take cover here for now."

"Sisters, you don’t need to worry about me.

"Leave me here and save yourselves."

Little Situ Taoist’s voice sounded strained.

"Like she was barely holding it together.

"The four girls shouted in unison.

"But right now, we’ve still got enemies on our tail, and in my condition...

"there’s no hope for me.

"Don’t throw your lives away for me."