Chapter 298: The Hunt

Meng Qi nodded slightly, “Faced with a sneak attack by such a high-level expert, it’s difficult to hold back once the energy resonance is triggered.”

He felt somewhat helpless; it wasn’t that he didn’t want to capture someone alive.

“Wearing the Fire Virtue Star God mask… Wen Qu Star Lord… Could they be working together?” Jiang Hengchuan frowned, looking at the gradually extinguishing flames, “No, last time someone deliberately framed the Wen Qu Star Lord… Could it be that since we didn’t fall for it, they tried the same trick again, only to be worse than you and end up dying by your sword?”

Regarding the incident involving Da Jiang Bang’s incense master Chu Guan, deputy hall master Chen Yasong and Qing Shou constable Dai Fei later sensed something was off and chose not to report it, to avoid informing the upper echelons with such a flawed judgment that would invite reprimand and label them as foolish, thus ending their chances of promotion.

Of course, Chen Yasong couldn’t hide the death of an incense master; he had to report it to the Hechuan headquarters. However, he merely described the incident factually without adding any personal opinion, leaving the senior members of Da Jiang Bang to judge the truth and respond accordingly.

Meng Qi mused, “The martial arts skill he used does resemble the Fire Virtue Star God from legends.”

Based on the intelligence from “Five Cardinal Directions Divine Saber” Qing Yu, he was about eighty percent certain it was indeed the Fire Virtue Star God. Combined with the previous mind-level trap, he was increasingly convinced that the person behind the scenes was the Wen Qu Star God, though he wasn’t sure how many people from the “Myth” group had come or if there were any official members.

“To impersonate the Fire Virtue Star God, the martial arts skill naturally needs to be similar,” Jiang Hengchuan said casually while inspecting the surroundings, “Who exactly are the Wen Qu Star God and the Fire Virtue Star God? Why are they unknown in the martial arts world? And why would someone frame them?”

Meng Qi smirked, “That’s something we’d have to ask them ourselves.”

If I knew, why would I be investigating so hard?

“Master Su, last time you were framed and nearly injured by my hand. Today, you were ambushed again, fortunately the opponent was not strong enough…” Jiang Hengchuan slightly furrowed his brow, his gaze fixed on Meng Qi, “They have targeted you repeatedly; it’s unlikely to be just a coincidence. Do you have any idea why? This might be an important clue.”

Meng Qi thought for a moment and decided to reveal a little, “There’s a hidden current in Maoling, and many young experts received notes or letters for various reasons, drawing them here, just like you, Brother Jiang. I was the exception, coming to Maoling on my own. Perhaps because of this, the person behind the scenes sees me as a thorn in their side or an uncontrollable piece, and wants to eliminate me urgently.”

However, there was a problem. Since he had entered Maoling City and escaped the trap, why would the person behind the scenes continue to pursue him relentlessly? Normally, wouldn’t they try to use him as a pawn instead?

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hengchuan was stunned, and after a moment of silence, he said, “Never thought there was such a thing. Seems like I’ve been drawn into a vortex.”

He paused and said, “Master Su, there’s something I’d like to say, but I’m not sure if it’s appropriate.”

“Please go ahead, I’m all ears,” Meng Qi replied with curiosity.

Jiang Hengchuan carefully chose his words, “Maoling is a mighty city, a vital stronghold for Da Jiang. There are countless experts passing through daily, and the majority probably haven’t been invited by the person behind the scenes. What makes him think you would disrupt his plans and warrant elimination? If that’s his mindset, he might have to kill so many people in Maoling City that their corpses pile up for miles.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m on the Renbang,” Meng Qi said, suddenly finding it suspicious after being reminded.

Or, could it be my identity as a secret agent has been discovered by the person behind the scenes?

“No,” Jiang Hengchuan shook his head firmly, “There are many experts on the Renbang or late bloomers passing through Maoling, many of whom are no less capable than you, Master Su. Normally, wouldn’t they prefer to avoid unnecessary trouble rather than provoke you?”

Meng Qi nodded solemnly, “That makes sense.”

“Master Su, please think back. Have you done anything that might have caused the person behind the scenes to misunderstand you? Like making him believe you came prepared to disrupt his plans?” Jiang Hengchuan speculated.

Upon hearing this, a spark of realization flashed in Meng Qi’s mind, and he suddenly remembered something, “Yes!”

Jiang Hengchuan’s expression slightly brightened as he waited for Meng Qi to continue.

“At the Hero’s Pavilion, ‘Five Cardinal Directions Divine Saber’ Qing Yu once said to me, ‘Didn’t expect Master Su to come here too.’ I didn’t understand the meaning and found it suspicious, so I replied, ‘If the Daoist Brother can come, so can I.'”

Meng Qi recreated the scene, “Others might not know, but the person behind the scenes must know who he invited. Since Kuang Dao wasn’t invited, why did you act like you understood the secret? Isn’t that deliberately seeking him out?”

Jiang Hengchuan’s expression turned serious, slightly excited, “It’s probably that sentence that caused the misunderstanding. Who else heard that sentence at the time? Could they have spread it?”

Meng Qi thought for a moment, “Very few could enter the fifth floor of the Hero’s Pavilion. At that time, only ‘Five Cardinal Directions Divine Saber’ Qing Yu, who had been invited, was there. Given his personality, he wouldn’t have asked others about my words. Oh, there was also the owner of the Hero’s Pavilion, ‘The Marvelous Hermit of the World Beyond’ Ren Pingsheng…”

As he finished speaking, Meng Qi looked thoughtful.

“Could it be the Marvelous Hermit of the World Beyond…” Jiang Hengchuan also turned serious.

“There’s no concrete evidence. This matter needs to be considered carefully,” Meng Qi felt something was off, but couldn’t pinpoint the exact question. It was either Qing Yu or Ren Pingsheng…

Jiang Hengchuan exhaled, “That should be the case.”

Meng Qi picked up the copper ring from the Fire Virtue Star God, “I need to investigate the Fire Virtue Star God’s true identity.”

Although the Fire Virtue Star God was powerful, even without an unparalleled martial arts skill, his cultivation level alone placed him at least among the top thirty on the Renbang. As a member of a secret organization, his usual martial arts skills and weapons would likely differ from those he displayed under the identity of the Fire Virtue Star God, possibly explaining why he wasn’t on the Renbang. To uncover his identity would be difficult, so Meng Qi decided to start by examining the material and unique features of the weapon.

“Alright,” Jiang Hengchuan nodded, “Let’s find the Eight-Armed Heavenly Dragon and others first.”

The traces left by the Eight-Armed Heavenly Dragon and the Three Eagles of Yunling were chaotic. Meng Qi and Jiang Hengchuan spent a lot of time asking the neighbors, but couldn’t find any useful clues. As the sky darkened, they bid each other farewell and returned home to sort out their thoughts.

Meng Qi strolled along, thinking about the Fire Virtue Star God and the “Marvelous Hermit of the World Beyond,” as well as why Young Master Wang wanted You Shaohui to stage a performance. The more he walked, the darker the sky became, and the autumn evening breeze carried a chill.

Suddenly, he stopped, his left hand patting his forehead in self-mockery, “Why am I thinking aimlessly here without asking Qing Yu? What if he inadvertently told someone?”

Smiling, Meng Qi changed direction, slung his saber and sword, and entered a quiet alley, heading toward Huang Ting Temple.

This alley was quiet even during the day, and at night, it was completely deserted. The trees within the walls on both sides cast dark shadows, like swaying evil ghosts, making people feel cold just by looking. The faint moonlight did not bring brightness but added to the eerie atmosphere.

Meng Qi had encountered real “evil ghosts” and zombies before, so he wasn’t afraid of a quiet night path. Instinctively on guard against a sneak attack, he continued walking.

Halfway through, a cool breeze blew past, and suddenly Meng Qi’s hair stood on end as an indescribable sense of danger abruptly surged. Without any warning, he instinctively took a step forward!

Compared to the Fire Virtue Star God’s attack in the afternoon, this time he completely relied on his intuition and premonition of danger. Besides that, he couldn’t sense the enemy’s movements, figure, or breath. It seemed the danger was just his own illusion, and there was no one behind him!

After taking a step forward, a cold wind blew against Meng Qi’s neck, as if someone had just tried to crush his neck with a single grasp.

Drawing the Tian Zhi sword without turning his head, Meng Qi slashed backward with a burst of true qi, powerful and mighty, as if sweeping away thousands of soldiers.

It was empty, nothing tangible to strike, and Meng Qi’s long saber cut through the air, confirming with his senses that there was no one behind him.

Yet the sense of danger in Meng Qi’s heart continued to rise. He took another step forward, and once again a cold wind blew against his neck, making his hairs stand on end, as if he had narrowly avoided a fatal blow!

Could it be that the attacker has achieved unity with nature, blending into the surroundings, hence I can’t sense him?

He must be using the natural environment to track my flow of true qi and muscle reactions, and thus avoided the Tian Zhi sword in advance?

Meng Qi had experience fighting with Jiang Hengchuan and reacted quickly. He activated his inner world, hiding part of his true qi while letting the rest flow normally, and his muscle surface also showed no abnormality.

The Tian Zhi sword was thrust backward, but it still struck empty air, as if there were no enemy at all.

At that moment, the Tian Zhi sword suddenly jumped, changing from a thrust to a slash, sweeping sideways.

Puh!

The blade finally struck something as hard as gold and stone, and a powerful force surged forth, surpassing Meng Qi’s inner strength by two or three levels.

Golden light swirled around Meng Qi’s body, dispersing a portion of the impact force. Simultaneously, he activated the Deathless Seal Technique—transforming destruction into vitality—harnessing the remaining momentum to propel himself forward while pivoting smoothly.

“Ah…” A slightly strange voice sounded, followed by complete silence.

Meng Qi turned around, saber poised, ready to strike, but saw the alley was empty, with only the faint moonlight and swaying tree shadows. Where was the enemy?

If it weren’t for the previous exclamation and the sensation of blade meeting palm, Meng Qi might have thought he had a nightmare.

Sweat ran down his back. This was more thrilling than killing the Fire Virtue Star God in the afternoon or escaping from Jiang Hengchuan that day. If his response had been slightly delayed or his inner world not yet matured, he would have ended up with a broken neck!

“The enemy just now was probably even more dangerous than Jiang Hengchuan, and after failing to land a hit, he immediately retreated far away, like a lone wolf…” Meng Qi sighed, and he still didn’t know why the enemy wanted to attack him!

He quickened his pace, became more vigilant, rapidly crossed the alley, and soon arrived at Huang Ting Temple, troubling the receptionist to enter Qing Yu’s courtyard at night.

Just past the courtyard gate, Meng Qi suddenly froze. Qing Yu was sitting on a stone bench under the moonlight, as if waiting for him.

However, his hair was disheveled, and there was a deep claw mark on his left shoulder, with blood slowly oozing out.

While treating his wound, Qing Yu calmly asked, “What brings you here?”

“Who injured you?” Meng Qi seemed to realize something.

Qing Yu snorted with restrained pride, “Just a wolf bite.”

“Wolf King Tie Sheng?” Meng Qi finally confirmed the identity of his attacker just now!

After finishing treating his wound, Qing Yu pulled his clothes up, “It’s that wolf. He likes to hunt experts. Didn’t expect him to come here too.”

“Wolf King” Tie Sheng, a rising star of the grasslands, was said to enjoy killing and hunting opponents like a wolf, not necessarily needing a specific reason, just finding your skills impressive enough. However, he wasn’t a madman either, rarely provoking the core members of major forces on the grasslands. It was unexpected that he came to Da Jin and consecutively targeted the direct disciple of Xuan Tian Sect and himself… Meng Qi recalled the information on “Wolf King” Tie Sheng: “We should notify the Six Gates and the martial artists in Maoling to prepare to hunt down this wolf.”

Qing Yu nodded, “That should be the case. We can’t be careless about this bloodthirsty killer, thinking we can handle it ourselves. Hmph, does he really think there’s no one in Da Jin?”

“For him, being alone makes it easier to hide and avoid exposure. Once he draws the attention of an expert, he immediately flees. Even if he kills a direct disciple of a major sect or a son of a prestigious family, as long as he can cover his tracks and retreat back to the grasslands, who can do anything about him?” Meng Qi was eager to confront Wolf King Tie Sheng, though he was well aware of the opponent’s strength, roughly on par with Jiang Zhimi.

The grasslands were in a state of war with Bei Zhou and Da Jin. If Tie Sheng killed a direct disciple of a major sect or a son of a prestigious family, he would only earn the appreciation of Great Khan G’uldoh.

G’uldoh was a formidable figure who emerged once every five hundred years on the grasslands. He encountered a rare opportunity, obtained, and cultivated the “Heavenly Annihilation Manual,” achieving the “Heavenly Punishment Body,” ranking first on the Tianbang!

This wasn’t because his actual strength was superior to that of Chong He Dao Ren, Kong Wen Shen Seng, and Lu Da Xiansheng, but because he wielded a peerless divine weapon, the “Heavenly Retribution Axe.” With these two combined, he naturally became even more formidable, surpassing other Fa Shen who only had normal divine weapons. Moreover, there was another Fa Shen on the grasslands who teamed up with him to resist the Fa Shen from the Central Plains—the “Great Fullness” of the Eternal Life Sect, the Eternal Life Venerable Body.