Chapter 169 - 128: Beneath the Real and the Fake

Chapter 169: Chapter 128: Beneath the Real and the Fake

"What are these?"

The Leg-Eating Monk asked, bewildered.

He didn’t seem to have figured out the situation yet, but the swarm of Ink-Wash Demons was already upon them.

Xue Yanluo sneered, taunting, "You dare come in without understanding a thing?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Yanluo was instantly behind the Leg-Eating Monk, kicking him out the door.

"What!"

The Leg-Eating Monk, in a panic, thrust out his hand and opened his Bone Umbrella to protect himself from the rain.

But behind him, a long, inky serpent quickly coiled around his body, then opened its great maw. The Leg-Eating Monk swung his arm, tearing the serpent off, but its fangs had already sunk into his arm.

The Leg-Eating Monk’s pupils shrank. His Bone Umbrella spun rapidly, runes on its surface lighting up one by one, shattering the Ink-Wash serpent coiled around him to pieces. However, the ink had already seeped into the wound, causing the blood to stagnate wherever it touched. He formed his fingers into a claw and, without hesitation, gouged out the ink-stained flesh. Fresh blood spurted out, turning into wisps of black smoke upon contact with the Bone Umbrella.

Standing inside, Xue Yanluo flicked his wrist. A longbow appeared in his hand, and a black and white arrow materialized before turning into a streak of light and shooting straight for the Leg-Eating Monk.

Under the torrential assault of black and white arrows, the Bone Umbrella let out a mournful cry, and cracks began to form on its surface. The Leg-Eating Monk roared, throwing the Bone Umbrella into the air. He pressed his palms together, and an eerie, crimson Buddhist light erupted from his body.

"Such audacity! I have long heard that the Young Master of the Blood Demon Palace is a generational talent, reaching the Peak of the Fourth Realm in a short time even after restarting his cultivation."

The Leg-Eating Monk grinned ferociously. "A pity. Not yet in the Fifth Realm is still not in the Fifth Realm."

Between the Fourth and Fifth Realms, there is a chasm in the Dao.

The Leg-Eating Monk had only been momentarily shaken by the sheer number of Ink-Wash Demons covering the landscape, which was why he had been careless enough to get injured.

The Leg-Eating Monk’s figure suddenly swelled. His skin cracked, revealing writhing flesh underneath. With each step he took, the ground trembled, and the wind from his palms carried a putrid stench.

Xue Yanluo narrowed his eyes and swiped a finger across his wrist. A drop of crimson blood appeared in his palm, transforming into a long blade as thin as a cicada’s wing. His figure flickered and vanished. When he reappeared, the long blade was already at the Leg-Eating Monk’s brow.

The Leg-Eating Monk gave a cold shout. His legs thickened once more, and with speed like thunder breaking the wind, he kicked Xue Yanluo away. The Young Master of the Blood Demon Palace was sent flying and slammed hard onto the ground.

"Obediently come back with this humble monk..."

Before he could finish, he was shocked to see Xue Yanluo smiling.

’What is he smiling about?’

It was only then that the Leg-Eating Monk discovered with horror that he was slowly disappearing. At some point during his fierce battle with Xue Yanluo, he had been exposed to the rain.

’Getting caught in the rain is bad!’

Before he vanished, the Leg-Eating Monk’s last thought wasn’t about how cunning Xue Yanluo was, but rather... ’How did I know I couldn’t get rained on?’

He had come here on the Blood Demon Lord’s orders, but the Blood Demon Lord had never been here himself. He naturally wouldn’t know about the environment, so he had never told him not to get rained on.

Not only that.

’And that Bone Umbrella... Is it really mine?’

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Why do you think those two started fighting each other first, instead of killing the Ink-Wash Demons?"

Lu Changyuan and Qiu Yuehan stood inside a nearby house watching the show, casually dispatching a few Ink-Wash Demons that got too close.

Qiu Yuehan paused. "Probably because they both thought they could kill the other one quickly."

’Kill the other guy first, then deal with the Ink-Wash Demons?’

Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes and asked, puzzled, "Why aren’t these Ink Demons entering the house? Could this place be like the Netherworld..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Lu Changyuan saw the swarm of Ink Demons charge into the room, as if to kill Xue Yanluo.

Qiu Yuehan glanced at Lu Changyuan. "Looks like you were wrong."

It was a little awkward.

The Moon Fairy then asked, "Should we go save him?"

A smile crept onto Lu Changyuan’s face. "Save him? Of course we’ll save him."

Qiu Yuehan didn’t overthink it. Her sword flashed out, sweeping through the Ink-Wash Demons.

The two stepped into the room and saw Xue Yanluo lying on the ground, on the verge of death. The floor was stained with the blood he had coughed up, making the once-pampered Young Master of the Blood Demon Palace look utterly wretched.

Lu Changyuan asked, "Are you all right?"

Xue Yanluo coughed up a mouthful of blood. His internal organs ached in a myriad of ways. In his dizzy state, he seemed to see the woman who had died before his very eyes.

The memory was incredibly vivid, like his life flashing before his eyes.

"Not... really."

Lu Changyuan extended his hand. "Come on, get up."

Xue Yanluo froze for a moment, then sighed in relief. ’This Lu Changyuan is a really good person,’ he thought, and took Lu Changyuan’s hand.

"Huh?"

The moment their hands touched, he couldn’t pull away. It was as if some kind of vortex was pulling at his body.

Xue Yanluo seemed utterly confused. "What are you doing?"

Lu Changyuan smiled so gently that it even made Qiu Yuehan’s scalp tingle.

"Quite impressive, pulling so many tricks just to stall her and me. So, did you manage to get the thing from the tomb?"

Xue Yanluo said blankly, "What are you talking about?"

He suddenly sensed his life force draining away rapidly. Panicked, Xue Yanluo tried to pull his hand back, but found he couldn’t.

The *Five Desires and Six Dust Heart Transformation Technique* was activating.

Lu Changyuan said coolly, "Nice act. Using Bai Wei to paint yourself in a good light, using the Leg-Eating Monk to tell me there’s something strange in the rain, that getting wet makes you disappear—all to verify your story. Too bad you’re a fake."

Xue Yanluo struggled. "I’m a fake? What on earth are you talking about?!"

He discovered in horror that his body was dematerializing, turning into paper and ink as his life was drawn out of him bit by bit.

"How is this possible!?"

How could he be a fake? All his memories were perfectly clear... perfectly clear?