Chapter 382 - 204: Instigating Defection! Planting a Mine

Chapter 382: Chapter 204: Instigating Defection! Planting a Mine

However, only the two men clashing knew that despite the apparent intensity of their battle, they were holding back considerably and were in no real danger.

Suddenly, Chen Sheng parried a blow and sent a message, his voice tinged with gravity:

"Hero Chu, if you can trust me, I may have a way to resolve your predicament with the relic!"

"What method?!"

Chu Kuangfeng’s spirits soared at his words.

"By a stroke of luck, I once cultivated one of the Yin Fire Divine Techniques. It can incinerate all things in the world and specializes in overcoming all kinds of sinister Restrictions. If you trust me, you need only open your spirit and allow my Yin Fire to enter you. It may be able to completely burn away that relic and set you free!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Kuangfeng’s assault faltered. A fierce struggle flickered in his eyes, only to be replaced by a look of desperate resolve.

He had lived an upright life, valuing kindness and honor above all else, and despising calculation and schemes.

Since Chen Sheng was an enemy of Golden Spring Temple, that made him an ally!

Now that the man was willing to risk helping him, what reason did he have not to trust him?

Besides, it seemed his only option now was to trust him and take the gamble.

After all, he truly had no way to destroy the relic himself.

Furthermore, even if Chen Sheng were to deceive him, the worst that could happen was death.

He would rather die than become a lackey for the Buddhist Sect. The only person he couldn’t bear to leave was Hong Xiu.

"Alright!"

Chu Kuangfeng’s transmitted reply was firm and resolute:

"My life should have ended at Golden Spring Temple six years ago. Today, I’ll stake it all! Governor, do what you must. I ask only one thing of you. Regardless of whether you succeed or fail, if you have the chance in the future...

please, you must find a way to rescue a woman named Yan Hongxiu, who is imprisoned in the Cihang Institute at Golden Spring Temple. Do that, and I can die without regret!"

"I swear I will do everything I can!"

Chen Sheng replied with solemn gravity.

"This place won’t do. Ten miles southeast of the city, there’s an abandoned Mountain God Temple. It’s quite secluded."

Chu Kuangfeng quickly gave the location:

"Those bald curs from Golden Spring Temple are watching from the shadows. We need to lure them away."

"Understood."

With the plan set, Chen Sheng focused his thoughts and secretly transmitted a message to someone elsewhere in the City Lord’s Mansion.

The next moment.

A woman’s clear, ice-cold shout suddenly erupted.

Sun Yuzhi’s figure shot out from the other side of the City Lord’s Mansion like a crimson blur. The Red Flood Dragon Spear in her hand erupted with a dazzling light, aimed straight for Chu Kuangfeng’s back with bone-chilling killing intent.

This spear thrust was a true, all-out attack, holding nothing back.

Horrified, Chu Kuangfeng spun his saber around to block. CLANG! The massive impact sent him stumbling backward, a perfectly timed look of shock and fury appearing in his eyes.

"An ambush?!"

Chen Sheng seized the opportunity, pressing the attack with his saber and forming a pincer with Sun Yuzhi.

Chu Kuangfeng struggled to fend them off for several exchanges, appearing completely overwhelmed. Finally, with a roar of indignation:

"Damn it!"

Before the words had even faded, Chu Kuangfeng’s figure shot backward, transforming into a streak of light and fleeing southeast, away from the city, without a backward glance.

"After him! We can’t let that fiend escape!"

Chen Sheng bellowed. He and Sun Yuzhi exchanged a glance, and both transformed into streaks of light, giving chase.

The three streaks of light—one ahead and two in pursuit—tore across the night sky, quickly vanishing into the vast, wild mountains beyond the city.

...

Back in Yunze City, in the shadows of a tall building, Monk Xuanbei quietly withdrew his gaze. A flicker of clear disappointment crossed his face, and he sighed softly:

’So close to success... It’s a shame that Sun Yuzhi was in the mansion. Never mind. With her there, even if I had struck from the shadows, it would have been difficult to achieve a complete victory.’

Gazing in the direction the three had vanished, Monk Xuanbei paused in thought. Then, his figure melted into the darkness as he silently followed them.

...

Before the abandoned Mountain God Temple, weeds grew rampant among crumbling walls that cast menacing shadows in the moonlight.

Chu Kuangfeng landed first, with Chen Sheng and Sun Yuzhi arriving close behind.

Sun Yuzhi pointed her spear tip directly at Chu Kuangfeng, her eyes glinting with killing intent. She was about to attack when she saw Chen Sheng raise a hand to stop her. To her surprise, the expert who had been radiating murderous aura just moments before now stood with his saber sheathed, showing no hostility.

A look of shocked confusion flashed across Sun Yuzhi’s eyes.

"Yuzhi, be at ease. Just guard the perimeter. I’ll explain later."

Chen Sheng said via voice transmission, his tone steady.

Though filled with questions, Sun Yuzhi had absolute faith in Chen Sheng. She asked no more, giving Chu Kuangfeng one last deep look before darting to a nearby high point to stand guard, her eyes warily scanning the area.

"Chu, there is no time to lose," Chen Sheng said, looking at Chu Kuangfeng.

"Let’s begin!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Chu Kuangfeng immediately sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and completely lowered all his defenses.

A faint golden glow immediately became visible at the vital point of his Dantian—it was the relic.

Chen Sheng, who was all too familiar with the world’s treachery, couldn’t help but be moved by this display of absolute trust.

’This man’s character is just as the Celestial Book described,’ he thought. ’He values his word over his own life and is utterly true to his passions.’

’If our roles were reversed, I would never be able to open my spirit and allow an outsider such free rein.’

Of course, Chen Sheng had no intention of betraying him.

Keeping Chu Kuangfeng alive was of great use to him, and not just for dealing with Golden Spring Temple in the future.

The man also possessed a fateful opportunity that would be quite useful to Chen Sheng.

Chen Sheng took a deep breath, his expression turning solemn. He then formed a hand seal.

Wisps of crimson flame began to curl up from his fingertips and the openings all over his body. They started as smoke but in the blink of an eye, transformed into a sea of silent, burning fire that noiselessly enveloped Chu Kuangfeng.

The Yin Fire flickered, emitting a strange, paradoxical aura of both icy cold and scorching heat.

"Open your apertures. Guide the Yin Fire into your body. Do not resist."

Chen Sheng said in a low voice.

Chu Kuangfeng did as he was told.

The Nine Nether Yin Fire seemed to possess a will of its own. It flowed along his open Meridians and apertures, seeping into his body with a gentle but firm pressure. It headed straight for the relic in his Dantian, preparing to envelop it.

The relic, as if possessing its own Spiritual Sense, felt the threat. It instantly erupted with a brilliant Golden Light, attempting to resist and expel the Yin Fire.