Chapter 461: The Purpose

Li Musheng remained seated where he was, giving the large black cat a pat, his expression unchanged as he looked at the now empty hall.

"Cracked that easily. Looks like those two old fossils really were hiding something."

Li Musheng wasn't the type to use the Soul-Searching Technique on people at the slightest provocation, after all, there was no history of conflict or hostility between himself and the Pavilion Master and the others.

But he had merely mentioned the Soul-Searching Technique in passing, and the two of them had fled faster than rabbits. That alone made it obvious they had guilty consciences, that something was clearly off.

At the same time, once the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint had vanished from the hall, they raced away at speed, and by the time they reappeared, they were already several hundred zhang from the residence, standing in an empty alley.

"He couldn't have caught up, could he?"

The bronze-masked Pavilion Master's eyes shifted with unease. The very first thing he did upon reappearing was check the surroundings for any trace of Li Musheng's aura.

The Assassination Saint did the same. Before long, having confirmed Li Musheng hadn't followed, both let out a simultaneous breath of relief.

"We absolutely cannot let him look through our memories with the Soul-Searching Technique, or our plans will be exposed without question."

The Pavilion Master spoke with a grave tone. The Assassination Saint, his features still indistinct, gave a slight nod, but his brow immediately furrowed again, "We escaped for now, but this clearly isn't over. How do we face that Eighth Prince going forward?"

The Pavilion Master considered briefly, then looked back toward the direction of the residence, "Since he wants the position of Pavilion Master, I'll simply let him have it. I'll follow through on his demand and spread word of his succession to every faction."

"That way, the White Tiger Divine Hall will absolutely not let this rest, and they're bound to come after him. By then, he naturally won't have time to spare for us."

At those words, the Assassination Saint gave a thoughtful nod, "Setting that Eighth Prince against the White Tiger Divine Hall while we reap the benefits from the sidelines does fit with our original plan."

"But we've already offended that Eighth Prince at this point, and the White Tiger Divine Hall will inevitably direct its anger at you as well. Whichever side comes out on top in the end, we'll still have to face them eventually."

As he said this, the Assassination Saint turned to look at the Pavilion Master, "Besides, everything we're doing now is not only for ourselves, but for the Hidden Kill Pavilion as well. You've handed the position of Pavilion Master to a prince who has fallen into the demonic path. If we ultimately can't reclaim it, the Hidden Kill Pavilion may well end up destroyed at his hands."

The Pavilion Master shook his head, "No need to worry. Which of them ultimately comes out on top is still an open question, but as long as our own plan succeeds, the Hidden Kill Pavilion will inevitably return to our hands."

At this point, a flicker of confidence surfaced on the Pavilion Master's face beneath the bronze mask, but in the next instant his expression went suddenly rigid, and he snapped his head up to look toward the far end of the alley ahead.

At the same time, the Assassination Saint also seemed to sense something, and immediately turned his head sharply, following the Pavilion Master's line of sight.

There, at some unknown moment, Li Musheng's figure had already appeared in the alley, and by his side padded the bald-patched large black cat, the man and cat approaching them at a slow, unhurried pace.

The large black cat, always eager for a spectacle, walked forward with the swagger of someone who cared for no one, its round green eyes looking down with contempt on the dignified Pavilion Master and Assassination Saint before it, as though saying, go on and run, see how far you get.

"Split up."

The Pavilion Master gave a low command without the slightest hesitation, and his figure once again dissolved from where it stood like a bursting bubble, intending to flee the scene.

But this time things were clearly different. In the very next instant, the Pavilion Master, who had just vanished, suddenly dropped out of the void, reappearing and falling straight down to the ground.

At the same time, the Assassination Saint, who had attempted the same escape, met with the exact same fate, having barely vanished for an instant before dropping right back down where he had been.

For a moment, both the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint's faces changed dramatically. They could both clearly sense that the entire surrounding world had been sealed. Not only could they not escape through concealment techniques, they couldn't even draw on the true qi of heaven and earth around them at all.

"No need to be afraid. I'm quite skilled with the Soul-Searching Technique, and it doesn't hurt or itch in the slightest."

At this point, Li Musheng's voice reached the ears of the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint.

Both of them looked up at Li Musheng approaching slowly, and the expressions in their eyes shifted from shock to grim resolve, clearly showing no intention of simply surrendering.

"The body as blade, cutting through all creation."

With the surrounding true qi of heaven and earth beyond their reach, both the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint simultaneously invoked the ancient savage beast White Tiger's path of killing, forcibly circulating the vast and powerful martial true qi within their bodies. As overwhelming killing intent surged and rose around them, their very forms transformed in an instant into an intangible blade capable, it seemed, of cleaving heaven and earth apart.

"Your Highness, we have no wish to raise a hand against you. Please withdraw."

The Pavilion Master's killing intent surrounded him like an abyss, his own aura climbing to its absolute peak, as though he might tear through the void and vanish at any moment.

At the sight, the large black cat was thoroughly startled, immediately halting its careless, swaggering gait, not daring to advance any further.

Even so, Li Musheng's expression remained entirely unchanged, and he continued walking toward the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint, shaking his head, "I can't tell if you two are simply too weak, or if the ancient savage beast White Tiger's killing legacy just isn't that impressive."

With that, he simply raised a hand from a distance and pressed down lightly toward the two of them.

At the same instant, the overwhelming killing intent surrounding the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint reversed course and surged backward like a receding tide.

The Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint, who had transformed themselves into blades of killing, were forced back into their original human forms by an irresistible force.

With a wet, choking sound, the vast martial true qi and the abyssal killing intent both dissipated in an instant, and both the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint suddenly coughed up mouthfuls of blood, collapsing to sit on the ground.

At this moment, both stared up at Li Musheng, who had already arrived before them, their eyes filled with a look of utter disbelief.

Though both the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint had known Li Musheng's strength was unfathomably deep, and even when Li Musheng had first mentioned using the Soul-Searching Technique on them, neither had ever considered actually fighting him, choosing instead to flee outright.

But now, personally facing Li Musheng at close range, both of them truly understood for the first time just how terrifying this Eighth Prince of Great Li actually was, his strength far exceeding anything they had imagined.

This was especially true for the Assassination Saint, who had previously crossed blades with Li Musheng back in the Great Li imperial capital. He now stared at Li Musheng with an unpleasant expression, suddenly realizing that Li Musheng had almost certainly held back his true strength during that earlier encounter.

For him to have single-handedly subdued an Assassination Saint of the Hidden Kill Pavilion and a Pavilion Master whose strength was no less formidable, with barely any effort at all, was clearly even more shocking than Li Musheng single-handedly subduing three Yellow Spring Holy Lords.

"What... level of strength do you actually possess?"

"Could it be... you've already stepped into the Transcendent Realm..."

The bronze mask on the Pavilion Master's face silently crumbled into fine dust, revealing an extraordinarily aged countenance beneath.

The hazy aura that had shrouded the Assassination Saint's face similarly dissolved, revealing an entirely ordinary-looking face beneath.

At this moment, both men stared unwaveringly at Li Musheng. Even when they had faced the White Tiger Divine Hall, which suppressed their own path of killing, they had never felt this degree of powerlessness.

The main reason was that Li Musheng appeared far too relaxed and casual about the whole thing, having genuinely used only a single move to easily subdue both of them, and now they had absolutely no ability to resist whatsoever.

At this point, whether Li Musheng chose to use the Soul-Searching Technique on them or simply kill them outright, it would cost him no effort at all.

"No, wait. If you'd truly already stepped into the Transcendent Realm, there would be no need for you to keep cultivating demonic arts..."

At this point, the Pavilion Master, staring at Li Musheng, suddenly shook his head and spoke up.

If the man he was truly facing right now was a Transcendent, and one this young at that, it was simply beyond anything he could have imagined.

And besides, the Transcendent Realm represented the very pinnacle of the martial path, and there would be no reason for anyone at that level to still be cultivating the Demonic Patriarch's own legacy. After all, even the Demonic Patriarch himself would be beneath notice before a true Transcendent.

At those words, Li Musheng swept his eyes over the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint, waving a hand, "Why bring this up? What does it have to do with either of you? Besides, a Transcendent? I might not even bother taking one seriously."

With that, Li Musheng showed no intention of questioning the Pavilion Master or the Assassination Saint any further, and instead used the Soul-Searching Technique directly to go through both of their memories.

The Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint had absolutely no way to resist, their eyes going instantly vacant. Before long, Li Musheng withdrew the Soul-Searching Technique.

Having gone through the memories of the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint, Li Musheng finally understood why the two of them had been so terrified of his Soul-Searching Technique.

At this point, both the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint gradually came back to themselves, and exchanged a glance, both understanding perfectly well that they had, in the end, been unable to escape Li Musheng's Soul-Searching Technique.

"Your Highness..."

The Pavilion Master's expression shifted rapidly, and he was about to attempt some explanation, but Li Musheng raised a hand to stop him, raising an eyebrow, "Trying to use me to deal with the White Tiger Divine Hall. Honestly, I don't particularly care about that. What concerns me is that you had leads on the Tomb of the White Emperor and chose not to tell me."

In truth, back in the residence hall, Li Musheng had already sensed that the Pavilion Master had intentions of using him as a wolf to devour a tiger, so to speak.

After all, the Hidden Kill Pavilion had been suppressed by the White Tiger Divine Hall for a thousand years. Any Pavilion Master with some measure of ambition would surely have considered ways to break free of the Divine Hall's control at some point.

That the Pavilion Master before him wanted to use him against the White Tiger Divine Hall was, in fact, something Li Musheng had tacitly accepted. After all, now that he had become Pavilion Master, the Hidden Kill Pavilion had essentially become his own property going forward.

Besides, it took two to make a conflict. If the White Tiger Divine Hall didn't try to stop him from becoming Pavilion Master or come looking for trouble with him, he had no particular interest in moving against them either.

At this point, the Pavilion Master gave Li Musheng a long look, then lowered his head and said, "The Tomb of the White Emperor concerns the future of the entire Hidden Kill Pavilion. It was purely out of caution that we concealed this matter from Your Highness. I ask for Your Highness's understanding."

At those words, Li Musheng neither agreed nor disagreed, simply saying evenly, "I've already gone through your memories. There's no use trying to hide your true intentions from me anymore."

It was true that the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint's desire to free the Hidden Kill Pavilion from the White Tiger Divine Hall's control was a genuine part of their motivation. But the most important reason behind all of this, in truth, still came down to their own personal interests.

The Pavilion Master and the others, having only ever cultivated an incomplete version of the White Tiger's killing arts, remained subject to the true path of killing that the White Tiger Divine Hall held complete mastery over.

And this meant that the martial cultivation of the Pavilion Master, the Assassination Saint, and the others had all reached a ceiling they could never break through, with no way of pursuing a higher realm of martial achievement.

Their desire to enter the Tomb of the White Emperor was, above all else, driven by the complete legacy of the ancient savage beast White Tiger said to lie within. Only by obtaining the true legacy could they break through their current bottleneck and advance further along the martial path.

Beyond this, Li Musheng had also learned another secret related to the Tomb of the White Emperor from the Pavilion Master's memories.

This particular secret wasn't even known to the Assassination Saint standing beside him. Only the Pavilion Master knew of it, and he had deliberately kept it hidden from everyone else.

This secret concerned the White King who had founded the Hidden Kill Pavilion, as well as the Tianqi Emperor himself. Even the Pavilion Master only knew a portion of it.

According to the account, the reason the White King had built White Emperor City to guard the Western Desert was that he had been carrying out the Tianqi Emperor's own orders, arranging here a scheme of world-shaking scope.

And from what the Pavilion Master's memory revealed, what he knew about this scheme seemed to be connected to both the ancient savage beast White Tiger and the pursuit of immortality.

For this reason alone, the possibility of eternal life had been enough for the Pavilion Master to conceal this piece of information, intending to keep it entirely for himself.

After all, the pursuit of immortality had been the desire of countless people throughout history, and the Tianqi Emperor himself had been no exception. The Pavilion Master was naturally no more capable of resisting that temptation than anyone else.

At this point, the Pavilion Master gave Li Musheng an extremely uneasy look, but seeing that Li Musheng hadn't brought up this particular secret, he felt a quiet inward wave of relief.

Matters of immortality were naturally best kept known to as few people as possible, and while Li Musheng now knew this secret and might very well keep it entirely for himself, for the Pavilion Master, as long as there remained even a sliver of a chance, he was never going to give it up easily.

Besides, given that Li Musheng had made no attempt on either his or the Assassination Saint's life during this encounter, it seemed this Eighth Prince of Great Li before him likely had no intention of killing either of them.

In truth, Li Musheng genuinely had no intention of killing the Pavilion Master or the Assassination Saint. After all, whatever their dishonesty, it didn't warrant death.

And besides, the Hidden Kill Pavilion had only a handful of Assassination Saints to begin with. Killing two of them would be a considerable loss to what was now his own organization. Keeping them alive to continue serving him would clearly be far more useful than killing them.

Even so, the Life and Death Talisman was, of course, absolutely necessary.

Li Musheng simply flicked a finger, and two threads of talisman light settled into the bodies of the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint. "Both of you are elders of the Hidden Kill Pavilion. I hope you'll maintain an honest, trustworthy character going forward, and not make me chase you down with the Soul-Searching Technique again."

At this point, both the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint sensed the Life and Death Talisman now within their bodies, and could naturally guess exactly what it was meant to do.

They equally understood exactly what Li Musheng's words meant, and immediately spoke up, "Your Highness is now the Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion. We are willing to follow your lead without question and will never dare deceive you again."

At those words, Li Musheng looked at the two of them and gave a nod, "Good. Now, help me find the Tomb of the White Emperor."