Chapter 207 - 154: Concluding for Now

Chapter 207: Chapter 154: Concluding for Now

"She waited for me once by the Black Stone and explained some things." Zhao Zuo didn’t deny it.

"Oh?"

"She told me there was no need to lash out, or to feel guilty."

"You two really are quite alike." Shen Yunjiao suddenly clenched her fist. The blood-red energy surging from the strange Blood Egg instantly doubled, and a crimson film veiled her eyes, growing deeper with each passing moment.

"How are we alike?" Zhao Zuo asked.

"You’re both a bit naive and kind, always thinking of others. Like good people," Shen Yunjiao answered.

"Is that so? I’ve never felt that way."

Zhao Zuo didn’t dwell on it. He stood up, assumed the stance for the Golden Body Technique, swallowed a Vajra Pill, and began to cultivate the Body Refining Technique.

The next day, both of them emerged from their cultivation. Zhao Zuo could feel that Shen Yunjiao’s strength had grown again; a mere wisp of her leaking aura was enough to fill him with dread.

"We’re heading out soon to continue searching for targets," Shen Yunjiao said.

"Hey, wait. Don’t move." Zhao Zuo suddenly leaned in close to Shen Yunjiao, gazing into her eyes. They held each other’s gaze for about two seconds before he pulled back.

"Your eyes have turned red," Zhao Zuo said seriously. "It’s just like when you cultivate the Taotie Secret Technique." ’This change isn’t a good thing,’ his Spiritual Sense warned him.

"That... it’s normal. It means the drop of Taotie blood inside me is almost mature," Shen Yunjiao replied in a very soft voice.

"Are you sure it’s okay? What happens when the Taotie blood matures?" Zhao Zuo asked.

"Well, if we’re still alive after this is over, I’ll tell you."

Shen Yunjiao didn’t answer directly, instead promising to tell him at a later time. With a seemingly relaxed air, she left the bungalow. She took out a mirror and gazed at her own reflection, at the pale red hue of her eyes.

’There’s not much time left.’

A short while later, Zhao Zuo came out as well.

The two used the daylight to continue hunting for traces of the Demon Path, while also trying to find out what happened last night.

The battle site of the first two they hunted was in a lawless area—dead was dead. The Martial Artist Shen Yunjiao had knocked out had profited from the situation, so even if he had his suspicions, he wouldn’t say a word. As a result, the deaths of the first two Demon Cultivators caused no stir whatsoever.

The third person, however, was a different story. He was killed in the heart of the outer city, in a place like Lanxiang Pavilion no less. Coupled with the fact that Shen Yunjiao had let the witness in the room live, the incident drew significant attention in the outer city, with many discussing it in hushed tones.

Fortunately, Shen Yunjiao had slightly altered her appearance when they struck last night, and Zhao Zuo had changed his face entirely. Finding them in the vast sea of people would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even if someone tried to investigate, it would be a long time before any leads pointed their way.

They moved through the city in fits and starts. Whenever she had a moment, Shen Yunjiao would use the Taotie Secret Technique to scan for targets. The deaths of their own had clearly made the Demon Path cultivators somewhat cautious.

The targets Shen Yunjiao found had all grown much more vigilant; twice, they were nearly discovered by the Demon Path Cultivators.

Ultimately, they averted disaster each time. The Hundred-Change Mask’s ability to freely alter one’s face, aura, and even height was perfectly suited for tracking targets and pinpointing their hideouts.

Shen Yunjiao, for her part, ascertained the strength of several targets. Most were in the Late Period of Qi Cultivation. One, at the eighth layer of Qi Cultivation, had a Cultivation level comparable to her own.

Within a day, Zhao Zuo had located the hideouts of four individuals and marked them as targets.

That night, Shen Yunjiao and Zhao Zuo struck again. With no mishaps, they successfully eliminated all four.

The next day, the situation began to change. Realizing that someone was hunting Demon Path Cultivators, they started gathering in groups of three to five. At night, they bunked together in the same locations.

Normally, Demon Path Cultivators required blood pearls as a cultivation material, but to avoid assassination, they had stopped leaving their residences altogether.

On the third day, the pair came up empty. The plan was beginning to go awry, hitting unforeseen snags.

Clearly, the Demon Path cultivators weren’t all fools who would let themselves be hunted down without a fight.

Zhao Zuo and Shen Yunjiao had gathered enough intelligence to pinpoint the Demon Path Cultivators’ nightly gathering spot, but over twenty Blood Dao Demon Cultivators were assembled there.

With just the two of them, they stood no chance of taking them on.

So, they changed their plan. They decided to assassinate any Demon Path Cultivators who ventured out during the day.

The pair worked together in ambush, and after roughly eight two-hour periods, they assassinated two Demon Path Cultivators.

Shen Yunjiao was dissatisfied with this number. The corpses of Demon Path Cultivators were directly linked to her Cultivation, and she had intended to make a huge profit during this time.

So the two gave up the ambush and returned to their hideout.

"We can’t keep going on like this," Shen Yunjiao said, a hint of frustration in her eyes. They had nearly been cornered by multiple Demon Path Cultivators today.

"Let’s lay low for two days and focus on improving our strength."

’The Blood Demon Dao Cultivators were growing increasingly cautious, making it difficult to find opportunities for assassination. It was better to pause than to walk into an enemy trap.’

"Alright."

"Wait. Let’s change our clothes, use Cleaning Talismans to get rid of our scent, and then split up. We can wander around for a bit and meet up at the secondary rendezvous point."

Zhao Zuo figured the Blood Demon Dao Cultivators must hate them to the bone by now. He also guessed they were coveting the wealth they’d accumulated from killing around ten Demon Path Cultivators.

"Are you suggesting... that one of the Blood Demon Dao Cultivators might have a Tracking Secret Technique?" Shen Yunjiao asked.

"Exactly," Zhao Zuo replied seriously. "And even if they don’t have one themselves, they could spend Spirit Stones to hire someone to track us. After all, our haul has been pretty substantial."

In just four days, Zhao Zuo’s small share of the loot already amounted to around thirty thousand Spirit Stones, plus a pile of Artifact Refining materials.

On top of that, they had acquired another Defiled Blood Saber, an Upper Grade Magical Artifact, as well as three other Middle Grade Magical Artifacts.

Shen Yunjiao didn’t agree right away. She thought for a few seconds.

"You have a point. Let’s go... change our clothes."

Neither of them had been injured in their fights, so theoretically, they shouldn’t have left behind any trace to be tracked. But the Demon Path’s methods were endless, and one could never be too careful.

They went into separate rooms of the bungalow to change. First, they stripped off all their clothes, placed them in an iron basin, and burned them to ashes.

While the clothes burned, they used numerous Cleaning Talismans to purge every trace of aura from their bodies. Zhao Zuo went a step further, using the Hundred-Change Mask to alter his external aura completely.

After changing into fresh clothes, the two of them split up and headed to different districts to wander aimlessly.

Not long after they had left, a small group of seven surrounded the bungalow from all sides. They immediately began hurling various offensive Talismans into the building.

Flames and gales of wind erupted, blasting apart the house’s wooden windows and door.

All eyes were fixed on the interior of the house.

"No one here?"

"It’s empty!"

"They got away!"

Just as Zhao Zuo had predicted, the Blood Dao Demon Cultivators were not content to be the prey. Coveting the resources in their targets’ Storage Bags, they had spent Spirit Stones to hire a Soul Path Demon Cultivator skilled in Tracking Techniques.

Six of the group were in the Late Period of Qi Cultivation. Their apparent leader had already reached Qi Cultivation Perfection. It was clear their desire to kill Zhao Zuo and Shen Yunjiao was stronger than ever.

Not far away, Zhao Zuo watched the pillar of fire shoot up from their first hideout and shrugged. His suspicions were confirmed, but he felt no joy.

’The Demon Path cultivators are starting to work together. The roles of hunter and hunted are reversing.’ He quickly retracted his gaze... and melted into the crowd.

’It’s a shame. In the end, I don’t have the power to just sweep them all aside.’

As he walked, Zhao Zuo would occasionally duck into a clothing shop. He’d go into a fitting room, change his clothes, adjust his aura, and then head back out to wander.

Compared to Shen Yunjiao, Zhao Zuo was undoubtedly safer.

The combination of the Breath-Concealing Ring and the Hundred-Change Mask kept him well-protected.

"How are things on your end?"

"Haven’t spotted any enemies yet." Shen Yunjiao’s reply came quickly, her tone relaxed.

"Still, be careful. We don’t know much about the Demon Path’s tracking methods, after all," Zhao Zuo reminded her.

......