Chapter Fifty-Three: A Secret Conversation

Tulu’s avatar looked up, surveying the dim passage where he found himself. The passage itself was built for ordinary folk; even the entrance bore the marks of mundane craftsmanship, yet within its depths an array had been laid to block spiritual senses. Normally, no one would expect a cultivator’s residence to contain a secret corridor like that of ordinary people’s, nor imagine a formation inside that rendered spiritual probes useless. It was nearly the perfect hiding place.

Fang Jinrui had clearly concealed him here, and had even given him the antidote to the Purple Cloud Pill. It was as if to say he was not the enemy, and that the true mastermind was someone else. Yet what did that dialogue between Fang Jinrui and the head servant mean?

He opened his mouth, and his body instantly split into three, three avatars appearing simultaneously in the passage. Their auras dropped in an instant, from the peak of the Sea-Filling stage to its late phase. The avatar that had taken the Purple Cloud Pill remained in the passage, while the other two slipped out quietly.

After leaving Fang Jinrui’s estate, the two avatars knocked out the guards outside, changed into their clothes, and used the Nine-Locked True Spirit Art to assume their appearances. With their aura suppressed, one avatar stealthily made for the City Lord’s treasury, while the other trailed Fang Jinrui’s aura, following him from a distance.

He was cautious—after all, tracking a half-step Purple Mansion cultivator brought considerable risk. He could only rely on the subtlety of the Nine-Locked True Spirit Art.

Meanwhile, guided by memories from earlier that day, his other avatar smoothly entered the treasury. Using the City Lord’s token that Fang Jinrui had given him, Tulu bypassed several wards, stopping only before the last one. He remembered that the last time he’d come here with Fang Jinrui, the first few wards were opened with an ordinary token, but the final one required a red jade tablet. The tablet he possessed lacked the necessary authority.

He circled the ward several times, his expression growing grave. The formation was likely laid by the half-step Nascent Soul cultivator—he could see no flaw. As for forcing his way through, combining his avatars might give him a slim chance, but even if he succeeded, he would be exposed, facing the suppression of Huangyun City’s defenses.

More importantly, he still wasn’t sure if the Three-Colored Cloud Blossom was actually here. He pondered for a moment, preparing to retreat while no one was present, but suddenly his expression changed dramatically. He withdrew most of his attention and focused his mind on another avatar.

This avatar, pursuing Fang Jinrui, had quietly left the City Lord’s mansion and entered an inn in the western part of the city. The distance grew so great that it nearly severed his connection, forcing him to devote most of his consciousness to the pursuit.

Fang Jinrui entered a room in the inn, while Tulu rented the neighboring one.

“Brother Fang, no one followed you, I hope?” came a heavy voice from the adjacent room.

“Rest assured, they haven’t truly suspected me yet and won’t bother tracking me. I changed my appearance when leaving the estate, and swapped identities several times along the way. It should be safe,” Fang Jinrui replied.

The other man nodded, fell silent for a moment, and said, “Even so, why come now? You should know Old Purple hasn’t vanished!”

“No matter. He won’t act for the time being. I do have something to consult you about—the cultivator who obstructed your plans the other day, he’s been poisoned by Seven-Inch Grass.”

At that, the man in the opposite room was silent for a long while. “Was it you? Won’t this arouse suspicion from Purple Camel Peak?”

Fang Jinrui chuckled. “Don’t worry. That boy from Purple Camel Peak is ambitious but lacking in talent, and narrow-minded besides. He secretly prompted me to act, so I did. Yet he wants to appear grateful in public, letting me bear the blame while he keeps a noble face. But this could be a bargaining chip. I wanted to ask, can we use this to entice him with great reward and bring him to our side?”

“Win him over? Hmph! Because of him, we lost more than ten cultivators!” The man was clearly displeased.

Fang Jinrui shook his head. “He’s at the peak of the Sea-Filling stage, and Purple Camel Peak is outwardly grateful. The defenses will be minimal. With his help, the two of us could make assassination far easier.”

This time the man remained silent even longer. “But if Purple Camel Peak prompted you to act, and this man appears unharmed before him despite being poisoned, wouldn’t that expose you?”

“No, it’s simple. I just need to put on a show with him. He’s at the peak of Sea-Filling—having a trump card to escape me is plausible. I’ll feign a report before Purple Camel Peak—at worst, he’ll scold me privately for incompetence, but he’ll never suspect…”

“Hmm, that’s worth considering… Who?!”

The man’s voice rose sharply, and Tulu’s expression changed. He left the servant’s clothing behind and fled the inn at once. He hadn’t quite managed to escape when the wall between rooms was smashed to powder by a single punch. A towering black figure burst out, appearing in the adjacent room, his gaze landing on the servant’s clothing.

“Brother Fang, so this is what you meant by not being exposed!” The tall figure’s face was ugly with rage.

Fang Jinrui also changed color. Picking up the clothing, he sniffed it twice and immediately spoke, “Brother Gao, the clothes are still warm—he hasn’t gone far. If we pursue now, we can still catch him. I’ll take my leave!”

With that, he hurried out of the inn. He did not attempt to intercept Tulu on the road, but returned directly to the City Lord’s mansion, waiting near the gates.

But Tulu had anticipated this. Fang Jinrui, as a half-step Purple Mansion, was far swifter than his avatars; it was unrealistic for him to beat Fang Jinrui back to the mansion. He simply had the avatar return to his main body.

The avatar heading to the treasury hurried back to Fang Jinrui’s estate, returned the clothes to one of the servants, and slipped back into the secret passage. Thus, those two servants would become scapegoats—Fang Jinrui might suspect impersonation, but he would never guess it was Tulu.

Meanwhile, in the inn outside the City Lord’s mansion, Tulu exhaled, relieved. Matters were growing ever more complicated.

He hadn’t expected that the one seeking his life was Purple Camel Peak, nor that Fang Jinrui was among the assassins. And from the conversation between Fang Jinrui and the tall shadowy figure, it was clear that Purple Camel Peak’s father might not truly be missing, but unable to act for some reason.

The matter involved a half-step Nascent Soul, the waters ran deep. He sensed that things were more tangled than he’d imagined.

Still, he wasn’t overly concerned—his only goal was the Three-Colored Cloud Blossom. Once he obtained it, he could leave this mire behind.

Yet he wondered how he might use what he’d overheard today to secure enough benefit for himself.