In the small courtyard of Jiacheng, the covert confrontation between Hu Shaomeng and Xi Zichu continued.
"Stop scheming with your messy thoughts. As long as Jiang Chen is still at the mine, whatever that thing is has nothing to do with us, does it?" Hu Shaomeng said angrily.
"Your mouth is really tight. It seems you're quite certain I haven't gotten more specific information from my ears."
Xi Zichu idly spun his wine cup, smiling: "However, you told my eyes."
He appeared very confident, with a composure that suggested everything was under control.
Hu Shaomeng knew clearly that the previous "ears" referred to hidden agents, while the "eyes" referred to observation.
His face darkened immediately: "If you didn't have sincerity for cooperation, there was no need to stop me and say those words back then."
"Times change."
"Whatever." Hu Shaomeng lost patience and stood up to leave: "Anyway, if this gamble is lost, you'll be the one at the bottom. Thinking of that, failure doesn't seem so hard to accept."
Xi Zichu laughed out loud: "Yes, being open-minded is much better."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, just stay and have a drink. Three days should be enough, how about it?"
As Xi Zichu spoke, his hand suddenly trembled, wine splashing and shooting toward him in needle-like droplets.
The shrill sound rose and fell in an instant.
In a flash, Hu Shaomeng before him was pierced like a honeycomb.
"Xi Zichu, remember! You were the one who broke the foundation of our cooperation."
Hu Shaomeng actually calmed down, speaking coldly. Then his body swayed slightly, dissolving instantly, dissolving like smoke.
Only then did Xi Zichu realize that Hu Shaomeng, who had been chatting so confidently across from him, was actually just an illusion created by illusion magic. And he, who prided himself on his mastery of observation, diagnosis, and insight, had never seen through it.
Having struck at empty air, he wasn't flustered or exasperated, maintaining some composure.
He was just stunned for a moment, then lightly clapped his hands.
"The Sea Fishing Tower indeed has unparalleled illusion magic."
...
Outside the Hu Family Mine entrance.
Jiang Chen arrived just in time to see that corpulent figure wearing a pig bone mask.
He instantly gripped his long sword.
How could he not recognize this style of mask?
How could he forget the Bone Path that often appeared in his midnight dreams?
"Heh heh heh." The pig-bone-masked man's gaze swept over his hand gripping the sword, laughing with some difficulty: "You know me?"
"What do you think?" Jiang Chen countered.
"I heard there's someone from Zhuang Kingdom here. So I came."
A name suddenly flashed through Jiang Chen's mind: Xi Zichu. Not that Hu Shaomeng wouldn't do such a thing of borrowing a knife to kill, but this intelligence about his origin from Zhuang Kingdom was more likely obtained by Xi Zichu.
The pig-bone-masked man continued: "My brothers and sisters, many have died recently. A few days ago, four died at once. There was a fellow named Zhu, what was it? Zhu Weimo? Heh heh, we originally planned to go kill him. But later heard he had comprehended some True Solar Fire. Became a Divine Ability Inner Palace, even Kui Shan couldn't kill him. So we let it go..."
He babbled for a while, then suddenly asked Jiang Chen: "You're from Zhuang Kingdom? From the Maple Forest City Dao Academy in Zhuang Kingdom?"
Zhu Weimo...
This bone-faced man before him seemed mentally unstable. Since he was willing to talk, Jiang Chen let him.
As time passed, Su Xiuxing, Zhu Biqiong, Zhang Hai, Xiang Qian—all the current extraordinary combat power of the Hu Family Mine—gathered around.
Jiang Chen looked at the corpulent pig-bone-masked man and responded: "I was."
"Heh heh heh."
The pig-bone-masked man didn't seem to care about the so-called extraordinary cultivators gathering around. Only after getting confirmation from Jiang Chen's mouth did his laughter suddenly stop: "I suddenly feel very hungry."
His figure was enormous, several sizes larger than even Zhongxuan Sheng. But he moved as fast as lightning.
In an instant, he was before Jiang Chen, biting toward his neck like an unevolved beast.
Clang!
The long sword unsheathed, blocking in the pig-bone-masked man's mouth.
Teeth and blade collided, producing a crisp metallic ring.
Although the pig-bone-masked man's mind seemed a bit off, his combat ability was absolutely not sluggish. While biting toward Jiang Chen, his hands were also closing in a embrace.
With his monstrous strength, a single embrace could instantly crush an opponent's body.
But Jiang Chen first used the sword blade to block the pig-bone-masked man's bite, then actually ignored the man's embracing hands, pressing both hands on the sword hilt, opening all nine star river vortexes, violently channeling Dao essence, pressing the sword forward!
At the critical moment, the blade actually scraped sparks against the pig-bone-masked man's teeth.
He had absolute confidence in his Longing Thought sword. Although this sword hadn't been nurtured long enough and lacked additional powers, its sharpness was already unparalleled.
He wanted to test with the pig-bone-masked man—whether his sword would first cut through half the man's head, or whether the man would first crush his body.
Even if the opponent was one of the infamous Twelve Bone Masks of the Bone Path, a peak Tenglong Realm expert.
He, Jiang Chen, was completely fearless.
In a single clash, life and death would be decided instantly.
Boom!
The pig-bone-masked man's abdomen emitted a muffled explosion, his entire body retreating to a distance even faster than he came.
Jiang Chen forced the pig-bone-masked man back with one sword thrust, then immediately shouted: "Zhang Hai, Xiang Qian, you have the duty to guard the mine! If you don't act now, I will definitely send you to the Great Qi government!"
"Su Xiuxing, Zhu Biqiong, help me kill this fat man, and I'll owe you a favor!"
He hadn't called everyone to besiege him earlier because these people didn't have a life-and-death bond with him.
If he couldn't show the combat strength to face the pig-bone-masked man head-on, these people would probably scatter.
That's why he attacked aggressively—to build momentum, then coordinate these helpers to create a snowballing advantage.
Once Jiang Chen said this, no matter how reluctant Zhang Hai and Xiang Qian were, they had to approach.
But Su Xiuxing's eyes lit up: "Can you cure my poison?"
"Absolutely!"
As soon as Jiang Chen's words fell, Su Xiuxing had already swept in with the wind: "Dead fatty, your laugh is too ugly!"
The pig-bone-masked man waved his large hand, his palm rapidly swelling, bulging with a mixture of flesh, blood vessels, and tendons, slapping Su Xiuxing's dagger. The force sent him flying back.
Su Xiuxing rolled several times to dissipate the force, then crouched halfway to the ground.
This scene immediately deterred the eager Zhang Hai and Xiang Qian.
"Heh heh heh heh."
The pig-bone-masked man attacked Jiang Chen, achieved nothing, even had his lips injured by the sharpness of the Longing Thought sword, blood seeping out. Then he was attacked by Su Xiuxing.
But not only was he not angry, he was actually somewhat happy.
Completely ignoring the others, he just stared blankly at Jiang Chen, uttering morbid whispers: "I've been wondering who you are. Will you give me a pleasant surprise?"
"We should be old friends."
"In Maple Forest City, might I have eaten your family, friends?"
"How angry you must be, how much you must hate me."
"Heh heh heh heh, such hatred, what delicious nourishment!"
"It seems, it seems I can already smell its sweetness."
"Every piece of your flesh must be soaked with hatred for me, right?"
"Come quickly! Come quickly! I can't wait any longer..."