Chapter Forty: So It Was You Who Led Them Here

Su Jian pondered for a moment, then turned to Zhao Qianxue and said, “Let’s do it this way. From now on, I’ll call you Qianxue, and you can call me whatever you like. We’ll each stick to our own terms.”

Zhao Qianxue was momentarily stunned, clearly displeased as she gave him a light slap.

Su Jian dodged to the side. “Alright, stop fooling around. Lingzhou isn’t a place to linger.”

But just as he finished speaking, the familiar chime of the system sounded in his mind.

[Option One: Go to the City Lord’s Mansion and mock the Alliance of the Righteous at the bottom of the lake.]
[Reward: Instantly unlock ultimate evolution for a low-grade cultivation method.]
[Option Two: Go to the City Lord’s Mansion and secretly observe the lakebed, waiting for the right moment.]
[Reward: Instantly unlock Truth Mode.]
[Option Three: Not interested, leave Lingzhou immediately.]
[Reward: Your charm will be enhanced.]
[Notice: Failing the mission will result in the permanent loss of the opportunity to obtain this reward. Please choose carefully.]
[Notice: The number of modes you have bound has reached the limit. You now have the authority to unbind them yourself.]

“It seems... the Alliance of the Righteous has already learned my whereabouts from one of the City Lord’s officials and is on their way to the lakebed.”

Otherwise, the system would not have presented him with the first option.

What’s more, this time, there were rewards outside of the usual modes.

To be fair, the system was rather considerate.

He had reached the maximum number of bound modes; the system was practically his personal guardian.

Su Jian felt there was no need to hesitate. He immediately took Zhao Qianxue’s hand and set off without delay.

Seeing his urgency, Zhao Qianxue’s expression shifted slightly. She whispered in his ear, “Are they catching up to us?”

“More or less,” Su Jian replied quietly. “We’d better leave the city quickly.”

[Task completed. Your charm has increased.]

At once, Su Jian felt his entire presence become more refined—even his ordinary features, transformed by the Morphing Pill, now seemed quite distinguished.

This feeling was hard to describe, but it was certainly not just psychological.

Following behind him, Zhao Qianxue was increasingly distracted by the aura he radiated.

Su Jian was in high spirits, even though the reward seemed rather insubstantial and offered no real benefit.

Still, it was better than nothing.

The three modes he currently had were serving him well; since he couldn’t unbind them, unless a more practical mode appeared, he would simply forgo any additional rewards.

Besides—

Even if the first two options had offered something truly tempting, he would have resolutely chosen “not interested” and left.

Risking his life for a reward would be sheer folly.

He had never thought that possessing the Great Teleportation Talisman meant he could act with impunity.

The world was vast, and his knowledge was as insignificant as a speck of dust.

In no time at all, Su Jian led Zhao Qianxue out of the city without looking back.

But he had no intention of traveling by sword for now—the Alliance of the Righteous was already in Lingzhou, and it was best not to attract unnecessary attention.

...

Meanwhile, Ouyang Ke had already arrived at the City Lord’s Mansion with the old beggar.

Not long ago, Ouyang Ke had asked for the old beggar’s name, but the man had avoided the question.

But that didn’t matter. Even if the old beggar was the most heinous villain, he still needed to seek his protection...

“Senior, the immortal fate is in the lake!”

The old beggar’s eyes narrowed, and he tried to use his spiritual sense to probe the depths.

But the depth of the water far exceeded his expectations.

Without further hesitation, he grabbed Ouyang Ke and darted toward the bottom.

As they entered the water, a spiritual shield enveloped both of them.

In the blink of an eye, they reached the lakebed.

But the Alliance of the Righteous had beaten them there.

Now, however, their bodies were strewn carelessly across the ground—dead beyond any hope of revival.

There were no visible wounds, nor any traces of a battle.

The old beggar sensed something amiss and immediately extended his spiritual sense.

The next instant, the lights in the ceilingless palace abruptly extinguished.

Suddenly, darkness was absolute.

Murderous intent filled the air.

Veins bulged on the old beggar’s forehead as he locked onto the enemy’s position and exclaimed in shock,

“A Phantom?!”

The Phantom gave a chilling smile. “You old fool, do you really think you can ruin my plans?”

Having just devoured several cultivators from the Alliance of the Righteous, his strength was now beyond comparison.

Seeing the old beggar’s tattered clothing and filthy appearance, the Phantom couldn’t help but look down on him.

Then, his gaze fell on Ouyang Ke, and realization dawned upon his face. “So it was you who brought them here. You’ve been a great help to me. I’ll be sure to thank you properly later.”

Ouyang Ke shrank back, terrified he’d be caught in the coming conflict.

He was all the more thankful that he’d had the resolve to abandon those thirty percent of spirit items; otherwise, he’d have no hope of surviving.

The old beggar’s face darkened with anger. “Nonsense!”

Though the Phantom had now grown formidable, the old beggar showed no sign of retreat.

It was just a phantom—what was there to fear?

The old beggar’s eyes flickered, and then, as if preparing to unleash his full strength, he attacked.

Far from being cowed, the Phantom’s eyes gleamed. “Not bad at all. Late-stage Incarnation, I see. If I devour you, I’ll save myself centuries of cultivation. Thank you for your generosity.”

Although the Phantom, too, was at the late Incarnation stage, he was on the verge of the Void Return stage—already a cut above the old beggar.

Then, at the crucial moment as the Phantom dodged and struck back—

The old beggar suddenly appeared right in front of him, a strange smile flickering across his weathered face.

In the next instant, his figure turned ghostly and indistinct. Without a word, he unleashed a surge of demonic energy, transforming into a magnificent tiger with blazing eyes and gaping jaws.

A roar shook the air.

The Phantom’s expression changed to utter horror, his body trembling uncontrollably. His once fierce attacks lost sixty percent of their force, and terror threatened to drive his soul from his body.

“Lord Tiger, spare me! I didn’t recognize your greatness. If you’ll have me, I’ll gladly serve at your side as your subordinate.”

At last, he understood why the other had shown such confidence—tigers were inherently the bane of phantoms like himself.

Even at the Void Return stage, he would be no match for a Tiger Lord.

The Phantom tried to distract the Tiger Lord.

But the Tiger Lord was unmoved. He opened his blood-red jaws.

The Phantom had no power to resist; his consciousness faded in an instant.

The Tiger Lord resumed his former appearance, looking quite pleased, even smacking his lips as he commented, “Phantoms have a rather unique flavor.”

Had he shown his true form sooner, the Phantom would likely have escaped.

After all, the Phantom was in the late Incarnation stage; though not his equal, he could easily have fled if given the chance.