As Liu Xing launched himself toward Yu Yongrui, he activated his mask's function and slammed a freezing killing intent at him. Yu Yongrui, still mesmerized by the thousands of blue butterflies that filled the sky, suddenly flinched and froze. The inky-black aura covering him lessened, and as Liu Xing arrived beside the man, he swung Harmony of Two Seas, intending to behead him.

  He was still curious why Shen Ye and Yu Yongrui were on the side of the Nether Lotus Sect; however, he would not let this opportunity to kill his enemy pass.

  When the sword was about to touch his neck, Yu Yongrui twisted his head. His trembling eyes looked straight at him, and aside from fear, there was something else in them.

  At that moment, a purple shield suddenly materialized between the blade and Yu Yongrui's neck. A moment later, Liu Xing's sword slammed into the purple shield. Seeing this, Liu Xing pressed his lips, thinking that of course Yu Yongrui would have a trick up his sleeve.

  Liu Xing shouted, exerting his full power into the swing. He intended to cut through the purple shield, which looked both physical and non-physical, as if made from qi itself. However, his swing merely smashed the shield into Yu Yongrui. The collision created a shockwave that lifted Yu Yongrui into the air, but he was still alive.

  At that moment, Liu Xing summoned his gun to his left hand. He aimed it at the still-airborne Yu Yongrui and pulled the trigger six times. Six Lightning Missile bullets flew toward Yu Yongrui. Liu Xing controlled them to maneuver in the air, coming at Yu Yongrui from multiple angles so that the shield could not protect him completely. Liu Xing's strategy worked. While the purple shield successfully destroyed four of his bullets and the fifth one missed, the sixth bullet slammed into Yu Yongrui's back. When it exploded, it created a brilliant light that engulfed Yu Yongrui, and the man shouted a soundless cry.

  Liu Xing looked at his gun, expecting the six stripes on its side to glow, which would indicate that Yu Yongrui was dead. To his surprise, they remained dark. Yu Yongrui was still alive.

  Liu Xing looked to where Yu Yongrui should have been, but when the light from the explosion was gone, he was nowhere to be seen.

  At that moment, Liu Xing remembered the last time he and Yu Yongrui had parted ways. It was after they were swallowed by a giant whale—after his meeting with the Silver Saint. While he had been busy saving his friends from two fighting spirit beasts, Yu Yongrui had vanished without a trace.

  Liu Xing looked around. Yu Heng was almost done; his giant whale had already shrunk to the size of a tiger, its form wavering between physical and non-physical as it shone with a yellow light. To the side, he saw Tide Walker, and his eyes widened at its state. A black, inky chain, as if made from darkness itself, bound Tide Walker. His shark was still okay; it thrashed around, biting the chain as if trying to escape. When he had been fighting Shen Ye, Tide Walker had been outside the barrier.

  "So that's why it didn't attack Yu Yongrui," Liu Xing muttered.

  He hadn't seen his shark get chained. It must have happened some time ago. How had Yu Yongrui done it, though? The shark was strong, and he had several eyes watching the area.

  Liu Xing took several steps toward Tide Walker, observing the black chain, and he narrowed his eyes. The black chain looked as if it was made from darkness.

  At that moment, Liu Xing saw movement to the side. It was merely a distortion of light that came and went in an instant, but he instantly understood what had happened.

  Yu Yongrui was currently invisible. His invisibility was thorough, to the point he could not be sensed. However, it was not perfect. The moment he moved, he could be detected, though curiously, he could not be sensed using qi, nor did the Eye of Lightning pick him up.

  Seeing this, Liu Xing walked toward Tide Walker. He wanted to lure Yu Yongrui closer, to make him think he could launch a sneak attack and kill him. As he walked, he saw several distortions of light in the corner of his eye, as if Yu Yongrui was hastily moving toward him.

  Right when Liu Xing was before Tide Walker, Yu Yongrui was right behind him.

  Liu Xing's heart beat steadily against his ribs as he anticipated Yu Yongrui's movement, wondering how his opponent would try to kill him. Turning around and swinging his sword would be simple, and he intended to do just that.

  Suddenly, the chain of darkness binding Tide Walker dissolved into a cloud and instantly leaped toward Liu Xing. Liu Xing realized it was not the same darkness his gun usually absorbed. It was similar, but different. The blackness, the aura, and the feeling were all different. While the color of this darkness was deeper, it also felt less potent, like an imitation or perhaps diluted true darkness. Still, it was indeed darkness, and he could feel his gun yearn to absorb it.

  Liu Xing reined in his gun and faked surprise, pretending to dodge to the side.

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  In a split second, instead of attacking Yu Yongrui, his instinct told him to play along with him.

  The inky blackness slammed into his chest. At the same time, Yu Yongrui slammed a palm into his back, and the darkness instantly formed into a chain.

  The moment the chain formed around him, he felt it trying to suppress him, to sap away his qi. And it succeeded, though only because Liu Xing allowed it. He was still holding his gun, and it indeed wanted to absorb the chain.

  Liu Xing fell to the ground, and Yu Yongrui undid his invisibility.

  Seeing this, Liu Xing couldn't help but feel elated by the situation. What he wanted most was information. Why had Yu Yongrui and Shen Ye sided with the Nether Lotus Sect? Did they know about the elder who backed the demonic sect? And much more. However, his last attempt had resulted in Shen Ye's escape. Thus, not wanting Yu Yongrui to escape as well, he had aimed to kill him. But this current situation was perfect. While he was bound by the chain, he was capable of breaking free anytime he wanted. And since Yu Yongrui looked like he had won, it would surely loosen his lips.

  Liu Xing looked up and saw what had made Yu Yongrui invisible. It was another chain of darkness, coiling around his body like a black worm.

  "I see that you've changed a little, Liu Xing," Yu Yongrui stated, "however, it seems you're still naive."

  Tide Walker, free of its bindings, lunged toward Yu Yongrui. However, the moment Tide Walker was about to chomp down on his head, the chain coiling around Yu Yongrui moved. While Tide Walker dodged to the side, the chain moved so fast that it soon wrapped around the shark once again. In that moment, Liu Xing realized a key function of the chain. It seemed it could mark its target. The first time, Yu Yongrui needed to attack the target simultaneously with his chain—like he had with Liu Xing—but for the second time, it seemed it just needed to get closer.

  Tide Walker fell beside him and began thrashing once again, its expression morphed into fury. Liu Xing silently apologized to the shark, but for now, it needed to be bound.

  Liu Xing wondered what he needed to do to convince Yu Yongrui that he had won, that Liu Xing was thoroughly defeated. In the end, he channeled his frustration and anger into his words.

  "Why are you and Shen Ye sided with the Nether Lotus Sect? They are a demonic sect!"

  Yu Yongrui sneered. "Did you forget about our conversation, Liu Xing?" he said. Then he took several steps until he was beside Liu Xing, extended his hands, grabbed his mask, and pried it from his face. Liu Xing did his best to act angry, frustrated, desperate, and afraid.

  "I'm not siding with them," he continued. "I am on my own side. I just did what benefited me the most."

  "You know that the Nether Lotus Sect will soon be destroyed, if not by the great sects currently circling them like sharks, then by our own sect. When the Purple Moon Sect learns of your actions, you will be punished, perhaps executed!"

  At that moment, Yu Heng finally finished his task. The whale was now the size of a large dog, its shape like a white whale and a woman overlapping each other. Yu Heng looked at him and Yu Yongrui and wisely froze. Liu Xing wanted to pry information, and it would not do if Yu Yongrui decided to complete his objective by capturing Mi Lian and Yu Heng.

  Yu Yongrui smiled at him, but it was a smile of amusement, as if he knew something Liu Xing did not. Seeing that smile, Liu Xing wondered whether the Purple Moon Sect was truly backing the Nether Lotus Sect.

  "Is your mission to get Mi Lian and Yu Heng?" Liu Xing asked.

  "I see what you're doing," Yu Yongrui stated. He took the white mask he had pried from Liu Xing's face and put it on his own. "You don't want to die, so you're desperately asking me questions."

  "What about it?!" Liu Xing pretended to snarl, like a thief who begins raging after finding himself trapped inside the store.

  "Nothing," Yu Yongrui smiled. He activated his mask, slamming a nasty killing intent toward Liu Xing, one that actually affected him. Liu Xing's teeth began to chatter on their own. "I just find it really surprising. You know, Yan Yu sometimes talked about you, how you're always in the same place as her, potentially messing with her plans." He tapped his white mask. "She must be surprised that the ghost wreaking havoc and massacring disciples of the Nether Lotus Sect was you."

  Liu Xing snarled again. "So, she's in on this too? She's siding with the Nether Lotus Sect?"

  "Yes," Yu Yongrui answered. "In fact, she was the one who roped Shen Ye and me into her plan. It was crazy, you know. Kind of ridiculous. Yet, every one of her predictions came to fruition. It was to the point that she could perhaps see parts of the future."

  "So, it was her, then," Liu Xing said, growling. "I'll kill her."

  After what she had done to Yang Liangyu in the Twelve Sun Empire, he saw her as a threat. He had even offered to kill Yan Yu for Yang Liangyu, but she had refused, because she wanted to kill Yan Yu herself. To think that Yan Yu would side with the Nether Lotus Sect and even rope other people into it.

  Yu Yongrui laughed. "You can try, but don't forget that your life is in my hands. If I wanted to, I could kill you. But I've let you live this far."

  "What do you want?" Liu Xing asked.

  "I want your cooperation," Yu Yongrui stated, his black hair billowing in the wind. "You're strong, ridiculously strong. Without this invisible chain, I would have no chance of defeating you. Not to mention you have weird treasures and fortuitous encounters that have made your cultivation leap forward. Your fate is strong, and I want you on my side. How about it? If you agree, I'll let you live."

  The moment he said that, Yu Yongrui's chains wriggled, and Liu Xing understood that if he agreed, he would be bound by this dark chain forever, making him Yu Yongrui's slave. Thinking about that, he could not help but snarl. Not only Yan Yu, but Yu Yongrui also had something that could enslave people.

  "I refuse!" Liu Xing said clearly.

  "Think about it a little more."

  "I refuse!" Liu Xing repeated.

  A dark, inky aura began to shroud Yu Yongrui. Then he said, "Is that so?" What a shame. You're valuable as an ally, but you'd be a hassle as an enemy."

  Brandishing his saber, Yu Yongrui swung it, intending to sever Liu Xing's neck.

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