It was autumn now; the river wind blew bleakly, and the vegetation withered, evoking a sense of loneliness and sorrow.
It should have been a reunion of old friends, meeting an acquaintance in a distant place, yet there was an unspeakable, chilling atmosphere of slaughter.
Deng Gang took a deep look at Liu Zhijian.
Years ago, it was right here that he and Liu Zhijian had shared wine in merry conversation and joined hands to accept the invitation of the Fubo Gang's young gang leader, subsequently entering the flood dragon cave abode, rising in rebellion at Mount Yandang, and embarking on a legendary path swept along by the overwhelming tide of events.
Meeting again today, it was hard to say how much of that friendship remained.
Chances were they would draw blades against each other.
Qiao Yuniang's expression showed slight unease as she gently pulled on Deng Gang's sleeve. "Your Majesty..."
"It is fine." Deng Gang offered a brief comfort, stood up, walked to the bonfire, and sat down cross-legged. He picked up a whole roasted fish, swallowed it whole, and washed it down with a gulp of unrefined wine to extinguish the scalding heat in his mouth. Laughing heartily, he asked, "That Fubo Gang young gang leader... what was his name again?! I've actually forgotten it, even though he was a young hero and my benefactor."
Liu Zhijian recalled briefly and answered, "He was called... Zhao Changfan."
He glanced at Deng Gang and said calmly, "A Qi Refining cultivator has already left the mortal realm behind; photographic memory is a trivial trick not even worth mentioning. Only a single year has passed—how could Brother Deng forget?"
"Has it really only been a year? Why does it feel to me like a lifetime ago?!" Deng Gang's expression drifted slightly into a daze. A moment later, he smiled and said, "My memory indeed keeps getting worse—perhaps because I've taken too many elixirs."
"Your Majesty..." Qiao Yuniang carefully stepped forward and bowed to Liu Zhijian in greeting. "Yuniang pays respects to Elder Brother."
"Mm." Liu Zhijian gave no pleasant expression to the empress of the Deng Kingdom, not even standing to return the courtesy, saying only coldly, "Fellow Daoist Qiao is too polite."
Qiao Yuniang's expression froze. No matter how quick-witted and adaptable she was, she was left momentarily speechless.
"Brother Liu need not be like this." Deng Gang suddenly laughed freely, drank a full cup of unrefined wine, and unexpectedly turned around to persuade Liu Zhijian, "Yuniang was also forced by circumstances; she is no better off than I am."
"Besides, she is now pregnant. Emotional shocks and mood swings are bad for the fetus—you were the one who taught me that, Brother Liu."
Qiao Yuniang's face finally changed dramatically. She looked at Deng Gang with a complex gaze. "You..."
Hearing this, Liu Zhijian said no more, drinking silently without pause.
Deng Gang ignored Qiao Yuniang, chuckling as he said, "Brother Liu, do you know that on that day inside the flood dragon cave abode, I was actually not unconscious?"
"When I was young, I learned the technique of feigning death through turtle breathing from my uncle. That day, I intended to play weak to lower the enemy's guard so I could step forward at the critical moment and launch a desperate counterattack."
"I never expected that Brother Liu, hailing from Taixuan, would intimidate everyone just by revealing your identity, giving me no chance to show my hand."
"Even less did I expect that Brother Liu would forgo that bit of 【Kan Water Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】 and instead choose the 【Flood Dragon Essence Blood】 for me."
Liu Zhijian was startled upon hearing this, looking deeply at Deng Gang. "Since Brother Deng knew everything long ago, it saves me the trouble of explaining."
"Hehe, how could I claim to know everything? It is only now, with death looming, as I reflect on the past, that I noticed a few peculiarities." Deng Gang put down his wine cup and said seriously, "I have one question, and I ask Brother Liu to answer truthfully."
Liu Zhijian replied solemnly, "Ask away, Brother Deng."
Deng Gang's eyes burned as he stared at Liu Zhijian. "On that day in the flood dragon cave abode, did you already know the truth behind the scene, Brother Liu? When you chose the 【Flood Dragon Essence Blood】 over the 【Kan Water Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】, was it out of genuine sincerity, or were you putting on a show to play me?"
Liu Zhijian's expression turned complex upon hearing this. He did not swear oaths, but merely met Deng Gang's gaze and spoke slowly: "It was only after returning to the mountain to ingest qi and enter the Dao that I learned the truth."
"Good!" Deng Gang let out a long sigh of relief, a genuine smile appearing on his face. "My life has been utterly absurd. My name, origin, kin, and wife are all impossible to tell real from fake."
"Yet I made one true friend in you, Brother Liu."
"Mortal Turbid Qi corrupts the Dao Heart the most; I regret not listening to your advice, Brother Liu."
Liu Zhijian listened in silence.
The schemes of high-level cultivators were like a net.
How could Deng Gang break free just because he wanted to?
Even an ant clings to life, let alone a cultivator.
Deng Gang could not help asking, "May I ask, Brother Liu... is there still a way out for me?"
Liu Zhijian pressed his hand against the black box at his waist and spoke slowly, "Before I came, Master privately instructed me that if Brother Deng had not consumed the blood qi of human pills, I need not strike."
"If Brother Deng can flee all the way west to the foot of Mount Taixuan, Master is willing to protect you for ten years."
"Brother Liu, you have gone to great lengths." Deng Gang was moved upon hearing this, yet he knew that for the master of Mount Taixuan to willingly offend the schemer behind the scenes to take him in must have been due to Liu Zhijian's pleading. He turned back and asked, "Yuniang, could the Essence Treasure Elixir you brought me daily truly be human pills?!"
Upon hearing this, Qiao Yuniang lowered her head in silent assent.
Deng Gang was instantly struck with understanding. He asked no further questions, showing an unexpected sense of relief. "Fate is such—what can be done?"
Liu Zhijian showed a look of reluctance, adding, "There is another way. If Brother Deng can kill me, breach Mount Taixuan, and condense a fate far surpassing that of the great Fubo demon, you might have a chance at 【Foundation Establishment】."
"When that time comes, you can naturally break through the net and escape with your life."
"【Foundation Establishment】..." Deng Gang nodded slightly, lost in thought. He turned back again and asked, "Yuniang, where is the 【Foundation Establishment Pill】?!"
With a complex expression, Qiao Yuniang stepped forward and opened a wooden box, revealing an azure treasure pill inside.
"Fragrant with a woody scent, with pure medicinal power... it should indeed be a real 【Foundation Establishment Pill】, not a blood-qi human pill." Deng Gang stood up, reached out to take it, and swallowed it in one gulp. He said to Liu Zhijian, "Brother Liu, life and death are decreed by fate—do not blame me for being heartless!"
Saying so, he abruptly activated a secret technique, using the medicinal power of the Qingyun Sect's 【Foundation Establishment Pill】 to push his dragon transformation to its absolute limit, striking out fiercely with hideous and terrifying dragon claws!
Liu Zhijian had long been on guard, holding the black fishing rod in one hand and pressing the black box at his waist with the other, his expression complex.
Deng Gang's ferocious dragon claws seized Qiao Yuniang tightly by the neck.
"Let go... I am carrying... your child..." Caught completely off guard, Qiao Yuniang begged softly with mournful eyes.
"Even if born, it would only be a plaything for others, walking the same old path as me." Deng Gang's expression was calm as he exerted a little force, snapping Qiao Yuniang's neck.
Touring west all the way, abusing and tormenting the populace, Deng Gang had accumulated a vast amount of resentment from the common people.
Now, by killing his wife and destroying his child, he had committed a heinous atrocity defying human relations.
The malevolent qi on Deng Gang was on the verge of overflowing.
Aboard the dragon vessel behind them, Qiao Yunbai's face turned dark.
It was not that he cared about a pawn suddenly seeing through the chessboard, nor that he pitied Qiao Yuniang's death, but rather that he regretted the child in Qiao Yuniang's womb—originally, it would have been an exceptional pawn to control the mortal realm of the Deng Kingdom.
Deng Gang did not attack Liu Zhijian of Mount Taixuan; instead, he turned back and charged toward the east, killing as he went!
The mortal officials and generals still did not know the cause, stunned into shock by His Majesty's sudden rampage and murder of the empress. In their panic and confusion, most stood frozen on the spot.
Deng Gang ignored them, choosing to slaughter only the disciples of the Qingyun Sect.
Though he was a Qi Refining cultivator pushed forward by elixirs, he had nonetheless reached late-stage Qi Refining. Now, having swallowed the 【Foundation Establishment Pill】, his power was comparable to Qi Refining great perfection; ordinary Qingyun Sect disciples were simply no match for him.
"Seeking death!" Qiao Yunbai was instantly enraged. Naturally, he had to intervene to protect his juniors. A pestle-shaped artifact glowing with brilliant green light flew out from his body, smashing down ferociously.
Deng Gang took the hit head-on with his flood dragon body. Though he was unharmed, he was knocked flying far back.
To nurture and refine Deng Gang as a human pill, immense pains had been taken.
If he were too weak, it would be difficult to condense aura and destiny.
If he were too strong, there was a risk he might break free of the net and escape the chessboard.
Naturally, precautions had not been omitted.
For instance, Deng Gang's realm could be high, his body could be strong, and elixirs could be provided in abundance.
However, powerful spells and top-tier artifacts would absolutely never be bestowed upon him.
Qiao Yunbai naturally knew Deng Gang's weaknesses. Holding his artifact, he sneered, "Do not even think of diving into the river to escape! Vicious flood dragon, you have only one path to walk: west!"
Seeing his plan exposed, Deng Gang remained silent. He cast a glance at the artifact, turned around, and fled north toward Danzhou City.
"Stop, little friend. This road is closed." Xue Yang of Qixia Mountain stood midair, stepping upon a radiant shuttle artifact, exuding an immortal aura.
To possess a flying artifact capable of airborne transit showed just how formidable his backing was.
Deng Gang did not even bother to try; he immediately turned around and fled south.
"Good Gou'er... no need to run." Dong Linyuan of Mount Xiaolong appeared, holding a chain-like artifact in his hand as he blocked Deng Gang's path.
Hearing that familiar form of address and seeing that familiar figure, even though Deng Gang had guessed it long ago, his eyes instantly turned blood-red as an unspeakable tide of grief, tragedy, and hatred surged into his heart: "Uncle!!!"
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