Chapter 35: The Straightforward Plan
Looking at the Celestial Palace in the distance, Su Xiao took a small vial of blood from his storage space. This was collected from his previous battles.
The [Primordial Mask] could still be used two more times before reaching its usage limit in this world. It would need to be repaired upon returning to Reincarnation Paradise before it could be used again in the next world.
Through experimentation, Su Xiao discovered that the [Primordial Mask]'s disguise actually had two characteristics.
The first characteristic involved using a personal belonging of the "target to be disguised." This type of disguise lasted longer. For example, when Su Xiao disguised himself as the old king, he could maintain it for over ten hours.
This disguise wasn't without flaws; there was a small chance of being seen through.
As for the second characteristic, it involved using the blood of the "target to be disguised." When using blood for disguise, the first requirement was ensuring enough blood was available, as the blood was a consumable after the disguise was activated.
Disguises using blood had a shorter duration. Even with sufficient blood, it only lasted a few hours. However, this type of disguise had almost no flaws, unlike disguises using personal belongings, which lasted longer but had a chance of being detected.
Neither form of disguise was superior; they were suitable for different situations. Disguising as a ruler was better with personal belongings, while disguising as a strong individual was more suitable with blood.
The person Su Xiao was about to disguise himself as was a deceased Tianba of the Qin nature, meaning a Purple-Robed Tianba.
Su Xiao opened the blood vial, dripped a single drop of blood onto the mask, then sealed the vial and tucked it into his chest.
Putting on the [Primordial Mask], Su Xiao's clothes gradually turned purple. The appearance of Dragon-Slaying Flash also changed, with an ornament appearing at the end of the hilt. The disguise was successful.
"Boss, let me use this thing sometime."
"For what?"
"I'll disguise myself as Bubu Wang and pluck Beini's fur, hahaha."
"..."
Su Xiao told Baha to act according to the situation, then walked forward into the cluster of buildings.
Amidst the swirling mist, the buildings ahead grew closer. When Su Xiao reached a two-story pavilion, he saw two Tianba embracing each other, biting each other's necks. One of them had a relatively slender figure.
"Ahem."
Su Xiao coughed dryly. Both of them shuddered and immediately separated. The male Tianba directly drew his blade.
"You... saw that."
The male Tianba's eyes showed killing intent, a drop of blood sliding down his neck. Meanwhile, the female Tianba's eyes revealed a look of pleading; her pupils were bluer.
These two weren't embracing intimately; they were transferring the excessive source energy from one party's body.
"Be careful. If the chief sees you, you'll both die."
Su Xiao sat on the steps in front of the pavilion. The street beside him was empty. This disguise of his only lasted six hours, which was enough time.
"You've done this too?"
The male Tianba sheathed his long blade, sat down beside Su Xiao, and waved for the female Tianba to leave.
"Done it six times."
Su Xiao had already understood the situation. This seemed to be a method for the Tianba to alleviate source transformation.
"S-six times? How... did you manage that?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. His primary goal was to rescue Amu and Liu.
"Outsiders have arrived."
"I know. The chief has summoned everyone except Tianba like me who are close to source transformation. You're the same, not summoned by the chief."
The male Tianba sneered, took out a few wild fruits from his bosom, and tossed them into his mouth one by one.
"The outsiders almost cut off my head."
Su Xiao caught the wild fruit thrown by the male Tianba, pretending to chew it in his mouth but actually storing it in his storage space.
"Are those outsiders that strong?"
"Carelessness. Otherwise, that outsider would be dead."
"Really? Haha."
The male Tianba chuckled, seeing through Su Xiao's bravado. Almost being killed wasn't a glorious thing.
"I heard the chief caught two outsiders?"
"It wasn't the chief who caught them. It was Hao Hun and the other four."
"Where are they locked up?"
"Don't do anything rash. I know you're angry, but those two outsiders can't be touched."
"..."
Su Xiao turned his head to look at the male Tianba. After a moment of eye contact, the male Tianba cursed under his breath, the words too low for Su Xiao to hear.
"We never met today. Don't blame me if you die. Those two outsiders are at..."
The male Tianba's voice grew softer. After naming a location, he stood up and hurriedly left. The reason he was willing to tell was his fear that Su Xiao would report to the Qin Chief about him forcing a fellow clansman to absorb source power.
Su Xiao remained seated on the steps. After waiting a few minutes to confirm the male Tianba had gone far, he stood up and walked leisurely down the street.
On both sides of the street were rows of pavilions. The reason he didn't see other Tianba was that the Qin Chief had gathered all the Tianba here.
After a few steps, Su Xiao felt something bump into his leg. It was Bubu Wang.
Guided by Bubu Wang, Su Xiao moved quickly and soon arrived at a building adorned with flying fish roof tiles. This was where Amu was imprisoned.
No one was guarding the door. Su Xiao pushed it open and entered directly. As soon as he stepped inside, a spear blade was pressed against his neck.
"Take off your mask, outsider."
A Tianba, holding a spear blade with one hand and wearing a loose, dark red robe, spoke. He had ornaments on his ears, and his eyes flickered with blue light. This was an elite Tianba named Hao Hun.
"Have your chief come see me."
Su Xiao pressed his hand to his face and put away the [Primordial Mask]. He had roughly assessed the enemy's situation. Only three outcomes were possible from here: first, he would be hunted until he fled the Divine Realm; second, he would die here; or third, all the Tianba in the Celestial Palace would die.
After removing the [Primordial Mask], Su Xiao's face and clothes quickly reverted. The spear blade pressed closer to his neck, even cutting his skin, leaving a trail of blood.
"You... are worthy of respect, but too foolish."
Just as Elite Tianba Hao Hun finished speaking, four figures landed near Su Xiao, surrounding him.
A female Tianba sat on the second floor's carved wooden railing. She wore a blue robe similar to the Qin Chief's and carried a longbow on her back. This was another chief of the Tianba, the Drowning Chief: Tide Hunter.
Admittedly, even though Tide Hunter was a Tianba, her appearance was commendable. Paired with the Tianba attire, she had a unique charm.
"You're too slow."
Drowning Chief Tide Hunter looked at Su Xiao, as if she had expected him to come here.
Two Tianba walked over from behind Drowning Chief Tide Hunter, both bowing their heads respectfully. These two were none other than the pair Su Xiao had encountered at the edge of the Celestial Palace. They had been embracing each other to "transmit source." In reality, there was no method to resolve source transformation; those two Tianba had deliberately put on that act.
This way, the male Tianba would be caught in a compromising position by Su Xiao, naturally leading him to reveal information he was unwilling to share. It was a trap.
Earlier, when Su Xiao had arrived at the base of the Celestial Palace, why were there no Tianba guards there? This was the reason. The Tianba had deliberately lured Su Xiao to this place. To make it seem normal, the male Tianba had even mentioned that the Qin Chief had summoned everyone to discuss something important, preparing for a major event. That was why there were no guards on the spiral staircase and suspension bridge below the Celestial Palace.
To be honest, Su Xiao had found that reason awkward when he heard it. So after the other party said it, he had helped change the subject to avoid an awkward conversation.
Bang!
The door behind Su Xiao was kicked to pieces. Tianba stood outside the door, completely surrounding the three-story pavilion, including the rooftop, which was full of Tianba.
At least over a hundred Tianba had surrounded the place, along with five elite Tianba and Drowning Chief Tide Hunter. And Su Xiao was right at the center of the encirclement. No matter how you looked at it, this was a hopeless situation.
Everything Su Xiao had experienced just now was too smooth. He had arrived at the Celestial Palace smoothly, found Amu smoothly, and even Amu and Liu were imprisoned together.
Clearly, Su Xiao had been outmaneuvered by Drowning Chief Tide Hunter.
If Drowning Chief Tide Hunter knew how Su Xiao and Ted had dealt with the old king, and how miserable the Great Prince Walsh, Spider Woman, and others had been, she would never have devised this plan to lure Su Xiao here.
The Tianba had been isolated from the world for too long. Their trap, in Su Xiao's view, was somewhat straightforward, and their acting was mediocre.