Chapter 1732: Life-and-Death Friends
Dozens of core assassins from the Death God Temple automatically stepped aside, clearing a path.
Qin Kai walked along the path, clad in a black Death God robe, nearly two meters tall with elongated limbs. The six-winged flying dragon on his black robe glowed with a dark red fluorescence, as if about to soar out.
When he stood opposite Zhang Ruochen, the earth trembled slightly, and Zhang Ruochen's bones emitted a "crackling" sound. An invisible force intimidated every cultivator present.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed sharply. Through his sacred eyes, he saw a shadow of a four-armed blood demon above Qin Kai's head, standing four zhang tall.
The four-armed blood demon was formed from condensed killing intent, known as a "Killing Intent Sacred Aspect."
A Killing Intent Sacred Aspect was not a true sacred aspect, but in some cases, it could be even more terrifying. For a top-tier assassin like Qin Kai, merely releasing his Killing Intent Sacred Aspect could frighten many cultivators out of their wits.
The dozens of core assassins, who were themselves brimming with killing intent, now fell silent like cicadas in winter, resembling a group of ministers facing an emperor.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze swept the surroundings and spotted Ji Fanxin and Xie Chengzi on the roof of a distant hall.
Despite such a massive upheaval, Ji Fanxin had not retreated, which brought Zhang Ruochen some comfort.
Immediately, Zhang Ruochen cautiously released a strand of spiritual power, forming an invisible thread that extended toward Ji Fanxin, intending to communicate and discuss countermeasures.
Qin Kai's alertness was extremely high. His pupils shifted slightly, and he lightning-fast extended a finger, tapping the void. With a "bang," he accurately dispersed Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power thread.
Qin Kai stared in the direction the spiritual power had extended, but it was empty—Ji Fanxin and Xie Chengzi had both hidden themselves.
"It seems you have companions, and they should be two beings of no weak cultivation." Qin Kai had just released his spiritual power to probe but failed to locate Ji Fanxin and Xie Chengzi, which surprised him.
After all, his spiritual power had reached the fifty-ninth rank, just one step away from becoming a Spiritual Power Great Saint. Beings below the Great Saint level who could evade his detection were exceedingly rare.
Qin Kai's prowess made Zhang Ruochen's heart sink to the valley, but he did not panic, maintaining an unchanged expression. "Elder Qi was the one who tried to kill me first. I had no choice but to strike back in self-defense."
The assassin heavenly king who had earlier led Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin to see Elder Qi stood behind Qin Kai, holding a seemingly high status. He spoke in a deep voice, "Nonsense! Elder Qi was merely collecting a deposit from you. Why would he want to kill you? In my view, you couldn't produce the deposit and refused to accept the Death God Temple's punishment, so Elder Qi took action against you."
Zhang Ruochen activated his heavenly eye, fixing it on that assassin heavenly king. He noticed that the cultivation technique this man practiced was very similar to Elder Qi's "Ten Thousand Deaths Undying Demon Art," suggesting he was likely also a cultivator from the Dark Demon Realm or a trusted subordinate of Elder Qi.
"Couldn't produce the deposit?"
Zhang Ruochen took out a storage pouch and tossed it to Qin Kai, then added, "I've heard that the Death God Temple values its reputation above all and maintains absolute neutrality, refusing to meddle in the conflicts of the Heavenly Realm's various realms. But after today's encounter, I'm deeply disappointed."
"That Elder Qi of yours—he's a cultivator from the Dark Demon Realm, isn't he? Is he truly wholeheartedly serving the Death God Temple? Could it be that he hasn't betrayed the Death God Temple's interests for the sake of the Dark Demon Realm?"
The assassin heavenly king said coldly, "Elder Qi joined the Death God Temple over seven hundred years ago. How could he possibly betray the Death God Temple's interests?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "I placed an order of sixteen billion sacred stones at the Death God Temple. Doesn't that make me a valued guest? If Elder Qi killed me, wouldn't that damage the Death God Temple's interests?"
"That's just your side of the story—"
"Enough!"
Qin Kai spoke softly, and the assassin heavenly king immediately fell silent.
Qin Kai tossed the storage pouch back to Zhang Ruochen. "The sacred stones inside are enough to cover the deposit. It seems this matter is indeed suspicious and must be thoroughly investigated."
The assassin heavenly king said, "Senior Brother Qin, Elder Qi cannot die so unjustly. Otherwise, where would the Death God Temple's authority stand?"
"The Death God Temple's authority is certainly important, but so is its reputation. If a valued guest involved in a transaction worth over ten billion sacred stones dies unjustly and inexplicably within the Death God Temple, who would dare do business with us in the future?"
Qin Kai shot a deep look at the assassin heavenly king. "A transaction of over ten billion sacred stones must already be presented on the hall master's desk for his personal review. This is a major matter, not something you or I can easily decide."
The assassin heavenly king quickly bowed his head and repeatedly agreed.
Zhang Ruochen also breathed a slight sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "In the end, strength and wealth are the foundation of survival. If I hadn't placed a massive order of sixteen billion sacred stones at the Death God Temple, creating a significant impact, the temple wouldn't have so many concerns. They would have crushed me like an ant, silently and without a trace."
Qin Kai personally entered the artifact-refining pavilion to inspect the battle traces.
Mo Yin transmitted a message to Zhang Ruochen: "Master, what now? Should we take this chance to escape?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "Qin Kai's strength is likely not inferior to the top ten divine disciples of the Truth Divine Temple. Escaping under his watchful eye is as hard as reaching the heavens. Besides, this great tomb is extremely formidable. With our current cultivation, we probably can't break out."
"Then are we just going to sit and wait for death?" Mo Yin was deeply worried.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The battle traces can reveal many things. For now, we can only hope that Qin Kai's insight is sharp enough."
Mo Yin remained uneasy. "Even if Qin Kai realizes that Elder Qi prepared many measures in advance and intended to kill us, Elder Qi was still a high-ranking member of the Death God Temple. Qin Kai will surely help the temple cover up the truth to prevent such a scandal from spreading. How can we possibly come out of this well?"
Zhang Ruochen had already considered this. If it came to that, he would have no choice but to take out the divine envoy staff and contact the Moon God. As long as the Moon God appeared, even if the Death God Temple was domineering, they would have to show some face.
Of course, unless absolutely necessary, Zhang Ruochen would never summon the Moon God. If he relied on her to solve every problem, he would have no leverage to speak firmly in front of her in the future.
After a while, Qin Kai emerged from the artifact-refining pavilion and walked directly toward Zhang Ruochen.
Knowing that Zhang Ruochen was afflicted with the Mirror Flower Water Moon poison and was quite weak, Mo Yin moved to block Qin Kai.
But Zhang Ruochen shook his head, stopping her.
The next moment, Qin Kai's hand grabbed Zhang Ruochen's left wrist, his expression shifting unpredictably.
Releasing Zhang Ruochen's hand, Qin Kai said, "Indeed, you're poisoned with Mirror Flower Water Moon. Hmph, to have lasted this long without becoming a semi-transparent person, you're truly impressive. Come with me."
"Where to?" Mo Yin asked.
"Just follow me. Why so many questions?"
Qin Kai descended the steps, collected Elder Qi's artifact-refining pavilion, which shrank into a fist-sized exquisite building, and placed it into a storage vessel. He then strode straight into the darkness.
Mo Yin transmitted to Zhang Ruochen: "Master, you absolutely cannot go with him. Better to fight to the death. With the 'Space-Time Secret Scripture,' we might still escape."
But Zhang Ruochen stepped forward, following Qin Kai.
Given Qin Kai's strength, killing Zhang Ruochen and Mo Yin wouldn't be too difficult. Yet he hadn't acted directly, instead seeming to search for evidence to exonerate Zhang Ruochen.
This made Zhang Ruochen very curious. Had Qin Kai long known that Elder Qi was problematic?
Or was there another reason?
Walking ahead, Qin Kai noticed that Zhang Ruochen had indeed followed, his expression calm and composed. He nodded slightly and muttered to himself, "To have earned that guy's approval, he's indeed someone special."
Arriving before a stone door of a cave, Qin Kai stopped.
"Boom."
The stone door opened automatically.
Qin Kai turned and looked at Zhang Ruochen. "Go on. Someone's waiting for you inside."
"Who?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"You'll know when you go in."
Qin Kai entered the cave first.
Zhang Ruochen followed him into the cave and saw an extremely familiar figure standing beneath a stone wall, dressed in gray cloth and carrying an iron sword on his back.
Their eyes met.
A smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Ruochen's mouth, and all his doubts dissolved. He asked, "When did you join the Death God Temple?"
The man carrying the iron sword also revealed a stiff smile. "I'm just a fringe assassin of the Death God Temple. I can leave anytime."
Qin Kai sat down beside a stone table, removing the ice crystal mask from his face. "The hall master has always wanted to take him as a disciple, to make him a core member of the Death God Temple. But he's refused the hall master several times. Even the Assassin Emperor doesn't have that kind of face."
The man carrying the iron sword was none other than A Le.
A Le stared at Zhang Ruochen. "That assassination operation launched by the Heavenly Kill Organization caused heavy losses to the Sacred Bright Central Empire. Even two members of the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion died. So, the vice pavilion master sent Han Qiu and me to join the Death God Temple and retaliate against the Heavenly Realm faction. Of course, Han Qiu and I only take missions from the Death God Temple, specifically targeting cultivators from the Heavenly Realm faction. That's all."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Qin Kai, who was not far away.
A Le understood Zhang Ruochen's concern and said, "Don't worry. Qin Kai and I are life-and-death friends. Any secret that enters his ears will never be passed on to another cultivator."
Zhang Ruochen said, "So, you asked him to help me?"
A Le nodded. "When you placed the order to kill Shang Zi, Lian Xi, Xun Ya, and Gongzi Yan, I already guessed it might be you. When Elder Qi's life orb shattered, I became even more certain."
"Why? Did you already know that Elder Qi had been working for the Dark Demon Realm all along?" Zhang Ruochen asked thoughtfully.
"You only know part of the story, not the whole truth," Qin Kai said.
A Le said, "The Death God Temple's intelligence network not only spans all heavens and realms but also monitors its own assassins. Elder Qi wasn't just a cultivator from the Dark Demon Realm; he had long joined the Heavenly Kill Organization. He was a pawn placed by the Heavenly Kill Organization within the Death God Temple. We were just waiting to catch the big fish, so we didn't touch him."
"I see."
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen thought of something and asked, "Didn't Han Qiu also join the Death God Temple? Where is she?"
"After learning that Elder Qi had set a trap for you, she was furious. No one could stop her. She's gone to eliminate Elder Qi's trusted subordinates," A Le said helplessly.