By using his scene-reconstruction ability, he had easily figured out their plan.

With a simple trick, they fell for it, just as he’d expected.

Glancing at the pair, Lü Zhong held his Entropy Light Spear and said with a cold expression, "Let’s play a little game. I ask, you answer. If your stories don’t match, you know the consequences."

"I—AHHHHH!"

The fat man had just started to object when the Entropy Light Spear plunged into his thigh.

The churning Demonic Qi in his body instantly ignited, erupting into wisps of Golden Flame.

Seeing this, the other cultivator didn’t dare hesitate and hastily nodded in agreement.

Only when the fat man’s screams subsided did Lü Zhong remove the Entropy Light Spear. "Remember," he said, "I’m in control now. There’s no need for you to make this harder on yourselves."

"Your origins?"

"Black Corpse Hall," the two said in unison.

"You were too slow!"

Lü Zhong’s icy gaze fell upon the fat man, and he thrust the Entropy Light Spear forward without hesitation.

Another round of bloodcurdling screams followed, ceasing only after nearly ten minutes.

Now, any shred of hope the two might have had was gone. They answered every question put to them.

...

According to their confession, they had come on Chen Jiang’nu’s orders. Their mission was to lure Lü Zhong outside Wangxian Town. As for the specific purpose, Chen Jiang’nu hadn’t told them.

After confirming that they weren’t lying, Lü Zhong finished off the fat cultivator from Black Corpse Hall with a single sword strike.

As for the female cultivator, he kept her alive. She was still useful.

Lü Zhong stood there, his expression shifting uncertainly.

’I can’t believe Chen Jiang’nu has set her sights on me.’

It was just a matter of revenge for her disciple’s death, plus the fact that I’d seen through her disguise. Logically, it shouldn’t have escalated to this point.

’Is this really what Demon Cultivators are like?’

’Radical and paranoid to an almost pathological degree.’

’Perhaps this is a good opportunity!’ Lü Zhong thought.

The two had just confessed the location where they were supposed to lure him.

’Chen Jiang’nu wouldn’t make such an arrangement for no reason. She’s probably hiding nearby right now. After all, if you want to vent your frustrations, doing it yourself is the most satisfying way.’

With this in mind, Lü Zhong changed his clothes and went to the Poultry Room in Wangxian Town to rent a Red-tailed Eagle.

He was going to ask Shuini to take action and get rid of Chen Jiang’nu.

Lü Zhong knew for a fact that Shuini had been in her Cave Mansion recently.

When he arrived at Shuini Cave Mansion, he was granted an audience as expected.

He recounted what had just transpired. After listening, Shuini showed a flicker of interest, rising to her feet with a smile. "This is quite an opportunity. If we can really kill Chen Jiang’nu, there will be considerable rewards..."

The Lingyue Sect had issued numerous bounties on the Black Corpse Hall.

Not to mention the Hall Masters at Core Formation cultivation, each of the Saintesses under them had a hefty price on their head—rewards so high that even Foundation Establishment Cultivators couldn’t help but be tempted.

"Take this Golden Palace Secret Talisman. You will be the one to lure Chen Jiang’nu out."

Lü Zhong took the Jade Talisman and cupped his hands in agreement.

With the Golden Palace Secret Talisman, he could withstand at least ten attacks from a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Acting as bait wouldn’t be particularly dangerous, so there was no reason to refuse.

...

「Ten li east of Wangxian Town, at Wangxian Pavilion.」

Lü Zhong hurried to the location and saw a bewitching woman sitting in the pavilion.

The woman was dressed in red, and her figure alone was quite exquisite, not far off from a peerless beauty. Her face, though twisted with madness, still held faint traces of its former, breathtaking allure.

A closer look revealed that it was none other than Chen Jiang’nu.

"This..."

This encounter was completely outside of Lü Zhong’s expectations.

Logically, Chen Jiang’nu should have been hiding somewhere nearby, only revealing herself to strike after confirming that Lü Zhong had come alone. She shouldn’t be sitting out in the open so brazenly.

"Heh, hehehe!" Chen Jiang’nu began to laugh, a crazed look on her face.

She stared at Lü Zhong, her voice laced with madness. "Excellent. You really came!"

As she spoke, Chen Jiang’nu’s gaze shifted to the space behind Lü Zhong, where an Escape Light was rapidly approaching. It was Shuini, flying at top speed.

Lü Zhong, for his part, was already flying backward in retreat.

Now that the target had been drawn out, Lü Zhong had no reason to stick around.

Chen Jiang’nu only had Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivation, making her significantly weaker than Shuini, who was at Late-stage Foundation Establishment. The gap in their Escape Speed was so great that she had virtually no chance of escape.

"Trying to escape?" A bizarre smile spread across Chen Jiang’nu’s face.

With a flick of her slender wrist, a blood-red thorny whip appeared in her hand. Judging by the Spiritual Qi fluctuations it emitted, it was clearly a Spiritual Artifact.

And a high-grade one, at that.

"Have a taste of my Execution Whip!" Chen Jiang’nu shook the Magical Artifact in her hand. The Execution Whip erupted in a scarlet, bloody light, suddenly shooting out dozens, even hundreds, of red threads that flew toward Lü Zhong.

But just then, a Fire Phoenix Illusion descended from the sky!

The Fire Phoenix Illusion was a Tier Two Spell. The moment it touched the red threads, it exploded, creating a raging torrent of flames. After incinerating all the threads, it continued unabated toward Chen Jiang’nu.

Shuini’s figure hovered in midair, and she let out a laugh like tinkling silver bells. "Hehehe, you Witch have no manners. If you want to touch my dear disciple Lü Zhong, you have to ask his master first!"

"Hehehe, and what if I don’t ask?" Chen Jiang’nu cackled from below.

Still laughing, she pointed the Execution Whip at Lü Zhong and shrieked madly, "Your disciple killed my disciple! As his master, it is my undeniable right to seek revenge! Why should I need anyone’s permission?"

"Tsk, tsk. Have you lost your mind?" Shuini scoffed.

A golden light flashed in her eyes, and a look of understanding appeared. With a rare, cold smile, she said, "So, you’ve been practicing the Celestial Demon Chaos Emotion Skill. No wonder the death of a single disciple turned you into this ghastly mess!"

As a high-ranking member of the Heling Sect, Shuini was intimately familiar with the Celestial Demon Chaos Emotion Skill.

The cultivation process for this Demon Technique was notoriously messy, and the messier, the better.

The emphasis was squarely on the "chaos."

The Demon Cultivator Lü Zhong had killed must have been extremely important to Chen Jiang’nu. His unexpected death had severely affected her, causing her to suffer a backlash from her own Cultivation Technique.

In a situation like this, the only solution was to take Lü Zhong as her new disciple.

But was that even possible?

Shuini chuckled softly and, with a flip of her hand, produced a golden-red banner.

Lü Zhong, standing nearby, was secretly shocked when he saw it. ’That’s a High-grade Spiritual Artifact, the Yang Flame Banner! It has an extremely rare Fire Yang Attribute, which makes it a natural counter to Demon Cultivators.’

Considering how seriously Shuini took matters involving Demon Cultivators, he couldn’t help but wonder about the banner’s origins.

While he was lost in thought, Shuini had already engaged Chen Jiang’nu.

In just over ten exchanges, Chen Jiang’nu was sent flying, and her Execution Whip landed in Shuini’s hand.

The Yang Flame Banner unfurled, quickly gathering a pillar of golden-red fire. With a wave, she sent it crashing down on Chen Jiang’nu. In an instant, the Demonic Qi around her ignited, bathing the surrounding scenery in a layer of golden light.

A few agonized wails emerged from the flames, and then there was only silence.

"Interesting..." The golden light in her eyes dissipated, and a look of surprise crossed Shuini’s face.

Her gaze shifted to Lü Zhong as he approached. Her expression returned to its usual gentle smile. "Dear disciple, you did very well this time. When the reward from the Lingyue Sect arrives, I’ll be sure to give you a share."

"Thank you, Master!" Lü Zhong said with a respectful bow.

After spending so much time with her, he had come to understand Shuini’s temperament quite well.

With matters like this, if she said she would share, she meant it. Refusing rashly would only displease her, which was why he had agreed so quickly.

Once the flames died down, Lü Zhong walked over, intending to search for any spoils of war.

He had barely taken two steps before Shuini stopped him, shaking her head. "Don’t bother looking. There’s nothing in there."

Seeing Lü Zhong’s confused expression, Shuini explained, "Chen Jiang’nu practiced one of the Demonic Secret Techniques. It’s not convenient for me to tell you the specifics, dear disciple. You just need to know that she isn’t dead, and that she won’t be able to trouble you for a while."

"Understood," Lü Zhong replied, cupping his hands.

With the matter settled, a great weight was finally lifted from his heart.

Since Shuini said he would be safe for a while, he felt he no longer needed to worry.

A thought occurred to him, and Lü Zhong cupped his hands toward Shuini. "Master, there is something I would like to ask you."

"Go on," Shuini said. She was in an excellent mood and didn’t mind clearing up her disciple’s confusion.

"It’s about possession..."

Before Lü Zhong could finish, Shuini cut him off. She gave him a meaningful look, then gazed at the sky. "Give up that idea. Even though this isn’t Central Earth, possession is still an unforgivable, heinous crime. Besides," she added, "I’m guessing you’re asking about this for that mortal girl, aren’t you?"

"I can only tell you this: there has never been a single successful case of a mortal possessing a cultivator’s body in all of history."

"This, perhaps, is an iron law of the Celestial Dao!"