I Have 10 Equipment Slots-Chapter 156 - 113: A Surprising New Source Fruit

"What is it, Gu?"

At this, Zhong Tianlang turned to Gu Zheng and asked, confused, "Is there a problem?"

"No problem."

Gu Zheng turned his head and pointed to the group’s right, toward an alley entrance a hundred meters away. "But there are two people."

"People?"

Zhong Tianlang was startled for a moment, then he understood. "Two people hiding over there? A couple of rats, it seems. Thanks for spotting them, Gu!"

As he spoke, he gave Gu Zheng a respectful nod before striding over and calling out, "Since you two are here, why bother hiding?"

"Haha."

As Zhong Tianlang’s words faded, a low laugh rang out. It wasn’t particularly loud, yet it seemed to vibrate in their eardrums.

With the laughter, two figures—one tall, one short—walked out from the alley entrance a hundred meters away.

The taller one was a man around thirty, fair-skinned and clean-shaven, clad in a long white robe. His long hair was casually bound and secured with a wooden pin. He held a fan, which he waved slowly as he walked.

The shorter one was a woman in her early twenties, also wearing a long white dress. Her long hair was tied together and tossed behind her back. Her features were delicate and lively, and her eyes, which seemed capable of speech, looked at Gu Zheng from across the distance.

HUMMM!

An invisible wave of Spiritual Power instantly rushed toward him.

Gu Zheng stood motionless as the deep, ink-black scales on his chest grew warm, deflecting and dissipating the incoming Spiritual Power.

"Hmph!"

Before Gu Zheng could speak, Zhong Tianlang gave a cold snort. An invisible aura erupted from him, first enveloping himself and Gu Zheng’s group, then surging back toward the approaching man and woman in a fierce counterattack.

As his power swept forward, he growled, "Ding Chunjing, control your sister! If she dares to act so recklessly again, don’t blame me for being impolite!"

"Oh, a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"

Waving his fan, the taller man, Ding Chunjing, said breezily, "My sister simply saw how young and handsome this gentleman is and felt a bit smitten. She only stared a little longer, that’s all. It’s perfectly natural. How can you call that a reckless attack?"

"Heehee~"

Ding Xitian also let out a delicate laugh, her bright eyes blinking repeatedly. "Young Master, do you have to manage everyone you see now? Do you need to meddle in who I like and who I talk to? This young man is the genius Hundred Households on the rise from the Fengzhou Demon Slayer Bureau. Is it not allowed for me, Ding Xitian, to admire him a little?"

"You certainly like a lot of people, then."

Zhong Tianlang said with open contempt.

After speaking, he turned to Gu Zheng and said, "These two are the siblings from the Ding Family of the Half-demon Lineage, Ding Chunjing and Ding Xitian. The Ding Family’s half-demon power comes from the Illusion Demon!"

’Illusion Demon?’

The moment those two words were spoken, Gu Zheng understood everything.

The Illusion Demon was a powerful Demon Race, on the same level as the Demon Spirit Race.

This race had no fixed form, and every time one appeared, its physical presence exuded a powerful, illusion-inducing Anomalous Power.

Simply put, it was extremely easy for them to make people fall into all sorts of hallucinations and illusions.

Anytime, anywhere, at will.

A single glance, a single movement, even a single breath could create an illusion. In the hands of someone with a righteous heart, such a power was manageable. But in the hands of the wicked, they were all masters at manipulating the minds of others.

And judging by the wary and repulsed expressions on the faces of Zhong Tianlang, and especially Gushuncheng and Cheng Zong, the Ding Family was undoubtedly the latter.

’Ding Xitian tried to ensnare him with just a single glance. This brother and sister duo... it would be a miracle if they were righteous!’

...

"The Illusionary Demon Power isn’t something we could choose, you know."

Waving his fan, Ding Chunjing whined, "We’re all born of our parents; we don’t get a say in what abilities we have. Unless you’re like this Gu Zheng, Gu Baihu, who climbed up step by step to achieve his status today, and who might even become a Thousand Households or a Demon-slaying Grand General in the future!"

"Exactly. The person I admire most right now is someone like Gu." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Ding Xitian’s eyes blinked and blinked, her gaze toward Gu Zheng filled with adoration. "There are only a few people like Gu in the entire Demon Slayer Bureau of Jing Country. Zuo Lingfeng from Luozhou is one, and Xiao Xianya from Hongzhou is another. Who wouldn’t like a person like that?"

"Or perhaps you don’t, Young Master?"

As she spoke, she covered her mouth with both hands and her eyes went wide, as if she had just discovered some earth-shattering secret.

"..."

The corner of Zhong Tianlang’s mouth twitched. "In any case, don’t let me catch you targeting my companions in the Demon Slayer Bureau!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve, turned, and called to Gu Zheng, "Gu, let’s go. Ignore them."

"Alright." Gu Zheng nodded and followed Zhong Tianlang.

Inwardly, he was a little curious about what Ding Xitian had just said.

’Luozhou, Zuo Lingfeng?’

’Hongzhou, Xiao Xianya?’

’Are those two also newly risen geniuses within the Demon Slayer Bureau system?’

"Hey, don’t walk so fast! We’re all heading the same way, let’s chat a little~" Ding Chunjing called out from behind them.

However, no one paid him any mind.

Zhang Sanshi led the way straight to the estate of a prominent local family in Four Directions Perfecture, where they entered a tunnel.

The entrance was located in the center of a rockery.

They had to cross a small bridge and duck through two passages within the rockery to reach it.

The entrance was connected to one of the openings in the rockery.

As Gu Zheng followed Zhong Tianlang down the damp passageway, he immediately sensed a proliferation of auras in the air.

Dampness, Demon Qi, Yin Qi, the stench of decay, and a foul, bloody odor.

All sorts of scents mingled together, permeating the entire passageway.

When they emerged from the narrow mouth of the passage, the view suddenly opened up to reveal a vast underground space before them.

Although it was underground, various crystals embedded in the cavern walls emitted a faint glow, making it possible to see the path at their feet despite the dimness.

This environment, of course, had no effect on Gu Zheng.

Cheng Zong, Zhou Meng, and the others, being at the Super Body Realm, were also largely unaffected.

The group walked along a wide passage paved with a viscous liquid. After a short while, a dozen or so branching cave entrances appeared before them.