On the other side, after Lu Zheng’s true body used a gourd to capture Yan Hongxia and then escaped using an earth-travel technique, the two people and one ghost in the front hall were left in a state of confusion.
“Is it you!?”
The woman and man both turned to look at the clay puppet Lu Zheng, their faces full of shock.
Lu Zheng had chased them the whole way using cloud techniques, which were quite impressive, so they hadn’t noticed any flaws at first. But now, thinking back, the strength displayed by the clay puppet Lu Zheng was indeed slightly different from before.
“It’s not me!” The clay puppet Lu Zheng shook its head with a serious expression.
“It clearly is you!” The man glared at Lu Zheng, speaking angrily.
“It’s really not me!” The clay puppet Lu Zheng waved its hands repeatedly.
“Then who was it just now?” The woman was also somewhat exasperated.
On one hand, they had lost a bronze mirror that was clearly a treasure. On the other, it was just her and her heavily injured companion facing a ghost king who had lost his treasure, and she feared for their lives.
“I don’t know?” The clay puppet Lu Zheng said with a shocked and confused expression, “You’re so skilled in transformation techniques, could it be you?”
“What! Me?” The woman’s voice rose eight degrees.
The next moment, a pale hand gripped the clay puppet Lu Zheng’s head, tightening gradually, “Who are you? Return the treasure mirror, and this king will spare your life. Otherwise, this king will hunt you down to the ends of the earth and grind your bones to dust!”
The clay puppet Lu Zheng looked up and saw the ghost king’s face, expressionless yet filled with rage.
“Really? I don’t believe you!”
The ghost king, “…”
The clay puppet Lu Zheng pointed at the man and woman, “These two were just trying to take advantage of the situation. If you take them out, I’ll tell you who I am.”
The man jumped in fright, “Senior Ghost King, don’t be fooled. We’re not with him. They were chasing us earlier. That woman is a sword cultivator from Dengyun Mountain, named Yan Hongxia. If we find her, we’ll naturally know who this guy is.”
“Hey, not bad. You’re pretty clever.” The clay puppet Lu Zheng smacked its lips and then looked at the ghost king, “Dengyun Mountain, do you dare go there?”
The ghost king remained silent. Though he hadn’t heard of Dengyun Mountain, judging by the strength of a young disciple like Yan Hongxia, the entire sect’s power must be formidable.
“You don’t even dare go to Dengyun Mountain, so naturally, you wouldn’t dare go to Jinhua Mountain either?”
The ghost king’s face twitched.
He hadn’t heard of Dengyun Mountain, but Jinhua Mountain was nearby, and he had certainly heard of the great reputation of the Jinhua Sect.
A major Taoist sect with who-knows-how-many elders with over a thousand years of cultivation. How could he dare provoke them?
If he so much as stepped into their mountain, he’d likely be obliterated by a single thought.
“No, you’re not from the Jinhua Sect. You used cloud techniques.” The man reacted quickly, pointing at the clay puppet Lu Zheng, “You’re a disciple of Baiyun Temple in Jizhou?”
Because Yan Hongxia was a sword cultivator and Lu Zheng was dressed in a scholar’s robe, he hadn’t considered this earlier. But hearing Lu Zheng mention Jinhua Mountain and recalling his techniques, he guessed Lu Zheng’s identity.
“Hey, you got me.” The clay puppet Lu Zheng blinked, “Yes, I’m a disciple of Baiyun Temple. Come find me at Baiyun Mountain.”
The ghost king, “…”
Find your sister! Isn’t Baiyun Temple’s reputation even greater than the Jinhua Sect’s?
The ghost king looked at the clay puppet Lu Zheng, a flash of ferocity in his pure black pupils, “I don’t need to go to Baiyun Temple to find you. With the divine sense in this body of yours, I can track you down anytime!”
“Really? I don’t believe you!”
The clay puppet Lu Zheng blinked and looked at the ghost king again, “Your refining process was interrupted, and you lost your treasure mirror. Don’t you need some yang energy to recover?”
As soon as the words were spoken, the man and woman took a step back in unison.
“Senior Ghost King, we can work together. Those two can’t have gone far. We have a big grudge against them. Why not join forces to chase them down and kill them?”
“You say you can catch them, but are you sure you won’t flee to the southern border the moment you step out of this manor?”
The clay puppet Lu Zheng blinked, “How about you absorb some yang energy to recover first, then extract the divine sense from this body to track me?”
The man and woman took another step back.
“Senior Ghost King, don’t believe his attempts to sow discord. We were miserably chased by them earlier. If we had your help, we’d be happy to take them out,” the woman said.
“Senior Ghost King! He’s stalling for time!”
The man suddenly spoke, “They can’t have gone far. They might still be nearby. He’s just spouting nonsense. If we chase after them now, we might catch them without needing to go to Dengyun Mountain or Baiyun Mountain.”
The ghost king raised an eyebrow.
“You sure?” The clay puppet Lu Zheng looked at the man like he was an idiot, “Didn’t you see how we left just now?”
The clay puppet Lu Zheng turned to the ghost king, “This guy knows you can’t catch or find us. He’s tricking you. The moment they leave the manor, they’ll definitely flee far away.”
“You’re talking nonsense!” the man shouted angrily.
“Whether I’m talking nonsense, you know in your hearts.” The clay puppet Lu Zheng looked at the ghost king, “Look at the fight earlier. These two only hid in the back, shooting arrows from the shadows. You can tell what kind of people they are. Do you dare cooperate with them or let them leave?”
Seeing the man and woman about to explode, the clay puppet Lu Zheng promptly shut up, “Alright, I think my words have already touched your souls. I won’t say more. Do what you want. I’ll be waiting for you to come find me. I’m off. See you later.”
“Hm?”
The ghost king’s eyes flashed as he moved to extract Lu Zheng’s divine sense from the body.
But just as he raised his hand, the figure before him collapsed instantly, turning into a lifeless clay puppet.
As for how that strand of divine sense vanished, he couldn’t tell at all.
A top-tier technique!
The ghost king took a deep breath.
He was a subordinate of a great power in the depths of the Netherworld. Though his own strength was lacking, he was not without knowledge. He knew such techniques were not something ordinary people could inherit or use.
Add to that the earth-travel technique…
This person must be akin to a core disciple in Baiyun Temple!
And so, my treasure mirror…
The ghost king felt his heart bleeding.
He had betrayed his master and snuck into the mortal world to refine the treasure mirror, hoping to rise above others.
After a decade of secluded cultivation in the wilderness, on the verge of success, the mirror was stolen?
Dengyun Mountain! Baiyun Temple!
All were existences he couldn’t afford to provoke!
He could only hope they wouldn’t recognize the mirror’s extraordinary value and wouldn’t hand it over to their sect. That way, he might still have a chance to steal it back.
The more the ghost king thought, the angrier he became. His gaze toward the man and woman was filled with fury.
“It’s all because of you. Of all the places to run, you had to come to my manor!”
“Senior Ghost King!”
“Senior! Please hear us out!”
