"Kill!"
With a roar, Xue He was the first to charge at Ye Cangtian, his black longsword like a nimble serpent, its attacks incredibly tricky. However, with his strength only at the Quasi-Heavenly level five, his speed simply couldn't match Ye Cangtian's.
Every one of his attacks was easily neutralized by Ye Cangtian.
In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged over a hundred blows in the alley. Ye Cangtian remained unscathed, while Xue He was already covered in wounds. Fortunately, these wounds were not fatal, otherwise Xue He would have long since fallen in a pool of blood. Even so, he found this outcome unacceptable. Like Gu Hai, he had followed Kong Ling in cultivation for many years, believing himself invincible below the Heavenly level. Yet, he was unable to deal with Ye Cangtian, which truly infuriated him.
The next moment, he forcibly pushed Ye Cangtian away. He began to brandish the longsword in his hand in front of him, the black light on the blade growing brighter. Sensing the surging aura, Ye Cangtian's brow furrowed, and he immediately understood that the other party felt he couldn't win in close combat and was preparing to unleash a powerful move. Thinking this, Ye Cangtian did not hesitate and raised the Reaper's Scythe.
As the Reaper's Scythe descended, Xue He's longsword thrust forward.
*Boom!*
Like a needle against a haystack, their weapons collided, emitting a series of thundering sounds.
In the next moment, Xue He was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ground, blood spraying from his mouth. The longsword in his hand had been shattered by the impact, and his internal organs had suffered severe injuries. On the other side, Ye Cangtian had already retracted the Reaper's Scythe and walked slowly towards Xue He, his hands behind his back.
"Xue He, do you have any last words?" Ye Cangtian glanced at him and said calmly. In fact, he had no intention of killing Xue He. Otherwise, he would not have used the Sky-Breaking Slash just now, but would have directly used the Thirteen Forms of the Death Scythe to eliminate him. The reason was simple: the other party had suspected he was Dawn for some time. He was unsure if this suspicion had been passed on to anyone else during this period. If he killed the other party now, it was very likely that someone would continue to investigate him, or even make a final judgment that he was Dawn. If that were the case, it would be better to spare the other person's life. This way, the other party could pass on the incorrect information, and thus the crisis related to Dawn would be resolved. His reason for asking now was to give the other party a chance to beg for mercy.
On the other side, as he saw Dawn approaching, Xue He, severely injured, his gaze became extremely grim. He knew in his heart that he was unlikely to survive, but he was incredibly unwilling. He was unwilling to die at Ye Cangtian's hands, and even more unwilling to have failed to expose Dawn's true face. Gritting his teeth, he slowly extended his hand and said, "Wait, Death God, you want to kill me to silence me, don't you? I will keep your identity a secret for you. Can you spare me?" Although such words were difficult to utter, Xue He gritted his teeth and said them with great difficulty in order to survive. These humiliations were worthless compared to his life, especially since only by preserving his life could he have the chance for revenge.
"Heh heh, Xue He, are you brainless, or do you think I'm an idiot!" Ye Cangtian glanced at him dismissively and said disdainfully. "You want to trade your dog's life for a single sentence without any proof? Isn't that a bit too naive?" Although he hadn't intended to kill the other party, that didn't mean he would be toyed with!
"Hmm?" On the other side, hearing Ye Cangtian's words, Xue He not only did not get angry, but his heart was filled with joy. The other party saying this meant there was a chance to save his life. After a long period of contemplation, he finally gritted his teeth and took out the Qiankun Bag, saying, "Death God, this Qiankun Bag contains all my life's collections. How about trading it for my life?"
"No!" Ye Cangtian slowly shook his head and said. "Firstly, I may not even care for your collections! Secondly, if I kill you, the Qiankun Bag will be mine. Why would I need you to trade for it?" Hearing this, Xue He's expression changed again. After carefully considering it, what the other party said seemed to have some logic. In the next moment, he looked at Ye Cangtian and asked, "Then tell me, what exactly do you want to let me go?"
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian showed a satisfied smile and slowly extended three fingers, saying. Firstly, Xue He must keep his identity a secret and swear a solemn oath. Secondly, Xue He must hand over the Qiankun Bag. Thirdly, help me find out the identity of the Heavenly-level traitor within the Hidden Organization, meaning within the Chinese relics! The Heavenly-level traitor within the Hidden Organization had always been a hidden danger. Ye Cangtian had always wanted to find out the identity of the other party but had always been just a little bit short. He believed that only Xing Yuan and Kong Ling knew the identity of this Heavenly-level traitor. However, he could not directly question them, lest he arouse their suspicion. Therefore, he planned to use Xue He to find out the identity of the other party and then eliminate them.
"Hmm?" Hearing Ye Cangtian's conditions, Xue He's eyes immediately darted around. The first two conditions were what he had proposed earlier, so he naturally would not refuse them. However, the last condition was worth deep consideration. If this matter were to spread and disrupt that lord's plan, he would likely face certain death. After a moment of hesitation, Xue He finally nodded and said, "Alright, I promise you!" In his opinion, no matter what, saving his life was the most important thing! Moreover, the other party did not know that lord's identity, so he could completely misdirect them and tell the other party false information. At that time, if the other party successfully eliminated a traitor, it would be a false traitor, which would not cause any loss to the Dark Association, and would even be beneficial. After all, such a powerful Heavenly-level expert was one less person in the Chinese forces, which was a significant weakening of their strength. Conversely, if the other party failed, they would likely be killed by that person, which would also be beneficial to the Dark Association. It was with this consideration that he agreed and handed over his Qiankun Bag.
On the other side, Ye Cangtian accepted the Qiankun Bag and took a brief look. A cold smile arose in his heart. As expected, the Qiankun Bag contained nothing but garbage! Besides two cultivation techniques in an unknown script, the rest were merely low-grade pills and crystals, as well as various weapons. Although these weapons looked extraordinary, not a single one could compare to the Dragon Soul Blade, so calling them garbage was not an exaggeration. Unfortunately, Xue He had been in seclusion with Kong Ling all these years, rarely venturing into dangerous places or secret realms. The items in the Qiankun Bag were things he had obtained before going into seclusion!
"By the way, I will only give you three months to find out the information about that traitor. After three months, if you haven't sent the other party's identity to the designated location, I will hunt you down all over the world! Remember!" Ye Cangtian said, and then informed the other party of the designated location.
"Alright." Xue He readily agreed, as he had already planned everything in his heart and naturally would not refuse. Then, he looked at Ye Cangtian and asked, "Can I leave now?"
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian waved his hand and said, "Scram. The next time we meet, you won't be so lucky. Pray you don't encounter me again."
*Hmph!*
Who would win or lose the next time they met was still uncertain! Xue He snorted coldly, then turned and left the alley in a sorry state.
*Phew...*
Watching Xue He leave, Ye Cangtian finally breathed a sigh of relief, then turned and left the scene.
...
In another corner of Dongjiang City. In a very inconspicuous inn, Kuxi sat in the main seat, his gaze sweeping over the Cardinal before him, his expression extremely gloomy. Her mood had been very bad for the past few days. The reason was none other than that the actions of the Shadow Tower and the Xue family were blocked by the Dark Association, reportedly because Dawn had launched a surprise counterattack. Originally, her plan for this operation was flawless, and everything should have proceeded smoothly. But she never expected that within the Dark Association, Dawn and Gu Hai had a falling out, which led to Xuan Si Jiu tampering with Dawn's ship, causing her plan to fail. It was truly a case of man proposes, but heaven disposes! It made her so angry that she felt like spitting blood! Now that Xue Changjiang and Hei Ying had fallen into the hands of the Dark Association, she truly dared not contact the Shadow Tower and the Xue family, and the situation had become extremely difficult. There was no other way. She was unsure if Dawn was lying in ambush near the Shadow Tower and the Xue family to deal with the Light Squad.
"Report!"
Just then, a report came. Then, an intelligence officer from the Guangming Hall came before her. "Lord Kuxi, we have just received intelligence that for some unknown reason, the Shadow Tower caught fire and has now been burned down..."