The jade slip emitted a white luminescence. This luminescence then condensed into a light-screen in mid-air. Then, a burst of ripples appeared on the surface of this light screen, and a tall man’s image gradually emerged on it. In addition, a few lines of small words also appeared on it.

　　The man in the image had distinct facial features. He carried a black blade and a stick on his back in a crisscrossed manner. In addition, his black hair had been flung upward, and waved like a torrent. It added an aura of implicit pride to his personality.

　　Hou Sai Lei also bent down on the roof beside Shi Mu. He was left startled for a moment as he saw this image. He then cast a glance at Shi Mu in quiet manner.

　　However, it seemed as if Shi Mu hadn’t noticed Hou Sai Lei’s action since he had continued to look below.

　　“Shi Mu?! Who is this person? How did he fall in this list of wanted people along with Liu An? There was no such person with Liu An as far as I know, right?” the grey-dressed middle-aged man asked.

　　“I don’t know either. Perhaps, this man is one of the newly-recruited and trusted subordinates of Palace Lord Liu. However, it seems like a genuine option to grab and kill him at this point since the reward consists of a considerable amount of money!” Deacon Quan replied.

　　“Why did you show me this thing? Can it be…” The grey-dressed middle-aged man’s eyes moved.

　　“Senior Brother Li is very sharp! I had seen this man once not long ago. I hadn’t cared about it at that time. But, I was reminded of him a few days ago when I coincidentally came across this arrest order. I’ve already sent a person to check whether this person is still in this city. I think that he must be in the city due to the preliminary selection for the sea trip,” Deacon Quan flashed a mischievous smile. Then, he approached the middle-aged man, and whispered.

　　“Good! This trivial Star-Ranked magician shall be very easy to deal with as long as co-operate with each other. This brother of yours will talk to the Green Wolf Palace Lord after the successful competition of this task. And, I will request him to find a replacement for you. After that, you will be transferred from this lousy city,” the grey-dressed middle-aged man clasped his hands and said with a laugh.

　　“Thank you, Senior Brother Li!” Deacon Quan beamed with happiness as he heard his words. Then, he got up and expressed gratitude to the grey-dressed man.

　　His voice had barely faded when a magic power fluctuation suddenly appeared from the rooftop. Then, it quickly proliferated in all directions. Simultaneously, it changed into a layer of magic power, and shrouded the entire garret.

　　It seemed as if all subtle movements or sounds had suddenly disappeared from outside the garret.

　　The grey-dressed man and Deacon Quan had sensed the magic power fluctuation on the roof. And, their complexion had changed very abruptly…

　　Then, a loud explosion took place somewhere on the roof. In fact, it had happened before any of these two men could react or take any action. Then, a golden light darted toward Deacon Quan to chop him down.

　　A fiery-red blade-light also plummeted down; it was ten-feet in size, and it carried a cloud of blazing fire. It proceeded straight toward the grey-dressed man to sweep him along.

　　Deacon Quan’s complexion underwent a terrible transformation. However, his reaction wasn’t slow either. The virtual shadow of a little star lit up behind his head. In addition, he also placed a bone scepter in front of his body. In fact, it couldn’t be said from where he had fished it out so quickly…

　　A grey fog gushed out from his bone scepter, and surged. Then, three human skeletons emerged in the grey-fog, and made a font-shaped formation in front of him. Then, their mouths opened and closed as they spouted a vast-stretched white silk. The white silk then wound around the golden light and formed a ball.

　　However, a large mass of golden flames instantly broke out from the white silk. And, the white silk got ruptured and dispersed.

　　A golden light flashed!

　　A glistening golden light dagger flew out from within, and turned into a gigantic door-sized golden sword. Then, the golden flames hacked toward the three human skeletons’ heads.

　　“Chi” a muffled sound was heard.

　　The golden sword smashed the heads of the three skeletons with a single strike.

　　“A spirit tool!”

　　Deacon Quan exclaimed after he saw this. But then, the golden sword turned around, and its hilt gently pounded on his head.

　　Deacon Quan felt as if everything had turned dark before his eyes. And, he passed out the next moment. In fact, it seemed as if a spell of dizziness had been cast on him. Moreover, he hadn’t received the white jade slip yet. So, it fell to the side.

　　Meanwhile, five virtual shadows of stars emerged behind the grey-dressed man’s head. Then, his fingers started to move very fast like a wheel. And, a huge mass of grey fog began to bubble-up from his entire body.

　　Then, several densely-packed bone-spears emerged amid the grey fog; they were curled-up in a grey smoke. There were altogether twenty or thirty spears.

　　“Chi Chi” a shrill ear-piercing sound rang out in the room!

　　The twenty or thirty bone-spears changed into a powerful grey current. And, they then dashed forward to receive the fiery blade-light.

　　“Ping” a parched bean-like sound spread from midair!

　　The fiery-red blade-light trembled, and eventually collapsed after more than ten bone spears had exploded on it. Then, it turned into a little red light, and dispersed in the air.

　　The grey-dressed man raised his sleeves, and the remaining ten or more bone-spears changed their direction. They now dashed upward, and broke through the roof.

　　Then, a grey silhouette fell down while floating in the air.

　　This person was Shi Mu.

　　However, the grey-dressed man noticed that Shi Mu’s hands had curled into fists. His fists became sparkling and translucent… as if they were made of crystal. Shi Mu aimed his fists and pounded away a dozen of bone-spears that were approaching him from ahead.

　　“Ping” a series of mild sounds were heard as those bone-spears started to crack inch-by inch from the tip to the way down. Then, they shattered into smithereens… as if they had been struck by a solid iron hammer.

　　Shi Mu had landed only a few moments before, but he had already stimulated his magic power in his hand. The gigantic golden sword wasn’t far from him either. It seemingly changed into a luminous golden light as it darted toward the grey-dressed man to chop him down.

　　However, a grey magic charm suddenly appeared in the grey-dressed man’s hand, and he quickly flung it in the air toward the golden sword.

　　The magic charm exploded, and turned into grey rays of light as it departed from his hand. Then, it engulfed the gigantic golden sword.

　　Consequently, the golden sword’s momentum stagnated, and the golden flame which was blazing on its body extinguished in an instant. Moreover, the golden radiance of the sword had also dimmed by a lot. The sword shook a few times at first. Then, it fell to the ground with a loud sound. And, it stayed there motionless after that.

　　“He he, so it’s you. Now I don’t need to go and look for you since you’ve come to me on your own! I hadn’t expected your martial arts cultivation to be this good. Moreover, you have a very good spirit tool. I’m lucky that I had cast a Filthy Spirit magic charm. Anyway, I would like to give a bit of advice to Your Excellency… Surrender, and let me capture you!” The grey-dressed man sized up Shi Mu once. Then, an avaricious look flashed through his eyes as he glanced at the golden sword.

　　“Your Excellency and I share the same sect. Is it possible that Your Excellency wants to lay his hand on his own people? Don’t tell me Your Excellency is planning to go to the enemy sect to obtain a reward in return,” Shi Mu threw a look at the white jade slip beside Deacon Quan’s body. Then, he asked.

　　“He he, you’re feeling rather relieved at this consideration, aren’t you? However, I handle everything very neatly. So, I won’t leave any clues behind. Even Liu An won’t find any evidence if he comes here to look for you. Therefore, he won’t harm me either! So, stop this nonsense and get prepared to embrace your fate!” the grey-dressed man replied with a smile.

　　His voice had barely faded when dozens of bone-spears flew up from the floor. These were the same bone-spears that had broken and scattered into fragments near Shi Mu’s feet a moment ago. Then, they quickly intertwined and condensed into a white bone; the bone was like a small bone shackle. It then tied up Shi Mu’s feet to the spot.

　　Suddenly, the grey-dressed man’s body began to inflate at a lightning speed. Then, his exposed skin became bluish-black in color, and a layer of thick black hair sprouted over his body.

　　After that, a pair of fierce fangs protruded from his mouth. Then, his fingernails began to grow, and took the shape of beast-like claws.

　　This grey-dressed middle-aged man had also turned out to be a practitioner of both martial and magic arts. He wasn’t only a very remarkable Star-Ranked magician. But, his Zombie Art had also reached the Xian-Tian advanced stage!

　　“Die!”

　　He issued a loud shout in a hoarse voice. Then, that black-furred zombie sprang like an electric current. His arms turned fuzzy, and numerous densely-packed black claw-shadows appeared everywhere. “Chi Chi” a sound was heard as those claw shadows dashed toward Shi Mu… It seemed as if they wanted to grasp him, and tear him to pieces.

　　However, suddenly a black light flashed on Shi Mu’s chest. And, large black scales sprouted over his hands and feet at an astonishing speed. A green magic-charm had also appeared in his hand at the same time. He then quickly stuck it on his body, and a layer of green light emerged and enveloped his entire body.

　　“Ping” “Ping” the small bone that had firmly bound his feet shattered and dispersed with two crisp sounds!

　　Shi Mu’s silhouette turned slightly fuzzy as he tried to evade the strike. However, the group of densely-packed black claw-shadows had already arrived in front of him while roaring threateningly. They plummeted down, and cut him into countless pieces.

　　However, the body that they had crushed and dispersed was merely Shi Mu’s shadow.

　　The black-furred zombie was startled by this. It hadn’t even reacted when a burst of cold wind whistled behind its head. Simultaneously, the unfathomable aura of an Earth-Ranked powerhouse erupted from behind it.

　　“Ping” a string of stuffy sounds rang out!

　　Several fist-shadows bombarded on the zombie’s back in an irregular yet organized manner. And, a series of bone cracking sounds burst out.

　　Then, a fist-blade rubbed past the back of its neck.

　　The black-furred zombie tumbled to the ground with a “Thump” sound and passed out right away. Consequently, the original appearance of the thin middle-aged man was restored.

　　After that, a silhouette of a man gradually condensed behind him; its entire body was curled-up in green radiance. This silhouette was Shi Mu! The black scales that had sprouted over his hands and feet had also started to recede at a high speed.

　　“Good…” Shi Mu murmured to himself while revealing a trace of satisfaction on his face.

　　Shi Mu had resorted to the high-ranked magic charm ‘Wind Shadow Magic Charm’ in order to deal with this situation in the shortest time possible. Then, he had transformed into the beast mode to increase his speed. Consequently, his speed seemed to have reached to an astonishing degree. Therefore, finishing off the opposition had become effortless.

　　Shi Mu moved a few steps forward, and picked up the golden dagger that was lying on the floor. Then, he released his spirit sense, and swept over the dagger’s blade. And, his restless heart finally calm down.

　　It seemed that the Filthy Spirit magic charm had erased only a part of the golden sword’s spirit power. His control over the sword had been obstructed as a result. However, the essence of the spirit tool hadn’t been damaged. So, it would take only a little effort to restore its spiritual energy.

　　Shi Mu received the golden sword inside his body. He then thought of something, and picked up the white jade slip from the floor. Then, he received it in his storage ring. After that, he rushed to the cracked spot on the roof, and waved his hand.

　　Hou Sai Lei seemed to have been waiting there for a long time. Shi Mu had barely lifted his hand when Hou Sai Lei jumped down from the hole.

　　“Senior Mu, why did you keep these two people alive?” He cast a glance at Shi Mu. Then, he asked in a very prudent and careful manner.

　　All the things that Hou Sai Lei had seen and heard today had made him feel as if he had come to know something that he shouldn’t have. Therefore, he was naturally going through some uneasiness deep in his heart.

　　However, he now admired Shi Mu even more since he had witnessed his astonishing strength.

　　Hou Sai Lei had introspected, and knew that he was a smart person. So, he clearly knew what he should ask… and what should be left untouched.

　　“This Main Altar’s envoy has only arrived in this Pi City recently. So, he shouldn’t have gotten in touch with many people. You are very proficient in the Disguising Technique. So, I’ve decided that I’ll let you replace him. Therefore, you will have to preside over the preliminary selection competition for the sea trip,” Shi Mu told him straightforwardly.

　　“Senior Mu, I am afraid that someone…” Hou Sai Lei was dumbfounded.

　　“You decide how you should execute this task. Oh, by the way… don’t forget to ask Deacon Quan to check if he has revealed this matter to anyone else.” Shi Mu said.

　　“Senior Mu, don’t worry. And, leave this matter to me!” Hou Sai Lei heard his words, and a trace of happiness flashed through the place between his eyebrows.

　　Shi Mu’s words were enough to prove that he placed a lot of trust and confidence in Hou Sai Lei.

　　Hou Sai Lei’s eyes swept over the two unconscious people. Then, he waved his hand and summoned two human skeletons. He then ordered them to drag these two people into the inside room.

　　Soon, bursts of inhuman and miserable screams started to ring from the inside room.

　　Shi Mu sat down cross-legged on the spot and closed his eyes. The screams were spreading from the other room, but they didn’t seem to reach Shi Mu’s ears.