Returning to a little after ten o’clock, while Wang Ling and Fang Xing were still dealing with the magic array…

　　After capturing Chou Shisi alive, Wang Ming and Odd Zhuo finally found Xiao Yuncheng in an alley. His eyes were blood red. The fruit which Shuigou Sect had fed him had almost completely broken down in his body; from afar, they could already feel an indescribable sense of oppression.

　　It was different from the spiritual pressure released by a normal cultivator; it was an aura pressure that was out of control, and was an extremely dangerous sign that the concentration of spirit energy inside Xiao Yuncheng was about to reach the saturation point.

　　Wang Ming wiped at his sweat. They had been delayed for too long with Chou Shisi.

　　Luckily, they had caught up before it was too late, and there was still time to turn things around.

　　“What now, Brother Er? We can’t get close at all.” Both Odd Zhuo and Wang Ming could sense that dense oppression from the mouth of the alley. If it wasn’t for the long johns that they were wearing, this pressure might be even stronger.

　　To some degree, Xiao Yuncheng’s aura was now approaching the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

　　Given this out-of-control aura pressure, it was a miracle they could even withstand it, let alone move.

　　Once again, this showed how formidable the fruit developed by Shuigou Sect was. With the energy it contained, a person who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage could amass spirit energy inside the body and forcefully enhance themselves to an unimaginable degree; Xiao Yuncheng was now suffering both physical and mental agony.

　　But Odd Zhuo was keenly aware that it was fortunate that the person was Xiao Yuncheng.

　　The Xiao clan’s selection system for promotion in the inner and outer sects was very strict. As the Xiao clan’s number one disciple in the outer sect, Xiao Yuncheng would certainly have put in more effort than a regular person. If the person standing here had been someone else besides Xiao Yuncheng, it was likely that they wouldn’t have been able to endure for so long.

　　“Don’t worry, I’ll set you free straightaway.” Spirit energy poured from Wang Ming’s ring into the sword he was holding.

　　With a loud pop, the Heavenly Materials sword unexpectedly transformed into a beam of light which flew straight at Xiao Yuncheng!

　　It actually split its aura?

　　Odd Zhuo was astounded; he hadn’t known that the Heavenly Materials sword had this ability.

　　Not only could this sword qi be used to seal spirits, it could even ignore spiritual pressure.

　　“What an abnormal sword… good thing shifu took it back!”

　　Odd Zhuo was petrified as he had this thought.

　　He was also extremely glad that the Master of Immortal Mansion’s plan to forge a sword had ultimately been unsuccessful.

　　The materials used in the Heavenly Materials sword were indeed the best; the Master of Immortal Mansion had devoted almost half of his life to creating this sword. Odd Zhuo had already evaluated its workmanship and concluded that it was a first-class holy weapon. In this age, countless cultivators would already consider this a priceless treasure.

　　Typically, if you were in a battle with a disparity in realms, it was very important to have a magic weapon that could surpass your opponent.

　　In the battle with Fang Xing back then, the Master of Immortal Mansion Cheng Yu had used this Heavenly Materials sword as well as his intrinsic spirit field. At just Itinerant Immortal level, he still had had the power to fight Fang Xing even after the latter had used two supreme spells in succession to enter True Immortal mode; he had even ended up coming out on top.

　　This was enough to prove how frightening the Heavenly Materials sword was.

　　Its only shortcoming was that it lacked a sword spirit.

　　Thirty percent of a spirit sword’s strength depended on its substance, and seventy percent on its sword spirit.

　　Obviously, Cheng Yu had been deeply aware of this, but most unluckily for him, he had targeted Jingke.

　　…

　　Since they weren’t able to get any closer, Wang Ming had already thought of using the Heavenly Materials sword’s ability to attack from a distance.

　　As the Heavenly Materials sword went out in that moment, the aura which Xiao Yuncheng was emitting deep in the alley was dispelled by sword qi. Wang Ming and Odd Zhuo seized the opportunity to approach Xiao Yuncheng as the spiritual pressure receded.

　　Xiao Yuncheng lurked in one corner of the alley, red eyes darting warily in all directions like a feral animal.

　　His response was very quick; when he saw the sword light coming at him, he actually jumped straight up, easily evading the spirit sword’s attack.

　　It wasn’t fast enough to hit him!

　　Wang Ming was relying on the spirit charge stored in the ring to control the spirit sword, and so he couldn’t match cultivators who used their own strength to operate their spirit swords.

　　Given the current situation, Odd Zhuo didn’t think there was any use in him wielding the Heavenly Materials sword himself – enhanced by the fruit, Xiao Yuncheng’s speed and strength had already surpassed the Golden Core stage. Only a person who was at the very least at the Nascent Soul stage or the Soul Formation stage stood a chance of attacking Xiao Yuncheng with this sword.

　　“Brother Er, can we use the Brain Deduction Technique?” Odd Zhuo recalled Wang Ming’s confrontation with Chou Shisi earlier. If they could use this brilliant skill to trap Xiao Yuncheng in the “Inception” dreamscape like they had done with Chou Shisi, then they might stand a chance!

　　“It doesn’t work when the other party is mentally confused.” Wang Ming shook his head.

　　This was one of the limitations of the Brain Deduction Technique. The first step was the most crucial, and in fact worked like hypnosis; it created a suggestion, and the enemy was then unknowingly drawn into the Brain Deduction Technique’s space.

　　Unfortunately, if the other party’s thoughts were a mess, a suggestion couldn’t be used, and the technique wouldn’t take hold.

　　Now that he had been provoked, Xiao Yuncheng snarled even more wildly and bared his teeth as he stared at Wang Ming and Odd Zhuo.

　　The strong killing intent coming off him made Odd Zhuo’s hair stand on end.

　　“Brother Er, be careful!”

　　“I’ll handle it!”

　　Wang Ming raised his hand again, and radiant light burst forth from the ring as a scroll flew out of it.

　　“Xiao Yuncheng, look at what this is!”

　　Holding the scroll aloft, Wang Ming pulled on the red string at the top to unfurl it.

　　Odd Zhuo was astonished when Xiao Yuncheng took one look at the drawing inside and actually stopped moving! Even his killing intent completely disappeared!

　　At that moment, he seemed to regain some of his senses, and even the red in his eyes seemed to subside a fair bit.

　　Finally, he actually dropped to his knees on the ground!

　　“Now!”

　　Taking advantage of Xiao Yuncheng’s sluggish state, Wang Ming operated the Heavenly Materials sword and came up behind the youngster to give him a cut on his shoulder that was neither too deep nor too shallow.

　　All the red in Xiao Yuncheng’s eyes was dispelled, and his aura continued to weaken until he finally fell over on the ground with a plop.

　　“Brother Er, what kind of amazing magic treasure is this?” Odd Zhuo was utterly stunned at this scene.

　　Wang Ming tossed the scroll to him. “Nothing special, it’s just a drawing.”

　　Looking at it, the corners of Odd Zhuo’s mouth twitched. “…” It was actually a portrait of the Flame Emperor using the Angry Buddha Fire Lotus!

　　Wang Ming gazed at Xiao Yuncheng on the ground and waved his hands helplessly. “Members of the Xiao clan are all descendants of the Flame Emperor, so they have deep feelings for this ancestor – it’s a natural response for them to kowtow when they see his image.”

　　Odd Zhuo: “…”