A man in black robes was sitting directly across from him.
No one knew when he appeared. There was no sound, yet there he was.
His entire body was cloaked in black, with only his dark, gloomy eyes visible.
“I knew you’d come sooner or later,” the ragged man said calmly.
“Since you didn’t expose me earlier today, I won’t kill you,” the black-robed man replied.
“Then why are you here?”
“Just to remind you,” the black-robed man said. “Your sect’s uncle-master and master are still in my hands. If you don’t want them dead, you’d better behave.”
“I know,” the ragged man replied calmly, though a flash of killing intent passed through his eyes.
“My patience is running thin,” said the black-robed man coldly. “Hand over the fragment of the True God Sword, and I’ll release your sect members. It’ll benefit both sides.”
“You think I don’t know?” the ragged man replied flatly. “If we don’t have the fragment, we might survive. But if you get it, there’s no point in us staying alive.”
The black-robed man went silent for a moment, then said, “Suit yourself. It won’t be long before the fragment is mine anyway.”
As his words fell, the room fell silent.
Just as he turned to leave, his body froze.
On the windowsill, someone was reclining.
No one had noticed him. But he’d heard everything.
“All done talking?” Xu Zimo asked with a smile.
“When did you get here?” the black-robed man asked, his voice steady.
He hadn’t sensed him at all earlier.
“I heard everything. What I should and shouldn’t hear,” Xu Zimo smiled.
Then he turned to the ragged man. “Why aren’t you pretending to be insane anymore? I saved you, and you deceived me. How heartbreaking.”
The black-robed man’s eyes narrowed. He turned to flee through the front door.
But as he pushed it open, Death God Qin was already standing there calmly.
“No escape,” Xu Zimo said, smiling. “Take off the mask. Let me see who you are.”
“I think we’ve met before.”
“That depends on whether you’ve got the skill,” the man sneered.
A powerful aura surged from his body, peak Empyrean Meridian realm.
He charged at Xu Zimo with a punch filled with fierce energy.
“How foolish,” Xu Zimo said flatly.
He sidestepped the punch, grabbed the attacker’s wrist, and broke it with a twist.
Then he kicked him hard in the abdomen, sending him flying.
It was only a few simple moves, but Xu Zimo used full force.
The black-robed man hit the ground hard. All his limbs were broken, blood dripping from his mouth. He lay there like a pile of mud.
But his spiritforce was already healing his injuries. He’d recover before long.
Xu Zimo walked up and tore off his mask.
“I’m not surprised,” he said with a chuckle.
It was the young monk from earlier.
“So the enemy who destroyed Duskblade Sect was you,” Xu Zimo smiled.
The monk sighed and said softly, “One wrong step leads to many.”
“Let’s make a deal,” Xu Zimo turned to the ragged man. “The sword fragment for the lives of your sect.”
“You’re no different from him. Why should I trust you?” the man replied.
“You don’t have a choice,” Xu Zimo said. “I’m not very patient. If you refuse, I’ll just soul-search you.”
At the mention of “soul-search,” the ragged man’s eyes narrowed.
He could tell Xu Zimo wasn’t ordinary. Not many people could perform soul-searching.
It was a cruel method, at best, the victim went insane. At worst, they died.
Even within True Martial Sacred Ground, soul-searching was rarely used because it was unnatural.
“I’ll make the deal,” the ragged man finally said after some thought.
“That’s better,” Xu Zimo smiled. “I only want the sword fragment. I’ve got no grudge against Duskblade Sect.”
Then he looked back at the young monk. “Want to live?”
“I understand. I’ll take you to where they’re held,” the monk said, accepting his fate.
He led them to a room inside the Buddhist lodge.
He knocked on one side of the wall.
A rumbling came from beneath their feet.
A staircase to the underground appeared.
The monk led the way down the dark passage, with the others following close behind.
The tunnel wasn’t completely dark. Night pearls were embedded in the walls.
Footsteps echoed clearly as they walked.
At the bottom, the space opened up.
A strong stench filled the air.
As the stone gate ahead opened, everyone was stunned by what they saw.
A giant iron cage, where people were chained like animals.
Dim yellow lights flickered on both sides. A rough count revealed nearly a hundred people inside.
All looked thin and lifeless, clearly tortured.
The stench came from the fact that everything, eating, drinking, defecating, happened in this cage.
The ragged man was frozen in place.
“Master! Uncle-master!” he screamed, running toward the cage.
The people inside looked at him blankly, their eyes devoid of emotion.
Just then, another loud “boom” echoed above.
The monk’s figure disappeared, and iron bars fell from all sides, trapping Xu Zimo and the others inside.
The entire secret room was, in fact, a hidden cage.
Clapping came from the side.
The monk stepped out from the shadows, looking smug.
“Surprised?” he laughed.
“I wasn’t going to spare you anyway,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “But now you’ve really pissed me off.”
He glanced around. The cage wasn’t made of ordinary material.
It was forged from a rare mineral called Heaven-Bear Earth-Fiend Stone.
Extremely tough, even a God Meridian cultivator couldn’t break it easily.
“Seems you were well prepared,” Xu Zimo said, narrowing his eyes.