Chapter 65: Disguise

Wang Jingyuan, Yue Buqun, and Feng Qingyang descended the mountain, though not in their true appearances—they all wore human-skin masks.

Wang Jingyuan was the kind of person who would hoard even items he had no temporary use for. Having acquired the Art of Disguise, how could he fail to collect the materials required for it? Although the materials were somewhat expensive, Wang Jingyuan was quite well-funded at present.

After all, what he had previously said to Lu Bai was not mere perfunctorily spoken nonsense. When he first prepared Tian Boguang's head, his most fundamental purpose had been to easily exchange it for the bounty.

Feng Qingyang touched his own face and remarked, "Even the tactile sensation is so lifelike; this is truly a remarkable method."

Wang Jingyuan nodded. "Indeed. It is just that Qu Yang has no taste for stirring up trouble. Otherwise, relying on this Art of Disguise and his Dark Blood Divine Needles, he alone could become a grave threat to the righteous path."

Touching the mask of Lu Lianrong on his face, Wang Jingyuan sighed, "No matter how many times I touch it, I am still amazed by the martial arts black technology in this place. Actually, when I first produced the raw material and felt this realistic flesh-like texture, I even made a cup out of it first, thinking I might make a fortune. What a pity that prostitution is legal and inexpensive here, while the materials for this human-skin mask are quite costly to manufacture and have a short shelf life, so I let the idea go. Besides, why on earth can even a cup trigger the censorship mode?!"

Yue Buqun shook his head. This Immortal Elder was speaking words he could not understand once again, but he had grown accustomed to it. Feng Qingyang cast a calm glance at the two of them without uttering a sound.

Before long, the three of them arrived at Huayin City. Here, they could already encounter some martial artists. When someone recognized the identities they were disguised as, they would come forward to greet them.

Wang Jingyuan haughtily ignored them all with his eyes turned up toward the sky. After all, the information he commanded was not enough for pleasantries. Most importantly, he was rather lazy. Although the game mechanics lacked a Skip button, since he could manually skip things now, why wouldn't he be glad to do so?

Shortly after, they arrived at the fruit shop in Huayin City. Wang Jingyuan calculated that the time was about right, and sure enough, six masked figures dashed out from the fruit shop.

They carried large and small bags on their backs, apparently having looted small snacks from the fruit shop. As the six of them bolted out from the fruit shop, they crashed straight into Wang Jingyuan and his companions.

Wang Jingyuan immediately shouted with fierce intensity, "'Golden-Eyed Eagle' Lu Lianrong is here! Which petty thieves dare to commit crimes in broad daylight?!"

The leader of the six let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Who did I think it was? So it's the 'Golden-Eyed Crow' of Hengshan. I am the Vulture of the Sun Moon Divine Cult. There is no time like the present, so today I shall just test your skills. Sandman, let's charge together! I love two-on-one fights the most."

Suddenly, one of the masked men pointed at Wang Jingyuan's side and said, "Boss, he's not alone. There are three of them."

The lead masked man slapped him on the head. "Idol, of course I saw that. But aren't there six members in our Sinister Six? That's still a two-on-one fight?! Sandman, you and I will beat up this crow. Mystery Man, Electro, Octopus, and Hunter, you handle the remaining two."

"Boss, that person is 'Crane Hand' Lu Bai of Songshan!"

"...The wind is picking up, let's scatter!" The six masked oddballs turned around and fled with their snacks on their backs. Their lightness skills were exceptionally high, and they ran quite fast despite carrying loads.

Wang Jingyuan shouted loudly, "What Sinister Six? I've never even heard of them, but judging by their looks, they are indeed wicked demons of the Cult. Junior Brother Lu, why don't we pursue them and eliminate the scourge for the martial arts world!"

Yue Buqun nodded. "Let us follow Senior Brother Lu's suggestion."

With that, the three of them also channeled their lightness skills and gave chase, bounding out of the city in no time.

That very afternoon, the mutilated corpses of the three were discovered out in the wilderness.

Also found alongside them was a Five Mountains Order Flag stamped with the pattern of the Black Wood Order. No matter how one looked at it, it appeared to be a lured ambush, and a provoking mark had been left behind after the killings.

This was tolerable; what was intolerable?! Right then, the nearby Huashan Sect financed the collection of the three bodies and had them sent back to their respective mountain gates via the Fuwei Escort Agency.

As the sect leader, Yue Buqun even penned a letter sent to the other four mountains, discussing whether the Five Mountains should gather together to besiege Black Wood Cliff. Of course, this was merely for show; anyone using their backside to think would know it could never succeed.

After all, if they truly wanted to besiege Black Wood Cliff, the Five Mountains would have to exert their efforts collectively. Currently, the leader of the Five Mountains Sword Sects was Zuo Lengchan, and the Songshan Sect possessed the greatest strength. Should the Songshan Sect bear the brunt of the burden then?

Moreover, if they besieged Black Wood Cliff today, would those people not retaliate? Decades ago, the Huashan Sect was still revered as the leader of the Five Mountains, and back then, Huashan took the lead in resisting the Demonic Cult, which later led to the siege of Huashan by the Ten Elders of the Cult.

If the Five Mountains Sword Sects were to rely solely on themselves to besiege Black Wood Cliff now, they would surely return empty-handed. If the other side settled accounts afterward, it might well turn into a scenario where the Demonic Cult besieged Songshan.

Over the years, apart from the Songshan Sect, the other factions of the Five Mountains had all declined compared to decades ago. On the contrary, after surviving the siege of Huashan and internal strife, the Demonic Cult's strength had not regressed by much.

The main reason was that a certain Dongfangbubai had emerged on their side, and he was truly undefeated in the current age. Had they not seen Wudang's True Warrior Sword and the *Taiji Boxing Classic* resting atop Black Wood Cliff, almost gathering dust, while the people of Wudang dared not retrieve them?

Everyone returned to the mountain, and Feng Qingyang repeated Wang Jingyuan's previous rhetoric to the Three Fools, pacifying them for the time being. However, power stirs men's hearts, and Feng Qingyang could tell that these three still harbored resentment toward a member of the Qi Sect serving as sect leader.

It did not matter, however. In a few years' time, they would no longer be a match for Wang Jingyuan. Feng Qingyang could also perceive that Wang Jingyuan truly held no sectarian prejudices between the Qi and Sword factions. Having such a person as sect leader was quite good.

Before that, however, there was one matter that needed to be clarified.

In the dead of night, Feng Qingyang came outside Yue Buqun's chambers and called him out. Seeing that the visitor was Feng Qingyang and sensing that he seemed to have something to discuss, Yue Buqun draped his outer garments over his shoulders and stepped outside with Feng Qingyang.

Arriving at an open space outside the Huashan Sect's quarters, Feng Qingyang asked, "Let me ask you, what on earth is going on with this kid Wang Jingyuan? Although he insists he has practiced slight-of-hand tricks, can such massive objects appear and vanish out of thin air simply through parlor tricks? He is someone you brought into the fold; you must know something. Give me the bottom line honestly today."

Yue Buqun directly repeated the excuse he had previously used to fool Ning Ningzhong, only to find that Feng Qingyang did not respond, merely staring fixedly at him with piercing eyes.

After watching him for a long while, Feng Qingyang finally said, "You know as well, I am a man of the Sword Sect, and I value sword techniques far more than internal energy. To overcome superior strength with exquisite sword techniques and the weak defeating the strong, one must find the fleeting flaws of the opponent in the minutest details. Therefore, practicing the sword begins with training the eyes. You are considered a man of deep cunning, but trying to lie in front of me still lacks a bit of seasoning."

Yue Buqun's spirit deflated. "Then why didn't you just go and ask him yourself?"

"Heh, if he doesn't want to speak, it wouldn't be proper for me to force him, nor am I willing to force him. As for you, even though you are well past fifty this year, do you care to guess whether I will beat you up?"

"...This matter must begin from the morning I woke up to practice martial arts..."