Liu Xing stood behind and to the right of Wuji Sanren. He could still see the side of his face. The screens behind them displayed information and hummed softly. It was the prime time to attack. The room was secure. A scream would not be heard outside, and considering how afraid the disciples were of Wuji Sanren, they would think twice before barging in, even if they did hear him scream. In the end, though, he waited a little longer. He looked up at the screens again and memorized them. He focused on the rightmost screen, where he saw the disciples on the island moving about. To be certain, he would make his move when no disciples were near enough to aid Wuji Sanren.

  As he memorized the information and began to formulate questions for Wuji Sanren, an unease settled in his heart. It was as if he had forgotten something that would earn him a scolding, yet no matter how he thought about it, he could not pinpoint the cause. The corpses of his victims, some with eyes open and unfocused, seemed to observe him, waiting for him to kill his next victim. He chalked the feeling up to nervousness combined with anxiety over a potential trap Wuji Sanren might have prepared.

  He waited for a full ten minutes. During this time, Wuji Sanren added more information to the display, though he erased the audacious question and added more detail about spirit beasts. Liu Xing noticed that aside from a snake, there was also a dragon, as well as something that looked like a giant humanoid head.

  At that moment, Liu Xing steeled his heart and pointed the tip of his gun toward the back of Wuji Sanren’s head. The bullets inside his gun were the Lightning Palm variant, formed using the qi he had taken from Gao Tong. There were three bullets in total, since he had absorbed the rest of the qi into his consciousness. He was currently on the edge of a breakthrough, and as he licked his lips, he thought killing Wuji Sanren might be enough to fully saturate his cores.

  Liu Xing held his position for a moment, his eyes scanning the room once again, anticipating where his opponent might move if he deflected or dodged his bullets. When everything was ready, with a steady finger, Liu Xing pulled the trigger.

  The moment a blue bolt launched from his gun, Wuji Sanren snapped his eyes to the side. Liu Xing’s eyes were locked on his opponent, and he saw Wuji Sanren coat his right hand with a black and blue aura. Just as the bullet was about to hit Wuji Sanren’s face, his hand swatted it. The bullet exploded into ropes of electricity that paralyzed Wuji Sanren’s right hand, but the rest of his body was free. In a swift movement, he stood and jumped to the side. However, Liu Xing had already predicted this. The moment Wuji Sanren jumped, Liu Xing did two things at once. First, he pulled the trigger again, sending a bullet soaring toward him. Second, he summoned his turtle directly in his opponent’s path. Wuji Sanren crashed into the turtle and became unbalanced. His eyes widened, his cold expression breaking for a moment. In that instant of desperation, he surrounded his left hand with the same black and blue aura and once again slapped the Lightning Palm bullet. When the bullet and hand met, it exploded into ropes of electricity again, and this time close enough to paralyze Wuji Sanren’s upper body. His feet still worked, so he jumped to the side, only to meet a shield this time, throwing him off balance once more. Finally, the third bullet hit him squarely in the chest, and ropes of electricity bound and truly paralyzed him.

  With his heart beating steadily against his ribs, Liu Xing remained careful and activated his Lightning Palm technique once again, this time creating six bullets. The instant they were created, Liu Xing pulled the trigger and launched all six of them rapidly. They were so swift that they hit their targets the moment they were shot, paralyzing Wuji Sanren further. His calm expression broke for a moment before an intense focus returned to his eyes, as if he were trying to find a way to escape.

  Like he did with Gao Tong, the moment Wuji Sanren began to resist, Liu Xing flicked his right wrist and summoned the golden cuffs. He launched himself forward as he shot the man with six more bullets simultaneously, making sure he truly could not move. The moment Liu Xing arrived in front of Wuji Sanren, he hastily cuffed his hands and activated the treasure with his potent qi, flooding it with the same amount he had used for Gao Tong. Wuji Sanren instantly grimaced, and Liu Xing summoned more treasures to use against his opponent.

  In a single second, the man was not only cuffed but also poisoned with a variety of toxins that attacked his qi, muscles, bones, and blood. Liu Xing also slapped paper talismans onto him, placed prayer beads around his neck, activated his hairpin to restrain him, uncorked a gourd to let a strange mist waft before his face, and more. It was a league above what he had done to Gao Tong, and while he feared the man might die from it all, he needed to be careful. Accidentally killing him was preferable to accidentally giving him a way to escape.

  In the end, Wuji Sanren was lying on the floor, and Liu Xing stood over him, looking at his face. Unlike Gao Tong, whose mind had shattered in an instant, Wuji Sanren looked in his general direction with sharp eyes, though Liu Xing could see a grimace at the corners of his lips and uncertainty clouding his gaze. There must have been fear there too, though he masked it successfully.

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  For a moment, there was only silence. Liu Xing’s heart beat steadily as he imagined ways that Wuji Sanren could break free and counterattack, yet after a full ten seconds, Wuji Sanren was still lying there, a dozen treasures and many poisons pinning him in place. Liu Xing let out a sigh of relief, one loud enough for Wuji Sanren to hear.

  "What a pitiful sight," Wuji Sanren said slowly and with great effort, his face twisted. "If that Ye Xuanming saw my current state, he would make jokes about this situation for years to come. It seems that…" he paused for a moment, as if a sharp pain passed through him, before continuing. "It seems that I was mistaken. You're not weak. You're strong enough to use these treasures to their full potential."

  Liu Xing cycled his qi and readied his gun with Exploding Fist bullets. With his qi paths strengthened, widened, and purified by the pills he took from the Jin clan, the attack was a league stronger than before. While Wuji Sanren might have a chance to withstand these bullets, he would not be unscathed. Power-wise, this man was actually below him, yet something about him felt dangerous.

  "I assume since I am still alive, you want something from me, no? If so, would it not be more convenient if you showed yourself, so that we could see eye to eye?"

  Liu Xing thought for a moment, wondering whether it was wise to undo his invisibility. He looked toward the corpse of an old man he had killed in a bathroom and decided that it was indeed unwise. He would not drop his invisibility.

  "Wuji Sanren, the only reason you're still alive is because I have some questions for you," Liu Xing said after a moment of silence.

  "If I cooperate, will you free me, then?"

  Liu Xing answered instantly. "Yes."

  Of course, it was a lie. It went slightly against his nature, yet it was the correct answer. He knew Wuji Sanren had seen through his lie, but perhaps it would plant a small seed of doubt in his heart. That seed might make Wuji Sanren talk. Liu Xing thought for a moment more, trying to decide what question to ask first. Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to the blue screen in the center, and he could not help but ask about it.

  "What are you researching?"

  Wuji Sanren flexed his muscles, as if trying to break free from his cuffs, but it was no use. The gesture made Liu Xing add more potent qi to them, making Wuji Sanren grimace in pain before he finally answered. "I assume you were there when I wrote that question," he let out a small smile, then muttered, "It seems I was right that you were here. I should have been more convincing. I should have trusted my judgment more, even if all of my senses and even treasures for detecting presences said that no one was here."

  Liu Xing knew that while the man was rambling, he was trying to break free. Liu Xing sent more qi into all the treasures. More mist wafted around Wuji Sanren's face, and he added more pressure against the man's mind using his hairpin, as well as adding more qi to the prayer beads that would coax him to talk. He stiffened for a moment and finally answered. "I am currently hitting a bottleneck. I cannot advance anymore. There are already many things that I have tried, and I concluded it is because my innate talent is lacking. I'm trying to find out how to advance even though I am already at my limit."

  Liu Xing was tempted to summon the bell that could detect lies; however, since it would be destroyed after five questions, he decided not to use it for now. Moreover, this question was merely his curiosity talking, though the answer made his stomach twist. The solution to this problem was the Heaven Severing Pill.

  Liu Xing shifted his focus. "Wuji Sanren, were you familiar with the mission of the three elders of your sect to kidnap mortals?"

  Wuji Sanren was silent for a moment. However, with the prayer beads forcing him to talk and Liu Xing intensifying the treasures that held him, he soon answered. "Yes, though I only knew about it after the fact that three of my peers were killed on this mission." At that, Wuji Sanren nodded. "I see. You need not hide your presence anymore. I know who you are."

  Liu Xing pressed his lips. Only his second question, and Wuji Sanren already knew his identity. Even though his identity was found out, he would not drop his invisibility. Let the man harbor some sliver of doubt about his identity in his heart.

  Liu Xing finally summoned his bell, activated it, and asked his next question. "Do you know something about this mission?"

  Wuji Sanren replied after a beat. "No."

  At his answer, Liu Xing could feel the bell ringing. It was quite strange; it only rang for his ears, and he knew instantly that Wuji Sanren was lying. To punish him, Liu Xing intensified his treasures. The golden cuffs sucked more of Wuji Sanren’s qi, and using the hairpin, Liu Xing suppressed his mind further and further. Wuji Sanren began to scream. Liu Xing waited for a full minute before Wuji Sanren finally answered with something he wanted to hear.

  "I have speculation about it," he said between gasps, and Liu Xing lessened his punishment. "Ye Xuanming was famous for asking for random things, be it mundane or not. It was merely a way for him to mask what he truly wanted. It was not out of the ordinary when the news came about him ordering elders to kidnap some mortal women. However, I have known him the longest, and I knew that this was not a random order."

  "Tell me more," Liu Xing ordered.

  Wuji Sanren licked his lips, then said, "Yes, but so that you get your answer and you don't need to punish me for a lacking response, I want you to give me more context about what you want to know. This way, I can give you a better, more precise answer."

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