Chapter 97 - 70: Lord of the Black Lotus Incense!
Su Changkong naturally did not know that Wang Yun had already been threatened by the Black Lotus Sect, and in cooperation with them, he was sending Su Changkong into a trap.
At this moment, Su Changkong had already made his way to the location mentioned in the intelligence.
Luofeng Forest, located within the territory of Clearwater City, was a barren woodland where only beasts and birds dwelt, making it a very suitable hiding place for fugitives and bandits.
When he arrived at Luofeng Forest, it was already dusk, with the sunset in the sky casting an orange glow that made one’s spirit feel somewhat depressed and desolate.
“So Ning Cheng is hiding inside Luofeng Forest? Find him quickly and return before it gets dark.”
Upon arriving at Luofeng Forest, Su Changkong paused briefly to observe before setting out into the woods.
Su Changkong deliberately slowed his breathing and lightened his footsteps; even when he stepped on the dry branches and fallen leaves, there was hardly any sound.
Luofeng Forest was not large, and Su Changkong soon spotted a thatched cottage in the center of the woods.
But Su Changkong’s brows furrowed; the thatched cottage was very dilapidated, half-collapsed, and did not look like a place where someone could live at all!
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Su Changkong’s ears twitched, and following the wind, he heard a barely audible sound. It was the sound of breathing; someone was in hiding!
And… not just one person!
“Who’s there?” Su Changkong called out coldly, fully on guard.
“Heh heh, are you the one known as Ghost Face? You dare to go against us, the Black Lotus Sect? You’ve got quite the guts!”
A cold laugh sounded; footsteps could be heard from all directions.
From behind the large trees all around and from the thickets, figures began to step out, a total of five or six people. Each one’s presence was so strong that it would make any ordinary Martial Artist’s heart tremble with fear, causing their legs to shake uncontrollably!
They formed an encirclement to surround Su Changkong, preventing him from escaping!
“The Black Lotus Sect? More than one person?” Su Changkong’s expression turned grim; he saw that each of these people had a powerful aura, especially two or three of them with their eyes sparkling and an astonishing demeanor as they moved—that was the commanding presence unique to those who had achieved Body Refinement Great Achievement!
“It was Wang Yun… he betrayed me!”
Su Changkong was no fool. In an instant, anger and killing intent in his heart peaked; these people had obviously been waiting here for a long time and knew in advance that Su Changkong was coming, which definitely meant collusion with Wang Yun!
Initially, Wang Yun hired Su Changkong to hunt down disciples of the Black Lotus Sect to fight against them, but now he was working hand in glove with the Black Lotus Sect. Had Wang Yun been threatened, or had he made some deal with them?
Su Changkong could not know, but it didn’t matter anymore. What was most important now was to deal with the situation at hand!
Su Changkong took a deep breath in secret, suppressing the rage and killing intent in his heart, and became calm again. He looked around at the Black Lotus Sect disciples.
There were six people in total. Nearly half of them had powerful auras and were at the Divine Bravery Stage. Ning Cheng from the intel was among them, and the weakest were at the Divine Strength Realm.
But what attracted Su Changkong’s attention the most was a man in gray clothes who stepped out from under a large tree in front of him.
The man in gray had a youthful face without a beard, no more than forty at most. He was of average height and build, with a longsword on his back and standing with his hands behind him, exuding an air of nonchalance. Relying on his instincts, Su Changkong could feel a faint sense of threat emanating from the man in gray, even stronger than that from Shi Zijian, leading Su Changkong to guess his identity!
“He’s Ghost Face? The one who killed nearly ten of our Black Lotus Sect members?”
The Black Lotus Sect disciples all scrutinized Su Changkong, with undisguised murderous intent on their faces.
A year ago, the Black Lotus Sect decided to infiltrate and take control of Clearwater City. Everything was going smoothly, but then a warrior calling himself Ghost Face appeared and killed many Black Lotus Sect disciples, making the rest hesitant and significantly affecting their operations.
Now, the Black Lotus Sect wanted to make Ghost Face pay the most painful price for daring to obstruct them!
“Should I call you Wen Tai or should I call you Ghost Face? You’re younger than I imagined. You shouldn’t have opposed the Black Lotus Sect.”
The man in gray slowly began to speak, his voice sharp and piercing, making it very uncomfortable to listen to.
Su Changkong’s thoughts raced, and he earnestly said, “I was only after the money and never meant to deliberately oppose the Black Lotus Sect. Why don’t we settle this peacefully? I could also join the Black Lotus Sect and be brothers with you all!”
Once he said this, the five or six Black Lotus Sect experts twitched at the corners of their mouths in disgust—Ghost Face was shameless! When he was killing the Black Lotus Sect disciples, he claimed to be from the Black Cavalry Gang. Now that they had come knocking at his door, he was immediately ready to join the Black Lotus Sect to save his life!
A sneer appeared on the face of the man in gray, “If it were before, our Black Lotus Sect would welcome a young Martial Artist with potential like you, and our treatment would’ve been extremely favorable. But you’ve killed so many of our disciples that it’s impossible to turn our fight into friendship now. You must learn to regret going against the Black Lotus Sect, to serve as a warning to others!”
The Black Lotus Sect welcomed talented individuals to join them, but if they had a major grievance with the sect, such as Ghost Face who killed nearly ten of their disciples, allowing him to join would be unacceptable in the eyes of the rest of the sect.
“Exactly, let’s flay and dismember this Ghost Face…”
A Black Lotus Sect disciple with a scar on his face beside Su Changkong agreed; this man was Ning Cheng, one from the intel provided by Wang Yun, and he was among the Black Lotus Sect experts ambushing Su Changkong.
However, before Ning Cheng could finish, the man in gray’s expression changed as he shouted, “Watch out!”