The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 576 Intrigue
Bai Yuchan stared intently at Wu Chengyu, a faint smile on his face, seemingly containing a deeper meaning.

"That's right. Being able to detect you immediately is my innate ability, which I call Soul Locking."

If you had been able to restrain your murderous intent beforehand last night and act immediately after getting close to Xian'er, then I wouldn't have had time to use my soul-locking ability.

However, ever since we met last night, I've had my eye on you. From now on, no matter when or where you are, as long as you appear around me, I'll spot you immediately, no matter who you're disguised as.

So, although I gave you three chances to make a move, as long as I stay by Xian'er's side, you will have absolutely no chance of succeeding.

Young friend, you are a rare genius in our Daoist sect, with extraordinary talent unheard of. You are destined to reach the Innate Realm. Now that things are unlikely to succeed, why not retire gracefully? I don't want the Daoist sect to lose a junior like you; it would be such a pity.

Wu Chengyu understood that Bai Yuchan's so-called soul-locking technique was actually memorizing his aura or soul fluctuations. Before encountering him or being locked on by him, it was fine, but once locked on, it was indeed difficult to get rid of him.

Wu Chengyu shook his head: "Before I came to kill Bai Xian'er, I had no idea that she was your daughter, let alone that you happened to be in the manor. There are very few people in the world who can stop me, so how can I talk about restraining my killing intent? It can only be said that Bai Xian'er's life is not meant to end, and she can at least live a few more days."

Upon hearing Wu Chengyu and Bai Yuchan talking about her, Bai Xian'er suddenly interrupted. She was spoiled by nature and had no patience. With her father, Bai Yuchan, right beside her, she didn't care about Wu Chengyu at all.

"Who are you? Who gave you permission to use my husband's appearance? Your mere disguise is all fake. My husband is so handsome, how could you possibly defile him?"

"Tell me quickly, what have you done to my husband? If anything happens to him, I'll have my father kill you right now! No, I can't kill you! I'll make you wish you were dead, you'll suffer for at least three years before you die!"

Wu Chengyu turned to look at Bai Xian'er. Her appearance back then was indeed attractive, but now she was extremely distorted and her temperament was even more insane. Anyone who saw her would only see a fierce ghost. How could she be considered beautiful?

“I’m about to kill you, and your father doesn’t care about his son-in-law at all. Now that you’re in my hands, what do you think will happen?”
Of course, he was already dead beyond dead. I broke all his bones and bleed him from his limbs. He screamed in agony until he bled to death. His death was incredibly gruesome. However, he didn't mention you once until he died, so he probably didn't care about you at all.

"By the way, do you know why I can use your husband's face? Of course, it's because I peeled his face off alive and put it on my own. Doesn't it look good?"

"Ah~~~" Bai Xian'er let out a shrill scream, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, and the resentment in her eyes was almost overflowing.

Her legs were weak and she seemed powerless to move, but her withered arms kept patting the daybed in front of her.

"Father, kill him quickly! Kill him quickly to avenge my husband! I want to drink his blood and eat his flesh!"

My husband loved me most. How could he not mention me before he died? Father, kill him quickly, I can't take it anymore.

Bai Yuchan was quite helpless. Looking at his daughter's appearance, he frowned. He walked to Bai Xian'er's side, patted her shoulder, and used his inner strength to soothe her. At the same time, he used the gentlest tone to carefully comfort her, and did not forget to glare at Wu Chengyu.

"Why do you have to deliberately provoke Xian'er? You know what position Lü Fang holds in Xian'er's heart. If Xian'er is upset because of this, don't blame me for taking action against you right now. Besides, your disguise skills don't require anyone else's face."

Then he looked at Bai Xian'er, his eyes full of doting: "Xian'er, don't be angry. Getting angry will hurt your health. This young friend is just teasing you. You know your father's abilities. Lü Fang must still be alive. There's no need to worry."

Bai Xian'er had complete faith in Bai Yuchan, and with Bai Yuchan's internal energy circulating throughout her body, she gradually calmed down. At this moment, she stopped speaking, but still glared at Wu Chengyu with resentment.

Wu Chengyu maintained his smile throughout, even though Bai Yuchan's words had given him some insight: "Senior, please don't blame me for teasing her. It's only polite to retaliate. Senior tricked me first, and I was just retaliating."

To advance to the Innate Realm, one must first reach the peak of one's essence, energy, and spirit; I have now reached that threshold.

Secondly, there is the opportunity. Only by bravely and diligently working under immense pressure can one cross this threshold. The only person in the world who could put such pressure on me is probably my senior. Meeting my senior in Suzhou City this time is my opportunity to break through to the Innate Realm.

But while the senior said it was a pity and that he wanted to cherish talent for the Taoist sect, he advised me to give up the assassination. In reality, he was digging a pit for me. He knew that if I retreated now, my mental state would be flawed, and my chances of breaking through to the Innate Realm would be extremely slim, and I would waste countless years.

For thousands of years, the Taoist sect has been suppressing Quanxing. In reality, it is a struggle for the lineage of the Taoist sect. Although Senior Bai did not immediately call for war, he certainly did not want Quanxing to produce another Xiantian. Now he is giving me the opportunity to retire gracefully. It seems like he is appreciating talent, but in reality, he has taken a dirty trick to hinder my path of cultivation.

Since I have made my point so clearly, there is no need for you, senior, to put on such a show of treasuring talent and looking after juniors. That would be too hypocritical. I am a true believer and cannot tolerate the pretentious behavior of other sects.

"Since you harbor malicious intentions, senior, I naturally must retaliate. After all, this Bai Xian'er is your darling."

Bai Yuchan's smile faded: "Indeed, the Quanxing sect has become too indulgent and lacks tranquility. They should no longer exist, let alone have a successor like you."

But my love for talent is genuine. After all, you can still live if I withdraw now. After three chances, if you still want to act recklessly, I will not show any mercy.

Even if you give up and never have the chance to reach the Innate Realm in this lifetime, you will still be the number one person at the pinnacle and can still live freely in the world. But if you lose your life because of forcibly standing out, what is the point of all that suffering?" Wu Chengyu's smile became more indifferent, and he became more carefree: "What Quanxing wants is for all six desires to be satisfied. The six desires are sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and thought. Wonderful scenery, beautiful sounds, fragrances, delicious food, and beautiful women are all things I desire."

However, the word "意" (yì) has many interpretations, and everyone understands it differently. In my view, my "意" lies in the word "freedom," and I only seek to have clear thoughts and freedom of mind and body.

Li Bai wrote, "How can I bow and scrape before the powerful and wealthy, thus losing my joy? At this moment, you, my predecessor, are no different from those powerful and wealthy. I long for freedom, yet you insist on trapping me in a cage. Naturally, I, the junior, have the courage to break free."

After saying this, the two fell silent at the same time, but after a few breaths, they both laughed.

Wu Chengyu shook his head and chuckled: "So I didn't lie to you, right? That old bastard Zhenxiang, he always left things unsaid back then, but now he's the one who tricked me."

Bai Yuchan said with a mocking expression: "When your Quanxing's founder taught you about the Innate Realm, he must have also talked about the Soul-Locking Technique. But you pretended not to know and were eager to learn. You just wanted to test my true abilities."

Or perhaps they wanted to leave a loophole to lure me in at a crucial moment. I had no intention of lying; I was merely using your cleverness to my advantage.

Wu Chengyu nodded and said, "That's right. My ancestor once said that in addition to the conversion of internal energy into true qi, the Soul Locking ability is something that every person in the Innate Realm possesses. It's not an innate power unique to any one person."

The so-called soul-locking, to put it bluntly, is nothing more than the manifestation of the subtle realm after the innate sublimation. It allows one to lock onto the enemy's every move and detect killing intent and hostility.

But that old guy held back for me back then, he didn't tell me that Soul Lock had the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood, so you were able to see that I used disguise and at the same time be able to distinguish whether every word I said was true or false.

I spent a month with that old man back then. He taught me a lot, but during that time, we played tricks on each other. No matter what tricks I played, I was always the one who ended up getting the short end of the stick.

Now it seems that he used the Soul-Locking Technique to distinguish between the real and the fake. In order to gain the upper hand, he didn't even tell me that the Soul-Locking Technique could distinguish between the real and the fake, making me a laughing stock for trying to outsmart my senior.

Previously, I deliberately presented the Soul-Locking ability as a unique innate power of the senior, merely hoping to make him underestimate me and perhaps discover his true innate power. It was a complete miscalculation.

Bai Yuchan asked, "Then how did you know that I was also lying to you?"

Wu Chengyu replied, "Bai Xian'er is probably the only flaw in your mind, senior. I just made a false threat, speaking with utmost sincerity and deliberately revealing my murderous intent, but you saw through my lie at a glance."

Although I do not have the ability to lock souls, I have already achieved perfection in the path of the gods. When you were comforting your daughter, you were showing your true feelings. Or rather, you would never lie to your daughter. How could I not see that it was so obvious?

The senior's words, "You know my abilities," suggest that Bai Xian'er also knows that you have the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood, which is why her mind immediately returned to normal.

Looking back now, I realize that when I said I would carry out the second assassination three days later, and then acted ahead of schedule today, it's likely that my senior knew I was lying. Trying to outwit a True Immortal is truly a disadvantage.

Bai Yuchan said, "You say you preserve the true nature of humanity, yet you lied to me. Doesn't this violate the doctrines of the Quanxing sect?"

Wu Chengyu's face showed a roguish expression: "That's different. We are enemies, so of course we have to use some methods to preserve our integrity. I genuinely wanted to deceive you, but I just couldn't. Why be so pedantic?"

Bai Yuchan grew impatient: "Now that I have locked your soul, your skill is inferior to mine, your disguise has been seen through, and your little tricks cannot fool me. You have no chance left."

You only have one chance left to make a move. After the third, you'd better stop. I won't give you a fourth chance. This is my advice, and I've said all I can say. Don't make a mistake.

Wu Chengyu replied, "You know I won't stop. Bai Xian'er is doomed. Being born with innate abilities doesn't mean everything. Let's continue our battle."

Just as he was about to leave, Bai Xian'er, who hadn't dared to utter a word, suddenly spoke up: "Wait, give my husband back."

As Wu Chengyu turned around, he shrugged and said, "I have no interest in your lover. Just like your father, he has never been worthy of our attention. He's not worth a second glance. He'll be back in good shape on his own in a moment."

By the way, Senior Bai, since the two assassination attempts failed, I have one more chance. There's no need to delay. I will come to your door tomorrow at noon to carry out the third assassination attempt.

"When the time comes, senior, why don't we prepare some food and wine, and discuss our heroes over drinks, to see if I, the junior, can ultimately succeed?"

　This chapter is a bit convoluted, and I'm not entirely satisfied with it despite revising it many times. It's just what I had to do. In fact, it's setting the stage for the later plot. The third assassination attempt can't be carried out with the same force as the first, nor can it be done with the same tricks as the second. I'll have to use my brain a bit more.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)