Vessel of Worlds

Andy could tell at a glance from the man's spiritual energy that he was at early-stage Foundation Establishment. He retreated several steps alongside Liu Yingying but didn't produce a defensive artifact—he merely slapped two defensive talismans onto himself and watched the black-clad figure's every move.

The man in black stopped about a dozen zhang from them. He was dressed entirely in dark clothing, his head covered by a black mask with only two holes cut for his eyes. A thoroughly vulgar gaze peered out, lingering on the young woman for a good long while before swinging toward Andy with open malice.

Andy, still clinging to a faint hope that this wouldn't escalate, sighed inwardly. His fingers had already closed around two artifacts.

"Leave the woman and you can get lost!" the man in black rasped, his voice grating like a cracked gong. The threat in his words was unmistakable.

Andy appeared entirely unconcerned. "Why don't you get lost first? Pretend you never saw us."

"You're looking to die, boy!" the man in black roared, and a streak of dark light shot toward Andy like a meteor.

"Watch out!" Liu Yingying's warning had barely left her lips when she realized Andy had already made his move.

A violent surge of spiritual energy erupted from his body. In that instant, the ordinary tenth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator transformed into a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Both Liu Yingying and the man in black stared in disbelief at what had just happened. But before the man in black could process the implications, a streak of silver light brimming with formidable spiritual power shot from Andy's hand to meet the incoming dark artifact.

"A peak-grade artifact!" the man in black shouted, shock layered thick with fear.

As if to confirm his assessment, the silver light cleaved his dark, staff-shaped artifact cleanly in two without losing any speed, then continued straight toward him.

"Spare me, fellow cultivator! A misunderstanding—this is all a misunderstanding!" The man in black's voice was suddenly no longer hoarse. He begged ceaselessly, and under the overwhelming pressure of the peak-grade artifact, he didn't even attempt to defend himself.

Andy's silver sword didn't strike the killing blow. Instead, it hovered less than three chi above the man's neck, trembling faintly, as though it might drop at any moment.

"What misunderstanding?" Andy said coldly. "Why don't you call your friend out too." He turned his head toward a different spot as he spoke the last words.

The man in black hastily pulled off his mask, revealing a young man with a crooked mouth and misaligned eyes. At the same time, he called toward the spot Andy was facing: "Senior Brother Situ, get out here and explain!"

A flash of green light emerged from inside a large tree, and a young cultivator in a brocade robe with an unusually pale complexion stepped out of the trunk. As he approached the man in black, he suddenly launched a lush green wooden sword at him.

The attack was utterly unexpected. The man in black, completely unguarded, managed only to utter a single "You—" before the green sword was upon him.

With a sharp crack, the silver sword swatted the wooden sword flat, deflecting it just enough that it grazed past the man in black's lapel without striking him.

Stolen novel; please report.

Drenched in cold sweat, the man in black pointed at the brocade-robed youth in a fury of shock and rage. "You—you tried to silence me!"

"Brother Situ?" Liu Yingying, already reeling from Andy's sudden transformation into a Foundation Establishment cultivator and the appearance of a peak-grade artifact, now saw this man and her mind dissolved into chaos. But a faint thread of conspiracy was beginning to take shape.

"You know him?" Andy pointed at the brocade-robed cultivator and asked Liu Yingying.

"Yes. His name is Situ Xin—he was my husband's junior brother. After my husband died, Brother Situ looked after me. He was the one who delivered the Azure Sea Sect's compensation into my hands," Liu Yingying said.

"Pah!" Before anyone else could speak, the man in black cut in: "He never had good intentions! Senior Brother Li's death was his doing—he engineered the whole thing! He—"

"Shut your mouth, you lecherous villain! How dare you slander a good man!" The brocade-robed youth erupted in fury, directing his green wooden sword at the man in black again—only for Andy's silver sword to block it once more. This time, the man in black also produced a high-grade defensive artifact and held it before him.

"Who are you, fellow cultivator, and why are you meddling in this?" the brocade-robed youth demanded, seeing his attack thwarted twice.

"I'm an old acquaintance of Fairy Liu's—we met many years ago. As for you, Brother Situ, why not let the man finish? If you have nothing to do with this, why the rush to silence him?" Andy's tone remained ice-cold, and he placed unmistakable emphasis on the words "silence him."

Only now did Liu Yingying grasp what was unfolding. Her voice trembling, she asked the man in black: "Are you saying my husband was killed by Situ—by this man? Do you have proof?"

"Fairy Liu, don't listen to this criminal's nonsense. He's just grasping for excuses to escape!" The brocade-robed youth spoke over the man in black before he could answer.

The man in black grew frantic. Speaking rapidly but enunciating every word, he said: "Two years ago, he and I went with Senior Brother Li, Junior Brother Tan, and seven or eight Qi Condensation disciples to Huangya Island to escort a shipment of sect goods. On the return trip, Situ Xin—that bastard—secretly smeared an odorless, colorless substance called fishmint extract onto the clothing of Senior Brother Li and the others. The stuff is nearly impossible to detect and harmless on its own, but within a hundred kilometers, it attracts rank-five Blood Sharks. Sure enough, a Blood Shark appeared along the way, and Senior Brother Li and the others were killed."

"Ha! Pure fabrication!" the brocade-robed youth scoffed. "How would I have known there happened to be a Blood Shark within a hundred kilometers? And why would I do such a thing? A failed mission brings me no benefit whatsoever. Besides, how come you weren't devoured by the Blood Shark yourself?"

"Because..." The man in black hesitated, but when he glanced up at the silver sword hovering above his neck, eager to descend, he spilled everything. "Fairy Liu, spare me! I was deceived by this man and conspired with him. I was the one who gave him the intelligence about the Blood Shark's location. As for why he wanted Senior Brother Li dead—it's simple. He'd long coveted your beauty, Fairy Liu, and had always resented Senior Brother Li. He'd been planning to replace him all along!"

"What!" Liu Yingying gasped. "My husband died because of me..." she murmured.

"Fairy Liu, don't believe this criminal's lies! This wretch once forced himself on a junior female cultivator, and Senior Brother Li caught him in the act. He was terrified Li would report it to the sect, so he decided to strike first and kill him!" the brocade-robed youth protested, his face flushed crimson. Then he turned to Andy: "This scoundrel was about to assault the fairy today! If you hadn't been here, he'd have succeeded. Why not execute him on the spot and be done with it? I'd be happy to help the sect clean house!" He swung his green wooden sword at the man in black yet again, and once again Andy blocked it with the silver sword.

Overjoyed that Andy had saved him three times now, the man in black said: "Thank you for your intervention, sir! Today I was acting under Situ Xin's orders—I was supposed to pretend to accost Fairy Liu and force her to swallow a Bliss Pill. Then Situ Xin would appear at just the right moment, playing the hero who drives off the villain."

"With Fairy Liu grateful and the Bliss Pill already in her system, she would inevitably give herself to him. The two of us were putting on a show, all so he could have his way with her. I was only going along because he's holding something over me—I was coerced! I beg you, sir, spare my life! If he didn't have leverage on me, I would never have stooped to something so despicable!"

Though both men were at early-stage Foundation Establishment, the man in black knew that with only a few high-grade artifacts against Andy's peak-grade weapon, he stood no chance. He harbored no illusions about fighting or fleeing—his only hope was that his captor might show mercy and let him go.