After Shen Bai left, the area fell silent.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, in the woods not far away, beads of cold sweat broke out on the black-robed man’s forehead.

Strong.

Too strong! 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Using the Death Talisman required a certain distance, and the black-robed man had used it secretly from afar.

Afterward, he used his Concealing Technique to follow him, wanting to witness Shen Bai’s death with his own eyes.

But the result was... Shen Bai had won.

He had won effortlessly.

If he weren’t skilled in Stealth, he would have been caught and killed long ago.

The black-robed man felt his whole body was drenched.

’I have to return to the Wild Taoist Sect as quickly as possible and report the truth of Shen Bai’s strength.’

’Perhaps when Shen Bai killed the Sect Leader, it was never a life-or-death battle for him.’

’He definitely has Hidden strength. Could he be in the Meridian Realm, or even higher?’

With these thoughts, the black-robed man quietly emerged from the woods, planning to leave.

But just then, a sense of danger, like a cold blade at his back, made goosebumps rise all over his body.

’Shit, I’ve been discovered!’

The thought surfaced in the black-robed man’s mind.

He had just turned around when he felt a hand grab his neck.

On the hand gripping his neck, a golden Buddha’s Light flickered faintly.

Then, he saw a face with a faint smile—the very face he least wanted to see in his life.

"Shen Bai..."

The black-robed man struggled to open his mouth. "How did you find me..."

Shen Bai, holding the man by the neck, chuckled. "I didn’t. I just thought I’d circle back for a surprise attack. So, I went into hiding, and unexpectedly, I found you—someone who also possesses a Concealment Skill."

"I..."

The black-robed man opened his mouth again.

But before he could finish, a tremendous force struck him.

The black-robed man only felt himself being thrown over by this immense force. His vision shifted, and he was already falling, slammed violently to the ground by Shen Bai.

"Kill me! Kill me if you’ve got the guts!"

Under the immense force, blood flowed from the man’s mouth and nose, and the black cloth on his face fell off.

Shen Bai saw that beneath the black cloth was a face covered in scars.

The wounds on his face resembled writhing centipedes; a single glance was enough to make one feel sick.

"Let me guess which faction you belong to."

The Qi inside Shen Bai’s body erupted from his left hand, shattering the meridians in the black-robed man’s body. "The Wild Taoist Sect, or the Wild Buddha Sect?"

The man’s mouth was full of blood, and he mumbled indistinctly, "Shen Bai, my dear Lord Shen, don’t tell me you don’t even know who you’ve offended?"

Shen Bai looked at the hair on the man’s head and smiled. "Then it’s the Wild Taoist Sect."

The black-robed man was startled.

Unwittingly, with just a few words, Shen Bai had tricked him into revealing the faction behind him.

Shen Bai had presented two options. If neither were correct, he would have sneered. But instead, he’d said something else, which was tantamount to telling Shen Bai his guess wasn’t wrong.

Adding to that the fact that the Wild Buddha Sect members are all bald, Shen Bai now knew which faction was behind this.

"They all say you’re incredibly strong. It seems your mind is just as sharp."

The black-robed man could no longer struggle, only writhe on the ground like an earthworm. "I’ll be waiting for you in the underworld, waiting to see the look of agony on your face."

As soon as he said this, the black-robed man’s eyes suddenly became vacant.

The next moment, a large amount of black blood poured from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

Within a few breaths, the black-robed man had stopped breathing and died.

Shen Bai felt the man’s neck and frowned. ’He used his Qi to self-destruct his five organs. Cultivation in the Five Organ Realm strengthens them, so destroying them would cause immense pain. It seems the people from the Wild Taoist Sect are a ruthless bunch.’

Having failed to obtain any useful information, Shen Bai stood up.

Before Shen Bai could speak, several figures rushed over from a distance.

Leading them was Liu Wufeng, followed by a group of Observatory members.

Even in a crisis, one must not be lured away from one’s post.

Several Landlords were within Fenglin State, and Liu State Governor himself was no weaker than Liu Wufeng, which was why Liu Wufeng dared to come in person.

When Liu Wufeng arrived, he frowned at the corpse on the ground and the lingering, eerie aura.

Shen Bai gently stroked Amber’s fur. "A shadow-type aberration at the Meridian Passage Realm Peak, and this man from the Wild Taoist Sect. It seems I’m being targeted."

Liu Wufeng’s frown deepened. "The Wild Taoist Sect seems to have marked you for death. This lingering scent... it’s the Death Talisman."

Liu Wufeng had long grown numb to Shen Bai’s ability to slay an aberration at the Meridian Passage Realm Peak.

Of course, he was still genuinely astonished.

"This aberration was at least as strong as the Sect Leader, if not stronger, and I arrived very quickly."

Liu Wufeng sized up Shen Bai. "You killed the aberration in such a short time. Have you gotten stronger again?"

Shen Bai nodded. "I’ve just gotten a little stronger, that’s all."

Liu Wufeng’s mouth twitched. "This is ’just a little’?"

’He felt that if Shen Bai weren’t someone he valued, he would have had to teach him a lesson.’

’Honestly, was that something a human should say?’

Shen Bai stared at the corpse on the ground. "Lord Liu, I was already mentally prepared for the Wild Taoist Sect to come after me. In fact, it would be abnormal if they didn’t."

Liu Wufeng nodded. "They’re a bunch of madmen."

Shen Bai knew that, of course. The way this black-robed man had dared to endure extreme pain to kill himself was proof enough.

But right now, Shen Bai’s attention wasn’t on the black-robed man or the Wild Taoist Sect, but on something else.

Liu Wufeng could also tell that something else was on Shen Bai’s mind. He turned to the men around him. "All of you, fall back."

The Observatory members behind him were still stunned by Shen Bai’s power. Hearing the command, they acknowledged it and retreated into the distance.

"Shen Bai, you can speak now," Liu Wufeng said.

Shen Bai mulled it over for a moment, then said, "Lord Liu, don’t you think the people who came after me this time might be connected to Fenglin State’s anniversary celebration?"