Chapter 114: Let’s Make a Deal
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Long One, Long Two, and Long Three were three brothers born of the same mother. They shared identical spiritual roots, practiced the same cultivation techniques, and even wielded matching artifacts.
As they grinned with identical cruelty, their arms swung forward, sending three Dark Moon Scimitars, black with a faint red hue, howling through the air toward Yu Zhao. The salty, fishy scent of the sea mingled with the metallic tang of blood in the air.
Yu Zhao frowned and leapt backward, her right hand slapping her storage pouch. A stack of talismans appeared in her grasp. Her wealth allowed her to deploy a variety of offensive methods.
With a flick of her wrists, she scattered the talismans like flower petals in a spring breeze. Hidden within the cascade were tiny, inconspicuous flakes of incense ash.
“Explode!”
The talismans detonated instantly. A burst of blinding golden light erupted, and waves of explosive force rippled outward, leveling jagged rocks and sending clouds of dust and debris toward the Long brothers. The sheer force roared across the battlefield, blotting out the sun and sky.
Startled and enraged, the three brothers turned and fled in disarray. Even Lady Hua and the others, locked in fierce combat nearby, turned their gazes toward the commotion.
Long One ground his teeth in hatred. “Who is this woman? She casually burns through hundreds of talismans as if they’re nothing!”
Although a Golden Core cultivator, Long One lacked the support of a sect or family, leaving him with meager resources. Seeing Yu Zhao’s extravagant use of talismans stoked his jealousy, threatening to overwhelm his reason. With tremendous willpower, he suppressed the rising tide of envy.
However, his two younger brothers, who had always depended on his protection, lacked his mental fortitude. Long Three, already seething over an earlier dispute with Lady Hua, succumbed instantly to the illusions Yu Zhao had created. His desires surged uncontrollably.
As his gaze flickered toward the backs of his elder brothers, a shocking decision formed in his mind.
Squelch.
The sound of a blade piercing flesh was almost inaudible. Long One noticed nothing until he heard Long Two’s cry of anguish.
He turned his head, his eyes wide with disbelief. “Long Two!”
Long Two looked down at the blade protruding from his chest, then up at Long One. He opened his mouth to speak, but only blood gushed forth. His eyes dimmed, and his fingers slackened as his life ebbed away.
Long Three withdrew his scimitar, shoving Long Two’s body aside with an indifferent expression.
Long One’s voice cracked with grief and rage. “Long Three, what are you doing? He’s your brother!”
Long Three remained calm. “Elder Brother, I’ve had enough of sharing meager resources between the three of us. Long Two’s talent lagged behind ours. He should’ve stepped aside long ago. I did this for the sake of our future.”
Long One’s entire body turned cold.
Long Three’s behavior was abnormal, but his words struck a chord deep within Long One’s heart. For a long time, he had harbored resentment toward Long Two, though he kept it suppressed, only occasionally venting his frustrations through complaints. He never dared act on those darker thoughts.
But now, Yu Zhao’s illusion techniques had unearthed and amplified the malicious intent buried in his heart, completely overwhelming reason and pushing him to the brink of madness.
“Yu Zhao!”
Long One’s face twisted in a grotesque expression of fury, his hatred surging like a stormy sea. He refused to accept that Long Two had been killed by Long Three. Instead, he placed all the blame on Yu Zhao.
His eyes burned red, his breathing became erratic, and his chest heaved violently. The world around him distorted, doubling and overlapping.
In his warped vision, Yu Zhao appeared to be holding his brother’s Dark Moon Scimitar, striding toward him step by step.
“Ah! Yu Zhao, you deserve to die!”
With a roar, he brandished the Dark Moon Scimitar, advancing in a frenzied charge. The sharp blade emitted relentless arcs of energy, slicing through the air with piercing shrieks.
Long One had completely lost control, pouring all his strength into every swing of his blade.
Yu Zhao, meanwhile, feigned panic, retreating rapidly, seemingly unable to fight back.
Strike when your opponent is at their weakest!
Seizing the perceived opportunity, Long One lunged again, his scimitar casting shadowy afterimages as countless arcs of energy burst forth.
Blood splattered across Long One’s face. He extended his tongue to lick it away and burst into crazed laughter, becoming even more reckless in his attacks. Even his own injuries failed to register.
Nearby, Zhao Xian and his wife, along with Big Boss Wu, were still reeling from the shock of Long Three killing Long Two. They then saw Long One suddenly descend into madness, hacking Long Three to death blow by blow.
Despite Long Three’s cries and pleas, Long One remained unmoved.
“Hiss…”
The three onlookers gasped audibly.
Could there be something strange about this island? Was everyone who stepped onto it doomed to lose their sanity and die in madness?
And if so…what about them?
After a while, Long Three collapsed.
Long One, leaning on his scimitar for support, swayed unsteadily, muttering to himself, “Long Two, I’ve avenged you!”
“Good. Now you can join them.”
Long One sluggishly raised his head.
The last thing he saw was a flash of pale blade light.
Boom!
Yu Zhao’s finger twitched, and Long One’s storage pouch flew into her hand. She casually stowed the three storage pouches in her sleeve before looking up at the others, smiling slightly.
“Well then, shall we make a deal? I’m also quite interested in the treasure hidden here.”
Kill one to warn a hundred.
The phrase flashed through the minds of Big Boss Wu and the others simultaneously.
Their fear of Yu Zhao etched itself deep into their bones.
This was the very definition of hidden strength.
A mere early Golden Core cultivator, yet Yu Zhao had effortlessly eliminated two mid-Golden Core cultivators without suffering so much as a scratch.
How terrifying was her true power?
Big Boss Wu and the others exchanged glances. Memories of the fallen Long brothers flooded their minds. Would opposing Yu Zhao lead them down the same path?
Refusing Yu Zhao? That would be a joke.
The Long brothers had seemed formidable but were the first to fall. If they opposed her, would they fare any better?
“I agree,” Lady Hua was the first to break the silence.
Having experienced Yu Zhao’s illusions firsthand, Lady Hua had no desire to become her enemy. In fact, she even felt a faint urge to flee.
She couldn’t even bring herself to meet Yu Zhao’s gaze, afraid that she might once again fall prey to her illusion techniques.
Zhao Xian and his wife exchanged a glance and nodded. “We have no objections.”
Big Boss Wu, now outnumbered, had no choice but to agree as well.
“Good. Now,” Yu Zhao said with a calm yet commanding tone, “why don’t you tell me the story behind this place?”