284 Identity Exposed?

The satin on his wrist was flat and smooth. On closer look, one could even see blood flowing through his veins, but not a drop fell to the ground, as if it was still flowing through a closed blood vessel.

On Xuan Wushang’s collar, the hand was still holding onto it tightly, as if it did not realize that it had already left its owner’s body. It was still fulfilling its mission dutifully.

With a thought from Liu Hongshan, the severed hand let go of the collar and fell to the ground. However, Liu Hongshan only gave the command to let go of the collar in his brain but didn’t let it drop.

“What realm are you in now?”

!!
Liu Hongshan stared at Xuan Wushang and asked coldly, his expression as ugly as a corpse.

“Why should I tell you about my own matters?”

Xuan Wushang patted his robe. Then, he leaned over and picked up the broken hand. He used a finger to gently draw a circle in the palm of the broken hand. “You just have to know that with my current strength, I can’t kill you—but I can make you wish you were dead.”

Feeling the itchiness in his palm, Liu Hongshan shivered for no reason. When he looked at Xuan Wushang again, his eyes were clearly filled with fear.

“But as far as I know—”

Liu Hongshan dragged out his voice as if he was choosing his words carefully. “Fluttering Cloud is only effective on people whose cultivation level is lower than the user’s or is equivalent to the user’s. At the very least, both parties have to be in the same realm. As for you…”

“With my years of cultivation, I’m not qualified to enter the Half-Saint Realm, right?”

Xuan Wushang continued the second half of Liu Hongshan’s sentence with a sinister smile on his face. “But why should I tell you about my own matters?”

This was the second time Xuan Wushang said this. It didn’t sound any different, but the meaning behind it was completely different.

The first time, Xuan Wushang was using the dignity of the emperor to suppress others, but the second time, it was a real threat.

Liu Hongshan had lived for hundreds of years, so he naturally could tell what the other party was implying. Most of the anger in his heart was instantly suppressed by fear, and the rest was completely extinguished by his quickly recovered rationality.

“What do you want me to do?”

Liu Hongshan asked in a gentle voice. At the same time, he stretched out his empty wrist with a respectful expression, like a loyal servant.

Xuan Wushang smiled ambiguously and placed the broken hand on Liu Hongshan’s empty wrist. His sleeve swept across the cut, and Liu Hongshan’s hand returned to its original state.

“It’s actually very simple.”

As Xuan Wushang spoke, he turned to face the south. “I want you to go to the Heavenly Saint Dynasty again and bring back the Sacred Abyss Sword.”

“Sacred Abyss Sword?”

Liu Hongshan frowned and asked in confusion, “Why do you want the Sacred Abyss Sword?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Hongshan smiled bitterly. Now that Xuan Wushang had the upper hand in strength between the two of them, he naturally wouldn’t tell him anything.

However, to Liu Hongshan’s surprise, Xuan Wushang did not keep it a secret this time. He only paused for a moment before explaining, “I want to use the Sacred Abyss Sword to threaten Emperor Sheng Yuan.”

“Lin Ran should have believed what you told him earlier. He doesn’t want the flames of war to spread to the Heavenly Saint Dynasty, so in the next few days, he will definitely start looking for traces of other cocoons.”

“I’ll intentionally leave some clues to waste his time in Great Yong. Seize the time and think of a way to bring the Sacred Abyss Sword back. As for what happens after that… I’ll give you an answer when the time comes.”

Liu Hongshan hesitated for a moment and probed, “How much time do I have?”

“How long do you need?”

“At least ten days.”

Liu Hongshan said seriously, “Previously, I had designs on the Sacred Abyss Sword. Although I got a fake one in the end, it also made me realize that the real Sacred Abyss Sword is indeed hidden in the Heavenly Saint’s palace.”

“But that’s all I know. If you want me to get the Sacred Abyss Sword, I have to first determine the location of the Sacred Abyss Sword in the palace and arrange for an operation and evacuation. It will take at least ten days. Of course, if you don’t mind me revealing my identity, it might be faster.”

Xuan Wushang blinked. “How long is ‘faster’?”

Liu Hongshan did not answer immediately. After thinking about it in his mind, he stretched out a palm. “Five days.”

“Too slow.”

Xuan Wushang shook his head without thinking. “You have three days.”

“Three days?!”

Liu Hongshan exclaimed, “It takes two days to get to and from the Heavenly Saint Palace. In just a day, I might not even be able to find out where the Sacred Abyss Sword is!”

“That’s your business. You don’t have to tell me about this.”

Xuan Wushang said indifferently, “In addition, you can’t expose your identity during this period of time. Otherwise, I can only send your corpse to the Heavenly Saint to apologize.”

“You’re being unreasonable!”

Liu Hongshan could not help but raise his voice. It was impossible to obtain the Sacred Abyss Sword in a day without revealing his identity!

Hearing Liu Hongshan’s deafening roar, Xuan Wushang still had the same indifferent expression. However, his white robe began to slowly flutter.

The sound of sharp blades rubbing against each other could be heard in the air, extinguishing Liu Hongshan’s anger like a basin of cold water.

“Four days.”

Liu Hongshan retracted a finger. “I’ll definitely bring the Sacred Abyss Sword back in four days!”

“You only have three days.”

Xuan Wushang replied indifferently. Suddenly, a breeze blew over, and his figure dissipated into the air with the voice.

“Damn it!”

Liu Hongshan clenched his fists and cursed. He looked up at the blue sky and saw a white cloud.

“Just you wait. You won’t be arrogant for long!”

Liu Hongshan looked at the white cloud and gritted his teeth. His narrowed eyes flickered with flames, and the veins on his clenched fists bulged.

…

Mount Xianyong.

Lin Ran sat under a tree and looked at the green mountain peak in front of him. He found it hard to believe that there were abundant ores under it. He held the map in his hand and studied it carefully, afraid that he would find the wrong place and waste time.

On the soft grass beside him, with her eyes closed, Ye Jin seemed to be sleeping.

Suddenly, Ye Jin’s long eyelashes fluttered a few times, and her clear eyes slowly opened. “Lin Ran…”

“I’m here!”

Lin Ran nodded and turned to look at Ye Jin. “You’re awake? How do you feel?”

As soon as he said that, Lin Ran suddenly realized that something was wrong. Ye Jin seemed to have called him by his real name just now!

As expected, Ye Jin’s expression instantly darkened. As she sat up, she took out a saber from her boot and stabbed it mercilessly at Lin Ran’s chest!

Unfortunately, Ye Jin was still too slow. Lin Ran turned his body slightly and easily dodged. He pressed Ye Jing down and shouted anxiously, “Don’t be rash! I admit that I lied to you, but I have my reasons!”

“F*ck your reasons!”

Ye Jin cursed and struggled. “Let go of me! You damn murderer!”