Main Text Volume Three Chapter 97 The Two Beauties

The yellow-clothed man let out a scream of utter terror, his face twisted into a monstrous, inhuman mask of horror.

“I said, I’ll tell everything. Please, spare my life!”

At Mu, seeing his spirit on the brink of collapse, finally stopped.

In truth, At Mu possessed no knowledge of soul-searching techniques. That was an advanced dark dao art, something his fragile yin spirit body could never wield. The terror he had endured was exactly what the yellow-clothed man had experienced. He had employed the fear technique and spirit absorption to recreate the worm’s assault upon him, forging illusory horrors. Though the yellow-clothed man’s cultivation surpassed his own, he could barely draw in the opponent’s spiritual energy. Still, the terror he provoked was disturbingly similar.

Furthermore, who among them had truly experienced soul-searching? Those who had either perished or been driven mad. Thus, At Mu was certain the yellow-clothed man had fallen for the deception.

“Tell me, how did you discover me?”

“Very well, I’ll confess everything.” The yellow-clothed man collapsed onto the ground, a foul stench rising from his crotch.

His will lay shattered, as if nearly driven insane by fear. This sensation At Mu knew intimately—unless one possessed an extraordinarily strong will, no one could withstand such intense sensory torment.

“I discovered you through this.” The yellow-clothed man drew a small wooden box from his bosom.

The box was palm-sized. Curious, At Mu took it and opened it, revealing a tiny scorpion no larger than a bug, its tail hook gleaming blue.

The scorpion frantically vibrated its blue tail hook, as if confronting something it could not endure.

Gazing at At Mu’s puzzled expression, the yellow-clothed man explained, “This is the Blue-Tail Scorpion raised by the deputy chief, fed exclusively on ant poisons. The Scorpion Lord has already implanted the ant poison upon you. Within a certain range, the Blue-Tail Scorpion will react thus.”

“Ah~” At Mu gasped. When had he been poisoned? Why no reaction? Could it have been that finger?

“What happens if one is poisoned by ant poison?” At Mu asked urgently.

“This ant poison is exceedingly mild and harms no human body; it merely triggers the Blue-Tail Scorpion’s response.”

No wonder the bloody vine had shown no reaction. It seemed the poison was nonexistent! At Mu finally relaxed.

“How, then, to dispel this ant poison?”

The yellow-clothed man shook his head. “I do not know. The Scorpion Lord must be able to remove it.”

“Nonsense! I’m asking if you have any other method.”

“Probably not. Even if I knew, I would not.”

At Mu saw the man truly knew nothing and asked again, “Then, how wide is the sensing range of this Blue-Tail Scorpion?”

“It depends on the conditions. If in water, it perceives nothing at all. Even in mountains or forests, the terrain limits the range. I first detected you when you were already nearing Xian Yin Town. It is said, however, that the Scorpion Lord’s Blue-Tail Scorpion can sense dozens of li.”

“This creature has further distinctions?”

“Indeed. As a mere small sect master, I can equip only the lowest-grade specimen. The higher the grade, the wider the perception range.”

At Mu fell silent a moment, then asked in a deep voice, “How did you learn of me? And when was this Blue-Tail Scorpion sent?”

“This morning, at dawn. It arrived by the Flying Crane’s message.” As he spoke, he drew out another scroll of paper.

At Mu unfolded it. Beyond cultivation and skills, every other aspect was described in meticulous detail, complete with a portrait.

It seemed the yellow-clothed man had recognized him through this image and decided to act to claim merit. Yet he did not know that At Mu had long since changed, becoming his captive instead.

Upon reading the final line—“If you encounter this person, report it first”—At Mu asked, “Did you report this to your superiors?”

The yellow-clothed man’s face drained of color. He hastened to explain, “It was an order, little one like me dares not disobey. I beg you, spare my life. I will never again... uh~”

Before he could finish, At Mu slapped his abdomen. The yellow-clothed man’s golden core shattered and he perished on the spot. At Mu buried him hastily, gathered his belongings, and rose once more.

The Fire Poison Dao would not receive this news for several more days. By the time they pursued him, he would already be thousands of li away.

Several days later, under a bright moonlit night.

A plump panda carried a staff of emerald wood, a wine gourd hanging from it. A conical hat crowned its head, a leather belt cinched its waist. It twisted and swayed as it walked slowly forward.

Occasionally it leaped two or three meters, then collided with trees and rebounded like a large ball, absurdly comical.

This was the bear—At Mu. It was the result of his practice of those two lines of incantation.

Since each effect varied in direction and distance and he could not control them, he often struck trees. Thus he had transformed into bear form to prevent injury.

The bear’s skin was rough and its flesh thick; such impacts meant nothing to him. At Mu enjoyed it, practicing those two lines relentlessly as he traveled.

He had learned through bitter experience that this skill was the ultimate lifesaver. Moreover, he believed those two lines and the footwork from catching the gourd belonged to the same dao art.

Unfortunately, he could not fuse them and used them separately.

Boom~

At Mu momentarily lost focus, and the incantation activated. He slammed into the tree again and was bounced back. Rolling on the ground, he was about to rise when the scenery beside him froze him in place.

“Isn’t that the Tianchi Volcano? How did I end up here without noticing?”

At Mu gazed up at the towering mountain before him, a myriad of emotions surging. Two snow-white figures instantly flashed in his mind.

“Are they well? Still playing and bathing in the water here?” His gaze gradually grew hazy, as if piercing the mist and delving into the mountain.

At the mountain’s peak, within the lake.

Peals of silver-bell laughter echoed, and from the lake arose a pair of alluring figures.

Ah-choo~

A delicate sneeze escaped, and the petite woman sniffled softly, “Why is it that I suddenly sneezed out of the blue?”

The other laughed, “It must be that your dear Fan brother misses you! Hee hee hee...”

The petite woman suddenly turned stern, “Senior Sister Mo, if you mention that man again, I swear I’ll turn on you.”

Mo Senior Sister apologized profusely, “It’s my fault, it’s my fault. My loose tongue angered Shuer Senior Sister and even Xiao Mei Senior Sister has stopped calling.”

“Hmph~!” Shuer still seethed with anger.

Mo Senior Sister continued, “But I don’t understand. Fan Junior Brother is handsome and dashing, and he holds the position of young alliance master. Why don’t you like him? If it were me...”

Shuer snapped, “You can say that. Go find him yourself. Just stop lumping him with me. Hmph~”

“Shuer, don’t be angry. It’s Senior Sister’s fault. Listen to me, why are you dressed so early? You...”

The two ladies in the lake were At Mu’s bitter foes: Mo Xiaomei and An Shu.

An Shu was vexed but remained in the water, her attire fully donned beneath it.

Mo Xiaomei swam over and smiled, “Are you afraid of a lecher? Rest assured. Since that incident, I’ve cast two arrays each time, ensuring no one can secretly approach here... Who~!”

As she spoke, Mo Xiaomei cried out sharply, stirring up a water wall. Just as it began to recede, she had already dressed.

An Shu believed she was playing a trick again to amuse her. But given the display, it was no jest. She flew out of the water, turned in the air, and her garments were already dry.

The two ladies shot into the sky like arrows from a bow. Scanning carefully, no one was in sight.

An Shu questioned, “Senior Sister Mo, are you mistaken?”

Mo Xiaomei shook her head emphatically, “Absolutely not. The array I set is a spirit-perceiving one, akin to my own skin. The moment it is touched, I sense it clearly. Someone definitely intruded just now.”

An Shu knew it was true. “Senior Sister, we should expand the search area and check thoroughly. We cannot let the lewd thief escape again.”

“Very well, let’s go!”

The two mounted their magic treasures and circled the mountain. Soon, they spotted At Mu’s figure.

“Senior Sister, look! There’s a black-and-white bear. How strange! Is there such a cute creature in the world?”

“Hey~ Bear spirit, did you see anyone descending from the mountain?”